IVF February 2023

[HJen22]

Haven't seen a thread for February cycles so if anyone is waiting to start in the next few weeks and fancies some cycle buddies ❤️

Little about me, 34yo TCC #1. Low AFC/AMH. After two disastrous NHS cycles (NE Scotland) which resulted in no transfer, we went private and are away to start our second mild IVF cycle at Create in Manchester x

@Carly05 ah thank you ❤️ yep ttc is an emotional shitstorm for sure. I think we all deserve a happy ending!

I didn't find the transfer too bad. I'm not good with smears and it was less painful than that. I was on a bit of Valium though 😎. It's over very quickly. For the two week wait, do things that make you feel good and don't give yourself a hard time if you find yourself spiralling or getting stressed or feeling anxious. You can't think your way to a baby, if you're anything like me you will get anxious about feeling anxious 😬. I found an ivf meditation series on Spotify by Valerie Morris and have been listening to that. Also I've been reading a novel which is really good and nice and distracting. Gentle distraction is key apparently x

@browneyedgirl626 that’s wonderful news, absolutely delighted for you!

@VioletCookie good luck for your scan tomorrow!

Hope everyone else is doing well

I have my day 5 call tomorrow- got everything crossed for my 3 embryos 🤞

@Carly05 we actually live near Cambridge but I'm mostly in London for work so decided going with Create would be less disruptive! I'll be thinking of you in the morning, please let us know if it's going ahead 🙏🏼 I've got a good feeling about this embryo! I can't help but giggle in the transfers... it's like a smear but with 3 people and a spotlight looking at your nether region 🤣 it's absolutely fine though I promise, you can also watch them shoot the embryo in on the ultrasound which is nice 🥰 the clinic should run through things to avoid (baths, strenuous excersize) and diet is bascially eat as though you're pregnant (which I always take as 'eat plenty of chocolate' 😂) Best of luck for you tomorrow! Xx

@browneyedgirl626 definitely take any wins - it's great that you're implanting as that's a hurdle passed. Although when people say that to me it drives me slightly bonkers because I want it to STAY in 🙈 You may have said previously but do you know why you experienced the losses and are you doing anything differently this time? I totally understand if you don't want to talk about it though! Day 11 today, realllly hoping we have some follicle growth tomorrow 🤞🏼 bless you, yes high waisted is the way! I've been like an extra from Mean Girls this week 'sweat pants are all that fit me right now' 🤣 you're right there's always something else isn't there! And it gets more expensive each test 😅 fingers crossed for some good luck for us all finally! Xx

@LF82 absolutely everything crossed for your 3 to reach day 5! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

@LF82 ah thank you ❤️ very best of luck with your call today 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

@VioletCookie mean girls 🤣🤣🤣 I've got images of velour juicy coutures!

The thing that's different this time round is it's an ivf cycle and all the others were natural pregnancies, the embryo was genetically tested, and I'm on immune treatment and intralipids and progesterone support

Have a lovely Easter Monday everyone 🐣

Having a panic! Meant to do Cetrotide at 7am and we've run out without realising.. been calling 2 emergency numbers since 6am (sorry nurses!) but one isn't answering and the other is turned off. We've got the scan at 9:20 and we're currently racing to St Pauls, but I'm not sure anyone will be there until 9 anyway! Has anyone taken a late dose without ovulating early?!

@browneyedgirl626 I'm in all black today sadly, I save the JC pink velours for special occasions 🤣 best of luck for this pregnancy then my lovely, you've done so much to ensure it sticks 🤞🏼xx

VioletCookie I reckon it will be fine u already have a few days of it in your system. Hopefully u either get one of the nurses on the emergency number or spk to nurse at Ur scan and they can arrange an emergency medication. Shame Ur not on fyremadal... I have a few spare...cud have picked 1 up from me. X

Hi all , Just had call from lab... Embryo has survived but is small only an early blastocyst 1. To early to grade it 😕 but they still want to go ahead with T/F This morning . She said it may have grown more by then??The whole point of waiting for a day 5 TF Was to get more information about the embryos viability. Thinking of asking if they can do it later this afternoon instead give it some more time to grow.... I don't know what do you think??x

@Carly05 I hope your appt went ok? What did you decide?
Sorry I didn't reply to your last message, have been away for Easter. We were incredibly lucky this cycle and got 4 blasts. I had a d5 transfer and OTD is the 14th. I have pretty much zero symptoms so no idea what to expect! x

Hi Jupiteer wow that's an amazing result with your 4 blastos. How have u been feeling during your 2ww?? Are u staying sane?
I ended up transferring this morning after a good talk with the consultant. All went ok OTD will be 21st. 🤞🤞
How did Ur scan go this morning violetcookie, did u manage to get some more meds?x
LF82 how did Ur embryos do today , did u have T/F ? x

@Carly05 congrats on your transfer. I have my fingers crossed for you! The clinic rang this morning - they said 2 of the 3 had started to form cells for a blastocyst but not developed enough to grade it so they want to wait until tomorrow. The other she said they would leave as well but not to be hopeful on that one at all. I am really struggling with it today if I am honest. X

@Carly05 congratulations on being PUPO!
I have been feeling physically fine, just bloated and feel like nothing fits!? Mentally I am very up and down, feeling positive one hour and the next hour feel it definitely hasn't worked. Mixture of wishing for OTD to come and dreading it 😳
@LF82 I do think it is common for them to develop slowly. We had one slow one that didn't look like much on D5 and didn't hold out much hope but on D6 they called and said it had grown and was ready to be frozen, it ended up 4AB which was better than the 4BB that had been ok the day before. It's all very confusing! I hope it is positive news tomorrow.

LF82 that's great 2 of them are developing... Will they go for a fresh T/F Tommorrow or do they plan to freeze? It's interesting hearing what different clinics do. I was in Ur shoes this morning with an un-gradeable early blasto... However you have 2-3 to chose from. So that makes sense to wait and gather more information to give you the best possible outcome xx 🤞

Jupiteer sounds like u had some nice distraction time over Easter to get away and relax. Hope it helped? It is such a rollercoaster ride of emotions . I'm going to try and keep busy and not go down the rabbit whole of reading every bit of research available!!!.. None of us have any control over what happens now , so will just try and keep in control of keeping myself calm and distracted 😬. Hang on in there for a few more days Jupiteer 🍀 x

Hi everyone, hope you are all managing to stay sane whatever part of this rollercoaster process you are in! Sending everyone lots of love!

we had our review letter through from the clinic today after our failed ICSI cycle. They said they wouldn’t change anything in regards to the protocol I was on as they were happy with the amount of eggs collected and they are attributing the poor fertilisation rate to poor quality sperm. They’ve said going forward what they would change is that they would employ assisted oocyte activation (AOA) to increase fertilisation rate. Had anyone had any experience with this? Feeling deflated as the thought of them able to really change things next cycle kept me going but doesn’t sound like much would be different. Also any tips on improving sperm quality?

@Jupiteer thank you that’s really helpful.

@Carly05 I am doing a freeze all cycle. Hoping to do a transfer on my next round 🤞

@Jcl22 sorry that’s not something I have heard of… can you perhaps have an appointment to speak with the clinic so they can explain more/you can ask questions. For sperm quality I guess you other half is already doing all the standard stuff- vitamins, less processed foods, lots of veg, omega 3, decaf tea/coffee, exercise etc? X

Hi Everyone...long time no speak.

I've been hiding in the background reading all your messages.

Wishing everyone luck with follicles growing, embryos growing! Hope everyone's egg collections and transfers go smoothly and the TWW isn't too all consuming.

I have my 1 month follow up following second failed ICSI on NhS so likely the last.

Any questions you asked at yours?

Want to know if there should be anything I should be asking!

Thanks everyone! X

@Carly05 that's really kind of you, thank you 🥰 They weren't too concerned about me taking it 2 hours late so I tried to stop flapping 🙈 how are you feeling since your transfer? Congratulations btw! I hope that your embaby is getting cosy and ready to implant real good 🤞🏼 I imagine your head is going to be so up and down over the TWW, try to avoid google (easier said than done I know!) sending optimistc thoughts your way! Xx

@Jupiteer best of luck for your OTD on the 14th! How have you been feeling? X

@LF82 so sorry to hear you struggled yesterday. How are you today? Let us know what the clinic says when they call🤞🏼 how many did you freeze on your last cycle? X

@Jcl22 I don't know anything about AOA, sorry. How many eggs did they retrieve on your cycle? Sorry you're feeling down with your next protocol, it's all consuming isn't it. For sperm quality I have put my partner on a diet of minimal fizzy drinks, no alcohol, only decaf, avoiding sugary foods and eating lots of protein/veg. It's difficult because you can analyse everything but I don't know how much of a difference it all makes! I think sperm/egg quality is decided on over the 3 months prior to collection x

@TTCRose best of luck on your follow up appt. I'm not sure what you'd ask for implantation failure as we implanted then lost, but following that I asked about lining development, progesterone, NKC, blood clotting and PGT-A testing x

Hi Jcl22. no I haven't heard of AOA. We had first failed round IVF ICSI and similar to you they said they didn't want to change anything as thought the stims did there job.
I did however changing meds due to shortage of menopur so moved to gonal f. Had a better result with some fertilisation on this. With regards to improving sperm quality.....My husband sperm parameters are on the low side he takes proceed which seems to be the only supplement with any evidence behind it. Wishing u lots of luck 🍀 for Ur next round xx

Thanks VioletCookie . How did Ur scan go?? Have your follicles grown? x
I'm feeling ok had a bit of a low last night. Think I just had a come down after the positive day 5 result and T/F and suddenly just felt emotionally and physically drained! Off work today so will do something nice 😌 x

@VioletCookie none survived … feeling very deflated. We have 3 from the last round. Hope you are doing well x

@LF82 I'm so sorry, I don't know what to say apart from my heart breaks for you 😔 It's great that you have 3 frozen but I know that doesn't make this cycle's results any easier to process. Will your clinic follow up on this or do they put it down to 'bad luck'? I'm so sorry, be kind to yourself as you've done all you can. Are you working today? xx

@Carly05 scan went fine thanks, we're ready to trigger tonight. We've got a decent amount of follicles but only about 30% of them are OK for collection, the rest are teeny (4mm ish) so they won't be included. I'm now feeling really nervous about the PGT-A testing, I've convinced myself it's bad eggs causing all the losses! But I guess we'll finally find out 🤷🏼‍♀️

Sorry to hear that lovely, it's such a big build up then suddenly you've got this wait with nothing much happening. Emotions are bound to yoyo! What are your plans for today? The sun is out in London, perfect day for a walk! Please vent as much as you need to in your TWW, time seems to stand still doesn't it! Xx

LF82 Im soo sorry to hear that news...Heart breaking 😢 Did u get any feedback from the embryologist/ consultant about possible reasons for embryos not developing further? I hope you are resting up today and are being looked after. Xxx