Abc ivf 2023

[Sunflower5858]

Hi all,

Just did ER at Abc over weekend and waiting for embryo update. Very nervous as the fertilised rate is not as high. This journey is so stressful and sometimes I feel so alone.

Hi @Mangopie889, with mine I had a day 3 transfer. We had 9 mature eggs collected and 4 fertilised, it got to day 3 and the one we had implanted looked like it was ahead and really good quality and the others didn’t, so for that reason we had the 3 day transfer. The other 3 didn’t make it to day 5 blast so we didn’t have anything to freeze.
I was under the impression that only day 5 embryos could be frozen however I could be wrong.
If you don’t have many embryos or they aren’t of great quality they will do a day 3 but if you have alot to pick from then its a day 5 xxx

@LR94 Thanks for your reply! I had to do a freeze all due to risk of OHSS. So it seems that the clinic will decide for you then. I saw one lady was asking for advice on this forum (with 3 embryos) as her clinic (not sure if it’s abc ivf/create, could be somewhere else) did not recommend anything and she had to decide on D3 or D5 transfer.. Just thought I should come prepared if being asked to decide myself..

@Mangopie889 they asked us if we were happy with the 3 day transfer but they did advise it initially. There are better success rates with a day 5 but they always say the best place for the embryo is in its natural environment so our day 3 might not have made it to day 5 in the lab.
Its so hard to predict because you obviously just want the best outcome. If you can get a day 5, that would be more ideal as all the embryo really has to do is implant, where a day 3 still needs to multiply and then implant. We have been lucky with our day 3 and abc did a great job of making us a top grade embryo xxx

@LR94 Ok thanks! I’d wait for abc to advise and I’ll be happy to do D3 if that’s indeed the better option with low embryo numbers. Fingers crossed 🤞 I agree it’s more preferable to transfer D5 but it’s more of an option for ladies with more embryos

We had 17 mature eggs, 11 fertilised with ICSI. We had to have a freeze all cycle due to OHSS risk. Most of ours were poor grades by day 3 (2/3/4 cells only). So they advised us to freeze our best one at day3 so one was ‘in the bank’, this was a grade 2, 8 cell embryo. All of our others failed to make day 5, so we only had our day 3 one to transfer. This was then transferred in a frozen cycle, and I am currently 11 weeks pregnant.

My understanding is that if they look like they are growing well, they will try and get them to make day 5 as this can be a better option for freezing, and also help to select the best for transfer layer. But if they are slow to develop/poor growing or poor grades then day 3 transfer or freeze may be recommended.

@cat234 Hi thanks for sharing your experience! That totally makes sense! I think they will advise me the same. And congrats on your pregnancy! Best wishes!!!

Hi everyone, I’m new to this thread and I can see it’s not been active for some months.

I started my IVF treatment with ABC clinic and I started my Bemfola 175iu injection two days ago.
I just want to know if this Bemfola dose worked well for anyone as I’ve had 2 failed IVF in 2021 (not with ABC) and my body didn’t respond well to the recommended dose, they had to increase my dose eventually.
I’m really nervous about the treatment, I guess because I’ve had 2 failed cycles in the past.

I’m with ABC Birmingham! Xx

Sorry I meant it’s not been active for a month

Hi @Comfort2000

i think it very much depends on your individual circumstances clinically speaking. I am with abc and was on a lower dose than that - 137.5 which they dropped to 120 half way through as I was so stimulated. I had 21 large follicles in the end.

We got 8 eggs, 5 fertilised and 3 made it to day 5 as good quality blasts.

I have heard from people who have previously done a full ivf protocol on higher doses and had a poor outcomes at the point of egg collection, and then responded much better to the lower doses at abc, so I think it’s very individual.

good luck!

@Quickdraw23

Thank you for your reply. Glad to hear it worked for you and you were able to get quality embryos. Have you now completed the treatment and please what's your review about abc so far.

I understand what you have said, I'll just be positive about it. I'm just dealing with anxiety. Thanks! Xx

I’m currently in the two week wait at 5DP5DT. We froze the other two. I’m not with the Birmingham clinic, I’m with a different one, but I’m very pleased with the experience with abc, they have been very organised, prompt and helpful, friendly and efficient so far. The clinicians I have seen have all explained the procedures clearly to me before doing anything. I’ve never been anywhere else so nothing to compare it to. The nurses lead the scans etc while you’re on stims, hence the lower costs, but they discuss with the consultant after your appointment if they think something needs changing, which is how my dosage ended up being lowered.

I have read others saying that they have found abc a bit “no frills”, which they are, hence so much cheaper but I didn’t really need frills so I haven’t missed them, if that makes sense!

@Comfort2000 I went to abc birmingham and I found it good however it was my first cycle so I don’t have anything to compare it to.
The Bemfola worked well for me, they will scan you every 2 days and adjust your bemfola to make sure you get the desired amount of follicles.
I managed to have 9 mature eggs collected, 4 of those fertilised and unfortunately none of them went to day 5 blast stage however we did have a day 3 transfer and i’m now 20 weeks pregnant with a girl due 25th October. For that reason I think my experience with abc was good however everyone and every body is different. I really hope it works out for you xxx

@Quickdraw23 I really hope it works out for you.

Thank you. I've also read other threads where people said they had a good experience with abc clinic.

@LR94 Wow congratulations to you, I wish you a safe delivery.

This gives me some hope, fingers crossed.

I will continue to update everyone. I have my first scan booked for Monday 05/06. Hopefully the follicles are responding well to the prescribed dose. Xx

Hey hope you’re okay. I am hoping to start with ABC Wimbledon as I’ve had my scans and pre tests just waiting on my smear results and will then go ahead. How did you find it all? X

Hi all,

Sorry I haven't updated on here for a while. This past week has been a very emotional one for me.

So I continued with the prescribed dose of Bemfola and the clinic increased the dose after some days which seemed to have worked pretty well for me. Everything was going fine, follicles were growing nicely and blood tests were coming back great.

However, on my third scan I was told that my left ovary (which had the highest number of follicles) was inaccessible and eggs could not be retrieved from it. My right ovaries had just 2 big follicles and I was given the option of either cancelling the cycle or going ahead with just 2 follicles (bearing in mind that eggs might or might not be found in them). Meanwhile, if I went for the latter option and eggs are found in the follicles, I would have to do a frozen embryo transfer so as to give time to stop the follicles on the inaccessible ovaries from growing. I broke down in tears at the clinic, my heart was shattered and I didn't know which option to go for. I explained to them that DH and I could only afford one cycle of fresh transfer which is apparently on finance. We could not afford egg freezing let alone FET. We were advised to do ICSI which we never budgeted for as DH semen analysis were always coming back great over the years. We were surprised to hear ABC saying his sperm motility was really low but of course we can't fault their judgment.

The clinic then informed the senior consultant about how unhappy DH and I were and she was very understanding. She then came up with another idea which sounded good. The idea was to collect the eggs abdominally instead of trans vaginally and they have just one embryologist who could do that and he is in their Manchester clinic. I accepted that option and we were happy to travel from Birmingham to Manchester.
So DH and I were transferred to the Manchester clinic and we had a scan with the embryologist last Saturday. Fortunately for us, he said the left ovary wasn't as inaccessible as the Birmingham clinic thought and he would be able to retrieve all the eggs whilst I'm under sedation.
Fast forward to today, we traveled to Manchester for the egg collection and it went really well, just had a serious cramping after the process but I was okay after having the pain relief medication. We had 8 eggs collected but something else came up again. The embryologist said I had fluid in my endometrial cavity from the oestrogen injection and this might reduce the success rate if the embryo is transferred. We are left with no other option than to freeze all embryos created and then have a FET next cycle when the fluid must have cleared up on its own.

Even though I am not happy with that decision as it has cost implications but I'm just hoping we are able to get good quality embryos to freeze. I really cannot wait for the whole process to be over and successful.
Will continue to update y'all. Xx

@Comfort2000 thanks for sharing. Such a roller coaster emotion time for you. In a good sign, FET might let you to rest and prepare a bit for the transfer. I was with Manchester clinic too and during my first initial scan with them, they said my left ovary is not easy to access but they would find a way and they did. Wish you all the best for the FET and keep us updated xx
@Galaxys18 did you get the test result?

Hey,

@Sunflower5858 I did my smear on the nhs and the result came back negative which means we can go ahead with treatment now, so that’s a relief a little nervous and scared if I’m honest.. we booked a holiday in the interim as we were unsure about the results etc so hopefully will be going ahead with treatment next cycle which will be end of July! Fingers crossed!! How did it all go for? Any words of advice xx

@Sunflower5858 Thanks for your message. You are totally right. I initially felt bad about it but then again I have more time to relax and prepare like you said.

So the latest update is that 6 out of the 8 mature eggs fertilized with ICSI. We now have 4 top grades embryos in the freezer and the embryologist said the remaining 2 embryos are likely going to be frozen tomorrow because they're also looking good but taking time to grow. Nevertheless, 4 good quality embryos sounds good, the best out of them is 5AA.
My FET should be in August, hopefully the fluid clears out before then, fingers crossed. I really hope it does because the clinic mentioned Hycosy to check the fallopian tubes if the fluid doesn't clear out by my next cycle and probably Laparoscopy to clip either of the tubes provided that the fluid is coming from there.. I don't even want to go through all these stress. I just want the fluid gone.

I will continue to update y'all Xx

@Galaxys18 that's good news. Try not to be nervous about it. Just trust the process and stay positive. I'm sending you my best wishes and update us when you start end of July. Xx

Hey, can I join you guys? We're planning our first cycle with ABC in mid-August. We've had the initial scans / consultation and were aiming for the July cycle, but for one reason or another we've decided to push back a cycle. Feeling impatient now that the ball is almost in motion! Felt very much out of my depth initially but think I've wrapped my head around the process now - maybe!

@fsr111 Hey I’m hoping to start in July well mid July depending on my cycle. What clinic are you at?

@Galaxys18 yay so glad you could go ahead now! Only 1 more month. For me I just tried to walked everyday for 30 minutes and had more avocadoes. Enjoy your holiday and all the best for the July cycle x
@Comfort2000 4-6 frozen embryos are really good numbers and also 5AA grade is excellent :) Really hope the fluid will clear by itself so you can start asap x

@Sunflower5858 aww thank you and yes fingers crossed just so nervous now. How many attempts did it take you and did you complete icsi?

@Sunflower5858 Thank you very much. I really hope the fluid is gone before my FET in August. I will continue to update you all. Xx