IVF March 2023

[Katie12444]

Wanted to start a group for those who are due to start treatment in March.

@Katie12444 yes thats also true....although my brain thinks my daughter was obviously a 4AA 😂🤓

Good luck. Heard there's a shortage so glad everyone's getting their meds OK!

@Katie12444 hi, yes you are right, when conceiving naturally you wouldn’t know the grade at all.

injections- I found these overwhelming too! But the one I had that you had to mix was quite easy to do especially after the first attempt (my husband did mine)

@greentreeseverywhere i know it’s really, really hard but just remember it only takes one embryo. Just try & focus on that and stay as positive as you can. Sending you lots of positive energy

@greentreeseverywhere im sure she was! ❤️

@LF82 yes I’ve got gonal f and then the other one, cetrotide, you need to mix. I just can’t quite believe they trust me to inject myself. It’s feels a bit daunting but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

@Katie12444 oh that’s the exact ones I was on! Are you doing mild ivf by any chance? I had to get my husband to do my injections as I just couldn’t bring myself to do them (hate needles!). Gonal F I could barely feel. Cetrocide stung a little bit wasn’t too bad x

@greentreeseverywhere I’m so sorry you are going through that, I know completely how you feel, it’s so hard not to get your hopes up. BUT, as we said earlier - grading is not always the be-all-and-end-all, and to be able to grade at all means it’s developed at least some way. You at least have a chance with that one. Try to keep positive (easier said than done I know!).

@Katie12444 you will totally get used to the injections. Gonal F in particular is quite straightforward, and I had a mixing one too (meriofert) and after the first couple you get more confident. But I know what you mean, like how am I qualified to do this?!?!

I’ve had my transfer today - I’m happy with what they said about the embryo, it was an expanding blastocyst and potentially got one to freeze and a few others that they’ll monitor to tomorrow. Had my Accupuncture and now I’m home.

Just got to keep everything crossed now for the next few weeks. Hope everyone else is doing OK today, I think it is a big week for a lot of people.

@MrsWatson84 glad it went Okay!

im also back from my retrieval feeling okay! They collected 11 eggs, I was hoping for 15-16 since I’ve had 18-19 on scans.

Now waiting for the results tomorrow of how many are mature and fertilised!

Because of the recurring miscarriages they’d like me to have more then 2-3 since they are not sure if the FET’s will take. (I have bloth clotting issues).

Feeling quite okay after the procedure- I was fully out haha they had to carry me to the chair bc I wouldn’t wake up 🤣

Good luck everyone with the start of TWW

@Katie12444 I know the shots are something. At the end I was able to inject myself and it was actually less painful bc I felt like if I hit a vein I just moved the needle a mm. you can do it xoxo

@greentreeseverywhere aww thats rough news. Im feeling you.. Hopefully this is the one then.. Im thinking of you ❤️ hopefully a couple will catch up and be good enough to freeze!!

@lf82 Yes I am. Hate needles so it’s going to be interesting…husband is on call and the ice packs I bought are in the freezer! Did you find that they made you very bloated? Just want to be prepared more than anything.

@MrsWatson84 Thanks, yes I hope I get used it. Especially with the mixing one, I am definitely not qualified for this! The nurse directed me to some videos to watch so hopefully they will help. Amazing that you had your transfer. Do you feel relieved? I’ve not looked acupuncture but noticed quite a few people having mentioned it whilst undergoing treatment. Have you found it helpful?

@Irisjj omg didn’t even want to think about the veins 😂 to be honest there are already so many things so far in this ‘journey’ which I never thought I could do and I’ve done so hopefully it will be the same for the injections.

Great to hear the retrieval is done. How did you find it? Did you feel like going in for an operation? Or was it all quite quick?

@Katie12444 I know Im totally with you! But a friend gave me that advice that once she started doing it herself it went way smoother. I only managed to do it the last two days though haha. Started with the Follitism since that one is easier!!

I was completely off the planet haha. Felt pretty nervous going into the procedure room. It was quick (15-20 min?) but took me a while before I could pee and was allowed to go. The pain was not too bad honestly!

@Irisjj oh that’s good. Are you feeling ok now? The nurse told me that they put pain relief up your bum. I was like, errrr anything else you want to do to make me feel less dignified 😂

Hi all, sorry to fill up the group with messages today. With the injections, do have to do them at exactly the same time every day?

Yes @Katie12444 I believe the advice is to keep to the same time every day. I had to set an alarm on my phone every day for morning and night. I just did 8:45 am and pm. I was far better too once I did my own, not sure I had enough faith in my husband and he was more nervous than me!!

The actual procedure feels like it’s over pretty quickly. I was completely knocked out too which I was grateful for. I did have the “up the bum” pain relief too, haha, which yes it’s pretty undignified but spreading your legs in the operating theatre is too!! But I just kept thinking they’ve seen it all before, a thousand times!!

re Accupuncture - I’m not sure if I find it useful or not, but as with anything related to TTC, I’m happy to give it a go! I’ve been doing it for years though and it did help me regulate my cycle which was all over the place. I think for IVF they like you to have had a 3 month window of doing it before your IVF cycle to get your body used to it, I probably wouldn’t add anything new now. That being said, I am absolutely not qualified in anyway to give that advice so maybe find one locally and ask them?! Just make sure they are experienced in fertility issues as some points can’t be used when there is a chance of pregnancy etc.

Good luck with your cycle!!

@Irisjj 11 eggs is a really good result! Plenty of opportunity with that for sure!! Fingers crossed for a good fertilisation rate tomorrow 🤞🏼

@Katie12444 I was a bit bloated throughout but nothing too horrendous. Was more bloated after egg collection than during the injections. My clinic said to as much as possible have the injections the same time each day but also not to panic if one day it was a bit different. X

@greentreeseverywhere I'm so sorry to hear this. IVF is a continuous roller coaster and you just can't prepare yourself for the knocks. of course you have hope in your heart and of course you started to dream, it's natural: the whole concept of IVF is hope based. I hope you have time to sit with it and can do things that make you feel good and when you are ready to be able to take the next steps. 🤞

@LF82 Thanks, that’s good to know. I’ll try to aim for a similar time each day.

Hi,
just to update everyone we got only 17 eggs so our doctor is happy for us to go ahead with a fresh transfer. I got gonasi injection after the egg retrevial and feel absolute fine today.

However, I had a call from embryologist saying that 4 eggs got fertilised and 10 are partially fertilised. She didn't go into detail, but does anyone what does partially mean? Should I assume the 10 are no good at this stage? I tried Google with no luck..

Thanks all!! Im just super anxious throughout the process because or 3 previous losses…

@ObsidianDeck thats weird, can you call them again to let them clarify? Sometimes they just want to give it a bit more time to see if they fertilised correctly? Maybe that’s what they mean?

@MrsWatson84 feeling slightly better today! Of our 11, 10 are mature and 8 fertilised 🎉 hopefully we get 2 viable out of it!!

@LF82 hey, as I’m taking the same drugs as you did, I hope you don’t mind me asking, did Gonal f make you feel a bit headachey and tired? Second jab done and I’m ready for bed by 8:15 😴

@Irisjj really good news ❤️

@Katie12444 of course I don’t! I wasn’t headachy but definitely tired throughout the treatment. I think it’s also all the adrenaline of actually starting you treatment finally kicking in too. Definitely get an early night x

@LF82 thank you! I think you’re right. So much build up to this point x