IVF warriors - the journey continues 2

[Imisscoffee2021]

@Decaffe
@seekingbabyk
@MinBins
@acaciabluebell
@MammyandAva
@Spin101
@1stcycle
@KLM25
@ralno2
@acaciabluebell@Tinkerbell098

Another thread needed ladies! Please tag if I've forgotten someone! :)

@seekingbabyk ah it’s the multivitamin from the book?! That’s why it sounded so good. Sorry to hear you’re not feeling too well with all the supplements. I never felt any different when I started and stopped all the pills luckily and surprisingly. It is a hell of a lot. Not taking anything at the moment which is quite nice. But starting my high dose vitamin e today when they arrive and get back on the folic acid 😊 I hope all the pills will help you loads with your third round 🤞we have two frozen now. Not the best grades as I said before, but since they’re doing all these additional tests now I feel more reassured that they believe they should have a chance to implant so I’m feeling much better about them 😊 how many did you have again from your first round?
how’s the renovations coming?

@seekingbabyk Thank you, yes I think you’re absolutely right. I think it’s a combo of the previous guy leaving and some people being on holiday, but I’ve had a couple of emails from someone at Institut Marques called Alice now, and she seems really helpful and efficient 🤞😊 She’s said that we could theoretically start with my Sept period and has organised another Skype call with our doctor for Aug 30th so I feel quite happy about that. Hope your body’s getting used to the tablets and you’re feeling a bit better.

@Honeybunie Your French holiday sounds fabulous ❤️ I remember going to Antibes when I was 20 and on my year abroad from Uni. I’ve not been since then apart from a quick work trip to Nice, but would love to go back. And what great news about your consultation, it sounds like things are really moving forward. I think that’s really positive that they’re doing so many tests to check everything out.

@Spin101 Very exciting that you’ve got your appointment date from the hospital! I was advised to take baby aspirin in my pregnancy, that was after my booking in appt. I took it until a few weeks before my c section as I think you have to stop it before then. It was nothing to do with the IVF clinic, I think it was just the general midwife advice because I was over 40.

My new doctor at the Spanish clinic mentioned aspirin could be included in my next protocol but then Mr Lower said something about not taking it until after a positive test. So I looked into it and saw there was a bit of controversy over taking it before transfer as it might hinder implantation 🤷‍♀️ So I’m just hoping the two doctors don’t disagree on the timing of it because then I really won’t know what to do 😂

We’re just waiting for one last little bit of info so Chris can complete the consent forms online for transporting the frozen sperm. I’m so impatient about it, they only need to tell us the date it was frozen. I’ve got a vague idea but they’ve kept saying it needs to be accurate so I don’t want to get it wrong! I’m hoping we’ll find out early this week and then everything can be signed off and they can transport everything by early Sept. You know what it’s like - you’re expecting something to go wrong at every stage so I’ll feel a lot more relaxed when I know that the embryos and sperm have arrived safely in Barcelona!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend x

Hey @KLM25 glad you had a few more emails from the clinic. Sounds like it’s moving along nicely now. Great to have a good contact there! And great they gave you an estimated start date too 😊
sounds confusing about the aspirin. I do hope the doctors can agree on a treatment for you. Don’t think it should be you that has to decide on your medication 😅 hopefully they’re on the same wavelength anyway.
Ahh completely understand you’re being impatient about getting that info and not feeling 100% relaxed until they’ve arrived there save and sound. Hope they get back to you this week! Sure it’ll all be fine 😊
yeah it feels very positive with all the further tests. Will be ringing them tomorrow to arrange an appointment. I quite like having tests done. Always quite curious to see if my body is doing what it should 😅

@Honeybunie we have two frozen too also not great grades but just really want to get any retrievals done first so we have that bit over with and can focus on transfers after. I'm thinking by time we have a baby (fingers crossed) and a year off, I don't want to them be thinking about retrievals again over 40 really. Especially as embryo quality isn't great so it's only likely to get worse as I get older.

That's exciting for both of you @Honeybunie and @KLM25 to be starting transfer meds etc soon!

How are you @Decaffe ? Have you got a date for your op yet?x

Hi @Honeybunie, yes it’s been a relief but I still feel like everyone is in August holiday mode, or am I just too impatient, I’m not sure which it is 😂
We finally got the date of freezing ystdy so Chris could complete the consent forms last night, I’m hoping that’s the final price of the jigsaw. The guy at the shippers in Prague copied me in on his emails to our new clinic ystdy so I think he’s getting impatient too! I suppose he’s done quite a bit of work and we don’t pay him until we get a confirmed date for the transport.

In other news, my period which was due on Saturday still hasn’t started so I’m trying not to stress about that. I suppose the biopsy cycle might have thrown it off, but it obviously means I’ve got no idea when my Sept period might start. I’ve got a feeling there will be some delays but I suppose if it has to be October then it’s not the end of the world.

Yes you’re right about the aspirin ☺️ Now we’ve been talking to a few different doctors, I’ve realised how much they can disagree on this stuff! The Greek clinic were not keen on me taking Clexane and Prednisolone as they said I hadn’t been tested for those issues to show that I needed it, however the doctors in London and Barcelona are not of the same opinion, our London doctor said he would throw the kitchen sink at it as I’ve not got many years remaining! Plus my one successful FET included both of those meds. I kind of like that approach, but who knows if that’s the best thing or not 🤦‍♀️😂 There is something to be said for the blissful ignorance of my first attempt!

Hope you’ve managed to make your appt. I know just what you mean about liking the tests - I’m the same! I feel quite excited when I get the results. Will they do them all at the same time do you think? Hope you don’t have to wait too long. I’ve got a feeling I might not get much info until we have this appt with our new doctor on the 30th. It might mean there’s not much time to get blood tests through the GP, so I’m unsure whether to just ask for them anyway, I’ll have a think about it. Any money we can save will be very welcome, although I know the ones they can do will be limited.

Thank you @seekingbabyk That sounds like a very sensible plan for you to bank some embryos, if that’s the correct term. I’ve read about a lot of people doing that recently. Plus that’s great that you’ve got two frozen, the more I read about grades, the more I think that it’s just a very rough guide, you hear about so many so called lower grade embryos implanting ❤️ x

@Honeybunie Thank you ❤️ It was nice to register with the midwife and get an appointment letter through the following day online. Yes, I started naturelo as she recommends it in the book. The pills are huge! I’m glad you have a plan and are having more tests done. I took high dose vitamin E too and if you can, take 400-800mcg of folate rather than folic acid.

@KLM25 thank you for the guidance on aspirin. My booking appt is soon so I will ask the midwife about aspirin too. I’ve read about not taking aspirin until you have a positive pregnancy test too so I would definitely ask about the risks if they want you to take it before you test. If you can just ask your GP in advance for tests, hopefully you can get the bloods done nearer the time you need the results and if not then you’ll know you will need to pay privately for them. Not sure what bloods you need to get done, but I have used medichecks recently and done a few finger prick tests. The tests are more affordable than prices at clinics but they might not cover everything you need.

Just catching up on messages!

@Spin101 I was advised to take the soluble 75mg aspiring tablets till week 36 and it was due to age and previous BP history. I think the midwife will let you know if it's needed, they told me to take them during my first couple of visits.

@seekingbabyk ahh we had our first house (a doer upper) fall through a week before exchange it was my totes dream house. This one is lovely too - just want the snags to all be fixed but we're close now! Just bits of plastering left. Good luck for your next round - and hope the changes all help. Fingers crossed!

@Honeybunie I know - was a bit annoyed about the snags but the builders are coming and fixing them which is a relief! It was difficult when we moved here - the midwife once made a home visit and asked me for a urine sample. Problem was, the doors had all been taken off due to new flooring and builders in the house and I was like - er.. could everyone go into the other room while I pee...😅😅 it must be reassuring to hear about the further tests, I feel the more knowledge we have the more we can prep. Fingers crossed for you 🤞🏼🤞🏼

@seekingbabyk yeah your logic makes total sense. If we have to buy a 3rd and 4th round, maybe we'll do the same - egg collections first, then transfers. Fingers crossed we'll get there one way or another.

@KLM25 glad you got the missing piece of information and the embryo/sperm transfer can go ahead now! Oh typical that your period doesn't start, when you want it. Has it started by now? hopefully it'll only be a matter of a few days delay. well with all the test I'm doing first now, I might be starting mid-September now too, so looks like we might be quite close together :)
God yes, I could definitley replicate the meds you took when you were successful, that's just a no-brainer isn't it! I know what you mean about the blissful ingorance of the first round.. we know far too much these days haha. hehe yeah I also like getting my results back, so exciting hehe. maybe it's becauce I hardly ever had bad news, i guess if you had bad news at some point, you'd think differently.. do you know which tests you need if you go ask your GP? yeah I'm also quite happy they're doing all these tests on me now while we're still on NHS funding.

so yeah i managed to make my appointment on Monday. Took me ages to get through to them, but I got there.. I could have had my blood tests on Tuesday haha, but we live just under 2h away from my clinic, so I ask to combine the blood tests and the 3D scan, so now we have an appt for next Monday. The sonographer is off sick atm, so hopefully s/he will be back! they've provisionally booked me in for it. if not we'll have to go again. oh well.

@Spin101 ah that's so nice. When is your first appointment with the widwife? are the pills that huge? and three of them? sounds like quite the task lol. Oh good to know you were on high dose vit E too! yes I've started back on the folate 400, will probs up it to 800 again in prep for the transfer. and take a mulitvitamine, not taking it until I've had my blood tests as they'll test for vit D, so don't want to supplement lol.

@MinBins hahaha what a nightmare, but funny story to tell haha. ask the midwife to stand guard on the bathroom door lol. yes feeling very happy about the test. can't wait to see where this is going now :)

I need to catch up but in haste - huge congratulations @Spin101!! ❤️

My op is tomorrow @seekingbabyk! I have so much work to finish off today so I’d better get back to it, but I will be back! 💕

@Decaffe thank you so much ❤️ I hope your op goes well tomorrow and recovery is smooth! Keep us posted and let us know how you’re doing.

@MinBins That’s helpful to know, thank you. I will ask the midwife next week. I hope everything goes smoothly with the purchase. 😂About having to ask everyone to leave so you can pee

@Honeybunie It’s next weekend so not too long to go. Maybe they’re not that huge but they have an odd smell and I can smell more now than I used to be able to, so I need to hold the container away from my nose when I open it 😅I hope you can get both appts on the same day as that’s a long time to have to travel. I’ve been taking normal vit d pills - she mentions in the book soft gel capsules and oil based drops are more easily absorbed. Let us know how you get on on Monday x

@MinBins that really made me laugh about the sample! The nightmare that is renovating lol!

@Decaffe - hope everything goes well today and your recovery is good. We'll all be thinking of you x

All the best and speedy recovery @Decaffe ❤

@Spin101 thank you I hope so too, will keep you posted :) yes I still have the Vit D drops with K2, from when we were on supplements before, which I got after reading the book. Still got a whole cupboard full of stuff haha, so if I need to be going on anything again, I'm well prepared 😅ah not long until your appt :) hope you're keeping well and enjoying your early pregnany 🤗x

@Honeybunie 😆 I have all sorts of supplements in one of my drawers. Some are from me forgetting to cancel Amazon subscribe and save deliveries 😩 aww thank you. It’s nerve wracking - I’m trying to stay positive x

@MinBins @Imisscoffee2021 not sure I’ve asked if you were on a medicated cycle? If you were, when did you stop Progynova?

Just catching up with the thread, I’m bound to miss someone so apologies if so!

@Spin101 No worries at all, thanks for the recommendation on the Medichecks blood tests, I’ve heard of quite a few people using them, I’ll have to have a look. I had a blood test to check my thyroid in January and it was fine, and will still be in date (within the last year) but I’m wondering whether to ask to have another one. I’ve felt absolutely shattered and drained the last 4/5 days despite having a fairly good nights sleep each night. I’m not sure if it’s period related as AF finally started on Sunday a week late and it’s been quite heavy (sorry tmi). I think they’ve asked for Vitamin D too and a few more like HIV etc. I’m not completely sure I’ll need them unless it’s a new donor cycle but maybe better to be on the safe side to avoid any more delays!
Hope you’re feeling ok, every day’s another milestone, I know how nerve wracking it is. I took Progynova until 12 weeks, like the progesterone.

@Honeybunie I think you had your appt yesterday? My head feels so fuzzy at the moment, I may have got that wrong! Hope it all went well and you feel like things are progressing. I spoke too soon about the transportation of the embryos and sperm 😏 They’re still asking for more paperwork, it’s so frustrating. I feel like I’m constantly checking emails and chasing them up, but it’s ultimately in their hands I suppose. I don’t think it helps that various people are on holiday, apparently now the embryologist who needs to fill in the forms about the frozen sperm is away ☺️ I think it’s the sperm that’s holding things up but we don’t want to pay twice to have to transport that separately. I think everything was in place for the embryos.
On a brighter note, I had my routine smear and it came back as normal so I’ve been able to send that result over to them. Plus as I said, my period finally came. With a vengeance 😂🤦‍♀️ Because it was a week late I’m just unsure when the next one will come, I don’t feel like I can rely on any regularity, especially having taken so much medication this year.
I’ve got that online appt with the Spanish clinic next week so hopefully things will be clearer and we’ll be good to go next month, or if not, in October. I feel like we’re in even more of a limbo atm, but nothing happens, nothing happens and then everything happens in this game, doesn’t it, so I’m trying to cling on to that!

@Decaffe Hope your op went really well and you have a speedy recovery x

Hi everyone!

I have taken a break from this thread since I had the miscarriage in March. Hope everyone is good! I’m trying to catch up but there’s a lot to read back on.

Needed a brain break from IVF since the MC but im back and ready to go again. We have 1 frozen embryo and hoping to get started again in September with a FET.

Has anyone any information on FET and the difference (time and meds wise) from a fresh transfer.

Thank you 😊 🙏🏼

@ralno2 i was thinking about you and @1stcycle recently hoping you are both doing well.

Glad to hear you’re ready to start again.

If you have regular cycles, you might be able to do a natural FET without the need for the extra meds.

Otherwise a medicated one, taking Progynova for 2 weeks from the day of bleed before a scan to determine when you would be ready for transfer. You would start progesterone 5/6 days before the transfer.

there is also something called mild stimulation which works better for some people. Your clinic will be able to advise you on this

@Spin101 Hi thanks for checking in! Sorry I’ve been quiet last few months, it ended up being a bit of traumatic time after so I’ve been off the boards for a while. Hope you are all doing well…I imagine I’ve missed a lot!

Long story short, after I took the medication to pass the pregnancy back in April 3 weeks later you are meant to test and if still positive have to get in contact with EPU. We were on holidays then so I didn’t actually test until 4 weeks after and I still had a faint positive, I was also still bleeding on and off and also feeling unwell. So I contacted EPU and they said wait another week, it was still positive then had to have a scan which showed still remains of the baby there and it still had a blood supply. So then they suggested I should have surgery then as medication didn’t work. So that was booked for a week later which then would be 6 weeks after taking the medication so had 6 weeks of not feeling well, bleeding and this shadow over me. I was also paranoid it would turn into sepsis. I had the D&C which ended up being a nightmare of a day being passed around, left outsider theatre for 3 hours waiting to go in then taken back up to the ward because emergencies came in. I finally went down had the procedure and luckily they let me home that night about 9pm. So since we had to wait for 3 menstruation cycles anyways before trying/another IVF cycle I’ve kind of tried to have a break and take my mind off it. We recently had more tests though “recurrent misscarage tests” and identified I’ll need to go on blood thinning injections if we get pregnant as my cardiolipin antibodies were high. We are just waiting on my husbands DNA fragmentation result to see if we should do ICSI this time and then we will decide when is best to do the next cycle, although not sure if I’m ready yet.

Sorry for the long message!

xx

Hey ladies. Nice to hear from you @ralno2 and @1stcycle Totally understand you would need some distance from all this after your experiences. Fingers crossed for the next FET and praying this one will stick @ralno2 I'll be doing an FET again soon too. I started an FET with my natural cycle last year, so without meds, but that did not work out, so went on medicated cyles with the same meds @Spin101 detailed. so will be on the same again next time.

Gosh @1stcycle I'm so sorry to hear about your drawn-out suffering after the MC. it must've been really tough on you. Hope you feel better and more yourself again these days. yes see when you feel ready. nice you had some more tests in the meantime to tweak your medication. My OH had a DNA fragmentation test and i can't remember what she said.. you know when you're in the meeting and you're trying to save all the info, but it's just too much. I might ask again next time, if i remember. anyway take your time and start whenever you feel ready to go again ❤

@KLM25 sorry for my late reply!! busy with work again and sailing over the bank holiday weekend :) we did indeed have your tests last week Monday. we managed to do the 3D scan yay. Everything is in order and as it should be. So that's good news. OH was allowed in too. He could see the screen and everything, whereas I could not laying down. I thought wow he's seen all of my uterus now in 3D and I haven't! He knows me inside out now 😝😅blood for the 4 tests was taken too. I acutally called today to see if the results are all in and ask to schedule my next follow up consultion, where we discuss the results. So I'm waiting for a call back now to make an appointment. again she said 4-6 weeks waiting time for these... so I will probably not be able to start in two weeks with my next period. So looking more likely to start mid September now fingers crossed. bit annoyed they did not say last week let's schedule this consultation now as they know their waiting times are so long atm and the blood test results will defo be back by then. but there we go.. looks like we'll only manage one FET before Christmas now. it is what it is.
You've got your appointment tomorrow haven't you? bet you can't wait! let us know how it goes. how's the transport coming along? be great if you can get started next month too :)

@Spin101 you've had your midwife appointment havent' you? how did that go?? 😃

god i had a wobble again yesterday. you know when you learn of other people getting pregnant or having had a baby and it just upsets you every time and there is nothing you can do. I saw one lady in work who i really dont like (haha) just had a baby. and then one couple we're friends with said at a christmas party that they're starting to try for a baby after christmas, on their 1st wedding anniversity in july they announced she was pregnant and now I saw on insta she already has a huge bump. it's just all so picture perfect and planned to perfection. and here we are three years later, it just feels so unfair. you know I'm super happy for them, they're a great couple and i love them. but it just reminds you of what you havent had and it's just upsetting every time..

xx

@ralno2 - nice to have you back. I had a little break too after our last cycle didn't get us any embryos. That's great news you are looking to do another transfer next month! This is a lucky group now with quite a few positives and one baby so hopefully you'll be our next one!

@1stcycle I'm so sorry you went through all of that! It's so traumatic isn't it and I'm guessing after your trip you had probably thought fresh start on your return and then had all of that to go through. I'm glad you are back ready for your next round. We are looking to do ours mid November. Knee deep in supplements and cutting all joy from our lives (aka carbs, alcohol and caffeine) but hoping it will make a difference next round. Have you spoken to your clinic about protocols and whether they will change anything yet?

@Honeybunie awww I know it's really hard but you'll get there too. That's a long wait for blood test results. Have they told you what the plan is in terms of your next FET? Are you doing the same as last time?x

Hey @seekingbabyk yeah i think some of the blood tests had to be done somehwere else. when i rang on Wednesday, one of them still wasn't back. That was the lupus test. The nurse could not tell me the results over the phone, that'll have to be done with the consultant. And that's when she'll tell me the plan for the next FET too, also all depending on if they find anything. I don't think they will, and expect the same protocol as last time, which was 12mg oestrogen tablets to start (although they might increase that as I only reached a lining of 7mm on that dose last time), then a lubion injeciton in the morning and a pessary at night. But you never know. I have a different consultant lady to last time, and I googled her and she seems super experienced and senior. I like that and her requesting some more tests is quite a nice sign. So maybe she'll tweak my protocol a bit anyway.
I hope your sacrifices will make a big difference for you and give you loads of healthy happy embryos :) are you all settled into your new house now? Did you say you also need to have a new bathroom? These things can usually take a while can't they. do you know if they're tweaking your protocol for next time? xx

@Honeybunie you must feel really relieved to have a senior consultant looking after you. And that's good news re tests, etc. when you you think your transfer will be?

The whole house is gutted at the moment so decided to stay in our rented for another couple of months whilst we do it. We can't do bathroom until boiler is installed 11th September but will have everything ready to go in and then move in. We have done a few renos now so hubby will fit bathroom whilst I paint other rooms, etc. really can't wait to get innnow!

They are just changing our meds back to our best round. It's always just menopur from day 2 of my cycle. Started on 150, then 225 and then 300. 225 was the best result for us as we had lots of big follicles, whereas the 300 we had loads more but all small. I wanted to stay at 225 anyway I wish I had trusted my gut and just did 225 tbh lol!

I'm ok if we don't get a great result but obviously hoping we do. I just want to know that when/if we throw in the towel with the retrievals that we did everything we could. If we still have poor embryo quality it is what it is, but I want to know that's out of our control rather than because of our lifestyle. Hopefully that makes sense!

@1stcycle I’m so sorry you had to to through all that trauma. I hope you are feeling well in yourself now and it’s important you feel ready before starting again.

@Honeybunie the midwife appT was her collecting lots of info and they took a urine sample and did some bloods.

I know exactly what you mean about finding out others are expecting when you’re in your IVF journey. It’s really tough at times - I tried my best to have faith that my time will come though it was easier said than done.

I hope you get your bloods back soon and are able to start soon! x

@Honeybunie thank you! It was a long drawn out process which made it difficult to move on. I felt continuously run down, but a week after the surgery that faded away so was probably a mix of the hormones and bleeding etc. We had the DNA fragmentation results back Monday and they are fine so it’s looking more an egg quality problem or to do with my thyroid / cardiolipin antibodies.

@seekingbabyk thanks, we will probably be doing our cycle around the same time as you. We are doing the same, spending the next few months with supliments and lifestyle changes so hopefully increase the chances. Yes she did mention a few changes for this cycle, I will be on a different stims medication, I can’t remember what she said now but it wasn’t gonal f or menopur which I’ve had in previous rounds. She also said I’ll have two trigger shots as in both rounds there were a couple really close to being right size for collection so that will hopefully mature them and also said push EC to 37 hours after trigger, not sure what an hour does but if it helps amazing haha! And then I think I’ll have to go on blood thinning injections from then. So it’s good having a few different tweaks and hopefully better our chances. Are you doing anything different this time?

@Spin101 thank you, I am feeling a lot better now about it. Especially after a few tests as more explanations now why recurring misscarages and CP. as before it was “unexplained infertility” which was hard on one hand cos if you know the issue you can hopefully do things to help and change. but now have more answers it feels like it’s a me problem so I have that guilt that I’m the issue. My OH is great bless him and is always like stop blaming yourself it’s not at all, but it’s hard sometimes to get out of that mindset.