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 mine was at 45 before my last transfer. It was lower the first time round and they put me on lubion which I sadly had an allergic reaction to.

Awww thanks @Imisscoffee2021 - I hope you and little Reuben are good and settled in to Scotland now!

Thanks @Spin101 - yes I've heard some awful stories about Lubion but fortunately I'm on Prontogest which wasn't too bad this morning.

@KLM25 18 weeks 🥰🥰 great to hear they’ll be keeping a close eye on you. It can be very reassuring!
I’m 33 weeks and exhausted a lot 😅 but I can’t complain! x

@seekingbabyk we are! Missed London like crazy but I passed my driving test first time last week despite being a geriatric driving miss daisy 35 Yr old first time driver 😆 so more freedom will be great as he loves being out and about, doesn't like staying home all day! X

@Spin101 33 weeks! That's flown, almost there!

in case I forget to mention this later ladies, I highly recommend regular progesterone tests after a positive pregnancy test to ensure your levels are fine and you can get top ups if they are too low! I used medichecks tests.

@Imisscoffee2021 ahh well done on passing your driving test!! Hope you’re loving motherhood!

Awww @Spin101 you're on the final leg! Not long now and you'll be able to enjoy the summer with your little one!

Wow congratulations @Imisscoffee2021 - you must feel so happy to be getting some independence and opening up more options for the two of you! Glad your little one is good too ❤️

@Honeybunie omg I was just about to ask how your consultation went and saw your message about it! Sorry my head has been all about progesterone levels!

That's amazing you have a plan which sounds really promising! Are you feeling happy with the next steps? So you start the patches for how long? Will you still have progesterone too?

@seekingbabyk don't worry! You’ve got more exciting things going on right now 😃 how’re you feeling? I so hope at least one will stick for you 🥰 I don’t think I ever had my progesterone levels checked. But then for me it’s all about the oestrogen anyway and I think I’m more than fine with the progesterone. Yes I will start taking progesterone just before transfer too to prep the lining.

we got there in the end with the consultation. The nurse rang me to discuss dates. I said my period is due tomorrow and she understood the urgency of getting meds by tomorrow. Keep in mind the clinic is a 4h round trip so I asked to pick them up today but the pharmacy is closed today 🙇‍♀️ and I couldn’t get off work yesterday. So I managed to send OH yesterday morning to be there at 9 and back to drop the car off for a service at 11 bless him. So we got the patches and we’re ready to go yay 🥳 as soon as I start bleeding I put one patch on and then replace it every other day.

@Spin101 lovely to hear from you 😊 OMG 33 weeks already?? I didn’t realise you’re nearly there! Omg shocker haha that’s amazing. I didn’t realise how time had flown 😃 thanks for the info on what you took! I might just replicate that! I never heard of this juice or tea. What are they good for?
Interesting you had oestrogen patches and tablets. I will start with patches only. And then we will have more scans than usual. Usually they only do a day 10/11 scan and then transfer. But they’ll scan me more often this time to check the lining on the patches and if I need more they’ll give me tablets along the way. So that’ll be very interesting so see how I’m getting on on the patches in the first place and whether I’ll need more. Knowing me I probably will 😂 so yeah it does feel nice that they gonna monitor me a lot more closely this time. As soon as period starts I’ll ring in and they’ll call me back with scan dates 😊 nice that it fits in with work and just before Easter now so I’m very pleased about that.

@KLM25 wow 18 weeks! That’s amazing. What a dream. Glad you’re feeling better 😊 I guess now is the nice stage before you start getting big right 🤭 aw nice that they’re keeping a close eye on you x

@Honeybunie yes I feel ok to be honest. A bit tired, stomach cramps, headaches, etc but all manageable. Oh wow a 4 hour round trip is a lot! I'm glad you've managed to do it this month and that they're monitoring you more closely. Got everything crossed for you! ❤️

@seekingbabyk 🥰

@Honeybunie time really has flown! Thinking about it she mentioned tart cherry juice as a melatonin substitute in it starts with an egg and I think that’s for egg quality. The same might apply for raspberry leaf tea. So you can ignore me, sorry! I don’t recall reading to for an FET. Is that what you’re having next?

remind me what your lining gets to again as I haven’t heard of patches alone to thicken the lining. Glad to hear they will check more regularly and add the pills. Definitely advocate for yourself and ask them what the benefits and risks are of each option xx

@Spin101 thanks for double checking for me 😊 yes I’m having a short medicated FET now. My period started bang on this morning! 😅 good job it all worked out with getting the meds in time. So put my first patch on. Where did you stick yours? The nurse said to OH to put it on my arm. The package from the pharmacy says stick it anywhere below the waist 🤷‍♀️ so I just stuck it on my thigh now 😅 I’m sure that should be fine. Rang the clinic to let them know period started so they’ll ring me with scan dates tomorrow. Curious to see how many scans it’ll be.
I think at the day 10/11 scans I always had less than 7mm and they ideally want 8 and at least 7 at that stage. Last time I had between 6.5 and 6.8mm. Very curious how this approach will work out xx
@seekingbabyk glad you’re feeling okay. And I hope those side effects have gotten a bit better. Thanks! Even if it doesn’t work I’m glad we can do it now and then start over again in the summer. Funny tho I can’t believe the cycle has started already today. My minds been elsewhere the last few weeks so it’s a bit weird to be in the middle of it again all of a sudden. And so soon after my consultant on Thursday. But all positive of course 😊

@Spin101 I assume the patches are okay in the shower? X

@Honeybunie i did my thighs every time ! Not sure why they say arms are ok when the leaflet says otherwise. My nurses said the same! And they’re perfectly fine in the shower. If you notice them starting to peel off I would add another but keep tabs on which ones you added on which day. I kind of self medicated with that approach 🙈

I hope your lining gets nice and thick for your embaby to implant. i know I’m an edge case but my lining was 4.2mm. I didn’t think it would work in a million years. If your lining is trilaminar, don’t let them talk you out of a transfer. Get them to really explain things to you xx

@Honeybunie yes but I think that's better isn't it to just get on with it. I hate the bit where you are waiting around for CD1 - at least you can just get going! Keeping everything crossed for you. I'm on a FET feb forum on here too and lots of chat about linings might be worth a look

@Spin101 it's so frustrating isn't it that you have to fight so much just to know what it all means. It feels like it's their job to explain everything and your options but so many cases of women having to advocate for themselves. Maybe the nurses and doctors just get bored of keep explaining it all!

@Spin101 ah thanks so much for the advice! That’s super reassuring. I’m glad I had the same idea with the thighs 😅 it was super confusing. I guess it’ll get into the blood stream wherever you put it anyway won’t it. But closer to the ovaries just seems to make sense! They are a bit itchy for me. I just scratched it accidentally 🤦‍♀️ I got the highest dose patches and need to change it every other day so hope it’ll stay on well. I remember you getting pregnant with the thinnest lining it’s just incredible. My lining had always been trilaminar, I think that’s why we always went ahead with the transfers. Just weird nothing ever happened after four attempts now. I guess our embryos aren’t great either but the doc said any embryo that gets frozen and is strong enough to survive the thaw has the potential to make it. I found that reassuring xx
@seekingbabyk yeah you’re right I didn’t have to wait for cd1 this time 😅 that’s a positive. When is your test date? Do you think you’ll be testing early?

@Honeybunie test date is Monday 26th. That's 12dpt. I think I'll probably test Friday to be honest at 9dpt. I feel like I would know then and might make a difference to how my weekend goes. Also if it's a BFN will give us a couple of days to process x

@seekingbabyk yes my OTD is always 10dpt and I have tested on day 9 before too. I'm sure it'll tell you already. Good plan. And fingers crossed for a weekend of celebration x

@seekingbabyk i agree! I always went in with a list of questions on my phone and didn’t leave until they were all answered 🙈thinking of you ahead of OTD ❤️

@Honeybunie you just reminded me that mine got really itchy at one point! Make sure you pick a new spot for the new one. I always did the same area and would come back to the same spot after a few changes. I really hope this is the cycle for you. I have everything crossed for you ❤️

@Spin101 thank you 🥰 yes I was thinking I better alternate where I put the patches. Luckily the itchiness has faded already. I so hope the dose will be enough. I had my phone call re dates today. And to my surprise there won’t be any scans earlier than usual! She said there isn’t much to see any earlier anyway. So it’s exactly what we’ve done before. A day 10-12 scan. Maybe a couple days longer on oestrogen if it turns out to be too thin again. Weird. I’m sure the consultant said I’d have more scans! But whatever. It’ll just be the same again and we’ll go ahead again and that’ll be it. Tbh I’m looking forward to starting all over again if this doesn’t work. We’ll go private and can choose a consultant who we’ll keep who I can then ask and interrogate. I know who to choose already. He’s super nice and funny. I was also thinking it might be worth testing my endo microbiome and implantation window. We’d have enough time to do these test and then start again in the summer after the my friend’s wedding 😊
anyway so next week we’ll have a scan on Thursday 29th. The transfer is pencilled in for Wednesday 6th March.
@seekingbabyk how’re you doing? How’s the wait?

@Spin101 @Honeybunie awww thanks. I'm doing ok just have a really bad headache last couple of days but the bloating is calming down a bit. Also was so tired yesterday. I think it's just the progesterone though. It's so weird knowing that this these next few days will map out the next year or so of our lives.

Are you excited to get going again @Honeybunie ?

Do you know what you're having @Spin101 ?

@seekingbabyk only two more sleeps eekkk I'm excited for you. crossing everything I have🍀yeah you're right.. transfering the last embryo(s)... fingers crossed it will the end of our IVF journeys and the start of a new life with baby!
Yeah I think I'm excited, as there is always I chance and it could work, but I'm also not getting my hopes up. that's why I'm already making plans for after, to keep my mind busy with next steps if it doesn't work. I have little trust that it will work tbh. Little trust in the embryos we created and in my lining. but happy to be going ahead and doing something again. it alwyas makes you feel that at least you're trying. funny though with the patches I don't have to think about it too much in the day. with the tablets i had to take them 3 times a day as a constant reminder. now i stick a patch on every other day. kinda makes you forget you're in the middle of a cycle, which i guess is a nice thing. takes your mind of things.
Did anyone have a day 3 embryo transferred before? I was just thinking about it - do they need to defrost them a day before the transfer or so? just thinking that surely it might need another day or so to develop into a 4 or 5..? it would also be handy to know the day before if it survived the thaw, not just in the morning of the transfer xx

@Honeybunie yes you always have to have a plan b don't you! God I wish I only had patches! At the moment I am taking 5 supplement pills a day, 4 estrogen, two pessaries and a jab every 3 days! It's a LOT! I'm keeping everything crossed for you too my lovely 🍀

@seekingbabyk best of luck 🍀 for tomorrow 🤞🤞🤞 thinking of you 💞

@Honeybunie thank you. I have a feeling it hasn't worked. Feel very pre menstrual right now. Just going to play it by ear in the morning as OTD isn't until Monday so might even wait until the weekend to test but we'll see how brave I'm feeling! How are you feeling on the patches?