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! :)

Thanks @seekingbabyk and @MinBins :) all good with anomaly scan, slightly nerve wracking as she lingered over his heart (which is the size of a 5p piece apparently at this stage :) but all good, he was moving about and could feel him sometimes myself, can feel what i now know is his feet at my bellybutton as hes head down atm, even as I speak!

Ah that's great news! Oh look at him how adorable! So glad everything went okay 💕💖 @Imisscoffee2021

@Imisscoffee2021 🥰🥰🥰 It’s so lovely to see this. Really glad to hear everything looked good! It’s amazing you can feel him now!

@Imisscoffee2021 aww that’s an amazing scan picture. Glad everything went well.

thanks everyone! Scan went well. Everything looked fine. The baby was so active and moving about so much! They’ve taken my bloods as well and hopefully I’ll get the results soon. They’ve said no news is good news for the first few days 🤞.

Forgot to say - when she did the measurements, on the screen it showed 13 weeks. However she said she won’t change the due date and would go with what the ivf clinic gave me, which puts me at 12 weeks exactly today. How strange? Thought the point of the dating scan was to get a due date and thought they’d change the date depending on what they find, rather than my 7 week scan at the ivf clinic.

Thats fantastic news @Tinkerbell098 ! My fella measures ahead each time by 2 to 4 days but they never change the due date, i think a week here or there is something they catch up with later on usually. So so happy your bubs is healthy and moving about in there :)

@MinBins @Spin101 thank you ladies! Maybe I can stop with the private scans now i have a bit of movement to reassure me 😅

Wow that scan photo is amazing. I’m so pleased for you both @Imisscoffee2021 and @Tinkerbell098

I have all my surgery tomorrow. (All because there seems to be a lot that’s going to be done while I’m under!) Thankfully(?) still plodding through my work to-do list and will be for quite a while tonight so that’s keeping my brain busy.

Every now and then though I have a ‘oh bloody hell’ moment!

@Tinkerbell098 that’s great news! 🥰🥰

@Decaffe I hope the surgery goes well and you get some answers! I hope you’ve booked some sick leave to recover!

Great news ladies @Tinkerbell098 and @Imisscoffee2021 and what a beautiful scan picture too!

Awww @Decaffe I hope everything goes ok tomorrow for you and you get the outcome you want!x

@Decaffe wishing you all the very best for tomorrow, hope this is the start of good things for you and more answers! Xx

Lovely scan news@Imisscoffee2021 @Tinkerbell098 So pleased for you both. It’s so reassuring to reach these milestones especially when you start to feel some movement too ❤️

Hope all goes well today @Decaffe I had a laparoscopy last August to have a hydrosalpinx removed. Great that you can have all 3 things done all at the same time, and maybe I’m a bit of a wimp but I would always prefer to be sedated for these things, so that’s another good thing! Get them all done at once 😊

@1stcycle Great news about the lines getting darker and the CB test, all sounds very promising 👍

We had our online consultation with our treating doctor in Prague yesterday and sadly came away feeling quite demoralised 😏 She put the fear of god in me about transferring two embryos after my c section. I can’t find any evidence for it online so I can’t help but feel there’s something wrong with my particular scar and this is why we’ve had all those failed transfers. There were a few other things and we just came away feeling this next transfer is doomed to failure again - I know it’s so negative to think that way 🤦‍♀️

The other issue is the progesterone pessaries - I’ve been lying down for 20-30 minutes afterwards and doing them at the same time each day, but at 6am and 9pm as my little boy is more likely to be asleep at those times if my OH is at work (he works 12hr shifts). Despite previous advice to the contrary, she said it would be better if I spaced it out 12 hours apart. We couldn’t come up with a consistent solution to that. Anyway I felt a bit brighter last night as had a brainwave, maybe I could use them rectally? Sorry TMI 🥴 I don’t think you have to lie down if you do it that way? It makes me feel a bit weird but if it makes a difference I’ll try anything 😂

Anyway, she’s speaking to a more senior colleague regarding the double transfer but tbh I don’t know whether I want to do it now, after everything she said about the scar maybe rupturing. I’ve also asked about the pessaries so will see what they come back with. I’m 4 days into the protocol now so it’s about 10
days before starting them. Sorry to be so negative, I’m finding it all very stressful right now, and beating myself up about feeling stressed as I know that’s not helpful 🤦‍♀️😂 x

Ps @ralno2 I’m sorry to hear about your UTI. Not sure if this helps but I had one (maybe two?) in the first trimester with my son. I was completely unaware of it - it just came back from one of the urine samples you give to the midwife. They put me on antibiotics but I seem to remember there was some delay in starting them (I think I had to make a GP appt to get them prescribed) and I was worried about it, but everything was ok and the midwives and GP didn’t seem concerned at all x

Thanks all! We ended up telling family and close friends yesterday, so our little secret is now out. Was so overwhelmed by all the messages and phone calls we had last night. It felt like this is actually REAL!!!

@Decaffe thinking of you today! Hope the surgery goes smoothly and you can get some answers X

@KLM25 I'm sorry you're having a rough time. I would be inclined to go with their advice, otherwise you may end up second guessing everything. But good that they are speaking to a senior colleague for a second opinion. Regarding pessaries, my clinic said, if I can't stick to 12, 10 or 14 hours apart is also ok. Having said that, there were days where I couldn't stick to that either and I only could lie down for about 5-10 mins. Loads of people have it rectally, so that can be an option if it means you can stick to a schedule. All the best with this cycle, stay positive X

@Tinkerbell098 @Imisscoffee2021 glad your scans went well! And I bet it’s so nice to be able to celebrate it with your friends and family now @Tinkerbell098

@Decaffe good luck with your surgery today! Hope all goes well and recovery is quick!

@KLM25 sorry your feeling a bit deflated, with the pessaries I was on utrogestan 3 times a day but because shortage I’ve had to have cyclogest and I started doing them rectally today.

For me I started bleeding quite a bit again yesterday still thin and not enough to fill a pad but red again and slightly more than Sunday and stronger cramps. I stupidly took a test yest PM after hardly any hold because I was worried because started bleeding again and also the cramps and it was slightly fainter but still dark. So I once again thought I was out, but also kept telling myself that the pee might not have been concentrated enough as it was less than a hour hold. I had cramps through the first part of the night then then this morning it went back brown again and the tests were even darker this morning with my easy at home being the darkest it’s been yet. I was due to change to cyclogest on Thursday so I have just switched to them a few days early to do them rectally to see if it’s the pessaries that are causing me to bleed. Just hate this constant worry, but I’m trying to tell myself that the tests have gone darker since the bleeding so hopefully everything is all ok with the baby and the bleeding is just something else and if it is the pessaries hopefully by changing to rectally it should stop 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Also with utrogestan I was on 200mg 3 times a day but now I have Cyclogest 400mg. So I asked the nurse at the clinic if I have to take 2 not 3 a day as the doses are different. But she said carry on taking 3 a day. I’ve googled and most dosage is 2 400mg a day. Did anyone else take 3? Can you take too much?

@1stcycle
You could ask for a scan to rule out something like a subchorionic hematoma, they seem to be quite common! Hopefully just the pessaries and hormones x

@KLM25
Sounds like you're getting great consultant advice, such a weight on your mind though! I found rectal pessaries tidier but such a weird moment in life to be doing that!

@Tinkerbell098 so lovely the secret is out! X

@Imisscoffee2021 what did your clinic advise regarding the pessaries? Did they want you to stop at 12 weeks? I'm a bit nervous to go cold turkey now, I know you continued taking them for a bit longer. How long did you end up taking them for? I've got extras I can use X

@1stcycle I was on 400 mg twice a day. But I was also on Lubion once a day until I was 8 weeks. I don't think you can have too much progesterone. You could get them to check your levels if you're unsure?

@Tinkerbell098 @1stcycle @1stcycle Thanks so much for the pep talk and good advice ❤️
It’s so funny how clinics differ with their advice isn’t it.. My coordinator has got back to me to say they only advise rectally in rare cases if there has been bleeding or irritation, plus she says that I shouldn’t need to lie down afterwards if they are inserted deeply enough. I’ve got a bit of a combo of some 100mg ball-shaped ones and some 400mg bullet shaped ones. I’m on 400mg twice a day along with a Lubion injection. They’ve said it’s fine to use both so maybe I’ll use the bullet ones if I can’t lie down as I’d feel more confident they’d stay in position 😏
She also said my doctor is speaking to the head doctor for advice (ironically it turns out she’s the one who did the double transfer which resulted in our son ❤️) so will see what she says. Like you say @Tinkerbell098 even if they say they’ll do it, I think the worry would be overwhelming now. Will see what happens.

@1stcycle I feel for you, I know how worrying these early days can be. It sounds extremely positive though, that the tests are still dark. Could you book a private beta HcG if it would put your mind at rest? Or maybe the GP might do one? Being with a clinic abroad I’ve had a few of them through the GP and more recently I’ve been to a clinic in Birmingham where the results come back the next day. That was when I had to confirm a BFN and felt a bit shady asking the GP 🤦‍♀️ But it sounds as if everything is fine with your tests, so probably no need x

Ah so glad it all went well @Tinkerbell098 - that's lovely to hear. It must have been wonderful telling family and friends - second trimester now yay! I was told by clinic to stop at 12 weeks 5 days but they only gave me enough for 12 weeks 😅

@Imisscoffee2021 yes the movements will be super reassuring (and totes cute!)

@Decaffe thinking of you today - you've got this. Spend all the time on your rest and I hope recovery is real swift.

@KLM25 ah I hope you're okay. With the advice given by the clinic I suppose they also try to think of the risk and reducing it for their own perspective and for your safety. However there may be an alternative opinion and maybe the senior colleague would be able to offer an alternative view. With the pessaries I take a different one three times a day - and have to wait 8 hours between them.

@1stcycle oh I hope you're okay! For me, I did regular tests and I noticed with the non FRER ones, sometimes they'd be light and other times dark. And then I'd spend ages just wondering why on the lighter days and stressing myself out. I appreciate it must be extra worrying with the spotting and bleeding, however it may just be irritation from the pessaries. Keeping everything crossed for you! When is your next scan? X

@Tinkerbell098 @KLM25 yeah I think I’m going to see how I fair today from switching to rectally and then if bleeding still continues then I’ll ask for a blood test.

@MinBins I know we drive ourself crazy with tests analysing them and spend so much on them. I said last week I’d stop once getting the 2-3weeks which we got yest, but from this bleeding I’ve wanted to carry on to just check if it’s getting fainter and a chemical as that’s what happend last time. But beings the bleeding started a few days ago and tests have gone darker ever day since it gives me hope. My scan isn’t until 21st March which I’ll be 7weeks 4 days then feels like ages away!

Safe to say my infertility is no longer unexplained. I have “deep infiltrating” endometriosis and my ovary and other pelvic bits are tethered to my bowel. My pouch of Douglas area is “obliterated” with it. I have some tricky decisions ahead but for now I’m pumped up on morphine and enjoying some tea and toast. Thanks for all your well wishes xxx

Oh @Decaffe I hope you're okay. You've been given an update that's a lot to take in and digest. Hope you're able to get rest over the next days and together with the medical teams think of best steps forward. 💖

Enjoy the toast for now and properly rest and recover, sending hugs.

Thanks @MinBins ❤️

So here’s the toss up:

Do I go for the removal surgery which would need a gynae surgeon but also a colo-rectal one. Massive op and not without its risks (he said three months’ recovery, possibility of a bag etc) but it will remove the endo AND unglue all my organs which presumably would help the fertility.

But then on other hand… before the op you get put in a medical menopause for 3-6 months to calm the endo down…. So we’re missing out on 3-6 months of TTC naturally on what is likely what is my very last sliver of fertility?? And OMG ladies 3-6 months of rage and mood swings 🤣

But then postponing the surgery and TTC naturally and going ahead and transferring the embryos… we already know this isn’t working (and now we probably know why) so why would it work naturally all of a sudden?

My hospital team and IVF team are going to chat to each other following hospital MDT and together we’ll come up with a plan. Surgeon said it is my decision. It’s a lot for DH and I to think about but not today.

Today is for going home and catching up on love island. If only I can go for a wee!!

@Decaffe I hope you’re ok too, that’s a lot to think about. I hope it’s of some comfort to know that they’ve identified the problem and there’s a way to fix it. Very positive too that the hospital team and your IVF team can get their heads together and work out the best way forward.
Very wise to leave it for another day. Tea, toast, bed and Love Island sound like the perfect prescription for today ❤️ Sending a big hug x