ERA EMMA ALICE testing thread 7

[VenusStarr]

Hi all. We're on our 7th thread! Really hoping for some more positive news in the coming months.

@thislittlebird bloating for me has been worse every cycle, especially on an evening, it is getting better slowly and now almost gone 8 days after ec. Drinking plenty helped and keeping fibre up as progesterone always gives me massive bloating, gas and upsets my gut. I was worried it was mild ohhs as my ovaries on transfer were huuuge....right ovary about 4 times size of uterus with a few follicles filled with fluid that were half size of my uterus too. Just keep an eye on urine output.
@VenusStarr no way! That's awful! Although if its not very big it might not have been picked up earlier as it can appear anywhere or somewhere else to previous. Like when removed it can regrow

Hi ladies, just reintroducing myself as I haven’t messaged for some time.
Hoping to start ICSI mid-end May and started to feel very nervous/apprehensive/excited/cautious.. all of it!

Currently on cycle 13 post miscarriage. Two years ttc total. Diagnosed with stage 3/4 endometriosis in Jan.

@VenusStarr i just read your message re endometrioma. I don’t know if you have private healthcare but I managed to get a scan with prof Jurkovic on Harley street and he was brilliant and thorough. Diagnosed via US, laparoscopy is no longer the gold standard so not required for diagnosis.

Thank you @ChickenT2b has you had it removed? Just confused and upset by it all. I'd got myself into a much better headspace leading up to this and now just more crap. I don't know if I can be bothered anymore.
Best wishes for your upcoming cycle.

I don't have private health care. I'm not sure what to do. The clinic have been a bit dismissive, saying they'd have told me if they thought I needed treatment 😒 but my issue is the first I've heard about it is via this letter. I was told on Tuesday she thought it was a dermoid cyst. She told me lots of detail about them, no mention of an endometrioma...! I didn't get a reply though 😕 so non the wiser. We don't have the money and I don't have the mental energy to go through surgery I don't think.
Thank you @kerrym87 @thislittlebird @clhiu @Gardenlady543 I'm just hoping the immune meds maybe can control it and maybe we'll get lucky this month. But not holding my breath.

@VenusStarr try not to stress too much over it as there isn’t really much that can be done even if it is an endometrioma (speaking from what I have personally been told so what they are saying is likely true. Obviously every case is different but I have 3 x endometriomas on my left ovary which is adhered to my pelvis. The largest was 5cm last time it was checked. My left ovary was not visible on scan because of this.
Despite this, surgery was not recommended and this may be why you felt your cyst was dismissed. Surgery is not recommended for me as despite as having stage 3/4 endo, I am asymptomatic. Also, removing the cysts could cause damage to the eggs/ovary and is not recommended due to evidence showing this does not improve outcomes. They could drain it but my doctor didn’t advise this either due to possible infection etc.
So we will go ahead with the first ICSI cycle and hope for success from the right ovary..! She said she will of course try to access the left also.

Where are you on your journey? X

@VenusStarr obviously if you do want further checks then the NHS can you refer you to general gynae to check it out. This would be a long wait hence why I went through insurance..

@Gardenlady543 I need liver function tests and HbA1C as they were last done December. I also need a TSH, free t3 and free t4 repeated as done more than 3 months ago. It’s all adding up. So scared about money.

I have just booked a last minute appointment with private gynaecologist in Plymouth who knows a lot about atopobium vaginae so I have to go. My symptoms have been getting worse today but period has lasted 5 days this month which is longer than normal now. My ph is higher so forced to use canesbalance with probiotics. I was alternating with thrush cream but as amh is so low and ph is high I really just need canesbalance and vaginal probiotics I think. I’m on metronidazole. I have been bad and had a coffee today. I’m usually decaf but since I stopped dhea I’ve been tired. I usually stop it in follicular phase as I’m afraid it might affect period.

Hoping my appointment on Monday will help. I definitely need to do transfer next month. I asked my IVF consultant if I can take estradiol and I think he’s against it. He says oestrogen will dip regardless of fsh. He has said I can stop vaginal probiotics 2 days before and restart 4-5 days after transfer so hoping that will be ok.

Have you ever heard of garlic tablets being good for atopobium vaginae? I’m thinking of taking them when I finish my metronidazole. Do you always use Flora Femme when you finish antibiotics for full 6 days with lactic acid. It sounds silly but do you use probiotic first. I have found sometimes it gets sucked up with the canesbalance and sometimes does not get absorbed but worried about ph as period as been light but much longer than normal.

Also when I had a caesarean ever since my bladder control is terrible as in I just sneeze and sometimes I wee a tiny tiny bit. It sounds awful but could this also cause infections?

Oh @ChickenT2b thank you so much ❤️ I'm so sorry you've got a recent endo diagnosis and the endometriomas but it has reassured me that maybe I am overreacting and panicking when it doesn't necessarily mean bad news. It seems to hace popped up out of nowhere as I didn't have it last October.
I will be on lots of immune meds, but just need to get pregnant first.

Thank you for taking the time to explain it.
I'm in the middle of a superovulation cycle - had a scan on Tuesday and had 2x 20mm follicles on my left ovary, but she said I had a dermoid cyst on there too. A small follicle on my right. So triggered Tuesday evening and then timed intercourse. So in my tww now. On prednisolone, hydroxychloroquine, had intralipids and on aspirin and will take cyclogest. I've also got a new drug called gcsf to take at 6dpo. So a lot of meds. This is the first cycle ttc after a bad year trying to transfer our final embryo last year. It ultimately failed and we just stopped everything for a while.
But then I got the letter today saying it was an endometrioma but no details on it and it wasn't what she'd told me at the appointment on Tuesday.
I think I'll just leave it for now based on your experience xx

@Gardenlady543 that’s great! Hoping you can start stims soon. Must be good to be back in the game!

@thislittlebird glad you’ve got a few days recovery over the weekend. Is your next embryology update on transfer day?

@2021ivfagain those tests you mentioned are about £130 in total via medichecks, or free via GP if you can get them done then. Don’t let your clinic charge you more!

@VenusStarr that chart looks great and well done for getting to this point. I am sorry to hear about the news, but also just about all the confusion being told one thing and then a letter to say something completely different, which is related to a diagnosis with significant impact on fertility ie endo. I mean I would be making a complaint here. If they’ve told you one thing and realised it is something else on review they should surely at least have phone to apologise and explain, and allow you opportunity to ask questions. I think (being in the field myself) that that is just really poor patient care with no empathy for the patient at all.
Being an endo sufferer myself, I know that most doctors do not remove endometriomas for the reason @ChickenT2b said, you risk ovarian damage and affecting your egg reserve etc. I hesitate to say this as I want you to focus on this 2WW and not stress but then I know you’ll probably worry and be googling anyway! So if you need to later on, I think the key question here is about whether you need to stick to IVF in future. We were told it’s unlikely my eggs are making it over in a fit state as endo creates a toxic environment in the pelvic so those poor eggs being released from the ovaries have to cross this fire pit to make it to the uterus, so best to go in get them and do IVF. So we never did timed intercourse or IUI and advised straight to IVF because of my diagnosis. BUT everyone is different and people do conceive naturally (we still try any month we can!) with endo so proving that it isn’t always the case. Also it’s worth asking about any suppression prior to a transfer/egg collection. I asked about Lupron but so far the opinion is it’s just delaying things with no significant benefit for me as the endo will bounce back quickly, and they really don’t want to do it before fresh for me in case it further affects my poor response to stims. However I know some centres really value Lupron suppression for endo.

But hopefully this is all a moot point and this cycle works for you. The pred will help with reducing any inflammation from endo.

@Enfys23 just had the update! All 9 are still in the running but one is a bit behind. A huge relief. I think we were down to 3 this time last cycle. Although day 3-5 was where it went to hell last time and we got a call on transfer morning to say it wasn’t great news, but we’ll be going in too early this time so won’t find out until we’re there, I’d imagine.

@Gardenlady543 I think it could be a bit of ohss. I remember it feeling the same the first cycle but I decided it wasn’t that because all the doctors told me my breathing problems must be because of sedation so I took their word for it. I googled it last night and it does say bronchospasm is a symptom. I remember my ovaries were ok size by transfer day before so hopefully they will be again this time.

@thislittlebird that’s great news. One step at a time ❤️

@Enfys23 exactly, need to keep the hopes in check because there’s still a number of hurdles for those fertilised eggs

Oh wow, that’s a big ovary. That’s interesting that you’ve had it worse too. Last night was quite rough on the belly, I slept with a hot water bottle which was nice and have been drinking loads. Had a large glass of coconut water and pineapple juice today, that’s my preference over lucozade sport. Will have some more later.

I’ve not had issues with progesterone so far, it doesn’t usually do much to me but hoping it’ll go back to being like that once my body has calmed down.

@VenusStarr if you do a transfer cycle in the future you could consider down regulation before the cycle.

@2021ivfagain TFT, LFT and hba1c is not that expensive, medichecks do loads of bundles that will include them.

Clinic called me and said I can start low dose stims today, first scan Friday and then probably the following Monday and then they would have to rush intralipids in which technically is later than they should be. They don't want to book them in until 2 scans show progression in case the cycle is cancelled again. This period is painful :(

I'm not sure if down regulation is recommended with low amh, does anyone know? @Gardenlady543 I'm not sure we'll do more ivf now. It's all a bit shit really.

Thank you @Enfys23 it's a lot to think about. I don't have any symptoms of endo either so a but of a shock. I'm just not in the right headspace for ivf now. I guess this us out final limp towards the end of this for us now.
I am not hopeful about this cycle now x

I’ve been recommended not to have the Lupron down regulation @VenusStarr because of my low AMH and poor response to stims. It’s a minefield all this isn’t it. I do wonder if anything will ever implant for me though without down reg. Maybe would need to re ask about it if I get to a frozen transfer again. But they def didn’t want to do it when I might need another stim soon (as turned out to be the case). And I can’t do batching in my CARE package.

Infertility is just shit.

But I know as hard as it is try and put this aside for now and focus on all those things to make 2WW as calm and positive as you possibly can. There’s always a chance. Hugs to you ❤️

Thank you @Enfys23 it's like being in between a rock and a hard place 😕 I'm sorry you're in a similar position.

It's been our anniversary so we've had some time out and been watching funny TV tonight, maybe the laughing will help.
Thank you for holding hope for me ❤️ xx

@VenusStarr are they even sure? It seems odd that after a huge amount of scans they have suddenly decided they think you have endo after initially telling you it was something else.

I'm not sure how because my lining was 5mm after I triggered while on my period but I'm on my period still and it's quite heavy still. Started the low dose stims last night, hopefully period ends soon.

@Gardenlady543 I'm not sure about any of it. They've not said endometriosis, just that I have an endometrioma. So I have filled in the blanks.
I feel really 'full' and periody. I'm going to follow the protocol but I do feel it's pointless because my resting heartrate is low. I missed temping yesterday as we were away for the night, but its up today higher than Friday but I started cyclogest last night. One of my cats is very clingy but I think it's the lingering hcg. I'm not testing until otd, so not testing out the trigger.

I'm sorry that your period is heavy, hope its not too painful. Glad you've got started on your protocol now x

@VenusStarr glad you could have a little time out and do something enjoyable for your anniversary ❤️

Sorry @Enfys23 it must be really frustrating that I'm not more optimistic about this x

@VenusStarr I think it’s hard to be optimistic after all the shit we have to go through, be gentle on yourself.

It was a good outcome for us, all of the embryos are still in play and at varying stages. They transferred a 5AA and are testing the other two that got to grade 4/5 today. There’s a 3BC they might freeze because they can’t test it, and 4 more still trying to hang in there. Hopefully a couple of those will get to day 6 for testing or freezing. Won’t have many left after testing but at least we had some to work with.

That's great news @thislittlebird congrats on being PUPO!

@Gardenlady543 thanks! I hate the PUPO stage because it never turns into the preggo stage lol. Well, it did once, but for about 3 days only. They said we have the best outcome they’ll see today so we really can’t complain. Hopefully all the small changes we made helped get us this far, now just need to hope to defeat the age 40 genetic testing stats 🤞

@VenusStarr it's completely understandable to be feeling negative in this situation, with the added stress from the endometrioma and what it may mean, you are allowed to be and sometimes there is no other way. I still hope for a positive outcome for you regardless of how you're feeling.

@thislittlebird pleased to hear so far you're having a more promising outcome than previously. May I ask why they would not test the 3BC blast? Is it because they need to be fully hatched for a PGT biopsy? And in that case, how are they able to test the grade 4 one? Isn't fully hatched just 5 or 6 (assisted)?

@Gardenlady543 has your period been tapering off? My last one was quite heavy and I was still bleeding a little when I started the stims, but then quickly stopped, I hope you have a similar outlook. Following your advice on how Aspirin may actually impair chances of implantation, I have decided not to take it at least up until the end of the 2WW. Because in natural pregnancies, implantation hasn't so far been my problem, I'd say if it ain't broken, don't fix it! Due to its other benefits, including the fact it may reduce the risk of miscarriage, I'll be wanting to take if I get a positive PT form then onwards and then only. Of course that's one big if.

I have my transfer date scheduled for next Friday, I ended up triggering Friday night and ovulation was confirmed yesterday. Started Cyclogest, Lubion and heparin as of this morning.

I have a question that may sound a bit silly and laughable even, but given I've never had an embryo transfer before I have genuinely been wondering about this....Given the ET is done within a liquid medium and that in my case I will even have an HCG infusion (so more liquid I assume!) 20 minutes before transfer, will the liquids be gushing out of me the first time I sit or stand upright after the procedure and most importantly what are the changes the embryo may ged dragged down and out of my body with it? I am genuinely terrified at the idea of going to the toilet for the first time in the aftermath of transfer or even just that all the fluid will come out of me with the embryo in it. Is that even a thing? Can someone please provide reassurance on this point?

@clhiu they said they’ll only test grades 4 and 5 because the 3s are unlikely to survive, but they’ll give it more time to see if it gets to grade 4 today and might test it yet.

Not sure about the chances of an embryo escaping and I don’t know what the infusion is but there’s very little liquid in a run of the mill embryo transfer. There’s a tiny bit of liquid at most when I wipe after, nothing much.