IVF sibling round support

[itsmschanandlerbong]

Just wondered if there would be any interest in setting up a support thread for those of us thinking about a sibling round. This could very much be a 'me' issue but I feel a bit awkward sometimes posting in other threads, it's a bit like being stuck between being very lucky and fortunate having had a successful round, but also struggling with the challenges of having to go through it all over again. I've found it difficult to know my place in this community now.

So yeah, is anyone else trying or thinking about trying for their sibling round yet? Ill post a comment with our story.

@Olivia199 your last line... exactly that ❤
Thanks for the feedback about September babies. I hadn't thought of that extra year of term time holidays, and we live away from our (different) home countries, so that would be pretty valuable to us!

Hi all please may I join? We are ttc a sibling. Our DD was born in 2021 after a successful first round of ICSI. We were also able to freeze and embryo. We had our FET in May 2023 which need in BFN. We then had a fresh ICSI round in July which resulted in no embryos to transfer. We are really disheartened and not sure where to go from here.

@beachbum85 I haven't really thought too much about timings. I think if you can conceive naturally it generally happens fairly quickly whereas for IVF we can plan a cycle for a certain month but if it doesn't work then it could potentially be at least a few months until we can fit in another. So I've just went with the timings I've been given (dependant on clinic waiting times).
Thank you, I should be starting in around 1 week!

@Purtyburty I'm so sorry to hear that, it must have been devastating 😢😢 were they able to identify a problem? How many eggs did you collect? Do you have male or female factor?

@itsmschanandlerbong we have male factor plus I only retrieved 4 eggs this time so don't have high numbers.

@Purtyburty did they re do you AMH test etc? Could need a higher dose of stims. I need 300 units of stims despite having an ANH of 12

@itsmschanandlerbong I guess you should have started/be starting so very best of luck with this cycle... I have everything crossed for you that it will be smooth and successful 💛

@Purtyburty welcome, but very sorry you you find yourself here.. that sounds really tough! At what point in your fresh round did you have a drop off? Our first round, we had a huge dropoff after Day 3 and I read that it's likely to be a sperm issue, so maybe looking at the timing might come up with some hints on where the problem might lie.

Obviously I had gotten way ahead of myself thinking about FET timing and so on... I had my ultrasound appointment on Monday and now got an email about a follow-up with the doctor at the end of the month. Initially they had said the nurse would call with a treatment plan if all was clear, so I'm pretty sure they've found something that needs addressing first and I'm starting to worry like mad. It sounds dramatic I know, but I can't stop thinking that something is seriously wrong with my uterus and I'll never be able to get pregnant again 😓3 weeks to wait and try be rational...

@beachbum85 try not to worry. Could be nothing just they don’t have availability so are pushing your timings out or a cyst that could go away itself in a cycle! Hopefully you find out soon. I hate the waiting for results. It drives me crazy!!

@Purtyburty I’ve had a round with no embryos and then successful rounds after that. Have you had your DH sperm dna fragmentation tested? Had either of you had covid before the round?

@itsmschanandlerbong good luck if you’ve gotten sorted!

I’m waiting on my results still. Have had repeat SA, DNA frag, AMH, immunes and Emma/Alice biopsy done but no results. Had a SIS which went well. Showed I’ve the same number of follicles as I did two years ago on my last round so hoping this means my fertility hasn’t gone down much if we need to do another fresh round and my c-section scar and lining etc look completely fine which is a big worry gone.

@beachbum85 thank you. We had drop off really early. So of three mature eggs, one fertilised and it stopped growing at day 3. Have been prescribed DHEA for the next round. Have you heard more about your ultrasound?

@Dochas12111 thank you for that info. We haven't had sperm tested for dna fragmentation but we are using Zymot for the next round which might help. fingers crossed for your results. They didn't redo my AMH.

@Purtyburty have you had your testosterone tested to see if you need DHEA at all? If it goes too high it can destroy egg quality. If your testosterone is low you need 3 months of DHEA plus monthly blood tests to monitor and you could probably do a good dietary and supplement plan alongside to improve egg quality.

How was your AFC compared to your first round - if your AMH/AFC has dropped your fertility and egg quality could also be impacted.

@Dochas12111 no testosterone test at all. Same amount of follicles in 2020 as 2023. But in 2020 I collected 8 eggs whereas this time only 4.

@Purtyburty i would be asking why they’ve put you on DHEA and asking for a testosterone test. DHEA is medication not a supplement and if your testosterone is already high you could have a worst outcome from another round.

thats good your AFC is the same. How old are you if you don’t mind me asking? Sometimes they put older women on DHEA without proper exploration.

@Dochas12111 I am 38. My AFC is 5/6 and my AMH in 2020 was 8.2 but not been retested. Thank you for your knowledge.

@Purtyburty my stats are very similar to you and I’ve had similar rounds so hopefully it’s a one off and next round will be better. I am not against DHEA and I took it but my testosterone was properly monitored to ensure levels didn’t go too high so I would insist on that.

Another thing that got me my best responses (I’ve done 6 rounds of IVF) was introducing letrozole alongside Stims so that’s something you could ask about too. And a diet of good quality foods and good supplements.

@Dochas12111 this is all incredibly helpful and hopeful! I felt distraught when we had no embryos after our first successful round in 2020. it was a big shock. Please let me know how your results are when they come in.

Thanks @Dochas12111 , your message made me feel better! I wish we could just get results through an app right away, without having to wait for the doctor, but I'll try not to catastrophise in the meantime.

I’m so, so glad your uterus, scar and follicles look good... I can imagine the relief... and I hope the remaining results will be equally positive! And hopefully you get them soon.

@Purtyburty I don't think I'll hear anything more till my appointment at the end of the month, unfortunately. I'm sorry, I have no advice for early drop-off, as our issues were always after Day 3, but I'm glad you have some things to look into and hopefully you will understand more for a more successful round - I remember that feeling of not knowing where to turn next very well, and it's super hard.

I hope everyone else is well and enjoying the warm weather! Happy Friday ☀

@beachbum85 thank you, day 2 of stims. Feeling a bit bloated and emotional but that's probably because it's actually happening 😬😬
I know it's easy to say but please try not to worry. It could have been an error, I would have thought it was standard to meet with a consultant prior to treatment. Why don't you phone and ask? Will hopefully put your mind at ease.

@Dochas12111 what is a SIS? Sounds positive though!

Day 2 of stims. Baseline scan went well. Is AFC the number of follicles they count at baseline? They counted 10 on each side, so would this mean my AFC was 20? I actually have a print out of my medical notes from previous two rounds and it's around the same as round 1, but much higher than round 2. Round 1 I had an egg quality issue so switched to Gonal-F which made much more of a difference in egg maturity. So I'm hoping still being on Gonal-F but having more folicles at baseline will mean a better response 🤞🏻🤞🏻
@Purtyburty the cycle 1 we had a high drop off, 8 retrieved with only 2 mature and the switch in medication really helped with this.

@itsmschanandlerbong best of luck! Keep us posted. I totally get the mixed emotions.

SIS is a saline intrauterine scan - to check my scar ovaries lining etc all looking ok! Sometimes there are pockets of fluid post section that can disrupt embryos.

@Dochas12111 aaah your clinic sounds very thorough, that's great!

Thank you, I will do 🤞🏻🤞🏻

@itsmschanandlerbong how is everything going? I hope you're having a good cycle and feeling well. Have everything crossed for you xxx

@Dochas12111 have you received the rest of your results? I hope they were fine!

I hope everyone else is well 😊

Thank you! I had egg collection on Monday. 10 eggs but only 4 fertilised normally. They were all developing normally at day 3 though so I'm hoping for a 5 day transfer tomorrow 🤞🏻🤞🏻 we always have a big drop off which is annoying but I was pleased with 10 eggs collected since one ovary doesn't respond.

Ohhhh super exciting @itsmschanandlerbong ! I always find the drop off very hard to accept, but starting off with 10 eggs from one ovary is definitely very good! 💪🏼 I hope you got to transfer and it went smoothly 🤞🏼🤞🏼 xxx

hey everyone!

@itsmschanandlerbong I've been thinking of you and hope all is going well xxx

I thought I'd come back and update since your messages had helped calm me down, and you were right... nothing to worry about just standard procedure to meet the consultant before an FET. Such a relief! We've been given the go ahead for a natural cycle (because I had preeclampsia last time round) although I've been told there are many, many reasons for which it could be cancelled, and then we'd move to a medicated cycle. So waiting to be contacted by the finance department, fill the consent forms, etc etc and, realistically and hopefully, I think we'll try early next year.

How is everyone else doing? @Olivia199 I hope you've recovered smoothly and are feeling as well as you can considering everything. @Dochas12111 did you get your results? I hope they were fine. @Purtyburty have you come up with an idea of what to do next? I hope you're feeling less disheartened.

Hi @beachbum85 glad it was all ok. The waiting is torturous. Great you can get moving now and nothing to worry about.

my results came back and interestingly my microbiome has resorted to exactly how it was pre treatment - so I have 0% good bacteria and bad bacteria of strep and staph which was exactly what I had last time. So I took antibiotics and a lot of probiotics and it cleared up and good bacteria was 75% before transfer. So will follow the same approach. I don’t know if I said it here but I also had a scan and all looks fine internally re my c section scar.

Unfortunately, when I went for a GP health check before starting prep for transfer one of my bloods came back abnormal so GP said no transfer until we figure out what is wrong. So I’m having repeat bloods next week. My anxiety is massive as I’m worried now this is something serious just as we got our baby something is going to happen to me. 😭😭 it’s torture. So no transfer plans for us yet but really hoping my health is ok.

does anyone else ever get anxiety like this? It took us so long to have our first and she’s so perfect I feel like something is going to go horribly wrong and now this blood has come back bad I’m in bits worrying that I’m going to die 😢

@itsmschanandlerbong how are you getting on? Did you do a transfer?

@Dochas12111 really sorry to hear about your abnormal bloods... I have everything crossed that it turns out to be nothing serious at all. Good luck next week and please keep us posted.

I get anxiety and catastrophise too, and I never used to before our son was born. Not the same situation at all, but I travel for work and long-haul flights have become quite stressful as I start imagining the worst, and thinking we had such a short time together because it took us so long to have him. Madness, I know, but I have read that these sort of thoughts are normal for mums... I'm sorry you're going through this, and I'm sending you a massive hug.

That's frustrating about your microbiome, but I'm glad you know what you have to do based on last time. Sounds like it was a great idea to run all the tests!

@Dochas12111 I'm so sorry to hear this but please try not to worry until you know what you're dealing with, did they say what was off? Sorry this has delayed your transfer too, nothing is ever easy with this, is it?

@beachbum85 that's great you have plans to get started! Are you hoping to start next cycle?

Thanks for asking 😊 we got one viable embryo but unfortunately none to freeze. We transferred a day 5 5AA embryo and today was OTD and I tested positive. I spiralled into a pit of anxiety today because my tests are not as dark as they were with my boy, I'm so worried I'm having a chemical again, but tonight's test looked darker. I have not been able to get a hold of a FRER anywhere and so have been using Boots tests, but I read on a forum someone else saying they found them quite unreliable so I picked up a couple of clear blue tests today. I know they're not the best either but I'm hoping for a darker line tomorrow morning 🤞🤞