IVF Scotland - thread 5

[itsmschanandlerbong]

Hello, made a new thread for us Scots going through IVF, thread 5. Hoping this is the best thread yet for dreams coming true ❤️

Hope everyone doesn’t mind me joining your chat again 😊 I think it was the previous thread I had joined in but I’m hopefully be starting my 2nd cycle of ICSI in Ninewells this month 😁 anyone else starting soon?

cant wait to give it all a go although super nervous for after transfer!

Had 1st stims scan this morning and only 1 follicle that they really seemed to count. Anyone else had this?

Hi everyone. I’ve not been on here for the past month. In March we did our 2nd IVF cycle and got 2 good embryos and we transferred one. Which resulted in my first ever pregnancy!. Everything seemed to going well, had good hcg levels and had various symptoms. However, I was super cautious about getting too excited until our first early scan today at GCRM. Unfortunately, we had no fetal heartbeat at 8weeks. Words cannot describe how awful this feels. We are absolutely heartbroken.

As it’s a silent mc I need to talk to the NHS tomorrow about next steps if nature doesn’t take it’s course. I’m fortunate that I can take some time off work and my boss is being very supportive.

We do have another frozen embryo but honestly we won’t be using it for a while until we are ready. It’s also not the best time as we are about to get married…

I’ve not been keeping up with all the posts recently, as I’ve been off the internet. Hope everyone is okay xxx

@Kitty12345678 so sorry to hear about your loss 😥 it’s the most horrible thing when you have this little bit of hope which is just taken away from you so quickly. This journey can be so difficult cause it’s so much effort to get to that stage and just devastating when you still don’t get a good outcome.

My first cycle last year resulted in a biochemical for my fresh transfer and a miscarriage at 6.5 weeks for the frozen. I’m absolutely dreading when it comes to after the transfer for this months cycle 😳

Look after yourself and congrats on your marriage xxx

@IVFlife im not sure I ever got told how many follicles I had at baseline scan 🤔 usually wasn’t until day 5/7 that they counted, maybe they just didn’t say though! Suppose it does only need one, so maybe they wouldn’t even let you start if they thought there was a chance?

@Kitty12345678 So sorry to hear your news. It's a really horrible experience, we were nearly 7 weeks with ours. Thinking of you. x

@IVFlife On all 3 of my cycles with my own eggs I only ever had one follicle at first scan (day 5) but I have low amh and wasn't expecting many. 2 cycles did result in a grade A blast.

Has anyone had this before? I've been told they don't know if it is a follicle or a cyst? It's 19mm. I feel so anxious waiting for blood results.

(2nd stim scan)

Just back from the Princess royal maternity. They scanned me and told me I have to wait another week before they can scan/intervene. It’s such a horrible feeling, as I just want it over with now so I can move on. It was the hardest place to go, as it was full of very happy pregnant women.

@Ellenn Sorry to hear you had a bio and mc at 6weeks. That sounds awful. Really hoping your transfer and everything goes well for you this month 🤞🏻

@Kamiros yeah its horrible and really sucks. I’m sorry to hear your mc was at 7weeks. We really thought that by being at 8weeks that we had past the scariest 6weeks stage but no 😞. I’m so sorry to hear about your transfer in early April. I’m really annoyed that GCRM treated you so badly and didn’t even give you call. I’m wishing you the best of luck for the next stage of your treatment.

@IVFlife I would try not to get too worried after your first scan, as with my first cycle I had one crazy fast follicle that was off the chart that they just ignore. Other tiny ones popped up on the second scan and I stimmed to the 5th scan and got 9eggs. Sadly only one fertilised and that’s when we realised that ICIS was the right treatment. Hope everything goes okay on your next scan 🤞🏻

@Kitty12345678 I'm so sorry this is dragging out for you, its hard enough without all that. Thanks- had my latest appointment today and I'm now very firmly in the unexplained box. They have a few more suggestions to try but we may have to consider that this won't happen for us.

@Ellenn welcome 👋

@Kitty12345678 I'm so sorry, our first cycle ended in a chemical and it really fucking sucks. Take as much time out as you need to heal
. I'm so sorry it's dragging on for you 😢😢

@IVFlife I had a cyst at my first scan but was able to continue on. Hopefully you can too.

@Kamiros I'm so sorry you have no answers. I hope whatever they suggest makes a difference.

@itsmschanandlerbong Thank you. They're going to inject plasma from my blood into the womb lining which is actually fascinating. Worth a shot anyway.

Our cycle is cancelled. No follicles growing. Bloods lower today than Monday. Just a cyst that had been mistaken as a follicle

@IVFlife I'm so sorry 😢😢 was this your first cycle? They should be able to tweak your medication for next time to get a better response.

Thank you. It was probably our only cycle with own eggs. It was a "give it absolutely everything and max dose" cycle as a sort of closure option. We had hope would at least get to EC and have that shot of an embryo being created.

VVV low amh. I think realistically donor eggs is the way now. But even though we knew that it hasn't made it any easier. We still had that flicker of hope and the fact my body has done sweet FA is really hard to take but a clear sign.

Obviously a miracle could happen and fall naturally but I do think we need to listen to the drs now at the 2 clinics we have been to. Will wait for review but I absolutely don't see any other option.

Once have grieved the loss of genetics will pick ourselves up.

@IVFlife so sorry to hear your update x

was wondering if anyone had a cycle recently if they still complete covid swab before egg collection? In my cycle last summer I had one but wasn’t sure if this is still the case?

@IVFlife Im so sorry this has happened to you. I was really hoping for you. Do what feels right for you next. ED is a lot to consider, I know we are thinking about it if we have another Mc or failed cycle. Please take care xx

@Ellenn I didn’t get asked for it at GCRM in November or March. Nor has my consultation letter from the GRI. I do need to give cervical swabs for GRI. We will be postponing our treatment with GRI for while anyway because of the pending mc.

@Kamiros Its horrible being in the unexplained box. We are sort of similar we know fertilisation seems to be an issue but they can’t find out why. The plasma injection sounds promising, it’s worth giving that a shot. It’s good they are trying lots of options.

Hi all,

I hope it's ok to post this on here.
I'm just wondering if anybody is under Aberdeen fertility centre and has any idea how long the wait is from IVF referral to actually starting a cycle?

Almost 18 months ttc #1 and have been told we'll be referred for ICSI in September if not conceived by then. I really just want to get on with it now and just hoping it's not a humongous wait 🤞 x

Hi ar91,

From what I can tell it's a 4 month wait. That's what we've been told at ARI. We're on the list and waiting. It's so frustrating having to wait. Hipe all goes well for you.

@Wilbem thank you so much for replying.
So frustrating all the waiting between appointments. And the initial time ttc naturally in addition.
My husband has low morphology which I know the clinic says is not a great indicator but definitely feels like that could be having an impact.

I hope you get your call soon and wish you smooth and successful treatment 🙂

hey all sorry to post again but looks like we have been referred to Monklands. Anyone been here? Also just had a heated conversation with my husband where he’s refusing to try Impryl or Proxeed as ‘there’s no studies to show they make a difference’ I could cry with frustration. I will be devastated if we’re advised to try these and he’s wasted god knows how long being completely defiant.

@IVFlife take all the time you need to come to terms with whatever your next step will be. Have you tried the counselling offered at the clinic? Could be worth using that too to think through your options. I believe there is a UK DE Facebook group which you may also find helpful.

@Sabrinafive hi 👋 we went through Monklands at the end of 2019. None of the consultants have recommended Impryl or proxeed. In terms of the male side of things, what they have said is to take a general male health multi vitamin, avoid hot baths, tight underwear, limit alcohol use, stop smoking and don't drink any protein shakes. That being said, DH is trying out Impryl to see if it makes a difference. When we mentioned it during our consultation is that fertility medicine is a hot topic, lots of money to be made, the jury is still out on if they make a notable difference.

@itsmschanandlerbong thank you SO much for this reply, I feel like all I see is ‘impryl that and proxeed that’ so this makes me feel so much better. Would you mind sharing a little more about your experience with Monklands ie process and wait times if you remember and have the time to? My husbands GP has referred us so I’m really in the dark with what’s going on due to GDPR etc. I’m not even sure what we are to expect as all my husband did was call his GP and he (we) were referred with no questions or other tests etc. thanks

@Sabrinafive yeah no bother, it was pre covid so waiting times will probably be a bit longer now but it only took around 3 months from GP referral to be seen at Monklands. We had both went to our GP separately who had done some blood tests. I'm not sure what they done for my husband, but they done a full blood count on me and a blood test on day 3 of my cycle and then day 21 which I'm guessing was to check my hormones.

Our first appointment at Monklands was with a nurse for a transvaginal scan of my womb / ovaries for me, further blood tests to check my AMH levels and my husband handed in a sperm sample for analysis. During my ultrasound they found a large ovarian cyst that wouldn't have been effecting my fertility but did need removed before any treatment, so I needed that operation first. During the operation they also done a lap and dye to check my tubes weren't blocked.

During the initial tests, they did find my husband had a very low sperm count which was causing our infertility. His sperm analysis was repeated and same results were found. He then had an ultrasound and some genetic and hormonal blood tests to try and find out the cause of his low count, but no cause was found. At this point, around 2 months after the initial appointment, we met with the consultant who spoke us through all of our results and then referred us to Glasgow Royal Infirmary for IVF ICSI treatment as Monklands only offer IUI, which I believe is only successful in cases where the reasons for infertility is unexplained. There is a Facebook group specifically for IVF / ICSI in Glasgow and there seems to be around an 8 month waiting list at the moment from referral. I can't help with that side of it because we're going private.

If you have any more questions I'm happy to help

@Kitty12345678 @Ellenn @itsmschanandlerbong Thanks so much for kind words. I still regularly see the counsellor I had at the previous clinic I was at (pay privately for these now have left the clinic) we have 3 sessions we can use with the other counsellor at new clinic. I'm going to let me partner use them if he wants but if he doesn't then I will. I will take all the counselling I can get. (I work in that field and very much find it helpful)

I find the idea of DE so hugely overwhelming as I really don't understand how finding a donor works. I understand biologically the process. And I have worked through some of the feeling around DE ivf with my counsellor as it isn't a complete surprise this has happened. But I just find the idea of how it all works complicated and overwhelming. I need a clinic to babystep us through it.

Anyone have any good DE books/blogs to follow?

How is everyone doing? Hope you have all had some restful time over the BH weekend.

@Kitty12345678 so sorry to hear this and hope you are doing as well as you can be. It’s just a horrible time.
we had similar with our first transfer tho it was an anembryonic pregnancy so basically sac formed but no embryo. We had first scan at 7 weeks then had to wait a week for another which is horrible. EPU were quick to see us after that tho and we went for a surgical MVA which was fine. Well it was horrible but went ok. We took a break after and went on holiday just to clear head of everything IVF which helped a bit.

our consults did stress to us tho that it wasn’t anything we did or didn’t do, just that nature is cruel and these things happen. But also to take the positive that it did implant and we did get pregnant ad it was a positive prognostic indicator for future cycles.

he also offered counselling which I thought at the time I didn’t need. However since then, and during this cycle/pregnancy, I really wish I had to help me process it all better.

hope everything goes ok for you and just remember to look after yourself!!

@LT103 Hi thank you for your message. I’m really sorry to hear you went through this too. I’m surprised to find out how common mc is 😞But you are right we do see this as a positive indicator that I can host a pregnancy just that this time we have been unlucky for some unknown reason. Just hope it doesn’t happen again to us. I have a therapist that I’m talking to at the moment and it does really help to talk about it. I’ve been quite lucky, as I have really supportive friends, family, partner and manager, which has made this all much easier to process.

Just back from the Princess Royal maternity hospital after being there today for 10Hours, as we took the medical option rather than surgery. It was difficult day and I’m glad it’s all over now. Also found out I’m RH negative and a negative blood type. They had to give me an injection in my leg, as they said if I get pregnant again it could be a problem if the baby was an RH positive blood group. So I’m glad I was in the hospital to mc. My partner thinks he is a positive, so is checking that. Anyone else ever had this?

Just spending the next couple of days working from home. We are getting married in 2weeks, so this whole thing has put quite a downer on us but we at least have something nice to look forward too. Thanks everyone for your support xx🤍