IVF/ICSI/FET May 2023

[Sj2505]

Hi, I don't think there's a thread for May, not that I could find anyway.

I've just started Norethisterone to bring on AF ready for my FET. I had my ICSI cycle in Feb but was high risk for OHSS, so after retrieving 24 eggs, this clinic decided to freeze all.
Luckily, because I ended up very unwell with OHSS for around 6 weeks and ended up in hospital for a little while!

But I've recovered and soooo ready for my embabies! We're aiming for transfer week commencing 22nd May unless AF comes earlier than planned then it might be the week before. It's likely as I'm on CD46 with all the signs of imminent AF 🤞🏼

If anyone else is cycling in May please feel free to share the journey ✨

hi @Sj2505 sorry to hear you haven’t been well. Sounds really tough going, but pleased that you are feeling better! Good luck for your FET.

Please would it be ok to join?

I’m due to start stims in around 2 weeks time for my first round of IVF. I’m in a same sex relationship and using donor sperm. I’m 33, never attempted to conceive before and as a younger person never thought I would try to conceive or be pregnant at all to be honest, it’s been an interesting psychological adjustment.

Treatment consultation where they explain the medication etc is on Tuesday next week. I’ve watched the videos and I’m trying not to feel intimidated at the thought of managing all the medication and not making any mistakes! I don’t have any “known” fertility issues shown on my first scan, but having never tested my fertility before i don’t know what to expect really. Trying to be realistic about things.

My partner and I haven’t shared what we’re doing with anyone, apart from be informing my line manager as I will have to get time off for appointments, so it almost feels very hypothetical at the moment!

Me and my husband went abroad for IVF in March and got four good grade embryos frozen. I did have over 30 eggs so had to have a freeze all cycle but unfortunately all but four ruptured.

We are due to go back for our FET next week (currently cycle day 11) but my lining is maybe too thick (15mm) so waiting to see what they say.

I hope your FET goes well!!

@Quickdraw23 welcome to the community 🤩
I'm 33 too. I have an almost 8 year old from my previous relationship, also IVF due to "unexplained infertility". My partner of 6.5 years now, had a vasectomy before we met, so hence IVF again but so far so good - OHSS aside!
It does seems very intimating in the beginning, but you'll take it in stages. When it comes to meds, if you're anxious ask the clinic to write down what to take and when - I think most do anyway, but they're usually so accommodating and helpful.
Let us know how next Tuesday goes, hopefully things will be a little clearer for you once you have more of a timeline.
If you have any questions in the meantime people on this site are always so helpful, and I am happy to help where I can ☺️

@Infertilitylife sorry to hear that many of them ruptured,

@Infertilitylife accidentally pressed post haha.
Anyway... four is still a good number to be left with. I have four embryos frozen too.
Will they let you know about your lining before you travel? Or will need to see and scan you again?
I have my fingers crossed you get the go ahead!!

Would love to join! I’m due to start my first round of IVF as soon as my next period shows up, which for me could be May or June!!

Background - I have actually fallen pregnant 3 times in the last year (only 1 year of trying) but 2/3 were ectopic and one was a chemical :( unfortunately I was treated with surgery which showed damage in both my tubes (one was removed and one was left), which means IVF is my only option.

So anxious!! no idea what to expect with ivf or how I will respond! As I’m 29 and my damage is tubal I hope well but so worried there is an undiscovered issue (I also have PCOS)

@Sj2505 We’ve been given the go ahead and will be doing our transfer on the 4th May 😊

Hopefully AF arrives soon for you so you can get started. Are you having a natural or medicated FET?

@Superstorefan123 Hello 😊 I’m so sorry to hear about your losses. This was my first experience of IVF too and it is so nerve wracking but it’s honestly not as bad as you think.

@Sj2505 thanks for the warm welcome. Yes hopefully once I have a nice reliable check list in front of me I’ll feel a bit more calm!

@Infertilitylife hope you didn’t feel too unwell after your cycle in March! good luck for your FET, really hope it goes well!

@Superstorefan123 sorry to hear about the difficulties you have had I know what you mean about wondering how you will respond to things - I’ve read so many different accounts and stories now with different outcomes. I’m hoping it means that I’m going in with my eyes open to all the possibilities, but perhaps I’ve just given myself extra things to worry about! Really hope everything goes well for you 🙂

Hi everyone! I've just started stimulating this week - we are with Reprofit in Czech Republic. On Day 3 I had a scan and the doctor saw only 4 prospective follicles that are likely to produce eggs, which surprised me because scans from the last two menstrual cycle always showed 10-12 follicles.
Has anyone had a small number of follicles in earlier stage of stim then had more of them collected?

I'm 43, this is our first IVF cycle after 6 years of no success TTC naturally. I've just found out I have elevated TPO antibodies, also had ureaplasma detected by uterine biopsy, high NK cells in peripheral blood.

How are you getting on @Caubabatko ? I’m sorry I haven’t started yet so no help in terms of experience, but I hope things are going ok! I have heard accounts of someone else getting two eggs but both making it and having a baby after. Good luck!

@Quickdraw23 thanks for asking, on day 6 scan there were 3 larger and 5 smaller follicles growing, made me feel more hopeful. I just did a guided fertility yoga session following a YT video - highly recommended during stims! This Wednesday I have another scan to determine when the EC will be... fingers crossed🙏

@Caubabatko great news! 🤞🏼for further encouraging scans!

i like yoga - i will definitely have a look on YouTube. I always feel better after, even if I’m very preoccupied.

Sorry all, I've been away on a caravan holiday over the weekend so have been nonstop!

@Superstorefan123 I'm so sorry to hear of your losses. Hopefully IVF will be just what you need. I also have PCOS so I sympathise.
Can the clinic or your GP not give you meds to bring on AF?

@Infertilitylife yaaaay! That's great news. How are you feeling? Will you have the transfer and then travel home, or have your 2ww out there?
My cycle is medicated as I very rarely ovulate on my own.

@Quickdraw23 good luck for your appointment today. Let us know how you get on ☺️

@Caubabatko your 2nd scan sounds very promising! How are you feeling on stims?

Still no AF for me, so I assume it'll just come once I stop the meds now. I only have today and tomorrow, so hopefully it'll arrive within a couple of days.

Hi can I join please?

About to start stims on Monday. Finishing Norethisterone tomorrow.
This is my second full cycle. My first was in 2020 which very luckily resulted in my son. Since then I have had two failed FETs and a miscarriage at 12 weeks.
I am on a higher dose of stims this time so I am hoping I cope with it ok! 🤞
Good luck to everyone getting started!

@FlapJackered of course, welcome.
Congratulations on your first cycle, I'm very sorry to hear the following transfers weren't successful 💔
This is also my second IVF. My first in 2014, resulted in my son born in 2015. I've been in a different relationship since 2016 and we've finally decided that we'd like a baby together (he's had a vasectomy), so here we are ☺️

Hopefully you'll do well on the higher dose!

Hi 👋

Hope you do not mind me joining in. I was hoping for a support group as I am looking to start my 1st IVF cycle soon. I'm just waiting on AF at the moment, but hopefully, I will start in the next week, got some signs it is on the way.

I am 37 and have been TTC for around a year. My AMH is 6 pmol, and OH has ok sperm results, although morphology was on the low end. Supplement wise, I am taking Pregnacare, 2000 IU vitamin D and 600mg CoQ10.

Just some background on my situation. I had a bit of a false start with my IVF cycle last month as I missed a day of stimulation (dispensing issue). On the day 5 scan, I had 4 AFC's (2 decent sizes, and the 2 others were so tiny they couldn't measure them...) They advised to abandon the cycle and start back next month as the missed dose could have affected the recruitment of follicles... was really disappointing but went with it. Whether it was a poor response to stims, I won't know for sure until a full cycle...hence the suggestion to abandon and restart due to the missed day of stims.

AF is what I am waiting for now, I am on CD34... I'm usually a 28-30 cycle, so I am wondering if the stims have messed up my cycle. Either way looks like AF is round the corner now as I have signs for it. I hope to resume my IVF cycle this week or early next week.

If anyone had any positive stories with low AMH/AFC to share, that would be really appreciated.

Thanks everyone 🙂

Hi,

I'm about to start my first cycle, but it's for egg freezing rather than immediate use. About to turn 35, with no partner, and some mental health issues that I want to resolve before attempting to be a parent.

Wondered if it's okay to join you ladies? If I'm overstepping, please say no!

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if I can join you guys! we are waiting for my period to arrive to start meds for our 2nd ICSI cycle. Our first cycle failed at the end of March with nothing left to freeze (clinic have said sperm quality was very poor - out of 13 mature eggs, only 1 made it to day 3 which we decided to transfer but it failed) so really praying 2nd time will be better!

Since first failed round husband has been on impryl and better diet so hoping that has helped a bit and clinic are doing AOA with ICSI this time too.

I wouldn’t wish this journey on anyone but it’s so nice to read all these forums and know we aren’t alone.

Hi @Sunflower360 so sorry to hear of your medication troubles last cycle 😖 what a total pain for you. Hoping for a smoother run of things for you this month!

hi @ManchesterGirl2 and welcome!

@Jcl22 hi there, sounds like a really difficult last cycle for you, very sorry to hear it. Hope very much that the changes made mean this month has a better outcome for you both 🤞🏼

I had my treatment consultation today with the nurse at my clinic which went fine. I’m due to start next week on bemfola and now of course am worrying about the medication not arriving on time, or arriving at the house when I’m not in. I’m sure they let you know when it’s due to be delivered, what with it being so time sensitive 😳

I don’t know how others are feeling but I just find that unless I am working or rock climbing every spare thought I have is taken up with IVF.

I’m a little apprehensive about injecting for the first time. I feel as if it’s like having to jump into a very cold swimming pool - anxiety provoking when your anticipating but not say bad once you just go for it.

Wondering if I need to stock up on easy meals for bloated and tired days, as I live alone. And get ahead on the housework and gardening?

Anyone got any experience of how much they were able to do, physically, during the process?

Rock climbing sounds fun @Quickdraw23 !

Hope everything arrives okay for you.

@Sj2505 I’m really nervous, I’ve never had a transfer so it’s the not knowing what to expect that worries me. I’ll be flying home a few hours after transfer so will have the 2WW at home and will be back to work on Tuesday so hopefully that keeps me mind off it! I hope AF shows up soon for you so you can get started again.

@Quickdraw23 I overthink everything but honestly as soon as you’ve done your first injection, it’s a relief and the others really aren’t that bad then. I do agree though that IVF seems to take over everything. Good luck for the start of your medication.

I do really think in general try not to worry about the number of follicles you have etc as I had a lot of follicles and thought that would mean I’d have a lot of eggs collected but I only ended up with four. Whereas other people I’ve spoken to have a low number of follicles but have managed to collect a lot more eggs.

Hi! I'm six stabby days into my first IVF round. Had our check in scan this morning and have 30 follicles (🙄🤦🏻‍♀️ PCO) so I'm staring down the barrel of a sodding freeze all cycle, as if I need more waiting around 😫 Turns out my body can't even do IVF right.

I have one son (2.5) conceived miraculously before I was due to start IVF in 2020. We hoped trying for number two would be easier but no such luck. I had two MMCs in eight months last year so we've turned back to IVF to fast track (not that that worked as we started this process in January) as we're 36.

Wishing everyone the best of luck! I will likely leave this thread after egg collection as I'll have nothing else to talk about. We go on holiday at the start of June so I wouldn't be able to do a frozen transfer then which leaves me waiting until bloody July 😭

Thanks @Quickdraw23 yep was very frustrating starting and stopping but hopefully will be better this time round- got all my meds ready to go 🙂 Good luck everyone!

@ManchesterGirl2 I got ahead with household stuff like cleaning but that is mainly because I'm a bit of clean freak and didn't want to think about it during the IVF cycle 😅

@FlapJackered what dose are you going on? When I start mine will be 300 IU which I understand is high