TTC no.2 after successful IVF for no.1

[Chocoholic85]

Hi,
I’m just after some advice and to see whether anyone is in the same boat!
Just found out that my 3rd FET failed.
We are very lucky to have DD who came from our first fresh transfer. We were also very fortunate to get 5 frozen embryos from that round so have been trying for a sibling. 1st FET was BFN, 2nd was a chemical pregnancy/early miscarriage and 3rd now is failed. Down to the last two and starting to feel the pressure and also wondering why on earth it isn’t working?!
We have unexplained infertility so nothing was ever found with our initial tests and I was 34 when we had out first IVF round so odds were in our favour. I read somewhere that at 34 around 50% of embryos are abnormal so I guess out our 6 maybe the last 3 were all abnormal. I’m also worried something has changed since I had to have a csection for DD. I did have an ultrasound which showed the scar had healed fine and there no niches, I’m wondering if there are adhesions that might not have been seen on the ultrasound though.
Would love to hear any advice for what to do next or from anyone else in a similar position. Thanks x

Hi everyone - been off here for a few days as we were at my parents. They put on a charity dinner thing in their village to raise money for the children's trust that set us up with free accommodation when we were in hospital with our daughter so it was a busy busy weekend, but we raised over £3000 which was awesome.

@Eggling I'm so sorry your body isn't playing ball and you had a rough weekend. It's good to just have a massive cry and let it all out. I'm afraid I can't shed any light either but I really hope things settle down and you sort out the best path ahead.

@KLM25 great that it's all coming together! We did an at-home sperm analysis for my husband which was super easy and you got the results straightaway through the app by using the little machine they sent you. It was amazing! Here's the company: https://www.exseedhealth.com/exseed-home-sperm-test/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgNanBhDUARIsAAeIcAtejKps10SrSyt0hYf8iOtLARGmTQAXfGM_eOF-EaDIu6s-14b06nIaAhKaEALw_wcB

@Chocoholic85 that is very brave of you to start getting rid of some clothes and so interesting that you work in mental health. Do you find that helps more or less when it comes to IVF? I always think a higher awareness of your emotions can only be a good thing, even if it does mean you feel all the feels which can be so draining.

@pamplemoussee I'm sure that I've read that your success rate only goes up over time. Like @Chocoholic85 said, IVF is a numbers game. I always thought that if we could afford it and be persistent that it would eventually pay off. I find it very hard to know when enough is enough though. I don't mind the injections and physical side of it as much as the emotional stress. That weighs heavy.

@SErunner must have been so lovely to hear the consultant be so positive! You have age on your side which is a massive plus.

I had my online consultation with the clinic in Brno. She had looked through all of our test results and said that although time is obviously of the essence given my age, my AMH could have been worse and the sperm results were good so they are happy for us to try another egg retrieval. I started Crinone today for ten days to bring on my period and I have the Pergoveris prescription which I'll start on day two of my bleed. Can't quite believe we're going to go through it all over again, but also having been in this stupid IVF game for so long it sort of feels like a walk in the park. I went for a private scan to check endometrial lining and it was at one of those baby scan places so there were teddies and pictures of babies everywhere. Bit of a strange experience. The assistant asked me if I knew that the scan was going to be trans-vaginal and I almost burst out laughing. I told her I had done a million and would be just fine. Lining wasn't very thick - it wasn't on the last FET either and so they're going to have to boost me full of estrogen if we ever get to transfer stage. I think it drops with age so no surprise there.

Have written a bit of an essay. Hopefully, everyone is doing ok and has some sunshine - it feels like a mini summer up here in the Lake District which boosts my mood no end.

Total side note but our almost two-year-old is going through a disastrous phase of waking at 4/5am and calling out for us and then staying awake until about 6 before going back to sleep. Husband co-slept with her in the spare room last night. No idea what to do about it. Sleep regression? Just a phase?! We're ruined haha.

@SErunner whilst it is quite hard to hear about my final embryo having lower chances I appreciate you taking time to give me some advice it will give me something to ask the consultant as no-ones ever mentioned that before though I suppose not a lot I can do either way but can ask for their honest opinion

Thanks @loulamay @Chocoholic85 I think that's almost what I thought just keep rolling the dice but I'm kind of emotionally nearly finished off with this process so this is probably the last roll

@loulamay I remember my DS going through phases like that - sorry no advice but it is tough isn't it!! I found he had various random ups and downs with sleep esp in the first 2 years and it always eventually righted itself in the end without me doing anything (we coslept)

I might take a little back step on here as not a lot be happening maybe for me treatment wise for a while - but sending lots of positive vibes to you all ! X

Ps @loulamay congrats on raising that money for a wonderful charity that's amazing !

@pamplemoussee I am sorry, I really didn't mean to be insensitive. I am trying to think where I read about it, I think it was a response on Robert Winston's Q&A page where he talked about it. My consultant seemed to think similar but not perhaps to the extent Prof Winston does. It's so hard with everyone (even experts) having different opinions isn't it. Would be good to hear what your clinic think x

@SErunner that's ok xx honestly do appreciate the info even if hard to hear. Your right you just hear different things - sometimes ive asked the Q of the clinic whether to continue bothering with the embryos they just keep saying yes they all have same chances ! I'll update you with what they say

I'd be really interested. I do also agree with the school of thought that's it's a numbers game. If you transfer enough, for most people eventually one will work. I think that is what causes a lot of confirmation bias for unproven treatments people have, and they think because they have success that cycle it was the treatment that made the difference. When in reality for a lot it's more likely it was just luck after however many previous transfers. It's all such a minefield. I've just started reading Prof Winston's the essential fertility guide. It's making me think about having a HyCoSy to check my tubes, as the clinic hasn't ever looked at this. Just scraping the barrel really in case there is anything else that could help us conceive naturally.

@loulamay congratulations on your fundraising! That's an amazing amount of money, well done. Great that you're getting going, do you mind me asking what crinone is? I've never been on that one - thinking of things to ask the drs!

@SErunner ooh that sounds interesting reading, I might take a look. I don't ovulate naturally because of my PCO so they use the pill to induce a bleed. I spoke to one of the drs yesterday and mentioned taking letrozole instead to induce ovulation to get a bleed that way, she was saying that because of DH's sperm quality we would be very very unlikely to conceive on letrozole but that's not the only reason I'm interested in it, I really don't feel good in the pill and I don't think it can be good for my body to be on and off it like this. We also need some answers about DH's sperm as last discussion I had the only issue was the motility was low but this time they were talking like it was the worst sperm ever so I'm confused. Our very first sperm analysis everything was fine except morphology, then these last few motility has been low but morphology now 4%. We're spending a fortune in proceed supplements so if they're not doing anything I'd like to stop that to save some money tbh!

@Eggling Crinone is a progesterone gel (more like a cream) that's inserted vaginally. I had some left over from my Cape Town FET so I'm on it for ten days to hopefully induce a period afterward (it was day 11 of my cycle when I spoke to them so she said it was too late to start on a pill packet). My cycles have always been irregular, and honestly, what with being pregnant, on and off the pill, and then doing two transfers over the last two years, I have zero idea of when I last tracked my cycle days. Once I start my period, I'm on Pergoveris for another ten days I believe. At my private ultrasound (which was CD13) she could only see four follicles which left me a bit depressed. Hoping the stims get my ovaries working a bit better! Age is a bugger.

@KLM25 can I ask - when you got prescriptions from your clinic in Prague, who did you use to buy them in the UK? They are sending mine through Fertility4U but they are pretty expensive and I have asked if I can get some here but some in Czechia if I go over for a scan - do you know if that's a cheaper way to do it? Also, did you always fly out for scans or pay privately in the UK?

Hi ladies, sorry for the radio silence, it was a bit of a hectic weekend! I think I’ve caught up but apologies if I miss anyone out.

@loulamay Congratulations on your fundraising - that’s wonderful and such a great cause. I’m sure it means an awful lot to be able to help a cause so close to your heart.
Thanks for the tip on the at home semen analysis - that’s really helpful, I’ve made a note of it for the future. You know how it is, I’m sure it won’t be the last time that Chris needs to do his thing ☺️
After I posted, we actually managed to make an appointment at our local hospital really quickly, for this morning 🙌 They’ve done all of the blood tests too. We had to pay as it’s the private side of their NHS fertility clinic but I’d say it was half the price of some private clinics locally. We have to wait 7-10 days for the results but I was amazed that they could offer the appt ao quickly as we only called on Fri afternoon. I think it was about £300 for the semen analysis and 5 blood tests - 2 of which were for specific Hep B and C antigens and they had to ring the lab to make sure they could do them.
I’ve got my appt at the GP’s on Thursday but in case there’s any mix up with my Hep B and C (I think I’m just having the general ones), they’ve said I can make an appt at the hospital in the same way.

Fantastic news from Brno re your own eggs👍 Great that you’ve been able to get the ball rolling so quickly too. With Prague, we tried to get as much of the medication as we could over there, there was a pharmacy right next to the clinic and it was cheaper. Although having said that, there was less of a difference more recently, but it was definitely not as expensive as here. I think Lubion was about £7 a syringe for example (I might have got that wrong - that could be how much it is here, I’m not sure 😂 £7 sticks in my head for some reason. I’ll have to look it up.
Obviously that’s not always possible is it, so otherwise we did use Fertility2u - recommended by Gennet - maybe it’s a Czech thing. They do have quite a steep delivery charge and I’m not sure how they compare to other pharmacies here. Gennet would just email them the prescription and then they had to send it back for a signature from them once I had ordered it. I have to say there were times when I had to change the delivery date as they didn’t sign on time to meet their dispatch deadline, so it did cause some stress at times.
A lot of people seem to use Asda so I might look into that for the future. It seems to depend on the branch and some don’t seem to accept foreign prescriptions. I’m a bit like you - I think there may be a cheaper way of doing things than using Fertility2u, although they were always very helpful on the phone.

We never really flew out for scans unless I had one the day before a transfer. I always used Ultrasound Direct - is that the one you went to for your recent scan?! They do have lots of teddy bears everywhere 😂 We’re fortunate that we’ve got one 10 minutes walk from where we live although I have also been to Worcester, Stoke, Leicester and Derby in the last year as they don’t always have appts on the exact days you need them. They do send the images and the summary immediately to your phone though, so that’s really good. I would then send them straightaway to Prague and would generally get an answer pretty quickly over whether a transfer would go ahead.
I’m in a quandary this time as Mr Lower in London has said he would do the lining scans in the run up to transfer but obviously that would be more expensive and more time consuming to travel. But I do value his opinion and I think he may have a better scanner from my limited knowledge of these things! UD are pretty good if they have an appt on the right day.

@SErunner hope you’ve got your bloods sorted. My GP has always put a note in to say that I need a copy of the results so I’ve just picked that up from reception.

@Eggling @pamplemoussee @Chocoholic85 hope you’re all doing ok. I’m going to send a proper message when I’ve had chance to have a read back on the thread. We went to IKEA ystdy and bought some more Kallax shelving to deal with the toy mountain so I’m determined to get organised downstairs before my little boy gets home from nursery! Xx

Thank you @KLM25 that is so so helpful! yes to Ultrasound Direct! They were fine, if a bit perfunctory. I don't love that their business model seems to be around 'reassurance' scans or the 3D scans (nothing against them per se) but it all feels like a bit of a money-making enterprise, fertility-wise. Anyway...!

Having said that, they did send the report on super fast which meant I could send it straight to Brno and so I think I will have my early scans here rather than fly out. I looked at flights and because we'll have to book fairly short notice they were more expensive than doing a scan here even taking into account petrol (our nearest is a 90 min drive sadly!).

I think we're just going to go with Fertility4U for the meds - I asked the clinic and she thought the prices were about the same. The cynic in me thinks she's been told to say that but hey-ho. Flights were so pricey that I'm not sure we would make any saving.

@Eggling totally get not wanting to waste money! The supplements really add up don't they? Ubiquinol has gone up a lot since I last took it! I'm sorry you don't ovulate naturally or have regular cycles. Can totally understand the frustration of being on hormones continuously. That's odd re your husbands sperm. What time frame we're the different tests over?

@loulamay huge congrats on your fundraising! That's amazing! And great news your results and your husbands were okay. When are you hoping to do your next fresh cycle? Re your son - we had this around 22/23 months but only for a few nights. It did seem to coincide with when the temperature dropped though and I can't imagine that's the case now! Has it settled down? Could it be teeth? I'd forgotten we still had more molars to go until she went through a biting phase again a few weeks back as well!

@KLM25 I think I will call them tomorrow and ask for a copy of the results whenever they get them. I'm interested to see them even if all is okay. So pleased you managed to get all to us tests done! It always feels good when something happens quicker than expected?! How did your organising go? It always feels good when you've got everything straight. For the two minutes before they get home at least 😂

Re meds I also often heard Asda was cheapest but I called to enquire for our last fresh round and to be honest it wasn't that different to the price quoted by stork via our clinic. No experience with services abroad though and suspect prices change a lot? I know there have been some shortages of routine IVF stuff recently but I managed to get everything I needed without any issue.

Morning everyone, hope you’re all ok.

@Chocoholic85 That’s really positive that you felt able to get rid of some of the baby clothes. Like you say, there’s no guarantee another one would be a girl anyway and people are always giving you clothes as gifts and hand me downs too, so there’s no need to keep them all. Like someone else said, very cathartic too I’m sure.

@Eggling I’m with you on the rambling emails! I’ve just sent one of those myself this morning. I hope someone called you back and was able to answer some of your questions. The problem with an overseas clinic is that they very rarely ring you unless it’s very urgent, so you find yourself checking emails incessantly. I get a little rush of endorphins when I get an Outlook notification on my phone these days 🤦‍♀️
I’m a bit clueless about the supplements as my OH hasn’t taken them since our very first cycle. We’ll have to see how this semen analysis turns out as it’s about 3 years since his last one. He said it wasn’t too stressful, they said the room was soundproof but he could hear some talking outside so he wasn’t too sure ☺️

@pamplemoussee It’s so hard isn’t it 😏My previous clinic more or less told me it was a numbers game. However my current one seem more inclined to do more testing. It’s that constant balance of more testing vs keep trying. I honestly don’t think the doctors really know either. They all seem to disagree on a lot of stuff anyway 😏 My gut instinct is to just keep trying for as long as we’re financially and emotionally able and I’m hoping it will pay off eventually.

Our embryos and sperm are being delivered next Tuesday 🙌😊 Michal is actually delivering them himself so he’s going to have a meet up with Luca! I told them I was quite jealous and I would love to meet them both too 🤦‍♀️😂 This whole process is so tough, it’s like a breath of fresh air when you’re emailing helpful patient people. I’ve become quite attached to them both ha ha.

On the other hand, I haven’t had any response after my two emails following up on our consultation last Wed with the doctor. I haven’t got a copy of my protocol so I’m getting a bit twitchy as I feel like my period could very likely come early and I just want to be prepared. As I said in my third email
this morning 🤦‍♀️ it’s not my first rodeo so I could probably figure it out but I’d feel much more confident if I had it all in writing. Do you think that’s reasonable? I feel like I’m being an awkward customer - I know I shouldn’t feel like that. The consultation was Wed, I emailed on Thursday and on Monday and I haven’t heard anything. I used to hear back from my previous coordinator within 24 hours normally and usually much quicker. Apart from not having the protocol, I need to know if I should book a baseline scan and also how they go about sending the prescriptions. I’ve got a stash of meds but I will need more.
The only email I’ve had since the appt was from the doctor on the Wed afternoon sending a blood test referral so my OH knew which ones to book.
We’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place because they were the only clinic that made it easy enough to transport our embryos. I say easy - it’s taken 4 months 😂
I’m just thinking that if the communication continues like this, then we’d have to go elsewhere if we had a fresh donor cycle.
I just want to make a vague plan you know?

@loulamay Yes I know what you mean re Ultrasound Direct! I think they’ve got a bit of a captive market if that makes sense. They are definitely good at sending the images quickly though.

@SErunner Hope you get your copy of the results sorted and they come back quickly! Have you had the tests yet, I’ve lost track. The organising went well! Like you say, we are quickly in a mess again ha ha. It’s good to be able to have somewhere to put all his books though as they were piled up and on one of those old fashioned shelving units with no ends where if he took a couple out, then the whole book collection collapsed onto the floor 🤦‍♀️ We’ve got loads to do in terms of decorating. This room needs painting, new carpet, the list goes on. But I do feel that a small change has made a bit of a difference 😊 x

Amazing news @KLM25! Although sad you don't get to meet Luca 😂 So frustrating you haven't heard from the clinic though. I don't think you're being unreasonable expecting a quicker response. They sound like they're being a bit slow.

Yes had blood tests but not done HyCoSy or dna sperm fragmentation yet. Waiting on consultant to say whether he thinks HyCoSy is worthwhile given we're TTC naturally for a while. Blood results showed my ferritin is on the low side of normal so I'll go on supplements for a short course. They also showed my WCC and neutrophils are low - no obvious reason for it so they want to do some more (different) bloods. Sort of wishing I hadn't asked now!

Supplements wise I am on high dose of vitamin D, ubiquinol and a vegan society vitamin which specifically includes those it's hard to get on a vegan diet, so not as comprehensive as a normal multi vit. I don't want to be taking stuff I don't need as I have a good (albeit vegan) diet.

Thanks @loulamay I wonder if I should ask about crinone instead of the pill. Worth knowing about anyway!

@SErunner the first two spent tests were 2019 and 2020 where motility and count were both fine but morphology was 1%. They were nhs, then all the sperm collected at our three egg collections with the current clinic (so 2020, 2022, 2023) apparently morphology is ok - most recent was 4% - but motility is terrible.

@KLM25 I hear you about feeling like an awkward customer!! I think this is going to be me at the clinic today. I think sometimes you do have to push the clinic for answers, they do this every day but it's a really big deal for us.

I don't know if anyone is in this situation but I was wondering what tips you all have for dealing with parenting whilst going through this? I'm really really struggling with this atm. When I am in a good place mentally I'm a really good mum, I can parent gently and kindly and have fun with DD. That's been a rarity this past year or so though, I'm really struggling to enjoy anything as there's this huge shadow over everything and I know I'm really letting her down. How do you all do it? I was hiding in the bedroom in tears again this morning and when I came down she was asking me if I was sad. I have a really difficult relationship with my own mum and have tried so hard to make it better for DD and I'm just worried that this is going to mess her up and ruin her life too. I'm never going to get these toddler years back and the ivf and losses and constant setbacks have just destroyed it for me.

Hi @Eggling . I really sympathise with what you've described. DD was at nursery this morning but what with her terrible sleeping pattern at the moment, handling IVF organisation and meds, both of us working and just general LIFE, it's a lot and I am exhausted and don't always feel I am as present for her as I would like. I feel bad because I am trying to answer some work emails and she is watching Cocomelon.

I think perhaps though, your relationship with your own Mum might be making you hyper-aware of what you perceive as 'ruining her life'? I don't think that's what you're doing at all. But I fully understand you wanting to try to avoid whatever hurt or upset you have gone through - I think that awareness makes you a wonderful Mum and parent and only shows that you care so much.

Are there people around you that could help at all? Any play dates or activities where she could have fun but you maybe have someone to talk to someone like a fellow Mum? I can't remember if you were seeing a therapist at all but if it was something you could afford, maybe it's worth looking at to discuss this exact thing? I talked to mine about how sad I felt when I came back from being in South Africa and it felt as though my DD preferred her Dad to me and I felt SO incredibly guilty that I had been away from her. After a month or so, it's returned to her wanting both of us, but it really affected me at the time.

I'm not sure how old your daughter is but could you explain to her that Mummy is not feeling well/feeling tired/feeling sad - and that sometimes we have days like that and it's ok but it is something you're working on?

Sending lots of love x

Was reminded of this tweet :-)

Hi Everyone

I feel like there’s so much going on and I’m losing track!

@KLM sounds like things are really moving forward, which is great, I hope it all comes together for you. I can’t imagine how stressful it is trying to organise things abroad, it’s bad enough trying to organise clinics here! The communication at mine is terrible, feels like a full time job sometimes trying to get them to do things!

@loulamay well done for raising so much money! Sounds like a lovely way to raise money for well deserved cause.
I don’t think my professional background helps that much to be honest, if anything it makes me overthink more! I do think the mental health side of things for infertility needs a lot more focus. I think clinics could do so much more.

@Eggling Sorry to hear you’ve been having a tough time with your little one. I completely agree that all this shit feels like it takes away so much attention from them. I have similar days with DD where I feel so guilty about being irritable with her and not being present enough. I also feel sad that everything feels tainted with the disappointed of not having another and knowing that I might never do this stage again. I do think it’s important for children to see us as human though and that everyone struggles sometimes - we can’t be perfect! Please don’t beat yourself about it. Lots of parents struggle for all sorts of reasons and it doesn’t necessarily have a negative impact on their children. Try to kind to yourself.

@SErunner serunner what does the sperm fragmentation test look for? It’s never been mentioned to us. I think it was you who was talking about Robert Winston? I was looking at his stuff last night and found it really interesting!

Love that tweet @loulamay!! Thank you for yo ur kind words - I think you are right that I hyper focus on things because of my issues with my mum. She is 27 months so doesn't fully understand, we try and explain everyone is sad sometimes. I'm glad your daughter is back to wanting both of you, that must have been hard. These little ones really do a number on our emotions don't they!

Thanks @Chocoholic85 it's actually really reassuring to hear that others feel like this too. It's so hard isn't it.

I actually had a much more positive appointment yesterday. It was with a dr I have only seen once or twice and he was so nice and really thorough. He did find a c section niche on my ultrasound (that everyone else has insisted didn't exist!) but as it's only tiny he said it's not clinically significant and won't make a difference. We also have a plan to do a lower oestrogen dose on my next FET cycle to try and minimise the fluid. The biggest surprise though was that the reason I haven't bled was because my ovaries are actually growing a follicle by themselves! We did a trigger shot last night to try and ensure it ovulates, we will be DTD obviously to try and catch it and I'll start progesterone pessaries Sunday night for 10 days then do a test, I'm not expected we will get pregnant like this but it would be fab to actually have an ovulating cycle and then start the FET when I get my period. Feel more hopeful than I have for a while so long may that continue! Hope you're all doing ok in the heat 🥵

@loulamay I love that meme too, thanks for sharing!

@Eggling yes I get what you mean. I've found the weeks after our unsuccessful transfers really hard as I just haven't felt cheery, and have probably been less patient. I also felt guilty this summer as I spent so much of it focused on the IVF. Worried I missed out on important moments with our daughter, especially with work on top. I agree with the others though that realistically they are so small it really won't register. I am sorry you've got this history which I'm sure does make you hyper aware.

Glad you had a more positive appt though! They feel like a rarity sometime don't they?! Great news you're ovulating! Will keep fingers crossed. Did you have all the drugs or was that a bit of a mad panic?

@Chocoholic85 nice to hear from you. Yes it was me that mentioned Robert Winston. I've read bits on his website from time to time but am just reading his book now. It's made me think I'd like to check my tubes as although I have DOR, every scan I have they tell me i'm ovulating, and yet I have never had a positive test from TTC naturally. It just makes me wonder if there is something else affecting the natural effort! That might be cheaper than IVF to sort!

The DNA fragmentation test looks at the amount of damaged DNA in the sperm. Apparently it's possible for other parameters to be normal but for the sperm to have high levels of fragmentation, which would make them less likely to produce good embryos. He said he thinks for us it's unlikely it's a problem but worth checking. The test is £400 at our clinic so again seems worth doing before another fresh cycle. If there are high levels of fragmentation they would use ICSI if we did another fresh round.

Hi everyone, hope you’re all enjoying this sunny Saturday.

@Eggling I really sympathise with your worries about parenting through IVF too. I think we probably all feel the same and all beat ourselves up too much about it. The very fact that you’re concerned about it only goes to prove what a wonderful Mum you must be.
Our little boy is getting much more active and there’s often arms and legs flailing around and kicking me in the tummy by accident. I also find it tough to carry him up the stairs now - every time I do it, I worry about how to handle all of that, post embryo transfer, never mind lifting him in and out of the cot. But then I feel guilty for worrying about that and not putting him first, if that makes sense. We’ve talked about taking the side off the cot to avoid all of the lifting but I think that might just bring a whole new set of problems, so I’m keen to keep him enclosed in there for as long as we can 😏

He’s also said a few times - ‘Mummy poorly, Mummy at doctor’s’ - after I went to the GP for the blood tests - so I’ve wanted to reassure him about that. It’s really hard when you feel like they’re picking up on things without you meaning them to.
I just try to keep reminding myself that it’s all in order to give him a brother or sister and pray that it will pay off in the long run.

I love that tweet too @loulamay - we’re having a lot of ‘Mummy vroom vroom’ at the moment which is my cue to get down on the road map playmat and pretend to be a Toot toot driver - so it really spoke to me!

I was thinking the other day - this thread is a godsend to me. I feel like you ladies are the only ones who truly understand the pressures and the stresses. I find it so therapeutic to talk to you ❤️

Great to hear about your appt with the different doctor @Eggling. That sounds so positive and fantastic news for the reason behind the unusual bleeding!! How amazing would it be if you were to get pregnant that way. And even if not, then it’s all a good start for the next FET, like you say. The doctor in London said the exact same thing about my c section niche. He said it’s too tiny to make any difference. That’s interesting about the lower dose of estrogen to minimise the fluid, I never thought of it that way but it makes complete sense. I’ll be on 6mg this time initially, rather than 8mg. It’s the same amount as my successful transfer. I’m really hoping it’ll help with my fluid problem as that’s the thing I really worry about. This new clinic seem to have a different approach to it too, so with that and your post, I feel a bit more positive too.

Thanks @Chocoholic85 Yes I feel like I’m sending a lot of emails to different people and trying to juggle them all! I heard back from the clinic on Thursday with my protocol, what a relief. My coordinator actually also called me just before that, but I was two thirds through my Couch to 5k so I didn’t answer it 🤦‍♀️ I’m glad I didn’t answer actually as it was much better to have it all in writing and I was dripping with sweat outside by the river when the phone rang, with no paperwork on me. I spent 15 minutes annoyed with myself though thinking I’d missed my chance!
We also got a call from our local hospital on Fri to say that my OH’s results are back from the semen analysis and blood tests. I was really pleased as he only had them done on Tues and they said it would be 7-10 days. Picking them up on Monday.
No period yet but still on course to start the meds when it does.
The latest challenge is how to get some more Clexane. I’ve got enough of everything else until we go to Spain for the transfer but only 10 days worth of Clexane. I’m a bit confused as they don’t seem to send electronic prescriptions like my previous clinic, so I’ve been doing a bit of Googling trying to work out the best way. There’s a clinic called Cherish which will rewrite foreign prescriptions for £35 so they might be my best bet. I don’t really want to ask my GP plus it would probably take too long to get an appt. Hopefully I’ll get it sorted out.

@SErunner I have to tell you that I’ve completed week 5 of C25K this morning 🙌☺️ I ran for 20 minutes without stopping for the first time since March last year. It did wonders for my mood! I’m not sure how much further I’ll get with it once the IVF gets going again but I feel quite a sense of achievement for the moment 😊 x

Hello
I'd love to join this thread. I feel very alone ttc #2 and feel like everyone around me is pregnant! My close friend has just got pregnant with her second after struggling (like me) to conceive her first. This time it took her a few months!
I have PCOS but since my periods have returned (14 months post partum ) they've been regular (ish) and ovulating. My partner has low sperm count. We are going on to cycle 5 of trying naturally. We can't afford ivf right now and have no Frosties from our first round.
Our lovely son is 20 months and was conceived via icsi ivf first transfer. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be his mother but I can't help but want a sibling for him.

@KLM25 good for you re C25k!! V impressed. Also great that things are progressing. I too am finding this forum such a source of support 👯

@Eggling so great to know the reason behind your bleed! So glad you are feeling a bit more positive :-)

@pamplemoussee and @Chocoholic85 hope you had nice weekends and are doing ok!

@Swirls346 welcome to the group. Totally understand the sibling desire 😘

We are still in the middle of sleep hell and so although we had an awesome weekend in the sun, we're both so tired. I wish I knew what was going on with her - just WIDE awake in the night, starts out as chatting but winds up as crying and calling out to us. I would be happy to try sleep training, which we did when she was much younger, but this is different - she understands now that we're not in there with her and seems to be very pissed off about it 😂Negotiating with an angry, upset toddler in the middle of the night feels fairly futile and I don't want to start bringing her into bed with us because a) I'm worried that we'll never get her out ever again and b) she doesn't fall asleep straight away anyway and just crawls all over us.

I worry that the lack of sleep and general stress will also affect future treatment. I am certainly not in the same shape that I was when we first started IVF. Yet another worry to add to the pile...

Ugh. Just picked up DD from nursery. One of the staff who was in the first room with her and was amazing when she was sick came over with a smile: "I've been meaning to catch you! Just wanted to let you know that I still pop into her room to say hi but as of November I won't be able to because I'm going on maternity leave :-)"

She has two already. I congratulated her in what I hope was a heartfelt fashion and then cried most of the drive home.

Bless you @loulamay. I've had that this week too. One of my team is pregnant with her third. She was very considerate sharing it with me but it's still a bit of a knife to the heart. Sorry to hear your sleep situation is a bit dire. Is she still napping? Could she be ready to drop it? I also fear bringing our toddler into our bed - never have yet for the worry she'll never leave! I'd try not to stress about the impact on the IVF, although easier said than done. I think in reality all the lifestyle measures have pretty limited effect, good or bad.

Welcome @Swirls346 👋 sorry to hear your struggles, but you'll fit right in here! We didn't have any frozen from our first round either unfortunately. Did you conceive first try with your son?

@KLM25 HUGE congrats on the C25K! What an achievement! What's next?! I've really hit my stride with running again recently, as it's my headspace for life stress which with the ivf there has been a lot of! Considering signing up for my first half marathon since having our daughter 😬

And ditto others that I'm really grateful for this thread. It's refreshing to speak to people who understand exactly!