FET/IVF/ICSI July 2023

[Olivia199]

Hello!

Just wanted to start a thread and see if anyone was going ahead with a transfer in July.

I've just had my nurse consult and hoping to have my second FET in July (my first was successful in Jan 2021 and I had my wonderful DD).

The first time around I was of course beyond nervous, excited, terrified it wouldn't work etc. This time it feels like that's doubled! I'm a private patient so I've saved everything for this but should it fail, it'll be a long long time before I could afford to try again.

To add some nerves, I'd need to be cycle day one no later than the 6th July to go ahead, as my clinic is moving locations. I'm currently due on the 5th...! So every chance it's moved to a Sept cycle.

Would be nice to have some company!

:)

*sorry mild ivf 🤣

@ttcsolomumtobe i think it’s really what you feel comfortable with! No one at work knew about our treatment, I just took sick days or holidays!

i was wondering what mild ivf is?

@Ellenn oops pressed post by accident.

I will see what my manager says.

Yes I thought 16 days seemed long, they didn't specify between day 3/5. Guess they just want it to be a very obvious positive or negative on the test.

Sorry to hear of your miscarriage and biochemical. I hope your next cycle or transfer brings good things for you.

natural IVF, I think that's where they let your body do it's normal cycle, they trigger ovulation, collect the egg and fertilise and place back in. I'm having mild which is timed with my natural cycle and less medication, thought it was a good first step as a single person and all other factors showing okay.

@Ellenn I will start an evening medication on day 2 of cycle, this continues until day of trigger, estimated to be around day 10, I have a scan at day 5 and start another medication, taken on a morning which is usually taken from scan date and continued to day of trigger.

Think in total, even going on the 16 days wait before testing then cycle would be complete within 31-33 days approx. She's much shorter than some of the protocols people have mentioned

@ttcsolomumtobe ah I see! Do you still take stimulation medication then? Maybe you won’t be as likely to get OHSS if taking less medication (it’s not pleasant!)

also not sure how good you are at waiting till test day but I never managed to make it to actual test day as it’s too tempting to do it early just to know 🤣

@ttcsolomumtobe sounds very similar timeline of my cycles so far! It’s nice that it’s so short though, I really liked it 😊

@ttcsolomumtobe did they the clinic tell you what dose/units of stimulation you would be taking? I feel like asking to try the mild ivf out for my next cycle (if I need it) as it might stop my ovaries overstimulating!!

@Ellenn yes the medication dose is lower than regular IVF, the hope being that although there may be less eggs retrieved they would be of better quality. I got really stressed out and down after my 3 failed IUIs so also felt the mild route was the best option as hopefully less side effects and yes hopefully no OHSS.

With IUI (no trigger) I was testing from day 12, on one occasion AF arrived before then. I feel like 16 days is such a long time I will just want to know but don't wanna be testing too early and it be the trigger still. Also don't want to test out the trigger even though I've seen people do that as feel like seeing a positive pregnancy test would be so hard.

I was guna make sure I had no tests in but my medication pack came with a Clearblue test so that buggered that plan ha

@Ellenn yes, I'm on 225iu bemfola to start, I believe this can be increased or reduced if needed, they will assess it at the day 5 scan. Then cetrotide 0.25 is the second lot of injections.

Believe the bemfola is to help the eggs grow and cetrotide is to stop ovulation occuring naturally.

On some natural cycles thay I've had monitored before they have seen that I've released 2 eggs in one cycle so it makes me hopefully I will get a fair number, but really it is just an unknown isn't it which is hard.

@ttcsolomumtobe ah not used bemfola before the last two cycles I’ve used 150IU of menopur or Ovaleap. I think they struggle sometimes to source different medications!

I know what you mean by testing trigger you just get a bit obsessed so easily!

I hope the cycle all goes well for you, keep us updated 🤞🤞🤞

Hi @ttcsolomumtobe !
Another solo mum here. I'm TTC a sibling for my daughter who was born Sept 21. I have everything crossed for you for this cycle. 16 days feels wildly over doing it though. Just having a chat in a solo mum group about this and have seen clinics ranging from day 9 to day 14. Mines 11 days which feels right (though I am a nightmare and will absolutely test early!)
Someone said that their clinic go later to avoid chemical pregnancies being picked up/reported.

I took a couple days off for egg collection as it was with sedation and I couldn't drive anyway. I also had a lot of eggs collected and felt a bit yuck so was cautious to go back to my clinic and physical job when no one at work knew.

Transfer was a FET and I was still working. I didn't take test day off as I knew I'd be testing early anyway so sort of disregarded that day. Though I worked shifts so although I worked on OTD, I was off two days before and the day after.

Hope your manager is being nice and supportive. As mines a FET this time again, my work have no idea as all the appointments fit gloriously with my days off.

I'll have to cop to it fairly quickly if I'm successful but at least I can get through treatment. I'm sure they'd be supportive but this time around I'm keeping things close to my chest.

Apparently my hormonal state was picked up on Friday though as TWO people asked if I had defrosted any more to pop back in.

@Walker12 - My clinic kept a stock if needed but also had very speedy delivery available for more should they be needed.

The exclamation post made me laugh. Everything gets an exclamation point when I'm tired too. 😂

@ttcsolomumtobe - Sorry, missed your question about the pesseries. I don't have experience of it personally but my understanding from the clinic is that I shouldn't bleed until they're stopped, providing my levels are high enough. So should the outcome be negative, you'd stop the pesseries before you have a bleed. Some women do bleed on them though.

@Olivia199 thank you so much for your replies, that's interesting re the not testing so late to avoid picking up the chemicals etc as although I know nothing can be done about a chemical I would still want to know and be aware of looking out for it. Any ideas what's an okay time to start testing to avoid picking up the trigger?

My TL was great when doing the IUIs re time off and my sickness not going against work triggers but unfortunately this time his away for 2 weeks across the time when egg collection-transfer will fall and the other TL I speak with is away across the egg collection point.

He has agreed I can be put on none phone work ( I WFH on a telephone advice line) between egg collection and transfer so I can take the calls from embryologist as think my clinic phone most days.

With him being off though I don't really want to have to go to another TL to explain it, also I don't want to run the risk of my situation being used as a case study for them, I say this as the policy re fertility is vague, says managers discretion but using annual leave and I paid leave is recommended so it could end not working in my favour. It feels a catch because I don't want the time off to be sat about waiting and thinking on it all but if work is super busy I also don't wanna end up overwhelmed before transfer date as it's a fresh transfer. I do have the AL time spare and can afford a few days unpaid if needed.

I will speak with my TL today as have a 121 and see what he thinks can be done and how discreetly it can be dealt with by other TLs.

That's good that it's worked well with days off, think for me the unpredictability of my cycle as of recent doesn't help 🤣 Re the comments from your colleagues, do you find the medication makes changes how you are hormonally quite a bit, like enough for others to notice or to impact how you feel?

Thanks again for your replies and best of luck for your transfer x

@ttcsolomumtobe - I would also want to know about a chemical, but I suppose it doesn't then count on their stats. I may be totally wrong, this was information a friend of a friend said in passing so it very much could just be speculation.

Are you triggering with Ovitrelle? I believe it's 14 days post Ovi, or so it says on the leaflet. Most people I know it was gone around the 4-5 day mark. If you're keen to not test it out I'd say maybe wait until 11DPT.

Oh so frustrating that the two you've already discussed with are away. I totally get what you're saying though and our policy is also a bit willy nilly and "managers discretion" so you want a nice TL!

Glad they've agreed a call free time though. Waiting for those calls, I found, harder than some other aspects of the journey.

It's so difficult knowing what to do for the best. I just wanted to curl in a ball and think about everything 24/7 and found work an unwelcome distraction. Equally the time went fairly fast. I booked some annual leave towards the end of the TWW and enjoyed that a lot. Knowing I'd need to process the outcome either way.

Hope the 121 goes well!

I haven't even started meds yet, that was just normal AF hormones. But I think they noticed for two reasons - the first is that I had about three breakfasts and still started saying I was starving at 11am. Then someone showed me a lovely thing their daughter had done for them and I just went right ahead and cried. 😂 I was overtired mind, and overwhelmed and stressed that I wouldn't get AF in time and... hormonal. The only thing anyone noticed for my IVF round was that I was hugely bloated after collection. They did get 28 eggs though as I overstimulated so it hopefully won't happen to you. I just jokingly assured everyone that I absolutely wasn't pregnant.

Thankfully I didn't actually find the stims or the FET meds gave me a huge amount of emotional side effects last time. I was so excited about everything that any hormonal grump vanished. Hopefully I'll be lucky this time too!

Hi all! I was hoping to share some more of my st

Hi everyone! I was hoping to share some more of my story to see if it can help anyone.
my first round was fresh, I can’t remember much other than I took the pen injections then added another one in. I was so scared about the retrieval and it turned out to be the easiest part! I took a couple of days off w

Oh my goodness my fat thumbs keep pressing post 😂🙈
anyway, I took a couple of days off after that and then took things easy but went back to work.
2nd round was frozen, as is this round. Both times I’ve had prostap injection, wait for a bleed, then start Progynova to thicken the womb lining from day 3 of bleed. Then scans to check when I’m ready for transfer. Typically it has taken 5 weeks from injection to transfer, but this depends on hormones and scans. I think it was longer last time as I had to take microgynon for 2 weeks, but that was only because my clinic use that to manage the amount of patients they can transfer at one time.
at my clinic they test 9 days after transfer. I’ve always tested early 🫣 hope everyone is doing ok!

@Olivia199 thank you again for all the useful information. And yea the managers discretion works when you have the right person.

I was due to start my IVF on my last cycle but it arrived early after booking a trip away, and I'd had 3 nights of less than 3 hours sleep due to the heat, I was defo an overthinking, tired and emotional wreck on my own level of hormones too 🤣 delaying one month was definitely a good idea from my side but know I'm just trying to have a couple of slower weeks leading up to my next AF so I don't feel that way again.

29 eggs is incredible, may I ask how many you ended up with from that? Sorry if you have mentioned in the chat above. I keep reminding myself it only takes 1 as I see such a range of numbers that people get and being on the mild IVF I should expect lower numbers but there's anyways a part that thinks more is better... IVF is such a head twister.

I'm not sure, will check which trigger it is and see what the leaflet says about testing but yea defo points to consider re early testing, I would be proud to manage to wait it out but also it would feel like so much would be riding on that one day... Think my main concern was getting a bleed and it catching me off guard, providing my cycle runs when I think it will I do have some time off around and after OTD so glad of that.

@LittleAm thank you for your reply, defo seems my clinic are super cautious re the testing.

@Olivia199
My 121 went well and it has been agreed that all fertility time off won't go against my sickness triggers, which is reassuring and will likely make me more willing to want to try and work (a break in sick periods would usually mean it classes as 2 absences). I may have to speak to another TL but I can just say it's pre-authorised and my TL will pick it up when they are back. Feeling much better about it all.

@ttcsolomumtobe Re work, they know I’m doing IVF. I’m running out of holidays so I’ve decided I’ll self certify as sick for that week. They’ve made a point of saying they’ll be supportive etc, and although a week will take me over the trigger point, attendance management policy says it should be treated sympathetically and that a warning should not be given in cases of fertility treatment so I’m relying on that really. It’s a medical procedure and it’s uncomfortable afterwards so I’ll take the time to rest.

Re the pessaries - I started spotting dark blood from 7dp5dt. Which is bang on when my period would have been due. It got heavier and when I stopped taking the pessaries it turned red pretty quickly.

Update from me: I take it all back. I hate norethisterone. Woke up maybe about 5AM with super sharp cramps. They were like period cramps. They died down a bit but I’ve been moderately crampy all day. I feel a bit sick, I’m knackered and generally feeling a bit poo!

I got a bit emotional today as I was going through works fertility policy. I’m not excited this time, just scared and apprehensive. I’m not scared about the injections, I’m scared my one working ovary won’t respond, that they’ll get eggs but they won’t fertilise and I’ll end up with another absolutely rubbish blast or nothing at all. I was excited on our last round, full of hope. It’s all a bit doom and gloom today. I’m blaming the norethisterone and hormones. I’m clearly very PMS-y today! We have a new plan and protocol and I can’t predict what will happen. I hate this ‘journey’ sometimes.

Still, onwards and upwards as they say. One more day of these tablets! I can certainly do that!

@ttcsolomumtobe - Oh I'm so glad it went so well and they've been agreeable to everything.

@Lauralozzle - Oh I'm so sorry the Northisterone got you! I really hope you're feeling miles better today. It's such a whirlwind of a journey with ups and downs three times an hour sometimes. And then we fill ourselves to the brim with hormones. Recipe for disaster really...!

I totally get what you mean about the lack of hope/positivity. I seem to be swinging wildly with it this time. Going from daydreaming of how I'd sort the sleeping arrangements out, what storage solutions could help, whether to get a double buggy.. to feeling like this is futile and in just a few weeks, all the money will be gone and I'll be back to square one.

These things can and will hit us all at different times, so when the hope has simmered down for you, we can have some for you instead. It's TERRIFYING but you're one step closer now and with a new protocol, it has every chance of being the key to your BFP.

I've got my baseline nurse consult today. I'm fairly sure last time I had a scan on day 3 but it's just a phone call to tell me to start meds. Hormones here we come.

Thanks for the assurance re meds @ttcsolomumtobeI am in awe of you ladies going through this solo!

Work wise I have been very open with my manager and a couple of close colleagues, they have been extremely supportive and I am going to use a combination of AL and sick leave when needed as I have no real idea how I will feel. I am hoping work might be a good distraction but my role is quite emotionally draining so fully aware I may need to step back at times or that I may not be working at full capacity when I am there. It does help that my team are 90% women, not sure I would feel as comfortable/supported otherwise, although I realise thay may be more about my own assumptions. Others may be aware but I was reassured to find out that from transfer date you are classed as pregnant legally so any sick leave is protected.

@Lauralozzle sorry you are feeling it at the moment, it's so tough to stay positive, I never thought I would be in this position but it has given me such an appreciation for how strong and resilient women and couples doing this are. You have got this!!

Small update from me, AF arrived bang on time this morning so just waiting for a call back from the clinic to confirm I can start my first injection tonight.