Summer Fun?

[contentsmayb]

No better way to spend your summer than having egg collections! Who else is going through IVF this month?

We had our egg collection yesterday, 16 collected, 7 fertilized.

Last time, we too had good numbers, but no viable embryos on d5. Hoping for better outcomes this time.

Sending you all who are in the same boat good wishes! This process is rough💜

@contentsmayb hello 🙂 good luck for this month! I'm currently in my tww - had transfer on Monday. My last round was also like yours - ok number of eggs but none made to blasts. I really hope this round is better for us both 🤩

Good luck with your transfer!! We have decided not to do a transfer this time and just test them before (that is if we have any left...). Did you do anything different this cycle?

We added PICSI this time and strangely had a lower fertilization rate this time. Last time, we had 13 eggs and 9 fertilized. Honestly all feels like gambling....🌟

@contentsmayb thank you 😊. Yes, I took ubiquinol supplements this time for a least 3 months and we both quit alcohol (haven't drank since Christmas Day!). Husband made some lifestyle changes too. We also changed clinics!

Fingers crossed!!!!💜

We both made amends too, ate healthy, vitamins, and exercised and significantly cut back on alcohol, but not fully. Hopefully that's enough..... If not, we might try your method next time....God, all of this is so stressful.

What's the percentage of blasts vs eggs did you get this time? Any left to freeze?❄What about your meds protocol? Did the other clinical do something differently? Why did u switch?

And most importantly, how have u been navigating all this emotionally? I don't think anybody understands this stress and trauma we deal with here.....🤕

Aw that's good, fingers crossed for you too!!

Last time we got 9 eggs, all fertilised, none made it to blasts but we did transfer two of the remaining bad quality ones on day 5 but they were behind. That failed. Short protocol using 375 Ovaleap.

This time we got 17 eggs, 12 embryos on day 2 and by day 5 we had 9 blastocysts. 1 put back and 6 others good enough to freeze! Huge difference so far. This was on long protocol, using Meriofert.

We changed clinics as our first one was an NHS round and the satellite clinic pushed us more to that clinic, said they had higher success rates etc, that clinic also said they would do short protocol, same as bad round so I was wary.

The second clinic, we heard good things about and the pricing was better for us.

How about you?

@contentsmayb as re emotionally, it's be so hard!! We've put our life on hold for 3 and half years and been super strict this year so far so felt like we haven't lived at all! Its such a tough time we're all going through on here but hopefully it's ok be worth it 💖💙

How are you coping?

Interesting, sounds like the long protocol is really helping. Hard to know though what exactly worked... i will ask my doctor about this next time... (clearly staying positive here)...

We did the short protocol both times, the only difference is PICSI. I guess they were trying to see if it's a male factor. I was on max dose of meriofert and gonalf and then double trigger. Both times.

It has been super hard. Especially when things were going well and then suddenly none of the eggs made it. It was a shock to our system... i think we were too optimistic.

We started doing counselling to maybe prepare ourselves better for a potential failure... and not destroy our relationship.

Hoping for good things for both of us!😊

I hope you dont mind if I jump in too! I am starting stims hopefully at the end of the month so assume if all goes well egg collection etc in August.

Hope that everything goes well for both of you :)

@wtawtaw how much Coq10/ubiquinol did you take? I've been taking ubiquinol every day too.

How did you find the long protocol? May ask a stupid question: how does it differ to the short protocol? I had heard long is better for low AMH (which I have) but my clinic recommended short protocol. I assume maybe cause it is our first round and they want to test how I respond?

@contentsmayb did you find that counselling helps? I am wondering if we (I) need it but not sure what exactly it offers.

Welcome to our fun summer!😁
After our last failed cycle, we both realized we aren't equipped to process this sort of trauma. So going forward, we attended 1 complimentary counselling session that our clinic offers, and also decided to do individual counselling for both of us. I think in these sessions you start talking about your fears and anxiety when it comes to fertility, but then also somehow start to explore how to deal with anything else in life. I think we both found it helpful because in actual life, neither of us have anyone to talk to who would understand what we are going through. So i highly recommend. We are lucky to have insurance that covers it though. Not sure if we could afford it if we didn't.

Good luck with your jabs!!! Is it your first cycle??

@contentsmayb Yes, it is such as hard process. I try not to think about it but it is not easy and I feel how 'unfair' the whole situation is. The reason we are doing ICSI is because of MF and I keep thinking of how 'easy' it is for my partner whereas I have to go through the whole ordeal. Pfff... I know that to an extent this is an irrational response which is why I think we (or I) need some counselling (also cause during the process my AMH dropped so it is not like things on my end are 100% brilliant). Our clinic offers this as standard so may take them up on that.

It is also really hard managing expectations from others. I have only told my mum and my sister the full details. And my mum (who I love to bits) is making it harder, for example by telling me things like I should not book tickets for a show in December cause how will I go (cause in her mind it will work first time for some reason). And I just don't want to get into that headspace if I can avoid it. How have you managed with friends and family?

This is my first round. As mentioned because we knew my partner has issues with fertility, ICSI was always going to be the route to children of our own. It was never a thing I really wanted when I was younger but around my mid-30s I started thinking we should give it a shot. So I am going in with no real expectations or experience. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I have just started the norethisterone pills and hopefully start injections towards end July.

@Loulaki
If your clinic offers it, I would definitely recommend counselling. Also, don’t underestimate how hard it is for men. They may not show it, but I think it can be heart-breaking for them too, and they are definitely worse at dealing with emotions. My partner did not tell anyone about this until very recently (told his friend), that is why I think him doing counselling is definitely helping him and also making him a more caring and understanding partner towards me as well.

I too sometimes feel resentful towards him (the nature made it easier for men….) but trying to remain calm. I think I have accepted a position that this is my life, my body, and I have to manage this process myself, nobody else will do it for me, even though at times it feels unfair.

As for me, yes I totally get it about telling the parents. My experience was very similar to yours, parents thought it would 100% work the first time. It does put unrealistic expectations on you. I told a couple of friends of mine too. In my experience, the feedback I received from all these people was not what I needed. They were either too supportive and tried to feed my unrealistic hope and would stress me out by saying “well, you can always adopt or be child-free”. They all mean well of course, but when you go through this emotional mess, this can make things worse.

For the reasons above, I also think that talking to someone who is basically a stranger and, in most cases, will know nothing about fertility, is super helpful, because they help you navigate through your own emotions and will also help you deal with other people while you go through it.

I think you are doing the right thing. It is hard, but hopefully it works.💙

Hi @Loulaki , I took 200mg of ubiquinol a day (packet says this is the equivalent to 560mg of coq10).
I found the short protocol really quick and straight forward and the long protocol, a lot more injections, more waiting, more meds, more side effects (hot flushes, headaches) but so far has resulted in much better results for me.
The short is the newer protocol and is less taxing on your body but my clinic prefer the results of long protocol. My previous clinic was going to do another short cycle if I stayed with them.

@contentsmayb you are probably right about men not sharing. And agree that friends and family may mean well but sometimes they don't give you what you need. I've told 3 close friends with whom I would have otherwise been going on a girls' trip in August. One has done an egg collection/freezing and another is thinking about it so they were very cool about it and simply wished me good luck. The one who did go through it just told me 'you'll be bloated and tense but you'll be alright' - referring to the process but given that it has barely started and I am already becoming a nervous wreck I think my bf is dreading the injections more than I am 😂

I will certainly ask our clinic about options for counselling!

@wtawtaw thank you! I am on the same dose too for ubiquinol.

I was reading about the protocols and got quite confused (to the extent that I asked our nurse if I was on the long one or not). I thought they would normally recommend a long protocol for women with low AMH (which is my case). So was surprised my clinic gave me the short protocol (I will be on 300iu ovaleap). I suppose it might be because it is my first time and they want to see how I react. I am hoping for a good outcome but want to also be thinking of a plan b in case this cycle fails. From your results, I am sure the extra effort/hassle and side effects was worth it :)

@Loulaki
Haha dont worry about the injections! I was so nervous and thought i would faint the first time i have to do it, but i watched a tons of ivf injection videos and i was ready to do it when it was time😊 i found the whole routine strangely calming. And i have a neat pleasantly organized drawer full of meds😂😂

One thing i would recommend getting is one of those small cool bag medicine pouches on Amazon to bring your meds/syringes with you. Once i had to give myself shots at work and once in a restaurant bathroom! It's quite convenient and sort of looks like make-up/glasses pouch.