Stimming/ egg collection august people

[BlueMumma2018]

Just thought I’d see if there are any others out there needing a bit of mutual support. Started ovaleap last night ✨ 💉

Yes, I'm one of them! EC took place early August. Waiting for Day5/6 embryo development & freezing report.

Ag: 43, second EC, short antagonist protocol with Pergoveris 300iu.
14 eggs collected -> 10 fertilised -> praying for good blasts to send to PGT-A right now🙏

If anyone is self-injecting for the first time, one trick that worked really well for me is to use an ice pack on the injection site - it helped minimise the pain and bruising, made such a difference from the first cycle 3 months ago where I ended up with blue and yellow bruises and struggled with antagonist & trigger shots b/c of the thicker needles.

Hi, may I join?

I am 41, mid of my first stimulation with menopour (nice thin pen-style) and ganilerix (not so nice, thicker needle single dose). I will try your advice @Caubabatko thank you!!
Will have a scan on Friday, hopefully EC next week
I have 2 kids when was younger naturally...but we always wanted 3, just delayed due to various reasons, and here I am

@BlueMumma2018 all the best with injections!

@Caubabatko - that's a very good number! Hope for a good batch to send fof testing!
I am also planning to do PGTA, just hope I will have what to test 🤞🏻

@TT82 I also used ganilerix as the antagonist in both cycles and I didn't like its thicker & longer needle. This time I applied the frozen ice pack on the belly for less than a minute until numb. I almost didn't feel the pain at all with the pen type, and the ganilerix/ovitrelle needles not only felt less painful but also left less/no bruising. Also instead of 90 degrees, I angled the syringe at 45 ish for those single dose injections so it probably didn't go as deep.

Unfortunately we took it too easy in our thirties and I've never been pregnant😥I hope it was just blocked tubes (had a HyCoSy at 39) and we'll bypass the issue with IVF!

EC today. Only 1 egg collected. I’m 41, AMH is 4.3 pmol ( very low ). Tomorrow will know if it’s fertilised. I did 4 days 300ui Pergoveris, then 3 days 375ui, that’s it. Time flys, I felt nothing much about this cycle. Now is on the nasty pessaries. Slightly worried because I have this light bleeding after EC.
@Caubabatko your number is amazing! Babies guaranteed!

@maygodbless from other groups I realised that numbers mean nothing... At our ages most important quality- we need 1 but normal genetic good quality egg
So don't be discouraged! Some have 30-30 eggs but till day 3 or 5 just 1 left :(

Hope this one develops well and then sticks in for the next 9 months ❤️

@Caubabatko I will do icepack before the injections today! Thank you!!
My dr said all injections in the front upper leg, no tummy or side leg, she repeated it like 5 times that apparently they did research etc. I doubt there are any differences but I decided to follow her advice

@maygodbless
Hey fellow Pergoveris user! I like this product because of the gentle pen type syringe, having used it both EC cycles. I understood the reason I got 300iu this time was because the first EC with 225iu resulted in 9 eggs despite my usual AFC being over 10 hence more med warranted. I've read if one has a low follicle count you don't need high amounts of hormones. They are so expensive, nearly 1/3 of our IVF cost! I may well be more thoughts behind your protocol - but did a mild or natural modified cycle come up in your consultation?

hello! @Caubabatko @TT82 @maygodbless

I’m 32 with 16 AMH but haven’t been so lucky this is my second egg collection. First resulted in one failed fresh transfer and one successful frozen transfer that ended in miscarriage at ten weeks. It’s taken a lot to pluck up the courage to go again.

my only complaint about the meds is they make me go a bit coockoo 🤪

@BlueMumma2018 oh this fertility journey is so cruel and unpredictable! Let's hope this cycle will be a successful one!

For me downregg pill was really really bad, physically but most emotionally, couldn't sleep , hot flashes, wanted to stop all of this and divorce my husband 😬, then once stopped taking them, and now injections all got better. I even worry I am not reacting as apart from usual before ovulation breast feeling etc, cannot say I feel anything different, also no that bug tummy like other ladies have. Tomorrow's scan will tell if I am reacting or not

I even started thinking of donor egg route, but I moved to Switzerland and here it is not allowed (they are behind lots of things in ivf), so would need to go to Spain, which adds complications..

@TT82 yes also nearly divorce husband every time I take meds!
it’s really nerve wracking wondering if it’s worked or not. There is lots that can be done if you don’t respond well, change of meds, dose etc.
I feel very disconnected this time round. Thinking of it like a process if anything. If this time results in failure/ loss I will need testing for autoimmune issues.
wow I would have thought Switzerland would be ahead with it all!

@BlueMumma2018 Good luck with this round! Interestingly my rFSH & rLH med hasn't caused any mood swings yet - I only had one nervous breakdown post EC in the May cycle. I really like Yoga for IVF by Bettina Rae and the sound bath for reproductive healing on YouTube. That reminded me of going for a round now:)

@TT82 That's interesting your doctors insist you inject into the thigh. I heard it's more painful. Hope you'll cope fine with ice packs!
I'm surprised such an advanced country as Switzerland doesn't offer IVF. Spain has a very good reputation though we found it relatively expensive there. We are cycling in Czech Republic, still it's lots of money, especially the stim drugs!

@Caubabatko, @BlueMumma2018 sorry I meant donnor egg not allowed in Switzerland, if we decide to go this route it must be another country ..

Here I am with the state hospital (you still cover all costs as not covered by insurance). Private fertility clinics are very good and extremely expensive but waiting lists are more than a year just for consultation....given my age I don't have this time, so we decided to go with the state hospital department. They are good, efficient, but very little explain, very precise and like this is what you do and that's it. All info have to drag from them..

@TT82 it's very kind of you to reply. I got call to tell me that the egg failed this morning. Felt a bit down. But considering the rate of good quality eggs at my age, it is probably quite normal. There are two rounds of EC, I still have hope.

I didn't prepare myself for the EC. My initial plan was to use my frozen eggs collected at 36. The dr said I should at least try one round of fresh eggs before go to the frozen. Now I changed my mind. I want to do the fresh as much as I can when I am still producing some eggs and the frozen ones save for the future when I no longer have any. I ordered loads of the supplements mentioned in the Start With Eggs. Hope to get a better outcome in the next stim.

@Caubabatko The clinic didn't mention to me the mild or natural modified cycle. Since I failed the first round, I will ask. After the stim I actually had other 5 smaller eggs. Maybe the second round will improve. Fingers crossed.

@maygodbless oh, feel for you!!! 😔 but you are right, at our age it is more a norm..
But each EC will be different, so there's definitely a hope!
And well done for freezing the eggs!!! I wish I was smart and did the same, but for some reason I hoped if I am healthy and hormones are good, all will be fine 🤦🏻‍♀️

@TT82 I'm sure you'll be fine. Please update your EC next week. Lots of luck and positive vibes to everyone!

So the (interim) results are in. Clinic emailed to tell me they biopsied 4 x blastocysts for PGT-A. We were hoping for more but I know that was a rather high expectation. Another 2-3 weeks to wait, I'll remember to report back around the end of the months!

@maygodbless So sorry it didn't work out. Where are you cycling? I'm in Czech Republic, with a clinic recommended by someone who had no embryos in the previous EC but then got pregnant with a different protocol there. Told me her follicles grew evenly for the first time after down regulation. Hers was completely different from mine. It goes to show that they customised the treatment for individual patients, and in my case I had 50% more eggs retrieved and 50% more blastocysts frozen, compared to the previous round. PM me if you would like to know more.

Another thing with a lower AFC is DHEA - it is not indicated for me because I have a high AMH/AFC. If your DHEA-S level is low - they test it for next to nothing in CZ - this supplement has shown to improve egg number & quality.
Dr Norbert Gleicher from a clinic known for doing well with older women talks about it on YouTube.

@Caubabatko that's a very good result! Let's hope for the good results back

What is low/high DHEA-S? My dr only told me that my AMH is good for my age (17 pmol) and rest nothing specific. I tried to google but getting different results, they said all is good. But now I doubt, given cp :(
What is your clinic in CZ? Looks like I need to look there and plan maybe change. Especially if they have experience with older women!

@TT82 My AMH from January was similar to yours, 16.5 pmol/L. The last several US scans detected 10-13 follicles. If the unit of measurement for yours is also pmol/L then you might be like me, except your eggs are 2 years+ younger:) I didnt understand what "pc" is. What's your protocol like?

Dr Gleicher's clinic is in USA. His story of 40 something woman improving egg numbers with DHEA supplementation is on YT as well as in the book It All Starts With The Egg.
But DHEA might not be not relevant to you with your ovarian reserve - you can always ask your Dr.

My clinic is called IVF Clinic, located in Olomouc. Dr Machač is an amazing doctor.
Prices of IVF in CZ are generally more affordable than in most of European countries. This cycle without ET, will cost us about €4,000 incl. microfruid sperm sorting (MFSS), extended cultivation of embryos, embryo freezing and PGT-A of 4 x embryos + €1,500 ish for the medications.

@Caubabatko oh typo, I meant "cp" - chemical pregnancy, had 4 last 1.5 years, so looks like quality will be a big problem.
I don't know the name of my protocol, but I was on downregg pill Primolut for like more than a week, then now on Menopour 225 (today day 7) and also today day 3 of antagonist Ganirelex 0.25. No idea when and what will be trigger, tomorrow scan so hope will get more info

Thank you for the info on clinic!!! Prices are really really good! I need to research it and think if we can fit the travel. How often do you need to go there and stay approximately?

Here cycle full like 7-8k, then freezing on top, and PGTA 1k for 4 and then 250 each. Medicine all on top. And this is state clinic... So we might need to look abroad

@Caubabatko and did ice pack before injection- huge difference, no pain at all! Thank you!!

Hi all, another update from me. Today was told EC on Monday. Max I can have 9, if some catch up these days. Blood results all good, next cycle she will increase the dose as she expected me to react more.
Also they will do muld ivf, not to biopsy the egg twice- during sperm injection and PGTA testing, said sperm is very good, so no need.
I am fine with lower number as long as better quality, but who knows 🙏

Hi all please May I join? Had my first day 9 scan today to check follicle growth. I feel really deflated as there were only 3 follicles worth measuring in size.

@maygodbless I'm sorry to hear about your egg. Sending healing thoughts it really is a shit show this whole thing.

I’m now on day 4 of stims. I feel ok albeit a little emotional. A bit of cramping and the bloat is real. It feels like I’ve put on a stone on my belly alone 🥴

ive been to therapy today and chatted a bit about how I’m feeling with it all. It definitely helps. Highly recommend talking therapy alongside!

hope you are all feeling ok 👍🏻

@Purtyburty lots of hugs! Let's hope those 3 all will turn into good embryos xx

@Purtyburty it only takes one egg to have a baby, keep yours happy with affirmations! Is 3 normal for you or do you usually get more follicles on scans?

@BlueMumma2018 I bloated too, gentle exercises like fertility yoga made me feel much better and I managed to have a massage session the day before EC, with the belly down!

@TT82 Glad the injection hack worked😊
Except I wasnt priscribed Primolut, I think you're on a short antagonist protocol like me. In my first cycle I had 9 eggs harvested with 225iu after being told 8, so you might get more. That clinic was keen on ICSI so we did half and half. Then even though morphology was low(0.5%) other sperm parameters were good enough 80% of eggs with conventional insemination fertilised.
We spoke to a couple of other CZ clinics since and Olomouc was the first one who was willing to do PGT-A without ICSI.

The clinic only needs you physically for Day 10 scan onwards if you can do Day 6-8 scan locally. We had both scans there, but you can arrive as late as Day 9 to stay 6-7 nights at a minimum.
If you're thinking of banking embryos or a full cycle in CZ straight after your current one, maybe schedule a call with Dr Machac for a date after your PGT-A results. You can always cancel if it turns out you have enough euploid embryos. We first got in touch in May and was technically ready to start on the June cycle, but after paperwork and due to dr's availability, the earliest we could start was the cycle after so here I am!