CRGH October/November IVF/ICSI 2023

[biscuitsndtea]

I will be starting my IVF with CRGH this october. Thought of creating a thread for those who are on their IVF cycle with CRGH so that we can share information, common questions etc.

Anyone interested, please join in :)

@SocialPR
Hiii I'm getting on alright thanks I'll start my treatment on 8th /9th my af always shows up on time . I did get my medication this morning it was quite a lot and the fridge stuff never fit in my mini fridge well not all of it 🤣 I have mixed feelings mostly positive, I'm excited,nervous and anxious it's my 1st round of ivf icsi so I don't know what to expect but open to it all it's a new experience for me as My other 4 was conceived with out any intervention.
How are you getting on ?

im the same - picking up medication over the weekend and waiting mid nov to start! So nice we have this chat to share feelings and tips! Quite scary isn’t it the unknown yet exciting at the same time! @xbiscottix didn’t realise so much medication hahah the mini fridge will come in handy for cold drinks in the summer :)

@SocialPR yes it's the unknown I think the most part that scars me is the over stimulation of ovaries once I get past that then the rest...1 step at a time lol some nights I'll be googling until 4/5am I've stopped that now it ain't doing me any good, it's nice to have people that are going through the same/similar process as myself that we can share our timeline with 🖤

yes starting soon 🤞 sorry I think I’ve joined this thread but not with the same clinic. Still good to see how we are all getting on starting around the same times. Yes hoping for a fresh transfer, the only thing that would stop up is OHHS. How about you? X

I am glad it’s not just me, on Google, Instagram looking at scan dates etc based on other people etc 🙈 I know everyone is different but I am just intrigued. X

Heyy girlll yes @Laurenm1990 it's not just you lol I'll be back browsing next week once iv started stimms looking at how everyone else is taking there meds and looking out for signs of OHHS. I go to YouTube I look at ivf journeys there's a lot of good content on there. Is this your first time ?

Ooo fab, I’ll take a look at YouTube, thank you. Yes this is my first attempt at IVF for hopefully our first baby 🤞. We have unexplained infertility my husband and I. How about you? X

Heyy @Laurenm1990 yes YouTube is really good as they blog everyday from 1st appointments to test day it's intriguing. Yes this is my 1st round 1st attempt due to male factor infertility x
You start on the 12th few days after me x

Hi everyone,

Just wondering how you are all doing? Due to start injections very soon and feeling a bit nervous. Xx

Hey @Laurenm1990 my treatment has been cancelled until next month as I wasn't well I'm on the mend in getting better from a chest infection now.
But try and not to be worried and try stay positive 🖤

Ohhh no, sorry to hear you are un well and your treatment was cancelled! Sending you lots of well wishes and hope you can start your treatment when all better!
xx

@Laurenm1990 hey how are you doing? I can completely understand the nervousness - I’ve just finished our first cycle (mild IVF @ create) and I was really really worried as don’t have a large support system around us here. But create have been so supportive and helpful all along the way… I can’t fault them! My egg collection was yesterday :)

I was on mild IVF protocol Bemfola 225 IU then cetrotide. I took one day at a time and tried to stay as positive as possible - watching light hearted tv shows, trying to eat well and took my supplements. And I’ll find out my results of the EC on Monday but honestly the stimms bit wasn’t bad at all - please don’t worry and treat yourself to one small thing every day if you get a chance. I bought myself coffee (decaf) or a nice walk every day to treat myself and reward myself for the injections :) we’ve got to be kind to ourselves :)

Good luck to all those starting and well done to all those who have finished their cycle 🤩

@xbiscottix hey hope you don’t mind me asking what is the YouTube blog? Sounds interesting xp

@Maria12060 how was egg collection? What is painful? Xx

@xbiscottix thank you for your lovely reply. Been down and worried about this all recently and hoping to start in a couple of weeks! So much info online and a scared tbh 🌷

@SocialPR a YouTube ivf blog is where they bring you on there journey with ivf -from appointments, scans, egg retrieval, egg transfer, treatments, 2ww, and much more, also tears and joy it's an good in-site to what to expect everyone's story is unique from years of ivf to 1st time ivf.

Sometimes they continue blogging until they have there baby.
The content is juicy

Just type into YouTube ( my ivf journal or my ivf journey)

Hope this helps let me know if you find something x

@biscuitsndtea thank you so much for this! You know when life is so busy and you just have to go with the flow with everything. All this support is amazing. Your comment put a smile on my face and I’ve recently picked up the medication and oh wow it is a lot….thought of you with the mini fridge! Lovely how we are all supporting each other. How you getting on with everything? Xx

Thank you so much for your lovely and helpful advice @Maria12060 have everything crossed for your egg collection results 🤞🤞. The little treats sound like a lovely idea 😊.

I think I am more nervous about trying to navigate appointments at work etc. I have told my head but I am a teacher and getting cover/ time off isn’t really very easy at the moment. Trying to plan out when my scans may be etc. typical though CD1 supposed to arrive today and still hasn’t. So will probz be starting my meds a bit later now.
it is lovely we all have each-other to support and talk about. My husband and I have been quite open about our fertility struggles but we are keeping the fact we are starting IVF completely private. Only my boss knows.
xx

@SocialPR aww thanks that's lovely 🖤 glad that u feel supported I think that's the world is selfish place at times and if it wasn't for these forums and groups it's hard to find a close circle that you can relate to with ivf or TTC.

The fridge didn't help with the medication lol as it was too much to fit so I'm just using it for cold beverages and snacks.

My treatment has been postponed due to me having a bad chest infection (I'm getting better) Im suppose to start the treatment plan in December but because of how my facility works with a deep clean in December and it's closed for a few weeks if I don't start my AF by the 30th November I'll have to wait until January. Soo it's a January start i will have.
Long winded but will be worth the wait 🖤

@biscuitsndtea I couldn’t agree with you more. How are you feeling now? How strange as I’m going through the exact same situation at the moment. If I’m late then my treatment plan will also be postponed until January as the place I am under also has a deep clean in December. Thank you again for all your kind supportive words and how funny as I now use the mini fridge as well for drinks and snacks. Hope you’re on the mend and take care and keep us posted on how you’re getting on XXX

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all doing okay 😊. My cycle day 1 arrived today and I spoke to the clinic. I am a bit worried with the start dates and scans they have given me as it doesn’t seem to be the same as any people I follow going through the same Mild IVF or any of the blogs on YouTube. Was hoping for some reassurance if anyone else has had similar start dates/ gaps between first scan?
CD 1- Tuesday 14th
CD3- clinic said to start my first injection of Bemfola.
CD8- start taking the second injection of Cetrotide.
CD11- first scan

I am really worried my first scan is so late? Most people I know have their first scan on day 5 of injections and I am worried if it isn’t working they haven’t left me with much of a window to change medication.

Thank you all in advance for any help you can give! Xx

Hi @Laurenm1990!

how exciting that you’re finally able to begin the treatment. I felt very happy when my AF arrived the month my IVF was planned haha. Wishing you lots of luck in the process!

I agree - that scan sounds a bit late to actually monitor how you are responding to the stims and how your follicles are growing.

to put things in context, my scans were on CD2,6,8,10,13 and final one on CD14! CD2 was a baseline scan to check baseline number of follicles.

have you asked the question to the clinic why they’ve called you in for your first scan so late? It would be a fair challenge! Have you called in between those days for your blood tests? Whenever I went in for my scans I got had my LH and Oestrogen tested, that’s how they decided it was time to start Cetrotide!

hope that is helpful information for you to challenge the clinic. Wishing you lots of luck xxx

Hi @SocialPR

i was very very nervous about the egg collection but honestly I cannot fault the clinic at all! It went SO much better than I expected!

i was under sedation for the procedure - I requested the pain killer suppository during the collection and before it they gave me two paracetamols. The IV insertion before the procedure was also not massively painful. The surgeon and anaesthesiologist both individually spoke to me to explain the process and answer any questions, both were very nice and very patient. The nurses were tremendous too and LITERALLY held my hand through the procedure!

after the procedure when I woke up they told me the number of eggs they were able to collect. And the embryologist also came to speak to me to talk me through next steps.

I started cramping almost immediately after waking up but it was mild / moderate - I asked for additional pain killers and they were happy to give me Buscopan. That did help a lot. When the painkillers started wearing off at home I took Co-codamol x2 and took a nap - I woke up feeling much better. I didn’t take any more pain killers after 6pm the day of my collection (took a total of 4 co-codamols after being discharged).

I was given antibiotics to take for 3 days and the clinic rang me the following day to ask how I’m doing - that was very kind as it was Saturday. I had very small amount of spotting - just a tiny speck when I viped.

the only minor problem I faced was nausea on the day of egg collection (in the evening) and the following day diarrhoea - the nurse I spoke to the following day said that’s common side effect of the meds / suppositories I was given.

I went for a long walk on Sunday (second day after EC) and honestly I was absolutely fine.

hope that’s helpful. :)

Thank you so much for your message back @Maria12060. As soon as my period arrived this morning I felt really excited to be finally starting but then I had a call from the clinic this afternoon I felt really concerned, I didn’t really question it at the time because I had a class of 30 children around me 😅 and I didn’t really calculate the dates and the distance between. I was just conscious to get it all down on my paper. I think I am going to email them now though as I do feel quite worried about it and feel like I’m not being seen, I’m also just being told to start the second injection without them even seeing me 🙈. Seems like you have had a lot more scans in place than me as others have that I also follow ok Instagram etc.

xx