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 :)

Hey @Laurenm1990 @Maria12060 hope yall alright I haven't started treatment yet but I know I'll be having 3 scans in total first scan on day 6.
I questioned it with the clinic because as @Laurenm1990 said what's been seen on YouTube with the blogs or even instagram other People are having scans earlier, or even more scans and blood done in between.
They said because I have 20 eggs in total with my previous scans so I'm on mild treatment plan and at day 6 in that time frame there's low risk of over stimulation

What you have to remember all cases are different with every individual some people are at higher risk of OHSS. Or have low egg count etc.... in my case it's a male infertility factor hence why I'm doing ivf.

What iv noticed aswel is a lot of the blogs I watched have more evasive treatment probably hence more bloods more scans.

But I would definitely speak to the clinic to ensure they are giving you the correct treatment plan. And to calm your own nerves hope this helps x

You are very welcome @Laurenm1990
hoping it was an oversight by the clinic and they start to monitor you more closely
it definitely helped with my confidence with seeing the doctors so regularly :) xx

Thank you @xbiscottix, yes I did think that with regards to everyone being different. I just feel like everyone I follow has had one on day 5/6 so it just seems so late and also makes me worried as this is my first ever time with IVF so I spose they don’t know how many eggs I will have.

I’ve emailed and can only hope they will give me more scans 🤞. Hope you are doing okay xx

Thanks so much @Maria12060, yes I think I just want to know I’m being looked after and checked especially as it’s my first time I want to feel confident like you said! Xxx

@Maria12060 thank you for this. I see myself as trying to be superhuman so honestly I know we are all on our own journey but all of this is so so helpful so I know what to ask. Really can’t want you enough! It’s so hard as going online it’s all just over whelming. Did you have to take any time off work? How are you getting on now? I know we are all going through this but you sound exceptionally brave! Xx

@Laurenm1990

It's my first time I will be doing ivf aswel they did a baseline scan and let me know at the time of my scan but yeh just jot now some notes in questions and ask them best of luck x

@Foodie68 how's it all going at CRGH?

ahhh @SocialPR thank you so much for your kind words! They got me a bit tearful 🥹 you are very welcome and please feel free to DM me as well if you have any further questions - any other ladies reading this, same goes for you.

I feel almost completely fine now, thank you for asking! There is no pain whatsoever anymore :) I feel tired but that may be the stims and the sleeplessness due to waiting to hear how my embryos did (I’ll post it here when I’m told by the clinic!) I’d requested about a week off work for the EC but honestly I just needed the actual day off and Maybe the next day - but I’d recommend anyone going through it to have a couple of extra days off just so you can lay down and take it suuuuper nice and slow! I also took it quite slow and easy in the weeks of my stims and did only the bare minimum.

I did take acupuncture sessions religiously and I do think that helped me even if just mentally! My acupuncturist is so good and so calming as a person and her words of support would make my day!

I was asked by the clinic to take multivitamins (generic ones but I take prenatal ones) and CoQ10. I also take iron and vitamin D. I obviously do not have a success story yet but my overall cycle went quite smooth without any hiccups (so far - hoping long may this continue until at least when I get my embryo day 5 update tomorrow!) :) xx

Thank you, best of luck to you also xxx

@Maria12060 and that’s exactly how I felt reading your message. Your honesty and being so open is utterly heartwarming and I cannot thank you enough for sharing your experience on here. Being new to this all and going into the uncertain is always so daunting and you being so open and transparent about your process and your emotions is commendable to you. What an honestly amazing strong woman you are and I’ve got everything crossed for you finding out tomorrow. out of interest was it the following day you went for a walk after the procedure? I’m so glad that you are able to get back on your feet and praying that everything all goes well which you so deserve XXX

@SocialPR thank you so so much - your words have made my day! 🤗 it was the Friday I had the egg collection and I went for the long walk on Sunday. Then information leaflets that the clinic gave me did say to stay mobile to avoid risk of blood clots so on Saturday as well I was walking in the house and doing some very easy chores. When is your stims cycle starting and how have you been feeling? Wishing you all the luck in the world xxx

Hi @ThesisthenaViva sorry I just saw your post! How are you getting on? Hope your scans and bloods are looking promising

please don’t worry if the first few days are disappointing / not what you expected in terms of follicular growth.

up until day 5 of stims I was searching Mumsnet for posts about collecting 1-2 follicles and their success chances, but from day 10 onwards my follicles started growing at a much better rate, including the smaller ones. I ended up with 7 eggs in the end, even though my day 2 baseline scan showed 6 follicles! ( I also have very low AMH and AFC was 6). I guess one tiny shy follicle was encouraged by all that Bemfola. :)

wishing you lots of luck xxx

@Maria12060 you have been really helpful sharing everything. Thank you so much, I hope your embryos are doing well 🤞🤞xx

Hi @Maria12060 baseline scan is scheduled for the last Monday of the month. So I'm not in the proper meds. Thank you for the advice- I'm pretty neutral and seeing what happens. I've learnt that this fertility journey is a marathon rather than a sprint. How are you getting along?

@Maria12060 thank you for your lovely words! Really appreciate all your kindness! How very exciting for you! Mike might be at the end of Nov but waiting for my cycle so fingers crossed! Xxx

Hi all, just found this group. We had our consultation with Dr Saab at CRGH last week and they are proposing three cycles with all the embryos being tested for PGT-A at the end of the three cycles. I feeling nervous committing to three as we’ve been at ARGC and had three cycles there and two dual stims but unfortunately all four embryos had negative PGT-A tests and are not suitable for a transfer. Do you have any experience of CRGH permitting one cycle only?
time is not on our side at 42 and very low AMH. May I ask after you sign the contract how long to the nurse appointment and then being able to start? My period is due next week so assuming unlikely we can start (As also need to see if we can have a contract for one cycle only) and would need to wait until December for the first month of progesterone. Thanks for any tips or advice. And wishing you well for your IVF journeys

@silverbirchsw hey! I'm also at CRGH.

Timeline was as follows:
Signed the contracts on a Monday, had a nurses consultation (online) on Friday and started downreg meds on the Saturday (next day).

Apologies I can't answer your question regarding requesting 1 cycle instead of 3. It might be worth emailing Dr Saab's secretary. 🤔

I'm sorry to hear about your experience at ARGH- sounds like it's been quite an intense and tough journey. All the best for the next cycle.

Thanks @ThesisthenaViva appreciate the information on the timelines from when you signed the contract. Very helpful to know.

I have now sent a message through the portal to enquire about one cycle firstly and await their feedback.
Best wishes with your cycle

@silverbirchsw from my experience the portal service has been fantastic. Quick responses. Keep us updated

Hi ladies @Laurenm1990 @SocialPR @ThesisthenaViva how are you doing?

I’ve got my results from the EC - here is how it went:

7 eggs collected, 1 day 3 embryo frozen per create’s policy, 2 untested embryos at day 3 (blastocyst) one of ‘good’ quality (5BB) and one average (3CC). So 3 frozen in total.

we didn’t get PGT testing done this cycle as hadn’t made up my mind yet so I don’t know if any of those embryos are normal.

waiting for withdrawal bleed now and a ‘normal period’ after that before we go again.

might be the hormones but feeling a bit rubbish and doubting everything in the world at the min.

do you ladies know yet whether you’ll get your embryos genetically tested down the line?

Hope everyone else is having a more positive day than me 😘 xxx

Believe it or not I have deleted my post thrice because I didn’t want my negative vibe today to rub on anyone else here / anyone who reads this later
but I guess it’s important to keep it real right.

like @ThesisthenaViva its more of a marathon than a sprint and its normal to sometimes have a bad day and a cry before we pick ourselves up and carry on 🙂

sending lots of hugs to everyone reading this xx

Hi @Maria12060,

I hope you are okay 😘 it’s a very up and down journey isn’t it and I also think it’s really important to share the highs and lows and hope we can all be there for each other positive or negative posts.

my clinic haven’t mentioned genetically testing my embryos at all so I’m not sure if they do it. I may ask this when I go for my first scan next week.
hope you are having a restful evening xx

@Maria12060
I hope you're feeling better and more positive ✨️ today 🌟

Hi @Laurenm1990 @ThesisthenaViva! Thank you so much for asking. I’m much better today thanks!! Yesterday was so hard - i went in a downward spiral and couldn’t sleep until almost 3am googling the hell out of everything IVF related 😩

but I’ve decided that I’m not going to be unhappy about something I have very little control over. Let’s see how long I can be resolute about that haha

how are you ladies getting on?

Hi @Maria12060 , ahh it’s so hard to not overthink it isn’t it. I hope you have a better nights sleep tonight 🤞.

doing okay, on day 4 of stims and been having mild ovulation pains on both sides today which I hope is normal as still only having my first scan on Friday which is day 9 of stims.
xx