Create Fertility - Experiences (Part 3)

[Sunflower360]

Hi 👋

A thread for anyone who wants to discuss their Create Fertility experiences.

I'm 38, have had 3 egg collections with Create (2x natural modified and 1 x mild) and am about to go through my first FET following embryo banking and after having a Hysteroscopy and discovering I have thyroid antibodies...joys of fertility challenges.

Tagging as follows from previous chat, please tag any others I may have forgot.

New joiners to the thread welcome to share your experiences - it's a never ending learning curve for all!

@Maddie23
@gemso2020
@Doxy21
@Plantymcplant
@Jennaqua
@Hopesandsunshine
@jolly86
@VenusStarr
@muddlingthrou
@junieS
@littlebitsocial

@JunieS my first round I had 7 collected and 1 good blast on day 5 but I got pregnant, none to freeze. In this last round I got 3 collected, 2 fertilised and both put back on day 3, I got pregnant. (I also had a failed round where 5 were collected and 2 put back on day 3, none remained to freeze again) So the number thing is not clear at all.

@JunieS sorry to hear about your collection recovery. I’ve always woken up really quickly, no bleeding, and been able to leave soon after. Uncomfortable within a hour or two, but nothing worse than bad period pains really. Make sure you stay in touch with your clinic. Great news on the eggs, though! I had one collection that resulted in no eggs whatsoever, and the couple next door had 12.. I really think they could use some sound proofing as it’s not helpful. As @jolly86 said (& we’ve both demonstrated), numbers don’t necessarily indicate outcomes.
really hope you get a positive update.
Understand PGT is a very personal decision, one I didn’t even consider given my single embryo! There was just no way I wasn’t going to try.
Fingers crossed for you x

Hello all,

Been catching up on this thread, and it's really wonderful to see so much positive news!

I took a four-month break after our last treatment, with two cycles and nothing to freeze I felt like I needed to change something. Completely changed my diet (it was already healthy, but followed a specific egg quality diet) and been doing lots of acupuncture so feeling hopeful for some improvement.

Looking to start again next week, and this will be our last cycle (natural modified) before looking at DE. Plan is to do a Day 3 Fresh transfer (if we get that far!).

@JunieS Yes, as far as I know for PGT testing they do have to reach Blast stage. It's such a hard decision isn't it, we originally decided to do it, and paid for it, but never reached that stage, and at this point if we get anything I can't imagine we will test it.

@JunieS I'm ok thanks, just going to hold out for the 12 week scan, it's only just over 2 weeks away and I've already had 2 scans.

Sorry to hear about your experience, I didn't have bleeding with EC, perhaps you can speak to the clinic about it as that does sound unusual? Hope your day 1 update goes well

@jolly86 Thanks for sharing your experience, as like you say, it seems like numbers are something to look at but maybe not react as emotionally as someone I know reacts after googling too much outside this forum...😅

Thanks @HopefulElle! And your story really is hopeful. That lil embryo is precious and I will see what we're told in two days. And yeah the soundproofing it's quite a needed - next door had 9, and this poor woman to the other side with 1 had to listen to that too...

Hi @gemso2020! We did the opposite, didn't pay for it initially, but then I've already gone through the total heartbreak of losing my 23 weeks baby, I think part of men would rather get the news that there is nothing to do, than going through that kind of loss again. Of course it can always happen, but maybe we have more chances if we know it's a strong one? It's all very emotional, I honestly change my mind so often I'm starting to joke I need a fertility PA to make all this decisions for me xD.
Also really interesting the egg quality diet and the acupuncture prep, sounds like what I should have started doing already... Can I ask you about the diet you've gone for? I have some dietary plan from a private doctor, but I'm always wanting to see other options, makes me feel more prepared... Also gives me a headache.

Crossing fingers for you!

@Sunflower360! You're almost there and I'm always in awe of your pragmatism/wisdom.

And yes, I'm not sure why I took so badly the egg collection! I'm not the best with sedation (had 3 operations and except one, the others were as messy...), so almost hoping for it to be the sedation and not OHSS.

A nurse called me this morning to check how I was. Bleeding seems to have stopped, but I still feel really really full around my entire belly, I'm almost waddling! Nurse it was still normal but I'd rather ask in here.

Also got the news that out of my lil 6 eggs, 4 fertilised and look morphologically ok, so again, better than I expected (we had to do ICSI due to DH sperm mobility). Statistics are not fantastic as attrition is clearly there, but one day at a time (types she, as she panics a bit inside😕)

As always thank you so much for all your support and words of wisdom. Ever since I found this forum (and lurked before being brave enough to speak) I've felt less alone and more informed than reading or talking to the clinic to be honest!

Good vibes all around x

@JunieS 4 is a great result! Here's hoping you continue to get good updates over the weekend 💛.
Re: PGTa testing, I can totally understand why you want to do it considering what you've experienced. It really is a minefield, and like you, I changed my mind often. I suppose when the decision comes, you can only really trust your instinct with what feels right. The diet I was following is called 'The Egg Quality Diet' by Aimee Raupp. I had never heard of it, but a friend who is currently 12 weeks after a successful transfer recommended it so I thought I'd give it a go. In essence, it's an anti-inflammation diet, so you remove most things from your diet and then slowly reintroduce them to see what effect they have. I can't say whether it has had any effect yet on my eggs though! It's very strict, and has been tough to follow (especially as I'm a veggie, and it's very meat-heavy so I had to work around that). She has loads of resources on her site, so you could have a look to gauge it. Diet aside, she also recommends things like castor oil packs, and magnesium spray which I've incorporated too.

Best of luck @gemso2020 x

@gemso2020thanks for the tip, I will definitely look into this, especially given that I got the Day 6 call and it was as bad as it can be. 😔

Day 3 - all 4 good, 9, 8, 7 and 6 cells, grades 1 and 2 etc. A bit of hope that perhaps it wasn't so bad after being sure none would make it.

Day 5 (yesterday)
1 already a blasto
3 a bit slower but still going
Losing hope but maybe that one...Read lots of cases in which Day 5 gwt better on Day 6 so I still had some hope.

Day 6
Just got the call that unfortunately they didn't make it and have arrested.
Embryologist being kind and sounding sad as well made it almost worse. After having looking after them for almost a week, cannot be easy news to deliver.

I'm at work and have to interact with so many people. Told my colleague I would hide a bit, but what I want to do is crying and let it out.

I know that between this and a miscarriage later, I atake this every day. But it's no less emotional and raw. And now thinking this is it and the last 2 rounds we have left will just be like this.

Apologies for rant, but this is the firs place I thought to come to and find some solace.

X

@JunieS - I'm so sorry you didn't get the results you were hoping for. Every cycle is a learning experience, so hopefully both you and the doctors/embryologists can tweak things for your next cycle to maximise your chances of success. I hope you will be gentle with yourself xx

@JunieS I'm so sorry. I'm sure it's really hard to be at work today, I hope you are able to find some time for yourself, or perhaps leave a little early. I hope you don't take this as a total loss, as muddlingthrou said these cycles are super helpful for the doctors to be able to tweak for future cycles. I appreciate it's hard to see it like that today though when you've invested so much to get to this point. Sending lots of love and thinking of you.

I had my Day 3 scan today, my period came quite a few days earlier than I expected, unfortunately. There were just two follicles, I was hoping for more obviously, but will try to stay optimistic about these two.

@JunieS really sorry to read that. Each cycle can be very different though so try not to lose faith. If you have not done so may be worth having embryoscope as the embryologists can monitor the progress of embryos via footage and it could give them more information on embryo development. Of course it can't tell you if it is genetically normal as that is what PGTA is for but gives more info nonetheless.

Really sorry to hear that @JunieS - it’s devastating and very difficult being at work too, in the days after bad news I found it a good distraction but initially you just want to let it all out. Hope you have time, space and support to do exactly that this evening.
Every round is different, so try not to lose hope yet, I know it’s hard.
Best of luck with your cycle @gemso2020 x

Hi would any of you mind sharing ballpark figures of costs? I rang create this afternoon but didn't find the call centre very helpful. I'd been hoping to book for some testing and a hycosy, but they've said I can't do that. It's an initial scan and appointment and then starting on a treatment pathway.
For background im 40 this year, we had a miscarriage in 2017, then a successful pregnancy resulting in DC, started trying for our end of 2020, had a early miscarriage a few months in then a reptured ectopic in 2022 so only have 1 tube now, trying again since Christmas 2022 but nothing.

@gemso2020 goodluck, hope it goes ok

@MaybeItsJustTimeToStop for a 3 cycle natural modified egg collection package it is around £16k with meds, mild IVF 19k. Not sure if that varies on locations, that was Birmingham. Then you need to consider testing on top and any investigations. Also to note you have 1 transfer included in the package afterwards it's around £2.5k for each FET

Thanks so much for that @Sunflower360 I'd found something information where tallying it together looked like we'd be starting around £6k but then thought they'll add meds and I bet there's lots of other charges. I was looking at Manchester but image they'd be similar across the country.

Hi everyone

First off, thanks for your words and kindness. It really helped a lot when I was still at work and couldn't really leave. You are all such a kind support net.
I've taken some time off work and even if it's just sleeping more and not having to worry about work and appointments etc, it's made such a difference. Still very uncertain but one win at a time. :)

@gemso2020 How is it going? Hope that it went well and the meds picked up after day 3. My lil ovaries are slow responders it seems, so totally feel what you're saying. Sending positive thoughts your way.

@HopefulElle thank you so much for your kind words. Also trying to remember what you and others have said about cycles being completely different each time. My doctor said the same on Monday, but I always think that they're a bit biased... Anyway, how are you feeling? Hope all is going well!

@muddlingthrou you're so right, being gentle with oneself is the trickiest bit, since I always feel I can/could have done more. Thanks for the reminder. :)

@Sunflower360 how are things going? I'm always hesitant to ask in here, things change so quickly from one day to the next, but hopefully all is well.

So, I'm now doing my second cycle, and they upgraded to mild. So far the response has been a bit better, as in more follicles growing quicker, but still not the best.
I'm finding a bit frustrating that I seem to never get any advice from the doctors, regarding embryo transfers, day 3 day 4,etc, what they advise if it happens again...and it's almost like the answer is always "it's up to you." Which is great, to have the final say, but I'm no expert and I'm feeling a bit lost and I really need to hear some options. They're nice and ask if I have any questions, but then they have no answers really. Is this how it works? I swear I'm getting more information and insight from you guys than from them.

Also, is anyone else having to pay tons of extra money for extra meds? They can always say that I'm a slow responder, but honestly, they didn't even give me enough Gonal F to cover the days they've written on the plan. How much do you get if it's not too much to ask? I got
x4 Gonal F 450 (8 doses)
x5 Cetrotide
x1 Ovitrelle 250

And then the antibiotics for collection day. £1128

Last cycle I spent a silly fortune in extra gonal Fs and Cetrotide, I'm starting to be a bit suspicious of this again, since the financial aspects has been terrible since the beginning. I'm going to say a bit cheeky for the sake of keeping a positive mentality, but if we hadn't been on it I would have paid a lot more money than we should..

Anyway, end of rant. I hope everyone is doing well, as well as this thing can let us. In other news, I nearly had to go to A&E yesterday because I almost lost have my belly to frostbite by icepack. Like, I didn't even notice I didn't have the cloth and my skin felt like one of those plastic sheets the ham comes with?

Honestly... 🤦‍♀️

@JunieS Glad you are feeling a little better, and that you are able to take some time off, I’m sure that makes all the difference! It’s great that they have made changes for your current cycle. Is this a back-to-back cycle then? As for the doctors, generally, my experience has been that they are very helpful and informative - with certain doctors though I absolutely have to ask the right questions to make sure I’m as informed as possible. I’ve found my consultant to be really helpful, and though I haven’t seen him much for scans etc since our first cycle (it was cancelled due to early ovulation) we have made sure that he oversees every decision. It does sound like your docs aren’t particularly informative, and I think it’s important for your state of mind to have that from your doctors, so I would ask to speak to your consultant and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Re: the meds, I found with my two mild cycles, that they kept upping the meds and I ended up needing A LOT more than they had originally prescribed, whereas with my two Natural Modified cycles I didn’t need much, in fact, I have a ton of Gonal F left over from my most recent cycle as I was only on sims for 4 days in the end! Also, triple-check any invoices and that it matches up to what you have got, they are quite notorious for overcharging!

I’m in the TWW at the moment, we only ended up with one egg on collection day, transferred on day 3, so just currently trying to keep positive and rooting for that embryo! We are now starting a big move, so while all the packing and planning is a nice distraction, it can be a little stressful at times.

@JunieS I am good thanks. Had the 12 week scan earlier this week which went well, so hopefully can relax a bit now! But of course I am finding even now there is a niggling feeling of you never know if something could go wrong, so still cautiously happy.

I would agree with @gemso2020, definitely worth asking for more reassurance but have to say I too was given choices on what I wanted to do. There were a few decisions that they made for me (like no double transfer until the 3rd FET) but other than that most of it was for me to decide. In all honesty IVF is still a developing science so even the Dr's are taking a balanced view on how to proceed but ultimately cannot be 100% sure so I think they like to leave some decisions to the patients, but if you feel you do not have enough information to make those decisions then do ask questions-I was notorious for asking tonnes of questions!

Also agree with checking invoices, against meds received. Unfortunately the admin service is a bit hit and miss, which could be due to volumes but for whatever reason leads to errors such as over charging, meds not being ordered properly etc. I again triple checked invoices and chased a lot. Not great but was the only way I could ensure to not get over charged.

Good luck with your mild cycle!

@jolly86 how are you? Hope your scan went ok

Hope everyone else is doing ok in this thread!

@Sunflower360 sorry for not updating. All went well here with scans and tests . I am now 15 weeks.

@JunieS I’m good thanks, 19 weeks on Monday and it’s going much more quickly now - nervous for my 20 week scan, still intermittently sick, but mostly just v happy! I always asked “but what would your recommendation be?” when they said that, and as above, asked lots of questions. I did have to get extra medication too, but I’d rather that than have unused meds (which happened on my last cycle). Best of luck with this cycle!
@gemso2020 good luck to you, too - TWW is the absolute worst part!
@Sunflower360 @jolly86 so pleased all is going well for you both.

Well, here I am about to start our third and last cycle, which I feel like giving up entirely, but here we are.

Cycle 1
6 eggs
4 fertilised
4 embryos
0 blastos

Cycle 2
5 eggs
5 fertilised
Day 3 - 1 arrested, 4 embryos looking better than the last time
Day 5 - 2 almost blastos , the other 2 are slowing down...
Day 6 - Only 1 blasto good enough for freezing and PGT, and not even that great, a 4CC.

I felt...like I had a loss all over again? Rationally I know there is a correlation between good to freeze and good to test for a reason. But the irrational part of me, the part of my mind that still screams "I want my baby back" and "I should have known, I should have done more" is feeling this like another loss - like, it didn't arrest, and had it been a fresh untested embryo it would have magically worked but again I made the wrong call.

Not very healthy, I know... I know it did look better this time, and at my age they're actually happily surprised with the response. But again, the chances of that one being euploid are almost none, and the end of the road is now close.
That's why I'm finding it very hard finding any positives right now, beyond what was always the reasoning - I need to know that I did all I could, if only too late.

And it's so scary.

Once again thanks for all the support and just the ears, everyone. Not even the best intentioned, kind friend can always understand.💜

PS. With all the drama, I forgot to ask what I wanted to ask xD

So, I have a doctors' call tomorrow to talk about the last cycle etc. Mild again.

Anything I should definitely ask? I'm so anxious and so overwhelmed with it being the last one that I feel I'm not sure about anything.

At the moment, I feel like I sent my 1 lil blasto to the gallows of PGTA and I'm struggling really badly with getting over the guilt and what in my mind feels like a waste of a perhaps a magically aneuploid-turned-euploid successful pregnancy etc etc. So I was thinking maybe a fresh transfer this time if there's anything to transfer? I am so sad about not having given any other fresh one a chance without PGT.

On the other hand, I might have been on the slightly slightly more fertile end of the >40 bracket, but at 45 the chances of not testing and it being chromosomally ok....it worries me a lot - I don't know if I can cope with more losses, or discovering massive chromosomal issues later on and losing it anyway.

Any ideas? I've read soooo many pages of these threads that I'm sure we've talked about this before, but any insights or stories or just anything really would be so appreciated at the time.

Xxx

@JunieS sorry to read you're feeling like that. From my personal experience, I started to feel testing could be beneficial but usually when there are perhaps a few to test. Where there is one perhaps I would put it in and see what happens, but be prepared for it to not work just in case. But it is very much a personal decision and I was going and back forth thinking what to do for the best. After this 3rd transfer I was planning on doing another EC and testing purely because I didn't want to waste time transferring when it could be doomed from the start.

Remember though PGTA is not a definite either, euploids can still fail (think it increases chances I think to 70%).

@JunieS in my personal opinion I would say transfer fresh in this last round without pgta testing, that’s what I would do xxx

Hello everyone,

Before I say anything else can I say you are the most amazing and resilient bunch of ladies, it's so lovely to see you all encouraging and supporting each other!

I have read all of this post and the two previous and have followed all the ups and downs with you.

Bit about me - I'm 37, AMH is 5 pmol/L, TTC naturally for nearly four years now. Never been pregnant as far as I know.

Went to GP after 2.5 yrs, got referred for fertility services and nearly a year and a half later I am half way through my first NHS funded IVF cycle with CARE. My consultant put me on the maximum dose of stims (300 IU of Meriofert) and even so said he wasn't expecting many eggs due to low AMH. I somehow hoped he was wrong but at my first stimulation scan on Thurs there was one follicle at 15 mm and 2 at 11 mm and I felt really discouraged even though it was expected.

I decided therefore that this cycle wasn't going to work and was looking at other options which brought me to this thread as there is a CREATE clinic near me and if we're paying we can choose. So reading this has been very informative, thank you.

I had another scan yesterday and there are now 2 follicles at 16 mm (I think maybe they missed one) and 2 at 12 mm and the lovely nurse who scanned me said I should never write myself off and that in her experience it is often those with fewer follicles who go on to have successful pregnancies not those with loads so I feel better about everything today!

Sorry for the long introductory post!

Good luck to all of you in your IVF and pregnancy journeys!