IVF/ICSI April 2024

[Vian67]

Hopefully find others in a similar boat 🙏

Just made my ‘Day One’ call to the clinic this week to set the ball rolling this will be my second cycle, first one failed on 12th Feb 2024.

Bit of background to how we got here, I have had 4 ectopics since Nov 2020 2 resulting in emergency surgery and losing both my tubes. No reason why our first cycle failed, we will be doing IVF/ICSI this time round.

Anyone joining me in the April emotional rollercoaster? X

Thanks @Becky105 , North West london is my CCG. are you referring to fig 12.3? They said my progesterone is too high at 7 as the cut off is 5 so not sure if 12.3 applies in my case? Attached is what I saw in the leaflet I got last year which seems to say no fresh is a forfeit. The kick in the teeth is the CCG just above in the screenshot gives 3 rounds, such a lottery!!! It's all so confusing isn't it... Need a law degree to make sense of it all 😄. I have to go in for bloods again tomorrow as they want to check the triptorelin worked so I'll ask then incase the nurse can shed any light. Ivf, the emotional roller coaster gift that keeps on giving lol.

@Mrsbutterfly24 i had similar numbers in my scans. Annoyingly almost half of my eggs retrieved were too immature to fertilise but those follicles are still contributing to my hyperstimulation!

I can’t find West London at all, only SW and NW. I’m in SW and mine says (photo attached). You should defs ask but I guess if you have paperwork saying you won’t it’s not looking likely. The postcode lottery is defs so unfair! But as others have said the frozen transfer will be much cheaper xx

@HopefulllHolly Thank you! ☺️ The first injection wasn’t too bad at all. Yes, I’m with care.

@Becky105 Thank you for the advice, I know so much suggestions out there, bit overwhelming 😊 I’ll try not to stress so much. I’ve heard acupuncture is good with ivf?

Ah fair enough. I'm sorry you're going through this. I've had 3 ectopics now and repeat HCG is usually the way they diagnose it, repeated every 48 hours. Keeping everything crossed for you 🤞🏻

@Sierra26 i 100% echo this, there's no way I'd feel well enough for a transfer by day 5 tomorrow, the after effects of egg collection have really floored me.

@lemonyfox thank you. I definitely think the HCG is pointing that way but we shall see. Sorry to hear about your previous losses.

Hope you're feeling better soon! Hopefully you will be 100% ready once you're ready for FET x

How are you getting on?
I had abit of a break down yesterday and cried a lot. I’m finding it really difficult and it’s all that consumes my mind.
my boobs look swollen and my nipples seem to have gotten bigger but that’s all I really feel… I don’t know if that’s good or bad. All the signs and symptoms are the same for pregnancy, period and these bloody progesterone pessaries I’m taking so who knows at this point. Have you had any symptoms?

Aw its so hard,I'm really trying to keep busy. But it is all consuming. Sorry you had a bad dsy,I think its only natural with everything that's going on and how much we want it to work!

Boobs are the exact same and around My nipples is getting darker. I'm not having a lot of cramps except for the odd one,seems very low down so no idea what that means.

Really tired going to try and have a nap now,but I was woke up afte 6 so probably not unusual to be tired. Just hoping it's my body working hard!

Yeah I’m the same with the cramps.. I don’t feel like they are cramps more like little twinges. Which I don’t know what that means. We have booked to go for a couple of nights away Tuesday-Thursday so hoping that will take my mind of things then it will be test day 😬 makes me so nervous.
I’ve been feeling tired a couple of hours after I’ve woken up but it’s hard to tell what’s in your mind and what’s bloody real life isn’t it .

Aw a few nights away will be lovely. My partner is back to work tomorrow so I'm going to find it a bit harder to pass the time. Thats the way I am too twinges on and off. I did have the odd wee pins and needle type feeling too but that's gone too. Been a long few days even though we know its out of our control mow its so hard !

It's not even 9am and I'm struggling to stay positive ! Feel like I've woke up with period symptoms,although they are gone now.My partner keeps reminding me she was the same and we were certain it wasn't going to work and it did but it just feels like it's over. My official day to test isn't until next Monday! Such a long wait,we will do it Sunday though. How's everyone else today ?

@Hopingtobe4 stay positive! You’ll not feel much either way at the moment anyway 😊 I know it’s hard.

I’ve started in the mindset of what will be will be. Just had another scan and I have 3 eggs now, one of which is too small still really. But waiting for a call this afternoon to say whether to trigger tonight or do one more night of stims. So either way, collection on weds or Thursday. Likely will only get 2 eggs but I’ve come to terms with that and treating this round as a total test. At least I know the drugs do work I just take longer to grow than most, so maybe next cycle I can have higher stims to see if it will work better to recruit the smaller ones.

Aw I know you're right and it's out of my control now,just a long week of distraction needed lol. It's lashing here today I think ill try find something to watch on netflix and just chill until partner and son home.

You're right at least the medication is working and all is not lost, I know 2 couples who got 2 eggs each,both had double transfer on day 3 and both sitting with twins now. They both had a double transger as the embryologist thoufht the eggs wouldnt survive the thawing out process.

One set are 4 and one set are just 1. Both females had endometriosis. I keep trying to remind myself of all the success stories,although I do believe timing is important And sometimes it just isn't your time.

Also right in thay they would be able to adjust your treatment,if you need another go.

@Hopingtobe4 the waiting is the most awful bit. Hope you can find some things to distract yourself with. Shame about the weather! I think it’s meant to get a lot warmer and drier by the weekend. Stay strong! Nothing you can do will change anything now, so stay positive and hopeful and do things that make you happy. 😊 It’s in natures hands now. Sending you lots of positivity this week!

Oh thank you, that’s a positive story 🥰although my partner thinks twins are weird so he’d keel over if we ended up with that 🤣🤣! (I think he means the ones that dress alike and stuff 😅) I think they only put one embryo back in my clinic anyway, but I’m getting ahead of myself now.

Im just really pleased the little 3 eggs did grow in the end, makes me feel more confident that by changing my doses next time we could get more. Mildly annoyed they didn’t put me on stronger drugs last week to see whether it would work as we could have maybe more to play with, but hindsight is a lovely thing I guess!

Thanks going to get up now and do a bit of housework etc so I don't feel guilty about sitting down then to a netflix binge lol.

Lol about the twins,both sets are non identical snd aren't often in the same clothes possibly because of being different sizes etc too.

I really hope things work out for you. Let us know when you hear about the trigger,the trigger also encourages growth so hopefully you'll have good quality mature eggs

What a rollercoaster!

From being told the egg collection went great to being told the next day that our eggs were rubbish quality and we would be lucky to get any blastocysts
We have heard today that we have 5 frozen embryos!
Honestly cannot believe it. The emotions are high. Dont know whether to scream, cry or throw up

Hope everyone else is doing well, looking forward to everyone’s updates.

What I can say is we are all strong ladies!! Each and every one of you deserve a medal.

Freeze all cycle so I’ll be back in July but I’ll be keeping an eye for everyone’s updates.

Huge congrats @Kp1210 thats lovely news! 5 embryos is incredible! 🥰😊

@Hopingtobe4 I’ve been the same so up and down it’s awful. Me and partner are going away tomorrow till Thursday and then test day Friday. Other than my boobs I don’t feel anything at all, I just feel pretty normal which is worrying 🤣 I feel like the time is standing still. We’ve went out for a long walk this morning which really has helped me but can’t if the weather is rubbish I suppose. Do you have anything to sort? Like cupboards or draws or something that normally helps me chill.

@HopefulllHolly 3 is good! I think sometimes we need to remind ourselves that it only takes one just one good one!! Got everything crossed for you!

@Kp1210 amazing!! What is the process for a frozen cycle.. do you have to take any injections or anything or do they just transfer it in line with your cycle or something?

Thank you 😊
@Lp96 you can either be on a natural cycle or a medicated cycle.
Mine will be medicated so start norethisterone and progesterone in a couple months and then injections.

Hello ladies,

Just a little update. Egg collection went well today, we got 17 which was a big relief. I did have painful ovulation cramps which I get monthly anyway but this was on steroids likely because of egg numbers so it was pretty awful till they put me under, glad it's all over.

We will find out tomorrow how many fertilised. Crossing everything for a good number of day 5 blasts.

I have opted for a natural FET probably in July as I really did not get on with Norethisterone and I do not want to have 10 weeks of progesterone injections if I can avoid it. Plus they cancelled my fresh transfer as my progesterone was too high at trigger so I clearly do not have a low progesterone problem 😄.

Well done @Mrsbutterfly24 that’s such a big hurdle over! Looks like there will be a few of us up for summer FETs :)

Amazing @Kp1210 !

My clinic kept me waiting until 4pm but I now know we’ve got 3 frozen. Gave myself a little moment to feel disappointed after the initial 20 collection but very pleased after everything that we have these 3 to move forward with.

for anyone interested:

short protocol, gonal f 150 x7 and gabergoline x4

amh 22.5
baseline AFC 6+7
day 7 12+9, triggered that night

Day 0 - 20 collected but only 12 mature (would want to address this if we have to try again)

Day 1 - 10 fertilised, but only 7 fertilised normally

Day 3 - 4 doing well, others behind

Day 5 - 3 to freeze, the others ‘arrested’

Ive felt awful since EC day with OHSS but think I’m turning a corner today.

Oh I'm so happy for you, amazing news!!! I'll be on the June/ July transfer with you too 😊

@Sierra26 3 frozen is great news! I sympathise with your disappointment in numbers. We ended up with less than 10% made it to frozen but I hope
youre also thrilled. Thats 3 little possibilities

glad the EC went well @Mrsbutterfly24 I also didn’t get along with noresthisterone at all! Unfortunately I need a medicated cycle though.

thanks @lemonyfox it will be your update next!

Wow loads of updates today! @Kp1210 5 is amazing news after your body worked so hard to get so many eggs, I'm so glad you've got this result.

@Lp96 and@Hopingtobe4 TWW sucks, sending you all the good relaxed vibes. Your minds must be tired from symptom guessing and just all the emotions. It is relentless.

@Mrsbutterfly24 well done you! Fingers crossed for some good fertilisation rates.

@Sierra26 you've given me hope. I have the fear that none of mine will make it to day 5. If I get 3 I'll be chuffed. Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better. Roll on Wednesday /Thursday for my embryo update.

First time posting on here! Not entirely sure if I’m posting in the right place. I had my first FET on 15th April. Found out yesterday it didn’t work & even though I knew there was a high chance of it not working I can’t help but feel shocked and devastated. We have MFI & I got really good results with our fresh cycle (13 blasts, 7 grade A) but couldn’t transfer due to OHSS risk. Just looking for others in a similar position. Or success stories after a first failed round.