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

@Lucylaughing this Wednesday?! That seems to have gone by quickly, are they happy with the size of the follicles?
They usually look for 3 about 18mm

@Natty2 yeah I think the size of the ones they can see is correct. To be honest they haven't really explained anything. I wouldn't even know how many follicles on each side if I hadn't asked. They just seem to decide things and tell you rather than explain the reasoning

@Lucylaughing that's annoying they've been so vague with you. Where are you based?
Seems like a short stims, but they wouldn't book you in if you weren't ready so keeping everything crossed for you 🤞🤞
Guess you will trigger tonight?! Keep us posted x

@Natty2 they have been quite vague, but at the moment it is all going to the timings they set out before treatment started so I don't think I'm going in early necessarily. The clinic is in Sheffield. I don't live in Sheffield but we have to travel there (takes ages) because of our postcode which is frustrating.

Yes trigger is tonight. At least I can have a lie in tomorrow morning!
Are you still feeling very poorly? Hope you can at least keep food and drink down now? X

@Lucylaughing good luck with the trigger! It is a nice feeling getting to the last injection and having a day off!
Will be thinking of you on Wednesday

Today is the first day I've felt much better thanks. So I've managed to eat and drink. I had a scan earlier and whilst there is fluid on my abdomen they're not worried about it. Provided I can keep my fluids up the next few days I should hopefully be in the clear 🤞 very bloated though!

@Natty2 oh that's great news, hopefully you are past the worst of it now! It's awful when you can't even eat anything isn't it.

@Lucylaughing good luck for tomorrow!

@Natty2 thank you lovely! I'll be very glad when it's over, hopefully will get a good number of eggs in the end. I've been feeling more cheerful today, I've just put it out of my mind as worrying won't make any difference and we still have a good chance.

@Lucylaughing good luck today darling, I hope you get all the goodies 🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚

I Just had a reality check on my second scan and, at the best scenario, I am looking at 3 eggs retrieved on Monday. Honestly I feel like crying all day, I am just so so so SAD, it is what it is…I don’t know where to go from here other than option 1) giving up this science route and leaving it up to God or 2) compromising the entire next 3yrs of my life to saving money for fertility treatments.

Don’t want to loose hope…and yet, don’t want the next few years of my life to be all about this! 😞

Good luck @Lucylaughing let us know how you get on if you want to!

@ViVRe awww I’m sorry, I just read your other post too and I feel your pain! It’s a tricky situation, but I guess only you and your partner can determine how much having a baby of your own means to you. It’s so hard to live life and do IVF! But 3 eggs is better than none! Are you just egg banking or getting embryos? I wasn’t sure feom
your other post! Maybe worth fertilising the eggs you get now so you really do know how many embryos you’re working with rather than just eggs, just to manage your emotions? Sending you hugs xx

@ViVRe I'm sorry to hear that, it's a really tough process.
I can't recall, did you manage to freeze any embryos last time?
Don't loose hope! We had such a shock on our embryos this time round, I think the Meriofert had really helped with quality so those 3 that you have could be the only ones you'll ever need. Hope you're ok

@Lucylaughing hope you're recovering well post EC

@HopefulllHolly @Natty2 thank you! Just feeling so emotional…had a good cry with the hubby after appointment today and he very sweetly reassured me that no matter what we are on this together.

We are waiting on results for his sperm analysis but my husband also has other fertility/health issues that need sorting. We agreed with consultant beforehand that bc him and I have different views on potentially needing to use Egg/Sperm donor, that it was best for me to bank some eggs as a bit of a safety net before doing a cycle together and attempting transferring. We will use these earlier eggs depending on how fertilization/quality of embryos comes up from cycles done together. I know the egg by itself means nothing, it is the combined effort that counts but unfortunately clinics only do multi-cycles if you are already planning a transfer which is not our case until further this year, early next year!

@ViVRe awww, that’s good he reminded you of that and is being a support! It’s really hard to lose focus of that in all this.
I really feel for you, I think I’ll be in the same boat, so know you’re not alone! And as everyone always says it does only take one so stay positive where you can. You see so many stories on here of people with 20 eggs and then not getting any blasts and then some who got just one egg and had a baby from it. So you never can tell! Those 3 eggs might make 3 beautiful babies, you never know!

And yeah, I’m most stressed about my other half’s swimmers, we’ve changed everything for the better in his lifestyle choices and his most recent test was much worse than the previous! I’ve got him on Impryl now which is expensive but I figure we need to throw everything at it. It’s so hard 🥺

I just want to get going now! I’ve just ovulated so hopefully 13 days time I’ll start my stims! I actually can’t wait to actually get on with it and feel like I’m doing something. The doctor told me to do high protein low carb meals and I’ve put on weight from it so my BMI is now 29 and I’m having a right wobble about it. I’m definitely not overweight, I just have thick thighs and a bum, but I’m terrified they’ll cancel my cycle. So I’ve put myself on a crash diet for the next 2 weeks which feels wrong as I should be taking care of myself but I won’t be able to bear having it cancelled because of my weight. It’s so stressful as it is I can’t believe they will cancel you for being slightly over your BMI, I weigh 10lbs heavier in the afternoon than the morning too! 😖

So yeah, that’s my current IVF meltdown topic 😭

I'm not sure if I should be in this thread because I started in March, and had my egg retrieval on Sunday. Got 13 eggs, 11 mature, 9 fertilised, all still going on day 3! I know it's normal to still have all of them growing on day 3, so trying not to get too excited. I'm 42, so having PGT-A testing, so know that the real hurdles are still to come and the odds are still against me. But I went into this feeling very pessimistic and am starting to feel more positive. This could be a trap though! This is my first round of IVF and would be my first baby.

Good luck everyone!

@KoraliaValentine wow those are great numbers! Well done you! Fingers crossed for your day 5 scan. Are you having a fresh transfer? Good luck to you, keep us posted and stay on the group, your transfer will still be April anyways 😊

Thank you! I can't have a fresh transfer because of the PGT-A testing. They have to be biopsied and frozen, then it's an agonising 10-15 day wait. Every embryo that makes it to day 5 stands only a 29% chance of being euploid, due to my age.

But if we do get any to transfer, I'm going to be delaying for a few months anyway. My package includes a year's storage, and I'm prediabetic and hovering between a BMI of 29 and 30. I knew that I was prediabetic, but neither my GP, the midwife (I live abroad and the midwife sees you for TTC appointments here, just to check for potential issues etc) nor any of the different fertility doctors at my local hospital flagged this up as a problem for fertility, only as a risk factor for gestational diabetes. Everyone told me everything was great, because my FSH, AMH and estradiol were all really good for my age. What they didn't tell me was that despite this my AFC was very low. I was too passive and didn't know the right questions to ask. Eventually I went to a private fertility clinic, they put me on metformin, and my BMI went down from 32 to 29, and my AFC more than trebled. So my egg retrieval went well, but as I've already paid for a year's storage I figure I may as well take a few months to get my weight and blood sugar levels down even further, to maximise my chances of success with the FET and a healthy pregnancy. Sorry for the essay, but just in case anyone else's doctors are being similarly blasé about blood sugar. It cost me 6 months, when I was already 41.

Still a long way to go before I'm in a position to think about transfer though. This will be a very long 2-3 weeks!

@HopefulllHolly I've just read your last post. For me the low carb, high protein diet did really work, although I was on metformin too, and under the supervision of a nutritionist. Can I ask what sort of meals you've been eating? Have you had your blood glucose tested?

@HopefulllHolly I just wanted to add that at the end of February my BMI was 30 and my AFC had dropped since December to 7. I was already being careful with my diet, and asked my doctor what else I could do, and she said 'exercise!' I started going on the exercise bike for 45 mins every day, plus tried to do a 30 min walk every day and started yoga. By late March BMI was 29, and antral follicle count was 11, and I ended up with 13 eggs. I don't know how much exercise you are doing, but for me, a high quality, high protein diet plus a lot of exercise made a lot of difference in a short space of time.

@KoraliaValentine ahhh sorry i slipped over the PGTA testing. I was of half the mind to do that but as it’s our first round and I have low AFC (6) I didn’t see the point just yet.

Yeah I’ve had my blood glucose and thyroid tested, both perfect! I’ve put on weight because I wasn’t really eating properly before - I have always eaten healthily, just not very much! So my body has gone turbo with the extra calories. 4/5 days I have salmon or fish/prawns for dinner, 1/2 days I have chicken and the other day I have red meat and green salads. I have Greek yoghurt and berries and nuts for breakfast and have homemade soups for lunch or a smoothie and some form of protein. Before this I wasn’t eating breakfast and only having a smoothie for lunch, and a similar dinner to now.

So I don’t have any worries about my diet, it’s purely my weight! I know I eat well and always have done. It’s just frustrating I’ve put so much weight on quite quickly 😖

Oh and I do yoga every morning and walk my 10k steps every day. And at weekends we usually do 30k a day of steps as we usually go on long dog walks. I’m a fit person generally! One of life’s cruel mysteries! 🤣 but thank you for replying to my rant! ☺️

Ah, that is frustrating! Perfect diet but still gaining weight! I was actually eating very little before I started preparing for the IVF, but due to insulin resistance was still clinically obese. After the metformin I was eating more but losing weight. They give standardised advice but it's so individual isn't it? Do you have to be under 30 BMI wise to go ahead?

@HopefulllHolly honestly I'm having doubts about the PGT-A testing now. The clinic told me it was necessary, due to my age, and I just went along with it, but now I just wish I could transfer any day 5 embryos I get. But I think I'm locked into it now. It's probably for the best, but I'm feeling wobbly about it.

@KoraliaValentine yeah unfortunately you have to be 30 bmi or under on NHS (this will be our first round so we are getting it under the NHS, but the next rounds will be private).

Ah yeah it’s a tough one, but I guess it’s worse to fall pregnant and then it fail because you didn’t do the testing. Less heartbreak in the long run. My consultant just said don’t bother as he thinks I’ll likely get only one or two embryos anyway, so might as well try them and see if they stick. We were told we only have an 18% chance of it working anyway so I’m under no illusions itll work first cycle and when we go private we’ll do it. I think you’ve made the right choice as we’re older so better make best use of our time! 😊

Yes, I had an early miscarriage last year, which I'm sure also factored into the equation. I also have an 18% chance. Usually at 42 it would be 12% but due to good AMH and AFC for my age, it was 18% for me. So I'm trying to remain realistic but this process gets your hopes up only to dash them, doesn't it. We had to go private from the get go, due to age, and swore that due to limited funds we'd only try once with my own eggs. So we'll see.

Good luck with the weight loss. Seems so petty that a lb or two can be the difference between going ahead or not, though I know there has to be a cut off point somewhere. But you're so healthy it seems ridiculous that you are in this situation.

@KoraliaValentine Oh I’m so sorry about your miscarriage, that’s awful. But I suppose positive that you fell pregnant! I’ve not fallen pregnant in the 5+ years of trying which is something I’m trying hard not to think about!
It’s great you have such good stats and numbers, I’d love those numbers! I’m feeling positive for you, with all those eggs you’ll hopefully not need any more rounds, fingers crossed for you!

Yeah just really annoying isn’t it! I’m just quite muscley and curvy but short. Damn my mum and her shortness! Oh well, I’m on a juice cleanse now to get myself back in to a low weight (totally not healthy as I’ve done 300 calories only the last 2 days, but I have dropped 8lbs in that time so hopefully it’ll get me back in the safe weight zone 🙃) so when I start stims and put weight on that I have some space to do that and eat properly.