IVF/ICSI May or late April

[AnnieStar12]

Is anyone else gearing up to do IVF/ICSI in May?

My meds have arrived and I start my down regs next week to start a long protocol ICSI cycle, my egg collection will then be mid-May.

Had my first ICSI cycle in Feb which resulted in only 1 embryo which was transferred on day 5, but BFN. I found the support group on here super helpful with my last cycle, so wondering if anyone else is in a similar position?

Oh bless you! I've had cramps and backache today as well and my usual period would be due in 3 days .. however I've seen SOO many people say they felt like their period was coming and they were pregnant so I actually think that's a really good sign 😌 either way there's worry and anxiety isn't there, it's awful the worry actually never leaves you with is exhausting 😮‍💨 it'll be hard for you as well not being able to tell your OH atm but once he knows you can talk about it all with him too! It does feel better when you speak about it! HCG is meant to double every 48hrs doesn't it so every other day you are meant to see "progression" so definitely try to wait til Thursday if you can!! 🤍🤍

@Ashleighlouise I’m taking cyclogest twice a day and I completely agree, our bodies have been pumped full of hormones so who knows! I’ve eaten a lot of gummy sweets this week, I don’t know if that’s because I’m tired or hormonal 😂 I had a really vivid dream last night about being pregnant as well, maybe it’s a premonition? It’s so hard isn’t it!

My test day is 24th so just after yours! Hopefully there will be two BFPs! No blood test for me but I think I would do the same as you and test beforehand.

@2tuxedocats I hope the dreams mean something! Vivid dreams are an early pregnancy symptom too so you never know 🤞🏼🤞🏼 gosh I am hoping and praying with everything within me that this group is just full of BFP in the next few weeks 😍😍😍

I wish I had "tested" out my trigger shot! I'm 10 days past trigger shot now and I only did 5,000iu instead of the full 10,000! I'm now convincing myself it won't be out my system and if I test it'll be positive but not a real one 🫠🫠

hi all, just catching up on thread, hope you’re all ok! I have resisted testing as slightly dreading it tbh and today had a big panic I’d ruined any chances of implantation with my one glass of wine on Saturday… am I being a bit over the top?! 🤔

we’re all worrying in different ways aren’t we… ivf is very stressful. I’ve taken a lot of time out to just sit in the park and do calming things over the last few days to just try and while away the time nicely. It’s mostly worked thank god. Just got to keep remembering that what will be will be.

@CreamLampshade it’s just all so stressful honestly wouldn’t worry about it . Try to find little things to relax even if it’s just a programme or getting a walk in !

sounds like a lot of us are having anxious days . All the hugs 😍

this is the furthest we have got .. after 18 months and 7 schedules lol 😂 the irony this time they haven’t bothered sending one lol maybe it’s emailing the schedules that jinxes it 😂

absolutely full of lurgies sore throat ugh typical was so looking forward to food and now can’t stop coughing lol food shop coming tomorrow with all my food for stims

early night for me xx

@Rebekah77 hope you wake up feeling a bit better! It’s great you got this far - fingers crossed it all goes smoothly!

I’ve just been reading about impryl - on their website it seems to say that some of the supplements recommended in books like It Starts with an Egg are actually detrimental to egg and sperm health?! If so that’s a bit worrying!! Has anyone else heard this?

@CreamLampshade I thought it starts with an egg was too much to be honest. I cut out plastics and did some of them but not all.
My other half was on impryl for sperm and it massively improved his results really quickly. He took it on recommendation from the urologist.
There’s so many differing opinions it’s really overwhelming!

I agree that book will drive anyone crazy lol 😂

I took some elements from it but then used ivf dietican to try to work on helping my endo and egg quality . My other half has used impryl and wild nutrition the past year

Hope everyone is surviving stimms and their tww! Seems like a few of you have had a bfp already which is amazing, so pleased for you all 🤩 finger crossed for lots more bfp over the coming days/weeks.

Ive got my second tracking scan tomorrow, first one went well so I hope everything is continuing to grow well! I’ve also started fyremadel and I absolutely hate it, it’s so sore 😭 but other than that I’m feeling surprisingly ok! A little bit bloated and uncomfortable but nothing crazy.

My partner has also been taking impryl for months. Like @HopefulllHolly I have avoided that ‘starts with an egg’ book too, it sounds like making life too hard without much evidence to make it worthwhile. I wish it was as simple as changing shampoo and eating protein! But I know we’ll all try anything if it even gives us a tiny extra chance, so I don’t judge anyone for doing whatever they need to do to get through. I find there so much conflicting advice out there which can be overwhelming in itself so I try keep it manageable.

@CreamLampshade It’s hard isn’t it, I think we all find things to stress about whatever stage we’re at in the process. Just remember your embryos are in the best place they can be and if they are viable they’ll make it! A glass of wine won’t change that, if you’re worried read Emily Oster as she gives evidence-based advice about pregnancy and found a little bit of alcohol is fine. Glad you’re managing to pass the time, chilling in the park sounds ideal. When will you allow yourself to test?

The thing I am currently stressing about is the fear of premature ovulation. I’m panicking about that happening as I’ve read a few stories on these boards where women have turned up for EC and been told the eggs already ovulated, what a nightmare scenario, argh!

@Seasidegirll what day of stims are you on now?

@Ashleighlouise did your cheapy tests arrive? The trigger should be all gone 10 days after taking it. How many days past trigger are you? I guess if you’re pregnant you may never see a fully negative inbetween the trigger and the real HCG.

@positivepetal that’s a relief you’re just going for it on Friday without a scan tomorrow. One less scan must be a relief. I’m so bored of going to the clinic for scans!! But I’ll be going back in tomorrow morning and they’ll make a final decision about EC then.

@HopefulllHolly waiting 48 hours between tests is a good idea and then you’ll see clear progression rather than daily where you might see fluctuation. Does your clinic also do blood tests for pregnancy?

@Gnatalie16 are you also having a scan tomorrow like me?

@Rebekah77 hope you start to feel better soon, and can enjoy some of the food you’ve ordered. You must be so excited to finally use those meds that have been sitting in your fridge!

@hopefullsosbry thanks for the timeline post egg transfer - that's really useful!

I'm finding it very strange during the two week wait having no appointments or obvious chance to speak to the nurses/clinic. It feels like we go from seeing them every other day to nothing - cold turkey! almost wish there was a partway check-in built in where we could ask the questions about the random cramps/spotting etc some of us experience or lack of symptoms. I know we are aware that all these things are normal but I feel like I need someone qualified to confirm! I know I can ring them and ask... but I won't because it's probably ok - I'm just full of hormones and anxiety and need a grown up to say it's ok 😆

Oh absolutely @AnnieStar12 spot on! Definitely wouldn’t judge anyone whatever things people try in all of this. I’ve tried a lot of things over the years TTC naturally! Some of which would seem mental to regular people with no fertility issues 😂

Good luck with the scan today @AnnieStar12 let us know how you get on! I don’t think my clinic (Care) do blood tests. I feel likely you just ring them with your result and they wave you on your merry way until a scan at 6/7 weeks 😅😖😫 which seems mad to me, i would love the reassurance of knowing what my HCG is. But I’ll find out on Monday what their process is I guess, and I’ll put some pressure on for one if not.

@wishfulbean I second that, it’s weird that we don’t have them around as much! Id definitely like the reassurance but I know if I could speak to them I’d just be badgering them all day 🤣 how are you feeling now? You’re so good not testing! I’m in awe!!

@Seasidegirll Good luck with the scan today too! Hope you have some lovely grown little follicles!

@CreamLampshade Dont worry about that one wine!! I actually read on many websites that the occasional red wine can be beneficial, so surely the same for the other colours too. You are also a saint for not testing! I literally couldn’t think of anything else so I had to put myself out my misery 😅 how are you feeling in yourself? Sounds like you have a good plan for distracting yourself. I need to take a leaf out of your book. We tend to go on dog walks to relax but we just end up talking about testing and what we’d do if it works or doesn’t work.

It’s been really nice having you all to talk to, especially in the absence of my OH not knowing I have a positive test yet, and my friends not really getting it. So thank you all for putting up with my moaning, worrying and incessant messages 🤩😊

I haven’t tested today you’ll be pleased to know. I have more FRER coming later, and I have 2 digital tests too. So I’m going to do use them from Thursday to Sunday to show my other half. Really excited to tell him now! I’ve not cried yet about it being positive, as it doesn’t feel real when you test on your own, so I know there will be lots of happy tears when he knows. 🥹🥹🥹

I’m going to find the next stages weird if it stays positive. We’ve told our families and a few very close friends we are doing IVF and they know we are waiting to test. Usually you’d not tell people until 12 weeks that you’re pregnant in case it’s not viable or you miscarry. But they’ll all know. So much pressure! And I don’t feel like we can really celebrate it until 12 weeks as I’ll be too scared. It’s so much harder in every respect than falling pregnant naturally isn’t it. (Sorry another inner monologue I’ve been thinking about recently 😅😂)

@AnnieStar12 yes scan today at 12.30, like you hoping this is my last and EC on Friday as I'm bored of driving 60 miles round trip for a scan to be told I need to keep going. Problem is I'm in my own head too as I'm thinking the heaviness seems to have gone since the last scan so is it too late this cycle now but we shall see. Good luck today for yours x

Keeping my fingers crossed for you @Gnatalie16 and @AnnieStar12 hope you can both go for egg collection this week! I worried about ovulating early too but it was fine, and I think that’s a super rare thing to happen (and usually for people who haven’t been scanned regularly I think!). You’ve got this 💪

@AnnieStar12 they did come! I took a test this morning however it wasn't a long hold as I had to wee through the night at about 2am so I took it at 6:30.. there was the FAINTEST hint of a line but honestly I don't know what to think could still be trigger 11 days past trigger today or could be the start of something.. will see tomorrow if it's any different 😬

@Seasidegirll hope your scan goes well today!! Thankfully I didn't have too many side effects from the stims either, apart from just the fullness closer to EC! So fingers crossed you keep feeling ok!

@Rebekah77 hope you're feeling a little better today, nothing worse than a cold and you're right I think most of our days are filled with worry and anxiety at this point 😅

@CreamLampshade you've done soo well not to test! The longer you leave it the better the results and it means you aren't second guessing anything either!! I also agree with the others, the wine will have made no difference, SOO many people must drink alcohol and still end up with a healthy pregnancy 🤍🤍

@HopefulllHolly I agree! This group as been a life saver 😍 it's so nice to have everyone who just gets it, even though we aren't doing IVF for the same reasons we are all still going through it, so it's been nice to have a place where we can chat freely! Great job on not testing, it does take some serious willpower 🤣 I know how you feel with the pressure of family/friends knowing, it's like you don't want to let anyone down even though everyone is there for you regardless 🥲

I did a test this morning, I didn't have a long hold as I had to wee through the night 😅 a 4 hour hold maybe and there was a really faint line but honestly not sure if that's from trigger (11 days past now) or start of a positive.. time will tell haha

@Ashleighlouise Eeek exciting! I genuinely don’t think it will be your trigger, mine was gone by 3 days past and was double your dose. So keeping my fingers crossed for you it gets darker ☺️ sounds like it’s good news!

I haven’t done a test but I just keep going to look at the tests from yesterday that are darker and smiling at them 😂 so sad! I just can’t believe they are real, so looking at them makes me so happy and feels like such a novelty.

@HopefulllHolly I wish I had tested it out just so I had a better idea 🤦🏻‍♀️ annoyingly I keep needing to wee in the night which is not like me at all so it's hard getting a long hold.. not sure if I should try and hold today and do one later on? The test are sensitive 10iu ones and I'd think with a shorter hold it wouldn't pick the trigger up still?!

Omg I don't blame you!!! 😍😍 it'll feel amazing every time you look at them 🥹 did your OH agree for you to both do a test on Friday?

You are all probably going to think I am crazy.. which I probably am 🤣 but this was the test from this morning, the line showed up within a minute or 2 it was really fast result and I feel like it could have been darker if I got a proper full nights hold! I guess it's just a waiting game to see if the line gets darker or not! I am 4dp5dt today!

Can I ask where people get their tests from? My clinic (Care) now don’t give them out anymore!

I didn't even know there was such thing as ovulating earlier! I had my last scan on Monday and they want to do EC Friday. Is that too much of a gap?

@Gnatalie16 @AnnieStar12 think we are all on the same timings

Had the scan this morning. Still only two decent sized follicles and there’s now three smaller ones which are growing but not very much all still between 6-10mm. Going ahead with egg collection on Friday morning. They say we will most likely get two eggs, but they’ll look in the smaller ones incase there’s any in there too as hopefully they’ll have grown a little more by then. So trigger shot tonight!!!

@Gnatalie16 good luck with your scan, let us know how it goes? If you’re on for Friday then there’ll be three of us all cycle buddies with @positivepetal doing EC on Friday.

@HopefulllHolly yeah I agree this group has been a god send. No one else gets it. Hope you manage to stay sane with the testing, I know how difficult it can be. But honestly I wouldn’t worry getting extra bloods. My clinic doesn’t do them either.

@Ashleighlouise that is very very promising! It’s unlikely to be the trigger at this point. You’ll just have to see if it’s darker by tomorrow 🤞🤞🤞🤞I know I’d be testing every few hours in your position, lol!

@2tuxedocats I get mine from amazon easy at home brand - you can get a box of early response ones. Don’t waste your money on clear blue as it’s all the same strip inside, you’re just paying for the plastic casings with those.

@Ashleighlouise There is definitely a line there!!! I can see it without trying hard! Eeeek exciting!

@2tuxedocats i got mine off Amazon, mine are wondfo 10mlu strips. And I got my FRER from there too as they don’t sell them anywhere anymore dunno why!

@AnnieStar12 yay for trigger tonight! Are you relieved? Two strong eggs is great! Fingers crossed they are both perfect and they both fertilise and make it to day 5 and be perfect little blasts. I’ll be manifesting for you!

Heres my test from yesterday compared to the day 6 one. Nice to see them get darker 🥹