IVF/ICSI June/July

[CakePigeon30]

Hi, couldn't see a thread for June yet so thought I would start one.

I'm on long protocol so actually starting down regulation on 28th May, egg collection not scheduled in until 8th July.

I am on NHS and this will be my first round. Was referred less than a year ago now and have managed to loose 2 and a half stone to get my BMI down.

Anyone else due to start around June?

I didn’t get the size of the biggest one, so much was running through my head at that point. There wasn’t a dominant one last week. The consultant has said she’s going to check about a cyst but that’s never come up before but she said she’ll check it at my next scan to be sure.

@SamVan @SlinkMcSlink @CakePigeon30 thanks!

everyone on here’s been really supportive and been nice to have somewhere to talk about all this. Wishing you all luck and sending good vibes for the rest of your treatments x

@SP83 no I’m sure your head was going a million miles an hour. Were there others that were near similar or was it just one out and out lead? Did they say when you’ll get a period / can you go off of that?

when are they scanning again … on your period? Sending love.

Hi everyone popping onto this thread I'm not up to date with all the terminology but I've just sat for the last few hours & read all 23 pages.. compared to many I don't feel I have to much information.. I think my amh level was 20, I'm 37 going into my 1st round starting my norethisterone 5mg today, 3x a day then break for a week & start Gonal-F 225 on the 17th currently down for egg collection on the 30th of July all being well...very nervous very anxious..hope everyone's holding up x

Hey @Mumiialfie26 welcome and fair play reading all 23 pages. I bet you were so bored 😂 I talk a lot of words so I bet I consumed half your brain last night (sorry 😅🫣)
exciting you’re on your way today tho! And not long before you start injections. Your amh is really good. And you’re part of the mid/late 30’s club with a lot of us so sounds like we’re all similar ages / stages. Wishing you so much luck. I think we’re all nervous and anxious - when you’re riding so much on it it’s natural I think. I’m a bag of nerves this morning about a bloody scan - I don’t know who I’ve become lately 😂🙈

is anyone else doing acupuncture along side ivf btw? I’ve been having it for about 5 months now (just to throw a few more needles into the mix!) but wondered if anyone else has as it has really good studies to help with success rates.

Hiii thanks for the reply..tbf I wasn't bored as learnt quite at bit.. I'm not sure what I'm expecting but I've kinda been left to it to be honest..I'm from Belfast not sure if anyone else is.. that's good all similar ages..my biggest fear so far is egg collection got told that you have to get cannula and I've had such a bad experience of it years ago.. I've shit viens to 😆

No accaupunture for me as think the thought off egg collection is taking the light off it..I only inject for Gonal-F for 3 days then take cetrotide with Gonal-F for 4 days then get a scan on 23rd then nothing on calender until 28th for final scan then EC planned for 30th

Good morning everyone! I’d love to join for support.
A bit of background: I’m 35, dp is 33. We naturally ttc for 4 years - then private investigations led to unexplained infertility diagnosis. Although my AMH is low (5.9)!
We had short protocol last July - 5 eggs, 2 made it to day 5 so a double transfer. We was lucky that it worked first time, however we had a mmc at 11 weeks then 5 weeks later I had emergency surgery for a ruptured ectopic (second embryo was missed on 9 scans) mischievous little bean! That was hard physically and emotionally, I was “lucky to be alive” according to the lead consultant who took over my surgery and raised the incident with the hospital. Fast forward a year, we are staying with the same clinic, we have a new consultant as I have refused to be dealt with by the previous one for obvious reasons and we are now doing the long protocol. I’ve picked my meds up, due to have prostap next week. I’ve introduced acupuncture into this cycle - I actually really enjoy it. The acupuncturist has been through IVF and is extremely knowledgeable with additional information too such as supplements, tests to request and ways to manage my emotional wellbeing. But, in all honesty I am terrified and really don’t want to burden my dp with my fears. Fingers crossed for you all 🤍

It was just one that was bigger, she showed me on the screen and the others looked so much smaller. Period should be as normal so most likely in the next couple weeks and that’s when they’ll scan me again and start round three.

I’m going to call today to ask for a meeting with the doctor, I have so many questions that I need answering.

@LunaPuggies22 @Mumiialfie26 welcome to the thread! There’s quite a lot of us on and I often go back and read too to try to remember each person’s journey. I should have started a board or excel sheet to begin with just for tracking where everyone is at!

@Mumiialfie26 I’ve got real shit veins too and the blood tests have damaged all the ones in my arm and most of those in my hands now 😭 anesthetists are good though and they’ll find one for sure so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I honestly didn’t feel it when I had sedation previously there was so much other stuff going on with all the questions they ask you that you’ll barely notice it. You can ask them to give u some gas first so you’re woozy before they do it too!

@LunaPuggies22 it sounds like you had a rough go the first time and I’m so sorry to hear that. It must hav been awful but well done on starting again and I hope you have a much better round this time. How are you feeling about it?

@GCS34 i want to try acupuncture but have no idea where to go in London and I’m a bit scared of someone sticking needles into me - and here’s the surprise twist - because I’m terrified of getting a blood borne illness 🙈 I just need to check each needle is clean and I’m not being injected by some psycho that I’m not sure how I’ll relax.

Hey @LunaPuggies22 im so so sorry to read your journey. What an awful time you had and so bad that they missed the ectopic in all those scans. I think you’re very wise to seek a different consultant. Have they changed things up a bit this time? What day do you start stimming?

acupuncture is great isn’t it? I really love it and really do calm so much in every session. My acupuncturist used to work for the nhs as a medical skeletal acupuncturist and has since trained further in fertility so in feel in very safe hands. Like you, he brings another world of wisdom on top of the doctors.

really hope this second round is the one. I’m on round 2 too

@SP83 I'm so sorry for you. How are you feeling today and how is Mr. SP? Hope you manage to get a meeting to talk it through with someone and get your questions answered. Do you have low reserve, is that what can cause it or have I made that up?

@SamVan thank you for your kind words. I am glad we decided to go back in for a second round, I’m just very apprehensive this time. Last time I was full of excitement and eagerness to get going.

@GCS34 thank you, it was horrific. They really did provide inadequate care. I have seen my notes, so many discrepancies, false documentation etc. Our new consultant is very transparent with us and supports our decision to seek legal action after this round as she said it’s best avoiding stress for now.
My protocol is completely different this time, she believes long will suit me much more. I have prostap next Tuesday. Then a scan on 23rd to see if my ovaries are resting. I’m not entirely sure when I start stims as they have said not all ovaries do as they are told so we’re going week by week for now. I have to take aspirin this time (had one positive anticardiolipin result then the second was negative) so just to be cautious we’re introducing a baby dose. Then the acupuncture, it is so relaxing isn’t it. I feel a lot more positive and light after a session.
How are you feeling about the second round? Is your protocol the same or has anything changed for you?

@SamVan Oh really? How do you find the stim injections if you're worried of that? The needles for acupuncture are all individually wrapped like the needles we have for stims, they are in steralised sealed packets. But a fear is a fear right, maybe reflexology? that's just as good and helps too. I quote like reflexology.

Have you had a scan today or is it tomorrow?

@LunaPuggies22 Yeah that's good advice to wait for this round before you seek legal. Awful that you've seen so much wrong in the paperwork. What were the documents saying (or rather, not saying)? Sound really stressful but hopefully clean slate, with a new consultant, on a new protocol is starting off on a good foot. Fingers crossed on the 23rd you're all cleared to start!

Yes I love acupuncture I have it tonight and always feel, as you say, light and just calm after. I really get a lot from it. Have you had it all the way through or did break for a bit? I've had it for about 5 months now, most weeks, but have breaks here and there between previous FET cycles.

I'm doing really good! I'm feeling positive, new start, fresh slate and hopefully some better embryos this time. I am on a totally different protocol - I had an issue of quantity not quality last time, so the new protocol is designed to go for quality over quantity, so fingers crossed on that! I had a scan this morning and things are going really good, so that's good to know! Feeling excited again, I was very nervous and anxious prior to this mornings scan, but I always think the first 7 days without a scan is always nervewracking isn't it?

@GCS34 Yes, I agree it’s best to not focus on the stress of that now. I have time to do that.
So it’s quite mind blowing and as a student nurse myself I’m aware of how important documentation and information sharing is.
Multiple notes said “query ovarian heterotopic” - no one shared this with me. One scan - “right sided mass present” no one shared this. The next few scans all said “NAD, no mass seen all areas clear”. This was incorrect as after we lost the heartbeat they said “this area needs monitoring and measuring daily” so it was STILL present. I went home to wait for the loss to begin naturally - it didn’t. I had the procedure 2 weeks later. Then I kept going back for HCG tests and they were sky high still. I kept repeating, I haven’t been scanned since the loss and I was worried about this “suspicious area that should have been monitored” they dismissed my concerns. 3 weeks later I ruptured. So it was in my tube all along not my ovary!
I have a super high pain threshold, I was planning a long dog walk but my dog kept crying and pawing at me and I said to dp “I don’t feel right” he said I looked grey. So I rang the clinic and they immediately knew and rushed me in. The scan showed my abdomen was full of blood, my HR was 145bpm and my BP was 38/72 they had no idea how I was “stable” my surgery took over 3 hours as I lost a lot of blood and the affected tube had adhered to my appendix. But I’m here now, I’m grateful and I’m as healthy as I can be. I know I will be better monitored this time. Our consultant said “they focused too closely on the uterine pregnancy without showing concerns as to what happened with the second embryo” and she will only transfer one this time! Oh they also said in the notes “mass contains fluid content only” - our new consultant let me view the surgery images. I won’t describe - but they also had that wrong too!

I had it after my surgery to speed up recovery then had a break and started back up about 5 weeks ago, she’s very keen on me only having it when I need it the most. Do you feel sensations with it? I find I can feel a warmth inside and she says it’s blood rushing to improve the reproductive organs! Amazing!

I am so glad you feel good! Keep that positivity! Where in your second round are you then? Was the scan this morning a baseline to count follicles? Is yours a long protocol too? I’ve also introduced new foods from what I’ve been recommended by my acupuncturist and Epsom salt baths. Have you done anything else? It’s very nerve wracking but we do it and get through it 🤍

@GCS34 yes I had my scan today. Not positive as I hoped, three are over 18 but the rest are all lagging behind in the 8 to 15 range. I feel sad as even including those 14 and 15 ones I’ll have 7 eggs maximum. If all looks good on bloods I think they will call me to trigger today. I suspect if the clinic did collections over the weekend we’d give it another day but the weekend closure means pushing it 3 more days which might be too much for my biggest follicle and with no guarantee the smaller ones will even grow (they haven’t grown much since last scan).

Hearing how good acupuncture has been for you makes me want to try it too! I might do it next round (if we need it and if I can face it again). How was your scan today? What did they say?

@LunaPuggies22 thanks for sharing your story. I’m so sad and angry that you had to go through all that and have them ignore you when you were advocating for yourself. That is 100% not right and I agree you should push to have it investigated. Was this all done at a hospital or a private clinic? I’m glad you’re feeling better now and glad you’ve got a new consultant that you’re comfortable with.

@SamVan 7 eggs is a fabulous number. I know and appreciate it is disheartening because we feel lots of eggs is more promising. Just one is all it takes though and those 7 may be the strongest ones.
Is your clinic mon-fri only?

There is conflicting research about acupuncture but I’ve heard so many people say that it was the only thing they did different for a positive outcome - so I thought well I’ll try it. I really enjoy it. The lady I use has developed an app - the first of its kind. Solely focusing on fertility acupuncture. It’s received the green light and she’s trialling it shortly. She’s provided me with the sterile needles so that I can use the app between sessions with her.

Thank you. It really was terrible how things were handled with my care. It’s a clinic and then it’s linked to a main hospital too. I expressed to them afterwards, as patients we put our trust, health and life in their hands and they have a duty to keep us safe and from harm. My story is a rare, unfortunate case. They are not usually missed for that length of time. However, it’s one of the risks associated with assisted conception as stated in my paperwork so they should have been more thorough and checked my tubes throughout. I do feel at ease with our new consultant. She’s a bit fiery too, she’s put on my file she must be told about each app/scan I have if she’s not present and staff must be accurate with their findings. I like her ☺️

Hi everyone. So I’ve had my egg retrieval. They have collected 18 eggs. No idea what that means. I’m oddly very relaxed as I’ve been asleep. Staff have been lovely. Just waiting for a follow up now to go home.

All I will say is that it only take 1 egg!!! I’ll be impatient now until frozen embryo transfer.

@GCS34 ive been thinking about it - have my first session of facial reflexology on Saturday so will see how that goes

Does anyone know of any dieticians specialising in ivf with pcos/endo? Bonus points if they’re online
My clinic has one but she’s only available between 5&6pm weekdays and that doesn’t work for me

Am waiting for period and then can start again, so think we’re looking end of august
My follow up appt was actually really good, we had the doctor that did the egg collection. She’s said next time I’ll need a general anaesthetic as I couldn’t tolerate the pain from EC - honestly I only felt the sharpness a couple of times but she said I was all over the place 🤷🏻‍♀️
She had to get help to do one ovary as it was a hard procedure

She said that this would’ve been a co tribute h factor to not getting much, she’s upped doses and is positive that this round will be better

I hope so!

@SlinkMcSlink ahh that sounds brilliant! Well done!

Do you have a transfer date?

Still feeling quite shit about it all, so many emotions at the same time. He’s upset but he is such a positive guy and is focusing on the next steps. I’ve managed to get a meeting for next week. I don’t have that many follicles to start with so possibly could be why. Hate not knowing why.

hope your scan today has gone well

@SlinkMcSlink well done and that’s a great result! Now just the waiting to see what happens! Do rest well these next few days.

@LunaPuggies22 it is a good number just a lot lower than I was led to believe I’d get given my stats. Oh well you’re right you only need one so I’m hoping we have some success. my clinic opens everyday but they only have an anesthetist on Monday to Friday so the collections can only occur then. It’s a pain! I feel like they should do them everyday given our ovaries don’t work to a set schedule. That’s great that your consultant is so on it! I’m on the nhs this round and it’s been stressful as I haven’t had as much communication as I’d like. We might go private next time even though I have 3 funded ivf rounds in my area.

@FlutteryButtery2 I’m glad you are starting again fairly soon. My understanding is they usually do a deep sedation rather than ga for ec. Could you still feel it on a deep sedation? Most people are out cold. They gave me a pessary to take befor egg collection too for pain control.

Strike that. Still in hospital. My blood pressure dropped so sat with a saline drip, a sandwich and my third cup of tea. Nothing can be straight forward. 😂

@SamVan Yes I had extremely deep sedation, I dont remember anything except the needle on one side - she said it was getting dangerous to carry on so I’m assuming that’s why we only got 5
She said they do a fair amount of GAs and it’ll take 20 mins as apposed to nearly an hour which I took last time and two consultants 😬😂

@LunaPuggies22 that was really hard to read and so heartbreaking for you. I'm so sorry you were discounted the way you were and not listened to. You were so incredibly lucky and I think you're really brave to come back and go again. Your determination and resilience will make you a wonderful mother. I remember the doctor saying to me last year when I had my Miscarraige at 9 weeks 'at least we know you can get pregnant', but now i'm not so raw, I can see that it definitely is a confidence and positive thing to be going for another round knowing that it is possible!

So I am in treatment atm, on the short protocol, and on day 7 today of stims. I had a scan this morning and all going really well. I had 15 over the 14mm mark, with another 15ish around the 9-12mm mark so I'm very blessed I am doing how I am, but probs on for a freeze all again but who knows. Back in Friday for another scan but she said probably egg collection early next week - maybe trigger Monday. We'll see where we're at then. Lining all good for once!

@SamVan that's a really good haul - they say the average is 7-11 eggs, so that's bang on the money, plus some of those smallers will catch up yet. Did you have any others in the background that were smaller? I think it's anything over 14/15mm they deem 'mature' as well as far as I am aware. Like you say it only takes one, which doesn't make you feel better I know, but look at Snowdrop - that is a positive success if I ever saw one 😘Are you back in again tomorrow for another scan or waiting to hear? Frustrating they don't do collections on the weekend as it would be good to go a few more days and collect saturday.

@SP83 So sorry you're feeling rubbish still but that's great that you're in next week for a chat. What are you hoping to cover with them and will you ask to change plans etc?

@SlinkMcSlink congrats - great number but sorry to hear you've taken a turn. Keep us posted. hope you're okay - enjoy the sugary tea!

Just got told I’m not triggering tonight and they want to push it to Monday 😭 so upset as I’m totally over the jabs and want this to be done already. I’m so annoyed that they don’t do egg collections on weekends so I’m being made to wait more days than ideal for my collection. And also thought I was done with the bloody fyremadel. Also, because I’m nhs I can’t even speak to a doctor to ask if I can do Friday instead as there are enough eggs.

@FlutteryButtery2 im sorry the deep sedation didn’t work well on you. Definitely sounds like ga would be a good idea.

@SlinkMcSlink how are you feeling now?