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?

After a bit more of a look online the ewcm does seem normal at this point likely because of the oestrogen levels raising but doesn't necessarily mean I'm really close to ovulating.

Sorry, first time IVF person and overthinker/worrier here 😂

I've just had a failed June transfer (fresh)

I'm 29, my DH is mid 30s. We've got a DC who is 2 and was conceived first month of trying. TTC for just over a year and just had our first IVF privately.
Results: 13 eggs retrieved, 8 mature, 1x day 5 embryo, 2x day 6 embryos. None euploid.

Those sound like terrible results for my age?! AMH is 13 so not terrible. A million investigations have been done on myself and DH (hormone profile, hycosy, follicle counts, scans, semel analysis... to name a few), no issues found at all.

Has anyone had a similar case? Do we need to adjust the protocol? Change clinic? What questions would you ask to the doctor?

@strawberrylaces12 lots of cervical fluid is really normal due to increase in estrogen. I've never had as much fluid as I did during stims and mine started from like 2-3 days after stims started.

Sorry to hear about the failed transfer :( I'm still quite new to this but has much changed since you had your first child? Either of your diet, lifestyle habits etc.? Did the semen analysis include DNA fragmentation?

Definitely worth seeing if the clinic thing a different protocol or dosage is worth considering. But as I say, I'm very new to IVF (currently stimming for my first round) so I'm sure others will have more ideas.

Phew thank you!! In a normal cycle I usually only have 1 day/occasion (sometimes 2) of ewcm and it's usually only a day or two before ovulation so I just panicked. Both a clear blue ovulation and lh strip test show no sign of ovulation thankfully. I didn't think it would be the case but just suddenly thought omg what is the clinic missed a larger follicle or something. Honestly IVF is just a minefield 😅

@strawberrylaces12 honestly our diet and lifestyle has changed but not in the way you'd imagine. When we conceived our first child we were both drinking (not passed out every night but easily going out 3-4 times a week having a few cocktails each night), eating quite unhealthily in that I'd either skip a meal or get a takeaway, my husband smoked (rarely).

So so strange. And I'm only 3 years older?! From mid 20s to late 20s

Yeah that is strange. I'm not sure that the research is conclusive on it, but how about stress levels/wellbeing?

Did the semen analysis include DNA fragmentation? If not that might be worth looking at.

Hey, just wondering how everyone is getting along? I started stims on Sunday, on 450iu of meriofert which is super sting-y when it goes in 😣 Got to add Gonal F in on Saturday so not quite sure where I'm going to fit three injections a day, my tummy already looks like a pain cushion.

Apart from alternating sites, going in slowly with the needle and at a 90 degree angle (for Ovaleap I did anyway, for Ovamex it had to be a 45 degree angle as per the instructions) then I'm not sure what else. Maybe ice the area that can help some people. Thankfully my stomach and legs have been fine, no bruises, not sure if I'm one of the lucky ones?

Egg collection is Friday for me. I'm nervous! Taking the trigger injection tonight. But the scan today showed about 8 follicles 'over the line' (18mm and higher, largest one was 21mm today) and quite a few following that should keep growing. I've been on 112.5 Ovaleap the whole time as I've responded well (relatively high amh and afc). Thankfully not really had any side effects, maybe a bit of bloating but I imagine once I take the trigger shot that could get worse. They said depending on how many eggs are collected that they may need to freeze all if they are concerned about OHSS. Just got to wait and see!

@strawberrylaces12 sorry missed this!!
dna fragmentation - yes we've done that.
Stress / wellbeing - hmmm it's difficult to say. When we conceived our first child I wasn't stressed at all. We weren't actively trying as such so I wasn't stressed about ttc. I had just left a semi-stressful job to focus on planning my wedding (but I 100% didn't find wedding planning stressful) and was planning to find a less stressful one in a couple of months (spoiler alert: I didn't, because I got pregnant)
Now - I'm a SAHM but I have a lot of help, so I'm not stressed on that front. I am, however, very stressed and ttc and age gap with my oldest baby (I know, I know!! I just wanted 2 under 2 or at least 2 under 3 but now it's looking like 4... hope they can still be pals!)

@BirdIsland icing helps! Not just for pain but it shrinks your blood vessels and reduces the chance of hitting one and causing a bruise. Breathe in as you inject in. I promise it gets better.

@strawberrylaces12 sounds like it’s going well! 18 to 21 is a good size! Good luck for tomorrow. I did a freeze all too and recommend it.

Sounds like you checked pretty much everything then! The only thing I can think is the stress and pressure of ttc impacting but I know studies are a bit hit and miss with that actually being a thing. Do you do much mindfulness stuff? I really hope you can speak to the consultant to see if anything needs changing!

And I know it's hard but try not to stress too much about the age gap. I'm an only child and had a great childhood, made friends with children my age and other ages. I know a lot of people who get on really well with siblings much older/younger, and equally I know people who don't get on with siblings who are a similar age!

Thank you! The dreaded wait for tomorrow is really. I did the trigger shot last night. I'm just so anxious that I'll have ovulated too early or something. I'm actually less bothered about the actual procedure now and more about the outcome. If anyone has any egg collection top tips (for before and after) let me know!

Thanks for the tips, the buserelin was fine, I think there is just so much of the meriofert it takes ages to inject!

I have my scan on Tuesday so we'll see how things go. Feels weird to have been doing all these injections with no indication of whether they've actually done anything. Only side effect so far has been headaches.

Good luck @strawberrylaces12 for your egg collection, hope it goes well.

Good luck for the morning @strawberrylaces12!! sounds like you have a good cohort of eggs in there.
before tips… not much really as you can’t eat or drink anyway so no pre tips. Post, I’d say eat little and often and sip drinks don’t gulp. And have some salty snacks to hand (I found salted popcorn was good as wasn’t too heavy / didn’t sit too much on my tummy). The salt helps combat fluid after. Although all the salt in the world had no bearing on me getting bad OHSS but I’m an anomoly! And don’t be alarmed if you feel some pain / aching round your ovaries for a few days. That’s normal. Aside from that enjoy the really nice sleep!!!

@strawberrylaces12 second everything @GCS34 said and also hot water bottle helps with soreness after. You’ve basically done all you need to now and can relax! Good luck!

@BirdIsland @GCS34 @SamVan thanks all!! Really helpful tips. I'm now feeling less anxious about the actual procedure and more about the outcome!!

@strawberrylaces12 yes I'm hoping the age gap isn't too much of an issue in the end! I just struggle to see how much a 2 year old will have in common with a 6 year old or how much they'll play together. But I guess in the longer term, when you're 20, you'll be just as close (or not close!) whether your sister is 23 or 24 or 25

@strawberrylaces12 oh and keeping fingers crossed for the egg retrieval!! My only tip (from my extremely limited experience) is to plan a relaxing afternoon for afterwards as I told my DH he's ok to go back to work, took my toddler out and realised I am in fact not up to being out with a toddler haha

Good luck @strawberrylaces12

@strtng @SlinkMcSlink thank you!

It went well and I'm home now. A bit of discomfort and pain currently but manageable (feels like a mix of bad trapped wind and bad period pain) and I'm keeping top up with paracetamol. They got 24 eggs! I think they'll call me this afternoon to let me know how many are mature and then keep me updated with fertilitisation/embryo info all being well 🤞 they said that assuming that I don't get any symptoms of ohss that I can still do a fresh transfer so hoping to keep ohss at bay 🙏

And yes having a really relaxing afternoon and weekend too 🥰

@strawberrylaces12 24 eggs is amazing!!! Hoping for lots of them to get fertilised 🤞🏼 is this your second round?

Me too 🤞 no it's my first. So now if I did have to go through egg collection again, I would feel less nervous about it as it was absolutely fine 😊 where are you at with things currently?

@strawberrylaces12 I'm abroad in my home country until end of August, and then will likely do my WTF consultation (I think I've heard that's what it's called?) and do my second round

@strawberrylaces12 that's a great result! Well done and yeah hopefully keep the OHSS at bay. I got 27 eggs, but went rapidly down hill about 4 days after collection so really keep an eye on things over the course of the weekend, and make sure you drink plenty and have plenty of salt. That's my only tip from me who had similar to you! I assume if you're doing a fresh you had the ovitrelle trigger? Fingers crossed you're all good and can go ahead with fresh on Wednesday!