IVF/ICSI February 2025 🌟 ❤️

[ivfjourneyandme]

Hi ladies,

Starting early with this thread in hope some are on a similar time frame!

36yo, been trying to conceive for 2yrs. Severe MFI as well as AFC of 3 and AMH of 1.9pmol/l

First IVF cycle with ICSI ended with a total failed fertilisation - 4 eggs collected, all mature but no fertilisation.

We have now switched to long cycle and added in DHEA, COQ10, melatonin, vitamin D, omega 3 alongside our fertility vitamins.

I should start my period end of Jan; and then start down-regulating February with transfer hopefully late February if I’ve worked it out right!

Anyone else on this mental torture of a ride?

Hi! This is just the thread I was looking for! I'm starting an ICSI cycle this month too (trying for a second we have one child tg from Ivf already tg) My period is due 29th of Jan so I will start the stimulation injections then. Hopefully hopefully there will be an embryo to transfer in Feb (I think it would be the third week in Feb like you said) so very similar to you in term of dates!!

But like you Iv done two cycles in the past which led to egg collection but no fertilisation so I know this is a destinct possibility! I'm already feeling stressed about this! This is our last chance financially to do an ICSI cycle for a while. The we will have to save up again (it's so expensive) so I'm really really hoping and praying it will work first time and we get a blastocyte and then the blastocyte sticks when transfered to become an embryo.... So much can go wrong on so many stages it's a bit overwhelming to think about all of that isn't it! I'm trying to stay positive and distract my mind!

Wishing you all the best of luck and I know how heartbreaking it is to have no fertilised eggs and Im sorry you went through that.
I term of all the extras vitamins etc your taking this time I found I got the most and best blastocytes in the past (two 5AA blastocyte!) when I took pregnacare conceive for three months pre egg collection. It made a real difference and lead to our child. So your definately on to something and all the extras your taking will hopefully make a real difference for you too this time. Wishing you all the best.

Hi, hope you don’t mind if I jump on this thread. Im doing my first round (and only round) of IVF (possible ICSI) in Feb.. I’m due my period around Jan 20th.

I’ve also been taking supplements since around August 2024. In 2024 I did x3 IUI… the 1st worked but unfortunately ended at 6 weeks and the following 2 IUI didn’t work.

Im a single mum to a 3 year old and I’m now trying for baby #2 as a single mum and using a donor so I know there is no male issues. My AMH and AFC are normal for my age but I’m 39 so egg quality isn’t on my side… really hoping that the Coq10 and other supplements have been helping!

The heartbreak and money side of things is really difficult but really hoping this is the year!

Hi
I’m due to start my first round of IVF/ICSI long protocol Feb. Period due 20 Jan also, but starting my round will depend on how busy the January list is.

I’m getting NHS funding and I’ve been told a January period start is unlikely given NHS LAB closed for 3weeks over Christmas which had caused a backlog of patients (as if a woman’s cycle just stops for the festive season!). But I’m keeping everything crossed there will be space when I call.

First time ever going through the process and it hasn’t been easy getting here (Covid and NHS funding loops to jump through and the clinic “losing my file” for 9months) so hoping the rest of the road is a bit more smooth sailing.

Good luck ladies ☺️

Nice to meet you all. I find it really helps going through this with others at a similar stage 😊

I agree it's a real support. @KayEmmSquared sounds like youve had quite the journey getting to this point! Let's hope we all get to start treatment as planned this month!

Hi all, happy near year 2025 to all. I hope we all get what we've desperately been waiting for this year 🤍

We have been ttc for almost 4 years. Always hoping that this year is the one but the year passes and we do not have a baby in our arms. We started our fertility journey with the NHS around July/August time. We have unexplained infertility.

We are due to plan our IVF cycle this month (end of Jan) and will be starting our ivf cycle Feb/march. I am young, and never imagined to experience this journey for children. I've always loved children, and I am scared for what is to come. I really hope this works for us all. 🤍

Happy New Year all!

I'm planning my IVF journey with sperm donor at the end of February (in Cyprus)

My period is also due around the 23rd of this month, which I will then need to get my blood and scans tested.

Can anyone recommend a good affordable clinic to get these done in London? My GP won't refer me for tests because I'm taking the private route :(

Happy new year and oh my goodness that's so mean of your GP not to allow you the blood tests! We are also going private but the GP put all our bloods through the NHS. When I asked I did say I wanted it through the local NHS hospital bc it's a 10 min walk from my house and the private hospital is an hour travel there and back so I asked the GP to help us as it's to much for us to keep travelling unnecassarily and very stressful. As in I didn't mention money becuase I knew they would say no although this is of course also a concern! maybe try that method? And speak to your actual GP not the receptionists (I know easier said then done!)

But wait are you asking about the bloods and scans you need before starting medication & period ie the ones you would do now? Or are you asking about the ones they do to check the follicles development and that your hormone levels are safe during treatment. Because the blood during treatment they need the results ASAP (usually same day) as they need to know you are well and they need the scan results ASAP too to decide wether to decrease or increase dose so you couldn't get those from a different provider anyway as the clinic wouldn't be able to see this information quickly enough surely?

Or are you not doing an ICSI cycle?

Hi all!

I am about to start my first IVF/ICSI this month with stims and egg collection scheduled for early/mid Feb.

My partner and I have been trying for just over 3 years - his sperm morphology when tested was 1% so it's been suggested that this could be the cause of struggling to conceive.

I have started taking provera today. Feeling apprehensive and nervous for what is to come but trying to distract myself and keep occupied. Finding all the information and community on here very helpful!

Good luck on your journeys everyone 🤞🏽

Hi CherryBlossom90,

Wow lucky you, unfortunately my GP refused I would try and speak to another doctor but I've already paid for my blood test appointment...no biggie

The blood test is to test my Hormone levels on day 2 or 3 of my period. FSH, LH, Estradiol, Prolactin, TSH, fT3, fT4 and AMH.
I've had my baseline scan done in Oct of last year and had 15 follicles showing (not quite sure about the measurements)

Were you asked to do the same tests?

So the hormone level bloods and thyroid bloods that you described above that need to be done on specific days of the cycle we were able to do via the NHS.

The AMH is something that the NHS doesn't do apparently other than if fertility clinic settings. So your GP practice or local general blood clinic in a NHS hospital won't be able to do this one.

We had to do the AMH privately. Maybe this is why the doctor refused all of them, bc you asked for this one too?

Hello Ladies may I join? Seems like a good fit for my situation.

Similarly to @Raegs I'm due to start my 1st IVF cycle this month, will be taking from Norethisterone next week, with stims and scans scheduled for end January / early February and egg retrieval penciled in for second week of February.

After all the delays, tests, consultations it is finally happening! I'm trying to focus on the excitement of it and not disappointments of the journey that preceded this.

@ivfjourneyandme & @Cherryblossom90 you've had much more experience and obviously had to deal with the emotional rollercoaster of this already... any tips for us first-timers?

Is there anything that helped you cope with your previous IVF cycles or what you will be doing this time to make it easier?

I hope we'll all have our wishes granted before end of 2025! looking forward to lots of BFP announcements here 💖

@Happibara welcome! This cycle I’m going to try and zone out of the journey as much as possible and ‘go with the flow’. It may not happen but I’ll try. It was so consuming, it really affected me mentally.

I know it sounds negative, but for me personally, I wish I had prepared myself better for a failed cycle at different stages. I was aware of transfers not resulting into pregnancies but I didn’t realise it could be fail before then which hit me very hard and has taken both myself and partner a lot to get over.

Most of all, be kind to yourself and your partner. It’s tough trying to fight for something that comes so naturally to others

@ivfjourneyandme thank you, I really appreciate your comments - I'd much rather be prepared for the negative outcomes!

And you are absolutely right, before reading your post I fretted over how many eggs I'm likely to have, and whether our embryos are likely to be good grade, and agonised whether to dish out money for PGT-A testing... the possibility they might not fertilise hasn't really sunk in! Shortsighted, I know 😅

So I'm actually grateful for a wider perspective.

Myself I'm really trying to maintain a "whatever will be, will be" attitude, and just try and see the cycle as a way to speed up / condense our efforts, and also have more visibility of the process.

I'm glad you manage to go with the flow, I hope it will be emotionally much easier for you this time!

Welcome @Happibara sound advice from@ivfjourneyandme

I think that being as relaxed as possible is really key to not becoming overwhelmed. The stimulation injections really put me on edge and effected my mood. I'm avoiding all know 'stressors' eg the news, my sister 😂etc this time too.

Also just to say like ivfjourneyandme mentioned there can be lots of disappointments. The main one to be aware of that I found so hard to deal with was how fluid and changing the dates they give you are. It makes it really hard to plan. For example one nurse may scan your ovaries and say 'looks like your be ready for egg collection on Monday' and then a couple of days later the next nurse who scans you says 'no looks like it will Wendsday for egg collection actually' so dissapointing. But after a couple of cycles of this sort of thing I now try to take any predictions with a pinch of salt but it's so hard not to get your hopes up and to have literally zero control of what your body is doing! I guess it's not called the 'Ivf roller coaster' for nothing.

Wishing you success with this cycle!

@Cherryblossom90 thank you, that's really good advice. We've had some major delays where an appointment rescheduled by 2 days actually cost us a month and a half delay in the overall timeframe 😱

Hearing any comments to the tune "if this doesn't happen we'll adjust timings" makes me break in cold sweat 😅 I completely understand that they cannot predict exactly how our bodies will react to stims and procedures, but after all these disappointments TTC I'm finding it hard to be patient.

I hope I'll keep my peace, as long as everything is progressing and the cycle as a whole is going ahead!

I really hope you'll have an easy and successful time this round! thank you for support ❤️

@mimijacobs Hey, I’m also doing IVF with a sperm donor but in the UK. I had bloods similar to the ones you listed at a place called Ultrasound Direct. I know there are quite a few around the country so maybe you have one near you?

Will you have all your scans to check follicle growth in the UK or are you having everything in Cyprus? I did think of having the IVF abroad for cost purposes but logistically it would be too much for me.

I hope you find somewhere and manage to get everything you need done 😊

Hi, I hope everyone is doing ok today. I origionally joined the January thread but I recieved my protocol today and I think this Februay thread is a better fit! I am due to start down regulation on 21st January so my stims will fall in early February.

We have been trying to concieve for over 4 years and my only pregnancies were a molar pregnancy and an ectopic (both in 2021). I had lots of investigations due to a persistently thin uterine lining and they found I had adhesions (they think these might have been caused by me previous ERPC procedure from the molar pregnancy). I had a hyserescopy in July to remove the adhesions and then had 3 months of hormone treatment to help my lining recover. I was finally given to go ahead for IVF just before Christmas. I am 39 now so a little worried about my egg quality and quantity!

Im sorry you've had such a hard time @Allnew2021 wishing you all the best with the IVF💛

Hi @ChyLL
How exciting. Are you using an anonymous donor from a bank in the Uk?

Yes I booked with Randox who had a good offer for fertility bloods.

I had my US test done back in Oct at Create/ABCIVF and they did send over the results to me. Might have to do another one when I get to Cyprus.
I will also start my stims in the UK before I fly out

Thank you @Cherryblossom90 . I hope this cycle works out for you 💛. Have they changed much from your previous cycles to try and improve fertilisation?
My husband's results were within normal range but borderline for morphology so they are aiming for ivf but might switch to icsi on the day if egg retrieval depending on his sample.

@Allnew2021 Sorry you’ve had such a hard time, Fertility isn’t fair is it 😓. I’m also 39 and my main worry is egg quality… I’ve been taking coq10 for a few months and a few other supplements in the hope it will help in anyway possible. Have you taken anything too?

@mimijacobs I am! I’m at a UK based clinic and they have their own donor bank so I chose from there. How exciting 😍

I read all 20 odd pages of the December thread and hoped someone would create one for Jan/Feb!

I’m 37 blood work was all good. AMH 24! I would like more testing to find out what’s actually going on inside us both but also conscious of time.

Cycle starts 20th so looking like an early Feb transfer as I’m on short protocol. Is anyone else going to be on Ovaleap?

Is anyone considering transferring 2 embryos? I have thought how amazing to have twins but aware of the risks.

Good luck ladies. We’re all in this together <3

@InGodsHands welcome 👋

I used ovaleap for my previous cycle. I didn’t have any side effects and didn’t find the injection too stingy. Was originally on 300IU and then increased to 450IU. The pen for injection is super easy to use!

I was told they’d only put two back in me if they were of poorer quality because of the risk of twins. Sadly didn’t get that far!

@InGodsHands wow that's a good number.
My AMH was 29.1 in Dec 2023. I was also 37 at the time. Turned 38 now
But will go for my tests very soon to check again, since a year has passed