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?

@Cherryblossom90 TFF is the worst 😭

Good luck for those starting stims today!

I had my EC this morning, I just woke up from the longest nap 😅.

They managed to retrieve 6 follicles so one of the small ones must have caught up! They said they are all mature! I am really happy with this number because it’s one more follicle than my last cycle. I will know how many have fertilised tomorrow.

I feel fine but have some cramps and a bit of nausea, thankfully I have the weekend to rest and recover!

@YellowTack wonderful news!! ❤️❤️

@YellowTack well done! Hopefully you can have a nice relaxing weekend now. Are you doing anything particular after EC like electrolytes and salty food and stuff? I heard that helps with the bloating and OHSS risks. I also heard laxatives are good after the EC lol 😂
The naps after surgery are definitely the best though. I had a wisdom tooth out and also two spinal surgeries with the same drugs they give for EC and I slept SO WELL for the rest of that day 😅

@YellowTack That's great news! I hope you have a lovely relaxing weekend now.

@YellowTack That's wonderful: 100% mature!
Glad you are feeling OK, Keeping everything crossed for the next steps. And now time to relax and wait for good news 🤞

Morning everyone! Hope everyone is having a nice start to their weekend so far!

Random question as I’ve been debating it for a while now- did anyone else go back to wearing face masks during stims/before EC? I’m kinda tempted just so I don’t get ill with anything that might affect treatment or delay me being able to have the EC next month 🤔 colds/flu tend to spread around my work really easily. I have had the flu vaccine already this year (I’m asthmatic) and so far all I’ve had is a mild cold start of Jan but I wonder whether it’s better to be safe than sorry 😬

Not great news today, only 2 of the 6 eggs have fertilised :(. I really hope these 2 will make it to blastocyst. I feel really pressured right now because it’s a lot of money and time invested and the chances are so slim. I am trying to keep in mind that it only takes one but at the same time in an ideal world I would dream of having 2 children, so I would need more than one! Of course I am already grateful of the 2 fertised eggs as I know some people have less, but it’s still difficult to digest.

@captainsmal I completely understand your debate on masks! I am lucky that I can work from home but I have definitively reduced social activities during stims as I didn’t want to take any risks. I had a cold during my previous IVF cycle and I was so stressed it would affect my chances.

@YellowTack sorry to hear about your fertilisation but try and stay positive, you’re right it only takes one! My clinic were very much quality over quantity. 🤞🏻🤞🏻 they both make it to blast for you!

Has anyone been following “space barbie” on fb reels/insta? It came up as a recommended thing for me to watch and I’m so invested now but she’s an astronaut who only got one embryo and was the last chance as she’s going back into space next year and it’s been a really inspiring journey to watch so far!

I do sympathise though with the ideal dream of more than one child, unfortunately for us I don’t think we will be in a position to pay privately if nhs funding doesn’t work out or if it does but we wanted a sibling years from now. I’ll be freezing any extra embryos just in case we do manage to save up or you know come into inheritance or anything but it’s not very likely and I’ve had a hard time with the idea I may only ever get one child… that’s if this even works for the first one anyway! It’s a difficult balance cos of course you feel grateful to have the chance to even get the first one but you do mourn those dreams of a bigger family… if that makes sense anyway lol.

I know it’s hard but try not to feel too pressured and stress for the next few days, maybe try and think of it as it’s out of your hands now and do some relaxing hobbies or something to keep your mind occupied? Easier said than done I know! Do you have friends/family who know you’re doing IVF who you can talk to and ease your mind a bit this weekend?

Sending positive vibes @YellowTack 🤞 yes that astronaut that ended up with 1 embryo out of more than 20 initially is currently pregnant with that 1 viable embryo - it does only take 1 but obviously understand your worry ❤️ fingers and toes crossed for you 🤞

Hi all
Hope it's ok to join
Firstly best of luck to everyone on this journey it's hard to say the least but we can only hope & try, i've had ivf (icsi) back in 2021 18 eggs collected 12 fertilised & 2 got to 5days blastos we had 1 transferrd & very grateful to have my dd who is now 3 she was born with amniotic band syndrome (dont think its related to ivf or genetics)
Last embryo left & hoping to have the trasnfer on the 17/02 if all goes well with womb thickening & the dreaded thaw process!
Last time i dont recall having the HRT patches but thats what im on now
As others have said i do feel so pressured this time round as we only have the 1 although were paying but its a fraction of the price compared to a full ivf round (my area only offers 1 nhs round) I dont think we will be able to try again after this so really praying hard for it to work!
Any tips/advice is welcome
Again best of luck to everyone ✨

Welcome @Nads2210! I hope your second embryo will thaw and progress nicely!
Thank you @Happibara for your questions yes tg the injections are going well so far no stinging or anything! The menopur is faff to assemble but so far so good. Next appointment on Monday! How are you injections going?
@LuckyFlash I believe you were waiting for your period did it turn up yet?
@YellowTack well done for getting through stims and egg collection worst bit done! Hopefully those fertilised embryos will make it to blastocyts, when would embryo transfer be for you?
@spttc thank you no they didn't know what caused the failed fertilisation (it happened twice to me 😭) but we are being treated for male factor so I guess it may have been the sperm or maybe just one of those things... They have upped my doses since that cycle and Iv taken two different triggers together in the last few cycles. Also pregnacare vitamins before hand. There's definitly been an improvement over time and cycles so one of the changes must be causing ICSI to work better each time but who knows what!

Lots of exciting progress on the thread. @Cherryblossom90 i had lots of spotting on Friday so the nurse told me to come in for a scan before the weekend. Lining was too thick to start but was told to start tomorrow if bleeding started proper. I went for a very long run this morning in the hopes that it would bring it on and it’s the first time I’ve ever been happy to feel it come on while running haha! So starting stims tomorrow night, possible EC 12th or 14th depending on how things progress

Thank you & i remember the injection days!Certainly a faff making the dose up...so much easier injecting myself the first time i got dear MIL to inject & instantly got a reaction as though the med was stuck under my skin (not pleasant) just with many things as soon as you get use to/hang of it it's time to stop!lol
Hope ro see lots of BFPs in the near future
Positive affirmation for myself & everyone on this rollercoaster: it only takes one 🤞🏼
Good luck x

Oh @Cherryblossom90 I have everything crossed this time for you 🤞🤞 that's tough

Just did my first stims injection! For those who have theirs coming up it was honestly painless. I am terrible with needles but I just put an ice pack on for a couple of minutes and looked away and didn’t even feel it.
in our eagerness to get it right, I grabbed an injection from the fridge and came into the living room to set it up and didn’t realise DH grabbed another and was setting it up in the kitchen! Whoops. Luckily I had only attached the needle and hadn’t pressed anything yet so I’ve put the cap back on and assuming I can use it tomorrow…

Finding a lot of comfort being able to follow peoples journeys in here. Although we're all in slightly different stages, it makes the process feel a lot less isolating.

My clinic also has online support groups which I'm thinking of joining as I find it so valuable to be surrounded by other strong ladies going through this rollercoaster.

I finished taking Provera yesterday so waiting for my period to show and if all goes to plan can start stims on 09/02.

Hope everyones week goes well 🤞🏽

@Raegs interesting I've been told to take Provera during stims. Not before. Whereas you are doing opposite. I think it's progesterone right? I guess it can be used different ways, different times of the cycle for different reasons.

@LuckyFlash yeh the injections are literally nothing! I think maybe there's different types and some are more sore than others. That it everyone is very dramatic altogether! 😂 I'm on Pergoveris, it's a pen. Literally no big deal whatsoever.

@Raegs 100% I agree with you I also find mumsnet invaluable during this time, I would never speak to anyone about this stuff in real life!
I just had my second scan this morning 7 follicles look like they are growing (early days!) bit disappointed as we tend to have a problem with fertilizing the eggs so the more follicles and eggs the better really, but I guess there's still time for more to grow! Im on day 6 of my cycle.
@spttc I'm usually fine with injections but the worse ive ever had was cetrotide it's so painful (or maybe I was just using it incorrectly!) luckily no one on this thread sounds like there using it this time!

@Cherryblossom90 it's not always true that more is better as there is some evidence that when there are fewer they may be better quality. Fingers crossed.

I just had my 2nd monitoring scan. First on Friday it was 11 (+ 3 that looked too small). Today it's dropped to 8 good size and 2 that might make it and 4 too small. I'm not sure on the size thresholds? I took a sneaky photo of the screen and mine were:

21mm x 1
20mm x 1
19mm x 1
18mm x 1
15mm x 2
14mm x 2
12mm x 2 (I guess these are the 2 maybes)

8-10mm x 4 (I guess these are too small)

So egg retrieval on Wednesday or Thursday. Sort of hoping Thursday so maybe they have more time. But obviously whatever they think 🤷🏻‍♀️ I find this bit so interesting but I'm dreading the wait between egg collection and blast. So so nerve wracking as could go either way.

@spttc very exciting that you will have your egg collection this week!

Good luck for those starting injections soon!

My clinic doesn’t give any updates on the embryos before Day 5, I find the wait so difficult! They will literally phone me on the day of transfer (Wednesday) to let me know if any embryos made it to blastocyst. Because we live far from the clinic we will already be on our way when we receive the call.

I am keeping my fingers crossed but I am also really stressed. It’s so difficult to focus at work!

Agghhh trigger tonight at 21:15
Egg retrieval Wednesday morning
Don't know how to feel 🙈🙈🙈

Hi @spttc thanks for your replies your egg retrieval is this week that so exciting! 🎉don't be worried they look like great sizes (i think they like them to be around 18mm) What day of your cycle are you on?
It was my second scan today too (day 6 of stims) they were all measuring at approx 8-10mm 😂 my follicles always grow soooo slowly! Egg retrieval is always around day 14 for me becuase of this so possible next Tuesday I'm thinking....
What trigger have you been given?

We’re in the same time line and similar follicle number too! I trigger tonight at 11:30 and egg collection on Wednesday AM.

It’s come around so fast hasn’t it! I was just starting to get used to the injections