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?

@ivfjourneyandme it's good to hear you haven't had any side effects from Overleap. I don't mind injections but are a bit worried over the stims affecting my mood 😱

@InGodsHands Welcome!

I will be on overleap too, short/flare protocol, and my timings work very similarly to yours. It's a first cycle for me, so can't share any experiences.

I'm seriously considering transferring 2 embryos, as my clinic consultant indicated that may be the recommendation we'll receive.

Apparently at my age (41 this year) they consider the "risk" of twins to be very small, below 5%, so we tentatively decided to accept double transfer if that's what the clinic recommends.

Not sure if this will be helpful, but I'm trying not to spend too much time trying to anticipate the future decisions; there are so many variables that trying to consider all the "what ifs" just drove me anxious.
Instead I set myself 2 guidelines I'll apply whenever having to decide something:

1. we will trust the advice of the clinic team (they are the experts after all)
2. when facing a choice (like number of embryos to transfer , whether to do fresh transfer, whether to do PGT-A) we'll go with the option that is more likely to reduce time spent in process.

The second guideline is driven by the fact we are over 40 and signed up for 2 cycles (and we have to use all embryos from cycle 1 before cycle 2 begins). So anything that allows us to collect all eggs as early as possible is worth it.

I know everybody's circumstances are different, so your priorities may be much different from mine... but I found that just the act of deciding what aspects are the most important for us in general really helped reduce anxiety over future choices.

Best of luck in your cycle, looking forward to seeing updates from you! 😊

@InGodsHands I’m also using Ovaleap, they have me starting on 300 units a day. I’ve used it before for previous IUI treatments and it’s very easy to use, needle is very thin too so hardly felt a thing.

I think my clinic will only transfer 2 if they aren’t top quality embryos.. I’m really keeping everything crossed for 1 perfect one 💪🏼

@InGodsHands I'm also going to be on Ovaleap, am starting on 125iu.

Glad to hear people say the injections aren't too bad. I really don't like injections so have asked my partner to do them for me - not sure I could do it myself!

My clinic have said they only transfer one embryo - not sure if thats a standard rule or because at the moment it is an nhs funded cycle.

@ivfjourneyandme glad to hear you did not have any side effects from Ovaleap. That's something that I am worried about but trying to switch off to.

Not sure if it's because it's my first cycle or I haven't started stims yet but it still doesn't quite feel real. Does anyone else feel this way?

@ChyLL i have also been taking coq10 along with the zita West fertility supplement. One of my blood results came back slightly low for vitamin D so on advice from my clinic I have been on 4000iu of vitamin D for a few weeks. I have 2 more weeks at that dose then reduce to a maintenance dose of 2000iu. I've heard good things about the coq10 so hopefully it will help our egg quality!

Wow, it seems like most of your are going to be on overleap! I will be on busereline for down regulation then my stims are going to be Gonal-f and meriofert. I'm slightly nervous as they want me to start the busereline on the 21st but can't get me in for the nurse planning meeting until the 23rd. So I will have 2 jabs to do before I meet with the nurse! They said to watch the videos in the app and call if have any questions.

@ivfjourneyandme Hi, thanks for the welcome 🤗

Sorry to hear that Ovaleap didn’t work for you. 2025 is a lucky year (according to numerology) so fingers crossed for us all!🤞

@mimijacobs Those are really good numbers! Were you successful previously or have you just been on the waiting list since then?

@Raegs They’re starting me on 225iu. I’m not really worried about the injections tbh it’s the anxiety of navigating work and hospital appointments. I work hybrid so hopefully the dates line up but I plan on taking a few days off around the embryo transfer

@Allnew2021 I've heart good things about the coq10 also so I’m really hoping! I’m also taking vitamin D, E and C, Omega 3 and a multivitamin. Anything that’s recommended I added to my list! Fingers crossed those eggs are a bit better in quality 🤞🏼

I used Buserelin for my first IUI… I found that really easy as it was just a bottle of liquid and you pushed the single use needles through it and drew out the right amount. Thin needle and it was similar to the Ovaleap. I’m taking Fermadel (not correct spelling) this time.

@Raegs I too didn’t have any side effects from Ovaleap… I’m expecting some with IVF tho as the dose is higher. My clinic said that I should expect to feel more bloated but that’s because they want all the eggs this time and not just one for IUI.

Does anyone who’s had an egg collection before have any tips? I’ve heard mixed stories about people being ok after to people who’ve felt uncomfortable for about 5 days! I know everyone’s different but if anyone’s willing to share any advice it will be greatly appreciated. ❤️

@ChyLL i was PETRIFIED before EC due to stories I’d read. Procedure itself, I don’t remember anything after the IV canula went in my hand!

I had a fair amount of bleeding for a day or two which I wasn’t expecting but I do bruise easily so I assume that! I was in some discomfort (period pains) for around 48hrs but was well enough to go to work the day after the procedure

Thanks @ivfjourneyandme it’s so hard to know what to expect. I’ve done IUI a few times so feel fine about injections and scans etc but the EC is all new to me.

@ChyLL I have heard really good things about Vitamin D, C E and prenatal & coq10.

Please will you update us on your eggs retrieved and egg quality.

@lovelivelaugh63 of course.. I’m not sure when it will be yet but I’m guessing the very beginning of Feb. I’m so nervous about the numbers side of things… like how many collected, will they fertilise etc… just need to think positive and trust the process

Iv done 5 egg collections. 1 of them I had discomfort for about a week. 4 of them was back to normal within 48hrs. The bleeding is normal I think.

The one where I felt most uncomfortable post egg collection was because apparently something like the ovary had moved somewhere less accessible so they had to 'shove things out the way' (I think my intestines!) to get to it. So I guess it depends on lots of things like that. Not much you can do it terms of where your ovaries are on the day lol apparently they shift around quite a bit. But just to reassure you the other 4 where quick and straight forward and not much pain afterwards which is what I think is what they tell you expect and is most common.

Advice wise what I would say is theres lots of waiting around with nurses, embryologists and the anaesthetist intermittently coming in and out to talk to you so bring an easy distraction. A downloaded audio book worked really well for me. The wait to go in is a bit tense and WiFi may be patchy so make sure you have something distracting downloaded! Then post procedure you have waiting around as well for all the above people to come past again and talk to you intermittently so again you'll want something to distract yourself with.

I can't believe many of you have your medication procedures already! My nurse appointment is Monday 20th which is weekish before my period should start they said that's plenty to write a plan and order meds but this is making me stressssssed reading all this. I'm going to call and see if there's any cancellations to bring it forward to this week. Anyone else still waiting for their nurse consult appoiment to be told what meds they will be taking?

@Cherryblossom90 ouch, so sorry that one of yours didn’t go well.. I guess there is no control of where they go! I have a tilted cervix so when it comes to that part of treatments it can be a little tricky for them to find sometimes. Although out of 3 IUI’s it was only tricky to find once… so hoping the odds are on my side.

I had my nurses appointment November 24, but that’s because I chose to space it out and knew I wouldn’t be doing treatment until Jan/Feb 25. I reckon tho that they could get your nurse appointment done and meds could be ordered the same day if needed. As soon as I paid for mine they delivery company contacted me.. so could definitely be doable but I know what you mean by the worry but try not to be stressed, maybe call the clinic and see what the suggest. 😊

Struggling today. One of my friends has given birth to a beautiful baby girl and I’m sat here crying over how unfair it is. Makes me feel like such a bad person.

Im petrified of my next round of IVF due to us failing at fertilisation and being told if that happens again, it’s game over.

All feels like too much today.

@ivfjourneyandme Im sorry you are having a hard time today. Its awful isn't it, my best friend had a baby last year within a couple of weeks pf me being told by my IVF clinic that my IVF cycle had to be delayed until I had a hysterescopy to remove adhesions. Its so hard because you are happy for them but it also hammers home what you are missing out on. You are not a bad person and your feelings are completely valid and normal in your situation. Sending hugs 💛

@ivfjourneyandme Don’t feel bad, it’s natural to feel that way. I’m so sorry. Social media used to do that to me so I avoided for a while then I had to change my thinking and just imagine myself in their shoes. Easier said than done on this long ivf journey that we really have no control over 🥹

Hope you feel better soon x

Thanks both. My younger sister had popped 3 kids out in last 3 years - makes it seem so surreal how for others it’s so easy

@ivfjourneyandme thinking of you ❤️

Hi @ivfjourneyandme I can relate to how you feel it is really hard 💐 Have they changed the protocol they are using for you for this round to improve fertilisation? I think I remember them putting the doses of gonalf up for me.

@Cherryblossom90 changing from short protocol to a long. Starting on maximum dose but different drug I think x

@Cherryblossom90 I am also waiting for my nurse appointment which is end of January to find out what meds I will be taking and to plan my protocol? Does anyone know what happens after that? How soon after can I start my treatment?

@lovelivelaugh63 I think it will depend on your clinic and what protocol you will be on. Before Christmas I had been told I would be able to start either in jan/feb and that I would be down regulating from day 21 of my cycle but I hadn't been given my full protocol/treatment plan. My period came on the 1st of Jan so I rang when they were open on the 3rd to ask if I would be able to start on the 21st of January. The nurse checked with the embryology team and they called me back last week to say they can fit me in this cycle. So, I can start down regulation injections on the 21st but they can't fit in the nurse planning session until the 23rd. They sent over the protocol and advised me to watch the injection video on the patient portal and I will do 2 days of injections before having the meeting! So in theory you could start pretty soon after your meeting or it could be a bit of a wait depending on your cycle and if they can fit you in etc. I hope that makes sense!!

@Allnew2021 thank you, that makes sense. I've been told I will be having short protocol IVF.

I think a short protocol usually starts near the beginning of your cycle (day 2 or 3 I think?) so if that falls soon after your planning meeting hopefully you will be able to get started pretty quick.