IVF / ICSI June 2025

[GLizzie88]

Hi All!

I might be early to it here, but thought I'd start a threat for anyone who knows they'll be going through it in June this year!

I'm based near Sheffield, and will be going through the treatment in sheffield. I'm 36, will turn 37 during the treatment. We've been through one failed round last August, so we've spent the time since getting further private checks done, and now we're ready for the next round. We came back as 'normal' on the nhs tests, but we found other things with these private tests! We've had all of our follow ups, catch up consultation appointments. Next appointment is our nurse appointment on the 5th May, then after that it's waiting for my next cycle to start at the very end of May / beginning of June.

From the further tests we've had done, I'm now on thyroid medication to bring my thyroid down to fertility recommended levels, my partner had DNA Frag & Oxidative Stress tests done and we've made improvements based on the results of these. I've also been having some acupuncture, which I've also feel has helped my sanity!

Please share your stories and hopefully we can all support each other during this. I'm much more nervous this time, even though I know we're better set up than we were last time.

Congratulations everyone who has gone through eggs collections, some of you are well over achievers hahah what great news. I hope there are great little embryos at the end of all the waiting and testing. My period is suppose to start in about 13days so a while away for me yet and if its anything like my last period it was 10 days late so who knows what im in for. Good luck to everyone who has just started their stims, hope the first injection wasn't so bad, its hopefully only up from here.

@KittyIIV I think I’m weirdly the same! I just did (hopefully) my last morning injection. I have a scan/bloods today which will confirm whether we trigger tonight. ☺️

Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Hope all goes well with your scan!! X

Amazing!!! Good luck for the scan today let us know how you get on. I had my trigger last night and I found it the least painful of the lot. Such a great feeling that they’re all done x

I was meant to come on my period today but it doesn't look like that's happening.... the first time in a long time I've actually wanted my period to hurry up 😂

Haha I know the feeling @CloudyIvy55! It’s so funny how your mentality shifts during UVF. Willing my withdrawal bleed to start asap.

@Limmers14 The way I was actually happy for my period to come! It was a foreign feelings after these past few years!

Question for those who have had transfers: were you told not to do heavy lifting, and if so, how long was that for? (Need to set expectations at an event I'm volunteering for at the end of the month, e.g. whether I can help with gazebos, etc., or need to stick to labelling/floats, etc.)

Hi all, great to hear how everyone's getting on! I've had 2 days of cetrotide, i forgot how itchy it is!!
We watched joy tonight on netflix, it was very emotional.

Think I'll have a max of 7 follicles to work with still, im willing egg collection day so we just know where we're at.

@KayEmmSquared oh bless you. Yes for the final pill tonight! I think I've been lucky so far as I actually haven't had any side affects from the northisterone. Probs means I'm in for a rough ride here onwards!
We had our planning meeting on weds & my drugs arrived Saturday. I honestly do not have a clue where to start! Instructions given to us at the planning meeting were so limited & now I have the drugs they don't make sense to me at all. I have 2 lots of Meriofert. 1 in the fridge & 1 not. The instructions hand written on my plan say mix 900 vial as instructed. 300 to be given daily 7-9pm in the thigh.
Literally this is all it says. I've not been given any video tutorials or info on how to actually inject. I presumed when the drugs arrived Id have a link to further instructions or videos etc but no. So I'm going to call the clinic in the morning & hopefully they will be able to sort me out. What guidance did other people get?
I also have no idea what protocol I'm on. I need an IVF guide for dummies! I'm just taking each day as it comes and hoping to get by.

Hello @Gosia19@KittyIIVsorry for the late responses. Don’t know why I chose to start IVF at such a busy work time 😅 I’m going in for scans and bloods this morning to hopefully confirm egg collection is on Wednesday! If yes I’ll trigger tonight. Sounds like you are both well on your way, amazing news. Sending you both so many good vibes for it. Xxxx

those who have been through egg collection, please can you reassure me that it isn’t that scary? Sorry if I sound wimpish. I’ve been through two MVAs/hycosy/HSG/ectopic surgery before so I’ve a fairly good pain threshold I think. But for some reason I’m nervous about the EC.

hope everyone is ok xxxx

Hi @Rayofsunshine22 - best of luck with next steps (same to you @KayEmmSquared!). It feels like a lot when all the meds arrive, I was pretty overwhelmed! Sorry that your clinic have been so vague.

I was on Meriofert but a different dose (150 IU each evening) and mine didn’t need to stay in the fridge and I mixed with another drug so my instructions might have been different. And I’m not a nurse!

I definitely found the instructions hard to take in before I actually had the medication. Could you take one out of the packet and ask the clinic to repeat the instructions to you while you are looking at it to double check what they mean?

Or if you’ve just finished norehisterone, have you got a scan/appt before you start where you could ask there? I know some clinics do this and some don’t.

I found YouTube really helpful for videos on how to inject, like this one:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JWZPhvS8kqc&pp=ygUgbWVyaW9mZXJ0IDkwMCBpdSBpbmplY3Rpb24gdmlkZW8%3D

Mine looked like the kit above, but I noticed other videos show a kit with pre-filled syringe. You could try some of these to find one that looks like your medication. I had a different medication kept in the fridge (Cetrotide) that had a pre-filled syringe, the instructions were the same for this, you just skip the step where you draw up the water solution.

Other things I found helpful:

• For medicine in the fridge, I took it out 30 mins before so it was at room temperature when I injected
• Each time I took a dose, I first put the medicine vials on the counter and took a photo on my phone. Then if I worried later I could look back and confirm to myself I took the right amount.
• I put an ice pack on where I was going to inject for a few seconds beforehand, and honestly never even felt them most of the time. When I did feel something, I could barely feel it and I wouldn’t describe it as pain. I’m not sure if the ice made a difference as I did it every time.
• I found it tricky to hold the syringe and push down the plunger with one hand, so once the needle was in, I stopped pinching the fat with my other hand and used that to push the plunger down. Other people have said they used their thumbs. I also couldn’t really feel the liquid going in (I was worried this would feel weird pushing it in).
• Once I had pushed the plunger the whole way, I held the needle in for 5-10 more secs as medication is less likely to escape when you remove the needle.

Hope this helps, this is just my experience and your instructions might be misleading, so I don’t want to risk giving you the wrong info. I hope it’s a bit reassuring.

Ugh sorry I’m half asleep so the bottom bit doesn’t make sense! I meant your instructions might be different, so I don’t want to be misleading! ☺️

@Hopeandfaith1990EC isn’t as bad as I thought at all!I felt the odd little pinch sensation, but it lasted less than a second and I would 100% rather have another EC than an HSG! plus the sedation makes the day go so much faster lol

honestly try not to worry, it’s really not as bad as you build up in your head xx

This is incredible advice @Gosia19 especially taking a photo!! I'm always like 'I definitely did that wrong' an hour later haha xx

Thank you! Super helpful xx

Lovely to read everyone’s updates and thanks for the well wishes with my scan! ☺️ My clinic have never really told me a ‘good’ amount of follicles to expect, they’ve mentioned being over a certain size but also I don’t know if there is such a thing as too big. I expect this is with good reason as everyone is different and it only takes one, and probably best for me as I’m an over thinker! But I got quite emotional and hopeful seeing the chart with the follicles that were over the target line. 🥰

I will be doing the trigger injections today, waiting for a call this afternoon to tell me the exact time. And then egg collection on Wednesday! @Hopeandfaith1990 we might be on the same day, hope your scan goes well!

@Hopeandfaith1990 That doesn’t sound wimpish at all! I’m a first timer so don’t have experience, but I have been sedated before for a more intense procedure, I felt pleasantly spacey and I don’t remember feeling anything. I’ve also heard other people on here say they love the sedation and felt really relaxed! Hope it brings reassurance.

@KittyIIV Sending you loads of love and luck for your egg collection today!

It will feel weird not having anything I can do tomorrow with medication so I’ll probably be glued to this thread haha.

@KittyIIVhope all goes well with your EC today and you get lots of good eggs xx

@KittyIIV good luck with your egg collection today!

Again, everyone's experiences are so different with different clinics!

@KittyIIV good luck for EV today.

@Hopeandfaith1990 I was also a bit worried before my first EC but honestly it was fine. The only painful part was when they injected the sedation medicine but it only lasted a few seconds and then I was asleep. I have also being through an MVA and EC is A LOT less painful. You can expect to be a bit sleepy all day after the sedation. I didn’t really feel any pain after the procedure, just some very minor ovarian cramps, which I attribute to the ovaries getting back to their normal size.

I got an update from my clinic today, only one of the 3 follicles has fertilised, I guess that was to be expected.
I know will pray that this one embryo will make it to day 5!

@YellowTack Keeping you in my thoughts - it only takes one!!!

@YellowTack crossing fingers and toes for your embryo!

@Hopeandfaith1990 I was worried for my first sedation but I told them I’d never had one before and the anaesthetist was very kind and talked me through everything. For all 3 ECs I’ve been completely asleep and not felt anything but I’ve heard others say they were more awake and talking to the doctors, but still not painful.

@YellowTackas they say, it only takes one. I will be rooting for you. Thank you re the egg collection, that really helps. I think I’d be so focused on doing the meds right I hadn’t really considered what comes after 😂

Thank you - I’m so hoping I’m in the sleeping category! Either way it’s a means to an ends I guess.