July IVF/ICSI/FET

[DeeKel]

I didn’t see a thread for July IVF yet. I am due to start stims around 18Jul with estrogen priming starting the week before that. Collection will be the end of July all going well.
This will be my second IVF and I will be using ICSI. I will be 40 during treatment and 41 come collection. I have a child from my first IVF 3 years ago. Since then I had a chemical pregnancy Dec 2024 with my only other embryo from my 2022 cycle and a failed IUI in Feb this year.
I found the discussion board really helpful and supportive in my first IVF round as we all understand the crazy ups and downs of this rollercoaster. Wondering if there are any others with similar timing?

I haven’t been online in a few days but so great to see so many courageous women on the thread. Wishing everyone best of luck x

Is anyone on a high dose stims and also has high afc? I have pco so tend to have high afc at baseline 13 to 17 follicles each time but weirdly they are slow to grow so actually need a push, and most tend to be immature at Collection. To try to counter this, I'm going to be on 375iu made up of a gonal + menopur combo. Is anyone on a similar dose, I'm wary of ohss with my afc but what can you do? For context I'm 38 in July so likely why my old eggs need a push to grow...

@Mrsbutterfly24 I also had high afc at baseline but was only on 150 GonalF, which they reduced down to 75 on day 8 of stims. I’m 36 and had to do a freeze all due to OHSS risk as I got 40 eggs (but then lost a lot from non-fertilising and being genetically abnormal) I have 3 frozen embryos.
By monitoring you frequently they will be able to adjust your dose if needed to prevent OHSS.

Thanks @greenbunny . It really is a tight rope between fearing ohss and actually giving the smaller follicles enough stims to grow properly. Last time I got 23 eggs but only 6 were mature m2, 7 were immature (gv) and 10 degenerated so pretty abysmal... I was on 300iu for that round. The plan this time is to go in harder on 375iu in the hope some of the gv group will end up mature. Definitely a freeze all for me as I need to down regulate before the transfer as all that oestrogen is heaven for Adenomyosis and fibroids. Guess even if I end up with ohss, might be worth it if we get more mature eggs this round. Gosh, infertility and ivf, the gift that keeps on giving 😅

I’ll be on high dose stims (387) but I’ve low AFC. They could only count my right ovary at 6 as we couldn’t find my left one so don’t know what’s on that one. @Mrsbutterfly24 when are you starting your cycle? My collection (all going well) wont be until the end of July,

My wait to start trestment is going to feel like a long wait. Im on the second day of taking the pill. Im on Eleanor. Have to be on that for 10days, come off that and wait for another bleed which is suppose to happen 3 to 5 days later then start my meds. So if all goes well, il just make it in July for a transfer.

@Timetotryagain my trigger shot was absolutely fine actually. Took it at 7pm the other day, then had my LH strip turn positive the next morn. On pessaries now too, which are less icky than I imagined they'd be, phew.

Have your clinic confirmed Thurs 03 JUL is your scheduled FET day too? Are you doing Maccas fries on the way home? (No doubt you've come across this one in forum posts 😹).

@Miraclemuma03 you're so welcome to hang round in this forum group, even if you slip into Aug 🤙

@DeeKel hopefully they can find/drain your left ovary on the day too! My ovaries were tricky to access, so I was preparing for only one ovary to be drained, but everything moved around enough for them on the day, which was a relief.

@Mrsbutterfly24 adenomyosis over here too. I'm crossing my fingers the embryo will still be able to attach, cause I'm on a Natural FET cycle (even though Ive heard medicated FET appears to help with adenomyosis).

@GreenBunny 3 embryos is solid- me too ☺️

@ALittleExpressive thank you, yes hopefully it will reappear and the can get something from it. They said it could move back with being on the meds so it’s good to hear they were able to get yours on the day. 3 embryos is great! Are you ready for your transfer next week? Wishing you the best of luck!
@Miraclemuma03 I think my timing will be the same as you. My clinic said collection will be 30Jul- 01 Aug with a fresh transfer then 5 days later but I’m happy to stay in the July thread alongside you. I got cysts and fluid in my last cycle so had to freeze all until they resolved so hoping that doesn’t happen again as I’ve no patience 😂

@DeeKel omg was the cyst/fluid in your uterus, by chance? I only ask because I had that occur unexpected in my egg collection cycle about mid way through, which caused them to freeze all. I'm reallllly thankful the cyst/fluid just vanished by the following month. That was one of the reasons we tried a Natural FET protocol, as we thought maybe the egg stims could have caused it. It was just a guess though.

Yeah I'm super ready for my transfer next week. Luckily I've had a mock FET, so I know it' possible they can pass the catheter thing through my cervix. The mock was scheduled cause I had a procedure on my cervix over ten years ago and they wanted to make sure there wasn't any scar tissue.

Hello :) I’m going to follow along this thread if that’s okay. I’m due to start stims on 10th July, planned egg collection on week starting 21st July. I’m 32 but low am 5.7, afc 7.

Trying to stay positive but also realistic about my chances at the same time - so hard to get the balance. Finding this forum helpful to follow along your journeys - all my friends seem to be incredibly fertile so just don’t truly understand! xx

@ALittleExpressive yes I had fluid in my uterus and in of my tubes and a paraovarian cyst. I’d only had a HuCoSy the month before which was all clear so they said it was caused from the medication. I think I collected in August and couldn’t do a transfer until start of November as I had to wait for the fluid to go and the cyst to stabilise. I did my successful transfer with the cyst. It was all on my left ovary/tube and that’s the one that’s gone missing now! I’m nervous about the higher dose incase something similar happens again but I’m 41 with AMH of 7.43 so they need to squeeze every egg out of me 😂
@Bloop123 welcome! We have a similar ovarian reserve but yours are much healthier than my geriatric ones. It really does only take one. I had my first IVF cycle at 38 and was successful with my first frozen transfer from it so wishing you the same success with your cycle. It’s a hard journey full of anxious waits but the support on these threads definitely help.

@DeeKel , I took my last Norethisterone pill yesterday 28th June, so I am hoping for my period to come on 1st July, then stims from 2nd July. Let's see, already getting period cramps so it may all kick off even before that. X

@ALittleExpressive , wishing you all the luck in the world for your transfer 🤞🩷.

For sure not all Adenomyosis patients need to down regulate. With the embryos I managed to get which were pgs tested, I got pregnant both times but lost them around 5 to 6 weeks. I also have 3 fibrioids 1 of which is a decent size, so not really sure why it keeps happening but I am not willing to do another transfer without trying something different. If we do get some embryos this collection then the suggested protocol will be 3 months downreg with a combination of lupron and letrozole to fully shut down my screwy hormones. Has anyone done a similar protocol? Thanks 😊

Hi,

I how everyone is doing well. I am just about to start my second cycle of IVF. My last round didn't go well, 3 eggs collected and only 1 made it to biopsy - it was high level mosaic so nothing to transfer. I am starting norethisterone tomorrow which I will take until the 12th July and then all being well stims start on the 18th - @DeeKel it seems like I'll be on a similar timeline as you!

@ALittleExpressive thank you. Il definitely keep following along. Il have a potential transfer around the 30th July if I actually get embryos that is.

@DeeKel has the fluid cleared up now? Thank you. Im going to keep following along. A few ladies in the june group have gotten their bfp so im hoping this group will have some great news aswell. I didnt get any embryos in my april cycle, then my may cycle got cancelled, then didnt get a period in june, well until right at the end so im worried about my July cycle going well.

I had a scan this morning, day 7 of stims. The nurse said she counted 15, 12, 7 and she was hoping taking my AMH into account that it would be higher but she’ll scan again on Wednesday. Can anyone tell me what those numbers actually mean? Im a bit confused

Is that the measurements of 3 follicles?

@Miraclemuma03 that makes sense. There was a 4th number also that I can’t remember but it was lower again.

Those measurements will be completely different at your next scan. Some of the smaller ones might catch up.

Hi ladies. How is everyone feeling ?

I'm not going to lie, I'm definitely nervous. I've been through ivf before and blessed to have one child from that round ( he turns 1 this week) I know i must be mad but im turning 40 this year so dont really want to waste time trying for a sibling. this clinic is doing every thing different which is giving me some anxiety. They are priming me with the contraceptive pill which I never did during ivf before, and it has me feeling awful. I've never used the pill before In my life but it's left me feeling quite depressed and I've been bleeding constantly for weeks while my hormones adapt which is incredibly annoying going into a cycle already feeling like crap

Hi everyone, just done downregg injection- Arvekap, only once, then to wait for the period and then scan on the 11th of July. This is my first FET.
Has anyone used it? Which symptoms to expect? I reacted really mentally and physically bad to norethisterone three times for my EC 😬

@Miraclemuma03 oh yeah fluid is well cleared now. Oh please God we have a very lucky group on this thread and everyone gets their BFP ❤️
@SummerSolstice25 I think they look for greater than 18 in size before they would trigger as that is typically the minimum that would signify a mature egg but it doesn’t seem to be an exact science. You will see a difference in your next scan for sure.
@VioIetMoon I will prime with estrogen for a week or so before I start my stims. It’s a HRT pill called fematab and I was on it before. I had to take it with food or it would make me feel ill. I’ve the same anxiety going into this round as it’s my last shot but I also have some excitement too at the thoughts of it working. Stay strong and positive 💕

I start down reg on Friday with baseline scan on 17th July, really nervous as I turn 40 in August.

Hi I am taking Pergoveris too, haven't had any side effects, except feeling very tired.I started Cetrotide on Saturday, it does sting a bit injectioning it and need to get used to mixing it but overall not to bad. I have another scan Wednesday and depending on that egg retrieval Friday. 🙏

@EGalway we seem to be on the same plan, with similar dates. I started Cetrotide on Sunday, I highly recommend leaving an ice pack on the area for 5-10 mins before injecting, I didn’t even feel the needle go in this morning I was that numb. I have another scan on Wednesday also. They told me egg retrieval could be this week or early next week but that was before they saw the low numbers on the scan. I guess I’ll know more on Wednesday whether I’ll have to change doses or whether egg retrieval will happen.