IVF / ICSI AUGUST 2025

[VioIetMoon]

I thought I would create an August support thread for anyone that may need it ❤

Hello! I’m hoping to be starting long protocol in August. It will be nice to have others in the same boat in what is quite a lonely place ☺️

Hello!

I am due to start Norethisterone in mid August before starting my first IVF cycle. Anyone else in the same boat?

Hi there!

Currently on my final 2 days of microgynon before starting norethisterone for 10 days- stims beginning start of August for hopefully our first egg collection mid August!

Welcome , it's great to have an up to date thread going.
Is this everyones first time ?
This is my second round of ivf. My first round resulted in my son but we had no embryos to freeze due to the quality so we're having to start all over again.

@Georgiaivf I'm also on microgynon until 27th then have my baseline scan on 30th. My collection is estimated mid August aswell
On my first round , I only took norithistherone . I'm with a different clinic and my stims are different this round aswell so it's all quite nerve wrecking as I dont know what to expect and how I'll respond to them

This will be my first round- glad you had a successful first round that gave you your son- was he a fresh or frozen transfer?

How are you finding the microgynon? I was fine at first but now being on it so long I’ve been quite moody and very hungry lol! But I fear the norethisterone will be worse haha - I’m due to start that on Saturday.

My clinic don’t do a baseline scan weirdly, so my first tracking scan will be 6 days into stims - can deffo relate to being nervous about how my body will react, I’m trying to go into it with an open mind and this first round being a bit experimental to see how I respond

@Georgiaivf Im finding the microgynon is absolutely awful ! It's left me feeling moody, exhausted and depressed.
I have seen people react to norithistherone however I had absolutely no side effects from it. Just a bit more crampy. I felt fine on stims during my cycle aswell but oh boy, this microgynon is not agreeing with me at all. I can't wait to be off it. I was very reluctant to take it to begin with as I'd briefly used it in the past many years ago and it negatively affected me . my clinic were adamant I take it as they use it for syncing multiple womens cycles up to go through treatment at the same time and they said it was too late for another option such as norithistherone , even tho that was over 2 months ago. I'm opposed to microgynon for me personally as i've read its not advised for women like myself with pcos to take the pill before an ivf cycle as it can subdue the ovaries too much for us and lead to a poorer response. My very high amh and afc don't really correlate. we only retrieved 7 eggs last round. I know its not a terrible result but i must admit i was sightly disappointed with the result considering they said i would be a high responder. We got 3 fertilised with icsi and made 2 day 5 blasts , which we transferred and a 3rd embryo got there on day 6 but they disposed of it due to grade. All our embryos were awful quality, 1 5bc and the other 2 3cc so really saddening that they dispose of lower grade embryos as clearly they can still result in a successful pregnancy. We did a fresh transfer when we had our son but this time around the clinic seem to be pushing for a freeze all which I'm really baffled about and concerned if we were lucky enough to get embryos this time again and if they don't meet the grades, then they would just dispose of everything if a fresh is out of the question. That would be heartbreaking.
I didn't have a baseline on my last round either . I had a scan in May and it only showed 5 follicles on my left ovary and a few more on my right . Last time was similar and only 2 follicles on my left ovary grew so it all feels a little disheartening before we've even started. I need to keep reminding myself to trust the process and it only takes one

@VioIetMoon I feel the same on microgynon which is surprising as i used to be on the pill years ago and was generally fine. I tried to avoid it but we agreed a winning combination of both microgynon and norethisterone for scheduling purposes with the clinic and because my cycles are irregular. Reassuring to hear you were okay on the latter and stims as well- hopefully that’s the same for me and us both when we get to stims.

What is your AMH? Mine is 42 but no PCO or PCOS diagnosis- we are MFI so doing ICSI.

That was good it was your first cycle and first fresh transfer that resulted in your son, but yes ideally I would love to bank a few back up frosties if we are lucky enough. Our doctor initially said to prepare for a freeze all cycle but they said they can do a fresh dependent on how I respond to the stims- we will know before EC.

It does only take one but realistically we all want a couple of attempts at transfer so we don’t have to keep doing egg collections if the first transfer doesn’t work! We’re doing a 3 cycle package through Access Fertility so I feel we have a good shot and there’s not too much pressure on our very first one so just trying to go into it with that mentality to protect my heart

Hi! Yes me too, due to start it around the 10th Aug before short protocol, and will be my first round of IVF too!

Hi 👋

I should start around 14 August depending on when my period arrives next week. Followed by short protocol. Feel quite relaxed about it starting after all the stress getting to this point! Going to have a first acupuncture appointment next week x thanks for sharing :) nice to have someone on a similar time line

@Georgiaivf I’m also using Access 3 cycle package, but I did have one round on the NHS so it’s not my first go but did direct us towards a long protocol as I responded so poorly to the short protocol. Even with my previous experience, having 3 chances has made me feel a lot more relaxed. Knowing that there are people in the same boat helps enormously.

Hi! Will be my first IVF cycle (NHS) using long protocol with down reg on 14th August, stims starting end of August and egg collection beginning of September if all goes to plan. Thankfully as I’m a teacher I have some time off to prepare which has worked out quite well despite being on the older end of things (39 in a week!)

Yes agree on the 3 chances, definitely takes the pressure off the first one, and also financially the refund element (although I’d much rather a bubba of course!).

That’s good you at least know which protocol your body should hopefully respond to- you’ll have to let us know how your next cycle goes and how you respond - I’ve taken my first lot of norethisterone today, and I will take that for 10 days before a break and can start my stims after that next bleed - no idea how my body will react, I’ve been put on a lower dose for stims because of high AMH (42)

Yeh this weirdly feels like the least stressful bit so far, although I'm praying my period isn't early, if it is I might be doing injections during my wedding 😂 they told us we wouldn't start for a few more months, so bit of a surprise to be doing it so early! Hope the acupuncture helps 🤞and post an update how you're getting on with the norethisterone!

Hello,
I have my scheduling appointment next week but have been told I’ll start on meds and scans at my next period (mid August) and egg retrieval estimated for early September.
This will be my first IVF/part of IVF. No children, late 30s.

I feel like I don’t have a clue about what will happen in comparison to everyone else here!

I do know that any embryos will be frozen for FET at a future date as need surgery first :(

thank you for starting the thread OP and good luck everyone

Thanks, I will! Have heard some mixed reviews on norethisterone 🫠 fingers crossed your period arrives on time x

@Georgiaivf My last amh bloods in May suggested my amh levels were 40.
I still had a poor response tho and at the time I did my last round my amh was 62, so who knows how this will turn out as despite my amh being dramatically lower this round and follicle count lower, they are still putting me on low dose meds

@VioIetMoonah we’re very similar AMH levels then for this cycle, although my bloods were done in March. I’m on lower dose too so honestly no idea how I’ll respond. I’ll be on 112.5 of Gonal F to begin with and on Day 6 will add in 0.25 fyremadel. Then which trigger shot I have depends on how I’m responding and if we’re aiming for fresh or frozen transfer. First tracking scan is on Day 6 though so all could change lol

@TheNew Wishing you the best of luck. Keep us updated how your appointment goes.
Try not worry, late 30s / 40s is a very common age now to be having a first.
I had my first baby via ivf at 38 and I'm now trying for a second at nearly 40. It's definitely hard having a baby at this age , I won't lie, I'm tired all the time but theres also positives to it. I'm definitely alot more wiser and have more patience than my younger years. For us personally, we would have loved children in our 20s but it didn't happen for us and to be honest, I think it worked out well. I dont think we could have given our child as good of a life back then as we can now

Thank you for the luck and for sharing your story too @VioIetMoon
I will do. It’s hard waiting for it to come! (It’s next week).

Hello everyone,

I had my consultation with the Doctor this morning and confirmed that we will be moving ahead with an August cycle.
This will be my 5th and final cycle, I can’t believe it’s been that many!
I have DOR and my husband has MFI, and as a result we don’t produce many embryos.
I had 2 MMC from my first 2 IVF cycle so we are doing a freeze all with PGT-A.

Hey ladies

Hope you don't mind me jumping in. We're starting our first IVF cycle very soon and I'm excited but nervous. Going to be doing a short protocol.

Wishing everyone luck!

@Georgiaivf My meds are due to be delivered Friday then I assume I'll start stims somewhere around the end of next week. I'll be using Gonal F , not sure what dose but I'm assuming something similar to yourself and on the lower end of stims then I'll add In 0.75 Luveris.
I haven't used either of these meds . On my last round I stimmed with only 150 Bemfola so it'll be interesting to see how this round differs .
We definitely all would just love a little frostie as a back up wouldn't we. I'm not sure I could go through the process of stims and collection again if this round fails. Physically for me , its fine. I'm lucky I didn't really have any side effects but the process just has a negative effect on my mental wellbeing

@VioIetMoon same here re meds being delivered on Friday- my schedule has me down to start on 03/08 but it depends if I have a bleed before then when I stop the norethisterone- if not it could be pushed out a few days.

For sure, just have to put our trust in our clinics for this round and see how it goes!

Completely understand the mental aspect- I am nervous for both aspects as this is our first round 🤞🏼 I feel more in control now with IVF on our TTC journey than we did trying naturally and not much happening though, but still mentally it is hard!

Hi everyone, I am on day 2 of Stims, on Long Protocol so my EC is looking to be early August. Turning 40 in a weeks time, no kids, unexplained infertility over 20 years. Ive also paid for 3 cycles with Access so mentally prepared myself that it could take 3 tries to get a win. Best of luck to everyone struggling out there x

@Hopeful786 Fingers crossed.
It'll be absolutely worth all the heartache
We had our little ivf miracle last year after 20 years infertility aswell.
May I ask how the access programme works for over 40 age group?
Do you still get any money refunded if it doesnt work or is it just a reduced cost cycle over all?
I'm turning 40 this year aswell but we paid for our cycle outright. The clinic I'm currently with don't offer any programmes or any finance options.
I think I should be starting stims anywhere between next Thursday and the weekend depending on how my baseline scan goes . I think my EC is estimated mid August but they already changed my baseline scan date so I don't know if original date still applies and might be a few days off