IVF / ICSI AUGUST 2025

[VioIetMoon]

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

I am receiving updates everyday except for Sundays because we are paying for Embryoscope which is a camera that continuously films the embryos.
At my previous clinic in the UK they would only give updates on Day 5 because they said they didn’t want to disturb the embryos by taking them out to put them under the microscope.
To be fair I hate the daily updates and it’s causing me more stress, as I overanalyse everything like number of cells … At my last cycle it gave me false hope because our only embryo was developing well and reaching all the milestones but degraded on day 5.

@YellowTack I get that. We didn't actually ask for any updates after day 1. We told them to let us know if there were none left basically and I panicked when I got a reply but that was just them saying will do all normal so far (on day 3). It then felt like a super long time until day 6 but we didn't want to deal with the daily drop off or as you said get our hopes up. Such a stressful time. Fingers crossed!

@YellowTack
Is that an add on ?
our clinic uses embryoscope as standard but they still only provide an update on transfer day .
I'd love to get an update along the way but embryology were adamant they will contact me.
I keep driving myself crazy not knowing if our two are still hanging on

@VioIetMoon I was telling myself that if none were in the running anymore surely they would tell you when they stop developing? I presume they still check on the embryos daily through embryoscope just to see what's going on and as horrible as it sounds to stop using time and resources if there are none left 🥺. If so then there is no benefit to not telling you earlier, the only time they would tell you on day 5 or 6 is if they stopped developing overnight before transfer/freeze day or were not good enough quality during the final check or if some were still in the running the day before and some weren't. But surely if there are 0 on any day beforehand they'd just end the cycle by telling you. If anyone else had this happen please do weigh in! Keeping my fingers crossed!

@VioIetMoon yes that‘s a add-on.
I would assume that if you are doing it somebody at the clinic must be checkin it daily!

And I am out. I received the email that none of the eggs have fertilised. This is just so unfair.
I am a bit lost at the next steps but will take some days to reflect before taking any decisions.

I'm so sorry @YellowTack

@YellowTack I'm so sorry lovely.
What has your fertilisation rate been like in previous cycles?
Please take good care of yourself . Do something that makes you feel good about yourself today

Hi all, I’m out of egg collection now and pleased with our results. I want to be sensitive to others on here so please bear in mind we are predominantly male factor - they retrieved 21 eggs which we are so happy with. The dr was hoping to get approx 18.

The procedure itself was very uncomfortable for me despite the anaesthetic so I was on the gas and air quite a bit along with squirming around and was quite tender immediately after. I also had an ibuprofen up the back passage which kicked in and was needed for sure. Now to wait to see how many fertilised, we’ll find out tomorrow.

I’ve also been prescribed a medication tonight try and keep the OHSS at bay due to the number of eggs collected.

Sending love and compassion to those whose ECs didn’t go as they had hoped xx

@Georgiaivf Well done lovely that's great news!! I was thinking about you this morning. I understand being aware of others of course. And I am sure all of us have our own complicated feelings around other people getting pregnant naturally for example but I always say 'a win for one is a win for us all' because it gives us all hope ❤️ and because I know how much this sucks so I just want everyone to get their baby already!! Just out of interest what was the medication? I wasn't given anything unless it was during EC and I didn't realise but I kept OHSS at bay thankfully. Take it super easy and I hope the cramping eases up. I was also really uncomfortable and squirming and asked for more pain relief during. Fingers crossed for the next 5 days!!

@Georgiaivf that's great news. Hopefully you'll never have to go through another collection again .rest easy for today. I was quite sore over the weekend but feel fine today.
I was never offered gas and air during retrieval nor Ibuprofen, that's interesting as my clinic told me your only allowed paracetamol and it has to be in the form of suppositories . I had intravenous paracetamol last collection so I know they are talking shit. They only gave me my suppositories about 10 mins before collection however nhs states pain relief suppositories can take a few hours to work so I imagine it was more for comfort during the day. If I had of known that, I'd just have taken some paracetamol tablets afterwards 😆
It's strange how clinics differ.

As for me , my clinic won't offer an update until 'transfer' day which is Wednesday so I have no idea how our two are getting on. Were using embryoscope so I can't understand why they can't provide an update as they don't have to take them out to check on them

@VioIetMoon I can't believe they are refusing an update (or actually I can after what you have told us). If you go again maybe we can crowdsource some clinics that we have good experiences with for you to help make a decision. I don't suppose your NHS clinic accepts private patients? I believe Ibuprofen can't be used if there's a chance of a fresh transfer. I am now wondering whether I got a suppository without realising 😆 I was in a bit of pain straight after and it got better after a couple of hours so that would make sense if they take a few hours to kick in.

@Waitingforday6 ah I’m glad you kept OHSS at bay- I was trying to recall yours numbers, how many eggs was it you had at collection? The medication I have to take is in the evening and it’s called Cabergoline. I also have to take precautionary antibiotics for the next 3 days to prevent infection but this is standard at my clinic. Lol yes I asked her afterwards “does it hurt everyone this much?” 🤣 feels ok now I’ve got pain relief still and am home.

@VioIetMoon the ibuprofen suppository was put in after the procedure when everything was done (including Mock transfer which was fine- they did this because I had LLETZ procedure a few years ago and wanted to check I had no scar tissue blocking the way for transfer). I was on the gas and air like every other breath just in the hope it helped and kept telling the nurse “it hurts” but I think I got topped up once, I would’ve happily taken a gallon of the stuff at that point haha. How you did that without any pain relief I really don’t know- what a trooper! Fingers crossed for your Wednesday update 🤞🏼

Ah glad you had a mock transfer done while you were there. It's good to get any potential hurdles out of the way. I had 31 eggs, 30 mature (that was definitely unexpected, the doctor was predicting 10-20 based on AMH and age before I started stims and the doctor that did the retrieval tried to manage my expectations by saying not all of them would be mature). Fingers crossed it'll be similar for you too, ICSI should give you good fertilisation rates🤞😊

@Waitingforday6 ah lovely, yeah next hurdle is how many are mature and how many fertilise- they said they’ll ring in the morning to let us know! But yes hoping the ICSI does its thing for fertilisation 🤞🏼

@Jecca88 haha yeah I retrieved my meds, well my husband did with kitchen tongs!

Sorry for the radio silence, haven't been feeing to well and just been sleeping! Hope everyone is getting on ok? I've been to the clinic today, well over 50 follicles, in a lot of discomfort now as its day 13 of stims - trigger shot this evening for Wed morning egg retrieval.

Good luck @hopeanddreams! I can only imagine, I had around 40 follicles and I felt so so uncomfortable. The nurse pointed at the screen and said 'look. Your ovaries are touching' 😂 take it super easy and I hope there are lots of lovely eggs in there. I assume it's a freeze all?

@YellowTack I'm so so sorry to read your news, sending you so much love.

@Georgiaivf Glad to hear today went ok and hope the discomfort settles down - were you not sedated for the EC?

Good luck for trigger tonight @hopeanddreams! It was a conscious sedation so I wasn’t completely out, I was just slightly woozy but still felt some discomfort. I was under the impression that I wouldn’t remember what was happening in the room but I remember it all haha

@Georgiaivf we managed to get an update this afternoon. So far , they are hanging on in there. Right amount of cells , good quality and no fragmentation.
The next steps will be decided on the morning of transfer. If our embryos make it to day 5, it will depend on the quality.
If good quality , we will freeze.
If poor quality we have the option to discard or transfer. I've decided I would transfer even if the odds based on my progesterone level would mean the chances of success are significantally lower . I'd still rather have them inside with me as opposed to throwing them in the bin , if you know what I mean.
I'm glad our clinic are giving us that choice. I suppose that's one good thing I can say about them. I guess we will see Wednesday how we will proceed. We have decided that we will attempt another round in the hope of retrieving a few more eggs but we won't be using this clinic again .
We've done icsi twice now and each time all but one egg has fertilised

Ahhh that's good news @VioIetMoon! Fingers crossed! I completely agree with a fresh transfer rather than discarding them.

That’s great news @VioIetMoon- keep on going baby blasts!! Got my fingers and toes crossed for your Wednesday update.

@Georgiaivf amazing news! I hope you get the opportunity to rest now and avoid OHSS. It seems crazy to me that they only offered you conscious sedation with the amount of follicles you have! To me fair for me the anesthesia nap is the best part of the retrieval 😅.

@Waitingforday6 I love what you wrote « a win for one is a win for us all ». That is exactly how I feel, we need to see positive outcomes to keep us going.

@VioIetMoon great news for your 2 embyos. I completely get what you said about wanting to try a transfer even if the quality is not the best. I am still mad at my previous clinic for discarding a low quality embryo that they did not want to freeze during my January cycle and instead transferring the better quality one. What they should have done was transfer the low quality one and freeze the other, that way I would have had 2 chances instead of one!

@YellowTack absolutely. I understand how fustrating that is. I've often wondered if its because they want to give you the best outcome or protect their clinic success rates.
On my first cycle we had 3 embryos, a 5bc , a 3cc and another cc . We weren't offered a choice other than if we wanted a single or double transfer but we couldn't pick the embryos. I wanted to freeze the 5bc and transfer the two lower ones but instead they transfered the 5bc and the 3cc. The other they discarded for being c grade. I really hate the whole discarding embryos thing just because of grade

Oh that is very upsetting @YellowTack and @VioIetMoon. There's success stats and then there's doing what is best for the patient and to give each precious embryo a chance 😞