IVF / ICSI AUGUST 2025

[VioIetMoon]

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

@Georgiaivf Definitely don't focus too much on grades. I did a double transfer with a 5cb and 3cc and one of those became my son so lower grades can definitely result in a baby.
I think what's most important is if they are genetically normal and that your lining is receptive on that month. I definitely believe that if they get to day 5, any grade stands a chance .

@Waitingforday6 I have PCOS but they basically put me down as unexplained infertility because all my tests on my hormones came back spot on and my amh test was really good, they couldn’t find a reason other than the PCOS as to why I wasn’t getting pregnant naturally, it was almost as if my body just needs a bit of a push to realise what it needs to do🙄😂

@Georgiaivf 4 is absolutely fantastic, I’m so happy for you!x

Thank you @Waitingforday6, it was awful at the time but now over a year has passed I am at peace with it, and find more hope with IVF and feel more in control. Yes the announcements never get any easier! It’s been fairly light so far but think it’ll take a while to get into full flow haha

Thank you @VioIetMoon you are right, they are good enough to be frozen and kept in for the chance so have to be grateful for that!

@Chlo1995thank you! ☺️ How are you feeling this evening?

@Georgiaivf are you planning on going straight into an FET or are you waiting a few months

Yes the algorithms are awful, and I can’t stop myself from still reading the posts/watching the videos.

The other day I watched a video about a couple expecting their third baby with 2 children under 3, she got pregnant on the first try, and she was going on and on about her fear of miscarriage.
I get that everyone is scared of miscarriage but I thought it was very insensitive to talk about it on a video when 1. she has never experienced a miscarriage 2. she got pregnant within a few month everytime they tried.

@Georgiaivf congratulations on your 4 to freeze! Not matter the grades it gives you 4 chances which is awesome!

@Georgiaivf I'm actually feeling okay, I had only really tested this morning because I’d had a bit of a weird experience eating my weekly takeaway mozzarella sticks and I thought it was very odd😂😂

@VioIetMoon as soon as we’re able to, my clinic advise a withdrawal bleed after EC and then starting on your next cycle but it’s a couple of weeks of oral medication I believe and tracking scans, they said likely October/November dependent on when my cycle eventually comes (mine can tend to be in the 35-42 day region or could be wildly before that, it really keeps me on my toes lol). We have an appt booked in the first half of September to discuss with our consultant. Do you know when yours would be?

@YellowTack thank you ☺️ and I completely get that, I think people don’t realise they are being insensitive when they are so fortunate.

@Chlo1995 oh that’s good! Haha cheese is clearly your tell tale sign 🧀

@Georgiaivf yes we were told the same thing, we could start straight away but they haven't been clear about what straight away means.

I'm Waiting for my withdrawal bleed now.
Are you saying you need to have ANOTHER bleed, as in your real period before you start on medication for the FET? So you technically would be starting after your second bleed?
None of this was explained to me as I was down for a fresh and that only changed on my 'transfer day' I was told I'd get talking to the consultant before transfer day but that never happened. I think after my EC the dr and nurses just wipes their hands clean of us. At least that's what it felt like. I had to contact them to ask them can I just stop the progesterone as my only experience has been of a fresh.
I'm not sure if we will proceed straight away or try and do another collection seeing we just have the two as I'm aware at almost 40 it likely could take a few more attempts .
I'd also like to try and lose some weight before proceeding as I gained over a stone since starting the pill in June

@VioIetMoon yes I believe so and the timing with my consultant suggests the same- my clinic said they don’t use the bleed after egg collection because it is a hormone induced withdrawal bleed and not a natural bleed so they like your hormones etc to get back to base level. I’m sorry your clinic hasn’t explained this to you yet! Could you email them for clarification on their FET protocols following EC?

Ah bless you, that’s rubbish they didn’t mention to stop the progesterone! So sorry lovely, I know you’re already frustrated with your clinic communication, ours haven’t been overly forthcoming so I just bombard them with questions at my appts and via their portal tbh

That’s fair enough re making a decision about another egg collection. It may be worthwhile to do so and like you say get yourself to a place where physically and mentally you feel you’re able to proceed to transfer

Morning ladies, on day 4 post EC and I am still in quite a bit of pain and still feel so bloated, been worrying about the OHSS. Just need to take it easy and stop having anxiety around that.

been catching up on everyone’s posts, @Georgiaivf great news on your 4! I have been getting updates and 17 out of my 23 fertilised and 11 so far have made it to day 3. I am so grateful but know that next day 5 have the biggest drop off so still protecting myself. And then they need to go through PGTA aswell. Sorry to hear about your withdrawal hormonal bleed - sounds awful, is there any relief of it being here? Like you know the build up with PMS is worst and once bleeding starts it feels bit better.

@Waitingforday6 having baby’s naturally totally feels like a scam. I know I don’t have issues with getting pregnant but keeping a baby alive is just so hard for my body to do and I literally don’t do anything to control it without loads of meds.

@YellowTack i cant stand F2F pregnancy announcements I feel they are so indulgent. Even my first pregnancy four years ago when I told people I was super sensitive and did it via text and this was before all the loses. I also never sent my scan picture. Surely everyone knows someone who has had a fertility struggle especially when you get to your mid 30s onwards - so they should just treat it with sensitivity.

@Chlo1995 gentle congrats my love! Is this your first positive? Sending love

@VioIetMoon i get what a stressful difficult decision this is. It’s so much money - why the hell do they charge so much for the FET.

Thank you @Jecca88! We just had our day 6 update in case the remaining 3 developed overnight but unfortunately they haven’t so 4 is our final number for this round!

11 fertilised is fantastic- I’ve got my fingers crossed for your next update and PGT-A testing 🤞🏼

Since feeling the bleed come on, the OHSS/bloating and breathlessness symptoms disappeared for me so there’s relief in that for sure! I am an emotional wreck but it’s quite a nice release as I haven’t properly cried in this round up until now (bar a stress cry in the waiting room at the clinic lols 🤣 ). So please don’t worry- the crying has coincided with the bleeding so I didn’t really have much PMS in the build up, I think because I had mood swings throughout stims instead (my poor husband lol) so feeling less aggy has been nice too! It’s completely manageable :)

@Jecca88 it is my first positive, we have tried for 4 years and I’m just over the moon.

I have tested again this morning on a frer and a clear blue early digital and both were bfp, so fingers crossed everything carries on the way it is!🤞🏼

@Chlo1995 amazing news, congratulations!

@Georgiaivf glad the bleed has got rid of other symptoms. How you feeling today? I am still feeling soo bloated and pain in the tummy area. Just got a call for day 5 - we have got 5 to send off for PGTA - which I am happy with. She said we may have some more today and maybe even some more tomorrow - but holding onto 5 and that we hopefully get 3 of those good to go! Now it’s just another 2 week wait for those results.

@Chlo1995 this is such a great milestone, I too have been on this journey for 4 years and it’s incredible the toll it takes on you. I am keeping everything crossed for you. When is your follow up? Scan etc? Have you got any other symptoms?

@Jecca88 It’s an awful situation to be in isn’t it, I think around a year or so ago I sort of gave in because it just wasn’t happening and I was driving myself mad every month, I did find it quite difficult when the people around me were announcing pregnancies/having babies but I also just felt like I had to get over it!

I have my blood test booked for 28/08 to confirm so hopefully we’re still in the clear🤞🏼 I’m not
aure on scanning, I think they said it’s usually booked for 2 weeks after the blood test. I don’t have much in terms of symptoms, just slightly more tired than usual and extremely aching boobs😂

@Jecca88 I’m feeling okay today thank you ☺️ the bleed is definitely a lot heavier than my usual flow so I’ve stocked up on the heavier nighttime pads that seem to do the trick, but the cramps haven’t been as painful as usual, they are like micro cramps that are so weird in my back, belly, and thighs. Hoping it begins easing off today and I’ve got the heavy day out of the way.

5 embryos for testing that’s fantastic! 2 week wait for testing doesn’t sound too long compared to what I’ve seen others say on here, although it probably will feel veryyy long for you! Got my fingers crossed 🤞🏼 Sorry to hear you’re still uncomfortable, are you still drinking plenty of water and eating protein etc? If it persists tomorrow maybe speak to your clinic and see what they suggest!

Also both completely agree with the gruelling TTC journey that feels so drawn out compared to peers - we’ve been trying just over 2 years but I stopped tracking ovulation at the start of this year as I was driving myself mad and was so unhappy and felt like we must be doing something wrong. Starting IVF took all that pressure off of me because I know it’s not something either of us can control, and it’s down to the doctors now. We’ve also got 2 people very close to us who are pregnant which is really hard. One of which seemed to come of the pill and then bam, they’re pregnant the next month.

To be dealt this card is so cruel, I’m glad I have found others on here in the same situation as people that don’t struggle to conceive can’t even fathom the emotions we go through ❤️

@Chlo1995 its amazing you tried for 3 years before going to IVF, its such resilence every month. All my closest girlfriends from school have all got 1 or two some even three children and had them with such ease. There is 10 of us and the only one who went through IVF was a same sex couple anyway - so it was a necessity. It is incredibly isolating and i have really stepped back as unless you have lived through miscarriage or infertility - you just dont get the emotional toil it has on you.

are you on any other meds or just progesterone?

Thanks @Georgiaivf - when are you looking at a transfer? its so hard when you're going through this journey and bam pregnancy just comes so easy to others - so protect yourself.

@Jecca88 my best friend has 3 of her own, I particularly struggled when she was having her youngest as we were trying by this point and she wasn’t actually wanting to have another, so that was hard for me and I was a bit resentful… she has been absolutely fantastic with all the ivf stuff and she asks a lot of questions because she’s so interested, she cried when I rung her Sunday because she was so happy it had finally happened for us!

I am currently on progesterone pressaries, esteogen tablets and tinzaparin injections! I’m sick of injecting myself now so I’m hoping that come Thursday morning I can stop them😂

ahh that is tough @Chlo1995 but so glad she has been supportive, i have a few friends like that but majority of them are very insensitive and assume we are fine as we put on brave faces, i think thats why i have retracted as their assumptions and ignoring it have made it harder so we just dont go to social events anymore. totally get the resentful feeling, you don't want to have it but it can't be helped.

Lord - i hated the injection part, i still have bruises 6 days post. Just recieved a call from the embryologist - saying we have another 7 that have made it to day 6. I am in in shock, this feels like the first bit of good news we have ever had. so we have made the choice to test 10 as its £450 per PGTA and then freeze the other two.

I am so happy for you @Chlo1995! Keeping my fingers crossed for the bloods! That sounds very hard with your best friend. I definitely find it easier when friends started trying or conceived before we started trying but we have been trying for so long now that everyone who started before us has their child now (not even a baby anymore) and is often onto the next one or thinking about it. People falling pregnant without trying to or wanting to can definitely lead to resentment I get that! I don't know anyone in real life undergoing IVF or struggling to conceive (obviously you don't always know we haven't told many people so others might be the same) but I think in those instances I'd also be super happy for them because I know how terrible it is and how much they have fought for it. But it's definitely hard!
@Jecca88 5 to send for testing is great! Fingers crossed for good results!!
@Georgiaivf hope it keeps getting better with the bleed and the moods 😀
I also stopped testing for ovulation and pregnancy after a while. My period is very regular so I try to hold off until it's due then it arrives anyway. I just accepted it was unlikely to happen even though we are unexplained. But as I always say unexplained doesn't mean no issues, it means the issue hasn't been found.

Edited to tidy up the tagging 😀

@Jecca88 I am quite surprised but I don’t actually mind the injections, I’m numb my belly everytime so I don’t feel it, I do not like needles at all😂 I think I’m more fed up of the injections now more than anything because I wasn’t anticipating more injections after the egg collection so it threw me off but I suppose if it’s what I need to do then I’ll do it, the things we do to have babies!!

@Waitingforday6 thank you! I was quite surprised as I’ve been getting the worst cramps, literally feeling like I’m about to start my period but that’s not the case so god knows😂 I’ve known of people that have done ivf but when I was quite a bit younger so I didn’t really think much of it but now that I’m in the position myself it’s so difficult, I don’t struggle talking about it so much now, I think when we first started and hadn’t told any family I’d found it very difficult, my partners brother and his partner were expecting and there was the baby shower and everything and I was just so sad thinking it’ll never be me, my partners mum was so excited as it was her first grandchild, she looked after him a few days a week from around 6 months old and she would send me photos/videos of him multiple times a day and also send pictures of the things she bought saying ‘they’ll be great for when she has more grandkids’ I had to tell her in the end to stop because it was too much and I was struggling a lot mentally at the time, she tries to rein herself in now and is being very supportive of everything we’re going through now so I think in the end telling her was the best thing I did because it made me open up to other family and friends about what was going on.

@Chlo1995 ah that sounds tough with the 'useful if there are more grandkids'. We had that for a while too but then when people slowly stop commenting on it without you explaining what is going on it's also tough because you think they've given up on you. Basically nobody can win 🤣 we told my mum and best friends early on and they have been very supportive, then told my husband's close family just before going through it and are opening up more to friends. I'm getting to the point now where I actually want to talk about it with friends because it's such a massive thing to go through and we haven't even done a transfer yet. Whereas before we did our round I didn't want to talk about it with anyone, maybe because it was all so unknown and it didn't feel like we'd ever actually get to the starting line of IVF. And I already felt enough pressure without thinking that countless people are waiting for updates on my follicles. Are you telling everyone your good news immediately? I know you said you told your best friend. If we ever get to that point I think I would tell them as soon as we test positive, which I wouldn't have done if it wasn't IVF. It's just because those people that know also know when we are planning to do our transfer and can put 2 and 2 together and also they have supported each update, scan, follicle count, day 1 and 5 update etc so this feels like a natural extension. But I might feel differently depending on how the next steps pan out.

@Waitingforday6 I have found speaking about it with people quite relaxing especially for my own sanity😂 we’re not telling any family yet until we’re at that 12 week point at least, everybody knows we’re going through ivf and they’ll have a good idea of when we will be going for the ‘big parts’ of it as they knew I had started my medication but we did tell our family we weren’t letting anybody know when the egg collection, transfer etc was because I then didn’t want questions on if it had worked or not, we decided that whatever the outcome we would like to let it sink in ourselves beforehand, my mum has been trying to get information out of me but I’m not having it😂😂 I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way to go about it tbh, just whatever you feel most comfortable with, I have told one of the girls at work today as she has heard me rant on about everything and knew when transfers and everything was, I will be letting my boss know when she’s back from annual leave too as she has also listened to me rant on😂 but family for me won’t know until we’re comfortable and everything is looking okay

@Chlo1995 that makes sense and as you say there is no right or wrong. Before we started telling a few more close people I had actually decided I wouldn't tell anyone about the transfer dates because I don't want the added pressure so who knows how I will feel nearer the time (aiming for a November transfer) 😀