IVF / ICSI AUGUST 2025

[VioIetMoon]

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

Hello ladies!

My husband and I are starting our first round of IVF this cycle after TTC for 5 years. I'm excited but also absolutely terrified! So many times I've gotten my hopes up to then by devastated.

I start Norethisterone tomorrow and we're doing a short protocol

Does anyone have a time machine to fast forward to taking a pregnancy test?!

@Georgiaivf How are you feeling today?

@souiii Good luck for your first round, I'm on my first round too and on day 3 of stims

@souiii Ahh if only . It's such a stressful process not knowing the outcome

How did your second scan go @VioIetMoon?

I’m all good today thank you @Waitingforday6, I had my first scan (day 6 of stims) and I’ve got approx 15 follicles growing on each ovary but they are on the smaller side (all under 8mm) so she’s increased my gonal F dosage to 175 and I’m not to start the fyremadel until after our next scan as they want to follicles be around 13/14mm which does mean if they don’t start growing that our EC could be pushed out to next Monday (which could potentially mean we have to drive to their main clinic which is 2 hours away, so that’s thrown a spanner in the works) but I’m still hoping for a Friday EC with the increased dosage 🤞🏼

She did also say that with my high AMH and number of follicles I likely have PCO which no one has ever told me before lol, but I’ve long suspected it with my irregular periods. Hoping it works in my favour for lots of eggs come EC.

She measured my lining and it was 8.25mm which is good if we’re able to go for a fresh, but with that number of follicles I would strongly suspect we’re headed for a frozen tbh!

How’s everyone else getting on?

That's a great number of follicles @Georgiaivf! I do think it will work in your favour and those follicles will grow quickly I'm sure. My egg collection was pushed back two days as well from Wednesday to Friday and at the time I felt a bit upset (2 more days of anxiety and waiting and also I somehow felt like I failed although that's ridiculous it's not a follicle growing race 😆) but they grew a lot in that time, hope it's not too much of a pain to go to the other clinic. It will all be done soon! 😀

And thank you, and to @VioIetMoon as well, the storage fee for our frosties came out today and I have never been happier to have a card charged. 😆 I remember putting it on file before the first scan and really hoping it would be needed!

We might not do a transfer until October/November time because the dates for the next couple of cycles clash with some work and holiday stuff that is already booked in. We want to avoid a December transfer in case it doesn't work. Through all the challenges of infertility we always enjoyed Christmas so don't want to risk ruining it with a fresh negative. If you do a freeze all would you go straight back the following month? Our clinic is happy to do it a few weeks later after the first bleed rather than waiting another month.

@Georgiaivf not much change for me unfortunately. Still looking at collecting 6 follicles. There's a few new follicles only starting to show signs of growing but they did say it could be too late for those follicles now and they wont increase me. I know I should feel grateful that we have follicles responding but I cant help but feel disappointed that they have stimmed me so low. I could understand if it was my first cycle as its trial and error but its not and knowing that my ovaries didn't give a good response to the low dose on previous cycle and theres so much more potential. It's like they didn't really take that into consideration. After all, 10k is alot of money . We just wanted to give this our best shot. I'm back in Monday for my final scan and I suppose then they'll discuss what day I trigger on.

@Waitingforday6 if we're lucky enough to get blasts, given the numbers so far, we only have 6 follicles in the running,I can't see why we couldn't do a fresh, unless my estrogen is elevated they said. He seems to suggest it will be by the end i would definitely go straight into another round. We've booked a consultation at another clinic next month. Depending on how this goes obviously. We haven't decided if we'll definitely go through with it or not. We're still debating it as to be honest, we're not sure it's financially feasible but we're going to try and make it work. Other half wants to do the appointment anyway, if even for a chat to see how they would do things differently. He doesn't want us doing another round if I'm not happy with the protocol

Keeping my fingers crossed @VioIetMoon! I have seen loads of posts of 5ish follicles leading to blasts. I completely understand the frustration though. I am in the UK but went to Dublin for treatment as it was cheaper and they do partial payment plans so if you need any more info message me I was very happy with them. There was another poster who I believe was at the same clinic a couple of months ago and is now pregnant!

Hi @souiii exactly the same as me- first cycle and I start Norethisterone tomorrow!

@Georgiaivf did you bring up to your clinic about the issue you had with your pen the other day? I tried to administer my dose tonight and the dial was stuck at 12.5 . Did they advise if you should just ignore it or administer another 12.5? My pen has just ran out. The nurse told me today there should be enough for another 2 doses and that the dial won't let you dial it if there's not enough for that dose but mine did

Im hoping so @Waitingforday6, especially with the increased dosage! I’m just going to try and be chill about it all and be led by the nurses on when is best! I just hope they don’t make a decision based on the fact they’re closed over the weekend tbh which would mess up the number of eggs they get- but trying to have a positive mindset to continue with Friday EC! Makes sense with regards to when you’re available for your next transfer, and I agree about the Christmas thing- definitely preserve your mental health where you can. Regarding freeze all (which I think is likely now) they said usually it’s the following month you can do your transfer unless you’re really ill with OHSS so depends how I am and if I develop OHSS (touch wood I don’t but I’m definitely feeling the bloat now!)

@VioIetMoon completely understand your concerns re under stimming, will they increase your dosage anymore now? Have you added in your injection which prevents ovulation? The money is very expensive especially when you know roughly how your body responded in your last round so I’m not surprised you’re wanting to explore other clinics to one that listens to your concerns.

I didn’t bring it up regarding the remaining dose as we just injected the rest with a new needle- if the dial isn’t down to 0 then it hasn’t given the full dose. (This is after much exploring on Mumsnet and Reddit and seems common with gonal F lol)

I was under the impression that it would let you dial any amount but the number it stops at is the remaining dose if it can’t administer the full amount- so you’d need to use a new pen and inject the remaining dose! I’ll have to do this tomorrow as I have roughly only 150 left and my dose is now 175

@Georgiaivf well I've gone ahead and given myself 12.5 from the new pen. 😄
Strange that this seems to be a common complaint.
No dosage is apparently staying the same now at 150. They had a meeting and won't increase the dose. Very surprising isn't it. You definitely have alot more follicles recruited than I do and your now on 175 so I'm not sure why they are withholding me. To be honest i think its a bit late now for me to increase anyway as even if it did stimulate new follicles, which apparently there are a few more activated but not growing , the remaining follicles are already around 13mm. I cant see how they would catch up and I'd worry it might fry the already growing ones .
On my last cycle on my day 10 scan I had follicles around 22mm ect and they stimmed me on an extra 2 days before triggering trying to grow the smaller ones and I lost the larger follicles that were growing as a result.
I do wonder if suppressing the ovaries before starting stims has had a negative effect. I have pcos and im close to 40, I've read quite a few articles suggest i shouldn't take the pill beforehand as it can lead to a poorer response from the stims and reduce follicle count. I'd definitely noticed my afc is alot lower. On the right ovary I had 16 follicles on baseline before pill use , and now its down to 9 follicles and only 1 is growing in that ovary. I've had so many scans and it's never been that low. My right ovary usually is my best responder.
I'm just going to have to roll with it aren't i. What will be will be.

@VioIetMoon nice! It’s definitely the right thing to do- I know, I too found it strange it’s not in the instructions if it happens and there is still liquid in the pen, but it’s definitely in the instructions for if the pen has run out of liquid.

Fair enough, the reason they’ve increased mine is to do with the size rather than the amount, they are all under 8mm and they should be heading towards 13mm now which is why I can’t take my Fyremadel just yet. She said whilst I have a fair few growing, because of polycystic ovaries they need a bit of a kick up the bum to actually get growing to the size they want.

I have seen conflicting information about being on the pill beforehand, some say it helps more follicles grow at a steady rate and others, like you say, believe it makes the follicles harder to “wake up”- I truly think it’s just a gamble whichever way it goes and definitely just have to go with the flow and take it all in our stride (easier said than done!!)

How is everyone doing? I find the weekends the hardest mentally so I hope everyone can find a way to distract themselves and that there aren't too many side effects going on.

@Waitingforday6 ah really?
I've found the weekends help take my mind off things as other half is off work so I have more of a distraction.

Anyone have any nice plans?
I didn't do anything exciting today , just some shopping. I might take a walk tomorrow if it's dry but I'm also started to feel slightly uncomfortable. Mostly VERY bloated

@VioIetMoon that's good that you find the weekends easier 😀 maybe it's just the way my scans fell I just wanted to get to Monday. Hope the bloating doesn't get too bad. I drank lots of coconut water if you can stomach it 😆 I just had my first gentle gym class after EC and other than avoiding twisting motions just in case it was good to be back!

Anyone trigger with Lupron? If so, any side effects? I’m triggering tonight with it and ER is this Tuesday.

@VioIetMoon this is my 5th cycle already. On what dose are you?
I am trying a lower dose this cycle as despite having a small number of follicles they do grow quite quickly and I only had to stim for 7 days during my last 2 cycles.

I think it’s a good idea to think about changing clinics if you are not satisfied, it’s important to trust your clinic.
I changed clinics after my first 2 cycles and even though I haven’t had success, I fell more confident in my new clinic.

@YellowTack ah gosh 5 cycles? Your incredibly strong. How are you feeling mentally?
I've found this time round alot harder . I think its the pressure as I'm turning 40 .
I wasn't sure I could go through it all over again but here I am.
I'm currently on 150 gonal f for the past few days.
Previously they had me on 112 for a week. I have alot of follicles but only a few grew. Only 1 growing on my right ovary. Since the increase a few more have been recruited but they are very tiny and slow . They did say it's unlikely they would catch up at my second scan. I'm in again tomorrow for a scan so we'll see how things go
This is my second attempt at ivf and on my last round I was on 150 and I didn't respond that well either to the dose. Much less than they expected of me. They expected me to he a high responder.
They wouldn't increase me and I felt this could have given me a better chance at producing more follicles. They are advocates of mild stimulation.
I'd just like to have tried a higher dose at the start to shake my ovaries up a bit as they are quite lazy and I don't feel they are utilising the follicles

Well I had my final scan today. Just feel really deflated at this point. As mentioned since the dose increase , loads of follicles have started growing now, I have 10 follicles left and 20 follicles right but they are only 8mm size and unfortunately it's too late for them now. They said they won't wait around for them. Only 6 follicles are above that and just 3 follicles are around the 16mm range. They are talking about pulling the trigger tonight . Has anyone any experience with triggering ? I was told in the past they would trigger when x amount of follicles are above 18mm. I feel like they should he stimming me for an extra day

How's everyone feeling ?
I'm feeling exhausted. This getting up at 5am for a 4 hour car journey every other day is killing me

@VioIetMoon my clinic mentioned biggest follicles being at 18mm before trigger today, so I would maybe ask for a second opinion on why the trigger is being done when your largest follicles haven’t met that criteria yet. Sorry to hear you’re feeling deflated, it’s a very stressful process!

I had my second Day 9 scan today and was a bit of a hoo har to be honest. Nurse found 20 growing follicles, largest atm is 14mm so I could add in the fyremadel but they said unlikely we’d be looking at EC on Friday and very likely it’ll be Monday now… this is where things got a bit frosty as we were asking to write a complaint to the nurse as until we started stims, no one had mentioned to us about having to travel to another clinic for this if it went into the second week. My main issue with this is not being told about this to prepare for this possibility, and the fact we chose our clinic specifically because it wasn’t a satellite clinic and we could have everyone done at the same place. Nurse was a bit $hitty with us tbh, and then said she’d speak to her manager and they’d let us know on Wednesday (our next scan) if they’d be able to accommodate us at our original clinic next week. She also kept forgetting if we were at our first or second scan, and didn’t check the dosage of my gonal F (and in all the stressful conversation about EC date I forgot to remind her I needed more). I of course understand the dates etc with IVF don’t go to plan, but I would’ve appreciated being made aware of this before starting a cycle to allow us to prepare for the added travel, and we always understood the travel could be likely if I needed general anaesthetic or any medical intervention beyond the usual (which I don’t need currently). She also didn’t know if I’d added in fyremadel already (which I hadn’t) and then said “oh you’ll need to do that now then” and then proceeded to just stare at us whilst we watched the clinic tutorial YouTube video whilst I did it (I was expecting and asking her for guidance but wasn’t getting much, I think she was pissed off at us at this point haha)

So we left feeling deflated/annoyed and on the way home I’d realised we didn’t collect the additional Gonal F, so we headed back towards the clinic, and on the way back I got a call from the clinic (I assumed it was about the Gonal F but it wasn’t even about that lol), and it was the manager to discuss the EC dates. As we were on our way back anyway, she said let’s discuss in person.

ANYWAY both nurses had got it wrong, if our EC is next week, they would still be able to accommodate us at our clinic. I explained that both nurses told us otherwise but she was adamant this was the case. The first nurse told us our clinic only do 1 week of EC in the month but the manager said it was over a 2 week period (mon/weds/fri) and the nurses must’ve gotten confused as to what week we were on. I’ve also verified this from some notes I took at our very first nurses discussion where she explained they split the month so that they have 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off for egg collection. I’m really hoping the manager isn’t wrong but she was very apologetic that the nurses had caused so much stress.

I feel more reassured now after asking for a second opinion from the manager, and she also agreed to increase my Gonal F dosage again to 225, and provided us the extra pen we needed to see us through to our Wednesday scan. We were having this conversation in the waiting room and I cried after she told us we could have EC done at our normal clinic from the stress/relief of it all! I know this probably doesn’t sound like a big deal to most people but as long as I know where I’m going and what’s happening, then I can deal with the changing dates, dosages etc, just not location when I’ve not had much time to mentally prepare.

Of course if there was any medication reason as to why we needed to go to the main clinic then we will do, but for scheduling reasons I felt it was unfair to do that with no warning especially as they scheduled me for a Friday knowing full well it could get pushed out to after the weekend. The first nurse also had the cheek to tell me scheduling is based on when your cycle falls…. Which is incorrect as I was on microgynon and then norethisterine so my bleed was timed completely by the clinic looool

Anyway I guess I’m just looking to rant about a stressful morning that worked out in the end, and the importance of getting a second opinion if you're unsure/unhappy with something! I’ve heard a lot of people saying you need to advocate for yourself in IVF and I understand why now.

We’ll be back at our clinic on Wednesday for more fun and games (aka tracking scans and hopefully no more conflicting information) and we’ve been told to prepare for EC on Monday with our trigger being Saturday… but we’ll see at the next few scans 🤞🏼

@Georgiaivf ah that's so bloody fustrating. It's understandable you'd be annoyed. Your entilted to rant so don't worry. I'm taking it your care is also nurse led?
Its been the same at our clinic. Theres been so much confusion and mistakes.
They told me I would likely be triggering tonight, now they've done a complete turnaround and they are running me on til EC on Friday. They've increased me to 225 aswell and I have another scan on Wednesday.
Im guessing they want to boost on the smaller follicles under 8mm? I've no idea. They don't explain any reasoning to us and as a patient I think they should explain their reasons behind certain decisions so that we can have an understanding.
I can't help but wonder at this stage if running me on that long will fry my follicles if they are already in trigger range. It just would have made more sense to stim higher at the start to recruit as many as possible then slow it down if needed. I don't understand why they have worked it this way . Im nearly sure now they will want to switch my trigger cause of the extra follicles which I'm not happy about

Oh man that sounds so frustrating for both of you @VioIetMoon and @Georgiaivf. I don't think they understand the pressure we are under during this process. It might be an everyday situation for them but for us it means everything. And it's so much stress, pain, emotion, time and money. I could barely cope with the extra 2 days of stimming because I was so worried I'd ovulate (not saying it was a logical worry) let alone any other changes so I completely understand. Keeping my fingers crossed for both of you!!

@Waitingforday6 ah yes ovulating is definitely a fear of mine as I believe I ovulated on my last cycle. The pain I get during ovulation is unmistakable and we had 2 huge 20+mm follicles unaccounted for between our day 10 scan and EC scan. The rest were under the 20mm . The two just disappeared so I'm assuming they had to of ruptured.
I can't remember from my first cycle and I forgot to ask the clinic, after you trigger do you still need to take the ( I'm taking cetrotide to prevent ovulation) or do you stop it once you trigger?

@VioIetMoon I took my last cetrotide two/ two and a half hours before the trigger (this is what the clinic instructed and they said if I can't take it at least 2 hours before the trigger not to take it at all but it might be different in each case