IVF Feb 2026

[Moosey898]

Hi everyone - just thought I'd start a thread for anyone going through IVF in February.

We're not 100% confirmed yet (GP missed off a blood test so we're rushing to the clinic tomorrow to get it done, so frustrating!) but all being well we'll be starting stims at the start of Feb for our first cycle.

We've had a horrid TTC journey to this point and it's definitely hard to imagine it working, but we had to try. We're having PGT-SR as I have not one but 2 translocations (balanced and robertsonian) so at the very least IVF gives us the best chance of reducing our miscarriage risk.

Hope everyone else is doing well, would love to hear any tips from those who have been through it before and particularly those who have done PGT or had FET.

@FET2026 fingers crossed for you! Was it your first transfer that was successful last time?x

Yes it was so unexpected! We’d had a long path to get there so first transfer of the cycle working was a lovely surprise.

I spent so many hours on here - it helped so much but also understand it can be hard for those waiting for their first when someone else is going again….. so forgive me if I say anything silly (same for all those trying for baby 1)

Oh gosh don't worry! We're all here to share in the ups and down if IVF, whether it is your first cycle or your 8th I imagine there's always challenges and emotions.

I'm so happy for you that your first cycle worked. Whenever I hear that it gives me hope as well. With PGT I know we may not be lucky first time but it's not impossible. And I've been on the wrong side of probability so many times already, at some point it's bound to go right, right? 😅

I've had such a crappy journey to this point, but IVF is that "something new" for me - always nice to have something new to try!

Hello. Sorry it’s taken a few days to reply. I’ve felt stressed this week with timings going out of whack. But im on cycle day 4 today and started stims. Nervous about us doing them at home from tomorrow but thankfully my partner is going to do them for me. Scan on Tuesday to see what it all looks like.
Can’t believe we have actually started the process. Trying not to get hopes up and be realistic but it’s hard isn’t it.

how are you getting on??

Oh I'm glad you were able to get started! That is good news. Have you done any at home injections before? I've had blood thinners (6 weeks of them!) and used weight loss injections in the past so the stabbing myself part is ok to be honest. I'm more anxious about the waiting! I'm not the most patient so I'm working on that 😅

My meds arrived today. I've read the instructions book for the pen injections, and waiting for my period to (hopefully) start tomorrow so I can start stims on Saturday. Just want to get going now!

That sounds very positive so baby dust that your transfer is successful.

I did have to do some little injections for a week after I had my DD due to blood loss and I think, my age?? It's all a bit of a blur now but my partner did them too. Easier for me and he is happy to feel part of it. On day 2 of the stims and I'm just pleased to be getting on with it now after all this waiting. I've had a couple of headaches but they haven't lasted all day thankfully. Hope timings have all gone well for you today. Fingers crossed you can start tomorrow.

Wishing everyone else all the luck too for February! x

Period has decided, for the first time in years outside of post miscarriage, to be late 🫩 not impressed! Hoping it arrives tomorrow otherwise day 14/15 is likely to fall on a weekend and my clinic only does egg retrieval Monday to Friday so I'm nervous it won't be the best possible outcome. So annoyed with my body. Feels like I can't trust it to even do the basics.

Oh no. That’s typical. The nurse literally said to me the other day the one time you need it, it doesn’t do as planned. Hopefully it’s today for you. My clinic only does collection on Monday, Wed and Fri so I’ve no real idea how that works for timings. You put a lot of trust in the process don’t you.
I’ve also not told work what’s happening which is making it a little more stressful trying to plan appointments, as the know I’m ducking out here and there so are starting to wonder what’s happening, but I feel like telling them at this stage would be worse.

Let us know how you get on this weekend if you feel like sharing. Everything crossed.

Well I'm glad your nurse said that too, makes me feel a little better! It finally arrived in the night so assume tomorrow I will start the injections, I'll call the clinic this morning to confirm. And yep so much faith! I know they do this all the time and they plan for it, but I still get anxious. Hopefully we manage to get a decent number of eggs!

My work know I'm going to be doing IVF this year but I've not said it's this month. I think I'll tell the UK manager as she's been brilliant - I've only just returned from 4 1/2 months off due to losing our little girl at 22 weeks pregnant in September (freak infection that was borderline septic so they had to induce her to save me). I was hoping to get the first round in in Jan before I came back but sadly just didn't work out. And our clinic is 90min away (we can use a satellite clinic 1hr away for monitoring scans) so it's not like I can just pop out for an hour either.

@Moosey898 I’m so sorry you’ve been through so much heartache 💔 that’s really awful, I’m sorry.
that’s a slog to the clinic as well for the scans and everything. Hope this is all worth it and this is a turning point for you. We are over an hour from the treatment clinic but thankfully only half hour from the satellite for tests and scans but still means a significant amount of time out of work recently and coming up. Wouldn’t be as bad if I could plan it with leave but it’s the unknown isn’t it. I’m going for a scan on Tuesday but she said depending how things look, I could be asked back on the Wednesday. A bit of a stress but this is it now until the outcome at least. It’s just always waiting for the next thing isn’t it ❤️

Hope everyone is doing ok. @Moosey898 So sorry about your little girl 💔

With you mentioning the restricted days at the clinic...I was told in Dec we'd be doing long protocol. I thought it was because of my age and AMH but Googling made me think the opposite would be right. I asked when I had an appt this week and got a long and complex explanation which largely went over my head - but I think it's mainly because they are open Mon-Fri and doing long protocol means they can control timings better. Felt a bit like "oh". Thought it was what was tailored to the patient...

I haven't told my work. I'm not close enough to anyone and really feel that it's not their business. I have potential trips (day and maybe overnight) around the time I'll be doing a lot of appts and (if we get to the point of) egg collection. I said to my manager that I might have a medical thing that I'll need to be off a couple of days and she said ok didn't probe.

@HM2024 I have been listening to the BFN audiobook and they said something similar about long protocols. I didn’t really know what a long/short one was until then. Hope this time passes quickly for you so that you can start stims and know what’s what.

Work is a weird one. I do feel like we talk a lot about things but there are a lot of gossips & I really don’t want to end up part of the gossip and then worse, everyone waiting for some kind of announcement. Urghh. For that part I feel like I shouldn’t tell them but I also feel I’m deserting them a bit. I feel they will end up putting it all together at some point anyways due to the frequency

Also. In my info booklet from the clinic, I read that after collection they will sign off work for 2 weeks - is this normal? Has this been mentioned to anyone else?

No one has mentioned this to me at all and I feel it’s quite a significant thing not to mention considering we’ve been taking to them for months with tests and given our intention for IVF. I’m a bit worried about all that but I will speak to them on Monday.

Thank you @TTCbaby2xox - yeah the unknown makes it so much harder! My scans are not as bad this time because day 7 happens to be a Friday, so the scans are Friday then Monday which is good to be able to plan a bit at least! I'm hoping then (if all goes to plan) we would have one final scan and egg collection the end of that second week, but who knows.

And thank you @HM2024. That's so interesting about your clinic. They always say it's tailored to us but it does make you doubt it!

I'm thinking I will tell the UK office manager - she's been so good with all my other medical time off and the extended leave I had. Outside of that I don't really want to tell anyone. It's enough to be going through without extra questions etc!

Preparing for my first day of stims tomorrow evening, glad it's finally time to get started.

Ohh no I haven't heard anything about 2 weeks off! It's not 2 days!? My clinic said I'd need day or and day after EC off.

For work, I'm lucky to WFH so it will probably be less noticeable. But I need to leave an hour for traffic to hospital so potentially will be away 3 hours for an appt.

I'm definitely wary of the gossips after have heard a few rumours about other women.

@Moosey898 Good luck with first day tomorrow. Let us know of any side effects. I don't know what to expect. Is there a certain time of day you need to do them?

I got the down regulation injection on Monday and so far very little side effects. It puts you into menopause so was expecting more.

My clinic is 2hrs away, though I have to leave an extra 1hr earlier because of traffic, its get a bit crazy early hrs of the morning and I usually have to be at the clinic at 7am for scans and bloods. My clinic also does not work weekends and when ever I have a natural cycle or my period does not co operate it stresses me out especially when my periods never come when it should.

@HM2024 yeah so the one I start today is every evening and just have to keep it in the same hour window each day. Then day 7 I start the second injection of a different medication in the morning, same rules x

Hey everyone :) There's a whatsapp group as well for anyone starting treatment soon, set up by Seen Fertility if anyone wants to connect there too xx
https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLRsZSooSRcGVSCe6Ofktn

Hello,
I’m on the January IVF thread but still in the thick of it now it’s February so saying hello here :)

Was on downreg for two weeks and have been on stims for just over a week. Egg collection might be on Friday if scan tomorrow looks good.
I’ve had quite a lot of side effects, nausea, dizziness and headaches at various points. Getting through it though!

Wishing everyone luck.

To the question about two weeks off after egg collection- I know people who have taken two weeks off after embryo transfer in order to avoid stress during the hopeful implantation- perhaps that is why? I’ve read a day off after egg collection is advisable too.

Hello @FairislePatterned & fingers crossed for you and your collection going ahead on Friday.

I started stims on Thursday and had the first scan today. Things looked ok. Lining she was happy with and. A couple of follicles each side with the expected measurements. Not sure why but I was expecting all follicles to be the same size 🙈
Have started the ovulation blocker tonight but I’m concerned I have ovulated between my appointment this morning until my jab. I was convinced I felt “pops”. My OH things I’m paranoid and a bit mad….which is definitely true at this point. I do feel a bit nauseous after the jab tonight though.
Another scan on Friday and then of all looks good collection on Monday.

Maybe a mix of the meds ramping up but today has been an emotional day. I have cried a lot. Thankfully I was working from home after the scan.

How is everyone else getting on too??

Welcome @FairislePatterned and thanks for sharing. I'm currently down reg (day 8 now) - it's a long ol' journey this way!

Good luck for Friday 🙏How quickly did your side effects start? Did you have any side effects from the down reg medication? I haven't had anything which I'm surprised by.

@TTCbaby2xox Hope you're feeling ok after your emotional day. I often forget myself but it is a lot to go through so understandable!

How many scans has everyone had during stims? Wondering how many excused i'll need to make to leave work.

@Moosey898 How are you getting on?

@HM2024 I'm doing good thank you 😊 day 3 of stims for me today, feel a bit like I've got swirly stuff going on in my abdomen (hard to describe!) but otherwise nothing to report yet. I've got monitoring scans booked in for Friday and Monday so looking forward to seeing how things are progressing.

Should add, they're also booking me in for one next Wednesday so 3 scans expected if all goes to plan!