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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

ICSI newbie!

58 replies

Marie9532 · 09/09/2022 22:17

Hi everyone! I’m very new to this so I’m sorry if there is already a discussion on this already! I’m not great with the abbreviations either 😅 My partner and I had been trying for over 3 years and last year we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. We were messed around quite a lot but then eventually found out my partner was producing antibodies which basically killed his own sperm! Flash forward to now and we are due to start our ICSI treatment this month and I’m so nervous! I’ve always been a bit nervous of anything to do with having children and the physical side of it so obviously this is causing me more anxiety! I just wanted to see if anyone had a similar journey or is going through the process now? I know it’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster and I’m naturally quite a negative person so do worry about any risks of the treatment! Thanks everyone xxx

OP posts:

Lizzie989 · 24/09/2022 08:09

@peanutpending have you had the down regulating medication??? If so I felt really crap with that. Apparently when you start stims you symptoms subside x

peanutpending · 24/09/2022 08:12

Thank you @Hopeful16 and congratulations to you! We are the same, my partners sperm count was good but the motility was poor so ICSI was the best option for us. I agree! Prior to this point it's just been awful with the bit knowing what was going on. The other thing that's causing me the most anxiety is not knowing how my body is going to respond and when things will start moving. We've been given dates for appointments but I know this can change!

peanutpending · 24/09/2022 08:14

Hi @Lizzie989 - yes that's the one! My partner said surely it won't happen that quickly but I do feel rough this morning. Made myself bleed with the injection today! The nurse made it look easy! Years of practice!

Hopeful16 · 24/09/2022 08:43

I did see something about "freezing" the area by holding on an ice cube first but never really bothered. It might be worth a try.

My DH's "issue" was that he almost had double the amount of swimmers per sample but lots of them had (as the dr put it) limbs missing and the incomplete ones were getting in the way of the healthy ones so ICSI made lots of sense.

Also meant to say that my other friend has had 3 unsuccessful cycles (very sadly) and has spent an absolute fortune on every sort of therapy including acupuncture, dieticians and massage but it hasn't helped her conceive so ONLY use these if they are good for your mental well-being and not if you think they are the key to success would be my advice.

As for timings, I think that you just have to go with the flow. Find someone at work who you can explain things to and then they'll know what to expect. We were literally first in on a morning for all of our scans so work had as little disruption as possible and the timings were exactly what they had suggested as we had 5 day blastocysts.

Best of luck and I'll post if anything else comes to mind.

peanutpending · 24/09/2022 12:03

Ah yes i have ordered some little freezer packs so may try those! No bruises yet though!

Yeah I appreciate your advice. To be honest I'm wanting it more to help me relax as I'm a naturally anxious person. I'm not sure if it will help in that respect but I'll give it a go!

Yeah it's tough as we do want to keep it quite private. My work are very flexible to be honest. Oh that is good. I'm hoping mine are!

I really appreciate all of your information and advice! Thank you!

Did you find you were really hungry on the injections?

Hopeful16 · 24/09/2022 19:51

Didn't notice a difference in hunger - probably the fear factor! 🤣😂🤣 Although it has cured that to an extent. I also gave up drinking completely throughout (and the lead up) so was eating less anyway - or maybe just less late night dirty food!

peanutpending · 26/09/2022 17:22

Hi @Hopeful16 ohhh maybe just me being greedy as usual haha!

Hopeful16 · 26/09/2022 20:16

@peanutpending we all need something to cheer us up and since it's hard to get out partying when you're tied to 10pm injections why not enjoy a nice foodie treat. 😊

peanutpending · 26/09/2022 20:18

@Hopeful16 that is very true! I'm on the 7:30am injections! Do they have to be bang on the time?? I'm paranoid haha!

Hopeful16 · 26/09/2022 20:28

I think I was told there was a 20 minute window but I was always bang on the time. Was scared in case I was the reason it didn't work! 🙈
The timings all link in with your egg collection times - it's all very clever stuff.

peanutpending · 26/09/2022 21:45

@Hopeful16 oh wow didn't realise that! The nurse did my first one in the evening but the rest are 7.30.

peanutpending · 27/09/2022 14:14

Has anyone had quite bad abdominal cramping? It started last night but today it's horrible!

Hopeful16 · 27/09/2022 14:26

No but if in doubt call your clinic. Hope you get reassurance. 😊

peanutpending · 28/09/2022 18:25

I called and they said most likely AF on its way!

Hopeful16 · 28/09/2022 19:34

Have you not down stimmed?

peanutpending · 28/09/2022 19:35

I'm on the down regulation injections now. They said I may have a period around my usual time but not to worry!

Hopeful16 · 28/09/2022 22:17

Ah I see. Well make sure you're looking after yourself and think this could be the last one for a while 😉

peanutpending · 29/09/2022 08:05

Ah thank you @Hopeful16 - I hope so! Feeling quite rough today!

Lizzie989 · 05/10/2022 11:14

So I had my final scan today and they've said egg collection is on Friday, I'm nervous but excited xx

Hopeful16 · 05/10/2022 11:46

Best of luck @Lizzie989 I remember being a little bit physically sore after my egg collection. I felt like they'd 'forced' my pelvis a little. A small price to pay but something to be aware of when thinking about your next few days - be kind to yourself.

Somatronic · 05/10/2022 12:37

We did ICSI in April and I'm 27 weeks pregnant now - our first fresh transfer was successful so we were very lucky. I thank my lucky stars every day.

I found the process very straightforward - the injections were fine, other than having to inject myself at work a few evenings which was a bit of a pain but it was fine. I had DH do the injections when I was at home on time.

For me the egg collection was a lot more painful than I expected. I was meant to be sedated but I woke up several times during the procedure crying from the pain. I also was in quite a lot of pain for maybe 4 or 5 days afterwards and didn't feel right for a week. I understand from talking to other people here that my experience was unusual and most people find it less painful than I did.

The transfer was a breeze except that I got a cramp in my leg which was embarrassing haha. I kept worrying that I'd mess everything up due to something as silly as a stirrups-induced leg cramp!

I worked throughout, except maybe 2 days around the egg transfer. I was working from home and it was quiet so it suited but I would have needed a few more days off had I had to work on site the week of the egg collection.

Best of luck! Keep us updated!

peanutpending · 05/10/2022 21:00

Lots of luck @Lizzie989 - will be thinking of you! Keep us updated! Xx

peanutpending · 05/10/2022 21:02

Thank you for sharing @Somatronic - I'm sorry your egg retrieval wasn't great! It's the part I am most worried about to be honest. I'm still on my down regulating injections but first scan is next week. Xx

Lizzie989 · 08/10/2022 10:09

Egg collection went well but they hit a nerve when giving my local, so that was excruciating. I am a little sore today, but I'm ok. They retrieved 11 eggs, 9 were mature and we've just had the call that 9 have been fertilised xx

Hopeful16 · 08/10/2022 11:54

@Lizzie989 fingers crossed that they all reach blastocyst stage but always remember that you only NEED one. Sending hugs to you. Try to relax at this point as there is literally nothing that you can do. So eat and relax and try to keep your mind off what is going on - I know how difficult it is.
Have you paid for the camera to watch their progress?

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