ERA/Alice/Emma infertility thread graduates/pregnancies

[seven201]

If you are a regular on the infertility board you may have seen the ERA/Alice/Emma threads for those going through those tests after lots of unsuccessful IVF or recurrent losses. This thread is for the ladies from there who are now pregnant. We can share our worries and joys.

I am useless at remembering who is pregnant from which thread so please do add yourself or tag others. @Janefx40 and @Faithhopelove83.

Also, if anyone who has fully graduated/had their baby, then please feel free to join if you wish. I don't want to tag individuals as I don't want people to feel obliged.

If you've also just had lots of failed ivf and/or recurrent miscarriages you are of course welcome too!

A little bit about me. I have a naturally conceived nearly 7 year old dc. Have been trying for dc2 for 5 1/4 years. One natural early loss, 5 failed ivf, 3 surgeries (main one being an adhesion removed), 2 natural pregnancies and early losses, 1 ivf pregnancy that got to heartbeat stage. This pregnancy is a letrazole round and I'm 9+6 (although measuring 9+0 but that's been consistent) so due early November. I've been spotting brown for the past 3 days but my scan was this afternoon, so reassuring (although still worried). I'm under the CRP clinic in epsom due to the miscarriages.

Good luck to us all!

@Faithhopelove83 I'm glad you have a lovely midwife, that really helps. 4 days is not long at all.

No, I won't get my NIPT results until the end of next week I think. I'm currently in the hospital waiting room at womens and children's, but I don't know what my appointment is for . Hopefully I'll at least know afterwards! I wish the letters explained what clinic they were for specifically.

@seven201 Ah I didn't realise you have to wait so long for the results, that's rubbish. I hope your appointment (whatever it's for!) goes well x

@Faithhopelove83 yep, the wait is really annoying. Appt was just meeting a
Doctor to go through my history and work out when I'd need extra appts and with which departments (I'm quite complicated). So at least it wasn't a waste of time!

@seven201 I'm glad you had a good appointment and hopefully you have a good care plan in place. I've got my 12 week scan date! 22nd May. And I'll see the Consultant (going to be Consultant led) straight after the scan. Is it feeling more real for you now? I'm hoping it'll feel more real for me after my scan on Tuesday. Going to need to keep well distracted until then!

@AM08 Thought I would tag you to this group in case you want to join us! I know you've only recently got your BFP and so may not feel comfortable joining at this stage (which would be completely understandable, so no pressure) but I just wanted to reach out in case you would like the company, as I know it's a long 2+ww to the first scan. Hope you are keeping well x

@Faithhopelove83 oh exciting! Good you can see the consultant straight after. 12 week scan is a big step I think. Obviously it depends on individual history but I don't get that far usually, so it was a big milestone for us. I had been feeling it was more real and getting excited but then we've had this blip with waiting for the NIPT. Hopefully that will come back clear then we can tell our daughter (she's nearly 7 and has been asking for a sibling for years!). I've just been to look round a nursery, which seems insane, but the waiting lists round here are awful!

AMO8, you'd be most welcome. I know it can feel quite daunting joining a pregnancies group after a rough ride, but we're a supportive lot.

@Faithhopelove83 @seven201 Thank you for adding me to the group! I feel like things are just a bit surreal still, unfortunately I think until I see a heartbeat I will be thinking of myself as PUPO rather than pregnant - still just on edge.

What did you guys do about scans? CRGH have said a scan at 6+5 and then 9 weeks but I wonder if I’m better waiting until just after 7 weeks for the first one? I keep going back and fourth in my mind about it.

How is everyone doing?

Hi @AM08 welcome. Only natural to feel unsure at the beginning. Personally I think scans are just there for your own state of mind. There's not much they can do at this stage if there is something wrong. The clinic like an early ish scan as it goes into their stats as a clinical pregnancy if there is a heart beat.

Personally I prefer information so tend towards more scans rather than fewer but others prefer less. It's just personal choice about what will make you feel better.

I think I had scans every 10 days to 2 weeks in those early weeks. Long enough to give me some respite but frequently enough to stave off the panic xxx

@AM08 welcome. CRP do them from 6+3 as they say you should see a heartbeat by then. I had one pregnancy when I went then ish and it was still too early (late implantation from ivf pregnancy) so then had an agonising wait. This time I suspected I implanted late again and chose to go at 6+5 and did see a heartbeat (but was measuring 5+5, has since caught up a few days). Go with what you're comfortable with

@seven201 Yes the 12 week mark will be a big milestone for us too. Furthest we've got was 11 weeks. Just 2 weeks to go! Hopefully the NIPT comes back clear for you. How wonderful it will be to tell your DD! And how exciting to be looking at nurseries!

Hi @AM08 , great to have you here! How you're feeling is completely natural and understandable. My clinic does 7 week scans but my scan was brought forward until 6+3 given how anxious I was. They kindly gave me another one at 8+2. Saw the heartbeat at the first one and also heard the heartbeat at the second one. I can't have any more scans with my clinic, so I'm having one with Tommys RMC unit at 10+2. Then the NHS dating scan at 12+1. So scans roughly every 2 weeks. The wait in between each one is excruciating!

@Janefx40 that makes sense, interesting point about the clinic and their stats. I guess I have to play things by ear and weigh things up closer to the time as I’m only 5+1 today - I’m going to see how I fair with anxiety / if I have any severe cramping or bleeding I might go sooner but if not I think I’ll go just after 7 weeks.

How far along are you?

That sounds like a good plan @AM08 . Hope you're ok x

Update from me -
Our scan went well today! I was so scared beforehand, but baby is doing great. Still measuring 1 day ahead. He/she was sleeping to begin with, but then they woke up and were waving at us! I still can't quite comprehend that they are inside of me, but hopefully that will get a little easier now. Just wish I could shake the yuckiness and exhaustion. Also getting very nervous about stopping the meds. I've just got 2 more Lubion to take (until 10+4). The rest of the meds (including Cyclogest 3 times a day) will continue until 12 weeks. Will that be ok? Needing a bit of reassurance.

@seven201 and @Janefx40 Hope you're both keeping well x

Hi guys, it's only me :) I tested on 6dp5dt and got a good line on a frer and wondfu, the next day I did both again and it had progressed loads (I even convinced myself it could be twins!) and then today it's lighter than yesterday on the frer and wondfu. So I don't know what's happening, I thought I should be using smu, where I pass all the urine then wait 30 mins to an hour without drinking and then pass again, to be fair I did need to really push it out yesterday and it was a new frer box today. So I don't know whether it's a urine dilution issue or that hcg is getting lower. I am getting the odd twinge and also have a bad taste in my mouth and I'm very burpy.

Hope you guys don't mind looking at the tests, the frer have been drying quite dark.

@Gardenlady543 oh my goodness congratulations!!!! My tests went up and down a bit. I found the frer went in pairs, as in the packs as some packs are stronger than others. I think those lines are good. I too obsessed over lines.

@Gardenlady543 my easy at home, which are similar to womdfo went up and down quite a lot so in the end I stopped looking at those.

Me again. If you look at your 6&7 those control lines are darker than day 8. Good tests to me. I've added a photo of some of mine but they're so dried out it probably isn't useful but there was a definite fluctuation of darkness of line.

Comgratulatioms!!!! Sorry, I knew it was on Tuesday but the bank holiday has thrown me. Amazing. Such lovely news. Would they give you more cyclogest if you asked? Some clinics stop at 12, CRP are 16.

I have good news. NIPT test came back low risk and it's a girl!! So relieved.

Thanks @seven201 I knew you'd be excited! I'm definitely getting much better lines than last time, on my first test on 6dp5dt even the CB monitor picked up a pregnancy and someone online wrote to them and CB wrote back and said "Please be advised that the sensitivity of the Clearblue Advanced Fertility Monitor pregnancy test is 50 mIU/ml." So the sensitivity is pretty poor so my level must have been very good.

These are the dry wondfu, so it dried slightly lighter today, so both the frer and wondfu came back lighter today than yesterday. I sent off a beta today but won't get the result until tomorrow or the day after and then can repeat again Thursday but at the earliest the result will be back on Friday and because my OTD is Sunday, I'm stuck with having to do urine tests or I won't know what to tell my clinic about what is going on. Would much rather just stick to betas but nobody does them locally on the same day here :(

@seven201 it's funny that you mention the control line. I found an app that calculates the t/c ratio so it looks at the comparison between them as a ratio since the tests can have different amounts of dye in them. With the higher the value the better. For the wet tests I got the same scores today as yesterday (you can ignore the low it's made for LH tests 😂)

@Gardenlady543 I am over the moon for you. I think I'm right in saying you were on the first ERA/Alice/Emma thread I started all those years ago, an you've been SO helpful to everyone with your amazing research skills. Good idea to get a beta. I did that after my clearblue was stuck on 1-2 weeks. Ha, love that app find!

Thank you @seven201 🙂
Really pleased to hear your NIPT test result came back low risk. Aww that's lovely it's a girl! 💗
I'll ask whether they'll extend the Cyclogest to week 16. That's in-line with NICE guidelines after all.
Are you off the pred now? I'm worried about stopping that too.

@Gardenlady543 Congratulations again! They look like good lines to me. Hope they continue to progress over the coming days x

@Faithhopelove83 I didn't realise it was NICE guidelines. I reckon if you mention that they'll prescribe more, If not, I can send you some of mine as I have some excess. I'm on 10mg of pred at the mo, so still weaning off, but so far so good.

We just told our daughter. I'm a bit of an oversharer when it comes to fertility so it felt wrong that lots of people knew except her! She's very excited and glad it's a girl not a boy!

@seven201 yes it was just me, you and cream back at the start, which was early 2021! Me and my husband have always wanted a girl, but would take anything at this point!

Thank @Faithhopelove83 I'm really hoping it gets darker again tomorrow, I was so happy with yesterdays result and feel like it's gone backwards, I'm really hoping today is just an anomaly.

Bless you @seven201 , that's so kind of you, thank you. I'll try my fertility clinic, RMC unit and GP and let you know if that fails.
That's lovely you've been able to tell your DD. So funny she's glad it's a girl and not a boy! 😆

@Gardenlady543 I thought it was longer than that, but it must just feel that way to me! Cream will be delighted for you too. Keep us posted on tomorrows test. If you're anything like me you won't sleep well as you'll be thinking about needing a perfect wee!

@Faithhopelove83 thank you.