1st Cycle IVF April 2013

[captainj1]

Hey v2r I just stopped by and saw your news that your cycle wasn't successful, just sending hugs and hoping you get some answers when you go for your follow up. Xxx

I'm feeling dreadful tonight although just had the most amazing week's holiday down in Cornwall. Weather was amazing and my DS was great fun. We are potty training at the mo and he is doing really well with wee wee but poos he just does in his pants...typical boy!

I think I'm feeling crappy because I've been bleeding for 9 days now...not much now, compared to the flooding I had for the first few days, but still bright red. I'm anaemic at the best of times and all this blood loss is making me shaky. I have an ultrasound on Monday and then hopefully start my oestrogen etc which I hope will help with the hot flushes too. Just worried that they won't start me on the tablets until every last bit of my uterine lining is out...

Xxx

Good luck too excited, keeping everything crossed this is your time! X

 

[TooExcited]

Excellent bargains v2r - well done! I love getting a good bargain too.

How was your night on your own? I had one on Friday night as DH was out with the boys and stayed over in Manchester. He skulked home about midday yesterday very hung over! He's been off the beer for quite a while thanks to the treatment so I think he was a bit of a light weight!

I'm not stressed really about going back to work - I just don't want to! I have a stack of ironing to do this afternoon so had better get on with that at some point or I won't have anything to wear! Looks like the weather will be warm again here next week so had better sort out some summer wear!

Hi Captainj - lovely to hear from you. How are you feeling today? Hope you had a fab holiday - it sounds like it and you picked a perfect week! DH and I are planning a week in August down there so I might have to pick your brains on what to do. Hope your bleeding has stopped today and that tomorrow is the start of the fet journey. You must be lovely and relaxed after your holiday so it's the perfect time. Are you still taking supplements? Do they'd have iron in them? Let us know how you get on tomorrow please.

AFM - another quiet day for me. Today us the first day I've not had any cramping around my cervix. Can't decide if that cramping is a good or a bad thing. I've had some shooting pains today - only last a few seconds but they are weird and I have been having the most bizarre dreams! I'm sure it's just the progesterone sups and I'm desperately trying not to symptom spot. Whilst I want to know the outcome I really don't want to test! Daft bugger hey! Happy Sunday all xx

 

[TooExcited]

Hope you get some answers today hun. Thinking of you xx

 

[cooch]

Hi girls, can I join also?
V2R, sorry about your embie, you got so close, can't imagine how you must be feeling. Are you being treated at GrI?

Too excited- are you still sunbathing after this weekend or are you back at work, what stage are you at?

Babybee86- this the other two girls are uk, so your situation in the states will be quite different. I think, and I've not done ivf yet, it can take up to 5/6 weeks for the whole process but that will depend on your protocol.

AFM-34 (just) tried one Iui at Glasgow royal, now have my first ivf appointment 25th July. AMH is below 4 although scans always show 10-12 follicles at the start of my cycles. I seem to respond very well to drugs (lol). My appointment is day 19 of my cycles so I'm hoping to start e down reg two days later and scans at the start oft he following cycle.

 

[mandy19]

Hi ladies, hope you dont mind me joining, i am new to this site and have just recently started my first IVF cycle, started my injections on the 10th of this month, was told my AMH level was very low therefore i require a higher dose of drugs. I have an ultra sound scan this friday to see how i am responding to the drugs, mixed emotions about it all, excited and very nervous about the whole thing!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated :thumbup

 

[cooch]

Hi mandy19, what was your Amh level! How many follies did they see at your scan before you started meds?

Did you do anything prior to this? I did 1 Iui and failed, but they did say I was ideal for ivf(AMH is below 4). I seemed to respond too well to the drugs.

 

[V2R]

Hi ladies, I am giving ICSI a go & will be on a long protcol. They have no explaination why I responded so well to the drugs but my eggs were a failure. I will not be offered a 3rd go if my 2nd attempt fails I will have to make the desision of egg donor which is an 18 month waiting list. The doctor did not seem to have high hopes I will be called back in 6months time, so the waiting starts all over again. I dont know what to do to improve my eggs!! I just cant believe the doctors have had such high hopes throughout all this & now they discover my eggs are not very good but they don't know what to do about it!

Welcome Mandy19 & Cooch, really hope your treatment goes well. xx

 

[cooch]

What supplements are you taking v2r?

 

[2have4kids]

V2R I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out for you. I too will likely be looking at egg donation. We're trying our second IVF in the next 3 months with estrogen priming instead of the pill to line up the eggs. I don't think there's anything you can do about egg quality, I took all of the supplements, lost weight well beforehand and was in excellent physical shape (the best in my life really), I ate lots of protein and veg and limited carbs and sugar, (many NHS & diabetes studies have shown that sugar can put bumps on your eggs and add deformities) especially bread - gluten not good for me.

I've read the studies about NAC, Inositol and vit B during IVF, it didn't do a thing for me. My eggs after 9 days of the highest doses of gonal F were smaller than most women just starting IVF-it was really sad. With that dismal an outcome my fs didn't even want me to try another IVF, she just wanted to suggest egg donation. I've started wrapping my head around it by looking through the candidates that we have access to. I hope by the time we're ready for that, they have more people in the system.There was no one that even looks remotely similar to me, they were mostly all under 5'7 and the ones 5'10 and up were completely different and my oH is 6'5. I don't want people coming saying wow, how'd you get that red hair or in 20 years, gee, how is it that your parents are so tall and you're so short? That must sound pretty shallow, but those are my silly concerns that I'm trying to get over.

 

[mandy19]

Hi mandy19, what was your Amh level! How many follies did they see at your scan before you started meds?

Did you do anything prior to this? I did 1 Iui and failed, but they did say I was ideal for ivf(AMH is below 4). I seemed to respond too well to the drugs.

hi cooch just seen this reply, no i havent done anything prior to this, i had a lap & dye test last feb and was diagnosed with blocked tubes, so referred for IVF straight away, only found out at my appointment last month that my AMH level was also low, it was 4.3!! they just said that would mean i need a high dose of drugs, they didnt tell me how many follicles they seen on the scan before i started the drugs, got another scan this week so hopefully i will have responded well to the drugs!

 

[TooExcited]

V2R - I am so sorry you didn't get any useful answers. I'm glad that they are going to use icsi next time - that's a positive step forward. Why will you not get your third cycle though?

Did they mention dhea to you? My consultant put me on it for min 12 weeks to improve egg quality. They even told me where to buy it! One other thing to try is dha - which is just fish oils really but again should improve the quality - it's certainly worth a go and I find if I take them before I eat I don't get any nasty after taste.

Most importantly you need to get your body and mind back on track. Do you have any holidays booked?

Welcome Mandy and cooch - no sunbathing for me today - back to work and I had a dull and boring day!

2have - great to hear from you. I'm sorry you don't have range of donors that are more suitable for you. I agree with you, you would want a child to look like they came from your eggs- there is nothing wrong with that at all. I hope you find a solution hun xx

 

[cooch]

I was advised with my low AMH to take DHEA at 75mg per day 3 months prior to starting IVf. I have also been taking 600mg of Cq10, and a double dose of omega 3. All of the suppos I've been taking are top quality, not just bought in pound store. I can only comment on their effectiveness with regards to my Iui treatment and stim.

1st time I was on 125 shot of menopur for 7 days and had the Iui cancelled as there were around 5 follies and estrogen over 2000, not high for ivf but overstim for Iui.

2nd Iui, I had menopur at 105 for 5 days and had 3 good sized follies and estranged over 1200. Again not high for ivf and this time they let it go ahead. At each Iui the little follies were reaching 9 and 10mm as well.

What kind of level do they give of menopur for ivf?

I'm convinced my response was due to good supplements! I would recommend. Plus I was also told that Prof Fleming at GCRm is world expert in AMH and it was at GcRm open night I was told to take these supplements.

 

[V2R]

Goodmorning...First day back at work & no-one has even attempted to do my work! Great at least it keeps me busy! Sun is shinning here again today. My plan now is to visit the health shop & stock up on vitamins I might look into acupuncture as well. I'm not giving up. Next cycle is in 6 months so plenty time to get motivated again.

Cooch - No I was not on any vitamins, only Folic Acid. Hospital never advised on what to take as I had no obvious fertility issues.

2Have - Do you get pictures to look at of the egg donors? My doctor said they choose who's eggs I would get but they have to be same eye/hair/skin colour as me & I would never know who the person is. I am not keen on this as I think it would always be in my mind the baby actually isnt mine but is my partners. Egg donation is a very tough decision & the ladies are very hard to come by. I wish you the best of luck, keep me up to date.

TooExcited - How is your first day back at work? Remember dont over do it, keep relaxed.

xx

 

[cooch]

V2r here are the different supplements I use (still to find out if they work).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctors-Be...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373971283&sr=8-1&keywords=Cq10

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00361KPM8/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Nutrition-Platinum-Capsules-100-Count/dp/B000GJZVAO

I take these as well as pregnacare. Up until last month I was doing acupuncture weekly too. Given this up at the moment as its so expensive. Trying a new ACU dr on fri and she does bulk bookings, so you can save a bit. She's zita west trained and is actually cheaper than the first two ACU dr I have tried. A wee ing like a pill is worth trying.

 

[TooExcited]

V2R - i agree with cooch. I go to a zita west affiliated acupuncturist and she recommended her supplements (and she doesn't get commission but does have discount vouchers!)

I take the Vitafem and Vitafem Boost as well as the VitalDHA supplements (which she advises to double dose on during the cycle).

As Cooch says - i have yet to find out if they have worked for me but I will give anything a go which is safe and within reason! The other things I did was to cut out all artificial sweeteners as these become toxic as digested and are really bad for fertility. I also switched from low fat to full fat dairy (and have had no increase in weight because of it). The things they do to make things "low fat" are really quite scary. The other tip I was given was to eat organic wherever you can to eliminate any excessive growth hormones etc. That and the usual cut down on caffeine and in the 3 months before treatment no alcohol etc.

Stay positive hun - this will work for you xx

 

[cooch]

Too excited, how many follies did you have before ec? Not long now, how are you feeling? Can I ask about your ACU? Did you have before and after et?

 

[TooExcited]

I had 15 follicles between 18-23 at my last scan which was 2 days before EC.

Feeling ok so far. I am not a patient person so the wait is starting to do my head in... still staying positive though!

Yes I had acu pre and post transfer. My DH was a bit concerned about me going afterwards but I'm certain its a tried and tested method!!! Do you have the Zita West CD? It's worth getting (but get a 2nd hand one on ebay not the full £15 on her site!) There are 3 different tracks on there. One for pre transfer, one for post and then another for the 2ww. I used them in natural cycles too.

 

[2have4kids]

Hi ladies, yes V2R, we do get to choose. You can see many many egg donation banks online as well from the states. I don't like that the doc gets to pick. That seems a little unfair to me!
I guess I shouldn't complain. Just want a baby already.

 

[V2R]

Hi Ladies, sorry not been on here in a while. How is everyone? Any good news to share? I hope so.

Since having treatment sex hasnt been comfortable I feel tight down there! My mind has been all over the place I was thinking about not giving ICSI a go but I be aswell by the time my appointment comes through in 6 months I might feel postive again. I have made my mind up if ICSI doesnt work then I wont be having egg donation, we might look into adopting as so many kids need a chance in life.

Hope you are all well xx

 

[TooExcited]

Hello stranger- lovely to hear from you.

As you may have seen from my footer we had bad news too. Still coming to terms with it if I'm honest but onwards we go.

I can't see the consultant for a follow up appointment until 4 Sept so I don't know when we will be able to try again. I'm still hoping a miracle will happen before we have to!

I haven't even tried to start physical relations again yet! We've just been dealing with the emotions as they come. Currently on CD14 and absolutely no sign of an LH surge yet so hopefully it will make an appearance next week when we are on holiday! Started a new supplement too myo-inisotol which is meant to be helpful for people who have had failed IVF cycles. From what i read it helps with the developing eggs somehow...

How are you getting on back at work? It has taken me a few weeks to have any interest in work. Slowly getting there now (in time for a week off ha ha!)

xx