Hey all, sorry for the long silence - it was a combination of having a sulk, being incredibly busy with work and having to knit these blasted blanket squares. Every time I came on to post I just felt like I didn't have the energy to say anything, so I thought it was better to leave it until the weekend...
Righto then, lots to respond to - I hope I don't miss anything as there's been so many posts!
Clanger - really hope the scan next week goes OK and it is all just a precaution, I'm sure it will be fine but sending you all my good vibes and thoughts

I don't know if it helps, but my sister had to go for an unplanned extra scan as they thought there was something odd with the size of the baby's head - that all turned out fine. I think they just want to be super-sure about things, which is great really if you think about it. It must be very scary for you though, so I hope you're doing OK.
Star - glad to hear the interview went well! Keeping my fingers crossed that you get it. Sorry to hear you've been feeling rotten as well - there is so much going around at the moment. I feel like I'm fighting something off myself. Half our office has been off with something or other in the last few weeks, so I hope you feel better soon. That day you spent with your friend's little girl sounded lovely.
Leeze - I've read a few Harlan Coben books too, I like a good thriller and am often on the look out for recommendations for new ones to try. It's funny about nesting - my sister (due a little bit after you on 11/11) isn't feeling it either, but her hubby is, so maybe Mr Leeze will get everything ready for you instead and leave you to chill out with your books. Sounds good to me!
mk8 - I am happy to talk about SA results and next steps and any other stuff. As you know Mr Bee's SA came back with a mild reduction on the three important things (numbers, motility and morphology), so I have some experience of going through those kind of results with the GP and the FS. As I skipped ahead over the fertility drugs I don't know how much I can offer on that. Except that I think it would be a very good thing to be referred to the FS rather than keep this going through your GP - they will definitely be able to tell you if the progesterone numbers are an issue (and at least run the tests again just to be sure). They will also be able to see if clomid is the right thing to do - it can be quite easy to fall in to the trap of trying to second guess what the next step is going to be, which can throw you if you are wrong. It took me a while to get my head around IVF because I couldn't believe that this was the next step for us, but there you go...
Have you made a decision on getting a CBFM yet? If you haven't already got one I was thinking that you can probably have mine. Whatever the outcome of this IVF malarkey, it is very unlikely that I am going to use it again. I'm not even bothered about selling it to be honest, so if you want it, it's yours
AFM - I haven't called the clinic yet, but I decided that if I still haven't heard anything by tomorrow (which I won't have) then I'll give them a call. Tomorrow is a week away from next AF and I'm pretty sure that I'm supposed to be starting doing something on CD1, even if it is just the BCP and not the scary injections yet. I reckon if I phone them with the approaching cycle start as a reason then they might not see me as neurotic and annoying. Although I was talking to Mr Bee about it and he said it was better to be thought of as neurotic and annoying than not thought of at all. Good old Mr Bee!
mk8, I think you were asking about the dummy insertion - it's not something that everyone has to go through, so isn't a standard part of the IVF process. It's just that I had a procedure a few years ago to remove some abnormal cells from my cervix. The procedure I had (LLETZ) can damage the opening of the cervix in a way that would make it difficult for them to push the catheter through, which is how they transfer the embryo(s). It was honestly one of the most uncomfortable things I had to go through as it took them ages to manage it, although they did in the end. The only comfort was that I was able to think that the next time they do this, there will be an embryo on that catheter and it might end up being my baby. Horrid though and wouldn't wish it on anyone.
Clanger, I think you asked AGES ago about the protocol. It is going to be a long protocol, which basically means I'll take the pill for 3 weeks, then shut down my system with hormone injections for 2 weeks, then start a bunch of egg stimulating hormone injections until they are ready for collection. The whole process from starting the BCP to egg collection (EC) should take around 8 weeks. I'll be on a high dose of the egg stimulating hormone because I have this diminished ovarian reserve thing and high-ish FSH already, so there is a chance that at the end of the 8 weeks there won't be enough eggs anyway. There is also a risk that I'll over-respond and go into hyper-stimulation which sounds very scary and unpleasant indeed.
After EC, they do all the fertilising lab stuff and then the embryologist will give us a call to let us know what the deal is. I don't know much about this stage yet, but apparently King's seem to prefer to go down the 5 day old embryo transfer. From what I can tell, fewer eggs will make it to the 5 day stage, but once they do they have a better chance of developing into foetuses. Seems sensible to me - especially having been through that dummy transfer. No way I'd want to do that unless I thought the embryo had the best chance possible of making it. That's quite a way away yet though, so I'm not going to think about that until we get there.
Was that everything? I think so - sorry if I missed a question or something else. I shall try not to sulk for so long next time
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