Anyone else about to start IVF?

[gardenpixie]

DH and I have our first IVF consultation in a couple of weeks and I just wondered if there was anyone out there who was in the same position?

We've had loads of tests done already so the Dr says we may well be able to start the treatment cycle sometime next month or early May.

We've been TTC #1 for 3yrs now and I am on cycle 5 of clomid so will continue with that until I start the IVF drugs. There are no obvious medical reasons why we haven't conceived naturally, just a case of unexplained infertility, I guess.

I know the odds of getting pg still aren't great but I am really excited about the fact that IVF even exists (isn't amazing what they can do?) and, although I am a bit apprehensive of everything it will involve, I am thrilled to be given the chance to see if it might work for us.

I would love to hear from anyone with any advice or who is in the same boat,

thanks for reading

[AnnaCam]

Hi....

I am in the extremely lucky position of having had IVF and have a beautiful son to show for it...first time too...he's now 5 months old.

I just wanted to say 'good luck'. The only advice I can give you is to go with the flow and try to keep positive (although it sounds like you already are).

Don't be apprehensive..the nurses look after you and will tell you what to do and when, so there is nothing you need to worry about...just concentrate on staying positive.

If you want to talk (write!) I'd be happy to listen (read!)

Best of luck....

[gardenpixie]

Congratulations on your DS Anna and thanks for the advice and support. I imagine I will take you up on your offer of talking some more as things progress; it's really heartening to know there are people out there for whom it's all worked

[jumpingjackhash]

Hi gardenpixie, we've just been referred for ICSI (expecting first appointment in a month or two), so I can't offer any advice on what to expect, but just wanted to wish you well as I can imagine the journey you've had to get to this point!

I know a few couples who have had real success with IVF, so good luck!

[ThatScrotumCat]

Im not about to start but wanted to wish you luck.<br /> <br /> I have a 21 month old son from our first round of IVF & am now 27 weeks pregnant with our first FET (baby conceived at the same time as our little boy).<br /> <br /> I hope youll be sharing good news soon.

[gardenpixie]

Thanks ladies, good luck Jumping and congratulations Cat on your little people

xx

[SavouryMuffin]

Oooh it is such an exciting time isn't it, my husband and I went for an inital consultation last November to start IVF however with holidays and other things getting in the way we decided to keep trying until after the New Year and if still no luck start then. So unfortunately nothing happened on the natural side and we have decided to start treatment now this month. I am so excited about the possibility of getting pregnant but also really nervous about how we will feel if it doesn't happen in our first cycle but am trying to only think about the positives!

Gardenpixie your situation sounds pretty much the same as mine and whilst all our friends seem to be falling pregnant we cannot so all our hopes are pinned on IVF. Do you know if you will go down the Balstocyst path? Does anyone have any positives at all on taking this extra step opposed to the regular IVF?

[LankyLegs]

Hello lovely garden just wanted to say hi and good luck with the IVF cycle my dear - am keeping everything crossed for you. You sound really positive about it which is brilliant. Will keep an eye out to see how you get on xxx

[gardenpixie]

Thanks Lanky very kind of you, I hope everything is going well with you too

Savoury it is exciting isn't it? In terms of doing the blastocyst transfer, our assisted conception unit (at Guys & St Thomas') said that it depends on how the fertilisation goes. If there are only two viable embryos at day 2 or 3, they will transfer both; if there are more, they will wait until day 5 and transfer the most viable blastocyst(s).

We got a big lecture on trying to avoid twins so only having one transfered if we get to the blastocyst stage ... but I imagine it's a hard decision to make. I already know I'd want them to transfer more than one if poss but I guess that's not always the most sensible option!

The clinic were very good at being realistic and going through success rates; I know what you mean though about getting our hopes up. Are you going to freeze any unused viable embryos? I was amazed at how successful a frozen embryo could be so that took the pressure off a bit (only a tiny bit though).

Do you know when you are going to start treatment? I'm not exactly sure when we can start - it'll either be next month or May (eeeeek!).

here's to being lucky (might as well go for an MN glass of wine as I'm not meant to be having any in RL)

[SavouryMuffin]

Oh it's so useful to hear the different experiences everyone is going through. Gardenpixie - we also had the lecture on the multiple birth thing and I really do understand why they do it but for me personally not only is the cost a huge dent in what should be a house desposit the risk of going through it all and only using minimal eggs and it not being sucessful is just horrible to think about and like everyon else I am sure, I feel more able to cope with twins etc than an unsucessful attempt using only 1 or 2 eggs if there are more avaialble. I felt so embarassed back last year at our consultation basically trying to ask what the policy is on number of eggs being transferred etc and was worried they would think all I wanted was multiple babies to only have to go through the whole process once (twins would be nice, a handful yes but still lovely) but I was more interested in trying to understand if 'more is better' ie. so you have more chance of it being sucessful and not having to go a second round by using more than 1 or 2 eggs...of course I found there are so many pro's and con's for both and everyone has a different opinion on the matter!As for timings I am actually sitting down tonight to review the schedule I was given. We are away at Easter so from memory I think we will have to start asap to ensure I am about in time for the scans etc. I was hoping that if I could complete the process right before we go away i could then spend the holiday relaxing and doing all the things they suggest without having to take additional time off work. As each month passes by I get more fed up so I am just so keen to get it started sooner rather than later so if the dates work then I will go collect all the necessary drugs etc at the end of this week :-)
As for the freezing yes we have agreed it is a good decision to freeze them, I have a low egg count as it is so have been told to get a move on (I'm 38 this year)I was worried if I didn't freeze them then at some point perhaps very soon there might not be enough good ones left!

[gardenpixie]

Hi SavouryMuffin, wow, all done by Easter - how amazing! I love the idea of a mini-Muffin (or two) bedding in while you are relaxing on holiday!

From what the clinic said to us, they are happy to transfer more than one embryo before the blastocyst stage but then recommend just the one if you get to that.

I know what you mean though - DH and I could definitely cope with twins; I'm not so confident we could cope with repeated cycle failures, especially if we had only transferred one.

I think the Drs get it though - they just want to make sure we know the pros and cons. I guess the tricky thing is they don't know how likely we are to have implantation until it happens or doesn't happen which, for us, is too late.

I know that Google is not our friend in this kind of situation but I did read of a study in the states which suggests one embryo implanting makes it easier for others to implant at the same time (makes the uterine lining more receptive). All sounded quite complicated.

I am considering reserving a place in our local unit for insane people for the two week wait though as that is going to be a challenge!

xx

[SavouryMuffin]

Thanks GP I also loved the sound of relaxing by a pool whilst the necessary ingredients did their stuff! However just spoken to the clinic (we're using The Lister Clinic) earlier and they think I may not be ready (might not have completed all the drugs by the end of April) which will basically mean that they will keep me on the pill until after my hols and then start the hormones etc afterwards :-(

Oh well I of course want whatever they think is best and if it means waiting until I get back then so be it just would have been totally perfect not least becasue as soon as I get back to work after the 2 weeks off it will be manic!

Do you know much/have your heard much about having IVF and also having to hold down what can be a crazy job? I have read that its a good idea to take time off during the important bits but now that may not coincide with my hols which are already booked and paid for and can't be changed it is going to be impossible.

When will you know about your start dates?

Thanks for your responses x

[SavouryMuffin]

Oh so I go in tomorrow to have a current and up-to-date hormone test etc and pick up the drugs!

[gardenpixie]

Oh that is a disappointment to wait until after your hols but, as you say, it's better to make sure you give yourself time to do everything that needs doing.

Hopefully the hormone tests from tomorrow will be speedy so you can get cracking as soon as you are back.

The Guys & St Thomas' clinic said that for the 2ww we should avoid lifting anything over 10kg, take showers rather than baths, avoid alcohol and anything you can't eat during pregnancy and to avoid stressful / strenuous situations.

My job is bonkers so I'll definitely be taking time off during the 2ww - I do a lot of rushing about so what I really want to do is to avoid that.

Do you think you could do a mixture of taking time off and working from home at all? It's so hard isn't it? I don't want to tell work that we're doing IVF so I'm just going to take unpaid leave and say it's for family / personal reasons.

I hope tomorrow goes well

[Terraviva]

Hello all. I'm not starting IVF but I am waiting (oh god the waiting!!) to have my 1st consultation to start fertility treatment. It won't be IVF, it's something called GnRH pulsatile therapy. I started a thread about it before but got no replies ... so do you IVF gang mind if I hang out here instead?!

[hairylights]

Hi, I'm not there yet, but we are being tested for recurrent miscarriage (I can get pregnant very easily it seems - 42 and three times in the last year).

We are off to an open evening in a week or two to look at IVF, as we are hoping that if it is an egg quality issue, we will be able to go for IVF and they will pick the best embryos.

Am marking my place as I will come back to this at some poing.

Good luck!!!

[gardenpixie]

Hi Terraviva oh do hang out here with us! I am ashamed to say I have no idea what that kind of therapy is... what does it involve? Fingers crossed it will be up and running for you soon

Hairylights I am sorry you are having recurrent miscarriages; IVF does sound like a good option though - on our information evening, they said it was good for helping overcome that. Do come back and let us know how it goes

[Terraviva]

Thanks Pixie! No need to be ashamed, it's a pretty unusual treatment from what I can gather - probably hence why no-one replied to my post asking if anyone knew anything about it!!

You wear a device that gives you an injection of the GnRH hormone every 90 minutes. This is in order to mimic the hypothalamus, and kick start the whole chain of hormones required for the ovaries to produce & release an egg. My hypothalamus, for some unknown reason, decided to shut down my reproductive system when I was about 17, meaning I basically went through all the symptoms of menopause in my late teens! But the good news is, theoretically at least, I have the eggs of a 17 year old and they believe with this treatment it should kick start it all back into action. My main worry is that I was always told not to leave it too late before having the treatment - by age 32 was mentioned more than once. Well I was too busy working, travelling, having fun and loving having no periods in my twenties to consider having a family. Now I am now 31 & trying not to panic about how flipping long it takes the NHS to do anything! (Although, yes, it is absolutely amazing & wonderful that we can get any kind of fertility treatment for free.) And I've gone from being happy & excited about a future without children, to positively aching for a baby in the space of about a year. So that's my story anyway :)

I've got no idea what else the treatment involves re: scans, other medication, side effects etc. Was hoping some on MN might know!

Good luck to everyone! It's a tough ol' road ahead eh? But worth it in the end x

[gardenpixie]

Terraviva I so hear you about worrying if we've left it a bit too long. But it took me until well into my thirties to find the right man and be in the right circumstances to have kids. I get quite with people (mostly my family and in laws) that bang on about not leaving it too late; they clearly didn't meet all the many losers I dated in my twenties - not father material at all!

The IVF consultant we saw at a patient information evening said that, while there's a big difference between your fertility at 18 and 45, the difference between early thirties and mid thirties isn't likely to be huge.

Also, the eggs of a 17 yr old! You're bound to be pg as soon as you look at the GnRH device.

And you are right - it will all be worth it in the end

[Terraviva]

Pixie Well I hope you're right! Good to hear what your consultant said. My DP has also told me the worse thing I can do is worry about my age and a few months / a year isn't going to make any difference. Although that said about panicing it's not happening quick enough, I got my appt letter through today for our first consultation - 18th April - and got a little bit that it's actually happening!! Here we go

[gardenpixie]

Yay - that's so close! Our first IVF consultation is on the 4th of April so looks like April could be a lucky month for us

[luckbealady]

Hi ladies, please may I hang out here too? I have my first IVF consultation on Monday and your thread has got me really excited about it!

There's so much going on at the mo - work is crazy and I'm also in a theatre production next week - that I really haven't thought too much about it, but now I am really looking forward to my appointment thanks to you guys.

This will be the first appointment with the IVF unit rather than gynae, so I don't really know what to expect. A bit of nagging about my weight, I suspect, and lots of questions. I have slightly high FSH levels and DH has slightly low sperm density, plus I'm 39, so that's why we're being referred.

garden I'm so pleased you've started this thread! Interesting to read the debate about how many embryos are put back; our rather snappy gynae consultant said NO WAY would they put back more than one, although our info booklet that they gave us says otherwise. I'll add it to my list of questions for Monday.

Good luck everyone! Keep smiling!

[gardenpixie]

Hello luckbealady glad you are excited about your appt and that you can hang out with us!

Funny isn't it about Drs reactions to how many embryos are transfered; at our information evening, they showed lots of pictures of premature twins to scare people away from having two blastocysts transfered.

I suppose it's all about making sure people understand the risks but I thought it was a bit heavy. Ultimately it's the couple's decision.

Monday is only just around the corner, how exciting; it sounds like you've got tons of other stuff going on too to keep you busy

Here's to spring being lucky for us all

[womanlytales]

garden BIG BIG HUG - I have missed you so much. I actually dropped of Mumsnet altogether when we both went quiet on the frolickers thread.
Wish you all the VERY VERY best with your IVF cycle and the current clomid cycle. Do you remember how we were clomid twins?
After my three rounds of clomid(50) that included one round with Ovitrelle, we learnt that my body still refused to ovulate. Nobody knows why because each cycle I'd have one dominant follicle that grew to about 18mm..and then nothing. By the next cycle, the ovaries were back to starting out again - no pco either. VERY WIERD. Anyways so our consultant now has advised us to start IUI. He vetoed the Clomid 100 or another round of Clomid + Ovitrelle. We're doing IUI with FSH injections. My cycles are now 40 days apart (post Clomid when they were about 28-32.) HOwever the wait is over, I begin the injections tomorrow. Am relieved that we're starting again..but also anxious about what the future has in store for us.
Can I join this list too? It's not IVF but a precursor... Regardless I'll definitely hover to see how you are doing and send you a lot of luck and baby dust :)

[gardenpixie]

Womanly lovely to see you! Please join us! It's great to catch up with you although sorry you've had a rotten time with clomid not inducing ovulation. Very strange indeed ... ovaries are odd things aren't they?

IUI with FSH sounds like a great option - at least it takes all the worry out of getting everything in the right place at the right time How does the FSH work for you? Do you take it every day until ov?

I will be having FSH injections towards the end of next month or the start of May (depending on our timings) so maybe we'll be FSH twins as well...? Although I'm sure you'll be pg by then

So good to see you again - big hugs and MN
(I don't know about you but I've been told to stay away from RL booze while prepping for the FSH injections)

[womanlytales]

ooo I was not told about the RL booze..though I rarely drink as-is...but good to know. I wish there was such a thing for chocolate and easy sugars and large sized portions of food... I am really struggling with food at present..have put on 3-4kgs that I had lost!! Each time I take a vow to reform, I go directly for this huge serving of chocolate!!!! Not good!
Looking forward to being fsh twins with you garden -- you are so positive, it's wonderfully infectious :) I am to take the fsh everyday in the morning until they tell me to stop. My body did ovulate on its own once in 2010 near Easter..and so I am hopeful and praying hard.