# LGBT TTC a family through IUI/IVF/ICSI - Part 2



## Pilchardcat

New thread for you all. 

Please don't forget to read the most recent posts on the old thread before posting on this new one so as not to miss anyone's news/requests for help etc - many thanks


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## TerriWW

I've just been catching up so I'm a bit late with this one but did veela and a couple of others who go to mfs say that if they did a positive ov predictor kit on sat then they were having IUI on monday at mfs??!!

They never did that with me. I had 8 iuis there during 2004. If I got to a friday they offered me a shot (can't remember what of now) to try and hold off ovulation over the weekend and I'd have an HCG to make me ovulate - simply because they said monday was too late if I surged on saturday!!! Now I can't see how research has shown this to be different in 3 years?? I always surged and went in the next day on a natural cycle! I'm really surprised about that at mfs as we've always been really pleased with the treatment there. Ju is doing ivf there at the moment so we don't have this issue.

I most definitely would not do an IUI 2 days after a surge. I would love to know the stats of success for doing that - lower than average I would imagine!

Terri


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## CookieSal

Evening all,

Just a quick message for the moment as I am starving and need my dinner.

Got my letter today with the date for my pre-op.  (Friday 7 December)  Needless to say I am incredibly relieved as this hideous waiting is almost over.

Thank you to all of you for putting up with me and helping keep my spirits up over the past few months.  On to the next challenge of the op itself now.  I am so fortunate to have the appt with my consultant this week as I can talk over all the things that worry me and get a much clearer picture on how the procedure will go.

Anyway, enough about me, how are all of you  

Sally xxx


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## lotty1

Thanks Cookie sal 4 ya message and good luck with the op at last the waiting is over.
 Hi Minty ru having another cycle? If so i may see you at the clinic laugh feel like i live there! Good luck with the HSG.
I am now back on the journey, on day 3 of my clomid and don't i know it my nipples ....sorry are throbing has anyone else experienced this on  Clomid plus my stomach as expanded again so look pregnant and nothing fits! Well less of me moaning. 
Hi Veela how is it going?
Hi to all others thinking of u in all your treatments.
And the last point i think all MFs ERS need to start of free biscuit campaign at the clinic as i am also hungry when i arrive plus i am sure the increase in cost would stretch to a packet of biscuits!!!!!! Anyway on round 11 i am sure i have paid for one of the leather chairs in the lobby!!! Laugh sorry all, my sense of humour runs wild at times but its the only thing thats keeping me sane!!!!! Bye 4 now


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## Tonia2

*Cookie:* YAY!    That's great you've finally got your appt. Fantastic! waiting to get started *is* terrible - I still remember the day we got our dates to start treatment (years ago now) - I was happier than I'd been in months!! Unfortunatley though, -a word of caution - I can't say that the treatment itself (ie. the waiting around) isn't any less hideous... 
 ...So, just don't think about that yet!!  You may get lucky first time around... 

*Claire: * yes I did get your PM - have been too slack to reply yet!  Thank you, you lovely thing!

*Melissa: * are you out there? Thank you SO much for your email the other day. I really appreceiated and needed that! Thank you. Have been intending to reply... sorry for being slack  
Our new house finally settled last week!!  A minor miracle!! (it's been a nightmare with the bank screwing things up majorly). So we've been sanding and painting and pulling up carpet and weeding and organising new kitchens and bathrooms. There's so much to do and so much choice, I'm a bit overwhelmed by it all. I haven't been home much in the last week and will be pretty busy at least til Christmas, if not more (uh hem, depends, yet again, on bloody tradespeople!)

*Lotty /Minty/ Veela * - good luck with your next / current treatments! I've been keeping an eye on your progress but not posting - GOOD LUCK!

*Duff: * if you're reading this, I've never had a bfn look like a bfp when I've fished the test out of the bin hours later either...!! So, maybe... OH! I so hope so!!   

*
Heather & Jo: *  Happy birthday to Adam ( I forget the exact date but I know it's sometime around now)! Glad you had a good holiday. Will PM you sometime, with all those msgs I wrote recently!!! 

love to all, 
Tonia

PS. I'm not the slightest bit wondering if I'm pregnant; I can't even manage to imagine myself as being on the 2ww,  So I've been drinking tea and coffee and the occasional wine, because I've stopped being good and there's no way I'm pregnant! Im waiting to see when my AF arrives ínstead, so I can anticipate my next FET.  ...sigh


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## Mable

Tonia,
Happy New Home! Hope you enjoy all your DIY-ing. Very exciting about your fresh attempt - really hope it works for you, although understand you wanting to keep it low key and not wonder. Must be really nice to do it like that, and still keep living life as usual in a way, having the odd glass of wine etc. Am thinking that this might be a more sane approach to my next IVF cycle.

We have no heating or hot water  

Heather and Jo - happy birthday to Adam tomorrow!
Best wishes for all those on the 2ww at the mo,
Mable


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## mintyfaglady

Brrr - poor chilly Mable! I hope you get your heating fixed soon.

Lottie - yeah, in again this cycle. I'm going for an HSG later today and a small part of me is worried they'll discover I'm missing some vital component or something, but more than likely it'll just all be fine. How many tries have you have with Clomid? If ours doesn't work this time, we'll be wanting to talk about what else they can do to increase our chances as this is try #5 unmedicated and try #14 overall (others were with a known donor).

And never mind biscuits, there should be a full buffet laid on! Help take our minds off those full bladders, eh?


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## nickster

Thought it was about time I caught up with you lot! 

*Minty * - How did your HSG go...? Are you all present and correct? I hope so...

*Tonia * - Sounds as though you've got your work cut out for you. My parents are building a house at the moment, and are completely bowled over by having to choose absolutely everything - from sofas to socket fittings. I don't envy you!

*Cookie* - Great news that you've finally got a date. A friend of mine had a lap a couple of weeks ago. She's a bit exhausted but otherwise fine...

Hello to *Lotty * & *Mable*... How's it going *Pip * & *Veela*?

Nickyx


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## mintyfaglady

Hi Nicky, nice to see you've popped your head up!

The verdict was that my girlie bits are indeed all present and correct and in full working order. I had it done in the hospital downstairs from our fertility clinic - different outfit. The procedure didn't hurt at all for me - oh lucky girl that I am. I wish the doc that did it was the one doing the IUIs instead of those nurses - the last one made a bit of a hash of it. It was really cool to see the dye going through on the screen and get this - afterwards, they insisted I take a reclining seat in recovery and they brought us both tea and sandwiches!!

I start the OKP madness tomorrow and hopefully will be insemming some time next week. Keep your fingers crossed that my freshly cleaned pipes do the trick!

Pip, Veela, any news??

Minty
xxx


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## nickster

That's good news *Minty*... will definitely keep fingers firmly crossed.  x


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## pipgirl

Hi Girls - currently in the good ol 2ww on day 26 of a 30 day cycle

Minty: How was the lapdye, painful? Ive got an appointment to see them at St Marys in two weeks...do you think theyll do it right away or do you have a 'chatting about it' appt first?
Obviously if i get a bfp on the 1st ill be cancelling (or if af hasnt shown up yet) but hopefully itll be pos or ill know in advance about af (due on tue-weds next week). You say youre basting shortly after the lapdye...i presume its ok to do so because thats what wed like to do if this cycle isnt the one.

Tonia -  All sounds v exciting..we finished our house not long since and now we never want to see a sander or paint brush again.

Grr am in freezin office. Toes are blue.
Reading others posts it seems everyone is given different treatments and meds to help them time ovu/insem right and boost hormones  why werent we i wonder?

Also i read somewhere that iui only has a 10-15% chance of working each cycle...if au naturel is 25% why is iui so much lower? Is that for people with fertility problems or does it relate to the use of frozen sperm?

Anyone know?

Pip. 
Hope it gets finished quickly..


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## Mable

It's the frozen sperm thing, which stops them moving as well or living as long I think. It's also success rates as based on a majority of women with fertility problems of some kind or another, which would account for the lower statistics. They've all been at it at home with no success for over a year, I suppose.


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## mintyfaglady

Nuts! I just typed a really long reply and timed out before posting it, so have to start again!

Pip - the HSG was painless for me, though I know others have found it uncomfortable. I took a couple of paracetamol beforehand, but it was just like an IUI really, though they were up there for longer. From reading, I knew that it was ok to insem the same cycle as HSG, as long as the HSG is done before CD10. The clinic don't usually do this, so I had to blag a little to get them to agree, but it can be done. If you're having a lap though, I think that's a different procedure, where they give you a general anaesthetic adn also insert a teeny camera in through a hole they make near your belly button. The good thing about this is that if you have and probs like blocked tubes or adhsions they can fix them there and then. I could have had this done on the NHS, but bottled it cos I didn't want the anaesthetic and I was very low risk for anything being wrong. I think if you have this done, you can't also insem the same cycle, but not sure.

And the frozen sperm thing - yeah, frozen don't live as long, and of course you only get one lot put up there, as opposed to having sex over and over. I think the % is lower though because many women using IUI have fertility problems as opposed to just needing access to sperm. I bet if you could get stats just on lesbians with noknown fertility issues, the % would be much better.

Minty
xxx


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## lotty1

Hi all
Minty glad Hsg went well and all clear you were lucky i passed out on the bed when the dye hit my tubes! In response to your question never tried prior to MFS i have had 5x iui no med then 5x iui onclomid now on the 6th round with Clomid. Really frustrating as all clear starting to think its a timing issue and one squat thingy! Need to increase my odds as cannot go on for ever this way as sooooo skint! Anyway back to the Hsg cannot believe you were given sandwiches i had mine at Bupa Leeds to save travel and only got a free coffee.
Well another round for us we may fall on the same day again ..... laugh! Come on someone please have some good news surely someone will get the illusive BFP.
Maple hope ya sorted out ya water problem its hard with no hot water.
Hi Nickster, cookie, Tonia, pip and sorry for anyone i have missed but am a little slow keeping up with all the news.


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## mintyfaglady

Oh Lottie, fancy passing out! Maybe you were weak from hunger and could have done with one of my sandwiches!!

Have MFS been giving you trigger shots as well as the clomid? Or offered you anything other than clomid? Just trying to size up what our next move might be if this one doesn't work. Sometimes I think they seem so lacksadaisical about the timing thing!! I know what you mean about being skint hon - we'll be like Tiny Tim this Christmas!

And yes indeed, let's have some good news around these parts soon, eh? Onwards and upwards.

minty
xxx


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## CookieSal

Evening ladies, how are we all this cold Saturday?

Update on my appt with my consultant:

Looks as if the pain I have been having for months is probably endo although of course he can't be sure until I have the lap.  My consultant is an absolute sweetheart and has assured me that he will sort everything out when he goes in there and that my chances of conception are very very high once this is done.  He was heading down to the admissions people that lunchtime and was going to request that my surgery date was ASAP and in the meantime I have had a prostap injection in my tummy.

Finally I feel as if someone is listening to me and taking me seriously.  Whilst I am far from overjoyed to be told I probably have endo, it does at least mean that I am likely to be out of pain once the op is done and right now that sounds like heaven.  Praying that I will get a date in December.  I told my consultant how scared I am about the procedure and he said he would speak to ambulatory care about letting Karen stay with me whilst I wait and that she can come as far as the theatre door with me if I want her to. He is just the nicest man.

So now I wait for news of my date - seems that I may have to wait until I go for my pre-op a week on Friday and hopefully they will tell me then.  If all goes well as I desperately hope it will, I could be starting on the crazy journey of tx in the New year.

Hoping you're all well, sending you lots of love

Sally xxx


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## pipgirl

Hello all

On day 14 post ov now. Testing tomorrow am cos bloated and af pain..cant hold out any more.
Will let you know the outcome..wish me luck.

To all those in the wait big positive mmmmmm...may do some meditation mantra type stuff off of aussie dvd tonight after have consumed dirty curry which have just decided to have as DP working late. yum. Dog and Cat not getting any..last time Cat jumped in dish and ran Korma all over kitchen floor (dirty chicken thief).

Positive thoughts for tonight and keeping the horrible witch at bay.

Pip.


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## Mable

Loads and loads of luck to you for testing tomorrow.    
Mable


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## mintyfaglady

@ Pip - here's hoping!! Enjoy your dirty curry!

We got a + OPK this morning and are trotting off to the clinic for yet another basting tomorrow. I'm fretting that I didn't pick the surge up early enough, cos I had painful ovaries all day yesterday, though OPK said no at 4pm. Wouldn't make any difference really, given the way the clinic works. Don't know about anyone else, but it really gives me the needle that our clinic are SOOO inflexible about insem times. They offered me 12:30 and I bartered down to 11am, but come on people, I'm paying over a grand for this - can't we get this done when we want it done? Apart from the fact that it will now totally disrupt my day (we have a long drive in and out again), if I tested + at 7am, could we not get a little closer to 24hrs? And the month I confessed to using a second OPK in the afternoon (the one that picked up my surge) they nearly threw me off the books for not following orders!!

Anyhow, it was positive this morning and we're going tomorrow and that's that. Wish us luck people - we need it!


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## mintyfaglady

Any word from Veela, by the way? How's it going hon?


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## pipgirl

Good afternoon

Its was a bfn.

Im so upset, have been in floods of tears all morning (but at work and trying to hide it). I feel so depressed and am desperate to give it another go this year but Dp wants to wait until after february. She thinks we 'need abreak' and while i agree, i dont want that break to start now...i want to have a rest in jan, have our cp and go away for a few days.

I dont think i can cope with the idea of not trying again for three months. it makes me want to curl up in a ball and stay there. 

What can we do? We are not on any meds, should we ask for some? The HSG appointment is only a consultation, is it routine for everyone after three bfns? Should we change our donor? How crucial is this point? 
I just dont know what to do.

I know there is no chance of a change in results now as today is day 15 post ov and any hormone in system would have shown up by now...i suppose its better to see the test than get AF by surprise..its due about thursday i think.

We are going to discuss a fourth try this month..depending on when af shows up.

Sad Pip.


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## Mable

Really really sorry to hear that Pip. Gutting, isn't it.   to you both.

Am not sure I can suggest what you can do. Get over the BFN I suppose, is stage 1. It does get so much easier as time goes by and the disappointment of the raised hopes being dashed is all forgotten about (kind of). IUIs can be hard because they are back to back, whereas with IVF you have a forced 3 month break, which I have to say is blissful, not thinking about TTC or on the 2ww. So having a break can be a good idea, but the urge is just to get on with it isn't it.

I did IUIs with clomid and scans, which helped me pinpoint ovulation - was hassly and twice the price and didn't work, but perhaps helped me feel I was doing my utmost. My clinic's success rate is the same for 'natural' iui and assisted IUI (clomid and scans).

Oh good luck to you anyway, whatever you decide. I know how you feel and many of us have felt the wretchedness of the BFN, the desperation.

Good luck to Minty - I really hope this is your turn this cycle,
Mable x


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## nickster

Oh I'm so sorry *Pip*. I think Mable's summed it up really - try to let this cycle's disappointment ebb away before making any decisions. 

I was just like you - wanted to keep trying every single cycle. But when I had an enforced break for a month it was actually a huge relief. Just to get some headspace and perspective.

Try not to feel too down (easy to say, I know). I remember that our third failed cycle was really hard to get through... but I'm proof that it usually does happen eventually! 

*Minty * - all the very best of luck! Here's hoping you get the best Christmas present of all... 

Nickyx


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## mintyfaglady

Oh Pip, so sorry love. It's heartbreaking, I know, but there will be other chances, and more successful ones at that, I'm sure. You'll get there.  

I hate, hate, hate taking a break too, but I've usually been glad in retrospect to have had the chance to to chill out and remind myself that there's more to life than TTC. Hasn't ever stopped me hating the idea of the next break though.

I know at our clinic (MFS - are you there too?) they like to do an HSG after 3 tries, just to be sure nothing is blocked. The good news is that the HSG increases your chances of conceiving for the next few cycles, particularly the one you get it done on, so maybe that's something to give you heart?

Thanks for the good wishes, all. Our insem today went really well, even though we got the same nurse as last time - clearly a month of practising on other people has improved her technique. My temp was still low at 6:30am this morning and the OPK still positive (though presumably on the downside of the surge by that point), so we reckon our timing couldn't have been better, for once! With the HSG as well, earlier this cycle, we're really hopeful of a BFP; so hopeful I'm actually scared of how hard it will be if we don't.

Minty


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## pipgirl

Thanks all..so kind. I know its not been as rocky a road for us so far compared to many on FF..but i think we were hoping itd be quick cos of good tests, ages ect..

feeling a little better today. DP and I agreed to give it one more try before the end of the year. Feel relieved.

Minty -  out of interest did you pay mfs for the HSG? How much was it and could they do right away? We have an appt with NHS but its only a consultation and they may not do anything for months (if at all...im not sure how our gp can refer me for that through nhs if were a same sex couple, i thought nhs never treated lesbians)?

Why does the hsg improve chances so much? apart from picking up problems obviously...


Anyone -  at what point would you consider switching sperm donor? We could swap to our 'second choice' as he too had 'proven fertility' but im not sure when would be sensible to do this...

At this point we are looking forward with a more pos attitude and our last ry for a while. Then it will be our CP and honeymoon YAY.
Mum was so nice and really calmed me down last night (not to mention delivery of some wine!)

Good luck to you Minty and see all soon as soon as AF arrives we will be back on the bandwagon.

Love and kisses. Pip.


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## lotty1

to all
Pip Really sorry about your bfn its so hard at times but keep in there. RE the break in treatment i know what you mean i do not like taking a break but have forced myself to have had numerous breaks and for me it really helped, but everyone is different. 
Minty glad all went well at the clinic i am crossing my fingers and toes for you. 
Cookie Sal i hope you get the December date you are hoping for.
Well update here ,went today for round 11 back down the M62 i could drive that route with my eyes closed! Its been hard this time around. Firstly was in alot of pain when i ovulated not good when ya inlaws are at yours for a meal! Then only just got there in time for the appt and looked like i had been dragged through a hedge backwards! and yes you guessed it the waiting room had people waiting only 2nd time in my 11 rounds so wanted the ground to swallow me up as looked rough! Anyway on a serious note it was a littlempainful as could not seem to relax this time a my mind was occupied with all sorts of practicalities! but got there in the end. And finally it feel on our 9 yr anniversary so we had to put the plans on hold! Well less of the moaning will just have to wait and see.
Trying to be positive but don't want to set myself up for another fall.


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## mintyfaglady

@ Pip - the HSG was done by the Bridgewater downstairs and though we were reffered there by MFS, we paid the Bridgewater separately. It was a snip at £320! We couldn't get referred on the NHS for an HSG, only a laparoscopy, and I backed out of that cos it involved a general anaesthetic.

@ Lottie, sorry it was painful and that you're feeling a bit blue about all this. Not surprised, after all this time. Hang in there girl.


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## pipgirl

Thanks for the info Minty..

I will see what MFS say when i give them a ring...cant call them til AF shows up. I normally dont make it to test day but this time its got me on the run!

I guess we will have to go and speak to docs, but i presume they can usually do the proceedure very quickly? Im going to see what they say about some help with meds as well. No idea what this does to the cost...did someone say it was double?
I dont suppose they would put you on meds if they didnt think you needed them so ill wait and talk to them first.

Im freezing. Yet temp is not dropping to indicate Af so the bloody thing is late..which isnt too bad considering itll take us past testing at christmas if we do a 4th iui!!

Lotty -  heres hoping this ones lucky for you...i find iui quite difficult too..i think stuff is the wrong shape, they can never get it over quickly! Oww.

Bye for now. PMA _ Pip


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## mintyfaglady

Hi again Pip,

we didn't have to see the doc again to get approval for HSG. She told us at our initial consult that it was the next step after 3 failed cycles, so when we got to 3, we just called and said we needed one, they checked with her and she ok'd it. Our problem was that because they usually only do the HSG and not an insem in the same cycle as well, when we called on CD1 to arrange both, it took longer to sort out and by then, it was too late to fit us in (must be before CD10 if you do both). That's why we ended up doing a 4th IUI before finally getting the HGS and IUI#5 this time round.

Dunno about the meds - we'll be asking about them for our next try, if there is one, so will post if I find anything out. I don't think it's that much more expensive - i.e. a few hundred quid, not an extra grand. I hope not, anyway! It does involve a lot more monitoring though, I think.

And, um, you're 16DPO now? No flo? Have you retested?
xxx


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## pipgirl

#Hi Mints
Thanks for that..

Its actually day 17 post ov now...a few slight cramp sensations but nowt else, no spotting ect like usual.. it shouldve shown up by now so is being late just to f**k with my head!
If nothing by saturday we will have to look further, but am sure itll be tomorrow...i wouldnt be that lucky and im sure hormone wouldve been picked up on tues if pos...still. there you go, body screwing around..

Cheers for now, offski to home to repair christmas tree from cat and dog damage!

Pip


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## CookieSal

Hello all

Have just returned from our weekend in Blackpool (L Word event) so am way behind with all the news.

Hope everyone is doing OK.

Nothing new to report from me..... still waiting and praying that my rescheduled pre-op (20 Dec) does not get cancelled again.  Am trying to keep as busy as the pains I still have will allow.  The weeks are getting busier now in the run up to Christmas - we are going to see Leisha Hailey's (Alice from the L Word) band tomorrow night which should be fun and we're also going to see the Spice Girls in London in about 10 days time.

Going to go and have a cuppa now and cuddle up to my moggies for a bit before I head for bed.

Love to you all 

Sally xxx


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## mintyfaglady

Hey Sally, hope you enjoyed Blackpool! Good luck with the op on the 20th.

Our news isn't great. We're on CD1 again. Another negative cycle. And we had such hopes for this one, too. We've both taken it quite hard, especially as we have to sit out on the next cycle - I'm due to ovulate again on Christmas Day and the clinic will be shut. At least we have the holiday season to distract us.

Couple of questions for you wise ladies:

First up, for those who have taken Clomid, what days of your cycle do they like you to take it on?
Second, has anyone ever heard of/been diagnosed with Lutenizing Unruptured Follicle Syndrome? Appaerntly, all signs point to ovulation (hormones, temps, FM etc) but the egg doesn't pop out. The only way they can tell is by U/S scan. After 14 tries, I'm really starting to want some answers and this looks like it could be one.

Cheers,
minty
xxx


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## Mable

I took Clomid for my 2 unsuccessful IUI cycles, took it for around 5 days at the beginning of each cycle. Then I had scans to check the follicle growth and trigger injection to make me ovulate, with insemination 2 days post trigger injection. The timing must have been spot on. Still didn't work though. Frustrating isn't it. That's why I turned to IVF, although that is difficult for a whole host of other reasons.

Sorry to hear it didn't work this time Minty. Must have been gutting for you both. Really hope it works for you soon.
Mable


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## rosypie

I took clomid for 2 IUI cycles - I took 50mg per day on days 2-6 of my cycle (so for 5 days in total). Then day 8 I was in clinic for the first of however many bloods and scans.


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## mintyfaglady

Thanks for your replies folks. Based on what you've said, we've moved our appointment up to the 3rd January, which should be on or just before CD 1 so that we've got time to start any meds. 

I'm a little sad that we don't get to try this cycle, but it's a relief to know I can just switch off over the Christmas break and enjoy myself.

Happy Christmas to one and all!
minty
xxx


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## nickster

Hello Minty

Sorry to hear it was another dud cycle for you - let's hope a fresh start in the new year with those meds does the trick. In the meantime definitely try to forget about it, and focus on having a fun Christmas... Have a glass of wine for me!!! 

Nickyx


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## pipgirl

Hi Mints -  sorry this one didnt work out!   

Hopefully 2008 will be the lucky year,,

Im still waiting for number 4..grr where is my bloody surge?
Was supposed to have happened by now, better not be tomorrow otherwise will be cross. Still...wait and see eh?
What this DOES mean is no drinking over xmas/new year for me!

Ho Ho bloody Ho.

Pip


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## CookieSal

It's very quiet in here ladies.  Are you all OK?  

I had my pre-op yesterday which was fine, if a little scary finding out that I will probably have to stay in hospital overnight.    I'm such a scaredy cat.  Anyway I finally have the date for my surgery - 5 Feb.  I will admit to being disappointed that it is still quite a long way off but I guess it is better to at least have the date to aim for.

For those of you I don't get the chance to speak to over the next few days, wishing you all a very happy Christmas. 

Sally xxx


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## lotty1

Hope u all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Soz 4 delay but been really lazy! All i can say is roll on 2008 round 11 failed and have another round in Jan b4 seeing the Consultant. Re Clomid question i take on day 2 to 6 50 mg have taken on last approx 6 circles no joy. Just a large bloated belly!!!!

Cookie Sal all the best for 5th Feb glad pre op went as well as can be expected.
Minty pmg ya.
How are the other ladies?


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## TerriWW

Hi everyone. Hope you've all had a good feastive season!

Ju started downregulating on xmas day for a FET. She's doing it with downregulating so they can control the thickness of her lining as it's always a little on the thin side.

We've also had a hitch (yes another!!) and *I wonder if any of you could just give your opinions*...

I contacted the sperm bank in USA for details of the donor as I hadn't got a copy of them (did this randomly as hadn't much work on over xmas!). They emailed back the details and also said his sperm had been restricted. I rang them to find out why. Basically one of the children conceived by his sperm had become autistic after a seizure aged 2.

Here are the facts
1. He has conceived about 10 children - all the others are fine so far.
2. He has no history of autism in his family background at all
3. The female recipient has no history of autism in her family at all
4. He has an out going personality etc ie no indication of end of the spectrum autism
5. It has been shown in studies that autism occurs in the population at a rate of about 1 in 150, if a full sibling has autism then the chances of a second child having it is about 2-8% ie higher than random (could be genetic link or environmental?). Half sibling estimate chance at about 1-2% (poss 3%).
6. With the child in question, the parents are utterly convinces it was a reaction to MMR. The child was not ill in any way until it had this and had a seizure.
7. there are suggestions that autism trigger could have an immunological part
8. Any pregnancy has a 1-3% chance of a birth defect - just based on random chance (just to put it into perspective)

I think that is all the facts. I hope you can be bothered to read because although I know none of you or experts (even the experts don't understand it properly), I would just like to get your 'feeling' for what you would do - please be totally honest.

Bear in mind that Ju has been trying to conceive since sept 05 and has many set backs. She is now 37. She's had 2 failed ivfs and if we don't use this sperm or the frozen embryos, we have to go on the waiting list for more sperm which I believe is about 6 months.

We have thought about going ahead with the FET whilst going on the waiting list for new sperm.

It's such a tough decision. The risks seem very small - but the concequences quite huge. And there is the worry factor - nothing may go wrong but how we would worry about the child.

Thanks - I like to hear other peoples views - I know it's our decision in the end but it helps clear my thoughts.

Terri


----------



## nickster

Hi Terri

It's a tricky one, and I suspect will ultimately come down to a gut reaction of what you and Ju feel comfortable with - rather than doing some kind of complex risk analysis based on 'facts and figures'. 

My honest opinion? I think you should go ahead. This donor's had around 10 fit and healthy children, which is a pretty good track record. As you say yourself, there's a chance of an 'abnormality' with any pregnancy - I'm not sure that this new information (which you only stumbled upon by chance, after all) really makes such a difference.

If my parents had known their genetic make-up they would probably never have had kids (turns out I have genetic predispositions to all sorts of horrors, which may or may not manifest as time goes by!). I guess that the donor system sometimes gives too much information that it's difficult to know what to do with...

Hope you manage to get through this without too much anxiety. 

Nickyx


----------



## TerriWW

thanks for the reply nicky - very sensible things you have said - we do try to know too much sometimes and there are always risks when having a baby. I have a feeling we will go ahead with this donor at least using the frosties. Thanks again


----------



## CookieSal

Morning all,

How is everyone?  Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.

We're having a quiet one here in Cardiff, weather was rubbish yesterday so we didn't stay out long, plus I am feeling quite worn out - not sure if it is the Prostap or my emotions being a bit too wrought with all the waiting and pain etc etc.  Weird to be looking at my countdown and see it get under the 1 month mark - but even so I am still horribly impatient and hoping I might get a cancellation for this month.

Love to you all,

Sally x


----------



## mintyfaglady

Woo Sally, not long to go now (though I know it can't come soon enough for you - still crossing fingers for a cancellation for you!)

Terri - good luck with deciding what to do. Life is such a crap-shoot anyway my gut reaction would probably be just to go ahead - the numbers don't seem that bad and hell, you're going to be worrying about a gazillion things as a parent anyway. 

We saw the consultant again on 3rd Jan to ask about moving to stim cycles. He was happy for us to do this, but they couldn't pull it together for us this month as I was already CD 3. We'll do a final 'natural' cycle this time round, then on to meds (or hopefully, not!) He has prescribed injectable FSH, though I was expecting to start with Clomid, so I'm straight on to the needles - scary!

We were a bit disappointed to discover that they cancel any cycle with more than 2 mature follies - I thought that seemed quite conservative, though I appreciate the risks of multiples and what that entails. Also, it seems that it will only boost our chances by a few percent, from 10-12% to about 15%. Not much to show for the extra cost. And we have to buy the meds up front, on a non-refundable basis, before we know whether this cycle has worked or not - sigh! Ah well, I suppose if I'm pg this time round I won't care so much about having £200 worth of shoot-em-up drugs I don't need sitting in my fridge!

I'm going to try acupuncture this time too - I know a few of you have recommended it to us, so will let you know how it goes. Even our Doc had good things to say about it, though I'm not supposed to repeat that, for fear of damaging his professional reputation as a man of science!  

minty
xxx


----------



## Mable

And the next step up, which is IVF, takes you up to 25%-30%. Which is still really rubbish odds. At my clinic, there was no difference in success rates with assisted and non assisted IUI.

I think with blastocysts, the success rates go up to 50%. It's difficult to get to blasts though.

Good luck though. Hope this works for you.


----------



## CookieSal

Evening all

Well no good news for me on the cancellation front so I had better settle into my wait for next month.  

Had some bad news this afternoon - DP's grandad collapsed this morning and is now in hospital - not looking good.  It's going to be one of those evenings where you just sit and wait for phone calls with news.

A lot of people swear by acu so there must be something in it. I didn't have a problem with the sessions, I just didn't like my therapist.  Wishing you lots of luck. 

Sally x


----------



## Tonia2

Hi all! 
Hey, I have a potential proposal - I was reading through the last little while of this thread and I realised that there's heaps of us doing IUI now (when we first got the IVF thread going there wasn't anyone doing IUI, then there was only one or two, so they joined us on the IVF thread, so as to have a place to chat). I was wondering if the IUI girls and the IVF girls wanted to seperate out into 2 threads again? It would be easier to find relevant info when trawling through the threads that way and all conversations would be imediately relevant to all of us. It wouldn't stop us all looking to see what others are up to and still sharing our words of wisdom though, of course! What do you think?

I'm doing nowt re.ttc right now - I'm feeling too discouraged to even bother planning the next round.. like... what's the point?.... 
BUT, I do have a few frosties patiently waiting, so I guess I might as well use them up so that I don't have to keep paying for storage, right?! I've had a hard time over christmas with friends having another new baby and people who supposedly can't fall pregnant on their own falling pregnant. Am so OVER it!!!

*Mable* - my thoughts as so with you as you start this next IVF... 
And *CookieSal* - hope you do get a cancellation! Either way - it will come around soon and then you get join us on the rollercoaster!! Woo hoo! ..(...I think...  )

Love to all else and special  for ttc in this new year, 
Love Toni

*PS.* is anyone out there a keen bean who would like to take over the LGBT FF list for a while? I'm really busy with renovation work etc at home and with feeling so discouraged with ttc I haven't had alot of energy for the list lately. I'm feeling terribly guilty about all the updates needed.  Anyone keen? I could email it to you as a Word document. It looks pretty confusing as a word doco because of all the colours /highlights/smilies etc, but it's not too had to work out & additions don't_ really_ take that long.... PM me if you're interested.


----------



## pipgirl

Hi Girls - 

Was a crappy new year for us with another BFN.

We are going back to the clinic next week for a follow up and are going to request moving straight to ivf and not waste any more time. V fed up with iui indeed. It seems from all ive read up that if three goes dont work you are best off changing treatment, so whatever the hsg shows i will be asking for the works because i cant keep going through this iui nightmare.

On the plus side, we will be 'legal' when we start ivf; as our CP is in three weeks ! EEEK!! 
So much to do!

Good wishes to all in tx at the moment.

Pip.


----------



## CookieSal

Congratulations on your upcoming CP Pipgirl


----------



## mintyfaglady

How did your follow up go Pip?

We're booked for IUI #6 tomorrow and are once more feeling excited and hopeful (ever the optimist, eh?) I had acupuncture for the first time with this cycle - one appointment on Saturday (I was expecting to be insemming on Mon and that was the closest we could get) and two more booked - one right after the IUI and one about a week later, to help implantation. I have to say that it truly was the weirdest experience. When she tapped the needles in it was like she hit an electric current - my whloe limb just zinged! And afterwards I felt completely stoned! I hope it works, because if not, we'll be on to injectable IUIs and I'm not really thrilled about the idea of shooting myself up!

Quiet round here lately - anyone got any news?

minty
xxx


----------



## CookieSal

No news from me - same old waiting game.

Lots and lots of luck for tomorrow.


----------



## nickster

Best of luck *Minty*... will be keeping fingers crossed for you tomorrow. x


----------



## pipgirl

Hi all!

Mints -  good luck for the iui!
We dont have our follow up till next week, as we thought it best to wait till wed had the hsg which is this friday ... am a bit nervous as to what they might find.
We are missing tx this cycle in order to get hsg done and go on honeymoon after our cp.

If the tubes are not blocked, do you think they will recommend we stick with iui? Im certian i want more 'intervention' even so, as i think we def need a 'helping hand' after 4 no shows...what did they advise you...your hsg was normal right?

Hope it all went swimmingly...

Hi to everyone else..

Pip


----------



## Mable

I'd say it depends on your clinic. At my clinic, the decision about what treatment to have is mine, but is guided by how much sperm is available to me. I am allocated 8 vials to use as I will - I have to bear in mind success rates, the fact that IUI uses 2 vials but IVF only potentially 1. Don't know how much sperm you've got, or what your clinic policy is - they should be able to tell you. Finances also dictate. You'll also want to bear in mind success rates. But some people def don't want to do IVF and get lucky on their 15th IUI. Others go quickly to IVF for the higher success rate (like me). It's not an easy decision to make. Good luck.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Thanks for the good vibes, people - it went well thanks and we even got time to stay lying down for 20 mins or so - usually they want us straight out the door!

Pip - you at MFS Manchester? They seem to me to be fairly keen to follow NICE guidelines (3 'natural', HGS, 3 more 'natural', 3 stim cycles with triggered ovulation, then IVF I think is what we were told). I have to say though that they were ok about moving us to stim cycles (though we're up to 6 now, we were only on 5 and they okayed it).  

They'll probably be expecting you to ask for IVF and want to talk you back a step from that, but if you're planning on asking to step up to stim cycles only, my best advice would be to echo what their reasoning might be - kind of talk them into it by using the arguments they would use to talk you OUT of IVF, if that makes sense. I made noises about wanting more help and to boost our chances but not wanting to move to IVF yet as there didn't seem to be any reason I'm not getting pg and I was worried about effect of drugs and possible multiples and they bought into that immediately. They recommended two or three stim attempts then progress to IVF, leading me to think they'd consider it after two, which is probably what we'll do. I think because they have plenty of sperm, they are keener than some places for people to take their time.

TBH, I haven't had to fight for anything they weren't happy giving me anyway, so maybe my experience is not the best. Mable is right though - plenty of other clinics are far more led by what the patients want and some even recommend you start at IVF, so I guess it depends on what you want to do. It's tough though and everyone is different.

I hope all is well for the HSG - mine went very smoothly and didn't hurt at all, so I'll keep my fingers crossed you have a similar experience. Enjoy your honeymoon!

Minty


----------



## pipgirl

Cheers Minty!

Thats v helpful... even if we do go on stim cycles ill feel better about it.
The only thing is, if your tubes are clear and you ovulate normally, what do the stims do? Produce more eggs or just make timing more spot on?

God its all so much more complicated than we first thought.
Still, only two days to go till we find out more, and then can get moving. Its wierd but have ov really early this cycle on day 12. instead of day 17/18 Unheard of! I wonder if its because my body knows we not 'doing' this cycle?

Grrr.

Love Pip


----------



## nickster

*Pip * - hope it all goes smoothly on Friday, and that the HSG is a piece of cake! Nickyx


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi guys,

I hope you dont mind me gatecrashing! Well here I am on the rollercoaster AGAIN!!!!! 

We had our first consultation at the clinic yesterday and we are probably aiming to start IUI in April/May! All very scarey as I still remember how it felt last time with all of the ups and downs!

We are doing it different this time. I am having a HSG soon just to check that all is in working order and am having day three bloods done tomorrow and then day 19 bloods done in about three weeks.

Hope to keep in touch with everyone more often now but apologies if I do not manage it.

Kerry.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hi Bagpuss, course we don't mind. Your little Edie is gorgeous - good luck with giving her a brother or sister soon.

Pip - I suppose it varies, but we've been prescribed injectable FSH with the aim of stimulating two eggs to maturation, one on each ovary. Apparently they cancel if more than 2, which seemed a bit conservative to me, but others have said similar for them - guess it depends on the clinic. They monitor you and adjust the dose as necessary to make that happen then, once they are over a certain size, they give you a shot of hCG which will make you ovulate. This helps them to time the IUI better. 

We were rather disappointed to be told that this method only increased our chances by 3-5% per cycle (so up to around 15%), and if pregnancy does occur, it carries a 10% chance of twins apparently.

Weird about your early ov. Maybe your body is trying to hurry you through to the next cycle!
Minty
xxx


----------



## pipgirl

Morningall..

Am sooo nervous now about tomorrow, havent slept great. Dont know why as im kind of expecting them to say theres a problem, but hmmmm...not worried about it hurting particularly, i just want to  know the score.

Apart from that, a quiet weekend before hen night next weekend and the big day is now only two weeks away, eeek! Am looking forward to that in a big way. Holiday injections later today so am going to have sore arms to take my mind off the hsg anyway!
Silver linings!

Hope everyone is doing ok.
Pip


----------



## CookieSal

Good luck Pip, hope it goes well. x


----------



## mintyfaglady

Yeah good luck Pip - will be thinking of you tomorrow.


----------



## mintyfaglady

How did it go Pip? Not too painful I hope.

Things not looking very promising for us again - cramping and spotting at 11DPO. We'll be on to injectables next cycle - see if that changes out luck.


----------



## CookieSal

Sorry to hear it's not looking good Minty    Sometimes I get the feeling our bodies purposely don't want to cooperate - I'm sure mine is running a campaign against me


----------



## mintyfaglady

All over for another cycle. *sigh*

We're doing injectable FSH and a trigger this cycle, so I had to organise that this morning. Caught me by surprise how upset this made me though. I think because we've always had a good few days to get into feeling excited about the next cycle up to now. This time, I'm feeling rushed into moving on and a little bewildered about how we ended up here - 15 attempts and two years of failure when everyone keeps telling me there's nothing wrong with me. 

Ah well, maybe this will be the one.
minty
xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Sorry to hear the struggle goes on Minty.    Hope this really is the one for you. x


----------



## CookieSal

Just wanted to let you know, I had my lap yesterday and am now home and am recovering well.  My consultant was delighted with the outcome, my fibroid came out easily and there was no endo to be found.  Time to update my signature and countdown and look forward to my tx, starting with donor counselling next Tuesday.


----------



## Veela

Just checking in.  Haven't posted for a while because we've had a break from it over Christmas.  We also had a boiler flood in the house in which the  computer was ruined and now only have work laptops - not too keen on a big internet history of fertility sites on my work laptop, but thought 'what the hell'.  We're going to have another crack at it this month.  Day 1 of my period today, so it's back to the ovulation kit in a few days.  We're totally skint so the whole experience is becoming more and more stressful.  I just can't bear to give up.  We promised ourselves six tries, and come hell or high water, six tries is what I'll have.  This will be attempt number 4.  I was persuaded that there was no reason to change donor last time, but my partner is adamant that we should change this time, so we'll have to see what happens.  The clinic will ring me in a day or so.

Good luck to everyone who is trying.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Veela, nice to see you back! I hope try #4 is your lucky one. we've changed donor too this cycle.

And Cookie Sal - great to hear your surgery went well! Bring on the tx!


----------



## CookieSal

So nice to see people here again - it had got very quiet and lonely in here.  

Veela - wishing you all the luck in the world as you embark on tx number 4. 

Minty - thanks for your message.  We're off to the hospital today for our counselling session which is also when the donor matching process starts - am quite nervous as I don't know what their availability is like at the moment - have been led to believe it is fairly limited.  Just want the horrible Prostap out of my system now so tc.that my body can try and get back to normality and I can start ttc.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oooh - good luck with the counselling sesh. What clinic are you with? I hope they have plenty of choice for you. We changed our donor this cycle and got a choice of three, though I think they'd have had more, if we'd asked.

I'm 4DPO at the mo and this was our first stim cycle with o induction. It went really well and I had 2 good sized follicles, so I'm quietly hopeful. Keep your fingers crossed for me too!

Minty
xxx


----------



## evelet

good luck mintyfaglady. we are really hoping its positive this time - you've def been waiting long enough


----------



## CookieSal

Lots of luck Minty - hope this one works.


----------



## pem

Lots of Luck to you minty      Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

Emma x


----------



## CookieSal

Really chuffed that we have passed another   and were donor matched today.  Our clinic (IVF Wales) doesn't have a huge selection of donors available at the moment but we were given a choice of 2, both of whom were CMV compatible with me and it was a pretty easy choice as one had the same eye colour as Karen (plus the nurse said he was a lovely handsome chap).

Just got to wait for my AFs to come back after the Prostap now and it'll be full steam ahead for the first DIUI.


----------



## emnjo

mintyfaglady said:


> All over for another cycle. *sigh*
> 
> We're doing injectable FSH and a trigger this cycle, so I had to organise that this morning. Caught me by surprise how upset this made me though. I think because we've always had a good few days to get into feeling excited about the next cycle up to now. This time, I'm feeling rushed into moving on and a little bewildered about how we ended up here - 15 attempts and two years of failure when everyone keeps telling me there's nothing wrong with me.
> 
> Ah well, maybe this will be the one.
> minty
> 
> Aww - just keep going - it will happen.
> 
> Is this your first assisted IUI? Or have you done them in the past. What clinic are you at?
> xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Wooh! Great news Sal!! One step closer, eh? We hated having to pick a donor the first time, but we switched this month and chose really quickly. You got inside info too - nice work!

Em (Jo?) yep, this is our first assisted IUI. We're at MFS in Manchester. We did 9 cycles with a syringe and a known donor before going to the clinic and have now done 6 unmedicated IUIs with them. Though they have yet to find any reason for me not to get pg, the assisted cycle has felt better, despite my initial doom and gloom. I'm 6 DPO today and I know I had two good follicles that felt like they released with the trigger around the time of the IUI, so maybe it'll be 16th time lucky! If not, we're thinking probably one more assisted cycle, then IVF. Time and money are running out!

Minty
xxx


----------



## Veela

Strike that.  Smear out of date - we can't try again until next month.  Had a few tears this morning when the clinic rang.  Will not log in again until next month so good luck to everyone.  XXX


----------



## CookieSal

Sorry to hear your disappointing news Veela - hope the month flies by for you and you can get started promptly.


----------



## pipgirl

Hi all..

We are having some problems. After saying he would recommend ivf, our cons is now saying he would recommend sticking with iui! He gave the first opinion only two weeks ago...wtf?

Have any of you suceeded with iui on the 5th or 6th go? I am sure ive never come accross anyone on FF who has...

I really think iui is a waste of time and resources (after all we already paid enoough for an ivf and got nowhere)

What difference do drugs make to chances of iui working? So far we havent had any.

Help. Im going insane.

Pip


----------



## pem

Hi Pipgirl,

I have to say following my experiences that I agree with you that DIUI without drugs is a waste of time and resources, it is prohibitively expensive with low success rates. We never got round to using any drugs as we ran out of money and sanity and decided to have a break but I think it can help. Before we began the home insems with our lovely donor we were going straight to IVF as I just couldn't face any more IUI failures. Maybe it would be worth checking out some of the IUI boards on other areas of this site and asking them about how succesful they are, you would get more responses that way??

Surely your consultant has to consider what your wishes are in his decisions??

Sending you lots of   and   

Hope you get soemthing worked out that suits you and you feel comfortable with.

Emma


----------



## mintyfaglady

@ Veela - so sorry you've run into another setback. Take care and come back when you feel you can.

@ Pip, how frustrating for you! It must be awful, having made that mental leap, to be "sent back down the ladder"! We did 6 natural IUIs and didn't get pregnant, so I'm not a huge advocate for them TBH! We're currently awaiting the outcome of our first stimulated cycle, so I don't know whether that is likely to be more effective. We were really disappointed at the stats that they put on it - we were told the drugs would only raise our chances by about 5%, bringing each cycles' chance of success up to about 15% in our case - may be different for you depending on age etc.

That said, I did feel a lot better about the stim cycle in the end - the drugs caused me to produce 2 big follicles and 2 smaller ones which may also have been big enough to pop by the trigger, though they did say they'd cancel if there were more than 2. Also, the trigger shot certainly felt like it made me ovulate 36 hours later, and the UIU felt really well timed.

We've agreed that we'll try one more stim cycle before asking to move on to IVF. I'm reluctant to do IVF if I can get away with not doing it, to be honest, for a number of reasons, which is why we've taken it slow, but that obviously won't be the best course of action for everybody.

Are you able to talk again to your consultant? Or try another clinic? We're at MFS and I'm not convinced I'd have much luck changing their minds if that's what they'd decided, but maybe you'll have better luck - I'm not the best charmer in the world!

Minty
xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Are the success rates with medicated DIUI ok?  I don't think there is an option to go with a non-medicated tx at my clinic and my consultant seemed to think IUI would be a good IUIs and if these do not prove successful then to move to IVF.  I believe he gave us odds of approx 20% (equivalent to heterosexual BMS 1 in 5 chance).  I haven't seen very many positive outcomes on the forums for IUIs which is making me a bit anxious but maybe I am not looking in the right place?


----------



## mintyfaglady

Yeah, I think 15-20% sounds about right for a medicated cycle of IUI (I guess depending on your age and other factors). It's no more successful than straight sex, just a lot more expensive, invasive and time consuming, which I think is why so many of us feel to urge to move to IVF, which does improve your chances to about 30% per cycle I believe.

Human reproduction is an astonishingly hit and miss affair, isn't it - it's amazing ANYONE ever gets pregnant!
minty
xxx


----------



## pipgirl

Thanks girls

We are seeing MFS on tuesday to discuss..Doc already gave us consent forms for IVF but now seems unsure and wants to see both of us..we will be asking for ivf again but if he wont do it we are going to insist that the next iui is medicated as i refuse to do another natural one...its a total wate of time considering my left tube is dilated and both are sluggish in passing fluid. It all seems like such an uphill struggle. All my friends are pregnant ...if only we knew for sure what the next step was!

Mints -  good luck for this one! Hope you have some great news soon!

Pip


----------



## CookieSal

Good luck Pip, stand your ground chick.  Hope you get some joy with it.

Thanks for the info Minty - I just reread my own post and clearly my laptop has outwitted me again as the middle sentence makes no sense as half the words have vanished.  We have been advised to try 3 x IUI (medicated) and if they are not successful then to move straight to IVF.  To me that sounds like a sensible approach.  Good luck with your next cycle.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Pip - dig your heels in girl - I think 4 shots at unmedicated is giving things a fair shot, especially if your tubes are sluggish. They're so bloody conservative at MFS compared to other places. it can be really frustrating.

And Sal, I did wonder...! Yeah, they said 3 medicated to us at the start, but at the last consult they said they would consider IVF after "2 or 3", I think cos I'm knocking on now at 37! Can't afford to linger in IUI hell much longer anyhow as medicated cycles are a lot more expensive than the natural ones, though I do feel that the medicated was better than the natural ones in terms of number of eggs and timing of the insem. Wonder if it actually did the trick though - the wait is really killing me this time round!


----------



## pipgirl

Hey Mints -  when do you test then? Must be soon.

Waht drugs did they stick you on? I know clomid is suposed to pump up ovulation but thought that was for people who dont ovulate...Presumably you ovulate normally as i seem to do...the idea being they try to stim two follicles and release two eggs but no more incase you get quads or somethin?

Which, actually you could still get if both eggs split to make twins  in any case!
Ignore that, Im all confused.

Probably really bad idea, but supposed to be going to see some film about a girl who gives her baby away...with two pregnant friends tonite...why do i do this to myself?

I dont know what the stats are for someone my age with stimulated iui...but im 29 in a month and dont want to be hanging around any longer than i need to. The wierd thing is..the doc says, youre young...well not that young, i dont want to be still in this position in five years or ten! Plus...they say its cheaper to do two more iui and then ivf...well they are not the ones who have to find the money are they? 
We cant use a known donor cos we dont know any! This is our only option and we dont have unlimited funds, we are having to borrow for the next tx and all of that dosnt help with the process.

Sorry rant over.

Have a nice weekend girls.

Pip.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Pip,

We've got another few days before we can test - I'm only 8DPO today! Feels like we've been waiting for a month!

You're right, I do ovulate on my own anyway, so the drugs were to give me more eggs. The Doc said no more than 2 or they would cancel, but the nurse that did the scan saw 2 big and 2 more well on their way and she still gave me the go ahead, so who knows how many I ended up with. And very true, they could split and become identical twins anyway - god, i never thought of that *goes pale*

I was on injectable FSH (I think the brand name was fostimon), not Clomid. It was fine - I had no side effects and it did the trick. I then had to trigger with a shot of hCG, followed by another a week later to boost my luteal phase.

It was A LOT more expensive than natural IUI. MFS charge £1502 and you have to pay for the drugs on top of that, which were another £230. That said, I think IVF would probably be double that, so their 2:1 ratio is about right. But it's only cheaper if it gets you pg I suppose!

One thing to bear in mind is that I think IVF takes a lot longer to get underway - 2 or 3 months for the whole treatment. Somebody who has been through it will be able to tell you better, but I think that's the case. We figure if it takes that long, it'll give us more time to save the money to pay for it. Awful really though that this all comes down to what we can afford to pay for.

Have a good weekend.

minty
xxx


----------



## lotty1

Hello all, back again on site really sorry for the delay but i have been a little sad and didn't want to bring you all down but have bounced back for now so here i am. 
vEELA GLaD U R BACK ON SITE, sorry to hear that you have had to wait this month due to a smear complication but hang in there time will fly.
Cookiesal glad ya lap went well and counselling.
Well my news 12 iui  5 or 6 can't remember soz with Clomid failed so going to see cons in 2 weeks to discuss options. Trying to keep an open mind but  tired of people telling me all is ok and i am young32!!! laugh starting to feel its a quantity and time thing so have started negotiations with my friend! so may change route altogether. I have to agree with all the discussions between u all esp Minty and Pip girl around iui. It seems the success rate is not that high and with Med Clomid it didn't work 4 me and i ovulate properly and was still put on clomid!!! sOZ my grammer is poor as been working all day and my brain has turned off!!!! laugh! 
Anyway i will keep that open mind but for this month i am enjoying the break from Med tx and going to Center Parcs to relax, i feel the old lotty is back and i feel great so will make the decision of wht next in a few week. 
Minty pmya 
sorry if i missed anyone xx


----------



## CookieSal

Hi Lotty 

So nice to see you posting, sorry you have had a disappointing run.  Hope you make some progress with your consultant meeting in a few weeks.

I'm a bit anxious about DIUI and its somewhat conservative success rate.  I think I will discuss this further with my consultant at the follow up appt from my lap which is on 20 March.  If the Prostap ever gets out of my system then I will give DIUI at least one go and see how I get on I guess.

Sally x


----------



## mintyfaglady

Guys, have any of you used a second hCG injection during your luteal phase, during a stimulated IUI cycle? I have 500iu of hCG as my trigger and then had to take another 2000iu at 5DPO. I asked if it woul;d cause my LP to lengthed, given that it is usually only 10 or 11 days and was told no, but I'm 11 DPO today with no hint of AF and i ALWAYS start spotting a little before now. 

I'm too scared to test and be disappointed in case it's just the second hCG jab that has caused this. I know that it should be gone from my system now, so shouldn't affect a test, but could it be causing my period to be late anyhow?

Minty
xxx


----------



## nickster

I've no idea Minty, but I'm hoping with all my might that it's worked this time!!! xxx


----------



## pem

Sorry can't help Minty, but just wanted to send you loads and loads and loads of           

Emma


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## CookieSal

Wish I could help but can only send


----------



## pipgirl

Ooohh -  Mints! This could be the one! Sorry, dont want to get your hopes up too much but certainly sounds good!
We are going to be doing a medicated iui in two weeks so ill be watching your progress very closely!
As i ovulate we are hvaing injectible fsh at the lowest dosage (in case of over production) and the hcg shot.
We have been told to do two med cycles then ivf if no joy, and im feeling more positive now becasue at least the monitoring will make us feel so much more in control of the whole process.

We also considered changing our donor...what made you decide to do this? We may still change, based on a worry that i was not 'compatible' with him. Choice number two was also a proven donor but we didnt go with him because he was shorter and fatter than our 1st choice, maybe thats fattist? Hmmm what to do...?

Lotty -  Glad to hear from you again. Wondering after the amount of iui cycles youve done why they wouldnt be suggesting ivf at this point? Hope things are going ok.

Cookiesal -  great new about the fibroid eviction. Now you can get started. Choosing the donor is difficult, but if you have a choice of 'proved' then obviously thats positive. 


Arrgghhh! decisions decisions...good luck to all.


Pip


----------



## CookieSal

Morning all

Minty - hope things are still looking good, have everything crossed for you    

Pip - Hope you manage to figure out what to do about your donor.  I think Karen and I were very aware that our options would be fairly limited and therefore had low expectations.  That said we were very pleased with what we were offered.  Our donor has been used twice so far - the first resulted in a pg and the second was in early stages.  I just want to get started now.

Love to all

Sally xxx


----------



## pipgirl

Hey Sal,

That sounds good to me! If someone has got pregnant by him then hes a goer..

They dont tell us at our clinic how many pregnancies a donor has created, just that he has 'proven fertility' and they always say..."however many million there are you only need one!"

I know its so difficult to wait to start the tx once youve got the go ahead..it seems like all youre doing is waiting for ovulation day! DP finds it easier to manage but i go crazy with the waiting..plus its stressful trying to be off work to attend apptms without them finding out whats going on!

Best of luck!

Pip


----------



## CookieSal

They should call it "Waiting treatment" as so far that has been all I have done - wait for a consultation, wait for an op, wait for the horrible poisonous Prostap to go.... GRRRR    I figure at least when we get started there will be jabs to do etc so I will feel as if I am doing something at least!


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## mintyfaglady

Looks like it was only the drugs after all - period started this evening. I'm rather cross I wasn't warned they would make my period late. Mabel dug out an article saying that's EXACTLY what they did! Honestly, these nurses should know better! Thanks for that though Mabel - it stopped me getting too carried away!

Ah well. Onwards an upwards. The way I look at it is there's only one more injects cycle before we get to move to IVF! And it was quite a positive cycle overall, even though it didn't result in a pregnancy. I handled the injections ok, which is good to know for the the future, I did produce 2 eggs and the scans and injects made me feel more in control. See, I found a silver lining.

Pip, we changed our donor because we'd done 6 cycles with him and all failed. Also, we were told he was running out, so there would have been very little chance of getting any for siblings if I HAD got pg. Our number 2 was also shorter and fatter than our number 1. Maybe we've been choosing the same guys. I'm past caring what the donor is like, to be honest, I just want one that will get me pregnant!

Sal, your donor sounds very promising. Hope you get strarted SOOOON!

Love to all. Thanks for thinking about me.
minty
xxx


----------



## emnjo

mintyfaglady said:


> Looks like it was only the drugs after all - period started this evening. I'm rather cross I wasn't warned they would make my period late. Mabel dug out an article saying that's EXACTLY what they did! Honestly, these nurses should know better! Thanks for that though Mabel - it stopped me getting too carried away!
> 
> Ah well. Onwards an upwards. The way I look at it is there's only one more injects cycle before we get to move to IVF! And it was quite a positive cycle overall, even though it didn't result in a pregnancy. I handled the injections ok, which is good to know for the the future, I did produce 2 eggs and the scans and injects made me feel more in control. See, I found a silver lining.
> 
> Pip, we changed our donor because we'd done 6 cycles with him and all failed. Also, we were told he was running out, so there would have been very little chance of getting any for siblings if I HAD got pg. Our number 2 was also shorter and fatter than our number 1. Maybe we've been choosing the same guys. I'm past caring what the donor is like, to be honest, I just want one that will get me pregnant!
> 
> Sal, your donor sounds very promising. Hope you get strarted SOOOON!
> 
> Love to all. Thanks for thinking about me.
> minty
> xxx


Sorry to hear that it hasn't worked. Your attitude is fab though - and I hope I react in a similar way to you. 

We are just starting at LWC - I am 28 and no fertility problems - but we are going straight for IUI with scans this month - if it doesn't work first go - I am going to go straight for the drugs!!

Good luck with it all

Emma


----------



## CookieSal

So sorry Minty    Glad you are taking something positive from this cycle even though it wasn't the result you wanted.

Emma - good luck as you start your tx journey, hope it is a short sweet one!!


----------



## Mable

Sorry Minty. You must be really fed up with all these BFNs. Really hope there's some luck for you coming soon.


----------



## lotty1

Hi Minty i am really sorry to hear that you have got your period i was hoping that this was the one but keep the positive thoughts. I need to take some of your positive thoughts!!! R ya having another go this month? If so sending all my good wishes 2 u.
Sal - Good Luck at ya follow up appt in March  
Hi pip hope all ok with you.
Well gossip here back to square one not going with a known donor......long story so back to the original plan did think about a trip to Benidorm for the sperm laugh as its free but managed to remove that thought............. laugh!!!!!!!!!!!! plus i would be divorced!!!!!!!
So back to the clinic on 6th March to meet another consultant so will decide from there ........ the ride starts again!!!! 
Anyway must go now as my legs are falling off as took my young people ice skating today and they kept me on the ice 1 and half hrs never done sooooooooo much exercise so ooooooo tired. so bye for now sending you all luck with tx medication or whatever ya doing. 
xx


----------



## pem

Minty


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## pipgirl

Oh Minty.  

So sorry love, its awful when you get a BFN especially if you have felt different about the treatment cycle.
I take it you didnt test, but waited for AF...its wierd it was late though...could it have worked to start with, if you didnt get a bfn on the peesticks? I have never hear of the drugs making your af late...maybe i missed something.

What dosage of fsh did they put you on? Obviously it was enough for two follies...but its still not as good odds as ivf...maybe they will consider moving you to ivf now if youve already done 6 iui non med and 1 with..that should be enough really.

Really feeling for you as we are about to start the same tx in a week or so and i know how ill feel if its the same result. Look after yourself. XX


Lotty -  have the clinic talked to you about ivf? 9 attempts with iui seems more than fair shot. Good luck for your consult.

Everyone else, have a great weekend!

Pip


----------



## nickster

Ditto, Minty...


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## mintyfaglady

Hi all. CD2 and back on the injectables already. Doesn't give you much time to recover, does it! Nurse today was really fabulous though and made us feel a bit perkier.

@ Pip - Ha! Course I tested! It was negative. 

I was really extra annoyed too, because in 2 years of trying I've *never *cracked and tested. I was determined that the first HPT I peed on would be THE BFP one. My periods are so regular, and quite early after ovulation (10 or 11 days) that it was never really a temptation, because they wouldn't have been very effective before 14 days or so anyway, but this time, with it being late, I caved in. In my defence, it WAS a freebie that came with my last pack of CBFM sticks.

Apparently, the second dose of hCG was what lengthened my Luteal Phase. Mabel kindly found this article abstract for me:- http://grande.nal.usda.gov/ibids/index.php?mode2=detail&origin=ibids_references&therow=238415

I was on 75iu of FSH and that seemed to do the trick. Two follies was the maximum they like you to have, for fear of multiples.

We'll do one more injectables cycle then move to IVF. In fact, we're going to book an appointment to discuss it as soon as possible, so there's not too much of a hold up if this cycle fails too.

To be honest, I did feel better about the injectable cycle than any of the others before it. I hope yours works for you.

@Lotty - Yuk, re Benidorm. Anyway - all the sperm there would be too drunk to do the job, I bet! Good luck with your meeting on March 6th. Dig your heels in if you want IVF - I think you've tried it their way long enough! Try crying if shouting doesn't work 

minty
xxx


----------



## lotty1

Hi Pip / Minty will take ya advice when seeing my consultant in all had 12 iui some with clomid but cannot remember the exact figure it all blurs into one! They keep telling me all is ok fed up with that one! but to be honest tried to avoid the Ivf route as stupidly i read an article about it in a womens mag and sadly it went wrong so that has been at the back of my mind. I know this sounds sad but  i am scared especially of being put to sleep such a wimp i am! Also the fear of it  not working having gone through all that to me will be horrible. But anyway will see what they say to me and will decide from there. Starting to feel that it might be the way forward.
bye 4 now x


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## mintyfaglady

Hey Lottie, I don't think you HAVE to be put to sleep for the egg collection - ask them about the possibility of a local anaesthetic. General is scary, I know - that's why I bottled out of my laparoscopy and had a HSG instead - didn't want to be put under.

And keep telling yourself that if an IVF cycle doesn't work, there's a good chance you'd still have some frozen embryos left over from it for a transfer another time and you don't have to do all the drugs and that just for a transfer. That's what I keep telling myself!

Told you I was a silver linings girl.

Let me know how you get on, hon.
xxx


----------



## rosypie

I'm not sure what the usual method is but I had my EC done under heavy sedation. I can't remember anything of it and was driven home groggy eyed but otherwise fine 2 hours later. I remember the doctor said it was like drinking a bottle of scotch!


----------



## nickidee

I also had EC under heavy sedation and it was a fine with a rapid come around (about 20-30 mins) after all was said and done. 
I am one of those people that found the IVF process to be very positive. I had had 3 unassisted IUI's and due to age and rank impatience factors, decided at that stage to go straight for IVF. In my experience, the self administered injections were an exciting step in the journey and left me feeling empowered when you so rarely feel empowered in the ttc process. I was regularly monitored and didn't have any adverse side effects. At EC they collected 13 eggs, 8/9 of which fertilised and 2 embryos developed to 8 cell grade 1 quality. I had none left over to freeze but was exceptionally lucky and had a BFP after my first go at IVF. I was at LWC and whilst I had initially found the whole system there to be a bit chaotic there, had found my feet by the time we had IVF and trusted our consultant unconditionally as that was the relationship she had fostered. The experience of IVF will be different for everyone, but I just wanted to provide some counter-balance to the article that you read. For me, it was the best decision that I ever made. Good luck with whatever you decide.


----------



## lotty1

Thanks Nickiedee for your message it really made me feel better to hear another side of the story and it gave me a little hope due to see a consultant on Thursday so will then move forward. Not seen this consultant before as the bookings were all full and i only had a specific time when i was on holiday to fit in the meeting as do not have any more leave. I think thats why i don't have alot of trust as seen a few consultants and not built up a relationship which makes the decision all the more difficult. 
Hi all thanks for your info re sedation calmed down a little now not sure why i have been in a panic as been put to sleep numerous times at the  dentist and also at hospital so need to get over this!
Hi Minty so where are you now in TXX hope all ok with you guys. It was good to hear the silver lining never thought of that! Just concerned that the med will make me climb the walls!
Well guys all refreshed on break from work just returned from Center Parcs where we relaxed in the spa and swam loads in the dome and still have another week off so just being lazy never felt so good free of med and non counting.
Just two questions the 1st being for anyone who has been on clomid.... i have put on loads of weight on my stomach and hips and i cannot seem to remove this weight no matter what i do has anyone had the same problem? 2nd this may sound stupid but i will ask how to they collect the eggs do they cut you open or enter downstairs lets say? Will ask all these questions on Thurs but just wanted to know before then.
bye for now


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## pipgirl

Hi Lottie

They get the eggs out through 'downstairs'..the reason they sedate is because it would be painful if not cos they have to poke about quite a bit.

Hope you have all the info now and feel more comfortable about everything!

Hello to all..hope everyone is ok.

We are waiting for tx ..hanging around till AF which is taking her sweet time. I seem to have quite a long Luteal Phase which im not sure if thats a bad thing (i know its bad to have a short one)..anything between 16 and 18 days and i dont know which this one is so im p**sed off.
Day 31 today and god its dragging...am supposed to go swimming today so thought that would set it off! Might try some other activities instead! How depressing, our lovelife has gone to s*** since ttc.
Got to check for presence of a fibroid before starting the next tx due to slight clouding on hsg..my question is, the scan in august showed no fibroid...could one have appeared five months later?
I know they can stop you concieving so they are generally removed but does it depend on size or what? Do you always need surgery?

Pip


----------



## rosypie

yep, they go in 'downstairs'. they have to push the needle through the vaginal wall to get to the ovary which I guess would be the painful bit were you not sedated (not to mention super-stretching with a speculum!!)... i didn't know any of this either, until the last minute. i'd imagined them driving a tube up you, into your uterus, around your tubes and into your ovaries. how wrong can one be!?!?  

@pip - I don't know anything about fibroids but I hope it all works out ok for you


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## mintyfaglady

Oooh Lotty, dead jealous of your Center Parcs break - I could fancy a little of that myself. Hope your appointment goes well on Thurs. Do let us know how it goes?

Pip, has AF reared her ugly head yet? I think I long luteal phase is fine, just annoying that you have to wait! Wonder what the score will be with the fibroid. I don't have any idea how quickly they can grow, but I think they have to be pretty big for them to intefere with TTC, so hopefully if there is something there, it's too small to be a worry. Fingers crossed.

We were in today for our insem. Went ok, but hurt more than usual and had a bit of cramping. I wonder whether that was because ovulation was induced - it kind of felt like maybe the trigger injection was forcing my body to ovulate before it was ready. They nearly cancelled this cycle, because I had 3 fairly biggish ones, but the nurse talked the doc into letting me go ahead, but trigger early in the hope that the lead one would be big enough while the other two stragglers were still too small to pop. Who knows. I definitely didn't feel as tender and bloated this time, so I hope at least one of them did get big enough to be any good.

God, I hope it works this time - all this talk of going in "downstairs" to collect the eggs is making me dread the idea of having to move to IVF! Bring on the heavy sedation, I say.

minty xxx


----------



## pipgirl

Hi Mints - 

Sounds good. Thats what we are worried about, producing too many and getting cancelled. So looks like they will do things early if it looks like there are too many mature follies then?

Good luck for this time, we'll be right behind you! If the blasted AF ever shows!
So hopefully this will be the one, and if not then you go straight to ivf? Wonder if all three could have popped though, what if you get triplets!! How exciting! (and scary!)

As for the fibroid thing...MFS didnt seem to think itd be a problem but the bloody nhs witch got me all upset yesterday talking about removing it (we dont even know if theres one there!) and failed to reassure me about the chances of there being one...she just said go for scan, see her 3 months later and then wait for hystroscopy....bloody ridiculous.

Am just glad that we are having a scan at mfs with this cycle and then ill know for sure.
Am setiously considering (if there is one that needs shifting) to have it done privately...although god knows what that might cost, in order to avoid the nhs wait..??

Oh yeah, tried a bit of acupuncture last night at a local TCM place...it did seem relaxing and i thought it was worth a go since it seems to help quite a lot of FFs...find it really hard to have PMA and focus on the positives/relax properley.
Its really rubbish at the moment becasue DP is doing nights and we are not seeing that much of each other.. too poor to go out, really need some 'quality time'.

Will feel a lot better when the witch finally shows up and we can get on with things.

All the waiting is driving me mad.

Love to all.

Pip


----------



## nismat

Hi all,
I just wanted to add to nickiedee's positive feedback about IVF. Of course, if it's not a path everyone wants to take, and there can be times when it feels right emotionally, and times when it doesn't. When we started ttc (it took 17months from our first IUI to getting our BFP following 1st go at IVF, plus a good 3 years of planning before the actual ttc), there was no way I would have contemplated IVF. I thought however hard it was, and however long it took, we just simply wouldn't go there. It felt like it would be far too invasive, plus frankly, it just seemed a bit too desperate somehow. Plus, I never really thought that I would have all that much trouble getting pregnant! Looking back now, with all the benefits of a year of parenting following our successful pregnancy (which seriously wipes out a lot of the memories of the agony of ttc), I realise how lucky we were to only go through 6 IUIs and 1 IVF - at the time it was all-consuming, and felt like such a life sentence. It felt like it would never work, however much positive thinking I tried to do. 

It wasn't at all long before I became disillusioned with doing IUIs at the clinic (LWC), as I truly felt that my ovulation just didn't fit in with their insistence on afternoon insems (I know that with all the tracking we all do, we all probably feel that we know our bodies a lot better than the clinics!) - I'm still convinced that the prime reason for lack of success with IUIs was because I would ovulate in the early hours of the morning, so afternoon insems were either too late if done the day after, or too early if the day before. 

I got incredibly frustrated at the thought that egg and sperm weren't even getting a chance to meet (as I don't believe frozen sperm live all that long inside us, whatever the clinics say about being able to see them still wriggling in a petri dish in the lab 24hrs+ after defrosting). So for me, switching to IVF actually felt empowering in many ways. I was actually really excited knowing that egg and sperm would get to party (even if I knew that fertilisation wasn't guaranteed). Having done 5 medicated cycles by then (3 of them with injectibles), I'd already come to terms with the whole artificial hormone thing (which is so anti my normal way of thinking!), so that didn't really bother me, and the additional monitoring gave me a greater feeling of awareness about it all, even some degree of control. I paid for extra blood tests to monitor estradiol, so that we could fine tune the FSH dosage if needed (as I knew I wasn't a great responder). It was a right old pain to travel 2hrs each way every few days for a simple 5 min blood test, but worth it to have the peace of mind. 
Of course, the whole process wasn't without its worries - I was frustrated that the clinic were so conservative with my drugs dosage given my past history of non-response, and then was absolutely petrified when only 3 of our 5 eggs fertilised (will definitely opt for ICSI next time, hang the extra expense!), not to mention the concern when the 2 surviving embryos had fewer cells than "normal" at the 3-day transfer. EC was never a worry for me, and honestly, having it under sedation was absolutely fine. Like Rosypie, I had initally thought that they would insert a tube all the way up through the cervix/uterus/fallopian tubes to get at the ovaries - the thought of the needle collection isn't particularly pleasant, but as you aren't aware of a thing, it's pretty irrelevant. 

I have absolutely no concerns at the thought of going through IVF again (apart from the slight worry about how we'll cope if we're not lucky again first time - or indeed the possibility of multiples  ). With Toby turning 1 this Sunday (where has that 1st year gone?! My baby is no more, he's definitely a little boy now!), we're just starting to gear up towards ttc a sibling(s). We'll be moving our sibling sperm to a local clinic (ISIS  here in Colchester), which should make the whole process a lot easier, especially with having to organise childcare for appointments). At the moment, we're vaguely planning to do a cycle some time in the summer, although we haven't even had an initial consultation yet. I've just started back on my pre-conceptual Foresight programme, and have cut right down on my alcohol intake. I've also just re-joined WeightWatchers and started exercising to try and get rid of some of my post-pregnancy weight, as the majority of it is still firmly ensconced around my middle, 1 yr down the line. Breastfeeding being good for weight loss was a complete fallacy for me, even though I b/f Toby for 8 1/2 months. 

Right now, I feel quite calm about the prospect of ttc again, given that we are already incredibly lucky to have Toby. For those of you e.g. Ros & Eve who have gone through ttc a sibling, is this something you felt at all, and if so, does it actually survive the real ttc process second time around, or is it just as anxiety-inducing? I'd be really interested to find out if it seems any easier second time around. I really hope that this doesn't sound insensitive to those of you who are still on the road towards ttc#1 - and I know that it has been a loooong road for some of you  

Apologies for essay-style post - it's been such a long time since I've been involved on these boards that it's all coming out at once now! 
I'll get involved with personals again once I've worked out what everyone is up to, but just wanted to wish Minty extra special luck for this cycle  
Tamsin x


----------



## rosypie

Hey tamsin, great to see you posting!!

Just to add my two-penneth: IVF was positive for us too, even though we'd been resistent to the idea prior to ttc 2nd time. After a frustrating start delayed by our GP forgetting to send the referral (and we waited 6 weeks believing we were on the waiting list too), we had a cancelled natural IUI (ovaries still doing NOTHING - probably relating to the B/f which I had only stopped 3 months prior), a missed cycle due to christmas then 2 clomid IUIs. We did um and ah a bit about moving to IVF so quickly but it was the best thing we did of course, since it worked. Also, like tamsin said, you do feel more empowered, more in control and, for the first time you're having a procedure with a 30%(ish) chance rather than 10%(ish) - I felt much more positive in myself and that can only be a good thing...

If we do go for a third we would definitely go straight to IVF again, having done it the first time.

@tamsin, it's strange doing it all a 2nd time. In one way, we were so much more relaxed. We had also relocated out of London in the meantime, moved to a different clinic which we found much more friendly and nice, and our whole lives were just easier so that might have had something to do with it. You never really escape that awful desperate feeling though. I desperately didn't want Jude to be an only child, especially in a small town, 2 mum family. I strongly felt he needed a comrade. Also, I was pretty hung up on having a small age gap so I really felt the clock tick-tocking too. I don't think I'd be bothered about that next time (if there is a next time) but there'd be something else to stress about I suppose...


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

I also agree that my first IVF/ICSI cycle was ' a breeze' and I got a BFP, but miscarried, I didn't really understand what all the emotional side of was about!!- how wrong I was when my world came crashing down in 2006!

I found TTC through IVF less traumatic than home insems though as the control was not all mine, and the monthly devastation and disappointment.  I am about to embark on my 4th ICSI cycle I do at least feel that although now fearful of m/c, not responding/not fertilising, BFN etc I am giving it my best shot and all I can phsyically do plus acupuncture/hypnotherapy, my known is also on herbs and acupuncture etc.

I also have daily or twice a day bloods etc each day of stims at 0730 each morning.

Wishing you all well
L x


----------



## Mable

I am someone who has found IVF a complete nightmare, mainly due to overresponding to the drugs and having the threat of OHSS hanging over every decision about whether to proceed at each stage. Also, it hasn't worked for me yet, and getting a BFP following IVF is very different to getting a BFN - obviously! I mean, DP got a BFP after her 1st attempt of IVF and we thought it was a breeze but when I got a BFN it was completely different. All those months of treatment and hope invested and nothing achieved at the end of it. In that way, IUIs were much easier and I'm even thinking of returning to IUI as there's not too much more of this IVF process I can take. It really takes it out of me, emotionally and physically. Lots of lesbians seem to get lucky on their 1st IVF after unlucky IUIs, but it obviously isn't a guarantee.

About the 2nd child thing, I'm afraid I can't reassure you that we're not that bothered either way! Like Ros, we've found the desperation is as great as it was for the first. Especially when most of Monty's friends now have siblings but ours isn't made easily.

Lovely to hear about Toby's progress and everyone else's. Am trying not to obsess about IVF at the moment and so am not logging on compulsively.
Wishing everyone so much luck though.
Mable


----------



## pipgirl

Hi Mable - 

sorry to hear youre having a rotten time with ivf..how come you only did two iuis? was it an age factor?
Our clinic woulndt consider ivf till iui x 6! Thats because we have nothing diagnosed as being a problem and apparently im 'too young' hmmm dont feel that young..is birthday in two weeks and 29 cert dosnt seem young to me!

OHSS is a worry for sure...going through all that to get cycles cancelled is no joke, we may have to contend with that this time as there is a wrorry about overproduction with meds.

Maybe number two ivf will be luckier for you, after all the chances are a lot higher (thats providing it gets done!)

Know what you mean about a sibling...it hard for any child to be 'different' and having a bro or sis to share it with is always preferable. It is so tough even waiting for number one, but i know it dosnt get any easier for that sibling either...youll just have to hope for twins and put it all behind you!

My DP said when we started out that she wanted three or four kids! Ha! Not so easy as all that! 

Plus she was banking on me squeezing all those out! Well...if she wants a whale shaped wife and can afford to keep all four in ridiculously expensive 'appropriate' trainers then  hey, be my guest! Ha Ha.


Best of luck for the next stage of your tx.

Pip.

(Soon to be Queen of the jabs)


----------



## Mable

Thanks Pip, and sorry to be a bit negative just as you are about to start. If you do have overresponding problems, do give me a shout as I have lots of experience. I've also gone ahead with 'dangerously high' oestradiol levels (35000 - most clinics have a cut off of 15000) and so far not had to go into hospital with OHSS, it's worth knowing that, I've heard from a few people on here that it is possible but the clinic put the fear of death into you when making the decision about whether to abandon or not.

For us, moving to IVF was a sperm decision - the shortage means we are advised to make 'best use' of the sperm - I suppose with IVF having a higher success rate than IUI it is better use of it. Don't know how much sperm you've got - you are lovely and young though, your eggs should be good quality?

To be honest, I'm rather looking forward to handing the baton back to DP to try again before she turns 40. This means I could get a new job, which I've put on hold for over a year because of treatment, and have a break from all this. It was SO MUCH EASIER being a supportive partner than going through this myself!!


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## mintyfaglady

Hey Tamsin, good to see you around again. I cannot believe Toby is 1 already. That doesn't seem possible! Thank you for sending me your extra special luck - I hope it works! I'll know soon enough.

Those of you that have taken the time to post about your IVF experiences, good and bad, thank you. It's really helpful to be able to know what decisions others have made and why. I'm wondering whether a lot of my reservations about IVF are tied up with my (and my clinic's) reluctance to consider myself infertile. Our clinic takes quite a minimal intervention approach and only seems to want to escalate to IVF very slowly, as a means of treating infertility, rather than as a means of getting pregnant quickly, if that makes sense. Because they can't find any reason why I can't seem to get pregnant, I'm kind of left feeling that I'm just being impatient and that IVF is the "big guns", kept for people that NEED it. Knowing that there are other valid reasons for opting for IVF (sperm shortage, financial, age) makes me feel more comfortable and confident about asking for it. Just because those are not reasons the clinic would base a decision on, doesn't mean they are not valid factors in OUR decision making.

Minty
xxx


----------



## Veela

Back on the train again this month.  Got my smear result through and have contacted the clinic with day 1 of cycle last Monday.  So, fourth IUI coming up.  Best of luck to everyone else who is trying.

Veela


----------



## pipgirl

Good luck Veela.. we are cycling too..hope this is a lucky month!

Pip


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Veela, nice to see you still around. Good luck for your upcoming IUI.


----------



## CookieSal

Good luck ladies.   

I'm still waiting for my first AF post Prostap and lap then I can count down to starting my IUI.

Come on witch, show yourself!!!!


----------



## TerriWW

Hi everyone. I haven't posted here for quite a while though I do keep popping on to see how everyone is doing.

We've had an up and down start to the new year. Ju had FET jan/feb which failed and then at her review we were told that they have now thrown everything there is at her lining (it's on the thin side) and can do nothing to make it any thicker which means she has a very low chance of pregnancy. However, there was one last possiblilty that we asked about...... me carrying julias embryo/baby.

We has discussed it as an option already as I have already carried our first son. We just weren't sure how difficult it would be legally etc but it's very straight forward and the clinic are totally supportive because it's due to a fertility problem of julia. So..... watch this space. Hopefully we wil be starting the surrogacy ivf in the next couple of months! It has a made the pain of the initial news easier to bare as although ju wont experience pregnancy we still have a chance to have the family we wanted where each of us is a biological parent. I know it doesn't make any difference. Once the childs here you love it anyway but it will just be nice for ju to have a biological child too. I just hope my body copes!! 

Hope all well with everyone else and good luck as ever

Terri


----------



## emnjo

Hello all 

I have just got my period, so our IUI failed...    I so thought it had worked!!

I think I know some of you, Edith and Mable at least from gingerbeer I am Bumble. We are debating going straight to IVF, or just doing one more assited IUI and then going to IVF. How many IUI's did you do before you went to IVF??

Emma X


----------



## rosypie

hiya bumble!! really sorry to hear about the bfn, it's never easy even on the first attempt. We did 2 x IUI for Jude (luckily it worked 2nd time) and weren't planning on moving to IVF until we'd done the 6 cycles suggested by lwc (3 x natural and 3 x assisted).

2nd time round we had a cycle cancelled, then missed a month to xmas so actually ended up doing only 2 IUIs with clomid before moving straight to IVF. We were impatient . It's a very personal decision and there are tonnes of factors of course. You're right at the beginning, you're young, you've no fertility issues so far. But, you might be super impatient (I know you from GB too!!  ) and want to move now... I would probably say another IUI is worth a shot but it's completely down to you. I'm sure your clinic will have suggestions too. What's their protocol at the mo?


----------



## emnjo

rosypie said:


> hiya bumble!! really sorry to hear about the bfn, it's never easy even on the first attempt. We did 2 x IUI for Jude (luckily it worked 2nd time) and weren't planning on moving to IVF until we'd done the 6 cycles suggested by lwc (3 x natural and 3 x assisted).
> 
> 2nd time round we had a cycle cancelled, then missed a month to xmas so actually ended up doing only 2 IUIs with clomid before moving straight to IVF. We were impatient . It's a very personal decision and there are tonnes of factors of course. You're right at the beginning, you're young, you've no fertility issues so far. But, you might be super impatient (I know you from GB too!!  ) and want to move now... I would probably say another IUI is worth a shot but it's completely down to you. I'm sure your clinic will have suggestions too. What's their protocol at the mo?


Hey Rosie! I was hoping that I would be able to 'chat' to you about all this. Eve has been really lovely aswell. 
I know you guys moved onto IVF quickly with Bruno. I am ULTRA impatient and gagging for a baby NOW! Lol. Have been really upset about our failed IUI, but have to get on with it now. 

Just spoken to LWC, I am going to do one more IUI with clomid - just hope I don't over stimulate or anything. I am not sure how much higher the success rate is with taking clomid, have you got any ideas?

Why did you have a cancelled cycle? Did you have to pay for that?

How are Jude and Bruno getting on now?? XXX


----------



## emnjo

TerriWW said:


> Hi everyone. I haven't posted here for quite a while though I do keep popping on to see how everyone is doing.
> 
> We've had an up and down start to the new year. Ju had FET jan/feb which failed and then at her review we were told that they have now thrown everything there is at her lining (it's on the thin side) and can do nothing to make it any thicker which means she has a very low chance of pregnancy. However, there was one last possiblilty that we asked about...... me carrying julias embryo/baby.
> 
> We has discussed it as an option already as I have already carried our first son. We just weren't sure how difficult it would be legally etc but it's very straight forward and the clinic are totally supportive because it's due to a fertility problem of julia. So..... watch this space. Hopefully we wil be starting the surrogacy ivf in the next couple of months! It has a made the pain of the initial news easier to bare as although ju wont experience pregnancy we still have a chance to have the family we wanted where each of us is a biological parent. I know it doesn't make any difference. Once the childs here you love it anyway but it will just be nice for ju to have a biological child too. I just hope my body copes!!
> 
> Hope all well with everyone else and good luck as ever
> 
> Terri


----------



## Mable

Hi Bumble,
(I post as Edith on GB) I'd do a few more IUIs if I were you. There is so much luck at play here. I've written this already, but with IVF your success rates are only slightly higher and you've no guarantee of success - you've a 70% chance of it not working. It's expensive, longwinded (takes around 3 months and if you're not successful you have to wait 3 periods before trying again), can be dangerous and painful if you overrespond (I generally have to take 2 weeks off work over the egg collection and OHSS response), and the BFN at the end feels like much more of a blow than with IUIs. I am more and more convinced that it is sheer luck, so the more sperm you can get round your eggs, the better.

Other people who have had success with IVF first time will give you different advice. Good luck weighing it all up and hope the desperation for a baby settles into a feeling of work in progress.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Well that was another expensive waste of time. Period arrived with a vengeange this morning.

On to IVF I guess.


----------



## pipgirl

Mints Honey - 

So sorry this wasnt the one.


Really feel for you at the moment...not much of a consolation but now you can move on to IVF at last.
The odds are so much better and the chance of having embies to freeze is very encouraging. How soon can you start? Wil they let you go right to it injecting on day 21?

Keep your chin up..wishing you both all the best for the next stage.

Pip and DP.
XXXX


----------



## CookieSal

Sorry it didn't work again Minty    Fingers crossed the move onto IVF will do the trick.


----------



## Veela

Crossing my fingers that the IVF works for you, Minty.


----------



## Mable

Sorry Minty - TTC is such a struggle isn't it.


----------



## lotty1

Hi Minty
I am really sorry to hear that this cycle was unsuccessful and all the best with IVF. X


----------



## lotty1

Good Luck Veela with round 4.


----------



## CookieSal

Hi ladies,

Have been dipping in and out a bit lately so am getting rather out of touch with where you are all at.

My first AF following lap and Prostap arrived on Monday and I saw my consultant for my post op follow up appt yesterday.  It's good news for me and I have the green light to start my DIUI when I get my next AF.  Hopefully this will be in around 3 weeks time. 

At the moment I am (probably niaively) very excited and just want to get started.  It has been a long wait what with the fibroid being discovered and waiting for the laparoscopy but hopfeully there will be no further delays now and I will get the chance to at least try and achieve my dream.

Anyone else due to cycle in April?

Love and   to you all

Sally x


----------



## Veela

Cookiesal, it's so frustrating, isn't it - waiting so long and spending so much money before you can even get sperm and egg together.  We were a year by the time we'd had all the checks and changed clinic.  Hope it all goes well and you can get started.


----------



## CookieSal

Thank Veela - are you on the 2WW now?  Keeping my fingers crossed for you. x


----------



## magsandemma

Hi all

JUst wanted to wish you ladies good luck with your tx!!!

Veela  -  Good luck with your 2ww, hope it doesnt drive you too mad, sounds like a positive cycle so far             .

Hope you all have a lovely easter.

Maggie
xx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey, good luck for this TWW Pip - it's awful that so much of this comes down to money at the end of the day.

Good luck too Bumble with this try. Sorry it was painful.

Veela, when do you test? Can't be long now.

We went for yet another consult today and have agreed to move on to IVF, so now have to wait for the start of my next period (due in about 2 weeks). I'm still feeling pretty miserable about the whole thing, but I'm sure it'll wear off. At least we're lucky enough to be in a position to give it a go.

Minty.


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Ladies just wanted to wish you well (Veela) in your 2ww- Minty hope IVF works for you, I know so many girls who switch to IVF and get pregnant first time!

My news I have trigger last night and go to theatre for EC tomorrow morning- my lining was my main issues and it is over 7 mm now!! and I have follies- last time I only produced 4 eggs, but they think there are more follies there, and it only takes one!!. Fingerscrossed 4th time lucky

L x
L x


----------



## pipgirl

Hello to all,

Hope everyone is having an ok day in the miserable rain!

Good luck to JJ for the EC and to all the 2wwers.

Cheers for now.

Pip


----------



## Veela

Good luck JJ1.    

When do I test?  It would be wonderful to get that far.  Not feeling too positive about it today.  I suppose we would test on Monday - that would be exactly two weeks.  I usually get a kind of 'show' a couple of days before my period though, so when I get that, I'll know it hasn't worked.  I'm going to be gutted.


----------



## nickster

*Minty:* Hope you're not feeling too down, and that IVF gives you the result you deserve.

*JJ:* Best of luck for this time around. Hope that EC goes smoothly today.

*Sal: * Really pleased to hear you can get cracking at last. You must be so relieved!

xxx


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Thanks for your good wishes I got 5 eggs so am delighted as that is very good for me!

Veela hang in there I hope that you get to Monday.
L x


----------



## mintyfaglady

L (JJ1) - nice work on the eggs and the lining! It's looking good for you - I hope this is your time (and not before time!)

Am feeling a bit more perky about the IVF now - got to keep going forwards, eh. Pip, I did ask half heartedly about jumping right in on day 21 of this cycle, but the Dr (yet another one - we've yet to see the same one twice!) said they need to do CD2 bloodwork to check for FSH levels, as they like it to be below 10 on any cycle they go ahead on. I didn't really argue the point. I think both of us are still reeling a little that we've actually reached the point of IVF and after those back-to-back IUIs we could do with a bit of a break. And of course, the chance to save up a bit more cash wouldn't go amiss either!!

The Dr was really nice actually and talked us through everything. After reading so many American blogs we were surprised to learn that they do the transfer only 2 days after egg collection - I'm more used to reading about 3 and 5 day transfers, but she said that there was no statistical difference between 2 and 3 days (and so, logically, it's cheaper for them to stick the embryos back inside you than pay someone to look after them in the lab for another 24 hrs!) aand that there were only a couple of places in the UK doing 5 day transfers at the moment as it's still a bit new. Either way, the odds looked to be about what we were expecting (around 25%, improving to 33% if we make it to transfer).

She also allowed me to take my prescription away with me rather than have their drug shippers dispatch it, so I'm hoping either to persuade my GP to transfer it to an NHS prescription, or find somewhere cheaper to buy them. All ideas welcome! 

Love and luck to all,

Minty
xxx


----------



## Mable

Minty, I get my drugs from Fazeley Pharmacy, Tamworth. The pharmacist Ali (01827 262 48 will give you a quote on the phone and get the drugs to you in the next few days. I have found him to be the cheapest.

BTW Menopur is the cheapest FSH - lots of clinics prescribe more expensive brands. Ali doesn't do the expensive ones cheaper than Serono, but they all do the same thing so it's worth getting your prescription for the cheapest brands possible. Menopur involves a bit of mixing, but nothing too taxing.

Just to give you Ali's prices per ampule
Buserelin £14.32 
Menopur £12.20
Pregnyl £3.27
Postage and Package £7.50

There's also a thread on this on the IVF board I think, discussing where to get your drugs cheapest.
Hope this is helpful,
Mable


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Minty

Good luck with the cycling, I have done the short protocols on the last 3 cycles and then you start stimming on day 2 and no DRing, and you are having EC 2 weeks into the cycle

Here was my drug comparison, http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=9821.300 for different drugs.

but Ali in Tamwaorth- Fazeley pharmacy was one of the cheapest and also such a lovely helpful man. If you do end up on puregon calea are the cheapest I later found out!

The difference with day 2,3,5 transfers comes into play more if you have several good looking embryos as they want to put the strongest ones back, so they often wait to see, and sometime they die off. If you only have 2 embryos then there is nothing to decide upon they are the only ones to put back.

Good luck trying to get the GP to transcribe.

Take care L x


----------



## mintyfaglady

Aww, thanks you two, that's really helpful. I found my way over to the thread on the main board about cheap drugs too, so I'm all clued up now.

These boards are brilliant for finding out stuff like this - I would never have known I could ask to source my own drugs or that asking the GP was a possibility if others hadn't posted here saying they had done so.

I'm really, really hoping the GP agrees to put it on an NHS prescription. This IVF cycle is going to seriously wipe us out financially and even a little help with the cost would be a big help. Not holding out that much hope though, because we moved recently and this will be my first visit to a new GP, so they'll probably just think I'm a cheeky chancer. My old GP was pretty good - I bet he'd have done it, but it's too late to go back to him as I've had my records moved now. Ah well, it you don't ask, you don't get, as my dad always said!

Minty
xxx


----------



## emnjo

mintyfaglady said:


> Aww, thanks you two, that's really helpful. I found my way over to the thread on the main board about cheap drugs too, so I'm all clued up now.
> 
> These boards are brilliant for finding out stuff like this - I would never have known I could ask to source my own drugs or that asking the GP was a possibility if others hadn't posted here saying they had done so.
> 
> I'm really, really hoping the GP agrees to put it on an NHS prescription. This IVF cycle is going to seriously wipe us out financially and even a little help with the cost would be a big help. Not holding out that much hope though, because we moved recently and this will be my first visit to a new GP, so they'll probably just think I'm a cheeky chancer. My old GP was pretty good - I bet he'd have done it, but it's too late to go back to him as I've had my records moved now. Ah well, it you don't ask, you don't get, as my dad always said!
> 
> Minty
> xxx


This is such a good idea! What clinic are you at? I wonder if LWC would let us get our drugs...anyone know?


----------



## nickidee

Yup - LWC do let you get your drugs. I tried our GP who said 'no'   so got the prescription from a chemist in Peterborough who does them at cost. I'll let you know his details if you are interested.
Nicki


----------



## Mable

My understanding is that the GP will prescribe the drugs if you are entitled to a cycle on the NHS. This will depend on your PCT rules and can be viewed online. If you are entitled to free drugs, you are entitled to a whole free cycle, so that's worth bearing in mind. It is rules, so it shouldn't matter how long you've been registered with the GP, or whatever.

If your GP can't prescribe, you can ask them to prescribe the pill (if you are having that), and cyclogest (or whatever progesterone support you'll be on) as these aren't technically IVF drugs. The pill is free from a chemist and the cyclogest saves you around £6 - not much in the grand scheme of things, but still a saving. Unless you don't pay for prescriptions, and then it's all free.

God I know too much about all this stuff.

And a BIG dose of good luck to JJI (L) x


----------



## CookieSal

Just wanted to check in and say hi.  I am counting the days til the end of this cycle and then will finally get to start my DIUI.  Should be only another week now.


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Ladies it was a  for me today I'm afraid- so back to the drawing board for me!!

Have a good day
L x


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi guys,

Well I am back on the rollercoaster, Have started testing for LH surge this morning, lay awake all night worrying about it- god knows why! It is only peeing on a stick!

We have 12 straws of sibling sperm and are not really sure how far that will go- the clinic have said between 3 and 6 attempts depending on numbers. We might just use this month to practice with the pee sticks and will only go with treatment if we are absolutely 100% sure that I have ovulated, we may not be able to get any more sibling sperm because we have changed clinics.

*JJ1*- I am so so sorry to hear about your BFN, it is definately your turn soon!

*Cookiesal* Good luck for this cycle

*Mable* My GP has point blank refused to prescribe me Cyclogest stating that it is a fertility drug! She just blurbed policy at me when I told her that it was not a strictly a fertility drug! Have had to get a private script from my clinic and shop around for the cheapest place. How are you getting on with TTC no 2?

I hope to get to know you all better once I get used to posting again, I have not really posted over the last two years or so. I apologise for missing anyone out.

Good luck to everyone xx

Kerry


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oh L. So sorry to hear you got another BFN. Gutted for you. Are you going to try again straight away?

Cookie Sal - when's it gonna be? Got AF yet? Bet you can't wait to get started.

Still waiting to hear from the GP about the drugs, but I got my period today, so providing my CD2 bloodwork is up to scratch, IVF here we come!

Minty
xxx


----------



## pipgirl

Good luck Mints!

This is the magic number!

Number 6 upcoming for us.

Luck to all.

Pip


----------



## CookieSal

Sorry it wasn't good news L.  

Kerry - thanks for your good luck wishes.  

Minty - started spotting today so baseline scan booked for Monday morning.  It is going to be soooo weird actually starting after all these months.  Lots of luck with your IVF.  

Pip - hope 6 is your lucky number


----------



## mintyfaglady

It's over before we even got started. I just called the clinic and my FSH level came back as 12!! This was totally unexpected, as it had been only been 9.1 at the end of Feb. I'm totally gutted. I bawled down the phone to the poor nurse, but of course that didn't change a thing - I've just got to call again for CD2 bloodwork next cycle.

I'm so angry with myself and the universe for wasting so much time with our donor and then with IUI. When I started trying 2 years ago my FSH was around 6. I feel sick to think that now I'm finally at the point of IVF, my body may no longer be fit for it.

It feels like the end of the world right now - I can't believe it'll drop low enough for them to agree to treatment.

If you have any tips or tricks on how to get it down for next month, PLEASE share.

Minty


----------



## evelet

what is the optimum FSH level?

how high is too high? 12 doesn't sound massively high. i'm sure Ros's was 11 when she did the IVF for Bruno (unless I've completely confused it with some other result)


----------



## mintyfaglady

They won't go ahead with a long protocol IVF if it's over 10 (though ideally, they like it to be lower). 

Between 10 and 12, they'll consider a short protocol, but they'll only consider that if it's consistently in that range - ie they're not just going to switch me to a short protocol, they want me to test again next CD2 and see if I make the grade for a long protocol cycle (which is better, apparently).

Feeling slightly less miserable now. I know it's not The End, but for heaven's sake, how much more of this do we have to plod our way through. I think it was worse because it was so unexpected. At least when you get a BFN, you're half expecting your period. Another month on the bench, and our next possible test date pushed back to bloody July! It seems so impossibly far away.  

Minty
xxx


----------



## CookieSal

So sorry Minty - it's so rubbish having to wait all the time.  

I've not had the best day either.  Went for my baseline scan and knew straight away something was up.  She was trying to measure a fibroid.  Now bearing in mind I had my broid removed 2 months ago this is not what I was expecting.  My consultant did say that there was a second broid which he had left as it would not interfere with tx so I am hoping it is this one and the scan has just been a bit distorted making it hard to see exactly where it is.  Broids are supposed to take years to grown not weeks - especially as I have only been free of Prostap for around 4 weeks..... so the excitement at finally getting to start my tx is tinged with worry and fear and I am taking my drugs whilst waiting for news from my consultant who will be shown my scan picture on Thursday...if he thinks it is problematic then I will be told to stop drugs and come for more investigation but HOPEFULLY he will say it is what he has seen during the op when obviously he had a clear view of what is there.  Trying to stop the   now and be  

Goodness, this is such a hard, cruel journey


----------



## pipgirl

Oh girls!

Minty; how frustrating for you! I really dont understand where MFS are coming from on some of their rules, there are lots of ladies on FF who have higher levels than yours and get them reduced with drugs...wouldnt down regging do that anyway? Sometimes i think they are too conservative.
Im sorry tx is delayed by another month...the limbo is the worst thing.

Big Hug!

Cookie -  try not to worry, im sure it will all be fine and you will be able to start as planned. Good luck.

We are delayed because follies are grouwing v slowly, which worries me because they grew super fast last time...the two leads are 12mm and 10mm  there is another at around 8 and if it grows at the same rate as the others we will get cancelled. Was hoping to have a tx date today at scan but no such luck, back for another scan on thursday to check progress...on more drugs till sat so iui def not before weekend...hanging on and stressing...ggrrrrrr.

Pip


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Ohh minty so sorry about the FSH, my FSH fluctuates from 5-10.5 and down again! Accupunture can help to lower it and stress can send it !! (so just eradicate that!!!)

I know the devasting feel but next month hopefully it is better, I also do my FSH etc every month and infact on cd 1 my fsh is always lower than cd 2,3. My accpuntcurist is doing a study on the day that you take bloods makes a differance to fsh.
Take care hun.
L x


----------



## nismat

*JJ1 * - b*ll*cks - I'm really sorry about your BFN. Heart-breaking.

*Minty * - how utterly frustrating that you've got a delay. I know that the result must be really worrying, but just because it appears from your 3 readings that you may have a steadily increasing level, it _doesn't _ actually mean that it is definitely the case; you don't have enough readings to be able to detect a true pattern given that FSH results are notoriously changeable from one month to another. You could well just have been particularly unlucky with this test. 
My first FSH reading in April 05 was 8.9 - at which point the clinic (LWC) very rapidly advised me to go to medicated from the get-go (which I wasn't willling to do). When it was next tested in Jan 06 it was only 5.8. I can't find the results of the test that was done at the start of the IVF cycle, but I know that it was higher again, something like 7.5 I think, but still below their "threshold" for proceeding with IVF. According to my lab results, the normal FSH range in the follicular phas is 3.5-12.5. Post menopausal normal range is 26-135k

*CookieSal * - oh hell; I really hope that this broid at the baseline scan is nothing to worry about. Fingers crossed for happy news for you tomorrow, to be able to proceed.

*Pipgirl * - hope that you get the news that you want tomorrow too, for just 2 good-sized follies.

We've got our first IVF consultation booked with the fertility nurse at our new clinic (ISIS in Colchester) for May 13th, where we'll see what tests I need before we can get started, and also whether it's likely to be as straightforward as getting the tests done (and getting the sperm moved) and then being able to start pretty much straight away, or whether we have to wait for a treatment slot or something. No idea at the moment but I'm really hoping that we'll be able to get going quickly and start stimming in July/August. That's my main concern for the appointment; finding out about the timing, and also whether they'll be able to give any indication as to drugs protocol this time around. I want to ask if a short protocol might produce more eggs, but I've no idea whether I would "qualify" for this - don't even really know what it involves! I was on 200iu Puregon, rising to 300iu, on the previous (long protocol) IVF cycle, and got 5 eggs. Hoping for a better response this time, although I know that quality is more important than quantity (it was my positive-thinking mantra last time around). Getting excited about it all already


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi Guys,

Well I have been testing since day 9 for my LH surge, I am on day 14 now and still nothing!!!! I have phoned the clinic and they have said to test tomorrow and then if its still a no show- stop and start again next month! AAAGH how frustrating! I was really hoping to start this month. Even more frustrating is that my new clinic dont do scans so I really do have no idea what is going on inside my body. 

Wow Tamsin- by the time my LH surge shows up, we might end up being 2ww buddies again- good luck.

Sorry for no more personals, am still trying to get to know everyone again.

Best wishes,
Kerry


----------



## mintyfaglady

Lots going on, though I'm sad to see so much of it is not the best of news for you guys.

CookieSal, what a nightmare to have this possibility of a second problematic broid hanging over you, after all you've been through to get to this point. I'm hoping like hell that your consultant sees nothing to worry about and you get to go ahead with your treatment.

Pip - sending you follie growing vibes! A cancellation is not what you need, so grow you little buggers, grow!

L, it's interesting what you say about the possibility of the day they take the sample affecting the level of FSH. I always seem to get my period in the afternoon, so my CD2 is more like CD2 and a half. Maybe this time round I'll massage the start date. I'm sure if I jump around enough I can get it to come before lunch! 

Tamsin, how exciting that you're getting started for number 2! That's flown, huh?

Bagpuss - did you get your surge? I hope so. How frustrating for it not to show when you were ready to get started.

I've picked up a few tips on trying to reduce the FSH and given that it seems to be jumping around rather than continuously increasing, I'm semi-hopeful that we'll get the green light next cycle. I hate that they're so arbitrary in their rules though - on the last stim cycle, also with a high CD2 FSH level, on the lowest dose of injectable FSH, I had 6 follicles, so I clearly do respond to the drugs, but that doesn't seem to be important. Well, what do I know?

Minty
xxx


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Minty when I was having this cycle I knew that if AF was late it would cause issues as my donor was going abroad to teach for a few days. I went to accpuncture and told the therapist (who wasn't my usual as he was on AL) that I wanted AF on time, well goodness knows what she did but it arrived 5 days early and the following day! The cycle timings worked out perfectly for us. Acpuncture if done by a fertility therapist can help in getting FSH down.
L x


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi Guys,

*MInty* Thanks for your good wishes. I have surged this morning- but we have decided not to go for it. This month has been pretty rushed and we have had a lot going on so we have made to painful decision to use this month as a practice with the OPKs and try properly next month. I have to admit, I am a bit gutted but my head says that it is the right thing to do even if my heart is screaming to go for it! I dont really know much about FSH but I thought the levels could be changeable month to month. I hope you get this sorted out- fingers crossed.

*CookieSal* Sorry to hear about the possibility that the fibroid is rearing its ugly head. I really hope this is not the case and that you can just get on with making babies!

*pip* Get those follies growing !!!!

I am getting there with the personals.

Hope everyone else is okay,

Kerry


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

bagpuss that is odd then saying test tomorrow, I have 28 day cycle but sometime didn't ovulate or get LH surge till cd18  when I was ready to give up and thought the opk was malfunstioning.
L x


----------



## pipgirl

Hi chicks

L -  same for me, ive often had pos opk on day 17 or 18 in a 30+ cycle...i wouldnt have thought it mattered when you ovulate, just that you do.

Cheers everyone for the growth vibes. Hope it has wroked, going in  the morining for scan to see about progress. I doubt were going to be on any more fsh now as they are unlikely to grow much from tomorrow onwards, i just pray that one at least is the right size now!
Am a bit scared again about the '3 mature follicles' scenario. V anxious to get it over with.
Got friends over for tea tonight so should help to take our minds off it.

Phew, just got to get throough today.

Pip.

Best to all cycling at the mo.


----------



## bagpuss1

Thanks for your replies girlies,

I have a sneeky suspiscion that she said to stop testing so that it didnt run into the weekend!!! my clinic only do IUI on a saturday morning!

*PiP* Good luck for your scan-hope our growing vibes have helped!

Kerry


----------



## pipgirl

Cheers bagpuss!

Hope so.

I am worried about the third follie which was about 8mm when last scanned. Hoping it wont have gotten much biiger by tomorrow or we get cancelled...the only thing is what is considered mature?
I know for iui they prefer 18 and over, but at what size can egg release?


Does anyone know?

Pip


----------



## CookieSal

Quick update ladies - it seems a bit confusing but this broid has apparently been resected as far as can be so I have been told to have a go at treatment.  I don't quite understand how this is the case as it wasn't what I thought I was told after the op    I thought everything had been removed but clearly there was still some in the lining that couldn't be completely ousted.  Anyway I am trusting my consultant that he wouldn't tell me to proceed if things were not going to go well so I am trying to forget about the broid and be as positive as I can.  Why does this all have to be so complicated? ? ? 

I have a scan tomorrow to check my follies - what size should I expect them to be on day 7?

Good luck for your scan tomorrow Pip - hope your follies are behaving themselves.

Bagpuss - fingers crossed that you're all systems go next month. 

Minty - hope your FSH calms down a bit - why does this all have to be sooooo bloomin hard? 

Sorry if I have missed anyone - love and   to you all xxxxx


----------



## pipgirl

Cookie -  If you respond well to the jabs your lead follie/s should be between 6-10mm. But dont worry if they are still small..mine were on day 8 and after a couple more days stimming have a big juicy one.

Basting monday. Only one dominant follie now, the other two stopped growing Phew.

How is everyone else doing? Nobody on the 2ww at the mo?

Hope everyone has a nice weekend

Pip.

Happy Passover for anyone celebrating. Shalom Khaverim.


----------



## pipgirl

Me again!

Turns out we are getting basted tomorrow now! The follie is impatient and i have surged already!

Got to rush home to do the trigger shot!

See you ladies later, off to the 2ww!

Pip


----------



## CookieSal

Well my follies aren't hanging around either - CD 7 and we had 4 on each side with the biggest 3 being 15mm, 13mm and 12mm.  Next scan is Monday with basting planned for Wed.

Good luck Pip


----------



## some1

Hello

Just popped over from the Single Women's thread and wanted to pass some information onto Minty about FSH.  One of the SW girls (Mellabella) just got her day 2 and day 3 blood results back (not sure why she had them 2 days running) on day 2 FSH was 10.5 and on day 3 it was 15 (I think those numbers are right) - not sure if that changes things at all for you, but it is certainly very interesting - I never realised how much it could fluctuate!

Good luck to CookieSal and PipGirl for you 2ww - sending you lots of   

Some1

xx


----------



## CookieSal

Thanks some1 - muchly appreciated


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oooh thanks some1! My CD2 is usually more like CD2 and a half, cos my period usually starts in the afternoon so they call the following day CD1. Seems a bit arbitrary, but that's how they do it - only red in the morning means it counts as CD1.

Maybe I'll stretch the truth about CD1 a little next time and see if that makes a difference!

Minty
xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Afternoon all, how are you feeling?  What rubbish weather huh?

I'm feeling pretty miserable if I'm honest - I don't believe this cycle will work because of the broid or whatever it is that's sitting at the top of my womb despite the great looking follies    Anyone got any success stories or words of wisdom to encourage me?


----------



## morggy1824

The weather is always rubbish. 
It's hard to stay positive..sending you    

I have my initial consultation with Mr A at St Judes (newcastle) on April 29th...
Hopefully he'll tell me which tests we need (my GP will do some fingers crossed.) Which treatment he advises, & how much it'll cost  

My wife & i were      at just making the appointment! Imagine what we'll be like if   comes along!
It's our 1st Baby Step.

Take care ladies


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

CookieSal- sending you some     Hope the cycle goes well.  Keep your chin up!!
L x


----------



## Veela

Good luck Cookiesal and Pipgirl!


----------



## CookieSal

Thanks ladies, next scan tomorrow at 12 midday - fingers crossed x


----------



## pipgirl

Hey Cookie

The sizes sound great for cycle day 7!!

Wow, youll be basting early i guess.

Good luck and dont worry about the fibroid, they are obviously not worried or they would have abandonned after the scan.
Im sure it wont make any difference. 

Hi to everyone else and thanks for the good luck messages.

Queation: After iui does anyone elses tummy swell up like a beachball? This has happened to me every time. The proceedure was quite easy but i always get this and was wondering if it was a normal side effect?

Cheers.
Pip


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Pipgirl- Hope this is the one for you!! Take care 
L X


----------



## CookieSal

Battery hen checking in - as predicted by my dear mother I am up for follie reduction this Wednesday with my insemination.  I had 10 follies today - at least 6 of them fighting for the top 3 positions.  I think the biggest was either 21mm or 24mm, 2 were at 19mm, 1 at 18mm and 2 more were 17mm with goodness knows how many others chasing their tails!  

Karen is as practical as ever - the fact that she probably won't be there helps her to say, "well we knew it wouldn't be plain sailing, now stop drinking so much bloody water!!"  Women, honestly!


----------



## pipgirl

Oh my goodness!

Imagine if you had got basted without knowing that!

I guess thats how there were so many quints and stuff in the 80's!

Good luck for tomorrow, welcome to the horrible 2ww!

Pip


----------



## CookieSal

Fingers crossed, got niggling feeling I may have ovulated already - not sure what the likelihood of that is when on the drugs but I was suspicious of a spot of blood on Monday afternoon which was long before my HCG....guess the scan tomorrow will be the telling point.


----------



## CookieSal

Somewhat traumatic follie reduction and IUI - ended up on the emergency gynae ward for a few hours as the procedure made me poorly.  Anyway aside from some light bleeding and wrecked tummy muscles (must have been fighting the procedure through the sedation) I am much better today and am now on my 2WW.  I guess it is very unlikely it will work after all this but quite frankly it's a miracle I have got this far!


----------



## Dee

*Cash prizes on offer .... http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=135195.0*


----------



## pipgirl

Oh dear -  poor thing!

It is similar to EC and an invasive thing to go through.

V uncomfortable for you i bet.

Hope things settle down now and you can relax as much as possible, dont try to do too much for the 2ww...good luck.
We are nearly halfway now yawn.

Pip


----------



## CookieSal

Thanks Pip, thinking of you too xxxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Sal - poor you, all sounds a bit traumatic! I hope it was worth it and you get a BFP in 2 weeks!

Good luck to you and Pip.

Minty
xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Thanks minty - got to be honest, after all I have gone through these past 10 days it will be a total miracle if I got a BFP.  Still I feel it was an achievement to get this far this time.


----------



## CookieSal

Ladies, yet again I am troublesome.  Went to bed last night and started to feel really shivery and funny.  This morning I still feel rough - my temperature is up and my bones and joints are hurting.  Is this likely to be connected to tx or am I just unlucky?


----------



## lotty1

Hi all
Just thought i would have a break for a while so not posted in awhile but have been checking in from time to time. 
Minty sorry to hear that ya treatment was postponed r ya trying again next month?
Cookie Sal sorry to hear that ur having difficult time not sure about your symptoms as not had that procedure.
pipgirl all the best with this tx.
and to all others i have missed good luck with all the procedures.
well i am just enjoying the break but will start on ivf on the next period probably the beginning of May. If i am honest i am not looking forward to this at all but here goes i can all but try. I keep telling myself that at least i will know if there is anything wrong with my eggs if bfn so there is a positive.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Yay! Lottie's back! How have you been love? You realise we'll be IVFing together (hopefully)? That makes it a bit more exciting. I've been posting on this thread of folks starting the same time: http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=138538.0

They're a nice bunch - come and join us!

I went back to see my GP again today about the possibility of some help funding the drugs or treatment, now that I'm considered infertile and all. She said she needs to put an appeal forward to the exceptions panel on my behalf and see if they will approve me, so fingers crossed. If this IVF fails, they might pay for another go too! Is that something you.anyone else has tried?

love to all,
Minty
xxx


----------



## lotty1

Hi Minty
 yes i am back you cannot keep me down for long  it does seem we should be starting at the same time, an ivf buddy brill!! see thats one positive.
re the dr's and costs we have not looked into that option as when i first approached re treatment lets say it was a disaster so to fight for treatment is just another stress for me so not opted to pursue. I may undertake this if this cycle fails. 
yes i will have a look at the other new thread  
hope all  ok with you x


----------



## pipgirl

Hey Lotty and Mints!

How you both doing? I will probably be joining you for IVF in May as im nearly at the end of my 2ww and have been told i can go striaght into ivf provided bloods are ok on day 2...hoping dont have to get to this but chances are that i will. Nothing different to the other 5 2ww's!

Not going to be down about it though, heres hoping for all of us!

Pip


----------



## pipgirl

What did i say about not being down about it?

Of course i am.
BFN this morning.
Tested early as was getting AF cramps and now it is all over and i am just waiting to call the clinic and tell them it has failed.

We are both so low after this latest disapointment. It hurts so much.

Just praying af shows tomorrow and we can move on.
Am SO angry, i wanted to move to IVF after 4 fails and they wouldnt let me. Icant understand why when its our money (that we dont have much of) and the two med iui would have paid for an ivf. Surely its my decision to go through an 'invasive proceedure' isnt it? Were they just milking us for every penny or what? I knew that a 6th go wouldnt work, its not going to work after 5 is it?

I am sick of always having to post BFN while others get BFP left right and centre...why cant it be our turn, why?

I am seriously considering not posting on FF again, it dosnt help me cope, it makes me more obsessed and jealous of other people (while i am happy for them believe me).
I know it sounds stupid but the more happy stories i hear the more i believe it cant happen for us.

Absolutley gutted and dont know how i am going to geth through the next six weeks.

Pip


----------



## CookieSal

So sorry Pip, I completely understand the emotions you are feeling.     Sometimes I dread seeing others BFPs - not because I am not happy for them but because for some reason I feel that if they get positives that it makes my chances less.....it doesn't make sense but it's the way I feel   

I think you are right to be angry about being made to have 6 against your better judgement.  We have been told 3 - but to be honest if this doesn't work (and I am fairly certain it hasn't) then I am seriously considering asking to go straight to IVF.  The trauma of this experience makes the lower odds pointless IMO so I may aswell move straight to the more invasive tx with the higher odds if I am going to suffer anyway.  (obviously this is once they have decided what the deal is with the dark blob on my scan)  

Do a test on official test day though hunni - I'm not questioning whether you know your own body but my clinic are adamant that you have to test anyway just in case.  

So sorry you're having such a rough time. xxxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oh Pip, so sorry hon. And I don't blame you for being mad. It seems unfair somehow, when other clinics seem to work to different rules, that your makes you jump through hoops. It might be considered best medical practice, but it's not fair that they ignore the financial implications when that's obviously such a massive factor for their patients. And it's not like we can just take our business elsewhere, either.

I'm sorry too that you're finding it unhelpful to come on here. I think different things work for different people and if this is making it worse for you and you feel like you need to take a step back from it and us on yourself quietly or whatever, then absolutely that's what you should do. We'd miss you though! You know you can get in touch any time you want though - PM or email me.

My period started this afternoon, so I'll be going back for CD2 bloodwork on Tuesday, hoping for a lower FSH level and a green light to try an IVF cycle. If you're in on the same day, we should try and meet up. Let me know if you're up for it.

Hang in there.

Minty
xxx


----------



## mary1971

am new here and ant advice welcome

my partner and me are ttc with diui first attenpt. on dreaded 2ww and its hard.


----------



## CookieSal

Just a quick message from me - blood in CM this morning - probably the beginning of the end.  
Sx


----------



## pipgirl

Dear Girls..

thanks for the messages of support.

I think i have made up my mind not to use FF anymore. Although it will be hard and i may look in from time to time i will not post a 2ww diary or messages about our ivf. 
I am very fragile at the moment and think i will become too obsessed with everything if i do.

I hope everyone's tx goes well and good luck to all.

Goodbye.

Pipgirl and DP.
XXXXXXXXXX


----------



## magsandemma

Pipgirl

Bless you, I really hope things go well for you with your IVF cycle, just take things easy and try to relax hun, really hope things happen for you girls soon, its so frustrating I remember when we where trying everywhere I looked there was a bump!!!!

I see that a few of you girls have been saying that your clinics wont let you do IVF until you have done a certain number of IUI, why is this, we went straight to ICSI at our clinic IUI was an option but it was up to us if we started there or if we started with IVF/ICSI, surely if your the paying customer the choice should be yours??

Anyhow enough waffling good luck all.

Cookiesal  -  Its not over yet hun, just wanted to wish you luck for test day hun.

Good luck to anyone else on 2ww or in treatment at the mo.

Maggie
xx


----------



## Mable

Hi everyone,

Good luck Mary on your first 2ww - hope it's your only one!

Fingers crossed for CookieSal and your spotting...

Bye bye and good luck to Pip and DP - you must let us know if your IVF is successful (I'm sure you won't be able to contain your excitment). It is very difficult feeling jealous of other people's BFPs isn't it.

We had our follow-up appointment at the clinic today and DP is starting IVF - well, in anticipation, she has already started the pill so is due for EC around middle of June. For a very nearly 40 year old, her FSH was lower than it was 3 years ago (in the 4s), so that's a good sign, although they've got her on 450 FSH and she'll have 3 embryos put back in because she's SO ancient.

So, although I feel very sad that it's not me who is pregnant, it feels kind of exciting to be cycling again without actually going through it personally. The doctor doesn't understand why it hasn't worked for me yet and that I should keep trying because my eggs are good and I got good blastocysts. But money and time are tight and the constant rounds of treatment and BFNs take their toll.

Fingers crossed for everyone, especially those on the long haul.
Mable


----------



## mintyfaglady

Pip and partner - take care and come tell us when you finally get the good news you deserve.

Mary, welcome - I've added you to the Who's Who list. Good luck on your wait.

Maggie - our clinic is very "by the book". They seem to follow NICE guidelines for best practice to the letter and the guidelines are based solely on best medical practice, least invasive treatment and so on, without really taking into consideration what people want or can afford. They really don't like to budge from them, but they are only guidelines and I guess other clinics don't feel the need to follow them so closely.

Great news for us today - my FSH came back at 8.6 this month, down from 12 last cycle, when they cancelled our IVF because it was too high. This lower result means we can go ahead this time and have IVF and I should have my schedule by the end of the week! Well, that's the first hurdle out of the way!

Minty
xxx


----------



## lotty1

Hope you get this message pip i am so sorry that you are having a difficult time keep in there, i understand fully your feelings just do what you need to get you through the txx but we are here if you need anything. 
re the number of times re iui it does seem a little unfair about the inconsistantancy about the proctocol at the different clinics however although i had 12 iui i have to say that was my decision as i struggled with ivf as they kept telling me all is in working order so did not want to pursue. oh how things can change!!!!!!!!!!!
Minty glad u have a good fsh score good luck let this be your turn you def deserve some luck. Not sure if i can follow this month gutted.... should have come on fully today and you guessed it the only time since beginning treatment i am late. typical might have been inpregnated in my dreams laugh. No seriously no reason as to why i am late think it must be stress. The problem is that i am going to London on fri and not returning until late sunday so i cannot have bloods done in time if i am assuming correctly. Can they test later or are they strict with the time? If i do get the go ahead we may even cross paths in the lovely waiting room which i know so well!!!!!
Hi Mary Good luck with your 2ww
Hi Mable and partner all the best with ivf 
xx


----------



## Mable

Great news about your FSH Minty!! Well done to you and your hormones. Good luck for your IVF, do let us know how you are getting on.


----------



## CookieSal

BFN for me - AF has well and truly arrived now.


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

CookieSal so sorry that it didn't work out for you this time
L x


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oh CookieSal, sorry love.


----------



## lotty1

sorry to hear you got your a/f


----------



## lotty1

hi minty just to let ya know i am following you with ivf this month. I was really late just got in on time but had to be at clinic 7.30 fri and then 11am train from leeds 2 london laugh . Cannot belief that i made it i must be mad!!!! anyway got results that day and got the go ahead so now just on the waiting period before i start jabbing cannot wait.............. not! xx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Lotty!

I'm starting my jabs for IVF on the 30th of this month!! ( :  When do you start!? What clinic are you with?

Love Lou x


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi Guys,

I am back on the rollercoaster again! following last months trial run with the OPKs I am now having my first IUI tomorrow. 

Cant stop thinking about it- in fact I can easily say that I am quite scared. I feel like I have been waiting for this for so long and as we have such limited supplies of our little white men, it is really daunting.

Will post tomorrow with how it went.

Good luck to everyone else.

Kerry


----------



## Mable

Good luck Kerry,
It's so difficult TTC isn't it, let alone for a sibling with such money, sperm, emotional and physical space shortages. I was thinking today that we started TTC for a sibling a year and a half ago and we have enough money left for 2 more IVF attempts and that's it. We started TTC at a time when the other parents in our baby circle thought we were mad to even consider it, we knew about the long haul. Now we are nearly the last to not have conceived a sibling. And we face the fact that we may never.

Sorry, don't want to be depressing. I'm sure these concerns don't just go through my head.

Anyway, wishing you much luck for your IUI and do keep us posted. E starts downregging next week.
Mable


----------



## starfish3

Hi All

Mable - thanks for your comments about timing for sibling for Monty. How old was he when you started trying. Jaxson is 3 months old now and I have just been told by my clinic I can start trying again anytime from now, since its months since my caesarian. Our friends think I am mad but I just cant wait to try again (although now DP has agreed, I am beginning to recall all the stressful things about TTC, 2WW, bleeding in first trimester, thinking about failure etc). Think sibling for Jaxson would be great but have been totally surprised by physcial drive to have another baby, which started the day after Jaxson was born.. wasnt expecting that.

Reality with money, age, job/training is the sooner the better.. we have 6 grade A embies left. Really need to increase my fitness level and shed some weight first though because I need to optimise my health since I am now 45 (must be the oldest lesbian around here TTC?)... but you are only as old as you feel (excluding egg status of course).

So started my diet full on today and hope to be back on the bandwagon again in a couple of months.

Good luck and best wishes to everyone, positive thoughts do help
Cheers
Sharyn in NZ


----------



## lotty1

hi lou
i start on the 28th MAY if my scan is all clear. At Mfs Manchester and you? Is this your 1st ivf?
xx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Lotty!

I'm at the LWC! I start DR on 30th May!! Are you starting DR on 28th?! 

Good Luck with your scan.  

Yep...it's my first IVF! Is it your first? 

xx


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Kerry wishing you the best of luck with your IUI
L x


----------



## lotty1

hi lou yeah its dr on 28th and its my 1st ivf soooooooooooo scared! Had a lovely time off treatment  since(iui) so not looking 4ward to getting back on the rollacoster but here goes xxx
good luck xx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Lotty!

Wow you and me too then eh!!  Do you wanna be cycle buddies then..we'll only be two days apart!?  

I'm scared to....dunno what to expect from all the drugs etc!  

We're doing egg share at the same time. Are you?

Have you been diagnosed with any specific fertility probs? 
We still haven't decided on sperm lol! It's so hard choosing with such limited details! Have you got a known donor or did you have to choose sperm from a list of basic characteristics too!? 

Love Lou xx


----------



## bagpuss1

Thanks for your kind words guys, I really appreciate it.

IUI went well, 81% motility- something like 11 million, they only had to use two straws which means we have another 5 tries after this one with sibling sperm- money permitting that is!!

Have started my cyclogest today and certainly do not remember being this windy before! (sorry TMI).

*Mable* I know what you mean about the all round pressure to have a sibling for our children. We only have money for a few cycles of IUI so goodness knows where the money will come from if/when we convert to IVF. I hope the downregging goes okay, keep us updated.

Good luck to everyone else embarking on this rollercoaster!

Kerry, Helen and Edie


----------



## lotty1

hi lou ,cycle buddies sounds good 2 me ,also Minty is having her ist  ivf also so we are not alone.
re egg share we have decided not to pursue this option but to be honest not sure if the clinic offers this choice. 
in answer to your other question i have been told that i have no fertility problems after all the tests so its bloody frustrating and expensive i was always a slow starter 
Using donor sperm not known after alot of discussions.
xx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey guys - I'm back from France with a lovely tan! Missed you all. 

Lotty and Lou, how exciting that we'll all be IVFing together (and Mable's E at the same time too!). My first appointment is in 23rd May and I'm expecting to be told to start downregging that evening. Drugs arrive tomorrow.

Been a naughty girl on my hols - lots of red wine and soft cheese and coffee. Well, when in France... All back to normal (boring) tomorrow.

Much love, Minty
xxx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Lotty and Minty!!

Oooo how exciting we'll be going through this together near enough then!  

Minty what clinic are you at? Are you egg sharing as well or not? I'm dreading the egg collection op! Plus I am bound to have hiccups I reckon as I have to produce a minimum of 8 eggs so I can share....if my recipient isn't 'ready' when I am then we'll be delayed a few days here and there..... finger's crossed though! 

I'v already got my drugs and needles sitting in the kitchen cupboard lol! DP has been practising on me already! I convinced her to let me give her a jab too as in my opinion it's only fair!! (don't worry there was nothing in the needle lol!)   

Anyway...keep me updated! This contraceptive pill I'm on is sure doing strange things to me.... headaches, dry skin, and I've been spitting venom evidently!  

Speak soon 
Lou xxxx


----------



## lotty1

Hi Minty
 France sounds soooooo good its great having a hol. Don't blame ya re wine and coffee i ahve been indulging myself too 
Good luck on 23rd will be thinking about you are you having a scan b4 ? Anyway our paths may finally cross in the waiting room 
Anyway my drugs were delivered today what a shock there are loads, had palpatations looking at the needles sorry am a wimp but i do not like taking paracetamols so mlooking at all the boxes and things blow my mind  oh what have i done? feel like i am sat on a scary ride waiting to set off. Sorry being a drama queen!!!!! must keep calm  
Hi Lou
I like ya thinking i may even jab my misses  also scared about egg collection. Just wondered if anyone can answer me this question do they take the eggs from both overies? 
Hi MAPLE are you on the same timing or ru ahead of us three am a little confused sorry! trying to keep up with all is difficult at times
xx
good luck to all others


----------



## SANFRAN06

Hi lotty,
Just to say that i found egg collection absolutly fine. They do take from both ovaries, but honestly it was ok. I felt no pain, was all a bit of a whirl! Had v v mild pain afterwards, only had 8 collected though, not sure if that makes a difference. You will be fine, and the buzz of moving onto the next step will help.
Thinking of you and good luck
x


----------



## lou1736

Hi Lotty,

How many choices of donors were you offered at your clinic to choose from!?

Good luck Mable (when do you start?!)

Lots of Love to all

Lou xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hi Lou, I'm at MFS Manchester, same as Lotty. We're not doing egg share as I'm now too ancient to be considered for it, though I wasn't when we first started trying - we just weren't thinking about IVF at that point. What happens if you don't get more than 8 eggs? Does the recipient get them all? Or do you get to use them but have to pay for the full price of the cycle? Poor you being on the pill. Assume that's to get you in sync with your recipient? I was on it for a while in my twenties and it turned me into a crazy axe murderer!

Still waiting for my drugs to arrive. They said before 12, but I hoped they'd be here earlier. The poor dog is fed up waiting for his walk! Sad person that I am, I'm glad that they're all injectables - I know that some women are prescribed a nasal spray for down regging and I hate sniffing nasal sprays so I'm glad it's the jabs. I didn't find them a problem at all for the two stim IUI cycles we did - it was surprisingly easy and painless and a little bit exciting! Not looking forward to the egg collection either, though I quite like the idea of having a few days off work and lounging in bed getting looked after!

Can't wait to get started. I'm actually feeling excited about it now.

Minty
xxx


----------



## Mable

The wife starts downregging *tonight!* It's wierdly exciting not going through it myself and yet having the possibility of a pregnancy at the end of it.

I've been trying to gather some dates together -

IVF-ers
*Edith* - downregging 21st May
*Minty* - downregging 23rd May
*Lou* - on the pill, starts downregging 30th May
*Lotty* - downregging

IUI-ers  
*Kerry* - 2ww,  
*Cookiesal* - DIUI June

Preparing to start
*Nismat* - IVF in July/August
*Sharyn*
If you'd like, post your dates and I'll correlate them.


----------



## pem

Hi Ladies!!

Lots of you on here now, thought i would pop on and wish you all loads and loads and loads of luck and       for your impending/current cycles!

Promise not to invade again, just wanted to wish you all well!!



Emma x


----------



## nismat

*Mable * - wishing you & Edith both lots and lots of luck for this IVF cycle. Everything crossed that it all goes well for Edith, and that you do conceive a sib for Monty  

*Kerry * - hope you're stress levels aren't too unbearably high now you're in the 2ww. Good numbers from your IUI! Fingers crossed for you  

*Minty * - I'm so pleased for you that you're finally getting to start on the IVF.

*Lou * and *Lotty * - good luck to both of you too!

Egg collection wasn't any kind of issue for me (only had 5 though). I had sedation, which I imagined meant that I might be aware of what was going on. Not in the slightest - I was completely out of it and don't remember a thing! Basically, they collect eggs from wherever they can see a follicle (not every follicle will contain an egg though, and they may not all be mature). I felt a bit woozy for a few hours after EC, but didn't even feel sore particularly afterwards. Soreness is much more likely if you've got more eggs, as they'll have to do rather more probing around to get them all out. And if you've produced lots, you may suffer some degree of hyperstimulation, with unpleasant swelling/bloating etc. (you can get this without actually suffering OHSS itself). Poor Mable can no doubt tell you much more about that 

Which drugs are you all on, and what initial levels? I did Puregon for my last IVF cycle; will probably switch to something else this time, to see if we can get a better response.

Things are moving ahead for us; we had our first meeting with the new clinic last Tuesday and I am so happy we are changing clinics. It's a smaller local clinic, and the atmosphere felt completely different. Much friendlier and more personal, less of a big money-making operation. The old clinic (LWC) wasn't un-friendly, but you did feel like just another patient on the conveyor belt.

What's particularly great is that all the treatment options that I wanted to ask about (upping my drugs dosage, considering short protocol, changing which drugs I use, very close monitoring, aiming for blast transfer etc.) are things that they tend to do as standard.

Even better, my GP agreed to get all my initial blood tests & chlamydia swab done for free on the NHS, so that's saved us about £450 compared to if we'd had them done at the clinic. We're still reckoning that we will be spending around £5k on the cycle though, including freezing of embryos/blasts if we get enough.

I had my cd2-5 bloods done yesterday (plus HIV/Hep B+C), then I've got to have cd21 progesterone in 2 1/2 wks. We've then got plenty of time to get the results before our appointment to see the consultant on 20th June, at which point we'll decide on drugs protocol etc. Basically, we should be doing IVF in July/August - woohoo!

Actually, it's almost happening scarily fast this time around. Of course I'm now panicking about the possibility of multiple babies, how we'll cope with growing our family, whether it's "fair" on Toby (age gap issues etc.), and whether I'm completely bonkers to be contemplating returning to newborn exhaustion (plus toddler in tow) at all!  But when it comes down to basics, we definitely want our family to be more than just one child, and there's no "perfect" age gap, so given mine and Karen's ages, we're better just getting on with it I think.


----------



## lou1736

Hi Mable,

We start down regging on 30th May!!  

Good luck to you   

Love Lou xxx


----------



## nickster

Wow - it's all happening on here then. Good luck to you all... keeping my fingers very tightly crossed for IVF joy left right and and centre!


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi guys,

*Tamsin and Nickster* Thank you so much for your good wishes- I am on day 5 of my 2ww today and am feeling quite chilled out- this time seems to have been alot easier than when we were TTC Edie- keep getting pg symptoms (real or imaginary) but just keep managing my anxieties by reminding myself that it is just the Cyclogest playing tricks on me. Am feeling quite lonely on here though as I seem to be the only one who is in the 2ww through DIUI.

Better get back to work,

Kerry


----------



## TerriWW

Hi everyone

Haven't really posted on here for ages as we've had a gap in treatment whilst sorting a few things out but we are starting again soon.

We had our first try at  conceive a sibling for Angus 2 years 9 months ago when angus was 3 months old! Julia my partner was trying (I carried angus). After 6 failed IUIs, 2 failed IVFs and one failed FET, we were told that Julia has a very small chance of getting pregnant due to a thin lining. So we took some time out to decide what to do (possible adopiton) and we are now back to trying again but with Julia's embryos and my uterus! 

We are at clinic next wednesday hoping to start on julia's next cycle ie in the cycle starting towards the end of june so starting downregulating midjuly ish.

It feels a bit bizarre in someways to be doing it this way. But it is the ideal solution to our problems. Just got to hope it works! 

Hope all is going well to everyone else. 

Good luck to all.

Terri


----------



## lou1736

Hi Terri!

Wow good luck with your treatment fingers crossed for you!   The way you are actually doing it is what we would like to do too. This time round it's just me having IVF with donor sperm but hopefully for a sibling we'd love to use my partner's eggs to be put inside me but I carry the baby, not her. That way she also has biological offspring but without the pregnant bit! Can I ask you how expensive this treatment is and what clinic you're at? And what the proceedure/journey involves please?
We start DR on the 30th of this month for our first IVF!  

Take Care
Lou xxx


----------



## some1

Excuse me butting in on your thread - I am an interloper from next door (single women's thread) and just wanted to say hello to kerry as you're feeling a bit DIUI 2ww lonely!  There are a few singles on DIUI 2wws at the moment - I've just finished mine and got an unbelievable BFP ! (was so sure it was a BFN) - feel free to pop in on our thread if you want to chat to others in the same boat.

Lots of     to everyone!

Some1

xx


----------



## bagpuss1

Oh some1,

Thanks you so much for your thoughts, it means alot- I think I am very gradually going mad! I have started imagining all sorts of symptoms and am really having to keep myself in check. I just have to keep telling myself that its the drugs (although I am only having cyclogest) and that it is far far too early! it seems to be the only way that I am going to get through this 2ww intact!!!

Many many congratulations on you BFP and I will come and join you guys and see if I can find my sanity there!!!!

Love,
a slowly losing me marbles Kerry


----------



## TerriWW

Hi Lou

thanks for the post. I think the main thing I should tell you is that we are only doing this because Julia is unable to carry a pregnancy. The clinic would not just let us chose to do this ie it's not just because julia doesn't want to carry. And I think most clinics would be the same as it's to do with the ethical guidelines. But, if you do end up going down that route, you both downregulate as per ivf. The egg donor stimulates as per normal ivf but the recipient takes the drugs that thicken the lining (eostrogen etc). Eggs are retrieved and fertilised as per normal ivf but put back into recipient instead.

It's costing us 5000 to 5500 ish all in. We have spent so much money on all this!

Good luck 

Terri


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

terri I think it is fantastic that you are Julia can do this. I also have lining issues and never manage to get my lining thick enough even though I carry on with all my IVF cycles- am currently on a monitored cycle using oestrogen patches and viagra suppositories. Also I don't produce great amount of eggs Most clinic I have spoken to several clinics and have all been fine about surrogacy.

L x


----------



## CookieSal

Quick update for the list.  I saw my consultant this morning and had a 3D scan - the fibroid they can see on the ultra sound is residual from the one they removed and as it is not distorting the cavity too much I have the green light to go ahead.  DIUI number 2 to commence mid June. x

Love and good wishes to all of you on this rainy bank holiday. xxxx


----------



## lou1736

Hello to everyone on this soggy wet bank holiday monday!!  

Minty- how's the downregging going for you?? Hope all is good  

Lotty- wishing you lots of luck with your downregging in a couple of days.... fingers crossed! I'll be following you on the 30th!    Let me know how you get on!! DP is worried about the side effects and keeps telling me it's a good job she loves me lol. I've already got a quick temper as it is! 

Good Luck and love to everyone.   

Lou xxx


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi everyone- 4 days til testing and think I have gone completely mad!!! I keep having conversations in my head about whether I should test early and so far have managed to stop myself. Today feels really hard as I tested this early when I fell pregnant with Edie.

All sorts of symptoms have come and gone- period was due yesterday and no sign of it so far. I am taking Cyclogest so that would be the reason for that then!

God- I wish I could fast forward a few days!

Sorry- I do sound a bit mad dont I?

Good luck to everyone else,

Kerry


----------



## Mable

Good luck Kerry - the last few days before testing are awful aren't they. Keeping fingers crossed for you to be first time lucky!


----------



## lou1736

Lots and lots and lots of luck and     Kerry. Fingers crossed for you! You must be going out of your mind....I know I would be and probably wouldn't be able to wait!!   

Take Care
Lou xxx


----------



## CookieSal

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you chick.  I didn't get to test day on my only cycle so far and have no idea how I could have waited if AF hadn't appeared.  Stay strong and lots of   coming your way. x


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi guys, thankyou so much for your lovely wishes, I really apreciate it.

AF turned up today so spoiled it for us!! Am feeling remarkably okay about it, on to the next IUI in June.

Mable, I remember when you were trying, you said something about feeling like you missed out on two precious weeks with Monty during your 2ww. I have to say that I really can see where you were coming from now- I feel like I dreamed/ dissasociated my way through this 2ww. I have really got to buck my ideas up as I could be doing this for sometime to come, that is alot of time to miss out on your little ones life! I hope DP is getting on okay with downregging.

Have spoken to my clinic and this is day one, my nurse has suggested that I dont take cyclogest in my next cycle ( I was really only taking it because it worked the first time I used it before) she feels that there is no clinical reason for me to take it and to be honest I have had quite a negative experience with it this time- sleepiness and loads of pregnancy symptoms that I found really hard to distract myself from.

So thats me- onwards and upwards.

Cookiesal- fingers crossed for your next cycle.

Good luck to everyone else that I have not mentioned- still trying to get my head around where everyone is in their treatment.

Lots of love and luck,

Kerry, Helen and Edie


----------



## lou1736

Hi All!

Oh I'm very nervous right now...start my DR injections this evening and I'm panicking about it now!! Not sure why but I'm getting worked up about the side effects not the actual jabs themselves! It's silly but I'm hating the fact that we have to do this right now...   Note to self: pull yourself together fool!) 

Lotty- how have you been doing with yours?!

Love to all

Lou xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Lou, I'm 7 days into mine and haven't noticed any side-effects at all really, apart from a few hot flushes, mostly at night. I've been drinking loads of water, as I've heard it helps.

Hope you get on OK with them. When's your next appointment?

And Lotty, yeah, how goes it?

Minty
xxx


----------



## lotty1

Hi Lou
On day three of injections, so far so good no side effects but i am very tired but unsure if this is due to a busy week at work or the med.Sorry to hear that you are feeling nervous i hope your jab went ok tonight. Don't apologise for worrying we all do this ,i am such a worrier it verges on paranoia  . Anyway keep me posted on your progress. Take care xx
 Hi Minty pmya but my pc played up hope you received the message just let me know if not and will re send.  hope all ok
BAGPUSS sorry you got ya a/f all the best fro your next iui x
Cookie sal good luck 4 ya diui in June
Maple i hope your partner is doing ok with your ivf cycle .
To anyone else i have missed good luck keep positive, sending good luck to all on the site  please let someone get to the finishing line so we all can be happy regardless of our own struggle. xx


----------



## lou1736

Hi guys!

Thanks for your input! I get real paranoid about things then start imagining I've got all these side effects lol! DP had been excited all day about jabbing me with needles lol. So anyway...so far so good!! I'll try to stop thinking about it! Yeah right!!  

Really pleased it's going well so far for you both Minty & Lotty. Please keep me updated on how you go... especially when you start on your stimms! And lots of     for everyone else. Am thinking of you all....

Love Lou xxx


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## CookieSal

Good luck Lou - hope the side effects don't trouble you.

Thanks for your good wishes Lotty - only another week and I should be good to go.  

Minty / Lotty - good luck with your cycles


----------



## mary1971

am kinda lost again with personals, been away to long i guess. sorry ladies have been busy decorating. 
well 6 days into the 2ww and a fink am copeing better than last tx, just been taking a day at a time and see what happen 10 june my bday and otd wahoo.

hope all had a great weekend and i will catch up with ppl 2moz.

xxx


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## CookieSal

Hope that means you get an extra special birthday surprise Mary - good luck


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## mary1971

cookiesal thanks lady,am feeling very hopeful this time round. second diui and had more and bigger follicles so fingers crossed.

where are you in your treatment? is it medicated? 

xx


----------



## CookieSal

Yup medicated IUI, expecting AF next Monday so will call for baseline scan then....had a horrible time last cycle so hoping this will be better.


----------



## mary1971

my cycle last month was 26 days till af arrived so going on that she is due on sun!  
what happened last cycle? what drugs are you taking? 

xx


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## CookieSal

Well they scared me to death by telling me I had a fibroid at baseline (bearing in mind my broid was removed just 2 months before) so my head was shot straight away, I over stimmed and had to have a follicle reduction, was ill during this (which was also my insemination) and had horrible muscle strain in all my tummy / chest / even bladder muscles for nearly a week, oh and 2 days after the procedure I developed a fever and spent 2 days in bed.... all in all they would have had to be super beans to stick.  

Drugs wise I was on suprecur 0.3 and puregon 50.

We could be cycling together then


----------



## mintyfaglady

well  finally turned up last night, thank goodness. She's here with a vengeance as well this time - I hope it's because she won't be around for the next 9 months! We go to the clinic again on Friday for a baseline scan and bloods and hopefully will be cleared to start stimming! It seems so long ago that we were last in with even a chance of being pg. Fingers crossed we don't have to do all this again.

We had a total disaster last night - we were supposed to be going to the theatre in Leeds - have had the tickets for ages and were really looking forward to it, but when we got there and parked we discovered the multi-storey carpark closed at 8:30pm!! We dashed out of it again and drove around a bit more, but couldn't find anywhere else to park (didn't have a map as had just followed stupid Sat Nav). In the end, we realised that we'd missed the start of the performance and they wouldn't let us in now anyway, so we just drove home again! Think I should just stay on my sofa where it's safe!! D'oh.

Mary, hope you get your special birthday present.

Cookiesal, really hope this cycle is smoother than the last one honey. 

Any news from anyone else? Lotty? Lou? Mableand Edith? Anyone else I've forgotten? How's it going?

Minty
xxx


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## mary1971

cookiesal, geezo that sound like a bad time you had. how you coped a'll neva kno. av found 2nd time roun a tad easier, you kinda are prepared for things more. i feel more possitive even tho there are no garentees i feel better. i hope this cycle has been a better one for you lady. what is your otd again? i hav a mind like a goldfish!  

mintyfaglady, hello and here is hopeing all goes well with baseline scan on friday. thats not so good aboout the theatre lady, 

hi to all hope every1 is having a good start to the week. 

xx


----------



## CookieSal

Not got an OTD yet as haven't started the cycle yet - should be next week with insem around 20 or 23 June so OTD would more than likely be approx 5 July.  When is yours?


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## mary1971

see goldfish memory i hav.  sorry lady my otd is my bsay 10th june. am starting to fink test test test,am so impatient. was quite possitive up til 2day dont know whats wrong with me. i had 1 17mm follicle last cycle and 2 over 18mm this time so felling tad more possitive than ast time tho i know that dnt mean am onto a defo bfp. lots of    for us.

how are you feeling this fine evening?

xx


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## lou1736

Good morning all on this fine day!!

That sounds awful Cookie about your last cycle.... I'm sending you lots of     for a smoother time xx

Minty....good luck with your baseline scan.   Shame about the theatre... sounds like something that would happen to us lol!

Lotty- how's things How's the jabs going?

Good luck to everyone else.

I've got baseline scan on 13th June the day before my 30th!! The buserelin injections are going ok I guess... lots of headaches and sweating like a pig episodes though!! The novelty of the jabs has worn off and DP has to chase me round the house with a needle at 7pm every evening lmao 

Love to all
Lou xxx


----------



## motos

Just had to come out from under my lurking rock to say that we share a birthday, Lou, and a big one at that, but mine's bigger than yours! I'm turning 40 on the 14th of June (and about to start TTC - talk about leaving it late!)


----------



## lou1736

Woo Hoo Motos!!! Hello my fellow Gemini!   I'm dreading turning 30!! I swore I'd have a baby before I reached 30 lol!

Are you IVFing? And when!? Whereabouts are you at?

My baseline scan has now been brought forward to Monday!!   Does anyone know whether I'll start with the stimming injections from that day?! 

Love Lou xx


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## leoaimee

happy gemini birthdays motos and lou
  

My dp gaby is 40 today!!!  another gemini!!

i am approaching 32 (august) and totally relate to your (lou) 30 thing .... i def thought i would have baby by the time i was 30 and even MORE def by the time gabs was 40!!!!  I think i am taking her bday worse than she is .... bless LOL hahah  

this whole process is a really good lesson in relinquishing any idea that we have control over the big stuff!

im sure it makes us all wiser ... (well i hope it might do!)

big gemini birthday love to you both, 

aimee


----------



## mintyfaglady

Wow! *HAPPY BIRTHDAY* to Lou and Motos and Aimee's Gaby!!

Lou, I was wondering the same thing about the stimming. I have my appointment tomorrow, so I'll let you know when they start me on the stim jabs. I got the impression it would be straight away, but who knows!

I've been hanging out in the May/June cycle buddies group too - lots of us going through tx at the moment. It's scary to see how many things can go wrong - people have already been cancelled for not enough eggs, too many eggs and OHSS and embies not developing ready for transfer. Having a BIG panic that things simply won't work out for me and we'll have to do this all again. Surely we're due for some better luck soon!

Minty
xxx


----------



## motos

Thanks Lou and everyone! I'm feeling OK about turning 40 - I don't know if that's because I'm in complete denial, or because I'm actually quite happy with my life and where I've got to. But then, I didn't have any strong ideas about having had children by now ...

Lou, I'm not doing IVF (yet!) - I'm about to start medicated DIUI - well, as soon as I can find some sperm from a donor that I like. We're importing it from the European Sperm Bank, but we haven't found a donor with stock whose profile we like - not helped by the fact that my partner has dark curly hair so we're trying to avoid the blondest of the blond, but mostly because we keep coming up against some worrying health issues. I think we'll need to speak to our clinic to find out whether we're worrying unnecessarily about some of them. (Plan is to do a couple of DIUI then move on to IVF)


----------



## leoaimee

hi motos

is the sperm from your euro sperm bank traceable?  i have been in contact with a clinic in Spain (where we live) and they are hesitant to use sperm from UK because the 'shortages' and 'problems' since anonymity changed in the UK.  However for my partner and i its important that any child might have the option to trace if he/she wanted.

I will carry on coming back to the UK but as you can imagine something a little closer might at least take out the worry of 'have i booked my flights for the correct days this month' issue.
(i missed an ovulation this month)  

Gaby is really fine with turning 40 too.  she says life just gets better!

axx


----------



## mintyfaglady

As far as I know, any sperm that's used in treatment here in the UK but follow UK laws, so it must be traceable, and the donor cannot have been paid for donating. That's why you can't import from the USA now. A lot of European countries have the same laws as UK, so you can bring sperm in from there to here.

Aimee, it you are thinking of bringing the sperm to Spain, rather than keep bringing yourself to the sperm here in the UK, you could look into importing it to Spain from lots of places (though guess it would have to follow Spanish law, whatever that is). But you CAN get ID release sperm from lots of places in Europe and from USA, so don't let the UK shortage put you off!

Minty
xxx


----------



## leoaimee

hi mintyfaglady

yes, i will look into that.  The law in Spain is that donors are paid and also that they are anonymous.  I will ask the clinic to see if the bank they use outside Spain (cryointernational) has traceable sperm.

I don't really understand why they wouldn't work with a clinic in UK.  It surely is the same process (maybe the price varies) but if they can import from one bank why not another?

aimeex


----------



## mintyfaglady

Mmm - seems odd, but maybe they couldn't be bothered with the hassle. Most of the folks I know that have used imported sperm basically had to arrange all the paperwork etc themselves. I don't think it was a major headache though - perfectly doable.


----------



## leoaimee

yes maybe its just a question of me doing the leg work....

Just had a further investigation on the website for cryointernational and they do have non-anon donors (22) and they wont work with UK clinics because of the differences in law, the non-anon sperm is more expensive!!  probs cos there is less (the whole supply and demand thing!). 

But i will also contact LWC where we have had our previous diui and see if they would send to Spain too.

Aimee


----------



## leoaimee

hi minty 

sorry to hear about your af .... just realised that was only 4 days ago. 

(also being a bit divvy with working out who is who and what to reply to etc ... bit of a novice!)

aimee


----------



## lou1736

Hey minty....yes please let me know as soon as you do about how soon you start the stimming after the first scan!!?   I assumed af had started yesterday so phoned the clinic and they brought my baseline scan forward to monday....but now I don't know what's going on cos af seems to have stopped and nothings happening except the occasional brown spotting (sorry tmf)    thinking I might have to call them back again and tell them lol!? Might wait til tomorrow and see if it decides to kick in!

Hi aimeegaby....happy birthday to your dp too! Gemini's ROCK!!   Best star sign!! 
Hope all goes well with your treatment.... I'm with LWC too and they can ship their sperm to Spain as long as the donor chosen has indicated that he agrees to it being shipped. We enquired about that with ours in the future for sibling sperm as we are moving to Oz early next year due to dp being Australian!

Love to all 
Lou xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Aimee, don't be sad about my AF turning up - it's one time I was pleased to see her! I'm doing IVF and have been down regging for 2 weeks. Once my period is out of the way I can start stimming and hopefully grow lots of lovely eggs!

Lou - mine ummed and ahhed for two days before finally showing up. If it doesn't show, I'd give them a call - nurse said to me they like it to be mostly out of the way when they do the baseline scan and start the stimms.

How exciting that you're moving to Oz - which bit? (Forgive me if we've already had this conversation - I'll blame the drugs!!) I know some TTC girls out there ("know" in the online sense).

Minty
xxx


----------



## lou1736

Hi Minty,

I didn't know they like af to be nearly out the way for the baseline scan. Mine just said it has to be on day 5-7!? I don't even know why this is lol!? Completely clueless!! 
Well maybe I should phone them then! Nothing is really happening now and my appointment is on monday! I got a bit eager yesterday and made dp phone as soon as I saw a sign of af lol!

We'll be going to Queensland...to the Gold Coast! Can't wait for nice weather all year round and sandy beaches and open space.  A couple of our best friends moved there last year too. (and no... we haven't had this convo before so you're not going crazy yet lol ) xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Ooh, lovely. Lucky you! I spent a year in Australia, mostly on the West coast, though I did travel up the Gold Coast too, on my way to Cairns and out to New Zealand for a year. It's such a great quality of life out there - work to live, not live to work. And the weather!


----------



## lou1736

Yeah.... I was there for a year with dp in NSW about 5 yrs ago. I wasn't ready for it then I don't think but I def am now. It is about quality of life and you can't get that here I don't think. Well, not unless you lucky enough to be loaded! Everythink costs so much and with the weather crap most of the time you need money to do anything! Gotta see how things go with the IVF first though!! Unfortunately there's absolutely no recognision for same sex parents over there!  

Well I phoned the clinic and told them the situation but they still said to come on monday as arranged as it doesn't matter about af....so there we go! When is your baseline scan? Is it before or after mine?

xx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Well pah! No scan! Apparently they only do bloods at this stage at my clinic. Oh well. I always like to get a look inside, but it was not to be.

Expecting a call back after lunch to tell me whether I can start stimming tonight or whether I have to do another week of DR. Fingers crossed it's the first.

Apparently I won't be getting a scan until next Friday - after 1 week on stimms. They've got me on 450iu per day (max dose) so I hope things don't go crazy in there between now and then!

Minty


----------



## lou1736

Hey minty....so if they don't do a scan how do they know when to start you on the stimms?!   Or am I being stupid as usual! I hope all goes well with the stimms....let me know how you get on and how they affect you! I don't even know what dose I'm going to be on! Baseline scan for me on monday..so we'll see what's going on in there then I guess lol!

Good Luck xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Lou - who knows? I thought they'd need to scan me too, but they only wanted the bloods. Maybe they're trying to save money? Let me know what your scan reveals when you get one on Monday - then I'll know what I've missed out on!


----------



## leoaimee

hi minty

well thats good.  soz dont know anything about ivf yet!

good luck with it all. 

and have nice weekends.

aimeex


----------



## lotty1

hi all just checking in
Lou you are soooooo lucky moving to Aus me and my dp spent a yr out there we did the full circle plus in the centre i would move tom. Have been trying to convince my partner  to emigrate her brother lives in brisbane  and it is certainly a different way of life for the better. Anyway hope all is going well at mo
Minty no scan thats a surprise so why have you got to wait a week whilst on stims? it does not make sense to me but i suppose they know what they are doing 
Well i am late for a first hopefully A/f will arrive tom if not they may have to change mt blood text from thurs so i will be further behind you guys   Anyway i had a shock today as my leg came out in a large lump after the injection  a first after 11 injections so we went into panic mode   phoned the out of hrs and was then assured all was normal. Now feel really silly    nevermind i am paying loads of money i might as well make the most of it   . so now calm again well for now. In the midst of this i am moving house so my life is chaos   well i like abit of drama


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Lotty, that lump sounds nasty! Glad it's nothing serious. Will send you AF vibes, so hope you don't slip behind! Can't believe you're moving house and doing IVF at same time - you must be crazy 

News not so great here. Been on stims for 3 days now, since Friday, and went for blood test this morning. Clinic rang to say my E2 levels are "in the low range" and that they want me to carry on with the injections but they don't want me to come in again until Friday, for another blood test and a scan. Suppose the silver lining is that we won't have to get up at 5am again this week to get there in time for blood tests! Am knackered!

I know it's only been 3 days, but it sounds like I'm not responding to the drugs very well. I hope things pick up and we don't end up getting cancelled (success stories please?)

Feeling a bit miserable about that, so I'm going out in the sun for a bit.

Minty
xxx


----------



## lou1736

hi All!

Minty-Sorry to hear about your results....fingers crossed the levels pick up for you     I'm sure they will.... did this happen to you last time or am I confusing you with someone else?

Lotty- What happened with your lump? Has it gone down yet...hope so! That's really wierd but glad it's nothing serious.     when do you start stimms?

I went for my scan today and was told all is progressing well... all has gone quiet on the ovary front due to DR and lining is nice and thin!? (that's good I guess lol) I'll be expecting a call from the clinic tomorrow and will start stimming on wednesday hopefully! I'm egg sharing as well so have to wait til tomorrow when my recipient has her scan and go ahead too! So back home I came this evening with another goodie bag of drugs! 
I have been told that side effects on the stimms are bloating.... god... I'm already bloated with the DR's!!? Oh well.... we'll wait and see! How have the side effects on the stimms been for you Minty?

Take Care 
Love Lou xxx


----------



## nismat

*Minty*, sorry that you've had a bit of (potentially) bad news - I think that the hardest thing is that you don't actually know what's going on for sure, given that you've got to wait until Friday for the scan. Being in the "low range" may just mean that you're below average given the level of stimms you're on - it doesn't necessarily mean that nothing's happening at all, or even that you are truly a poor responder. I do remember vividly just how anxious I felt though, going through a similar scenario, as so much is riding on it (although I had the added frustration of suspecting from the start that my clinic hadn't put me on a high enough dosage of drugs). Plus the more knowledge you have from being fertility-literate, the more things there are to worry about!

Looking back at my FF chart, I didn't have either a scan or a blood test (which I had to request as an extra) until 7 days on stims, which now seems utterly ridiculous. My new clinic does both after 3 days of stimms, and then every other day until you're almost ready to trigger - much more reassuring!

Sending you lots of follie growing vibes   

*Lou * - hope all is well with your recipient's scan, and that you get the go ahead to start stimms tonight.

*Lotty * - hope AF gets started soon, so that you can get going!

Is there anyone else out there that may be doing IVF in July/August? 
We've got our appointment to see the consultant on Friday 20th June, and I'll get my protocol/start date then - at the moment I don't know whether I'll be doing long protocol again, or whether we may do short protocol to see if I respond better (only got 5 eggs last time, and only 2 embryos - still, it was enough to give us Toby!).


----------



## Mable

Minty, sorry to hear about your worries about not responding to the FSH 'normally'. From someone who responds fabulously to FSH, it hasn't done me any favours so far. Tamsin is a great example of someone who had a few good quality eggs and got a BFP. I've always produced 50 or so eggs (90 follicles first time on 350, which was too dangerous to go ahead) but not got a BFP. So numbers aren't everything.

If it's any consulation, DP is also very worried about not responding. She started FSH last week and has no scan in between, just a day 10 scan on Friday. Is very anxious that she hasn't responded at all (on 450), or has responded too much. Our clinic don't do inbetween scans because they say it doesn't give a good indication of what will happen by day 10 and just gets the patient all anxious/hopeful at every stage. 

Keeping everything crossed for you.
Mable


----------



## nismat

Mable said:


> If it's any consulation, DP is also very worried about not responding. She started FSH last week and has no scan in between, just a day 10 scan on Friday. Is very anxious that she hasn't responded at all (on 450), or has responded too much. Our clinic don't do inbetween scans because they say it doesn't give a good indication of what will happen by day 10 and just gets the patient all anxious/hopeful at every stage.


I guess whether you know a little or know a lot, you're bound to be anxious about something aren't you? Having to wait until day 10 of stimms for a first scan must feel like forever though - I would be climbing the wall with the desperate need-to-know by then! Does your clinic do any blood tests in the intervening time?
So, did you not find out either until day 10 that you'd got such a huge number of follies? It does seem to make more sense to me to scan rather earlier, so that you can adjust the dosage up or down if needed. Might have meant that you wouldn't have had quite such an awful time with the OHSS


----------



## Mable

It's such an anxiety provoking process isn't it. I know some clinics do adjust the dose whilst stimming but my clinic don't. They say that if you adjust your FSH dose downwards, the eggs stop growing. I had 3 consecutive episodes of downregging and stimming until I found the dose where I produce big enough follicles but not too many. On 150 a day I produced 50 eggs, on 150 alternating with 75 the follicles were too small for the eggs to be any good.


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## mintyfaglady

Thanks for the good wishes and the reassurance. It's amazing how much better you feel, knowing things have been similar for others. I've done a little Googling too, and am feeling far less worried. Like you say Tamsin, it's anxiety provoking, however things unfold. I definitely feel like things are starting to happen in there now, so that helps, though I could do without looking so bloated!!

Lou - the thing with the levels hasn't happened to me before - this is my first (and hopefully only) shot at IVF. I guess if you've done it before you worry less? Hope everything was good with your recipient and you've had the go ahead to start stimming.

Tamsin - Thanks for being so reassuring, and for rooting for me over in The Other Place. It really helps. It's exciting that you'll be starting again soon - have you checked out the cycle buddies board? I bet ther's a July/August thread started already. They get really full and a bit overwhelming nearer the time (the May/June one has over 65 of us on there now, but at the start it was nice and personal.

Mable - 90 eggs!!! That must have been terrifying! How's your partner feeling at the mo, waiting for her sacn? Does she feel things are happening. After knowing what happened to you, I'm not surprised she's anxious.

Lotty - Did the witch show? Are you stimming yet?

Love to you all,
Minty
xxx


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## lou1736

mable- Wow 90 eggs!!   I thought about 20 was lots!!?? 

Lotty- what's happening with you??    

Well clinic did call this morning and told me my recipient is all ready to go too which is great so we start stimming tomorrow evening!! Rather exciting but nervous too!   I'll be on 150 puregon and 0.2 buselin from now on! Is that a low dose or average anyone know!!? I'm really hoping I produce the 'right' number of eggs i.e. not too many so I have to be cancelled and enough to be able to share!! It's all so worrying when so many things can go wrong!! 

There are SO many pregnant women around my area at the moment! Seriously it's like every other person on the streets is expecting!! What's that about eh! Must be the time of year!   
Good Luck to all....
Love Lou xxx


----------



## lotty1

Hi all just a quick message as going out soon promise to write more tom and will send you all my words of wisdom also tom   
well update as per always late and slow...... A/f came this am and it certainly came ,worse A/f ever had to leave work early and still suffering now. moan over. T/c TO clinic and u guessedi t missed the slot so the thurs  appt has been cancelled until a week on thurs.In meantime i have to continue with the buserlin injects 4 another week...... great!!! not!!! Well bye 4 now xx


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## lou1736

Hey Lotty!

Glad af came but sorry you're in pain!    It would seem I'm the only one who had it for one day only...!!? I thought it was strange but when I told the clinic they said it was supposed to be incredibly light due to me being on the buserilin which puts me in a false menopause and therefore make my lining much thinner...therefore not much of an af!! Makes sense I guess lol! 
So I don't understand why alot of you girls get such a bad af on it..!? 

Anyway....Lotty why do you have to wait another week then.... what's this about 'slots'?!   Are you with a private clinic or is it NHS?

Have a good night and hope you get some relief soon 

Love to all
Lou xxx


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## motos

aimeegaby said:


> is the sperm from your euro sperm bank traceable? i have been in contact with a clinic in Spain (where we live) and they are hesitant to use sperm from UK because the 'shortages' and 'problems' since anonymity changed in the UK. However for my partner and i its important that any child might have the option to trace if he/she wanted.


Sorry not to have responded sooner, Aimee. Yes, the sperm is traceable, as Minty said, to be used in a clinic here it has to follow all the UK laws.

Motos


----------



## nismat

*Mable * - your ovaries must be super-sensitive then, not only to the drugs in general, but to such relatively small differences in dosage. How utterly aggravating. Will have lots of things crossed for the scan on Friday  Hope S is feeling OK.

*Minty * will be thinking of you too for your scan - hope that you've got neither too many nor too few follies growing! 

*Lou * - you're at LWC aren't you? I was on 150 Puregon too at the start of my IVF cycle there (it got adjusted upwards a couple of times during the cycle until I was on 300 by the end). Maybe 150 is their standard IVF dosage? I'd be very interested to find out if it is, as it would mean that they definitely didn't take any account of the fact that I hadn't responded to Puregon on my earlier stimulated IUI cycles  I always did think that they were overly conservative with my dosage, given my history.

*Lotty * sorry you've got to wait another week. What a drag.


----------



## starfish3

Wishung Lou and Minty good luck for you stimming. 

Jaxson 4 months old today (and snoring quietly in my arms right now)- June 10th was 1 year since I found out I was preg with him. First AF since he was born arrived same day - I am hoping that's a positive cosmic sign that I will be doubly lucky with trying for a second miracle. Back on the pill now to control my cycle and hopfully have FET in August... mixed feelings about signing up for the rollercoaster again but it will be so worth it if we gey another baby....not sure how i will cope if we dont but know i will always regret it if i dont feel the fear and do it anyway.

Amazing how attached i feel to my little frosties, so far away in Australia.Only way I can bring then home is inside me!!!!! Hoping to only need 1 to achieve our goal... what do i do with the rest then??
Unfortunately legally cant donate to someone else as DE and DS.

Cheers
Sharyn in New Zealand


----------



## lou1736

Nismat- yes I am... I was kinda pleased they've put me on the lower dose to start with as I know how much pain I was in when I was on clomid!... but we'll see! If you told them you had no response with 150 in the past it does seem frustrating that they still put you on that dose! How did you find the side effects... especially when dose was increased? This is our first IVF etc so personally I'd rather them be conservative and see how I respond first then at least the option is there to increase the dose if needed. Your situation is a different story though. Are you still at LWC? I started puregon yesterday and have my scan on monday so we'll see what going on in there lol! Good Luck and     for you.

Starfish- Jaxson is gorgeous!! Good Luck with your treatment! You're a long way away over there in NZ! We're moving to Oz in December!  

Love Lou xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Ahh, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it - the mysterious workings of Doctors! For my IUIs Tamsin, they had me on the lowest dose, then almost had to cancel one cycle cos too many eggs. IVF and they have me on the highest dose. I guess some like to start high then reduce, and others the opposite way round. Anyhow, given my low numbers on day 3 of stimms, maybe they were right to hammer me with it at the start. I'll find out tomorrow when I finally get a scan! Yippee. Keep your fingers crossed that SOMETHING is happening in there.

Lotty, what an absolute bummer that you've got to DR for another week, just so you can fit in with their schedule. You'd think they'd be a bit more accomodating, given how much you're paying! I'm sad we're not so close together now in our treatments. 

Sharyn, I take it you only want one more baby, hence the possibility of left over frosties? What a shame you're not allowed to donate them to someone else. How come you have to travel to Oz? Was that where you had your original tx?


----------



## rosypie

Just wanted to say good luck to everyone and *@Minty* to echo what has already been said re poor responding on IVF drugs. At my last scan before EC I only had 2 follicles of the 'right' size and one other that was too small. At the time the clinic were really negative about my prospects and said they couldn't guarantee any eggs at all. However, on the day I did get 4 (which I was soo disappointed about at the time) and went on to get a BFP and 2 frosties. It really is quality not quantity and I wish you all the luck in the world. Everything crossed xx


----------



## nismat

Drugs protocols really do vary so much don't they - and of course every doctor thinks that their way is the right way! At my new clinic they like to start out high and reduce if necessary (which I guess may well mean that you have to buy more drugs up front than you may actually use), but I'd rather that way round than trying to make up for lost time. Can't remember where I read it (some American site I'm sure), but there was something about it being best to give the ovaries an initial blast to get the follies growing, and then you can always slow things down after. Obviously that suits me, but not ideal if you've never even tried stimms before, or if you know you over-respond. I just don't like it when they try and make you fit into the one-size-fits-all model!

*Lou * - I had all my IUIs and my IVF at LWC, so they knew exactly how I responded (or rather not) to Puregon before we started the IVF. I did query the dosage, but they just kept on saying things like "we don't want to overdo it unnecessarily". Given that you've never tried stimms before, I agree that it's better not to start with too high a dosage. Hope that it turns out to be an ideal level for you 
I didn't really get too many side effects on the drugs - the whole experience was a lot easier than I was expecting it to be. I did get some hot flushes and headaches from the Synarel, but I think that was it (although Karen may remember it differently of course ) One of my friends turned into a complete psycho-b*tch on the drugs! Hopefully I'll have it easy again this time, although they say that you can have completely different experiences in different cycles, even on the same drugs. 
I'm going to a local clinic (ISIS Colchester) this time around (once we've managed to get LWC to actually transfer our sibling sperm - something they are notoriously slow at doing). We would have gone there before, but they couldn't get donor sperm.

*Sharyn * - so you've resolved what you're going to do about ttc#2 then! I hope that you have a nice, easy FET cycle come the autumn (or rather spring on your side of the world!). I imagine that it will be very hard letting any remaining frosties go. Providing all goes well for us, we should end up with quite a bit of spare sibling sperm, and it will be a dilemma as to what to do with that. And if we were to end up with spare frosties, again, we wouldn't be able to donate those either. At first I couldn't see why not, but then realised that maybe it was the donor sperm issue, as even though technically they would be full siblings to Toby, if they could result in a child growing up in another family, that would probably not be regarded as part of the 10 families that can result from a single donor under HFEA regs. All very complicated!


----------



## CookieSal

Ladies, just a very quick post to let you know I am back on the roller coaster as of today.  Had my baseline and am now on 0.3 Suprecur (started tonight) and 25 Puregon (starting tomorrow) - very low dose to try and avoid overstim again.  I am trying to be calm and relaxed about this cycle.......yeah right!


Good luck to you all xxxxx


----------



## lou1736

Quick query..... I don't know about you guys but I'm getting some funny symptoms on this 150 puregon! I prefer the buserelin!! Clinic said all my symptoms would go away once I started the puregon as well!? Well I'm still getting the hot flushes except worse now and I don't feel myself!? I've been on the puregon for two days now.... my stomach feels like a balloon with like an air bubble in which needs popping!!? It feels like I've eaten something really bad and I've got an upset stomach....bit like IBS?! And now I feel slightly nauseous too!  not liking this all!

Thanks guys 
Louxxxx


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## mintyfaglady

Hi all,

Rosypie, I just want to let you know that you couldn't have written your post at a more timely moment for me. I've just got back from the clinic and was feeling horribly disheartened after discovering that I have only 3, maybe 4 follicles growing after 7 days of stims. The nurse we had this morning - our favourite cos she's funny, but she doesn't bull**** you - said my previous bloods were "dismal" and she was really disappointed not to see more happening in there, especially given my age (I'm 36). She thought maybe the buserelin was to blame. Anyway, we were both pretty gutted, as so few follies is going to mean that getting over all the other hurdles (collection, fertilisation, development, transfer, freezing) is going to be so much more difficult, but reading your account has given us hope (and made us cry). It really does only take the one.

Lou - I've heard that once the eggs start growing that you can start to feel all kinds of stomach and bowel related symptoms, as it's all packed in there together. Maybe it means you've got a good crop starting out. If you're worried though and feeling really rough, call the clinic - after all you're paying for it! I hope things settle down for you.

Hey Cookie Sal - good to see you back in the game.

Hope all is well with everyone else.   

Minty
xxx


----------



## Mable

Hi everyone,
Rosypie thanks for posting your IVF details again, I had vague memories that for you and Tamsin it was quality and not quantity that produced your lovely children. Like Minty, we are struggling to stay positive with news from DP's day 10 stimming scan - not great news, not enough follicles or growth to proceed with EC at the beginning of next week. She has 6 follicles at around 12mm, so hopefully these will carry on growing over the weekend, she has a last chance scan on Monday with EC _hopefully _ Wednesday- Friday.

We are so used to dealing with my massive numbers that this seems a paltry offering for top dose FSH and we feel quite deflated.

DP is beating herself up about feeling stressed (mother dying, threat of ofsted etc) and this contributing to her poor response. I know its a commonly held belief that being relaxed helps heterosexual couples conceive in a non medical environment but does anyone know of it being shown that stress negatively effects egg production on the bumper IVF scale? It is obviously biologically possible to conceive in very stressful situations (rape for example).
Mable


----------



## lotty1

Hello MiNTY i am soo sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time but keep faith. Its true what Rosypie writes it only takes one to make a baby and whats the point in having loads if they are no good. i know its hard but just keep thinking positive. Are they going to keep with the stims or will they take you for e/c. I know i sound a little dim but i hve no idea of the process but i suppose ignorance is bliss i think thats what helps me at times as if i knew in depth all info about Ivf i suppose i would panic  
Well for me its a waiting game still on burselin and have appt thurs at clinic so hopefully  i can then progress fingers and toes crossed.
Not happy at mo as still on A/f and its heavier not sure if this is a good sign but i will ask the nurse on Thurs.
Anyway sat here with the cat she keeps trying to climb over me so typing is  proving difficult  plus i have to confess i wrote you a long message and for some stupid reason the text disappeared so here i am writing again. Oh give me pen and paper!!!!
So how is the new little cat is he feeling better after his jabs ......... it must be something in theAnyway  air with all these jabs 
So what have you been up to? i have turned insane   no serious the move........ we have wanted this house for ages and it came up for sale. After alot of thought we have decided to rent out our house and move to the other, i know its bad timing but i am sooo fed up of putting my life on hold for a baby so i thought lets go for it!!!! if this does not work i will take time out paint the new place and retry beginning of next yr so thats the plan at lest i can control something in my life!!!!!
Anyway take care for now keep in touch
xxxx


----------



## lotty1

Hi lou i hope you are feeling better i was sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time on the med so what stage are you at now?
Hi Cookiesal welcome to the rollacoster all the best for this round of t/x
Hi Maple i am sorry to here also that you and your d/p are having a difficult time sending all my wishes for the scan on Monday
HI Nismat it certainly is a drag this wait oh well thurs will be here soon.
To all others all the best with the treatments  x


----------



## lou1736

Hi All,

Just a quick question to any of you who can tell me as I'm clueless lol....

Does anyone know what is a good amount and size of follicles to have at a day 7 scan on stimms?! I'm on 150 puregon and have my scan tomorrow and would love to have some idea of what I'm looking for please!?  

Lotty- Good luck with your move!! And hope all is going well on DR for you. My symptoms seem to have settled down heaps and although my belly is still a swollen balloon and uncomfortable wearing clothes I doing pretty well I guess. Very tired by about mid afternoon though! My mind wants to do stuff but my body seems to be stopping me!   Let me know when you start stimming!


Minty- sorry to hear about your disappointment... it's made me worried reading your post about my day 7 scan tomorrow! As you say it really does only take one eh! How are the clinic proceeding with you? Wishing you lots of luck and    for the following days hun. xx

Cookiesal- lots of luck to you for this time's tx

Maple- Lots and lots of luck for your scan on monday. Hope everything goes well and you get positive results xx

It all seems to be going quite fast now.... especially after so long waiting for this and now is whizzing past for me!
Love Lou xxx


----------



## Mable

Just a bloating tip - drinking lots of water really helps to bring the bloating and cramping pains of stimming down. It really does work like magic! 

We have better news - now have lots of follicles and big enough, so DP is at risk of OHSS! What a turnaround. Don't know the figures as I was playing outside with Monty during the appointment, but we feel slightly more positive.

Fingers crossed for us all,
Mable


----------



## mintyfaglady

Well peeps, the news is as good as we could have hoped for - the 4 follies that our scanner spotted on Friday have continued to grow and although there were no hidden extra ones, the clinic are happy to go ahead with 4, so we are on for egg collection on Wednesday and embryo transfer on Friday if any of them fertilise and make it to that stage. It reduces our chances of getting to transfer, but we're just glad that we weren't cancelled.

*Mable *- glad that it looks like you'll have plenty of eggs, after all that worry. Fingers crossed your partner will manage to avoid OHSS.

*Lotty *- I'll be keeping my fingers totally crossed for you Thursday (I'll be resting after egg collection, so will concentrate on sending DR vibes your way, so you can start stimming). How exciting about the house! Good on you for going for it! I reckon it's a good omen - nesting and that!

*Lou *- good luck with your scan tomorrow. I guess you'd be hoping for more than 4, but less than 20! I think if they are all around the same size that's a good thing, because they will develop and grow together and be ready at the same time. You sometimes hear people saying they have some big and lots of small ones, but I don't think the small ones catch up after 7 days. At least that's what they said to me today, cos she could see 4 or 5 more today (10 days of stimming) but they were only 10 or 11 mm and the main four are approaching 20, so the little ones won't catch up now. If you're feeling bloated, then something must be happening - I haven't felt much at all until the last day or so. Good luck. Let us know how you get on!

Minty
xxx


----------



## lou1736

Hi all!

Well done minty...thats fab news about your scan isn't it?! Great that you get to go ahead with the EC and transfer too. Fingers crossed for you!     

mable- fab news for you and the turnaround on the egg numbers too eh!!?  Fingers crossed on no OHSS though!     

I went for my first scan today. I've got 8 follies but not sure what size they were (forgot to check lol) she said some more would probably develop over the next couple of days!? Today was day 6 of stimming so I'm guessing that's an alright number to have at day 6?! Anyway they've kept me on 150 puregon and haven't increased my dosage which I'm pleased about in a way as I'm doing quite well (just) mentally and physically on that amount. Got to go back for another scan on wednesday! They're anticipating EC at the beginning of next week!!   
Just another question for you ladies.... any ideas what size is optimum to have for each follie at the time of EC??! Just outta interest!

Thanks guys and good luck to all of you... I'm feeling this might be a very positive journey for us all!    Positive thinking and all!

Love Lou xxx


----------



## Mable

16mm at the scan before EC, which gives them a couple of days to grow even more. This is around the size when the egg will be just mature enough.

Great news Minty about your 4 follicles. We are both on for EC on Wednesday so may that be a lucky day for us both!

Best wishes all round,
Mable


----------



## lotty1

so happy for Mable and MiNTY goodluck with the e/c on wednesday.
Glad all going well with You Lou also.
Well just a quick question from me as i am a little worried..... I am still on a/f only slightly now but still spotting. Not sure why as my periods only last 4day/ 5 at times. I have never been on this length b4 anyone got any ideas. I am just hoping i stop before thurs as i cannot bare another .


----------



## mintyfaglady

Lotty - mine lasted for AGES too. It was really heavy for a couple of days then just light spotting for days and days. They started me stimming while it was going on and it finally stopped after about 3 or 4 days of stimming, so don't worry, I'm sure it'll be FINE!!


----------



## lotty1

thanks Minty its good to know that its not abnormal


----------



## nismat

Can't believe that I actually forgot to check how everyone was doing after Friday's scans - been so busy I've not really been on the computer.

*Minty * - I'm really glad to hear that everything is proceeding towards EC tomorrow, although clearly it would have been much more reassuring to have more than 4 follies growing  Just as Rosypie said, hold tight to the "quality not quantity" mantra. Obviously having only 4 follies means that the whole EC/fertilisation/culture/transfer process is that much more fraught with stress than if you have more viable eggs, and you _will _ feel like you're living on a knife edge the whole way through, but IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT WON'T WORK! I got 5 eggs, only 3 fertilised, and of those only 2 made it to transfer (plus they weren't as many cells as you would normally hope for at a 3-day transfer), but we still have our amazing son as a result of it all  And Rosypie & Evelet not only had Bruno, they've got frosties too!

*Mable * - I'm totally amazed by your rollercoaster news! What a bizarre change of circumstances in just a few days - DP's ovaries must have been active but a bit slow to catch on! I'm thrilled for you that you should get a good number of eggs, but also have everything crossed that S won't go down the OHSS route.

I'll be thinking of you all tomorrow for both respective EC's     

*Lou * - your 8 follies sounds like a pretty much perfect number to me - neither too many, nor too few! At the last scan before egg collection, they'll be counting follies measuring roughly between 16-22/24mm, as these would be the ones that would be most likely to hold viable eggs. As Mable said, the follies will carry on growing a couple more mm before EC. When's your next scan?

*Lotty * - good luck for Thursday - hope that everything will be ready to get going.

We've also got an important day this week on our IVF journey - we're meeting the consultant on Friday, and should come out clutching a drugs prescription and with a projected start date in the diary! Really need to get my list of questions down on paper before then...


----------



## lou1736

Hi all!

Good luck to you ladies for EC. Finger's crossed for you!   

Lotty good luck for thursday. Let us know how you get on!   

Nismat- thanks for your reply. I can't believe I forgot to check the sizes but hey the clinic didn't say anything bad and told me they were at the expected stage!! Here's hoping. I would like to get a few more follies before EC though especially as I'm sharing! I've got another scan tomorrow (weds) and then again on friday!    Good Luck with your appointment and hope you get a start date soon 
It's amazing how quickly it's all happening now! It's pretty full on suddenly and every stage is new to us but it's exciting and nerve racking now!!

Lots of Love to all
Lou xxx


----------



## mary1971

hi ladies sorry not been on had a rotten weekend, was at out of hour doc on fri ngt with painful cramps and bleeding. blood pressure was up and tummy tender,was just told to go home and rest and got to the southern if was still the same on sun. thank the lord started feeling better on sunm and all has cleared up. 
lots going on and heaps to catch up on so sorry for not knowing where every1 is at with tx, you have all benn in my thoughts.

lou1736 good luck for wed scan, soz for my ignorance, but how does the egg share work? i have no knowledge of that. i wanted to egg donate after pregnancy but think i am too old.




xx


----------



## lou1736

Hi Mary- sorry to hear of your troubles over the weekend. Glad all seems to have settled down now.... what stage are you at??  

We're doing egg share in return for the cost of our IVF treatment. Basically I share half of my eggs with an anonymous recipient. So the pressure's on as the more eggs I produce the better I guess lol! As far as I know you have to be under 35 yrs old to share along with having loads of other tests etc.

Many thanks for your wishes...I'm counting down the days! Let us know your news! 
   to you

Love Lou xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Wow, really busy on here these days which is wonderful  

Quick update from me - I should do personals but am a bit of a space cadet tonight so this is about all I can manage after today's little surprise!

Today is CD7 and as I overstimmed last cycle I am on just 25 of Puregon this time, went for my scan and I have 13 follicles!!  The biggest one is already 17.8mm!   I honestly thought nothing was happening, my tummy isn't bloated and I felt no different so I was a little stunned to see my well populated ovaries.  Anyway to cut a long story short I had thankfully agreed with my consultant that I wouldn't have to have a follicle reduction again and my clinic has agreed to convert me to DIVF instead of DIUI.  I habe to be honest, whilst this does seem to be the best move, I am terrified.  Still not too long for me to worry about it, EC is likely to be Monday of next week   Help!

Wishing you all lots of luck - will try and post some personals when my brain stops spinning and I can remember my own name again.


----------



## nismat

Crikey *CookieSal*, that's a bit of a mindblower! At least you have been able to convert to DIVF rather than either abandoning the cycle or having the horrid follicle reduction. It must be pretty hard to come to terms with the major change, but hopefully it will all work out miraculously well. Fingers crossed for you.

Thinking of *Minty * and *Mable/Edith* today with your egg collections. Sending lots of good thoughts Manchester and London-bound   

I picked up all my test results from the GP yesterday, everything looking fine except for my FSH being a bit on the high side possibly - it was 8.6. However, it was taken on cd4, so I'm hoping that the clinic will take that into account, and we may need to do another FSH at the start of next cycle.


----------



## lou1736

Hi Ladees!

Quick update...had another scan at the clinic today and I've now got 14 follies...10 bigger ones and 4 smaller! They are scheduling me for EC on Monday!! EEK!    I've also had my puregon increased as of today to 200 instead of 150 to help the little ones catch up! My 10 bigger ones are at 14mm and they're expecting them to be 18-20mm for monday!? So who knows... I'm guessing they know what they're doing lol! So it's all systems go now and just a few days to wait. Back again Friday for third scan! Very excited and all seems to be going well!   

Lots of love
Lou xxx


----------



## nismat

Any eggy news *Mable * and *Minty*? Am waiting with bated breath.....
Hope that you've both got good things to report   

*Lou * - great news about yesterday's scan, things are really moving in the right direction for you  Let us know how tomorrow's scan goes


----------



## lou1736

How did the EC go Minty and Mable??!!   Waiting on some good news from you! How are you feeling?   

Love Lou xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hi All,

*Lou *- glad everything is going well for you and that it looks like you have plenty of eggs to share. Good luck with your next scan tomorrow and with EC on Monday!

*Cookie *Sal - goodness me, that's a bit of a surprise for you! How excellent though that you can convert to an IVF cycle. The egg collection procedure I'm guessing will be pretty much the same as the reduction that they did last time, right? So though you'll be going through that again, you'll be in with a MUCH better chance of conceiving! Looks like you'll be EC with Lou! Good luck to you. It must be scary, especially when you weren't planning for it, but like you say, at least not too long to stress about it beforehand!

*Tamsin *- 8.4 doesn't sound too bad. Do your clinic have a cut off point? Ours would only do long protocol if it was below 10 and short protocol between 10 and 12. I used Agnus Castus and acupuncture to bring mine down (or maybe it just went down of its own accord!) Hope it's lower next month for you.

*Mary *- Scary stuff! Hope you're feeling better. You're pregnant, aren't you? How far along?

*Lotty *- Hope you went ok yesterday hon - have you started your stim shots now? Hope so.

*Mable *- How did it go? Hope your partner is recovering nicely, ready for transfer?

Well, I had my egg collection yesterday and it all went well. We even got an extra egg, so 5 retrieved in all! One of the nurses called it our bonus ball. The procedure itself was fine, though I remember being aware of what was happening at one point and complaining they were hurting me - I think they just gave me an extra boost of the sedative then, cos I don't remember anything else until I woke up. Weird feeling! I felt a bit tender for the rest of the day, but feel fine today.

We got a call this morning to say that 3 have fertilised, which is great news, so we're through to the next round. If they carry on developing properly, two of them will be transferred tomorrow morning. It's so scary to be this close. I'm actually looking forward to the TWW cos it can't possibly be as stressful and intense as this stage!

Love to all. 
Minty
xxx


----------



## lou1736

WOW that's brilliant news Minty!! Well done!! So pleased for you. Fingers crossed for ET. Sending heaps of positive vibes for those little eggs to do their jobs from now on. 

Glad you're feeling fine after too. 

Lots of love 
Lou xxx


----------



## nismat

*Minty * - that's just great news! Especially as you're following my path of 5 eggs, 3 fertilised - let's hope that the 2ww ends up in the same result as I got


----------



## Edith

Hi Edith here, Mable's partner,

Thanks for all your good wishes, I'm a bit of a lurker I'm afraid but have been following all your progress. Minty - congratulations on your precious embryros - its such a roller coaster isn't it? Great to hear about your lucky ball!I feel quite emotional about my little embies growing....Lou - hope your egg collection goes well too.

I was very nervous this time round- seeing Mable go through it previously- but thankfully I slept through most of the first ovary being drained and then on and off to the end. I woke up saying " it was so quick" are you sure you got them all? ( apparently in a very accusatory tone... oh dear..)  After a down weekend of " Oh my god my body really is 40.... I am sub fertile......" to oh my god I could over respond....." talk about all over the place. Anyway, they got 19 eggs yesterday and today 14 have fertilsed. Good numbers and we are delighted. It makes the process easier to deal with when there are bigger numbers involved, emotionally that is , you somehow feel it is working which to an extent it is. I know how horrible it is to feel that your body is not responding as it should. But I also know that it only takes one. Higher numbers are no guarentee and after mables lovely blastocysts and a BFN we just don't know what will happen. fingers crossed though for us all. Its such a miracle when it does happen and they are so precious.Makes me so grateful for our little miracle ( who thankfully is out all day with mable and her parents!! Feeling pretty horrible in my tummy- so bloated  and sore..)

GOOD LUCK everyone, will be following your journey closely. Sorry not to be a regular writer - its a bit naff really when you only write when you are involved - sorry.  

Thinking of you all. 

Edith


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Edith. 

So glad you popped out of lurkdom to give us an update. How fantastic that you got such a great egg haul and fertilisation rate. I'm not surprised you're feeling so sore though. Keep the hot water bottle topped up. In a lot of ways it must be good to have a partner who knows exactly what you're going through, though it's sad her cycle didn't work out.

Little Monty looks so adorable - great picture in your signature there. You're right - there are no guarantees for any of us, but so wonderful when it happens. I'm hopeful for us all.

Minty
xxx


----------



## lotty1

just a quick note at the mo, brill news Minty about the extra egg sending positives thoughts for the transfer.
Edith and Maple glad all went well and you got loads of eggs good luck also for the transfer.
Lou goodluck for E/C on Monday. 
Well been to clinic bloods fine so now on stims as of today so back at clinic sat/ mon then thurs oh how i love the m62...   They have put me on 300mg so here goes.....


----------



## nismat

*Minty * - hope that your embryos have continued to develop well and that you now have 2 top grade embryos "on board". It's great that it's the weekend so you hopefully can just relax for the next few days. I have fond memories of the early part of my 2ww (pretty much exactly 2 years ago!), lying on the hammock in our garden as it was nice weather, and listening to my positive visualisation CD! I felt fairly chilled about it, as I knew that there was nothing more that I could do to affect the outcome, and for the first time I knew that I actually had some embryos inside me, whereas before I never even knew if sperm met egg. Oh, I do really hope that it all works out for you xxxx

*Edith * - wonderful to hear from you, you lurker  Great, great news about your 14 fertilised eggs - I take it that with that number they should hopefully be going through to blast stage? Do you get updates every day or is it less frequent than that? Hope that you're feeling less sore/bloated.

*Lotty * - hope that the stimming goes well (and all the driving up and down the M62!)

*Lou * - hope that the news from this morning's scan continues to be good!

*CookieSal * - any more news/scans from you?

Ooh, it's all so exciting at the moment, I'm really filled with hope for everybody.

We saw our consultant this morning, which was good although I came out feeling strangely flat afterwards. Maybe because I'd hoped to have an actual/proposed start date in the diary and we haven't yet. We really liked the consultant, who basically said that he could see that we had a list of questions, so rather than going through the whole usual IVF spiel, we should just start with those as we already knew what IVF involved. He was refreshingly straightforward in answering our questions - no vague answers like I used to get at LWC. Summary is I'll be doing long protocol again, on Puregon as before, but starting with 450iu for first 3 days, then dropping down if scans/blood tests indicate over-responding. He said that the lowest dosage he'd probably drop me to would be 300iu, which was the highest (last desperate measures!) that LWC had me on 
We don't have a start date because the "sperm man" (official title Scientific Director  ) who we spoke to last time clearly forgot to get in touch with LWC after our first clinic visit. Oh well. He said he would contact LWC straightaway and to call him back next Wednesday to check on progress. I'm going back to the clinic for an u/s next Friday to make sure nothing untoward has developed in the reproductive arena since having Toby, then we've got an appointment with one of the nurses on 9th July to go through the treatment schedule (and to get the drugs prescription I guess). 
Looking at my calendar, if we get the sperm moved reasonably soon, I should be able to start down-regging last week in July. Apparently the clinic always start patients stimming on a Friday, as they aim to do most ECs on a Friday (i.e. 2 wks later), although obviously if you're ready for EC sooner then you have it when you need it. So EC would be roughly middle of August - if all goes according to plan of course 
I'm very much leaning towards single embryo transfer this time around - the more I think about the risks of multiple pregnancy, the more I panic! I've mainly been thinking about the impact on Toby in terms of him being pushed out even more by 2 (or more!) newborns than by 1, but as the doctor pointed out, the impact would be far, far greater if we had multiples with health issues  I don't know why, but I really hadn't thought about that side of it, even though I'm perfectly well aware that it could happen (as with Christopher & Alex) - I suppose you just always think "it wouldn't happen to me". But I think that really has more or less made my mind up for me. However, no point taking any decisions yet; it will all very much depend on how the cycle goes. If we are lucky enough to get several good blasts, then we'll definitely only have one put back. But if we only ended up with a couple of embryos and wouldn't be able to freeze a spare, then we might take a gamble on two again. Karen's quite prepared to take that gamble (even with blasts), but as she says, she's not the one to be (hopefully) getting pregnant, and nor is she the one who's the primary caregiver! And given that her working day with travelling means that she's out of the house from roughly 6.30am to 8.30pm, I get to over-ride her with this decision.


----------



## CookieSal

Hello ladies - the weekend is here - thank goodness  

Minty - hoping all is well with you and that you are relaxing with precious cargo on board

Edith - how's things?  14 fertilised WOW!

Lotty - How are the jabs going?

Lou - how was your scan hun?

Nismat -  Your consultant sounds really good, hope you can get going next month as planned 

AAM - CD10 scan today, EC is scheduled for 10:00 on Monday morning and I am scared sh1tless.    I currently have a weird range of follies and hope 6-8 of them might have eggs...guess only time will tell.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hello my lovelies,

Just wanted to stop by to say that I am officially Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise!!!

We got two embryos put back in today. The 3rd didn't cleave sadly, so no frosties, but hopefully we won't need them.

I can't tell you how thrilled we are to have gotten to this point. There were times when I really didn't think we would. Thank you all so much for your best wishes and works of encouragement - this board is great!

Got to go and make celebration pizza, but will be back tomorrow to check up on everyone else.

Much love,
Minty
xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Great news Minty - well done.  Fingers crossed for you x  Enjoy your pizza


----------



## lou1736

Woo Hoo!! Fantastic news Minty!! Well done! Look after them! Lots of Luck and enjoy your pizza!!  

CookieSal- Lots and lots of luck for your EC on Monday!! Fingers crossed for you! Sounds like you've got a great amount of follies! What sizes are they? Let us know how it goes   

I had a scan today and was expecting my EC on monday too but they want to leave me like a big fat swollen bloated windy achey balloon for a few more days!!     My follies aren't quite ready yet as they range from about 12-16mm and I've got 11 of them. Thank god they haven't increased my Puregon anymore though!! So my EC will be either weds or fri of next week...got another scan on monday!!   I hope they hurry up coz my belly feels really sore and packed full now and getting strange pains in there more and more! 

Anyway good luck to you all and lots of love and    

Lou xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Horrible feeling isn't it hun - are you going loopy too?  I'm like some kind of emotional freakoid!!! My follies are ridiculous - of the 9 she measured today the biggest is 24mm and the smallest 12mm.  I'm guessing the better ones will be the ones in the middle that are currently around 16-20mm but what do I know huh?  Lining is 8.3mm which is not as thick as last time but is within the range they look for so fine.  Hope yours grow nice and juicy over the weekend.


----------



## lou1736

Wow!! You've got some great sizes there eh Cookiesal!!   

Yeah does feel nasty...more so today. I'm hoping that's not a sign as they grow bigger I feel worse and worse lol!    It was actually hurting to walk and sit down and cough today! All I felt like I wanted to do was sit on the toilet lmao! 

fingers crossed for you girls. Anyone know if this uncomfortable belly feeling eases off after EC or gets worse!!?

Lou xxx


----------



## CookieSal

I don't know the answer but I have been feeling more and more sick as the days have gone on - am convinced it is the jabs (which one or if it's the combination I can't be sure) but I am hoping once EC is done I may start to feel better.  Maybe it will be the same with the tummy thing  

As for the sizes - I reckon some of mine will be too big - I don't know if there is an upper limit where they become useless but I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed that a handful will be good little eggs and make nice embies.


----------



## lotty1

Hi all well first you guys
Minty - i am soooooo happy for you getting to the transfer stage and two embryos in your tummy thats so exciting. I bet you are counting down the days on your tww. Anyway hope the pizza was gorgeous and you are taking it easy. keep us informed of your progress. As always i am crossing fingers toes and sending you loads of positives thoughts and wishes.
Edith- well 14 fertilised thats fantastic i wish i will be that lucky. I am sorry to hear that you are not feeling ok in the tummy department i am sure all will be ok soon.
Nismat- All the best for your treatment next month and as yet the bloody m62 has not beaten me 
Cookie sal- Good luck for Monday and the e/c i know how you are feeling re being scared i have blocked that out of my mind for now. and hope the sickness stops soon.
Lou - Sorry to hear that you have a few more days before collection i hope the sore belly eases soon and all the best for the e/c.
Now my news, bloody hell thats all i can say.... i too like Cookie sal have turned into an emotional freakoid. i started the stims thurs had a few twinges thurs/ fri but nothing too bad also visited the clinic sat and bloods fine to continue with 300 mg until tuesday when i return to manchester. Anyway i had a bad time on sat the injections hurt more than usual but it was after that i lost control. I stood in my kitchen crying for ages poor partner and then throughout the night i kept weeping at nothing. I still feel emotional now but more in control however i feel very on edge and slightly panicky i had to go for  awalk this morning to keep calm oh i need that glass of wine!  i hope it calms down as i will be climbing the walls soon no seriously need to sort it before work tom as don't want to cry at my boss or my young people. Is anyone else feeling the same? 
Anyway i will say bye for now any advice to keep this emotional sate at bay will be really appreciated! I honestly feel like i am on some strange drug which i am  oh to be drug free    xx


----------



## Veela

Crossing my fingers for you, Minty.


----------



## lou1736

Lotty- poor you!!    I've been feeling emotional too on these drugs and keep feeling like I'm having mild panic attacks!! My clinic told me that my scans and bloods are fine so it's because I'm so bloated and packed full that it sometimes feels difficult to breath and my heart races and the the anxiety starts!!    I guess the drugs affect everyone differently eh...the worst part for me has been the belly pain really! I'm drinking water but to no avail really! I feel huge and fat and heavy and it hurts to walk and sit down and even cough!   Actually kinda feels like I haven't had a poo in weeks!!   lol (sorry tmi!) I also feel like I'm on the edge of a mental breakdown quite often but keep reminding myself that there's only a few days left to go!! My nurse said it can help to drink milk too!? I hope you feel a bit better soon. Gotta remember the end result eh!!? I found that I get good days and bad days and the effects seem to be worse from mid afternoon onwards! Good luck and just take things easy. For me personally I also found it helps to keep myself busy and occupied to stop me thinking and worrying about stuff. I know how you're feeling though as will the others so hang on in there and try to stay positive! My DP has taken to just answering me with either 'yes' or 'I love you darling' when I'm being a psycho!! It seems to diffuse the tension and makes me smile again! 

Lots of Love
Lou xxx


----------



## Mable

Hello,
First of all, Minty, best of luck to you   

Apologies for our absence, our home internet has stopped working, so we've been frustratingly offline. 

Our 14 embryos have scraped through to blastocysts, with 4 grade 1 embies and some just behind. A bit of a risk, fingers crossed they are ok. I'm very anxious, DP less so but very pale and sore (still) - no OHSS though. Going to Kings at lunchtime to have them put back in, hopefully, if they are still ok... Will update later.

Tamsin, I am responding quickly as am at work and about to leave for Kings but agree wholeheartedly about your concerns about multiples. We've agonised over this on every occasion and then thought why did we worry when neither embryo survived both times. We are having 2 blasts put back in today if all goes well, because the risk of multiples is less than the risk of it not working. But it is a huge concern. 

Oh heck, feel SO nervous and it's not even me up on the couch this time...

Hello to everyone else, will do more personals later.
Fingers crossed,
Mable


----------



## mintyfaglady

Morning all!

Poor Lotty, Lou and Cookie Sal - sounds like you're having a really rough time with the stimms. They made me feel restless and anxious too - the acupuncturist said that it's quite a common side effect, so you're not going nuts, it really is the drugs!! To try to keep on top of it, I used acupuncture and I meditated to a Natal Hypnotherapy Prepare to Conceive CD (http://www.natalhypnotherapy.co.uk/1676/30436.html) - they do an IVF one too. Sounds a bit Dippy Hippy, but it worked for me. I found walking in the countryside helped too.

The good news is that those side effects will go once you've had egg collection, though I did still feel bloated and sore for a couple of days afterwards. Have you tried Gatorade, or some other type of water or sports drink with electrolytes - they're supposed to help with the bloat and OHSS.

I hope you guys get some relief soon!

Edith (or Mable) - Great news about your embryos continuing to grow so well. I'd imagine it's been stressful wondering every day how they're getting on. Do they phone you with updates? Good luck with the transfer this afternoon

Veela - thanks for your kind wishes.

Tamsin - glad that things are moving forward for you, even though you don't yet have a date. I can understand what you mean about twins, especially when you already have a little one. Tough decision to make though.

Nothing much to report from me - have had a very relaxing weekend snuggled up with my missus, the animals and a book. We watched loads of the L-word series 4 too - great fun - it's got its sense of humour back. I've sneaked an extra day off work on Tuesday, so not back til Weds, then only for a day (I only work a 2 day week there - work at home the rest of the time). Want the sunshine to come out now I've finished those stupid antibiotics - I never heard of tablets that mean you can't go out in the sun!!

Minty
xxx

/links


----------



## Mable

Update from us, 2 blasts on board, 1 really good one and 1 smaller one. Have started praying   Absolutely exhausted now, all that worry and 'what if they drop the damned introducer...?!' 

Don't know how we are going to count this 2ww as we are told to test on 9th July which is ages away. Might do a ticker.


----------



## lou1736

Hey guys!

Just a quick update for you all. I'm now ready for EC!! Had last scan today and now got 18 follies!    I feel like a beached whale and am hobbling around and feeling incredibly uncomfortable!! I want these eggs out NOW!!   Having trigger injection tonight and my EC is wednesday at 9.30am!   VERY SCARED NOW!!   Gotta be at the clinic at 8.30am which is going to be fun seeing as though we have a 2 hour train journey to get there lol! Also had a blood test today to check estradiol level or something. The clinic seemed surprised it was so low given the amount of Puregon I've been on!? Evidently that's a good thing though....!?  

Mable- Lots and lots of luck for your blasts!     hope your 2ww goes smoothly! Lots of positive energy for those lil embies to hang on in there and grow nice and big.  

Minty- How are things progressing for you?    

Lotty- How're you feeling now hun?!  

Love Lou xxxx


----------



## lou1736

P.S. does anyone have any idea as to what level the estradiol should be just before egg collection by the way!?  Can't find anything online and I like to be informed lol! Many thanks

Love to all
Lou xxxxxxxxxx


----------



## CookieSal

Grumpy Sal checking in.

Went for EC but had already ovulated so most of my follies were already gone and they only managed to retrieve 2 eggs which are unlikely to do anything.  I do at least know it is a timing issue rather than a physical problem as such but it's very frustrating    I have to wait for the call from the embryologist tomorrow morning but I think it's unlikely he will have anything positive to tell me, in fact I will be incredibly surprised if he does. 

On a brighter note, EC was no where near as bad as my experience of follie reduction and I am not feeling too bad at all.  My doc was excellent, knew I was scared to death and made sure I was knocked out before they even touched me.  Bit tender this evening but that's about all.  

Sorry for no personals - feeling very sorry for myself.


----------



## Mable

Sorry to hear that CookieSal - how gutting and frustrating to have already ovulated. Still, with 2 eggs, there is still hope for some embryos and I hope that you get some better news today. 

Good luck for EC Lou. Re oestradiol levels, mine were in the 30,000s which was thought to be high. DP's this time were 15,000 on the day of the trigger. They thought that was ok and not a high risk of OHSS. Not a lot you can do about it except drink loads of water (DP managed 5 litres a day).

So much good luck to everyone.
Mable


----------



## lou1736

Hey cookiesal.... I'm so sorry...  I'm gutted for you. I really hope you do get some good news from the 2 eggs... you never know! I might be asking a really stupid question but if the clinic are monitoring you I'm wondering how is it possible to ovulate too soon if you're on the drugs etc...?  
Keep us updated and will be thinking of you.   

I'm off for EC tomorrow morning and I'm now sh*tting myself!! I'm panicking that there won't be enough good eggs and all kinds of stupid things!  DP has bought me a special pair of slippers and dressing gown for the occassion!! Bless her!

Love to all
Lou xxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oh Cookie Sal - what a nightmare for you. You must be really gutted. Have they said why this might have happened? I know you started out this cycle as an IUI and got converted, so I'm guessing you weren't on the down regging drug before you started stims - maybe it's that that stops you from ovulating? Makes you wonder if you've been ovulating before your insems on your IUIs to date too. There's still a little hope for those 2 they did get though, right?

And like you say though, it's certainly something they can get right next time. Are you going for a full IVF next? I'm so glad it was less painful for you too - I know you were really worried about that.

So sorry again that you've had yet another set back. Take care and be as mad as you like!

Mable - congrats on Edith being PUPO! Good luck with the waiting. They gave us a ridiculous test date too - 19 days after egg collection. No way am I waiting that long!

Lou - Ha - I got a new dressing gown too, but it was only on for about 10 minutes!! Good luck with it love - I'm sure you'll be fine!

Minty
xxx


----------



## Mable

Hi Minty,
Wishing our embies so much luck in implanting.    
Mable


----------



## CookieSal

My clever little fighters both fertilized over night - I am so proud of them.  They are going into the freezer for a rest as my hormones and lining are both screwed for this month and next month I will have FET - assuming they thaw ok.   

If this doesn't work then it will be back to IUI but with much milder drugs as my body only needs to smell Puregon and goes beserk.  I'm pretty sure I ov'd early last time aswell so at least this has confirmed the way my body is responding.  They also don't want to do anything invasive as I seem to bleed a lot and I think it's a risk.

Good luck Lou - I can at least tell you that it really isn't so horrible this time.  Ok I am a little bloated but basically I feel alright. To answer your question - I don't know, they say it is rare but not unheard of.  I think I am naturally fertile and my body just doesn't want all these drugs. 

Mable - lots of luck to you and Edith  

Minty -take it easy chick, wishing you lots of luck  

Love to everyone xxx


----------



## lou1736

Hey CookieSal.....that's brilliant news about your eggs!! What little stars they are! I'm really pleased as I bet you are too!! Do you feel more positive now? I hope so. Good luck for them in the months to come.    

Thanks for your support...it's nearly D-day for me lol!

Love Lou xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Try not to worry too much - I was asleep through most of it yesterday.  I look forward to hearing positive news from you x

Thanks for your good wishes, I still feel very sad as I seem to get kicked every time I start to make progress but at least I know my eggs can fertilise.  I just want them back and growing inside me but I know I have to be patient to give them the best chance. I don't know what the odds are for FETs but for me the more natural the cycle the better seemingly so it seems sensible to wait.  Back to work tomorrow    I was hoping to be PUPO.  Just want the next few weeks to fly by so I can start my next cycle.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Yay Cookie Sal's little eggs! Fab news that they fertilised and made it to freezer. I bet you can't wait til you're ready to have them back in. FET success rates are much higher than IUI - our clinic quotes about 25% I think, so that's great news!

Minty
xxx


----------



## CookieSal

I'm hoping that FET will suit me as it will be less traumatic and I am a terrible stress head at the best of times.  Also fewer drugs will mean my body is less freaked and upset.  I feel very emotional thinking about my little fighters - they have done so well.  I just want to look after them.


----------



## lotty1

Hi cookie sal congrats on your little frozen goods!!!! and all the best for the fet
Lou good luck tom with the e/c my thoughts are with you
Minty/ Maple still have my fingers and toes crossed for your tww.
just a quick note feel alot better now, more chilled after acupuncture and sooooo busy at work so that is helping as the time is flying. all ok with bloods today they are reducing my stims tom and have scan thurs. To be honest a little scared as my stomach although a little bloated seems to have quietened down and is not giving me problems i should not complain really! well will keep this short as going to bed as the early morn travel has won my body has collapsed and eyes closing.
take care all xx


----------



## lou1736

Hi all!!! Quick update....

Back from EC now!! Well that was the strangest experience I've ever had lol! Nice but wierd and I panicked far to much than was necessary lol! Evidently when I woke up I told the nurse I wanted a chicken roast!!!? And I don't even like chicken ha ha ha! Feeling rather tender but not too bad at all considering. Still kinda suffering from temporary amnesia!  

Anyway they got 14 eggs so have to wait til later on today when they'll let me know how many are good enough to perform ICSI on! Fingers crossed!    

Good Luck to all
Love Lou xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Sounds good to me Lou - well done.  Just be sure to take it easy now as you may start to feel more tender later when the painkillers wear off (My clinic gives a paracetamol suppository so you feel fabulous initially).  Plenty of rest and lots of water x  Hope you get good news when they call.


----------



## lou1736

Hi cookiesal!!

Thanks so much! Feeling good surprisingly!? I'm egg sharing so 14 was a good number to get! That means 7 for me and 7 for my recipient.   I just got a call from the embryologist and out of my seven eggs, six of them were mature enough for ICSI so they've now been injected. She told us that was brilliant odds as usually only 33% of eggs are mature enough! We're very excited about that and only hoping my recipient got as god odds out of her half too! Expecting a call in the morning to tell me how many have actually fertilised!  

Love to all
Lou xxx


----------



## CookieSal

That's fantastic - will keep my fingers crossed that they are good little eggs and fertilise well x


----------



## Alison0702

Aww Cookiesal I am so pleased your little ones managed it    must have been really disappointing though but hopefuklly FET will work for you next month. Keep my fingers crossed for you  

Lou Glad EC went well for you. Nice amount of eggs too. Have you had the call yet? p.s. which one are you on the pic..I'm dead nosey  

Mable and Edith Woohoooroll on 4th July       Will keep everything crossed for you both. Really sorry about E's mum...give her my love. Has she been ok after EC? 

Minty       


Good luck to all trying !!!!


----------



## lou1736

Hi All!!!

Just got a call from the clinic and all of my eggs have fertilised!! 100% fertilisation!! Yipee!!  

ET scheduled for saturday morning!!

Alison- I'm the blonde one lol!

Love to all
Lou xxx


----------



## Alison0702

Lou        

That is a fab result...well done little embies  

Loads of luck for ET on Saturday. Are you going to putting one or two embies back?
x


----------



## CookieSal

100% - fantastic - well done girl, good luck for Sat


----------



## mintyfaglady

Lou that's fantastic! Well done. I bet you (and your recipient) are thrilled!


----------



## Mable

Well done to Lou and her great eggs. Fingers crossed for Saturday. 

How are you bearing up Minty? Have to say that E is completely knackered, so pale her lips look blue and she can hardly keep her eyes open let alone get off the sofa. She was doing better on Monday/Tuesday but has had a complete relapse recently.


----------



## lou1736

Mable- I hope E feels better soon!!   do you know why she is feeling so bad? Good luck for test day...have everything crossed for you.    

Love Lou
xxx


----------



## nismat

Oh poor,poor *Edith*, that doesn't sound good  I hope that her energy levels pick up a bit soon 
I can't believe that the test date is so far away - sounds bonkers to me! What have you done on past cycles with testing? Or did you bleed before you got a chance to test?

*Lou * - Glad to hear that EC wasn't nearly as bad as you thought it might be!  What great news about all those eggs, and such a wonderful fertilisation rate. Sending some embie growing vibes over to the Cromwell (I presume that LWC's IVF procedures are still carried out there - or has that changed since they re-vamped LWC?). Will you get to find out if your recipient gets a BFP? - if you want to of course!

*Minty * - how goes it for you? Is time really dragging? Any thoughts as to when you may test - if you want to let us know that is 

*Lotty * - hope that today's scan has resulted in good news for you x

*CookieSal * - you must be in a bit of a state of shock with all that's gone on in the last week or two  I'm really sorry that you'd already ovulated several of the eggs by the time they did EC, but it's great that the 2 that they did get both fertilised - what a result! It must be terribly disappointing not to join the PUPO club, but your body obviously needs some recovery time from all the messing with hormones etc. Will have everything crossed for a successful FET for you next month.


----------



## lou1736

Nismat- Thanks!!  I have no idea where the procedure is carried out!!? I just assumed it was on site!? I will be able to find out if my recipient gets a BFP yes! I haven't decided whether I want to yet though! I asked this morning whether her half of my eggs had made it to fertilisation too and they said yes but not as many as me. So I'm really pleased about that!   At least I know my eggs are now capable of fertilising!! Seems like a long wait until saturday morning now! I'm really tempted to phone them tomorrow to check how my little ones are doing and whether they have divided!!?   

Love Lou xxx


----------



## CookieSal

Thanks Nismat, I really aprreciate your kind words.  I am still quite emotional over it,   feel cheated if I am honest and wish things could be simpler.  Of course I am grateful for my 2 little fighters and feel bad for drowning in self pity when things could be worse.  At least I am now feeling physically better which means I can start getting back to normal and hopefully time will pass quickly and I'll be making the appointment to sort out the FET cycle very soon.

Thanks again


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oh Lou, I'd definitely call - waiting until Saturday would KILL me!! You'd think they'd give you daily updates, wouldn't you?

Mable - Poor Edith feeling so rough - is this OHSSishness? I've felt disgustingly fine throughout the whole thing, with the exception of one spectacular screaming meltdown during the stimms phase. I was sleepy after the EC for a day or so, but been fine since really. Then again, I didn't really have much going on it there (4 follies) so I bet that makes a big difference. I hope she starts feeling better soon. Have the clinic suggested anything to help?

And those test dates - what a joke! No way am I waiting that long. I'd be expecting my period by around 30th June/1st July, and I'm not on the pessaries, so if it's coming, it'll probably come by then. If I make it to the 2nd, I may test then - that'd be 14 days past EC.

Weirdly, time seems to be going quite quickly, even though I'm thinking about it all the time. I'm not feeling terribly hopeful, simply because nothing's ever worked before, but you never know, huh? I mean, if I didn't think it was going to work eventually, I wouldn't still be trying, right? I've felt a little crampy yesterday and today. How unfair that the most common sign of a period coming is also the most common sign of a BFP TWW? I'm not reading anything into it (good or bad). Just hanging in there.

Minty
xxx


----------



## lou1736

Oh Minty....well I'm very hopeful for you!!     I'm also dreading the 2ww. I think it will be the worst part!  sending you lots and lots of    

I'm suffering with belly pain...I've actually come to the conclusion that it's not from the EC or drugs but more feels like IBS or something? Anyone else had this?!  It's really getting me down now and incapacitating!

So do you think the clinic will call me again tomorrow with another update then? Is that what usually happens!??   Maybe I'll wait til like 10am and see lol!

Love to all
Lou xxxx


----------



## lotty1

Hi all
Lou congrats on your fab eggs and all the best on sat i bet you are sooooo happy with the fert rate yipee!!!!!!! re the ibs you must be in sooo much pain my friend as this and sometimes he cannot even stand  Anyway I am glad i know which one you are on the pic i was convinced that i was speaking to your partner   i wanted to ask but someone else beat me to it 
Minty - keep in there the tww is nearly at its end all the best for bfp i   for you to have brill news
Edith/maple - sorry to hear that edith is  feeling sooooo exhausted i hope she feels better very soon sending my thoughts your way.
Cookiesal- keep in there your fet will come around before you know it as they say time flys all the best 
Nismat - thanks for your wishes re 2days scan
Re scan i think its going well but as always i am a little dim so do not fully understand all the lingo/ process   to be honest it was funny as i was sat there with a clipboard writing down the numbers i felt like i was at mecca bingo......... please note i am not a bingo queen  well unless i am at the seaside!!!! Well both ovaries have activity, on the graph i was shown i have 3 follies between 11-14 in one and in the other 2 between the same range plus 6 smaller ones 8-10 approx in one and 7 smaller ones in the other. The smaller ones however may remain too small. I only hope they continue to grow fingers crossed. Now reduced to 150 stims until next scan sat. so will see from there i just hope i get to E/C thats my main aim at the mo.
take care all xx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Lotty!!

Great news on your scan....looks like you're gonna get a fab number of eggs eh!? They will continue to grow nice and big and you'll get more before collection so no need to worry!! Hope all's going well with the drugs too!    

Take care!

Love Lou
xxx
P.S. what made you think you were talking to my partner lol!?


----------



## lou1736

P.S. does anyone know if you can get a scan pic of when they transfer the lil embies!!? If it's possible I think that would be the most amazing thing to be able to show the child if it resulted in a success!! 

Lou xxx


----------



## Alison0702

Lou I suffered with terrible pain after EC. I could hardly walk for about 4 days. It was just underneath my boobs on the right hand side. I also had REALLY bad trapped wind which I think is common when taking cyclogest. Some people dont get any effects of EC but I was ill. 

Also, we were lucky enough to be allowed to take a camera into ET and we got some fab pictures of the embryos. Make sure you ask, cos I dont think may people did it at my hospital but I had to have a photo of my embies  

Have you rang them today?


----------



## lou1736

Alison- Oooo thanks for the camera tip hun!! Definately will try that then  

My belly is heaps better today! I was told to take IBS pills and it seems to be doing the trick!! Thanks god! The pain was getting me so down. So it wasn't all down to the EC after all!

I'm waiting for a bit til I phone to see if they phone!!! lol Not sure who to ask to speak to!!! Plus I'm a bit scared to call!!!   

Lots of love
Lou xxx


----------



## magsandemma

Hi girls

Been following all your stories just not managed to post, lots going on on the board at the mo, and lots of lovely embies tucking in by the sounds of it!!

Minty  -  Hoping things are going well and those embies are all snuggled in, take it easy!!

Cookiesal  -  Hoping you can get your fet done soon and well done on both those little ones fertilising!!

Lou  -  Hope you get news of the little embies, are you at the LWC, as we only had the one call to let us know how many fertilised then we werent called until morning of ET as we were having AH so the embriologist phoned to ask if we still wanted it done, if you phone just ask to speak with embryologist I think.  Good Luck with it all, I remember watching those little ones being put back, and my partner Emma fell over in theatre lol, so a day to remember, and what a story to tell Lou.

Lotty  -  You little eggs will continue to grow before the next scan so I wont worry hun.

Mable  -  Poor E I hope she is feeling a bit better, not good, hope she is taking it easy, look after yourselfs girlies, and good luck.

Good Luck to all and apologies if I missed anyone, looking forward to hearing about lots of BFPs!!!

Maggie
xx


----------



## lou1736

I just spoke to the clinic!!! They can't give me an update until tomorrow morning when I have ET!!!     Evidently they're put in the incubator and they try not to disturb them!!    so we can't find out until we get there tomorrow!    Oh well....just means a nerve racking day I guess lol!! Grow little embies, grow!  
mags and emma- yeah we're at LWC!

Love 
Lou xxx


----------



## SANFRAN06

Reading all of your entries takes me back and Im thinking of you all.
lou- Try not to worry about your embryo's. We had 8 and 100% fertilised. Only 2 were grade 1, 8 cells at ET day but both took. Just try to keep positive. The 2ww is unbearable and I got bad OHSS due to twins I presume because I did not have many follicles.
We were at LWC and found the them very supportive and helpful.
No great tips except to say this pregnancy lark is bommin' long and stressfull but also the most exciting and the best thing to ever to happen to us. We cant wait tho meet them now.
Good luck to you all
cant wait to hear about your progres,
love kerry and jen


----------



## nismat

*Lou * - it sounds like things must have changed re: IVF since we had it with LWC in June 06. At that time, they didn't have the facilities/staff to carry out IVF procedrures, so we had to go to the Cromwell Hospital for both EC and ET. It was a bit strange, but the staff there were absolutely lovely (totally unintelligible embryologist though - his accent was so strong we couldn't work out what he was telling us about the embryos!).

Thinking back, I don't think that we got any update either between hearing about fertilisation, and going for ET on day 3. When we eventually worked out what the embryologist was saying, I got myself in even more of a state, because we heard that only 2 of our 3 embies had developed, and neither of them were the 6-8 cell size I was expecting on 3dpt - they were 4 cells and 5 cells respectively. The embryologist did try and reassure us that they were both perfectly capable of achieving a pregnancy (they were grade 1 and grade 1*), but I didn't really believe him. He was right though 

We didn't get any kind of photo of our embies, but we did get to see them on screen as they were put into me (as they were positioned using ultrasound). I bet they'll print you off a screen dump of that if you ask. 
Good luck for tomorrow! 

Good news for you *Lotty * - sounds like you've responded well. Looking forward to hearing about tomorrow's scan news (LOL at you with your "bingo" clipboard  actually makes a lot of sense though, as it's hard to remember the numbers!)

*Minty * and *Mable/Edith*


----------



## lou1736

Hey all!

Just a quick update....back from ET now! All went well!     My two little embies are safely onboard!! I already feel very attached to them lol! Just     they can hang on in there now!

Hope you're all well.

Love
Lou xxx


----------



## lotty1

Hi lou i am glad that the transfer went well and that your two embies are safety back in your body it must be such a relief to get to that stage. I am hoping that i get to that stage. re the pic i just assumed that i was speaking to the person with brown hair i don't know why, just had an instinct well that was wrong anyway!!!!   . So anyway when do you text?
Minty / maple How are you guys? keep those positives thoughts going!!!!! 
well no more bingo clipboard for me i was gutted the woman did not give me the option this time however i did get to look at the screen. Anyway having a panic because i was assuming that if i got to E/c it would be the end of the week so out of mind and all   well i was told today that it will occur this Tues i am soooooooooo scared   To be honest i am fed up with my large belly i look like a whale or one of those toy webble wobbles plus its getting more uncomfortable sorry just having a moan. On a serious note i cannot seem to shake this exhaustion and it seems to be getting worse.Never mind at least i have stopped being manic 
Anyway i think the scan went well its diff to judge, the 5 large ones have moved to the top box on the graph 15-20 and the smaller ones  have also moved up a box to the middle secton. Apparently they are following the same pattern i just hope the larger ones don't get tooo large but am hoping that some of the smaller ones make it to the other box. i am trying not to read toooo much into this as the follies may not have any eggs so my next aim is to get to transfer. 
well bye for now keep in touch all
xx


----------



## lou1736

Lotty- lol about the photo!!    I'm glad all's going well for you!! See....I told you they'd all grow!! Mine also seemed to have a big growth spurt in the last couple of days! Evidently that's normal! It sounds like you'll get a nice amount and a good size too so stop worrying lol!  You'll be fine! My EC also changed days a couple of times too! I was SOOOO scared when I went in for EC cos I'd never had any form of sedation or hospialisation before but I can tell you it was great! Didn't feel a thing and really surreal! I talked utter nonsense after though and asked the nurse the same questions about 10 times!  DP kept laughing at me! She was really good though and just kept repeating herself lol!   And my bloating was and still is AWFUL!!! I look about 5 months pregnant!!!    It's really uncomfortable! Lots of water all through the day really does help though. So I know how you feel hun!!! Hang on in there! It'll be ok! Let us know how your EC goes   Lots of Luck

Love lou xxx


----------



## Mable

Hello,
Into the 2nd week of the 2ww *Minty*. This always feels the worst week to me. How are you bearing up? Have to admit we are finding it difficult not to wonder whether S is pregnant or not. She is still having episodes of feeling quite pale/faint and, although thankfully is able to do a little more to help with Monty, she still has moments where the blood drains from her face and she feels utterly exhausted. Has been to the GP and her blood pressure is OK. Is rather debilitating for her. She didn't have this with on her 2ww where she was pregnant so we can't hope that it's an early sign.

Good luck to you Lou - keep drinking loads of water.  

Best wishes to Lotty for your EC and those follies.

Hello Tamsin, Alison and Maggie - say a few prayers for us all !! _*please*_


----------



## Alison0702

Mable Sounds like Edith is having a right old time of it.   it is good news for you all on the 4th. Loads and loads of     for you...will be waiting with baited breath to read the news


----------



## Mable

Thanks Alison. Gorgeous pic of Christopher there. Absolutely gorgeous little chubby cheeks.


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hi all.

Still here - going quietly crackers. I would normally have got my period now, or at least started spotting, but I haven't, so I tested early and got a VERY VERY faint positive, but tested again this morning and it looked negative to me, so now I'm in Early Testing Hell and I only have myself to blame. Actually, Early Testing Hell is better than where I was before, which was Utterly Convinced This Hasn't Worked Hell. Even a little bit of hope is better than nothing, and if it doesn't turn out to be anything, I'll live - been through this enough times now not to get over excited, and I'll take my hope when and where I can get it.

Lou, I'm really glad your egg collection went so well - I know you were scared. Good to know your little ones are onboard - I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Lotty, Egg Collection tomorrow - bet you'll be glad to have them out. Best of luck to you hon - I bet some of those tiddlers caught up and you get a good haul.

Mable - glad that Edith is feeling a little better, though it's worrying that it all seems to have taken so much out of her - I hope it's been worth it and you get a great positive soon!

Much love to all. Please keep those fingers crossed.
Minty
xxx


----------



## Mable

Oh Minty, it's a bit early. The progesterone will be keeping your period at bay. With Monty, E got a very very faint positive on day 12. Aren't we on day 9 today? But I completely know where you are coming from - it is utter hell. Have driven myself mad today at work googling all E's 2ww symptoms and getting my hopes up and then dashed (it's obviously all progesterone side-effects which I know when I am rational but all this goes out of the window with 2ww desperation!) Then she rang and said she had bad cramps and I was almost in tears, begging her to go for a poke about to see if there was any blood, this is all at my desk at work where I have done absolutely nothing except searching for signs and googling all day! Ugh.

I really can't wait for this all to be over now. Really keeping all crossed for you and hope it was indeed a faint positive.


----------



## mintyfaglady

LOL - poking about! I've been doing that too! I'm not on progesterone, I had an extra hcg shot a couple of days after transfer and today is 12 days past egg collection for me (so I figured that was like 12 days past ovulation). I only usually have a 10 or 11 day luteal phase and spot for a day or two beforehand (even on the medicated cycles I've done, though admittedly this is our first crack at IVF).

It's just utter hell though - much worse than any TWW I've been through before. Before I tested, the pair of us were crying and moping constantly, so I don't really care if we're deluding ourselves, at least it's given us a bit of hope. 

Fingers crossed for both of us eh?

xxx


----------



## Mable

Hi Edith here,

oh Minty, what a nightmare this all is!!!!! I really feel for you. go for it- hope wise - makes you feel better. might as well be thinking it has worked rather than not.  How long does HCG stay in the body. everytime , I forget. could it be that or actually something else?!!!!! oh i so hope so.

I am still feeling pretty rubbish really. much better today but still with all these awful episodes of feeling so drained( not in a pregnancy way drained I have to say- in a almost fainting, really low blood sugar way..) who knows? as dp says probably all down to progesteron. I only had it once a day last time and no side effects. Now on twice daily its noticably different. I was supposed to be the straightforward one! How disappointing it all is. Back to work on Wednesday so I am hoping for a bit of distraction from all the poking about and knicker checking!! ( I did succomb in the end!)

Good luck, Good luck. Please get a BFP! No doubt you will test again tomorrow. I have a full class of 30 on my test day - oh joy of joy if its negative. Poor kids. 

take care, keep us posted.  Good luck Lou with your embies and Lottie with egg collection. Alison, great to see the litlle man looking so very very cute. We read your birth story and we both balled.  Big love and hugs to you and Juliette. I log on especially most times just to hear how you and Christopher are doing. XX


Good luck everyone.


----------



## Alison0702

Minty Have you tested yet today? 

Edith Thanks for your lovely post    Only 3 more sleeps till test date    I'm sure those 30 kids will behave themselves for you      Hope you've been taking it easy though, as it sounds like its been an awful few weeks for you. Get Mable to make some of that  Nigella lemon cake... 

Lou Hope you're doing ok on the 2ww


----------



## lou1736

Hey Guys!!!

Oh my god do I know how you're feeling Minty and Edith!!! I'm only at day 4 of my 2ww and I can understand the hell!! We did so so many known donor fresh inseminations over the past couple of years and every single time I read into anything and everything even though every time ended in nothing!   Each time I almost had all of the early pregnancy symptoms!!   So in a way I'm used to this 2ww but this time it seems so much more is riding on it and that it really should work!! If it's ever going to work for us then this is our best shot! It's so scary! I've almost convinced myself it's not going to work as I've been in this position more times than I care to mention!? In the past I tried to do everything possible to maximise my chances and even that didn't work! Don't get me wrong...I'm still hopeful as always but just trying not to think about it! Sorry if I sound negative! This gets me thinking back to people I used to know of years and years ago who were heroin addicts and alcoholics etc and getting pregnant here there and everywhere!! It's crazy isn't it?
I've started getting wierd all over body itching since yesterday! My itchy legs are driving me NUTS!! lol.
Belly is still HUGE and fat and bloated!

Lotty- Lots and lots of luck for your EC....you'll do great!   

Love to all
Lou xxxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Ok, well there was no maybe about it this morning - a very definite second line. I'm PREGNANT!!  

It hasn't really sunk in yet, and we're not leaping about and screaming - I think after trying for so long, we're still in shock and more than a little sceptical, especially as it's still so early and I know there's so much that could still go wrong, but holy hell - IT WORKED!

I really hope that everyone else follows suit - it would be so great to go through this with you all Lotty and Lou and Edith and Mable, with Cookie Sal and Tamsin bringing up the rear!

Love to you all,
Minty
xxx


----------



## lou1736

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!         
WOW!!!! I'm more excited than you lol!!!!! Oh that's brightened my day!!! WELL DONE GUYS!!! I'm SO pleased for you Minty and DP! 

Lots of love
Lou xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


----------



## Mable

Hurray hurray hurray Minty. How marvellous to see that 2nd line nice and strong! *I* want that, now. Very tempted to buy some tests at lunchtime.


----------



## lou1736

P.S. Minty- How early did you test out of curiousity?!   

xxxxxxxxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

I'm so bad - I've been testing since Sunday (11 days past egg collection). I took egg collection as being the same as ovulation and I would normally get my period around 11 or 12 DPO. On the 11th I got the faintest of lines, and again on 12, both using Clear Blue early. I did another test last night and this morning using First Response - they were much easier to read and less ambiguous.

Gonna do a digital tomorrow then I might actually believe it!

Minty
xxx


----------



## Edith

WOW Minty!!!THATS fantastic news Congratulations!!! BFP BFP BFP !!!!! YO.....

I know what you mean about being cautious but omg that is amazing. ENJOY!!!! so glad for you, I really am. sooooo tempted to test early now!! at least if it is negative I can  fool myself into thinking its wrong. have had horrible cramps today and yesterday and my usual " period spot" on my face ( also had when I was pregnant last time but probably just hormones again -doesnt mean anything....OR DOES IT?? AGHHHHHHH..

so pleased for you. bad luck lou that you are having a mare of a time as well. Its not easy is it. IVF certainly makes it so much harder. just thinking about the litlle embies in there is very different to waiting for the sperm and egg to meet. 


Good luck everyone else. MInty - congratulations!!!

Sorry about terrible punctuation and spelling- feeding monty at the same time. We are very lucky to have him, whatever the result.

take care

edith


----------



## emnjo

mintyfaglady said:


> Ok, well there was no maybe about it this morning - a very definite second line. I'm PREGNANT!!
> 
> It hasn't really sunk in yet, and we're not leaping about and screaming - I think after trying for so long, we're still in shock and more than a little sceptical, especially as it's still so early and I know there's so much that could still go wrong, but holy hell - IT WORKED!
> 
> I really hope that everyone else follows suit - it would be so great to go through this with you all Lotty and Lou and Edith and Mable, with Cookie Sal and Tamsin bringing up the rear!
> 
> Love to you all,
> Minty
> xxx


Just read and this got goose pimples!!!!
I have been reading your posts for ages and SOOOOOOOOO happy for you!!!!!!!! Yay yay yay!!!


----------



## emnjo

mintyfaglady said:


> Ok, well there was no maybe about it this morning - a very definite second line. I'm PREGNANT!!
> 
> It hasn't really sunk in yet, and we're not leaping about and screaming - I think after trying for so long, we're still in shock and more than a little sceptical, especially as it's still so early and I know there's so much that could still go wrong, but holy hell - IT WORKED!
> 
> I really hope that everyone else follows suit - it would be so great to go through this with you all Lotty and Lou and Edith and Mable, with Cookie Sal and Tamsin bringing up the rear!
> 
> Love to you all,
> Minty
> xxx


----------



## lotty1

Just a quick one at mo will write more soon
A big congrats to MiNTY I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY 4 YOU AND YOUR PARTNER  thats brill news you deserve it 
E/c went fine today although was soooo scared, to be honest in a sick way i enjoyed the sedation i will have some more of that anyday   .slept throughout and when i woke up i spoke about my wish to have a sunday dinner i even asked the nurse if i could come around to hers for this dinner! well at least i did not ask her out    soz have bad sense of humour.
Anyway all my follies had eggs and 18 eggs in total just a little concerned about the number and i am unsure of quality at mo i just am  that at least i have two for transfer. Trying to not think about tom when i know for sure.
bye for now thinking of all. xx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Lotty, so glad your EC went well. Was thinking of you. I know what you mean about the sedation - niiiice! And 18 is a GREAT number - I bet you get plenty to transfer and freeze. I reckon waiting to hear how they do is the most nerve-wracking bit though, so find something to distract yourself!

Thanks for your good wishes everyone. Still struggling to believe that it's finally happened, but we braved a digital test tonight and it came up with the p word, so I don't think there's any doubt!
Minty
xxx


----------



## magsandemma

Minty & Partner

What fab news, big Congratulations hun, have been checking in daily to see whats going on, how fab to see the word appear isnt it!!! I remember it well, enjoy it, and you girls take it easy while it all sinks in!!

To everyone else hope this is the start of many BFPs on the board, I will be eagerly awaiting all the outcomes!!!

Good Luck all

Maggie
xx


----------



## rosypie

Minty - congratulations, what fantastic news!


----------



## lou1736

hey Lotty!!

Well done on all your lovely eggs!!! That's great news! Told you it'd be all ok didn't I lol!! Hope you get some nice embies and some to freeze too! Take it easy!    

Minty & partner - Well done again!!! It's official now eh!    how exciting!!         
Keep your fingers crossed and lots of   for the rest of us now!
Love 
Lou xxxx


----------



## Damelottie

​
*MANY CONGRATS MINTYFAGLADY*​


----------



## Alison0702

Minty that is fantastic news

CONGRATULATIONS   

Hope this is the start of many more


----------



## lotty1

Hi all

Still so excited about Minty's news - at long last some good news on this site...   .

Well news from the clinic this morning.......9 of the 18 eggs have fertilised. I am happy as i was worried after so many failed DI's that my eggs might have been **** lol.  But i guess 50 % is what they aim for...don't you think?  

I am now    that they develop well before transfer tomorrow, but i know it's possible we may lose some at this stage. so fingers and toes crossed all day. I wish we could go and and visit them in their little petri dish  to wish them well. 
lou and mable how r  u tw'so?
re ya stomach lou mines also big and bloated i think i need to join weight watchers
bye for now all xx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Lotty- Great news about your little eggs!!! Good Luck with the ET too hope it all goes well and you get some good ones develop!    Does your clinic do a two day transfer then?!

Mable- Any news??! How's it going?    

I'm hating this waiting! Can't stand waiting for anything at the best of times lol!!  

Love and luck to the others  

Lou xxxxx


----------



## Mable

Hi,
No news from us. We are not keen on testing early as I got a faint positive last cycle, followed by a period the day after my official test day, which was SO gutting, so we are trying to hold out. Am a bit of an emotional mess though and being rather anxious and desperate. Think it must be the disappointment of my 2 failed IVF cycles on top of desperation for this cycle to work.

She took her last cyclogest this morning, so the longer the period doesn't come, the more confident we will feel. I like doing it like this, still keeping glimmers of hope alive. She is still feeling completely exhausted and also very sick today, which is a new development. We'll see if this vanishes with the lack of artificial progesterone and that will let our hopes down gradually. I feel almost phobic about the finality of those tests.

              

Good luck Lou, hope you find a way to get through this wait,
Good luck Lotty for ET.
Mable


----------



## lou1736

Mable- I know how you guys must be feeling! How long to go before your official test day? I know what you mean about hanging off testing and it feeling like there's still hope....I keep switching from thinking like that to thinking I'd rather know one way or another instead of kidding myself and living in a fantasy world! I also have a complete lack of energy....feels like someone has drained all the blood from my body!! Am feeling rather pessimistic and sorry for myself for no particular reason apart from feeling that it hasn't worked just like it has never worked before so why will it now! It's not good I know but I don't feel like anything is happening?!    sorry if that sounds depressing!

I hope you both stay positive and I'm wishing you lots of luck    

Lots of Love
Lou xxx


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Mintyfaglady- Yeah congrats on your   wishing you a healthy and happy pregnancy
L x


----------



## Veela

I am absolutely chuffed to bits, Minty!  It's fantastic news!  Congratulations!


----------



## nismat

*Minty * - what fabulous, fabulous news! Are you still in shock at finally seeing those positive pregnancy tests? I just kept on doing them for days and days, trying to convince myself that I was actually pregnant (I did have a load of cheapie internet ones under the bathroom sink - ones that I'd never really had a chance to use before as I always got my period before official test date). Truth be told, I used them weeks into the pregnancy, certainly up until the first scan at 7/8 weeks, as I kept convincing myself that it was all too good to be true. 
I'm really thrilled for you both that the IVF has worked after all the previous tries. I hope that your embryo/s is safely snuggled in there for an uneventful pregnancy 

*Mable & Edith* - thinking of you both & Monty, I so, so hope that you get a BFP too    It sounds like a really tough time waiting, with all that's happened in previous cycles.

*Lotty * - great news about your 9 fertilised eggs; I hope that they're all good'uns

*Lou * - hang on in there! Fingers crossed for a BFP for you as well


----------



## Mable

After all I said, Edith was feeling SO sick last night she did a quick test and it came up positive straight away - 2 days early!   Can't stop welling up. A full sibling for Monty - can't believe it.

Everything crossed for you next Lou and then Lotty. We are a lucky lucky group so far.


----------



## magsandemma

Yay

What fab news Mable, you must be so excited, BIG CONGRATS!!!

Maggie
xx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Woo! Mable and Edith - that's brilliant!! Many congratulations!!!  

Come on the rest of you!

Minty
xxx


----------



## Damelottie

​
*SO PLEASED FOR YOU    *​


----------



## ♥JJ1♥

Mable and Edith- Congratulations on your  you must be so thrilled, Monty is just so cute in the photos and to think another one on the way!!
L x


----------



## Alison0702

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO 

              

Bet you cant tell I am excited  

Well done you two..I had a sneaky suspicion with how E was feeling, but I am soooooooooooo pleased it has been confirmed!!!!!!

Yoohoo!


----------



## lotty1

Congratulations Mable and Edith its soooooooo exciting.
Lou Sorry to hear you are feelign a little low please keep positive hang in there.
Minty so how r u? When do you go to MFS to check if its 1 o2 little ones? So any symptoms yet?
Well news here i have now 2 embryos inside me and 5 frozen ,all 9 divided but two  would not make the freeze but am happy with 5 in the freezer . To be honest i should be excited but i am feeling **** sorry to moan. My stomach hurts and i feel like i have period pain worse today than yesterday so i had to succumb to paracetamol's ,now convinced that these and the pain will stop anything working. This pain made the full bladder thing even more painful so i am sad to admit i was glad when the e/t was over. I was emotional when isaw them on the screen but as said this was blinded by the pain. Now sat here like a miserable cow feeling sorry  4 myself when i should be happy   I think my bowls are slow so this is not helping as wind is painful.......... sorry too much information   so I have decided to try and forgot this 2ww and pretend it does not exist. I am now going to use the pessary oh what joy ......... not! 
miserable lotty


----------



## lou1736

WOO HOO WOO HOO!! That's great news Edith & Mable!! CONGRATULATIONS!!           

I'm so pleased for you both you must be over the moon! Enjoy the feeling!! Let's hope this luck continues for the rest of us!    

Lotty- I know how you feel. I couldn't hardly walk after EC and after ET I felt like poo too. Hang on in there though. The pain will go away soon....although maybe not the bloating and wind from the cyclogest, oh joy! Sending you lots of    

Love 
Lou xxxxx


----------



## TerriWW

Hi Mable and Edith - Fantastic news!!!!!!!!!!      

I don't really post here anymore I just look from time to time and you two are two of the people I remember as you were posting when I first started and after all you've been through I'm so pleased for you. You must be over the moon!

It's made me feel hopeful for us. We've had a similar journey to you. I had our son then ju has spent nearly 3 years trying to have our 2nd unsuccessfully. Now we are going back to me - the only difference being I'm going to try and get pregnant with ju's embryos. Your success has give me hope it might work - though I'm terrified to be hopeful! We start down regulating next week.

So so pleased for you both - at last an end to the ups and downs of fert treatment - and on to the ups and downs of pregnancy and small babies !  

Terri


----------



## Mable

Edith here,

Terri, Thank you so much. Its lovely when people follow you up isn't it. Oh the very best of luck to you.  I am sooo grateful it worked - this far- feel very blessed. Its been a tough year. As it has for you too. How wonderful to have Ju's embroyos in you. What an amazing baby that would be. You really have given it your best so far havent you?- it must be so hard to stay positive. ( just noticed the most amazing rainbow in the sky. I am not religious but I love them and feel they are a sign of hope.  )Best of luck. It is good to be able to move on . I wish that for you too. Do let us know how you get on over the next 2 months.

WOW!!!! I am soooo excited! I can not tell you... Thank you so much for all the lovely messages.It is the best feeling in the world. SO hoping for some more good news for you guys too. Its such a difficult journey isnt it. My mum is terminally ill and probably not going to be around for the birth, but I have been sooooo wanting it to work so I could tell her at least I am pregnant.. I know she will be thrilled as she wanted Monty to have a sibling. Am going to wait till the 6 week scan just to make sure!!! ( She has about 6 months probaby) Sorry didnt want to be depressing just feel so happy to be able to tell her before she gets too ill. I am really hoping ( obviously arent we all?!) for a good outcome for this little bean as you never know it may give her something to fight for.. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE UPBEAT!!!!

OH MY GOD IT REALLY WORKED!!!!! Minty hope you are still at the excited stage! Its incredible isn't it, espcially when you hve had so many disppointments and losses on the way. 

Lou - fingers crossed. No pressure!! we will be all rooting for you. Lotty, sorry you are having a horrible time.As you know , I found EC very uncomfortable afterwards and it really gets you down. I', normally good with being ill - I give in and go to bed at the drop of a hat- but this was something else.  Hope the blues lift soon. Its a huge process that takes it out of you in all ways.  Good luck.. Fantastic news about freezing. We have never had any good enough to freeze. So thats great. Thinking of you over the next couple of days.

Thanks again for your good wishes! Its lovely. Edith


----------



## lucky2010

Huge congrats Minty and partner and Mable and Edith.... fantastic news for you all!!!!! x x x


----------



## rosypie

Edith, Mable. So so pleased for you here, we were so hoping and praying it would work for you guys this time. Hope to see you very very soon


----------



## pem

Mable, Edith - Absolutely huge congratulations!!!!!! What fantastic news!!! 
[fly]     [/fly]

 For your mum Edith..

Emma and Edie


----------



## pem

Minty - Only just realised your news!!! Huge congrats to you too!!

[fly]            [/fly]

Em and Edie xx


----------



## bagpuss1

OMG [fly]     [/fly]

*MINTY and PARTNER and EDITH AND MABLE*

So many congratultions, I am so so overe the moon for you all. Heres looking forward to happy and healthy pregnancies. Hopefully some more of us will join you sooner rather than later!!!

Mable and Edith, I know how chuffed you must be feeling knowing that you have gone and got Monty a full sibling, it is my dream and one day it may happen to us. Fingers crossed for everyone else!!

Love Kerry, Helen and Edie


----------



## nismat

*Mable and Edith* - a BFP! Fabby, fabby, fab fab   
I am so happy for you both & Monty  it's just brilliant news! And I'm really glad that you will have the good news to be able to share with your mum Edith 
Here's to a happy & healthy pregnancy (and hopefully not too much time feeling grotty like you have done so far) 

*Lotty * - sorry that you're suffering, but don't feel bad about it. It won't stop it working if it's going to work, and if you feel rotten, then you feel rotten. Just rest and relax as much as you can


----------



## lou1736

Edith & Mable, and Minty- CONGRATULATIONS (again!!)    

Lotty- You feeling any better?!   

I dunno what's going on with me.... I'm so tired all the time. I'm exhausted even when I wake up in the morning after a good night's sleep! And the past couple of days I've been going to bed for a sleep mid afternoon for a couple of hours! That's SO unlike me...I never sleep in the day even if I've been awake all night! I'm on day 6 of my 2WW so far. Anyone got any ideas!?

Good Luck and well done to all
Love
Lou xxxxx


----------



## Edith

Hi Lou,

so hope the tiredness is a good sign! I felt absolutely ghastly after egg collection( pain etc) for 5 days then started to feel better. 2 days after ET i was knackered again.You know my result.   However, its easy to read into this.I think it was more the progesterone  for me- the tiredness has changed since I have stopped. More like the normal pregnancy stuff - progesterone made me weak and tired. Oh god, I dont know. day 6. You are getting there! major distraction required now I reckon. 

Either way you are doing the right thing resting because whatever you need to do that to get over the treatment and hormones. Please let it work for you too...

Must go and do Monty's bed time.

Take care everyone. 

Edith


----------



## lou1736

Hi All,

Well ladies....I think it's all over for me!!    This morning I had some brown and red on the paper!!? It was after I'd emptied my bowels (sorry tmi!!) It looks like what I get at the start of a period!? I'm only on day 7 of my 2WW though!!!?     Is this my period already!!??    OH NO!! Not already please!!?     What's going on!!?

Love Lou xxxx


----------



## Mable

Have you had a poke up Lou? Could it be some bleeding from your bum rather than period - was it brown (period) or bright red (fresh blood from some kind of tear)?
Are you on progesterone in any form? This usually holds off your period.

Anxious times for you - keeping everything crossed for you.


----------



## lou1736

Hey Mable- yeah it's definately period blood with some brown mixed in!! And yeah I'm on the cyclogest that's why I don't understand it!!? Could it be my period starting already after just 7 days since ET?!   

I've got AF type pains too but in my back and not my stomach which is unusual for me. It hurts to bend over like really tight in my lower back!

I dunno....guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens!!  

Lou
xxxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Lou, don't write yourself off yet hon. Implantation can cause a little bleeding (red and brown) and it's not too late for that. Still hoping for you hon.


----------



## Mable

How heavy is it Lou? Fingers crossed that it is implantation bleeding. It is a bit early, as you say, and just the right time for implantation.


----------



## lou1736

Hey!! It's very very light....well so far anyway!! And brown now. I just can't understand why it would come this early if it is my period.... what would be the point of a 2WW and why would they tell me to wait 2 weeks if you can get a period (if not pregnant) just 7 days after ET!!??   Unless I'm just one of the exceptions...!? I've got wierd type leg pains and dull achey back but nothing very severe....I'm usually crippled with pain when I usually get my period! 

I just pray it isn't..... 

Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'm running to the loo every hour to check things now!!

Love Lou xxx


----------



## Damelottie

Lou

Somebody probably already said this but surely it sounds like implantation bleeding/pains   

I mod over on the During Treatment section of the Peer Support Board and loads of people describe what you have.

I have everything crossed for you - these 2ww's are pretty ghastly      

Love

Emma xx


----------



## Mable

Keeping everything crossed possible for you and DP over this weekend. Very best wishes to you both over this most stressful time.


----------



## lotty1

hi lou try not to worry it maybe implementation bleeding as its seems toooo early for your A/f so how r u now? Is this 2ww sending you crazy?
Anyway no news here apart from my stomach as eased but still having the toilet trouble   To be honest i feel very low never been sooooooooo down crying on regular occasions and cannot see the positive in anything oh poor partner. I know now how it must feel to have depression as this is not lifting. Very unusual for me as i don't suffer these feelings. i know its due to the pessary's MAPLE / lOU  did u have any of these symptoms. This is not helped by the pessary (cyclogest) or something like that making me really horny all the time and the feeling of the fat between your legs is horrid. Give me the injections anyday. Due to these feeling i nearly stopped the pessaries but thought no keep going only 2 weeks to go so i am hanging on. I need more tissues.  so all in all feel that nothing will work anything to cheer me up will be greatly appreciated 
yet again hormonal mad lotty  xxx


----------



## nismat

*Lou * - I hope that the bleeding is a good sign for you, not a bad one. It would seem very early for a period, even for an early onset one (which can happen with IVF).

*Lotty * - sorry that you're feeling so down at the moment. With the pessaries, I hated that drippy fat feeling too, so I switched from using them vaginally to inserting them anally - it might sound unpleasant, but they're actually pretty easy to insert, and once they've melted, the anal sphincter holds everything in, so it's only actually when you have a poo that the waxy stuff comes out. Hope that's not too graphic, but it's all just part and parcel of the intimacies/indignities we have to go through with clinical treatment


----------



## Mable

Hi Lotty,
Sympathies Lotty, sorry to hear you are feeling depressed. Have to say that DP and I both felt very bleak during the 2ww so I think it's one of those awful 2ww things, especially when you have had a lot of negatives and loads of horrid cyclogest symptoms. Major feelgood distractions are useful, and knowing that this feeling should pass, in 2 weeks time. I was also going to suggest putting them up your bum. Hope you feel a bit brighter soon.  

Any news from you Lou? I have a feeling that no news isn't good news


----------



## lou1736

Hi All!!

Well it all went downhill since saturday and I'm bleeding with avengance and ahve more AF pain than usual!!   Phoned the clinic and they seem to think this is impossible at 7 days post ET and tried to tell me maybe it's the loss of one embryo and not to stop the pessaries!!!?    Anyway I'm waiting to hear back!! But we are resigned to the fact that it hasn't worked this time and we're on track to have another go asap! Yesterday was a miserable day but we're getting used to the idea and trying to stay positive now!

Lotty- Poor you! The pessaries gave me horrid symptoms too!! I became really moody and snappy!! I have always used them up the bum too!! Works well this way...less mess and you don't know they're there once their up!! I also much prefered the injections to the cyclogest!! It made me feel down too! I have had depression in the past so I know what it's like! Not good eh!! Just try to stay positive and keep as busy as possible is my advice!! However I felt SOOOOO exhausted on them I couldn't do much at all and had to have a sleep every afternoon!! You've got no dodgy symptoms to worry about so you're right on track to get your BFP I think!   Lots of Luck for you.    

Love
Lou xxxx


----------



## lotty1

thanks guys for your quick responses. I have decided to swop to the bum side soz to be graphic so hopefully i will feel better soon. I think to keep busy is a brill suggestion so  i have just cleaned my partners paint brushes ( she is trying to decorate ready to let out our house as all being well we move in August across the road    oh there is sooooooo much to do 
i did speak with the clinic to see if they could give me an injection instead but not an option oh well  
lou i am sorry to hear about your bleed but i have to agree it seems very strange this early hopefully you will get some answers soon from the clinic. i am thinking about you
oh what can i do now?  i know i am going to design my new bathroom well have no money but it will keep me busy bye 4 now.
Minty how r ya?
xxx


----------



## lou1736

Lotty- sounds like a good plan!! Keep bathroom planning hee hee! Lots of Luck for you   

Well as for me....the clinic just called back and have upped my pessaries to three a day now and to call them back on wednesday!!! I just can't see the point in all this now!!? I mean what's the point in continuing these damn cyclogest let alone increasing the dose?!   It would seem obvious to me that bleeding like I'm getting=no baby!! Right? I just feel like I really need to draw a line under this and move on but now I can't cos they're telling me to continue and increase the treatment which is dragging out this nightmare even more!!!! 

Dunno what the hell to think now! This morning I was feeling calm and resigned to the failure but now I'm back in limbo land again!!!
Help!!!!!

Love to all
Lou xxxxx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oh Lou, I really feel for you. I know it must feel like it's just prolonging the agony, but if there's any chance at all that something might be in there I guess they (and you) would want to give it the best chance, so stick with it if you can bear it. I had a bad and unexpected bleed around the same time in one of my IUI cyces. Not that I was pregnant that time, but just to say that a bleed like that can happen, unconnected to your period.

Lotty love, poor you going round the twist. Enjoy your bathroom planning - even if you can't afford it, a girl can dream! Try http://www.lazylaces.com/ for lots of pointless but amusing online games to keep you occupied too, if it's your kind of thing? Hope Bottom's Up works out better for you. Apparently, the cyclogest is the cost of having lots of eggs - I had the jabs, but they said anyone with more than 10 eggs gets the pessaries.

We had our official blood test today and it was positive. Silly really, but we went because we needed to hear someone else confirm it, even if that did mean getting up at 5am and spending 3 hrs in the car before work! We've got to wait until 28th July for our first scan, so I'm not getting carried away until then, but it's all good so far and I'm so grateful.

Love to you all - will be checking back eagerly to hear your news and hoping it's all good.

Minty
xxx


----------



## suitcase of dreams

Hi Lou,

I don't usually post here but I do lurk occasionally (I'm a regular on the single girls board) and I just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one and I totally understand how you feel. 

On my first IVF in May - at London Womens Clinic (same as you I think?) - I started bleeding 8 days after ET with what I was sure was AF. Did a test, not pregnant. Called clinic, they advised me to carry on with cyclogest and test on test day - 8 days later. I followed their instructions because I felt I ought to but of course by the time I got to test day AF had been and gone and I tested negative again. Those 8 days were awful because I felt like I couldn't move on - there was this tiny hope that it had worked - even though I knew in my heart of hearts it hadn't. But there's nothing you can do - you'd never forgive yourself if you stopped the pessaries and then discovered you were actually pregnant....you just have to try and get through it best you can. 

I really hope that your case turns out not to be like mine and that you are pregnant...hope you get resolution one way or another soon - guess it's best that the clinic is cautious just in case....

I'm currently 2 days into the 2WW on 2nd IVF and really worried the same thing is going to happen again. I would love to get to test day and actually be able to do a test (bled early on all 3 IUIs as well...) - keeping my fingers crossed...for us both  

All the best, 
Laura
x


----------



## Mable

Lou and Laura, it sounds like living hell, bleeding but still having to hold out some hope and not having any resolution for days. Really feel for you both. Lou I really hope that there is some hope here. There is a girl called Sallywags who had a full period and then got a BFP - try looking her up for a story of hope.


----------



## TerriWW

Lou, Laura

Just read your posts. Ju (my partner) had problems with early bleeding when she started her treatement - like you say bleeding at day 7 and a shortening of the luteal phase - don't know why it happened but we found that cyclogest didn't work for her ie it didn't hold off the bleeding. We researched on the internet and found out about Gestone - this is another form of progesterone which has to be injected (big needle in the bum I'm afraid) but this did extend her luteal phase ie she didn't bleed until she came off it.

Just something you might want to consider if you do need to do another cycle. If the luteal phase isn't long enough the embryo doesn't have time to iimplant - at least this is another possible way of making sure  he luteal phase is at least long enough to give the embryo chance to implant.

Lou I'm not being negative and saying it's def over for you - just hopefully giving you some useful info in case this cycle doesn't work out.

Terri


----------



## suitcase of dreams

Thanks Terri, that's interesting to know...

I asked my consultant at LWC about upping the Cyclogest or changing to alternative support post ET (I know someone else who was on Gestone so I suggested that as an example) and she said that there was little point - either the embies would have settled in or not, and that any additional support would just hold off AF but not change the actual outcome....

Depending on how this cycle goes (only on day 3 of 2WW so far...) I'll be pushing the consultant harder on that next time...fingers crossed I won't need to though!

Laura
x


----------



## lou1736

Hi Terri- That's good to know...thanks for the info. I really can't understand why I've now been put up to 3 cyclyogest a day...I mean if I'm bleeding surely it's already too late so what's the point in upping the dose now!    My luteal phase has never been short/too short in any other normal cycle. However I will definately run your idea past the clinic for my next cycle though. How many cycles did it take for you before realising this? Did the Gestone end up doing the trick?!

Thanks again
Love
Lou xxx


----------



## TerriWW

Hi Lou 

I can't remember how long it took us to realise but I'm sure that in the first couple of natural cycles ju didn't have any probs with her luteal phase and it's like it just started to get shorter and shorter I don't know if the fert treatment was doing something to her. In her later IUIs they gave her cyclogest but it didn't help so when we did ivf we insisted on trying Gestone and it did the trick. She didn't get pregnant due to thin lining issues but it definitely did the trick of stopping af arriving. 

Lauris - I'm not sure what you consultant meant but it's def a fact that if you bleed really early there is less time for the embryo to implant and establish so less chance of pregnancy so using progesterone to hold off AF and give a 'normal' luteal phase at least gives the embryos a proper chance.

Good luck

Terri


----------



## lou1736

Hi All

Well this is becoming a joke/nightmare!! I'm still bleeding...although much less than before. I'm on my 3 a day cyclogest now and my test day is saturday. I tested this morning anyway with the early response and of course as expected it was negative! I just spoke to the clinic and I have to carry on with the pessaries and re test on saturday!!!! WHAT IS THE POINT IN ALL THIS!!!?   I'm going slowly insane here! To me it's perfectly obvious its a failure...I just wanna move on, have a good drink, and arrange to start again...but still I can't!! The clinic STILL seem to think that it's ok and because I had two embryos put back in it means one has failed to implant and the other could of!!? I've never heard anything like it!! And my levels might not be high enough to show yet too! This sounds complete rubbish to me and they are pointlessly prolonging my nightmare!   The only reason for this is that they are safe guarding themselves but it's not helping me eh!!?

Sorry for the rant!

Love 
A rather Crazy Lou xxxx


----------



## Alison0702

Lou I dont mean to laugh, but your post does come across like you are going mad    The 2ww is a absolute mind messer. It is still only 11 days after ET so the hosp are right in what they are saying. I was made to wait 16 days to test, but I think I remember Edith testing on or around day 12. Have you got anything planned today to try and take your mind off things?        and


----------



## nismat

Hey there Lou, sorry it's all such a nightmare for you at the moment, but the clinic are right. It may only be a small chance, but it is actually perfectly possible that you could be pregnant, and that you could be pregnant but not have high enough levels to show up on a pregnancy test. Neither scenario would be a first by any means. OK, so the likelihood is that you are right and that sadly it's all over for you this attempt, but it can't be totally ruled out yet. I can totally understand you just wanting to draw a line under this cycle and to move on (and especially to have a drink!), but I think you'll just have to go with their advice and give it a couple more days. Crazy-making I'm sure. 
Hugs to you


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hey Lou, just want you to know I'm thinking of you.  

Lotty too - how are you holding up?  

Minty
xxx


----------



## Mable

Same here Lou and Lotty. Hope you find a way to make the wait bearable.


----------



## lotty1

Hi all just checking in
Lou i am sooo sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time but i suppose the clinic must know what they are talking about plus some people do bleed and still get bpf.
Well officially gone mad i am sat here looking at the rain and contemplating a move to Aus, change of career and lifestyle    at least i can now laugh which is a bonus and dream    Having a mad moment i want to pack my suitcase and jet off again into the sunset.......... oh no reality set in no money as all gone on sperm  . Well no news apart from i am convinced my a/f is coming as all the signs are starting to occur........ the same spots on my back ,the sexual heightened feeling (sorry don't mean to be crude) and the dropsy's. I have therefore gone out and ate a large portion of fish and chips and chocolate oh well   . I even wanted to test tonight and only had e/t on Thurs and my test date is not until the 18tH! This is the longest 2ww ever when can i test Sunday? xx
Thanks for your wishes Maple and Minty, and Minty thanks for the game info.
xx


----------



## mintyfaglady

You had egg collection on the 1st July, right Lotty? So that makes Sunday 12 days past EC? I tested positive at 11 DPEC, though it was super faint. Apparently, Early Response (the pink ones that give you a second line) are best to use. People told me that Clear Blue (the ones that give you a blue cross/plus sign) can be a bit dodgy. I did a pink one on 12 DPEC and it was faint, but clearer.

I know a lot of people really don't like to test early - they'd rather hold out hope than know for sure, but for me, it felt like the right thing to do, becasue I didn't really have any hope left and just wanted closure, so I could move on. I REALLY didn't expect it to be positive. Personally, I'd have gone crackers if I'd waited - it kind of gave us something to do - something to focus our obsession on. But it's really a very personal thing I think. Also, of course, an early negative can still become a positive, so it's not really giving you a clear answer even if it's negative. Oh, I don't know - you've just got to do what's best for you, hon.

Love Minty
xxx


----------



## nismat

I had a pelvic scan today, the next small step en route to starting IVF again. No nasty surprises, everything was behaving just as it should do. Cost me £125 for the privilege of meeting the new dildo cam though!   
Next Wednesday I go for a "nurse discussion", when I think that they will go through the whole drugs regimen etc. Apparently this discussion carries no charge, so I'm not actually sure what it will involve, it may not provide as much concrete info as I'm hoping for. I don't know whether we'll be able to start straightaway this cycle, or whether we'll have to wait until next one (and I'm not sure which scenario I'd rather go for anyway!). I'm currently on cd2, so will be cd7 next Wednesday. If it's all full steam ahead, I could start down-regging just 2 weeks after that!   I haven't even begun to research drugs prices, but there probably isn't much point until I've got the actual prescription. It's going to cost loads more for the drugs this time, as I'll be on 450iu Puregon daily (unless they later reduce the dosage after scanning/blood tests)
I really must chase up LWC about the paperwork to release our sperm - would not want everything to get screwed up by our sperm still being in their cryobank.


----------



## Mable

Good to hear your news Tamsin and that your scan was all clear. Sounds like things could start fairly quickly for you once the nurse's appointment is done? We've always used Ali at Fazeley Pharmacy for drugs, got his details from the cheap drugs thread. He's still the cheapest around and so very helpful. How are you finding all these steps on the way to IVF 2nd time round? Hopefully knowing the IVF system a little makes it less daunting, although being anxious about the outcome always made me terribly gloomy about the whole thing.

How are you doing Lou? I hope you've been put out of your misery one way or the other (obviously hoping for positive news for you, but it must be hard to keep up the positivity after all that you've been through this week).

How are you holding out Lotty?

Babydust all round,
Mable


----------



## pipgirl

Dear Ladies,

As some of you may know ive been out of the loop for a while as we found the failure of the 6th iui really difficult and needed time out from posting to get our heads around the ivf process ect...

As you will see from the ticker, we started ivf at a similar time to a few of you. The process felt very positive fo us once we got started although at first we thought we were responding poorly...we ended up with 14 eggs collected, 2 embies replaced and 7 frozen.
We went on holiday after the tx and tested on thursday morning just gone, two weeks post transfer.

Although it is early days and the next three weeks are going to be soo nerve wracking, we finally got our BFP!!!

The positive sign came up straight away and we are hoping that everything stays right where it should be. Please God 

Additionally a touch of OHSS has kicked in, v swollen and some discomfort but nothing to worry about at the moment, just have to be careful.

Im glad to see so many of you got the result you were hoping for...to lou, if you still dont know yet, its obviously been a lucky thread and heres hoping for you.

The first scan is on the 30th July, so will be saying lots of prayers.

Love and luck to all.

Pip and DP.

XXXXXXX


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## Alison0702

Oh Tamsin, I _really_ hope that this cycle works for you and K. Are you feeling less stressed about this one with already having Toby?

Pipgirl So nice to see you posting again, and a huge CONGRATULATIONS on your  Here's to a smooth pregnancy for you


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## mintyfaglady

Oh Pipgirl, that's fantastic news!! So happy for you and your partner. Our first scan is only 2 days before yours!! Keeping fingers crossed for us both hon. Great to hear from you again.

Lotty, Lou - how you doing lovelies?

Minty
xxx


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## lou1736

Hi All!

Pipgirl- CONGRATULATIONS to you and your dp!! Fantastic news!! Hope you have a smooth pregnancy.     

Lotty- How's things?? Have you tested yet!!?    

Minty- Good luck with your scan....how very exciting for you   

Well as for me... obviously we got a BFN this time!   It was expected though really after bleeding 7 days after ET!!    So we've got our follow up consultation on wednesday to discuss the next step and how soon we can get started again on another roller coaster YAY!!! 
We really thought we would be lucky...foolishly, we were convinced that after trying with fresh samples so long with no luck then this was our best chance and was bound to work!!  It would seem that neither of my little embies even managed to implant even though they were good embies and everything was perfect for them to nest!!
Anyway...onwards to number 2 now! Will see what they say on Weds!

Good Luck to all you girls! 

Love
Lou xxxx


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## Mable

Sorry to hear that Lou.   to you both. I had the same if it's any consolation - great eggs, blastocysts and then BFN. It's hard to understand why, isn't it. Sometimes it just doesn't work. It's even harder to understand when others are having a run of luck all around you. I hope you get to cycle again soon and take care in the aftermath of this cycle.


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## Edith

Lou, so sad to hear your news. I know it felt inevitable but somehow one always thinks it might just work despite the bleeding. really sorry. What a huge disappointment. WHY? it just doesn't seem to make sense. hope you have a good meeting on Wednesday and that they can go someway to explaining why you bled so early. It really is a lot to go through to end with a BFN. lol to your and your partner.  keep us updated and let us know how you are. xx


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## mintyfaglady

Oh, Lou - so sorry to hear your bad news. I know you weren't really surprised, after all that bleeding, but it must be such a HUGE disappointment.   to you and your partner. I really hope you get another shot at this soon, and that they can crack the problem of that early bleed to give you the best possible chance. Take care of yourselves.

Minty
xxx


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## suitcase of dreams

Lou - very sorry to hear it was definitely a negative. 

Now going through same thing myself (as I'd pretty much expected) - starting bleeding today which is 9 days post ET and day 27 of cycle. AF pains and everything so is clearly AF and not implantation or anything like that....
Have not called LWC as I know they will just tell me to stay on the cyclogest until test day - which is not until a week today. Will maybe call them tomorrow and book follow up appt with consultant to discuss what next. Meantime will resign myself to failure again - even though I know I can't truly draw a line under it until next Monday - so very hard isn't it?

Will definitely be pushing to understand more about alternative post transfer support options...when the exact same thing happened last time (bleeding started day  they said there was nothing they could do and increased cyclogest (or gestone) would not have made a difference. I shall be pressing harder for some answers this time as that's twice now....may ask to see a different consultant - they all seem to have slightly differing opinions/advice to give

Good luck with your appt on Weds, hope they have some helpful advice for next time round - do let me know what they say re the early bleeding - I'd be very interested to hear the feedback you get on this,

Laura
x


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## lou1736

Hello All...

Thank you so much for all your comments...you've been great support. I will let you know what happens next!! 
I kind of end up distancing myself in traumatic situations...this having been no different! Like it's not really me going through it!!? 

Laura- I'm so so sorry about your BFN! It's so disappointing isn't it. I know how you feel.   Yes I will let you know what they say? Who is your doctor at LWC? Mine is Dr Venkat. When I phoned them on day 7 post ET when I started bleeding they told me exactly the same thing....to stay on the cyclogest. Actually they told me to increase the dose to three pessaries a day! When I spoke to the nurse after test day again she said they might have to look at an alternative progesterone support! I really don't want the bleeing to happen again...and I'm now convinced it will after this time! I'd at least like to get to test day!! Thing is I've never had a problem with a too short luteal phase before though...have you?!  When are you hoping to start again?
Lots of love to you

Lou xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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## suitcase of dreams

Hi Lou,

Exact same thing happened to me on all my IUIs and on previous IVF - although on the IUIs AF would usually arrive a day or two before test day rather than an entire week. It's day 27 of my cycle today which would be about right - they have varied over the past year from 24 to 32 days, but on average are 27 or 28 days...

It's hard to tell if I have a luteal phase problem as everything gets so messed up with the drugs etc that who knows when ovulation would naturally be!

I've been seeing Dr Nair recently - although my very first consultation was with Dr Venkat. Let's see what Dr Venkat says to you and whether it's any different to the feedback I got from Dr Nair last time round....

Not sure what I will do next. I have 3 frozen embryos so could do a FET in Sept I guess, or I could start another fresh cycle (since success rates are better and I'm 38 so need to maximise the chances with fresh eggs before they get even older). I'm away on holiday in August at exactly the time I would expect August AF so that may well mess things up and mean I can't do anything until Sept - will need to discuss that with the consultant - not sure how it works with FET and whether you need a day 2 scan or not....

Wishing you all the very best
Laura

PS totally get what you mean re the distancing thing, I'm feeling it too - a sort of numbness in a way....I know I need to face up to the reality of the situation but it's so much easier to pretend it's not happening...


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## magsandemma

HI girls

Congrats to all the bfps and good luck with the scans.

Lou  -  We were under Dr Venkat too, altho thats not who we say on our follow up cant remember the name of the guy we saw, however we got gestone on the 2nd cycle because I had bled on Day 10 of the cycle so they said that the gestone would be better support, it was diff to do at first but I believe it did help and I will be pushing for it when we try again, I guess we all absorb the progest support differently but I felt with the gestone that I knew what I was getting, so hope you get some answers on your follow up, Good Luck for Wednesday!!

Maggie
xx


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## lotty1

well guys thats it for me as i sit here panda eyes with a large glass of wine. tested early mon rather than fri and nothing not even a fine line just nothing. decided to test as i knew as i had yellowie discharge which occurs in my cycle just before my period so thought test and true to my instict i was correct. feeling sorry for myself as never have any luck i am soooooo tired of all consults saying nothing wrong ,good eggs both overies working blah blah blah after 12iui and 1 xivf i am startin g to think its not going to work the medical way plus its costing me  a fortune for what nothing windge again. Now have a bill for £300 plus to freeze well at mo they can defrost as whats the point  after all they will probably die when defrosted. Oh guys soooooooo sorry to bring you all down.  
Now back to the beginning going to take time out as at the mo i have thrown in the towel no more for me at this point i suppose its not meant to be
sad lotty


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## mintyfaglady

Oh Lotty.  
Will PM you.


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## Mable

*SO* sorry Lotty. Thinking of you and DP.  It's not fair.


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## TerriWW

lou - sorry about your BFN. And good luck on the next cycle. Make sure you talk your consultant into gestone!

Me and ju started down regulating on sat. I'm having a few side effects to the burselin. Did anyone else? I feel a bit drowsy/sleepy and have a mild headache (had this on and off since sunday). I don't feel unwell or anything. Is that ok? Should I be worried?

We're off to torquay for a week on sat which will hopefully speed up the passing of the down reg time.

Terri


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## Mable

After producing 80+ follicles I downregulated for months and months and got lots of headaches, lethargy and hot flushes. Nothing at all to worry about - you can take paracetemol for the headaches. Can't be fun in your family with both of you downregging together - hope you don't get the irritability and mood swings, either of you!

Good luck for this cycle - hope this is the one for you.


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## TerriWW

thanks mable - just needed the reassurance that these things are 'normal'. Luckily ju doesn't seem to suffer from the side effects except a bit sleepy - but then she's never struggled with sleeping!   I'm feeling a little short of patience but I always get that the week before I'm due on so I'm hoping it's that and I'll come on in time for the holiday!

I see it's you scan tomorrow ... I gues you'll find out if it's one or two ( ) on board!


good luck


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## Mable

Thanks - we just hope there's something there.


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## Alison0702

Mable and Edith..good luck for the scan tomorrow. xx


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## lou1736

Hi guys!

Mable & Edith- Lots and lots of luck to you for tomorrow's scan!   hope all goes well... thinking of you. How exciting for you!  

Lotty- I'm so sorry about your BFN hun. I know just how you're feeling. Lots of Love to you  

I was supposed to go for my follow up at the clinic today but I wasn't feeling too well so have re-arranged for next tuesday now! 

Love and Luck to all.

Lou xxx


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## nismat

*Lou * and *Lotty * (and *Laura * too) - really sorry for your BFNs. So hard when there aren't any real answers as to why it hasn't worked - I do believe so much of it is down to luck, when it does work; certainly not down to any of the myriad things we all try and do to increase our chances!

*Mable & Edith * -   for tomorrow's scan. Hope that you get to see one healthy heartbeat on that screen.

*Terri & Ju* - It does sound like things could get hormonally "interesting" at your house over the next few weeks! Fingers crossed that you both sail through it all, and that you get a lovely BFP at the end of it all.

I won't be all that far behind you, as I've got my start date for down-regging - less than 2 weeks away! I'll then have a baseline scan on 21st August, with egg collection aimed for around 5th September if all goes according to plan. My clinic don't make you wait ages before the pregnancy test - 2wks after a day-3 transfer, or 12 days after a day-5 transfer. So official test date (based on 5th Sept EC) would be 22nd September - how bizarre is that?! 
Right, I need to go and create myself a new ticker


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## pipgirl

Thanks all for the messages!

Havent been able to get online as off work with ohss, not too bad now, think will be back on monday.

Lou Lauris and Lotty, really thinking of you girls. Big Hugs.      

Good luck to all for scans, next appointment and follow ups..


PS LOU Ive heard from a few people that the progesterone pessaries can have th OPPOSITE effect with some people causing them to get AF EARLY and that switching to a different type of progesterone support helped to avoid this later on down the line..the posters are right to suggest bringing this up with the docs.

All the best for now.

Pip.


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## lou1736

Hello ladies!

Well I'm back! We had our follow up with the clinic yesterday and we start again on my next cycle...and so the roller coaster ride begins again!! 
Without me even asking the doctor told me that my egg share recipient was pregnant!! So we're doubly gutted now... the positive thing is that now we know my eggs are capable! Must be that they just don't like being in my own body or something!! 
I'm also getting the Gestone injections post transfer this time! so that's good! Don't want to start bleeding again on day 7 post ET!! 

How are you all getting on!? 

Love
Lou xxx


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## mintyfaglady

Wow! Great news you can start again straight away Lou. Will you be egg-sharing again? That was rather insensitive of your doctor to tell you of your recipient's success after your sad negative. Glad they've switched your luteal phase support - feeling hopeful for you hon!


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## lou1736

Hi Minty- Yes we'll be egg sharing again....although now even more stressed that if we get another BFN this time there'll potentially be two babies being born from my eggs!!    But of course that's all part of the deal really!
My doc is pretty cool...she promised me she'd get me pregnant last time round so when I saw her yesterday I told her she'd told me a bare faced lie lol! She said my embryos were good and I should of been successful but hey too late now!
Yeah I'm pleased about getting the gestone this time....even though I guess it could have been negative even if I'd used it last time eh!!?

How's your pregnancy going?! Must of been wonderful seeing your little one on screen! Hope you're feeling well. 

Take care
xxxx


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## mintyfaglady

I reckon sharing those lovely eggs around has definitely got to buy you some good karma! 

Nothing new to report here - I feel no different to usual. Scan not until Monday, so still biting my nails and hoping.

Minty
xxx


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## lotty1

Hi guys i am back again.... after 2 days of sulking feeling sorry for myself and moaning i am feeling brill well would be better if i had a baby on board but never mind maybe next time. Since then i have been soooooooo busy i am moving in 2 weeks  I have my old house to paint/gloss for renting and will be moving across the road to a 1950's fashion house   must be mad ............ yes i am...... so hence the delay in me managing to sit down and finally type.
Anyway i was annoyed with my clinic as i wanted a follow up appt over the phone as i did not wat to take another day off but they would not accommodate  so today i received a appt not suitable 4 the 3rd Aug so i now will change to when i have 2 weeks off and the time of the move. To be honest without seeming negative it will be a 5 min chat all ok good eggs blah blah blah no other explanation so cannot see the point in wasting my time. 
I will have a few months off then will do the fet but not holding much luck still unsure wether to continue the med route as if theres no reason and if its time then another route maybe a more practical option but will decide later.
lou i am glad you are back i have to be honest i was soooo shocked at what ya dr told you re the other pregnancy they should have given you the choice to know. So ru starting a full cycle again what about the fet or have you decided to keep them in the freezer and go with fresh?
Pipgilr pmy
MiNTY PMY
Maple hope all going well 

xxxxx


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## bagpuss1

OMG, I am going mad this 2ww!

This has got to be the hardest I have ever found the 2ww! Symptoms galore- upset tummy, cramping, bad sleep, peeing tons, headaches even a bit of nausea to add to the mad mix! All this only to potentially have a BFN!!! My body is so so cruel! not even any drugs in sight to blame!

I HATE THIS 2WW.

I am officially doolally and its only day 7


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## leoaimee

bagpus really really feeling for you!!

 

are you at work?

sending lots of     for BFP


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## Damelottie

Baguss - I am having JUST the same  . Also on Day 6. Its the cruellest thing ever!!!!


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## leoaimee

sending lots of       and   for you too emmalottie


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## bagpuss1

Hi Guys,

*aimeegaby*- yes I am at work, have now just started obsessively knicker checking and my whole office now knows what I find every time I go pee!!! I have never been so out of control in my life!

*Emmalottie*- I didnt realise that you were testing at the same time as me- Wahey- we can go bonkers together!! Keep in touch- my period usually graces me on day 10 so that will be on Saturday- will know then probably- already did a test on day 3 Bless my poor partner- she thought cos it was negative that it was all over and has been walking round in a much better state of mind without all of the wondering. Unfortunately I had to burst that bubble so that I could have company in my misery!!! How cruel am I!!!

Anyway- still here-still going mad- keep having weird thoughts of looking on the internet to see if there is anywhere that says what my outcome will be!!! now that is MAD!!!!!

Love, Bonkers.


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## Mable

I've wanted to do exactly that Kerry - type into google - is E pregnant?.

Good luck to you all on the 2ww!


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## leoaimee

hay bagpus ...

im sure 'there' with you!  with the knicker checking and reporting!!!!    

i have everything crossed for you.

its a weird thing the being at work versus time off cos really you need something to try and distract you on the other hand you cant really think about anything else ....  

i have been sooo the same with the continuous symtom searching on tinterweb .... god and last time my poor sis was staying and she even thought she had sympathy symptoms!!!!

    we were both looney!


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## bagpuss1

Constant knicker checking has now paid off- cos I got exactly what I was looking for!!!

SH*T SH*T its day 7 for Goodness sake!!!! what the ****

Am sitting here with red eyes and dont really know what to do with myself! Its only light pink when I wipe but its the same as when I am coming on so dont think its implantation bleeding.

Oh well- holiday tomorrow- will be able to drink as much as I like and not care ( not that I drink much- one Bud and I am anyones!)

*Mable* Am so glad someone else thinks of doing that- atleast I am not the only one!

*Emmalottie* I am routing for you- so so much good luck- do it for the both of us!!!!

Thank you all for your support in my hour of insanity.


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## pipgirl

Bagpuss -  dont worry, its only been a week, you surely wouldnt be coming on this early?

If it makes you feel better im pretty sure that proper implantation happened for us 6 days after our transfer, so its not too late for it to be implantation bleed, esp if pink.

Just out of interest, how many iui did you have to do to get your little girl?

Pip


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## bagpuss1

*pipgirl* thanks for that- I know- it is far far too early for period and I have never had such a short cycle- I dont know- I have been so stresed over this one (can you tell!!!) that it wouldnt surprise me.

It took us 4 attempts at natural IUI to get Edie.

Kerry


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## leoaimee

hay bagpuss

sending hugs     

really hope its implantation bleed fingers crossed


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## snagglepat

Hi *Kerry*,

I just wanted to echo what *Pip* said. It's bizarrely early for AF and just about exactly right for an implantation bleed. Don't count your chickens yet.  I had a day of pink discharge at about 10 or 11 days I think. The fact that it came so early and then went away again got us testing, and lo and behold there was our (faint) BFP. I'll keep everything crossed for you that it goes away as quietly as it came and that your BFP is just around the corner.

Hope you have a good holiday, whichever way this goes.

Gina. x


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## bagpuss1

A slightly more sane and in control Bagpuss just to update,

*Gina, aimeegaby, pip, Mable and Emmalottie* Still having slight pink discharge and no sign of AF yet, no cramps or anything. Just a little bit more hopeful that it is implantation bleeding as AF would usually have started by now. I am guessing that AF will arrive tommorrow if it is going to...

I just wanted to say how grateful I am for all of your input. You really calmed me down and helped me to see a different side of things.

As I said before, we are going camping tomorrow for over a week so no internet access. I will post when I get back to let you know what has happened.

Kerry


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## leoaimee

fingers crossed enjoy camping!


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## lou1736

Hi Guys!

Just a quick question for you..... as most of you know we had our first IVF/egg share cycle which was a BFN....anyway we're starting straight away and I'm now waiting for AF to arrive so we can get started!! It was supposed to come early during the first week of August but still have no sign yet!!? Was wondering if any of you know whether it's usual to have a delayed/very delayed period following the result of a negative IVF cycle?! Any ideas please!?  I'm fed up waiting now lol!

Lots and lots of luck to all you ladies currently going through treatment or in your tww!! I know how you feel. Lots of      to you....will catch up with you a bit later.

Minty- How's the pregnancy going?! Hope you're feeling well  

Mable- How's your pregnancy going too?!  

Lotty- How's things in your life?! When are you trying again? 


Love
Lou xxx


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## leoaimee

hay lou

was really sorry to read about your BFN     wasnt reading much of this thread at the time to pass on my  

i havent had IVF but my IUI seems to make my AF wierd after BFN so im sure the IVF might also delay AF or make it heavier or just different.

hope it comes soon.

good luck for your next cycle.  

arent you in brighton?  did you go to pride?


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## TerriWW

HI Lou

I seem to remember Ju's period taking a while to arrive after IVF so don't worry.

We are in the middle of stimulating. Ju had a scan today and seems to have 8 follicles starting to grow. We're a bit disappointed in one way as she had 8 last time and they upped her dose for a few days this time to try and get more. Still last time all 8 fertilised so as they say qualitiy not quantity! It may stop us going for blastocycts though - which we had planned on doing. Oh well - one day at a time. I've got a scan tomorrow to see how my lining is growing. Then ju is back in on wed for another scan and then again friday! Seems every day is a hurdle to jump.

Hope everyone else is well

Terri


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## lou1736

Thanks guys! I'm still waiting.....  

aimeegaby- Good luck with your treatment at the end of august! Are you with LWC London too? Oh and yes we went to Brighton Pride!

Terri- Lots of Luck with your follies....8 is a great number! I'm egg sharing too so have to get at least 8 which is nerve wracking! I know exactly what you mean about each day being a hurdle to jump! It's like you get good news for one step and then realise you have to get over the next...and there seems to be so many!! We were really interested in me having my partner's eggs and thus effectively me carrying her baby...that's what you're doing isn't it? We don't know whether DP has any fertility issues but she doesn't want to be pregnant but would like a child that's biologically hers as well. What clinic are you with? I'd like to know more about that! Maybe you could PM me?!

Lots of Love
Lou


----------



## leoaimee

hi lou

yes we are at the LWC and we have been really pleased with them in the most part.



we missed pride as are living in spain, but lots of our friends went and had a great time.

Terri you carrying your DP's eggs is really interesting.  wishing you loads of luck with that.

and any sign of AF for you Lou?

axx


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi Guys,

Back from a very wet and cold "summer" holiday in the Lakes, still managed to have a good time and Edie was a star.

Just to update you. I have been bleeding now since last Wednesday (day 7 post IUI) which is a bit unusual for me- period only usually lasts for 4-5 days, this altogether seems a different type of bleeding. We have really tried to keep our minds of things but cant help but wonder what all of this has been about. My new theory is that I was actually pregnant from my second IUI but as I had had a period and tested when AF came (day 10 post IUI) we had ruled pregnancy out and carried on with treatment. Of course, this may not be the case and I could be completely crazy but it does all seem a bit odd. I am still gonna test tomorrow (official test day) and then I will phone the clinic and request a consultation to discuss where we go from here.

I am not sure about carrying on treatment at the moment- I feel like I am just Peeing money down the toilet- we are so lucky to have been blessed with Edie- it really does break my heart that we may not be able to give her a sibling. We do, however have three more treatments worth of sibling sperm- will see how we feel in the future.

Sorry- that all seems a bit mixed up doesnt it? just indicative of how things are at the moment!

Love Kerry


----------



## pipgirl

Bagpuss - 

Good luck for tomorrow...it seems a bit too wierd for you to have had af for that long and that early..especially if you dont have 'problems' in that area, it cant be tratment messing things up surely if its iui..if it was ivf id agree cos the drugs fiddle with you good.

You never know, it may all be a good sign (maybe a long shot but stranger things have happened)
Im sure that if iui worked for you to get edie you will be able to get her a baby brother or sister shortly!

Best.

Pip


----------



## bagpuss1

Thanks Pip,

I tested this morning and it was a negative. Not surprising really but it was worth testing.

Not really sure where to go from here. My clinic nurse is away on leave for a week so will wait until she is back then contact her to discuss options. If it was an early AF (and the rest have also been early) I need to know why and for it to be treated before we chuck any more money away. If it was a miscarriage then I guess we will never know so its not worth thinking about too much or I will tie myself up in knots.

Best wishes to everyone.
Kerry


----------



## pipgirl

Hi Bagpuss,

Sorry about the bfn hun. Im sure you will get there soon, as it worked before right?

Keep your chin up.

We did loads of iui before ivf and for me it never worked, i dont think iui was compatible with my cycle ect...but you have proof it can work for you.

Good luck for the next step.

Pip


----------



## leoaimee

hi bagpus

really sorry to hear about your BFN.   

my period also seems to come early after my two IUI's i have thought that it was the tx making my AF come early.  7 or 8 days after the IUI.

poss a good idea for you guys to have a pause to rest for a moment.  and maybe you will want to have another try again for a sib when youre ready.

its such a whirlwind and rollercoaster of emotions.  

glad you had fun camping though and you dd had lots of fun.

let us know how your thinking progresse on tx.



aimee


----------



## TerriWW

Hi everyone 

Lou I did pm you when you asked - just haven't had time to post on here for a while. Hope you got the message. 

We had egg collection yesterday - got 11 which is great but then today only 7 have fertilised. Which is ok. Last time we had 8 eggs and all 8 fertilised so it feels a bit disappointing but still ok. They are looking at them again on thurs. We are aiming for blastocysts but with 7 it's a bit borderline. We may go in thurs or fri for ET if things not looking so good.

Hope everyone else doing ok.

Terri


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi everyone,

Just thought I would update you on our rollercoaster. I have managed to speak to our clinic nurse who feels that the last cycle was a rogue one. By that I think she means that it was just an unlucky shorter cycle. She remains adament that my progesterone is fine and that there is no reason from a hormone point of view for a short luteal phase. So we are now back to square one! We will continue with one further IUI but with scans and further cyclogest in the 2ww. 

We have requested that the embryologist contact our old clinic to see if there is the chance of purchasing any further sibling sperm and then we will be in a better position to make plans for converting to IVF or carrying on with IUI. 

Egg share will probably be the only option for us financially and I am having a few concerns about that really- I would gladly give all of my eggs to anyone with fertility problems to give them their dreams- I really would!!! but my concern is for the impact on Edie if any future child wanted to contact us, how would she feel about it? especially if we had not been able to give her a sibling.

Anyway- enough rambling- will keep you updated- going for a scan tomorrow so may know more then about my lining- next treatment wont be until September as the labs have closed for a deep clean this month.

Best Wishes and thank you all for your support

Kerry and Edie


----------



## leoaimee

hay bagpus

good to hear your update.

i had a weirdly short cycle last month too, and have wondered about the lenght of my leutal phase ... so please keep me updated its good to hear other people in similar situations.

what is a cyclogest?

good luck with the old clinic and sib sperm.

would you consider a half sib with diff sperm?

the egg share thing is a hard thing to contemplate.  i think i would if we get to the ivf stage but you do have to be prepared for someone else getting pregnant and not you.  which is really hard.  maybe you should put a post on the egg share thread and see what other women feel.

with the whole sib thing for edie ... its tricky.  there is a poss that she maybe pleased one day to meet a half brother or sister from another family.  

do you know about the DC network?  its a network for parents of donor concieved children.  they have talks where donor concieved children who are teenagers or older talk about their experiences.  

i saw your post on another thread regarding sibs for edie and i think it sounds like you really really want to help edie have a brother or sister.  

what are your partners feelings regarding a sib for edie?

aimee


----------



## bagpuss1

HI aimee,

Thanks for your reply. We have both always said that we would prefer to have a full bio sibling for Edie, many reasons why but I wont bore you with them. 

Maybe we are over analysing things too much, I guess we are looking at what our ideal would be and going for that. In no way whatsoever do I have any negative feelings about having children from different donors, it is just what we have chosen.

Cyclogest is Progesterone, I always thought it was used to encourage the womb lining to hang around a bit longer but my clinic nurse says it is useful to support ovulation, I guess I am a bit confused about it really but thats why I thought worked last time.

My clinic state that the time between ovulation and your period should be longer than 10 days to ensure that implantation can take place, I was borderline for the first two attempts but quite obviously not in the last one. What is really confusing is that the blood levels of my hormones are fine, there really should be no reason for this to be happening (apparently).

I have the My story book from the DC Network for Edie but have not had a look at the site properly, will have a look tonight.

Anyway, am at work so got to go and pick up Helen from work and Edie from her nans,

Will let you know what scan shows tomorrow (think I am silently/secretly hoping it might show a miraculous pregnancy insitu but dont tell anyone)

Best wishes,
Kerry


----------



## leoaimee

hay Kerry

life is never perfect is it?  in the other thread you talked about not waiting for the perfect time regarding finances ... and its kind of the same thing here in away.  we do our best .... maybe egg sharing isnt the perfect solution but it might help you get the treatment to extend your family.

I dont know.  and you guys are way ahead in your family making compared to us.  its not easy at all.  Every step of the way it feels like there are such major decisions to make.  but in the end we make them and hopefully move forward.

re ovulation and the leutal phase.  i heard about this 10 days after ovulation thing on another thread on FF and it put the wind up me. i started spotting 9 days after first IUI and 11 after second which i thought must be boarder line.  i contacted my clinic and they said didnt think there was an issue because of my blood test results.  suggested i had a day 21 blood test which i did last cycle ... but started spotting day 22 and had full af day 26.  last month i didnt register a LH surge either but maybe it was really early i dont know .....

anyway there seem to be more questions than answers sometimes.

i need to leave work and go and buy some opk!  hope the chemist has them.

its my bday today!  so out for dinner tonight with dp and the family inlaw!  

love ax


----------



## leoaimee

hay bagpus

was thinking this morning ... i wanted to say, take it easy for the next few weeks, and allow your self to grieve for the BFN that you just had .....

because it is a real loss

the answers and the way forward will just come at the right time.  

loads of


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi Aimee,

I have just lost a really great post BOO!

[fly]HAPPY BIRTHDAY[/fly]

Hope you had a lovely day yesterday and a great meal with your DP.

Our clinic have said exactly the same thing to us about the short phase. They are convinced that it is not hormonally driven.

We have been using the OPKs provided for us by the clinic- doesnt your clinic do this too? To be honest, I dont trust my eyes where the lines are concerned and when I think we are close to getting a positive surge, I switch to the Clearview Digital for a couple of days.

I have come to realise that we have to have faith in our clinics and trust them until proved otherwise. I spent the cycles trying to conceive Edie completely mistrusting and doubting everything that our first clinic were doing. I caused myself so much more stress and upset and it still worked. Now we have had to learn to trust our new clinic and have a wonderful relationship with our new clinic nurse. It sounds as though you have this kind of relationship with your clinic. They will see you through this and hopefully give you your much longed for bundle of joy.

I am with you on this journey and admire you so much for travelling so far for treatment. It just goes to show just how much you guys really want this.

Off for my scan at 12.30 (this is not a treatment month, just a check up of my lining and follicles).

Our posts crossed, thank you so much for that, it really is a rollercoaster that I just cant seem to get off at the moment! I dont know why.

Take care,
Kerry


----------



## lou1736

Hi Guys! 

Bagpuss- I'm so so sorry about your BFN   I know how hard it is...
Just wanted to say that we did egg sharing last time and again this time round... I know my recipient got her BFP the first time. If you'd like to chat about that contact me! 

Just wanted to mention that we're now on our second round of IVF and on our first attempt I started to bleed quite heavily after only 7 days post egg transfer!! I was gutted! I've never had any problems with short luteal phases in any of my natural cycles before! When I called my clinic they told me to double my cyclogest just in case (unfortunately this made no difference). So this time round they are giving me Gestone injections instead. Evidently this is a much better form of progesterone support! Fingers crossed! I'd like to at least get to test day this time!!

Good Luck to all you girls   

Love Lou xxx


----------



## leoaimee

hay kerry

the travelling is tricky ... and i must for us as we want to use traceable sperm and they dont do that in spain.  luckily work is really supportive.

i received some rather random donors yesterday .... waiting for clinic to call back!   so i can have a chat with the guy!

good luck with your scan today.  hope all is well.

hi lou wishing you loads of   and   for your next cycle hope the gestone does the trick!

ax


----------



## Strawbs78

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to post a super quick update on me and Nicky..  We had our appt with the sperm bank manager at lwc london yesterday and it was fab!  Went spent half an hour going through our wants and not wants and he said that they have some blonde peeps on file so fingers crossed he will be sending me through the profiles via email by Friday and then we will get to choose!     .  He also said my test results will be def back ini by the time we go for our initial appointment so we can just get matched up and get going...

Once we have chosen one we will buy three rounds to ensure we are using the same donor, pay the storage fee and then its all done and dusted for when we get back from holidays and have our first appointment.. All we need to do then is find an egg recipient, get matched up and woop woop we are on our way to being mummies..    

Oh and I also got my questionnaire finally through from Kings which we will send off so it just all feels like its finally coming together!!

Im on top of the world today and I hope it lasts!!

xxxx

@aimeegaby - Random donors? i.e. they didnt send you what you were after?


----------



## leoaimee

hi strawbs

we have decided to economise and not pay to reserve or for storage so we have to see wo is available when we need it.

we generally get matched with dark eyes, hair and skin to be like gabs but the guy from the bank sent us a blondie and blue eyes ... nothing wrong with blonde and blue eyes but not what we wanted.

BUT is what you want!!

so pleased you had a good experience with the donor manager.  thats brilliant.

keep me updated on your donor recipient.

aimeex


----------



## bagpuss1

Hi guys,

Scan today went well, my lining is looking good and my follicle development is fine for day 13. My scan did reveal a nabothian cyst measuring about 16mm which I have never heard of before. Was told that it is a benign mucus filled cyst (nice!!!) which is to do with a blockage in the mucus producing gland- it has no bearing on fertility whatsoever but my nurse feels this may be the reason for such painful experiences with the speculum, aparently it may just go of its own accord.

I now have some more Cyclogest and can relax now until my next period in about a months time when I will contact and find out about scans etc.

Have decided to have acupuncture before my next cycle so have found a therapist who has experience in treating fertility patients. Who knows if it may work, but its worth giving it a shot.

Anyway,
good luck to everyone on this journey.
Kerry


----------



## leoaimee

well glad the scan went well and the cyst thiname is not a problem!

i absolutely LOVE having my acu done.  i go once a week, but in the beginning went twice.  my dr is amazingly supportive and kind.  i feel sooo relaxed afterwards.  my periods have also become less painfull since acu.  so i would really really recomend it  

please keep in touch!  

good luck with the next month or so waiting for AF!  look after yourself.  oh, and i was reading on the other thread .... things ok with the neighbour i hope?

aimee


----------



## KjPam

Hi There 
I posted several months ago - some of you may remember - my partner and I were told by Hull to get drunk and have random sex!! 

I wanted to thank all of you for your replys. It gave us a whole new outlook on our situation and we started the whole process at a different clinic and had a completely different experience. Indeed, I am now half way through my TWW having recieved IUI treatment at MFS. 

For the first time I feel like I understand some of your posts. What a rollercoaster.   We think we have done everything to increase our chances. Ive lost weight, given up alcohol, caffiene and nicotine!! and are just hoping that 'contestant number two' can do his job!! Its amazing how many ways you can convince yourself that you are pregnant even within hours of being basted. 
I'm not sure how you carry on if you have a BFN. The clinic is quite far from where we live and just the travelling has made us think twice about trying straight away if things dont go well.
I feel like I can join the gang now we are having treatment and again want to thank all of you for your help

KJ


----------



## pipgirl

Hi there - 

glad things are moving more smoothly for you now.

As an MFS girl i cant recommend them enough although, yes they are a ways from hull.
Keep your chin up during the tww and remember iui works in three goes for the lucky ones, dont give up if it dosnt work this time..here hoping it will.
I was convinced the first time and took it v badly when it didnt hapen, but ive got a few issues and hopefully you dont and are young so wont take you long...

Best of luck for the2ww and see you with some good news soon.

pip


----------



## mintyfaglady

Hi KJ, I remember your post from before, so I'm really pleased to hear you didn't let Hull's appalling attitude put you off. Are you with MFS in Manchester? We used them and are now expecting! They're a nice bunch and clearly used to dealing with same-sex couples - we certainly didn't have any problems where that was concerned.

Good luck keeping sane while you wait!
Minty
xxx


----------



## leoaimee

hay kj

i am also in my 2ww!!!  half way through too!  when is your test day?

i dont remember your post from before, but maybe i wasnt on FF then.  shocked about what the hull clinic said .... amazingly terrible    

loads of     for you hope you get your BFP!

aimeex


----------



## KjPam

Thanks for the support during my 2ww. I am hanging in there. 

Congratulations Minty. When is your EDD?
Yes, we are using MFS in manchester and have found them all really great. Infact, apart from the fact it is three hours from home and those 7.30am appointments are a bit of a killer, the whole experience has been really good. 

Aimee; I find it comforting that you are at the same point as us, albeit at the other end of the country!!. We had IUI on the 1st and my test date is the 17th. How about you? Sending you lots of luck for a BFP   How are you doing with the waiting thing? I have actually had a few minutes today that it hasn't been on my mind! 
Take Care 
KJ


----------



## leoaimee

hay kj

im actually in spain!!!  come to london for tx    

we are on really similar dates my basting was 30th.  so test date 16.  still no sign of AF ... and i am thinking about it ALL THE TIME.  

had a really emotional weekend last, when i was convinced i cld feel my period coming on.  each day that has passed this week i get more and more hopefull but at the back of my mind im thinking dont get too hopeful cos it cld still not work out.

i post on the summer sizzlers thread.  its full of women txing now.  if you fancy come and join us.  dont worry about trying to read back on the previous posts too much.  just leap in.

if you dont fany that.  id love to hear how youre getting on. so please let me know on this thread.

another day of knicker checking     ahead for me!!

take care!  aimeex


----------



## emnjo

Hola

Congrats on your BFP!! Thats really brilliant news!!

We are finally ready to go now - imported our sperm from denmark and having IUI's at the homerton.
I gave myself the trigger shot today at 11.00am and then have the IUI 2mrw at 1.00pm so thats 26 hours after trigger - does that sound about right


----------



## leoaimee

hay emnjo

HOORAY for your basting tomorrow!

i didnt do a trigger shot ... just got scanned and had a surge detected with a opk.

But it sounds similar to other people!!  ooh good luck tomorrow.  think positive thoughts.

  for your BFP!

ax


----------



## Strawbs78

emnjo said:


> Hola
> 
> Congrats on your BFP!! Thats really brilliant news!!
> 
> We are finally ready to go now - imported our sperm from denmark and having IUI's at the homerton.
> I gave myself the trigger shot today at 11.00am and then have the IUI 2mrw at 1.00pm so thats 26 hours after trigger - does that sound about right


Bumbelina? Its AG


----------



## KjPam

Hey everyone

Aimee - a huge congratulations on your exciting news. How does it feel??

Unfortunately we had a BFN and are already back on the trips to manchester, already feel tired and not sure if we should have had a month off!! Had in my mind that it would take more than one go, so not too devastated. My mum seems more upset than we are. I think the anticipation from the family and their continual need for updates on the growth rate of my eggs puts a bit of pressure on!!! - I suppose I shouldn't moan. They have all been really supportive but sometimes feel like I did when we had our CP - lets just run away and do it then come back and celebrate with everyone. 

There was also the cutest baby boy at MFS on Monday when we went for our scan - obviously completely doted on!! Makes you want one of your own more. Can't stop looking at pushchairs in the street. I thought the 2ww was bad but it is almost as bad waiting for the next 2ww. 

We have decided to stay with the same donor - now not sure if that was the right decision or not. 
Starting to sound more depressed and desperate than I really am. 

Just need a pick me up of chocolate or some exercise

KJ


----------



## leoaimee

hi KJ

good to hear from you.  sorry to hear about your BFN but you sound pretty robust and not too down about it.

i can be hard with family and friends ... i found it really hard not to tell people about my tx but then have had to deal with the downside of people knowing.  overall im glad i told people cos i was able to get alot of support.

there is no reason not to stick with the same donor but i believe it is thought best to change after three IUIs with no success incase there is some incompatability.

i had breaks between my cycles for me i needed recovery time.  i had one month off between one and two and then three months off between two and three.  i was really really down after the second BFN and really three months allowed me to regain my equilibrium.  I had acupuncture and listened to my hypnotherapy cd in between and that also really helped me.

thanks for the congratulations.  to be honest i feel quite fine and normal now!  the first three days after finding out i was v emotional and kept crying and was v distracted at work.  now i feel like its all very straight forward.  i feel relieved to not be 'trying' anymore.  gabs and i are both really excited about our little one coming next year.  we have been talking and planning a bit too.  i have a scan next week so fingers crossed all goes well for that.

keep us posted and check out the chat thread here if youre interested.

aimeex


----------



## Strawbs78

Morning ladies

Ive got a couple of questions and was hoping someone could help me out..

Just spoke to my clinic and my AF is due Friday and she said I had to wait til I had a 'heavy bleed' so either come in on Friday if heavy enough (day 1) or then I would have to wait til Monday - is this too late?  I am sure when I went for my initial consult they told me they could do it on a sat but now they are telling me they cant..  I am becoming more and more disillusioned with LWC as tiime goes on..  

Also as I am working very very hard to lose some weight as you know so I can egg share at christmas time do you think the IUI drugs will make me put on weight like the IVF ones apparently do?

one last thing I think i am going to have to tell my boss today so I can have some flexibility re appts etc and I dont think he will be pleased, has everyone else told their employers or just winged it?

Thanks lovelies

xxx


----------



## pipgirl

Sorry about the BFN KJ,

We were at MFS ad were told it might be an idea to switch donors after 4 iui in a go if nothing happened because 3 is just the avarage...we did change and had two more with meds but zip..3 is avarage but they do 6 because a lot of people arent 'avarage' ie it can work 1st or 6th time and there dosnt have to be anything wrong..

I dont think its right that people bring babies into MFS by the way...i think it is tortuous for women with IF (its a different matter if a client is just there for iui and has no diagnosed problems but for those of us who have been through many failed tx or have low chances i think its insensetive. I understand it can be difficult sometimes to find childcare but still...it used to upset me seeing pg women or babies in the street, never mind the clinic!

Good luck for the next round!

Pip


----------



## emnjo

Strawbs78 said:


> Morning ladies
> 
> Ive got a couple of questions and was hoping someone could help me out..
> 
> Just spoke to my clinic and my AF is due Friday and she said I had to wait til I had a 'heavy bleed' so either come in on Friday if heavy enough (day 1) or then I would have to wait til Monday - is this too late? I am sure when I went for my initial consult they told me they could do it on a sat but now they are telling me they cant.. I am becoming more and more disillusioned with LWC as tiime goes on..
> 
> Also as I am working very very hard to lose some weight as you know so I can egg share at christmas time do you think the IUI drugs will make me put on weight like the IVF ones apparently do?
> 
> one last thing I think i am going to have to tell my boss today so I can have some flexibility re appts etc and I dont think he will be pleased, has everyone else told their employers or just winged it?
> 
> Thanks lovelies
> 
> xxx


Hey honey

The reason why you go in for a scan on the first or second day of your period is to ckeck that your lining is shedding properly - I don't really think there is any need for this, (Homerton told me a waste of time)

If you are taking drugs you will need to be given them - so I would just go for a scan on the Friday - unless no period at all.

Not sure if I have explained this very well - buzz me if you need to xx


----------



## Strawbs78

hey chickadee!

She did say to me that unless I had a heavy bleed on Friday they wouldnt let me start as my lining would be too thick    I guess Im going to have to just see on Friday what happens and how it happens and then take it from there (you know that is not my strongest trait!

xx


----------



## suitcase of dreams

Hi,

I usually post on single girls board but just wanted to drop in and say to Strawbs that it shouldn't be a problem. If you get AF tomorrow/very early Fri, then go in for your scan on Friday, but otherwise if AF comes later Fri/over the weekend, you'll be fine to be scanned on Monday and they will start you then...it won't be too late if you go in on Monday.

They basically want to see that your lining has gone and for that to happen you need to have had at least a day of proper AF...but doesn't matter if you have had more than that...

The doses they give you for medicated IUI (I'm assuming you will be on Puregon as this is what LWC seem to use) are very low so shouldn't affect your weight. I didn't put on weight during the 3 IUIs I did, but the IVF has certainly taken its toll....the doses are much higher and also the stress is higher with IVF - and when I'm stressed I resort to too much chocolate  

Anyway, good luck and don't worry about the timing, will be fine if you go in Monday if AF comes Fri/over the weekend
Suitcase
x


----------



## Strawbs78

Thank you suitcase of dreams that post was exactly what I wanted and needed to read!!!!  Yay I am just so glad I wont have to miss a month, phew..... 

You have really put my mind at rest and even made me do a little clap of excitement!!!         

Ive never wanted my period so much in my life ha ha ha ha ha

xxx


----------



## Dominique123456

hello all  

I'm slowly getting to know all the different threads on FF  

Thought I'd introduce myself here too. I'm on day 11 of stimming hoping for EC Monday. My DW and I have tried IUI twice before but felt that the chances of success were too small and so have gone for the big IVF gun! 

We live in a rural area and I work in London we only have one or two LGBT friends who are not ready to start TTC so it would be really lovely to share support with you guys on here. 

Good luck to those on the 2ww!


----------



## leoaimee

hi dominique!

oooh have everything crossed for you   .

how have you found the stimming?  drinking lots of water and eating protein like a good girl?

 

hope this one is the lucky one for you honey!


----------



## Strawbs78

Hey there Dominique,

I saw you on one of the other threads!!  DW and I are in the process of doing our first medicated IUI (4th day of injections) whilst I lose some weight to do IVF in Dec / Jan if we still need it - fingers crossed we dont!

Good Luck for Monday!!

x


----------



## Dominique123456

Hi Aimeegaby  

I feel sooo bloated, I have brought hot water bottle to work! Yes, am eating properly and drinking lots and lots of water. Thank you! 

How are you, are you on the dreaded 2ww?


----------



## Dominique123456

hey Strawbs - were you on the london TTC thread? 

Ooh, is that when they make you ovulate lots of eggs? Hoepfully you'll be waay pregnant by December  

When did you get married? When did you start IUI? Ooh and what clinic are you with?


----------



## Strawbs78

Dominique123456 said:


> hey Strawbs - were you on the london TTC thread?
> 
> Ooh, is that when they make you ovulate lots of eggs? Hoepfully you'll be waay pregnant by December
> 
> When did you get married? When did you start IUI? Ooh and what clinic are you with?


Yep that's me!!

Yep that's the one, Im taking injections of puregon every day, I go in for a scan tomorrow afternoon to see how many follies are growing with a view to inseminate next week! I hope your prediction is right!! Gosh preggas by Dec would be a dream come true..

We got married in Dec 06 then went travelling in Australia for a year (Im Australian so we spent a year with my family).. Only started this month so had my baseline scan and first injection on Monday.. Im at LWC in London on Harley Street.. How about you on both counts? 

x


----------



## lou1736

Hello Girls!

Well I'm back again after a failed first attempt at IVF/egg share! We wanted to get back started again and on the roller coaster asap! The only good thing that came out of our first attempt was my recipient got pregnant from my eggs....with twins!! It was devastating for us but have to stay positive!

That was a couple of months ago and we're now on our second attempt about to start the Puregon injections today! I'm starting on 200. We're also at the London LWC. 

It's wierd how each time can be so different.... I mean last time I had literally no side effects on the buserelin...apart from the odd hot flush! This time I've felt absolutely awful on it! Permanent thumping headache, aching back and joints the list goes on! 
Anyway...here's to the joys of a belly the size of an elephant from now on with the puregon! woo hoo! At least this time I know what to expect! Last time I was petrified of the EC!   

Lots of luck to all of you in your 2ww and waiting for EC!     

Love Lou xx


----------



## Dominique123456

Welcome back then Lou   

I'm at LWC too, wonder if I'll bump into any of you there? Lol we might have passed in the corridors!

Lou - I'm doing the egg share and I have wondered how I'd feel if my recipient got BFP but not us. I hope that I'll feel good about it - at least someone got a result from the process I guess. But I would also feel sad.
Great that you're ok to jump right back into the saddle so to speak. Was that an easy choice to make?

Strawbs: I love australians and I'd love to visit there but it's on my 'hope-to-do-one-day' list  We also got married in Dec 06 (the 1st of dec to be more precise). We tried IUI twice already in the past 18 months or so. 

This is our 1st IVF attempt and I felt GREAT on the buserelin downregging phase but the stimming is starting to get quite annoying! I have about 15 big follies and lots of little ones and I feel almost ready to pop!

I have a diary that I'm keeping on FF (see my sig below) - do you guys have one too?


----------



## Strawbs78

Hey Dominique,

We got married on 9 Dec in Greenwich, it was the best day of my life..

Australia is a great place to holiday, so many beautiful things to see, if you can get there you definitely should!!!

I dont do a diary, unfortunately I dont have time during the day and we are in between laptops at home so until then I just try and keep up and post as best I can..


----------



## leoaimee

*dominique *

glad youre doing good with the stims!! no im not in 2ww anymore i got my bfp a couple of weeks ago. 
*
Hay Lou *

i was wondering how you were doing and when you would be back on to the next cycle. sorry the DRing is so horrid this time.

wow i cant blieve your recipient got twins. wow! i really hope this time its for you sweetie.
*
Srawbs *

glad to see you have started stimming! great news.

hope all your EC and ETs go really really well.

loads of  for you all!


----------



## lou1736

Hey Dominique,

It's funny as stupidly we were just convinced the IVF would work for us first time! I don't know why we thought that! After millions of tests to check there is nothing wrong with me apart from mild PCO without the syndrome! None of our private fresh inseminations worked so we decided to just go straight to IVF instead of wasting more time and money on IUI!
My partner is Australian and a while back we were contemplating returning over there to live and wanted to get pregnant before going as they do not offer egg share/IVF over there! Since then though we've decided to stay in the UK for the forseeable future anyway! I guess we just wanted to have another go asap really... as soon as I hit 30 in June I started to panic lol! Especially as we'd been trying for like 2 yrs with our own donor! It's been harder this time round though...my body is struggling more with the drugs! I think the first time we were excited at the unknown so to speak. It is pretty stressful on the body and I guess doing another one so soon wouldn't help but it's been ok for us so far! If my recipient hadn't got pregnant either then we wouldn't have been allowed to pursue another egg share/IVF anyway!! So at least I know there's nothing wrong with my eggs! They just don't like being in my body by the looks of it lol!
I think you're at about the same stage as me?! I start my stimming tonight! What dose have they put you on?

Aimeegaby- CONGRATULATIONS on your BFP!!!!     I can imagine how excited you must be!!! How are you feeling so far?!

Lou xxx


----------



## Dominique123456

Yes aimeegaby - congrats  

Lou - my DW feels like it defo going to work but I'm less sure. We're alot like you actually. Same age and I also have mild pcos. I really hope it does work 1st time because it's such a palarver isn't!? I think we will try again if it doesn't work asap (if I had my way, DW might advise against though). 

In a way there is more expectation that it will work for us, because of no history of infertility, age etc. So a BFN must have been really hard for you  Maybe it;s more likely to work now because you'll be more relaxed in a way, now you know what to expect. 

Are you using a known donor? How many eggs and follies did you have last time if you don't mind me asking!

BTW is that really true that if neither me or my recipient get pregnant then I can't do egg share again? Blimey, that's just hoiked the pressure up a few notches...


----------



## leoaimee

hay lou - 

i guess that is a blessing then that you know that about your eggies.  and really there you got to keep remembering you have the best possibility its going to work and stay positive pants.  i gave myself quite a couple of months off between my IUIs just to get myself emotionally sorted and i think it helped.  also i changed donor (sperm) each time (which i dont think the clinic liked ... not sure why) and i dont know if that helped.  so much of it is unknown isnt it?  

did you try every month for two years with your home insems?  was it with known donor?  or sperm bank donor?

thanks for the congrats.  gaby and i are really over the moon.  it kind of doesnt seem real and then it does again ... i luckily have had no morning sickness of actual puke.  but i have felt a bit tired and rough for a week or so now.  but really not too bad considering some peoples stories.  i am trying to sort out a scan for next week.

oh btw i have mild PCO no syndrome though!

axxx


----------



## lou1736

Hi Dominique!

Yes that's what the clinic told us! So it's a good job our recipient did get preg, otherwise we'd be stuffed!!
Last time I got 14 eggs collected...7 each. I got 100% fertilisation and 2 good embies put back! My recipient had a lower fertilisation and her 2 embies were of lower quality! So you see I believe it's such a matter of luck! Who's your consultant? We've got Dr Venkat...she told me at my follow up consultation it should of worked!? Yeah...that doesn't help lol! I also started bleeding only 7 days post ET! So I knew it was all over! I didn't even get to test day! This time round I'm having horrid Gestone injections instead of the suppositories to stop this happening!
You also don't live too far from us in Brighton!
We're using an unknown donor...how about you?

Aimeegaby- good luck with your scan...how exciting! I'm glad you're not feeling too bad!   Let us know how it goes!
I think we tried nearly every month of the 2 yrs just about! Its all a bit of a blur! We used about 3 different known donor with home insems! xx


----------



## Dominique123456

Hi Lou,

Wow, they didn't tell us that. That seems an insane rule as you can get BFN for no reason at all (i.e. nothing wrong with the eggs) so why not let you share again? Hmpf. So many hoops. 

Oh well, I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it  We have Dr. Venkat too and she has been very positive and nice but I wish she had just told us straight that IUI was likely to be a waste of time  Before we tried it twice! 

I'm sorry you didn't get to test day and that it was BFN - that sucks. I think your recipient was greedy with two and should have given you one at least (just to say thanks or something)  

Is gestone stronger then, but injections in the bum? I get confused which drugs go where and do what lol! 

Are you in Brighton? Are you part of the pink parenting group or rainbow families there? We live about 30mins from Brighton and pop there from time to time to eat at yo sushi (yummy!)


----------



## lou1736

Yeah I dunno all these rules! It's like you get over one hurdle and then realise there's another right round the corner! 

We kinda decided what we wanted to do before we even went for our first consultation! I've learned that if you don't know what you want and ask for it, you don't get lol!

Yes Gestone is stronger and evidently very painful! You should see the size of the needles! And yes...in the bum! DW is already apologising in advance! It is absorbed by the body better than the suppositories! But the suppositories are the standard treatment given to people...until they find out you need otherwise after the first go!!   Anyway I'm sure you'll be successful and won't need any of this!

No we're not part of any of those groups in Brighton....although I think we might join once I get preg.

I know....I reckon it was fairly greedy too! I mean the least she could do is give me one eh!   I'm so happy for her but it was like a double blow when we were told it was twins... two mini me's!! Wierd eh! Buy one, get one free!  

Anyways if you're occasionally down this way maybe we should meet up and go for a coffee or something!? What do you reckon?! Have you got a date for your EC yet? I'm back at the LWC on Tues for a scan....


----------



## leoaimee

hay lou - we did one home insem with a friend last year it was a funny experience!  it was nice ... but then sad when ultimately we cldnt really all agree on how our roles were going to be.  wow 2 years of home insems!  

 for your recipient ... it must be strange.  but you will get your family soon.  fingers crossed VERY SOON!!

dominique - why did they tell you to go straight to IVF?  was it the pco?


----------



## Strawbs78

Morning morning morning!!

Today is scan day to see how my little follies are growing!!!!!      spent the whole night last night with a hot water bottle on my tummy so hopefully that has kicked things along.. I am just really hoping that all is fine in there and it just goes ahead like a normal cycle..

Did my injection again this morning and no pain or blood, I think it did it far too low below my belly button yesterday, what a plonker..

Not up to much really, just had some porridge which I didnt put enough milk iin so it was more like tar than porridge to be truthful!!  

Still got an upset tummy which I am sure must be the puregon but all is good other than that...

Hope everyone is gearing up for a great Friday and weekend.. Ive got a good feeling about today!

Weighed myself again this morning and only a 100gm lost but hey its still a loss that is how I am looking at it..

xxx


----------



## leoaimee

good luck today strawbs!!

glad injecting went well and youre feeling   

axxx


----------



## Strawbs78

thanks hon!!  Hope all is good with you and little bean..

xx


----------



## Dominique123456

Strawbs  You'll get the hang of the injections in no time  I use a block of frozen cheese (still in the packet) to numb the area first and that helps. 

aimeegaby - we did natural IUI twice and then we decided to go for IVF. The clinic just went along with us 

lou1736 - I called the clinic yesterday afternoon to check whether that's a hard and fast rule, and apparently now it isn't. So if both me and recipient get BFNs I CAN still have another go with the egg share up to 3 times. Phew! (I have enough to worry about). My DW and I only decided last night that we would try again with IVF if this didn't work. Before we talked about just trying once with IVF and then follwing the adoption route. But now we're like, IVF isn't so bad, let's try it again 

I haven't joined any of Brighton groups either am waiting for a BFP first 

We'd love to meet up sometime  I have no idea where I'll be next Tuesday! I might be having my EC then or recovering from EC the day before. Or they might do EC on Wednesday, in which case I might be there? Who knows in this game? It's all pretty up in the air. Do you come to London often anyway? I work here so I go to LWC in my lunch breaks normally. Are you going to LWC today by any chance?


----------



## Strawbs78

Dominique123456 said:


> Strawbs  You'll get the hang of the injections in no time  I use a block of frozen cheese (still in the packet) to numb the area first and that helps.
> 
> lou1736 - I called the clinic yesterday afternoon to check whether that's a hard and fast rule, and apparently now it isn't. So if both me and recipient get BFNs I CAN still have another go with the egg share up to 3 times. Phew!


Im at LWC Harley Street and that's what I have heard too..

Im at LWC today at 3.30 so may see you in the waiting room if you are there too!!


----------



## leoaimee

dominique good luck today too honey!       

first time lucky for you !!


----------



## Dominique123456

Thank you aimee! (You give me lots of hope!)

Hi Strawbs - aw! I think i'm going to miss you, as I'll be there at 12.30 for a scan and i'll be gone by 1pm probably. I'll have my DW and my mum there today so I won't be able to wait. Shame, i always wish I had someone to talk to at the clinic... It would be great to put a name to a face too!


----------



## lou1736

Dominique- I also checked that rule again with the clinic yesterday and they said that if both you and the recipient get a BFN then they have to evaluate the quality of the eggs and embies etc etc before they accept you for another egg share/IVF! So Seeing as though my eggs were fine then I guess it should be ok but just another thing to worry about! Anyway I'm sure you'll be lucky first time fingers crossed!  I know what you mean about not knowing whats happening. It was like that last time for me.... I couldn't plan anything for a whole week or so basically as there were no set days or dates for anything, it was basically down to my body!   Everything went so smoothly for us last time it was kinda too good to be true! I kept saying to DW... it's all going too well, something has to go wrong at some point! Guess I was right!
We only come up to London for LWC... We moved from London to Brighton 3 yrs ago to get away from the place! I hate going there! I find it really stressful now! I'm not expecting my EC to be until the end of next week at least! However if we both get BFP this time that would mean we'd be expecting within a week of each other! 
How often do you come down to Brighton then? We could always make a trip to Tunbridge Wells I guess as well!? PM me and we can discuss it?

Strawbs- How did the scan go? What stage are your follies at?!   

aimee- How you feeling? Still good I hope!  

Lou xx


----------



## Twinmummy

Hi Lou,

I hope you dont mind me asking, but how did you find out that your egg recepient got pregnant with twins ? i thought that donors wouldnt know what came of their donation ? 

on hindsight do you think that you would have preferred not to know ? or does it make you feel good knowing that your donation did actually help someone ?


----------



## Strawbs78

Morning everyone,

have just gotten in to work so cant be on here for too long and sorry I havent had time to read through the thread but will do a little later..

Had my scan on Fri and I had 2 fols (10 and 12) on my left ovary and lots of small on my right, had another one this morning and now still have those two on my left which have only grown a little but another two (10 and 12) have grown on my right so they have reduced my meds as if all four mature and get bigger in size or I grow any more they will abandon the cycle  

i am feeling a little worried that it will be abandoned but I guess there isnt much I can do at this point..

has this happened to anyone else?

xxx


----------



## lou1736

Hi Twinmummy-

Thanks for your questions! It's a really really hard thing to be honest! We've actually been able to deal with it all fine so far though!
The clinic AREN'T supposed to tell you what happened with your recipient unless you ask them and your recipient has agreed to it. But the thing is ...I didn't even ask them! I mean we would have probably asked at some point but this was at our follow up consultation after my BFN and one of the first things the doc said was...'It should of worked for you! Your recipient is pregnant!!' So it was a bit of a shock and kick in the teeth but I know I would have asked at some point but just didn't get the choice!! 

Then at another appointment I asked how her pregnancy was going and I was told she was expecting twins! 
We're over the moon for her. From the moment I had digested the news I somehow felt really protective of her!? I would have been devastated if they had then said she miscarried or something! At the end of the day they were my eggs and I wanted them to do well! I'm still very curious about how she's doing and would love to see how they turn out but hey...that's not to be and that's something we have to live with. I keep telling myself that our time will come when it's meant to...
The positive thing is that at least I definately know that there isn't anything wrong with my eggs! They're perfectly capable!
Are you thinking of egg sharing then?


Strawbs- I'm sorry to hear your news.... I've never encountered this but what else did they say to you? Why would they have to abandon the cycle? Is it because the follies are too big too soon!? Thinking of you. I'm sure someone else on her can help though    xxx


----------



## Strawbs78

Hey Lou, thanks for the post..  

They said it could all be fine and they are reducing my meds so that they dont all grow too quickly.. basically they only really want two but now I have four (had 2 on Fri but over weekend 2 more have grown), they are all the same size i.e. around 12 but they only want two of them to grow to 18 otherwise I will have too many to continue because of the chance of multiples..

If more than 2 grow to 18 or if I grow any more then they will abandon my cycle..

xx


----------



## leoaimee

hay strawbs

sorry to hear you might be over stimmed ... im sure the adjustment in meds will sort you out.  im sorry i cant give you more advice.

hay lou

got my scan today at 5.30 will let you know!  feeling a bit rough to be honest still.  but not terrible and i guess its to be excpected!

dominique - hope everything is progressing well for you!


----------



## pipgirl

Hey Strawbs 

It happened to me on my last iui too...looked like going to overstimm..but as it turned out only the lead follie matured, the others stayed at 14 ish..it often turns out that way. the others stop when one or tow in the lead...apart from with ivf when the drugs are a lot stronger and overide it..try not to worry.

Pip


----------



## Dominique123456

Thanks - everything going well for me!   Egg colelction yesterday and I had 22 eggs! 11 of mine fertilised and most of the other 11 fertilized for my recipient 

I'm just resting athome today with a hot water bottle as am feeling awfully sore! Time to watch lots of Monk on telly  

Hope you are all doing well. 

Strawbs, the clinic will do the best for you. They reduced my dose of puregon and towards the end stopped it completly and I was fine. Try to relax and not panic about things that might not happen. (lol sooo easy to give that advice to other, but I know it's hard to do!) Wishing you lots of luck and I hope that they don't pause your treatment!


----------



## lou1736

Hey Dominique!

I facebooked you about your EC! Wow 22 eggs!! That's amazing! You must feel a little lighter now!  And even more brill that all 11 fertilised!? You must be very pleased!!  Are you using donor sperm by the way? And are you having ICSI? Hope you feel better soon hun!  

Aimee- How did your scan go!!??  

Lou xx


----------



## leoaimee

scan went really well thanks for asking!!

yes little heart beat and little bean 1cm long!



dominique - wow 22 eggs!  how fab!


----------



## Strawbs78

Sorry I wasnt on yesterday, I got up yest morn to get ready for work and took a bit of a turn and collapsed on the bathroom floor hurting my face a little..  DP put me straight back in to bed where I stayed asleep til 12.30.. A bit of a jolt to tell me to take things a little easier.. woopsy!!

My scan is this afternoon at 3.45 so send me lots of  ladies!

Dom - OMG that is absolutely fantastic, 22 eggs, you lucky devil.. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that this is the one for you this month..

@ Pip - thanks for the reassurance, I am sure you are right.. It will just be what it will be is what I think at this point..

Hope everyone has a great day...

x


----------



## leoaimee

stawbs 

oooh glad you had a good extra sleep.  its important to be relaxed rested and take everything as it comes.  hope scan goes well today         

love aimeex


----------



## lou1736

Strawbs- Sorry about your episode yesterday! Poor you! I hope you're feeling ok now!

I'm also at the clinic for a scan today! Mine's at 2.45pm!! Might see you there!? I'm also feeling pretty dreadful at the mo! They've got me on a higher dose of puregon than last time and it makes a big difference! I feel sick as a dog and just generally unwell! Will see what they can do today!  

Take care 
Lou xx


----------



## leoaimee

oh poor you lou       hope all goes well for you too!


----------



## Strawbs78

thanks Aimee and Lou.. Im feeling much better today, cold still hanging around but Ive improved 10 fold since yest..

Lou - yes maybe see you there!!!  Im at 3.45 but Im usually there by about 3.30 (im analy on time or early - its a virgo thing)  What's your dose of P that you are on? Since doing the IUI Im dreading doing IVF as if they upped by drugs by 3 or 4 tiimes I think I would feel quuite unwell..

xx


----------



## lou1736

Thanks Aimee! 

Strawbs- I'm on 200 Puregon! Last time I was on the 150 which is the standard dose they seem to give everyone to start with! I've got my fingers crossed they'll lower it today!   Have to see how many little follies I've got growing in there first!

Yeah might see you then....although I have no idea what you look like lol! 
Hope it goes well for you! 

Lou xx


----------



## leoaimee

strawbs you will have to be brave and say hi to lou!  lou is your dp/dw going to be with you?

      for you both


----------



## lou1736

LOL! Yes aimee...DW is coming too!   I shall be on the look out for anyone giving us lingering looks lol!  
xx


----------



## Dominique123456

Good luck to both of you for your scans!! I was on 150 to start, then they reduced it to 120 then none at all for last few days. 

If I was going to the LWC today it would be like a big FF meet! But alas I'm at home while man erects (giggle) a fence in my back garden and DW is assembling some sort of flatpack furniture... (very impressive). 

Anyway Strawbs I'm so glad that your DW has you under control or goodness knows what sort of mischief you would get into running around and passing out all over the place! Defo take it easy, we all deserve a break


----------



## Strawbs78

hey Lou

if I see you I will do a funny hand clap or something ha ha.. Im 5 foot 5, wearing black trousers and blue jumper with a black coat and Ive got brown hair tied up in a pony today so if you see me then wave me down!!

Hey aimee,

Unfortunately no as DW has just started a new job and its really important to me that she is there for the insem so we are prioritising which appts she comes to.. I would have loved for her to be there today but Ive just got to cop it sweet..

hey Dom,

gosh Im only 50, I couldnt imagine being on 150!!  Def taking it easy.. DW didnt want me coming to work today but boss emailed and asked me to come in so what can you do ey!  I am leaving at 2.45 today so a nice early finish for me.. Im looking forward to the insem happening so then I can just take a week off (boss' orders) and put my feet up..

xx


----------



## lou1736

Oh Dom you crack me up!!  

Hope you're feeling a little less sore today!  

xx


----------



## Dominique123456

lol Strawbs my DW couldn't come to all the app either, I found it fine actually, as you say, as long as they are there for the really important ones


----------



## Dominique123456

*Crazy threads*
First of all for those of you and haven't seen these two great threads - Crazy stories of hormental women and the very new crazy dreams while trying to conceive threads. They are great if you want a little pick me up and to wee your pants 

Funny dreams: http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=161803.0
Hormental women antics...:http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=11617


----------



## emnjo

Hey Strawbs not sure if your on here or not, but LOADS of luck for this avo - I have a good feeling about it, its all gonna be alright 

Hope your feeling better!!

I have my day 10 scan on friday so getting excited again. 

Dom- I have been reading your diary and its brilliant - a really good insight into IVF and really usefull so thank you!! I think we will do the egg share programme if our IUI's don't work - doing another 5 (already done 3) Can I ask why you were told the IUI wouldn't work for you?

Good Luck to everyone else


----------



## Strawbs78

emnjo said:


> Hey Strawbs not sure if your on here or not, but LOADS of luck for this avo - I have a good feeling about it, its all gonna be alright
> 
> Hope your feeling better!!


hey gorgeous one

yep Im here!! Im back and work and feeling ok today..

I will hang on to your good feelings for this afternoon if you dont mind!! 

I must take a look at that diary you mentioned, Im feeling quite anxious about ivf now just because of the drugs so will be good to read someone else's experience..

yay for Friday!!

xx


----------



## emnjo

Strawbs78 said:


> emnjo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hey Strawbs not sure if your on here or not, but LOADS of luck for this avo - I have a good feeling about it, its all gonna be alright
> 
> Hope your feeling better!!
> 
> 
> 
> hey gorgeous one
> 
> yep Im here!! Im back and work and feeling ok today..
> 
> I will hang on to your good feelings for this afternoon if you dont mind!!
> 
> I must take a look at that diary you mentioned, Im feeling quite anxious about ivf now just because of the drugs so will be good to read someone else's experience..
> 
> yay for Friday!!
> 
> xx
Click to expand...

I'm glad your feeling better, passing out is not a good thing to be doing!

Dom's diary is brilliant, if you look below her signature you will see a link. 
I too am not that keen on all the drugs, but I guess if we have to we have to? *****in really!

Not long for you to go - let me know let me know!! XXXXXXXXXXXXX


----------



## Dominique123456

Aw thanks for the compliments about my diary (it's a bit of an epic!) I need to update it actually...

emnjo - the problem with IUI, we tried it twice before, is that although it can work for some people, the chances are only around 10% success for a healthy woman (I was 26 when we first tried) if you're usng frozen sperm (success rates are higher with fresh stuff). If I had lots of money I would probably keep doing natural IUI as it is wonderfully easy with no drugs, but we just couldn't afford to keep going down that route. 

I hope that doesn't bring you down but if it doesn't work you'll know that it's not your fault at all and if it does, you'll know that you are a wonderfully fertile goddess!


----------



## Strawbs78

Yo emnjo

just read the diary - its fab!  Made me feel less anxious re the ivf for sure..  If I keep losing weight at this rate (12.3lbs now) then we will hopefully be doing it by January..

DW has said that under no circumstances will she inject me though so unless the drugs are the one you do in your stomach and not your bum then we wont be going down that route..  Dont even get me started!   

anyhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo as soon as I get out this arvo and have spoken to DW   then I will text you.. xxx


----------



## emnjo

Dominique123456 said:


> Aw thanks for the compliments about my diary (it's a bit of an epic!) I need to update it actually...
> 
> emnjo - the problem with IUI, we tried it twice before, is that although it can work for some people, the chances are only around 10% success for a healthy woman (I was 26 when we first tried) if you're usng frozen sperm (success rates are higher with fresh stuff). If I had lots of money I would probably keep doing natural IUI as it is wonderfully easy with no drugs, but we just couldn't afford to keep going down that route.
> 
> I hope that doesn't bring you down but if it doesn't work you'll know that it's not your fault at all and if it does, you'll know that you are a wonderfully fertile goddess!


Ha ha yes lets hope a wonderfully fertile goddess!! Yes I know IUI has pretty low success rates - we started of doing IUI at LWC (x2) but it was all getting megga bucks so we got a referral to the Homerton and imported sperm from Denmark (2k for 8 vials) and its only £400 a go at the Homerton - which is why we will keep trying there for a bit. I have a feeling I will end up down the egg share route though. I wasn't that sure about it at first - but you got to give something to get back in life - and without our lovely sperm donor we wouldn't be doing this at all. But we will give the IUI's a go - probably medicated after this cycle.

I have my fingers crossed for you!! You are only having one embryo put back I think? Are you going to save the frozen ones for FET if it doesn't work?

I was told that the success rate for IVF at my age (2 would be about 55% - do you think thats right?

Also - sorry one more question!!! How much has egg cost you altogether??
Thanks!!

Emma X


----------



## Dominique123456

lol Emma loads of questions    Importing sperm is a fab idea - why didn't we think of that   ? 

Ok, so yes we are having one embie put in and we are NOT freezing the rest but donating them to women who need both an egg and sperm donor (that's 100% altruistic no money off for that lol). That's not required, just something we decided to do! If this cycle doesn't work we will egg share again.

The egg share scheme costs, well Lou could tell you about this too. But we thought it would be 'everything free' except for ICSI cost and the sperm donor costs. BUT that's not the case. We had to pay for all blood tests to be accepted into the egg share programme (I got most of these through GP except for a couple and the DNA test). We also paid for estrogen blood tests which you may or may not need to have while stimming (to check your estrogen levels are ok).  I have to be sedated for egg transfer which isn't routine and will have to pay for that. Overall about 2k put aside would be about right I'd think.

I'm 29 and they haven't given me success rates (i didn't ask the clinic) but web searches indicate that women under 35 have a 40% success. The PROBLEM/OR POSITIVE is that the official statistics are skewed. As lesbians/single women, there's probably nothing amiss with our fertility generally, whereas the stats reflect ALL women under 35 who need to use IVF to become pregnant. So 55% is probably a good guess (and a stat I like very much!)

Phew hope that helps and best of luck to you both! We should organise a FF meet sometime!


----------



## emnjo

Dominique123456 said:


> lol Emma loads of questions  Importing sperm is a fab idea - why didn't we think of that  ?
> 
> Ok, so yes we are having one embie put in and we are NOT freezing the rest but donating them to women who need both an egg and sperm donor (that's 100% altruistic no money off for that lol). That's not required, just something we decided to do! If this cycle doesn't work we will egg share again.
> 
> The egg share scheme costs, well Lou could tell you about this too. But we thought it would be 'everything free' except for ICSI cost and the sperm donor costs. BUT that's not the case. We had to pay for all blood tests to be accepted into the egg share programme (I got most of these through GP except for a couple and the DNA test). We also paid for estrogen blood tests which you may or may not need to have while stimming (to check your estrogen levels are ok). I have to be sedated for egg transfer which isn't routine and will have to pay for that. Overall about 2k put aside would be about right I'd think.
> 
> I'm 29 and they haven't given me success rates (i didn't ask the clinic) but web searches indicate that women under 35 have a 40% success. The PROBLEM/OR POSITIVE is that the official statistics are skewed. As lesbians/single women, there's probably nothing amiss with our fertility generally, whereas the stats reflect ALL women under 35 who need to use IVF to become pregnant. So 55% is probably a good guess (and a stat I like very much!)
> 
> Phew hope that helps and best of luck to you both! We should organise a FF meet sometime!


Thank you!!  Sorry for so many questions!

2K is more than I would have thought for some reason.. we have our own sperm (well from Denmark) so that may make it a bit cheaper - expensive this game isn't it!!

When will you be having your embie put back? Fingers crossed for you!! X


----------



## leoaimee

if there is a FF meet can it be when im in the UK? 

very interesting to hear all your stories *emnjo*. i hope your IUIs go well for you. i think for me the more bastings i had the more relaxed about them i became. and also i stopped obsessing soo much about being healthy ... it was hard journey to get to that point emotionally though!

i realise how much easier non medicated IUI is than the IVF route. And how lucky we have been to get our BFP after 4 (inc our known donor home job). it did feel a long time while we were going through it. so i guess when you three get your BFPs (very soon i hope) you see how the time suddenly seems like nothing!

loads of   for you all


----------



## Dominique123456

Aw thanks Aimeegaby. I hope we have three success stories - wouldn't that just be FANTASTIC!!!

When are you in the UK then?


----------



## emnjo

aimeegaby said:


> if there is a FF meet can it be when im in the UK?
> 
> very interesting to hear all your stories *emnjo*. i hope your IUIs go well for you. i think for me the more bastings i had the more relaxed about them i became. and also i stopped obsessing soo much about being healthy ... it was hard journey to get to that point emotionally though!
> 
> i realise how much easier non medicated IUI is than the IVF route. And how lucky we have been to get our BFP after 4 (inc our known donor home job). it did feel a long time while we were going through it. so i guess when you three get your BFPs (very soon i hope) you see how the time suddenly seems like nothing!
> 
> loads of   for you all


Hey!!
Thanks! I'll be having our 4th IUI soon (day 10 scan this friday) so fingers firmly crossed!! 
How many hours after you detected your surge did you go in for the IUI? The homerton says 24 hours, but I have read that 36 is better? Not sure though...

Also - how many times did you check for your surge?

HUGE congrats on your BFP! Its giving me hope that IUI does work!

Would love a FF meet up, let us know when you will be in London.

Emma x


----------



## lou1736

Hey All!

Just back from the clinic and I now know why I'm in so much discomfort! I have 12 follicles with lots of smaller ones coming! ...And EC isn't scheduled til at least the end of next week!!! Not sure how I'm going to cope until then but we're pleased so far!   I wasn't allowed to lower my Puregon so I'm stuck on the 200! BOO! I also got told off for not drinking enough water which would explain many of my symptoms!  

Stawbs- I didn't see ya!!? Where were you hiding!!!??    How did yours go!? xx

Dom- Is your ET tomorrow?!   Will be thinking of you! Let us know how you get on....oh and check your ******** woman!!!!!  

Emjo- Lots and lots of luck with your IUI!!    When do you expect your surge to be? 

Oh and a London meet up sounds fab! Wouldn't it be great if we could all meet up pregnant!!? 

Lou xx


----------



## rosypie

emnjo said:


> 2K is more than I would have thought for some reason.. we have our own sperm (well from Denmark) so that may make it a bit cheaper - expensive this game isn't it!!


when we looked into egg share last year it was less: about 300£ for testing which was a one-off fee followed by about 650£ per cycle (including drugs and HFEA fee). we had our own sperm too so there was no additional charge for that. we couldn't do it in the end because of my raised FSH levels but i think it if you do meet their criteria then it's a fantastic thing to do. not just because of the cost saving but for the giving back aspect. Our donor chose to donate his sperm because his wife was an egg recipient. What goes around comes around and all that...

good luck all you lovely ladies!


----------



## Dominique123456

Lou...

Thanks for good luck wishes  I'm sorry you're about to hit the uncomfortable bit in the stimming! You are a very naughty girl for not drinking!!  

BUT I have an answer for you - I use this to remind me. I filled in my details and then you can download and use, it's a great little water reminder: https://www.brita.net/uk/drink_alarm.html?L=1

rosie - having your own sperm is soo much better and cost effective. But if your sperm needs 'treating' they will charge you for that.

emnjo - you're doing great. Good luck for Friday  If I remember rightly we peed on stick, called clinic and then we had to come in the next day. But it didn't work for us, so i'd do whatever aimmee did


----------



## rosypie

emnjo - not sure what the optimum timing is. 1st ever IUI we did was a double one at LWC and they inseminated you the same day as your surge plus the day after. Both times in the afternoon. If you were having a single insem you just went in the day after getting your surge.

2nd IUI was also a double so we had the first insem on the same day. But this was when they put their prices up (and we hadn't seen any of their notices to that effect) so we had to cancel the second insem of the cycle. We still managed to fall pregnant that time.

Seems to me there's little rhyme or reason. They can figure out the best time but it can still work either side of course...

keep positive


----------



## leoaimee

[/quote]

Hey!!
Thanks! I'll be having our 4th IUI soon (day 10 scan this friday) so fingers firmly crossed!! 
How many hours after you detected your surge did you go in for the IUI? The homerton says 24 hours, but I have read that 36 is better? Not sure though...

Also - how many times did you check for your surge?

HUGE congrats on your BFP! Its giving me hope that IUI does work!

Would love a FF meet up, let us know when you will be in London.

Emma x
[/quote]

hi emnjo

thanks for the congrats. we are very happy.

i monitored my cycles with one of those clear blue digital machines which gives you a high and peak fertility reading . but i didnt find it very easy with any method and i missed a few months not detecting a surge which was gutting at the time. i monitored through the months where i wasnt having a tx and plotted my cycles on an elaborate chart cross refrenced with the moons full nad new moons!!    i normally get my af on or around the full moon and ovulate on the new moon.

for my first and third cycle i actually had a scan to see how the follicle was progressing. that cost an additional £100 a scan - but the LWC does a multi offer thing if you have three so it wasnt quite three hundred for the last cycle.

i did detect a surge with the second and third basting though ... and they basted me the following day.

have you heard of natal hypnotherapy. i used these CDs between second and third cycle and i would 100% recommend them for relaxation. there is one for IVF too. and the language they use is non gendered which is great!

http://www.natalhypnotherapy.co.uk/

hope that helps. good luck for the next insemination!!

i agree with rosypie we are in the lap of the gods with this baby making!

oh i will be in london between christmas and new year ... thats probably a REALLY RUBBISH time for everyone else isnt it?? obviously you maywell want to meet up before that! so you honestly dont need to try and organise around me!!


----------



## Strawbs78

Hey morning everyone!!

Lou - I think I might have seen you at the counter with your DP/DW chatting and laughing away to the receptionist whilst I was being ushered in to the loo and then upstairs but I couldnt be sure and you all look quite engrossed so I just shot upstairs..

Dom 0 2k??    When we spoke to LWC they said £400.. We have already had all our tests done plus have our sperm (got it through lwc) but I guess we should factor in the est tests and sedation if required so back around the 1400ish that we orig though it would be...

So it all went super well yesterday, was very anxious when I got there but lowering the meds has done the trick.  3 of the 4 have just stayed at the size they were days ago and one has taken the lead and is big now, so they upped my injections last night back up to 50 and I do the trigger at 3pm today and then insem tomorrow at 3pm!!!!!!  I am so relieved I cannot even begin to tell you!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY OVER THE MOON!!!

XXX


----------



## leoaimee

hooray strawbs!  

good luck with the trigger! and good luck for basting!


----------



## Strawbs78

thanks aimeegaby

I am super excited!!!  Once this trigger shot is over then its all good from there..

x


----------



## leoaimee

yep!  nearly there!  nearly PUPO (pregnant until proven otherwise!)

and then the madness of the 2ww!   

ENJOY strawbs!  and really hope you get your BFP first time


----------



## lou1736

Strawbs- OH...you should of pounced on me!! I would've loved to meet you!!    Anyway fantastic news about your scan...bet you're much happier now!   Wishing you LOTS OF LUCK for today! Let us know how it goes!     

Aimee- Well done to you! It must feel great for you! One day hopefully we'll be at your stage!   Really happy for you hun!

I drank heaps more water yesterday and this morning am feeling much better!! Fingers crossed it seems to be doing the trick!   (I hate drinking water though!!) 

Lou xx


----------



## leoaimee

good girl lou drink lots and lots of water.  OHSS sounds HORRENDOUS!    
are you eating lots of protein?


----------



## Strawbs78

lou1736 said:


> Strawbs- OH...you should of pounced on me!! I would've loved to meet you!!  Anyway fantastic news about your scan...bet you're much happier now!  Wishing you LOTS OF LUCK for today! Let us know how it goes!
> 
> I drank heaps more water yesterday and this morning am feeling much better!! Fingers crossed it seems to be doing the trick!  (I hate drinking water though!!)
> 
> Lou xx


Hey Lou

Maybe next time.. You both looked really happy and were having a good laugh so that made me smile as I was making my way upstairs...

Try flavoured water & sparkling water they really help me get the 2 litres down.. plus all herbal tea counts.. I would even do sugar free cordial as well so long as you getting the liquids and its not caffeine I say go for it..

xx


----------



## Twinmummy

Lou - sorry only just replying to your post about a week ago !! i have had my hands full this week with ill children ! 

No not plannig on doing an egg share i was just intrested to read your post . Still cant get over clinic telling you that your recpient was pregnant. Nothing like rubbing your nose in it is there   - you poor thing ! 

And a message to everybody else - i love reading all your updates - i dont often get the time to post as trying to juggle 20 month twins boys with work etc so normally get as far as switching the comp on before i get dragged away again ! But keep up with the exciting posts ! its prob being read by loads peeps !

take care and good luck with all your treatments


----------



## Strawbs78

Hey ladies

Just popping on quickly to say I just did the trigger, so much easier than I had built it up to be in my head so that's it last in jection for a while, hopefully for a LONG while!!   

In 24 hours I will be meeting my swimmers!!!  
xx


----------



## leoaimee

yay!!  go strawbs!!


----------



## lou1736

GOOD LUCK STRAWBS!!     'GO SWIMMERS!!' xx


----------



## Strawbs78

thanks ladies.. Im feeling good!

Going for acupuncture tonight and then I am just going to be putting my feet up in prep for tomorrow...

xxx


----------



## emnjo

Hey everyone  


Well I had my cd10 scan today, all looking good, got one follicle that is taking the lead. Its only about 12mm but I won't ovulate for another 5-7 days so thats all normal for me. 

Got another scan on Monday. 

I saw a really nice consultant today called Jude (I love that name!!) and he said that we should do at least 6 IUI's before we do IVF. HE said that although IUI stats can be low - thats because they are based on the whole population - who generally have fertility probs etc. He said he would be amazed if the IUI's don't work for me. It did give me a bit of hope, have been feeling crappy about it not working.

Anyway, how are you guys doing? Lou - how are you feeling?? Dom - how are your little embied doing?

Strawbs - 3 o clock today baby! I will be thinking of you...sorry didn't text you back today my battery has died!

XX


----------



## Strawbs78

thanks ok Em - chat to you later on lovely!!  So pleased it all went well for you today.. yay we will be doing 2WW together! x


----------



## Dominique123456

Hi all,

When I first contacted lwc I sent them some questions, if you're interested in doing egg share have a look below (especially costs bit) why are they telling people different things? This was June 2008.

1)To become an egg donor do I have to wait 6 months for an HIV test? 

No this is a requirement for sperm donors, but not for egg donors. You will have screening tests initially, and you will then repeat these tests just when you are starting the actual treatment.

2)I have PCOS does that automatically rule me out as a potential donor?

This depends on how severe it is. Mild PCOS should be no problem and you can still be an egg donor.

3)How long is the waiting list to become a donor?

It usually takes up to three months to match you with a recipient and prepare you for the egg sharing treatment.

4)I called to get an estimation of costs and was told that it would be approximately £500 + £104.50. Is there an additional cost if we wish to use donor sperm from the clinic? If so, how much? What other costs are there and how much are they? I would like a total cost to work towards.

This is what you would pay as an egg sharer:

£295 Initial consultation

£125 follow up consultation if required

£104.50 HFEA fee

Costs for blood tests ca. £500 (or you can do them with your GP, or if you had tests before they are valid for one year)

Additional costs:

£500 if you need ICSI (this is recommended when doing egg sharing as the number of eggs is smaller)

£550 if you need donor sperm

£500 to freeze embryos including storage for one year, £275 storage fee for every year thereafter (you would pay this if you have good quality embryos remaining that can be frozen)

5)What is the process for being assessed and accepted on the programme?

You need to see the consultant for a consultation, and have all your blood tests done. You also need to speak to the counsellor (this is free of charge). If everything is fine, you will be accepted and matched with a recipient. You can find a list of the basic criteria of becoming an egg donor in the attached information sheet.

6)Is the donor informed if her donation is successful?

Both you and the recipient can specify whether you would like to know the outcome of each others treatment.


----------



## Dominique123456

emnjo - great feedback from the lovely Jude  I think that he's right too! When is 'the day' going to be, so we can wish you lots of luck!?


----------



## emnjo

Dominique123456 said:


> emnjo - great feedback from the lovely Jude  I think that he's right too! When is 'the day' going to be, so we can wish you lots of luck!?


Thanks lovely - and thanks for your write up on the egg share stuff - very uselful. Your a women in the know!! 

I am not sure yet - I am on cd10, on monday cd13 will have another scan. I think I will have the IUI either Friday or Sat next week. And thus another 2WW! Exciting and rubbish all in one go..

When are you due to have the embies put back in? Are they going to blasts? Not sure what that means!!


----------



## lou1736

Hi Ladies!

Went for another scan today! I have 19 mature enough follicles so far and lots of little ones coming! So we're pleased about that! The biggest is measuring in at 16mm today. My EC is scheduled for next wednesday! God I wish I could get them out now! My stomach is so uncomfortable it hurts to move and feels SO stretched and bloated! I already look like I'm 5 months preg!!   Lets hope it's all worth it this time round!   Because I'm drinking heaps I keep needing the loo but when I pee not much comes out compared to how bursting I am!?! Anyone else get this!?  

Dom- How you feeling?! How's that little embie doing!?   

Emjo- Lots and lots of luck to you! It all sounds good to me!  

Strawbs- How did it go!? Have you met your swimmers yet!? Thinking of you!   

Lou xx


----------



## mintyfaglady

Lou, not trying to freak you out, but bloating and low urine output can both be symptoms of OHSS. Maybe you should talk to someone at your clinic about it?

Great egg haul for you though -19!! Lots of luck.

Minty
xxx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Minty! Good to hear from you again!   How's things going with you!!?? 

I thought that too re. the OHSS and earlier in the week I felt SO bad... constant headache, aching body, etc. The nurses  on weds said it wasn't OHSS and just a lack of water! So I stepped up my intake as I wasn't drinking much at all! I felt better in myself the past couple of days but my stomach is very bad now and I keep getting sweats and because my belly feels SO full and tight I feel sick. It's not that I'm not peeing much on average for the day but when I feel like I'm bursting to go ...not that much comes out compared to what you'd expect! And the flow is real slow too!   I just want these eggs out now! I'm on 200 puregon this time compared to 150 last time! They said I need to stick on this dose as it's giving good results for me!  
I've got another scan on monday....see what happens I guess! 

Lou xx


----------



## Dominique123456

Hi Lou,

sorry you feel so bad - I felt the same with the bloating and it's only just easing off now. But I was waddling everywhere peeing loads (but it was painful). Basically my ovaries got so big there wasn't alot of room for both bladder and tummy! So when I ate I'd get full really quickly even though I was still hungry, if you know what I mean. 

I think that you should talk to clinic again and make sure that they aren't just thinking of you as an egg donor! If you have a good batch already then they don't need to keep you on a high dose (at least I don't think so?). Drink lots of water and take it easy. I found that the more I moved around the worse it got!

P.S My DW said "oh my god, I hoped your tummy would only get that big when you were 9months gone, that's huge" referring to my tummy... hmmm! 

Hope you feel better tomorrow and are you using hot water bottles?


----------



## leoaimee

*emnjo *- hooray for Jude!! cos its true it feels like a long time getting pregnant with IUI but really if you dont have any fert issues its just gonna be like bms for hetros ... so just trust your body! it knows how to do this!! 

*lou *- i really hope you havent over stimmed. drink yogurt drinks too! protein and water helps. oh and one lady i knew from another thread had to stop meals but just eat something every 15 mins like yogurt or cheese or chicken and keep drinking.

hi *strawbs* and *dominique*


----------



## Strawbs78

Sorry ladies not got loads of time for personals as not been in since Fri and doing 10 - 4 this week..  My boss just almost caught me so I have had to skip right to the end of the thread and just post..  Basting went well,I loved it at LWC, they are so good..  DP got to press down on the syringe with all our swimmers in it so she felt part of it too..  I got 9.7 million swimmers, 85% motility and 4 x 4 which means they are actively seeking the egg - does that sound good?  I havent really felt anything other than crampy since Friday.. DP keeps asking me if I feel pregnant but I have no idea and from what I read yesterday it hasnt even had time to implant yet so maybe in another week..  

They gave me a dest date of the 27th but my period is due on the 23rd - does this sound right?

sorry for all the questions and not really having time to contribute much back but I will read through everything once things settle down here..

Love to you all

xxx


----------



## leoaimee

hay strawbs

congrats you have been basted!!  HOORAY!

LWC say 16 days after basting, which is normally after your due date for AF.  Testing early is very naughty ... some times you can have false positives and also you dont want to sadness of a BFN when it might really be a BFP!!

oooh good luck with the 2ww.  its sooo horrid definately the worst bit.

I dont think youre gonna 'feel' much yet to be honest!  most early pregnancy symptoms are like pmt anyway so its very confusing.

well done!

loads of      for you!


----------



## Dominique123456

Ooh good luck!!!!!

Remember no lifting anything, lots of sleep, no hot baths and no aerobics!

Fingers crossed for you!!!


----------



## Strawbs78

Thanks ladies!!

Ive been told no baths, no sex for 10 days - DW was not amused  , no heavy lifting, no exercise and to rest loads so other than going to acupuncture and going to work from 10 - 4 this week Im doing absolutely nothing!  Im just putting my feet up and taking it easy on the sofa..

Im still drinking loads of water, eating brazil nuts, eating healthily (all bar a little fall of the wagon last week), and sleeping minimum 8 hours a night so I figure Im doing all I can do...

Lou - so sorry to hear you are in a bit of a bad way lovely..

Dom - thanks for the info dudette, that is what we are hoping to do as soon as I can shift the extra 28 lbs I  need to lose, that is of course if it doesnt work this time  

emnjo - sorry i couldnt chat before gorgeous, I will give you a buzz on my way to acu tonight.. xxxx


----------



## leoaimee

sounds really great strawbs!!

they didnt tell me not to have sex! i think penetrative sex can be a risk of infection because you have opened your cervix but non penatrative i dont see prob ... there is some debate as to whether an orgasm might help!! i guess go with what you feel though!

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=9452.0

check out this link!! 

fingers crossed for you!


----------



## Skybreeze

Hope you ladies dont mind me gate crashing!!  

Just popping on to say Good luck to Lou!!!! I have missed our little pm's hun!!!

Hope you and DW are doing very well today. Thinking of you      

Natalie xxxx

PS.. Strawbs... Good luck to hun xxxx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Natalie!!

So good to hear from you hun!      thanks so much for your wishes! It's been harder this time round I must say! I'm on a higher puregon dose and have felt bad! But they do say no pain no gain lol!  All's going well and having EC friday! ET on monday! 

So what's happening with you?! How you doing?   Any plans for another cycle yet?  
Keep in touch! 
Take care
Lou xxx
P.S. my recipient from last time is pregnant with twins!


----------



## Strawbs78

Hey skybreeze

thanks for the wishes of luck!!!  I am crossing my fingers and toes it works this time..  If not we just go again..

Lou - hope everything goes brilliantly for you on Fri and Mon I will really be thinking of you..    

x


----------



## Dominique123456

I second that! Good luck for your EC on Friday  Hope you have loads and loads of fantastic eggies!


----------



## emnjo

Hey there ladies

How are we all doing?? 

I am still testing for my surge (day 16 now) this is quite normal for me though. If I haven't surged by tonight, then I have a scan 2mrw so that I can be triggered before the weekend.. woop woop! 

Hope your all hanging in there!! X


----------



## leoaimee

emnjo

i always had REAL probs with the OPK and detecting a surge.  they are pesky little things, and make you WORRY soooo much.  for my first and last basitng i relied on the scans.

nearly there for you!!         

thanks for ******** friending me!

ax


----------



## Dominique123456

Just to make you smile... that's so gay (anti-discrimination) 





[red]This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that FertilityFriends.co.uk or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites[/red]


----------



## leoaimee

well i certainly echo the sentiment!  is that woman famous?  am i being dense?


----------



## Dominique123456

I think she is, she seems really familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it! 

I do worry that it's such a used word in schools that it will have a negative impact. I have good straight friends who say that's so gay and it's not till I point out that it's pretty rude to say that they make the connection!   

I hope that by the time our babies have grown up saying that's 'so gay' will be out of fashion. It's such a mornic thing to say anyway. 

How are you aimee? When is your scan?


----------



## leoaimee

hay dominique!

yes it is moronic ... and i hope the fashion passes soon.  my brother says 'thats gay' and so do loads of my hetro friends, even my friend Will with a gay brother ... and they dont seem to think there is anything wrong with it    

i have people try and justify it to me by saying that the origninal meaning of gay and so its ok for gay to have a third incarnation and its not homophobic!

this is in response to me saying that its as offensive as using the term ni**er


anyway ... people can be very inconsiderate.  i have asked my boss and others not to smoke in my office.  and they still do!!  (its not illegal in gibraltar).  my boss and two of my colleagues know im pregnant.  but my boss smokes around his kids so what can i say to that .... he managed to smoke three cigarettes in my office in the space of  minutes the other day.  the entire time he was in there and i just think 'cant you wait till you leave?' .....


grrrr!  


thanks for asking how i am dominique!  other than a bit ranty (it appears    )  i am fine and good, and feeling a bit more normal now actually, not quite as tired.  i had the scan two weeks ago now and it was very cute.  gabs was really happy!  and thought the heart beat bit was really cool.   

when is your expected day of basting?


----------



## Dominique123456

Gawd I get crazily annoyed when people just walk past me smoking on the street! You need a little water pistol that you fire at his cigarette everytime he lights up! 

I'm fine thanks, been basted already lol. Am now in 2ww and have 6 days to go


----------



## leoaimee

oh crickey mikey - sieve brain!!  i have probably congratulated you!!!

wow your over half way through 2ww - how have you found it?

was my worst bit for sure!

   

how are you feeling?  are you knicker checking every five minutes yet?


----------



## Dominique123456

Defintely, knicker checking, symptom surfing (that when you spend hours surfing google to analyse every twinge!) 

On another thread there was a convo about stupid things people have said while TCC... thought you might have a few of your own to add that we can laugh at?

Other award winning things people have said to me.

From brother - "so the baby will be more yours then?" (me and DW are same sex but married for 2 years and together for 8, it ain't going to be more mine lol!)

From counsellor at clinic - "to DW so what will you be?" (erm, chopped liver? Daddy? lol She'll be mummy too of course!)

From SIL - "If you even have one doubt, this whole thing won't work" (well, gee, I used up my one doubt about 6 months ago!)

From my dad - "Ergh a donor? You'll have a monster growing inside of you" (don't worry he lives aboard and we only let him out at weekends!)

From one of my friends - "I just know it's going to work, cos there's nothing wrong with you is there?" (er... so there's something wrong if it doesn't work, you know it's not a guaranteed process for anyone right?? Plus we already failed IUI twice...)

From someone else "ooh I hope you've got a blonde haired blue-eyed donor" (facist!)

I'm sure I'll think of more later on! 

Ooh what about all the people who have read "amazing true birth stories" in Women's Own/That's life magazine and feel they are now experts on baby miracles!


----------



## lou1736

LOL Dom you're funny! I had someone say to me....'if you're using a donor how will you know what the baby will look like?! It could turn out really ugly and you don't want to take that risk do you?! Or it could turn out to be a serial killer or something!!?'

Or ' you and the baby could get some kind of horrid disease!!!'

Funny that doing it the way we do there are so many more checks and tests on the donor than any straight couple would think of getting before they 'accidentally' fell pregnant!!

People are funny aren't they!? I never fail to be amazed by the vast amount of ignorance around! 

Had my EC today. Feeling a bit tired and sore but not too bad yet! They got 15 big ones evidently!!  

Having ET on Monday...  

Love to all
Lou xxx


----------



## Dominique123456

Ooh welcome back home!!


----------



## lou1736

Thanks!  

Let the countdown begin!!! EEK!       I have a good feeling about your outcome Dom!   See you tomorrow! 

Strawbs- how you doing hun!?


----------



## Strawbs78

hey ladies!!

Well Im 7 days in to my 17 day wait and Im not doing too badly.. Bl00dy hell doesnt it just drag on and on... If I get a negative I am having a bit fat glass of champagne..  No signs yet but am getting quite a few cramps in the last 30 mins and my tummy has swollen like a grapefruit quite rapidly but other than that Im good as gold.. My boobs arent sore, im not dizzy, im not peeing loads etc so pretty much symptom free...  AF is due 23rd and DW and I have decided we will do a test on that day and then again on 27th if no AF..

We have decided if we get a negative we will go again immediately..

Lou and Dom - Ive got it all crossed for you!!!

xxx


----------



## Dominique123456

Strawbs we'll be testing on the same day then!


----------



## Strawbs78

Lets hope we both get BFP!!!!  Fingers crossed for the 23rd, its less than a week away now...

x


----------



## lou1736

YAY for Dom & Strawbs!!  

I'll be lagging behind then! God how I hate waiting!  I'm terrible at waiting for anything let alone something as important as this! I even started to get irritated waiting for my EC this morning and started playing with the remote controlled bed until DW told me to stop causing havoc!! I wish they could just do the embryo transfer and then tell us later that same day lol!! 

Good Luck guys! We all need a good result....don't I know it!!


----------



## Dominique123456

Lou we'll still defintetly be around for you OTD date! My DW told me off for playing with the bed too!!! 

After ET I didn't want to stand up using my tummy muscles (I know, I know I'm   ) so I played with the chair till all I had to do was slide out without hardly having to use any muscles! Almost like those funny old people arm chairs you can get.


----------



## lou1736

LOL!!!

Well listen to this.....there I am laying on the operating table waiting to be sedated and mimi and rita are telling me about all the funny things some people say when they wake up...then mimi proceeds to tell me that alot of the straight women start moaning and groaning with pleasure when the speculum gets inserted both with EC and ET!!!! OMG! I couldn't believe that! I'd rather be sedated as I hate those speculums with a passion!!!! Geez some people are really WIERD or what!!?   It kinda freaked me out a bit lol!


----------



## Dominique123456

ha ha that is so embarrassing for them though!!! 

Apparently I reacted so badly to speculum in EC that they insisted on sedation for the ET! (In the end they didn't, it was being unconscious that made me react badly) but it freaked me out for days that they had upset my unconscious self with a speculum!


----------



## leoaimee

hay* lou *- so are the hetro ladies moaning in sedetated state when they have the speculum removed-inserted? or are they fully conscious?

how embarrasing!! the things nurses must see and hear! 

good luck with et on monday! and well done on your 15 eggies!! hope they are playing loving music to your little eggs and the swimmers tonight in the lab.

*dom* - poor you with your unconscious upset speculum self! your list of funny things made me laugh. people are stoooooopid when they havent bothered to think about something arent they? i have also had people think i would go for blue eyes blonde hair ... even tho dp is dark?? weird weird weird? it really shows up people's fears and ignorances and prejudices doesnt it? some people seem to really struggle to congratulate gaby?? which is also really strange! im sure if we were a hetro couple that used sperm donor they wldnt have so much of a problem. i love the sil's comment about the doubts! that really made me laugh!!! like doubt causes miscarriage! noone would ever get pregnant!

*
strawbs* - i had af type cramps through my last (succesful) iui from about day 6 till about last week. so hope that is a good sign for you.  

loads of      for you all


----------



## lou1736

Aimee- evidently its when they're conscious and sedated, both EC and ET, both when the speculum is inserted and while it's in there and when it gets take out!!!! How bizarre is that!!!? I couldn't thimk of anything worse to be honest!!


----------



## leoaimee

oh my god LOU!!  i am shocked!  do you think they just dont get any?  you must be pretty desperate for stimulation if you are finding a speculum a turn on.  i mean maybe if youre sedated i suppose you cant help it but no SHAME if conscious and unable to control your moaning ....   

and i wonder why lesbians dont suffer from this?  how very strange!

the mind boggles!


----------



## mintyfaglady

Oh I remember moaning and mumbling through my sedation when having egg collection - certainly wasn't from pleasure though - the sedative was wearing off and I came round to find the doctor extracting eggs with as much delicacy as you might attack the hoovering in a bad mood! It bloody HURT! They must have given me another blast though, cos I don't remeber anything after that.

Good luck all with upcoming transfers and IUIs etc. Hope to see a great crop of BFPs here really soon!
xxx


----------



## leoaimee

oh that doesnt sound nice does it?

i mean you would think the dr would try and be delicate even if your sedated you still need to recover post op.


----------



## lotty1

Hi lou i am back lol..... just wanted to say all the best i am sending u loads of wishes. 
News here is that i have had a few months off but will be back for e/ transfer late Nov. To be honest not looking forward to getting back on the rollacoster as feel human again and back to myself but needs must.
good luck to all others.
  x


----------



## lou1736

Hey Lotty!!

Great to hear from you!!!   How you been doing??!

I had my ET today so am now back at home resting and preparing yet again for that dreaded 2ww!! I'm on the Gestone injections this time though (which are evil btw!) to stop me bleeding which is what happened last time 6 days post ET!! 

I can't even remember what it feels like to feel human lol...especially as we went from the last treatment straight onto this one! My poor body is mashed! If it doesn't work this time though we've decided to give it a break for a few months before trying again! 
Good luck with you cycle...when do you start DR? Are you doing IVF or IUI?

Lots of Love
Lou xxx


----------



## leoaimee

hay lou!  

congrats on being pupo! 

are you off work for your 2ww?

sending loads of baby dust!


----------



## Strawbs78

congrats Lou on the ET, Ive got it all crossed for you xx


----------



## lou1736

Thanks guys!! I feel SO bloated and uncomfortable still though!   not good! But fingers crossed the kids settle into their new home now lol!

How are you doing? How you feeling Aimee? 

When's your test day Strawbs!?

Sending loads of luck your way too


----------



## Dominique123456

Welcome home Lou!

What does your ticker mean? I can't seem to fathom it.... it's probably very simple, but if you could explain it very slowly! Thank you!

You are now PUPO!!!


----------



## leoaimee

im feeling a bit rubbish today tbh.



homesick kind of ... and hassle with our neighbour and other dramas  .... grrr 

thanks for asking though petal.

hope youre still drinking and eating protein?

axxx


----------



## lou1736

Thanks Dom!!!!  

Ignore my ticker...it's the one I used from last cycle LOL! 

Ok Dom...and anyone else interested....check out this webpage! Really interesting about embryo placement etc! Especially as I'm sat here trying to compare my scan pic with the ones on there lol!

http://www.advancedfertility.com/embryotransfer.htm

xx


----------



## Strawbs78

hey Lou

My test day is the 27th so an entire week away, Im day 10 of a 17 day wait.. my AF is due on Thursday so I may know before then if my AF comes.. I am so seriously hoping it doesnt..

xx


----------



## Dominique123456

Wow cool Lou! I couldn't make much of the scans to be honest but I understood the text, basically right in the middle of the 'cavity'? Is there where they put yours this time and last time?

"How soon can I do a pregnancy test after IVF? We don't recommend doing a urine pregnancy test after IVF. The reason is that there are a lot of falsely negative results. We have seen many beautiful babies born after the wife called us to say that she took a home urine pregnancy test that was negative. A blood test is needed because it is much more sensitive and reliable." 

That's interesting that they see a lot of false negatives - but prob cos they say test on day 11 instead of day 14.... Lou naughty girl trying to get me to test early!


----------



## lou1736

LOL! Yeah it's cool isn't it! I've just been reading another article that says it is incredibly important as to exactly where the embryos are placed as to a successful outcome! The technique can vary between consultants but the slightest difference in placement can mean the difference between positive and negative! Amazing eh!? I'm looking at my two scan pics from last time and this time and they are really different!!! Plus last time I had Dr Venkat and this time someone else (name escapes me!) But the pic this time is so much more obvious and better and clear! Who did your ET!?

xxx


----------



## Dominique123456

Not Venkat - maybe Nair? They were all very serious and told me not to talk or move as they were doing it. I was just so pleased at that point that the spec had gone in without too much fuss. My scan was really clear and good too. Right in the middle maybe bit higher than center with two grapefruit type things (my ovaries) on either side! That's good then? We'll have to wait and see I guess. I wonder if at LWC they know which consultant has a better success rate then? It seems rude but might be worth asking...?


----------



## lou1736

Yes Dr Nair that's right! I had her too! Last time I had Venkat though! It would be interesting to ask you're right but I'm not game lol!


----------



## leoaimee

im sure they wouldnt officially tell you but maybe they must know!  
hopefully they get more or less the same.   
lou maybe you could get one of the nurses to let it slip?


----------



## lou1736

Another really important thing I've just found out is.... they HAVE to keep the catheter in there, still and in the same position once the embryos have been 'released' for 30 seconds! This greatly improves success rates!! I wondered why the embryologist was watching the clock today and then said 'ok' to the doctor!!? Wierd as last time this didn't happen at all and the proceedure was noticably quicker.....! 

xxx


----------



## magsandemma

Hi girls

Good luck to all you lovely ladies who are PUPO!!

Funny you say about the LWC and diff drs success rates would be interesting to know, we had dr venkat first time round too and altho she was very good I think we would go with the second dr we had it was a man cant remember his name, but he put me on aspirin and also gestone for second cycle, altho we did have isci and assisted hatching second time so hard to knowh made the diff, lol.

Lou  -  I can empathsize with the gestone injections big time, I remember the first time I did it myself, lol, hard to get around there lol, but they were worth every minute of my black and blue **** for it to work, lol, and would have them next time roiund.  I remember going to the theatre to see Derek Acora and having to go into the loos in the break to draw up and inj myself, I remember that there was a massive queue and what if they heard me, lol.

Right must goi again, little one asleep on me not good before bedtime, lol.

Speak soon
xx


----------



## lou1736

Hey Magsandemma- Great to hear from you again!!!   Oh god the gestone jabs are killing me lol! It hurts to sit down, it hurts to touch and feels like my butt has been used as a punchbag ....BUT....not even the slightest mark or bruise to show for it!!!  lol. I think I've also got all the side effects possible from them....achey all over esp legs and back, hot sweats, cramps, nausea, bloated etc!! Grrr! If they work though I'll happily put up with it for years if I had to lol!

I've never seen a male consultant at LWC!? Did they give you the Gestone because you bled early like me?
I hope all is going well for you and your beautiful lil one. Will you be trying again at any point?!

Take Care
Love Lou xxx


----------



## Strawbs78

Morning ladies

Well I was naughty this morning and I tested early   (AF due Thurs, OTD Mon 27) and I got a bfn, am pretty gutted if I am honest with myself..  If no AF by Fri or Sat then we will test again but dont think this one is the one so I guess we just gear up and go again..  

xx


----------



## lou1736

Oh Strawbs...you naughty naughty girl!!!!    I'm sure it's too early to test especially as you're like 6 days away from test day!! Bad girl! Don't give up hope yet though... you never know...it's surely a bit early!? I wouldn't take any notice of that BFN yet...wait a bit longer ok! I've still got everything crossed for you and sending you heaps of      Hang in there ok! xx

Lots of Love
Lou xxx


----------



## leoaimee

strawbs - i really hope it isnt a bfn.  how many days early have you tested?  six days early!  thats way too early! your af isnt even due till friday is it?  and that would be without all the hormones!!  there is still a chance you know.


----------



## Strawbs78

I know Im naughty but I swear I just couldnt help it, the temptation was just too too much... thanks ladies for the kind words... I know I am 6 from test day but Im only 2 from AF (due Thurs) so I figured there would be some hormones in there somewhere adn the clearblue digital says it picks up even a minute amount of the hormone but it clearly said to me this morning at 6am NOT PREGNANT (made harsher by the fact it was still dark and so early I am sure)...

Anyhoo I will just take each day as it comes this week and see if anything happens.. 

xxx


----------



## leoaimee

i think with all the hormones that they give you it makes the pee sticks a bit unreliable for early testing.  i really hope it does turn around.  fingers crossed.

on my cycle buddy thread there was definatley one person who got bfn turn to bfp.


----------



## Strawbs78

thanks Aimee, I hope that happens to me!!
x


----------



## pem

I tested neg on a digital on the saturday that AF was due, got a positive on an internet cheapy on the monday...have Edith sitting here now!!

Good luck....

Emma


----------



## Strawbs78

Thanks Emma, that definitely gives me hope.. I am going to just wait now til either my AF comes or Monday whichever happens first..

warning : me post.

DW just called and she and the rest of her company are being laid off, they have to finish today and then that's it... There may be a chance for salvation of the company but they wont know til Monday so if this cycle for me doesnt work then we are off the TTC journey for a while as obviously I cant pay for TX plus everything without her earning a salary..

I know there is still a glimmer of hope both with her job and a positive but my god I feel like someone has just kicked the wind right out of me..

Im sorry girls no    here Im almost in tears at my desk..    

x


----------



## Damelottie

Oh stawbs - I just came across your post. What an awful shock  . I hope things work out so you can carry on ttc as soon as possible - not that you'll need to after this cycle


----------



## Strawbs78

thanks LL.. Well lets hope I get a positive and that will be something great to hang on to..  

xxx


----------



## pem

Strawbs ....  and lots of     for a BFP


----------



## Damelottie

I'll keep everything crossed for you


----------



## leoaimee

oh strawbs 

what a terrible shock!  we are living in strange times with this global credit crunch and the markets being so volatile.

really have everything crossed for you.

ax


----------



## Strawbs78

Thanks ladies, I can hold the fort for a few months so now that I have worked out the numbers I am feeling a little calmer but obviously no room for the 1200 a month I was paying at lwc but if this cycle doesnt work then we will just pick it back up in early 09.. meanwhile if it doesnt work I'll be getting absolutely hammered, first time in months Ive had a drink so it wont take much!!  

xx


----------



## Mable

Fingers crossed for you and DP and so sorry for everyone involved in this horrible credit crunch business.

Any news from Kings? IUI there is only £500 a shot. 'only', I know, not cheap but not twice the price as LWC. Chasing them up might be a way to get to carry on TTC whilst your DP's job situation stabilizes.

Best of luck to everyone on the 2ww.


----------



## Strawbs78

OMG Mable you are a star!!  I had totally forgotten about Kings it has been so long.. Oh I could kiss you!!!

I am going to get DW to call them right now and see what's going on...  Last contact we had was our questionnaire in 1st week Sept.. Do you think that is normal to not hear til now?

xxx


----------



## emnjo

Hey everyone  

Strawbs - keeo that chin up.. I forgot about Kings aswell!! That could be a winner - would it be worth pleading with LWC for them to move your sperm? Or you for you to get a refund on it - sell it back?

Dom - I have everything crossed for you for Thursday     

Lou - so the embies are back safe and sound where they should be! When do you test? GOOD LUCK!!! Sending you sticky vibes!!

Aimegaby - how are you oh pregnant one?? xx

Well I had my IUI on sat - it went well, as well as it can be anyway!! So another 2WW


----------



## leoaimee

hay there!

congrats on being pupo.  good luck in your two week wait.  got everything crossed for you.    

im feeling fine, if not a bit tired and emotional.

there is a programme about lesbian families on radio 4 right now.  quite interesting!

axxx


----------



## Strawbs78

hey emnjo

was just about to text you, DW just texted and we have an appt at Kings on 25th Nov YAY YAY YAY YAY  So obviously that is not to start but its our first appt which is better than nothing..

Ive already spoken to lwc before about moving the sperm etc and they wont budge, no refunds, no returns, no moving, full stop..   feckers..

xxx


----------



## lou1736

Congrats Emnjo on being Pupo!!! YAY!!!   Hope it goes smoothly for you! 

I'm only on day 2 and I'm already BORED outta my mind!! I hate this waiting...as you can tell I'm not very good at it!!! God only knows how I'll make it to 2 weeks!!!? Any idea!!? 

Good Luck to you all...thinking of you! xxx


----------



## emnjo

lou1736 said:


> Congrats Emnjo on being Pupo!!! YAY!!!   Hope it goes smoothly for you!
> 
> I'm only on day 2 and I'm already BORED outta my mind!! I hate this waiting...as you can tell I'm not very good at it!!! God only knows how I'll make it to 2 weeks!!!? Any idea!!?
> 
> Good Luck to you all...thinking of you! xxx


Neither do I!!! I had my IUI on sat, is that when you had your ET? Did you have 2 put back?

I think I am gonna go loopy on this 2WW - I can feel it brewing!!!

xxx


----------



## emnjo

Strawbs78 said:


> hey emnjo
> 
> was just about to text you, DW just texted and we have an appt at Kings on 25th Nov YAY YAY YAY YAY So obviously that is not to start but its our first appt which is better than nothing..
> 
> Ive already spoken to lwc before about moving the sperm etc and they wont budge, no refunds, no returns, no moving, full stop..  feckers..
> 
> xxx


WooooooooHoooooooo! Thats brilliant news... 25 Nov is not far away at all, and you can have it for free can't you?

Have they got sperm at Kings? For some reason I think they have? Does anyone know?


----------



## Strawbs78

Yep its on the nhs so its all free but I think there is still quite a wait after your initial consult but if it is 6 months then its worth waiting for considering we prob wont be doing any tx til 09 anyway now..

No idea on the sperm issue..  Ive still got two vials of sperm at lwc but I am sure in between now and the actual go ahead at Kings we might be able to get an IUI in..  They offer 6 IUIs or 1 IVF on the nhs.. do you think I should do the IUIs or just jump to IVF?

x


----------



## emnjo

Strawbs78 said:


> Yep its on the nhs so its all free but I think there is still quite a wait after your initial consult but if it is 6 months then its worth waiting for considering we prob wont be doing any tx til 09 anyway now..
> 
> No idea on the sperm issue.. Ive still got two vials of sperm at lwc but I am sure in between now and the actual go ahead at Kings we might be able to get an IUI in.. They offer 6 IUIs or 1 IVF on the nhs.. do you think I should do the IUIs or just jump to IVF?
> 
> x


Ohhh I am so pleased you have Kings!!! I would say do the 6 IUI's. But I would get more info on it.. If IUI is about 10% (this is only going on the general population - who usually have fertility problems if they are doing IUI) and IVF is 50% - then 6 IUI's gives you a 60% success rate overall.

I do lean towards IUI first though. Plus - I like the idea of having several chances instead of just one go (and it could all be over) if you see what I am going on about!!

Yes - I am sure you will able to get a coulple of IUI's in before then. Would be a shame to not use your sperm. I can believe they won't buy it back from you..  

I would check with Kings that they have sperm - if not then its best to import it from abroad - I can help you with importing from Denmark..

Hope your ok honey - it will all be ok in the end. And as the lovely dolly parton would say "to get to the rainbow you gotta get through the rain"


----------



## Dominique123456

Strawbs, thats a tough choice! We decided to skip to IVF after IUI because we got fed up with it and we were paying full whack for it. If you can get IUI free then it's a harder choice to make. IVF has better chances but still no guarantee. Anyway, why are we talking about this? You could still be pregnant!


----------



## emnjo

Dominique123456 said:


> Strawbs, thats a tough choice! We decided to skip to IVF after IUI because we got fed up with it and we were paying full whack for it. If you can get IUI free then it's a harder choice to make. IVF has better chances but still no guarantee. Anyway, why are we talking about this? You could still be pregnant!


He he yes exactly!!! There is still hope 

How are you doing Dominique?? You are doing very well to not test!!!


----------



## Dominique123456

Ok, now I have a BIG confession to make....

I felt so awful today but also really really curious and some naughty ff friends (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!) were texting me to encourage to test. I called the clinic to tell them about my bloated tummy and also to sneakily check if it was safe to test (i.e. would HCG be out of my system?) nurse said yes BUT if it was neg it might not mean anything for a few days but if it was pos it was defo positive. My ET was 12 days ago.

*Soo..... It was a positive!!!!*  

I feel so bad after telling everyone not to test early!! But I felt confident (well right up until I bought the test - then I felt terrified!!!) but then DW who has been my  caved in completely and was like "you've gotta test now, you've got the test" and was too excited herself to be sensible  It was a lovely moment, I had to pee in a cup and DW watch the stick as I washed the cup after (lol TMI). I was like "you know it'll take up to 3 mins" and she was like "you don't have to worry err... more like 3 secs." The line came up straight away!!! Even at 4pm'ish this afternoon!

I called the clinic back and the nurse was like "I knew but didn't want to say" yeah right lol!

Anyway, nothing this amazing has ever happened to me before unless you count meeting my DW lol  So I'm in shock and feel completely undeserving of such thing. Also feeling a little scared of MC but am going to push that thought right out of my head and enjoy every moment. Scan is on the 14th of November. I'll find out on Thursday if my recipient got BFP too, that would be truly AMAZING!

OK sleep tight everyone 

AND A BIG GOOD LUCK TO THOSE OF YOU TESTING SOON!!!


----------



## lou1736

HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!! OK OK OK....I ADMIT IT!!! IT WAS US WHO MADE YOU TEST!!! 

But see I TOLD YOU!!!!! didn't I!?? And I was right! As I usually am! lol

Anyway we're SOOOOOOOOOOOOO over the moon for you both as you already know! 

You should be so excited and you so deserve it! Enjoy this special time and hope you had a lovely evening!!! Speak soon! xxxxxx                           

[fly]DOM HAS HER BFP WOO HOO WOO HOO!!![/fly]


----------



## magsandemma

Just a quizkie

Dominique  -  What fab news, you must be over the moon, we tested 2 days early too on last cycle lol.  Just put you feet up and enjoy this time, wishing you a happy 8months!!!

Lou  -  Yeah I bled on day 10 of the first cycle, I remember now the male dr was Dr Kini, he was very good, but they told me last cycle thatI couldnt egg share again as they couldnt get to my right ovary so only collected the eggs on the left side, so only 9 collected and not sure they would let me as Lou has Downs, however neither me nor the donor are carriers, and the nurse was a bit funny about it when she called to check everythign was ok with birth etc, which is a shame as I would love to be able to donate again, am hoping that they can save me some of the donors sperm for a sibling tho but I have asked them prob 3 times in the last 6months and never got a response back which is really annoying as I dont care if he is a carrier as if its meant to be its meant to be, and we wouldnt change Lou for the world, she is just fantastic, she never ceases to amaze us every day!  Well enough of my waffling, hope you are resting up and enjoying being pupo, hears hoping you going be stabbing your **** for the next 10wks!!!  I did do some in my thighs in the end but with the blue needles not the green ones, lol.

Strawbs  -  The tests that say they can tell early are very naughty cos in the small print it says that they are only 60ish% accurate!!!!!!  So keep taking it easy and test again after af due, as its still way too early hun, dont give up hope, its not over by a long way yet!!!  Sorry to hear about your dw job, but good news on the kings front!

Right sorry to those of you I have missed, need to go to bed, ahve been at work all day and have a friend and her little one being dropped off at 8am as she had recent back surgery and cant lift the little one so coming here while hubby works, bless her, but not sure what state she will be greeted at 8am!!!  LMAO

Night night before I go off on any more tangents

MAggiexx


----------



## leoaimee

DOM congratulations!!


----------



## Strawbs78

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You must be so over the moon, I am so pleased for you xx


----------



## Mable

Hi there,
Big congrats to Dominique!

Massive fingers crossed for Strawbs, emnjo and Lou.  

Strawbs - re Kings. We were there last over the summer. Once you've had your consultation and you can pay, (£500 for IUI, £2800 for IVF) then I don't think there's more of a wait. If you are wanting to wait for your NHS turn however, it's a different story and I can't advise you there.

Re sperm - yes they have a bit of sperm - I think current policy is to allocate you 8 vials to do what you want with - IUI or IVF. IUI takes 2 vials, IVF can take 1. The embryologists are very helpful and will talk through donor characteristics, then the 8 vials are reserved for you. I think the £500 includes the donor sperm by the way.

Glad my suggestion of Kings was helpful and you've got your appointment. Things should start rolling for you there straight away if you want. 

Fingers crossed that you don't need any of this and that you will soon find out you are pregnant!
Mable


----------



## emnjo

Wooooooo hoooooooooo!!!! Dom I am very pleased for you!!                

Thats is the best news!!!


----------



## mintyfaglady

Congrats Dom! Brilliant news!


----------



## Damelottie

Many congratulations Dom


----------



## lou1736

Hey guys!

Magsandemma- that's really unprofessional of the clinic regarding your enquiries!!    Why wouldn't they agree to you having the donor sperm especially as you mentioned he wasn't a carrier? How can they find that kind of thing out though? I hope you have some success. I've found that calling everyday until they get fed up of me usually works a treat!   

Well here I am 3 days post ET and I've been told I am a complete and utter nightmare to live with lol! I'm being an absolute b**ch at the moment. Funny thing is I can feel myself behaving like it but I can't seem to help it!!   These verbal disasters just seem to spill out of my mouth!   DW told me today that I actually have her 'on the edge!' Good job she loves me hee hee! And today I told a complete stranger who asked 'what is it?' (in relation to what my breed of dog was)....I answered 'it's a DOG!!' Oops!!   Very sleepy today too! I had a sleep this afternoon and still feel like I've been awake 48hrs! 

How are you ladies? How are you doing Strawbs? Holding in there I hope?   

Minty- how are you doing these days? 

Good luck to all on 2ww!    

Lou xxx


----------



## Strawbs78

Morning Lou

Holding on in there, AF due today which I can feel is coming for me but am totallly keeping an open mind, if it doesnt come then we test on Monday, if it does come then we just park babies for the minute adn start again in December when we go to Kings in November..

Hope your mood improves my lovely, just remember its not you, its probably just the drugs so hang on in there..

xxx


----------



## emnjo

Awww Lou - I can so relate!!

I am grim to Jo in my 2WW - I am lucky she has the patience of a saint - as I am aware that I am a like a brat at the moment. Its all just so stressfull isn't it 

Hang in there though.. when are you testing? I think we will be testing on 31 October  
This is my 4th IUI and I am giving up hope slowly!! I think we will be doing egg share IVF if IUI doesn't work (we are doing 4 more at the Homerton Hospital) I am just a bit worried about it working for the recipient and not me - I am not sure how I would cope.. but at least we can keep trying again after..who knows  

Anyway I hope you get your well deserved BFP this month


----------



## leoaimee

hay lovelies!

i thought i might warn you that BFP doesnt help the moods!! gabs is really ready to murder me! and cant bear how moody i am being. i snap and am rude and say insensitive things and also cry at the drop of a hat and want constant reassurance she loves me!  

her patience has finally warn out ... she doesnt seem to think being pregnant is sufficient reason! oh dear!

i think it could be the next 18 months of hormonal swings and roundabouts!!

last night after a four day argument with the neighbour that she feels im not supporting her very well with she told me i was fat and it cldnt be the pregnancy at such an early stage! im trying to rise above it!

*
strawbs* AF STAY WAY         

*lou* - got everything crossed for you and hope your DW is doing better at being understanding!   

*emnjo *- got everything crossed for you too. dont loose heart with the IUI ... i know i was beginning to but i think its so much easier on the body than the gruelling process of IVF.


----------



## lou1736

Hi Ladies!

Aimeegaby- thanks for letting me know the mood doesn't improve after a BFP!! Don't tell DW that!!    I'm now even being nasty and mean to our lovely dog who is very well behaved!! ARGH! Someone needs to section me!!   

DW says I'm being very demanding and dishing out orders all the time...but I always do that anyway!  So she has a go at me and the next minute she's hugging me and telling me she loves me!!? And I'M the one on the drugs hee hee! 
I'm still quite bloated and feel sooo fat and constricted which doesn't also help my general mood! My clothes don't even fit me properly anymore!   I've sworn if this time doesn't work I'm going on a huge diet!! I want to eat all the time and when I eat I feel sick! Wow I hate these evil injections! They are MEAN! I get hot sweats, walking down the road makes me feel exhausted, my boobs are the sorest they've ever been in history and I've got horns on my head in time for halloween lol!

Emnjo- I would definately recommend the IVF/egg share. We went straight to that without bothering with IUI. We'd been trying with a private donor using fresh sperm at home for a couple of years without success and to be honest we figured doing IUI wouldn't give us much improvement and a waste of money. However... the IVF is tough on the body I won't lie! We've done two cycles almost back to back without a break so my body hasn't had time to recover inbetween. I'm now feeling the effects more. The first time was almost a walk in the park and I thought this isn't too bad! But this time round I've really struggled! And regarding the egg share...our first cycle which resulted in the BFN our recipient got pregnant with twins. Now I'm not going to pretend that was easy...it was so so hard! Even though you know this could be the outcome nothing can really prepare you. Of course we were over the moon for her but I still think about her nearly everyday...wondering how she is and what the babies will turn out like... I think it's more of a curiousity thing really. But I have to console myself with the fact that we have hopefully made someone else's dreams come true and one day our time will come. It often feels so unfair but I believe in Karma...
Now we're on our 2ww again and I totally know the same thing could happen again. We'll deal with that when and if it happens. For now I wish you loads of luck and      for your test day! I really hope you get your BFP this time round.

Strawbs-          

Love
Lou xxx


----------



## emnjo

Thanks Lou - so do i!! I hope we all get a BFP this time round - how fab would that be     

It must be very hard for your recipient to get a positive - and twins - but your right - you have more chnaces ahead and you will have made someone very happy out there - so goon on you   Your time will come.

What dog do you have? We have a Boston Terrier who is the most wonderful dog ever - I seriously love that woofer... his name is Boycie - however , he is also called Wilfred and is more of a wilfred these days


----------



## emnjo

@aimeegaby - hope your ok    I am sure you g.f didn't mean it, its all emotional and stressy times - but once you have your bundle in your arms you will be so happy it will all be worth it  

I will stick with the IUI's - doing another 4 - that leaves us with 2 vials left for 2 rounds of IVF. If I am not pregnant then I will be hitting the straight clubs     (huge joke obviously!!!)


----------



## lou1736

Hey Emnjo- We have a pug/shih tzu! He's often mistaken for a boston though!   He's a great lil dog too! We do agility with him and he's really good lol! 
xx


----------



## emnjo

lou1736 said:


> Hey Emnjo- We have a pug/shih tzu! He's often mistaken for a boston though!  He's a great lil dog too! We do agility with him and he's really good lol!
> xx


Awwwww!!! I can imagine he is gorgeous!!!! How do you post pics on here? I'll post some of Wilfred at some point. He would be fab at agility - he is mad about his ball and stick game that we play.. What do you with him in the day when your at work??


----------



## lou1736

Emnjo- I'm not working at the moment so it's him and me home alone!    I tried to post a pic of him too but couldn't work it out! Anybody know how to do it please!!?


----------



## emnjo

lou1736 said:


> Emnjo- I'm not working at the moment so it's him and me home alone!  I tried to post a pic of him too but couldn't work it out! Anybody know how to do it please!!?


Awww lucky you!! I always stress about leaving him alone - we have a dog walker that come in at lunch time but I always feel guilty about it..

xx


----------



## lou1736

Oh that's good that you have a dog walker for him though. I couldn't leave Milo for more than 4/5 hrs at a time as I don't think it's fair on him and he's used to having me around too. Before I was working but part time so that was good! xx


----------



## magsandemma

Hi Girls

Can remember the mood swings and isnt it horrible how you feel yourself doing and saying the stuff but you just cant help it or stop it, I remember wondering how em put up with me thro it cos I was mean and really moddy but all well worth it now!!  

Lou  -  I called the womens again yesturday and spoke to someone regarding using the same donor and also how to go about freezing some for sibling hopefully for tz next yr, they said they would get my notes and ring me back yesturday, well still not word back today, really getting fed up with them, I think if we cant use same donor we may just swap clinics which is a shame as liked it there.  Hope you are feeling bit perkier soon, I reme,ber the feeling sick but constantly eating, lol, how bizarre it is to want to eat and be sick at the same time.  Have you got any good dvd boxsets you can work you way thro??  Or if you like martina cole then she has a new book out??

emnjo  -  hope the 2ww isnt driving you too mad, are you off work too, crazy these mood swings arent they!!

Sorry must dash need to get Lou

MAggie
xx


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## Damelottie

Lou - I find the easiest way to post photos is to use the photobucket website. Its quite self-explanatory but shout if you get stuck. Or you can send the picci to me if you like and I'll post it on for you

Emma x


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## Strawbs78

Well morning everyone on this lovely thread

Well it seems my AF started last night, its very light, ok well actually barely there, but my AF does that sometimes and in a few hours it will start with vengance but its there and I knew it was coming so whilst we are upset we are not devastated.. I think the negative test earlier in the week really helped to prepare us to be honest so Im glad I tested early..  

Hope everyone has a great weekend, Im going to a friend's wedding so I am going to well and truly let my hair down.

xxx


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## leoaimee

oh strawbs!    

loads of hugs!  enjoy the wedding!


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## Strawbs78

Thanks Aimee..

There is a bottle of white wine with my name written all over it!

x


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## leoaimee

oh doll ... its sad isnt it?  

enjoy the wine and the wedding!  

how are thigns with your dw?


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## lou1736

Oh Strawbs.....I'm so so sorry!      I was so hoping it would turn out differently for you....I know how you feel  

Go and have yourself a great weekend without having to worry about what you eat or drink etc for once!  

Thinking of you hun 
Lou xxx


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## Strawbs78

thanks ladies    this baby making is a mug's game I tell, so heart wrenching and its only my first time!

Aimee - she is ok, obviously this has been an extra blow to the both of us on top of a very bad week anyway but she is currently sending out her cv to anyone who will take it so I cant ask much more than that and when I got my AF last night (I get dreadfully tired 2 hours before like fall asleep tired) she took care of  me, one minute I was watching tv with her and the next I was asleep and I woke up 2 hours later and had to go to the loo and we knew this was it, I have the same pattern each month, Ive always thought it was a bit wierd!!

Lou - thanks lovely.. I think I am more gutted because we can go again straight away but we have to be thankful for what we have and that is an appt with kings!! ha ha..

I will have a nice chilled glass of vino for all your pregnant and pupo ladies..

xxx


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## emnjo

Well I am already getting little cramps and twinges and feel bloated so I have a feeling that AF is on her beastly way.. Grrrrrr...

Did anyone cramp from about day 6 and still get a BFP? I do usually get some little cramps and twinges at around this time - so do you think that means I'm out again this month?


A rather upset Emma!


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## Strawbs78

emnjo said:


> Well I am already getting little cramps and twinges and feel bloated so I have a feeling that AF is on her beastly way.. Grrrrrr...
> 
> Did anyone cramp from about day 6 and still get a BFP? I do usually get some little cramps and twinges at around this time - so do you think that means I'm out again this month?
> 
> A rather upset Emma!


I wish I could tell you honey  I think its impossible to tell, by the sounds of it some of us get symptoms and others get nothing but I have heard that cramping could be implantation   

organised for those vits to be sent direct to you at home..

x


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## emnjo

Strawbs78 said:


> emnjo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Well I am already getting little cramps and twinges and feel bloated so I have a feeling that AF is on her beastly way.. Grrrrrr...
> 
> Did anyone cramp from about day 6 and still get a BFP? I do usually get some little cramps and twinges at around this time - so do you think that means I'm out again this month?
> 
> A rather upset Emma!
> 
> 
> 
> I wish I could tell you honey  I think its impossible to tell, by the sounds of it some of us get symptoms and others get nothing but I have heard that cramping could be implantation
> 
> organised for those vits to be sent direct to you at home..
> 
> x
Click to expand...

Aww bless you honey your a star.. I'll do that internet transfer for you in a min...thank you!!!


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## lou1736

Emnjo- From the polls on here af type twinges and cramps are a very good sign!!! Most of the ladies who have experienced af pains during their 2ww were actually the ones who went on to get a BFP!!!   Hang in there as it doesn't mean anything bad ok!!  

Sending lots of Love and get better soon wishes out to Dom who's currently in hospital with OHSS!!!     xxx

Lou xxx


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## Strawbs78

oh my goodness!!  

please send on my best wishes to her..

xx


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## emnjo

Oh no poor Dom! I wondered where she had gone... Bless her I hope she and baby (how cool to be able to type that!!) are both ok.. 

Thanks for the words of hope Lou! Its just not unusual for me to get twinges and light cramps in the week before my period - but I guess it could still be early preg signs? I am defo feeling bloated - like I have eaten loads and can't suck my tummy in if that makes any sense!! This is way TMI BUT - I am getting some shooting like pains in my vagina (can't believe I used that word I hate it - but am trying to adult like about it!! Lol) god knows if thats good or not or maybe I have some god-awful disease!!


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## Strawbs78

emnjo said:


> Oh no poor Dom! I wondered where she had gone... Bless her I hope she and baby (how cool to be able to type that!!) are both ok..
> 
> I am defo feeling bloated - like I have eaten loads and can't suck my tummy in if that makes any sense!! This is way TMI BUT - I am getting some shooting like pains in my vagina (can't believe I used that word I hate it - but am trying to adult like about it!! Lol) god knows if thats good or not or maybe I have some god-awful disease!!


ooooh my friend at home that just got preg (naturally) she said that was one of her signs - this is exciting!!

Unlike you I love the word vagina and try to say it as much as I can!! ha ha


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## emnjo

Strawbs78 said:


> emnjo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Oh no poor Dom! I wondered where she had gone... Bless her I hope she and baby (how cool to be able to type that!!) are both ok..
> 
> I am defo feeling bloated - like I have eaten loads and can't suck my tummy in if that makes any sense!! This is way TMI BUT - I am getting some shooting like pains in my vagina (can't believe I used that word I hate it - but am trying to adult like about it!! Lol) god knows if thats good or not or maybe I have some god-awful disease!!
> 
> 
> 
> ooooh my friend at home that just got preg (naturally) she said that was one of her signs - this is exciting!!
> 
> Unlike you I love the word vagina and try to say it as much as I can!! ha ha
Click to expand...

Ha ha I love you strawbs!! Thanks for making me feel better! But how can you like the V word!!! EEEEAAAAKKK!!! I really don't like it...but if thats what the pains are then bring them on!


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## lou1736

Hey!

I shall pass on your good wishes! They're both going to be fine but just being monitored!  

Emnjo- It says that shooting pain in the vagina are also a good sign hun!! Have a look in the 2ww section!! You haven't got any awful disease lol....it's completely normal (along with lots of other very wierd symptoms too!!) So don't loose faith ok!!   

I'm having wierd nagging pains in my back and lower abdomen too and this morning when I was walking the dog got these wierd pulling/fluttering sensations behind my belly button area! I thought it might develop into a bout of wind but nothing else happened   (I checked no one else was walking behind me just in case!!)  

Lou xxx


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## Strawbs78

he he he love you too!!  I find it kind of amusing and i love the way it just rolls of the tongue, vagina, vagina, see fantastic!!  

in my 2ww i was trying to suck my tummy in loads to see if it just 'wouldnt budge' but alas the fat always retracted so I figured there was no baby in there just maybe some trapped gas!!!


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## emnjo

Ha ha    Yes well believe me when I suck it all comes rolling back out aswell!  

Thank god for friday - and its half term for me so a week off!! Woop woop


Have fun at your wedding and drink drink drink x


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## Dominique123456

Thanks for good wishes  i've figured out how to use mobile to check ff! I'm in hospital but getting a little better everyday which is great. I'll find out tomorrow whether hcg is still ok. 
emjo sounds like you had same sort of pains as me and at same time, so don't worry sweetie xxx

strawbs - are you sure it's over? I'm really sorry if it is and good that you're going to let your hair down for a bit.

lou hope your 2ww is not taking too long and that embies are getting snuggled in! Thanks for being such great support!


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## leoaimee

*emnjo!!* i had af pains from day 6 for weeks they only stopped maybe week 8 or 9 maybe. so thats a great sign as are the V stabbing pains! (although i didnt get those).

*strawbs* - im down with vagina!!  think its a great word.

i hope dw gets some good news with a job soon, and i hope it is even nicer/better company/friendlier than where she works now.

remember you will be taking this IUI experience with you for the next one, and any first time nerves wont be there cos you know the drill.  

*dom* - poor you hope you are feeling better soon honey. lots of water and protein for you.

*lou * - windy pops! hope your funny pains are also a good sign. do you always have a feeling about everyone with the BFPs or only certain peeps? and is this just for the FF or other people too? with my ff cycle budies i guessed a couple right both ways but mostly i didnt know.


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## WildLife

Hello all.  I don't come on here that often.  I am 1 week through my 2ww. ICSI at LWC and boy is my womb moving!  This time I have actively kept myself warm as my acupuncturist told me that I have a cold womb.  Anyway, so I had 2 class 2+ eggs implanted and it all feels so good this time.  

Anyone got nice and warming stories about lots of cramp-type movement and success?


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## leoaimee

hay wrin 

yup i had af crampy type pains even today (week 10 pregnant).

good luck with two week wait.  hope youre not feeling too bonkers!!

i had acupuncture and it really helped, definately helped me be more relaxed.  i thought all wombs were cold in acu terms?

let us know how you get on.


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## Alison0702

Dom Hope you feel better soon and get out of that hospital    Poor thing! 

Emjo I had terrible AF type pains from about day 7 after ET and I was in the toilet every 2 minuts. I thought there is no way this isnt a a period cos the pains were horrible. BUT, it wasnt    Good luck..oh, I cannot say the V word. When I rang the maternity assessment unit last year when I went into labour, I told them something was coming down my foof. ha ha how childish! 

Aimee How ya doing petal? x

Hope everyone else ok. It's Christophers party this afternoon and I am getting very excited


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## lou1736

Hello!

How's everyone doing??

Wrin- good luck to you...I also had ICSI at LWC and am on day 7 of my 2ww!! So same stage as you! How are you feeling?!    

Emnjo- How are you feeling hun??   

I'm ok... been having really really strange worrying sexual dreams for the past couple of days! Very random!!   Anyone else get this....or is it just me lol!!!

Love Lou xxx


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## WildLife

Hi all

Lou - We must have been in together!  I was at LWC for implantation on Saturday 18th.  Feeling confident and ignoring any moments of worry.  Good luck.

Aimeegaby  - Thanks, I had thought that it was quite possible as teh cramps can be the womb expanding.  Certainly not had this level of cramp in teh past and it is too early and the wrong sort of cramp for a period.  My Mum has visited today and panic crossed her face when I winced with the pain.  10 week!  Yeah, great.

Need to work out how to get all those little faces ....   Hey there we go!

Thanks for replies guys and keep sane.   Jxx


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## snagglepat

Just wanted to say good luck to all of you in the 2ww. Fingers crossed!

*Alison*, how did the party go today? We had one for Ember yesterday and it was total mayhem, but in a good way.  Been thinking of you guys this week.   

Best wishes to all,

Gina. x


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## leoaimee

hay *alison *

happy birthday to christopher. hope he had a lovely day and you did too. big hugs!  

thank you for asking, im doing ok, just really moody and ratty with gabs and not very kind. but she seems to be coping ok ish with it.

*wrin *- my cramps arent really painful to be honest, more like mild little squeezes ... but i have heard of people with more strong shooting pains. good luck on the count down to test day.   

*lou* - how are you doing? youre on the final stretch!


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## lou1736

Happy Birthday Christopher!!  

I'm on the second week of 2ww now and boy is it dragging!! I'm a bit concerned though as the more obvious symptoms I've had have seemed to disappear!?     My boobs aren't half as sore and they were although they are still huge lol! And I feel much more back to 'normal' compared to before too!   

A confused and worried Lou! xxx


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## WildLife

Hi Guys

Well I have some bleeding.  I am sitting at my PC at work refusign to go to the loo as I want to think it was just a bit of implantation spotting.  

... boobs not sore anymore either.  They were like painful melons all last week until yesterday ... ok, trying to be positive ...


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## leoaimee

Wrin - really hope its not your AF and it is implantation


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## WildLife

Thanks, the clinic told me to increase my Progesterone and rest.  So I left work early and I am watching a Cary Grant film and trying to be positive


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## Strawbs78

Morning everyone,

I just wanted to pop my head in and see how everyone was..  Not much of an update from me.. Am still pretty gutted that the IUI didnt work but we are getting there.. All chances of DW's job being reinstated were dashed yesterday so now we are full steam ahead on getting her a new job..  Went to a wedding and let my hair down and got very very drunk (and then quite emotional) so am back off the booze now for a while as think its just too much of an emotive time to be off boozing it up..

We are now just waiting to get in to see Kings which is on the 25th November so now officially less than a month away..

Good luck everyone!!

xxxx


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## Damelottie

New Home this way 

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=164594.0


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