If anyone is reading this and has been through IVF can you tell me a bit about what I'm going to be expecting and what I have to do and OH? .. Just would like a bit of information from someone whos gone through it, thankyouuuu xxx
Can anyone tell me what happens when going through IVF?
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ScotchEgg
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Hi,
when we were referred for IVF I bought this book on recommendation and it was brilliant - it gave me loads of information about what happens at each stage http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wests-Guide...9342/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357257679&sr=8-1
The IVF thread in the Long Term TTC forum has lots of information on too
when we were referred for IVF I bought this book on recommendation and it was brilliant - it gave me loads of information about what happens at each stage http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wests-Guide...9342/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357257679&sr=8-1
The IVF thread in the Long Term TTC forum has lots of information on too
JJ Mum
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Hello Kiss - welcome to the ivf game - very exciting for you
Well I've only done it once , and failed , I also had a failed Frozen blastocyst cycle as it did not sadley survive the thaw on transfer day..so your right it doesn't guarentee a bfp, but it gets you in the game!, you have a chance, and that's well worth having..
I read up on everything before, and that made it less scary
Something I wrote in my journal to explain to people asking about what I was doing in ivf, might help
So IVF in short is like this -
1) You sniff or inject a drug to shut down your ovarys, during this time you have a bleed to basically shed or reduce your old lining. This takes between 2-3 weeks, they know your done by scanning you with a dildo cam!
2) Then you start injecting a ovary stimulating drug in your tum (mines called Menopur, made from the urine of post menopausal women!, no joke!).The other one is Gonal F, the more synthetic version, both do the same. This gets your ovarys to grow and ripen more than the one folicle at once. Once these get bigger and you have at least 2-3 sized at 18-20 mm , you can proceed. (they check this by a dildo cam up your floof), You still sniff the first drug all this time too, just less often to stop you ovulating while your making eggs!
3) Then you inject HCG (the preg hormone). (They give you a set day and time as it's an exact time based on my egg collection time), to ripen and mature my folicles.
4) then you enjoy a drug free day!
5) Then you have Egg collection, the use sedation to help, as it could be quite uncomfy, and going in the floof end again, they drain all folicles they can see and in 75% of those folicles should be an egg.
On the same day my OH produces a sperm sample and they wash it and get it ready to meet the eggs. They put millions of sperm in a dish with each egg and let them get jiggy overnight!
You shove pessaries up your floof or bum (depends on your clinic), from collection day till testing day. Mine were up bum after collection, (cause of risk of infection) then changed to up floof from transfer, get these help your lining thicken and get ready for transfer of embryo.
6) They call you the next morning to tell you how many have fertilized
7) They call you over the next few days to let you know how your (now called embryos) are doing/developing. If you only have a few, or have a very clear front runner , they will prob put them back on day 2 or 3 after collection, if they are looking good and you have a few more eggs, they will see if they can keep them growing longer into blastocyst's these can then get transfered back to you on day 5. This gives them more time to choose the best one for transfer. At this point they will see if they have any other blastocysts good enougth to be frozen for future use.
8) They get you in for Embryo Transfer - this only takes about 15 mins, and then you can rejoin the 2WW as it starts from collection day as this is like ovulation day.
9) The clinic will give you a set OTD (Official Testing day) to test, mine even gave me a test too!
10) If you get a bfp, they normally provide early scans before handing you over to your normal docs etc for your pregnancy. If you get a bfn, then you let them know and they give you a failed cycle review to plan your next steps.
11) If BFN they normally make you wait 3 bleeds before going again, (includes the bleed , you have after failed cycle).
Tips -
I would say, if you sniff a drug called Synarel for down regulation - then don't think as I did the bottle would last forever! It's a weighted bottle, ha ha
Use an ice pack on your tum (a kids lunch small one will do), right before injecting, , you won't feel a thing!
Start practicing now on drinking lots of fluid! 2-3L of water a day during stimming, and even when in down regs it helps the headaches. It took me about 2 mths to get the hang of drinking so much!! In fact I still do just drink water now! I gave up tea and coffee (only drank decaff ones anyway!) and tea doesn't interest me now!
Sorry to go on, but it may help , Good luck
Well I've only done it once , and failed , I also had a failed Frozen blastocyst cycle as it did not sadley survive the thaw on transfer day..so your right it doesn't guarentee a bfp, but it gets you in the game!, you have a chance, and that's well worth having..
I read up on everything before, and that made it less scary
Something I wrote in my journal to explain to people asking about what I was doing in ivf, might help
So IVF in short is like this -
1) You sniff or inject a drug to shut down your ovarys, during this time you have a bleed to basically shed or reduce your old lining. This takes between 2-3 weeks, they know your done by scanning you with a dildo cam!
2) Then you start injecting a ovary stimulating drug in your tum (mines called Menopur, made from the urine of post menopausal women!, no joke!).The other one is Gonal F, the more synthetic version, both do the same. This gets your ovarys to grow and ripen more than the one folicle at once. Once these get bigger and you have at least 2-3 sized at 18-20 mm , you can proceed. (they check this by a dildo cam up your floof), You still sniff the first drug all this time too, just less often to stop you ovulating while your making eggs!
3) Then you inject HCG (the preg hormone). (They give you a set day and time as it's an exact time based on my egg collection time), to ripen and mature my folicles.
4) then you enjoy a drug free day!
5) Then you have Egg collection, the use sedation to help, as it could be quite uncomfy, and going in the floof end again, they drain all folicles they can see and in 75% of those folicles should be an egg.
On the same day my OH produces a sperm sample and they wash it and get it ready to meet the eggs. They put millions of sperm in a dish with each egg and let them get jiggy overnight!
You shove pessaries up your floof or bum (depends on your clinic), from collection day till testing day. Mine were up bum after collection, (cause of risk of infection) then changed to up floof from transfer, get these help your lining thicken and get ready for transfer of embryo.6) They call you the next morning to tell you how many have fertilized
7) They call you over the next few days to let you know how your (now called embryos) are doing/developing. If you only have a few, or have a very clear front runner , they will prob put them back on day 2 or 3 after collection, if they are looking good and you have a few more eggs, they will see if they can keep them growing longer into blastocyst's these can then get transfered back to you on day 5. This gives them more time to choose the best one for transfer. At this point they will see if they have any other blastocysts good enougth to be frozen for future use.
8) They get you in for Embryo Transfer - this only takes about 15 mins, and then you can rejoin the 2WW as it starts from collection day as this is like ovulation day.
9) The clinic will give you a set OTD (Official Testing day) to test, mine even gave me a test too!
10) If you get a bfp, they normally provide early scans before handing you over to your normal docs etc for your pregnancy. If you get a bfn, then you let them know and they give you a failed cycle review to plan your next steps.
11) If BFN they normally make you wait 3 bleeds before going again, (includes the bleed , you have after failed cycle).
Tips -
I would say, if you sniff a drug called Synarel for down regulation - then don't think as I did the bottle would last forever! It's a weighted bottle, ha ha
Use an ice pack on your tum (a kids lunch small one will do), right before injecting, , you won't feel a thing!
Start practicing now on drinking lots of fluid! 2-3L of water a day during stimming, and even when in down regs it helps the headaches. It took me about 2 mths to get the hang of drinking so much!! In fact I still do just drink water now! I gave up tea and coffee (only drank decaff ones anyway!) and tea doesn't interest me now!
Sorry to go on, but it may help , Good luck
Oh wow that is loads!!!!!!!!!!! thanks for the information girls!! ohh wow!! ohhh wow, the part im not looking forward to is injecting myself!! ahhhh ohhh goshh! howcome it didnt work for you hun or was just one of those things'/ xx
JJ Mum
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Ahh the million dollar question... ha I am slightly older at 39, so my odds go down a little more , I got 12 eggs, which is good, 11 of them mature, and only 6 fertilized with is less than they would expect, with ivf, we didn't have icsi where they inject each egg individually as oh has ok sperm, so I can only assume it was my eggs. It does seem like a ivf lottery, some ladies get lucky first time, some it takes twice, others many more attempts, but wikth each attempt,the clinic will learn about you, and how you respond to the treatment, and can adjust.
Will you get treatment on the nhs? we were private and it's expensive
JJ Mum
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Oh wow that's great news,3 attempts will give you a great chance, and I think the pressure will be less on your shoulders than if private, it will still be a rollercoaster, but a very positive one... I wish you lots of luck with your cycle.. Are you getting free drugs too? as there quite expensive, mine were near £800 and thats because I shopped about, I saved £375 I thinkish, from not using the clinics preffered supplier.
Nope , I ran out of cash, with the one fresh cycle, freezing embryo costs and then a failed frozen transfer cycle, and so instead of pushing a second fresh cycle as my last ditch attempt, I managed to find a uk based surgeon to give me a repair op of my tubes instead, and so I am now recovered and ttc the old fashioned way again..
Spookily enougth, we signed a loan aggreement today , and posted it back, so hopefully we can consolidate our
£12,000 debt for the ivf and the op and pay back over 5 years, and then we can live again normally, as were just trying to get by at mo, and we need to pay it back and move on, whatever happens, I have older children and I don't want financial worry to touch them, they want to go camping this summer and days out etc.. so feeling more positive about it all now.
Whats your next step, where are you upto with your clinic
Nope , I ran out of cash, with the one fresh cycle, freezing embryo costs and then a failed frozen transfer cycle, and so instead of pushing a second fresh cycle as my last ditch attempt, I managed to find a uk based surgeon to give me a repair op of my tubes instead, and so I am now recovered and ttc the old fashioned way again..
Spookily enougth, we signed a loan aggreement today , and posted it back, so hopefully we can consolidate our
£12,000 debt for the ivf and the op and pay back over 5 years, and then we can live again normally, as were just trying to get by at mo, and we need to pay it back and move on, whatever happens, I have older children and I don't want financial worry to touch them, they want to go camping this summer and days out etc.. so feeling more positive about it all now.
Whats your next step, where are you upto with your clinic
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greekgirl84
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Wow you are very lucky to get 3 gos.
we only get one (get the frozen cycle included ) so this is our last attempt.
I think jj has summed it up perfectly, step by step break down is spot on. you do get used to injecting yourself, i hated needles.
lets hope you get your bfp .... i am just starting frozen embryo cycle... waiting for my initial appointment to pick up my 'goody bag' .
we only get one (get the frozen cycle included ) so this is our last attempt.
I think jj has summed it up perfectly, step by step break down is spot on. you do get used to injecting yourself, i hated needles.
lets hope you get your bfp .... i am just starting frozen embryo cycle... waiting for my initial appointment to pick up my 'goody bag' .
Esperanza84
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Good luck ladies! Keeping my fingers crossed for you!xx
i got my first consultation in may/june time hun. and yeah i think its 3, but then it might be two goes, yeah everything is free as its on the nhs! i just really hope it works, im getting some dodgey pains in my stomach lately though, more down towards my ovaries, doing my head in because im worrying thinking what is that! :S xxx
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