Ladies doing IUI or IVF - 2016 (11 BFPs so far!)

[lillith112]

Hi ladies,

I'm pretty sure I'm out. 8dp5dt and a definite BFN with FMU. It's time to accept it hasn't worked I think.

1 IUI, 3 rounds IVF and one Donor egg FET......just how much more money can I plough into this?! �� These r the times when I really wish I had someone by my side whilst going through all this. Feeling so very sad, duvet and movie day today I think. X

So sorry 20percent, I know how you feel, it will be nearly 3yrs ttc for me. I can't get ivf on the NHS due to my age and cant afford to pay private as we are both carers for family members. I have had another failed soy attempt, done 3 months of it, I have tried every possible remedy and potion going. What frustrates me the most is that I caught pregnant last September but nothing since. I'm starting to feel bitter and upset every time I see a newborn or a pregnant lady, went through this badly after the mc but its creeping back in again, maybe because this is the date I caught last year. I am thinking its just never going to happen and that at 45yrs old my time has truly run out �� xx

 

[20percent]

Ah Lilith, I'm sorry to hear you've had such a tough fertility journey. I'm coming up to 40 in November....only really started trying a couple of years ago naturally but never got anywhere and then that relationship ended so that was that.

It was only because I have received a very generous inheritance from my Uncle who sadly passed away a year and a half ago that I could even think of starting any kind of fertility treatment. My family as a whole have had a very difficult last 15yrs with several deaths and other awful things in between, they were all so counting on me having a baby and bringing some more happiness (my brother has had 3 amazing sons so it certainly hasn't all been bad!) but I fear I am going to be letting them down.

What is your AMH like? Mine is so low at 0.6 that I always knew having to go down the donor egg route was likely to be the outcome for me....joys of a premature menopause there's always hope if you still have a reasonable number of eggs....there will be a few of a better quality, it's just catching them!

I'm sorry this is such a tough month for you keep ur chin up, whilst there are eggs there's hope!xx

 

[lillith112]

Ah Lilith, I'm sorry to hear you've had such a tough fertility journey. I'm coming up to 40 in November....only really started trying a couple of years ago naturally but never got anywhere and then that relationship ended so that was that.

It was only because I have received a very generous inheritance from my Uncle who sadly passed away a year and a half ago that I could even think of starting any kind of fertility treatment. My family as a whole have had a very difficult last 15yrs with several deaths and other awful things in between, they were all so counting on me having a baby and bringing some more happiness (my brother has had 3 amazing sons so it certainly hasn't all been bad!) but I fear I am going to be letting them down.

What is your AMH like? Mine is so low at 0.6 that I always knew having to go down the donor egg route was likely to be the outcome for me....joys of a premature menopause there's always hope if you still have a reasonable number of eggs....there will be a few of a better quality, it's just catching them!

I'm sorry this is such a tough month for you keep ur chin up, whilst there are eggs there's hope!xx

Oh hun, I'm sorry to hear about your uncle and other family members, it's not been easy for you either. I lost my beloved dog 6 weeks ago, then a good friend of mine so been feeling quite low anyway.

I did have a scan and was told that my quantity of eggs was very good, but I've never had the blood test. I think I will run out of time before I catch a good egg. I dread every month now as it's just disappointment after disappointment. Feel like a failure to be honest. Think I need to buy myself a new puppy to love lol. xx

 

[mrsbass]

Hi 20percent, sorry to hear your news.
I'm feeling just like you are. Bitter disappointment and noticing pregnant women every where.
I'm turning 39 in January so I'm seriously considering freezing my eggs, but then I read there's no point because of my age.

I suppose this is borne out by only 5 of my 13 fertilised eggs making it to day 5 blastocyst.

Came back from a week long holiday to find a letter from the clinic to come for a follow up appointment on 29th sept. I hope this means I can proceed with FET soon.

I had a look at my old paperwork and last year my AMH was 33.92 pcmol/l and antral follicle count of 21. No idea what this means but i guess the main message is I have a good ovary reserve.

 

[Hoody81]

Hi there,

I'm hoping someone here can help as I'm not finding much luck on google and my query is quite specific...

In December 2015 I had ICSI and developed severe ohss. I was hospitalised and had five litres of fluid drained from my abdomen. It was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. The only good thing about it was that it was so bad because I was pregnant (sadly I lost my son due to incompetent cervix at 20+1).

Fast forward to now... I had an embryo transfer on Monday (11th Sep). I was so worried about developing ohss again (as is likely if you have PCOS and have had it before) so I asked for my trigger injection to be changed to buserelin instead of Ovitrelle as I read this reduces the risk of ohss. Sure enough, my ohss symptoms were mild after egg collection (13 eggs retrieved, 6 fertilised, 1 transferred 5 day, 5 frozen).

But now I'm worried... as hcg levels rise if pregnancy is successful, the symptoms of ohss should increase. And I have no symptoms. I'm bloated but I have no pain.

So my question is, has anyone who had ohss previously, avoided ohss during later treatment cycles but still ended up with a BFP?

I'm driving myself CRAZY and it's such a specific thing so I can't find anyone online who has been in the same position.

I'm so sorry for the long post. I hope someone can help.

Thanks in advance

 

[mrsbass]

Hi there,

I'm hoping someone here can help as I'm not finding much luck on google and my query is quite specific...

In December 2015 I had ICSI and developed severe ohss. I was hospitalised and had five litres of fluid drained from my abdomen. It was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. The only good thing about it was that it was so bad because I was pregnant (sadly I lost my son due to incompetent cervix at 20+1).

Fast forward to now... I had an embryo transfer on Monday (11th Sep). I was so worried about developing ohss again (as is likely if you have PCOS and have had it before) so I asked for my trigger injection to be changed to buserelin instead of Ovitrelle as I read this reduces the risk of ohss. Sure enough, my ohss symptoms were mild after egg collection (13 eggs retrieved, 6 fertilised, 1 transferred 5 day, 5 frozen).

But now I'm worried... as hcg levels rise if pregnancy is successful, the symptoms of ohss should increase. And I have no symptoms. I'm bloated but I have no pain.

So my question is, has anyone who had ohss previously, avoided ohss during later treatment cycles but still ended up with a BFP?

I'm driving myself CRAZY and it's such a specific thing so I can't find anyone online who has been in the same position.

I'm so sorry for the long post. I hope someone can help.

Thanks in advance

I'm surprised they did a fresh transfer precisely because of the OHSS risk. I'm having a frozen transfer because of the risk of developing OHSS. Anyway, here's a video of someone in the OHSS and pregnant situation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGFi8L3_oVY

 

[Hoody81]

I'm surprised they did a fresh transfer precisely because of the OHSS risk. I'm having a frozen transfer because of the risk of developing OHSS. Anyway, here's a video of someone in the OHSS and pregnant situation

Thank you for your reply

This girls experience was exactly like mine the first time round. In order to avoid that happening again, my trigger injection was changed - which is the key thing here. Buserelin doesn't give you the hcg surge that causes ohss, which is why I've not experienced it this time. But pregnancy naturally raises hcg in the body, so I'm thinking that maybe it's not worked considering I have no ohss symptoms...

There was no need for them to do an FET as I didn't have any symptoms of ohss (Y)

 

[Syd43]

Thank you FBTTN. Got my first scan in an hour, terrified it's going to show an empty sac again, especially as hcg levels slowed too much last week.

Lil you are NOT a failure - how can you be a failure with 3 lovely children? Don't think like that! Hopefully the infection testing with Serum will throw something up and that's easily fixed. Is there anyway at all you could get out there for treatment? There are lots of very reasonably priced apartments with airbnb although I appreciate there are a lot of you to fly over there So sorry to hear about the loss of both your dog and your friend x

Hoody I'm sorry, I can't help, I have no experience of OHSS at all.

Mrsbass, 5 of 13 making it to 5 day blastocyst is fantastic! I got 10 eggs in total in Jan, one made it to blast, was put back and failed, none to freeze. Your amh and afc are also really, really good!

20percent, I'm so sorry, I really hope you get a lovely surprise this morning. I was the same as you, tested early when I had IVF, I also wanted a chance to get my head around it. Have you looked at other issues such as the hidden infection testing that Serum do? I know I sound like a bit of a salesperson for them at the moment but I honestly didn't think I could possibly have an issue with implantation as my first pregnancy didn't miscarry til 8 weeks even though it was working. Turns out the infection has caused inflammation in the womb which most definitely could be affecting implantation. I can't remember your full story, I'm sorry - do you have anything frozen? Have you considered any other options such as cycling abroad (I think you're currently cycling in the UK?)? Do you have any frosties left? Everything crossed for you this morning - there are a couple of stories on fertilityfriends of people that got a bfn on otd and then a positive a couple of days later and went on to have healthy pregnancies.

Congrats Mrs-Emmy.

Millie, really glad you've contacted Serum, keep us posted.

 

[lillith112]

Thank you FBTTN. Got my first scan in an hour, terrified it's going to show an empty sac again, especially as hcg levels slowed too much last week.

Lil you are NOT a failure - how can you be a failure with 3 lovely children? Don't think like that! Hopefully the infection testing with Serum will throw something up and that's easily fixed. Is there anyway at all you could get out there for treatment? There are lots of very reasonably priced apartments with airbnb although I appreciate there are a lot of you to fly over there So sorry to hear about the loss of both your dog and your friend x

Hoody I'm sorry, I can't help, I have no experience of OHSS at all.

Mrsbass, 5 of 13 making it to 5 day blastocyst is fantastic! I got 10 eggs in total in Jan, one made it to blast, was put back and failed, none to freeze. Your amh and afc are also really, really good!

20percent, I'm so sorry, I really hope you get a lovely surprise this morning. I was the same as you, tested early when I had IVF, I also wanted a chance to get my head around it. Have you looked at other issues such as the hidden infection testing that Serum do? I know I sound like a bit of a salesperson for them at the moment but I honestly didn't think I could possibly have an issue with implantation as my first pregnancy didn't miscarry til 8 weeks even though it was working. Turns out the infection has caused inflammation in the womb which most definitely could be affecting implantation. I can't remember your full story, I'm sorry - do you have anything frozen? Have you considered any other options such as cycling abroad (I think you're currently cycling in the UK?)? Do you have any frosties left? Everything crossed for you this morning - there are a couple of stories on fertilityfriends of people that got a bfn on otd and then a positive a couple of days later and went on to have healthy pregnancies.

Congrats Mrs-Emmy.

Millie, really glad you've contacted Serum, keep us posted.

Oh Syd, I'm rooting for you this morning, how many weeks are you now ?, will there be anything to see on the scan, as I know early scans don't show much ?. Let us know how you get on.

I love my children to bits, wouldn't change them for the world, but I feel a failure as I had my children with the wrong person, an abusive asshole who made my life hell and has not seen his children in years. Then after losing faith in all men as I was so damaged, my OH comes along and changed that. He's the most loving, kind, gentle man, we don't argue, not had a bad word in 2.5yrs, he is without doubt my soulmate. Having a child together with the right person will complete our family, I guess that's why it means so much to me as we both want a baby together so badly but it just isn't happening. Going to Serum with my 3 children really isn't an option Syd. Money wise I could probably manage it but my OH couldn't come incase something happened to his mum, plus I couldn't take the kids to Serum as they don't know we are trying for a baby. I do have a telephone consultation with Sophia tomorrow though and I will be sending my period blood sample as soon as it arrives. xx

 

[Syd43]

I know you desperately want your soulmate baby. Excited for your telephone consultation, I didn't meet Sophia but a lot of people have had consultations with her recently and say she's absolutely lovely.

I counted myself at 6+2 today based on last period but apparently as I have a 30 day cycle I'm actually 5+6 (or possibly 6 weeks exactly). Gestational sac is measuring bang on for 5+6 and she could just see a yolk sac but no fetal pole yet. I've been googling obsessively ever since, naturally. Seems that whilst many people do see a fetal pole at this stage, and some even a heartbeat, it's not that unusual not to see it. She wants me to come back in a week but I'm going to book a sneaky scan in with another doctor later this week. In my last pregnancy today's doctor had real trouble even finding my uterus on a trans-vag scan and it was the same again today, took her ages. Whereas the other doctor I saw last time had no trouble at all locating it so I'm going to see her on Thursday. It's very weird the way it all works out here, the doctor that has trouble locating my uterus is the gynae at my local surgery and comes highly recommended, she's lovely. She only works out of one hospital - pretty much the top maternity hospital in Hong Kong - and you can only see her if you are definitely going to deliver in that hospital, if I decide I want to go to a different hospital I'll also have to find a different doctor. Anyway, rambling about stuff that's way down the line, just need to get to the next scan at this stage.

Let us know how your consultation goes. x

 

[xMillie]

has anyone ever taken inositol before?
serum recommended it to me so after a quick google figured I'd give it a go..
they said to take 2g.. which seems a lot as I could only find it in 250mgs.. which is 4 a day!?
ahhh wanted to cut down on vitamins especially as we're going back to sort of ntnp..

I'm waiting for af now and hidden all my opks and preg tests away! but will be sending a sample to serum for the testing this next cycle
they recommend the full Hysteroscopy as well but will just see how the tests go and then consider what is next!


hope your next scan goes well Syd! xx

 

[lillith112]

has anyone ever taken inositol before?
serum recommended it to me so after a quick google figured I'd give it a go..
they said to take 2g.. which seems a lot as I could only find it in 250mgs.. which is 4 a day!?
ahhh wanted to cut down on vitamins especially as we're going back to sort of ntnp..

I'm waiting for af now and hidden all my opks and preg tests away! but will be sending a sample to serum for the testing this next cycle
they recommend the full Hysteroscopy as well but will just see how the tests go and then consider what is next!


hope your next scan goes well Syd! xx

Xmillie, I have just started on inositol yesterday, I read it really helps pcos and fertility. I bought a sachet from Amazon in powder form, think the make is bulk powders. It comes with a small scoop and you mix 1-3 scoops in water a day, I'm doing 2 scoops. I will check out the dose tomorrow for you.

Syd that is awesome news that everything seems to be on track, wishing you all the best for your second scan. I will let you know how I get on with the consultation tomorrow. xx

 

[xMillie]

Ahh really.. I didn't think to check for powder form! I had searched it on Holland and Barret and ended up with 4x100 250mg tablets, hopefully that's okay to take! Bit of a pain.. but I can just take them later in the day with a meal.

 

[phonixgirl]

Yes I take them I take the powder too. Defo get that next time as all you do is mix it with water and it tastes fine! I have it in the morning and evening... Not sure if it's doing anything but my consultant recommended it as well xx

 

[lillith112]

Ahh really.. I didn't think to check for powder form! I had searched it on Holland and Barret and ended up with 4x100 250mg tablets, hopefully that's okay to take! Bit of a pain.. but I can just take them later in the day with a meal.

Xmillie, I checked my inositol powder today, a scoopful is 50mg, so 3 scoopfuls I presume make it 1.5g ?. Quite a few reviews on Amazon say they take 1-2 teaspoons of it a day, thats probably around 3g.

Syd I had my consultation eventually after I realised I was ringing an old lady, didn't know I had to put 2 zeros in front of the number. Anyway she said at my age IVF is best but in my case it's not really possible so she said to do the period testing for hidden infections, gave me a list of supplements to take, in actual fact I've tried nearly everything she suggested. She said she didn't think I needed clomid as it thins the uterus lining. Also at my age I will have only one good egg in every 4 cycles so it's just getting lucky and catching the good egg. I can't fault Serum, they have been awesome, so lovely and go above and beyond to help. Oh she also said I would benefit from having an aqua scan and my OH a sperm test but I don't think I will find anywhere around here that does that sort of scan for me. xx

 

[Syd43]

Thanks Millie.

Lil, I'm glad your consultation went well (sort of). Penny did say to me in July that there's not an awful lot of point in doing own egg IVF at 45 but I know it can work. There's a lady on another forum I'm on that recently gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby at 46 - I can't remember if it was OE IVF or surprise natural pregnancy, I think probably natural.

Remind me which part of the country you're in? Quite a lot of places do do aqua scans, it's worth having a look at private fertility clinics. Are you going to stop the clomid? And you're going to do the infection testing? You made me laugh about ringing an old lady, hope you didn't start asking her questions about your fertility

 

[xMillie]

wish I hadn't chucked out the returns label I could have sent the unopened ones back but now I've got 400 of them to get through lol

got my af today so hoping to collect sample later today or tomorrow, not looking forward to that part!!

Syd, after you sent it did it take long before it arrived there?

 

[lillith112]

Thanks Millie.

Lil, I'm glad your consultation went well (sort of). Penny did say to me in July that there's not an awful lot of point in doing own egg IVF at 45 but I know it can work. There's a lady on another forum I'm on that recently gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby at 46 - I can't remember if it was OE IVF or surprise natural pregnancy, I think probably natural.

Remind me which part of the country you're in? Quite a lot of places do do aqua scans, it's worth having a look at private fertility clinics. Are you going to stop the clomid? And you're going to do the infection testing? You made me laugh about ringing an old lady, hope you didn't start asking her questions about your fertility

Syd I'm in Gloucestershire, there's a fertility clinic called Cotswold but they were ridiculously expensive, I had a scan there and she just rushed through everything and charged me over £400 for it. I think I would of got more information doing a fertility scan at Babybond. It's soy I'm taking and yes I'm stopping it as this cycle just gone I didn't ovulate until 4 days after my positive opk so we totally missed my fertile window.
Hahaha, that old lady I rang her 3 times, last try got an answer and she told me she was just hanging her washing out, it was hilarious lol. I'm definitely doing the hidden infection testing with period blood, I have to go and get a urine pot from the Drs. Xmillie, I asked about sending the sample incase it takes a while to get to them and she told me the sample will keep for up to 3 weeks, ewwww !.
Millie and Syd, what did you mix your sample with ?, on the protocol it says with saline or cool boiled water, I'm not sure which is best or where to get saline from. x

 

[xMillie]

I have a urine pot ready thankfully and mixing with saline solution, came from Superdrug 1.99 I think it was.

I'm considering leaving it this month, I don't know yet..
I'm concerned that I'm having a miscarriage and it's not my period after just passing several pieces tissue?? I didn't really want to test anymore but I might in the morning just to see if it was or not
Flipping confused and fed up

 

[lillith112]

I have a urine pot ready thankfully and mixing with saline solution, came from Superdrug 1.99 I think it was.

I'm considering leaving it this month, I don't know yet..
I'm concerned that I'm having a miscarriage and it's not my period after just passing several pieces tissue?? I didn't really want to test anymore but I might in the morning just to see if it was or not
Flipping confused and fed up

Xmillie, so sorry to hear you think this, is your period late, have you had any symptoms ?, I often get dark red tissue looking bits in my period blood. My miscarriage was more clotty and very bloody mixed with ewcm, no tissue, by the time bleeding started my pregnancy test was stark white negative so you might not get a line on a test anyway. Hugs to you, I'm also more than fed up with the whole ttc journey. x