Newbies!

[Sally2]

Welcome Lou & Em!
We had both our boys through Melbourne IVF, if you are looking at a clinic insem, it's probably a good idea to get the ball rolling now, as the waiting list for anonymous donor sperm is quite long. If you have a known donor you would like to use, there is still a wait of around 6 months for the sperm to pass quarantine.
The best place to start is a referral from your GP for a fertility specialist, they can answer all your questions including costs etc. John McBain at Melbourne IVF has helped loads of lesbian couples, he is probably a good person to get a referral for so he can give you more information.
Good luck !!

[Lou and Em]

Thanks for the info Sally2. How long was the whole process for you? I'm assuming you used an anonymous donor (please correct me if Im wrong). Could you tell me a bit about your experience? eg: choosing a donor, how long it took from first meeting at clinic to actually conceiving etc

thanks heaps

Lou and Em

[Sally2]

Hiya,

We snuck in before the laws changed & every lesbian in Victoria signed up for anonymous donor sperm so our wait wasn't very long. Yes, anonymous sperm for us & we chose a donor who was open to being contacted before the kids turned 18 & had the physical characteristics that we thought were important.
It's a total lottery though, we chose a dark eyed, dark haired 'donor dad' & both our boys have blonde hair & blue eyes
We were pregnant within 6 months of the first meeting with our fertility specialist, but don't forget the wait for anonymous sperm is a lot longer now, less donors since they made it compulsory for the sperm donor to go on a register so he can be contacted when the kids turn 18. It means there are both less donors & more couples waiting, cause the same sex parenting law changes meant that single women & lesbians can now access donor sperm & IVF treatment without being infertile.
Good luck girls, looking forward to your pregnancy announcement!

[Kayenkay]

Hi, I'm a new member to this site, I realize this thread is old, but I was hoping Lou and Em would be able to confirm that you were successful! My partner and I are starting the process through Dr Melissa Cameron, hopefully going to be inseminated in January! Any replies would be appreciated!

[Lou and Em]

Hi all,

Sorry for the huge delay in replies. We've had such a busy year since we last posted...so to update you on whats been happening...in April we had our first appointment with Dr Cameron at Melbourne IVF and after going through the process of choosing a sperm donor, counselling and check ups, we did our first cycle of IUI in May. I was taking a low dose of pregnyl injections for this cycle too, which threw my hormones out of whack and I was an emotional wreck for a lot of the time. Unfortunately, this first cycle was unsuccessful. Despite being "so sure" that I was pregnant, I got my period right on time. We decided to go ahead and try a second IUI cycle the following month. We knew that this would be our last chance at IUI as our Dr had explained that after two IUI cycles we would have to move onto IVF. We were both apprehensive and nervous but thought that we may as well keep going while we were on a roll I suppose. Our Dr agreed to increase my dose of pregnyl slightly but unfortunately, this cycle was also unsuccessful.

Needless to say, my partner and I were both devestated that both cycles had been unsuccessful because we knew that the next step would be IVF and that would be a challenge for us financially. So we've taken a few months off trying and focused on other things. I've recently been diagnosed with gallstones and will have to have surgery to remove my gallbladder before continuing with our baby making journey. We're planning on starting IVF early next year and hopefully we're one of the lucky couples that have success first time.

Kayenkay, great to hear that you and your partner are going through the same clinic and Doctor as us! Are you doing IUI or IVF? I'd love to know a bit about you and your partner and your situation. It's always exciting to find another couple in the same situation as us.

Look forward to reading replies soon

EM

[Kayenkay]

Hi all,

Sorry for the huge delay in replies. We've had such a busy year since we last posted...so to update you on whats been happening...in April we had our first appointment with Dr Cameron at Melbourne IVF and after going through the process of choosing a sperm donor, counselling and check ups, we did our first cycle of IUI in May. I was taking a low dose of pregnyl injections for this cycle too, which threw my hormones out of whack and I was an emotional wreck for a lot of the time. Unfortunately, this first cycle was unsuccessful. Despite being "so sure" that I was pregnant, I got my period right on time. We decided to go ahead and try a second IUI cycle the following month. We knew that this would be our last chance at IUI as our Dr had explained that after two IUI cycles we would have to move onto IVF. We were both apprehensive and nervous but thought that we may as well keep going while we were on a roll I suppose. Our Dr agreed to increase my dose of pregnyl slightly but unfortunately, this cycle was also unsuccessful.

Needless to say, my partner and I were both devestated that both cycles had been unsuccessful because we knew that the next step would be IVF and that would be a challenge for us financially. So we've taken a few months off trying and focused on other things. I've recently been diagnosed with gallstones and will have to have surgery to remove my gallbladder before continuing with our baby making journey. We're planning on starting IVF early next year and hopefully we're one of the lucky couples that have success first time.

Kayenkay, great to hear that you and your partner are going through the same clinic and Doctor as us! Are you doing IUI or IVF? I'd love to know a bit about you and your partner and your situation. It's always exciting to find another couple in the same situation as us.

Look forward to reading replies soon

EM

Hi Em and Lou! Thank you so much for the welcome and your reply! Sorry to hear that both your iui's failed, hopefully ivf will be successful for you both first time round! Certainly understand the financial factor, this process can be quite costly! We are looking at going down the same path as you both! Starting with the iui's, but unfortunately have a wait for donor sperm before we can begin! Completed all the other meetings and councilling but have to wait up to 8weeks for donor sperm to become available! My partner kaylee and I have been together for ten years, and decided to start a family of our own at the end of 2011! We had a willing donor but after 8 months of trying he got himself checked out and found out he had no swimmers getting through at all! That lead us to opting for help coz finding willing donors is not really all that easy! Hoping to start treatment in late January or early feb, due to the wait, and fingers are crossed we will be successful! It seems less likely though when you read a lot of the stories on the forums and I also have pcos as well with a low ovarian reserve for my age! I am 30 and kaylee is 40 so we are praying we r one of those lucky cases! But I suppose we will just have to wait and see! Dr Cameron is lovely, just not sure about the 48hr wait to inseminate after ovulation is indicated! Is that what you both went through? Research I've been doing sort of suggests to me that, that would be towards the end of you ovulation, what do you think?
Lovely to chat with some girls that are going through the same process, hopefully we can all be successful in January! Keeping our fingers crossed! Chat soon!
Kim and Kaylee

[Lou and Em]

Hi Kayenkay,

i'm trying to remember the process that we went through. From memory, I had daily pregnyl injections for several days then the trigger HcG injection which stimulates ovulation. I'm pretty sure that from memory, I had the trigger injection and had to do ovulation tests prior to that and then go in for IUI around 18hours later. We are also waiting for sperm to become available. We were told it would be an 8 week wait. Whereabouts in Melbourne are you girls from?

Lou and I are both 26 y/o and have been together for 2 years. We have two children from Lou's previous relationship, a 6 y/o son and 4 y/o daughter that live with us full time. We cant wait to complete our family with a much wanted baby of our own.

Hopefully we are all successful in the new year.


Em