The other thing you will need to get is a Police Check and a DHS Children Check. It is compulsory before you can undergo assisted conception in Victoria. The clinic will let you know how to go about organising it.
Emma, the hardest part for me was without doubt the tww, which in our case was 18 days long because we hit the New Years holidays right at the end of it.
I did a down regulation cycle, but for me that meant synarel nasal spray every 12 hours from day 21 of the previous cycle right through to the day of the trigger shot which triggers ovulation. Mild headaches for a few hours after each spray, but I had no other noticeable symptoms from the synarel (which suppresses your natural hormones). So Teirae had a totally different response to that element of treatment compared to me. FX you'll be more like me there.
Then Gonal F injections, daily, from CD 3 through to the trigger day. Anticipating that was the scariest bit for me, without a doubt, because I just couldn't imagine being physically able to inject myself. DP said that if I really, truly couldn't, he'd do it for me, but I had to try the first one, and he knew I'd be ok. And actually, it was fine. A little scratch, then nothing. Once the needle breaks the skin (which is not even as bad as plucking a hair) I had no sensation of the needle or the contents at all. The trigger shot was pretty much the same, too.
Then after pickup, I was uncomfortable for a couple of days - just feeling flat post-anasthetic and a bit bloated and crampy, as I expected. Transfer was no big deal at all - very, very exciting, and a bit bloated still, but no physical pain at all for a week, just a bit stiff and uncomfortable. Luckily, I got to enjoy Christmas in those few good days.
Then 5 or 6 days after transfer, I started to bloat more - achy, tight, sore to touch belly, painful to cough or sneeze or laugh, hard to roll over in bed, short of breath. It was all fluid, not gas. A bit of fluid sitting in my lungs which I coughed up easily every couple of hours, but really, it was the emotional strain that was most difficult to deal with. All these 'pregnancy symptoms', all of which can be blamed on the luteal phase hormonal support I was on - 2 hcg injections, days 3 and 6 post transfer, and progesterone pessaries twice a day. (I'm pretty sure it was the progesterone that bloated me, as my count was up to high 300s, and as I was weaned of it, after the BT, I started to feel progressively better, and it's now 150-190, with no supplementation for the last 3 weeks or so - much more 'normal'.)
When they warn you that the hormones can cause pg symptoms, I expected the kind of mild cramp, or slightly tender boobs, that I had so desperately tried to find in every other tww. I didn't expect this full blown, debilitating, crippled state I was in, and yet it didn't even mean I was pg. It was so hard to cope with all the pain and be prepared that it still might not be for anything. The not knowing was very, very hard. And you can't forget about it for a moment, becasue the physical symptoms just don't let up. It's like a normal tww, but a million times harder, because you've invested so much more into it - emotional energy, time, drugs, pain, symptoms, and of course, the financial investment. It is so much harder to consider that it might not work, and you might have to go back and do it all over again. (We didn't have anything to freeeze, so it would have been another stim cycle, too.)
It's also harder, because you know, now, that DP's count is really low, so the hope and expectation that a natural cycle might result in a bfp is pretty much gone, whereas, this time, after ICSI, this time there's a real, genuine chance! It's like a lottery that you always thought you had a ticket in, but you didn't really. Well this time, you've got a ticket. AND you know that the first few milestones have already been passed - you know there's an egg, and it met the sperm, and it fertilized, and it was growing. You just don't know it implanted, but you're already emotionally attached to those real, genuine, little tiny embryos. In a normal tww you imagine all that, but this time, it's real.
It's really tough, and I have so much respect for the ladies who go through repeated unsuccesful cycles. We feel incredibly lucky that it worked for us first cycle, but to be honest, we had almost the best chances of almost anyone - low sperm count as the only fertility issue, treated with ICSI, has one of the highest rates of success. Our predictions could only have been better had I been younger (as you are, I'm 37) and had I had a previous successful pg (as you have).
My advice - ask a million questions, read everything you can, and be prepared to take some extra time off work if you need it.
I'm also more than happy to answer questions, or have a chat - pm me, if you want.
Last edited by Pholi; February 2nd, 2012 at 10:15 AM.
Your situation seems very similar...my DH had the same result. He had to do another one which was worse! So we were basically told ICSI or nothing, IUI and normal IVF are not an option. BUT my FS seems very confident and reassuring, and we have just started our first ICSI cycle.
At the appt were the FS viewed the second SA and told us ICSI was the only way to go, I was like...ok - lets do it then..give me the drugs. Haha.
I think sometimes though, specialists forget to tell us important things - I was so lucky to have read so much info on here that it prompted me to ring the FS and ask "hey shouldn't I be arranging a nurses appt as well?" Lucky I did that as I would've had to wait for another appt and waiting times can be for so long!
Good luck with your journey. It's a hard club to be in - I hope your journey is short and successful!
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