Starting first round of IVF

Hi Miss Scarlett

Good to hear you have moved on to the next step! I am waiting for AF & due to go into the clinic on Sat to see whats happening & possible start the gonal f - thats if AF doesn't show before then! I have a bad headache today & feeling wiped out, also lower back pain so I reckon "she" is def coming.

I hope you get a decent batch of follicles (not to many tho) I'm feeling a bit nervous about this next bit, like you am worried they may not grow as I didn't respond fantasticly to 100mg clomid either, still one step further on is better then nothing.

Good luck for the next couple of weeks :) Its kind of nice having someone just ahead of me cause I get to ask you all the questions!!!

Clare

Just wanted to wish you all the best!

That first cycle is quite daunting, hope it's successful for you!

Hi CAH and Miss Scarlett.... I havent had IVF before, but am due to start my first cycle of ICSI in October after 3 failed IUI attempts also.
I just wanted to pop in and say hi - its good to know that I have you two there who are in a very similar situation to me... it doesnt feel as daunting anymore.
Im very nervous about starting, and purposely chose to hold off after the last failed IUI cycle - I wasnt in the right frame of mind... way too negative! Im feeling much better now though and will probably feel even better in October when I get back from a 2 week holiday in Fiji!
Like I said - I just wanted to say hi so that you knew who I was when I started prodding and probing for answers to my questions... !! :-)
Good luck to both of you - and obviously everyone else who is trying!!

Hi Karena

Good to hear from you. I felt exactly like you, pushed the IUI to one last go as I really thought it would work for us, after that last try I was devastated, not felt that low before in the whole 20 months of TTC & it took me a month or so to bounce back. The original plan was to try another 2 IUI's but then not sure what happened I just woke up 1 day & thought bugger this lets just do it!!! I was so nervous about starting the drugs & still am, have a long way to go yet. The Lupron has been ok, I was expecting to react a lot worse to it so am happy so far!

Things have moved on for me, Af arrived an hour ago so I am back to the clinic tomorrow for a blood test, hopefully we will be able to start the stims real soon, although it does mean doing 2 jabs a day rather then the 1, nevermind it feels good to be moving on a stage.

Makes all the difference to know we are not alone in this doesn't it!

Enjoy the time you have before starting the IVF & hopefully tings will go well for us all.

Clare

Hi everyone,

I'm still on Gonal-F. I had a blood test on Friday, and my doctor didn't say to change anything after getting the results, so I can only assume it's doing something. I really don't feel too many symptoms though (apart from being a bit headachey). I've got my scan on Monday, and I'm worried there won't be many follicles. Has anyone been in the same situation (ie. not feeling bloated or sick, etc) but still ended up with a good number of follies??

Anyone?? I am stressing!

I don't think you need to stress. Trust that your doctor knows what he is doing and that you are on the right dose. If things looked like they weren't working properly, they would have adjusted your dosage.

As for the symptoms, I can't really comment. I've only been through it once, and I was hyperstimulating pretty badly - I had enormous numbers of follies (26 eggs were collected) and horrendous symptoms - even walking slowly was painful before my egg collection. In the first few days of beginning to respond to the puregon, I had no symptoms at all - they all came later. Some time after my first scan.

I hope this has helped to put your mind at ease - you really just need to trust that your doctor is happy with how things are, and if things weren't looking like they're supposed to your dosage would have been adjusted.

BW

Hi Miss S, how are things today, any more news? Sorry can't help you its my 1st time so all new to me!

I'm on day 4 of the Puregon shots & feel like poo, haven't been feeling to good all weekend actually. I never expected to feel this tired, I think if i could have got away with a cat nap at work today I would have gone for it! I just have some mild bloating but to be honest have only just finished AF so long way to go yet, other then that (to quote my mum) I feel like a t*t in a trance! I don't know what I am doing half the time, either half asleep or daydreaming/forgetful oh yeah & then there are the waves of nausea which thankfully are not to bad but would prefer not to have them!

Hope things get moving for you soon, I am off for a lie down :lol:

Clare

Hi CAH,

I had my first scan today and I definitely needn't have worried that nothing was going on!! I've got about 13 follies, and my doctor has said I am potentially at risk of OHSS (I have PCOS and my estrogen levels are rising quickly). I have my egg pick up scheduled for Friday. If he thinks I'm still at risk then, we'll freeze any embryos which eventuate and do a frozen cycle next month. Fingers crossed it doesn't come to that!

Hope your symptoms ease up soon!

Oooh so its kind of good news & bad! I really hope things settle down in next couple days so all can go as planned. Wish you all the best for the retrieval, I am getting nervous as mine looms so will be interested to hear how you get on.

Wishing you lots of luck.

Clare

Hi all,

I am just starting my first IVF cycle and am currently @ day 20. I started the Synarel spray on day 18 and that is horrid stuff indeed! I have PCOS so apparently I have to stay on the spray for a bit longer than normal before I start the FSH injections. I am also going to have to start Clexane injections (I also have a blood clotting problem!) at the same time so lucky I am not afraid of needles!

My question is more along the lines of how to tell your family you are doing this as my olds don't have a clue about any of this and I have no clue on how to broach the subject. They live interstate so it is easy to keep things on the quiet but they are coming up this weekend for a visit and I am really in two minds on what to do. Do I just let it be and go through this first cycle and see how we go. Not sure if I will be able to handle this and having mum worry about me at the same time.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Best of luck to everyone too!

Oooh not sure about that, guess it depends on your family, how close you are etc. & your situation. I have told quite alot of people really, all my family know & some of my close friends, also work. Maybe cause we are living in Oz but actually from the UK so it seems fair to let them know whats happening. What is your gut feeling?

Hey Miss S its Fri, not heard from ya so I guess things have gone well & you are having the retrieval today???? Good luck with that :)

I had scan this morning, like you I was paranoid there would be nothing in there but yaaaaaahhh I have 10 biggies & 3 small ones which probably won't do much. I have another scan on Mon & if that looks good we will be doing retrieval on Wed. Am getting real nervous about that now so would be interested to see how you have got on.

Hope all well with you.

Clare
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Thanks for thinking of me, CAH! Yes, I had my retrieval after a few days of paranoia where I was thinking that I would ovulate early and there would be no eggs!!

Anyhow, it all went well. They got 7 eggs, which means I'm very unlikely to develop OHSS and my transfer can proceed on Monday (provided some of the 7 fertilise - which hopefully they should given we've usd ICSI). I'm feeling pretty good now actually. I felt a bit queasy afterwards because of the anaesthetic, and feel a little tender in my belly, but all in all I feel much better than expected.

Now I just have to wait for my doctor to call to tell me how many embryos I have tomorrow!

Apparently I have to wait 16 days after the transfer to have a blood test. I didn't realise it would be so long....I am going to go insane!!!! I think I may need to indulge in a few home tests once the HCG from the trigger is out of my system.

That's great news that you have 10 mature follies. Fingers crossed for you for the next scan on Monday! :)

:) Yaaah sounds like things went really well. I was surprised that we had to wait that long for the test also, looks like I won't be far behind you so we can stress together!

Well thats if any of my eggies do the right thing, I am a bit concerned cause we are not able to do ICSI on the 1st go, we did get pregnant before, although we lost that baby, so am hoping there won't be an issue with the egg & swimmer love fest!

Good to hear you are not feeling to bad, hopefully I will also feel ok afterwards.

Chat next week to see whats happening!

C
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Quick update, had final scan & all looks good still, except 1 of the follies in 32mm which explains why I am a bit uncomfortable!!

They have booked me in for retrieval 8am Wed. Feels good to have got this far, little worried that nothing happens when they get them in the dish, hoping they will play nicely!

Clare

Ooh, that's great news! Fingers crossed for Wednesday, CAH!

I had my transfer this morning, so it's on to the long TWW (and the joys of crinone!) for me...

Thats great news, I'll be joining you soon hopefully. Yeah I have some reservations on the crinone, going to be a bit depressing I think!

Heres hoping there is enough baby dust for us all this month.

C
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Good luck tomorrow, CAH!