Starting assisted conception - what are we in for?

[Mrs P]

Hi all,

DH and I are starting OI shortly. I'm wondering what we're in for, in terms of the emotional ups and downs, the physical side effects etc. With trigger shots etc do you end up needing any time off work? With tracking the status of the follies, how often do you need blood tests/ ultrasounds?

I'm wanting to keep the process hidden from my work colleagues as long as possible - did you manage to do that?

Any insight or suggestions are most welcome

[Janie71]

Hi Mrs P and

I am in the Two Week Wait now of my first IVF/ICSI cycle, but had been on OI for the year proceeding it. I started on Clomid, which had absolutely no effect on me ovulating at all. I did not enjoy the way it made me feel emotionally and was thankful when I was taken off if and put on Puregon injections. I'm unsure which one you will be on, so will tell you about the Puregon as I have more experience on that. I have found the injections for Puregon relatively pain free and simple. I do find that I get quite a bit of ovary pain as the stimulation kicks in, but it is almost a welcome pain as at least then you know it is working. I would have my first US on day 10 of my cycle (Day 1= first day of bleeding) and then every 2-3 days to track progress. I have PCOS so it means that the FS needs to monitor my follicle growth a bit closer. Apart from the ovary pain, I was maybe a little irritable at times, but nothing major.

You won't need any time off work for the trigger shot if you or your DH are administering yourselves. It is a bit more painful than the Puregon as it is in a proper syringe. The side effects are also more noticeable as they are almost identical to being pregnant - sore BB's, nausea etc. You also have to be careful about using HPT too early as the trigger can cause false positives.

I too have not told anyone at work. I found this very easy when doing OI as the majority of US appointments etc can be made before business hours - at my FS normally between 7:30am and 9am. As OI is still relatively non-invasive, you should not have to deal with telling work at this stage. It becomes more difficult with IVF as that does require some time off work, but in my instance I have just told them that I have a medical condition that will require some time off work which I can produce medical certs for, but that it was of a personal nature.

I hope that the OI works for you and that your stay in the LTTTC is a short one. All the ladies in here are wonderful and so helpful, so ask as many questions as you can think of, there will always be someone that can answer it.

Let me know if you want any further details.

Best of luck
Janie xxx

[Mrs P]

Hi Janie,

Thanks for your reply. I guess I'm not quite a LTTTCer as previously we haven't been able to TTC because I wasn't getting AF for 2 years. But in my mind I feel like a LTpreTTCer I guess! Wanted to be pg but weren't able to, and weren't in a position to try AC until now. Anyway I'm just glad to be able to get things started!

I'll be having FSH, so Puregon or similar.

Having gone without AF for so long, I've forgotten what it's like to get any type of cramping or sore bbs etc! But I'm actually looking forward to it, because as you say, you know it's working.

I'm trying not to pin my hopes on the OI working 1st time - I think if we just aim to be pg by the end of the year, that's a little more realistic!

Good luck for your 2WW!

[briggsy's girl]

Mrs P - i'll say my experiences were very similar to Janie's so there isn't a lot to add. given that AF hasn't visited, you may need to have some sort of medication to help you have a visit from her first. i've tried provera (didn't work), being on the pill (AF was several days later than the FS wanted - and it made me into a raving lunatic - NEVER again!), and primulut - this one was a course of meds of about 5 - 7 days, then stop it, and AF arrives - but not on a particular day.

good luck with your OI - hoping it doesn't take too long

BG

[scooby]

Hi MRS P
i also did OI at the start of this journey. And as Janie has said its not too invasive and interferring. Clomid worked too well for me and i ended up getting cancelled a couple of times (too many follicles), clomid seemed to bring out the worst in me, but you are only on it for 5 days where as puregon you are on it to you ovulate, but i found the emotional side of things much easier on puregon. I really hope that OI works for you as hopefully it will kick start your repro system. also give acupuncture a go a lot of LTTTC ers use it including myself with excellent results. Join in the LTTC thread as well as you will get loads of support and help for all the questions youll probably have! Good luck with everything

[Bee83]

Hi everyone,

I went for another checkup with my clinic 3 weeks ago and they said i had to go on progynova to 'grow things'. Im coming up for review in a couple of weeks and i just hope things go the way we would like. We began this journey nearly 2 years ago and there have been so many delays. Im excited because we may finally get pregnant and also scared that we wont be.

Any advice

Bee

[teepee2]

Hi Mrs P.

I have just started an OI cycle as we are currently TTC bub#2. My DD Mikayla was conceived as a result of OI so in our case it brought us the ultimate outcome after 2 years of TTC. Chlomid didn't work for me at all but the Puregon obviously worked a charm The side effects really were minimal for me. I felt naucious and light headed but not to the point that it affected my day to day living. Our trigger shot was administered by a nurse at the clinic (thank goodness!!) and I went in very early in the morning for all of my BT's, ultrasounds etc - so hiding the fact that we were having treatment was pretty easy for us.

We havent told anyone that we've started treatment again as its early days yet - I'm only on cd7 and day 2 of injections but I'm hoping that this cycle once again proves to be a successful one for us and we get our much wanted BFP.

Wishing you all the very best with your TTC journey

Bee - I hope things go better for you at your next check up. I know its a difficult time and that you think it will never end but try to keep your health & spirits up. Just when you think it will never happen you will get your BFP. All the best sweetie

[Mrs P]

Thanks BG, Scooby and Tina

Moral support is always appreciated! I think it's the scientist in me that always wants to know ALL the details ha ha. I'm just super-excited to finally be able to get started!

Not long to go now - fingers crossed first OI will be mid July...

[Malyna]

I went through IVF with donor sperm.

I had to take time off work with syneral, as I was a space cadet. My DH called me "my special goldfish" because we would have conversations, but I would never remember them, or be able to be that active in them - I would be partway through a conversation and my brain would just take a holiday. Driving was impossible and reading was nigh impossible - I would read the same paragraph over and over.

Things improved once I went on the gonal-f, and of course became much better once I had the trigger.

Keep the communication lines open with DH and keep him involved in the stages. I kept my DH involved by giving me the daily injections, and getting him to come along to the ultrasounds and the BTs.

Good luck and all the best for a

[Bee83]

Hi ladies

Just wondering if anyone knows roughly how long it takes to get a period after you cease progynova....last time had ravolera and it took nearly 2 weeks!

Thanks Bee