So there were only three of us having EC today and I was third. The first bit of good news was that it was my favourite FS doing the procedure. The second bit of good news was that they collected three eggs! We won't know if all of the eggs are viable until tomorrow when we get the fertilisation report but it gives us some hope.
They did a trial ET and the cathetar passed straight through my cervix without any problems but they are still going to prescribe me Temazipan to relax me for the procedure anyway.
So I'm a bit tired and have a tiny bit of bleeding from my cervix but I'm happy and even feel a bit positive!
About Me
- UK IVFer
- For five years I went through hell and back to become a Mummy! I had three miscarriages from natural pregnancies, five IUI attempts, five IVF attempts, and three operations to remove endometriosis, a polyp and a fibroid.
I have been with my 'almost perfect' Husband since 2003. We married in 2009 on Valentine's Day and we are extremely happy together.
I decided to start a blog because I needed to write down my thoughts and feelings to show myself and others how I was never going to give up until we got our forever baby.
Since having my baby, I'm inspired to create: Baby Blankets by Me & Mum
Monday 30 April 2012
Friday 27 April 2012
Final Follicle Growth Scan
Today's scan was as eventful as ever, one follicle had grown and one had not, and two others had appeared!
The nurse was really nice today and she kept apologising because the scan had hurt me - the endometriosis on my left ovary was irritated by the scan to the point were I nearly shot off the bed with the pain and it made my eyes water!
One follicle is 21mm and ready for EC but the other was measuring 14mm which means no growth. So I have to carry on with the stimm drugs today and tomorrow but do the trigger shot at 9:30pm tomorrow night. Then no drugs on Sunday and EC is Monday morning. Guessing by my trigger shot time, I think I will be the first to go into theatre (trigger shot is normally done 36 hours before collection). Hubby was joking saying that they are probably thinking 'get the easy one out of the way first'!
There were two other follicles at 7mm and 9.5mm which are probably too small to catch up in time for EC. But on a positive note, my womb lining was 11mm which is great!
The nurse was really nice today and she kept apologising because the scan had hurt me - the endometriosis on my left ovary was irritated by the scan to the point were I nearly shot off the bed with the pain and it made my eyes water!
One follicle is 21mm and ready for EC but the other was measuring 14mm which means no growth. So I have to carry on with the stimm drugs today and tomorrow but do the trigger shot at 9:30pm tomorrow night. Then no drugs on Sunday and EC is Monday morning. Guessing by my trigger shot time, I think I will be the first to go into theatre (trigger shot is normally done 36 hours before collection). Hubby was joking saying that they are probably thinking 'get the easy one out of the way first'!
There were two other follicles at 7mm and 9.5mm which are probably too small to catch up in time for EC. But on a positive note, my womb lining was 11mm which is great!
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Support from an Angel
Hubby is an angel in disguise I'm sure!
Being so upset by how badly our 5th IVF had started I couldn't talk to anyone about it. I was trying to stay composed and go to work as normal. I think I was actually in shock - I've been trying to be so positive about things for so long now, and not much about our infertility upsets me too deeply anymore, or so I thought. I didn't even want to talk to Hubby about it, even though he tried to get me to open up.
I texted him from work to say how sorry I was for my moody behaviour and explained how upset I was and I didn't mean to take it out on him. I arrived home from work to find he'd tidied up, cleaned the carpet and bought red glass candle lanterns and lit them around the room - it all looked and smelt wonderful. Also, before he even got my message he had been out shopping to buy me little treats to try and cheer me up!
I got:
Also with every present (which he'd wrapped up) he had written a word on post-its that made up the sentence:
Being so upset by how badly our 5th IVF had started I couldn't talk to anyone about it. I was trying to stay composed and go to work as normal. I think I was actually in shock - I've been trying to be so positive about things for so long now, and not much about our infertility upsets me too deeply anymore, or so I thought. I didn't even want to talk to Hubby about it, even though he tried to get me to open up.
I texted him from work to say how sorry I was for my moody behaviour and explained how upset I was and I didn't mean to take it out on him. I arrived home from work to find he'd tidied up, cleaned the carpet and bought red glass candle lanterns and lit them around the room - it all looked and smelt wonderful. Also, before he even got my message he had been out shopping to buy me little treats to try and cheer me up!
I got:
- a card with 'This is a Hug' on it with a lovely message inside
- a Winnie The Pooh fridge magnet shopping list
- a Winnie The Pooh notebook
- Valentine's Day DVD
- The Backup Plan DVD
- A furry dog bookmark
- a clip-on book night light
- a box of my favourite Guylian chocolates
Also with every present (which he'd wrapped up) he had written a word on post-its that made up the sentence:
Everything will be alright in the end ...
Monday 23 April 2012
Follicle Development Scans and Decisions to Make!
After taking all the supplements for ages I had high hopes for this cycle only to have them all dashed at the first scan. I had the grand total of two follicles - one on each ovary! They were 13mm and 14mm so at least growing at the same rate, whoopidoo something is going right! The womb lining was 8.4mm.
The nurse said I should start the Cetrotide injections to stop me ovulating but I just asked if there was any point. She said that I was on the highest dose and I wouldn't recruit any more follicles at this stage, then she gave me and Hubby a few minutes to talk about things but we couldn't decide. The nurse said we may as well make an appointment for another scan in two days time and we could always cancel that if we decided to abandon the cycle.
Hubby and I talked about it and he believed that we should carry on because even if it is a small chance we should take it. I however, thought that we should recoup some of the money we had paid and use it to try again on a different cycle.
We talked, or should I say Hubby talked and I just moped about - I think I was in shock and I was devastated. We decided to continue with the drugs and go to the next scan and see how we felt.
The second scan was a bit traumatic as the nurse took a while to find the follicles! Not what you want when there is only two anyway! Also I have an endometriosis cyst on my left ovary and the drugs have irritated it and scanning that side was painful. Anyway, the follicles had grown to 15mm and 16mm and the womb lining is 8.7mm so all is progressing as it should be.
Next scan in two days (Friday) and we should be ready for egg collection a couple of days later (Monday).
So we have to hope that our two follicles contain eggs, and that the eggs are normal, and that the sperm fertilise them ok, that they make it to day 5 so that I can have a blastocyst transfer and be in with a chance!
The nurse said I should start the Cetrotide injections to stop me ovulating but I just asked if there was any point. She said that I was on the highest dose and I wouldn't recruit any more follicles at this stage, then she gave me and Hubby a few minutes to talk about things but we couldn't decide. The nurse said we may as well make an appointment for another scan in two days time and we could always cancel that if we decided to abandon the cycle.
Hubby and I talked about it and he believed that we should carry on because even if it is a small chance we should take it. I however, thought that we should recoup some of the money we had paid and use it to try again on a different cycle.
We talked, or should I say Hubby talked and I just moped about - I think I was in shock and I was devastated. We decided to continue with the drugs and go to the next scan and see how we felt.
The second scan was a bit traumatic as the nurse took a while to find the follicles! Not what you want when there is only two anyway! Also I have an endometriosis cyst on my left ovary and the drugs have irritated it and scanning that side was painful. Anyway, the follicles had grown to 15mm and 16mm and the womb lining is 8.7mm so all is progressing as it should be.
Next scan in two days (Friday) and we should be ready for egg collection a couple of days later (Monday).
So we have to hope that our two follicles contain eggs, and that the eggs are normal, and that the sperm fertilise them ok, that they make it to day 5 so that I can have a blastocyst transfer and be in with a chance!
Thursday 19 April 2012
IVF #5 Starts
Yesterday AF arrived and we went to the clinic for our nurse appointment. We filled in paper work that needed updating and I had some blood tests done. We were all good to go apart from a scan - the clinic was too busy and so I had to go back today!
Anyway, the scan today went well and I can start the injections tonight. I had between 7-9 antral follicles which we hope will all grow and contain eggs. I am on 450iu of Gonal F and in about 5 days I will start the second injection of Cetrotide to stop me ovulating. This is the short protocol, the same one as the last two cycles we've tried. This time we're hoping for the response to be as good as IVF #3 but obviously with a more positive outcome.
Anyway, the scan today went well and I can start the injections tonight. I had between 7-9 antral follicles which we hope will all grow and contain eggs. I am on 450iu of Gonal F and in about 5 days I will start the second injection of Cetrotide to stop me ovulating. This is the short protocol, the same one as the last two cycles we've tried. This time we're hoping for the response to be as good as IVF #3 but obviously with a more positive outcome.
Tuesday 3 April 2012
Peak Problem
So we haven't given up on our natural cycle and I have been POAS each morning and using my Clearblue Fertility Monitor. Since I started this on CD6 the monitor has read 'HIGH' which is strange because it normally starts off at 'LOW'. I thought maybe the DHEA is affecting it but no, the monitor is right as I am going to ovulate earlier than normal this cycle! How do I know this, well I got my 'PEAK' this morning:
So normally this would be great and Hubby and I would be getting busy! However, this morning I have to go for my smear test. I was meant to have it in November but I didn't want it while I was pregnant and then I had the miscarriage, wonky cycles and IUI treatment. Also seeing as how I'm going into IVF after this cycle, I can't really put it off again.
Smear tests are very important and it is a shame that in the UK the big surge we had after Jade Goody died of cervical cancer, has almost reversed and ladies going for tests is very low again.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/19/jade-goody-cervical-cancer-women-smear-tests_n_1361915.html?ref=uk
 |
| Monitor indicates CD11 and has three bars with an egg in the top one that indicates PEAK fertility! The monitor stick above shows a dark LH line and a light oestrogen line. |
Smear tests are very important and it is a shame that in the UK the big surge we had after Jade Goody died of cervical cancer, has almost reversed and ladies going for tests is very low again.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/19/jade-goody-cervical-cancer-women-smear-tests_n_1361915.html?ref=uk
Monday 2 April 2012
Coming soon ... IVF #5
Today we had a telephone appointment with our FS. We discussed doing our 5th IVF cycle using Clomid and Menopur. The FS was surprised by how I'd over stimmed on Clomid while doing IUI. He agreed that if we choose to use Clomid for our cycle we could use 100mg on days 2-6 and 150iu Menopur on days 5, 7, 9 and 11. Also as soon as the lead follicles reach 12-14mm I should start Cetrotide to stop me from ovulating early.
Alternatively, I could use the same protocol as the last two times because although I had a bad cycle last time, the time before I produced 9 eggs which is what we will be hoping for this time. So 450iu Gonal F and Cetrotide to stop early OV. The FS reckons we would get more eggs with this protocol rather than on Clomid, and Hubby would prefer to do this too. The FS also said that if this is our last IVF would we look back and say we should have used the Gonal F if the Clomid cycle didn't work out too well. He said Hubby and I should talk about it and decide which one to do.
The FS also said that it probably isn't worth me having another womb biopsy as my last one was in January. I'm glad about this as it is a painful procedure and would have added to our costs.
We also discussed how stressed I have been at embryo transfer - bladder too full, uncomfortable and difficulty passing the catheter through my cervix. So the FS said this isn't a problem and what they can do is a trial ET while I am sedated at EC. They could also give me Temazepam to relax/sedate me, and if that doesn't work they can put me out like they do for EC.
So it is all good and what we wanted to hear. The FS told us to make an appointment with the nurses and I tried to do that but they didn't have an appointment until 30th April and that would mean I can't start IVF on our next cycle. I obviously accepted it as what else could I do? So I was about to start sulking and moaning about how I have to wait for everything, when the phone went again and someone else had cancelled their appointment and we could have that on 18th April. Also Hubby is off so it's all worked out great!
Alternatively, I could use the same protocol as the last two times because although I had a bad cycle last time, the time before I produced 9 eggs which is what we will be hoping for this time. So 450iu Gonal F and Cetrotide to stop early OV. The FS reckons we would get more eggs with this protocol rather than on Clomid, and Hubby would prefer to do this too. The FS also said that if this is our last IVF would we look back and say we should have used the Gonal F if the Clomid cycle didn't work out too well. He said Hubby and I should talk about it and decide which one to do.
The FS also said that it probably isn't worth me having another womb biopsy as my last one was in January. I'm glad about this as it is a painful procedure and would have added to our costs.
We also discussed how stressed I have been at embryo transfer - bladder too full, uncomfortable and difficulty passing the catheter through my cervix. So the FS said this isn't a problem and what they can do is a trial ET while I am sedated at EC. They could also give me Temazepam to relax/sedate me, and if that doesn't work they can put me out like they do for EC.
So it is all good and what we wanted to hear. The FS told us to make an appointment with the nurses and I tried to do that but they didn't have an appointment until 30th April and that would mean I can't start IVF on our next cycle. I obviously accepted it as what else could I do? So I was about to start sulking and moaning about how I have to wait for everything, when the phone went again and someone else had cancelled their appointment and we could have that on 18th April. Also Hubby is off so it's all worked out great!
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