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First IVF appointment - August

We received the letter and documents to confirm our first appointment for IVF that'll be in 5weeks time and I would love to hear your stories please, any experiences with IVF recently that you could share? We are both very excited and nervous at the same time, not sure what to expect, how long will it take to get to the actual treatment etc. Thank you!

Replies

  • Hi @Ags1985 and welcome 🤗 Congratulations to you and your decision to be a mom 💕 
    My husband and I are recently 6 weeks pregnant with our first after a long fertility journey. We always thought when you want children you walk into the baby store and buy them. I didn’t realize how it would be a journey. After chlomid, letrazole, and many failed IUIs, we also went through the IVF process. I didn’t think I was strong enough after my miscarriage. Apparently when you commit to IVF, you unlock a whole new area of strength in your body you didn’t know existed 😉 The first day of injection for the egg retrieval I layed in bed crying, not because it hurt, but because I felt “sick”. It was just the idea of having to do needles. It made me feel like I couldn’t be like everyone else. I didn’t have many side effects aside from mood swings and headaches. (My husband said he didn’t notice my mood swings probably bc I’m always a bit 🤪) 
    after the retrieval, we felt hopeful as we waited for my eggs to become embryos. Ask your doctor about a frozen transfer vs a fresh transfer. Also ask about genetic testing. It was worth the extra cost! We did a frozen cycle bc my doctor felt it was best... he said we can transfer the embryo when my body was ready to accept it rather than rely on Mother Nature. And most importantly, it gave our genetic testing lab time to weed out some abnormally chromosomed embryos. Those would have led to more miscarriages! Our first round of IVF didn’t work and I was heartbroken. I thought I couldn’t do it anymore. Sure enough, I found that strength and did it again. The second one took and I’m still in shock. I didn’t think I was meant to be pregnant ever. Sorry for the long winded response... just really excited about your IVF journey... bc all of the dips and downs will hopefully lead your to the height you are looking for 💕🤞 and I’m here to talk anytime. Good luck with your appointment. Also, don’t be ashamed  about getting a therapist to talk to. I found one through my insurance company who focused on infertility and has been through IVF herself. It was really great to have that during my journey. ❤️❤️❤️ Good luck to you!!!
  • Hi Lbauer, thank you for your response, it was lovely to read the words!
    We also had 3 IUIs and unfortunately they didn't work for us, but I learnt that my body is responding well to stimulation as I had to take Chlomid and had 4 follicles instead of 1, so we were very hopeful. I do believe IFV will help us as our biggest struggle is that I am a very nervous and stressed type, we both put a tremendous spressure on ourselves. Some days I find myself wondering what was my life like before this TTC took over? I keep searching for fertility related topics online during working hours, then after work I seek TV shows that have characters having the same problem, it has became quite obsessive. I know I am supposed to make plans with friends and family, however my mind just can't stop thinking about it, I can never catch a break. I was told to try acupuncture, but not feeling up for it yet...
    It's so nice to hear about your journey, must admit I am losing hope it will happen naturally.. But I trust IVF and it will happen for us! I am focusing on producing lots of eggs so they can freeze the leftovers. Here I will get one round of IVF and if it fails and we have frozen embryos then they do a FET in the next cycle and it still counts as 1 round so we are very pleased with that plan. :) 
    Do you mind me asking how many eggs / embryos did you have?
    Thanks again!
  • Oh yes!! I did acupuncture the second transfer! (I feel like it helped relax me) And of course! I know exactly how you feel. We also became obsessive. It’s hard to relax when you want something so badly. I told my husband it was like going for an interview for the same job 100 times and not getting it. Ivf has brought a lot of women success and there are so many ways to do it these days. And that’s great you responded so well to chlomid! And yes we also did 3 rounds of IUI that didn’t work. I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to look at statistics and compare your numbers. All it takes is one embryo! I wish you all the luck! The retrieval gave us a lot of eggs... 28. I responded well to stimulation meds. And then they fertilized all of them. 12 of them made it to day 5 blastocyst. After genetic testing, we found out we had a much lower than average output. We had only 4 that came back genetically normal. The doctor reminded us we only need 1. ❤️ The first transfer for us didn’t work, so luckily we did have 3 more in ice. The second one gave us where we are right now 🤞 I’m glad you’re feeling optimistic. Are you going to look into genetic testing if the doctor offers it? I can’t encourage that enough! And I feel that FET is the way to go. 👍 sounds like you have a lot more knowledge about the process already and I’m sure you will do great! 💕
  • Yes, I did a lot of research, I do this with everything really :) 
    I have not heard of the genetic testing, so basically you had 12 blastocysts, but only froze 4of them? We are not doing it privately, so not sure if we can ask for a genetic testing, did you have your IVF's in the UK? 
    So once they reached day 5 then the genetic testing took place? Did it not delay the process? I thought the time is very tight in that window. 
    Can I ask if you had an AMH test?
    Thank you again for taking the time to answer my silly questions!
    I also know someone who has a 5year old now and she was a result of an FET right after the IVF failed. She also said she believes it was due to having a lot more relaxed cycle after all the IVF fuss. 
  • I’m actually in the US.. in New York City :) and it didn’t actually delay our process to test the embryos bc they move quickly. I would ask your doctor about it? Just as a precaution? My doctor only transfers one embryo at a time, so for us we wanted our best shot and he recommends it. After they fertilized all the eggs and 12 made it to day five... little samples were taken from the outside of each of those 12 and submitted for testing while all 12 were frozen. When the results came back in, they knew which ones to discard. So we were left with 4. I love positive stories of ivf, bc I was starting to lose hope. The first transfer, I felt like the doctor and I were still figuring my body out. The second transfer, he switched up meds beforehand to make my body respond more quickly to things. It’s all about having the perfect lining, embryo, and progesterone levels 🤞 the genetic testing was done while we were preparing my body anyway and they don’t actually send the eggs out so they stay safely in their freezer 😊 ... they send a tiny sample from the outside which would become the amniotic sac I believe... so it’s a rather safe process. And that’s great that you research everything!!  It’s a good quality to have ;) 
  • Thank you, that is very motivational! I will ask about the testing and see what they say, so far based on my experience they only do what is absolutely necessary unless you go private, but don't want to be negative. 
    I was thinking about ICSI and how under natural circumstances the strongest sperm fertilises the egg, but if they manipulate this there could be a higher chance of issues occurring. as far as I know this has not been proven, it's just my brainstorming :) All 28were fertilised? That's impressive. The documents they sent me states usually 60% gets fertilised, then they start growing and some of them makes it to day 5. 
    How long did the whole process take for you? Did you have to use a contraceptive pills or a nasal spray at the beginning?
  • That’s great! Glad you find it helpful and hope I’m not babbling ;) yes! I’m sure your doctor is tailoring your plan for you! I signed a consent saying they can perform ICSI if they choose to and I believe they did! They fertilized 27/28 actually. I forgot they weeded one out 🙃 but again everyone’s number are different. I knew someone who had 7 eggs and she got 3 embryos out of that! So I guess everyone is so different. The entire process was a few months for me. I started 9 days of oral contraceptives and remember taking my injections for stimulation starting April 1st. My retrieval was about 2 weeks later I believe? Mid April? I got my period about a week and a half later and was started on estrogen and soon after progesterone. I took a round of antibiotics as well and had my first transfer may 13th. Unfortunately it didn’t work and I waited for my period to try again. Second transfer was June 17th and tomorrow I will be 6 weeks pregnant. Does that timeline help? :)
  • And no nasal spray for me. Haven’t heard of that one 🙃
  • Yes, it does help, thank you! So in your actual IVF cycle you didn't have any embryos implanted then, I wasn't sure about that part. 
    Can't wait to be there already, did I ask if you had an AMH check? I was told that affects highly how many eggs a woman produces. They do put pressure on us here as if you produce less than 3 they will not offer more rounds in case you aren't successful... 
    This nasal spray seems to be a UK thing, I must admit I don't hate the idea of avoiding the pill or injections, I know I will still get a fair amount of those later on anyway. :)
    Please keep blabbing, there is nothing you can say that I am not interested in!
  • :) you mean during my retrieval? Did I have any implanted right away? No we went straight to the fertilization in the lab and then to frozen ;) if that answers the question. And no I don’t believe I had and AMH check bc the doctor checked my eggs with an ultrasound and I had a good amount. Quantity was there. Quality is the thing we couldn’t test until they came out and that was our troubled area. I know what you mean with the pills and injections and such... I basically would take anything they wanted me to take to ensure it was the best possible outcome. I’m still doing pills and progesterone shots. Apparently they like to continue that until the 9th week of pregnancy. How does your partner feel about everything? 💕
  • I will take anything as well, feeling more and more positive about this, the most difficult part is the wait. Today I got a scare as someone said the waiting time is 6-9months from our first appointment, however I remember I was told it is 6-9months from the referral (there are 2months between the referral and the first appointment. so it does make a difference). Luckily the nurse came back right away and said it'll be 6-9months from the referral and it is closer to 6months rather than 9, that was also nice to hear :)
    I found a girl who is having IVF at the same place we are going to and she gave me some very promising news: their first appointment was last Tuesday and they will start IVF at the end of August. 
    If we have the same scenario it means we will start IVF in October, that is not that far away. They are 6weeks ahead of us, so I added 6weeks to their timing and I got mid October (given the waiting time remains the same). 
    We'll see, only time will tell. 
  • Good luck! Yes apparently more people seem to be needing IVF these days. Even though it feels like a lonely process, there are millions of other women going through the same lonely process! Hope your appointment comes soon and your treatment soon after 😊 keep me posted! I’ll be thinking of you!! 💕 
  • @Ags99 Hi are you in UK? where are you getting your ivf. I am newly diagnosed with endometriosis in one ovary in a hycosy scan and my option is laprascopy and ivf. So i was thinking if i can get some info on ivf.
    Where to get it done? when is the first appointment, waiting time and procedure.
    Any info will be helpful
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