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advice needed
Hello Ladies
I have dropped in from TTC because DH and I are due to see our consultant in a couple of weeks following loads of fertility tests. They have all come back good, but our GP says I will still be offered IVF at this appointment because of my age- 39.
This hadn't actually occured to me and now of course my head is swirling about it all. Added to that DH is only 27, so for him this seems like a really HUGE deal.
I've really no idea what IVF entails and I've no idea how I am going to react to all this, it feels scary and unknown.
I'd be so grateful if anyone could offer some guidance on the process and dealing with it, and the lows and highs of all this.
Also any ideas as to what I should asking our consultant ?
Many thanks ladies in advance and good luck to you all
xx
[Modified by: manologirl on 24 July 2009 11:02:09 ]
I have dropped in from TTC because DH and I are due to see our consultant in a couple of weeks following loads of fertility tests. They have all come back good, but our GP says I will still be offered IVF at this appointment because of my age- 39.
This hadn't actually occured to me and now of course my head is swirling about it all. Added to that DH is only 27, so for him this seems like a really HUGE deal.
I've really no idea what IVF entails and I've no idea how I am going to react to all this, it feels scary and unknown.
I'd be so grateful if anyone could offer some guidance on the process and dealing with it, and the lows and highs of all this.
Also any ideas as to what I should asking our consultant ?
Many thanks ladies in advance and good luck to you all
xx
[Modified by: manologirl on 24 July 2009 11:02:09 ]
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Replies
Haven't got any advice really but didn't want to R&R. We've been going through similar, but haven't started IVF yet. Friends who have, have said it can be quite tough on your body so might be worth taking some time out of work (or reducing hours / stress). I'm sure others here will be able to give you much more (and better) practical advice on what it entails. But we've been told recently that we can start with IUI, which is when they basically inseminate the sperm when you're ovulating, and it doesn't need the egg collection stage (which I think is when it's quite tough on your body with hormones, injections etc). Might be a good idea to talk to your Dr about those kinds of alternatives before going straight into IVF. They can also do follicle tracking, although I don't know much about this, but Dr said it could be a good 'intro' into treatment. I've been told to get my eggs tested (a simple blood test) which tells you basically how much time you've got to play with .. that may help you decide on the best course of action from now. Anyway, sorry I'm not being much help, but wishing you lots of good positive results. xx
I'm currently in the middle of my first IVF cycle, so hopefully I can answer any questions you have. I'm 36 and DH is 31 (another toyboy!) and we've been ttc for about 2 years. We had all the tests and everything was fine so we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. We had two cycles of IUI earlier this year (both BFN) and then started IVF a couple of weeks ago. It's been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but I think as long as you don't let it take over completely (it obviously does take over a bit - nothing you can do about that!) it's not too bad.
We've been on short protocol IVF because my second and third FSH blood test results were both 11 (this is slightly high and indicates a possible depletion in ovarian reserve) so I can't tell you anything about down regging as we went straight to the stimming injections. Started injections a couple of weeks ago and I'm now booked in for egg collection on Monday and hopefully embryo transfer on Weds or Thurs. The injections were a bit daunting at first, but it's amazing how you get used to doing it - I feel like a nurse now! It hurts as the fluid goes in and I've got a lovely collection of bruises on my thighs, but it's only really a few minutes a day, so well worth it. I've not let the injections phase interfere with life at all, we've been away for the weekend with friends, to a wedding and I've been away for a conference at work. I've injected in some odd locations, but I've felt fine in myself - a bit hormonal and very tired sometimes, but been carrying on as normal. Something to bear in mind though is that you have to be at the clinic every other day for scans, blood tests, etc so your work have to be pretty understanding.
I can tell you more about the next stage next week, but the big thing is nerves about how many eggs we'll get, how many will fertilise and whether we'll have to cancel the cycle at any time.
Let me know if there's anything I can tell you about IVF or IUI and lots of luck to you both with your ttcing.
x