IVF - The First Injection....

So it has been a little while since my last post, mainly due to having to wait for the start of a new cycle to begin my first round of short protocol IVF (ICSI).  But also because I wanted to keep my mind on other things while I waited. 

Well my new cycle started yesterday, I called both Oxford and Swindon to "book in" and was given the green light to start. 

Tonight was my first injection of Gonal F, which is a stimulant designed to encourage my body to produce lots of nice big follicles containing eggs.  The injection is in the form of a pen injector, so you only have to put a needle on the end of the pre-filled pen and turn the dial to set the dose. You then inject this into your tummy fat, which luckily I have plenty of, before pressing the button down until the dose has gone in and the dial reads zero. You then count to ten before removing the needle.  

It didn't go too badly, a couple of false starts before I got the nerve to inject - feels totally weird to stab yourself with a needle - but I took a deep breath and went for it. The needle didn't hurt and it was ok until I got to about 4 on my count, then it stung like a bee sting.  It still was ok, better than I expected. 

My tummy feels a bit tingly, but I don't know if that is all in my head because I know I have injected.  

I need to do the same injection every evening until told I am ready for egg collection. 

From Monday I will also add morning injections of Cetrotide, which is a drug to stop my body trying to ovulate and release the eggs before we are ready for them. 

I have to go for my first set of blood tests and scans on Wednesday to see how my  follicles are developing and then further scans every other day until I am ready for collection. 

As things are actually happening now I will try to update as I go.

Thank you for all the support everyone has given so far xxxx 

Change Of Plan....

Yesterday I received a call from the unit in Swindon advising that they want to switch me to short protocol IVF (ICSI).

There are two versions of IVF; long protocol and short protocol.  By default the majority of patients will have long protocol treatment, as I had expected to.

With long protocol you start with the down reg nasal spray on day 21 of your cycle, this effectively puts your body into menopause and stops your natural cycle.  This takes around two weeks, you then combine this with daily stim injections to artificially encourage your body to grow multiple eggs at once. Once the eggs are mature they are surgically collected under sedation and taken to the lab to get jiggy with the sperm sample. (Unless you are having ICSI like us, whereby the sperm is injected into the egg). After 2,3 or 5 days the eggs will be transferred back and you begin the TWW to test. The treatment takes approximately 6 weeks once you start the nasal spray.

Short protocol is just as the name sounds..... shorter.  There is no full down regging on day 21, instead you take two different types of daily injections from day 2 of a natural cycle and egg collection is around 2 weeks later - very quick!   

The reason they have decided short protocol would be more suitable is that I am at a higher risk of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OHSS) with long protocol.  I was told this is because of my polycystic ovaries (which was news to me as this has never been formally confirmed). At my consent scan they found 28 follicles on one ovary and fifteen on the other, if all matured with long protocol it would be a lot of eggs and with that comes the risk of OHSS. Short protocol doesn't put your body under as much pressure so it is safer.

From what I have read online (was too shocked to ask questions during the call) there would be less eggs generated with short protocol but the quality would be higher.  We would still have ICSI with this version.

The downside is that because they have only just made the decision it is too late for this cycle (already day 4). But they are going to send me the drugs and have me in for "training" in the next couple of weeks ready for the next cycle.  If my cycle arrives at a reasonable time (let's face it Mother Nature loves to be unpredictable with me) then I might even finish the treatment a week before I would have done with long protocol - silver lining and all that jazz :-)

So a little bit of a waiting game now, but quite used to it after all this time (will be three years in Sept!). 

On the plus side I now have over a month to get my weight down and start eating well.

Love to all xxx 

The IVF Diet....

Well this morning I stopped living in denial and braved the scales...... 

Well I am not at my heaviest but I am not far from it! 

But today is a new day!

I can expect to gain between 10-15 lbs during IVF so I want to try and lose a few lbs before I start the drugs.

I am starting my IVF diet today. I want to give this first round my best shot and try to minimise the gain.

Whilst it is not a recognised diet as such, these are a few pointers I found online which are worth trying:

- cut out caffeine

- reduce sugar

- cut out sweeteners

- increase protein

- increase fruit/veg

- no alcohol

- less processed food

- glass of milk or yogurt every day

Sounds pretty obvious when you think about it!

I would like to lose a few lbs before my drugs start in a few weeks, but the aim is to have a healthy round of IVF and give it my best shot.

Wish me luck! Xxx 

The Consent Consultation...

We had our consent consultation with the satellite unit in Swindon last week (Swindon is in partnership with the Oxford Fertility Unit, which allows some of our treatment to be completed locally). 

So it is now all systems go!...

The appointment lasted around 90 mins and involved a baseline scan of my ovaries together with blood tests on us both. We then sat down with the nurse to go through all of the red tape/compliance forms.... all three billion of them!

Most of the forms covered generic information and consenting to the IVF procedures, including accepting the risks and understanding it is not guaranteed to work. But there were also lots of forms regarding our wishes for any embryos should one of us die, which was rather morbid, and whether we were happy to donate eggs/sperm/embryos that aren't suitable for IVF to be used for research. We both agreed we were happy with this, after all, without the research having been put into IVF in the past we wouldn't have had any chance of getting our dream. 

We got to see the nasal spray I will use twice a day for the first part of the process, which is called down regging.  We also got to see the needle I will use for the second stage stim injections, which to my relief, is in a pen format making it easier to inject.  I will get full training for that part once I go back to check I have down regged completely after the nasal spray. 

I now need to wait for my next cycle, I estimate by early June but who knows with my cycles, to call Oxford and book in. At this point I will be sent a schedule of when I need to take each drug and go for scans/blood tests etc. The drug company will also then send me everything I need for my first cycle.

They also confirmed we will be having ICSI instead of standard IVF.  This means they inject the sperm directly into the egg so it's more complex, but hopefully more successful.

It is still a daunting process, but I am excited that this could make our dream a reality.  I am also so lucky to have so much support, so thank you xx

I will update again once I have more information.

As always, baby dust to all and keep those fingers crossed! Xxx 

The IVF Open Evening

As you know, we attended an open evening this week at the Oxford Fertility Unit to start the process of IVF.

It was an overwhelming experience, but a positive one.

I had already done my research on what to expect so the process wasn't a surprise, but the speed at which things will now move forward definitely was!

During the presentation we heard from an IVF nurse and embryologist, which "humanised" the whole process. Up to now I had mainly found info on various forums, so to hear it from the people that may give us our miracle was humbling.

They showed us lots of clips of the eggs and process, which was amazing. It is so clever how they can do this!

We have to go back to the OFU on Tuesday for a test on Rick, this will help them decide whether they will perform IVF or ICSI. ICSI is just a more technical version of IVF, so all my treatment would be the same, but they would inject the sperm into the egg (instead of just putting them both together in a Petri dish).

After this it is simply a waiting game for my next cycle to start. Once it has, I have to contact the fertility unit here in Swindon to make an appointment to "book" in my treatment and get the drugs etc. So very fast indeed!

I am very, very lucky that I am able to do so much of my treatment from here and only have to go to Oxford for the egg collection and transfer.

I am also very blessed that I live in an area that will fund three cycles for me. Some people at the open evening have no funding at all. It's really sad that they will have the added financial pressure to an already daunting situation.

I am hoping my cycle will start in the next couple of weeks, so I will update you more once I go to my planning consultation. (That is a novelty, actually wanting AF to arrive for once!)

In the meantime I have a billion consent forms we need to read through.

I really hope this works xxx

The IVF Referral Letter!!

After stating in my last post that things would likely be quiet on my blog until our referral came through, here we are barely two weeks later because.......

WE GOT OUR REFERRAL DATE! YAY!

To say I was shocked how by quickly it came through would be an understatement. I honestly didn't think I would hear anything until the beginning of the summer!

We have to attend an open evening in Oxford next Wednesday! 7 sleeps to go!

The open evening is a generic information presentation for 25 couples, where we find out all about the process we are about to undertake. IVF isn't for everyone and some couples don't proceed once they know what it involves. To be honest, I am already so well read on the whole thing that I know, without a doubt, I will try it.

At this point I would try anything.

I will find out more on timescales next week but, from what I have read online, you generally see a consultant within a few weeks of the open evening to plan the treatment, which then starts during the next new cycle - eek!

If that is the case, we might start before the summer!

At the moment my head in wrapped up in the clinical facts of IVF. I don't feel like the emotional side of it has hit me yet, it probably won't until I am actually going through with it.

I will, of course, post again after the open evening to let you know how we got on.

I would like to say a ma-hoooo-sive thank you to all of my friends who have sent lovely messages and support me every day. Your positivity lifts me up every time I fall and I couldn't do it without you xxxxx

IVF Referral

Sorry it has taken a while to post this update. In all honesty it has taken me a while to get my head around.

As some of you are aware, this week saw the unsuccessful end of my final Clomid round.

It wasn't a surprise, I knew hadn't ovulated, but I think it took a couple of days for the ramifications to sink in.

So what does this mean for us now?

I have spoken with the fertility clinic who are now processing my IVF referral letter to Oxford. Apparently, it will take a week for the letter to go through typing (modern age eh?), and then I will have to wait for Oxford to respond with a date - no idea how long that will take. Although, apparently treatment starts quite quickly once you get the consultation. Fingers crossed.

I know I need to stay positive, but my brave face feels like it is falling off and I am struggling to stick it back on.

Thank you for all the kind messages and support you have all given.

I will keep you posted with news, once I have any, but will likely be a little quiet on the TTC front until our referral as I think we need a little time out from trying.

As always, love and baby dust to all my TTC friends xxx