Showing posts with label fertility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fertility. Show all posts
Saturday, 11 November 2017
IVF Update
This is going to be a short post - I just want to update on our IVF journey. We paid for a multicycle plan which covered 2 fresh cycles and all frozen cycles. We just pay for the medication seperately. Our first fresh cycle we got 2 embryos and both failed. Our second fresh cycle we got 7 embryos. So far we have put 4 back and all have failed. We have 3 left but have decided to wait until after our wedding which is in October 2018. This means we can save any extra money towards the wedding and just really focus on that and be able to enjoy it a lot more.
Thursday, 13 October 2016
IVF with ICSI #1 Update
I don't update this blog much because there isn't a lot to say on a day to day basis (and I do forget).
But we started IVF injections on 25th September, did my Trigger Shot on 8th October, and went for Egg Retrieval on 10th October.
The Egg Retrieval was what I was scared of most because you have to go on an IV and be sedated. However, I just slept the whole way through, didn't feel any of it and recovered really well so we could go home. For that day and the next 2 days at home I was in a lot of pain. It was very uncomfortable to walk and sit. I lost 3lb because I didn't have much of an appetite. Today is Thursday, 3 days after, and I feel a lot better. I'm in a lot less pain and wanted to update this blog with the results of the retrieval.
I had 16 follicles at my last scan, they got 8 eggs at retrieval. The next day they phoned to let us know that 3 of those eggs were immature so couldn't be used. Of the 5 that were left they successfully injected 3 with the sperm from our donor. (I didn't even post about that on this blog! We managed to find a donor who has similar interests to us, and likes to visit the same places we do.)
They phoned again today to let us know how those 3 embryos had developed. This is what the Embryologist told us on the phone: “The good news is that the 3 of them are really nice. Theyre all at the good stage of the development and theyve got very nice grading. 2 of them are already compacting which is a very good sign. So theyre doing really well.”
I'm really happy and hopeful! I wasn't sure whether the low AMH results I had would mean my eggs are of a lower quality. But to have 3 embryos developing well is a good sign. I'm hoping that all 3 make it to day 5 and we are able to freeze 2. I know not all embryos survive the freezing process but it would take so much of the pressure off us if it worked. I will eventually post about the results of our first embryo transfer and what our next steps are.
But we started IVF injections on 25th September, did my Trigger Shot on 8th October, and went for Egg Retrieval on 10th October.
The Egg Retrieval was what I was scared of most because you have to go on an IV and be sedated. However, I just slept the whole way through, didn't feel any of it and recovered really well so we could go home. For that day and the next 2 days at home I was in a lot of pain. It was very uncomfortable to walk and sit. I lost 3lb because I didn't have much of an appetite. Today is Thursday, 3 days after, and I feel a lot better. I'm in a lot less pain and wanted to update this blog with the results of the retrieval.
I had 16 follicles at my last scan, they got 8 eggs at retrieval. The next day they phoned to let us know that 3 of those eggs were immature so couldn't be used. Of the 5 that were left they successfully injected 3 with the sperm from our donor. (I didn't even post about that on this blog! We managed to find a donor who has similar interests to us, and likes to visit the same places we do.)
They phoned again today to let us know how those 3 embryos had developed. This is what the Embryologist told us on the phone: “The good news is that the 3 of them are really nice. Theyre all at the good stage of the development and theyve got very nice grading. 2 of them are already compacting which is a very good sign. So theyre doing really well.”
I'm really happy and hopeful! I wasn't sure whether the low AMH results I had would mean my eggs are of a lower quality. But to have 3 embryos developing well is a good sign. I'm hoping that all 3 make it to day 5 and we are able to freeze 2. I know not all embryos survive the freezing process but it would take so much of the pressure off us if it worked. I will eventually post about the results of our first embryo transfer and what our next steps are.
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Our TTC Journey
Kirsty and I decided we want to start a family in mid 2014. We are a same sex couple which means the law differs in terms of who can be on the birth certificate. For us both to be listed as the legal parents we would need to be married before conception. So we got legally married in a registry office in July 2014.
The only people that knew about this were our close family and we made sure everyone understood that this was not our wedding! We are still having our dream barn wedding in 2018, and we are classing that as the day we get married properly. That's the day I will wear a wedding dress and Kirsty will wear a suit and we will cut the cake. That will be our wedding day.
But after our legal marriage we were able to start trying for a baby. Obviously neither of us have sperm, so our job was to find some! There is a website called PrideAngel which we signed up to and there was a survey with a university at the time which meant if we filled it in we could get 10 free credits. You use one credit at a time to message potential donors and they normally cost £1 each. We spent a while going through different donors, asking plenty of questions, finding someone who we could meet halfway in hotels.
We bought all of the equipment necessary which means we now have a lot of syringes, sterile pots, ovulation tests, softcups etc. We met with a donor 11 times over 10 months and suffered through the dreaded two week wait every time, which was made every worse by the fact that my cycle differs between 24 days and 34 days. After 10 months we decided to take a break and look for a new donor. Sometimes donors and recipients just aren't compatible and it will never work.
However, after 6 months of searching for a new donor and not being able to find one, we decided to see what was available on the NHS.
We went to see our GP in November 2015 to ask what the NHS can offer. She did some research and told us that we are entitled to one round of IVF free only if we can prove that I am infertile.
I had blood tests done over 2 of my cycles which came back showing that I don't ovulate. This meant that we were referred to St Marys for further fertility tests. I had a transvaginal ultrasound which showed that I have no cysts and an Antral Follicle Count of 14. I also had blood tests for all STIs, oestradiol, FSH and AMH. (all of these abbreviations will mean nothing to you if you aren't in the ttc online world, but it's basically tests to see how fertile I am).
The most upsetting result to come back was my AMH. It's 7.07. This puts me in the Low Range which means I have a low ovarian reserve. This could mean that I go into menopause a lot earlier than average, or it could mean I just don't ovulate every month. It basically means it's a lot harder for us to get pregnant without medical help and we don't have the luxury of time.
All of the other results came back fine so the last test to prove infertility was a HSG test. That was the most painful test I have ever had. The doctor had to inflate a balloon inside my cervix and pass dye through both of my tubes whilst taking x rays to determine whether my tubes were blocked. I couldn't even breathe during that test but (unfortunately or fortunately?) that test also came back fine. I'm not infertile.
NHS guidelines state that for same sex females you need to fund 6 rounds of IUI yourself and then you can get one round of IVF on the NHS.
IUI is a very simple process, a lot like just doing it yourself at home. You don't need tests during your cycle and you don't need to inject yourself or have scans.
IVF is very invasive and requires sedation and injectable hormones.
IUI has a success rate of around 11% and IVF has a success rate of 24%.
We were originally saving for the 6 rounds of IUI that we would need to self fund, until we went to an open evening discussing it. That was where we discovered that IUI is the wrong route for us due to my lack of ovulation. We were told at the meeting that for IUI you just use ovulation tests yourself at home and then come to the clinic the day after you get a smiley face. However, we have had smiley faces before and been told that the blood tests show I haven't released an egg.
We have booked our initial consultation (£185) at that fertility place to discuss what is our best option and whether we need any tests repeated. That is on 19th May and I will update this blog with what happens once we discuss it.
The only people that knew about this were our close family and we made sure everyone understood that this was not our wedding! We are still having our dream barn wedding in 2018, and we are classing that as the day we get married properly. That's the day I will wear a wedding dress and Kirsty will wear a suit and we will cut the cake. That will be our wedding day.
But after our legal marriage we were able to start trying for a baby. Obviously neither of us have sperm, so our job was to find some! There is a website called PrideAngel which we signed up to and there was a survey with a university at the time which meant if we filled it in we could get 10 free credits. You use one credit at a time to message potential donors and they normally cost £1 each. We spent a while going through different donors, asking plenty of questions, finding someone who we could meet halfway in hotels.
We bought all of the equipment necessary which means we now have a lot of syringes, sterile pots, ovulation tests, softcups etc. We met with a donor 11 times over 10 months and suffered through the dreaded two week wait every time, which was made every worse by the fact that my cycle differs between 24 days and 34 days. After 10 months we decided to take a break and look for a new donor. Sometimes donors and recipients just aren't compatible and it will never work.
However, after 6 months of searching for a new donor and not being able to find one, we decided to see what was available on the NHS.
We went to see our GP in November 2015 to ask what the NHS can offer. She did some research and told us that we are entitled to one round of IVF free only if we can prove that I am infertile.
I had blood tests done over 2 of my cycles which came back showing that I don't ovulate. This meant that we were referred to St Marys for further fertility tests. I had a transvaginal ultrasound which showed that I have no cysts and an Antral Follicle Count of 14. I also had blood tests for all STIs, oestradiol, FSH and AMH. (all of these abbreviations will mean nothing to you if you aren't in the ttc online world, but it's basically tests to see how fertile I am).
The most upsetting result to come back was my AMH. It's 7.07. This puts me in the Low Range which means I have a low ovarian reserve. This could mean that I go into menopause a lot earlier than average, or it could mean I just don't ovulate every month. It basically means it's a lot harder for us to get pregnant without medical help and we don't have the luxury of time.
All of the other results came back fine so the last test to prove infertility was a HSG test. That was the most painful test I have ever had. The doctor had to inflate a balloon inside my cervix and pass dye through both of my tubes whilst taking x rays to determine whether my tubes were blocked. I couldn't even breathe during that test but (unfortunately or fortunately?) that test also came back fine. I'm not infertile.
NHS guidelines state that for same sex females you need to fund 6 rounds of IUI yourself and then you can get one round of IVF on the NHS.
IUI is a very simple process, a lot like just doing it yourself at home. You don't need tests during your cycle and you don't need to inject yourself or have scans.
IVF is very invasive and requires sedation and injectable hormones.
IUI has a success rate of around 11% and IVF has a success rate of 24%.
We were originally saving for the 6 rounds of IUI that we would need to self fund, until we went to an open evening discussing it. That was where we discovered that IUI is the wrong route for us due to my lack of ovulation. We were told at the meeting that for IUI you just use ovulation tests yourself at home and then come to the clinic the day after you get a smiley face. However, we have had smiley faces before and been told that the blood tests show I haven't released an egg.
We have booked our initial consultation (£185) at that fertility place to discuss what is our best option and whether we need any tests repeated. That is on 19th May and I will update this blog with what happens once we discuss it.