About to start IVF with ICSY

[Elizalake]

I am about to start the long protocol for IVF with ICSY. I would love to hear from anyone who's been through this or anyone currently having treatment? Want to get going but obviously scared...

[penny24]

Hiya, I'm currently going through ivf at the moment. I'm 33, dh 35, have endometriosis with tubular damage although patent.

Had 5 eggs retrieved, all fertilised, one transferred. Test day is tomorrow. The 4 remaining embryos were not good enough to freeze. Suspect the cycle has failed as I did a test the day before yesterday and it was negative

If you have any questions about my treatment then just ask

Good luck with everything xxx

[Elizalake in reply to penny24]

Hi penny, I wish you so much luck for tomorrow. I know I haven't been through a cycle yet but try not to give up hope till you really know. Easy for others to say I know 😔. Will have my fingers and toes crossed for you. I'm 33 and dh is 39 with 100% abnormality and low count. Tried for 15 months then decided to get tested and hubby obvso devastated and I'm trying to stay positive but struggling. Is this your first cycle? Did you do long protocol? Have you felt ill or had any odd symptoms throughout? Good luck tomorrow, thanks for replying to my message xx

[penny24 in reply to Elizalake]

Hi Elizalake

I was put on the long protocol to calm the endometriosis down post surgery. the hsg showed a questionable tube so they recommended a laparoscopy to find out what was going on which discovered the endometriosis.i understand where your dh is coming from I've really struggled with the diagnosis. I needed an injection called prostap post op which is the equivalent of a chemical menopause for 3 months- (hot sweats, headaches etc)

Down reg scan 28th Dec started injections 29th Dec, egg retrieval 9th jan and embryo transfer 12th.

Test day for me was 2 weeks post embryo transfer which is today and it's negative

We get one round on NHS and have no frozen embryos so back to the start.

The only side effects I had on the stim injection was bloating and that's all resolved now

2 of my friends are having icsi and are doing well so far, don't lose hope, every case is different

I wish you luck in it and hope u get your positive xx

[Busybee88]

Hi Elizalake,

Firstly welcome to the forums, I really recommend them as a place to find comfort but also for answers and perspective.

DH and I had been trying for a year before we went to the doc for tests because he'd had mumps as a teenager so we knew there could be problems. His motility is good but count is extremely low so we were told it wouldn't happen without ICSI. That was back in May.

In August we saw the consultant for the first time and after lots of tests, tears and waiting, last week we started short protocol ICSI.

Personally, so far, I found that the waiting to start was the most frustrating part. I just wanted to feel that we were at last making progress and it was a struggle to keep DH positive. He lives in a very realistic world and doesn't really do hope, plus he felt guilt and anguish as it was his sperm. It's important for everyone going through this process to remember that it's no one's fault and you're going through it together.

He's getting there now but I'm trying very hard to be strong for him and felt at times that I couldn't show him the extent of my pain. That is when this forum was fantastic. You can put your pain and fear out there and people will pick you back up so you're ready to be strong again. I hope you find that here.

We're lucky in that so far, everything seems to be healthy in terms of my equipment(!) so we've just got to hope to find some little guys!

Keep in touch and remember that you're on the right path now. It's normal to have times when you just want to cry and times when you feel excited. Other people/family's reactions will also vary from tears to "I know loads of people who have had IVF, you'll be fine". Just bear with them

Keep us updated on your progress and keep an eye on others posts, it's helpful to learn what everything means! x

[Elizalake in reply to Busybee88]

Hi Busybee,

It sounds like our stories are almost identical! Thankfully my little lady bits are all in normal range too and so, like you, have had to hide my sadness and anger from my hubby. I would never be angry at him but I am genuinely bitter and he feels he's really let me down bless him. He has 100% abnormal morphology and low count so ICSI for us too.

I lost my Mum 2 years ago of cancer and my Dad was diagnosed 6 months later and is slowly getting more ill, hubby lost his engineering job and now this. Just sometimes feels so unfair as I put so much pressure and emphasis on having a baby that would heal so many wounds we feel. I've wanted to be a Mum for as long as I can remember and everything in my life felt like it was leading up to having a family..and to be told (out of about 20 friends I know with very few troubles), that's it's US who have to go through it, it just feels hopeless sometimes. Made especially hard by friend not wanting children, then changing their mind and falling pregnant straight away! Everyone knows the feeling but it's still so hard isn't it. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger though 😞.

I agree about waiting nut luckily I will be starting long protocol in just over 2 weeks time. Like you say, just want to get started.

Keep me posted on how you're doing, best of luck and thank you for messaging xxx

[Busybee88 in reply to Elizalake]

Hi Eliza,

Thank you for your reply and I'm so sorry to hear about the challenges you have faced and are currently facing.

One thing that I try to tell myself whenever I see a family or a mum with her children and a pang of jealousy kicks in, is that everyone has their s**t. It may be that you have a larger amount of it at the moment and that from the outside others' lives look perfect but they will always have their troubles, either now, in the past or in their future. They may have the children that we want but their relationship may not be as strong etc.

I don't know whether that helps at all as I always hated being told growing up that someone always has it worse than you(!) but I find it helps to keep me from feeling any bitterness... well mostly! We all have our weak moments!

Wishing you all the best for your treatment, try to stay positive x

[Elizalake in reply to Busybee88]

You're totally right, the grass is never usually greener and it's completely OK to be reminded if that. I have a lot to be grateful for so concentrating on that is a must! And reading back that message to you I think I was having a bad day! 😑 Looking forward to getting started in a couple of weeks. How are you getting on? X

[Busybee88 in reply to Elizalake]

Well we all have them so no worries

We started our first course of ICSI a few weeks ago and have got our egg collection booked in for tomorrow but unfortunately I'm showing signs of OHSS so we're going to have to freeze all, wait a couple of months and then have a FET instead.

Disappointed to be having to wait again but it's for the best and don't want to risk becoming ill. Fingers crossed that out of the 26 or so follicles I've got ready to pop that we get some healthy embryos!

I hope all goes well when you get started in a couple of weeks. Look after yourself but make sure you have the odd treat here and there too 😀 x

[Elizalake in reply to Busybee88]

Hi Busybee, just wanted to say hi after a few weeks of being on lockdown with injections and egg retrieval. We have our transfer tomorrow so I'm really nervous. How are you feeling with your OHSS? I'm so sorry to hear this happened (my cramps and bloating we're really bad but nothing I expect to what you've been through). Totally amazing you have some embryos to freeze so sending you loads of luck xxx

[Busybee88 in reply to Elizalake]

Hi,

Thanks for your message and that's so exciting that your transfer is tomorrow! I have everything crossed for you.

I'm doing ok now thanks. The week after the EC was the worst as that's when the OHSS kicked in but after about day 5 I was feeling much better. We got 11 eggs but only ended up with 1 embryo by day 5 so he's sitting in a freezer on his on his own! Fingers crossed he'll be transferred in April though

All the best for your ET and beyond! Keep us updated if you can x

[Elizalake in reply to Busybee88]

So glad you're feeling better! It only takes one so I have everything crossed for you in April. We got 6 fertilised eggs and luckily all of them made it to day 3 so hence the decision to do blastocyst transfer. They were a mixture of grades though so waiting nervously to see how many we actually get considering some are bound not to make it. Would be happy with just 1 for fresh transfer at this stage so fingers crossed!

I'll keep in touch. Lots of luck for your full recovery. Speak soon xxx

[Jenkins89]

Hi. I'm curreny on my 3rd weeks of injections on my 3rd cycle of icsi. My first fresh cycle ended up postive but me sadly miscarried at 9 weeks. The 2nd was from my only frozen egg we had but that ended with a negative result.

I have polysistic ovaries and my husband has low motility. We were told icsi was or only option.

Injections are a lot easier than you think. I was terrified doing them but I don't evn think about it now. Relax and take your time.

It is a long process and hard emotionally and physically on your body so take it easy. Talking on here really helped especially with my first 2 cycles.

Have you found out when you are starting your treatment? Good luck with everything. Xx

[Elizalake in reply to Jenkins89]

Hi Jenkins, Thank you for your message. Really nice to hear the treatment isn't as bad as you first think. There's been a lot of cancer in my family so already I'm determined not to complain about injections after watching how brave my Mum was with all her treatment (a million times worse!) I dart long protocol in 2 weeks so will have another period and then next month is our chance.

I'm sorry you have not had success but believe you have every chance this time. Wish you all the luck in the world, keep us posted xx

[bfrida]

At my previous clinic we failed 4 cycles, one with frosen. I can't explain my feelings and I don't know what to tell you about it. I'm scared too because we want to try DE but like dubious feelings. I clearly understand that it won't be my baby. Gosh it's so hard.

Wish you best luck

[Elizalake in reply to bfrida]

Thanks for replying and sharing your story. I can't imagine what you've been through and wish you so much luck for your future treatment. A friend said a really true thing to me when I said we may have to consider donor sperm and felt devastated. She said if the wind brings a sunflower seed into your garden and it grows with your sunshine and nurturing, it belongs entirely to you and you alone. I know these things might not help when we feel so much pain and no hope but just in case it does, I thought it might be worth sharing. X

[bfrida in reply to Elizalake]

thank you, and your friend is really smart. So you don't use donor sperm? Because I have no need to use it, and if I do so my baby won't be mine. I'ts like stranger in me. I hope everything will be ok with my husband and we'll be a great parents soon. thank you again for support, Your words were important for me

wish you also luck

[Karinyaa in reply to bfrida]

Hi! Dropped in for updates, if possible. This is the thing about using donor eggs. I'd say this is scarring at first. (No genetic relation, will a baby look like me, what should I say if he/she asks once about his birth story..etc). This is hard and controversial. We passed 3 ivf shots with donor eggs overseas before were successful. #1 - bfn. #2 - early miscarriage. With all my heart I'll say I didn't care much about that we had to use donor eggs then. My only wish was that the process worked finally. After all the previous attempts which failed (IUI, ICSI, 2 ivf cycles) I was praying for just successful outcome. We're parents of a healthy cute baby-boy now and I feel he's mine. Absolutely mine!! I've never regret about the steps we passed to the happiness. We have a baby we were meant to and that's all. Nothing else matters.

I would love to know how your treatments went for you and whether we could congratulate you with your little one. I'm praying for your success!