Extending Stimms

[Rebecca2384]

Hi all, this is my first post, but live reading everyone’s encouragement ☺️. I had my scan on Friday after taking 150iu of bemfola for 10 days and with only 10 medium sized follicles I’ve been told to take a higher does of bemfola 225iu for 3 days and go back with a scan. I’m 35 and this is my first round of IVF. Is this normal? I don’t have any real side effects so I’m worried the bemfola isn’t even working for me. How much did you ladies take and for how long? X

[Jaygee]

Hello

I had 150 bemfola and only 11 follicles but never had it increased. They said it was fine. I guess it all depends on the size of the follicles ? I had bemfola for 10 days and egg collection on day 12.

[Rebecca2384 in reply to Jaygee]

My biggest follicles were 7 and 8’s and I had one at 11 😔. I get scanned again on Monday to see if the increased dosage has helped. Did you get many side affects though? I don’t have any, not sure if the meds are even working.

[Jaygee in reply to Rebecca2384]

No hardly any side effects at all so I wouldn’t worry about that. X

[Lilac12]

Hi,

It's completely normal for clinics to change the dose, that's why they are monitoring you closely to see if the dose is working and if it needs to be altered. I was on 150 and the last few days before egg retrieval my dose was upped to 225. The only physical symptoms i got was a bit of bloating (loads of brain fog and feeling down, but everyone is different), i was worried my follicles wouldn't be growing, but they were.

x

[Rebecca2384 in reply to Lilac12]

Thanks for the reply. The brain fog is something I guess I have, I thought it was just me having my mind on IVF but maybe it’s the meds x

[Wehavethis]

Hi, I was 225 Gonal injections then down to 75 then up to 150. For me No side effects other than bloating towards the end because of high levels of Estrogen. I was advised to have a cycle break before transfer. I was super nervous before IVF but once on it - I felt fine and was at work everyday. Wish I had someone to talk to before I did the procedure as I escalated it so much in my mind when I should not have. All the best.

[Kat9lives]

Hi lovely, it's totally normal. Especially on your first cycle, the clinic have no clear idea how you will react for certain to the dose they are giving, so that's why they scan often and adjust the dose as needed. It's better to go gently and increase a bit rather than give you a big dose to start with and then risk over stimulating (which causes OHSS). WORST case scenario, if you either over stimulate or dont get any big enough follicles then they will either abandon the cycle or freeze the collected eggs... an abandoned cycle is not counted as a cycle (if you are getting nhs funding) or will be much less cost than the full cycle (if you are paying)... and it would mean at cycle 2 they would know more information about what dose you need. Clinics often say they see cycle 1 as the trial run, where they collate all the info they need about you... some people are really lucky to get a BFP on cycle 1... try not to panic... it's not over!

I'm on cycle 4 (1 and 2 were fresh, 2 gave me my daughter, 3 was a FET and now on 4 fresh), am also 35 and at my last scan on ovaleap, another brand of stimulation drugs (on day 10, which was yesterday) my follicles weren't big enough and I've been told to up from 150 to 175, and scanning again on Mon. All is ok at this stage! On my 1st cycle I had 3 delayed collections as I had to keep upping my dose!

Hope this helps

Best of luck xx

[Rebecca2384 in reply to Kat9lives]

Thanks for your post. It’s such a mine field and it’s easy to worry and think the worst. Especially when we are in the situations because of bad luck and all. You have really reassured me. Fingers crossed for us all x

[Kat9lives in reply to Rebecca2384]

Glad I could help lovely, it's all very overwhelming but the main thing is to try and keep calm and positive (easier said than done!) Xx

[Muppetgirl]

Th at sounds normal. My doses were increased the second time round in the middle. Happy g growing.

[CW930]

I was on 150/225 alternating of Menopur, then upped to 300, then 150 Gonal F added to that! My follicles were super slow growing, but I was able to see slight progress at each scan which was reassuring. Not many symptoms other than tiredness and a bit of bloating, nothing that really affected my day to day life.