Ivf consultation

[Purplewitch18]

Hi everyone. We had our ivf consult on friday. Before when we have seen specialists theyve always said we have a good chance with ivf, this woman we saw friday only seemed to point out negatives, and they are things we already knew. I told her what suppliments i was taking and she told me to not bother with ubiquinol! Now im 40, to get the best shot at this i need good egg quality as i have a low reserve also.

She scanned me and couldnt find one of my ovaries, though its never been a problem before. She basically said to keep trying naturally, and if we want ivf can start november.

Feeling not so posative since we saw her. She also said it would be less effective as i have a bicornate uterus. Well none of the others said this. Ive been pregnant 3 times. 1 resulted in termination when i was very young which i deeply regret, one daughter now 4, and one very early miscarriage. The rest of the time i was on the pill from the age of 16 to 34, so ive not done too bad!

Any experience or advice would be appreciated, i also have endo and sluggish tubes, though the endo hasnt affected getting pregnant as far as i know.

[Lynnr54]

Hi, sounds like you didn’t have the most helpful consultant today. If others have said you have a good chance then I’d be inclined to listen to them. Re the ubiquinol then officially I don’t think it’s been proven to be effective but there are plenty of stories on here of ladies who have taken it and come out with better results than previously. Either way it can’t hurt. Keep positive and see what your first round says. Even if you don’t get your BFP it should give you a clue as to the quality of your eggs etc so you can make a decision about where to go from there. Good luck!

[LKT1]

I think consultants really want to impress that ivf is not guaranteed and don’t want to people to go away thinking ‘this is definitely going to work’ which you can understand, but I think some drs (like yours by sounds of it) just don’t have a great bedside manner when communicating these messages. Maybe ask to see a different consultant next time who will be a bit friendlier xx

[Jaygee]

Hi there. I had the opposite where my consultant convinced me ivf would work and that I WILL get pregnant. Got to egg collection and after seeing 11 follicles they only got 4 eggs and ended up transferring 2

Low grade blastos. My point is I would rather have had the consultant be honest and not get our hopes up because now we are gutted. I think you have to take everything they say with a pinch of salt and look at the facts with it all. I also think at the end of the day they are a business and they want to make money, so they will tell you all the positives of it all!

[Telford1]

You could have your endo looked at before ivf. Have you had any removed so far? I have a 5 year old who I conceived no problem, now struggling to get pregnant again. I have just posted about the laperoscopy. I shouldn’t have put myself through ivf without a laperoscopy, but followed doctors and clinics advice. After two ivf fails I have ended up paying privately to see a fertility surgeon who then referred me back to nhs for laperoscopy. His view was removing the endo helps the environment around your tubes to give it the best shot, and the dye and process gives you a fertility spike for 6 months after surgery.

Something to think about. I’m not pregnant again yet but feel I have taken a step forward.

[Purplewitch18 in reply to Telford1]

Hi, yes i had a lap and dye done in november so nearly a year ago. It took till febuary to actually see a consultant to see what they found! She didnt think the endo was stopping me conceiving, though i agree with what you are saying with having a better environment for pregnancy. We tried narurally for at least 6 months since my lap and nothing. Mine has come back now, but theres no way id get another lap done. Its a long wait to get it done, and then it takes a good few month to recover properly, they say two weeks off which is an absolute joke! But, im glad i had it because it gave me a diagnosis and now i know whats going on in there, i think you having one is a really good idea.

Even though my endo causes me a lot of illness and pain, none of the drs ive seen seem to be concerned about it as they only found ‘mild’ endo. This doesnt mean its any less painfull, just that it was in one place and not everywhere.

Good luck with yours, i hope it works out for you, really worth doing as youve not seen where the endo is without having it done.

[Purplewitch18]

Thankyou for all you advice, i agree they shouldnt build your hopes up, but they still shouid give you some hope and not all doom and gloom. Maybe ill see a different one next time, thats if we can i dont want to pay for another consultation really. I had my amh bloods done so i guess will wait and see what that says, as she could only find one ovary with 4 follicles im guessing it wont be great, but if there 4 on each than 8 is better than none i guess.

[Telford1]

Interesting it took you a long time to recover!

That seems bizarre you had it done then months later were told the outcome. I had mine take out at the same time as the lap, and told straight away with photographs.

Yeah I don’t know if it will make any difference, but feels Like there is a reason to allocate to why ivf may not work.

Good luck to you too. Sorry the endo gives you so much pain.

Just a ps: I was recommended not to use ibuprofen if you are in pain as it inhibits ovulation (sorry I may have said that already).

[Purplewitch18 in reply to Telford1]

Oh really, i didnt know that, i take it all the time. Ive never not ovulated though so maybe it hasnt affected it? I dont know. Yes, it was on the nhs and there was no rush getting me sorted, my op got cancelled the first time then i had to wait 2 month for a new date. Before i got discharged they said my consultant was in sugery all day so a nurse just read what was on my discharge notes, and that was it. Pretty shit to be honest. My problem is that my tubes are open but not pushing the eggs through quick enough, they say i can get preg but it would be much harder and as i was 39 then they said ivf.

Its so unfair, all of us women going through this the the most awful parents knocking one kid out after the next!!

[Telford1]

Wow that sounds like a really poor experience.

Yeah the ibuprofen information was new to me too. None of the clinics or doctors had told me.

It was the consultant who that told me to stop- even taking one can impact ovulation. It doesn’t stop you ovulating, but it affects viability I think.

I have now stopped taking ibuprofen completely and have had to change what I can do activity wise. Your pain sounds harder to get away from and pretty intense so ibuprofen will help, but paracetamol based drugs would be better if tying to conceive. The admin on here also confirmed about ibuprofen as I posted about this on here when I found out.

Sadly paracetamol doesn’t do much to take pain away .....

[Purplewitch18 in reply to Telford1]

Oh nooo, i dont know how to cope wothout it. Magnesium takes it away sometime but when its really bad i take ibuprofen. Paracetamol does nothing, even an iv of the stuff doesnt even touch it. I do control mine with diet but when i do get a flare up its bad. Its not every month but its worse since its come back after my lap. Be glad to get pregnant to get a bloody break from it!

[LKT1 in reply to Purplewitch18]

It may be worth bringing up pain relief with gp Telford 1 is right you should avoid it before transfer but taking it after transfer is a definite no no (linked to lack of embryo implantation and possible miscarriage) so it’s worth switching now if you can. Sorry you are in pain hope you find something else xx

[Telford1]

Sounds really sore. Maybe see what other paracetamol based drugs the doc can give you? Cocodamol? Mindue no doubt that will be bad for something else to do with fertility!

Good luck!

[Purplewitch18 in reply to Telford1]

I know you cant win. Ive just taken a double dose of magnesium, seems to have done the trick for today. Thanks for all yout advice hunny, ill follow your posts as youre in a similar situation to me. Good luck to you too x