About to start IVF (First timer)

[Leti]

Hi TMS, I hope that you will feel better soon. You might be seing the end of period cramps in the next few days and your appointment is in less than a week now, yay! 😊
Today is day 7 of my cycle and day 6 injection wise. I started fine with the injection pen on day 2 and yesterday coupled it with the Orgalutran syringe which I didn't enjoy to be honest. The needle is slighlty thicker and I really feel it going in. Oh well, at least I haven't experienced nausea or any other side effects since the first injection so nothing to complain about 😉 I'm scheduled for another blood test + scan this Friday to monitor the follicles' development. Fingers crossed all is going as normally seen at this stage 🤞🏽

[TMS]

Aww I’m so pleased all seems to be going well for you! I have some news! So yesterday the gyne rang from the clinic, she thought my appointment was yesterday and not next week, so while she had me on the phone she decided to Book me in for the first blood tests which I have tomorrow!! And then she also ordered my ultrasound and my partners sperm test so they will come in the post those appointments, then I’m still having my consultation next week as originally planned but I’m so happy I’m already having my first blood tests tomorrow that’s another step further along it’s getting so exciting now! 💕

[Sonya123]

I have questions regarding ivf with male infertility.. My husbands appt with urologist is next week. What are the tests you recommend for him.. I have seen so many posts where couple started their ivf and then realized it was dna fragmentation issue in the beginning and their drs did not bother to check them..

[TMS]

Hey Sonya for me personally my husbands sperm seems ok so far, it’s me that’s the problem that’s why my doctor suggested IVF as I have blocked and damaged tubes so this is our only option so I can’t help you too much with details of tests your husband might need, However the fertility clinic are doing another more detailed seaman analysis before we commence so Any information they pass on to us I will pass it on to you and let you know! I had my blood test today to check my egg reserve, I’m 33 and I’m hoping so much that I still have a good number of eggs left, my mum started her menopause in her early 40s so I’m hoping i still have plenty of time left

[Sonya123]

Hey Sonya for me personally my husbands sperm seems ok so far, it’s me that’s the problem that’s why my doctor suggested IVF as I have blocked and damaged tubes so this is our only option so I can’t help you too much with details of tests your husband might need, However the fertility clinic are doing another more detailed seaman analysis before we commence so Any information they pass on to us I will pass it on to you and let you know! I had my blood test today to check my egg reserve, I’m 33 and I’m hoping so much that I still have a good number of eggs left, my mum started her menopause in her early 40s so I’m hoping i still have plenty of time left

Thanks for sharing info..We have an appt for my husband on 21st april.My fertility clinic told me to do 3 rounds of IUI first and then go ahead from there.. I am still not sure if IUI is going to work for us or not. We have issues with my husbands semen analysis with low count,motility and morphology.. Online when we checked lot of people are suggesting to go with IVF directly rather than wasting time and energy on IUI.. I will just go through 2 IUIs and then move into IVF directly..

[TMS]

To be honest over in the uk on the NHS website it does say that IUI isn’t recommended for couples who have problems with low sperm count or morphology problems, they recommend IVF. my partners sperm did come back ok but when we googled the results he is literally borderline on the morphology even tho the doctor didn’t tell us that. Maybe the fertility clinic will tell us in more detail about his sperm once he does another test soon, I know that a lot of people say IVF isn’t a nice process and I know it’s going to be very hard on us, but now I know this is the only way for us I’ve got my head around it all and I’m willing to accept any hard challenge that does come our way

[Sonya123]

To be honest over in the uk on the NHS website it does say that IUI isn’t recommended for couples who have problems with low sperm count or morphology problems, they recommend IVF. my partners sperm did come back ok but when we googled the results he is literally borderline on the morphology even tho the doctor didn’t tell us that. Maybe the fertility clinic will tell us in more detail about his sperm once he does another test soon, I know that a lot of people say IVF isn’t a nice process and I know it’s going to be very hard on us, but now I know this is the only way for us I’ve got my head around it all and I’m willing to accept any hard challenge that does come our way

In US atleast my fertility clinic is not bothered about morphology and according to them count and motility are not that bad.. After sperm wash they can have enough number of sperms for IUI.At this point I just want to do atleast one round of Iui and going to keep my fingers crossed. I am preparing myself for Ivf mentally as well..

[Leti]

Hi TMS, so glad to heard that you have your blood tests earlier than originally planned! You guys are indeed taking another step along the way!! This is so exciting!!
Things have sped up here as well. I had my first ultrasound cycle this morning and got my results this afternoon. I am only on day 9 (and day 8 injection wise) of my cycle but my eggs are apparently ready so I'm booked in on Monday for their collection. I thought I'd have to go through another week of injections, which by the way are going well but the injection type 2 is making me a little bloated.

@Sonya123. I am 37 and located in Australia. My husband has been diagnosed with low sperm count, mobility and morphology as well. He did a few semen analysis, blood and urine tests as well as a testicle scan to make sure his tubes were not blocked. When we first contacted the fertility clinic I was somehow convinced that we would be told to try IUI as I used to see IVF as a complicated/scary/super serious kind of procedure. I thought it was so not for us. But then we met with the FS who told us that because of my husband's sperm, our age and how long we've been TTC (a few years now) we would not "waste" time and money on IUI (her own words) but go straight to ICSI. She said that IUI is usually tried in three rounds and if it doesn't work we then move on to IVF/ICSI. She said that for us it's not financially sustainable and does not make sense. I took the news of having to go through ICSI literally as a slap in my face as I somehow convinced myself that we would go IUI. This being said and since her explanations made sense I then thought OK, ICSI here we come. Four weeks later I started the injections and it's going on well besides being bit bloated. I also decided not to read anything about it (percentage of success nor read about other's experiences) to preserve myself from negative feedback and the uncontrollable bad thoughts that undeniably come with it. I also have to admit that we're lucky everything is going on fast as I feel I didn't really have the time to overthink and stress myself as I normally would.

[Sonya123]

Hi TMS, so glad to heard that you have your blood tests earlier than originally planned! You guys are indeed taking another step along the way!! This is so exciting!!
Things have sped up here as well. I had my first ultrasound cycle this morning and got my results this afternoon. I am only on day 9 (and day 8 injection wise) of my cycle but my eggs are apparently ready so I'm booked in on Monday for their collection. I thought I'd have to go through another week of injections, which by the way are going well but the injection type 2 is making me a little bloated.

@Sonya123. I am 37 and located in Australia. My husband has been diagnosed with low sperm count, mobility and morphology as well. He did a few semen analysis, blood and urine tests as well as a testicle scan to make sure his tubes were not blocked. When we first contacted the fertility clinic I was somehow convinced that we would be told to try IUI as I used to see IVF as a complicated/scary/super serious kind of procedure. I thought it was so not for us. But then we met with the FS who told us that because of my husband's sperm, our age and how long we've been TTC (a few years now) we would not "waste" time and money on IUI (her own words) but go straight to ICSI. She said that IUI is usually tried in three rounds and if it doesn't work we then move on to IVF/ICSI. She said that for us it's not financially sustainable and does not make sense. I took the news of having to go through ICSI literally as a slap in my face as I somehow convinced myself that we would go IUI. This being said and since her explanations made sense I then thought OK, ICSI here we come. Four weeks later I started the injections and it's going on well besides being bit bloated. I also decided not to read anything about it (percentage of success nor read about other's experiences) to preserve myself from negative feedback and the uncontrollable bad thoughts that undeniably come with it. I also have to admit that we're lucky everything is going on fast as I feel I didn't really have the time to overthink and stress myself as I normally would.

For me it was other way round, I was quite confident that fertility clinic is going to refer Ivf but surprised as they suggested Iui looks good for us. One of the reason might be we are tt from past 11 months and according to them numbers are not that bad. But I am more concerned about morphology which is only .5% but they told me after post wash they nèed only 5 mil sperms and my husbands total sperm count being 21 mil so thats more than enough . My husbands appt with urologist is set for april month end and I dont wanted to waste this cycle so I have decided to go for 1 round of IUI before his appt. As in usa getting tests done is easy but getting an appt with drs is taking almost 6 weeks atleast.. I am still preparing my mind for ivf with ICSI just in case.. I know the journey is difficult.. I have also joined a fb group called Ttc with MFI just to check but its kind of addictive as I keep on checking posts there every now and then.
I am just praying everything works out fine with all of us at the end of this journey..

[dammy_74]

Hello ladies, been so far from this thread since I started it, but am glad to see the conversations that have taken place. My last update was in December after my transfer, yes I did get pregnant. I didn't have any symptoms at first but the symptoms later came rushing. So, I couldn't keep up with so many things. I am currently 21 weeks with a baby, we had two embryos transferred however one stuck. We are very thankful for that, it was our first attempt at IVF and I feel blessed. The embryos were transferred after about two weeks post retrieval cause I developed some hormonal imbalance due to the injections and stuff. Our embryos were transferred as blastocyst. Interesting details on our egg retrieval: we had 6 eggs retrieved in total, 4 got fertilised and made it to the required embryo stage. So, there are positive twists in this journey.
As for advice, I am not an expert but I think it pays to try to stay as relaxed as possible (I know it's pretty difficult especially when time is a factor). Staying relaxed wasn't too easy for me too but my job was a really good distraction, it helped to engage my mind with other activities apart from our conception journey.
I wish everyone embarking on the journey a fruitful result, may all your hardwork bring the babies you desire.