So it is a week and a half since I have had the new IVF drug in me, and I must say it has been going very well. I’d say better than the alternative that I had taken the last two times.
With the last drug I felt emotionally ok but not myself in quite an uncomfortable way, and I had no libido at all.
With this drug I feel very close to normal, plus like last time I have had no pain or sickness or menopause symptoms.
I bought a new nightdress this weekend, for the frozen embryo transfer. Being more of a pyjama fan I didn’t previously have a nightie and this has been fairly inconvenient for the two embryo transfers I’ve had before. When you get there they ask you to wear nightwear to walk across to the room where they do the transfer and you get up on a bed then you have to take your PJ bottoms off. It isn’t really set up for this, they hold towels up and you have to wriggle about to get them off and then back on again at the end. A nightie is much better you can just roll it up. I previously didn’t bother getting a nightie specially as I saw it as a waste of money and an admission of my expectation that I would need to use it several times. And that didn’t seem very hopeful. Ah well, here we are. I thought if I bought said nightie at this point I could pretend to myself that it wasn’t a big deal or a special purchase.
Today cycle three of IVF started properly as I am now on the IVF drugs. This will be a thaw cycle, using a frozen embryo the husband and I made in March.
The first type of drug to be taken is a down-regulator to stop ovulation and simulate the menopause. This is because they don’t want any eggs floating about, they want to keep it all clear for the pre-prepared embryo. Previously I’ve taken these down-regging drugs by self-administered daily injection, but this time I’m trying it a new way.
So I set off for the clinic at 8.30am for a 10am appointment, and arrived ten minutes early. It was so quick, I was taken in straight away and was out again by 10am.
IVF round three starts properly tomorrow – I’ll be going in to the clinic to get an injection to downregulate me and simulate a rapid menopause.
I’m mildly nervous, in that this is unknown because it is a new way of administering the drug.
Hurray, this is the start of IVF cycle number three. We will be using one of our six remaining frozen embryos (blastocysts) around mid October and the time until then will be used to prepare my body to hopefully accept it.
So this morning was a pre-treatment scan. I left home an hour and a half before the appointment time of 10am and this time arrived fifteen minutes early. That was great though, as they took me in straight away so I was out again by 10am!
I knew the drill by now – into the consulting room, strip from the waist down, sit on the bed and cover my modesty with a towel. The doctor came in, gave me an internal scan, and pronounced everything normal. I then had an appointment with a nurse who took my blood pressure and pronounced that normal too. Therefore good to go, I was given a date to come in for my next two IVF appointments and sent on my way. Easy.
Yeah don’t even get me started on how this letter is marked ‘Strictly private and confidential to be opened by addressee only’ and was sent to me and not my husband… A couple of weeks after the event it confirmed what we knew from two negative pregnancy tests and me getting my period.
We’re in limbo again. Not much to report. On the plus side I can have a few beers, exercise, eat McDonalds, er… bleach my teeth. It’s not so bad, we don’t have to wait too long and as it is Edinburgh Festival Fringe time I can happily have some fun and get on with things for a bit. I’ve been feeling a bit sick which seems to be easing off now but I’ve not got my libido back. This is annoying. But as the sickness is going and I’m starting to show a bit of interest in attractive young comedians the husband thinks this may be related to my natural cycle resetting and my ovulation which is due around now.
Starting on the progesterone pessaries today. I have to insert these up my lady bits twice a day.
I’ve used these before, last time. Most people would only use these for a frozen embryo transfer (as I am this time) but I got swapped onto them last time because the other ones made me feel crappy.
Hurray! The date is booked in for the frozen embryo transfer!
No news yesterday, so I called the IVF clinic at lunchtime today. Took a few goes to get through but eventually I spoke to a nurse. She checked and no appointment had been made yet. She said she’d ring me back. I mentioned that I might need to come in and pick up more drugs today depending on the date of the transfer. This may have spurred her into action as she called back five minutes later with an appointment.
After taking HRT for two weeks, today I was getting my womb lining measured to see whether I was ready to move on to the next phase of IVF. After finding out that some people take six weeks on HRT I had mentally prepared myself for being told to take more HRT and come back in a week.
Here’s all the IVF drugs I’m taking each day at the moment: Buserlin (injection, day 27), folic acid (beige pill) and HRT (blue pills, day 13). I take them all in one go, in the morning.
I should be in my infertility counselling session now, the one I booked 29 days ago. The one I booked for this point because I expected the long spell on the drugs to be getting to me. But I’m not at that session, as it was cancelled yesterday. The counsellor has a medical appointment.
Baby Maybe 