In vitro fertilization

Number of fertilized eggs: 10!!

The embryologist sounded very pleased with the result. I am very protective of my little eggs so wonder what happened to the other 7. Never mind, embryo transfer is scheduled for Saturday at 1 pm. They will check the embryos again on Saturday morning and let me know how they look like. If I have four or more embryos that have 7 or 8 cells they will wait until Monday with the transfer.

I am reading up again on the benefits of aspirin on implantation.

Egg collection results

17

Apparently that’s a really good number of eggs retrieved. I know I had 25 follicles and got my hopes up for 12 eggs. And now I have 17. The embryologist said they look normal so I will receive a call today to learn how many have fertilized. Depending on how many are fertilized they will decide to either transfer the embryos on day 2,3 or 5. The longer they stay in the dish the better. Not because they develop so well there but because it allows the embryologist to visually select the strongest ones. I read on a web site from a IVF clinic in Sydney that only 1/3 of all embryos at 3 days have the right number of chromosomes.  At day 5 it’s already 2/3. Still very low, isn’t it?  See the graph at http://www.sydneyivf.com/Assistedconception/InVitroFertilisationIVF/Fertilisation/tabid/112/Default.aspx

I opted for two embryos to be put back into my womb. I am getting cold feet now and wonder if I should have just one put back. Having twins on my own could be really difficult. I don’t even want to start about the possible risks of a twin pregnancy for the babies and for me. My friends just had twins, 3 months premature. They are doing ok but will have to stay in a special care until their due date in April.  It must be really hard for them to not be able to take their babies home.  I really hope for them that there won’t be any complications.

Free range chicken

I feel like a battery chicken. My tummy is quite bloated, it’s stuffed full of beautiful follicles. I had another scan today and a blood test for estrogen. I sniffed my last dose of down regulating drug and will take the hCG at 8.30 pm and then no more drugs until after the egg collection on Wednesday morning. A friend will pick me up from the clinic as I am not allowed to go home on my own. Am I lucky that it’s half term and she is home with her little daughter. I wouldn’t have know who else to ask.

My house smells of hyacinths and spring time and I am waiting for the man with the basket to collect my eggs. I feel like a free range chicken, actually.

best ever web site on IVF

I just found this web site which has lots of really interesting details about IVF including pictures of the developing embryos at various stages, the process of IVF itself and useful stats on number of follicles and eggs retrieved versus success rates. Just the sort of stuff that makes a curious mom-to-be happy.

http://www.advancedfertility.com/

Day 8 of stimulation, follicles plentiful

Today they scanned my ovaries for follicles. I have been feeling a bit of tension in my lower abdomen for the past few days. It just feels “crowded” down there,  as if there are lots of little follicles cramped together in a small space.  And so it is! 25 follicles of various sizes, from 5 to 25 mm. The 25 mm one is likely to be a cyst which sounds like a problem but the nurse wasn’t worried so I won’t worry either. There were 12 follicles of size 10 -17 mm which she said were likely to contain eggs. 12 would be a terrific number. I am so pleased and proud of my body.  Uterus lining is 6.6 mm and has to grow to at least 7 mm until the day of embryo transfer.  She also took a blood sample to check the estrogen levels. This and the follicle size will determine when they do the egg collection. They are likely to ask me to come back for another scan either on Sunday or Monday and then do the egg collection on Tuesday or Wednesday. I will be 41 years old by then. Saturday is my birthday. Guess what I’ll be wishing for when blowing out the candles?

The whole process so far feels quite benign to me. I was so scared that I would feel really bad physically because of the down regulation and emotionally because of having to do it on my own. But in reality it is not very different from the DI process only that I take more medication. I feel fine physically and mentally as well.  A bit more tired maybe than normal.

By the way, I did not stop exercising or changed anything else in my life.  I do yoga 2-3 times a week and run on the treadmill 2-3 week for 30 minutes.  I try to avoid caffein and alcohol but I am not religious about it. I feel fit and healthy and certainly not like I am 41 tomorrow.

Needle skills II

Just for those who wonder. The injections aren’t as frightening as I thought. I actually hardly felt the needle at all.

Down regulation

Ha, job done! Called the unit yesterday and they told me I had down regulated and can start injecting the up regulating hormone as of today. I can’t believe I was so lucky as to not have any symptoms. I only felt really tired in the evenings. If that’s a sneak preview of how I will go through menopause I will be a very happy mid 50s menopausal woman!

I’ll let you know how I get on with injecting myself. I am a bit nervous about it. My next appointment is in 9 days for a blood test and a scan of my ovaries.

Needle skills

First clinic appointment today. They took a blood sample to check if I had down regulated. I can phone in tomorrow afternoon for the results. Gee, got the grumpiest nurse today. I am glad they rotate them so chances are I won’t see her again for a while. She showed me how to inject myself and I had to practise with a small cushion that presumably has the same resistance as your tummy. It felt bizarre but I guess is doable.

She told me that they had to re-match me with a donor since the last one had filled his quota of 10 families. Goodbye auburn haired PhD physicist. I quite liked him. The only option now is a guy who is in the RAF and likes DIY. Oh dear………He is the only donor they have. I didn’t want to disrupt the process but should I need donor sperm in the future I will buy it at the European Sperm Bank.

week 2 of down regulation

I am now into the second week of down regulation and I can’t say I feel any different. Either the medication isn’t working or the effect must be very different for me. Not that I want to have headaches and hot flushes and mood swings and tiredness. I started bleeding on Friday, a week after starting the medication and exactly when my period would have been due anyway. The bleeding was just about as a normal period. If it;s a “withdrawal bleed” or my normal period who knows. One more week to go and then I’ll have a blood test at the unit to check that the estrogen levels are low and I can start injecting the follicle stimulating hormone.

IVF step 2

Consent consultation. Lots of paperwork to go through. I had a moment of panic when I read that the sperm donor has to consent to the embryos being frozen. What if he didn’t? I was reassure he did but there is a tiny possibility that he might withdraw his consent in the future and the embryos would need to be destroyed. Imagine the heartbreak…..

I paid my £105 and was sent off with an approximate schedule for my treatments. My next period is due Dec 22nd. I will phone in and then receive a pack of information with dates for treatments etc. The prescription for the drugs will be sent directly to the manufacturer and I can order them while I am on holidays over Christmas. Too good to be true, by end of Feb I could be pregnant.

I asked about the benefits of screening the embryos for genetic diseases before transfer. It seems it does increase the chances of pregnancy. Women over 35 and those with a history of having babies with genetic defects are within the group of people who can access that diagnostic tool. It comes at a price of £2,200 on top of the nearly £5,000 for the IVF treatment. Who can afford that? And why bother offering treatments if nobody can afford it? Let’s be clear here. If the NHS deems it beneficial for women over 35 then why don’t they reimburse it? If the NHS deems women my age not worthy having IVF treatment then why bother developing a technology that aims at helping women my age? It makes no sense.

By the way my FSH level is 5.5. That is even lower than a year ago. Maybe I am getting younger?