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Trying for a sibling, all Greek clinics :-)

28K views 250 replies 30 participants last post by  AmsterdamT 
#1 ·
Hi there

I was just wondering if anyone else was (or has been) in a similar situation. We got lucky on our 4th fresh donor egg cycle with Serum and now have our lovely daughter. We would really love to give her a sibling so I stopped breastfeeding, had a hysto at the end of March and have just done our first FET which unfortunately ended in a BFN. I was really hoping things might go a bit more easily for us second time round but not so far! We have two more sets of frosties so will hopefully try again soon. If anyone else has been in this situation how did things go for you? Did you use the same protocol as for your successful cycle? I am very grateful to have my daughter but it's still not easy to get a BFN...

Good luck to everyone xxx
 
#2 ·
Hi firefly

Sorry for your bfn  ^hugme^ There are quite a few ladies trying for siblings....I can think of Betholm for starters who I'm sure will share with you if she sees your post.  :)

Good luck for next FET....when do you plan to try? What does Penny say? Will you try anything different?

Grey xx
 
#3 ·
Hi firefly,

Me and Dh have made the decision to go on a frostie rescue mission with the 3 embryos which match our beautiful boy. We also have 4 frosties from our first failed de cycle but Dh can't think as far as using those. For us it's the 3 which match...

I emailed penny today and looking to go out for hysto then transfer in sept/Oct/nov.

Nervous of BFN....but excited by the possibility of BFP!!!! eeeeeeeek!!!

Can I ask what the timescale was between hysto and transfer?

Best of luck.

Xxxxx
 
#4 ·
Thanks for replying Greyhoundgal. Penny has been in touch and it looks like we are going for FET#2 in July  :)  She's suggested Tamoxifen for my lining and going straight on to prontogest injections (ouch!) instead of pessaries next time as when we went for transfer my lining was still triple lined, it didn't look like I'd even started the progesterone. Sorry to see that your last FET was a bfn too, do you have any plans to cycle again soon? If so best of luck ^pray^ xxx

Hi Lady S, nice to hear from someone else who is hoping to get lucky again! How are you feeling about going through it all again? I thought I might find it easier second time round and it does help having my little girl but the bfn was still hard to take. I would dearly love to give her a sibling so we'll keep trying. Unfortunately for us we have no more embryos from the same donor so we are trying with a different donor next, still DH's sperm though.

I had my hysto at the end of March on cycle day 10. I then did 11 days of white cyclacur and 10 days of the brown. My period arrived about 5 days later and we went straight into our FET so it can be a quick turnaround.

Good luck to you too! xxx
 
#5 ·
Hi Firefly

Fingers and toes crossed for your next FET.  It does seem to be such a cruel world out there  ^hugme^ but i'm sure when you get a BFP and a little bundle of joy you will forget all of your sad times  :)

Can I ask how long is it from AF to FET.  I've only ever done IVF before, never FET so I don't really know what to expect.  I know they say that you should try to stay calm and not worry, but like that is ever going to happen!  I'm only booked for my hysto and i'm getting nervous already!

Lady-S - good luck to you too for your hysto/transfer.  I bet it feels really far away, but it will soon come around :)
xx
 
#6 ·
Thanks for your kind wishes r4chy74  :) I'm a worrier too so I know where you are coming from!

I started my meds for FET on day 2 of my cycle, I did 12 days of lining prep and then 5 days of progesterone. The transfer was scheduled for day 17 of my cycle (the 5th day of taking progesterone) but ended up being on day 18 as my womb wasn't ready on day 17. We had blasts to transfer though, if your embryos as younger e.g. 3 day embryos I guess you would have transfer on the 3rd day of progesterone.

When is your hysto booked for? Hope it goes well and you get the all clear. I've had 4 hystos through Serum now and they've all been fine. Like you though I still got nervous before the latest one! Good luck! xxx
 
#7 ·
Hi Girls
I'm hoping to do a FET in July to try for a sibling for my little girl and boy. After 4 failed OE/OS cycles I got lucky in June 2012 on my first double donor cycle and had a beautiful little girl then I got the biggest surprise of my life when I became pregnant naturally aged 41 and I went on to have a healthy little boy. I always wanted a big family and I want my little girl to have someone she knows in the world with the same genetics as her so we have decided to do a FET to try for another baby using embryos of the same genetic makeup as our little girl.

I know we are incredibly lucky to have two healthy babies already and I feel a bit guilty for wanting another one when so many girls here are still struggling to conceive #1 but we don't feel like our family is complete yet.

Anyhow, I've never done a FET before because we never had embryos to freeze so I am learning as I go along. Both Penny and Katie have been great explaining the process and answering all my questions. It is strange going back to doing IVF again when it is 3 years since I did my last cycle. I am booked in for a hysto here in Ireland this Thurs 28th because I have a polyp in my womb. I'm hoping if all goes well I should be able to do the FET in July.

Firefly Sorry for your BFN  ^hugme^ I hope your next FET is the lucky one. Good that Penny is going to try a few different things for you this time. When in July do you hope to have your transfer? Can you pick a date in advance?

Lady-S Best of luck for your hysto and autumn FET.

R4chy74 Are you trying for a sibling too?
 
#8 ·
Hi Shamrock

Wow I love to hear stories like yours, that's amazing to go through all that and get a natural BFP  :)

I can understand the feeling that your family isn't complete yet, we always hoped to have two. If it doesn't happen we are still incredibly lucky to have our little girl but we still want to do all we can to have another.

Sounds like we are both on track for a July FET so we may well cross paths! We have worked out a date with Penny and I'll be doing a fully medicated cycle. My hubby is very restricted about what time he can have off work and even if I went to Athens on my own hubby would need to take time off to look after the little one so we have to plan in advance.

Hope your hysto goes well tomorrow! xxx
 
#9 ·
Hi Firefly

My hysto is booked for 4th June.  It's my first one, so I don't really know what to expect!

If we go on my next cycle and if I have similar timings to your cycle I should be having the little embies put back in about the third week in July, so you never know we may be out there at the same time :)

Hopefully your timings will work with your hubbies work schedule.  If you do have to go out by yourself and you're out at the same time as us we could meet up so you're not on your own :)

Hi Shamrock

I hope your hysto has gone well!  ^hugme^

You shouldn't feel guilty at all, everyone will be really pleased for you - I know I am :)  You often hear of people going though IVF and then having a child naturally.  Fingers crossed your FET goes well and you have a new baby brother or sister (or even both!!) for your little kiddie winks  :)

This will be my first if I'm lucky enough to get a BFP, but i'm trying not to get my hopes up.
Rxx
 
#10 ·
Firefly How are you getting on? Not too long to go now til July. What part of July are you hoping to have your FET? Are you bringing your little girl with you for the trip? We have decided not to bring our two with us this time even though I will miss them like crazy.

R4chy74 Hope your hysto went well. If you do have ET the 3rd week in July we might cross paths because that's when my ET should be too  :)

AFM I had my hysto here in Ireland on 28th May but not fully sure how it went yet because waiting on the consultant surgeon to send me the report. I spoke to his secretary the other day and she said he is waiting on histology results before he finalises it. I spoke to him briefly when I was in the recovery area straight after the hysto and he said something about me having scar tissue from my two c-sections. Hopefully he has removed it and it won't cause implantation problems.
I've just started on the bcp so that I can time the start of my AF for July as I want to do my FET the third week of July probably one of the days from 21st to 23rd.

Anyways hope you are both well and putting everything in place for your trips  :)
 
#11 ·
Hi guys  :)

R4chy how did the hysto go? Hope it was all straightforward and you can get started on your cycle very soon. Would be lovely to meet you if we do cross paths  :)
Hi Shamrock, gosh that must be frustrating waiting to get your hysto report. I would imagine it's normal to have some scar tissue after 2 sections. Hopefully he's cleared it all out for you. We're hoping to have a transfer mid July (21st would probably be the last possible date for us) . We've already booked flights (on flexi fare) so  ^pray^  my body behaves! I've got to track my ov this month and take brown cyclacur from a few days after so we can time AF for the right moment. The only trouble is I'm on CD15 and still no sign! I'm getting worried now that I'm not going to ov,  it's not long since I stopped breastfeeding so my cycles which are usually 29 days might be our of synch. I'm also worrying that I'm menopausal! I've been having hot flushed but then it has been 30 deg plus over here so maybe I'm just being paranoid, I hope so! All 3 of us will be going out, we thought we'd make a little holiday out of it.

Well good luck to us all eh! Xxx
 
#12 ·
Hello, I have an 8 months old son and just got back from Serum from having a hysto. r4chy I must have just missed you by a day. I was concerned after delivery that I had an infection and was right as A small bit of inflammation seen at top so on prixina for 10 days which is awful - permanent heartburn! Apart from that everything looked fine. We have some frosties. Just deciding when to transfer. Probably July as waiting till Sep I won't benefit as much from the implantation cuts, but still haven't totally decided. it is a bit soon after giving birth but I had an uncomplicated quick vaginal delivery and stopped breast feeding just over three months ago and period totally back to normal and I feel ready. I have a sibling less than 2 years older and think it's nice - but I'm sure some people wil, think im mad 😳 . Shamrock yours are close together - how did you find the pregnancy and coping with todler and new born? I guess more than ok if you are going for a third 😉. Anyway if we go for July I will likely be out sometime in the third week.
firefly I know what you mean about wanting another. Our son is so precious and if it is just him then we can be happy but I always wanted a number of children and so I want to at least try for a brother or sister and I certainly don't think that's being greedy. We went through such a lot to get to this point.
Anyway I'm glad about this thread and the possibility of some sibling cycle buddies. Hope everyone's hystos and pre treatment goes well.
I am desperately trying to purchase some clexane which doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Major shortage in Athens and here is so expensive. Have you guys found some?
 
#13 ·
Firefly I hope your ov happens in the next day or two so that you can get started on the meds to fit in with the timings you want for July. Yes your cycles could be out of synch for a while after finishing breastfeeding. I didn't breastfeed but I had one 56 day cycle and another 42 day one after my little boy was born because my hormones were all over the place  ??? It will be nice for the 3 of you to have a little holiday  :) Myself and DH are treating our trip to Athens as a mini holiday too. We have also booked flexi fares and we are planning on staying for 4 nights. Thinking of doing just one night in Athens and 3 in Agistri  :)

Koolkat Welcome! Congrats on your little boy  :) I don't think its too soon after giving birth to try again. As soon as my little girl was born I knew I wanted another baby as soon as possible and I was advised by my obstetrician that it would be ok to try another IVF cycle about 6 mths after the birth even though I'd had a c-section. As it happened i became pregnant again only 4 mths after she was born  :eek: Please God if you get lucky with a cycle in July there would be about 18 months between your two which would be perfect  :)
I found the second pregnancy grand even though I didn't have half as much time to rest up as the first time but I often used to go to bed as soon as my little girl was down for the evening so I caught up on rest that way! It was quite difficult having a newborn and 1 year old because my little girl wasn't walking at all when her little brother arrived and I didn't have any practical help when my DH was at work because all my family and friends were either busy working themselves or living too far away to help but i survived it and it got a lot easier as time went on. Now I absolutely love having the two of them so close in age. I am busy every minute of the day and I am knackered tired every night going to bed but I am very happy  :)

Sorry I can't advise on where to source the clexane I haven't tried to get mine yet. Are any of you having intralipids before you travel over to Athens? I'm just wondering when would be the best time to have them done?
 
#14 ·
Hi to all just wanted to say hi and good luck
I have a 10 month old from serum and went out in April to try for sibling (bfn) and getting ready to try again hopefully July time
I love children and am blessed with son but would love him to have sibling
I had hysto in May and had emergency c section with my boy xx
 
#15 ·
Hi ladies, shamrock I would wait until after lining scan and you get the go ahead for transfer to have intralipids. That's what I always did as my lining didn't always cooperate.

Then you can have one at serum on day of transfer and next one when you get Bfp.

I ended up having intralipids every 2 weeks until I was 14 weeks. I had read that they last in your system for 4 weeks but penny suggested I have them every 10 to 14 days.  I was extremely lucky in that a friend (nurse) did them for me. I used to insist on giving her €50 each time even though she didn't want anything.  I brought some intralipids back from serum and got the rest from Medipharm  in Dublin. Just be warned that it's very difficult to get 100ml here a few times we had to use the 500ml and dump 400ml. The bags are only about €20. I know point of care still do them I used them once but I think they charge around €260.
 
#16 ·
Inaaya Congrats on your little boy and sorry to hear of your BFN in April. Looks like most of us are gearing up to cycle in July. Fingers crossed for all of us  :)

Hollytrees Thanks for the advice re the intralipids. Yes probably best to wait til after the lining scan to get the first drip. I rang Point of Care to enquire about them coz I had them there a few years ago. I should be able to get them there. I just have to get the Serum prescription re-written first and bring the intralipids with me. It's €260 for them to administer them!

Girls has anyone heard of the theory that your immune issues are subdued after a successful pregnancy? I wonder how long it lasts for? Are they temporarily supressed or long term?
 
#17 ·
Hi shamrock yes I had heard that a successful pregnancy can reset the immune system. I just got my NK cells tested in .athens and waiting for results so I will be interested to see what they are. Mine were off the scale before and I had ivig and intralipids every two weeks for last pregnancy. Hoping they have come down so I don't have all that extra expense. I will do intralipids pre transfer and day of transfer and again on BFP. I'm also taking Celebrex for high TNFa. Basically we will repeat the treatment of successful cycle - seems to make sense to stick with what worked. How about everyone else are you changing anything this time?
 
#19 ·
Hi Ladies :)

My Hysto went very well thanks for the well wishes, Penny said everything looked great with no sign of infection ;D It was a bit weird watching the DVD though! 

I have started on the white and brown pills - we've decided to go with fresh DE rather than FET, and we are hoping if everything goes smoothly to be in Athens around 3rd week in July.  It would be great to meet up with anyone who is over there at the same time.  The only problem with that is I couldn't connect to WiFi when I was there last week :( so may have to take out abroad cover on my phone next time!

Shamrock - good luck with the results with your hysto.  I know it probably feels an age to get your results back, but at least if they have all the info you will get a better picture.  I haven't even thought about Intralipis - i'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to things like this.  I did plan on asking Penny about them, but post hysto I wasn't totally with it so I totally forgot!  I think you can have one before ET and then another one afterward (not sure how long though). I  think you bring some home and get someone to 'connect you up' over here - I have no idea who or how much this will cost! I am also thinking about acupuncture as some people have had good result with this.  For me anything to get a successful BFP ;) 

Firefly - fingers crossed AF behaves!  You know what it is like, if you don't want AF it comes with avengeance and when you do want AF it hides away and takes ages to arrive.  The problem is worrying about it will probably delay it longer!  I'm sure your not menopausal, this would have been picked up in blood tests :)  Tell AF it it doesn't hurry up and arrive i'll come over there and 'kick it's butt' ;)

KoolKat - it's a shame we missed each other.  I'm worrying about the Prixane and heartburn, i'm on that as Penny didn't want to put me on Doxy as we were staying in Greece for a few days.  I don't seem to be suffering yet.... But I still have 4 days to go :-#  When do you take yours?  I take mine first thing and then don't have breakfast for an hour or so until I get to work.  I got my Clexane from Asda pharmacy.  I looked online for Clexane and Doxycycline, the cheapest quote I found was £105.  I actually paid £81 in Asda and they had everything in :)

Inaaya - sorry to hear about your BFN, good luck for your cycle in July :)

Good luck to everyone on their cycles ;)  ^hugme^

Rxx
 
#20 ·
Hi girls
Just thought I'd jump on here and say hi. I recognise a few of you from last time when I got my BFP in early 2013. We're trying for a sibling for our little girl (now 20 months) and had two failed tries so far this year, one FET and one fresh cycle from same donor who was kind enough to donate again for us. We have three embryos left so I feel like it's our last chance.

Not sure whether to wait for a few months before going for FET or just dive straight back in. Feel like I need a break after pumping myself full of drugs for last few months but not sure if there are benefits of another cycle back to back?

Hope everyone is doing well at whatever stage you're at.
B xx
 
#21 ·
Hi Brookie

Firstly I'd like to give you my congratulations on the birth of your baby girl and wish you look on your next cycle of FET.

I think the answer to this is whatever you feel is right.  I'm sure if there were any negatives on going on your next cycle Penny would let you know.  But likewise if you feel a break would be beneficial then you could possibly feel more relaxed after a summer break.  I'm sure you know that Serum closes in August, so if you decide to go ahead you should be fine to squeeze it in before :)

^goodluck^ with whatever you decide to do  ^hugme^

Rach xx
 
#22 ·
Hi everyone, sorry for not being around much, I've been reading but just not had a chance to get on to post.

Well it seems as though there are quite a few of us going for a July cycle  :)

KoolKat- I had signs of infection during my hysto too, so took Prixina straight after and will do for my next FET too. Sorry to hear that it's giving you such bad heartburn. Have you decided when to cycle yet? My consultant also told me I'd be OK to get pregnant again after 6 months and I had a difficult pregnancy and a c section so I'm sure you'd be fine to go again soon if you feel ready. My protocol is different from my successful cycle, I'll be on tamoxifen this time and will be going straight on to prontogest injections instead of pessaries. My steroid dose as also been upped.

Shamrock- lovely that you and your DH get to have a little holiday, Agistri is lovely  :) I've also read that a successful pregnancy can 'reset' your immune system but have no idea how long it might last.

Hi Inaaya- might see you in Athens in July!  :)

r4chy- glad to hear you got the all clear after your hysto, you're right it is so weird watching the DVD and thinking 'that's my insides'!  ;D

Hi Brookie, hope it'll be 3rd time lucky for you! I have seen people have success with back to back cycles but if you feel like you are needing a break maybe that's the best course of action? It's a tough one but I'd just go with what feels right to you. Did Penny have any advice?

AFM- I got a +OPK  :) :) :) Finally on CD20! I was beginning to think it'd never happen but better late than never! So plans are still in place for a mid July transfer. I start taking2 brown cyclacur a day on Thursday and stop at the end of June, AF should arrive then and then we start going again. I'm finding it hard to be disciplined about my diet/alcohol etc. When I was pregnant and breastfeeding I was pretty good about eating healthily etc but once I stopped I decided to let myself enjoy some naughty things for a while, the trouble is I'm struggling to get back on the wagon again now, anyone else?


Right got to go, good luck to everyone! xxx
 
#23 ·
Firefly - great news!!  It's funny how when you are waiting for these things they never arrive - I'm sure our bodies just test our patience!  Now we will be cycle buddies  :)

If it is any consolation I'm trying my best on the diet/alcohol front too.  I have cut alcohol down to 2 nights a week and I'm trying to eat healthily to lose a bit of weight - not sure that is going to happen though  ^spin^

It's funny when I give up drink for lent I can do it with no problem at all, I don't have the 'oh one night won't hurt' thoughts at all.  But giving up for any other reason that nagging voice pops up all of the time! I am trying my best not to listen this time though ^tmi^ ^tmi^ ^tmi^

Good luck with your meds on Thursday, and I hope AF behaves an comes on time for you.  I took my down reg shot on Monday so trying to patiently wait for AF to arrive.
Rxx
 
#24 ·
Hi girls, thanks for the warm welcome. Decided to take a break for the summer and head back out to Athens for a hysteroscopy in Sept. Penny wants to up my immunes and have longer on Hidden C antibiotics beforehand - I hate those damn doxy tablets!!!

In the meantime I'm going to stay as healthy as possible, have acupuncture and look after myself. Rach - I know what you mean about Lent, sweets & booze no problem in Lent but come Saturday night (or any night) I feel like I "deserve" a treat once little one is in bed!! Has anyone done the "Whole 30" health kick?

Hope AF arrives promptly for anyone waiting patiently to cycle soon.
Bx
 
#25 ·
hello everyone! Me too am hoping to go out in July for FET for a sibling for my beautiful little girl born in 2013 from DE . Unfortunately we had no frosties left and our donor had moved back to Poland so going for a different donor this time. Just in the process of deciding. I have just had a hysto in London where they had suspected a fibroid inside uterus but none found thank goodness so ready to go. Me too will be out in Athens hopefully 3rd week of July so may see some of you there?
Shamrock- cant believe when I checked in here after so long and read your story. How amazing and fantastic for you!!
 
#26 ·
Henriettta - I should be out there having my first DE cycle mid July.  ^goodluck^ for your cycle and maybe we can meet up when we are there  ^hugme^

Brookie hehehe you made me laugh.  It is so funny how we 'deserve' a treat for doing the washing.... or walking the dog.... or cleaning the bathroom.... I once had a treat for getting out of bed!  Any excuse  ;D ;D ;D
 
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