Hi ladies, I'm hoping I can join the group too! I've been stalking for a bit

but have finally caught up on all the messages, so thought I'd finally introduce myself!

Iklefeet - I wonder if we might have cycled together previously as your name sounds familiar? And we have a few things in common too!
Ok, so now to introduce myself...

This will be my 5th fresh round & I've got 1 FET under my belt too. Our main issue is male factor (low count, morphology, DNA damage & clumping or something?!) We had our first two rounds & had ET but nothing happened. Then the third round I started low dose steroids for suspected immune issues & got a BFP & all was looking great at our 7 week scan but then just a couple of weeks later I had a tiny bit of spotting & knew something wasn't right so went in for a scan at 9 weeks & the heartbeat had stopped so it was a mmc & I had to have an ERPC. This part almost broke me - I'd been made redundant just beforehand, my two best friends were pregnant & worse yet, my younger sister also got pregnant at exactly the same time naturally so I had constant reminders of what I'd lost through her scans etc & meeting my baby niece was SO bittersweet & hard. My niece was born just one day before what would have been my due date. I have since developed a lovely bond with her & my new niece, but it sure has been difficult at points! It was only after my mmc that I was then diagnosed finally with endometriosis after a lap/hyst! After getting counseling from an excellent local charity who help those affected by infertility/miscarriage, I then finally got up the strength to try one more time & that resulted in our rainbow baby, our daughter who is now almost 3! She was born just 10 months after my niece & is the biggest blessing in my life.

I then tried again last summer with our 1 remaining frostie, but got a BFN. I was about to start another round in Feb/March but then lockdown hit!

And I've been in the shielding group as I'm on immune suppression medication, so I've had to be super careful with social contact & basically lived like a hermit with my DD & hubby!

I've been told that my AMH is very low for my age (3.2 at 37), & I didn't want to waste any time so I'm now onto our 5th fresh cycle (with Access Fertility). After a delay due to an ovarian cyst (IVF is full of surprises & hurdles isn't it!?!), I'm now at the end of stims & due to have EC on Monday. Eeeek!
Rio - OMG, your in-laws are SO insensitive! They clearly have no clue!!

And I totally get what you mean about bladder issues!! I've had to have a sneaky mini wee before too in fear of a big accident at ET! In more recent rounds, I've just got to the clinic super early & had part of my water on the way & the rest in the car park about 30-40 mins before!
Ducky1 - congrats on being PUPO!

And please...step away from the test!!

It never ends well I've found!! It's like a form of self-torture! The 2ww I've always found the hardest part of this whole process, so wishing you all the best.

FM86 - hehe white trousers!!

DW39 - what day was your transfer? Was it a day 3? I think the embryologists are great at the scientific bit but sometimes lack soft skills! I've found out that now since our previous cycles our clinic only put back day 5 blastocysts. They also only freeze blastocysts & not day 3 embryo's.
Ickle - that is so true about counseling & what a tough process this all is.

There are so many little hurdles to get over & nothing is ever guaranteed which is hard. People who TTC & fall naturally have NO idea what we all go through!!

You sound like you've been through so much, so hopefully there will be lots of baby dust & they'll be lots of babies from this round.
LadyMac2019 - I would 100% recommend counseling. We have had a session at our clinic after each round & it's been invaluable. Sometimes it helps you just think of things in a different way too. I've always been pretty open about our treatment & I'm sure that's pulled me through some of the tougher times. I hate the privacy you loose with IVF & the affect it can have on your relationship, but counseling does help you come to terms with some of those things. Our counsellor once said that IVF is kind of like throwing a load of money literally out the window & hoping that it doesn't fly away!
Bobbinhead - I'm so sorry to hear of your ectopic. What a heartbreaking thing to go through. Having an outcome like that or a mc is worse than having a BFN I've found. It is so gutting.

Hi MiaCat - how are you getting on? Have you started the injections yet?
Which clinics are you all at? We're cycling at Oxford Fertility Unit.
Ok, this is turning into a mini essay!
Night night all Xxx