Hi Guys!! I am back! I haven't blogged for ages so i really wanted to do an update.
I can't believe that its been over a year since i spoke on here about my ivf. After my chemical back in July 17, we had to wait 3 months to try again. Then when the time came around the BMI limit had gone down to 29 (it used to be 30). So I couldn't start straight away i had to wait a few more months to get my weight down (annoying!)
So in April 2018 i started again, picked up my injections (short protocol this time) and we managed to get 14 eggs out of the 22 follicles we had. 10 were mature enough to inseminate (we're still doing ICSI) - 4 eggs fertilised and 2 made it to freeze! I've never done a fresh cycle due to the risk of OHSS.
FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) was scheduled for June, my transfer date was 18th June and we transferred 1 embryo. Everything seemed perfect, my lining was 14mm, but my transfer hurt like hell ( i won't be seeing that doc again thats for sure!). It didn't hurt at all the time before, so it kinda upset me, and i have mentioned it to my clinic. He really dug into me, i could feel him poking around!!
I got my first positive, a really faint line on 26th June, 8DPT (left)
It was amazing, however i've seen a faint line before, on my last transfer, so i didn't want to get too excited. But my god, i was wishing the day away so i could test again the next day.
I think it's best to show you my notes:
Day of Transfer: Feeling fine, transfer did hurt a bit. Embryo is 5 day blasto and was starting to hatch. Loose bowels in afternoon.
1dpt - loose bowels in the morning, tired. Bloated but think it’s trapped wind.
2dp5dt - loose bowels again, woke up feeling dehydrated, slight headache. Bit of a sore throat and then got a little bit of brown spotting when I wiped this morning. Might be from transfer though. Breathlessness. Went home from work at midday as I was freezing and shivery. Slept for an hour n half then was boiling. Feeling better by afternoon. Lower back pain all day.
3dpt - slight runny nose in the morning. dull aching in lower right abdomen and back. Twinges on right hand side. Sore throat when swallowing. Light Brown spotting.
4dp5dt - woke feeling fresh and good. No aches or twinges yet.
5dp - bfn. Too early to test but wanted to anyway. Woke up hungry. Feel mostly normal today, but tired. Feel a bit full in lower stomach but could be nothing.
6dp5dt - BFN. Boobs hurt only when I press them and also when not got a bra on. A bit bloated but gassy.
7dp - BFN on internet cheapie. Boobs a bit sore, feel a bit bloated and lower back pain, kinda like af.
8dp5dt - BFP on first response but very very faint line. BFN on internet cheapie. Feel bloated and full but otherwise fine. Did a walk after work and have backache, maybe I over did it. 31 degrees outside today!
9dp - BFP! Still fainter than control line but clearly there. Had bad back pain, tiny bit of brown cm. felt bloated. Shooting pain left boob at night
10dp5dt - BFP!! For deffo, did a digital that also said pregnant 1-2 weeks. Eeek. Spotting brown blood but only when I wipe every so often.
11dp5dt - 29/06/18 - BFP on official test date. Woohoo. Still spotting brown blood. Hospital didn’t take my blood they just gave me more meds (progesterone and fragmin). Scan is booked for July 17th. Sore boobs when pressed.
We were flying out to Cyprus for a friends wedding on the 1st July. So i rang the clinic on Official Test Date and let them know it was positive and had to go straight in that day (it was a Friday and we flew on Sunday) to pick up more Progesterone injections and my letter for the airport. I had a bit of brown blood when i wiped that day but forgot to mention it to them, i had googled and thought it was just implantation. However it got worse the day we flew...
12dp - still bfp. Almost matches control line. Still getting dark brown spotting
13dp5dt - didn’t do a test today, might take some on holiday. We go to cyprus today. Had more blood today than ever since bfp. Really worried me so bought tests at airport.
14dp5dt - bfp still, thank god. Still not as dark as control line but I’m using boots test this time. Officially I’m 4wks 6days.
15dp - not bleeding today apart from very very little when wiping
16dp5dt - Wednesday - bfp. Darker then Monday but a lot of bleeding today. Boobs not hurting as much. Very emotional.
17dp - boobs not sore, spotting red blood, wearing a pad. cramps but nothing like af.
18dp5dt - spotting bright red again. Wearing pad. Wedding day (friends wedding day)
19dp - sat - red blood.
This was the day, that halfway through the England match i felt so so uncomfortable that i couldn't sit still. I was wearing a pad because when i was wiping i had blood. I went up to the hotel room and went to the loo, i had belly ache so i wondered if this was why i felt achy and uncomfortable. So i went back down after the match and we went for tea, but i felt really bloated and uncomfortable again so as soon as dinner was finished i went up to the room and we chilled out and i tried to sleep. However i could get comfy, my left hand side hurt so bad. I told rick that since 16 dpt i hadn't "felt" pregnant, and theres something wrong. I just knew it. I googled Ectopic and had a feeling it was that.
Going to Hospital
We went to the local Cypriot Doctor and they got us a taxi to the hospital as they couldn't do scans. During the scan the doctor said that he could see fluid outside of the womb and couldn't see anything in the womb yet but that was normal due to how many weeks i was. But the fluid wasn't normal. They had to admit me because it was a suspected Ectopic and its so dangerous. So around 2am i was in a bed, and had to kiss rick goodbye till the next day, and yes we both cried...
Because the next day was a Sunday they didn't have any doctors in (crazy i know!) so it was a nothing day of waiting around. On Monday i had another scan and i also had a blood test (which Rick had to take to a pharmacy to be tested) I was still bleeding, but filling around 2 pads a day. I was in pain but not mega pain, they gave me Paracetemol and they seemed surprised my pain wasn't worse. They started to wonder if it was just early pregnancy and not ectopic. However after a few more days, my HCG was going up, as was my pain (but it wasn't constant just every so often i felt uncomfortable, but i was also lying on my back or sitting on a bed all day! On the scan nothing was showing in the womb. Finally on Thursday 12th July they decided it was Ectopic and that i either needed to have a laparoscopy and remove the baby and tube, or take a medication that would make it disappear (however this could take weeks and they would not discharge me until my HCG was 0!) therefore I rang my UK clinic and we decided that the tube was already damaged and we should just remove it and get home quicker. I had now been in hospital for 6 days and was supposed to fly home on Wednesday.
On Friday 13th (my birthday) I had my ectopic removed via Laparoscopy. Probably the worst birthday ever.
The Op
Going down to the operating theatre was awful, first they shoved a pee bag thingy up my pee hole (painful for 2 seconds) then wheeled me down, its like what you see in the films, the lights above you flashing every few seconds. then when we got to this silver room (everywhere looked metal, i had to shift myself onto another bed. They wheeled me into the operating theatre and it was freezing!!! I was shaking so bad. They asked me a few questions, like DOB and if it was my first child :(
Then they put me under.
When i woke up i was in a little room just off the theatre and they had put a heating pipe blowing hot air under my cover because i was shaking. God knows if i was like that all the way through.
I felt uncomfortable, but was glad to get back to my bed. Originally they made out that it would only take 1.5hrs, but i went down at 10am and only got back to my bed around 1:30pm. My fella was really worried.
The next day i was discharged and told to rest but also keep active, so i went down to the poolside with him so he could enjoy the pool and then later in the day we walked down to the town (really really slow) to pick up some tea. The next day we had to buy some clexane from the pharmacy and some dressings for my wounds.
Going Home
Thankfully throughout all of this, our insurance (Tesco) and the hospital we're great. I had forgot my European Health Insurance Card, and the hospital helped me get another one. The insurance sorted everything with the hospital and the only thing we lost out on was the cost of the Taxi's to and from the hospital. If we had realised that i was going to be in that long we would have hired a car.
Emotionally
Well, emotionally it was tough but i always knew it wasn't the end of the road for us so i never let these things get me down. I know we have more chances. We have 1 more egg from our free NHS cycles, and we are transferring it on 2nd November 2018. If this doesn't work then yes, its a big set back but we will find the money to have another round. I'm determined.
If you have been through this, or are currently going through this, feel free to message me on instagram
sarah_icsi_ivf or on here in the comments :)
