OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT IVF | TIMELINE UPDATE

Thurs 8th June: Started IVF injections.

Tues 11th July: Egg collection.

Thurs 13th July: 2 embryos transferred.

2 week wait.

Thurs 27th July: Pregnancy blood test at the hospital. Positive test confirmed in the afternoon.

Wed 16th Aug: First scan. 1 foetus seen with a very strong heartbeat. 

Sat 26th Aug: Pregnancy symptoms have disappeared. A private scan confirms the baby/foetus no longer has a heartbeat. It's measuring as it should, minus 1 day so it is about 8 weeks + 3 days old.

There's no bleeding or sign of miscarriage for 2 weeks and 2 days.

Tues 12th Sept: Went into labour for 10 hours. 

Wed 13th Sept: Went into labour again. 

Thurs 14th Sept: Emergency op to remove foetus under anesthetic.

Light bleeding following the op (for 17 days with 2 days where it's heavy in between) which turns into crazy, out of control heavy bleeding for another 10 days. Then it suddenly stopped for 2 days, then there was a night of heavy bleeding and then it pretty much stopped). 

Thurs 12th Oct: I finally get a negative pregnancy test.

Sun 15th Oct: (4 weeks and 3 days after the op). The bleeding has stopped.

Sat 21st Oct: I get positive ovulation tests on a cheap Amazon test and a Clearblue smiley face one. So the crazy bleeding was a period on top of my miscarriage. This is a great sign as it means we can have started trying again!!!!

Sun 22nd Oct: Positive ovulation tests.

Mon 23rd Oct: Positive ovulation tests.

Tues 24th Oct: Positive ovulation tests.

Wed 25th Oct: Positive ovulation tests.

Thurs 26th Oct: Finally after 5 days of positive ovulation tests I get a negative one!

If anyone knows possible reasons why I have had positive ovulation tests 5 days in a row please enlighten me! After I had the miscarriage I followed my hormone levels back down to 0 when I finally got a negative pregnancy test so it's not left over hormones from the pregnancy. 

I took another pregnancy test on Tues which came up negative too. Just out of interest really as at the time I couldn't be pregnant because I've been bleeding too much to try for another baby. Obviously we've been making the most of these positive ovulation tests though. Ha ha!

Jess. xx

MY FIRST IVF PREGNANCY | TIMELINE OF EVENTS

Hey guys.

Today I want to post a timeline of events so I can easily look back at how long things take etc if I need to. I'm still bleeding after having had an op and am trying to work out if I've had or when I'm going to have a period and when I'm going to ovulate. 

Despite feeling like it's all been a bit of an ordeal (an ordeal that's been going on for over 4 months now!!!), memories fade fast and we're not ready to give up just yet! 

Maybe they'll be a natural pregnancy. If not, we'll probably have IVF round 2 within the next few months. 

All I can say is watch this space. : ) 

In the meantime, here's my timeline of IVF events:

Thurs 8th June: Started IVF injections.

Tues 11th July: Egg collection.

Thurs 13th July: 2 embryos transferred.

2 week wait.

Thurs 27th July: Pregnancy blood test at the hospital. Positive test confirmed in the afternoon.

Wed 16th Aug: First scan. 1 foetus seen with a very strong heartbeat. 

Sat 26th Aug: Pregnancy symptoms have disappeared. A private scan confirms the baby/foetus no longer has a heartbeat. It's measuring as it should, minus 1 day so it is about 8 weeks + 3 days old.

There's no bleeding or sign of miscarriage for 2 weeks and 2 days.

Tues 12th Sept: Went into labour for 10 hours. 

Wed 13th Sept: Went into labour again. 

Thurs 14th Sept: Emergency op to remove foetus under anesthetic.

Light bleeding following the op (for 17 days with 2 days where it's heavy in between) which turns into crazy, out of control heavy bleeding for another 10 days. Then it suddenly stopped for 2 days, then there was a night of heavy bleeding and now it's mild). 

Thurs 12th Oct: I finally get a negative pregnancy test.

As I said previously, I'm using ovulation tests every day to try and work out if some of this crazy bleeding was a period and when I'm going to ovulate! I'll update this post when I work it out!

On a side note, Amazon is a great place to buy cheap ovulation and pregnancy tests in bulk (I'll link the ones I get below - this seller supplies the NHS so they work really well). Boy do we get through a lot of those!

I'm using the cheap ovulation tests every day and when I see any sign of two lines I'll double up with a Clearblue (smiley face) test just to be sure!! I got the idea from one of my favourite YouTubers who said she uses cheap tests from Amazon. I don't know why I didn't think of it before! 

Jess. xx

SURGICAL MANAGEMENT OF MISCARRIAGE

It's been over a month since I last posted on here and the long and the short of it is that the drugs didn't work for me at all. I ended up having to have Surgical Management of Miscarriage (SMM). 

4 days after I took the second lot of pills I had another scan at the Early Pregnancy Unit, which of course confirmed that the fetus was still in there. I continued to wait it out and see if I miscarried naturally. A week later I went into labour at 3am and it lasted 10 hours. I was getting contractions every 3 minutes that would last 1 minute and was bleeding like crazy. 

Stuck on the toilet for 10 hours (other than a random 2 hour break I got) I felt lucky that my finace and mum were by my side. Yes it was embarrassing being half naked and in labour in front of them but I felt so exhausted I didnt care. My mum was fab and talked me through what to do with the breathing etc.

When labour finally ended around 1pm the next day, everyone was sure the fetus must have come out. The amount of blood and clots and goodness knows what else was insane. I had to use Ibuprofen, Paracetamol, Codeine and anti-sickness medication to get me through. It didn't take the pain away but made it slightly more bearable. 

After going through all that you can imagine my horror when it all started again at 3am the next day. Labour went on once again for 2 hours and it was every bit as awful as before. At 8.30am I was straight back on the phone to the Early Pregnancy Unit and back at the hospital for 10am.

I had a scan which once again confirmed that the fetus was still in there. A little head and body, fully intact, just led there like nothing is wrong. I couldn't bloody believe it!

Feeling crazily exhausted and at my wits end with it all I agreed that I had no option but to give in and have the op. Looking back I think I was mad to think doing it naturally was the way to go! Luckily they booked me in for the next day and I was also first on the list.

The operation went well but it was over 3 weeks ago now and I'm still bleeding heavily. 

Tomorrow I'm going to ring the doctors and try and work out if this is normal or not. 

Jess. xx

MISSED MISCARRIAGE TREATMENT

I'm now 9+3, only there was no heartbeat found whilst having an emergency scan last Sat (you can read that post here). At that point I was 8+4 and measuring at approx 8+3. I'm having what's known as a missed miscarriage. Call it what you like, delayed miscarriage, silent miscarriage. It's all the same thing. My baby or fetus has died but my body is still holding on. There's no bleeding and suddenly I've been faced with a big decision to make.

After having the scan on Sat it was 3 days before I spoke to the Early Pregnancy Unit about what I could possibly do. It was 4 days before I was seen and scanned and 5 days before I took some vaginal pessaries (Misoprostol) in a bid to medically manage the miscarriage. That was yesterday morn.

The vaginal pessaries did not work. I rang the hospital today and was seen early afternoon. I was given 4 more pessaries to try (I had to insert these all in one go). But whilst at home and trying to insert the first one, I found all the others inside. Still intact and completely undissolved. I picked them out one by one and put them on a tissue, totally dismayed.

I rang the hospital once again and we agreed that perhaps I should take the tablets orally instead. Off to the hospital we went for the second time today to pick up another pill. This time I put them in my mouth (between the gums and cheek) and I left them there for an hour. Then I swirled them around a bit and then put them back between my cheeks and gums.

Eventually I swallowed the chalky pulp, which didn't really taste of anything at all. It's now been nearly 4 hours since I first put them in. Other than a sore throat I'm currently feeling nothing at all. I'll keep you all updated on what happens next. Fingers crossed this works as tomorrow it will be 1 week since no heartbeat was seen.

Having a miscarriage is bad enough, but this is like being tortured because it's just going on and on. I feel like I'm stuck in a nightmare and totally in limbo land. I'm scared of what's going to happen and how bad it will be. I'm sick of being stuck in the house and unable to get on with my normal life.

Jess. xx

PREGNANCY SYMPTOMS DISAPPEARED

On Friday I woke up feeling great. Whilst in the shower I thought to myself 'I feel so good today I'm going to get on and do loads of chores or I might go out to the shops'. I couldn't help but laugh as I would think the same thing every day. However, by the time I got out of the shower I would always be so exhausted I had to lay down on the bed for a bit before I got dressed. Once I had taken the Crinone Gel I would be pretty useless for the rest of the day. A combination of being pregnant and taking the extra progesterone was really taking it's toll.

However, Friday was somehow different. I ate my breakfast and started cleaning. I finished one room and then started another. I couldn't really believe how good I felt and how much energy I had. Stupidly I put it down to the small breakfast I had eaten. I had decided to change my eating habits in a bid to combat the all day and night nausea I was getting. It seemed like my idea of eating lots of small meals a day was beginning to work. 

Throughout the day I kept expecting the exhaustion and nausea to kick in but it never did. In fact, by the end of the day I still felt pretty good. It was like everything had changed. Even smells that had previously made me feel sick were not bothering me anymore. 

That night I started to panic in my sleep and the nightmares were pretty bad. I kept waking up, wondering where my pregnancy symptoms had gone. Then thinking of things to Google for reassurance. By 6am I couldn't take it anymore and I grabbed the iPad, typing in everything I could think of for reassurance. I ended up looking for private clinics that were open on a Saturday. I knew that the only way I could be truly reassured was to get a scan.

My fiance woke up, catching me in the act, asking 'what are you Googling now?'. I told him 'my pregnancy symptoms have gone'. He tried to reassure me but deep down I knew the truth. I started crying and I said 'I think the baby has gone. I think our baby has died. I don't feel pregnant anymore'. He cuddled me and told me not to be so silly. 

In the end he agreed that I could pay for a private scan. That's just the kind of guy he is. He would rather get a scan and stop my anxiety (which would be bad for the baby) than worry about the money. 

After ringing around loads of different places we finally found an ultra-sound clinic that was willing to fit us in at the end of their working day. It was an hour's drive away and the scan would cost us £89. None of that mattered as it needed to be done.

My fiance was convinced I was being anxious and that the scan was happening just to reassure me. But sadly I felt different and knew it would take a miracle if our baby was there. Nothing made sense. If I was still pregnant then where had my symptoms gone? I had felt terribly ill and pregnant for about 6 weeks. Those kind of feelings don't just disappear over night. 

Whilst in the waiting room one couple came out crying and my fiance told me later that he had thought 'those poor people, at least we won't be coming out in a state like them'. Meanwhile I felt incredibly panicky and anxious and I really wasn't holding out much hope.

As soon as the sonographer got the baby up on the screen we could see that there was no heartbeat to be seen. My fiance was devastated and totally in shock. I on the other hand, was incredibly upset but but not shocked as I already knew. 

I worked out that the cramping I had last Wed and Thurs was when this all probably occurred. But what's really awful is that my body still thinks it's pregnant so the baby is still inside. I'm having what's called a 'delayed miscarriage' and quite honestly I don't know what on earth to do.

It's a bank holiday weekend and nowhere is open. The IVF clinic have an emergency number but no one has called me back. I tried calling everyone from the Early Pregnancy Clinic to midwives, and our local maternity unit too. Nobody can help me. In the end I resorted to ringing 111 and after 4.5 hours an on call doctor finally rang and said I could wait and see what happens or have a D&C (an operation to have it removed).

Now I have to wait until Tuesday so I can ring my GP and get referred to the Early Pregnancy Clinic, where hopefully they'll be able to advise me what to do.

The whole thing is pretty horrendous and I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. I'm really scared about what's going to happen to me now. I read online that if I miscarry naturally it will be a bit like going into labour and to expect there to be a lot of blood. 

We both feel so upset, tired and keep on crying all the time. What a sad ending to something that we thought was going to be so damn good.

Jess. xx

8 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

Hello! Today we're 8+2 and we had our first scan 8 days ago. All was well and there was 1 little one with a strong heartbeat, measuring 1cm. What a relief! Sadly the second embryo didn't make it, so there's no twinnies for us this time around. However, we are okay about this and just very grateful to have been successful at all.

My whole attitude has totally changed since that scan and I'm no longer anxious - thank goodness.

So all the worries have gone but the symptoms have not. I still feel pretty rubbish to be honest and am counting down the weeks until I can stop taking the Crinone Gel. I'm sure it's that stuff that's making me feel so bad.

This week I'm suffering from nausea, a heightened sense of smell, sore boobs and frequent urination (especially throughout the night). The period-like cramps came back again yesterday and today which seem to be a normal thing when you're about 8 weeks.

That's all I have to report at the mo.

Jess. xx

7 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

Good morning everyone! Today we're 7 weeks and our first scan is tomorrow.

In terms of symptoms from the past week, I've had a heightened sense of smell (often struggling to make breakfast or cook dinner and don't even get me started on the smell of yogurt! - My fiance eats one every night and I find it so gross), all day and night nausea, hot flushes, feeling extremely thirsty, sore boobs and frequent urination.

I get up about 7 times a night, every night. The main reason is the need to urinate all the time, but acid reflux and nausea is a major issue too. One thing I have noticed is that the period-like cramps have eased off a lot since last week which is good.

If you know of anything that helps with nausea or my issue of not being able to quench my first, please let me know in the comments box below!

Jess. xx

6 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

Today we're 6 weeks and I'm counting down the days until the first scan which is a week tomorrow.

Several things have happened since I last blogged. Firstly I spoke to our clinic about the awful stabbing/ripping type pains I was getting. The nurse was lovely and reassured me that they are probably nothing to worry about. We agreed that it's more than likely down to the changes going on in my body and my ovaries recovering from egg collection. Luckily I haven't felt these pains for 9 days now. 

Another thing that happened was I took a second pregnancy test. Silly I know, but the paranoia kicked in and I needed to see that the pregnancy is still there. The funny thing was the control line and one of the lines in the test window were very weak. I was in a sulk for about two hours thinking the test line was faint. Then after Googling I realised it was the test line that was very strong not the other way around. I hadn't looked at the packet properly!

After that little incident I became super happy again and all reassured. However, all I seem to do is worry. So far I've been scared that the stabbing pains are an ectopic pregnancy, that the period-like cramps are a miscarriage (or even part of an ectopic pregnancy) and that if I cry and get a bit emotional that this could lead to a miscarriage too. 

I get so many strange aches and pains and they seem to fuel my paranoia even more. For example today I sat down on a chair and it felt like someone had stabbed me in the bum! What was that all about? Who knows!

Over the past 7 days symptoms have included feeling very emotional (where I want to cry for no reason), hot, nauseous (this seems to be getting worse!) and incredibly thirsty all the time. I've also had period-like cramps, continuous sore boobs and some really strange dreams. I urinate all the time (I got up about 7 times one night!) and am incredibly very tired.

Today I'm feeling a little bit ill with a mild sore throat and have been sleeping on and off all day. 

Roll on to when we hit 12 weeks as apparently that's when all the crazy symptoms start to get a little bit better. At least that's what one of my best friends told me, who I happened to confide in during this week. So now my mum, sister and one of my friends know. 

Jess. xx

5 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

We're officially 5 weeks today and I'm going around like the cat that's got the cream! I still can't believe that we're this lucky and IVF worked for us on the first go. I feel so blessed. Of course it's early days so we can't get too ahead of ourselves just yet. We have the first scan two weeks tomorrow at which point I'll be 7+1.

A few days after the clinic confirmed our positive blood test I decided to POAS (pee on a stick!) just so I could get the feeling of seeing a positive result. The second line came up straight away and it was amazing to see after years of viewing negative results.

In terms of symptoms I'm getting very mild acid reflux at least once a day, mild nausea and feeling very tired so I usually take a nap in the afternoon! I also feel really thirsty and urinate frequently. On the day my period would have been due I had really bad period-like cramps which felt just like when I'm about to come on. Since then these have eased up a lot and I'm barely noticing them anymore.

I'm still getting these awful stabbing/ripping type pains though (mainly on the lower left side but sometimes on the right) which I believe are something to do with my ovaries. I'm not sure why this is happening but I'm guessing it could be my body recovering from egg collection. I'll ask the clinic when I go in a few weeks.

Another thing I've noticed is I'm still incredibly bloated which I believe is partly down to the progesterone I'm taking. My belly looks very pregnant which is crazy considering I'm only 4 weeks. I went to a party at the weekend and was really paranoid that people might wonder why I look so fat. It's that bad that it's hard to disguise and when I saw the photos afterwards I couldn't help but think 'wow, I am looking pretty big at the mo!'. I'm normally a size 10 so having a large belly is a bit alien to me.

That said, this could be a good thing as it might mean that both of our embryos have embedded. Fingers crossed! Apparently twin pregnancies are very different to singletons and you get everything in double from the get go! So that's double the bloatedness, weight-gain, pains, tiredness, nausea and anything else I might be experiencing at the time. If I really am pregnant with twins I'll have progesterone coming from each one as well as the the extra progesterone I'll be taking throughout the first 3 months!

Exciting times!

Jess. xx

THE PREGNANCY BLOOD TEST RESULTS

We didn't have too long to wait for our pregnancy blood test results as the clinic called at 12.30. I'm really pleased to say that it was positive so we're officially 4 weeks pregnant! I'm really excited and we have our first scan booked for a few weeks! 

Jess. xx

IVF BLOG DAY 50 | OFFICIAL TEST DAY

Today is our OTD (Official Test Day) so this morning we made the one hour drive to the hospital and I had a HCG (Pregnancy) blood test. We now have to wait for the results to be forwarded to the Fertlity Clinic and a Nurse Co-ordinator will ring us with the news by the end of today.

I'll be sure to update you all once I know!

Today I'm feeling: Nervous. 

Jess. xx

IVF BLOG DAY 49 | 2WW | LATEST SYMPTOMS

We only have one day to go until it's official test day. Oh yeah! We're now 13DPT (13 days past transfer) and I'm feeling so pleased that I didn't cave and test early. (Other than when I tested to see if the trigger shot was still in my system! You can read about that here.).

Today I'm feeling really positive and excited. It's crazy how one day I feel down and on another I feel like I do today. It's all that progesterone from the Crinone Gel playing havoc with my hormones. What a game this is.

Anyway, tomorrow I have to go to the hospital and have a HCG (Pregnancy) blood test by 11.30am. The results will be rung through to the Fertility Clinic by early afternoon and a Co-ordinator will ring me with the result.

Here's a final update with the symptoms I've been experiencing since ET:

10DPT

Sunday 23rd July 2017: I had bad period-like cramps all morning on and off. By 2pm they felt really bad. Just like when I'm about to come on. They were also really bad around 10pm and lasted about 20-30 mins.

11DPT

Monday 24th July 2017: In the morning I had a twinge on the left hand side of my womb again and was peeing for England. I had no idea why as I hadn't drank any caffeine which would have been the cause pre-ivf when I was allowing myself to have it! I also had bright pink blood in the Crinone Gel and period-like pains around 8pm. By 8.47pm I was getting the twinge in the left hand side of my womb. It does make me wonder what on earth is going on in there!

12DPT

Tuesday 25th July 2017: I felt sick in the middle of the night and when I woke up the smell of toast cooking made me feel a bit queasy. This is unusual for me as I love toast and eat it most days! I also noticed that the bloated heavy belly was back so I had to undo my skinny jeans. At some point I had the twinge on my left hand side of my womb again and by 10pm I felt really tired. I was also feeling sick and incredibly bloated to the point where I had to lay on my side.

13DPT

Wednesday 26th July 2017: That's today! It's only 10.30am so there's not much to report as yet other than this morning I woke up having hot flushes. These continued for about an hour or so but I feel alright now. My belly is still pretty bloated so I've decided to stay in my PJ's for the day! 

Here's an updated summary of all the symptoms I've had in total:

Total Symptoms (ET-13DPT)

Feeling bloated / heavy stomach

Mild period-like pains / cramps

Strong period-like pains / cramps

Painful twinges

Strange piercing feeling in the centre of my womb

Extreme tiredness 

Sore nipples

Blood spotting

Feeling sick

Feeling queasy

Back ache

Diarrhoea (ever since I started using Crinone Vaginal Gel).

Weight loss (because of the above! - not much, just a few lbs).

Feeling down/moody/emotional/like crying sometimes

Hot flushes

Frequent urination

I think it's important to note that most or all of these symptoms are more than likely down to the Crinone Gel (progesterone) that I am still taking. Progesterone mimics pregnancy symptoms so analysing them in terms of pregnancy would just drive me mad. Many women get their BFPs after experiencing no symptoms at all. This has certainly been the case for me when being pregnant in the past. I had no idea both times.

Anyway....

Today I'm feeling: Happy, excited, positive and glad that we're going to know one way or the other by tomorrow!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been reading this blog (my stats show me that you're there!). I'll update you all with what happens tomorrow. No matter what the outcome is I'll be back at some point to either give you pregnancy updates or to talk about what we'll be doing next. 

There's a subscribe box in the side-bar on the right of this blog if you want to get updates every time I post.

Good luck if you're on an IVF or pregnancy journey of your own!

Jess. xx

IVF BLOG DAY 46 | 2WW | UPDATE & MORE SYMPTOMS

Wow! So we've been going through the whole IVF thing for 46 days now. It feels like it's flown by in some kind of drugged up bubble. Then again, it has to be said that the 2WW kinda goes by slow. For me personally it's been a real rollercoaster of emotions where I never know how I'm going to feel about it all from one day to the next. You'll see what I mean if you read on.

We're now 10DPT (10 days past transfer) after having a 2DT (2 day transfer). Today I'm feeling pretty good overall. I found the first week difficult but things have got better as we've progressed into the second. My thoughts became quite negative around 3DPT with me feeling sad that we only get one go at IVF via the NHS. I confided in my fiance on Tuesday who said 'well if it doesn't work then we'll just have to find the money'. Needless to say after that I cheered up a bit!

Anyway, as before, I've been keeping a note of my symptoms so here's a little update of what's been going on:

3DPT

Sunday 16th July 2017: After feeling sick, bloated, lethargic and like I had a really heavy stomach the day before (you can read about that here) it was a relief that I felt normal on this day. Too normal actually to the point where I was like 'hang on, where have all my symptoms gone?'. It's funny how they feel bad when you have them but once there gone you kinda want them back. Just in case they're signs of pregnancy. You hold on to that every bit of hope. Anyway the symptoms were soon back by the evening where I had sore nipples and a heavy bloated belly again!

4DPT

Monday 17th July 2017: On this day I experienced blood spotting in the Crinone Vaginal Gel, sore nipples and period-like cramps. At 9pm the cramps got particularly painful. I felt bloated and had a strange twinge/pain on my left side (probably where my ovary is if I'm honest). By 8pm the twinge was pulsating to the point where I could count the seconds between each one. It was so strange and I had to stop what I was doing and lay down. 

I must also mention that in the morning I had a call to say there were no embryos good enough to freeze. Out of the 5 left one had made it to blastocyst stage which I was advised to take as a good sign for the two that we had put back in. 

Knowing that we have no frosties started to make me worrying about our chances being taken away even more. What if this cycle doesn't work out? What on earth are we going to do?

5DPT

Tuesday 18th July 2017: I had a good night's sleep but woke up at 7.30am with the painful pulsating twinges on my left side again. Just like the day before I could count the seconds between them, although it would vary and sometimes be 4 seconds or sometimes as long as 10! I also felt very bloated on this day.

The worrying continued and I confided in my finace who reassured me that we could try to find the money for another go if we needed to. I felt a lot better after hearing that.

6DPT

Wednesday 19th July 2017: Not sure what happened on this day as I haven't written anything down!

7DPT

Thursday 20th July 2017: As above!

8DPT

Friday 21st July 2017: This was the day that things really changed for me as I decided that the best thing I can do is get on with my life during the 2WW, almost pretending that none of this is happening. I know that's much easy said than done but I got on and cleaned my house (without using cleaning products because my consultant advised me to be careful of them. Oh, and I left the hoovering to my fiance as apparently that can be bad too!). I was determined that by the next day I would be getting up and dressed and out of my pj's that I've been slobbing around in for about 45 days!

Symptoms wise, I had a really strange piercing feeling right in the centre of my womb. It was very prominent and not like anything I've ever felt before. The only way I can describe it is a bit like a piercing or a needle going in and it was on the edge of being painful. It lasted about 5-10 seconds and I couldn't help but wonder if it was an implantation pain?

9DPT

Saturday 22nd July 2017: I had very strong period-like pains for about 4 hours on and off during the night. It was so bad it would wake me up. I also had blood spotting in the Crinone Vaginal Gel again which was a little out of the blue after not having this for 4/5 days. Again, I couldn't help but wonder if implantation had occurred the day before. This really is classic symptom checking/analysing at it's best! But if someone told me I'm pregnant and to put money on when implantation had occurred Fri 21st would be it! 

Here's an updated summary of all the symptoms I've had so far:

Symptoms so Far (ET-9DPT)

Feeling bloated / heavy stomach

Mild period-like pains / cramps

Strong period-like pains / cramps

Painful twinges

Strange piercing feeling in the centre of my womb

Extreme tiredness 

Sore nipples

Blood spotting

Feeling sick

Back ache

Some I've forgotten to mention!

Diarrhoea (ever since I started using Crinone Vaginal Gel).

Weight loss (because of the above! - not much, just a few lbs).

Feeling down/moody/emotional/like crying sometimes

Hot flushes

Today I'm feeling: Happy enough in myself. Really grateful to have such a loving and supportive fiance who's been great through all of this. Glad that I'm not so bloated anymore and I wore my skinny jeans for the first time in ages today. (A good thing or not? I don't know - you tell me!). I could wear them for ages because I felt so bloated and it would hurt the places where I had my injections.

It's only 4 days until OTD (Official Test Day) now! That's a good point actually - I found a box of pregnancy tests upstairs so I must get my fiance to hide them!

Jess. xx

I CAVED AND TOOK A PREGNANCY TEST!

Around 12 noon today I randomly decided to take a pregnancy test. Yes I am only 3DPT after a 2DT, however I feel like if I know when the Ovitrelle is out of my system then any positive tests will be for real. Just in case you don't know Ovitrelle (the trigger shot) can cause pregnancy tests to show up positive. As a rule it can take up to 10 days to leave your system after injecting it.

Anyway, the test was negative so I guess that means it's well and truly gone. My trigger shot was 7 days ago so that sounds about right. Now I just need to try and avoid testing until my official test date. Although it would be lovely to see a positive test I think seeing lots of negative ones would be soul destroying. 

If you've had IVF did you make it through the 2 week wait without testing?

Jess. xx

IVF BLOG DAY 39 | 2WW | SYMPTOMS SO FAR

We're now 3DPT (3 days past transfer) after having a 2DT (2 day transfer) and it has to be said, I'm feeling pretty emotional today. I've been thinking a bit more negatively this morning and wondering what on earth we're going to do if this hasn't worked. We only get one go via the NHS so I feel quite pressured, even though at this stage it's pretty much out of my control. I'm doing everything I can in terms of eating right and making sure I don't overdo it. However I also think staying positive is key so I'm going to try and knock these negative emotions on the head!

That said, the 2WW is a really difficult time. I feel like I want someone to reassure me that it's worked. Of course I do. That's only natural. It doesn't help that I'm getting all these symptoms which could be related to any number of things such as pregnancy (please let it be that), PMT (noooo!) or the drugs I've been taking such as the Ovitrelle trigger shot (you can read about that here) or the Crinone Vaginal Gel. It's like hormone city in my body right now!

Anyway, I've been keeping a note of my symptoms as I think it'll be interesting to see how they're linked to the overall outcome in the end. Here's what I have so far:

ET (Embryo Transfer) Day

Thursday 13th July 2017: This was the day of the transfer and following the procedure I had very mild period-like pains. They were nothing to worry about and we went out for dinner so they definitely were not bad. I went to bed at 6.30pm that night and slept for 12 hours as I was so tired! I also had sore nipples throughout the day which I've been having since the trigger shot.

1DPT

Friday 14th July 2017: I felt much better but had some really crazy and quite painful twinges on my left side in the night when I turned over. I have no idea what that was about. I was still getting mild period-like pains on and off every now and again too. I also noticed that when the day's Crinone Gel came out it was blood stained. I think that's probably my EC (Egg Collection) wounds healing. When laying in bed (around 10.30pm) I had quite strong period-like cramps. 

2DPT

Saturday 15th July 2017: I woke up feeling sick, and my stomach felt really bloated and heavy. This went on all day making me feel really lethargic. I attempted to go out shopping but whilst in the second shop it felt unbearable and I needed to go home and sit down. Once at home I fell asleep for an hour. Other symptoms I felt throughout the day included blood spotting in the Crinone Gel, mild period-like pains and I had back ache. 

I'm going to summarise my symptoms in a list and update it each time I blog:

Symptoms so Far (ET-2DPT)

Feeling bloated / heavy stomach

Mild period-like pains / cramps

Strong period-like pains / cramps

Painful twinges

Extreme tiredness 

Sore nipples

Blood spotting

Feeling sick

Back ache

Today I'm feeling: Very good physically with no symptoms as yet (it's only 10.30am though!). A bit emotional - where have all my symptoms gone? Is this a good or bad thing? I wish the 2WW was over. Should I cave and do a pregnancy test? (I know that's a silly idea don't worry. It's far too soon and I probably still have hormones in my system from the trigger which could show a false positive!).

On a side note: We'll find out if any of our embryos were good enough to freeze tomorrow. I'm not holding out much hope as on Thurs they were not. Still, you never know!

Jess. xx

WE'RE OFFICIALLY PUPO (PREGNANT UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE!)

Good news - we're officially pupo as we had 2 embryos transferred yesterday afternoon. Now it's just a waiting game. We'll be having our pregnancy blood test in a couple of weeks so I'll let you all know how we get on with that.

In the meantime I need to make sure I use Crinone Vaginal Gel every morning (as I have been since the day after egg transfer) because this helps with implantation. 

This is all very exciting for us. We really hope these embryos stick as we would love some twinnies! That's the dream. 

Jess. xx

MY IVF SURVIVAL LIST

Just in case I have to go through this again at some point I thought I would write my own personal IVF survival list. Hopefully this will help some of you guys too! Here it is:

Food & Drink:

Bottles of Water - Drinking lots of water is really important when going through IVF. I felt quite thirsty at times.

Prunes / Prune Juice - For after EC. Not sure why but I was really constipated! (TMI - Sorry).

Brazil Nuts - I eat 3 a day. They're amazing for protein apparently. 

Avocados - Some say this triples your success rate!

Many say a high protein and low carb diet is what's best. A bit like the mediterranean diet. I must admit, I haven't ditched the carbs but have def upped my protein intake. 

Beauty Products:

Face Spritz - For hot flushes! I had a few of those. It didn't help that it's been an incredibly hot summer here in the UK though.

A good cleanser, toner, moisturiser and eye cream - Everyday must haves anyway but I find these really help my skin.

Bio Oil - I use this to help with the bruises from the injections on my stomach. I make sure it's at a time when we're not injecting though. So maybe sometime after injecting when I know I'll be having a shower before injecting again. (Over cautious I guess). 

Champneys Heavenly Days Sleep Temple Balm - For those days when I'm struggling to sleep. This didn't happen until after I stopped all the drugs (they made me super tired!). It was after egg collection that I needed this. I guess I was worried about what was going to happen next and couldn't sleep. 

Femfresh Shower Gel - I use it every day, but it's especially good for egg collection day as no perfumed products are allowed.

Medication etc:

Paracetamol - It's great to have this to hand in case I get a headache when downregging. I think I had two quite bad headaches altogether but don't remember actually taking any paracetamol. 

Sanitary Towels - I only used these after egg collection as I got a little bit of spotting. But barely any to be fair. I would have been okay without them.

Other:

Comfy Clothes - Having IVF has made me pretty bloated so I've had to ditch my skinny jeans and anything with a tight waist band. Instead, opting for super comfy pyjamas and leggings with floaty tops. 

Magazines - I mainly needed them when waiting to have egg collection at the hospital but as my down reg and stim meds made me feel tired I read a lot whilst on the sofa too.

A Diary or Blog - Writing this blog has really helped to get my thoughts straight. 

Time off Work - Being able to sleep when I need to sleep and rest when I need to rest has been such a help. 

Eliminate Negativity - It's easier said than done (my poor nan battled Cancer and passed away whilst I've been going through this process). But we can stay away from negativity where possible. 

Most Importantly - Stay chilled! Relaxing is key. 

Jess. xx

IVF BLOG DAY 35 | EGG COLLECTION | UPDATE FROM THE EMBRYOLOGIST

The embryologist called this morning and it turns out there was a hidden egg. So we have 9 altogether! Apparently my eggs and my fiances sperm had a bit of a party in that dish last night because they all fertilized!

However 2 were abnormal so we now have 7 embryos. We're really happy as you can imagine. Now it's a waiting game to see how they progress. If all goes well transfer will be tomorrow as planned or Friday. How exciting!

Today I'm we're feeling: Over the moon!

Have you ever had your eggs collected? If so, how many did you get?

Jess. xx

IVF EGG COLLECTION UNDER GENERAL ANAESTHETIC

Yesterday I wrote about how many eggs we had collected (you can read that post here) and today I thought I would write a bit about my experience of having the egg collection itself. So we got to the hospital at 8am and were greeted by all the lovely NHS staff members and then shown to my bed. 

I was asked to put on a hospital gown and my slippers and dressing gown that I had packed myself. I got out all my magazines as we didn't know what time our egg collection would be. Soon after that we were informed that we had been moved to second on the list. I think that was because I get sick when having general anaesthesia. 

Doctors always make sure that they give me anti-sickness medication which does the trick. However, they don't know if it will work so I expect they thought they would get me in sooner rather than later. That way if I am sick I've got more time in the day to recover and hopefully go home.

Throughout our time in hospital we were continuously asked the same questions over and over again. This is so that no mistakes are made (e.g. a mix up of eggs or sperm - can you imagine?!!!). I joked with my fiance and said 'imagine if we have a baby and it has the man opposites face'. But it's no laughing matter really because apparently these things do happen! Anyway, I digress!....

About 9am my fiance was called to give his sperm sample. Then not long after he got back (probably about 9.30) it was time for me to have my eggs collected. The whole procedure was straight forward and couldn't have gone better. They gave me the anaesthetic and the next thing I knew I had woken up and was wheeled back to my space on the ward. 

I was really glad to see my fiance and that it was finally all over. Like I said, it couldn't have gone any better but I was a little nervous before I went in. Following the procedure a nurse came to see me and asked if I was in any pain. I was in a little bit of pain and she told me I could have some morphine if I wanted. We agreed to wait 15 mins to see how I felt. 

The one thing I noticed was that my arms and legs were shaking pretty badly and I was sweating a little so didn't feel the best. It turns out this was just hypoglycemia as once I was given a couple of slices of toast I felt pretty good. That's typical of me as hypoglycemia is something I suffer with every day.

It's now been about 36 hours since egg collection and I'm pleased to say that I haven't taken any pain killers at all. Not even paracetamol! The pain just hasn't been bad enough. I can barely feel it at all. I've had a little bit of blood spotting but other than that I'm feeling pretty good! Better than I have over the past month I would say.

Jess. xx

IVF BLOG DAY 34 | EGG COLLECTION

Some of you might remember that when we had our final progress assessment we only had 5 follicles that were a good size, 2 that were somewhere behind and 9 that were so small I'm sure the consultant was hinting that they probably wouldn't grow. So in my head I thought we would probably have 7 follicles today if we were lucky. And if we were really lucky maybe 6 of those would have eggs in. Although I would have been happy to have had 5, maybe even 4.

About 30 mins before egg collection today I said so my fiance 'please prepare yourself that we may only get about 2 eggs'. He 'said why are you being so negative?'. I said 'I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic'. I assured him that I felt okay. I just didn't want to have unrealistic expectations. Well, it just goes to show what I know because on the IVF journey anything can happen and guess what? We got 8 eggs!

8 EGGS!!!!

I'm so happy. When the embryologist told us I shed 1 small tear of joy! (I wonder if she noticed? My fiance said he saw! Lol). I couldn't help but wonder where all the eggs came from? Apparently some of the follicles that I had somehow convinced myself wouldn't grow, did. I don't know who's watching over us (maybe my nan - remember she passed away 2 weeks ago and her funeral was yesterday?!). Anyway, whoever or whatever it is, from a science or spiritual point of view I'm so grateful. So blessed. 

It feels like we have a pretty good chance. Of course anything could go wrong at any stage, but as far as I'm concerned, so far so good.

Anyway that's all for this post, but I'll blog about the trigger injection and egg collection later. 

Today I'm feeling: The best I have all month! So happy. So alert. So positive. I feel like I've got baby dust sprinkled all over me! 

Jess. xx