2ww "symptoms" so far

I've never felt right about posting my "symptoms" in case a reader relies on them - either getting depressed that they don't experience the same things, or getting false hope from them. God knows I read enough forums & blogs myself, so I'm a bit of a hypocrite. But so many times I've had what I was sure were BFP symptoms, only to get AF right on time. So perhaps that will help others to see symptoms can go either way? I've also been using Ovidrel (same as trigger) for post EC support, which can be responsible for some things. Having said all that, here goes:

1-3dp5dt - nothing much.. perhaps a little fleeting nausea, burping, bit of heartburn, occasional abdominal cramps (but could all be in my imagination), ongoing sensitive nipples (they were sore before EC so probably due to medications), vivid dreams about being chased/attacked & defending myself, tired, 1 bit of stringy CM on TP on day 3 (very pale brown colour)

4dp5dt - no more nausea but a little short of breath, tiny bit of burping & heartburn, tired, lots of pains behind my belly button, strong sense of smell, trouble getting to sleep

5dp5dt - constant pains behind & slightly above my belly button (like needles) & a little bit itchy?, some slight occasional cramping & tightness in my abs and also low down, not a strong sense of smell anymore, gurgling stomach when lying down, lots of sneezing (but possibly due to smoke from a local backburn), possibly more veins in boobs but not sure if I'm looking too hard, slightly tender boobs, a few extra pimples on chin but not unusual for approaching AF. Forgot about transfer & lifted hubby's barbell today to move it for vacuuming - stupid!! Difficulty getting to sleep - stuffy nose, slightly wheezy, coughing, uncomfortable, throbbing pulse.

6dp5dt - after all those "symptoms" yesterday, today was a non-event, apart from waking up with AF type pains, then having a mild ache in my hips and lower back & an extra giant zit on my forehead (both of which are my usual signs of impending AF). Undie inspections are in full swing.

7dp5dt - AF-type cramps in my tummy ALL.FREAKIN.DAY! Torture. Went to the loo about 50 times to "check", as well as 3 lots of number two's (surely that's a lot in one day!). Chin absolutely covered in zits. Mild sore throat on & off. Depressed. Emotional. Fearful. Can't stop thinking about how I'm feeling & when AF will rear its ugly head to tear my heart out. As shitty as this experience is, I want to stop time. Let hope linger a little longer. Last cycle on similar medications my period started day 30 (the day before my 40th bday in Fiji).. day 30 is tomorrow. Tomorrow.

8dp5dt - continuing cramps, on & off. They vary in location from being lower down like AF to upper abs, to hips & lower back. Face looks like a pizza. Slight sore throat. Have tried to go to bed early but now have a headache, earth shattering burbs & feel blah. Undie check is hourly, with "that feeling" leading to multiple false alarms. I'm tired.. of running to the bathroom. Boobs don't look or feel any different. Don't feel that nauseous. Appetite hasn't increased. Sense of smell isn't any stronger. And I'm actually glad.. there's nothing worse than false hope!

9dp5dt - well, this morning I went to the loo, wiped, and there it was. I guess that's that.

Insanity + ET

This morning I had one early blastocyst transferred.

The other embryo was still at the 8-cell stage so it hadn't progressed since day 3. Of course they gave me the usual "oh we'll watch & see if it catches up overnight" but I know this never EVER happens. At least not for us.

So here we are again, PUPO, and hanging all our hope on one tiny ball of cells.

From the moment I was told we only had one to transfer, and that it was just barely a blast, I've been down. I'm just not feeling it. I know I should be positive and optimistic.. but I'm struggling.

Actually last night it suddenly dawned on me that hubby will be 60 in less than five years. Holy crap! All this time he's been telling me he feels bad about potentionally not being around to see our kids grow up & I've dismissed it. I thought he's young at heart so it'll all be fine, because I just wanted another child so bad... but seriously, this guy has heart disease. I almost lost him when our son was just 9 months old. His condition is under control with medication but you just never know. Plus having another child would place extra stress on both of us.. Perhaps I really am being selfish. Perhaps this second baby isn't happening for us because it's just not meant to, for good reason.

I think this could really be our last roll of the dice. Don't they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome? I think the definition of insanity is me.

Day 3 embryo progress

The scientist called this morning & I rushed out of the shower to answer the call... with my fingers crossed the whole time.

The two embryos we had on day 1 have both made it to day 3 - both are at the 8 cell stage. She said at this point they like to see between 6 & 8 cells so they're both on track. She reiterated that they have a lot of developing to do over the next couple of days so there is a chance one or both could falter after this yada yada. We'll get another call tomorrow from a nurse with an update & details about our transfer on Tuesday, if we get that far.

I think I will end up with arthritis or something from all the finger crossing..

PS. I had a lovely day out today with hubby & little guy. I also ended up quite tipsy. I know many wouldn't do it, but I'm throwing caution to the wind & just enjoying life this time. It was a great day :-)

Embryo update

Just a quick update.

I thought the clinic were going to call me yesterday afternoon but I didn't hear from them until this morning.

The nurse said of the five eggs collected yesterday, only two could be injected with sperm. The others mustn't have been mature or good quality. Today those two are showing good signs of fertilisation. I start with my first six clicks of Ovidrel any time tomorrow (for luteal support, instead of Crinone thank god!) and they'll give me another embryo update on Sunday (2 days from today). At this stage my transfer, if it goes ahead, will be on Tuesday (5 day transfer).

I stupidly got excited yesterday at the thought of having enough embryos to freeze. I should know better. This is all we ever get and we're lucky to end up with one to transfer. Feeling more than a little deflated. And crampy.

Got to pick myself up & have a lovely day out with hubby today. And cling onto hope.

E-day (EPU)

I set off at 6.55 this morning via cab into the city. Luckily the traffic across the bridge wasn't too bad so I was there in 15 minutes. The building is still undergoing repairs so a Genea rep was in the foyer providing lift access to the 4th floor only. After checking into reception I was taken straight through to the day surgery, rather than having to change & leave my belongings in a locker first. Thank god, as I wasn't given a magazine or anything, so I could use my iPhone for entertainment & to contact hubby.

He was at home getting our little guy ready for daycare, which didn't open til 8am. We don't normally take him til around 9.30am so it was a major operation. He did it well but unfortunately his cab was 15 mins late. Either way he wasn't going to make it in time for my egg collection which happened about 8.10am so I had to go it alone, again.

I was escorted into theatre by my FS doctor who pushed the recliner from my cubicle in for me to use later. Two nurses got me prepared & in the operating chair, before my FS started working on getting the cannular into my hand for my light sedation (Fentanyl). He had a false start in my right hand (ouch!) so had to switch to my left. That was probably the worst part of the whole ordeal! Within a minute I started feeling lightheaded & was laid back ready for the procedure. FS inserted the speculum, cleaned me inside, then started administering the local anaesthetic to my ovaries. That was a tiny bit ouchy at times. He proceeded to drain each of my follicles, of which we'd seen 7 on the last ultrasound. I could feel a slight bit of poking on the inside but it definitely wasn't hugely painful - I just took a deep breath & it was over in seconds.

The lovely embryologist, who had briefed me on the procedure earlier, was in the room, looking through the fluid retrieved from my follicles. She told me they found 5 eggs so my FS removed everything from my vajajay & finished up. I was given a moment to regather before being helped into the recliner & wheeled back to my cubicle. I was given tea, toast, biscuits and Panadeine. The embryologist came back in to tell me they had 4 good eggs to work with & would call me later after they cleaned them up, thawed the sperm & injected them (I'm having ICSI). FS came in to check on me & discuss the next steps. I asked about doing a 3 day transfer if we end up with only one embryo, seeing as this may be our last shot, but he wasn't particularly keen on that scenario. He didn't think it would make a difference to the chance of success, and in fact would prefer to save us the angst of enduring a TWW for nothing. Anyway, he was happy to discuss that later once we know what we're working with.

I'm still waiting for a call from the clinic (my advice: have a nap as soon as you get home.. I'm now ready for a nap but at 3.49pm, there's a good chance the clinic will call the minute I fall asleep!).

Update to follow...

*crossing fingers*

Go for launch!

Another BT & date with the dildo cam this morning (thankfully only about 8 women waiting this time) - and we counted 7 follicles, 2 on the right and 5 on the left. Of those there are three good ones at about 19.5, 19.5 and 18mm. Endo thickness has risen to 8.1. I'm stoked! It's our best yield in about the last 4 cycles. God I hope they all have mature eggs in them & that hubby's frozen sperm hits the mark!

The nurse rang about 4.30pm (I was getting worried they'd forgotten about me!) to say I'm booked in for my egg collection at 8am on Thursday - cycle day 17. So tonight I'll have the Trigger injection (Ovidrel) at precisely 8pm. This morning was my last dose of Luveris, Gonal-f and Cetrotide. Thank the Lord!! My belly looks like a pin cushion! I feel so bruised & bloated, my tummy is still upset now and then, and I just feel blah! 

So we're go for launch!

It's really scary just how positive and hopeful I feel. Dangerous even.

4th anniversary

So on this very day 4 years ago, we drove to the clinic, met our doctor in a sterile room wearing funny hats & robes & shoe covers, and "picked up" our future child. Of course we didn't know that this would be our child.. we hoped, but after one unsuccessful ICSI cycle and the second resulting in a miscarriage at 9 weeks, we were a little nervous & cautious. It took me a long time to get over the fear of losing that pregnancy. I just had to make it to my 6 week scan, then I just had to make it past 9 weeks to last longer than my m/c, then I just had to get to the 12 week scan so I could announce it, then I just had to get to the 19 week morphology scan.. once that was all clear, I was happy but not content yet. I think once I'd made it past 24 weeks (the so-called safe point) I really allowed myself to enjoy being pregnant.. I started "looking" pregnant & embraced my blooming body. I loved being pregnant... everything was amazing to me, even with all the aches, pains & the not-so-pretty symptoms. I lapped it up. I didn't want it to end. It was something I feared I would never experience in my lifetime.. & something I wasn't sure I'd get to experience again.

This week we hope to get another shot.

After about 15 (?) more disappointments, I wish I could say we're numb to the process. Unfortunately I still dream of that little bubble in the screen turning into a huge part of my life. I don't think hubby feels the same. He doesn't allow any real hope to creep in. I get it. He's protecting himself, it's how he copes with this crazy, artificial world. But I need the hope. I couldn't put myself through all this without it. So we battle on.. & hope we win the war.

___________________________________

UPDATE: After waiting in an even busier clinic this morning (well, actually outside the clinic, in the corridor, as there was no room) for 1.5 hours (!!!!!) I finally got my ultrasound and blood test done. I have to say I felt really sorry for all the nurses & sonographers.. they were flat out & all patients were pretty peeved with the ridiculous wait times. Anyhoo, the scan showed 7 follicles & a 7mm lining. The nurse called before lunchtime to let me know that my FS was pretty happy with 3 of them at 17mm, 16mm & 14mm. He wants me to go for another blood test & scan tomorrow morning (kill me) and I might be having the pickup op on Thursday or Friday (I'm hoping Thursday!). I don't think my endo thickness is great so I'm a bit worried, and trying to research ways to naturally increase it. It seems orgasms & exercise are the order of the day :-) 😝

CD13, 10th day of stims

TMI warning!!!

Ugh... SUCH a dodgy tummy today! :-/

Yesterday my stomach was rumbling really loud at work & I just thought I had a bit of wind from something I ate.. but then I had to rush to the loo last night.

Then this morning was my first opportunity in FOREVER for a sleep-in - I'd demanded that DH look after DS in the morning for a change so I could get some much-needed rest. BUT.... I had to get up & go to the loo. I was not well. I crawled back to bed after doing my injections at 8.30am & tried to get more sleep but at first I was in too much pain - stomach cramps, headache, nausea, - then that started to subside but my little guy was making a racket in the lounge & the neighbour's boys were stomping around upstairs so I gave up. Mind you, I still enjoyed lying around in bed until 11am.

I lazed around on the couch but eventually I had to get ready for work as I started at 2pm, training up for a new role. This was NOT the best day for me to have to concentrate. I was sweating for the first hour or so but luckily I came good. Then tonight the diarrhoea struck again. 

I remember this happening last round & I was freaking out about my egg retrieval. It must be related to the medications. Fingers crossed my blood test & ultrasound show some serious progress so I can have my egg collection soon & stop these meds. Plus my belly is getting sore from the 3 injections a day & all the bloating!

IVF clinic comparisons (Australia)

Someone just posted this link on an IVF Facebook group I'm in & I thought it was really useful.
Sorry, it's only for Australia.. hopefully there's similar sites out there for other countries.

http://ivfcompare.com.au

It's worth noting, though, that with clinics that appear to have multiple locations in the one city, e.g. Genea in Sydney, some clinics are only for blood tests and ultrasounds. You usually have to have an initial appointment in the CBD (or main location) with a nurse to sign up, go through and collect your medications. You may also need to have your procedures (egg collection and transfer etc) in their city day surgery. So make sure you keep that in mind when choosing a clinic based on location, and ask these questions.

For us, IVF Australia was much more convenient as everything was done in Greenwich & they had an (albeit small and poky) car park. Bump also did everything in Mosman & had a great car park, plus they had a courier deliver all your medications to you. With Genea, I get my monitoring in St Leonards but everything else requires a trip to the city on public transport which I find a bit of a pain (no car park, even for day surgery pickups, although there's VERY limited street parking out front).

That's just my comparison on convenience. As you'll see on the website, IVFA & Genea are the most expensive with Bump bulk billing most things. Bump wasn't for us as they provide quite standard treatments & I needed a more "out of the box" approach after so many failed cycles. I think a lot depends on your specialist also. My FS at IVFA was great, got us pregnant twice, but after the birth of our son, just kept using the same protocol despite no change in results. We moved to Genea for a new approach & they have great success rates. The FS I went to is well known for second opinions & has tried me on a couple of different drugs.. I guess if that doesn't work then at least I'll know we tried everything.

Hope this helps!

Mixing injections (for dummies)

I remember the first time I had to mix my injections. I'd done about 8 cycles with premixed pen injections, so they were simple. Then I was given the powder & water vials to mix myself & I freaked out! I had no idea what to do! The nurses thought I had done it all as I was a bit of an IVF "veteran".

So here's my little IVF community service:

This is my Luveris. 

I get two vials - one is water for mixing and the other is powder (which is the actual drug):

Flip the lids off the vials & discard:

Place the largest needle onto the end of the syringe & remove

the plastic covering:

Poke the needle through the middle of the rubber covering on the vial of water:

Turn the bottle upside down, pull the needle out a bit so the tip is underwater, & pull out the syringe plunger to remove all the water (you may need to pull the needle out a bit more as the water level goes down):

Inject this water into the vial of powder & swish side to side until it's mostly dissolved (do not shake it up, you want to avoid bubbles). Then use the same process above to draw the new solution back into the syringe. Place the cover carefully back over the large needle & remove. 

Attach the small needle, remove the plastic cover, push the plunger VERY CAREFULLY & SLOWLY to remove most of the air from the syringe. Be careful not to squirt all of the solution into the air! I try to keep a thumb in the way so I can't accidentally push it all the way. Pinch your skin & inject into your tummy. This one can be a bit ouchy so I sometimes ice the spot first to numb it a bit.

Now this is my Cetrotide. It's a very similar process, however the water is already loaded into the syringe.. you pull the White plastic cap off and instead of pushing the large needle onto the syringe you actually screw it on, then pull the plastic lid off. After injecting the water into the vial of powder, mixing and drawing it back up, you place the plastic cover back on the needle & unscrew it again. Then screw the small needle onto the syringe, remove the air & inject into your belly. 

Hopefully this all makes sense!

You might also want to use the alcohol wipes on your belly before injecting. 

I understand these tips might not apply to other medications.

Anyway, feel free to ask if you have any questions & I'll endeavour to answer them.

Happy injecting!

First scan & blood test results

Cycle day 11, day 8 of injections:

This morning I had to have my blood test & first scan. I went to the local clinic just after 8am, figuring I'll get it done early & have just enough time to go home & make my lunch before walking to work (which is 5mins away)...... WRONG!! I walked in & it was standing room only! It's a tiny waiting room & it was full to the brim! There's usually only about 2-3 other women in there, if that, but this time there would have been about 15! It seems that people have been diverted to other branches for their tests until the fire and water damage is repaired in the city headquarters. What a nightmare! I was in there for about 45mins. I had to duck off to the toilets to do all 3 of my fiddly bloody injections (lucky I brought them with me!). A lady went into the cubicle next to mine & just sat there, listening to me unwrapping everything & clinking bottles. God knows what she must have thought!

Anyway, I only have 3 follicles - 10mm, 8mm & 6mm (or thereabouts). My uterine lining was around 5mm. So I was told by the nurse this afternoon to keep stimming over the weekend & come back for another BT & ultrasound on Monday. This cycle really isn't looking much better than the last few. And despite googling my head off, I know deep down there's nothing I can really do about it now. It's all up to fate.

Anyway, on the positive side, the nurse told me the day surgery in the city should be back up & running on Monday. One less thing to worry about!

Fertility under fire

Yesterday I found out (thanks to a woman on Facebook) that there was a fire at my clinic on the weekend.. apparently there was significant damage caused to the reception area, day clinic & day surgery, but stored embryos, eggs & sperm weren't affected. This woman was told her transfer couldn't go ahead as planned this week & if her one embryo wasn't deemed strong enough to freeze they would let it expire. I'm horrified & distraught for this lady. Like me, she gets very few eggs collected, then is lucky for them to fertilise, so this new development is a huge blow and may cost her the chance to conceive another child. Thinking of her this week x

I haven't yet heard if my procedures will be affected next week. I was going to call but I'm assuming they're flat out making other arrangements for this week's procedures, so I'll give them a bit of space. I go to a smaller clinic close to home for monitoring on Friday so I might wait to ask them. Hopefully the repairs are fast-tracked & all is sorted again by then.

Today I started taking Cetrotide. So that's 3 injections every morning! My belly is already tender! And what a production it is every morning, mixing the powders and water! Why can't the Luveris & Cetrotide come in convenient pre-mixed pens like the Gonal-f?? And why do the needles have to be so fat and so bloody ouchy going in??!! I'm ok with needles, the Gonal-f is a breeze, but these other two....

God I hope they're all doing their thing in there.. I'm nearing the end of the road. I really don't think I can do this anymore. I feel optimistic, kinda, but if we only get one egg, or even one embryo at the end again, I think it's time I accept defeat. Perhaps someone's trying to tell me something. Perhaps I AM being too greedy wanting another child. Perhaps I'm not even being the best Mum to him & I need to work on that. He really does deserve my undivided attention and a healthy & strong mum. Pumping all these hormones for this long can't be doing me good. I've got some hard thinking ahead of me.

Injection day

After my blood test this morning I got the call from the clinic to confirm all my levels were good and it was time to start the injections. The nurse rattled off some vague instructions at warp speed and seemed in a hurry to finish the call. I had to stop her and double check a few things.. I think they all just assume if you've done more than a few cycles before that you don't need anything explained. To be honest , in the few months between cycles I pretty much wipe my memory of all things IVF... or at least I try to.

So anyway, I believe my instructions are:

* Begin 300iu Gonal-f and Luveris injections tonight (CD4)

* Continue having Gonal-f and Luveris injections once daily from tomorrow morning

* Add once daily Cetrotide injections on Tuesday (CD8)

* Have blood test and ultrasound next Friday (CD11)

Originally they said my EPU would happen the week beginning Feb 22 so fingers crossed things go according to plan (read: fingers crossed I have more than ONE friggin egg to actually retrieve!).

(This is just the Gonal-f & Luveris)

Light period = poor lining??

So I found out yesterday that I'm also meant to be on Luveris again during this cycle. The pharmacist had me pay for it over the phone and then delivered it to me at work today. Tomorrow I will go in to the local branch to have my first blood test for this cycle and find out later if I am to start taking the Gonal-f after that. Tonight I took my last Progynova tablet, so was only on it for a week.

On another topic, today is CD3 and my period is so light. TMI but I barely need a tampon. It does worry me a little that this is reflective of a poor uterine lining. I've mentioned this to a nurse in the past but my concerns were brushed off. My linings have coincidentally been borderline leading up to transfers a few times so I still worry a little. I guess we'll see.

CD1

It's funny how your period starting can go from being such a massive negative (pardon the pun) one month to being such a great thing the next. This time I'm stoked - it started right on time and signals the start of possibilities.

Last month, for some monumentally STOOOOOPID reason, I had dared let myself believe I *could* be pregnant.. which is 99.99999999999999999999999999% impossible considering DH's 20 year old vasectomy and my.. well.. 40 year lack of fertility.. Why does a supposedly educated, intelligent and mature (ahem) woman talk herself into believing something so ridiculous? Because she WANTS to believe it. I have always had this fantasy that I would eventually fall pregnant naturally despite all our difficulties, just like that Facebook forum poster's cousin's friend's sister's hairdresser's sister-in-law did. If you Google "pregnant despite vasectomy" etc you WILL find a slew of people claiming it happened to them, or someone else they know. What you didn't Google was "delusional woman not pregnant despite thinking she could beat the odds and medical science". Because if you did - you'd see a giant picture of my pitiful self... NOT pregnant. So here I am trying to do many of you a favour.. here I will list all of my "pregnancy symptoms" that were actually just signs of impending AF (or imaginary altogether) and, embarrassingly, a UTI:
* Sore nipples
* Sore breasts
* Bloating
* Frequent urination
* Heavy feeling in the belly
* Strong sense of smell
* Empty feeling in the tummy - frequent hunger

I'm only listing this as I think it would have helped me when I Googled my symptoms, instead of it telling me I was up the duff and getting my hopes up. You might be.. but you also might not. I really hope you actually are.

Anyway, I digress. Today I went into the city to pick up my medications. DP and DS came in with me  for a day out but I went into the clinic alone. The pharmacist asked if I knew what drugs I was picking up which freaked me out a bit.. aren't they supposed to know? Turns out I'm also meant to be taking Luveris on top of the Gonal-f and Cetrotide, which the nurses I spoke to didn't mention. Anyway, a call later confirmed they would send it to the clinic closer to home so I can pick it up when I go for my blood test on Friday. I might be starting them medications on Friday but I think I'll call them tomorrow to confirm AF started today, just in case. My plan is different this time so I just want to make sure I don't stuff anything up.

So we went out after the clinic & had a lovely day, however I had to carry the medications around everywhere in a cooler bag with an ice pack. It was a pretty warm day and I was a bit stressed worrying about whether they were cold enough!! :-/ DH & I had a few drinks with lunch (I always have a few leading up to a cycle just in case I have to abstain for at least 9 months after ;-) but I didn't have enough water to drink so subsequently I have been nursing THE.WORST.HEADACHE I think I've ever had (apart from migraines). Rookie mistake. Thanks Progynova.

My IVF timetable & supplement regime

I took a break from all supplements apart from my multivitamin since our last unsuccessful cycle in September. I find when I'm taking them, it's really difficult to take a mental break from TTC - I am reminded daily.

I started up again in December sometime I think, so it's only been around 6-8 weeks. I planned to get back into IVF in March so I would have a good 3 months to get my system back in shape & give the supplements time to kick in. But a work opportunity has come up from March onwards which will make it difficult to take time off for procedures. So, we're jumping right back in now. Here's our draft timetable for the full stim cycle:

* Feb 2 (CD21) - begin taking Progynova 2mg twice a day

* Feb 12 - go in for a blood test & pick up my other medications (Gonal-f & Cetrotide), if all is well, start morning Gonal-f (FSH) injections

* Feb 16 - begin morning Cetrotide injections

* Feb 19 - follicle scans & blood test

* Feb ?? - Trigger injection tba

* Feb 22 - estimated week of egg collection

And here's what supplements I'm taking:

* Elevit multivitamins- 1 daily
* Fish oil - 1500mg once daily
* Probiotics - broad spectrum 35 billion once daily
* CoQ10 - 150mg once daily
* Iron + C (GP put me on these as I was pretty low & exhausted)

I'm trying to up my protein intake, more salads, less sugar (difficult!) aaaaand.... I'm back on full fat organic milk. I went dairy free about 12 months ago due to bad acne (definitely helped) but I wonder if that's hindering my fertility these days? We'll see if that helps.

I'm back

Funny, it's just occurred to me - I wonder how many times I've begun a post with "Well, here we go again." At least it would be funny, if it wasn't so depressing.

I was planning to wait until March to do another (probably our final) round of IVF, so I could get fit & healthy.. but an opportunity has come up to do some freelance work for my old employer starting in March & possibly right through to October. This will mean weekly commitments that I have to stick to.. so no time off for procedures. I called the clinic to check I wasn't too late to start the Progynova this month.. I made it by the skin of my teeth.

So today I dragged my 3yo kicking & screaming (literally) into the city to pick up my drugs. Every single time I feel like a novice with no clue (especially when I've had a big break from it), but it doesn't help when I've been put on a different protocol the last few times! So I ask the nurses a LOT of questions. They seem a bit bemused by my ignorance, considering I should be a pro at all this by now!

I start taking 2mg of Progynova twice a day on Feb 2 (cycle day 21) and go back in on Feb 12 (regardless of whether AF has arrived) for a blood test & to pick up the other medications (Gonal-f & Cetrotide). Then hopefully my EPU should happen around the week beginning Feb 22................... the  date of my embryo transfer back in 2012, which resulted in the conception of my son.