Hi Becs and Tracy,<br><br>I've copied a posting of mine from the 'old' site - hope it helps. <br><br>Nothing physically gets much worse than bad period pains. Emotionally - well, all I can say is everyone knows what your going through and can help and just keep talking to
dh - sharing the pain does help. But yes, tears are very normal and so is denial at first.<br><br>Have either of your dhs had mumps when younger? A few of us seem to be here after the affects of this nasty bug!<br><br>This is a description of what I see as an 'average' long-treatment IVF cycle based on my recent ICSI cycle: <br><br>Day 1 of period (day wake up bleeding) - phone for treatment <br>Day 2 of period - go for blood test then wait for about 3 weeks <br>Day 21 of period - start down-regulating drugs (possibly sniffing/injecting) for approximitely a fortnight <br>Day 1 of next bleeding - phone clinic for instructions for rest of treatment <br>Approx Day 3 of this period - go for scan/blood test <br>Approx Day 5 of this period - start stimulating drugs (down-reg drugs reduce at this point) for approximately 10/14 days going for scans and blood tests every alternate day if not every day, the stim drugs tending to slowly reduce as the days go by. <br>When the follicles are big enough, hCG injection taken late evening/night (other drugs cease here) <br><br>As Jilly said, 36 hours later go for egg collection (ec). You will likely need this and the next day off to recover, plus the day after is embryo transfer (et), so you'd be better off work then too. <br><br>A few days later another hCG injection (or pessaries) <br><br>For me, the blood days are better than the scan days because the clinic start taking blood at 7:30 am and finish at 9:00 am, so I can get it done before going to work. The scan appointments vary from 7:30 am to late afternoon (unusual but possible), so its pot luck whether you have a long wait on the day or not. <br><br>Then after et comes the dreaded 2 week wait (
2ww) - seems the worst that life can throw at you, but logging on here sharing worries/hopes helps the time go by. <br><br>The need to go through the IVF always outweighs the affects of the drugs and often most people don't feel too bad (although perhaps the chaps may say different). <br><br>If you learn how to do your own injections (not as bad as it sounds) or if you are sniffing then visits are a minimum for the initial stages. It is hard to predict when things are going to happen but you just have to try to take it in your stride, and remember that you are top priority. <br><br>Good luck, and I know you'll find this site as invaluable as I have. <br><br>Luv <br><br><br>Fiona xx
Me:36
Dh:46,
ttc 5+yrs, M/F (96% abnormal).
13 unsuccessful Txs From 2000 [4xClomid (NHS), 7xIUI(d)s & ICSI#1 (MFS), ICSI#2 (MFS) Oct 02 (ectopic)] Natural
pg Jan 03
m/c 5.5wks
ICSI#3 (CARE) +ve boy (Xander) EDD 21/03/04 - so excited!!!!!!