OHSS

[daisy1]

Good afternoon Ladies

Long time no connection. Unfortunately I´ve been really busy and have not had a moment spare to log on. During my absence I have finally managed to find a clinic that I am happy with and if all goes to plan, I will start taking the pill in Sept (not quite sure why). The doc told me that I will take it for 3 weeks and then I assume when af arrives start with the drugs.

After the examination he told me that a) I had a heart shape uterus??? I am assuming that this might cause probs for implantation? and b) that I had alot of follicles and will probably be prone to hyperstimulation.

Can anyone enlighten me on this and is there anything I can do? I assume not since doc didn´t say anything, just that I would be monitored closely.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Little P how are things with you?

Nicola, how was the wedding and the suocera?

xxx

[dancola]

Hi Daisy, the wedding was fine – very hectic. The suocera was in a frenzy as can be imagined. It’s nice to be back in London though – first weekend here for 4 weeks!

I’m a bit confused by the information your doctor has given you. I myself have an ‘tilted’ uterus which basically means that it’s inverted. No real affect on ET etc except that I need to go with a full bladder and they have to use a different approach. Also means I suffer badly from back pain during AF as I gather the womb is closer to the ovaries which are near the back. Not heard of a heart-shaped though.

Am surprised he has already counted your follicles – I didn’t know you could do that before the scans? The way it works at my clinic is that on Day 21 I start down-regging, then I wait for AF to arrive, then around Day 5 or just after I have the first scan where they can see the first follicles. During the next 2 or so scans the follicles will grow and they will normally (hopefully) count more. Not every follicle will have an egg and follies have to be a certain size to be counted, so I am really surprised your doctor is telling you all this now. The advice to counter OHSS is to drink at least 2 litres a day, but my acupuncturist told me yesterday that in hot weather (and when I am in Italy) I should drink around 3 litres. He also said to drink milk (I hate milk so will substitute with full fat icecream or cheese!) as this can help. During my last cycle I suffered from mild OHSS so will make sure I drink more next time.

Hopefully the more experience women on here can inform better on the heart-shaped thing - it's a new one to me.

Take care,
Nicola

[daisy1]

Thanks Nicola

The doctor gave me a scan and in fact I actually saw loads of little holes in my ovaries which he told me were my follicles (one of which was extremely large which he said was the dominant one for this months cycle). When he told me that I had many ripe ones I was very impressed as I thought oh good lots of eggs, but the smile was soon wiped off my face when he told me that I might be prone to hyper stimulation. As for the uterus business I drew my own conclusions about the implanting because I think I misinterpreted his info.

Anyway we are due for another visit next week so I will make further enquiries. It`s quite unbelievable the way I always go mute with doctors. I made myself a long list of questions before entering but when he brought up my heart shape uterus! and hyper stimulation I was speechless which according to DH only happens when I`m with his family!!!!

Enjoy London this weekend, I hear it is very hot.

X

[dancola]

You’re right about the heat – it’s too much! My flat seems to have a permanent temp of 29 degrees even at midnight. Living in London I’m not keen about sleeping with the windows open either so it’s pretty hot. Word is that we’re to expect thunderstorms this weekend so hopefully that will cool things down about.

Good luck with your next appointment. It is difficult initially to think of what to ask. It’s only thanks to this site for example that I’m clued up about things like killer cells (which turned out to be relevant in my case) and seeing an acupuncturist has also helped me hone my knowledge further. It’s good news for you that you have lots of follicles though. Just be prepared to drink lots of water (start now so your body gets used to it – if you start only when treatment starts the water runs through you) and hopefully you can keep the OHSS at bay. I suffered last time, right up to ET I had bad pains. It’s not directly related to the number of follicles you have (so says my acu guy) but more what your body can cope with. Someone can suffer just with 3 follies. I possibly got a little over-stimulated last time round (they had to decrease the Gonal-F shots a few days before EC) and had a few more follies than the cycle before (11 eggs) so maybe for me that was too much.

[Tessa]

Hi Daisy,

I have also been off this sight for a long time, I just haven't been up to looking at this sight for a while.
Having lots of follicles means you have PCOS, you will have loads of follicles 'most' of the time. The reason your doc has said you will be prone to OHSS is because woman wth PCOS are.
I had OHSS last year, very seriously, so it is important your clinic do monitor you very closely. Unfortunately my clinic in London didn't, they never bothered to phone me on the Saturday to tell me to stop taking the Gonal F, they told me a few days later that the nurse was very busy that day..... sorry! I landed up in hospital with kidney failure.

There is really nothing you personally can do to stop it from happening, it is up to your clinic to closely monitor your meds and make sure it doesn't happen. Drinking loads of water is very important for any woman on treatment.

Hope all goes well..... GOOD LUCK!
Tessa

[hlloyd]

Hi Daisy

I am glad that you have found a clinic that you are happy with. Many clinics count follicles to ascertain egg reserves. Your results sound really positive. It is also good that they recognised the risk of OHSS early as they can better manage your cycle to minimise the risk of this happening. My clinic also start with BCP to rest the ovaries and to enable the clinic to control your cycle totally. My BCPs cross over with Synarel, a nasal spray that stops the ovaries from working temporarily (downregging). The Synarel again crosses over with Gonal F which is the drug that stimulates the ovaries to produce more than one egg. Scans during the stimulation phase will enable the clinic to check your OHSS risk and to adjust the stimulation drug as necessary. I wish you luck with your treatment...do you have a start date yet?

Take care
Heather

[daisy1]

Thanks Tessa and Holly for your info. I was a bit over zealous and have posted again about the pill in Sept buddies coz I forgot i had started this thread and mentioned the pill. So from what I gather from you post is that you don`t wait for af but there is a cross over. The reason I ask is because I have a string of visitors over summer (this happens alot and up until now I`ve loved it but this year is different as I just want to get on with things) so have to juggle things a bit. What I am basically trying to avoid is EC and ET with one of my visitors, although she is a very close friend of mine I don`t want to have to be thinking of even considering someone else during this time.

[hlloyd]

Hi Daisy

I would give the clinic a call and find out what date they have you scheduled for EC and ET and if it doesn't suit see if they can change it. My clinic start with an EC date and work their way backwards, adjusting the drug start dates to fit in with EC. This is why they use the BCP as it provides them with total control over your cycle. I hope this helps.

Cheers
Heather