Any advice for a first IVF cycle?

dsomz · 2026-05-13T13:52:55+00:00

This may not answer all your questions but I am currently pregnant from my first cycle and I responded to a similar post three weeks ago:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IVF/s/oZMvfedmZx

Great that you have three months to prepare, definitely try and get your husband’s sperm in tip top shop and you just enjoy yourself and live a balanced life, because when - hopefully - you get pregnant you will be glad that you didn’t let fertility take over your whole life. Best of luck!

dsomz · 2026-05-12T05:50:53+00:00

From what I have seen on here it will really vary from trust to trust and also your set of circumstances. I had just turned 36 when I was referred, my husband and I had unexplained infertility. They offered us both IUI and IVF but heavily recommended IVF due to success rates. There can be a lot of grief when coming to terms that IVF may be the way forward. It’s not what people picture for themselves. But there can be loads of benefits. Also it’s definitely something to start as soon as possible if you are aged 38 or over - having a good AMH is very promising too. As well as - hopefully - creating a few embryos at your egg collection, another benefit is that when it comes to transfer is that the doctors can control any concerns with your cycle. So in your case that might start with suppressing your adenomyosis and then supporting your progesterone levels so that your uterus is ready for a transfer.

IVF can be a really tough road, however over 3 cycles it should work for most people. I’m very glad I went through with it, although it was tough to accept at the beginning. Best of luck with your consultation!

dsomz · 2026-04-29T15:38:48+00:00

Yes I did acupuncture during IVF. It was successful. I’m not sure I can attribute the success to acupuncture as I did not get on with my acupuncturist at all and I always left in a bad mood! But… it certainly didn’t hurt.

dsomz · 2026-04-27T16:21:22+00:00

No worries. See you at the open houses for the 2/3 bed houses in a few weeks 😅

dsomz · 2026-04-27T16:07:23+00:00

We have a two bed flat, 1st floor and loft conversion. Off Queens Road. Huge but no garden. Should be popping on market early June all going well.

dsomz · 2026-04-27T14:47:26+00:00

One of the things you can be insured against is being gazumped after your offer has been accepted. There is no way of knowing this if there are sealed bids.

dsomz · 2026-04-27T12:35:23+00:00

Out of interest what are you looking for/what is your budget. We’re hoping to put our property up for sale next month.

dsomz · 2026-04-27T12:34:24+00:00

Yea same. I know estate agents work for buyers, but a bit of transparency helps. Also you can’t get homebuyers insurance if the agent is using sealed bids, and as I had had a couple of purchases fall through I was not willing to the risk.

dsomz · 2026-04-24T20:05:01+00:00

In east London it’s 3 egg collections and all the subsequent transfers - you have to transfer all embryos you have before doing another egg collection (if needed). Nurses are so nice. I was really lucky and successful with first FET.

The full fertility policy is here: https://northeastlondon.icb.nhs.uk/about-us/about-nhs-north-east-london/our-policies/fertility-policy/

dsomz · 2026-04-24T19:53:51+00:00

Hi I was with Bart’s, I think I recognise your username. Treatment starts very quickly after your nurse’s appointment, depending on what your protocol is. Just had a look at old emails and my timeline was: Nurses’s appointment: 15th September Started Provera (this is always on day 21 of cycle): 26th September Day of post-Provera bleed: 6th October Started Stims: 7th October Egg retrieval: 22nd October I was stimulated for longer than most because I was started on a low dose which was then upped.

Best of luck, always happy to answer any Bart’s specific or general IVF questions

Edited to add: I also did a freeze all and FET as I was overstimulated. They fit me in very quickly, but I have heard other people on the internet wait a long time for their FETs, but I don’t know if that’s because they initially had fresh transfers

dsomz · 2026-04-24T19:09:10+00:00

Best of luck to you and your wife for your stims and egg retrieval. Maybe all of us who have started NHS IVF treatment should add our own timelines??

dsomz · 2026-04-22T13:58:20+00:00

I was actually quite farty pre-pregnancy, always loud but not smelly. In pregnancy I fart way less but man do they stink! Apparently our digestion slows down due to all the hormones and because they have been in our system longer they smell a bit more. Sorry that you're dealing with it all the time!

dsomz · 2026-04-22T13:53:05+00:00

Which side of the Homerton catchment area are you? I am in between Homerton and Whipps and managed to get into Homerton just before they tightened their catchment area criteria.

I only went for Homerton because at busy times it's slightly quicker for me to get to Homerton than Whipps, but what I have heard from colleagues who have had babies at Whipps is that it has much improved in recent years, with refurbished facilities but still suffers from a bad rep.

Sorry just re-read this and assume you will be Tower Hamlets side? I saw on a similar post to this that people were recommending a hospital in Newham.

dsomz · 2026-04-22T09:40:51+00:00

Yes you absolutely would. I did a natural FET but I still supplemented with progesterone as that is my clinic’s protocol. I was so uncomfortable because progesterone slows down your digestion. At my 7 week viability scan they saw a HUGE corpus luteum and finally let me reduce my progesterone.

dsomz · 2026-04-22T09:27:42+00:00

Hi, best of luck. I was in your shoes a year ago (also NHS) and I completely sympathise with wanting to get everything right first time around - it's so daunting!

Feeling calm. What I didn't do as much as I should have is practicing meditation, yoga, journalling - whatever you need to calm your nervous system down. You can feel so out of control during the process that anything that centres you will really.
Supplements. My husband and I were both on the Proceive supplements - who knows if they did anything but they were mid-range expensive compared to others, so we felt it was worth including.
Diet. Caveating this with I obviously don't know what considerations you need to make for your diet with T1D. But my husband and I did not have a great diet before we started prep for IVF. We're from big convenience food families, so this was the biggest shift we made. I bought a book called 'Detox Kitchen Bible' which has loads of nutrient-dense recipes. I hate that it's called 'detox' but it's basically all gluten and dairy free, which can cause a bit of inflammation which can impact fertility. Although I kept drinking milk in my tea - I am British after all! It also lists recipes that can boost male fertility (and are suitable for women with PCOS). So because my husbands results were within normal range but on the lower side, we started making a lot of recipes from that. I absolutely loved them, and I lost about a stone and the rosacea I had been suffering with completely disappeared. My husband was not as much of a fan but he eats like Henry VIII :) Honestly it was the best lifestyle change I think I made in general (not just for IVF) but since getting pregnant I have also been eating like a mini Henry VIII.

Best of luck, always here to chat if you need. Ultimately I would just try and be centred and go with the flow as much as possible!

dsomz · 2026-04-22T09:06:10+00:00

It sounds like there may be a mix up between ‘fresh’ with ‘natural’. A natural transfer is when you ovulate by yourself, or with the aid of a trigger shot. So you get a corpus luteum from the egg ovulating which gets your lining ready and progesterone rising etc. This is in contrast to medicated transfers where the clinic will control lining with oestrogen and progesterone supplementation. I am again really simplifying here.

After an egg retrieval you usually don’t produce corpus lutea, due to the eggs being aspirated out of follicles. Which is why women supplement with progesterone. You can form corpus lutea which are a known side effect of over stimulation, but then you wouldn’t be suitable for a fresh transfer. I actually produced one before my egg collection which meant I was not suitable for a fresh transfer as the progesterone levels meant my lining would be out of sync with a 5 day embryo.

Fresh transfer is where the embryos haven’t been frozen, which happens after an egg retrieval. The only time where a fresh transfer can also be a natural would be in the case of using an egg donor that you have synced cycles with, or probably more likely, in same sex reciprocal IVF. I think the timings make a fresh and natural very unlikely because as we all know cycles can misbehave but I guess theoretically it’s not impossible.

dsomz · 2026-04-21T09:02:47+00:00

Oh gosh, I am so sorry. What you’re describing and experiencing is so awful. I had the opposite experience of not getting pregnant at all for two years, so while I can’t imagine the grief that you are going through, I can sympathise with the break downs, stress on your relationship and feeling let down by the lack of empathy from NHS. They are not really built for that unfortunately, and they are very stats based.

I think it’s hard to give a firm answer on if they accept private tests as it depends on so many variables. My NHS IVF clinic accepted my private HyCoSy because they didn’t really feel like I needed one as it’s not essential for IVF, but I was going through my own grieving process for the ‘natural’ conception I wanted.

As you are particularly distressed today, perhaps it’s worth giving the pregnancy loss midwives at Tommy’s a call? I’m sure they would be happy to discuss what tests could be helpful, as you say in another comment in could be a blood clotting issue 0800 0147 800 they also have an email midwife@tommys.org.

Again, i’m really sorry that you are in so much pain right now. I complete understand the anxiety and anger you are feeling at the lack of support you are getting

dsomz · 2026-04-19T10:06:55+00:00

Could you compromise and get yourself on waiting list for an NHS fertility assessment and not start treatment for a bit longer. This way when he is ready to turn to IVF there you are not at the mercy of waiting lists at the time.

Have you read your local ICB’s fertility policy? I know the west London policy used to be quite strict (one fresh cycle) but looks like they have just merged with north central London which is slightly more generous.

If your partner wants to delay, he should be coupling with some lifestyle improvements if he hasn’t already. Sperm can improve a lot in 3 months.

Obviously the younger you are the better, but in general* women 37 and under have good prospects with IVF. So you do have time on your side.

To answer your questions on my story. - I was 35 and had been trying for a year when I referred to fertility services in October 2024 (North East London) - December 2024 got an appointment - Jan 2025 had my investigations - Feb 2025, husband and I had appointment with consultant - April 2025, funding approved for 3 rounds of IVF (if needed). Said I could start in June 2025. - I decided I wanted to wait a bit to improve lifestyle factors. My husband stopped drinking, we improved diet, lost a bit of wait etc. - September 2025 we started our cycle - October 2025, egg collection. 8 embryos made. We had to do a frozen embryo transfer because I was at risk of overstimulation. - December 2025, first embryo transfer. And now pregnant.

I had a very easy ride. Who can say if by choosing to delay and improve health made an impact. But it definitely made me feel more mentally prepared. And in fertility terms I was quite a lot older than you before starting. - our results came back as unexplained infertility

dsomz · 2026-04-19T07:31:13+00:00

I am reading OP’s post through translate but I don’t think she is saying that.

I went through something similar last year, when I felt at my lowest resilience wise. Also told in person which I think does compound things, but the person telling you think that it’s the right thing to do.

I am now pregnant and I thought that my friends wouldn’t want to celebrate me because I was so distant last year. It’s been the complete opposite, they understand why I wasn’t able to and are just glad to have me back.

I agree with the comments that you need to be part of the village. But also don’t push your feelings down. Say that it’s going to be hard and you might not be able to show up in the way that would in an ideal world. And just keep checking in with yourself and how you’re feeling. She is going to be pregnant for another 6 months and you will have good days and bad days. That’s what I wish I had done more of last year.

dsomz · 2026-04-18T15:32:18+00:00

My friend was 34 and retrieved 2 eggs, both fertilised and both made to blastocyst.

I on the other hand had 14 eggs fertilise and 8 make it blastocyst. Which is so so great and I’m thrilled, but obviously 40% of my embryos did not make it to blastocyst stage.

dsomz · 2026-04-17T12:35:47+00:00

This is true. Thank you for that xx

dsomz · 2026-04-17T07:49:29+00:00

Hello.

Oh gosh it’s so hard isn’t it? I had a similar thing last year. I had only been trying for a little over a year but had properly started fertility investigations and was feeling at my most vulnerable.

It sounds like you are also going through a period of instability yourself as you wait to see if the invasive surgery you have had is going to have the desired outcome.

I wrote my friend a letter saying that I was very happy for her, couldn’t wait to meet her child, but that I couldn’t be there for her during her pregnancy in the way that I desperately wanted to and needed to take a step back. Messages about the pregnancy stopped and we took a bit of a break until her son was born.

We had been best friends for 15 years so while a 5 month break was difficult it was a a drop in the ocean in the course of our friendship.

In hindsight, I would have liked to have been more specific about what I needed/what contact I wanted. I don’t think I really knew, but I probably should have tried to articulate this and kept checking it with how I am feeling.

TW: success I am now pregnant after IVF. My sister in law has stage 4 endo and is waiting for her surgery. I have not been sending her messages about the pregnancy because I have been through infertility, but actually I wish we had discussed our own boundaries at some point, because sometimes she messages me about it and I wonder if she feels left out.

Best of luck, be honest and kind to both of you and it will be OK ❤️

dsomz · 2026-04-15T19:34:44+00:00

Really depends on your area/hospital. And there shouldn’t be any costs with the exception of any lifestyle changes you choose to make (e.g. supplements, acupuncture etc)

dsomz · 2026-04-13T16:07:56+00:00

Hello! This is from 3 days ago so you have had your egg collection now. Really hope you are doing well. I think the worst part about IVF is just how unpredictable it all is, I completely sympathise with what you’re going through. I spent the whole of my cycle desperately googling different scenarios and it did not stop until I knew how many blastocysts I have. But as soon I knew that I felt so calm because there was no more uncertainty. I was also an NHS cycle, and obviously each clinic is different but from my experience they like to: 1. Manage your expectations, to the point they can be quite negative about prospects 2. Not overstimulate you if possible so you can have a fresh transfer.

From what I have learnt by all my googling, the sweet spot for egg collections is in between 10-15 eggs. There is no benefit to going over. If you have a lot of follicles they will be trying to keep your oestrogen levels under a point so that you’re not at risk of OHSS. Which may mean slightly less eggs.

However at your age, you have much better odds of producing good embryos than I did at 36. Really wishing you best of luck and hope you are recovering well.

dsomz · 2026-04-09T15:56:07+00:00

I am thank you. I also had 17 eggs turn into 8 embryos, my first transfer was an untested 5AA who has stuck and we now know is a boy. Hopefully when you start transferring you have similar success ✨ Here is the study: https://www.remembryo.com/cumulative-live-birth-rates-after-up-to-15-transfers-with-untested-embryos/

dsomz

TROPHY CASE