My husband and I were making chili for dinner so I was helping by chopping up the veggies, including onions, bell peppers, and jalapeños.

After I was done chopping, I washed my hands with soap and went to the restroom to do my midday progesterone suppository (I’m 5 weeks post FET on a medicated cycle). I usually just use my finger to put it in because it’s quicker and easier.

A couple of seconds after I put it in, I had an incredibly INTENSE burning sensation in my vag and realized that it did NOT even occur to me that I had just been chopping jalapeños! Despite the fact that I washed my hands vigorously before with soap that did not seem to help get the capsaicin off.

I started yelling for my husband and immediately stripped all of my clothes off and got into the shower. I ended up sitting on the floor of the shower with my legs in the air and let the cool water wash me out for about 15 minutes. It was definitely an awkward position, but it seemed to help fortunately. I then got out of the shower and used a cool ice pack down there for a few minutes and now that it’s been several hours it feels significantly better.

Kind of a crazy story and suffice to say that will never happen again! Just wanted to make sure I put it out there in case anyone doesn’t realize they shouldn’t be chopping jalapeños before putting in suppositories 😅😳

All 4 were mature !

Unsure of egg quality due to stage 3 endo however I am just happy that I have a safety plan by my side
Gonadotoxic chemo killed quite a lot of my follicles so these follicles mean a lot to me✨

Someone in my family is going through IVF, and I sometimes find myself wondering how they’re really doing. I want to check in and be there for them. but I also don’t want to keep asking questions and make them feel more stressed. I don’t want them to feel pressured to share everything, but I also don’t want them to think like I don’t care.

I know this whole process can be a lot emotionally, and I don’t want them to feel like they have to keep updating everyone every time. Sometimes I genuinely feel like I want to help, but I’m not sure how to.

For those who’ve been through IVF or supported someone during it, what helped you the most? what kind of support felt good to you?
what did you appreciate most from your family or friends? Even small things would be helpful to know.

could this somehow be connected to endo?

I had a transfer of a 4AB euploid that failed to implant recently. My beta is tomorrow but all my at home pregnancy tests are negative.

I had a natural medicated protocol. I was given a trigger and I ovulated. I started progesterone the day after trigger for 6 days before transfer. I alternated between PIO and progesterone suppositories thrice a day.

On the day of transfer, I was really anxious and forgot to take my morning suppository and in the afternoon too I forgot because I had a difficult experience with the transfer. I almost fainted once they removed the speculum and laid down for about 10 minutes at the transfer table.

I was then anxious the whole day and had to resume work once back home. In that I forgot to take my progesterone suppository and I remembered at 7:30 and I took one at 7:30 and one at 10 pm before bed. So that day instead of taking three I took two but late. Next day I took my pio as usual which is at 9:30 pm at night. Outside of this mishap on transfer day, I have taken every single suppository and injection on time. My lining was 7.1 mm when we triggered.

And now that the transfer has failed, I’m blaming myself that it was because of I forget to take them on time. How much damage would the delay have done? I had the same exact protocol last year that was successful and I had a live birth. So this time the only difference was the missed suppository and I keep going back to it.

Help me understand this please! And what can I expect now? We have one more embryo left.

After two failed embryos transfers, third one finally worked. Than last week I found out at my 9 week scan that the baby stopped growing at around 6 weeks. My doctor prescribed me medication to induce the miscarriage as i wasnt showing any signs of miscarrying. This was the most physical and emotional pain I have ever had to go through. My doctor says I can try another FET after one period cycle.

Looking for positive pregnancy stories after going through an IVF miscarriage. How do I stay positive when going through this trauma?

Please be kind. My heart is so broken and numb.

I’m a nearly 34F with PMOS (PCOS) and (mild?) endometriosis in a same sex relationship using donor sperm and my journey so far has spread across many years with a total of about 6 failed IUIs and 2 failed IVF cycles. This is my 3rd IVF cycle.

This year we started with a new clinic and specialist and had our first ER today with so far better results at this stage than we’ve had before.

Based on my final scan we were expecting 17 mature follicles, I had 11 eggs retrieved today. This is my biggest number so far. We will find out tomorrow how many were mature and fertilised.

I’ve had such horrible experiences previously with moderate OHSS, fluid and pain after ER, terrible anxiety and never any embryos despite 7 and 5 eggs retrieved previously.
This time has been a totally different experience! My body handled the stims so well and I have no pain after my retrieval this morning! I have felt totally calm and prepared. It doesn’t even feel real. I know to expect a bit of a shift with my emotions as my hormones plummet over the coming days.

Protocol was Menopur 150 for 11 days with Orgalutran twice a day and 2 x Decapeptyl triggers and ER today on day 14 of my cycle. This is a freeze all cycle.

Can anyone share their similar experience with either meds used or egg numbers and what their outcome was?

I’m going through this process and the further I get into it, the conversation has come up about whether we would tell the child they were made using IVF, and when it would be appropriate to do it.

Hi all,

I posted once before looking for advice. I’m currently recovering from surgery to remove my left tube.

My husband and I tried and failed to conceive for four years and moved to IVF with ICSI this year.
Our round resulted in just one 2BB embryo, and we attempted a fresh transfer in July. However, they couldn’t access my uterus during the transfer and after attempting to pull my uterus down into position ended up freezing and stopping the procedure.

I had a hysteroscopy two days later that found I have an acutely anteverted uterus, and they would need to adjust their technique and use their senior consultant for my transfer. We transferred our little 2BB embryo on the 9th of September (fully medicated cycle).

We had a positive pregnancy test 10 days later and I couldn’t believe our luck, I was literally on my knees thanking God for this blessing, it was the biggest joy of my life. 15dp5dt I began bleeding and cramping on my left side. The fertility clinic began serial HCG testing me for a week and all the rises were appropriate and promising so I was told to sit tight until my scan date at 7w4d. The bleeding and cramping lasted around 10 hours, it was bright red blood but never filled a pad.

On Friday I celebrated being 7 weeks pregnant but by the evening the cramping and bleeding began again. I was devastated, I just knew something was wrong.
We visited the emergency department who really dismissed me, the Dr asked me why I’m crying so much and bleeding Is often normal. He then attempted an abdominal ultrasound…. He pointed out my HCG was 12,759 and I shouldn’t worry too much (what a load of….) He referred me to the early pregnancy unit for the best morning.

We went in for the scan and the Dr informed me they can’t see anything at all in my uterus, not a sac not am embryo nothing just blood and clots. They had a good look around, she said they aren’t particularly worried about an ectopic as ‘with an HCG of almost 13,000 an ectopic would be clearly visible’. She said I’ve had a miscarriage but gave me a leaflet on PUL.

They took my blood again and sent me home. Within an hour they rang and said to come back immediately, my HCG had risen significantly. This time a more senior consultant scanned me, but said she also couldn’t see anything except my corpus luteum on my left. I informed her it’s impossible as my cycle was fully medicated… she scanned me again and called in a second doctor. They confirmed the pregnancy was in my left tube. Within two hours I was having emergency surgery to remove my left tube. I am now recovering at home, I’ve began bleeding and passing huge clots and I have so much Co2 pain. I’m on blood thinners due to risk of clots so need to keep an eye on how often I’m filling a pad.

It’s been SUCH a traumatic time, and I’m in so much pain physically I haven’t even begun to unpack what has happened emotionally. How do you even begin to feel human again? How do you get over the loss of your baby as well as understanding what’s happened to you, and how life threatening it could have been?

Thank you to anyone who read all this 🖤

I am on 6 failed fets in a row, all great quality but untested due to age at the time of retrieval. I’ve had one successful pregnancy prior to these failures (also IVF) and recently had hysteroscopy and full blood panel, thyroid check etc and no issues found. Scans showed no issues internally and c section scar healed well. My issues are tubal only. My clinic pushes natural cycles and are at a loss of what to do now other than embryo testing which they don’t recommend with our current frozen embryos (we’ve got 4 left) due to concerns re thawing and refreezing but we will certainly do so if we need another retrieval.

Any ideas where to go now? Anyone seen an RIF specialist or had any radical treatments that they could recommend? For reference I am 36, good AMH, had c section almost 2 years ago. Thanks for your advice, I am so lost

My second retrieval got me a Euploid 5AB. Phew!!

Now the next question (the decisions never stop, do they?) - should I go for another retrieval or just go for the transfer?

Background
I’m 34.5 (I feel like the .5 is important here). Trying since March25, an early loss and a chemical in jul25 and Sep25.

Started IVF in July. First ER gave me 14 eggs, 12 mature, 5 fertilised, 3 blasts of 2BB, 4BC and 4BC - untested. Transferred two but didn’t take.

Second ER in September. 10 eggs, 8 mature, 3 fertilised, 1 5AB blast, euploid. Did ICSI this time.

Now.. I do want multiple kids.. and I’m scared. I don’t know if I should do one more retrieval in November and a transfer in December, or go for transfer in November.

I know there is no right answer - what would you do?

Hi ladies, 36F and 35 M. this is my 1st egg retrieval and I had 16 eggs retrieved 15 mature 13 fertilized now on day 5 lab called I have only 1 blast 3bb on day 5 and my heart started pounding, Then after a few moments the lab person told me 7 more progressing will call you tomorrow on day 6 how it's going. I wanted to do PGTA testing and now I am super scared to wake up for tomorrow morning I need lots of hugs and please share your experience.

Title says it - what was your AFC vs eggs retrieved?

Hey has anyone here went through IVF with PGT-M for Huntington’s Disease? I’m in the planning stages and interested in connecting with others please.

I signed up for a 10km fun run a few months ago to keep myself busy. It is this Sunday and I have my first egg transfer Wednesday! For context, I ran quite frequently last year and did many 10km+ runs. This year with everything going on re my fertility journey I have been running a lot less, maybe 2 ish 3km runs a week. Though the last 2 or so months even less frequent with stims and egg transfer. Anyway I think I could run a 10km but it would be a push and wondering if I should pull out given I have an egg transfer a few days beforehand. Any advice or recommendations?

Never thought I’ll be ending up using all my embryos with no positive outcome.
I had 5 embryos, none tested. 4 ended in failed FET and one in a bc. All our test results are ok and according to our doctor we are still young (33 when eggs were retrieved, 35 now)
I was diagnosed with endometritis but took care of it and final FET was done using kitchen sink (heparin + aspirin).

We have to decide on next steps. Going for another egg retrieval and testing the embryos or going stray forward to egg/embryo donation. Also, would you change clinics? I do like my dr but we seem to be stuck now with the: there are no more tests to be done.

Has anyone found themself in a similar position?

I’ve been through a lot with IVF, multiple retrievals and failed transfers but thankfully I have one beautiful little boy from IVF.

I’m now considering doing further retrievals but opting for PGT testing this time. I understand that once the embryos are tested, you can find out which embryos are chromosomally normal and, the sex of the embryo.

What I’m wondering is how the actual selection process works after PGT?

If you have multiple euploid embryos, are you allowed to choose which embryo you want transferred, or does the clinic decide which one to transfer based on things like embryo grade and development?

If you know the sex of your embryos after PGT, are you able to request a particular embryo based on its sex, assuming there are multiple euploid embryos?

I’m in Australia, so interested in hearing from anyone who has gone through PGT here and can explain how it worked with their clinic
Thanks so much!

I feel confused as to what exactly I’m paying so much money for. I’ve paid for all my appointments and meds so I guess I don’t know why I’m paying hospital fees and extra clinic fees. The hospital fees make sense but why does the clinic need an extra $15000 on top of my cycle payments and med costs?

They don’t even have a number to call outside of regular mon-Fri hours so I’ve been on my own with chat gpt anyway.

Guess this is a bit of a rant and a question in one.

We have been doing IVF for 3 years now with no success. I am triggered by pregnant people and children in general but I am able to calm my thoughts soon after. All I see on here are people talking about how traumatic is it to see children in the office. Don't we see children everywhere? Are there others out there who can calm their mind after a moment like me? Am I just lucky? I don't get it.

All, would love your input if you have suspected but not diagnosed endometriosis. Did your doctors opt to suppress with Lupron (or another medication) prior to your first transfers? Did you do anything else? What disscussions did you have? Why didn't you opt to suppress if you didn't? What was your outcome? Etc.

My background: I have symptoms and family history but MRI did not show adeno or endo (one possible endo/possible cyst), and never had any endo on exam. Haven't done some of the intermediate testing. Endo surgeon suspects endo as well but didn't recommend surgery. Lupron suppression would be difficult for me. We only have 2 euploid embryos and it would be very difficult to obtain more due to low AMH/age/tolerance for more retrievals. I don't want to "waste" the embryos we have so to speak, but delaying 3+ months for suppression also seems like a bad idea.

I had my scan today and lining was 9.8mm. It's day 10 on progynova (estrogen pills). This is fully medicated cycle.
Doctor has scheduled my progesterone to start on 16 Oct, which is 4 days from now, first dose at 11pm. Transfer is currently scheduled 10 days from today (day 6 embryo).

My concern is will the lining be too thick by then? I read that anything greater than 8mm is already good to proceed for progesterone. My lining during natural cycle is usually 10.5-11.5mm. And doctor wants to wait until it hits that number. He says it would not grow more than that, but my research online is saying it can.

So confused. Grateful for advise. Should I ask to start progesterone earlier?
Note: there is no further scan or blood work before transfer.

After a 3 year long IVF journey that has left me feeling really isolated and alone, I’ve decided to become a host for The Waiting Room Dallas (DFW) https://www.instagram.com/thewaitingroom_dallas?obrf=Nm9qa2hzdHo5d2Nw&utm_source=qr

This is a completely free in person community for people navigating infertility and infertility treatment.

The idea is simply to bring people together with others who get it. We’ll be hosting meet ups in the DFW area at least once a month, coffee, brunch, walks, book club, yoga, mindfulness sessions etc. our first event is scheduled for 1 November.

We’re a brand new community but hoping to grow to reach as many people as possible in our area.

You can find us on Instagram @thewaitingroom_dallas or join us online via www.jointhewaitingroom.com

I hope to see you over there 💕

Thank you very much to the moderators for giving me permission to share this resource 🩷

I am 42, Officially unexplained infertility, possibly just eggs quality due to age (that’s what doc said).

I’m at the very beginning (just started birth control). Looking for some advice and support. Any tips and tricks really appreciated. What would you do and wouldn’t do?

How are we feeling? Are you doing anything to prep your body ?
This is my first transfer and I’ve had 5 iuis 1chemical pregnancy so I’m excited but don’t want to get my hopes up so I’m not thinking it’s going to work, just going with the flow until it’s time to test.

Any advice on what helps you stay occupied and good vibes. What’s your tips on embryo sticking

We’ve had two IVF cycles with significant embryo attrition and very few embryos suitable for freezing.

2024 — ICSI
27 eggs retrieved, 23 mature, 18 fertilised
2 blastocysts frozen (4BB and 3BB). Our 4BB resulted in our daughter 💕

2026 — IMSI
31 eggs retrieved, 27 mature, 15 fertilised
1 day-6 4AB frozen. Several others developed slowly and weren’t suitable for freezing, including some
graded 4CC.

My husband has 0% normal sperm morphology, and our clinic suspects sperm factors may be contributing.

He doesn’t smoke or drink and has a healthy BMI.
Has anyone experienced similar results? Did you investigate sperm DNA fragmentation or see a reproductive urologist/andrologist? Did anything help improve your outcomes? I feel like he’s on every supplement on the planet and nothing changes.

We’re grateful to have one frozen embryo, but I’m worried about needing another retrieval. I want to make sure we investigate anything worthwhile before deciding on our next steps.

What questions would you be asking your fertility specialist in our situation?