Well after 4 years of trying, 2 laparoscopic surgery's and 4 rounds of IVF we finally got our BFP. I used to refer back to this site every single month and therefore want to share my story to give others hope and encourage those that are going through something similar not to give up not to give up. It's a long one i'm afraid.
We started trying for a baby a few months after my 29th birthday at the encouragement of my practice nurse. I'd had a long history of painful periods and a specialist had once mentioned i may have endometriosis but at that time the only treatment she would suggest was to go on the pill, which i did although things never really improved.
So after 4 months off the pill (and actively trying to conceive) i visited my GP as my period pain was unmanageable. I also had a long list of symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and general abdo pain throughout the month. She referred me to the local hospital were they arranged to do a investigative laparoscopy. This found stage II endometriosis throughout my abdomen. By the time we went back to see the specialist to discuss the results we have been trying for a baby for 7 months however she wasn't particularly concerned however i pushed for my husband to be sent for tests at this point. Two months later we were back at the hospital to discuss my husbands results which showed very poor motility. The consultant felt it was likely this that was stopping us from becoming pregnant and was happy to refer us to the fertility specialist to discuss treatment. In the mean time he wanted me to commence on hormone therapy for 6 months, this would put me in the menopause and would likely have an effect on my system for a year. After doing some research of my own i discovered that although this helps the symptoms of endometriosis it doesn't improve fertility.
We have been trying for a baby for 16 months when we had our first appointment in the fertility center. They felt IVF with ICSE would be the best way forward and we started our first cycle in the September and then had a further cycle in the January. Both resulted in a high number of eggs retrieved but nearly all of them didn't make it passed day 3, and the ones that did were of poor quality. It was then decided that i would have a further laparoscopy but this time with ablation to remove the endometriosis deposits. This showed my endometriosis had progressed to stage III/IV however they removed as much as they could.
We then tried naturally for 4 months before moving on to our 3rd IVF cycle. This again had similar results to the first 2 rounds however i did have a BFP for a week before beginning to bleed.
For our 4th round things started to get a little more serious, they admitted that they shouldn't have pushed on using the same drugs for 3 cycles and decided to put me on a short protocol for this go. The consultant also wanted me to take 3 months of Omega 3 and Co-enzyme. I also read the book 'It starts with the egg' by Rebecca Flett and made some changes to my diet and lifestyle.
We did our 4th cycle in November 2016 and retrieved over 30 eggs, because of this the decision was made to freeze all. At the time i was heartbroken, given my history of the eggs deteriorating in quality after day 3 i thought we had wasted all this time and money for nothing. Unfortunately the same thing happened during this cycle with all but 2 eggs surviving to day 5 however the 2 remaining eggs were of a much better quality and were able to be frozen. We planned to return one embryo in February of this year however the embryologist felt that due to my history the chances of twins were slim and encouraged us to thaw and transfer both, which we agreed to.
Straight away this cycle felt different, i didn't have any drugs in my system as i'd opted for a natural cycle and felt strong and well.
Around 4dp5dt i had a little cramping, on 5dp5dt i felt really tired and a little run down, more cramping but different to period pains and i just didn't *FEEL* premenstrual. On 6dp5dt i had some pink spotting and very naughtily did a test which showed a very faint BFP. Although it was early days i felt positive as i felt well in myself and my cramps were not like my usual pre period ones.
I'd say my real symptoms didn't kick in until i was a good week over my missed period date.
Fast forward to 7 weeks pregnant and my scan at the fertility clinic confirmed i was pregnant with TWINS!! I was in complete shock but over the moon.
I'm now 18 weeks pregnant and both are doing well. I've had a really smooth pregnancy so far with very little symptoms at all.
I know it's cliche but honestly do not give up, unless you have gone through the pain of infertility you cannot begin to understand the daily heartache it brings. Wishing each and everyone of you all the best of luck x
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BFP after 4 years
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