Booking the flights!

Well! Have had the go ahead from Intersono to buy the flights! How exciting is that?

Otherwise, all well. Certainly a lot less bruising on the belly now that I don't pinch so hard.

And here is some more eye candy - my latest watercolour, this time of Green Day.

Feeling a lot better

Much more myself now I've started the Progynova (yay for eostrogen) and have been up to wee small hours (3 last night) painting. Good to feel so productive again. Painting Green Day right now and will let you see it when it's done!

Bruising came back day before yesterday, but yesterday was bloody but not bruised - have noticed that I accidentally have been holding gun in the wrong way and have been preventing the plunger from going down as fast as it should. Maybe that's what I need to do to stop the bruising? Heaven knows, it just seems to be hit and miss.

Started the reduced dose of suprefact yesterday (from .5ml to.2ml)

Still waiting the absolute green light from Intersono, so no flights purchased yet - we are due to leave in 9 days!!!!!! At least the apartment is booked.

Here is a great link for those who are going abroad for ivf and have been told to inject suprefact (or other stuff), with no other information.

http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7001&id=7258

I found this site absolutely invaluable for helping with injecting. It is actually for diabetics, but the procedure and information is just the same (just drug and amounts differ). Intersono simply told me to inject .5ml suprefact daily and that was it - it was down to me to get the drug and to know how to use it! Even the doctor was no help at all (he wouldn't even let me have any needles) - when I suggested asking a nurse to show me how to do it, he said I would have to pay for her time - effing bastard. So I did it myself with the help of 2 friends who had done it already and, of course, the wonderful internet.

Your picture for today are some peonies I painted in acrylic

Feeling better

Yes, I am definitely feeling better. In fact yesterday, a few hours after taking the progynova, I felt positively euphoric and my headache (that had become a permanent fixture) completely lifted.

Today I feel fine too. Still a bit tired, but otherwise ok. The dreaded bruising is gone - both of my last two injections have left no bruises whatsoever.

Intersono have been in touch to say the donor has begun her stims and they will let me know how her follies are developing in a week. They have also asked me to send them copies of our passports.

I am still waiting the absolute go ahead before we pay over £900 for two return tickets.

And finally here is a picture of a rose I did in pastels.

Starting the Progynova

As my period started a day early, Intersono have asked me to start the Progynova today (which is 2 days earlier than the protocol). I'm quite happy to have some sort of hormone as I hope that will stop the headaches. Also, no bruises from last night's jab, just a little spot from where it bled. I tried not to pinch so hard and also didn't use any form of cooling. I also upped my Vit C. No idea what worked, but just glad it did!



Here is one of my latest portraits to make the page interesting - this one is of Johnny Borrell of Razorlight - I had to paint him - he has such a pretty face!

Bit bruised and battered

As ever, to keep the blog interesting - here are some pics of one of our cats, Misty, who is a polydactyl - has an extra toe on each foot. They're also called Mittens Kittens - if you look at the pic below you can see it looks like he has thumbs!

So! One week on suprefact and I'm feeling pretty bruised. I can't seem to find a way to stop it. I've always bruised really easily and am usually covered in them - I think I have thin veins - I know nurses taking blood or putting in drips etc can take forever and leave me looking like I've done 20 rounds with Tyson!

Ice works fairly well at numbing the site, but doesn't stop the deep blue and yellow marks the following day. Oddly, I've managed to do it twice with only tiny bruises, so it's definitely down to my technique. Last night (which has only left a small mark) I didn't squeeze the flesh so hard against the syringe gun, which probably cushioned the blow a lot more. But I have bruises over 3cm each, so I am really running out of space on the belly (not to mention looking really shocking!).

I've finally got in touch with Intersono - I needed to confirm that all is well with donor before I book any flights (which are going to cost around £900). They say the donor starts her treatment on the 30th and to wait until then.

And my period started, which although a day early is still good. When we were with Altra Vita my period started too late and the treatment was delayed for yet another month. So a day early I can live with. Will be interesting to see if they move dates forward a day, I doubt it somehow. The period combined with the suprefact has turned me into a headachey slug.

If all goes well with the donor, I start the progynova and aspirin on Sat.

Here's hoping.

Beginning to feel the effect..

So it's been 4 days and the suprefact is definitely taking effect.
Day 1 - nothing.
Day 2 - snapped at everyone - all noticed change in me. Desperate for sex (!) (and got it - yay!)
Day 3 - much better mood, but headache all day - took migreleve to get rid of it in the end + pint of guinness.
Day 4 - mood good - headache still there - still want sex. Rather confused by this, as thought the suprefact put you into an instant menopause (not far off where I should rightly be) and low libido is usually assumed to be part of that. Still, increased sex drive it is - which means I now want it more than partner (usually we're pretty well matched) so he takes it in turns to look both horrified and delighted.

NB I don't think anyone wants pics of suprefact, needles and syringes (let me know if you do - I'll happily oblige) so I stuck a pic of one our cats (Mordred) to make this page seem more interesting!

Second Journey Begins - Lviv here we come!

Have finally started our journey again. It's taken a lot of emails to and fro and even more tests. But after 2 false starts (donor dropped out and then later, the new donor wasn't ready) we are now on track.

We have paid for half the tx, which came to £1,515. It would have been cheaper in dollars, but we didn't get the option. 3k is still loads cheaper than nearly anywhere else and I have only heard good things about Intersono.

Intersono sent me the protocol, which is nicely laid out in calendar form, explaining all the drugs I will need and when to use them. The donor will have her aspiration on 12/13th August and the ET will be 18th.

We have booked an apartment in Lviv (or Lvov) from the 11th to the 20th. The apartment was only £38 a day and is really lovely - not to mention right in the centre of Lviv! I am holding off the flight booking as I'm worried that it may all get cancelled - but once I know the donor is well on her way with her tx then I will book it.

I took my first injection of suprefact yesterday. I did it during the day as I wanted to make sure I got it right. I am lucky in that I have one very lovely friend who has been through Intersono (with great success) and another who is also going through ivf in this country. Both had syringes etc to spare and it meant I did not have to buy any!! I managed to get the suprefact from my surly GP, but he made me pay for it. I also got all the other drugs I needed at the same time - it all came to £70. One of my friends gave me an injection gun and it's so easy to use (once you've figured it out!!) that I would recommend it to anyone - particularly those nervous about giving themselves injections. I have a small bruise from the site, although I didn't feel anything at the time. I do bruise easily, so maybe I should go for the buttock. Intersono have not advised on any of this - so it's asking friends and looking up on the internet for most of my info. I'll give the belly one more go - God knows, there's enough flesh there!!

Will keep updating from now on, as it may well help others.

Any questions, please email me!

Here we go again...

Ok. Here is the next saga.

We reached a point where we might just have fitted a treatment in before our January 5th wedding, but then our donor dropped out, so I decided to leave everything till later. Then 2 days after our wedding, we were on our honeymoon, my dad died. So there was a lot of stuff happening in our lives.

But now seems right and a couple of weeks ago I emailed Intersono to let them know we are ready. After no reply for over a week I contacted them again. This time they let me know they have a donor for me and after checking the details I said great, let's get started.

Today I was asked to let them have the usual blood tests, but have replied that mine are now out of date (3mth time limit) and could we have them when we get to Intersono. Also questioned a test for RW, whatever that is.

So we are off on the test road again. I'm not going to say blow us baby dust or any silliness like that. We're just going to have another go and see what happens. Worse case scenario we get to visit yet another wonderful country - can't wait. Lviv, Ukraine, here we come (in one respect, quite literally).

Testing, testing

Been to docs for next round of tests.

Trying to get K to get a sperm test - I keep reminding him and he keeps saying he will do it, but so far not. The docs have been helpful with the tests, but I can't get an ultrasound for another 6 weeks and the high smear for another fortnight. It's all bloody tedious.

I know the ultrasound could reveal a much bigger fibroid and if that's the case, Intersono may well turn round and say not until it's removed. And we'd have to have that done abroad as we couldn't get it done on the NHS and it would cost a fortune privately. So I'm not paying them anything until that's done. I want to get the scan done privately - but how do I persuade K to give me the money for it?

It's all such a lot of bloody work.

Latest from Intersono

Got this yesterday.

Dear Penny,
We need to have following examinations :
1)HIV, hepatitis B, HCV, syphilis ( both of couple are undergoing to those examinations in spite of using donor’s egg or donor’s sperm).

2) Ultrasound examination. Ultrasound have to be done between 6 and 11 of your monthly cycle to check on thickness of lining and any obstructions that would prevent pregnancy. We also need to know, that there are no fluid in tubes and some cysts in ovaries.

3) Gynecological examination with pap test and bacteriological examination, chlamydia trachomatis detection.

4) mammography;


All is bog standard apart from Mammography. Bit worried that it will cost me a fortune. All will have to wait till after Burley show - just so much going on right now I can't concentrate.

In which P gets to next stage

Have now been in regular touch with the doctor, checking to see if I need to have all the tests again etc. She suggested I choose a donor, but I said that it didn't matter (there were only 6 to choose from), any would do and gave her our blood groups. She replied that my blood group (O+) is rare, so it may be tricky. This is slightly worrying as O+ is the most common of them all..didn't think it varied country to country.

Got email today asking me again to choose a donor and given password. Realised I'd been a total dickhead and that there were pages of donors - just didn't notice the fwd sign. So set about choosing a couple - there are even some artists there! It's quite sweet too - you only get photos of them as children...which is really clever if you think about it! And A is the Ukrainian blood group of choice - so what do I know?

In which P gets a positive reply

I got this reply from Intersono and the doctor herself!


Dear Penny,
yes we help woman at the age of 50, but not more. We will be happy to help you. Ukrainan and Russian languages are very similar and the alphabet is almost the same. Hotels are near 100 US $ and appartments are near 50 US $ per night. Here is information that can be useful for you.


How I can choose donor?
You can choose donor going on address intersono.md/donor , using a
password , in a few weeks there will be another password. Waiting time depends from a donor you have selected, weather she is free at this moment. As there are much more donors than you can see on the website, we can help you with choosing a donor, we just need to know criteria, which are important for you.


It is important for us to understand your pregnancy rate in relationship with the average number of embryos transferred to achieve this success. Can you please clarify what was the average number of embryos transferred in donor egg cycles during the time period discussed?
The typical number of embryos transferred is 2 blastocysts (day 5 transfer) for women under 35 years old and 3 blastocyts for women over 35 years old and with failure in previous IVf treatment. As option you can choose day 3 transfer or day 5 transfer or both day 3 and day 5 transfer.

What is the criteria for decision to grow embryos to blastocyst stage----such as minimum number of good quality embryos on Day 3?
We practice Day 5 ET in donor’s egg cycles . The amount of eggs, sperm quality, amount and quality of embryos on 2-3 day of their development are the criteria to grow embryos to blastocyst stage.

How much costs IVF program in your clinic?
Our donor egg program (including ICSI, one ET included, medications for donor, payment for donor)costs
1 attampt - 3520 Euro or 5209 $
2 attempt - 3355 Euro or 4965 $
3 attempt - 3050 Е uro or 4514 $

Sperm donor - 100 Е uro
Cryopreserving (sperm, embryos) for 6 months - 120 Є uro
Program is prepaid program either for foreign patients or for local. The payment should be performed on the day donor start treatment (the exact date you will know from our doctor).
You can pay across our charitable fund or by cash in the clinic.

What medications I’ll need for the treatment?
For the treatment you will need decapeptyl 0,1mg-1,0 ml (№ 28) daily form for injections (or suprefact 5,5 ml 2 amp or diferilin depo N1 or zoladex depoN1), progynova 42 pills (2 boxes), crynon gel N15 or prometrium 100 N30. We need to know wheather you have these medications. All these medications you can buy in Italy by email. We can send them a prescription for these medications, you need to contact with Monica Manzone, here is her email: monica@farmaciacerati.it .


What examinations do I need to start a program?

We need to have following examinations :

1)HIV, hepatitis B, HCV, syphilis ( both of couple are undergoing to those examinations in spite of using donor’s egg or donor’s sperm).

2) Ultrasound examination. Ultrasound have to be done between 6 and 11 of your monthly cycle to check on thickness of lining and any obstructions that would prevent pregnancy. We also need to know, that there are no fluid in tubes and some cysts in ovaries.

3) Gynecological examination with pap test and bacteriological examination, chlamydia trachomatis detection.

4) mammography;

5) spermogram, if we are using husband’s sperm.

Best regards,
Dr. Lyubov Mykhaylyshyn

This is all looking very positive. Contact them to tell them so.

In which P goes hunting

Olga has left Altra Vita!

This is disaster as Irina is sweet, but her English is nowhere near as good. And we're not talking about buying a packet of cereal here - this is complicated stuff that needs someone to understand everything you say.

Worse, much worse though. AV have put up their prices and now we definitely can't afford tx there any more - not with the shocking cost of living in Moscow. So that is that. Have told them we would consider going back in Autumn, but really will be looking around for somewhere else.

I have looked everywhere and scanned around the Fertility Friends Website and found that the Ukraine also have some very decent clinics. FF seems to be in favour of Intersono in Lviv - it seems the least popular of the 2 but oddly the one with the best results. I have contacted them as their website says they only treat up to 50 yrs and that's where I am.

In which P & K reach the end of this line

Negative.

Shit.