So we've been going through this process for 8 months and suddenly we find that it could all have been for nothing. We have five embryos, which isn't a huge amount at the best of times, and they need to be implanted within the next day or so. But it looks like they are not going to survive for long if there is something wrong internally.
The advice from the doctors was that we could go ahead with the embryo transfer or delay and have further investigations before the transfer. But the implication of the second choice was that our five delicate embryos would have to be frozen which would not only cost yet more money but would also give them even less chance of survival. So, transfer them now and they may not survive because of whatever is going on with the bleeding, or transfer them later and they may not survive either the defrosting or the later transfer.
The odds of the second choice seemed slightly better so that's what we chose. The embryos were frozen immediately and I was booked in for an hysteroscopy and a polypectomy. Without wanting to sound like I'm obsessed by money, clearly one of the big things about fertility treatment of any kind, is that it is costly and these additional procedures were not included in the basic cost - an extra £1500 including the cost of a private anaesthetist. And this wasn't the only cost - the anaesthetist managed to slip while putting his mask on my face and cut my nose enough to leave a cut for weeks and a scar for months. Ho hum!
In any event, any polyps were removed and nothing more untoward was discovered so we were ready to start taking drugs again! First of all, we had to wait a couple of months in order to let my body recover from all the drugs it had before the egg collection and for the hormones to re-stabilise (before de-stabilising them again!). Then I had to start the process of 10 days of tablets, then 7 days of nasal sprays (4 times a day), then a scan, then oestrogen patches for 2-3 weeks.
The final stage of preparation for the embryos transfer was the really good one! Because the embryos had been frozen, I needed four days of intramuscular injections into my backside - up to that point, one of the most painful things I'd ever had to go through! It involved poor Muddled Hubby mixing up the drug (Menogon) into a solvent with a large needle, then swapping over to a slightly (but not much!) smaller needle. Then he had to carefully pick a space on the top quartile of my buttocks (very specific that!) then push the needle in fully at 90 degrees. Then he had to withdraw slightly to check that there was a clear bubble - and if there wasn't, he had to withdraw and try again (ouch!) with a new needle. Finally, he had to inject the drugs - in itself, hugely painful. They say fertility treatment can test a marriage and this has to have been one of the worst times - knowing that every night, your husband is going to cause you excruciating physical pain!
And so we had made it to the embryo transfer day. In itself, nothing was guaranteed - all of the embryos could have perished in the defrosting even after all the preparation, drugs and the final day of anal suppositories and having a full bladder for the whole day! In the event, two of our little embryos survived and both were transferred - and one of the joys of this whole procedure was that we actually have a scan photo of the moment of conception! Now not many people can say that, can they!
