Still At It

[jennylou]

Good luck with the IUI, jrsygirl!

[karlatta]

jrsygirl - Good luck with the IUI!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had my RE's appointment today. Blar.

Good news - No cysts on the ovaries, so we can start Letrozole tomorrow.

Bad news - My uterine lining is very thin (again!) so I'm on estrogen for a few days to try to get that built up again.

I don't know. I'm happy that we get to keep going, but it seems like it's always something with my crazy, crazy body. I'm ready to just be pregnant!

[julesp313]

Yikes, I'm getting myself all freaked out about possible upcoming tests! I told DH last night about the HSG (I looked it up on WebMD) and he said "I'm coming with you for that one - I want to tell the doctor that whatever goes up inside had better come back out again." He makes me laugh. But I think explaining to him that after he does his SA (no pain, no needles, he doesn't even have to take it to the lab), I'll probably have to have at least two blood draws and the HSG or the saline one (thanks, Scooter, for explaining the difference!), he seems to be a bit more sympathetic. About time!

Scooter - when will you know if your two follies did what they should?

Jrsygirl - good luck with the IUI! I think we may end up trying that, so I hope you have much success.

Karla - isn't it frustrating when the body won't cooperate? That's my biggest annoyance right now and we're only just starting this experience.

[Scooter]

Jrsygirl, welcome! If you post your stats I can put you up on the roster. :) Hey, it looks like we're on the same schedule this month! This is also my first injectibles cycle, although my 5th IUI, and we triggered last night and have the IUI in the morning, too! Lots of luck to you--let us know if there's any reassurance/info you need about the IUI, if you're nervous. I really expected it to be a ton worse than it was.

Kemorr, Ack, I forgot to reply to you last time, didn't mean to leave you out! Happy belated birthday! Welcome to 29, you're only a few months behind me. I'm sorry about the BFN, that was not the present you should have gotten. :mad: Good luck with the Gonal-F pen--people around here have reported the pens being very easy to use. I think I'll be on that next treatment cycle, when we do IVF.

Karla, that's great that you got the go-ahead for this cycle. :) Sorry about having to take the estrogen, although probably better to know now so you have better chances later, right?

Jules, glad to help. It sounds like your DH is finally getting the difference between the tests you & he have to go through!! I would definitely recommend having someone come with you to the HSG, you never now what kind of experience you're going to have & whether you could drive yourself home or not. I ended up having a terrible time at one but not quite so bad at the other, while some people felt fine and just some discomfort.
I won't have another u/s for two weeks, since the IUI is tomorrow. We're just assuming that the 2 large follies are going to grow at the normal rate of 2mm/day, which means that by tomorrow they shold be about 20 and 18mm.

[amygrrl]

hey girls.... we need BIG prayers....

so this afternoon i took a HPT since we are heading over to the east bay and i wanted to be able to drink and it came up POSITIVE! i am totally freaking out! we are headed to the dr's office right now to have the blood test and will get the results tomorrow sometime. please keep us in your thoughts!

amy

[jennylou]

OMG! Amy, great news! :D :D :D

Prayers for you. :)

[Scooter]

AMY!!! I don't even know what to say, I'm so thrilled for you!!! :D :D Sending yuo major high hCG and sticky thoughts!!

[kischer]

OMG, I am so happy for you!! MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD SUPER GLUE VIBES!!!!
(I don't know if you remember me), But I'm rooting for you!

[kischer]

Scooter
I finally found you all. I don't know how active I will be, but I thought that I would join. STATS will come later, I guess. Hope all is well with you girls that I know and you that I don't. Good luck to all and I will check in when I can.

[knoelani]

amygrrl~ Holymoly chica! Sending you tons of wonderful vibes! I hope this is it for you.

jules~ Sorry your dh is being a little difficult on the SA issue. I think quite a few of our dh's had a problem with it. Mine always said that it wasn't that big of a deal and he didn't mind having to do it, then he just wouldn't take any action to do it. I finally gave him a deadline and he knew we weren't moving forward without the tests being done. Good luck to you on this journey.

Scooter~ I'm glad you had a good vacation! It sounds like the injectibles were a little difficult and messed with your cycle a bit but that you're on track now. IUI today? Good luck, I'm pulling for you!

catJennifer~ Good luck in the 2ww!

jennylou~ My dr always said 6 months tops for clomid. Her reasoning was that if it's going to work, it'll work in the first 6 months, and if it doesn't there's no point in continuing. I don't know how many cycles my RE says, I'll ask tomorrow. Good luck with it this cycle!

kemorr~ sorry about the bfn. It looks like you're trying to keep a really positive attitude. That's my goal for this cycle. And trust me, I completely understand about Nurse Ratchett! There's this one lady that leaves me bruised from elbow to wrist!

karla~ 20 LP, that's a long one! Sorry the meds messed with you so much, but I'm glad you get to move forward with a new cycle.

ocgatita~ sorry you're feeling so down. Life certainly doesn't take any breaks does it.

jrsygirl~ good luck with your IUI!

[knoelani]

I feel like I have done nothing but run around with my head cut off for the last couple of weeks. In three weeks I have been in 7 different cities, 7 different airports, 5 different hotel rooms, and two houses. TTC and travel do not always go hand in hand! The good news is that after next weeks trip, I don't have any planned for awhile and I'll be home, yay! The other bit of good news is that next weeks trip is for FUN and it's my birthday :D I get to spend my birthday in NYC!

On the ttc front, CD 2 here. AF showed up in full glory, mid flight (fun), but I expected her since I got my - beta results Thursday. I go in tomorrow for my baseline sono and then start clomid again. Since I was such a slow responder last cycle, my RE might increase my dosage, but I'm not sure yet. We'll aim for trying the IUI this cycle since we didn't get to last cycle, at least I think we'll both be in town this time around.

Now I'm off to have lunch with my very very pregnant, newlywed, best friend, who should be going into labor any moment.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

[tigerest]

Amy - Hoping this is it for you!!!! Crossing fingers!!!

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I don't have much time to get on anymore so I have a hard time with S.O's.

I haven't been doing so well lately. And I feel like I am having a mid-life crisis sometimes. DH is a total angel, but sometimes I just feel like packing up my stuff and going to another country by myself. Just to get away from all this. He is just so supportive and understanding and I am such a reck. Its definitely a roller coaster because sometimes I am ok and other times I am not. Luckily, I do have a lot of support and that has been so helpful.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know why I haven't been around so much. I think about you all the time. And I wish you all the best, even if I am not posting much.
{{HUGS}}

[amygrrl]

i thought this was just a rumor or something! needless to say, we are stunned! this is the first time i O'd since we lost avery so we obviously expected nothing. the dr. just called and the first beta at 12dpo is 26.7... not great... but for those of you who remember, my first beta with avery at 11dp3dt was 32 and she grew and grew. so i'm not nearly as freaked out by the number as i would have been before. i'm meeting some of the sai girls for lunch here in the east bay and then heading over to pick up the prescription for the progesterone suppositories. my p level is notoriously low... this time it was 6.9... again, not too worried since i only tested at 9 the first time with avery.

beyond that, this is such a miracle that i'm making myself enjoy every minute of it while i can regardless of how long it lasts. gotta run since the girls will be here in a few minutes.

much love!!!!!!

amy

[thedoorchick]

May I join? Now that we have finally figured out our likely problem, I am going to be needing some support (plus, I haven't seen very many cases of this same issue, except 1 or 2, so I am hoping someone knows more than I do).

thedoorchick (jasonsbride on the WC)
Me: Emily (35)
DH: Jason (31)
Married: 1/19/02
TTC: 11/02 to 3/03, then 12/04 (took a hiatus due to jobs, etc).
Charting: 7/02
SA: High count and motility, low morphology (1%)
M/C: 5/03, 3/05, 4/05

We just got our SA results last Thursday, and I'm convinced that's our problem. I have clockwork cycles (been charting for 3 years) and had a battery of bloodwork done in April which was totally normal. My last progesterone level was 26.

My MW was talking to me about IVF, and I know that many consider IUI not to be an option with morphology that low, but we have an appt with an RE on the 17th to get his opinion. I am going to push for IUI because I know that it has worked for some people. I'm hesitant to jump right to IVF, plus we really don't have the resources for that right now. Today is CD1, so I'm hoping with a bit of luck we might even be able to do an IUI this cycle, even without any drugs.

[jennylou]

emily - welcome to our group. Good luck with your RE appt. Sorry about your DHs test results.

Amy - I'm so excited for you! My P4 level was 5.9.

Tiger - Sorry that things have been rough on you.

[bottleored]

amygrrl super congrats for your BFP! what did you decide about your job situation? Will you be getting more beta tests this week?

scooter so sorry about your follie and polyp news! It ain't over till it's over, though!! Did you end up triggering?

catJennifer yay for 2 follies! I know what you mean about constantly being at the dr's office. I always wish the ladies at the office didn't know me so well :(

karla sorry the prometrium kept AF away for so long.

nigellas did you have any b/w to determine if you'd O'ed? Seems strange. That's why I keep temping, even during the medicated cycles. It's not always 100% correct, but it is a fallback and might be able to explain unusual happenings. Actually, I did have a post-O u/s the month I held off on my HCG shot (one day) and my dr called me in immediately to make sure my ovaries didn't blow up. As I recall, there were some follies.

kemorr sorry about spot showing up :mad: I'm using the Gonal-F pen and it's great! Well, as great as sticking yourself in the stomach with a needle can be. It's just easier because you click for the dosage and you don't have to throw away a lot of needles.

ocgatita sorry your feeling so bummed. We've all been there, so vent if you like.

Welcome jrsygirl! Hope your IUI this weekend did the trick. Last cycle they almost ran out of places to take my blood, I was there so often.

kisch(er)! Welcome, welcome! Nice to see you again!

knoelani welcome home! Sounds like a whirlwind trip. Hope you have a great time in NYC - I'll warn you that it's supposed to be hazy, hot & humid, so come prepared :D

tigerest hi *waving*. Drop in any time!

Welcome thedoorchick! If you've be pg 3 times, why would they suggest IVF so quickly? Does the morphology have something to do with the m/cs?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CD1 here. B/w was - on Friday, so I stopped the prometrium pills. Wacky 47 day cycle. Could be the stress of preparing for the trip and travelling so much kept my O away.

I'll be at the RE's on Monday, starting my second round of injectibles (barring any cysts like this past month). Sounded like he was going to try some combination of things since the last time I did injectibles/trigger, the b/w and my temps didn't indicate an O, but I got AF 14 days post-trigger. So now I have some sort of progesterone issue :rolleyes: :mad:

[thedoorchick]

One thing I'm VERY curious about is whether the morphology problem had something to do with the m/cs. From what I'm reading, morphology makes it difficult to get pg at all, but then I've been pg three times so something there doesn't connect.

Another question I will have is, what can we do to improve the morphology percentage? This RE comes highly recommended by several of my local friends so I'm hoping he can do something for us.

[julesp313]

Congrats and very good thoughts to Amygrrl!

Is it wrong to bribe your DH at times like this? I promised him good ol' fashioned sex today if he then does the SA on Thursday and he said "Deal". I want it in writing, but I think he may take that the wrong way. ;)

We talked yesterday about what's going on. He said he feels like we're rushing things, starting tests already when we've only been trying since December. I explained to him that with my clockwork cycles and clearly O'ing, and timing BD right for the past several months, statisically if there's nothing wrong with either of us, I should be pregnant. I think finally - FINALLY - the light bulb went on. So he's a bit more understanding and he seems to be appreciating what I'm going through. I told him he has no idea how upsetting it is to be doing (what appears to be) everything right and then being disappointed month after month. I just want him to get it, from my perspective. I think he may slowly be doing that. :)

[jrsygirl]

Here are our stats
Me: Holly (31)
DH: Brian (32)
Married:September 2002
TTC: 9/04
M/C: 12/04
Wow, thanks to everyone for your great wishes! The IUI was on Saturday morning and was completely painless. Even DH was like "That's it?"

There's not a ton to report on since it was over in a matter of minutes. Now its just a wait and see. Oh and some extra BDing that the RE encouraged- told Brian he had a "job to get done" and it would help hedge our bets.

Over all things look positive. All our numbers were good so the RE was pretty positive...

After the IUI we came home and I turned around and went right back out for my accupuncture appt. I felt so much better after it. (I've had a cold for about a week).

This morning I started taking Prometrium. No side affects yet. Just a slightly metallic taste in my mouth. My pharmacist put a warning label on the bottke though that said : Do not take if you are pregnant or plan to be. WTF? :confused:


Keep your fingers crossed for us!- I know the wait is going to kill me!!

[Nigellas]

Emily - Hey there! I remember you from WC long ago. I'm really sorry to hear about your MCs- RPL is such a horrible thing to have to deal with. Good luck with your RE next week. :)

Amy- Woooo! Congrats! :D:D:D

[Scooter]

Kischer, Hey! I'm so glad to see you! :D I put you up on the roster, just post your stats when you want to.

Knoelani, Happy Birthday! Have a great time in NYC! Good luck with the IUI & timing things this cycle, I hope it goes a lot smoother for you than last cycle.

Tiger, I'm sorry you're going through a rough time right now. This IF stuff can make you crazy. (((hugs)))

Amy, do you get your beta results this afternoon?

Emily, Welcome! I've added your stats. You've been charting as long as I have, I can't imagine life w/o a thermometer, can you? ;) How many SAs has your DH had done? There is a thread over on IVF Connections (http://www.ivfconnections.net) about low morphology; I just read it and it talks about causes and things you can do. I can't link because you have to sign up before you can view the boards. Once you do that, go to "all boards" and then in the By Cause section click on "Male Factor," and yo'll see the low morphology thread. I'm so sorry you've gone through so many miscarriages, how devastating. Have you had any immunological tests done yet because of RPL?

Jenny, how's your clomid going?

Caroline, yeah, we did trigger. Although the trigger wasn't as easy as I thought it was goign to be. :/ I think I prefer the IM triggers! I'm sorry for your beta results. :( Good luck this cycle, with the combo plan. Is that a clomid/injectibles combo, or some progesterone combo?

Jules, that is so great your DH is finally starting to get the idea! It's so important that you feel supproted by him, especially starting those first few steps. And also that he realizes testing is different than starting treatment.

jrsygirl, great news about your IUI! Mine was really really easy this time, too, I was pleasantly surprised. I've got to start the progesterone today too, blagh. It has that warning label on it because it's a hormone and therefore could be dangerous if not used under a doctor's guidance. But follow the RE's prescription and it is not dangerous, you'll be fine. It's very common in early pregnancy to be on it, especially under the care of an RE.

-------
I'm doing good, I triggered Thursday, had the IUI Saturday, met up with Suzlywoozly and Amygrrl and had a great time, and start the prog today. I'm very glad this is the last time I'll be taking those horrible prog supps, but that just means next time I'm going to have to be on the progesterone shots! :eek: We're getting ready for IVF--we'll be taking a month off in between to have a break, have a hysteroscopy to remove the new polyp, and then a saline sonogram to flush out the area & tubes for IVF. So I think I start the BCP at the end of Sept or early Oct.

[amygrrl]

thanks everyone!!!!

i'm going a little bonkers over here. the results should be back in the next hour... arrggg... i forgot how crappy beta hell is!

[pocket]

geez louise where is my dear aunt? usually she comes on day 5 of prometrium and here it is day 8 and no flo. i am just ready to get to this new cycle already! almost as annoying as my RL aunts!

[amygrrl]

YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they finally called. beta is 106 at 15dpo and p4 is up to 14.6.... doubling time is 32 hours!!!!!! i can't tell you guys how freakin relieved i am... we have another beta on wed and i would guess they will do another one on friday... if everything looks good probably an u/s some time next week.

[bottleored]

YAY AMYGRRL! So happy to hear about your betas. All the best hon!

julesp it's taken my DH almost 2 years, but he's starting to get it (I think ...) :rolleyes:

jrsygirl fingers crossed for your IUI and extra BD'ing!

scooter my 'combo' plan is apparently low dose HCG starting tomorrow (CD3) with the Gonal-F pen. He was going to prescribe Repronex, but I told him I still had Gonal-F pens left. I guess Repronex would have had a similar effect as the Gonal-F + HCG. Then I'm to take a mega dose (possibly) of HCG to trigger. Sounds like a lot of b/w :( I'm also taking Lovenox to thin out my blood so I don't clot. So many needles, so little time......

[DallasLady]

Congrats on the Beta results amygrrl!

DH had his second SA yesterday. He should be able to get the results later today or tomorrow. I am praying that they are at least not any worse.

[thedoorchick]

Scooter, thanks for that link! I think those boards will be very helpful. I don't know what I'd do w/o my thermometer; it's like a part of me now! DH has had only one SA thus far; I feel that our new RE will ask him to repeat it at their office. I'll be interested to see what results from that.

Having had 3 m/c's is very confusing because supposedly with MF you can't get pg at all, yet it's happened for me 3x? Very odd. I had a bunch of bloodwork done at my old OB's office and it was all normal. We've yet to find a problem with me, which is good and bad I suppose.

Dallas_Lady, hope the SA results are better this time or at least the same. We have the same problem as you (low morph), so I'll be interested to see the treatment avenues y'all pursue.

[DallasLady]

thedoorchick, you were Jasonsbride on WC? I think I vaguely remember you, are you in the Dallas area?

I know what you mean about not having an identified problem being good and bad... no one wants to have anything be wrong with them, but knowing what's wrong at least gives you something to work towards fixing. We have our first RE appointment on August 23, I am so anxious.

[Baby Lust]

Amy, That is awesome news!! I am so happy for you!

[tigerest]

Amy - GREAT BETAS!!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks ladies. I just got back from the RE....lots of info. Here it goes:

-This Friday HSG. This is to make sure tubes are still open before we go any further.
- Recent Bloodwork showed my progesterone being borderline low, so I am starting progesterone supplements this cycle. We will try on our own, with the progesterone this cycle (Aug.)
-Next cycle (sept.) I will be starting femara. We will try on our own that cycle with the femara and progesterone.
-Next cycle (oct.) we will be doing femara, IUI, and progesterone. For 3-6 cycles.
-At which point RE suggests moving forward with IVF with IVIg. (But we are not sure if we will do this.)

This is hard because I know this is what we NEED to do. I guess its ALWAYS scarey taking the next step. I guess I shouldn't jump the gun though. Because the HSG is sort of the final deciding factor of where we go next. If they are blocked then our only choice is to do IVF or just stop trying.

I HATE the HSG, am scared to death. Last time it hurt soooo bad I thought I was going to die. But DH will be there with me. And it will be good to know where we stand.

Wish me luck....and open tube vibes!!!!

[thedoorchick]

thedoorchick, you were Jasonsbride on WC? I think I vaguely remember you, are you in the Dallas area?

Yes and yes. :)

[jennylou]

amy - still thinking and praying for you guys. :)

tiger - Good luck with the HSG, hopefully it is not as bad as last time.

bottle - Good luck with this cycle of injectibles. Hopefully, this will be it for you.

Dallas - Did you get the second set of results back yet? Hoping they are better....

Scooter - I'm crossing every crossable in this last cycle before IVF for you.

jules - yay for getting DH on board!

pocket - has AF shown?

jrsy - glad the IUI went well. How are you holding up during this 2WW?

karla - how are you doing this cycle?

As for me, clomid is making me an emotional wreck, either that, or it's just me. I feel like I haven't stopped crying in days. And, it doesn't take much to really set me off crying once I finally stop. I do have some creamy CM, which is a good start, since I'm normally pretty dry on clomid.

I'm hoping that the OPKs I ordered from Save On Tests will arrive today. Though, they better have put them in plastic (we're having a horrible thunderstorm), or they'll have to face the wrath of this clomid chick!

Hope everyone is well!

[pocket]

Still no AF. I am very frustrated as today was my last day of Prometrium. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I was really expecting to be on CD 4-5 by now, and starting my Clomid. Wah! I will POAS tomorrow – just to be safe – and then I’ll call Dr. H What could it be? I’m pretty stressed out about my dad having bypass surgery in a few hours, but I think that stress can only delay ovulation, not AF. Because I’ve had PCOS for so long, I take Prom regularly – 4X/yr – to bring on AF.

[ocgatita]

Hey ladies, I have been checking in occasionally but really haven't had time to post.

I apologize in advance if I miss anyone since I feel I am really behind :(

Jennylou: I am sorry you are feeling so emotional. You are not alone, I have weeks where I am the same way. Thats great about the creamy CM! Good luck to you and DH this cycle.

Amy: CONGRATS!!!! And I will be thinking of you and praying that you have a H&H 9 months.

Tiger: Sorry you are dreading the HSG.....I hope this time it is surprisingly painless for you :( Geesh, when I read that, it scared the bejesus out of me!

Bottleored: Hope that everything goes well for you.

Dallas: Let us know about the SA results when you get a chance. Hope that the results are better this time then the last time :)

Scooter: Just know that I am praying that you get your BFP really, really soon....I must say it again that I really admire your demeanor and how helpful and supportive you are to all of us. We're all crossing our fingers for you :)

Jules: I am glad your husband is understanding all of this....my husband is still relatively clueless!

Pocket: Hope you get AF soon, or hope you have something to announce ;)
______________________________________________

As for me, I am on CD 16 (I think) and still waiting to O. I usually O around CD 19 or 20. I am still a little bit down and stressed out but hanging in here for the most part. Hope everyone is having a good week. Keeping my fingers crossed for all of you. Take Care.

Judy

[Baby Lust]

Jenny, I'm sorry you are so emotional. :( {{{HUGS}}} Hope that creamy CM is a good sign!

Dallas, Hope the SA results are better this time around!

Pocket, Hoping AF stays away for a good reason! :)

[julesp313]

Some good news going on in here - that's great, Amy! And Scooter, I'm keeping fingers crossed for you too. And Tigerest scared me about the HSG - I sure hope this one is painless (or at least very much less painful!) for you!

Thanks to everyone who mentioned they sympathize about the reluctant DH. He has been told in no uncertain terms that tomorrow is "produce a sample or else" day and I'm not swerving from that demand! Besides, if we have to skip August fertile time as I'll be out of town, I want to get that test done and the results in to the dr so we can hit the ground running next cycle. Because if we don't start getting some help soon, I think I might become a very cranky person, and that won't be pretty. :)

[DallasLady]

No SA results yet, the doctor's nurse didn't come in today and his fill-in nurse won't give us the results, so we have to wait until tomorrow :mad:

[Akire]

I just returned from the hospital yesterday after delivering (via c-section) our little SAI baby. Sydney Allyn was born 8/07/05 @ 3:23pm, 8lbs 8oz, 21.5 inches long.

Ladies no matter where your journey leads... IUI, IVF, adoption or whatever, please do not give up hope.

[TravelGirl]

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy cow, page 29. I had to catch up from page 20.

First, Congrats to Akire on her new baby girl!

Second, congrats to all the new BFP results - Amy, Kooper, and more!


The move back to TX from London went as well as can be expected. The last of our boxes arrived today. Now we just have to unpack. Yuk!

Let's see. Where are we. Conveniently (dripping with sarcasm) I O'd the day we flew back. My cycles average 34 days but usually go 28 - 44 days. Lucky for me this one should be 27 days. AF is due tomorrow and so far, nothing indicates it won't show up.

I had my appointmenton Monday with my OB to start being more aggressive regarding not being pregnant. It wasn't all I had hoped it would be. 2 things out of our conversation really bothered me.

1. We have always wanted 3-4 children. My DH and I are both 34. When I mentioned this, she told me I need to let go of the idea of having that many children. I wanted to cry. It was possibly something I needed to hear. We may NOT be able to have 3-4 children that are genentically our own but we will do everything we can to have the family we want even if it means adoption. Anyway, that comment really hurt.

2. I nursed my son for 22 months. The AAP recommends breastfeeding for 2 years. To be honest, I never intended to nurse him that long but that's how it turned out. I got AF 15 months after his birth. Which means, I've been regularly (as regular as I ever am) for the past 10 months. 10 months of trying and nothing. 8 of those months I was nursing 0 - 2 times a day. Not much but some. She basically told me that even though I was ovulating, my chances of getting pregnant where not high. WHAT?!?!?! I'm sorry, but my understand is that once you starting ovulating and AF shows up, you can get PG even if you are nursing. I have many friends that got pregnant while nursing. This is the same doctor that put me on the mini-pill b/c she said I can still get pregnant while nursing even if AF hasn't shown up. Am I missing something? I felt very frustrated that by doing what I thought and felt was the best thing for my son, I was killing my chances of conceiving another child. Catch-22.

Anyway, after discussing this at length, she decided to go ahead and start running some tests. So, this is the run down.

AF is scheduled to show up tomorrow.
1. DH will do his SA test tomorrow.
2. I have a day 3 blood test run on Sunday. I'll have to check all of what they're testing for.
3. Thursday, I have a sonogram scheduled.
4. Friday I have an HSG schedule. Which at first I was thinking wasn't a big deal but you ladies have opened my eyes to that. MY DH will be back in London next week so now I'm thinking I may drag a friend with me.
5. She wants me to use a fertility monitor (which I did last cycle) and BD every night it says high or peak, not every other night like we have been doing.
6. She put me on a new prenatal vitamin with added fatty acids. I wasn't sure why at first but after reading a post from Kmorr? a few pages back now I understand why.

Think that's everything.

[thedoorchick]

Dallas_Lady, hope you get good results today!

akire, congrats! What a beautiful name!

TravelGirl, umm, what? "Even though you're ovulating your chances of getting pg are not high"? That makes no sense! Assuming no other issues of course, but it sounds like this dr just thinks that nursing keeps you from getting pg? Ugh! I'm sorry she made that comment about not having 3-4 children too. I have always wanted a big family too but since I'm 35 and still no children, that seems rather unlikely. But it is hard to hear from someone else who thinks they know best about you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does anyone have advice on what to take with us to our first RE appt next week? I want to make sure they have all the info so we don't waste time redoing thing. I am taking a few months worth of charts, the results of the extensive bloodwork my old OB did, and a copy of the SA results. I'll also make sure we abstain for a couple of days in case he wants to do another SA that day.

What am I missing?

[tigerest]

ocgatita and julesp313 - I am sorry. I did not mean to scare you about the HSG. I knew I had 2 blocked tubes last time, so that is why it was more painful. I don't think its as bad for most people. I had a surgery that opened my tubes and now we are rechecking them. So along with my fear that they may be closed, is the fear that if they are closed it will hurt again. But either way it shouldn't be as bad this time because I didnt take anything for pain last time.

Thanks for the good luck guys. I can tell I am on edge though...

Akire - OH CONGRATS!!!!! Thanks for posting.

[julesp313]

Tigerest - I have almost zero tolerance for pain so if you'd said it was mildly uncomfortable, I'd still be scared witless. :)

I am pleased to report a sucessful production of lil swimmers into a cup this morning! DH was actually pretty OK with it, though I did get uncontrollable giggles while assisting and I'm fairly sure that didn't help much. Now we wait for the results. I don't understand why the lab slip says you have to drop it off between 7 and 3 M-F when they're open from 5:30am to 7pm all week? Ah well. I got there just after 7 so that was fine. I assume that the times are for other tests such as the CD3 blood work that you may end up having to do on a weekend. I go to LA on Sunday for the week so I'll have to either persuade the lab to fax me the results or make DH go get them.

Question, if I may... after we get the results, I want to go back to the dr and start my testing. When I call the dr to get an appt, what do I ask for? I mean, they always say "why do you want an appt" so do I just say that I want to have a discussion about IF testing or do I need to be more specific and say we've done the prenatal workup and SA and now we need to do the CD3 and other blood tests? Any suggestions would be most welcome!

[DallasLady]

Akire, I remember you from the WC, congrats on your baby girl! :D

We got the second SA results, finally. They were pretty much the same as the first- 13.9 mil/mL (up 2.7 million), 54% motility and 6% Kruger morphology (both the same). So it is official, we've got issues. But his doctor said he thinks we are good candidated for IUI. So now onto that.

DH says, "Well, at least this means I won't have to get a vasectomy once we are done having kids." He's always looking on the bright side :D

[pocket]

well i'm not pregnant, but still no AF. how annoying is this? i just want the cycle to be over already so i can start the clomid. gargh.

[Carissa]

Former member posting. I was Crosew on WC. Here are my new stats.
Carissa(Crosew on WC)
Me: Carissa (25) DH: Eric (25)
TTC: Since 3/03
Diagnosed with PCOS and low progesterone.
Clomid, Metformin, prometrium and trigger shot
BFP 3/04, M/C 4.04
BFP 9/04- EDD 5/25/05
Grace Elizabeth 5/15/05

[thedoorchick]

DH says, "Well, at least this means I won't have to get a vasectomy once we are done having kids." He's always looking on the bright side :D

It's funny you say that; just the other day I mentioned to Jason that I guessed we wouldn't need to bother with birth control again.

[tigerest]

BAck from my HSG.

Both Tubes are blocked again! :( Not sure what we're gonna do now.

Drugs definitely help with the pain though!!!

[karlatta]

I'm a million posts behind, but I'm gonna try SOs...

tigerest - I'm so sorry to hear that. Please let us know what you and DH decide to do.

thedoorchick - Welcome! Do I recognize you from Betsy's LJ?

Carissa - I don't think I ever congratulated you on your little girl. So... Congrats!

pocket - I totally understand the frustrations. Is AF around yet?

DallasLady - I'm glad DH can be light-hearted about his results!

julesp313 - When I started going to the RE, I had the same questions as you. I think that every time I called, I just told them my whole story and made them figure out what kind of appointment I needed. Now I can do it on my own.

TravelGirl - What a weird doctor! I'm glad you're getting the ball rolling!

ocgatita - How is the waiting coming?

jennylou - Eh, it's okay. More below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My update: CD10, starting OPKs tomorrow. I finished up my Letrozole on Wednesday and stopped the Estradiol suppositories on Thursday. So now we're just waiting to O. I'm a touch more anxious about this cycle than I was about last cycle. I can come up with a million logical reasons why THIS MONTH should be the one for us. So I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much already, but I'm very excited about it.

[jennylou]

karla - I completely know what you mean about thinking this month has to be it. I've pinned a lot of hopes upon it myself. I too, have a long list of reasons why it should be the month for us, which I typed out in my lj.

tiger - So sorry about the blocked tubes. :(

Birth control - BC makes me all sorts of f-ed up. Seriously, I get weepy, bitchy, moody, etc...hmmm, sounds just like clomid! But, I won't go back on it, it's just too much to deal with. I don't ovulate, so why bother? I think I'll always temp and keep track of my cycles. Beyond that, I don't think we need anything else, unless suddenly I start ovulating on my own every cycle.

[TravelGirl]

I've had the strangest past few days.

Based on the fertility monitor I O'd on Saturday, July 30th. Maybe Sunday, July 31st. I always have an 11 day LP. Which means AF was due on Thursday. No show. Took 2 Clearblue HPT and at the 2-3 minute time mark, I thought I saw a line but wasn't sure. After about 15 minutes you could see a faint shadow of a line but wasn't sure that counted. Yesterday morning (13 DPO) tried a digital Clearblue HPT and it failed. Tried 2 EPT tests in the afternoon and the same thing - thought I saw a line but wasn't sure and after about 15 minutes you could see a faint shadow of a line but wasn't sure that counted. Even had a friend look with me and she thought the same thing.

WARNING - may be TMI:
Last night my DH and I were in the middle of BD'ing and holy cow, tons of bright red blood everywhere. Lots. No pain, but very messy. Nothing this morning. Not even spotting. I guess I'll wait and see what my body does the rest of this afternoon. Any idea what is going on?

On another note, we got my husband's SA results back yesterday.
Count was 48 mil/ml. She said normal was 60 - 150 so that is a bit low.
Motility was 58. Low but within a normal range.
Morphology was 34% which she said was OK.
She did say he produced over 5ml which is a large volume. Funny thing is my husband had joked that he produced less than normal than normal that morning. He was awesome about having to do the test. After hearing how some DH really didn't want to do it he didn't complain once.

Assuming AF did start last night, I have a day 3 blood test set for Monday. A sonogram scheduled for Thursday and my HSG scheduled for Friday. Is the HSG that bad? Mine scheduled for 2:00 and I have a hair appointment scheduled for 3. I was told it would take 20-30 minutes. I probably need to cancel the hair appointment,huh?

I should add my doctor also gave me the"relax" speech about how stressing out about this makes it harder. She also suggested that the stress of London may be a factor. Who knows.

[pocket]

so two things -

first of all it was yayagirl who told me that dh (and dhs in general) shouldn't bitch about the SA because at least their test is fun and involves porn whereas our tests mostly involve needles and painful poking.

second of all, what's slippery, stretchy, clear and totally unexpected?

EWCM!! All by myself! I am so proud! I can't wait to tell Dr. H! my cervix is low and open and sort of squishy feeling.

Pita was thrilled to get to BD in the AM. His favorite and my least favorite time for babydancing. Yee-Haw!!

isn't it weird? it's cd 40, i took prometrium from cd 27-cd 37.

[thedoorchick]

karlatta, do you mean Betsy/rebelbets? if so, yes, I'm in there a lot. Who are you on LJ?

[karlatta]

thedoorchick - Yes. I am karlatta on LJ as well. I don't think I say much, so you probably don't recognize me.

[julesp313]

Tigerest - very sorry to hear the results of your HSG were not good. I hope it wasn't too painful and that your doctor is ready with some suggestions and ideas for helping you guys get pregnant.

Pocket - how right you are about DH's test being not only painless but actually pretty good! I gave mine a graphic description of the HSG (thank goodness for WebMD) and he went very pale - ha!

As for us, we got the SA results back yesterday (so much for 48 hours - the lab tech said the receptionists always say that but most results are ready well within 24 hours). All appears to be normal:
Count 62m/ml
Motility 60%
Morphology 70%
According to the lab report, they recognize "fertile correlates" as count > 48m, motility > 63% and morphology > 12% (which I though was really low - I read on WebMD that it was 60%). Subfertile correlates are count < 13.5m, motility < 32% and morphology < 9%. Anyway, according to WebMD, all his numbers are fine so he's all proud now and I'm relieved that I don't have to deal with what might have been a difficult result for him. I'm going to call the dr's office on Monday and get an appt for the next step, whatever that may be (Karla - thanks for the suggestions with the dr's office. I think I'll tell them what we've done so far and that I want to plan what's next and let them figure out which dr I should see).

Now, off to do laundry!

[TravelGirl]

So, no AF signs at all today. Nothing. Nada. I'm so confused. It was due on Thursday but it never showed up. Bleed during BD on Friday night. Nothing since. Took another HPT and got a BFN. What is going on?

[DallasLady]

Count 62m/ml
Motility 60%
Morphology 70%
According to the lab report, they recognize "fertile correlates" as count > 48m, motility > 63% and morphology > 12% (which I though was really low - I read on WebMD that it was 60%). Subfertile correlates are count < 13.5m, motility < 32% and morphology < 9%. Anyway, according to WebMD, all his numbers are fine so he's all proud now and I'm relieved that I don't have to deal with what might have been a difficult result for him.

When it comes to morphology, you will often see conflicting numbers on what is good and what isn't. There are two sets of criteria that are used to judge morphology. The WHO criteria usually sets normal morphology around 60% (which is what you read on Web MD and seems to be all over the internet). Few labs actually use this though, they mostly use the Kruger Strict criteria, which is more accurate, and according to that one, 10-14% is considered normal. It looks likes what your lab is using.

Congrats on the results, I'd love to have those numbers!

Tigerest, I'm so sorry about the blockage. Will you move on to IVF now?

[jrsygirl]

tigerest sorry to hear about the test results.
jules those numbers look good!

As for me, I'm in day nine of the 2WW after my IUI. Ug. I am DYING . I had some really bad pains last night in the lower left part of my belly. I don't think it was AF cramps because I'm taking prometrium.
Whats the earliest y'all have tested?

[ag05]

tigerest - sorry to hear about the hsg results

I wanted to ask yall a question. I am about to do an IUI cycle I think and the Doc said to call with AF and schedule a day 10 ultrasound. I am to start Femara day 3-7 (I'm on day 2 now) and I'll do an hCG trigger shot when follicles are ready? Then IUI sometime after that (42 hours?). I know that I will be out of town on day 12.

Can I still do the cycle if I'm going to be out of town on day 12?

I realize that I probably have to cancel next months cycle because I have to go to a wedding on the east coast (darn weddings!) but I wonder if one day makes a difference. Does anyone know?

[Scooter]

Emily, the reason I ask about those tests is because a lot of ob/gyns don't seem to be familiar with all the autoimmune tests that should/could be run. I'd definitely bring up that possibility to the RE if I were in your situation, and advocate for more tests. Reasoning being, if there is some immune problem underlying all this, then all the IF treatments in the world aren't going to produce a baby, so it would save time & emotional energy to get that checked first. IMHO.

Pocket, I remember reading around here before that taking progesterone sometimes can give your body a little jumpstart, and some people will actually ovulate instead of getting AF! Glad it happened that way for you, good luck!

Caroline, good luck with all the needles, that does NOT sound like fun. How was the Gonal-F pen?

Tiger, Just wanted to say again how sorry I am about your HSG results. You've gone through so much with those tubes of yours. :(

Jenny, I'm sorry this month has been so rough for you! I can't imagine what it's like to be going through your grief, and on clomid to boot. I truly hope you won't have to wait too much longer for more good news.

Judy, thank you, it's so nice to hear your support. :) Sounds like things are going slightly better for you? If you want to vent here, you can. We all go through times like that.

Jules, while I'm sure my sonogram will not be painless, the Dr is going to prescribe me something for the pain and something to soften my cervix--so it should go a lot better. ;) Hope all this talk isn't scaring you out of your own HSG!! And congrats again on the SA results!

Erika, Congratulations!! I'm glad to hear things went well for you both!

Travelgirl, How sensitive are your HPTs? People with shorter LPs sometimes have to wait until AF is several days late to get a +HPT. If you still haven't gotten one today, can you call your Dr to get a beta hCG done? Ok I really don't know about the facts here, since I have no personal experience yet, but when you're breastfeeding, isn't your ability to get pregnant based on your prolactin levels? So if they did a prolactin test they'd be able to tell what your current chances are, right? :confused: Congrats on the SA results, sounds good. Will it be repeated? And please tell, did you punch your RE when she said "relax"??? :mad:

Carissa, Congratulations!! What a beautiful little girl you have!!

Karla, Good luck with this cycle!!

Jrsygirl, wait, I thought we triggered & had the IUIs on the same day? How are you a day ahead of me? I'm only 8dpo! I'm sorry this 2ww is going so slow for you! If the trigger is still in your system, it would give you a (possibly) false positive HPT is you tested right now. Some people don't get rid of the trigger shot until 10dpo. I tested negative today, so I know my trigger is gone by now. If you're having pains in the lower left abdomen, it could be around your ovary, which is pretty common from the medications. I know I get that every month. And the progesterone causes cramping, so that probably isn't because of AF. Really try to resist testing for a few more days, so you don't get a false positive, ok? Hang in there!

ag05, I forget, have you taken femara before? That would give you an idea of which day your IUI would be on this time. If you won't do the IUI until cd14, that probably means triggering when you're out of town. And if on day 10 or 11 it looks like you're surging yourself, then the danger would be of your body ovulating by itself and missing the window of opportunity. Definitely worth talking to the Dr about.

Birth Control discussion: we've talked about it, too, and I can't imagine ever using it again (besides FAM). My friends look at me like I'm an idiot when I say that, but they just don't get it. It also annoys me to think of all those years we spent worried about birth control, all that money we spent, wasted days of worrying if AF was a couple days late. I'm sure it was just a late O & I didn't understand about that. :rolleyes:

[Scooter]

Almost forgot, I have a question. It's kind of weird. Ever since 5dpiui I've been having little nosebleeds every day. There's nothing to attribute it to. I'm worried it's because of the medications or from taking the baby aspirin or something. Has anyone heard of this before?

[jennylou]

scooter - I've heard of nosebleeds being more common in pregnancy....just sayin'. ;)

travelgirl - I say test again. Then again, I like POAS. :) Try a different brand? I like Equates. If that doesn't get you a BFP, I think a call to the doc is in order. GL to you. :)

jules - I think the numbers look great.

ag - If you were to miss the surge, you could always cover your bases without the IUI. I'd think I'd prefer that than skipping a cycle. I'm especially thinking this for you next month when you'll be out of town. Time, trips, vacations...just another thing that you have to work around with if.

jrsygirl - GL to you. When are you testing? Ah, come on....how about l10 dpo? :p I would...oh wait, I tested at 9 dpo (and, btw, got a faint BFP). I can't resist the temptation of POAS. ;)

I'm just waiting to O over here, PIAC like crazy (I bought the dip stick OPKs from Save On Tests). I'm on CD 14 and I can finally see the line without squinting. I've had all sorts of pains in my ovaries...I keep hoping that it's O pains, but maybe it's just follies getting bigger?

[ag05]

scooter - I have never taken Femara before so don't know how I'd react. You are right I should probably call the RE office. Thanks. Also, I don't know what could be causing your nosebleeds.

[jrsygirl]

scooter you're right! I was counting wrong :o Today is day 8. I guess I can keep sitting on my hands a while longer . I'm going to try and hold out a few more days...when are you planning on testing?

[TravelGirl]

Scooter - I wanted to punch her but wasn't sure that would help in the long run. In the end, AF should up today full force. I thought LP was always the same number of days. As much as my cycles vary the LP is always 11 (12 maybe) days. This cycle my LP was 14 days. Weird. According to our doc the motility results were on the low side (48 mil/ml) so she wants the test redone in 2 months. No, the doctor never tested for prolactin. My son is done BF now so I'm assuming that is a non issue now.

Jennylou - I used clearblue and EPT tests. Guess they were right in the long run. That was $45 well spent.


So, now that AF finally showed up I'm wondering if I need to reschdule my sonogram and HSG. I made the appointments assuming AF was going to start last Thursday but it didn't start until today. I can easliy move my day 3 blood test to Tuesday. But what about the other 2? Guess I'll call tomorrow and find out.

[ag05]

jennylou - Thanks.

Well I've decided not to do IUIs for now. Just the Femara and see how that goes. Starting my first pill tomorrow. Also, I'm going to try and get an appointment with the RE next week to go over my test results (recurrent pregnancy loss tests). Wish me luck cause I'm scared.

[thedoorchick]

ag05, what kind of tests have you had for RPL?

Finally got our full SA results faxed over today and found that in addition to 1% morphology he has only 44% motility. Volume/density are good. Something else to ponder.

Wednesday and our RE appt can't come soon enough! I am dying to know what we need to do next.

[DallasLady]

Emily I'm sorry the results didn't turn out well. Did the doctor order a follow up SA? Ours did when the first one came back not so hot just to confirm (turns out the second on was pretty much the same). I don't know if you use FF at all, but there is a good discussion area about male infertility that I frequent pretty regularly.

Our first RE appointment is next Tuesday and I am on pins and needles. We have had to wait over a month (I made the appointment mid-July) but I really wanted to get in with this particular doctor.

[thedoorchick]

That doctor didn't order a follow up SA but I feel like our RE will want one when we go there tomorrow.

I do chart on FF but I don't have the VIP membership. I think you have to pay to use the message boards? I can't remember. Anyway, I may need to check that out. My RE's website (www.ivfmd.net) has some links to good online resources and boards, and I've gotten some good info there.

[bottleored]

thedoorchick good luck at the REs tomorrow! I joined FF when they had a special $16.95 for 90 days and just renewed for the same price. I think it's usually $25. Even though I'm taking lots of meds and really know when I O, it's kind of like a security blanket. I haven't been on those boards, though. It's hard enough to keep up with these boards! :D

dallaslady I think it's worth the wait to get someone you have a lot of confidence in. I waited 1-2 months until my insurance changed so I could go to my RE. Good luck with the appointment and hope it goes well for you.

travelgirl were you able to reschedule your tests? I wish all the tests and procedures weren't so cycle-dependent, but I guess if everyone in the office is making last minute appointments it's not so bad! Sorry AF showed! My LP isn't always the same. Even when I fiddle with the FF charts, I still get some that are 12 days and some that are 16+ days!

jrsygirl have you tested yet?

jennylou any O yet?

scooter the Gonal-F pen is a breeze compared to some of these other things! I think it's the mixing and measuring and switching needles that really gets to me. The pen is a cinch - dial to 150, pull out the end and inject. The Lovenox isn't too bad - the needles are already pre-measured, except it stings after the shot. I don't like having medication that I have to mix or figure out whether or not the syringe is the correct one. Freedom Drug sent me the wrong syringes and I called the RE to say 'do I need to give myself 2 shots because the needles don't seem big enough?' :rolleyes: When are you testing girl??

ag05 my RE likes to do 2 IUIs. Sometimes you can hold off on the trigger for a day, too. If there are no male factors, you can take the Femara without doing the IUI.

julesp313 great news about the SA. I empathize with your comment about dealing with your DH if the results were bad. I'm not sure where we'd be if my DH's had come back poor - he is not one to be proactive and would most certainly feel 'unmanly' no matter how much I told him about body chemistry, etc. He still squirms when he knows I'm giving myself a shot of something. Truth be told, 6 months ago I would be squirming, but now it's just part of my day - how sad :(

pocket did you ever figure out whether you O'ed after the progesterone? The human body is a strange creature!

karlatta how is the 'exciting' part of your cycle going? Every month I figure out why that time would be good/bad, pros/cons of giving birth during that season, month, work schedule, vacation time accrual, etc!

tigerest I'm so sorry for your HSG results! Do they know why your tubes ended up being blocked again? I had one of mine unblocked and I'm always wondering if it would just close up again and I wouldn't know it! {{{HUGS}}}

Big congrats to carissa and erika on your beautiful babies. You continue to bring us all hope! Thanks for keeping us posted!

ocgatita did you O when you anticipated? You should be in the 2WW, right?

Sorry if I've forgotten anyone - trying to complete all this at lunchtime!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CD10 here. 6 days of Gonal-F (150) and low-dose HCG and a trigger last night. Never did I think I'd be triggering on CD9! But my 2 follies were 16 & 17, so away we go! I have to confirm what I'm doing next. I should be starting the Lovenox for the clotting pretty soon. I think I wait until 7DPO to see if I need progesterone. I'll most likely go for 14DPO bloodwork on my birthday (8/30 - I'll be 39 :eek: ) It would be the sweetest present :D

[jennylou]

bottleored - no O yet, thanks for asking! Though, I did have a darker OPK yesterday. I'm thinking perhaps I'm about to O. :) Hoping for that sweet birthday gift for you. :)

As for the FF message boards, they are free. You can get to it from the circles link on the side of where your chart is. Beware that not all of them are, um...as sophisticated as the ladies here? :p

[pocket]

dr. h is on vacation until tomorrow, but her nurse called me back. she said to take another test, which i did, though why she wanted that is puzzling to me. oh well, i will just wait the requisite 14 days after the Pro and if I don't get AF by then, I will go in to see her. it's so strange - where is my period?

[julesp313]

Thanks to everyone for the reassurance that the SA results are good ones... I figured they were but until I get the official word from the Dr, I am a worrier. :)

Nothing doing this month - I'm due to O tomorrow/Thursday but I'm in LA and DH isn't, so that's a wasted month. I'm hoping to get hold of my dr's office today and get an appt for the next step but that's about all I can do to be pro-active this month (unless I fly DH out for a couple of hours which, believe me, crossed my mind!). :rolleyes:

ETA: If (as it appears) there is no male factor involved, is it likely that the dr will still do the same tests (the two blood tests and the HSG) before suggesting what to try next? Do they do IUIs even if the male side of things is OK? Can you tell I'm clueless and need to go read more? (don't have to answer the last question!) ;)

[thedoorchick]

julesp, from what I understand an IUI is more likely to be recommended, not less likely, if MF is not a problem. MF is our problem and my MW's first thought was that we would have to go straight to IVF. The additional research I've done supports that.

In other words IUI is more effective when the problem is female factor IF.

[TravelGirl]

bottelorod - Interesting. I thought the LP was always the same. It's been a long time since I read TCOYF. Just when I thought my body did do something normally, I'm wrong.

I went for my day 3 blood test today. They're testing for FSH/LH/TSH/ estradiol/ testosterone/prolactin.

I've decided to leave my sonogram appointment for Thursday. My MIL is already scheduled to come watch my son so I'd hate to reschedule that and the doctor said that one isn't cycle dependent. As for the HSG, I've left that for Friday right now. If my cycle ends by Thursday afternoon, I can still do that test on Friday. If not, I'll have to reschedule that for Monday. Not sure who I'll get to watch my son but I'll deal with that later.

[Scooter]

Drive by post on the way to work...

Jules, IUI is usually the first recommended step for people with unexplained IF. Look at us, we have no diagnosed IF problem, and have done 5 IUIs! Yes, your tests will still go on, they want all the info before making a treatment plan.


And for those of you who've asked, my beta is on Saturday. I'm considering an HPT on Thursday, because it's our anniversary, but it's kind of silly because I don't want a BFN to ruin the day. I'm sure I'll try anyway. 3 yrs ago I was pg on our aniversary, it wuld be nice to have that again.

[kemorr]

Well, sitting here nervously waiting for my DH to come home so he can give me the HCG trigger shot. I'm very nervous because it is the first IM injection I've had to do at home. I've been on the Follistim pen and those shots were generally a piece of cake (except for the day I accidently stuck myself in the thumb!) but the IM shots are scary. The needle is SO long!! I have 3 follicles, 2 on the left and one on the right. I think 2 are at 18 and 1 is at 20. I forgot to ask what my E2 level was today, but I guess it is OK as they want me to trigger tonight. IUI scheduled for Thursday morning, which is a bit of a bummer as it is my busiest day at work. I had to reschedule 2 of my morning clients and people there are beginning to give me funny looks because I am coming in late an awful lot right now and though no one knows about the IF treatments, I think people realise something is up. If this isn't my cycle (and please let it be!), I think I'm going to have to tell my boss. So fingers crossed for this cycle!!

[jrsygirl]

Good luck Kemorr! My DH has a huge aversion to needles so I gave myself al the injections. I figured if he was nervous it would make me nervous and it would be more painful all around and I had to take two trigger shots. What are you taking? I didn't think the Ovidrel was much bigger than my Follistim pen..maybe a little.!

Scooter How are you doing ? I had to force myself nt to test today!!

[karlatta]

Drive-by...

CD 13. I started my OPK on CD 11. I got a medium-faint line. The lines yesterday and today have been even fainter. So I have no idea if I'm going to ovulate soon or not. Sigh. I am having some pains in my ovaries, so that's a good sign. I'd bet money that I'm having a slightly delayed ovulation due to stress from the school year starting tomorrow (I'm a teacher).

Apologies for no shout outs.

[kemorr]

Hi jrsygirl, it turned out that my husband also has a major aversion to needles (he went ghost white, started to sweat and looked shaky)! He scared me so much that I just did it myself. Unfortunately, my RE prefers the Novarel to Ovidrel for the trigger shot. That means a 1.5 inch long, 25 guage needle right into my butt. He did say "if you don't think you'll be able to give yourself the Novarel, I can prescribe the Ovidrel" but silly me said "oh, if you think the Novarel is better, I'll go with that!" Actually, the anticipation was much worse than the actual thing. My butt aches this morning but the actual injection itself didn't hurt.

Good luck to you and scooter for the upcoming tests!!

[julesp313]

Thanks for the info, Doorchick and Scooter... I really must go read more on this stuff.

I have an appt for next Friday to discuss the next steps. DH wants to go with me and I think it will be good for him to be involved in the discussions. My biggest worries now are whether or not Clomid will be prescribed (I'm O'ing very regularly and I'm worried about the side effects and the cost as it's not covered by insurance) and whether or not I'll have to give myself shots - do you always do a trigger shot with an IUI or are dr's willing to wait for you to O on your own? I know I'll have more answers once I meet with the dr but you guys are so informative, I feel like I'll find out more from you than from the dr!

[Ole Miss Bride]

julesp313, Clomid is relatively inexpensive, so even if it's not covered by insurance, it shouldn't be too big a deal. About $50 or so. As for shots, the subcutaneous ones are easy-peasy (I can't speak for the intra-muscular shots, as I never had to do those myself). All of my trigger shots have been sub-q.

Most doctors will want you to do a trigger shot if you're doing IUI, as it makes it easier for them to time the procedure accurately. IIRC, my trigger shots usually ran about $35. Not too bad.

-Betsy

[jennylou]

jules - clomid is $30 for me at CVS for 50 mg. I heard that it's cheaper at Costco (but that's a long enough drive for me that I just stick with CVS).

[julesp313]

Betsy - thanks for that info. I found Clomid on drugstore.com at $100 (not sure how many that was for) but the generic is only $30 so I would ask the dr if they could prescribe generic if we decide to go that route. Needles give me the skeevies, so any shot is terrifying (ironic that I have a tattoo, huh?) but if it's necessary to give us a fighting chance of having a child, I'm ready to suck it up and learn to get over my very irrational fear!

Jenny - I will definitely check out Costco and CVS - we have both pretty near by and we hit Costco monthly for stuff anyway. Thanks for the suggestions. :)

ETA: I forgot to mention that I was watching NBC last night and saw a preview for a new show on Fridays in the fall, called "Inconceivable" - I got all weepy just watching the preview so I'm pretty damn sure I won't be watching the show when it airs. :(

[LindsaySD]

Uggg...I am so bummed out today! I had my dr's. appointment, and all was going well. This is until I asked him to not tell my father he saw me (they're best friends) bc I wanted to surprise him on his bday Sept. 21. Basically, he goes on to tell me that I just shouldn't plan on that and to not get my hopes up. He told me that DD was a "miracle" and that it's just not going to happen that way again. I immediately started crying...I'm SO emotional. He said that "people like you" just don't get pregnant easily and that I can't put a time-table on it. These are all things I knew, but I was just so hopeful, and I feel like he just shot down all of that. I know he would never mean to bc he is like family, but I'm emotional and upset. Tomorrow will be a MUCH better day!

I started menopause at 19 (I'm now 24) and the chances of me ever having children were small, but it happened so fast with DD, even without a period, that I just assumed that it would be the same way this time around. We've been trying for 2mos., and today he put me on Clomid & Provera. I'm always on Glucophage. He said to give it another four or five months and we'll go to IVF. He did give me a PG Test, which came out a big fat negative. I guess I was just so hopeful that it would be easy, even though I know my medical history and that it's not going to be immediate. So bummed!!

And, of course, I had someone tell me the ever-hated, "Atleast you know you can have children." This so doesn't make me feel better. Atleast I know I'm not the only one...

[jrsygirl]

Guess what I got this morning!!???

A BFP!!!

I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic. I know its still not any guarantees!! I'm going to call my RE and see when they want me to come in for my blood test since I wasn't supposed to POAS until Saturday.. (like that was going to happen! Who honestly waits two full weeks !!)

Anyway today was DH's bday so I wrapped the stick and put a note on it that said "hope this turns out to be your best birthday present ever".

He started crying! So sweet!

[DallasLady]

Congratulations!

[jennylou]

Congrats jrsygirl! :)

[DallasLady]

Lindsay I'm sorry your doctore left you feeling discouraged. But, I bet he was just trying to save your feelings in his own way. Doctors see all the worse case scenarios and they try to keep people from getting their hopes up to high. But don't let it get to you!

Thedoorchick How did the RE appointment go?

[bottleored]

Congrats jrsygirl!

jennylou Beware that not all of them are, um...as sophisticated as the ladies here? I just took a peek and I was overwhelmed with the large siggies! One had 3 photos (one large) and 4 or 5 tickers. Makes it hard to read!

julesp If (as it appears) there is no male factor involved, is it likely that the dr will still do the same tests (the two blood tests and the HSG) before suggesting what to try next? Yes, they'll definitely do all those tests because if his swimmers are good, they have to figure out why they're not meeting up with your egg.
Do they do IUIs even if the male side of things is OK? Most times - it just gives you an extra boost and sometimes (with or without meds) the 'environment' might not be sufficient to get the little guys up there, so it gives them a head start.new show on Fridays in the fall, called "Inconceivable" I've seen previews for it and I'll watch at first, to see what the storylines are like and how realistic it is. We should start a thread about it in FP when it premieres.

travelgirl I thought the LP was always the same. It's been a long time since I read TCOYF Don't get me wrong - FF tells me quite often that my LP should be in the same 1-2 day range and maybe my charts are off or there's a problem :rolleyes:

Scooter Happy Anniversary! Did you cave and test?

kemorr hope all went well today - looks like we're in the 2WW together! I still haven't done an IM shot - my RE's office lets me do the trigger subcutaneously. I take the Novarel. The IM shots are what I'm most worried about if we move on to IVF.

karla any O in sight?

Lindsay welcome! Hope you have good luck with the clomid!

[Nigellas]

Morning everyone :)

jrsygirl - CONGRATULATIONS! :D:D

LindsaySD - I'm really sorry about the bad visit with your RE. I'm sure he meant well but sometimes doctors can be so heartless when delivering words like that. Sorry.

I just got back from a visit with my RE - We are going to try 2 more cycles of Femarra (I've had 3 cycles already - the first I had 3 mature follies- :eek:, the second, 2 and the third none :confused: ) Anyway, since I'm already on CD 5 I can't start it this month and I have to wait another month... UGH! :mad:

[DallasLady]

I just took a peek and I was overwhelmed with the large siggies! One had 3 photos (one large) and 4 or 5 tickers. Makes it hard to read!


I hate that about FF, I go over there but not too often. It makes it so hard to read, and is a bit obnoxious IMO. I'm okay with one pic so we can put a face to a name, but 4 or 5 HUGE pics of you and everyone in your family is overkill. And no one really cares how many days there are until your grandma's birthday :rolleyes:

[julesp313]

Jrsygirl - congratulations! That's great news on your DH's birthday!

Bottleored - I figured we'd still do the tests on me because, as you say, there's something not doing what it should be. This was the hardest thing for DH to grasp - if there's nothing wrong with his swimmers, I'm O'ing regularly, I have normal length cycles - there is no reason "on paper" why I'm not getting pregnant. So we need to investigate further. My concern is that everything will come back normal and we have no explanation - while I should be glad all is well, I think I'll be frustrated that we don't have something solid to focus on, y'know?

On another note, I haven't O'd yet which is unusual for me - I'm usually right around CD16 and today is CD17 and the signs are all pointing in the right direction. Now I'm hoping I actually O late (like Saturday would rock!) so I can get home tomorrow and BD like crazy and see if we can catch this cycle after all. I hadn't put any hope in this cycle because I knew I'd be out of town at the right time, but now it looks like there's a slim chance that we may be able to catch this egg. But not getting my hopes up til I get up tomorrow with no temp rise. :)

[TravelGirl]

Jrsygrl - Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What fantastic news!!!


julesp313 -
"My concern is that everything will come back normal and we have no explanation - while I should be glad all is well, I think I'll be frustrated that we don't have something solid to focus on, y'know?"

I completely understand this. My DH swimmer's count was a little on the low side but not horrendous. I had a blood test Tuesday. Waiting on those results. Had a sonogram this morning - everything looked good. Lining was fine, no cysts. HSG is scheduled for Tuesday. Yea!

Ladies, for my HSG, do you think I'm fine to drive myself there, do it on my own, and drive home? Or should I go with someone?

[jrsygirl]

Thank you so much everyone! !!! I took three tests to be sure :)

I'm trying to be realistic, I called the RE's office and they don't want to do a bloodtest until Monday. She told me it was too early to do it tomorrow.
So please keep your fingers crossed and send sticky vibes our way.


TravelGirl DH went with me but there were a few people there alone when I had mine. You'll probably be ok. I had some mild cramping but nothing terribly bad.

julesp313 Good luck! I hope everything goes as planned and you and DH have a fun weekend ahead!

Nigellas Sorry you missed this cycle! Hopefully it goes by quickly!

bottleored, DallasLady,JennyLou Thanks so much!

Scooter Happy Anniversary! Did you test???

[marteneym]

First off CONGRATS Jrsygirl!

I would like to join. DH and I have been TTC for 11months now. I have been in the TTC w/ charting thread. I will continue there as well, but think that this may be a more fitting thread now.

My known issues as of now are Delayed ovulation (so far). My first cycle off bcp was 35days. The rest have been 58-88days long. I tried two and a half cycles on Fertility Blend. The first was 40days(my one other normal cycle). The second is this cycle and I am currently cd38 and waiting to O. FB didnt seem to help. I called my Dr. this week and the nurse who does the infertility intake consults is on vacation. I am waiting for a call next week to schedule. They mentioned doing some tests and an SA. DH may have an issue. I have a feeling they will start me on Chlomid. Calling for this appt hit me hard yesterday!

Questions:
Those of you on Chlomid, have you had any side effects?
What should I expect at the first appointment?

Thanks in advance. I love the support this thread offers to each other. You are a great group of ladies from what I have seen so far.

Here are my stats:
Marteneym
Me: 22
DH: 27
Married since: October 4, 2003
Off BCP since: September 2004
SWH since: October 2004
TTC since: December 2004
Fertility Blend cycles 4,5,6
Known issues/test results: Delayed Ovulation, Awaiting 1st inf appt.

[Hangin'in]

CONGRATS Jrsygirl!!!

Welcome marteneym... we have the same wedding date!

There is no way I can catch up on SO's... but know I am rooting hard for all of you!

[karlatta]

CD 15. Ugh. Still no O. It's so hard to be patient, because every other month I've been on Letrozole I've had huge follicles and have O'ed on or before Day 14. I don't feel like I have any follicles growing nice and big, and my OPKs are all negative, blah.

I'm trying hard to be patient, but I just want a baby, dangit! I'm in a cranky mood tonight - and really mad that I've spent over two years of my life trying to get pregnant. Grrr.

[ocgatita]

Congrats Jrsygirl!!! Hope the blood test Monday goes good.

Marteneym: Welcome and hope you have a short stay w/ us.

Scooter: How is the wait coming? Hope you had a nice anniversary.

TravelGirl: Sorry, I don't know about whether you can drive after the HSG or not since I haven't had one but good luck w/ that.

Julesp313: Hope you O late so you can get some of your BDing in!

Nigellas: Good luck w/ your 2 more cycle of Femera, hopefully this will be it for you!

Karlatta: I am so sorry you haven't O'd yet. I think everyone here has been at the point you are at. Vent away! I think it especially makes it hard when you hear of people that get pregnant their first month or two trying! Its like WTH! I said to DH the other day, "we BD on the day of O and a day before so hopefully you get a nice birthday gift" and he said "yeah right! I doubt you are pregnant" Its like it has even gotten him down. I don't even know what to say to make you feel better. Hope you O soon :)
_______________________________________________

As for me, I am on CD24 and I *think* I may have O'd on CD22. I usually don't O this late in the cycle but oh well. I have been trying to keep busy and not think about TTC, but its hard. My DH's birthday is coming up and I keep thinking about how nice it would be to surprise him w/ a BFP! Enough about me, hope all you ladies are doing great. Take Care :)

[kemorr]

First off, jrsygirl - BIG congrats! Was this your first cycle of injectibles?

Bottleored - when is your test date? I hate the 2WW but this time I will be on vacation for the last 10 days of it, so that may help get my mind off of it (yeah right!)

Well, I had my IUI this morning and I was a little disconcerted. For my other 2 IUIs, I've had mild cramping when they insert the catheter through my cervix into the uterus. Today, I felt a lot of pain in my cervix when she was manipulating the speculum, but absolutely NO cramping. I had a new nurse this time and she kept saying "I'm going to bend this catheter differently" and "these catheters are so floppy it is hard to manipulate them" and "I don't want to have to use the stiff catheter if I don't have to" and then she was like "all done!" and I felt NO cramping. I almost asked her "are you sure you got it in my uterus and didn't just squirt it in my vagina?" but I thought that might be rude. :rolleyes: I should just trust that she knows her job, right? Because of course now I'm paranoid that she didn't get it in the right spot. Ok, I'm going to try to stop thinking about it because I'm just upsetting myself..

[Scooter]

Attempting shout outs....

Kemorr, glad to hear it wasn't too bad after all. I can't believe you gave yourself an IM in your hip! I'm impressed, I was too wimpy to give myself the subQ ones. Good luck this cycle!

Jrsygirl, Congratulations!!! Wow, what a great b-day present for your DH! How are you doing with the news? How are you feeling? Why would tomorrow be too early?! If it comes up ++ on an HPT, then a beta is definitely going to pick it up. Unless they're talking about doing a qualitative test? You might want to call to find out. A qual. test is a yes or no test, where they just check whether your hCG is over 50 ("yes") or under ("no"). Any regular HPT (not early ones) will do the same. A "beta hCG" is the quantitative test, where they actually count the amount of hCG in your system--and that can be positive before any HPT would be.

Welcome, Marteneym! Your stats are posted! I hope you find the support & info you need here. A lot of us started out in the Charting Thread. Good luck with your Dr appt, I hope it gives you a good starting point. Have you been tesed for PCOS yet? I just ask because of the long cycles. Many of us have been/are on clomid here. There was a recent thread in FP about it, which you might like to read: Clomid Experiences (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=4749)

Karla, I'm sorry this cycle has been so frustrating for you. :( How was the start of the school year, were your kids good? With all that stress no wonder things are funky with the O timing. Hopefully your ovaries are kicking into gear now, since they're sore.

Jules, the clomid & letrozole are by FAR cheaper than injectibles (think hundreds of dollars difference). Clomid is funny in that the higher the dosage, the more it costs. Reason being, it's in 50mg pills, so twice the dosage means twice the pills! I got generic for about $25 or $30 for five 50mg pills (one cycle's worth). We didn't trigger twice with IUI. Both times was because I surged on my own the day we did the u/s. I wished at the time that I'd asked for a trigger those cycles anyway--you don't want to do the IUI & then NOT O, you know? The trigger is more insurance than nature. Even name brand trigger, at Costco, was $40, so not all that bad. (Originally for that SAME prescription Long's tried to charge me $400, so shopping around is good.)

Welcome, Lindsay! I'm so sorry to hear about your situation, that is so unfair. :mad: I don't know why some of us have to go through so much that others take for granted as "normal". And no, you're not the only one going through this stuff! If you want to be added to the roster, just post your stats in red for me.

I just took a peek and I was overwhelmed with the large siggies! One had 3 photos (one large) and 4 or 5 tickers. Makes it hard to read! That place makes me go blind. All those blinkies flashing all over the place, entire family photo albums--I can't even find the actual posts! They're usually only a line or two saying something that's not very useful, anyway. :p

Caroline, This is my 35th month charting, and not counting the medicated cycles, I've had LPs from 7 to 15 days long. !! I think it depends on what your body's going through at the time, because changing hormone levels can cause the LP to go up & down. I think we need to write an appendix to TCOYF! Shall we send her our charts?!

Nigellas, that's so surprising, you'd think the letrozole would cause about the same effects each month? Sorry about the results last time. I guess your RE didn't want you to do a day 5 start for some reason? Usually cd3, 4, or 5 are the start days.

And no one really cares how many days there are until your grandma's birthday. :rolleyes:
LMAO!! :D

Travelgirl, HSGs really depend on the person, some of us were in serious pain and some people thought it was a breeze. I almost fainted after mine, so just in case yours is tough, I'd recommend having someone there. Or else a standby person who can come pick you up. Plus, check out this recent HSG thread from FP (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=854) recently, it's got lots of comments.

Hangin'In, good to see you pop in! How are you doing?

Judy, Hopefully you're in the 2ww already! I really hope you're able to have a double celebration on your DH's b-day. The temps look good for O, and the CM's gone, those are good signs. Any reason the cd19 temp is so high?

Kemorr (again!) Sorry you're worrying about the IUI. The nurse may have had trouble getting the catheter in at first, but when they bend them just right it really helps! And each time it gets better--this last time I barely felt anything, including cramping. If she'd missed the uterus, it would have all come back out, right?? Fingers crossed for you!!

------------------------------
WHEW~!!! I'm tired now, I'll do an update tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for the anniversary wishes. We had a great day. :D

[jennylou]

scooter - glad to here that you had a good anniversary. :D

marty - welcome. Feel free to ask any questions, there's bound to be someone who has gone through what you're going through in this thread. :)

hangin'in - Glad to see you checked in. I have to go see how your house is coming along. :)

[bottleored]

Scooter glad you had a 'great day :D '
;) :D

[knoelani]

Man, I feel like I'm weeks behind! I've been on the road for the better part of the last month, but I'm home now for the forseeable future, so my obsession with all things CC and baby related can continue!

Quick SOs, sorry to those of you who I miss, I'll be back this weekend.

Scooter~ Glad you had a good anniversary :)

Tiger~ I was so sorry to hear (read) about your tubes. I hope you're doing well.

Jrsygirl~ Congrats! What a wonderful birthday present!

Bottleored~ You were right about the weather in NYC! I think it was hotter and muggier than Texas! Hope all is well.

As for me, I went in Wed for a follie check and had 1 on the right @ 16.5 and then some smaller ones, nothing on the left. This is interesting becuase it's the exact same as last cycle. I go back tomorrow morning for another check and then possible trigger w/ IUI Sunday or Monday.

I'm curious about follie sizes, my original dr triggered and liked follies around 18, according to her that was dominent and mature. My RE says follies aren't ready to go until they're around 24-26. So who's right? I'm just paranoid about timing.

Hope everyone has a good day, Happy Friday!

[jrsygirl]

knoelani Thank you!
As far as follie size, mine were all approx 18-20 when they triggered. They were growing about 2mm a day and we did the IUI two days later so I guess its possible that they were bigger than 20 when we did the IUI. I'm sure others here know more details though.

Scooter Thank you! Im so glad you had a good anniversary!. I'm not sure why they wanted to wait. They just said they don't start blood testing until at least 14 days beyond the IUI. Weird since they have office/lab hours seven days a week. I guess the later it is the better chance it is sticky which is fine with me. I just want the reassurance that my betas are where they should be you know?

kemorr Thanks so much! Yes it was my first cycle of injectibles. My Dr went right to them and skipped the Clomid. I was taking follistsim and had Ovidrel as my trigger. I also did accupuncture at the same time.

ocgatitaThank you! I hope your birthday present turns out as well as my DH's did!


marteneym, Hangin'in Thank you!!

[Scooter]

Thanks, Jenny, Caroline, Knoelani, and Jrsygirl!

I am now convinced enough to actually post why it was such a good anniversary.

You are not going to believe this (I barely do).

I got a BFP.

After 28 months of trying, 18 months of seeing REs, 2 clomid cycles, and 4 IUIs, the MONTH before going to IVF, our 5th IUI worked!! I now believe injectibles are miracle drugs. I took three tests yesterday just to be sure, I was so convincved it was a fluke, or I was using the wrong tests, or maybe even getting obvious lines does not mean you're really pg.

I'm not really ready for congratulations yet. I had a beta last night (12dpo) and get the results this evening, and maybe then I'll be ready to hear that word! I already had a miscarriage so I'm just scared right now. And in absolute shock.

It didn't sink in until today when DH & I saw this (I'll link it so not everyone has to see it):
13dpo test (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/dasmud/IMG_0205.jpg)
I don't know if you can see it very well, I had to hold it up to the window to get extra light.

[marteneym]

Thanks for the warm welcomes!

Scooter, Thanks for the chlomid thread. I will take a look at it.

[angelgirl8]

scooter...i think everyone can see that!

[bottleored]

scooter yay! You were pretty transparent with the 'great day :D ' It's been a while since I clicked on someone's chart! Everything is crossed for you!

[jennylou]

Scooter - angel is right, I don't think you could miss that! :D :D :D I'm sure we'll be hearing very good things in the future about good betas.

[Scooter]

Angel, good, it's so dark on my screen I was worried no one would see it! :D

Caroline, thanks! I was trying not to say anything but I posted that after my 3rd HPT, so I was starting to get excited!

Jenny, I'm hoping that this is a good sign for betas, too. I just wasn't expecting the digital to work so early!

SUE, thank you SO MUCH for convincing me to go out & buy a digital test! I bought a 2-pack. And then a 2pk of Answer Earlies. I think I'm going to test every day for awhile, just for reassurance. :D

[jrsygirl]

Scooter OMG that is great news!!!!! :D
We'll both b eday for day with our pregnancies!

Lots of luck, sticky vibes and baby dust for all!!!!



ETA: Scooter test away! I think I'm on my 5th already!! I cannot wait to go on Monday for betas! I'm really nervous that its too good to be true!

[marteneym]

Scooter, we cross posted. We can see it.
Good luck to you! All crossables for you.

ETA:I am not sure about PCOS. I am hoping my appt will give me some answers. I was on BCP 3mo at a time with no AF due to migraines. I think my body is just regulated to that. Although O has been pretty irregular.

[julesp313]

Scooter - very excited for you! And yeah, we can see that test, light or no light - that's so wonderful. I must log on tonight when I get home from LA and see if you've posted the beta numbers (not that I know what they mean but I'm sure you'll tell us!). People in my training class asked why I was grinning at the laptop - told them I'd just seen a photo of something really cool. :)

Travelgirl - I hope the testing gives you some answers. At least with answers, you can formulate a plan of action, right? That's my thinking, anyway.

Jrsygirl, Ocgatita - thanks for the weekend BD thoughts - so far, it's looking promising!

So, no temp rise today (CD18). Still having EWCM. Is odd - I would blame being away from home but it's not like I'm in another time zone or anything freaky. I'm not stressed. I'm not ill. Nothing obvious that would delay O but it does seem to be hanging on for something. Of course, I could be falsely optimistic and this could be my first annovulatory cycle in 23 cycles - that would be just my damn luck! But you can bet your butt DH is on duty tonight, as soon as we get home from the airport - I'm not letting any chance, no matter how miniscule, slip by me!!!!

[knoelani]

Scooter~ There's no mistaking or misreading or poor analyzation on that one :D I've got everything possible crossed for you!

[Suzlywoozly]

SUE, thank you SO MUCH for convincing me to go out & buy a digital test! I bought a 2-pack. And then a 2pk of Answer Earlies. I think I'm going to test every day for awhile, just for reassurance.

Hey, what are friends for?!!? :D I just sent you an e-mail back and can't wait to see you this afternoon! I think I've got a few test laying around here that you can have since I won't be needing them for a while.

[heidi0622]

Coming out of lurkdom to say...

Congratulations Scooter!

I had no problem seeing the results. I'm very happy for you. Sending you very sticky vibes too!

Also congrats to Jrsygirl!

Thinking of everyone else here and sending my best.

[junkinmytrunk]

SCOOTER!!! I'm popping in to SHOUT CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so very, very, very happy for you!!!!!!!!

Tons of sticky vibes to you my dear!!!!!

~Junk

[Ole Miss Bride]

OMG, SCOOTER!!!!!!

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!!!!!!!

Can't wait to hear back about your betas!!!!!

[Scooter]

Thank you, Jrsygirl, marteneym, Jules, Knoelani, Sue, Heidi, Lisa, and Betsy!! :D

Beta is in...64 at 12dpo! The nurse said that number sounded good & strong, since they like to see over 100 by 14 or 15dpo. My repeat beta is late on Saturday, so I'll get that number on Sunday. Please think doubling thoughts for me, I'm scared!

We started telling people today, we're just going to be open right away, in case anything goes wrong. I'm actually starting to believe this is going to work out, though. :D

[jennylou]

Awesome beta news. :D

[ag05]

Congrats Scooter. Those betas look great. Good luck with your repeat one on Saturday.


and Congrats jrsygirl

[Suzlywoozly]

Scooter- Still doing the happy dance for you!

[TravelGirl]

Scooter - Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's awesome. :D :D :D :o

[Ole Miss Bride]

Oh, Scooter, I'm just so thrilled for you, I can't even tell you. Can't wait to hear about that second beta draw!

-Betsy

[aprilshowers]

Had to pop back in here to say congratulations Scooter!!! I'm so happy for you!

[Carissa]

Scooter Congrats!!!! What a great beta number!

[knoelani]

I finally had some time to read and catch up so here's some attempted SO's:

jules~ Glad you got the SA done and had good results. Hope you got home in time for some fun!

Scooter~ Congrats again! Those beta #'s look good to me, but I don't really know anything. I hope you double and have great #'s to report tomorrow!

marteneym~ Welcome, I hope you don't have to stick around too long. As for Clomid, we are not friends, I've ranged from being really depressed, massive headaches, hot flashes, and a very short temper. I do it though and honestly I have to say the first couple of cycles was the worst. I think I'm adjusting to the meds, since my dose has increased everytime but the s/e's haven't. I'm not sure that's a good thing. Good Luck to you.

TravelGirl~ I was fine driving for my HSG, but it's different for everyone. Good luck!

Karla~ Did you o yet? I understand your frustration and hope you're feeling better.

ocgatita~ Hope your 2ww is going quickly

Lindsay~ I'm sorry your doctors appointment was so dissapointing. Maybe he was trying to be kind by not getting your hopes up too much? Best of luck to you and I hope you're feeling better.

As for me, I went in this morning for another follie check and I have one on the right @ 22 and another @ 16. The 22 one is the dominant one, obviously, so we're going to trigger tonight and do our IUI at 10am Monday morning. Hopefully our timing won't be off!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

[Hangin'in]

Congrats SCOOTER! So very happy for you!

[jennylou]

scooter - can't wait to hear that nice strong beta result tomorrow!

[karlatta]

Congrats, Scooter! I am so happy for you! Can't wait to hear more beautiful betas!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am on CD17. Pretty sure I O'ed yesterday. Looks like we'll be testing Labor Day weekend.

[catJennifer]

Congrats Scooter!! Wishing you a happy and healthy 9 months.



My update: CD11 here. This will be our last cycle of injectibles before moving on to IVF. It has taken me a while, but DH and I are very satisfied with this plan. So far, this cycle I have 6 follicles (which is a nice drop off from the 16 follicles of a previous cycle). I go back to the Dr. tomorrow for another u/s.

Hope everyone is doing well.

[Scooter]

Thank you, Jenny, ag05, Sue, Travelgirl, Aprilshowers, Betsy, Carissa, Knoelani, Jen, Karla, and catJennifer!!! :D I can't tell you how much it makes me smile to see you guys popping out of lurkerdom to cheer me on. :D

Ok, the 2nd beta is in, and it's 143 on 14dpo! So it went up from 64 to 143 in 45 hrs. I'm very very pleased with that, I think it's a good sign! No word yet if there will be a third one or not. I was pretty sure it was going to be a good number based on how awful I've been feeling. I think these intense symptoms must be from the fertility medications.

And if no one minds, I'm just going to stick around here until after the u/s where we can see a heartbeat. I think I'll be feeling ok at the point. Which also means that we'll be needing someone (or a couple someones) to take the thread over. It's not going to be for a couple more weeks, but just putting it out there.


Jrsygirl, I'm thinking really high beta thoughts for you tomorrow! I can't believe they've made you wait so long to get your bloodwork. Fingers crossed for you! How are you doing? Let me know if/when you're ready to be moved into the Expecting category on the first page.

Marteneym, I think that regardless of how long your cycles are on BCP, once you go off them your body will eventually regulate back to its own natural timing. The problem is that can take so long! I was only on BCP for 2 wks last summer and it took a good 6 months to get back to normal. Hope you get some answers at your appt. Waiting is so hard!

Jules, weird it's taking so long, but maybe that follicle just is trying to develop the perfect egg for you, and it's taking a little while! ;)

Knoelani, good luck at your IUI in the morning!!

Karla, that's good news, O must have been delayed because of the school stress after all. Good luck on labor day weekend!

catJennifer, I'm glad to hear this cycle is going better for you. I also hope you don't have to move on to IVF, but I do know what you mean about being satisfied with that plan. I think it actually helped me not stress during this cycle, because I knew that IVF was coming up. Hope it does the same for you, and it's an easier cycle.

[jrsygirl]

Morning everyone! I had my blood work bright and early so I'll let you know when I hear the results.

scooter I am so happy for you that your numbers look so good!!

I know I was kind of annoyed on one hand just because I want the reassurance, but on the othre hand, if everything is good then its even better than if it would have been if they had tested earlier. I think I've taken like a zillion HPTs!

[junkinmytrunk]

Scooter I am so flipping happy for you. Those are terrific betas. Couldn't be more excited -- WAHOO!!!!!!

xo xo xo
Lisa

[ocgatita]

OMG!!!! CONGRATS SCOOTER!!!!! I am soo freaking happy for you and your DH!!! H&H 9 months to you! :D

[marteneym]

Knoelani Thanks for your opinion/experience on the chlomid. I have to say I am really hoping I don't have to go it, but I know that isnt likely.

Scooter Your Betas going up is GREAT NEWS!
I thought my body should have regulated from BCP by now as well, but who knows. You are right, the waiting is the hardest.

[Scooter]

Jrsy, Thanks! When do you get your results in? We need an update right away, ok?! You're right, this way your number will be much higher than 4 days ago.

Lisa, Thank you! :D I'm only a month behind you now! I remember your FP thread, your betas were so high. Have you found out yet if you're just having one?

Judy, Thanks!! We're pretty freaking happy too!

Marteneym, did you get a chance to go to that clomid thread? Just remember, many people don't have bad side effects, but just in case you do, you can talk to the RE about switching to Femara. My RE switched me to that just because of the side effects from clomid.

[bottleored]

Scooter So happy about your betas. Thinking lots of good thoughts for you in the next few weeks :D

marteneym welcome! I did 6 rounds of clomid (3 with my OB, 3 with my RE). I didn't have too many side effects until the last cycle where I took 150 mg for 7 days (instead of the standard 5). At that point I was just a little hormonal/depressed. So far with the injectibles I've been fine.

jrsygirl waiting for your beta results .....

catJennifer how are your follies progressing? If you don't mind, how many cycles have you been doing injectibles and what is making you move on the IVF? I'm on my second cycle and I got 2 big cysts after the first and had to skip a cycle of meds.

karla welcome to the 2WW!

knoelani how did the trigger/IUI go? My RE will trigger anything over 16 mm. The first u/s I had with him, I had a 24 mm follie (needless to say, I ovulated that day!)

jules hope you caught your egg!

kemorr hope you come back from vacation to a BFP! I'm going to test either Sunday or Monday (12/13DPO). I don't want to test any earlier because of the trigger and possible false positives. I have b/w scheduled for Monday. Sorry you didn't feel like your IUI went well. Maybe she did it the right way and all the others didn't :confused:

ocgatita another 2WW lady! When do you test? Nice dip around 6DPO!

TravelGirl I'll chime in about the HSG. I'm pretty sure I could have driven myself home afterwards. Don't forget to take Advil or something before the procedure.

************
Not too much to report here. 6DPO, went for b/w this afternoon to make sure I O'ed. I'm on progesterone (200 mg?) and will start my blood thinner Lovenox tonight. So far no symptoms.

[ocgatita]

Bottleored - Yes, I am in the 2WW and I really don't feel any symptoms like I usually do. How is your wait going? I will probably be testing next Monday the 29th if no AF since I will be 15 DPO. Hoping I can give my DH a nice birthday surprise ;) Good luck to you in your 2WW, keep us updated.

Judy

[DallasLady]

I am so behind, I know my shout-outs will be majorly delinquent...

Scooter Fabulous betas! Woohoo! It is so nice to see a BFP, it adds to my hope :D Big time congrats :D :D

marteneym Welcome! I was starting to feel like an old-timer over at the regular TTC thread. It's nice to be able to chat with people who get my issues. Plus, it can be a little depressing to see other ladies revolve right through the thread while I am still there.

catJennifer Good luck for this cycle! Are you doing injectibles with IUI or just BD?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CD18 and I haven't O'd yet or had any EWCM. I think it is the stress of starting a new school year. I ran out of OPKs, so I won't even be able to catch the LH surge.

Tomorrow afternoon is our first RE appointment. I am so nervous and excited. We had to wait almost 6 weeks, but this is supposed to be one of the best in the area. And he is only 10 minutes from our house. Are there any questions I should make sure to ask?

[jrsygirl]

Ok, Ok! I got them! Trust me I was dying all day for them to call!...


895 on day 16 :D

[karlatta]

Maybe I didn't O - I can't tell anymore. I had an LH surge Friday - a definite dark line on my OPK. On Saturday, I had some intense pains at my ovaries. I went to bed for a couple of hours and woke up, and they were gone, so I thought I had O'ed.

However, my temps haven't gone up. My cervix feels more firm and low, but still slightly open. I have general tenderness in my whole abdomen. I'm not sure what's going on.

Thoughts?

[Scooter]

Jrsy!! that number is amazing! How many follies did you have this month? I wonder if it's twins. ;) You must be so happy with that strong #. :D

Giovanna, good luck tomorrow! What kinds of questions are you asking already? That might help us give other suggestions.

Karla, do you have a chart online?

[jrsygirl]

Thanks scooter ! My RE was definitely worried about multiples when they did the IUI. I had 4-5 good follies on each side! ( my uterus is divided completely so essentially I have 2 functioning sides!) He stated absolutely at that time that he would allow me to carry twins but no more than that. We'll see I guess. They have me back on Wed and then said that they will do an ultrasound "quickly" after that which leads me to think they think multiples is a possibility.

[pocket]

oh scooter and jrsygirl - congratulations! what great news!!

[jon's girl]

Hi. I think I'd like to join your group. My husband and I just found out that we have to do IVF.... not sure which group to join... but I'd love to find an outlet to talk about this and a supportive group to be a part of. Where should I join? Any advice?

[karlatta]

Scooter - Yeah, the link is http://www2.fertilityfriend.com/home/2c86c

[junkinmytrunk]

Scooter!
Lisa, Thank you! I'm only a month behind you now! I remember your FP thread, your betas were so high. Have you found out yet if you're just having one?
Just one, far as the last 2 ultrasounds showed but you never can tell! I'll go back in after Labor Day for the next u/s so I'm sure if we have a #2, we'll see s/