Still At It...Fall '06 Edition

[jodylovesscotty]

Well no triggering for me today. I am almost 100% sure that it will be tomorrow. He wants me to do my last 3 vitals tonight and come in the morning again. Then I will do IUI on Friday and Saturday. I just have to tell a funny story. When I went in today, he said "you are going to beat the record for time on this drug and the results". I told him I thought he was wrong. (i had ewcm for the past day 1/2 so i knew I had to be getting there). Then he did my ultrasound and said I was right. The follies were a close, so he wants me to do this last dose tonight to get them beefed up!

[pocket]

dude. i came thisclose to being strangulated by DH today. I got the time of the appt wrong! we showed up an hour late and he had a midterm at 2. they rescheduled me for tomorrow, so think of my cysties some more. truly i am glad we missed. so much stuff went wrong today that we were cruising for some more bad news.

[Jess71903]

gymwidow- I am so excited for you! I would love to have twins, it's the quads or more that scare me! I am feeling fine about it all now, though. Anyway, I am so glad you saw both hearbeats and that things are looking good!!!! Thanks for sticking around and giving us hope!

ABirney- Uh! I am sorry AF hasn't shown up for you yet!
jody- Crossing my fingers for you for tomorrow!
pocket- sounds like you had a rough day! I hope tomorrow is better!
lawphil- I hope the tests clue you in on what's going on!

me- starting to have some watery CM today, which is way early for me. I always O between CD 12 and CD 16, so will Comid make it earlier? What happens if I O on my own before I go for the u/s? With these drugs (Clomid then Repronex), is that possible?

[jodylovesscotty]

Jess71903~ They will both make you O earlier. When on clomid alone I ovulated by day 15 when normally I wouldn't ovulate until day 17 or 18. Then when I did repronex last cycle I only took it for 7 days and triggered on day 10. This time for me is different because I had to do lupron which suppresses everything. Are you going to do repronex subq (under skin) or im (intramuscular)? I can tell you lots about repronex as that is what I use.

[Jess71903]

jody- IM, unfortunately. I get the first shot in the butt early tomorrow morning before DH leaves for work :(. I just feel like this month is kind of a trial. Sometimes I am optimistic, others I just know it will fail for some reason or another and we will have to try some other combo of options next cycle. I guess you have to start somewhere. Just seems like my dr. is really agressive...not sure if that's good or bad.

[jodylovesscotty]

Jess71903~ Actually the IM hurt less than subq. My doctor is aggressive like yours, but I hope it works out for the best:)

Went to the RE again this morning. I finally get to trigger tonight. There were 5 large eggs and I still had ewcm so I know I am good to go!

[TazLuv]

ABirney - welcome and I hope AF shows soon, my last cycle of Provera it took me 13 days. I know how you feel with the anov cycles!

lawphil - glad you're able to start some things this cycle. Baseline information is just as important so that they know what to do next. Good luck!

skb - sorry I'm no help - I've never really understood my own DH's results.

jessied1025 - glad to hear your HSG went ok, clomid can be used for stronger O's in women that already O. You probably will O earlier then on your own.

honeygirl - I don't have any advice that others haven't said. My comment to DH was "I go through tests EVERY month, you have to do this ONE thing" and he quit whining so much. :rolleyes:

bumble - glad to hear your IVF road is still going, hopefully one is all you need and you and DH won't have to worry about it! :)

jodylovesscotty - I had the same s/e's from the Repronex, good luck with the trigger! Catch that eggie! :)

pocket - I had a hard time staying out on my "off" month as well

kazata - sorry to hear this isn't going to be your month - hopefully it goes by fast.

****************
Me: So I had my CD8 u/s this morning and a blood test. I have four follies, two on each side that were measurable. 1@12, 2@ 11.5, and 1@11. My estradiol was 767 which they said was higher than they expected so I'm cutting my gonal-f from 112.5 units to 75 units for tonight and tomorrow night then doing another blood test and u/s on Saturday.

Two questions for you ladies:
What size follies do they usually want?
Any idea what my estradiol should have been?

TIA! Hope everyone is doing well!

[jodylovesscotty]

TazLuv~ In order to trigger my follies have to be around 19 or 20. I don't know about the estrodiole, but will try to find out. My RE gave me the estrodiole patches to start on Sunday after he checks to make sure I ovulated. I never had to use them before.

[TazLuv]

Thanks Jody - I think I may have found it. I found a fertility clinic website that said at maturation you should have 200 estradiol per mature follie. Since mine aren't mature yet I can see why they think that would be high. We'll see what they say.

[pocket]

So the cysties are still there. I’m so disappointed! Dr. Nachtigal was disappointed too. He said I am on the agenda for this afternoon’s meeting and they will discuss my persistent cysts at that time. He is pretty sure that they are from Clomid. It just doesn’t look like the Lupron is shrinking my cysts. So they may need to go in and clean them out. He said someone would call me tomorrow. While they were giving me the Lupron injection one of the nurses who shares the injection office was banging on the door and then she didn’t give me enough time to pull my tights back up and flip my skirt down before she came in. I understand that it’s her office, but it’s MY ass hanging out into the hallway for all and sundry to peruse. Harumph.

[honeygirl]

pocket - Sorry about the cysts hanging around. How rude of that nurse, you'd think she would know better.

gymwidow - How beautiful to see 2 heartbeats!! So very exciting.

jodylovesscotty - Good luck with your trigger tonight. I don't quite understand all that you're doing, but I hope that it works!

bumble, pocket, Jess71903, kazata, pocahontas, jessied1025, gymwidow, ctjo, lawphil, ABirney and tazluv - Thank you so much for the advice. I feel very supported here! It is nice to have ladies who understand and have been there! I am trying different pieces of advice that you gave. I used the "saving money" angle, the "at least your test is fun" angle, and offered to schedule it for him. I think we're getting closer. ;)

I am pretty sure that this is CD1 (I'm in that tough when to call it AF phase, it's hard with all my spotting to know for sure) so I'll do my CD2 bloodwork. My RE perscribed the tests as CD2 or CD3. Does anyone know if day 2 or 3 is better? I'd rather do it on friday b/c then I don't have to hunt all over for the saturday hrs clinic. I'm excited to start Clomid next week, I have high hopes that this is a miracle drug for us. I'm going to go ahead and start the medication this month so that I O earlier (this month was really wacky) and b/c we have a slim window of chance that we can BD at the right time (DH travels a lot in the next month).

[ABirney]

Hi ladies.
jodylovesscotty Good luck with the trigger!
pocket Sorry to hear that your cysts are still there. Also how embarrasing for that nurse to walk in on you!
jess Good luck catching your egg!
tazluv Hope your repeat bw and u/s show good news Saturday.
honeygirl Good luck with your bw tomorrow!

Well AF still isn't here and the spotting has pretty much disappeared. I did email my dr today to see what he wanted me to do, he said that sometimes you just get a weak response to the Provera and to count the brown spotting as AF. (Even though it wasn't even enough to get on a liner!) Told me to check in with him middle of November and we can reassess where we're at but if I do get an actual AF before then to let him know. I don't think I'll count it as AF quite yet, I'm not convinced that was it. If nothing more happens in the next few days I'll change it.

[looty]

Congrats to gymwidow on the two healthy heartbeats. What great news!

Sorry to hear that the cysties are still around Pocket. I was keeping all crossables crossed for you.

I am enjoying being able to absorb all this great information for when I need it. I am holding out hope still that I won't but...welll....you know how it goes. I want to thank you all and again say that I am sorry that I don't do more SOs and such but I feel like since i am still so early in the process I have very little to add. :o

Update on me is that AF is expected on Saturday. If I am not cramping too much I will probably go ahead and test Saturday. I have to shop for a baby shower gift that day so I am thinking that I may wait until Sunday to test. It may seem dumb but if AF isn't here and I don't know test results I will probably be fine shopping but if AF is here or I test negative I know it will not be a good trip. I told DH if that happens he is required to go with me. If I do get AF, then I will start my first cycle on Clomid.

[MrsSmith]

Congrats Gymwidow!!!!

[jodylovesscotty]

Last night I went to fill the syringe with my 2 ovidrel since he wanted me to do it IM. Well as I was put the plunger back in the syringe, all the meds come pouring out by the needle. I lost it all. Of course it was after the pharmacy is closed as well. Thank god someone from the office met me at 7:30 to give my shot with their meds. They are so awesome there!!! Now I am waiting for DH to get out of the shower so we can go get our first day of IUI.

[Jess71903]

Good luck, jody! I hope this one is successful!

[gymwidow]

Patience, thanks. So far, so good. I hope that baby dust sticks to you!

Bumble, my DH was disappointed with the RE's porn, too. Especially after 9 visits to "the room" and the same porn every time!

ctjo, thanks!

jnshanna, thank you, that is really sweet of you.

lawphil, thanks! I'm glad that your first tests are coming back with good results.

ABirney, thanks, me too! I'm sorry that the Provera didn't bring on a true AF - how frustrating to not really know what was happening and to have to wait some more!

pocket, oops! I'm glad you could reschedule so quickly. I'm sorry you didn't get better results and I hope they're able to come up with a good solution for you!

Jess, exactly. Thanks for sharing our excitement. I have no idea about the Clomid and O timing as I never O'd regularly w/o the Clomid. My O's did get sooner and sooner the longer I was on the Clomid, though.

jody, woohoo for triggering!!!! What a nervewracking thing with the meds. I can imagine how panicked you must've been and I'm glad you were able to get replacements! Lots of positive thoughts coming your way...

TazLuv, that sounds great! Follies are mature when they're over 18mm. I'm not sure what the estradiol should be, but I can tell you that during my first month on injectables my estradiol was way high and they also had me cut my dose, and I also triggered with a different drug in order to help bring it down. I was able to trigger and IUI though during that cycle.

honeygirl, thanks, it was definitely the most beautiful thing I've seen. I hope you could get in for your b/w today. I've done my CD3 b/w on CD2 plenty of times and I don't think it ever made a difference. They usually had me wait and just start Clomid on CD3 anyway. They just need to make sure your hormone levels are right before they can start you on the meds.

looty, thanks! I hope you're doing okay while waiting for AF. Actually, I hope she doesn't show up at all! ;)

MrsSmith, thank you!

[pocahontas]

pocahontas, I think the IUI is a good thing. I had six of them, 3 with Clomid, 2 with injectables, and 1 during a natural cycle. The reason they didn't work for me, which we didn't find out till after we had done them, was likely b/c of DH's MFI issues. I hope the first one does it for you! I never used Pre-Seed with the Clomid, but by the time I dried up (after my 2nd month on it), we were doing IUI and you don't really have to worry about CM when you're doing IUI since the IUI bypasses the vaginal canal and puts the little guys right into the uterus.

Pocahontas: My RE started me at 100 mg as well. Did you ask her why? In my case, I have an RE who is aggressive with treatment but maybe your RE had another idea why. Ask her why. It can’t hurt and the answer may seem logical or you may learn that maybe her method of treatment is not what you are looking for.


GYM: I'm sorry to be a dork but what is MFI? (I figured the last letter might stand for "infertility" but I just never heard that acronym before...just when I thought I knew them all :rolleyes: ) Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about CLOMID and not needing Pre-Seed for the IUI. But I guess any BD after or before that might be a little challenging if I'm all dried up like a prune. LOL :p

BUMBLE: That's a good idea...I should have asked her. I think she is being aggressive because we were both worried about my psycho insurance and their 3 attempts per live birth policy. She doesn't wanna waste and time/attempts. So I'm sure that's why. But we'll see...

[gymwidow]

pocahontas lol, yeah, BDing is always more fun when things move around easily! ;) MFI = Male Factor Infertility. My DH's numbers were always good, but his motility was up and down and his morpholgy was borderline. Then we found out in August that he has DNA fragmentation, so for us IVF was really the best option.

[pocahontas]

pocahontas lol, yeah, BDing is always more fun when things move around easily! ;) MFI = Male Factor Infertility. My DH's numbers were always good, but his motility was up and down and his morpholgy was borderline. Then we found out in August that he has DNA fragmentation, so for us IVF was really the best option.

Oh WOW...DNA fragmentation? Learn something new everyday...I have never heard of that before. How in the world do they test for something like that? (Or is it part of the SA workup). Now I'm paranoid that maybe my DH should be tested too!

[honeygirl]

Good news, I did start AF yesterday and I had my bw this morning. The lady who took my blood was so nice, chatting in just the right way. In even better news my DH asked me to set up his SA and so I did, for monday. :) Thanks again for the advice about the SA, it worked!!

It's kind of strange b/c this is the first cycle since we've started TTC that I wasn't upset when AF came. I think it helped that I didn't know for sure if I'd ovulated so I wasn't all excited in a 2ww.

I read somewhere (maybe in here) that clomid dries up 25% of women who take it. How many of you had this happen? Would drinking more green tea or water help?

Have a great weekend everyone! We're going to the fair tomorrow and I'm so excited (bring on the cotton candy).

[Asha]

Would drinking more green tea or water help?

honey girl - didn't help me get pregnant, but i have noticed that i am more moist since i've started drinking green tea on a daily basis. even if it doesn't help you get preggo, grean tea is very healthy for you, so it couldn't hurt to try. i am not a huge tea fan, but ever since i discovered the joys of honey in my tea, i drink at least two cups of tea a day.

[honeygirl]

Asha - I actually love drinking tea, but I'm not a big fan of green tea. I feel like I'm wasting my "tea time" by drinking green instead of a better one (I love Vanilla, chocolate raspberry truffle, camomile, lady gray, etc). I'll try though.

[Asha]

honeygirl - since you like the flavored teas, i think you will like green tea if you add a bit of honey and lemon.

[pocket]

*deep breath*

SFKaiser clinic just called with a request for more bloodwork and a referral to the Fremont clinic for evaluation on my cysts. Why the Fremont clinic? Because that’s the only clinic that can do aspiration on the cysts. I’m nervous at the thought of poking around in my poor beleaguered ovaries with a big needle, but mostly I am relieved.

[ABirney]

jodylovesscotty That sucks that the meds spilled!! Thank goodness that you were able to get some more though.
pocket Hopefully they'll get those cysts taken care of.
Hi to everyone else!

Well after no spotting for 2 days, I started again tonight and this time it was actually enough to get on the liner, so maybe AF is on her way after all. Man, that was a weird cycle!!

[purplesunshine7]

UPDATE PLEASE* me-29
dh-29
m/c- 6/05
m/c#2- 5/06
no known issues yet.
Hi ladies I just wanted to stop by and update and check in to see how everyone was doing. DH and I are seeing a RE now . they found a gene mutation in me but Re says it was not the cause or a problem. HSG was good also. I have to go in for a biopsy. RE wannts us to wait a month till all the testing is over . plus wants me to lose 30 lbs. and quit smoking which I can say I've been smoke free for 5 days. waiting for dh blood work and the rest of mind to come back. I have an ultrasound to do this sunday. Well I hope every one is doing well and I will keep my fingers crossed for all of you.

[TazLuv]

purplesunshine - welcome back, congrats on the quitting smoking that is great for you!

I don't have time, or the energy really, for SO's but I hope everyone has a good weekend.

I had an u/s this morning and it was like my follicles went on a reproducing spree of their own. I had four maturing on Thursday and this morning I had some insane number. Not even sure what the number is right now b/c I have to wait for them call me to let me know the plan but I think we're going to have to cancel the cycle. It just pisses me off - why is my body reacting so strangely to these drugs? POOR reaction to Clomid and Repronex but still had to take a cycle off for cysts, now my body is overeacting to the Gonal-f. Make up your f-ing mind.

Ok, vent over - I'll come back and update when I actually hear from the RE. :confused:

[jodylovesscotty]

TazLuv~ I am keeping my fingers crossed they don't have to cancel your cycle. Do the cancel it if you have to many follicles?

Did my last IUI this morning and go back in tomorrow to make sure I ovulated. There is no doubt in my mind that I did. I have had this crampy, bloaty feeling since yesterday afternoon which really hurt for a couple of hours. I called the RE and he said the ovidrel was working and that I could really feel it this time becaue I had 6 great eggs. This cycle I decided to just lay around after the IUI's instead of going back to work. Hopefully one of hte 6 eggs will find a new home:)

[SAI Ladies]

Hey Ladies,
I know I'm a bit behind with updates. I've had several things going on and a computer crash (I'm at DH's work). I am updated to post number 149. Would anyone be interested in taking over as thread mistress? I have no idea when things are going to calm down and when I'll be able to get my computer up. PM me - isign. Thanks!!

[TazLuv]

Thanks, jody. Yes, they'll cancel the cycle if there are too many because they don't want to go forward with cycles that have to much of a chance of high multiples. Twins or triplets they're ok with, not much more.

So the way my office works is that when I have blood work or an u/s I have a phone number I call and they leave a message in my mail box. On weekdays I can then call the nurses and ask questions, I don't have that option on the weekends. So I picked up my message and they said they are going to "coast" me - meaning they don't want me to take any medicine tonight and they want me to take another u/s and bloodwork tomorrow morning. So I have no idea what the concensus in on my follies. Just that my estradiol is up to 2,000+. It went up more than 1300 in two days.

I'm off to do some internet research on what estradiol should be at ovulation. I guess we'll see what tomorrow's u/s shows - back to waiting...

[Alioop12345]

CD 17 for me...saw the RE this cycle and I am in tears. My beautiful lining went from 8.5 to 6.5, I don't know what's going on because in addition to that, I had NO response to the Gonal F this cycle..NO Follicles at all....The nurse said I responded like someone who is menopausal? WTH? I had 8 follicles last cycle....I feel near panic. She was supposed to call me today after she talks with Dr. Cline but I haven't heard from her yet, and I have a phone conference with him Monday. I am trying to get a list of questions going. What doses of Gynadial/Estrace?Estradial are you ladies on??? Can anyone think of any questions I should ask....

1) Why is the lining thickening nicely and then shrinking?
2) What was up with the positive HPTs last cycle and then needing Provera for AF (has never happened before)
3) Should we try the viagra supps 4 times a day instead of 2 times a day?

[ABirney]

purplesunshine Welcome back! Good luck w/ the wt loss (I'm working on that too) and the quitting smoking.
tazluv Sorry your body is overreacting to the meds. Hopefully at your recheck tomorrow they'll have good news!
jodylovesscotty Glad your IUI went well, good luck at your recheck tomorrow!
alioop Sorry I can't help with any of your questions, but hope you find answers soon!

[Alioop12345]

THanks ABirney---


Now I am even more upset...the freaking nurse never called so I have no idea what meds I was supposed to take for today... Also, this nurse TOLD me that she was going to call...she had my cell and my home phone. I am not happy

[SAI Ladies]

****UPDATE TO HERE****

Let me know if I missed anything.

TazLuv is the new threadmistress!

[TazLuv]

pocket - that was really rude of the nurse, poking around doesn't sound like fun but hopefully that will help.

honeygirl - glad you get to start fresh - good luck! I had the problem of drying up with Clomid and I never really found a solution to it. I tried the grapefruit juice and the pre-seed but since I'm still here neither really worked.

ABirney - our bodies do strange things sometimes don't they

looty - here's hoping AF stays away, love your avatar BTW.

jodylovesscotty - I can't imagine that happening with my drugs, I would so freak out - glad your office was able to help you. Glad to hear you think you O'd - hopefull this is it for you.

Alioop - sorry to hear you're having so many issues with your clinic. :(

**********
I'm doing better than I was this morning though I still fear they will call the cycle off after my u/s tomorrow. I decided to take over the threadmistress duties b/c so many have previously had luck once they take them over plus it will give me something to do. :)

[knoelani]

Hi ladies, sorry I've been MIA for so long. I have been reading along, just not posting. We had to take a cycle off due to my travel sched. so I just layed low for awhile. Welcome to our new members, may you have a very short stay :) Also HUGE congrats to GYM and to GAGAL!! Good luck ladies and I hope you have a wonderful pregnancy.

I went to the RE today to get started on a new injectable cycle. This will be our last one this year and then in January we'll re-evaluate what our options are.

threadmistress, please update my stats
8-2006- Follistim Injections / Trigger / 2 IUI's- Failed
9-2006- Cycle cancelled due to travel timing
10-2006- Follistim Injections / Trigger / 2 IUI's

Have a great day everyone.

[TazLuv]

Update:
Cycle cancelled due to too many mature follicles, too high of a chance for a high number of multiples.

:mad:

[jodylovesscotty]

TazLuv~ Sorry to hear it:mad: Thanks for taking over the threadmistress job:)

knoelani~ Welcome back! We are on the same schedule. We just did our last IUI, if it doesn't work it is on to IVF for us.

Went to the RE today to make sure I ovulated and I did. I only ovulated 3 out of the 6 eggs so that was a bit of a relief. Now the wait begins.

[Alioop12345]

I am sorry Tazluv Sucks when that happens. How many follicles did you have? What dose were you on?

[TazLuv]

Thanks ladies - I was on 112.5 for days 3-7 and then 75 for 8-9 (they tell me those are low doses). I had four that were very close to ready and six-ten that could have gone as well so as you can see WAY too many. They said next cycle we'll do 75 for days 3-7 and see what happens. I'm glad they cancel cycles like this but it still sucks. :(

[Jess71903]

pocket- I'm sorry about the poking around, but I hope it will be beneficial in figuring out what's going on with you!

Alioop- uh! I hate when they don't do what they say they will, but I would be furious about something this important!!! I hope you can get things straightened out tomorrow.

purplesunshine-I don't think I ever said welcome (back!). And good for you with the quitting smoking thing!

I am sorry you had to cancel this cycle, Taz. I am afraid that will happen to me too, in fact, I am expecting it. I am trying to mentally prepare myself for that. It feels like an eternity to talk about missing a try!

Welcome back to the ranks koelani! I hope this IUI works for you!

Nothing much here! Just looking forward to my u/s tomorrow to see how many potential babies we are dealing with here!

[honeygirl]

Tazluv - Sorry to hear that your cycle was cancelled, I hope they get the "formula" right next time. Thanks for volunteering to be threadmistress!!

Jess71903 - Good luck tomorrow Jess, I hope the "right number" is found on your ultrasound. (what # are you hoping for btw?)

jodylovesscotty - Congrats on ovulating. :) Best wishes with your 3 eggs! Do they do anything else now or do you have a "regular" 2ww?

[skb]

Thanks kazata for all of that information. It seems as though you and my doctor agree that the morphology being "a little off" doesn't matter because of the sperm count. I never really loved math! Sorry that this wasn't your month. I think we need to start cheering for the left side and send leftie vibes again! Hopefully next month!

jodylovesscotty I hope this IUI is the one! (2 weeks until my first IVF consult....I'm feeling pretty calm.)

Sorry your cycle was cancelled tazluv. Holy crow 6-10...you must be so tender! Hopefully the dosing will be a little less effective next time ;) Thanks for taking over the thread duties.

Hello again to purplesunshine and knoelani.

[jodylovesscotty]

honeygirl~ Nope, nothing else for 2 weeks. No pricking no, no visits, no nothing except taking progesterone suppositories and estrogen patch.

skb~ Good luck with your consultation. Thank goodness we won't have to do that since we have been doing IUI with my RE, he already knows everything about us. We will start the protocol in December (to get a head start before the new year) with hopes of a retrieval in January. That is if we need it, keeping my figers crossed we don't.

Jess71903~ Keeping my fingers crossed that you have the right amount of eggs.

[Alioop12345]

Jody What dose is your estrogen patch?

[jessied1025]

We got DH's results back from the SA. Everything was in normal range except for the morphology. It was at 10% (the norm is 30%). The clinic person indicated that there were amorphous and vocoulated sperm head. We both weren't too sure what that means, didin't have too much time to look it up. The results are being sent to my doctor, so we are just waiting to hear back from her.

I did read that the low morphology is one of the big things for male infertility, but hopefully there is something the doctor can do.

Any input from you ladies would be great! Thanks!

[skb]

jody Sounds good that you already have an IVF plan of attack. In our case we will have to begin with an infertility clinic and begin with a new doctor. The new doc has already sent us for additional bloodwork and requested all of our previous tests. When we arrive the new doc will actually perform another ultrasound (which I find hilarious since I've had a dozen already and he has the reports) and DH will perform another SA (which I am sure he probably doesn't find so hilarious). Then we will have a 2-3 month wait from the time of that consult before we begin an IVF protocol. My friend who is an ObGyn has said that I will need to have a laproscopy during that waiting period. I haven't had one yet (my original doc was trying to avoid that and hoped I would be pregnant before now) and hope she is wrong! But since she is affiliated with the clinic I am sure she is well aware of the protocol! It's just funny to me how different clinics have differents protocols prior to treatment. I'm assuming the lap is to diffinitively rule out endo but there is nothing in my history. Ah..the waiting game, the hoop jumping! The only bonus is that they told us that we would have a min 6 month wait before our first consult and it will only be 3-4 months. So with any luck maybe there is still hope for 2007! Good luck to you too!

Sorry jess I am not knowlegable with respect to SA. But Kazata wrote a bit to me about it about 2-3 pages back. HTH.

[Patience]

TazLuv Thanks for being our new threadmistress. Maybe it will bring you good luck! So sorry about your cycle being cancelled. That must be so frustrating when you're all ready to go and your body decides to work *too* well for once!

jodylovesscotty Best of luck to you this 2WW. 3 eggs for your 3rd IUI - I hope that means that 3 is your lucky number. ;)

[honeygirl]

DH did the SA this morning! Well actually, we "did" it together since I dropped off the sample after "we" collected it at home. I felt so weird bringing a brown paper bag into the clinic (in a hurry mind you). Everyone in the waiting room was looking at me, probably b/c I didn't have to wait like they were. I felt icky. DH would have been mortified. Anyway, I also took a clomid pill this am. I've heard that it's better to take at night but I thought I'd see if am was okay.

I'm feeling out of sorts today. Running around with sperm in my purse wasn't a good way to start the day. :( The worst part is that I'm kind of pissed with DH and had to act all nicey this am in order to get the sample. I feel like a fraud. Sigh.

[Alioop12345]

I have exciting news! I talked with my RE. I started Provera today. NExt cycle, I am taking off from Gonal F...going to only use Viagra and have monitoring. Anyway, I saw a D.O. today to discuss accupuncture. He decided to try cupping on my back. It was insane! It felt good and my back feels tons better but left some crazy marks. OUR plan is to try herbs only this cycle, along with diet and exercise...if it doesn't happen this month, we are going to do cupping next month in the meridians... The doc was so cute..I guess the first week or so of the cycle, we should engage in intimate acts but not achieve orgasm...he was so flustered trying to explain that that it was cute

[TazLuv]

Alioop - can I ask what the thought process is on that next cycle? Its a path I've never heard of and I'm curious what the viagra is supposed to do?

As for the me the hits keep coming - now I'm told to expect to have cysts after my overstimulation and probably will have to take the next cycle off as well - ARGH! :mad:

[Alioop12345]

The thought process on the next cycle is that I need a break from the Gonal F..last cycle I had 8 follicles... this cycle, NOTHING. I made eggs on my own, I ovulated on my own...My RE was using Gonal F for a stronger ovulation, and for timing purposes.The viagra suppositories increase the uterine lining...they are not covered by insurance though and are very expensiveTaz I am sorry about the cysts, unfortunately, when you have that many follicles...it's not uncommon to have cysts at the start of your next cycle...Did they put you on BCPs for this cycle or are you just going to have an unmediated cycle?

[TazLuv]

Thanks, Alioop - that is interesting.

I have to pick up a prescription for 400mg of Prometrium and take that, no BCP.

[Patience]

honeygirl Yay on your DH finally going through with the SA! I have to agree with you on feeling weird about bringing the brown paper bag into the RE's office. Luckily for me, I didn't have to face a room full of waiting patients too.

Alioop12345 I'm curious about the cupping treatment. What is it supposed to do for you specifically? I've only tried the herbs and straight acupuncture (no electro-stimulation), so I'm not familiar with cupping. I hope this next cycle will bring positive results for you.

TazLuv I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that you don't have cysts. That would really suck to have to sit out next cycle too. :(

QOTD I was reading in the "You aren't a parent..." thread in the Chit Chat section and thought about the insenstive things that people have said to us going through IF. So, what is the most hurtful comment you've received involving IF?

I'll start: A few months back, I was visiting a friend who was pregnant. Her mom was there along with another friend who has a one-year old baby. My friend's mom made a comment about pregnancy and said to me "oh, you haven't been pregnant yet, so you don't what your body goes through when you are pregnant." Although I know she didn't say it to hurt my feelings (no one knew about my IF), the comment really stung (kinda like I wasn't a complete woman until I've been pregnant). Maybe I was hormonal at the time, but the comment really got to me.

[Alioop12345]

Thanks Patience... the cupping of the meridians helps with the bloodflow and aligns the meridians

[skb]

Answer

I can think of a number of generally insensitive things that people have said without being aware of our situation in particular. But I don't pay it any attention because 1) they don't know and 2) it wasn't intended to be hurtful. It speaks more about lack of awareness and understanding...again if you haven't walked in those shoes.

But just this weekend a very dear friend of mine who is well aware of our situation made a thoughtless comment. We took her 2 yr old and 4 yr old to the swimming pool. There was a couple with a baby. My friend said to her 2 year old "look at the cute baby swimming." She proceeded to eww and aww and said that she was having baby fever again. This was somewhat of a surprise because it wasn't very long ago that she was *finished*. She went on..."well there is no reason why we can't and I sometimes think we should"...blah blah blah. She knows that we have been trying for over 2 years and have our first IVF consult. So I was a bit disappointed with her but let it go. It didn't even occur to her...that there is a reason that DH and I *can't* (not yet anyways). She was pregnant first try both children and doesn't get it. She also is aware of the drugs I've taken. She doesn't say anything about that and I know that she is somewhat an anti-drug person. Afterall...what is it really doing to your system. So I can only imagine what she thinks of IVF. :rolleyes:

[ABirney]

Hi ladies..

alioop Good luck with the new cycle and hope the accupuncture works for you!
knoelani Welcome back!
TazLuv Sorry to hear about the cycles being cancelled. That sucks!
jodylovesscotty Yay for O'ing! Hope those eggs got caught!
skb Good luck at your consult.
jessied Sorry to hear the morphology was off... hopefully it's something that won't be too much of a problem!
honeygirl Hope your DH's SA turns out ok!

Nothing new here, CD3. Went to my grandparent's yesterday for DH's bday dinner and my cousin was there with his family. I hadn't seen them in ages and they have a new 2 month old son. My cousin's wife asked when we were going to start having kids, so I told her we've been trying for over a year. She was shocked... said oh are you seeing a dr for that then? Umm yup. They are fertile myrtles though.. oldest 2 were both oopsies before they were married and are only 11 months apart, youngest was concieved within 2 months of vasectomy reversal. Some people are so lucky!

[Jess71903]

DH did the SA this morning!
Running around with sperm in my purse wasn't a good way to start the day. The worst part is that I'm kind of pissed with DH and had to act all nicey this am in order to get the sample. I feel like a fraud. Sigh.
Yay that he did his part! Hehehe about running around with sperm in your purse! Hope you can get un-pissed with DH!

NExt cycle, I am taking off from Gonal F...going to only use Viagra and have monitoring. ....OUR plan is to try herbs only this cycle, along with diet and exercise.
Yay for getting a cycle off! I hope the natural stuff works for you! I put a lot of stock in the non-medical stuff. I really hope it works!

As for the me the hits keep coming
I am so sorry, taz! I hope it doesn't end up being as bad as they think.

me-
So I went this morning to have the u/s to see what was going on in my ovaries. First off, it was a dildo cam, which I hadn't really thought about. I had 3 big follies, 2 on the blocked side at 14.something , and the dominant one on the unblocked side at 20.3!!!! I was SO relieved not to have a bunch and to not even have 2 on the good side! I am to trigger tonight at 10:30 or so and I have an appt. Wednesday to do the IUI. YAY!

[lawphil]

Hi All,

Honeygirl -- Good job on getting the SA done. Must be a relief to not have to worry about that anymore!

Alioop -- Good luck with the cycle off. I am on a down cycle right now and it feels so nice to be my normal, only slightly hormonal, self!

Tazluv -- I really hope there are no cysts. It really sucks when our bodies do not cooperate. I hope they can find the right combo of meds and you can move forward soon.

Abirney -- there have been so many times I have wanted to say the truth. Good for you! Hopefuly that will stop the questions.

As for me. The sono and the HSG went well. Everything was smooth and open. So that was good news.

The HSG was a bit of a mess because they couldn't get the catheter in. The doctor had to leave to go back up to her office (in same building as radiology) to get some more tools to try to get it in. Once they got it in it was completely pain free and very cool to be able to watch on screen. The uterus is so small...how does a baby fit in there?! With both procedures the cramping made me feel sick to my stomach but within an hour I was back at work and felt fine.

As for insenstive comments...i am sensitive to anyone speaking about pregnancy as this easy thing that we should just do. I was playing tennis last week (one of my new activities to keep my mind busy) and one of the ladies who was a sahm said 'why don't you just get knocked up already'. Which pissed me off because as a woman you must know that not everyone can get pregnant easily. It also made me mad because she was so flippant like get knocked up...you won't have to work anymore...apparently she is going to be paying my mortgage...

Ok. Back to work!

[CTs_Punkin]

No time for SO right now...
Just got back from vacation. I need to go back and read up on everyone.

As for me,
That pesky cyst finally shrunk to 1cm, so we were able to move forward with trying an IUI this month.

I had an U/S on Monday - 1 follicle at 13cm, my lining was 5

Both the nurse & my acupuncturist were a little bummed about the small size and my lining being thin. Hopefully they will keep growing over the next couple days and I'll surge. If I don't get a surge by Wed, I have to go in on Thurs for an u/s to see if the follicle is still growing. If not, this month will have to be scrapped. If it is okay, then will probably trigger.

Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well in the next two days.

Hope all is well with you guys. I'll post SO's later.

[ctjo]

Thank you TazLuv for being the new threadmistress!

honeygirl - glad your DH did the SA! You gave me laugh with your desciprtion of "sperm in your purse." Sorry you had a frustrating day - I hope it got better.

On a whim this month I decided to try the Robitussin thing. Wow, it sure did do the trick. Not sure if that's exactly the trick we need, but I was surprised. I guess I just never really believed it.

DH's SA was pushed back until next week so we have that to look forward to.

As far as insensitive comments - most people I know are pretty self-aware, I guess, because I don't run into it that often. DH's family is a different story though. Apparently 2006 is the first year since 1997 where there wasn't a baby born. And, guess what - it's all my fault. Kidding, of course, but we got a lot of flack for not being pregnant this year - obviously no one realized how badly we wanted to be. I still think the comments are obnoxious.

Hope everyone is doing well! Who's in the 2WW?? I hope we get some great news in here soon!

[gymwidow]

pocahontas, no, the fragmentation test is not part of the usual SA workup. It's a pretty new technology and I think there's only one lab in the country still that does the test (in SD). DH's sperm was sent away for analyzing and it took us weeks to get the results back. They did the extra test b/c several of his SA's showed white blood cells in his sperm, which is unusual. It's also an expensive test, that we discovered was NOT covered by our insurance. It was over $1,000 and I think we're going to end up paying about $400 of that ourselves.

honeygirl, you could try drinking a lot or taking plain Robitussin for the dryness, if you get it. LOL to your morning. I remember doing that, twice. I put the sample in my bra to keep it warm on the way to the hospital and didn't think to take a paper bag with me! That would've been good!

pocket, yikes. I hope this can get you some answers, though!

purplesunshine, WTG on quitting smoking! That's awesome. I'm glad you're with the RE now and I hope that means that soon you'll be announcing some good news!

TazLuv, wow, that sucks. I had two IUIs with multiple follicles like that and I don't think I ever even thought of the possibility of having multiples from it. I always just looked at it like more targets for DH's boys. But there are definite dangers and I'm glad your docs are looking out for you!

jody, hugs and hope that this is it!

Alioop, hugs to you. I am so sorry. I'm glad you have a good plan for this month and that you're enjoying the cupping so far!

knoelani, thanks! Good luck with this cycle. I hope it's the magic one.

jessie, I'm sorry about the not-great morphology numbers. Honestly, I don't remember what they can do to work around that, other than IVF (prob. with ICSI). My DH's morphology was also pretty low but they were able to get the dozen good little swimmers they needed for ICSI.

skb, if you're going for IVF, why are they doing the lap? As long as your ovaries and uterus are okay, which they should know based on your history (if you O, and from HSG/saline u/s), then a lap seems unnecessary to me. IVF bypasses the tubes entirely. But that's just my un-expert opinion.

TazLuv, I had cysts after each of my injectables cycles (I produced more than 5 follies with each cycle), but they always disappeared on their own. I never followed an injectables cycle with another medicated cycle, though, by choice.

ABirney, wow to your cousin's family!

Jess, yay for a great follie on the "right" side!

lawphil, I'm glad your HSG went so well! Isn't it amazing how big the uterus can grow? It grows like 1000 times over or something crazy like that. One of my books said what the growth was, I'll try to find it tonight.

CTs Punkin, that's great that you're able to move forward this cycle! Sending you grow-follie vibes.....

ctjo, I'm glad the Robitussin worked!

[skb]

Hey gym(mamma) That is exactly what I think too (my unexpert opinion). So I'm trying to not get my panties in a twist until I talk to my doctor myself. It was an ObGyn friend of mine who is affiliated with the infertility clinic that had mentioned the lap is part of the protocol. Since I ovulate, and my tubes and uterus are good to go....I hope she is wrong!!!

[jessied1025]

I know I posted a summary of DH's SA results, but wanted to post everything:

volume 2.3ml
conc 332.5 million/ml
motility 67%
morphology 10% amorphous/vacoulated sperm heads
total # cells 764.8 million/ml
motile 222.8 million/ml
round/hpf 15 (don't know what this means)
ph 7.0 (indicated a little low norm 7.2-8 )
Comment - slight cellular debris

We still don't all the details, still waiting to hear back from my doctor.

Threadmisstress, please update my stats:
Known Issues: DH's has low morphology of 10%.
Tests: 10/2/06 - Blood work - normal
10/9/06 - SA - everything in normal range except for morphology.
10/17/06 HSG - everything clear

In regards to the insensitive comment thing, it definately can be difficult to deal with. This weekend we found out a couple that we know just found out that they are pregnant. Now most of our friends know that we have been trying, but we don't share the details of the situation. I was pretty bummed by the news, but what made is so much harder was how she kept going on and on about how they were trying for so long (mind you it was only 5 to 6 months at the most) and that after months and months they find did it. Plus the whole night that is all she could talk about. I understand that she is happy about their news, but it would have been nice if she could have been more sensitive to other's feelings around her.

gymwidow Thanks for your imput regarding the morphology. I am still trying hold out hope that we have more options than going straight to IVF, since everything else was normal. Now it is just a waiting game to see what the doctor has to say.

[TazLuv]

gymwidow - can I ask why you never followed an injectible cycle with another one? Was it a financial issue or did you hear that it wasn't good for you? Just curious.

Thanks for stopping by! :D

[gymwidow]

skb, good plan!

jessie, I truly hope there are other options! My RE encouraged us to try IUIs several times even with our morphology numbers and by the time we learned about the fragmentation we had already moved on to IVF. Once we heard that news, we knew that for us IVF was the best option.

TazLuv, the first time I wasn't sure I was ready emotionally or physically. I WAY overstimulated during my first injectables cycle and thought I wanted a month off the meds. During that unmedicated cycle I had a couple of cysts that dissolved and then I ended up O'ing on my own during that cycle anyway and I did an IUI w/o meds. After our 2nd injectables cycle, we moved to IVF, so I went on BCPs and any cysts didn't matter.

[jodylovesscotty]

TazLuv~ I've had to take a cycle off after injectibles too because of the cyst left around. You make many eggs, but they don't all drop. They hang around and they have to disolve before your next cycle.

[kazata]

Jessied Just wanted to comment on the SA. The good news is that your count is phenomenal. (anything over 20 million/ml is okay, so you are way above that - in fact I've never seen a count so high). Your motility is also good. Thus, most likely the low morph shouldn't come into play (see my post to skb a few days ago - post #248). The only thing that stands out to me is that you said 30% morph was normal - which means that your morphology was measured using the more lenient WHO standards, as opposed to the stricter Kruger scale. Since the Kruger scale takes more into account, you might want to find out what the morph is on the kruger scale, just to be sure that even with Kruger morph you still have enough "good" sperm in there (which hopefully won't be an issue with your count!)

[honeygirl]

I got our test results today. My cd2 b/w was normal. DH's SA results were "concerning", not his results per say but how the lab collected them. I dropped the sample off at 9:17am and it wasn't evaluated till 11:15. This is bad according to the NP I talked to this am. Also, they used the "who" (sp?) critera for everything but the morphology. For the morphology they used the kruger method. However, my clinic is suspicious of this and is checking into the results with the lab further. We may have to re-do the SA at the fertility clinic and pay out of pocket (the other lab was covered under our insurance).

Here are the results:

volume 1mil (we thought it was "smaller" than usual that morning which the nurse said is normal under the circumstances)
count 192million
mobility 50%
morphology 16% ("kruger")

So, considering the sample sat for longer I'm thinking that these are pretty good results? However, the RE doesn't know if we should "accept" them at all since they were done so late.

DH is away on business right now so I'll probably wait till he gets back to fill him in on the details. ;)

[Patience]

honeygirl That sucks about the questionable SA. As for paying out of pocket for the next SA, why don't you contact your insurance to find out if there's another lab covered by insurance? If not, explain your situation and see if they could work something so you won't have to pay. I'm sure the insurance company wants to know if a lab is not performing to standard (afterall they are paying a huge portion of the bill!)

[kazata]

honeygirl Sorry about the questionable SA - however, based on your results, I'm not sure why you would need to redo it? Seems like you are within normal range, except for low volume. But putting that aside - you want 20 mil/ml or total 40 mil/ejaculate - which you are above (and since you have more than 40 million total, I wouldn't worry about the low volume), 50% motility, which you have (and since the sample "sat" so long - this number may in actuality be higher, as motility goes down with time). Finally, under Kruger, morph. of 16% is above the 14% "normal" as well - so all is good, as far as I can tell - another SA might come back even better - but why would that be necessary? I could see re-doing it if you had abnormal results in order to see if they improve - but is there a reason to think the results were "better" than they should have been (in other words that a new SA would have worse/decreased results)? Finally, I'm confused as to your comment about the WHO (World Health Organization) method vs. Kruger. Kruger is a specific standard used only for morphology, so using the WHO guidelines as to the rest is normal, as far as I know, there are no "other" guidelines as to concentration or motility. Kruger morphology is stricter than WHO, so if you are fine with Kruger morph, I don't see a reason to repeat for WHO morph. And again, the time that the sample sat should only increase your actual motility score. Just giving you food for thought (or questions to ask your fertility clinic).

I feel like I'm becoming the SA specialist....lol!

[Jess71903]

kazata- you should go into IF testing consultation! You're good at it!

honeygirl-I replied in charting, but I misunderstood about the SA being done at a lab this time, and would be repeated somewhere else, so they couldn't just "owe you one"...I agree with kazata, though. Why redo it when it was still all within the normal range even after sitting for so long?

me, copied from charting:
Well, I am all inseminated! It is raining today, and we just went to the employee area of the hospital parking lot where my dr's office is and put down the back seats in my Explorer so we could have plenty of room:p . My dr. called DH to the microscope to see his "boys" and said there were a whole lot of them and they looked hearty! She did another u/s and said the right side follie looked smaller and deflated although not gone, so it had probably just ruptured. I had some cramping while she was doing it and she said she was "bouncing around on the top of my uterus" to make sure she got it way up in there. We came home and BD'd too, just to cover our bases! I am feeling pretty good about it. I guess we will know it 2 weeks or so!

[Jess71903]

Threadmistress, could you please update my stats. I just copied and fixed it all.
Jess71903
Me: Jessica (27) - December 10
DH: Tony (26)
Married: July 19, 2003
Last BCP: Date August 21, 2005
TTC since: Aug 2005
Charting since Jan 3, 2006
Issues/tests:
2/06:CD 21 b/w progesterone level of 20-normal.
3/06: DH's SA all good
8/21/06 laparoscopyshowing blocked left tube
put on Prometrum CD 14-24 to reduce spotting pre-AF
10/06 Clomid CD 3-7, Repronex CD 8-11 3 follies, one 20.3 on right side
10-25-06 IUI at CD 14

[honeygirl]

Jess - Sounds like your IUI went pretty well! Good thing a security guard didn't interrupt while you were "collecting". :) Best wishes with the 2ww!

kazata & Jess - It seems to me that the RE office is suspicious of this lab in general. I think that they are not trusting any of the results b/c of the way it was done. I agree though that if the results were avg/above avg at a later time wouldn't that be a good thing? However, the NP kept saying that they needed to do more follow-up with the lab. As for the Kruger vs WHO now I'm completely confused. Maybe the RE will make more sense of all of this next time we see him.

[kazata]

Honeygirl Well, I've definitely heard of clinics just wanting to do their "own" SA's, because they don't know exactly how another lab performs their tests. Though, I'd be slightly annoyed if that is the case and they didn't just tell you to begin with. Sounds like it is more something specific about your results/particular lab that sent off warning bells with them - I'd just want to nail down exactly why they think the results may be skewed (specifically to reflect better results, not worse, since they are "good enough"). I guess maybe their thinking is that if the lab isn't taking care of analyzing samples on time, that maybe they are just making mistakes all around? I guess I am giving them the benefit of the doubt - that the time to analyzation is due to organization when samples come in the door, rather than some issue with the skills of the person doing the analyzing. Still not good, but not affecting the validity of the rest of the analysis, ya know? Sorry for the hassles! And I'm sorry I confused you more on the WHO/Kruger guidelines. That's just my understanding, so I'd definitely get your RE to clarify!

[honeygirl]

Thanks Kazata, I do appreciate your imput. I think you are right about the clinic.

[gymwidow]

honeygirl, we did our first 2 SA's at a hospital lab and then did another 3 at our fertility clinic. I think many clinics prefer to do them in-house because their teams are specially trained to know exactly what to look for. Hospitals can do a good basic job (depending on the lab, as we learned with our first one), but the clinic is better able to spot something that might be missed at a regular lab. We were lucky, though, and the in-house clinic SAs were covered by insurance. The fragmentation study that was done outside wasn't, though, and I think we're going to end up with a $400 bill from that. Sigh.

Jess, yikes, good thing you have a truck with lots of ... room. ;) Sending baby dust over to you......

[lawphil]

honeygirl I can't believe that happened with you dh's SA. I really hope that you don't have to pay for another one. Although from the little I know it seems like the results they were able to get are positive.

Jes Good luck on your 2ww!

So I had my follicle check this morning. THere were 2 follicles on the left size both measuring 20 mm and my lining measured 9 mm.

my concern is that the Estradiol came back as 175. The nurse said that is fine - they look for 150 - 200 per egg and that one of the follicles must be the dominant one that will be releasing the egg. My concern is, couldn't it be that both large follicles contain weak eggs. This could explain why I gear up to ovulate each month and either don't ovulate or have a weak ovulation... Do follicles over a certain size give off Estradiol?

Does anyone know anything about # of follicles as compared to Estradiol numbers? This is an unmedicated cycle if it makes a difference.

I should have asked while I have the nurse on the phone but I know she gets frustrated while I try to ask my questions in code...d@mn cube!

Hope everyone is good! Thanks!!

[CTs_Punkin]

LawPhil - I hope you just have a dominant follie & that's why your Estradil is a little off.... I think you & I might be cycle buddies

Honeygirl sucks about Dh's SA... I hope you don't have to pay for another one.

As for me - I had an u/s this am and my follies went from 13mm on Monday to 20mm today and my lining went from 5 on Monday to 8.5 today -

Don't have my blood work yet - but looks like I'm triggering tonight and IUI is scheduled for Saturday morning! YEAH!!! Sorry, I"m a bit excited because we have been trying to do an IUI since July, but haven't been able to because of a stubborn cyst.... so hopefully all will go well and with any luck a wish and a prayer, I'll be knocked up in 2 weeks....

I think that the growth of my follicles & lining is directly related to me going to accupuncture on Monday & Wed this week.... I'm also going to be going right after the IUI!!:D

[DaniML]

I have missed so much and still don't have time for SO's!! I've been (and still am) too busy. I started my new job about 2 weeks ago plus I'm working at home for one of my old customers. We had to take this month off because I didn't know how flexible I was going to be in scheduling doc appts. Now that I know we're just waiting for AF (which will be another 2 - 3 weeks) so we can start on the next cycle. I just talked to my doc and he said we're going to up the Clomid to 150mg because I didn't ovulate on 100mg last month. If that doesn't do the trick we'll probably move on to a specialist. I asked my doc at what point we need to consider moving on and he said we can do that at any time and that he encourages us to do what we feel is best. I want to stay with my OB another month and see what happens. I am so comfortable with him (and his nurse) and they've been so helpful through this process. However, if I don't ovulate on 150mg then we'll have to do something else.

I check back in over the weekend and try to do SO's.

Waiting on some more BFP's ladies! Anyone in the 2WW?

[CTs_Punkin]

Well... things sure change in an instant.

Looks like the bloodwork shows that I'm actually surging on my own and that the IUI will be on Friday instead of Saturday... HOW crazy is that???
I'm so freaking excited to be doing something, anything after 4 months...

So much for work tomorrow morning.... guess I'll have to work late instead.

I'll let you know more tomorrow!!

YEAH!!:D

[jodylovesscotty]

CT's Pumpkin~ That is great news! The first time I did IUI I was surging so quick they had to hurry up too. Good luck tomorrow!

[Jess71903]

CTs_PunkinYAY! I hope this works and we can both have IUI babies in 9 months!

DaniML- I am in the 2WW! I hope this 150 Clomid works for you and you don't have to worry about breaking in a new dr!

gymwidow-Thank you for the baby dust! Yep, when we did the SA, we stayed in the front seat and almost...um...lost...the "sample". Using the back worked much better!
How are you feeling? When do you go for another appointment?

Nothing new with me! Just obsessing!

[pocket]

This morning I had acupuncture with Dr. Lifang Liang. http://www.lifangliang.com/drliang.html

I really didn’t know what to expect. I’d heard it was relaxing, I’d heard it wasn’t painful. I was surprised that she spent oven an hour taking my history. Initial intake was with an acupuncture intern, but Dr. Liang came in halfway through and we just started over. We started at the very beginning when I started taking bcp in 1992. Talk about thorough! She seemed very hopeful, though I did hear her mutter “that’s very bad” more than once. I do love to hear fertility docs exclaim “You’re so young!” when they hear I am 34. It’s the only time anyone but my mom says that to me. We discussed my bowels, we discussed the side effects of the Lupron. She seemed concerned about the side effects which was also new. She took my pulse, which was “slippery” and looked at my tongue which was “white, red at the tip and swollen”. I explained what treatments I have coming up and what I am doing right now. She seemed to think that needle aspiration was a good next step and said that I shouldn’t take the Lupron for too long. Then we scheduled my sessions, and I was relieved that she has late hours. I won’t have to miss work for acupuncture. And then I went into the room, and removed my pants, socks and shoes and lay down on the table. They gave me a sheet to cover myself with, but it was weird – too narrow. Like 2 ft wide. Dr. Liang came into the room, and inserted 2 needles in my knees, 2 in my ovaries, 2 in my hands and one in between my eyebrows which felt really weird. I lay there with that weird feeling in between by eyebrows and then I fell asleep. I was awakened by a tight pain in my right ovary like a stitch in my side. I took deep breaths and it faded away and then we were down and Lyn the Acupuncturist came in to remove the needles. It cost $194 including the herbs. Ouch. I’ve heard the herbs are really nasty tasting. They certainly smell foul and I’ll report back on that later tonight.

Again, this kid had better be F’ing cute.

[Asha]

Again, this kid had better be F’ing cute.

lol!!! i have already decided my child better be a genius and get full scholarships to college. he'll need it since the college fund has been seriously depleted bc of ivf.

[Patience]

pocket & asha Thanks for the laugh! The even more frightening thought is that we want to have 2 kids, so it's double the money. I hope I'll be like Brooke Shields and "recover" from IF after the first child.

pocket My acupuncturist used almost all the same spots on me for my first visit. The one between the eyebrows is definitely weird because I could kinda see the needle. I hope the herbs weren't too hard to take.

[Jess71903]

pocket- thanks for telling about your experience. I have no plans of starting acupuncture, but I have wondered what it would be like. I guess I imagined laying on my back with a thousand needles all over my body. I hope this new stuff will prove successful for you!

pocket and asha- I was going to say the same thing that patience did. Thanks for the laugh!

Question: How long does the HCG trigger stay in your system. I know it's the same hormone that HPTs test for and I just want to make sure it's out of my system before I test. I would die if I tested too early, got a + and it ended up being from the HCG and not a pregnancy. My dr. said to wait to test until like CD 36 (or maybe CD 32-anyway, at least 18 DPO and I don't think I could hold out that long!

[pocahontas]

That sounds like a great appointment and very similar to my first appt. for accupuncture last month. I find that the ones who spend the first hour after they meet you wanting to know all about you, your medical history, and any other little quirks about your body and life are the BEST because I had accupunture before from 2004-2005 with someone else who was a lot less thorough in my opinion than the person I am seeing now. She also went all the way back to my teenage years with questions! LOL :p My first treatment was a cleanse with needles all the way down my back and then she went into the fertility points on the next visit. I am just like you...I typically fall asleep on the table. And believe me you will start to notice some interesting changes in your body this cycle and next!This morning I had acupuncture with Dr. Lifang Liang. http://www.lifangliang.com/drliang.html

I really didn’t know what to expect. I’d heard it was relaxing, I’d heard it wasn’t painful. I was surprised that she spent oven an hour taking my history. Initial intake was with an acupuncture intern, but Dr. Liang came in halfway through and we just started over. We started at the very beginning when I started taking bcp in 1992. Talk about thorough! She seemed very hopeful, though I did hear her mutter “that’s very bad” more than once. I do love to hear fertility docs exclaim “You’re so young!” when they hear I am 34. It’s the only time anyone but my mom says that to me. We discussed my bowels, we discussed the side effects of the Lupron. She seemed concerned about the side effects which was also new. She took my pulse, which was “slippery” and looked at my tongue which was “white, red at the tip and swollen”. I explained what treatments I have coming up and what I am doing right now. She seemed to think that needle aspiration was a good next step and said that I shouldn’t take the Lupron for too long. Then we scheduled my sessions, and I was relieved that she has late hours. I won’t have to miss work for acupuncture. And then I went into the room, and removed my pants, socks and shoes and lay down on the table. They gave me a sheet to cover myself with, but it was weird – too narrow. Like 2 ft wide. Dr. Liang came into the room, and inserted 2 needles in my knees, 2 in my ovaries, 2 in my hands and one in between my eyebrows which felt really weird. I lay there with that weird feeling in between by eyebrows and then I fell asleep. I was awakened by a tight pain in my right ovary like a stitch in my side. I took deep breaths and it faded away and then we were down and Lyn the Acupuncturist came in to remove the needles. It cost $194 including the herbs. Ouch. I’ve heard the herbs are really nasty tasting. They certainly smell foul and I’ll report back on that later tonight.

Again, this kid had better be F’ing cute.

[Asha]

The even more frightening thought is that we want to have 2 kids, so it's double the money. I hope I'll be like Brooke Shields and "recover" from IF after the first child.

oh, i am hoping for "two for the price of one" deal. (kidding - i'll be happy for one at this point, but that thought has crossed my mind.)

[jodylovesscotty]

Jess71903The trigger shot can stay in your system up to 14 days that is why they strongly urge you not to test. I took a test the first time I triggered just to see if they were fibbing to me and they weren't. I saw pregnant so many times and I really wasnt'. My doctor suggests taht I don't even test and wait for my beta on day 15.

Good luck to all of us in the 2ww:) I go next Friday (Nov. 3rd) for my beta draw!

[Jess71903]

Thanks, jody! I am not scheduled to go for a beta, so I guess I should just wait and wait some more! This is going to be the longest 2WW EVER! So, what would you do? Start testing now with cheapie tests and wait until it's negative, then test a few days later to see if it's + again, or...well, I guess it I am it may never get -...this is too much!
Good luck with you beta next week, jody!!! I hope you get some good news!

[Patience]

Asha Hey, you're not the only one who has thought about twins. Two for the price of one sounds good to me at this point. ;)

Jess71903 I'm not going in for a beta either. I'm just going to wait until AF or Monday (whichever comes first) and I'll know if my IUI was successful. Hopefully you can find something to distract you during the 2WW. Good luck to you!

jodylovesscotty Good luck to you!

[ctjo]

Jess71903 - good luck in the 2ww!!

pocket - thanks for posting about your acupuncture experience. I hope it works.

Patience - !! AF or Monday?!? That's...SOON! My fingers are crossed for you!

[pocket]

Herbs: Imagine Turkish coffee but made with powdered chamomile flowers, dirt and made with water from an old vase of flowers that’s been sitting around for more than a week. That’s what the TCM fertility herbs taste like. It’s seriously nasty and also has an unpleasant mouthfeel. Lucky, lucky me.

asha - I am also hoping for the 2 for 1 deal. but at this point i'll take whatever as long as it has all limbs and is a human child.

patience - right! I could see it between my eyes and i went all crosseyed.

pocahontas - sadly i don't cycle at all so i have no idea how or if i will notice any changes. dr. liang is really really great. she wrote the book on acupuncture and ivf.

[pocahontas]

Jess71903The trigger shot can stay in your system up to 14 days that is why they strongly urge you not to test. I took a test the first time I triggered just to see if they were fibbing to me and they weren't. I saw pregnant so many times and I really wasnt'. My doctor suggests taht I don't even test and wait for my beta on day 15.

Good luck to all of us in the 2ww:) I go next Friday (Nov. 3rd) for my beta draw!
Fingers crossed for both of us JODI...my Beta is Tuesday, HALLOWEEN! :eek:

[CTs_Punkin]

Just got back from my IUI - THings went well.
DH's sperm looked "really good" according to the Nurse. His count was 160M and 93M after wash. His mobility / or motility was 40% - The nurse showed me all this while I was laying spread eagle on the table, so I wan't paying much attention.

My follicle hadn't released yet, but looked good at 2cm and lining looked "really good" - so I just hope I O soon!!!

I have an appt scheduled for the IUI tomorrow that we'll probably keep just to be "safe".

It was actually easier than a pap smear...

I went to acupuncture right afterwards, so hopefully that will help.

Pocahontas - good luck w/ the beta on Tuesday! how exciting on Halloween... oooooo spooky.... ;)

Pocket I'm taking Herbs in pill format, so it's not too bad. You have to take a lot of pills though to make it concentrated enough as the "tea" you drink. I hope acupuncture works for you!!

[Asha]

so today is my first self/dh administered shot. i am not too scared about it bc the lupron needles are so tiny. though, i am worried about the hcg and progesterone shots, but i have another few weeks before those begin.

[Jess71903]

Good luck to you too, pocahontas! I can't wait to check this thread this week!

I am glad the IUI went well, CTs_Punkin! I hope you O today and those good swimmers will get busy! I hope we both have some good news in a couple of weeks. When will you test, or will you have a beta?

[CTs_Punkin]

Jess - We didn't trigger - so I'll probably just test at 14DPOish....

[honeygirl]

Lots of IUI's around here! May I ask each of you how many IUI's you've had already?

Best wishes to those of you IUI's in the 2ww or just about to be in the 2ww. I can imagine that it will be tough to wait till a beta draw!

pocket - Those herbs sound nasty. How often to you have to choke them down?

I took my last clomid pill today and so far I haven't had any significant symptoms. I think that I may have had a hot flash last night, but it was no big deal. I have felt in a better mood the last few days, maybe it has the opposite affect on me? Anyway, I'm sure that the true test will be in the next 1-2wks, I've heard that the symptoms are worse then anyway.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[jodylovesscotty]

honeygirl~ This is my 3rd IUI cycle. It will be my last either way. If I am not pregnant we are moving on to IVF. As for the clomid, you may not get any effect. I didn't have anything even as time went on. Hope that is the same for you:)

[ABirney]

Hi ladies, just checking in.
jodylovesscotty, patience, pocahontas, and jess Hope you all get good news soon!
CTsPunkin Glad your IUI went well.
Asha Good luck with the shots!
honeygirl Glad to hear the Clomid didn't mess w/ you too much.

CD7 here, so not much going on.
As for the 2-for-1 deal, I always swore my whole life I'd have twins. (they run in my family big time.. mom is a twin, her older bro and sis are twins, grama had siblings that were twins.... ) but now I'd just be happy to get one!

I was wondering for everyone how long you waited before going on to Clomid, etc... we've been TTC since beginning of Sept '05, Dx w/ insulin resistance and put on Metformin May '06... wondering when I should start asking for the next step? (Thinking maybe Clomid is next.) Also when you first start Clomid, is there any monitoring, etc going on? If it's going to be time consuming, we might wait until after the holidays.... TIA!

[Asha]

abirney - i don't know much about insulin resistance. does that mean you don't ovulate as often? usually, clomid is the next step taken by most dr's, but from my own experience i disagree with this practice. for one, i think dr's should propertly diagnose patients and decide if they are ovulating on their own or not. my gyn did no screening to see if i was indeed ovulating. it turns out my problem has nothing to do with ovulating, so it was really stupid of the dr, imo, to prescribe me clomid. clomid can have some somewhat severe consequences and i think it is foolhardy of dr's to automatically prescribe it when it is not needed. also, my dr did no monitoring of me for the first two months in which time i developed a cyst each month. after the third month, i was in so much pain i could not get out of bed. i was also complaining of really sore hips before i was in that much pain, and my dr didn't take it seriously. this same dr wanted to put me back on it depsite the painful cysts. at this point, i decided he was a quack job and we sought the help of an re.

[ABirney]

Asha thanks for your reply. Yeah the insulin resistance is part of PCOS, so I don't ovulate very often. I've been charting for a couple years now, and since starting TTC in Sept '05, I have ovulated TWICE. (The 2 cycles right after starting the metformin in May.) I usually have to take Provera to bring on AF so I can start a new cycle.
Sorry to hear you had such bad side effects with the Clomid, is that common? I know I've heard some women say they have hot flashes and mood swings, but what you described sounds really serious.

[pocket]

I had a bad experience with unmonitored clomid cycles too - quite similar to Asha's. I also have pcos, have about 2 periods a year, and usually have to take provera to bring on the AF. I did 4 clomid cycles, one at 50, one at 100 and 2 at 150. All unmonitored. I ended up with persistent cysts that still have not resolved more than a year later. docs are very fast and easy with the clomid IMO. I know it works for a lot of women, and most have no side effects at all. But it had some pretty bad side effects for me.

[Jess71903]

honeygirl-as you probably know, this is my 1st IUI.

[pocket]

I forgot to add how long I'd been in treatment before the clomid was prescribed. I was dx with pcos in 1998 so it was a known condition when we started in 4/2003. I started taking metformin in june 2003 and synthroid in august 2003. i was given progressively higher doses of met topping out at 2000 mgs which is what i take now. I did my first clomid cycle in nov 2005.

[Patience]

ctjo Thanks!

pocket Wow, the herbal mix sounds nasty. I've had ones that are pitch black in color and tasted as nasty as the one you had. Re: needle between eyes - my acupuncturist called it my third eye. :)

CTs_Punkin Good luck with your 2nd IUI. Hopefully one of these will work for you this cycle!

honeygirl This was my first IUI (and hopefully last). That's great if you have good s/e on Clomid. My Clomid-induced hot flashes can be pretty annoying.

ABirney Thanks. I had bloodwork done on my first three cycles of Clomid (with my Ob/Gyn). I didn't have any u/s because IF treatments are not covered by my insurance. It seemed I ovulated each cycle, so I don't think I had cysts from taking Clomid. I didn't start on Clomid until after a year of TTC and didn't see a RE until a few months ago (1.5 yrs. after TTC). I wish I had gone to the RE sooner. If you have not done so, have all the IF testing done for you and your DH to determine if you guys have any other TTC issues besides your insulin resistance. The worst thing is to be medicating yourself for a condition you don't have. Good luck!

[Asha]

abirney - my doc said cysts occur in 10% of women who take clomid. i developed cysts on 50 mg. we were ttc for just over a year and a half when we sought out treatment for infertility.

[Jess71903]

pocket- totally not TTC related...what the heck does your avatar mean? I got so used to seeing your puppy dog, I almost thought you were a new member or something!

ETA: I just saw your sig....W is for Worst....I'm a dummy!

[CTs_Punkin]

Well, I'm officially in my first 2WW in quite some time... what to do with myself?? :)

The second IUI went well. The nurses were shocked by how well DH "bounced back" ;)

His numbers on Friday were 93M washed, 40% motility
His numbers on Saturday were 70M washed, 95% motility.

So that's good - they had a hard time getting the catheter in, but with the u/s tech's help, she guided her in and I got to see all of DH's little guys head for the hills.

I only had one follicle, so my odds lower than those with multiple follicles, but I'm hoping that DH's count will make up for it :o

Anyhow, hope everyone's having a great day!

[Jess71903]

I am glad both IUIs went well! That's great that your DH's numbers stayed so good for the 2nd one! I don't quite know what to do with myself either! Let me know when you figure something out!

[SAI Ladies]

** Updated to here **

Members in the 2 WW (hopefully I didn't miss anyone)

In 2WW (date of O or trigger)
pocahontas 10/17/06
jodylovesscotty 10/22/06
Jess71903 10/23/06
CTs Punkin 10/26/06

[Jess71903]

In 2WW (date of O or trigger)
pocahontas 10/17/06
jodylovesscotty 10/22/06
Jess71903 10/23/06
CTs Punkin 10/26/06

Wow! Lets hope for a busy time in this thread in a couple of week! That's a lot of us!
Thanks, threadmistress, for making this list!

[Patience]

AF showed up today, so I'm out. Good luck to everyone else.

[Asha]

i am sorry patience.

[pocahontas]

:( Sorry to hear that, Patience.

[gymwidow]

CTs Punkin, woohoo for finally IUIing!!! Baby dust coming your way.....!!!!!

DaniML, I hope you're enjoying the new job. Tell AF to hurry up and get here so you can get on with things! ;)

Jess, lol! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.) I'm feeling pretty good. Lots of queasiness, but it's somewhat under control. My next appt is this Wednesday and it's my last with the RE. It's going to be so weird to know I'm not going back there (at least not till we're ready for #3!). This is quite late, but the trigger can stay for up to 2 weeks. I always found that it was out of my system by about 10 days past trigger, though. But that's me.

pocket, I'm glad you're enjoying acupuncture. My standard treatment was needles in my outer calves, inner thighs, 4 around my belly button, one in the top of my head, and one in each ear. Sometimes he'd do a back treatment, and a couple of times he put needles just below my big toe.

honeygirl, I had six before we moved to IVF. But we found out belatedly that DH has additional MFI issues that really made IVF our best option. If we go back for another child, we'll probably go straight to IVF.

ABirney, as soon as I got my PCOS diagnosis (only a few months after starting TTC), I went right on Clomid. I started with my GYN and had no monitoring, but quickly switched to an RE so I could have that. I think I went once pre-O to check follie size, and then once 7DPO to check progesterone. I'm glad I was diagnosed quickly and that we went right into treatment. I never had problems with cysts on Clomid; my only s/e were awful nighttime hot flashes.

Patience, I am so sorry.

Bellefior, sending lots of good vibes your way.... For IM shots = I lay on an ice pack (actually a bag of frozen peas) for a solid 10 minutes. Then I swipe the area with alcohol, turn away, and let DH do his thing. I rarely feel anything more than a slight pinch when the needle goes in. I have a tissue ready for DH to press to the area in case I bleed a little (maybe 1 time out of 3). That's it. Afterwards you can massage the area a bit if you want. It may ache for a little, but it's not that bad.

[ctjo]

Patience - I'm so sorry :(

[Patience]

Thanks everyone. One good thing about this failed cycle was that I didn't have a breakdown (I'm sure my DH is happy about this because he always feel so helpless when I start flipping out about TTC stuff).

[pocket]

that's a bummer, patience! but good for you that you didn't flip out.

[pocahontas]

Thanks everyone. One good thing about this failed cycle was that I didn't have a breakdown (I'm sure my DH is happy about this because he always feel so helpless when I start flipping out about TTC stuff).

Patience...was this your first IUI? I tried to go back and find that conversation so I could make sure I wasn't confusing you with someone else but you did IUI and are doing accupuncture right? (Just curious 'cuz that is pretty much my scenario too.)

[Patience]

pocahontas Yup, that was me. First IUI with one acupuncture treatment after the IUI. I'm probably doing the same with this cycle. I hope you'll get good results soon.

pocket Yes, not flipping out is always a goal during the roller coaster of TTC.

[CTs_Punkin]

Patience I'm sorry about the witch's arrival.
How long have you been going to acupuncture? Just curious -
I'm doing my first IUI w/ 50mg Clomid after ~3 months of acupuncture
I'm hoping this is it for us... but also being cautiously optimistic, as my RE gave us only about a 10% chance of ever getting pregnant w/ my own eggs (I have high FSH).

Gym-mamma - Thanks for the baby dust.... rolling around liberally in it!

[Patience]

CTs_Punkin I've been doing acupuncture for one year (2X's a month). I've been following your story, so I know it's been a frustrating road for you so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[pocahontas]

pocahontas Yup, that was me. First IUI with one acupuncture treatment after the IUI. I'm probably doing the same with this cycle. I hope you'll get good results soon.

Thanks a bunch! Here's to hoping we both end up in a 2007 Mommy Thread together! :D (Oh, one more question...you didn't do Clomid with your IUI did you?)

[Patience]

pocahontas Thanks for the good thoughts - joining a mommies group seems like such a far-away dream to me at this point. This last cycle was with 50 mg Clomid + 1 IUI (36 hours after trigger) + acu. treatment. So, if I remember correctly from your posts, we're on a similar protocol?

[skb]

Hello Patience. I haven't been around as much. It's just a busy time and I don't have much to add. I have to admit that life feels a bit more *normal* the past 2 months without TTC. AF isn't even a thought which is a nice change. Sorry your IUI didn't work out. So disappointing. We're off for our IVF consult this week. With any luck we're due for some good news and are closer to realizing our hopes. Both you and me need this to be a not so far away dream! Take care.

[honeygirl]

Sorry Patience. Will the dr try the same protocol next cycle? That is good that you were able to keep from breaking down. Any secrets to keeping calm?

[jodylovesscotty]

Patience~ Sorry this wasn't the month, but there is always next month. Keeping fingers crossed for you that the next one will be the last.

pocahontas~ Hope you bring us good news today:)

Happy Halloween!

I am still sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting for Friday. If this isn't the one, my body is playing tricks on me. My BB's hurt and not the normal hurt when touched, but actually like the muscle hurts. And usually I go in and nothing hurts so I pretty much know the outcome. I am trying not to think about it, but it is hard to do.

[Jess71903]

Patience- I'm a little late, but I am sorry this month wasn't the one. I hope next month is!

skb- I hope the consult goes well and you can move forward with IVF, and pull a gymwidow on us and get it on the 1st try!

jody- I hope those sympotoms mean good things! The waiting game is terrible!!!!

Pocahontas- fingers crossed for you :)

me- CD20, 6 DPiui, so 8 DPtrigger. I testing this morning with one of those cheapie test you get with Pre~Seed and it was neg, which is good because it means the trigger is gone and any testing I do later is accurate! It was driving me crazy, so I had to do it!

[Patience]

skb I can't even remember what it was like to not worry about the best time to TTC or AF coming. A return to normalcy must feel wonderful for you. I hope you'll get good news during your IVF consult. Yeah, we both need good news soon. I guess I'll start lurking in the IVF to keep tabs on you.

honeygirl I'm going to see my RE this afternoon, so we'll discuss what we're doing this cycle. I don't really have a secret to keeping calm. I try not to think about it too much and will stop myself from overanalyzing every FPS I feel. Keeping busy helps.

jodylovesscotty & Jess71903 Thanks. I wish you ladies good luck this week. We need good news in here!

[pocahontas]

pocahontas Thanks for the good thoughts - joining a mommies group seems like such a far-away dream to me at this point. This last cycle was with 50 mg Clomid + 1 IUI (36 hours after trigger) + acu. treatment. So, if I remember correctly from your posts, we're on a similar protocol?Actually, I did an IUI with no drugs just accupuncture 'cuz I was being stubborn. :p I just wasn't ready to commit to Clomid and I thought magically, the IUI alone would work. *sigh* So now, we officially are on the same protocol (although my RE would like me to go str8 to 100 mg of Clomid) since I believe AF is on her way due to some brown spotting I had the displeasure of seeing today. :mad:



pocahontas~ Hope you bring us good news today:)


I am still sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting for Friday. If this isn't the one, my body is playing tricks on me. My BB's hurt and not the normal hurt when touched, but actually like the muscle hurts. And usually I go in and nothing hurts so I pretty much know the outcome. I am trying not to think about it, but it is hard to do.I don't think the news will be good (even though I decided to do the Beta yesterday rather than today and I don't have the results because they said call after lunch. But I probably won't call and get them since AF seems to be knocking on the door.) I am proud of myself though because I refused to be a slave to the thermometer (only temped 5 times out of 14 days in the LP and 3 were just to verify that I O'ed) or keep POAS every freakin' day (although I did once at 10 DPO :o to the tune of a BFN). But I sure am keeping my fingers crossed for you, JODY!

[CTs_Punkin]

pocahontas - I'm crossing my fingers for you that the beta is positive and the spotting is just that little emby snuggling in for a long winter...

Jody Good luck waiting until Friday.

FF said I could test next Tuesday (which would oddly enough be our 2nd wedding anniversary) at 11DPIUI - I think I *may* test then, just as a surprise to my husband if it's positive. The only down side is that if it's negative, I don't want it to ruin my night either.... So what a quandry.

I have a Prog test on Friday - so I'm hoping that my body is doing this right so I don't have to go on sups.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

[CTs_Punkin]

Okay - let the FPS begin...

First let me say that I am completely aware that at 4DPIUI there is NO WAY I could be having FPS... I know it... it's impossible, the egg hasn't implanted yet, it's just not possible... and yet....

I am suddenly an emotional mess. I cried last night watching MNF when they did a make a wish piece about Teddy Bruschi(sp) on the NE Patriots....

And today, I just got weepy reading an MSN piece on keeping the romance alive after the kids are here....

God - what has come over me???? :o

[ctjo]

Happy Halloween everyone!

jodylovesscotty, Jess71903, pocahontas, CTsPumpkin - I hope this is it for you guys!

Patience - hope you are doing ok. No flip out is good :)

DH had the SA today. Not sure if that was a trick or a treat (oh, I crack myself UP!). Apparently his count is good (80M) so he should be in good shape. But, and this is DH's recollection here, the doc said there are "some kind of cells" that could affect his fertility so he has a prescription to take for the next 3 months. That could improve things.

As for me, my annual is 11/13. Luckily my doc is covered by all insurances offered by my work, so in addition to talking about the not pregnant thing, I'm hoping she can give me some guidance about the insurance.

[ABirney]

Hi gals,
Haven't been on in a few days.. was petsitting over the weekend and now FIL is in the hosp so was there for a couple days...
Thanks for everyone's input on the Clomid.
CTsPunkin, jodylovesscotty, and jess Hope to hear good news from all of you soon!
Patience Sorry the witch found you.
Bellefior Hope all goes well for retrieval Wednesday!
skb Good luck at your IVF consult.
pocahontas Hope that spotting stays away!!
ctjo Glad DH's SA went well. Hope those "other cells" go away!

[Asha]

i just talked with my clinic and the receptionist said i tested positive for ureaplasma. she wasn't able to connect me to a nurse, so i don't know what this means. i was looking online and i couldn't tell what it is. it seems like an infection of some sort that may be an std!!!! does anyone know if they are going to stop my cycle because of this. i am going to be so upset if this does. i am guessing they will run some tests on me and put me on meds. though, i read something that the meds could last for a long time and uncommon in healthy people and i consider myself to be healthy.

[lawphil]

Hi everyone,

Patience - So sorry about AF. Good for you not freaking out. It is really hard to stay calm about this whole process!

jodylovesscotty - Good luck tomorrow! Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

CTs_Punkin - Glad that IUI went well. Hopefully the progesterone test will be good.

Jess - Just a couple more days!

Asha - I am sorry I have never heard of that before. IT is too bad the receptionist did not find a nurse for you so you weren't left to worry and wonder. Hopefully it is nothing.

Abirney -- I hope your FIL is doing ok.

I am in the 2ww. I ovulated on Saturday (per ff, cbfm & opks) but now 3 & 4 dpo I am spotting - bright red spotting. I think it is too early for implantation...so who knows what it is. I go in for my progesterone test tomorrow so I will ask while I am in there. Maybe not being on clomid this month is making my body wacky. Oh, and i have to reschedule my dh's SA. It is scheduled for next Wednesday but that will be 10dpo - usually around day 1 of cycle so hopefully I can get him in there on Monday...

Hoping for good news on this thread soon!!

[jodylovesscotty]

Asha~ Ureaplasma is an infection that you can get as well as your DH. It can be linked to a std, but doesn't have to be. I had this when we were first tested for infertility stuff. As my RE explained it, it could just stem from the regular bacteria that lives in your body. He made sure to say it doesn't have to come from an std and not to think of it as an std. He made us take a month of tetracycline. As I recalled I didn't do anything that month as he wanted us to be cleared of it before he started treatment. As much as it would suck to stop, it would be worse to have that affect your treatment. Hope this helped somewhat.

[Asha]

well, apparantly it isn't as bad as i thought. they said we both just need to take meds for 5 days. thanks jodylovescotty for your answer.

[CTs_Punkin]

pocahontas - Did you get your Beta? I'm hoping that the witch flew to your neigbors house instead of stopping by yours!!!

[Byrd's Boogie]

Hi Ladies

jodylovesscotty, Jess71903, pocahontas, CTsPumpkin - I hope this is it for you guys!

Ditto!

Asha I hope all is well after the 5 days and you can continue with this cycle!

I haven't posted much lately, but I've been trying to read along and stay updated. I started Clomid this cycle, I am on Cycle day 15 and waiting to see if I O'd or not. I've had the hot flashes, but so far no ovulation pain, but I'm hoping that doesnt matter...

[Patience]

pocahontas I hope you got good results from the beta.

ctjo That's good news about your DH. I'm sure the medication is just a precautionary measure. That's great that you're moving along with figuring out what's wrong.

ABirney Sorry to hear about your FIL. I hope recovers quickly!

[Patience]

I'm back with a couple of questions. For those of you who do injectables, do you order your medication and have them delivered or pick them up at your local pharmacy? If you order them, which company do you use?

[pocahontas]

pocahontas - Did you get your Beta? I'm hoping that the witch flew to your neigbors house instead of stopping by yours!!!

You guys are the best...really! :D But here's the deal. I haven't gotten my Beta results and I'm honestly a little peeved. I mean I doubt I'm pg because I am still spotting (and that's another weird thing which I'll get to in a minute. :confused: ) But the story is that when I called yesterday (24 hours post Beta) they told me that they didn't have the results yet and to call tomorrow (which is today.) Now I really hadn't planned to call today since today is AF's due date and I just knew she was coming because of yesterday's spotting. On any given typical cycle I have spotting the day before the hag's arrival date and then when I wake up the next morning...HELLO! There the witch is. But this morning was weird because I did NOT wake up to AF but instead to BLACK spotting. :eek: WTF? It went from brown to BLACK (sorry if this is TMI but I am sooo confused because I've never had such dark spotting before.) Anyhoo, this morning I also had an accupuncture treatment. So I am not sure if that could have brought on the black spotting or what...but I digress. I called back the RE office for my results (even though I know it's a BFN I still wanted to hear it because until I see RED I am not counting it as AF and I have yet to see RED.) Well, don't you know this very young sounding girl tells me...oh those results will take a WEEK to come back. :mad: WTF?! I can POAS and get results in a day and you mean it's gonna take a week for me to find out some freakin' blood tests results? You've got to be kidding. So she puts me on hold and tells me she'll call me back in the afternoon. (I knew she was full of ish...she just wanted to get a PO'ed woman off the phone. :rolleyes: ) So I called back 20 minutes ago and asked for Joy because she is the receptionist I am used to dealing with and I know she does a thorough job...that wack job girl this morning must be new. So I told Joy the scenario. She apologized for the other girl but said that my lab does usually take awhile to report results back and that she would call the lab first thing in the AM and get me some results. (Gotta love her.) So tonight we wait...although I don't think we'll have to wait because I am sure I will see RED by this evening. But I am still in astonishment about the BLACK stuff! WTH? Anyway...good luck to everyone else. I'm sure I'm out this cycle...so much so I'm picking up my Clomid Rx tonight and just bought some OPKs off Ebay to move on to the next...:o

[CTs_Punkin]

Pocahontas - Sorry that they are giving you the run around. How frustrating!!

Although I am rooting for you to jinx yourself by purchasing the OPKs & Clomid only to find out you have a BFP on your hands.... :D

[jodylovesscotty]

pocahontas~ Unsure of the black stuff, never had that before. But I do know that getting your beta test results should not take more than a couple of hours. I go in at 9:00 and then call at 1:00 for the results. I am with CTs Pumpkin, hopin you will not need the other stuff.

Patience~ The pharmacy I used my last 3 cycles was close by so I picked the meds up, but they would overnight them. I just found out that my insurance will only pay for meds through fertility lifeline (or something like that). So from now on they will have to be skipped to me. Do you have a local fertility pharmacy near you? (can't get these drugs from any pharmacy)

Today after work I was so tempted to go and get a HPT, but slapped my head for thinking that. My BB's are still sore (not hurting) and I see blue veins that I've never seen before. I hoping these are real and not FPS. It would be so great if we didn't have to go the IVF route. I wish Friday would get here already.

[TazLuv]

Pocahontas - that is really odd, beta results should take a few hours, not days - hopefully they're good news if and when they finally come back.

[looty]

I don't have any great knowledge to impart but I just want to say that I am still reading along and rooting for all you ladies in the 2ww.

I am currently waiting to O after my first round of Clomid. I swear it seems like this cycle is going sooo sssslllllooooowww!

[ABirney]

Hi ladies...
Asha I have never heard of that infection before, glad that 5 days of meds should do it!
lawphil Hope that spotting goes away and your b/w tomorrow turns out good.
byrd'sboogie and looty Hope the Clomid works for you guys and you both O soon!
pocahontas hmm wierd spotting.. maybe that means something good! Sucks that the clinic is taking so long to get your beta results.
jody Hope this is it for you!! Crossing my fingers 'til Friday!

Thanks everyone for your well wishes for FIL... he's still in the hosp, not sure when he's getting out. DH is still down there and said he's feeling better now but the dr's still want to do more tests... they thought they saw a mass in his lung... :(

[Asha]

xposted from my journal
prompted by the "you aren't a parent..." thread.

thoughts of an infertile woman

the majority of mothers out there don't realize how damn lucky they are. i really would love to be covered in spit up and to be woken up in the middle of the night by my baby's cries.

my body is not my own any more. that book my mom read me on how baby's are born is crock o shit. no, there are no romantic nights with candles or slow dancing to make this baby. we get to sit in a waiting room full of other couples who are scared shitless too. we don't even get to be together for this. dh has to go to a room full of porn looking at other women to give his specimen while i get to put my legs in stirrups. now, if that all occurred in the same room, now that would be a wild way to get a baby, but no. i also get to have a shot every day for weeks. there's nothing sexy about having to pinch fat for dh to plunge a sharp needle into. we also don't get this baby for free like so many others. we have to spend a lot of money to make our dreams come true. we're hoping for the two for one deal. 20k times 2, 3, or 4 is too much.

even after all that effort and humilation we may not even get a baby when all is said and done. after that, then what? adoption - we get to be interviewed by social workers who get to decide if we are fit parents. its easier for someone who beats their kids senseless to keep a child of their own, but someone who has worked for years helping children has to fight to get her own child. where is the fairness in that? then we may get a child at the end of it, but there's a chance that the child could be taken away from us because of some sort of legal technicality. heck, maybe we'll get a lifetime movie made out of our stories. fun!!

oh, we also get judged by others whether our decision to pursue assistive reproduction is right or not. others think those aren't real babies. others think it was god's plan not to give us our own baby.

i get to feel pain each and every time someone asks us when we are going to start a family. damn it - we are a family now. we are more of a family than so many others bc we have survived so many struggles that would have destroyed many families. i've started not even mentioning i'm marrried bc i know the whole baby question will follow. i so want to say, "when was the last time you had sex?"

there's no recognition that what i have is a disease. there's so much s