Still At It - Fall 2005

[SAI Ladies]

This thread is for people who have been TTC for an extended period of time
(6 months or more) and/or for those with known/diagnosed infertility
issues. The and/or is the important statement here. ;) We welcome you to
join whether you're trying to conceive for the first time, already have
children, have suffered miscarriages, you're seeking treatment or not.

For non-members:
We always welcome supporters and cheerleaders! Please understand that this is our own safe place to discuss infertility and our feelings about it, and
keep your comments supportive and on-topic. Thanks!

Table of Contents for Page 1:
Post 1: Members (part I)
Post 2: Members (part II)
Post 3: Members who are expecting
Post 4: Members' BABIES! (part I)
Post 5: Resources (including HPT Sensitivity Comparison)
Post 6: Links to old threads, recent congrats & condolences


Your current threadmistress is jennylou - please try post all updates in red so that they're easier to see!

Still At It...Membershttp://www.webmuseum.com/blove/ttc.gif
in alphabetical order by user name

ag05
Me: 32
DH: 30
Married 5/01
TTC since 1/04
Clomid 50 mg 5/04
Clomid 100 mg 6/04
Clomid 150 mg 7/04
Clomid 150 8/04 - pregnant
11/04- missed miscarriage w/ D&C (13 weeks)
Clomid 150 mg 2/05 - pregnant
2/05 - miscarriage (6 weeks)
Started seeing RE 5/05
Known issues - Compound heterozygeous MTHFR, mild PCO pattern
8/05 Femara 5 mg/Ovidrel shot
9/05 Femara/Ovidrel shot

Alioop12345
TTC #2 since 5/05
On: Estradiol, Gonal F, HcG and Progesterone supps

bunky
Me: 30
DH: 31
Married: 10/02
TTC: since 09/04
Off BCP: since 03/04
Charting: since 02/05
Irregular cycles
12/04: CD 3 bloodwork showed slightly elevated LH
05/05: DH's SA normal
05/05: Clomid 50mg - ovulated on CD 16
06/05: Clomid 100mg - ovulated on CD 20
06/05: HSG showed left tube blocked, bicornuate uterus
07/05: MRI shows septate uterus, not bicornuate
07/05: Laparoscopy/hysteroscopy removes septum and endo
09/05: 2nd HSG shows normal uterus and both tubes open
09/05: First cycle with RE; Clomid 50mg/trigger/IUI
FF Chart (http://www2.fertilityfriend.com/home/91107/)

Cath
Me: Catherine, 32
DH: 34
Married: 11/01
TTC: 11/03
Diagnosed w/PCOS in July 2004
Clomid didn't work, now Follistim
3 failed IUIs
1 chemical pregnancy a month we were taking a break(10/05)

DallasLady
Me - Giovanna (25)
DH - Tony (39)
Married - 9/01
Charting - 11/2002
TTC - 1/2005
Issues - Low sperm count (14mil/ml) and low morphology (6%
Kruger)
First IUI cycle 11/2005- BFN

Elenna
Me: 31
DH: 33
Married: 9/11/04
Off BCP since 7/04
TTC w/ Charting since 11/04, SWH for 4-5 months in the middle of that time
Chart: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/4b883
No known issues, yet. Family history of progesterone problems.

Freckles[size=1]
WC Name: ilovepac
ME: 29
DH: 36
Married since: 2/1/03
Off BCP since: Never really on BCPs
TTC since: 6/04
Charting since: 9/04
Known issues/test results:Too many issues to list here, but suffice to say I
am taking a drug cocktail of clomid 100 mg, progesterone, and estrogen.


gator97
Me: Kristen (30)
DH: Peter (30)
Married since: 11/06/04
Off BCP since: 12/04
TTC since: 2/05
Known issues/test results: dx stage 2-3 endometriosis/adenomyosis
8/05
9/05 - Chem PG

gigglespca
Me: 36
DH: 40
Married 10/01
TTC since 1/02
prescribed Clomid 50 mg 1/05 by obgyn then went to RE for fear of cysts
Clomid 50 mg 1/05
Clomid 50 mg 2/05 - pregnant
4/05- missed miscarriage w/ D&E (12 weeks)
6/05 Trying again! Clomid 50 mg
RE appt 7/1/05 17mm follicle on left side no trigger shot due to size
Currently on 200 mg of prometrium orally twice a day after ovulation

graciebella
Me: 34
DH: 30
Married 10/04
TTC since 10/04 with a break 3/05 to 10/05
Clomid 50 mg 10/05
Known issues - 1 blocked tube, irregular ovulation
Hysteroscopy/Uterine Polypectomy 6/05
previous pregnacy no issues 3/92

Happy1
Me: Nikki
DH: Tim
Married: June 8, 2002
Forever in our hearts: Jacob John born and died
10/6/03 at 35 weeks due to genetic issues.
TTC #2 since: January 2004
Known Fertility Issues: DH has an extremely low sperm count which we just
found out about a month ago. He has seen a Urologist but there are no
physical signs that would explain the decrease.

Jennylou
Me: Jenny
DH: Sean
Married: 9/20/03
PCOS
Forever in our hearts, DS Andrew Wyatt 5/20-5/22/05
TTC #2 with clomid

jlp
Me: 31
DH: 40
Married: 01/04
TTC: since 07/04
Off BCP: since 03/04
Diagnosed with PCOS: 10/04
Irregular cycles, multiple cysts
04/05: Clomid 150mg - small follies/O on CD21 - failed
05/05: Clomid 200mg - 3 large follies/HCG shot on CD 18 - failed
06/05: Clomid 200mg - 2 medium follies/repeat U/S 7/1 - HCG shot

julesp313
Me: 34
DH: 39
Married: March 2003
Charting: September 2003
TTC: December 2004
Issues: None known
IUI planned in April 06

KaliLily
Me: 32
DH: 32
Married: 8/16/97
TTC #1: On Prometrium now to induce period, will begin Clomid 100mg on CD5
Issues: PCOS (Diagnosed 1996)

Katmg
Me: 26
DH: 30
Married: 11/08/03
Off BCP since: 5/04
Charting since: 8/04
TTC w/ Charting since: 1/05 (took a break when I started a new job) 05/05
Chart:
Issues: Testing this cycle. If DH's SA comes back okay, I start 50mg Clomid next cycle.

Kemorr[size=1]
Me: 29
DH: 31
Married: 1/5/2002
TTC: September 2004
known issues: short LP, spotting, low forward progression, low morphology.
HSG normal, day 3 bloodwork normal, 7 DPO progesterone normal except for
most recent cycle - slightly low.
Clomid 50 mg 4/05 - BFN, Clomid 50 mg with IUI, trigger and progesterone
6/05 - BFN
7/2005 - Clomid, HCG trigger and IUI - BFN
8/2005 - chemical pregnancy
9/05 - injectibles with IUI, BFN and 10/05 treatment break, laparoscopy and hysteroscopy
10/05 - Laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, stage 2 endo diagnosed and treated.

kischer
kisch
WC name- kisch
kischer=ME (31)
hubby=DH (31)
Married- 10/6/01
TTC- 5/02
HSG- tubes clear
SA- normal
Off BCP- of course
M/C's - 7/04 & 12/04
RE - since 9/04-
Clomid - 7 cycles, 2 OBGYN, 5 RE, I think
HCG - 2 cycles
Acupuncture - yes- 4 cycles
back at the RE - 10/05
Letrozol/Femara - 10/05

klav
Married: 10/03
TTC: since 1/04
Off BCP: since 1/03
MC: 11/04
regular cycles: about 28 days but have been fulcuatio sence MC in Nov
Laperoscapie: 02/03?? could not find anything causeing pelvic pain
HSG:7/05 thought there might be a blocked tube but to know they would have to do another Lap. not interested because they said everything was fine before??with the first Lap.
All Blood work done for IUI: 6/05
06/05: Clomid 50mg , Estrodil and progesterone - failed
010/05: Clomid 100mg, Estrodil and progesterone will only be one month. Oct
Will begin IUI class in Nov
Currently: Waiting to O at the present time
Chart (http://www2.fertilityfriend.com/home/21291)

knoelani
Me: K / 29
DH: B / 33
TTC: 12-2001
Dx: Late ovulation, PCO w/ 80% of symptoms of PCOS, SA issues
1-05: 50 mg Clomid
1-28-5: HSG, all clear
2-05: 100mg Clomid, 1500 mg Metformin
3-05: 100 mg Clomid, 1500 mg Metformin
4-05- DH SA poor results, clomid break, still taking 1500 mg Met
5-6-5: DH SA & urologist appointment: A okay, could be improved slightly
with lifestyle changes
6-16-05: 1st RE appointment
7-05: 100mg Clomid
8-05: 150mg Clomid, 1st IUI - Failed
9-05: 150mg Clomid, 2nd IUI
IUI #2: Failed
10-05 to end of year: Break from all things medical

La_bride_2004
me: 32
DH: 36
TTC since Feb 04
HSG, all tests normal
Dx: male factor, poor SCSA
CC1, 3 IUI's- all BFN
IVF #1 Dec 04: OHSS/biochem/m/c
FET#1 June 05: biochem/m/c
Aug 2005- varicocele repair surgery for DH
Status: waiting to TTC in 6 months or whenever we get a good SCSA!

Lucy Van Pelt
Me: Ginger - 35
DH: Brad - 30
TTC: 3/04
Dx: PCOS 1/05 (no reg periods since I started menstruating at age 12 - usually 6-8 months apart)
4/05: HSG - all clear, SA - perfect (of course, as DH put it, "even my sperm are over achievers")
5/05: 50 mg Clomid - nothing
6/05: 100mg Clomid - ovulated, but had horrid migraines
7/05: Femara
8/05: BFP
9/05: m/c at 6 weeks
10/05: Femara

Marteneym
Me: 23
DH: 27
Married since: 10/4/03
Off BCP since: 9/04
SWH since: 10/04
TTC since: 12/04
Fertility Blend cycles 4,5,6
Known issues: Delayed Ovulation, SA issues, Varicocele possible
9/05 Clomid 50mg
9/9 FSH and Rubella- NORMAL
9/12 SA ABNORMAL- count 30mil/
motility 30% -repeat in 8wks
Clomid 100mg 10/05
11/05 Chlomid 100mg
*~*~*~BABYDUST*~*~*

[SAI Ladies]

Members (continued)

MrsSmith
we're both 25
Married: 3/2003
Issues: PCOS, random cycle lengths and no ovulation
TTC: we never officially started, but we've never prevented either
RE visit: 6/2005 - PCOS, suggested Provera and Clomid

Nigellas
Me: Kerry
DH: Chris
Married: 8.7.01
TTC: Off and on since 2001.
4 miscarriages (11 wks, 19 wks, 6 wks and 12 wks)
RE is stumped – unexplained RPL.
Currently on Femarra and Prometrium.

ocgatita
Me: Judy
DH: Edward
Married: 4/04
TTC #1 since: 6/04
Known Fertility Issues: None, will seek medical intervention if we haven't
conceived by early next year.

paisleydays
Me: Amy (34)
DH: Andy (32)
Married: 7.02
TTC: 1.04
Charting: 1.046.05 1st meet w/RE
6.05 SA=low count, low motility
6.05 3rd day BW=High FSH
Currently doing acupuncture & looking for a new RE

pocket
Me: Pocket, 33
DH: Pita, 30
Married: 8/23/03
TTC: Begin Clomid 50mg August
Issues: PCOS, Hypothyroid

rebekah
both of us are 28
married 8/16/03
off bcp 01/04
first started ttc 7/04
tests done - dh had semen analysis and everything is ok on his end, we are going to wait one or two more cycles before i go for testing

shouldaeloped
me: Heather, 32
DH: Neal, 34
Married: 10/19/02
TTC: 10/04
2 miscarriages: 1st 1/05 at 12w2d, natural and 2nd 5/05 at 9w2d, d&c
currently waiting for cycles to get back to normal and testing to be
completed to try again. bloodwork and SHG scheduled for 7/8/05

skb
Me: 31
DH: 32
TTC: 10/04
Known issues: None. Upcoming HSG.
HSG (Nov 2005): differential bicornaute or septate uterus

Stephanie
Me: Stephanie, 25
DH: Brian, 29
Married: 10/6/01
TTC: 3/04
Known issues: None, that we know of yet. Varicocele possible.
SA to be done in the next month. Cycles returning to normal
after BCP.

suzfuzsunflower
Me: 23
DH: 24
Married: 08/09/2003
TTC: March 2005
Charting: March 2005
Known Issues: annovulatory cycles, random cycle length
10/05 - HSG shows blocked or partially blocked right tube
11/05 - 50mg clomid

Suzlywoozly
Me: Sue/27 DH: Jeff/31
Married: 6/15/02
TTC: 10/02
10/02: 1st Lap-Found ovarian cysts and endo
4/04: Started Progesterone supplements and 25 mg clomid
8/04: 50mg clomid - Had no follicles
9/04: 100mg clomid - Had 2 follicles and 1st failed IUI
10/04: 100mg clomid - Had 1 follicle and 2nd failed IUI
11/04: No clomid due to 2 ovarian cysts. Started Metformin 1500mg/day
12/04: No clomid due to "large mass" and ovarian cyst on left ovary.
Surgery the second week of January.
m/c 6/05
IVF 8/05-9/05
9/05 IVF cycle #1: BFN
10/05-11/05 IVF cycle #2:Waiting to do a FET

thedoorchick (jasonsbride on the WC)
Me: Emily (35)
DH: Jason (31)
Married: 1/19/02
TTC: 11/02 to 3/03, then 12/04 (took a hiatus due to jobs, etc).
Charting: 7/02
SA: High count and motility, low morphology (1%)
M/C: 5/03, 3/05, 4/05
Failed IUI September 2005

TravelGirl
Me - 34
DH - 34
Married - 7/01
Son - 8/03
TTC - 5/2004
Charting - 11/2004
IF issues - None that we know of.

[SIZE="1"]UTChick
Me: 28
DH: 34
Married 9/20/03
Off BCP since 12/04
SWH until 5/05
TTC w/ Charting since 5/05
Long and irregular cycles
Testing process beginning this cycle
HSG is normal

Wonderousglance
Me: 27
DH: 31
TTC since 1/02 with many breaks in between
Endometriosis diagnosed by laparoscopy in March 05
Just started seeing RE and in the process of getting all the diagnostic tests done


Taking a Break

hangin'in
Me: Jen (39)
DH: Ron (27)
Married: 10-03
TTC: 10-03
Dx: High FSH in May 04 (13.25) Given Donor Egg speech by RE. FSH retested in
February, numbers came back in normal range. Did 1 month of accupuncture in
March.
IUI 2/05, failed
IUI 4/30/05, 2failed
IUI 6/05 failed
the Dr. really only recommends Donor Eggs at this time, and DH and I aren't
ready to do that.

la_bride_2004
me: 32
DH: 36
TTC since Feb 04
HSG, all tests normal
Dx: male factor, poor SCSA
CC1, 3 IUI's- all BFN
IVF #1 Dec 04: OHSS/biochem/m/c
FET#1 June 05: biochem/m/c
Aug 2005- varicocele repair surgery for DH
Status: waiting to TTC in 6 months or whenever we get a good SCSA!

tigerest
Me-28
DH-29
Married 7/6/02
Off BCP 7/03 (started charting 11/03)
Early M/C - 1/04
10/04 - DH's SA Normal
1/14/05 - Laparoscopy and Chromotubation = Both tubes blocked
2/15/05 - HSG confirms both tubes blocked
4/15/05 - Laparoscopy #2 a success! Both tubes surgically repaired.
Continuous Acupuncture
TTC again in June! :D

Moving on to adoption
Karlatta
Me: Karla, 25
DH: Scott, 26
Married: 6/8/2002
TTC: July 2003
PCOS, Metformin
10/04 - Letrozole
11/04 - Letrozole, IUI - Pregnant!
Miscarriage 1/05
05/05 - Letrozole, IUI
06/05 - Estrogen/Progesterone
07/05 - Letrozole
08/05 - Letrozole
09/05 - Letrozole and Viagra

[SAI Ladies]

http://home.hot.rr.com/lizandrob/smilie_file/smilie_preggo1.gifMEMBERS
EXPECTING:
in order by due date and color coded by sex where known

February 2006

angelgirl8
me: angelgirl8 27 dh: also 27
married: 7.6.03
ttc: 1.04
testing: cd3 and 7dpo blood tests fairly normal
5.04: SA normal
9.04: HSG-tubes clear
9.04, 10.04, 11.04: clomid, IUI, trigger, progesterone
12.04: gonal-f 150iu, IUI, trigger, progesterone
3.04: IVF#1 (all but 1 of the 22 fertilized eggs multinucleated and
fragmented; transferred 1 4-celled embryo on day 3)
5.04: IVF#2; added metformin: PREGNANT 6/05!!!!
TWINS!! tentatively due 2/12/06

Christy559
Me: Amanda (26)
DH: Matt (29)
Married: 6/29/02
Off BCP 1/03
TTC: 9/03
FF Chart (http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/3d9f6)
PREGNANT 6/05!!!!
Due 2/06

March 2006

amychris03
Me: Amy (29) DH: Chris (34)
TTC: Since 9/03
Diagnosed with PCOS: May 04, currently taking Metformin
Injectables cycle # 1- 8/04: Follistim was a success! ended in an Ectopic PG
Laparoscopy 2/24/05 revealed lack of musculature around tubes
IVF #1 6/15/05
PREGNANT 7/05!!!!
Due 3/22/06

heidi0622
Name: Heidi - 29
DH: Mike - 29
Married: 6/22/02
TTC: March '04, Charting: June '04
Known issues: m/c 10/04 at 5.5 weeks, saline U/S normal, bw normal, SA
excellent, unexplained IF
Treatments: Started 50mg Clomid 06/05
PREGNANT 7/05!!!!
Due 3/22/06

April 2006

Kopper
Me: Katie (26)
DH: John (28)
Married: 9/21/02
TTC: 7/04
Charting: 03/04
6/05 3rd day BW normal
6/05 HSG all clear
6/05 SA normal count and motility, low morphology
Starting IUI next cycle
FF Chart (http://www2.fertilityfriend.com/home/9e5e6)
PREGNANT 7/05!!!!
Due 4/6/2006

amygrrl
me: amy (35)
dh: dan (33)
dd: ~avery elizabeth~ born still on June 3, 2005 at 27 wks from possible
cord accident (we love you, baby girl!)
frozen embries: 3 on ice from our round with Avery
TTC since: March 2003
Treatments: 6 failed rounds of Clomid. 1 successful IVF producing
Avery
PREGNANT 8/5/05!!!! our miracle baby!
EDD: 4/18/2006

jrsygirl
Me: Holly (31)
DH: Brian (32)
Married:September 2002
TTC: 9/04
M/C: 12/04
7/05 injectibles and IUI
PREGNANT 8/18/05!!!!
EDD 4/28/2006

Scooter
Me: 29, DH: 32
married: 8/01
m/c 8/02 at 5.5weeks
TTC since 4/03, charting since 9/02
Unexplained IF, uterine polyps removed 6/04
8/04 failed 50mg clomid cycle
10/04 & 11/04 failed clomid 100mg & progesterone
1/05 new RE, suspects immunological issues, began baby aspirin and Folgard
2 more cycles clomid (100mg) + IUI = failed
started accupuncture
2 cycles letrozole (2.5mg) +IUI + progesterone = failed
7/05 bravelle (1.5 amps) + IUI + progesterone = success!
FF Chart (http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/18494)
PREGNANT 8/18/05!!!!
EDD 4/29/2006

May 2006

catJennifer
Me: Jennifer (29)
DH: 30
Married: 10/26/02
TTC: 4/04
Charting: 10/04
Stats: PCOS, elevated prolactin
Meds: Dostinex, Metformin XR 2000mg
5/04: SA normal
10/04: HSG normal
10/04, 11/04, 12/04: 50 mg Clomid
3/05: 100 mg Clomid + IUI
4/05: Femara
8/05: Follistim, trigger, progesterone
PREGNANT 9/6/05!!!!
EDD: 5/16/06

June 2006

Baby Lust
Me: Amanda (23)
DH: Shane (27)
Married: 10/19/02
TTC: 3/04
Charting: 6/04
SA: High count, low motility
Clomid: 50mg April, May ; 100mg June, September
Chemical Pregnancy: June
BFP: 9/30/05 after 100 mg Clomid, Round 2
FF Chart (http://www2.fertilityfriend.com/home/Shanes_Angel)

bottleored
Me: Caroline (38)
DH: Paul (42)
Married: 10.03
TTC: 1.04
Charting: 3.04
Uterine Polyp: 5.04 (D&C, hysteroscopy)
SA normal, b/w normal
9.04 - 5.05: 6 rounds Clomid
10.04: HSG - left tube blocked
1.05: Tubal recanalization - left tube unblocked!
1.05, 2.05: very low HCG results, discovered antibody issue
6.05, 8.05: injectibles (and low dose HCG), blood thinner, progesterone
BFP 8.29.05 m/c 9/05
9.05: injectibles
FF Chart (http://www2.fertilityfriend.com/home/44b0a)


ds2003
Me: 27
DH: 31
Married since: 11/08/03
Off BCP: 12/03
TTC since: 6/04
Charting since: 7/04
Known issues: dx PCOS 7/04, annovulatory
Test results: DH's SA-normal; HSG 1/14/05-normal;
-->Ovarian Drilling 5/20/05- I'm finally ovulating
3 failed Clomid cycles before Ovarian Drilling (50, 100, 150 mg)
Meds: Currently taking 1500mg Metformin and 5mg Femara/letrazole
BFP October 2005!
FF Chart (http://www2.fertilityfriend.com/home/ds2003)


July 2006
ShelbyMay
Me: 25
DH: 27
Married: 05/17/2003
TTC: 2/05
Charting: 9/04
Known Issues: Possible semen allergy; antibodies could be inhibiting
sperm

[SAI Ladies]

http://circles2.fertilityfriend.com/Circles/images/smiles/icon_baby_boy.gifBABIES!!http://circles2.fertilityfriend.com/Circles/images/smiles/icon_baby_girl.gif
in order by birth and color coded by sex

Akire
Me: Erika - 34 DH: Jeff - 37
Off BCP: 7/03
TTC: 7/03
Charting: 8/03
HSG: 5/04 - One clear tube
BFP 11/04!! - EDD 8/6/05
Sydney Allyn 8/07/05 @ 3:23pm, 8lbs 8oz, 21.5in

amygrrl
me: amy (35)
dh: dan (33)
TTC since: March 2003
Treatments: 6 failed rounds of Clomid. 1 successful IVF
Avery Elizabeth born still on June 3, 2005 at 27
weeks from possible cord accident (we love you, baby girl!)

Jennylou
Me: jenny
DH: Sean
Married: 9/20/03
PCOS
50 mg clomid and 1500 mg glucaphage
Forever in our hearts, DS
Andrew Wyatt 5/20-5/22/05

Carissa (Crosew on WC)
Me: Carissa (25) DH: Eric (25)
TTC: Since 3/03
Diagnosed with PCOS and low progesterone.
Clomid, Metformin, prometrium and trigger shot
BFP 3/04, M/C 4.04
BFP 9/04!!! - EDD 5/25/05
Grace Elizabeth 5/15/05

[SAI Ladies]

Abbreviations and acronyms
List of TTC & IF acronyms
written out (http://womens-place.com/ttc/ttcacronyms.php)

HPT Sensitivity Comparison Charts
Fertility Plus (http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/hpt.html)
Pee On A Stick (http://www.peeonastick.com/hpts.html)
Mama's Ark (http://www.mamasark.com/hpt.htm)
Baby
Hopes (http://www.babyhopes.com/pregnancy-test-sensitivity.html) (they've checked with the manufacturers to verify the numbers)
Remember, the hCG starts at 1 at implantation and increases as time goes
on, so the smaller amount of hCG it measures, the more sensitive the test
is!

Books

Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060937645/qid=1041654042/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-0287896-1655948?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

The
Fertility Sourcebook by M. Sara Rosenthal, PHD (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0737303808/qid=1042220393/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-0287896-1655948?v=glance&s=books)

Healing
the Infertile Family by Gay Becker (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0520211804/qid=1125724439/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-5989308-5276662?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Inconceivable
by Ben Elton (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385334656/qid=1041659461/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_7/104-0287896-1655948?v=glance&s=books)
The movie "Maybe Baby" (below) is based on this book

Inconceivable:
A Woman's Triumph Over Despair and Statistics
by Julia Indichova (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0767908201/qid=1059292613/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-2812959-1358247?v=glance&s=books)

The
Infertility Diet: Get Pregnant & Prevent Miscarriage by Fern Reiss (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1893290395/qid=1059292976/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-2812959-1358247?v=glance&s=books)

Conquering
Infertility: Dr. Domar's Mind/Body Guide to Enhancing
Fertility & Coping with Infertility by Alice Domar, Phd (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670031550/qid=1059293116/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-2812959-1358247)


Girlfriend to Girlfriend: A Fertility Companion by Kristen
Magnacca (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1588202135/qid=1082306449/sr=8-2/ref=pd_ka_2/104-9895052-8814318?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Great List of books for
Infertility (http://www.ein.org/infertility/books.htm)
Includes these and more!!


Movies
Maybe
Baby (2001) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000062XKW/qid=1041654127/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_4/104-0287896-1655948?v=glance&s=video&n=507846)

She's
Having A Baby (1988) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6300988996/qid%3D1041654195/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-0287896-1655948)

Websites (by subject)

Charting
Ovusoft aka TCOYF (http://www.ovusoft.com/)
The site for Toni Weschler's book which includes message boards, chat and
cycle galleries which are very helpful.

Fertility Friend (www.fertilityfriend.com)
A free charting site which includes a lot of information and cycle
galleries.

Local Support
RESOLVE:
The National Infertility Association (http://www.resolve.org/main/national/chapters/resolvenearyou.jsp?name=chapters)
Nation-wide referrals to local support groups and therapists.

The American Infertility
Association (http://www.americaninfertility.org)
Lots of information and support, including message boards and chat rooms.

Financial Concerns
ARC: Advanced Reproductive Care (http://www.arcfertility.com/)
information on financing infertility treatments

Family Fee
Plan (http://www.amerifee.com/fertility-financing/index.asp)
information on financing infertility treatments

State
Insurance Requirements (http://www.resolve.org/main/national/advocacy/insurance/index.jsp?name=advocacy&tag=insurance)
Links from the Resolve site about insurance & laws.

Inciid's Insurance pages (http://www.inciid.org/index.php)
Click through menu on right for more financial topics and the insurance
forum.

General TTC
Trying To Conceive.com (http://www.tryingtoconceive.com/)
All things TTC! Lots of info as well as a place to buy herbal therapies for
conceiving.

Baby Med (http://www.babymed.com/)
Tons of information. Everything from Chinese gender charts to an FAQ section
on pretty much any TTC question you could have.

Baby Hopes (http://www.babyhopes.com)
Baby makin' supplies!

OBGYN.net (http://www.obgyn.net/)
Lots of general info on women's health. They also have doctors on line who
answer questions.

Infertility Sites
INCIID (http://www.inciid.org/)
Pronounced "inside". (The International Council on Infertility Information
Dissemination)
Excellent national resource.

Resolve (http://www.resolve.org)
Wonderful site with lots of infertility information and support.

I dream of baby (http://www.idreamofbaby.com/fertility.php)
Learn the basics of fertility issues here. This site also has a great
message
board community!

Fertility
Plus.org�s list of female hormone levels (http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/hormonelevels.html#female)
Starting your fertility work-up? Check out this site to see a list of the
commonly tested female hormone levels, the function of each hormone, and the
normal levels of each hormone.

Shared Journey (http://www.sharedjourney.com)
Shared Journey is dedicated to providing quality information on topics such
as
infertility, miscarriage, surrogacy, pregnancy after infertility, living
child-free, and adoption. Our information is supplied by well noted
Reproductive
Endocrinologist's, Psychologists, Adoption professionals and links through
various sites.

FertileHeart (http://www.fertileheart.com)
A community of people exploring holistic approaches to fertility. A site by
author Julia Indichova (see books above)

Specific IF Issues
Soul Cysters (http://www.soulcysters.com)
PCOS site with lots of support and info

Dr. Beer (http://www.repro-med.net)
Reproductive Immunology information, including lists of tests, pricing,
local referrals

Reproductive
Immunology Support (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/immunologysupport/)
Yahoo group for RI patients, tons of info and articles

Info for Family and Friends
Empty
Arms (http://www.vocalicious.com/empty_arms/empty_arms_mod.html)
This is a great video so they can understand what you're going through.
(And get out your kleenex!)

[SAI Ladies]

Welcome to the Fall 2005 Still At It thread on our new message boards! Let's all pray that this new thread will mark the beginning of an unprecedented amount of fertility on the board...


In this thread we have sent a hearty
congratulations to these happy members!!:
TravelGirl
BabyLust
bottleored
ds2003
ShelbyMay

Our condolences to:


We welcomed these new members:
UTChick
Elenna

Members we'd like to hear updates from:
Freckles
gigglespca
Happy1
jlp
KaliLily
paisleydays
shouldaeloped
Stephanie



previous members who are expecting or had their
babies!
Let us put you back in the stats!

[karlatta]

Alright, we're open for business!

As usual, please post updates in red and let me know if there are any changes to your user information that need to be made! :)

[jennylou]

Thanks for setting this up karla, it looks great. :)

[Scooter]

Looks great, Karla! :D

I'm just stopping by to wish all of you luck! I'll still be lurking & cheering you on.

from the last thread:
Sunflower, so sorry you have to be at a babyshower (probably right now)--but do NOT feel bad about not wanting to go! Of course you don't want to go! IMHO those are one of the hardest situations for someone experiencing infertility to go to. And don't ever feel bad if you're just not up to going to a shower one day, either; I skipped several in the past year. I think mental health is much more important than forcing ourselves to be somewhere we don't need to be! ;)

[suzfuzsunflower]

Well, I'm back from the shower. And I was the only person there not pregnant (4 pregnant women!) or that did not already have a child. I enjoyed the shower and was happy for her, but once I got to the car, I broke down and cried. I have a renewed urge to call the doctor and Monday for more testing and such. The problem is....our health insurance totally stinks! For those of you who had little or NO coverage for things like this, what did you do? I would really appreciate any ideas that you all have. DH wants to do the testing, but is worried about money. How much does this all cost?

Thanks so much! :)

[karlatta]

suzfuzsunflower - I think your feelings about the shower are perfectly normal, and I don't blame you at all for feeling the way that you do. There have been SO MANY showers that I have skipped over the past couple of years. It's just so hard to deal with sometimes.

About the insurance coverage. My insurance covers nothing for infertility. But because I had painful periods and irregular cycles (over 100 days at times), my RE was able to get some testing covered right at the beginning. The insurance was willing to pay to make sure it wasn't some medical condition that they would treat. I was able to get initial Day 3 bloodwork and a sonohysterogram (much like an HSG).

I was diagnosed with PCOS, so I can get one ultrasound every month to check out my ovaries, paid for by insurance. We do this to make sure I don't have any large cysts from the PCOS. A lot of the meds I take are also covered. Estrogen, Progesterone, and Letrozole are all covered, because they have uses other than infertility. IUI's, injectibles, other ultrasounds, etc. aren't covered. So DH and I try to make the best decisions we can with our finances and TTC. Right now we're just trying to do enough to feel like we're still "trying" without shelling out tons of cash every month.

Off the bat, we had to pay $100 for DH's SA and $250 for a test to see if I am a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis. My RE wouldn't treat us for anything without those two things.

I hope that helps!

[Suzlywoozly]

suzfuzsunflower- I can completely understand your feelings about the baby shower! You are one strong lady for making it to the car. I probably would have broken down right there in front of everyone.

About the insurance, I don't have any coverage at all for IF. I did start out doing IUI's with my OB/GYN and they were able to bill my insurance co. for the ultrasounds, office visits and bloodwork since the insurance co. considers it a "diagnostic procedure." I would ask about the whole "diagnostic" thing with your insurance. All together with the clomid, I payed about $400/cycle out of pocket.

I don't know if you guys own your house, but we are really lucky we do and were able to refinance and cash out some money to cover the costs. We actually just refinanced this past month to cover the costs of IVF. What kind out IF procedures do you need to have done? I hope that answered your questions. If not let me know :)

As for me, I am just waiting to do the egg retrieval possibly on Tuesday. I am getting really uncomfortable with 24 follicles growing on my ovaries. I thought it was bad when I had one or two follicles when we did IUI's!

Karla- Thanks for taking over the thread!

Hope everyone else is doing well :)

[TravelGirl]

Well...... I'm almost afraid to post this but.... I got a BFP this morning.

We're totally in shock. This has take us about 16 months. It was a weird 2WW. I did have a slight dip on 8DPO and had a blood test that day. My temps went back up to 98.5 and have stayed there. I did have some spotting on 8DPO and some major cramps which I attributed to PMS. I have been feeling a bit naseau all week but I had a major hang over on Sunday (horrible of me, I know) that seems to have lasted all week. The doctor called yesterday to give me the results of my blood test. She said my progesterone was a 15. Normal is above 12. She said technically it was normal but lower than they liked so if I got a BFP to call to start taking progesterone. Picked up my supply this morning.

Someone had asked above an estrogen surge before an LH surge to indicate O was about to happen. We've been using a fertility monitor for the past few cycles and I always go from low fertility to peak. I seem to skip high. Peak measure LH and you know you'll O in the next 24-48 hours. High measures the estrogen surge and indicates that the LH surge should happen soon. I talked to a nurse and she said that I must have a very quick estrogen surge that goes directly into an LH surge. Who knows.

Thanks ladies for all the support. Please think sticky thoughts!!!

[julesp313]

OMG, it's fall already? Maybe someone should tell the Vegas weather that - it's gorgeous today, breezy and sunny, but still well in the 90's.

Karla - thanks for setting up the new thread!

TravelGirl - what a great start to the thread! Congrats, and I'll defiintely think sticky thoughts for you.


Insurance - I think I'm in the same boat as most here. My insurance will cover any diagnostic test, including the HSG that I have scheduled next week, as a lot of the tests are not strictly IF tests but can diagnose other health issues. What my insurance won't pay for is any assisted reproduction - so if we do IUIs, we may get coverage for ultrasounds but won't be covered for the actual IUI, sperm washing etc. I wish I lived in a state that mandated IF coverage - does anyone know what those states are???

[DallasLady]

Yay for a new thread!

I have been kind of quiet... nothing new to report. I finally O'd and now I am just not-so-patiently waiting for AF to show up so I can start my first IUI cycle.

Can you please update my stats:
Dallas Lady
Me - Giovanna (25)
DH - Tony (39)
Married - 9/01
Charting - 11/2002
TTC - 1/2005
Issues - Low sperm concentration (13mil/ml) and low morphology (6%
Kruger)
First IUI cycle- Sept. 2005
Ovusoft Chart (http://www.ovusoft.com/forum/chart.asp?id=giovanna)

Thanks!

[karlatta]

OMG, it's fall already?

Heh, not really. But I wanted there to be a distinction in thread titles (so we wouldn't get confused with the old thread), and I thought "fall" was more applicable than "summer". We're still in the 90s here too. :)

TravelGirl - Congrats! I'm so happy to be able to put a name into the section congratulating BFP's of the thread!

DallasLady - You're all set. Let us know if you have any questions about the IUI before it happens.

[jennylou]

Congrats travelgirl! What a way to start off a thread. :)

Just rec'd an invite to a baby shower for Oct 1st. It's for a friends daughter. It's also my best friends cousin. If my best friend makes it (she's supposed to be moving back from GA to PA) then I will go. Otherwise, I'll probably just send a gift. Hopefully, I'll be pregnant by then, because I don't know how well I'll handle it otherwise.

[ag05]

Since we have a new thread I would like to go ahead and update my stats. Thanks.

ag05
Me: 32
DH: 30
Married 5/01
TTC since 1/04
Clomid 50 mg 5/04
Clomid 100 mg 6/04
Clomid 150 mg 7/04
Clomid 150 8/04 - pregnant
11/04- missed miscarriage w/ D&C (13 weeks)
Clomid 150 mg 2/05 - pregnant
2/05 - miscarriage (6 weeks)
Started seeing RE 5/05
Known issues - Compound heterozygeous MTHFR, mild PCO pattern
8/05 Femara 5 mg/Ovidrel shot
9/05 Femara/Ovidrel shot

[karlatta]

Ag05 - You're updated.

Question - Has anyone missed a dose of Clomid or Letrozole before? I accidentally missed last night's dose. (I take it from CD3-7. Yesterday was CD6.) I took this morning's pill. Should I just continue on my normal schedule and take one extra pill on Monday morning? Anyone know what, if any effect, a skipped dose may have? Thanks!

[jennylou]

karla - I've missed a dose by about 12 hours before, but never a whole day. It was the cycle I got pregnant. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[Nigellas]

TravelGirl - Fabulous news! Congratulations! :D

suzfuzsunflower- I definitely sympathize about the shower. I come from a HUGE family (my mom's from a family of 10 and I've got like 70 cousins) and I'm the ONLY married person in the family who doesn’t have children. It stinks.

About insurance- Mine covers the basics but not IVF or IUI.

Can I vent? So I've got this friend... I spent a good part of our lunch this weekend talking about infertility, all of the drugs I'm taking, what a struggle it has been to bet BFN after BFN, etc... So we are shopping after that and I try on this super cute coat that is sadly way too big. So she says "Well that would look adorable if you had a baby belly under there!" WTF. I just looked at her and said "uh, yeah. I'm sure it would." and walked away. Seriously… WHY would she say something like that? Ugh.

Anyone else have a story to share about the stupid things people say?

[Baby Lust]

Threadmistress, can you please update my stats with the following? My age: 23; and 100mg Clomid September. Thank you!!

Congratulations Travel! H&H 9 months to you!

[bottleored]

Catching up from the old thread .....

Thanks karlatta for stepping up as threadmistress! How is that Viagra?
Does your husband know where you're keeping it? ;)

Could you move me back to the 'members' section - we're doing Gonal-F again this cycle. Thanks!

suzfuzsunflower sorry about the shower. I've definitely had my times with showers and being the only one without children. I've welcomed 2 nephews and a niece into the world since I got married. Every time one of my sisters-in-law has a glass of wine, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Suzlywoozly hope all goes well with your retrieval tomorrow!

TravelGirl thinking sticky thoughts for you!

Nigellas Anyone else have a story to share about the stupid things people say I could write a book!

marteneym how is the clomid treating you?

knoelani sorry about AF - the witch :mad:

julesp the evil scheduling person said we have to abstain from sex until then What? It's been over a year since my HSG and I don't remember anyone ever saying that. What does sex have to do with your tubes being open or closed? Good luck with the procedure - take some Advil if you can!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, we decided to get back on the TTC wagon. My levels were back to normal and I didn't want an unmedicated 46 day cycle. We're doing the same protocol - Gonal-F and low dose hCG - because it worked last time. He has me taking Metformin even though I don't have PCOS because there are studies out that suggest it is good for preventing loss. So far, so good with side effects. I filled 6 prescriptions last week. I feel like a drug store. I've literally got a chart to keep me on track.

We're also doing karyotyping/genetics testing. Results won't be in for a month or so.

[Suzlywoozly]

Bottle- Thank you! I need all the happy thoughts I can get right now! I've got major butterflies of the stomach already. Good luck to you starting up on the Gonal-F again. I totally hear you on feeling like the drug store. We had to empty one entire shelf in one of our kitchen cabinets just to put all the "drugs", not to mention the huge rubbermaid container full of needles, syringes and IVF drugs. I would hate to see what would happen if an outsider came into our house.

Nigellas- I'm so sorry your friend was totally insensitive. Some people just don't get it. I don't think a day has gone by in the last month that someone hasn't said something stupid to me (including my own family members)! Just the other day, I was talking to my best friend from high school. I was venting about this stupid RE that was on call for mine. My friend tells me - "I don't know why women are so obsessed with having a baby when there are a ton of older children in the world that need parents. Why can't infertile women just adopt them?" :mad: I was pretty pissed at her since she knows I am very hormonal right now, am freaking out about the egg retreival and feeling anxious that this may not work and if it doesn't, we just flushed $13,000 down the toilet. I'm also sick of hearing people tell me that they are going to name my kid "petri" or "dish" if we get pg through IVF :eek:.

[thedoorchick]

Hello! Wow, a new thread while I was away over the weekend!

sunflower, I totally understand about the shower. These events are so hard. My SIL recently had a baby and her shower was one of the most difficult afternoons I've had in a long time (Not to mention, their baby was my IL's first grandchild so of course there is HUGE hoopla surrounding it, meanwhile J and I are still waiting. Ugh.).

Congrats to travelgirl!

Nigellas, people are so stupid sometimes. Even the standard question, "so when are y'all going to have kids" has started to annoy me. There is really just no good time to ask that question. Either the people aren't ready yet, or don't want kids at all, or are trying (in which case it's a rather personal question about your sex life) or are having problems. I mean really, since when is it OK to ask questions about others' reproductive lives?

Had an RE appt this morning. My FSH was normal, HSG was normal, Jason's karyotype was normal, and his SA confirmed the first diagnosis (low morphology). Had a couple of follies not big enough to trigger yet, so I go back on Wednesday. Hopefully we can trigger then and do the IUI, I guess on Thursday. It's complicated because Jason works in an IT call center and can't just come and go during the day. We're trying to sort out how to get the boys to the right place at the right time. That's the thing about this IF stuff; it's just not flexible at all time-wise. That's not a big deal for me but for him it takes an act of Congress or so it seems to get an hour off work.

[marteneym]

Since their are so many of you dealing with people saying stupid things and baby showers, I am just going to pass along a {{{HUGE HUG}}} DH and I had 25people (coworkers/friends) all pg last summer. It was so hard. It was a shower every other weekend and then the babies came. I had a quite a few good cries. There are a few more that just announced pg's this summer. It is neverending. That is why my journal is titled, "When is it our turn?".

bottleored The chlomid is going well. I actually don't have many se's.

The only Se Chlomid seems to be giving me is l ovary cramps in the pm. Today it is atucally starting in the am. WEIRD! I am hoping that means it is working. I am on day 4. One pill left. Opk's should be here soon.

ETA: CONGRATS Travelgirl!

[marteneym]

FYI: The nurse I saw for my appt last week said that Fertility Blend has alot of Vitamin E?. Taking the 3 pills a day with the Prenatal would be to much. I belive FB's website says it is ok to take with a prenatal. She said it can be bad for you. Just thought you would like to know. I know that FB was mentioned before by a few people. Talk to you Dr's if you are thinking about taking it.

[MrsSmith]

Just checking in to say hello. No sign of AF yet for me. So, I'll probably go to the dr. toward the end of the month for the Provera and the Clomid.

Those who have tried Provera before, how long does it take to start your cycle? Were they really long and weird cycles?

Congrats travelgirl!!!:D

[jennylou]

mrssmith - I've taken provera many times. It depends how long my cycle is as to how my AF is. If it's been a long time, it's excrutiating. If it's in the range of 40 days it's not as bad. I've gotten AF within days of taking the last pill and IIRC I've waited as long as 13 days after the last pill...talk about a pita!

[suzfuzsunflower]

Nigellas - I'm sorry that your friend was insensitive. :( I haven't had to deal with anything quite like that - just family asking if we're pregnant yet :( . Seems like that's asked a lot.

mrssmith - I've taken provera before. I've always taken it after long cycles (around 80-90 days). I usualy take it for 10 day, and bleeding begins 2-3 days after I take the last pill. My AF after provera is never bad, even with the long cycle.

I called the doctor today, and didn't get a call back! I'll call back tomorrow. Today is CD 74 or 75, something crazy like that, and I haven't ovulated! I haven't ovulated at all in the past 7 months, at least that I can tell. It's crazy! I want more testing to find out what's wrong, I want to talk about provera and clomid (or something that can hopefully make me ovulate), and I don't want to wait! Ahhh!!! ;)

[julesp313]

Bottleored - I'm not sure why I was told to abstain - Jenny suggested it was possibly to ensure I'm not pg at the test, but if they schedule it for 10-12 days after AF, it's highly unlikely I've even O'd, let alone have a shot at catching the egg!

Nothing doing here. Just waiting for the HSG on Wednesday. Getting a little... not nervous, per se, but maybe anxious? I have a couple of questions if anyone could jump in here - will DH be allowed in with me while the test is being done? I'm thinking no because it's an x-ray. And do you have to wait any length of time before you can have sex again? It'll be CD13 on Wednesday and I'm ready to start BDing like mad people... as I'm sure DH is, being on enforced celibacy for a week!

Reminds me - I must hit the drugstore tonight and get my Rx filled - one for pain meds and one for antibiotics. I'm thinking the pain meds will be most welcome as my tolerance for pain is...oh... about zero. :)

[knoelani]

This sucker moves too fast for me!

TravelGirl~ Congrats!

suzfuzsunflower~ Sorry you had to deal with the baby shower and now not getting return calls from your dr. As for insurance, I'm lucky that my insurance covers 50% of the actual IUI procedure and sonograms. That's it though, we're on our own for everything else.

Suzly~ Good luck with your retrieval!

Karla~ Thanks for setting up a great new thread! I've never missed a dose of the clomid, so I don't know what to tell you. I think I did somehow miss one pill last cycle, 'cause I had one left over, but I didn't count them before hand either.

nigellas~ sorry you had to deal with stupid comments from your friend. I have an idea, maybe we should all get together and write a book on "What not to say".

thedoorchick~ Good luck with your IUI

Nothing doing here, just taking the clomid and waiting for next week. Hope everyone has a great week!

[knoelani]

Karla~ I figure it's time to update...Thanks!

Age: 29
7-2005- No IUI, missed it
8-2005- 150mg Clomid, 1st IUI- Failed
9-2005- 150 mg Clomid, 2nd IUI

[ag05]

Congratulations TravelGirl!

[MrsSmith]

Thanks for the feedback ladies.

I'm a little nervous about starting the Provera because I just got a new job and I have a feeling that it will cause me to be really crampy and uncomfortable. It's been a long cycle, almost 4 months. So, I might wait another month until I've gotten into the job. Then I'll take the Provera and the Clomid together. I'm still going to call for the prescription toward the end of the week. I'll see what the dr. has to say about my timing.

[thedoorchick]

juliesp, I don't know if they let your DH in the room during the HSG or not. Mine didn't come with me because he had to work, so the question didn't come up. It literally only takes about 10 minutes though. As for sex, I don't see any reason you would have to wait afterwards. I didn't want to that same night though, because I was kind of sore.

[julesp313]

Doorchick - thanks for the info. DH actually wants to come in with me, for some obscure reason, but I assume because they take x-rays, he won't be allowed - all that radiation and stuff. I figured on the sex part, the day of probably won't be good, but I was hoping not to have to wait afterwards as we're so close to the window of opportunity!

I have another question - I'm full of them right now, I'm sorry... does anyone do anything specific for dealing with the stress and emotion of TTC? My mother has suggested I look into acupuncture and therapy - I certainly need something, I'm far too focused on this issue and I'm sure I'm not helping things by being so over-wrought.

[TravelGirl]

Thanks Everyone!!!!!!!!!

Jules, Thought I would try to answer a few of your questions.
will DH be allowed in with me while the test is being done?
- No, because it is an x-ray. My DH wasn't able to come with me but a friend did. She was with me the whole time except for the actual test which took less than 10 min. She was there when they explained everything before hand and the results afterwards.

And do you have to wait any length of time before you can have sex again?
I was told no sex for 24-48 hours. She also said to BD like crazy since many women get pregnant within 3 months of the HSG. I'm one of them. I had my HSG done a few weeks ago and got a BFP this cycle.

My HSG was not painful at all. A little uncomfortable but not painful. None of my tubes were blocked so that may have helped. I spotted a little afterwards but not much. Everyone is different but I heard so many horror stories that I just wanted to mention a positive one to maybe help your frame of mind.

does anyone do anything specific for dealing with the stress and emotion of TTC?
I'm a big fan of yoga, massage and acupuncture. My cousin's wife went through 3 rounds of IVF. On the last round she changed doctors and he prescribed she get accupucture to help her relax. She is now pregnant with twins. I do yoga at least once a week and just the breathing exercises help. For me, I tried to treat myself when things got tough like getting a pedicure. Hope this helps!

[Nigellas]

does anyone do anything specific for dealing with the stress and emotion of TTC?

I was seeing a therapist for awhile and that really helped. I also rely on a fat Guinness when AF comes around - Beer therapy. ;)

[suzfuzsunflower]

I am really confused after talking with my doctor's nurse on the phone just now. Background: I've been charting, I am not ovulating, I have long cycles that never end on their own - always provera. Today is CD 75.

I spoke to the nurse and reminded her of all of that. I asked her what could be done to make me ovulate and why I wasn't. She said that maybe my body just doesn't ovulate, and that I should take provera....OK, doesn't provera just cause you to bleed? I asked her this, she said yes, but said that if I have regular 28-30 day cycles induced by provera then maybe....I don't know...I think that she was trying to say that this may cause me to ovulate, but I'm not sure. Would taking provera regularly cause you to ovulate? That is my first question. Second question: Isn't there a reason why I wouldn't be ovulating? Does anyone's body just not ovulate for no reason at all?

I'm just frusterated. The nurse didn't seem to be listening to anything that I was saying. She offerred to schedule an appointment for me to talk with my doctor, but I was so frusterated that I said maybe I would after another cycle of charting...hmmm....maybe I'll call back later and ask for an appointment. I'm frusterated though. It doesn't seem like they want to help me. What they want me to do is take the provera....28-20 days later take it again....28-30 days later take it again, etc. Is that going to do anything?

So I guess I'm off to buy a pregnancy test which I know will be negative b/c I HAVEN'T ovulated!! And then pick up my provera. :( Ahh, this is so frusterating!

I would appreciate any advice! Thanks!

[jennylou]

Taking provera will not make you ovulate. It will bring on a period. Which may kickstart your body into doing it's thing (ie...ovulating). Or, it could do nothing but bring on AF and start another long cycle for you. I would take the provera and ask for CD 3 testing if I were you. You can have your FSH and your LH run. That will be a good place to start. Those levels should be a 1:1 ratio. I have PCOS and mine were way off.

[karlatta]

Would taking provera regularly cause you to ovulate?
My doctor explained it to me like this... if my body was "confused" that cycle about how to ovulate, it was best to user Provera to start a new cycle. He seemed to think that while Provera wouldn't make me suddenly have regular cycles, it might get me out of an annovulatory rut just for right then, and I might ovulate on my own next time around. It never worked. My regular OB/GYN is actually an oncologist, so he's quite concerned with cycle length and things that can up your chances for cancer, and I think that's why he was always pushing for me to use Provera to end long cycles.

Isn't there a reason why I wouldn't be ovulating? Does anyone's body just not ovulate?
Yes. I don't ovulate very often at all. I charted for over a year and only ovulated once. In my case, it is because I have PCOS. This website http://www.4woman.gov/faq/pcos.htm has some details about PCOS in case you want to read up on that.

[MrsSmith]

suzfus - My doctor specifically said that Provera is used for starting a cycle. It is not healthy to have long cycles because that can lead to cancer and other bacterial problems in the future. For ovulation, another prescription was given. That medicine must be taken at a certain time in the cycle, which is why I need the Provera too. Otherwise, my cycle would just go one for months at a time. Hopefully, the dr. will order some tests to give you an idea of what the cause of the problem is.

[marteneym]

Would taking provera regularly cause you to ovulate?
The cycle after I took Provera to bring on AF was my most normal cycle. I ovulated on cd 25. Most of my cycle were 50-88days long some with no o.
A friend of mine was taking provera regulalry starting cd28 to regulate her cycles per her dr. It worked for her and was pg her 3month doing this. I think it is definitley different for each person. For me they started me on chlomid to ovulate sooner. HTH!
Good luck!

[suzfuzsunflower]

OK, thanks everyone. I've been on provera before, and it hasn't worked on "regulating my cycles" quite yet. Maybe taking it every month instead of every 3 months will. I'm kind of doubtful. I guess what I hoped would happen when I called is that they say, "Oh! You still aren't ovulating (they know that I haven't been) - let's fix it!." Instead it was, "Take the provera. Have sex a lot starting on CD 10. Have sex for about 10 days. If you aren't pregnant at CD 30, take provera." Repeat.

Now that was just talking to the nurse. I've seen my doctor a few times, and she seems to be more proactive about things that this. She's ordered blood testing for me before(TSH, some blood disorder thing, and something else), but not the test that you mentioned, Jennylou . I think that I'll call back tomorrow, make an appointment with my doctor, and see about getting the CD3 testing. Or maybe I'll just sit and wait with the provera, since you have a friend that it worked for, marteneym .

Speaking of provera...I went to pick it up, and it hadn't been called in! And it's after 5. Did they forget? Maybe they're just going to do it tomorrow. It sounded like they were going to do it immediately.
Oh, and I took the preg. test. BFN as expected because like i said, I haven't ovulated!!!

Thanks for letting me vent, and thanks for everyone's input! You guys are great! :)

[thedoorchick]

RE appt today...

Had one big follie at 24 (Whoa!). Now I'm nervous as heck that it'll go before we're ready.

Trigger tonight, IUI on Friday. Then we'll see. I have to say, Friday can't come soon enough.

[Nigellas]

TDC - Woooohoooo on that follie! :)

[julesp313]

Thanks to Travelgirl and Nigellas for suggestions and info - much appreciated!

Doorchick - that sounds like a good thing, a large follie (I don't know much about what is good but it sounds good!). Good luck with the trigger and IUI this week. :)

I had the HSG today - not the most fun I've ever had with a man between my knees, but it was fine. Everything is normal - tubes are clear. They nearly cancelled it as I'm on CD13 and usually they won't do it past CD10 in case you're pregnant. So I explained that I haven't yet ovulated and we haven't had sex since AF anyway as I was told by the scheduler not to. They still were hesitant so they had me sign a release saying if I was pg and something went wrong, it's not their fault. Whatever - I know my body!

It was very cool to actually see my uterus and tubes on the monitor - I guess the days when they took x-rays and then developed them are long gone! I only had a little cramping when the radiologist made me turn onto my side and now I feel a little like I do the first day or two of AF but definitely nothing major. In fact, I felt worse from the pain meds my dr gave me than I did from the procedure! I have an appt next Thursday to follow up - we'll see what the dr suggests. Oh, and no sex for 48 hours - DH said he feels like he's being punished. Men are SO penis-happy-focused sometimes!

DH and I have been talking about the next step - he would prefer to wait til after the holidays before we start getting involved with assisted repro, and I can understand why. With things needing meds and timing and dr's visits, it would be a little tricky. Then I have busy season from January through the end of March so we may end up waiting until April, unless the dr has a compelling reason for us to press on with alternatives. Of course, we will continue to have sex (DH would be very unhappy if I said otherwise!) and I'll continue charting. But no decisions have been made yet - I'll wait til my appt and then discuss with DH.

I did call my insurance about counseling - they'll cover 52 sessions per year for a $30 co-pay so I might see if I can find a counselor that specializes in IF issues. There are a lot of counselors (licensed professional counselors is the designation), psychologists and psychiatrists on my "in network" list but I think a counselor would be good - I pretty much just want to talk and have someone help me stay mentally balanced about what's going on. Will also see about yoga classes at my gym, though I'm not sure I can "om" for an hour. ;)

[Nigellas]

jules- Glad your HSG went well. :) Your therapy coverage is fabulous! I only get 20 sessoins per year!

[TravelGirl]

julesp313 - I'm so glad to hear the HSG went well. You do have excellant counseling coverage. You are very lucky.


Well, girls, I've been spotting the past few days. As a result the doctor did a blood test yesterday and said to take it easy and no exercise. Which, is hard for me to do, specially with a 2 year old but I'll do what I'm told. The blood test came back OK. My progesterone was at 40 (I'm on progesterone pills to help) and my HCG came back at 620. I'll have another blood test done tomorrow morning. She said she'd like to see the HCG around 1000. Please say a little prayer for us. I'm hopful everything will be OK but will be absolutely devastated if I miscarry this baby.

[marteneym]

My prayers are with you Travelgirl!

[kemorr]

Ok, a little vent so that I can just get it off my chest and get on with life. My husband and I are scheduled to go on an all expenses paid business trip, leaving Sunday night. We are being flown on a private jet. Well, my IUI is likely to be on Sunday morning, which would be fine, but if we were going to cancel the trip, we had to cancel today by 4:30 pm or my husband's boss would have to eat the $10,000 that it is going to cost to fly my husband and myself. Anyway, I went into the RE this morning for blood and ultrasound and was anxiously awaiting the results so I would know whether or not we could go on this trip. Anyhow, 4:25 pm rolls around and still no phone call. The RE's regular telephone number has already been switched over to the answering machine, so I called the "emergency only" number for the results. The receptionist was SO bitchy!! She basically said that I was abusing the purpose of that phone number and that the nurses were still making their results phone calls and I should have just waited patiently. The nurse was quite nice about it, but I can tell that I've been labelled the "pushy impatient patient" and will be embarrassed next time I go in, which of course is tomorrow morning :rolleyes: I felt that $10,000 and my husband's boss breathing down our necks was reason enough to be anxious and call the emergency number. Sigh.

After all that, it is STILL inconclusive about whether the IUI is going to be on Sunday morning or not. They want me to come in for blood and ultrasound again tomorrow morning. So we've had to cancel what was going to be a very nice, free trip! And I just know that the IUI will be done Sunday and we will have cancelled for no reason. This infertility stuff really makes you feel bad and screws with your life.

Ok, vent over....

[thedoorchick]

travelgirl, thinking about you!

kemorr, I'm so sorry! That just plain sucks. What a complete bummer. I think you were totally justified in calling as much as you did.

[MrsSmith]

Kemorr - Sorry to hear that you had stress with your scheduling. I know how horrible it is to have a dr. office that doesn't consider your schedule and timing.

Travelgirl - Prayers are with you for good news with this pregnancy!

As for me, I'm starting a new job on Monday. That's good news. Hubby feels a lot more comfortable going forward with the meds and treatments knowing that our income will start to increase. I've pretty much given up on the herbal stuff for this month. I've given it enough of a chance and there's no sign of AF. So, I'm going to figure out a day in the next week or 2 to start the Provera.

[DallasLady]

Hi all,

I have had a busy, stressful week here at work (I teach 8th grade). But, on the bright side, I am getting geared up for my first IUI cycle. I have my sonogram on Sat. 9/24 and will hopefully have my IUI on Mon. 9/26. I am trying not to get my hopes up, because I know this is not at all a sure thing. I am not taking Clomid this cycle because I seem to ovulate pretty well on my own, but I will trigger. I may take it next cycle depending on how many follicles I produce.

Thedoorchick Good luck with your IUI today! I've got everything crossed for you!

BTW, can any of you explain what I should be looking for during the sonogram? What is a good size for the follicles? How many should be there? Is it possible to have them on both sides?

[kemorr]

Hi MrsSmith and thedoorchick - thanks for the condolences! I'm over it now, I just had to vent and I do wish they were more sympathetic to the impact this has on your daily life. It is hard to make plans when you don't know when you going to have to be near the REs. The receptionist I spoke with last night was rather cold this morning, but I don't care, she's just a receptionist and the Dr. and nurses are all nice. Sorry for venting!

I was so wrapped up in my annoyance last night that I forgot to offer best wishes and sticky vibes for Travelgirl. I hope all is well.

Dallas - my RE says that anything over a 16 is mature, although I know that some places like the follicles over 18. The follicles do still grow for a little while after the HCG shot, so if they're borderline, they may still trigger you. Given that you're not on meds, they will only be looking for 1 dominant follicle. Most people grow lots of follicles on their ovaries during a natural cycle, but usually there is only 1 dominant follicle. Of course, natural fraternal twins and triplets aren't unheard of, so even in an unmedicated cycle, you may have more than 1 dominant follicle. When I was on clomid, I grew 1-2 follies and on injectibles last time it was 3 and this time it seems to be 2-3 (a little dissapointed with this cycle).

[thedoorchick]

Dallas_Lady, thank you! My RE wanted my follicles to be over 18; I had several small ones and one that was 24 last Wednesday. I don't think there's much chance you'll ovulate from both sides in one cycle.

So, IUI was this morning - very exciting! It wasn't a big deal at all; he said I would have some cramping when the catheter went through my cervix, but I didn't even feel it. Probably the hardest part was lying on a slant with all the blood rushing to my head for 15 minutes afterwards!

And another sort of hard part, and my RE is REALLY good-looking, so it's a bit weird for him to have that kind of, um, access. You know? But whatever, he sees it all day long.

It's like the time I went to get a massage and the massage therapist was a really cute guy and the whole time I was thinking, "I'm naked under this sheet and man, is it weird."

[ag05]

Dallas_Lady - As far as the follicle size, my RE's office said that they want them to be at 19 when they trigger. I know that with Femara (like Clomid) I did have them on both sides (1 on each). Good luck.

[TravelGirl]

Just wanted to give a quick update. The spotting seems to have stopped and my HCG jumped from 620 on Wednesday to 1097 on Friday. Very good news. I will continue to lurker and help when I can in this thread but it is probably time for me to move to a new one. Baby dust to all of you out there. Hopefully there is some very good news in your future.

[SAI Ladies]

Updated to here.

Let me know if I missed anything or didn't get it right. Thanks!

[kemorr]

Well, IUI was done this morning. Into the dreaded 2ww.... :)

[karlatta]

Lots of good wishes, kemorr! I'm sorry you had to cancel your trip.

TravelGirl - Happy to see your betas rising! Please continue to keep us updated!

thedoorchick - I agree - the hardest part of IUIs for me is always the laying down afterwards. And my RE doesn't even have us lay on a slant.

DallasLady - My RE looks for at least one follicle to be at least 18mm during the u/s. Then I would trigger a few hours later (that night) for the IUI the next day. You should have several follicles, but probably only one that's large enough to ovulate.

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

CD 14 today for me. Positive OPK this afternoon, and all kinds of crazy pain in my left ovary. (My left side is always over-sensitive... the RE says that it's due to the positioning of my uterus. Even routine ultrasounds hurt when they poke over towards the left.) So O should be happening soon!

[jennylou]

karla - sending good vibes for your IUI!

kemorr - Hope this cycle is it for you. :)

travel - glad to hear those betas are rising. You may find the pregnancy after infertility thread helpful to you. Our old threadmistress, scooter set it up in the pregnancy and beyond forum. Of course, we still want updates here. :)

doorchick - hope your 2ww ends in a bfp!

Dallaslady - good luck with your upcoming IUI. Just about a week, how exciting!

MrsSmith - good luck with the new job. :) I'm sure you'll be anxious to get going on the provera soon. Crossing my fingers that everything lines up how you need it to.

suzfun - were you able to get the prescription? Any news?

Jules - glad to hear the HSG went okay and everything looked good. I can certainly understand hanging back during the busy season of yours. Maybe you could try clomid for a few months before busy season starts? Clomid doesn't have nearly the drs appointments as when you start adding IUIs. At any rate, I'll still pull for ya naturally. :)

knoelani - any update from you?

Well, 3 dpo here. The 100 mg dose was way harder emotionally for me than the 50 mg. I am really, really hoping this is it, so I don't have to repeat this awful emotional draining month again. Eh, only about another 8 or 9 days (or less knowing how I like peeing on sticks) to find out.

[karlatta]

jenny - Thanks for the good luck, but we're not doing an IUI this month. We're trying out just Letrozole for a few months. It's terribly difficult for us to both get time off for a doctor's appointment on the same day. So we're seeing what happens without an IUI. And it's a savings of at least $750!

[knoelani]

kemorr~ That sucks about your trip and the attitude you got at the RE office. Good luck during your 2ww, I hope that missed trip brings something much better to you.

travelgirl~ That's great news about your jumping betas, best of luck and good vibes going your way.

thedoorchick~ Good luck to you too during the 2ww!

MrsSmith~ Congrats on the new job!

Jenny~ Good luck to you too! I'm wishing you the best possible outcome and hope you don't have to do this again. Sorry about the worse s/e this time around, hopefully it's the last time. Thanks too, for asking about me :)

There's a lot of ladies in the 2ww right now, hopefully we'll have a run of good news around here. I'm on CD12 right now, I go in on Tuesday (CD14) for a follie check to see how the clomid did. Last cycle on 150mg of clomid I only had I large follie and didn't trigger until CD20. Hopefully I'll have responded better this time around. I've had a pretty tough week or so, very weepy and just generally feeling down. I'm blaming it on the clomid, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

Good Luck to everyone and have a great Monday!

[jennylou]

karla - whoops! All those other IUIs going on, my bad. Hopefully, even without the IUI, you'll have good news for us soon. :)

There's a lot of ladies in the 2ww right now, hopefully we'll have a run of good news around here.

Here, here! There are lots of ladies that are in the 2WW or close to being there now. Let's have a bang up month and get some BFPs. :)

[Baby Lust]

Hello ladies! Back from vacation and officially in the 2WW! I had horrible O pains on Thursday and Friday and my post-O symptoms picked up on Sunday so I pinpointed O on Friday. We had great BDing timing this month, especially considering I wasn't expecting to O for 2 more days but vacation couldn't have come at a better time this month! I hope that is a good sign!

Hope to see lots of BFPs in the very near future!!

Have a great week everyone!!

[suzfuzsunflower]

Thanks for asking about me, jennylou . I do have the progesterone now, and have taken 4 pills. I have a doctor's appointment next Tuesday morning to see about trying to figure this all out.

Best of luck to everyone in the 2WW! :)

[karlatta]

jenny - Fingers crossed for you! I hope this month is it for BOTH of us!

knoelani - Good luck with your check tomorrow. I hope everything goes well!

BabyLust - Good luck in the 2WW!

suzfuzsunflower - I hope you and your doctor can get something figured out. I know how frustrating it can be to have cycles that don't make sense.

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

CD 15. I think I O'ed either yesterday or today. I wonder how long I can hold off on testing. My sister is coming in town to visit on the 3rd - I'd like to know one way or another by then. (And of course, I'd like it to be positive!)

[ag05]

I went for a follicle check today (CD10) after taking Femara CD 3-7. There was one follicle at 14mm and another at 11 or so. So, I have to go back in 2 days to see how I've progressed. My lining was also at its same borderline thickness (6mm). Can't say I'm thrilled. I'll come back and update after my appointment.

babylust, jenny, kemorr, karla, and thedoorchick - Good luck in the 2 week wait.

knoelani - Good luck at your follicle check.

[Nigellas]

Crud. Just got back from my day 14 femara follicle check. Barely 10mm. That's it. And no signs that I'd ovulated already. This is the second month that Femara has been a bust. Booooo! :mad:

[julesp313]

Lots going on in here... :)

Nothing going on with me. CD19, no O yet (it seems I'm having some late O's lately - late for me, anyway... wonder why?). Trying to make sure DH does his duty while we wait for the egg to drop - he came home from work last night in a foul mood so there was no way I was getting any cooperation from him then! Let's hope tonight he's a bit happier!

I have my dr's appt on Thursday to follow-up the HSG results. I'm interested to see what he suggests next - DH is very reluctant to do anything "invasive" (his term for involving anyone but the two of us in attempted conception) so I will talk to the dr and then talk to DH and come up with a game plan. Hopefully we can find a happy medium - something that gives us a little more "oomph" towards conception but doesn't get DH all fired up about it being too "artificial". Honestly... men! :)

[marteneym]

Dallas Good luck with your upcoming IUI! I hope this does it for you!

Thedoorchick I am so glad to hear your IUI was no big deal. It makes me feel more relaxed about the possibility. Good luck in the 2ww.

Kemorr Good luck in the 2ww.

Jenny and Knoelani Sorry to hear you both had a hard time with the meds this time around. I hope you both end up with BFP's to make it worth it.

Babylust Talk about great timing. All crossables for you! I will be stalking!

As for me:
Friday morning I called the nurse back to get our lab results. My FSH and Rubella came back normal. Dh's SA on the other hand was abnormal.
Count 30mil (normal 39mil+) and the motility 30% (normal 60%). They said that he will need to repeat it in 8wks. If it is still abnormal we will do IUI. . We knew it could be a possibility that it was abnormal due to a Varicocele possible problem. When I mentioned this to the nurse she said that if the second is abnormal they will refer him to Urology and possibly for surgery. Dh is not to excited about this obviously. Basically, due to my irreg cycles and DH's issue we probably wont be able to get pg on our own without some sort of medical help (IUI/Surgery/etc).
I am a little disapointed in this, but am doing ok. I havent cried at all(huge for me) If anything it is just helping me not get my hopes up for a BFP this month. I won't be reading into everything to closely during the 2ww.
As of right now I am still getting -OPK's. I wasnt even supposed to start them til cd12 so I am not concerned. CM has not been great. Normally I have tons but can tell the chlomid has dried me out. I got 3 applications of Preseed which I havent tried yet. Hopefully that will help. That is all for now. We will start Bding consistantly I hope this week. I am hoping for an O soon.

Please update my stats to:
Known issues: Delayed Ovulation, SA issues, Varicocele possible
9/9 FSH and Rubella- NORMAL
9/12 SA ABNORMAL- count 30mil/
motility 30% -repeat in 8wks

[thedoorchick]

marteneym, it is quite an adjustment to go from the idea that you can normally get pg to the idea that you have to have some help. It was for me, anyway (and, the first doctor I talked to was trying to send me straight to IVF!). I'm glad you are working through it OK and that you have some answers to what the problem might be - that is half the battle. :)

julesp, sorry your husband is reluctant; I think for a lot of guys it's sort of a threat to their feeling of manhood or something, to know you need help getting pg.

Nigellas, what a bummer, I'm so sorry! :(

ag05 Hope your next appt shows some progress!

karlatta Fingers crossed for you!

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

As for me, I am just sitting around trying not to think about it. I swear, this is the longest 2WW EVER!

Progesterone check tomorrow a.m. I am sure it will be low again and they'll tell me to supplement. I don't really even know why they're bothering to check it, except that I know Clomid can increase your natural progesterone.

[kemorr]

Thankyou Karlatta, Jennylou, Knoelani, ag05 and marteneym for condolences on the trip and goodluck vibes for the 2ww. Also, goodluck to thedoorchick, Jennylou, Karlatta and babylust in their 2ww. Do you all hate the 2ww as much as I do? At least in the follicular phase I feel like I'm doing something (ie having dildo cams and blood letting episodes frequently as well as daily jabbing with needles), whereas in the 2ww there is nothing to make the time go by. It is just waiting and waiting....

As for me, I had to start Estrace and progesterone suppositories last night to try to prevent the spotting that I always get at 12 DPO. Although my progesterone level is always good at 7 DPO, I always start spotting at 12 DPO. My RE thinks I have rapid fall off of hormones, so the meds are designed to prevent that. And maybe, allow a healthy pregnancy.... The suppositories are truly gross but if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. :)

I'm due to go back Friday for another US and progesterone level. The US is to see how many follicles ovulated.

One question, if I don't get my BFP this month, my RE wants to do a saline hysterosonogram. Have any of you had experience with this? My HSG was the most painful thing I have ever had done, despite apparently normal tubes. Is the SHS as painful?

[knoelani]

kemorr~ Good luck with the meds this time around during the 2ww

Nigellas~ I'm sorry you didn't have any progress with the femara

baby lust~ Hope you had a good vacation good luck to you in the 2ww

Karla~ Good luck to you too, may the luck of the threadmistress be with you!

ag05~ I hope you get better news when you go back in

jules~ I hope you have a good follow up appointment. It can take men a while to understand the scope of all this.

marteneym~ I'm really sorry about your DH SA results. I'm glad you're doing well with adjusting to the news.

I had my CD14 follie check today and had 1 very large one at 26mm. I get my trigger in about 1/2 hour and we'll do the IUI Thursday morning. I was really worried about the timing with a follie that large and triggering tonight, thinking I might o before Thursday. However, I did an opk this evening and it was -, so maybe we'll be ok. Now we just need a good result from DH and a lot of luck!

[Scooter]

Kemorr, ah yes, the suppositories. Very fun. And comfortable, too. Wait till you get pg and have to stay on them most of the 1st tirmester! ;) I did have the saline-infused sonogram, the month after my HSG. My HSG was also a hellish nightmare, so I sympathize with your concern! It was not quite as bad to me, partly because you are not on an x-ray table, you can be on a regular gyn table (and more darkened room). So slightly more relaxing environment, and the cramps were a lot more bearable. But those same evil catheters need to be used as before, and it's basically the same procedure, the main difference being it's an u/s instead of the xrays.

However, since you know the HSG was bad, you can do some things in advance. Talk to your Dr and get 2 prescriptions--1 for a pain medication to take on the day, and 1 for a cervix softener. It will probably be topical on your cervix, but if your cervix is a little softer it helps with the catheter pain. And have hope--I was supposed to have another saline sonogram if my last cycle didn't work out--but my BFP got me out of it. ;)


Good luck to all of you in the 2ww, I'm cheering for you! :)

[MrsSmith]

Good luck to all the ladies in the 2WW!! I'm really hoping for some good news. That'll be just what we need in here to start fall 2005!!

Thanks for the well wishes on the new job. It's been really good so far.

I have a RE appt for 2 weeks from now. I wasn't able to get in at the end of this month. So, that'll have be starting the Provera next month then. She just wants to see me before she writes the script, so it'll be a normal visit, nothing major. So, maybe in another fwe weeks I'll be starting the Clomid and waiting to O!! How exciting!

[jennylou]

Thanks for all the good luck wishes ladies. :) DHs birthday is on Sunday and I'll be 10 dpo, so I'm thinking of testing then...it would make him a very nice birthday gift. :)

mrsSmith - Good luck at your upcoming RE appt.

[ocgatita]

Sorry I haven't even posted in our new thread yet, I have just been way too busy here and work & home :(

Anyways, just wanted to stop by and wish everyone luck, & hoping for some BFP's for those of you in the 2WW!
_____________________________________________

As for me, I am also in the 2WW. According to FF, I am 5 DPO. Not sure if I am even in the running this month as w/ the crazy busy schedule, we didn't BD as much as we usually do around O.

Anyways, good luck to all of you :)

Judy

[karlatta]

Just a quick update from work to let you all know that I'll be out of touch for a little while. I'm in Houston, and with Hurricane Rita, we'll probably be leaving. And even if we don't leave, we'll probably lose power.

I wanted something to distract me from the 2WW - but I didn't want a hurricane!

[knoelani]

Karla~ Take care of yourself and stay safe. If you need to evacuate to Austin, you can come to my house :D

[jennylou]

I wanted something to distract me from the 2WW - but I didn't want a hurricane!
Ack! Best be careful what we wish for. :p Seriously, all kidding aside, stay safe. :) I will say a prayer for you and your family.

[ocgatita]

Karla, stay safe!!! We'll all be thinking of you and praying you guys are safe. Hope to hear back from you soon!

[ag05]

Karla - Oh no. I am sorry you have to deal with the hurricane and will be hoping you and your family are safe.

I had another ultrasound scan today (CD12) and I have one good follicle at 19mm. Another one is a maybe. My lining was 7 or so. Hopefully the lining keeps growing. So, I'm doing the hcg shot tomorrow. I'm flying out of town on Friday for the weekend.

[Baby Lust]

Stay safe Karla!

[marteneym]

Karla, Stay safe. Our prayers are with you!

[bunky]

Hi everyone. It’s been awhile since I have posted in here. Due to a medical condition I wasn’t able to TTC for awhile and so sorta dropped off the map. Now that I am back in the TTC game I look forward to being a more active member of the group. :) Here is an update on me:

I had my first meeting with my RE at the end of June after I had an HSG that showed I had a uterine anomaly and blocked left tube (bicornuate uterus suspected). My RE ordered an MRI that showed that I had a septate uterus which is similar to a bicornuate but has better treatment options. My RE referred me to a surgeon who did a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy in July during which he removed a wide septum from inside my uterus and treated me for mild endometriosis (which was the reason for my blocked tube). We had to TTA for 8 weeks after the surgery to allow my uterus to heal. I am now in my first cycle of TTC with my RE. I had another HSG on Monday that showed that my uterus is now normal and both tubes are clear! I am so relieved and incredibly excited.

I am now on CD 11 and I took 50mg of Clomid from CD 3-7. I had a follicle check today with my RE and I have one 16.5mm follicle on my left ovary. Unfortunately my lining is a little thin (about 6mm) but I am hoping it will grow over the next few days. I go back on Friday for another u/s and if all looks good then I will trigger that night and have my first IUI on Sunday morning.

Good luck to everyone who is the 2ww and congrats to all the recent graduates!

My updated stats:
Me: 30
DH: 31
Married: 10/02
TTC: since 09/04
Off BCP: since 03/04
Charting: since 02/05
Irregular cycles
12/04: CD 3 bloodwork showed slightly elevated LH
05/05: DH's SA normal
05/05: Clomid 50mg - ovulated on CD 16
06/05: Clomid 100mg - ovulated on CD 20
06/05: HSG showed left tube blocked, bicornuate uterus
07/05: MRI shows septate uterus, not bicornuate
07/05: Laparoscopy/hysteroscopy removes septum and endo
09/05: 2nd HSG shows normal uterus and both tubes open
09/05: First cycle with RE; Clomid 50mg/trigger/IUI

[jennylou]

bunky - GL with this cycle, hope it's it for you. :)

ag05 - hope your lining grows some more.

ocgatita - another one in the 2WW...seems like there are plenty of us waiting right now, we should have a bumper crop full of BFPs. :) Best of luck to you.

As for me, I'm 7dpo. I feel very, well almost relaxed this cycle. The last two I have put tons of pressure on myself to be pregnant. This cycle, I figure, if it happens, it happens. If it happens, wonderful. If it doesn't, it's an opportunity for me to try and lose another 10 pounds my Halloween. I'd still really like to know if this is our month (read: hurry up and pass a few days), but I'm at peace with whatever outcome it is.

Have a good day all! :)

[DallasLady]

Dh's SA on the other hand was abnormal.
Count 30mil (normal 39mil+) and the motility 30% (normal 60%). They said that he will need to repeat it in 8wks. If it is still abnormal we will do IUI..

We also have male issues. I would have the urologist do the repeat SA if I were you. They can be very knowledgable about all the details of sperm quality. You said the count was 30mil, was that total count or per milliliter? If it was per mil, that is normal, and if it was total count, you need to know what his volume was to accurately assess is. The motility is a little low, but I didn't see you mention morphology. That is a very important factor that OB's sometimes don't look at.

For reference, here is my DH's numbers (from 2 SA's). His urologist and our RE thinks we have a good chance of being successful with IUI:

11-14 million per milliliter
4-6 milliter volume
44-84 million total sample count
54% motility
6% Kruger morphology
3-4 forward progression

Also, my RE thinks that OB's put women on clomid too quickly, especially when there are sperm quality issues. Unless you are having O problems, just taking clomid might not help the situation if the problem is low sperm count. And since clomid reduces the quality of CM, the sperm are at even more of a disadvatage. This was his reasoning for not putting me on clomid when we were BDing. But since we decided to do IUI, CM is not an issue and if I get a BFN this month, I will do clomid next month.

[marteneym]

Giovanna Thanks for all your info. His count was 30mil per mil. They told me that the norm was over 39mil per mil. The count wasn't their largest concern(many still get pg with those #'s) it was the 30%motility they were concerned about. I did realize after I got off the phone they didnt give me morphology(what exactly is this?). I will be asking at my next appt. They are planning on doing a repeat sa in 8wks. The reason for the possible concern and possible Urology consult in the future is because he was told he may have a varicocele. (more info in my journal)

I am on chlomid due to O issues. We started that a week before he even did the sa. I have 45-88days cycles. Very irreg and some annovulatory. We are trying preseed this month to help with lack of cm. That was a concern of mine. Thanks for sharing your input. It helps knowing their are others going through the same thing. I hope you are able to get your BFP this month without chlomid. Have you done your first IUI yet?

[knoelani]

ag05~ That's good news that your follies are growing...I hope this is a good weekend trip for you.

bunky~ Welcome back and good luck to you this cycle.

jenny~ I'm glad you're feeling calm this cycle, I bet it makes the 2ww easier to deal with!

I had our IUI about an hour ago. Went much better this time, we had a total of 18mil sperm after the wash and my RE said they like to see anything over 10. So that's the good news, his volume mproved, now we just need everything else to work.

[thedoorchick]

marteneym, morphology is the percentage of sperm that are shaped normally. Estimates vary; some say normal is over 12 percent, some say as high as 60. Ours was only 1%, so that is actually our problem in trying to conceive.

knoelani, good luck! sounds like things went well. :)

I just heard from the RE's office and yesterday's progesterone was 15. So, yay for Clomid. That's adequate, but I still want to take supplements. They won't hurt me, and they will give me great peace of mind. I'm convinced that the reason I lost two pregnancies earlier this year was due to low progesterone.

[julesp313]

I must read and post and catch up but I have a quick question that I need info on to talk to my husband:

When you're doing an IUI cycle, how many appointments do you have? Doctor, ultrasound, whatever... and also what is involved? Clomid and trigger injection? More than that?

If anyone can dive in here, I would be really grateful! Thanks in advance - will be back later!

[thedoorchick]

Let's see, for my IUI cycle:

- Appt on day 3 with ultrasound, FSH check and Clomid prescription. I took 5 days of Clomid beginning on day 5. (Also, I had an HSG but that's not necessarily part of an IUI cycle).

- Appt on day 9 for more bloodwork.

- Appt on day 13 for ultrasound. No follies big enough yet.

- Appt on day 15 for ultrasound. One follie at 24

- Trigger on day 15 (evening)

- IUI on day 17.

- Progesterone check on day 21.

[jennylou]

emily - that's great about your progesterone. :) So, when are you testing?

[Scooter]

Jules, the 1st clomid cycle is a little more intensive if you're doing the Clomid Challenge Test. Then it will include all the bloodwork. After that, for me, it settled down into this (let's assume what days the trigger/IUI are going to be on, but it varies):
cd3: baseline u/s
cd10-12: follicle check u/s on one of those days
cd12: trigger (at home or at the Drs, depends on your protocol)
cd14: DH drops off specimen, a few hours later IUI appt
cd28: get a beta in the lab
The follicle check is the wildcard, because if yours are looking great they'll give the trigger & everything is easy. If they need more time to develop, you may need an u/s the next day or two for a followup. So you could have 1-3 of those on just an average cycle.

[thedoorchick]

I'll test next Wednesday, possibly Tuesday night although that will probably be a waste of time.

I'll be out of town Wednesday - Friday but my RE's office told me they can give me locations of places where I'll be, that I can go for a beta. They are so nice! I'll be in NYC, so I'm sure finding a place won't be a problem.

[DallasLady]

marteneym Some places have started using the 39 million/mL number because it is optimum, but 30 is still very good. But you are right, it sounds like motility is their biggest issue. When it comes to IUI, more important than how many you have is if they can swim (motility) and penetrate the egg (morphology). A urologist or RE can tell you if IUI can work for you.

I am not having many appointments with this IUI. This will be my first and so far we think we only have male factor issues. But if this one doesn't work, my next one will be a clomid cycle which is more intense. We are going in on Saturday morning for the ultrasound. If I have a good follicle, I will trigger than night and have the IUI Monday morning.

Question for IUIers: A lady on FF friend said that they only inseminate .5mL of sperm during an IUI, regardless of how many you actually had. I know that they only use the motile sperm, but my DH has high volume pretty good motility, so there could be a lot of motile sperm. If he produces 1mL of motile sperm, will they throw away half of that? I want them to put all the good spermies in!

[Scooter]

I don't think the # of mL is important. They do like to insert about 5million sperm, because the studies suggest that more than that doesn't improve your chances, but less than that isn't as successful. I asked once because the RE made a comment that as long as the specimen is over 5 million, for an IUI it doesn't matter how high or low the count is.

[bunky]

Thanks for the warm welcome back, jennylou and knoelani. :)

knoelani, glad to hear that you IUI went well. I hope the 2ww flies by for you.

thedoorchick, great news about your progesterone.

julesp313 , this is my first IUI cycle and it looks like my schedule of appts is just as Scooter described (with an additional u/s thrown in before the trigger since I didn't have any follicles that were ready to go on my CD 11 u/s).

[kemorr]

Ok, I need some advice girls cos I'm freaking out here a little! (And warning, may be TMI). This cycle is the first cycle that I have taken Estrace and progesterone suppositories in the LP. All other cycles my progesterone is normal at 7 DPO (above 15) but I start spotting at 12 DPO. The Estrace and prog supps are supposed to stop the spotting. Well, last night when I wiped, I noticed a little pink on the TP. I didn't think TOO much of it, but when I woke up in the morning, there was a large amount of rust red discharge (blood and suppository material) in my underwear. Even my husband commented on how much blood it was. Today, I have been discharging thick, rust red blood, one small clot and pink on the TP. I rang the nurse and basically she had no explanation. She said "well, that's why the Dr. has you on all these hormones, to prevent the bleeding." But I never, ever bled like this (in a year of TTC) until I started these hormones!!! She told me that the Dr. said to use the Estrace vaginally, rather than orally and I have to go in tomorrow for blood and ultrasound.

So, have any of you experienced bleeding caused by the suppositories? I'm so frustrated that all this sh*t I'm shoving up my hoo-ha is meant to make things better and it seems to have made things 100x worse. I'm really hoping it's cervical bleeding, not uterine, but who am I kidding. :mad: I'm mad, sad and frustrated right now!

[julesp313]

Thanks to Doorchick, Scooter and Bunky for the IUI info - it looks like anywhere between 4 and 7 visits to the doctor/lab/whatever is a good guess for each cycle. I was asking so that DH and I could figure out where to go next...

So, my follow-up to the HSG went well. Ish. My HSG was normal - no issues. My doctor, who I love, said they really can't do any more for me now. He won't put me on fertility drugs because I'm fertile - he said why add more things into the mix that don't need to be there? We essentially have two options - keep trying or go to an RE. The one he recommended who he says has the highest sucess rate in Las Vegas is thankfully on my insurance (they will cover office visits and diagnostic testing, just not assisted reproduction) though a bit of a drive from home. So I said I'd talk to DH and decide what to do.

DH doesn't want to involve an RE just yet - he thinks we should give it a bit more time. My concern with the RE is that, given how popular this one dr is and how long it may take to get an appt, we could end up starting with the IUI cycles towards the end of the year. I have my busy season from January through April and it would be extremely hard to get time off for doctor's visits - not only would the company frown on it, but I would suffer as I'm leading several jobs and need to focus on them. Sooo. Long story short, DH and I have decided to keep trying and wait til April before visiting the RE. As there is nothing medically explaining why we're not PG, there is a chance we could get pg between now and then. Maybe. I really need to get my head into a more optimistic place! My other worry is the toll that this may have on my marriage - I already have enough on my plate with work and the CPA exam looming and DH is working hard at his job too, we could really use a break from me being all-focused on TTC.

So, bottom line - we're Still At It, I'd really like to stay here with you guys (I learn so much!) but we won't be moving onto the next step until April. Phew. :)

[marteneym]

the door chick Thanks for the morphology info. I thought that's what it was. I will be asking about it at my next appt.

Dallas Good luck with your IUI!

[Nigellas]

julesp313 - Your plan sounds like a good option for you both. One word of advice- Some REs have a new patient waiting list that spans for months. You might want to consider making your appointment rather soon to be seen in April.
:)

[bunky]

julesp313 , I agree with Nigellas about making your RE appt for April well in advance. I would hate for you to have to wait even longer because you couldn't get an appt when you want one.

DallasLady , I hope you have a good size follicle and can trigger over the weekend.

Quick update on me:
CD 13 and I had another follicle check u/s with my RE today. My lining improved to 8.3mm and the follicle on my left ovary grew to 19.5mm. So I am triggering tonight and will have my first IUI on Sunday morning. I am so excited!

I hope everyone has a good weekend. :)

[suzfuzsunflower]

Just wondering...
I have taken progesterone before to end a cycle, but I don't remember being so tired. Is it possible that the pills can make you really fatigued? Maybe I'm just getting sick. Thanks!

[Scooter]

Sunflower, yes, extreme fatigue is one of the most common side effects of progesterone.

[DallasLady]

It looks like I am going to have another long cycle. No IUI for me on Monday (CD16) like I had hoped. My lining was only 5mm thick. I had one follicle on the right that was 10mm, and one on the left that was 12 mm. I am going back in on Tuesday for a second sonogram. They also found a small fibroid near the entrance to my uterus, but she said she thinks it is no big deal.

BTW, now I get why many of you call that thing a "dildo cam!" :D

[SAI Ladies]

Updated to here.

[karlatta]

I'm back!

We tried to evacuate, but long story short, we ended up in one of those huge traffic jams trying to get out of town. We were in the car for 17 hours and ended up just 60 miles from home, so we turned back. We weren't in a mandatory evacuation area, and the storm had turned away from us, so we felt safe going back. The storm ended up pretty much missing us entirely, which we feel very fortunate about.

Anyway, my TTC Update - CD 20. I think I O'ed on CD 14 or 15 (and would be 5 or 6 dpo), so I've got a bit before I can start testing. I'm feeling better about this cycle than the last, so I'm doing Progesterone this time around. (Last time I was convinced that I wasn't PG, so I didn't want to waste money and deal with suppositories.) I'm really hoping this cycle is it.

Now that Rita is gone and done with for our area, I'm sure I can keep in better touch. Thanks for all of the good wishes and thoughts while we were going through that!

[jennylou]

karla -glad to hear you are safe!

As for me, 11dpo here. I should start spotting today. I'm just waiting on AF, as I'm totally not thinking this is our month.

[ShelbyMay]

Good news: After getting the run around from the bride-to-be, I've decided to turn down the photography job and continue TTC. I think AF is maybe about a week away, so hopefully I will O in 3 or 4 weeks. :)

Please add me back to the "roster".

[julesp313]

Nigellas and Bunky - thanks for the suggestion to call the RE way ahead of time. I'm definitely going to take that advice and give them a call this week to see what sort of wait list they have. After all, I can always cancel an appointment if it turns out not to be needed, but I'd hate to figure April is a "go" and then find out it takes six months to get seen!

Karla - glad you're safe and sound! Scary stuff, this Mother Nature... :)

As for me, I finally O'd on CD22 - my latest ever. It's weird - last month was two days later than normal, now five days later. I wonder what's going on? I sure hope my body isn't starting to freak out and do weird things, but you never know. We were away this weekend in LA and one thing and another, didn't really BD at the right time so I won't be holding my breath on this cycle!

ETA: DallasLady, I remember my first ultrasound and thinking the exact same thing! :)

[DallasLady]

julesp313 When DH saw the vaginal sonogram camera he said, "Man, we need to get you one of those!"

I have my next sono tomorrow at 8am. I am hoping my 12mm follie on the left is is 20, and I would love it if the 10mm one on the right grows as well. Though since I am not on clomid, I am not counting on it.

[SAI Ladies]

Updated.

[marteneym]

Bunky Hope your IUI went well. Good luck in the 2WW.

Dallas Sorry you werent able to do the IUI as you hoped. I hope your follies have increased at your next scan. Good luck!

Karla Glad to hear you are safe. How scary! What DPO will you test? Hope this is it for you.

Jenny Sorry to hear about spot! :( Hope it goes away.

Shelby Sorry the job didnt work out, but Welcome back to TTC.

Still no O. I had a darker but not positive OPK last night and EW this morning. DH has been sick so I am hoping we can BD tonight. Definitely lacking this cycle. I can't wait to go home and take my OPK tonight.

[bottleored]

Catching up ....

travelgirl congrats on your beta #s!

nigellas sorry Femara has been such a bust for you!

ag05 hope all is well in the 2WW!

knoelani best of luck this month!

thedoorchick fingers crossed for your beta this week!

kemorr I don't have any experience with the drugs you are taking, but I do hope you are o.k. What happened with the b/w and u/s?

bunky welcome! How did your IUI and trigger go?

suzfuzsunflower I'm taking progesterone now, but I take it at night so I haven't really felt too drowsy. Hope you're feeling better and that it is only the progesterone.

karlatta so very glad to hear that you and your family are safe. Hoping this is your cycle! Looks like we might be testing together - I'm 7DPO today.

jennylou hoping it really is your month!

ShelbyMay welcome back to the roster! Good thing you found out about that bride sooner rather than later.

julesp I did the same thing - called my RE several weeks in advance (I was changing insurance and he wasn't on my old plan). I was happy to learn there wasn't a wait (other than the hours I've spent in the waiting room since!)

DallasLady grow follies grow!!! Good luck tomorrow!

marteneym wishing you O vibes!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
7DPO. Went for my prog b/w at lunch and it was a nightmare. I'm notoriously bad with blood draws, but I think this was the first time I actually cried. After she jabbed me in the arm (I really think she hit a nerve), I told her it was o.k. to draw out of my hand (which I am very used to, hurts, but I'm used to it). Damn it hurt!

I had an IUI on Tuesday. In all of the discussions about IUIs, I never read about anyone havin