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I've been following this thread for a couple of weeks since learning we will be starting IVF soon. I've learned a lot from you all although the acronyms are still confusing.
I'm at the beginning stage right now; waiting for AF to come, so I can start the BCP.
Hoping and wishing everyone's dreams come true this year!
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@bluestriped bee: It can still happen...every body is different! I'm still totally hoping for you that you see a BFP!
@marionberry: Those are great numbers! I bet you guys are feeling really relieved, especially DH!
@justdarling: It sounds like you still have at least a few days to go if they were 12mm and your lining could definitely thicken up a bit in that time. And if not, Viagra sounds like a good option for next time! I am secretly curious about whether it has any other effects for you!
@derevival: Welcome! I'll probably be a little bit behind you but it's nice to have another IVF buddy here! Although I'm doing an IUI w/ injects cycle now, I'm meeting with the IVF coordinator in 2 weeks and another clinic that is supposed to be the best with high FSH, just in case. Hopefully we'll be getting that show on the road in February, March at the latest!
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Happy Holidays everyone! Here's to a great new year for all of us on this thread!!!
I've been away at the in-laws with no internet but I've been following along on my iPhone. Sending lots of positive vibes to everyone!@spaniellove: So sorry to hear about the allergic reaction to the injections and the hassle you had to deal with at your doctor's office. Glad that you were still able to go through this cycle. Is your IUI tomorrow? Or did I miss it and you're already in the TWW?
@marionberry: I'm glad that your husband's test from last week ended up coming back with a negative result. And that he was able to make it through his part of the IUI process. I'm thinking SO many positive thoughts for you two
Keep busy during the two week wait!@kentuckygirl: I hope that everything is going well with your cycle. At this time next year you will replace the meds in your Christmas tree picture with a baby!
@Mrs.Someone: Hope you still have that baby thing hidden!
@ladybee: Hope things are going well with Clomid. Sorry to hear about the frustrating talk with the counselor. I think I would have walked out of the room if someone told me it was my fault that I'm not pregnant. Did you decide to keep using the monitor?
@bluestriped bee: {hugs!} I'm still going to think positive thoughts for you in case it's just too early to tell!
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@Bluestripedbee Ugh, I'm sorry about the bfn
@Derevival Good luck with IVF, I think this thread is awesome at providing support and knowledge when needed!
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@justdarling: I would have been googling like mad if someone told me that Viagra would help me in this fertility journey. Sounds like others have piped in that it can be helpful. I hope this cycle is positive! Good look at the start of next week!
@derevival: Welcome to the thread! Lots of great support here
The acronyms are so confusing - feel free to ask if there's any you're not familiar with. And good luck with the start of your IVF cycle!
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I've been thinking a lot about you guys. It's been a rough few weeks for me. I ended up being pretty sick with a cold during my TWW, and since I was so hopeful this cycle I decided not to take much medication to help with the cold. Well...AF arrived the day after Christmas and I'm still sick. So my one final cycle - after the hysteroscopy - was a bust. And I'm once again trying to accept that I just can't get pregnant without assistance. It's now cycle 17 for me...
You want to know the hardest part about the past few weeks? I found out my sister is pregnant with #2. I swear...I mean, I will be over the moon when any of you announce that you're pregnant. But if I hear ANY more pregnancies announced, I'm just going to explode.
Day 3 work up tomorrow - and then if everything looks good I will start my first Clomid/IUI cycle. I know that I've been working up to this point since August, but now that it's here I'm having a hard time accepting it again. I really wanted that surgery to be the answer.
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Thanks for everyone's support.
Just POAS 13 DPO.... Still BFN.
I'm afraid these twangs of cramps I feel are not conception cramps but AF cramps.
Unless my body is really slow at showing HCG, I'm thinking I will be starting my second IUI cycle next.
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@bluestriped bee: hugshugshugshugshugs! I know this has to be hard...the rollercoaster sucks.
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@bluestripedbee: Huge amount of hugs from me! I have been really not trying to get excited about this first IUI because for many people it doesn't happen on the first try...but your odds get better with each one you do, so I have hope that if this IUI doesn't work, the next one or two will.
@sweettooth: Thank you for the positive thoughts. At so many times in the last month DH and I have been so close to just breaking down, but it has all turned out ok. We're just hopeful now that the IUI works. Seeing as how due to everything else we haven't BD'd at all apart from the IUI, I'm thinking our chances are low this time, and setting myself up for the disappointment.
@spaniellove: Yes total relief that he got the sample done (thank God) and that his numbers were really good. Given our possibly 3 mature follicles, this cycle is not a bust, as we feared it may have been yesterday when he couldn't produce the sample.
@derevival: Welcome to our group and good luck on your IVF! -
Hey all, it's been a little while since I updated here. I've been having a not so great time, and kinda feeling like I needed to take a step back from posting. Plus things were really busy with the holidays.
If you don't remember, I was on Clomid and didn't ovulate, even after going up to 150mg (as high as RE will prescribe) so the cycle was a bust. Last week I had an appointment with my RE and she told me I appear to have some Clomid resistance and that it may work some months but not others. She recommended doing either Femara or injectables.
We had discussed it before going in there, and we talked about the decision more while we were there. Ultimately we decided to try one month of Femara and if that doesn't work we'll go to injectables. She said I have a 50/50 shot of the Femara working.
We've had a lot angst, wondering if we made the right decision. I know that on injectables I have a much much higher chance of ovulating, but I'm really nervous about moving to them. If Femara works, it would be so much easier.
I'm not sure if every practice works this way, but they do a huge amount of monitoring when you're on injectables. She said it might be every day for a while! My arms are already getting beat up from blood work every other day for several days at a time. I'm not sure I could handle every day :-(. It's also a huge expense - $1600 for the monitoring alone, plus the cost of drugs. So I'm guessing around $3k/cycle. And at this point, insurance is covering nothing.
We do have some hope for the insurance though. In MA every health insurance has to offer infertility coverage. They normally cover <35 if you've been trying a year and >35 if you've been trying for 6 months, if you're otherwise healthy. Since I have PCOS and don't ovulate, the doctor thinks it's likely they'll cover me without the age restriction (I'm 34).
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@mrscb: I'm sorry you've been having a rough time lately. I think Femara will be a good start and it sounds like a better way to save money. In OR we have no such law so we've been paying everything out of pocket and it is hard, the expense is so much. I really hope it works for you!
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@sweetooth: No IUI yet, hopefully at tomorrow's u/s the RE will tell me if it's time to trigger or if I need to use the Ganirelix. The holiday announcements can be so overwhelming, I feel you. And you know, it's possible that your uterus needs more time to get back on track after the surgery. So just because it hasn't happened yet does not mean you are broken. But accepting help doesn't mean you are broken either!
@MrsCB: That sounds like a tough choice, but you don't seem to have much to lose by trying Femara first. Then you'll know for sure you've tried everything and if you need to move on to injectibles you won't have to wonder "what if". As for the monitoring...unless there's something really out of the ordinary about your clinic, it's probably CD3, then a few days later, then every other day and maaaaybe every day at the end if they aren't sure when you should trigger. Do they do things differently at your clinic? I'm sorry about your arms!!
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@sweetooth: Good luck with your first IUI cycle. It was hard for me to accept that we had to go there, but it will be worth when you get your BFP!
@bluestriped bee: I am so sorry to hear about the BFN. I think when you start doing IUIs, your expectations that it is going to work is higher so the BFN are a little harder to take. Hopefully next cycle works.
@MrsCB: Fingers crossed that the femara works! I have heard a lot of success stories with femara and I have also heard that there are less side effects than with Chlomid. You are so lucky that you do have some insurance. In CA, insurance doesn't have to cover IF treatment.
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Well, I had cramping all day then AF showed up.
With my good friend getting pregnant on her first month getting off BCP, I'm a little annoyed. I'm not mad at her. I'm just annoyed, pissed, angry on why god or whatever determined the decisions in my life has made my journey to have a family so hard. Beginning to think maybe I'm not meant to have kids. I know my DH has had abnormal numbers with his SA but now im wondering if there's something wrong with me. I keep thibking maybe I have an hostile environment down there or something. Ugh! Happy 2013 to me!
I know I'm just going through the phase of disappointment.
Just sucks ill be in this crappy news over the New Years.
Well, at least I can drink this NYE. Although, I wish I wasn't drinking.
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@bluestriped bee: I'm so sorry! I've often felt like that too...that somewhere I did something so bad it convinced God I don't deserve kids. It's a totally normal reaction and I just want to send you the hugest hug! We're all in this together.
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@Bluestripedbee I'm so sorry, totally natural to have these sorts of feelings after an unsuccessful attempt. But I am 100% confident that it will happen for you guys. It may take longer than you would like but I know it will. I know women who have done the exact same protocol several times before it worked so just bc you didn't get the results you hoped for this time doesn't mean you won't the next time...
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@bluestriped bee: I'm with ya in that phase of disappointment! You're not alone! This morning on my way to CD3 bw & US I just wanted to cry and scream and tell the world how unfair it is that for some of us to have children it takes so much time, money and heart. I'm working through feelings of anger and disappointment too because my sister got pregnant with #2 before I even get to have #1. I thought for sure I'd have one in between her 2...
It's just not fair. Don't let go of the feeling that you are meant to have kids. You are - and you will! {hugs!}
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@marionberry: I know it's probably easier not to get your hopes up on this cycle - but positive thinking never hurts! I'll help supplement in case you run out
@MrsCB: Clomid resistance...now there's something I didn't know was possible. I think your decision to move on to Femara is good. Take the steps that you feel most comfortable with. The money part of all of this really sucks, doesn't it? Makes me wish that since we have to pay for all of this that we should have shorter pregnancies and no complications. Something to balance out all of those people who can just have sex and get pregnant!
@spaniellove: You're so sweet
I should be kind to my uterus and not think that it's invincible 1 month after surgery. I'm having a hard time not feeling broken right now - but I'll get through it. @justdarling: Thanks! I keep dreaming about the day that I get to find out I'm pregnant. Makes me cry right now just thinking about that moment
I hope this cycle is the one for you!
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@MrsCB: We all understand the need to step back at times. I hope the Femara works for you. It is more time consuming and expensive to do injectables. If the Femara doesn't work, I hope that you can get some insurance coverage for injectables! We don't have state mandated coverage here, but my insurance has proven to be better than I expected as it covered my injectables! Thinking of you!
@bluestriped bee: I am so very sorry that AF has arrived. Huge hugs to you and tons of best wishes for next cycle.
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@sweetooth: I also had a hard time accepting that IF is my fate in life. I was extremely hesitant about IUI when I first started seeing our RE in August and thought I would never do it. Well, here I am about to have IUI in a few days. Now that it's almost here, I am completely embracing it and pinning all my hopes and dreams on something I resisted just a few months ago. I hope you find some comfort level too. Hugs!
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@spaniellove: Is your IUI scheduled?
I went for monitoring today and expected to schedule IUI for Monday. Apparently my ovaries aren't on the same schedule. My largest follicle is around 17 so I go back on Monday and we'll decide then when to trigger and IUI. I just pray I don't suddenly ovulate over the weekend. Now worried if New Year's Day will complicate my IUI since I think my RE is closed.
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@kentuckygirl: It's scheduled for tomorrow morning...I was starting to freak out because I had every sign that I was about to O on my own! Tons of EWCM, positive OPK, spotting. So I went in this morning and my biggest follicle had grown from 15 to 22mm in 2 days so they told me to either do the Ovidrel right there or as soon as I got home and come back tomorrow morning for the IUI. Out of curiosity, what CD do you normally O? Are they closed Saturday and Sunday? I know it sounds ridiculous, but do you have any cheap OPKs handy that you can use just in case your LH starts surging? When I told the nurse about the +OPK she lectured me about how I shouldn't waste my time and money but it turned out to be right.
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@spaniellove: Good luck tomorrow morning!
I did an OPK this morning and plan to do them every afternoon and morning, so at least I will know. I don't chart but usually get positive OPKs around CD 13 which will be Monday, so hopefully it works out fine. Just worried about a scenario like yours where there was significant growth in a couple of days. Yes, my RE office is closed Saturday and Sunday. I think they do some IVF, (maybe IUIs) on the weekends but there are only 2 doctors. I think I am also just disappointed since at my last appt the dr. said we'd probably do the IUI on Monday and I got my hopes up for that.
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@bluestriped bee: I am so sorry. I know how disappointing it is when an IUI cycle doesn't work. My husband also had abnormal SA numbers. If you want to talk to someone who's been there, feel free!
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@kentuckygirl: Doing the OPKs seems so unscientific (and it's not like they'll do anything based on it), but it gives you some idea of what's going on. FWIW, it matched up with my usual cycle, so barring any weird growth spurts Monday does sound good. I'd rather have nice steady growth like yours because then you probably won't have scary E2 jumps!
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@kentuckygirl: thank you
I was taking a yoga for fertility class and it was really helping with my state of mind. It ended before the holidays and since then I've been missing that outlet. I don't think I realized how much it was helping me cope. I wish you so much luck with this IUI cycle - I'm glad you have found comfort in this crazy IF world. Thanks for sharing some of that hopefulness I hope everything works out with the weekend hours and holiday. Call today to make sure you know what to expect if Tuesday is your day. I would think there might be a plan B if the office is closed?- - - - - - -
I just got the call from my RE office that my bloodwork and ultrasound are normal, so I start Clomid tonight! I already scheduled my day 12 appointment and my ovidrel shot arrived on my doorstep a few hours ago. This process goes from boring to overwhelming in a heartbeat! -
@kentuckygirl: Do you ever call and talk to the nurses? I wonder if you can confirm when they're open and available for IUI/monitoring over the next several days, and what the options are for you in case things move quickly or slowly for you.
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@sweetooth: Things can really turn around so quickly! That box is overwhelming but it also represents hope for a new cycle! I'm sad that your fertility yoga class is over; I remember hearing about how awesome it was. Is there another one starting soon? Or is there another type of outlet you'd consider looking into?
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@spaniellove: You're so right! I go from being bummed about the arrival of AF to seeing glimmers of hope attached to the possibility of a new (POSITIVE!!) outcome with the help of medical assistance.
I did find a yoga studio that I may start going to more regularly, but I really liked the environment of the yoga for fertility group. It was yoga practice and IF support/therapy all-in-one. I was debating signing up for phase 2, but I bit the bullet just now and jumped in. It's one cost associated with IF that I can handle and not resent.
Are you still meeting with a therapist? Do you have any other outlets?
Also, did you carve out a little dedicated space in your fridge for all of your meds?
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@sweetooth: I still see my coach although lately I've been questioning whether it's not the right match or I need to make better use of our time. But I have found it helpful to do Circle+Bloom meditations daily and listen to really soothing spa music! Pandora has stations called Relaxation Radio and Spa Radio that are great for relaxation.
And the meds...other than the Ovidrel they didn't have to be refrigerated but I did arrange all the supplies into a pretty wicker basket that sat out on the kitchen counter! We tried to keep that whole side of the kitchen free of clutter so I could just wipe down the counter, and it was a pretty space I could actually look forward to being in every night. You don't have to do too much with the Clomid, but it's nice to create a little ritual to soothe yourself and feel like you're really accomplishing something!
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@sweettooth: Yay for getting the Clomid started! It's definitely something to get you excited for the next cycle.
@spaniellove: Good luck tomorrow! I can't wait to hear about your DH's sperm results. With giant follicles I think you're destined for good news! -
@marionberry: Thanks! Everything went well this morning. DH's post-wash count was 11 million which was pretty good although I kind of wish we'd known before yesterday that we'd be doing this today...we only abstained for a day. Oops!
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@spaniellove: my dr said anything over 10 million was good. Plus the fact that you already have sperm up there is going to help a lot. Given DH was getting over a cystoscopy he had, we didn't get to BD at all before or after the IUI, which is super disappointing, but next month we'll definitely BD a day or two before and certainly afterward!
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@spaniellove: Yay! Glad your IUI went well!
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@Spaniellove Glad everything went well! I think only abstaining for a day is perfect, we were told 24-48 hours so you're golden!
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@kentuckygirl: Hey how are you feeling? Hope you're hanging in there and your follies are nice and ready!
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@Spaniellove: I am so stupid for continuing to chart. I had temps going up, but now two temps going down. Really don't know what to make of it...no sore boobs has me scared that my progesterone isn't kicking in.
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@spaniellove: Thanks for checking in on me. I am trying not to worry (I am a bit of a worrier). I had pain in my right ovary Friday night (which is where my larger follicle was) and haven't really felt pain since then. Now my Wondfo OPKs seem to be getting lighter, and are definitely not getting darker. I keep telling myself to trust the dr. but I am worried that I might have O'd early. I have not seen a positive on a digital OPK but my darkest/close to positive Wondfo OPK so far was on Friday morning. However the test is a little weird, the edges of both lines got darker than the middle, so I wonder if that test was off. Today is CD12, although I would have counted it as CD13. (AF started on 12/18 around 4 pm but the RE said since it started that late to count 12/19 as CD 1.) I know I am rambling but I can't talk to any one else about it. To say the least, I am anxious to see what my ultrasound tomorrow shows.
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@marionberry: Do you normally get sore boobs after O? I don't really get sore boobs so I just wondered what is normal for you.
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@kentuckygirl: I would definitely trust your doctor. Given no truly positive opk I'm sure you're safe. Plus even if you ovulate today you could u/s and IUI tomorrow at your appointment. I have faith it will all work out!
I do usually get sore boobs the entire TWW, so not having them seems weird to me. I've been looking at charts on FF with IUI and there are pregnant charts who have done what my temps are doing, which makes me feel slightly better...but I was really hoping for some big skyrocketing temp jump like I usually get.
I've been away at the in-laws with no internet but I've been following along on my iPhone. Sending lots of positive vibes to everyone!
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