The Official TTC for 6 Months or More Thread

[Sha]

Fisher - that's beautiful! What a lovely way to remember your little Miracle. Will keep praying for you and the new little Miracle growing inside you.

Curly - yayy for pregnancy symptoms!

Tammy - hope the surgery goes well today!

 

[BrightSpot]

Fisher, beautiful bracelet! I'm glad to hear you're feeling more hopeful than fearful at this point. It is so hard to keep fear at bay after a loss, but your faith is inspirational. Hugs & lots of dust to you!

Tammy, thinking of you today. I hope it goes well & your recovery is easy & smooth!

Hi to everyone else. 

Afm that I was to sleepy to post last night...It's been a rough time lately. The due date for my first pregnancy was 9/9, which was rough. 
We also had our first consult with a new RE. I liked that he listened to me & didn't seem to gloss over my pcos & said it did affect the treatment plan, which I appreciated. It did make me a bit depressed about the egg situation for a woman my age. He is a also recommending IVF with pgd, like my last RE. (specifically a long protocol with a lupron suppression phase before stimulation)  I still have to meet with the office manager to discuss finances & am really hoping a cycle with him isn't much more expensive than with my previous RE. I think IVF will be our next step & it really scares me. The emotional, physical & financial toll will be heavy. I just hope it works!

 

[CurlySue]

Fisher, I love the bracelet! I can relate to a lot of what you wrote, and it's helpful for me to read. A prior loss definitely *can* take away a bit of the joy, but I feel like in place of the joy I have an abundance of appreciation for the positive signs and symptoms. Today, I'm 6w6d, and last time, our bean stopped developing right around this same time. So every day when I'm in the shower, I urge this little one to keep growing, to keep fighting. I hope you and I both have wonderful u/s next week!

Bella, congrats to B for making the transition to his own room! What a big step! And definitely good news for your TTC efforts.

Bright, huge huge hugs to you. 9/9 must have been a rough day for you. I'm so sorry. On a positive note, having a doctor that you feel listens to you is such a good thing. I hope the finances work out for you. I'm sure it's scary. You are a strong woman, and we are all here to support you and cheer you on.

Thanks for the support, Sha... and good luck, Tammy!!

 

[tammy77]

Hi girls,

I'm out and resting. Dh is getting my medicine so I thought I'd updated. Surgery was not bad but the news isn't great. they removed some mild endo but one of my tubes is useless. I'll write a proper post later. Sorryy

 

[Bella_mezzo]

HI Tammy,

I'm glad it went well and sorry for your news. FWIW, I know many one tube wonders who got pregnant. I think NEL is one of them, and IRL I know several! Most of them got pregnant pretty quickly.

xoxo,
bella

 

[BrightSpot]

Tammy, I'm glad surgery went well & hope you're taking it easy & feeling ok today. Please keep us posted. 
That's great that they removed some endometriosis. I'm sorry to hear about your tube though. Hugs. I agree with Bella that it's certainly possible to get pregnant with only 1 tube. Did you discuss this with your doc, or is this something for a follow up appointment? I hope that having this info, while not pleasant, can help you form a better plan to move forward & get your bfp. 

Curly, thanks for your support. It's definitely a scary, uncertain time but I'm hoping & praying for the best. 
How are you feeling? I hope all goes well at your u/s. Keep us posted!

Hi to everyone else!

Afm, my dear friend was in town for a visit. We had a great time & it was a welcomed respite from fertility stuff. He left today though so it's back to the usual now. 

 

[tammy77]

Hi girls,

Posting from my phone again today. So I have a unicornuate (sp?) uterus, left horn isnt there. It's also my left tube that is for all practical purposes, absent. So it makes sense. Thing is, I also had bowel adhesions and endo around the right (good) ovary. I also had some endo in other places but don't have the report with me at the moment. I am assuming that the left tube has always been like this and I apparently just got extremely lucky with my girls being easy ttc. The good news is my right tube and ovary are both perfect. My uterus, even though it's abnormal, doesn't sound like a barrier for conception.

My doctor was wonderful and I'm so glad I got the surgery. He knew we were moving to a new doctor, so he actually printed out pictures of all of the relevant findings (about 10 in total) and wrote remarks for them. He also gave me a copy of the findings. I go back for follow up on Monday, and at that point I'm going to talk about our options. I think that since I only have the one tube, we need to be fairly aggressive about this with my age creeping up. So I am thinking of asking him for a referral to a good on/gyn up here to do one ore two monitored cookie cycles. If those don't work, then one or two iui and pray that they work. That's definitely our final option. Ivf just isn't in the cards for us.

Sorry for the novel that's all about me. I just wanted to give the whole update. I hope everyone is doing well. I'll be back this weekend. I'm feeling less pain from the gas, which was awful. I couldn't lean back at all, but this morning I was able to recline a bit, yay! All in all, not bad.

 

[BrightSpot]

Tammy, so glad you're feeling better & that your doc has been so thorough. Sounds like you guys have a good plan to move forward.
The monitored cookie cycles sound amazing!!
Seriously, though, I think the removal of the endo & a more aggressive plan to move forward is great! I'm so hoping that's the ticket for you, dear friend.

 

[tammy77]

LOL what's worse about it is when I read your response I thought "haha she must have meant clomid and her phone auto corrected!" then I re-read my post...bwhahaha did I mention they gave me good pain meds?!

Thank you so much for the laugh and for your constant encouragement, bright (and everyone else too, of course!). I feel like this is a safe place to meltdown, but also a huge source of encouragement and knowledge. Without all of the info and feedback from all of the wonderful ladies here, I don't think I would have pushed for tests. I know there are still no guarantees but I think the feedback and shared experiences make it more likely that we all will eventually have our healthy little babies. If I'm not making sense, please feel free to poke fun at me. I'll just blame my phone and the meds again!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

T,

Truth be told, I was going to ask what a cookie cycle was, because I hadn't heard of it & thought it waas some funny acronym.

I'm glasd you have more info now. I know a few girls who have children & have one tube that is gone or blocked. It does happen. Now they can monitor & see when you are ovulating from the correct side & focus on those cycles. Having gotten some endo out is fabulous! Keeping yu in thoughts & prayers!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

FYI-b/c this had not happened to me before...I had accupuncture today, was really sensitive (all the needles hurt for a bit), but then relaxed so much that I fell asleep, and now I am SUPER emotional (like cried for an hour after reading Marcus Samuelsson's biography and had a huge fight/discusison with DH)...so, accupuncture is definitely doing something, but I am going to bed now before I self destruct. Hopefully after some sleep I'll be in a more stable place!

 

[BrightSpot]

Tammy, I figured your autocorrect was to blame, but the idea of a monitored cookie cycle has kept me gigging for several days. Chocolate chip, days 3-7? Oatmeal raisin, days 4-8 followed by an ice cream trigger? I have tried several different cookie protocols, which have been ineffective for me (but everyone's different...). Perhaps my monitoring was insufficient. 
Seriously, though, I'm really glad you're moving forward with some intervention. I suspect it won't take long for you to get your sticky bean. 
I'm so glad we can be here for each other during this trying time. Big hugs to you. I hope you're feeling 100% today. 

Bella, that's interesting about your last acupuncture session. I've had something similar happen with both acupuncture & yoga in the past. It's almost like I get really relaxed & let down my guard, then I'm more vulnerable & also more easily irritated, if that makes sense. Are you still enjoying the yoga? I hope you're feeling more relaxed lately!

Ltl, are you still around? Hope you're doing well. 

Sha, anyone else lurking? Come out & play. It's gotten quiet around here lately (for the best reason, though!)

Afm, we visited my family this weekend to celebrate my grandma's 95th birthday. She's an amazing lady & I'm so lucky to have her. 
My mom has really been pressing me
for more info on ttc related stuff & it's getting overwhelming. She also wants to visit & go to all of my doctor's appointments with me. I know she's trying to be supportive but this is really stressing me out. I'm hoping she can give me a bit of space.  

 

[Bella_mezzo]

hi bright, so interestnig that that happened with you too.

I ended up getting a random day of period bleeding yesterday (a week after my period ended), so I think there was some crazy strong hormone thing regulating itself too, but yes, I think that actually letting my guard down after getting so relaxed in accupuncture triggered a lot of vulnerability...weird...good, but weird...

 

[monkeyprincess]

Tammy, even though the news wasn't what you were hoping for, I'm so glad you sought out help and now have a much clearer picture of what is going on with your body. As hard as it is to hear, I think it is much better to have the information and know what you are up against as you continue to TTC. And the fact that you still have a working tube is great news! I think I've read that having endometriosis removed can sometimes be enough for a woman to get pregnant, because the endometriosis itself can give off chemicals/hormones that inhibit conception, even when you are still ovulating. (That's a really unscientific way of explaining what I've read). Anyway, I hope you are healing well and that you can stay positive. I do think that you will be able to come up with a much more tailored approach to getting pregnant now that you have this information. Hugs!

Bright, ugh, I'm sorry your mom is being pushy. You definitely do not need the added pressure. I'm glad to hear you liked the new doctor you met with, and I hope the rates for IVF are comparable so you can go forward with him. As always, continued dust to you!

Hi to everyone else!

 

[tammy77]

Hi Girls,

Bright, I loved your cookie assortment, mmm! If I didn't already feel like a bloated cow I'd probably be sent into a baking frenzy after your description. I'm sorry that your mom is being so pushy. Would telling her that you're taking a break work to get her off of your back if you don't want her to come to your appointments? At the end of the day, it's far more important for YOU to feel less pressure and emotional strain than it is for her to be in the loop. At least that's what I think!

Bella, interesting indeed about acupuncture. I'd love to try it sometime, but I'm still weirded out by the needles. I know they're tiny and it's just a mental block, but still! I'm sorry about the random AF.

MP, I know you're right. Thank you for continuing to check up on all of us over here.

AFM: I'm feeling better, but there's no way I could go back to work just yet. I was finally able to stop taking the vicodin, just motrin. The gas is gone except for in my right shoulder when I lay totally flat, but my tummy muscles are SO sore. I just underestimated the procedure I guess. He did have to make an extra incision, but I doubt that's why I'm taking longer than I anticipated to heal. I'm a wuss I guess.

I had my follow up appt with him yesterday. I didn't learn a whole lot more than we already knew from the brief rundown he gave my DH, but it was nice to talk to him. He said that the endo was mild, but could definitely have been causing me problems. The endo was on my good side too. I've read a lot about the one tube drifting over to pick up the egg from the other side, but that just seems unreal to me.

At this point, he strongly suggested that we find a good RE where we live now. I wanted him to give me clomid and let me get started ASAP, I didnt want to hassle with finding a new provider, etc. but everything for a reason. As it turns out, there is a GREAT RE literally 5 miles from my house and I already booked an appointment with her! I spoke with her assistant for a good 15 minutes about my situation, she gave me some basics on the financials (I asked) and I told her what I was hoping for - clomid. She surprised me by saying that the dr would more likely have me take Femara because it's been shown to work better and have less side effects, plus a trigger shot after an u/s to check my response. I might be wrong, but that gave me a really good feeling - it seems like they're forward thinking and it means a lot to me that the people she (the doctor) have working for her are knowledgeable! So I'm really excited and hopeful. My appt is for Oct 29th, at my request. I need to get my insurance situation worked out so I can't catch the next cycle. At least I can get in there before the beginning of my 3rd post lap cycle, hopefully that's soon enough.

Sorry for the novel. It just feels really good to be back in the drivers seat, so to speak.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Tammy,

I hope you're feeling better each day. I'm glad you have some new avenues to try. I will be thinking of you & looking for positive posts soon.

Faith, girls. I have it for all of us.

 

[drk]

I haven't been on here in ages (I'm Kara's Mom which someone mentioned a while back), but got drawn back to check out Fisher's news. Then I had to read page after page to see what was going on with everyone else as I was getting little teasers in the recent posts.

Bella - I'm in anesthesia, and got intrigued by your posts about the procedure. Usually when most in our group do an anesthetic for a hysteroscopy and D&C (and polypectomy), we put an oxygen mask on the patient's face, crank the O2, and then give pain meds and propofol (michael Jackson's favourite) in the IV to put the patient to sleep for the 5 min that the surgeon is actually working. The procedure is crazy quick. I was surprised to hear they intubated you Bella. I guess in teaching hospitals that may be more common, but unless a patient is quite obese, most of us don't intubate or use an LMA.

Tammy - ditto about your procedure. It's interesting that you just now found out about your unicornuate uterus. The fact that you've had two kids before certainly speaks well to you being able to carry another pregnancy. It's great that they could remove some of the endo and free up your tube and ovary. My first pregnancy (which I unfortunately lost at 8.5 weeks) was a femara and timed intercourse pregnancy. I don't think we even did a trigger shot, but your future RE's plan sounds great. I loved femara. The clomid really dried up my cervical mucous and I think had a negative effect on my lining, and that was never the case with femara. It's also rarer to get a multiple pregnancy with femara, from what I read at the time. Hopefully it will do the trick for you!

I've been kind of staying away from TTC stuff, though we've been trying unsuccessfully to TTC #2 for over a year. I had some leftover femara (didn't work), then we did two frozen embryo transfer cycles to use up our four frosties, and unfortunately the first ended in a blighted ovum. DH refuses to go through another IVF cycle, saying that we've already got one great child, and we're getting older, and why should we add more stress to our lives, and what if something were to go wrong. I guess now it's in God's hands. Hopefully he'll do whatever is right for us. I know Kara would love a baby, and I feel bad that she'll grow up alone...

Good luck to everyone still trying!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I'm not sure where to post this.... we had our ultrasound today. Baby has heart rate of 126 beats a minutes at 6 weeks. Elation, elation. We go back in a couple weeks for a dating scan. I have a pic, but don't know if it should be posted here or elsewhere.

The whole theory on gender from early ultrasound our baby defied. Attached not on either side, but more to the right than the left.

There's nothing better than seeing a little flutter & hearing a heartbeat from your sweet tiny baby. This Mama's heart melted today. Kiddo has me wrapped already!

 

[drk]

My vote is for here Fisher!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

yes, here! We need some good news and this is the best!

Drk, great to see you!!! Sorry to hear that the TTC #2 process has been difficult. It's especially hard when you and your DH are on different pages! (my DH and I are in the same situation with adoption--I want to start another one right now and if we're blessed with getting pregnant too, great! We'll have 3 kids but...DH is not at all ready or willing to start the adoption process again right now--though he's all about the TTC process )

I was really surprised re the intubation as I really wasn't expecting that. I know that it took them about 20 minutes to do the scraping b/c there was a lot more tissue than expected, but am pretty sure that I was intubated from the get go. If I ever have to have another one I will be very specific about what is happening. I'm not tiny but am definitely not "quite obese" though if I keep going with this "cookie protocol" it's entirely possible

AFM-I started bleeding again today out of the blue, so weird. It's like 1 day on and 1 day off right now I am hoping that my body is just regulating, am going to talk to my accupuncturist this weekend, and then figure out if I need to call my OBGYN.

I have officially started the cookie protocol-dough or baked varieties...but I think when this batch is all gone I might try giving up all refined sugar both to counteract the recent cookie excess and to see if it can help fertility.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Fish baby's debut on PS. Little, but fiesty!

Baby's on the right, near the bottom snuggled in the sac.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Um, is it just my phone, or did that post HUGE? Sorry if it messed up the page layout for everyone.

He or she sure is cute, though.

Martha has a pic (they gave us 4!) On her dresser in a frame. Kiddo's well loved right from the start.

 

[katamari]

Fisher, so many congratulations on hearing that sweet heartbeat!! So many well wishes to you and Paul!!

Congratulations to you, too, Pave!!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Congratulations Fisher! Continued prayers for you and the little baby! Time to start posting in the JBP thread.

Hoping everyone else will soon have their own ultrasound pictures to show off!

 

[tammy77]

Fisher I'm so glad you posted your little one's picture here and share with us! I am beyond excited for you and Paul! Please do keep us updated and drop in anytime the mood strikes you. You're such an amazing person and your little baby is the luckiest to have YOU as his/her mommy!

 

[BrightSpot]

Fisher, I'm so excited for you! What joy (& relief!) to see that little bean with a strong heartbeat. Post over here as long as you like. 

Curly, is your first u/s coming up soon? Good luck & keep us posted. Hope you're doing well. 

Drk, thanks for checking in.  I'm sorry it's been such a struggle ttc #2. Hugs to you. Dh & I are approaching the 2 year mark for #1 & will likely do our first ivf soon. Lots of luck & dust to you as you move forward. It must be so difficult to go through this all again after having a long road ttc #1. 

Bella, I'm glad Drk posted about intubation. I asked my RE before my procedure & he said they didn't intubate for a d&c so I was surprised they did that for you. How's your voice doing? I hope better! That's so weird about the bleeding. I'd ask your OBGYN about it. 

Tammy, yeah, that's a good idea about telling my mom we're taking a break. I'm having a hard time about what to share if we do ivf. On one hand, it seems like some support would be nice, but I worry we'll be peppered with questions like mad about details/if it took. And it does seem weird that then we'd have to tell people we're pg pretty much immediately. 
I'm glad you're feeling better but sorry the recovery has taken longer than expected. It was actually pretty rough for me too, but I didn't want to scare you with details. 
I'm so glad you have an appointment with a new RE & that your initial
impression has been so positive! My new RE also prefers femara & I've heard a lot of women who have had success with it. 

Mp, good to see you. You're looking great, lady! Not much longer now...

Pave, hope you're doing well & baking away. 

Speaking of baking, all of this cookie talk is giving me serious cravings! Not what I need right now, especially as I just put on my skinny jeans for fall to find they're skinnier than I remembered. 

In other news, we have an appointment with the office manager with my new RE's office to discuss finances tomorrow. I'm nervous as I'd like to move forward with him but hope the ivf pricing is not a lot more expensive than my previous RE quoted us. 

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Swimmer has had wonderful success with femara! I've read it has far less side effects than clomid, too.

I looked at JBP.... seems like everyone's in their second tri. I think I will just peek in here on my ttc girls every now & then for now.

Even while I was *gone* for so long this summer, I had popped in to check in a couple times & you've all been in my thoughts. I look forward to the good news yet to come this year.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Bright, thanks.I do my fair share of whining about being uncomfortable these days, but I'm just so thankful to be at this point. I just wish you were as well. I know it must be so hard to pass your original due date and to be nearing the 2-year mark. I'm sending you dust that your appointment with the office manager goes well. I know you've always been ambivalent about your RE, so I would love for you to be able to move on with someone you feel more confident about. I have to believe that your day is coming and the baby you are meant to have is waiting for the right time!

Tammy, yay, I'm so glad you are almost ready to move forward with a proactive plan! My sister only has one ovary (because she had a cyst that damaged her ovary and it had to be removed), plus she has a bit of endometriosis. She's engaged but not married, and she is already worried about her TTC prospects. But her doctor has repeatedly told her that there are still a lot of options for her to get pregnant, it just might take a little longer. Oh, and I just thought of this. Have you ever heard of Rosie Pope? She has a ridiculous matenrity concierge show on Bravo. Anyway, I think she also has the same (or similar) uterine condition as you, and she has gone on to have three babies, even though doctors told her it was unlikely without IVF.

Fisher, it's funny how the JBP thread has kind of changed from not JBP to definitely pregnant, and the pregnancy thread has turned into a very pregnant thread. It's understandable you are feeling cautious, but I'm just so happy for you, and I think your story gives hope to a lot of women still waiting. Grow baby grow!

 

[Puppmom]

Fisher, we would love to have you over in the JBP thread. You're right though - it seems to have changed over to lots of early second tri gals. I'm mostly too scared to move on up...maybe after my anatomy scan.

I'm thrilled to hear your ultrasound went well! What a relief!

Do you have an official due date? I guess some time in May? What a wonderful time to have a baby!

Tammy, sorry to hear the recovery was more difficult than you expected but glad to hear you're on the up and up! I hope this is the jump start you needed!

Bella, woohoo for B *moving out*. It's hard enough TTCing with a toddler!

Bright, good luck at your appointment tomorrow. I hope you get some good news regarding the financial piece of the process.

 

[JGator]

Yay, Fisher, beautiful ultrasound picture!

Bright, still thinking of you my dear. I'm also confident that your new RE will be able to help you get your forever baby soon.

Tammy, sounds like you have a good plan in place. Congrats on finding a great RE 5 miles away. The office staff really makes a difference so that is a very good sign that the person you talked to was so helpful.

Curly, how is the pregnancy coming along?

Bella, the cookie protocol sounds good. I bought some chocolate chips recently... I'm glad B has moved into his own bed!