The Official TTC for 6 Months or More Thread

[split_shank]

Bright, thanks for the crossing fingers I'm CD 23, maybe 10dpo, if at all. I'm trying to stay neither negative nor over positive about this cycle, as I feel like I made cysts this month, not eggs. I've been trying to just stay busy and calm, as I feel like the stress at work is contributing more to my health than I have realized. If I end up with a BFN, I'm hoping that I can get in with the RE ASAP. I can try to be calm, but I am not patient. I don't want to wait another month in limbo. Not sure if he'd do a round of Clomid though right away or make me cool down for a month. Still doing the Crinone so I'll have to test in a few days rather than wait for AF.

 

[JGator]

Bright, I am cheering for you. Good luck with the IUI tomorrow and the FET next week. I am sending truckloads of sticky, healthy dust your way.

 

[BrightSpot]

SS, keeping my fingers crossed for you! I hope you can get into the RE ASAP. Once this TTC process is in action it's really difficult to remain patient.

Jgator, you're so sweet to check on me. Thanks so much for sending good vibes, dear.

MP, thanks for the support. I'm sure hoping for a miracle too! And you're right that the hormones don't help our state of mind!! I hope you're feeling better soon. Did you get a chance to talk to your NP about the strangely timed bleeding? Are you able to proceed with clomid this cycle? I sure hope so! Lots of dust to you!

SB, thanks for the dust & hugs. Back at ya!! How exciting that you're doing an IUI! And yay for cycle twins! I understand the mix of emotions. It's so difficult to balance your emotions especially with the hormones! I hope this is it for you, but if it isn't, at least you know what stim meds work for you. You're definitely a big step closer to pregnancy than you were last month.
I've been on baby aspirin a few times (not now though I have wound up taking quite a bit of Aleve for my leg this cycle so I'll probably have the same benefit.) The docs have told me it's ok to take baby aspirin for the whole cycle. I think it's up to you to do what makes you feel most comfortable. Good luck!

Hi to everyone else.

Afm, so much for keeping my emotions in check. I was grumpy with poor DH all day then had a crying jag last night. Sigh.

I'm also second guessing myself a bit. When we talked to the doc yesterday & he gave me my follicle count, he said we could push it a few days to get an IVF-like follie count but that probably wouldn't be the most responsible decision. I agreed to go the more conservative route but am now wondering if I should've gone for broke. Of course, we wouldn't want high order multiples but at the rate we've been going, it doesn't seem likely that we'd have enough high quality follicles for that to happen.
Anyway, I've already triggered so it's not an option anymore but I'd love some reassurance that I did the right thing. I've also had some cramping today, which makes me paranoid that I've ovulated before my IUI.

Welcome to my neurotic brain.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Bright, I'll give you assurance that I think you did the right thing. 5-6 follicles is more than enough for an IUI cycle, and since IUI has at least helped you conceive twice, I don't think it would be smart to risk an IUI with more follicles than that. For those of us with fertility problems, multiples are unlikely, but you just never know. And I doubt you ovulated yet if you took a trigger last night since ovulation time is pretty predictable with that. I guess worse case scenario is that even if you did ovulate a little earlier, hopefully some of the eggs will still be hanging around. Hang in there. I've had a few emotional nights this week of crying and taking it out on my DH as well. I think they understand that it all gets to be a bit much once in awhile. Thoughts and prayers headed your way tomorrow and in the coming weeks. Dust, Dust, Dust!

Oh, and my NP thinks it was just the start of my cycle, and I was having premature spotting last week. She thinks my hormone levels maybe dropped too quickly after ovulation. The other thing she mentioned was that I could have had a chemical pregnancy, which delayed AF. I don't think I that's the case though because I took a few HPTs, and they were all negative. I am going to start clomid again tonight, and hopefully add a trigger this month. And yes, I'm feeling much better today. I think it was a combination of a better night of sleep and my hormones evening out a bit (just in time to add more clomid to the mix!)

SS, just a few days longer until you will have an answer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that at least one of those follicles worked magic for you.

 

[royalasscherlover]

Bright, I also think you did the right thing. For all the reasons MP mentioned, plus you are going to have the embryo in there too. And as you helpfully reassured me a few days ago...quality, not quantity. I hope everything goes smoothly with the IUI today and the FET later in the week. The emotions are so tough, but at least you'll soon be in the 'less intervention' part of the cycle and can hopefully focus on other things for a bit. Keeping everything crossed for you. Oh, and thanks for the baby aspirin info.

MP, glad you are feeling a bit better. Sleep helps so much! I hope the Clomid doesn't rock the boat too much.

SS, good luck to you. My RE books up pretty far in advance, so you might want to think about making an appointment now, just in case, and you can always cancel if you don't end up needing it.

Well, I'm officially in the TWW. The IUI yesterday went very smoothly and now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed. I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit since I've told myself there's nothing more I can do in the meantime.

 

[BrightSpot]

MP, thanks for the reassurance & you're definitely right. It's so hard for me not to second guess myself in this process. It is pretty unlikely I ovulated early. There was 1 follie that was much larger than the others so I wonder about it possibly hitting the road sooner, but I'll never know.
I'm so glad you're feeling better. A good night's sleep helps immensely. I'm glad you can still do the clomid & hope it doesn't make you too emotional. Also hoping the addition of the trigger does the trick for you. Hugs.

SB, thanks for your post. I guess we have a reasonable shot & hope something in this cycle sticks! Wouldn't it be nice if I followed my own advice?
What did you decide on the aspirin? I asked my new doc about it today & he confirmed it was totally fine to take.
I'm glad your IUI is over & went well. There's absolutely a sense of relief knowing you've done all you can do. I hope you can relax & enjoy your weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed for you in your 2ww.

Afm, my IUI is completed & went fine. DH's sample, while not great, was better than it was for our last IUI & within the acceptable margins. I have a lot more post-IUI meds than usual (crinone twice a day instead of once & cipro), I guess in prep for the FET.

So, I'm supposed to start the crinone soon (nowish), but I haven't felt the O pains I usually feel during medicated cycles yet (I triggered at 10pm last night.) I wonder if I should wait until after the O pains to start the progesterone. Would it mess something up to have a surge in progesterone prior to ovulation?

 

[split_shank]

Thanks ladies, I miscalculated my dates, I'm now CD26, not 25. Started the awful Crinone cramping last night, same as what happened last month about 10 days into the Crinone. Not sure if that is a reason to discontinue it in the future, but it is really irritating, literally. I "cleaned out" a bunch of risidual today so hopefully that might help but last month the only thing that made it go away was AF. Funny to think AF was actually a relief compared to the week before! I am kicking myself for not making an appointment when I called them last week just to inquire about availability and locations. I will have to wait until Monday now to call. He is based out of another city about 70 miles away but does satellite clinic visits here a few times a month and has a NP that is available here that he can telemed with. I'm ready for a new game plan and a fresh point of view. I am only 30 yrs old, with an easy go around with getting DS 3 yrs ago, so I'm hoping its more a matter of when and how, not if.

 

[Loves Vintage]

TB and MP - Hope you ladies are off to a great start this month!

SB and BS - Looks like we're cycle triplets! I had my iui today. Just one this month because the second iui that they usually do would fall on a Sunday. U/S showed 3 large follicles and a smaller that might have caught up/released. They took longer to develop this month. Last month, they jumped from smaller to ready-to-trigger large in 2 days. This cycle it was more like 5 days (which is an estimate, I completely cannot keep track of the details). Anyway, the NP said that might indicate better quality, but I just nod and smile, because really I have no idea what quality means any longer, but I did ask if the super-fast growth from last cycle might have been a reason why it didn't work. She said "It could be." Lol. So, basically, no one really knows!

So, now the wait begins. I bought just two tests for this cycle and will NOT test out my trigger.

SS - For the progesterone, you might be able to take it in pill form. That's what my dr prescribes. Have you tested?

 

[dcgator]

Hey ladies,

Sorry again for my radio silience, but I was traveling again. Unfortunately, I will be leaving again soon, but hoepfully, things should calm down a bit once this trip is done. In any event, I apologize ahead of time for not being able to keep up with everyone, but I will try to do better in the coming weeks. That being said;

Bright, SB and LV - Congrats on the successful IUI's ladies. Good luck with the 2WW. I send you all lots of dust! Please let us all know how it goes!

SS, TB and MP - Good luck this go round, fingers crossed for you all!

AFM - I am on the second half of my 2WW. After running around like a mad women and getting all my dr. appts and the actual IUI in between vacations/work trips, I managed to make it all work. I will say that I was particularly disappointed with my non-response to the meds this cycle though. I took Clomid on days 3-7, Follistm on day 8, the trigger on day 9 and the IUI on day 11. While I don't expect to have a crazy response to the drugs, I still only had one viable egg. Seriously... On day 8, I had one 17 and a couple 12. After the Follistm, my bigger one was 21, and the others were still only 13 or 14. They didn't want to risk waiting with the bigger egg, so they told me to trigger that nice versus another dose of Follistm. I was seriously upset by the results, somewhat fueled by hormones, but genuinely upset that I essentially could have taken nothing and had the same results, minus drug costs. Anyway, I decided to do the IUI anyway, and so here I am at 8 DPIUI. Now, my DH and I are discussing whether we want to take this to the "next level" or what else we should do. Because of crazy schedules, he wants to wait until the start of the year to try to go the IVF route (via my clinic back in DC), but I am not as pleased with that route and waiting 3 more months. I countered his suggestion with a one more IUI, and then we will wait if that doesn't work, but he is stewing on that one. Either way, if this one is a no go, I am going to be really bummed. Oh, and just to make things even more difficult, if I want to change my treatment protocal, I have to wait till the 28th to speak with my doc, which will be half way into my next cycle, ie adding another month. Grrrrr. So that's where I am now. All that being said, with all the traveling, I have been too busy to obsess about the 2WW, so that was a plus. And I just enjoyed Vegas this weekend with my mom, sis, cousin and aunt, so that was a great relaxing time. However, my DH will be traveling for the next week plus, so I prolly won't have much time to worry about baby stuff, as I will have my hands full with my S and the puppy...Oh well, wish me luck with the 2WW and the single mama style I look forward to catching up properly soon. Till then, take care ladies!

 

[split_shank]

BFN this morning, stopped Crinone after yesterday's dose so AF should be coming on Wed. I am a weepy mess today so hormones are crashing somewhere. Work has just about sent me over the edge today combined with all of this so I am very unstable!! Called the RE, and will have to wait 2 weeks to see him, which I have to understand isn't terribly bad, but means that this next one will be an unmedicated cycle as I will be around CD 14 by the time I see him. My Dr has washed her hands of me ( in a nice way ) and won't be able to do anything until I see the RE. I was hoping I could sneek in this week with him still but no luck. So if someone has a magic trick to get me to O on my own this next month, I'm all ears!

Good luck ladies that are IUI'd and waiting!

 

[Loves Vintage]

SS - Sorry to hear about the BFN. Do you have reason to believe you are not ovulating on your own? Sorry, I don't recall your history. Hope things ease up at work.

DCG - Glad that you checked in. I hope you get your BFP soon. That stinks that you would have to wait so long to meet with your RE. How high of a dose of follistim do you take? I'm sure some of your smallers would have caught up if you had been able to take follistim longer. I think I took 4 doses of it this cycle (150 each). I hope hope hope you don't have to worry about what to do in the future, and you have a bfp soon. When will you test?

 

[split_shank]

Thanks LV. As for my hx, my blood tests done on CD 21 show a very low progesterone level, indicating I'm not ovulating. I have never been able to get a positive OPK since starting testing back in May, only a 'High" reading on the advanced CBE OPK (which to me reads I get the estrogen rise, but not enough for a peak reading indicationg a LH spike). I have some PCOS symptoms, but not actual polycystic ovaries, if that makes sense. My clomid dose of 100 mg sent me in a follicle producing craze this month, which led to no trigger. I think I make good follicles/cysts, but can't get them to pop.

 

[royalasscherlover]

Bright, you probably figured this out already, but I don't think that you want a surge in progesterone prior to ovulation since it can prevent the ovulation. When is your FET? I hope it went well if it happened already.

LV, cycle triplets, woohoo! I'm sprinkling lots of dust for all of us this month.

DCG, I'm dusting you too that so that you hopefully don't have to deal with next steps. I also only got one good follicle on meds, hopefully that one will do the trick. I wouldn't want to wait until January, so I hope you and your DH can come to an agreement if this isn't your month.

SS, sorry about the BFN. I also don't ovulate on my own. I hope the RE can figure out a good protocol for you that gets the eggs going without overstimulating!

MP, how goes the Clomid?

Not much to report from me, just trying to be patient in the 2WW. It's not as easy to relax and forget about it as I'd hoped, but at least I am less stressed and sleeping better than I was last week.

 

[BrightSpot]

Dcg, I'm glad you were able to get your IUI in with all of your traveling. I'm sorry you only wound up with 1 follicle. Lots of ladies on here have gotten pregnant with 1 follicle & IUI though. Wishing you lots of luck in the next few days. Hopefully you won't have to worry about a next cycle. When will you test?

SS, sorry about the bfn. What pcos symptoms do you have? It's possible to have a diagnosis of pcos without the polycystic ovaries if you have enough other symptoms. Have you had your hormones checked? Did AF arrive?

SB, thanks for the info on progesterone. I figured this was likely the case, so I wound up skipping my first mid-afternoon dose of crinone. I didn't start it until the night of my IUI, after I'd already felt O pains.
I'm glad you're sleeping better. I also had some insomnia last week. I wonder if it was from the trigger shot. Hope you can relax as much as possible.

LV, yay for cycle triplets (& 3 follies!) That's interesting about the correlation between the length of stim time & quality of the follicles. Hoping that's a good sign for this cycle for you. Are you getting another hcg booster this time? If so, maybe you're right not to try testing out your trigger shot. When do you plan to test?

MP, how goes the clomid & move prep? Hoping you're doing well & not too stressed with everything that's going on.

Tbaus, how goes it? I hope your move is going well too!

Afm, I'm holding up ok so far. I've had a lot of tenderness in the abdominal (ovary?) area since my IUI & have been busy taking antibiotics & lots of crinone (twice a day), which has made me pretty sleepy. My FET is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck!
I'm really hoping I don't have as many physical restrictions after my FET as I did after my IVF. They really made the wait feel like forever.

 

[split_shank]

Bright, good luck with the FET! I'm new to the advanced procedures, what are the antibiotics for?

My PCOS-like symptoms are most notably the facial hair growth, and other areas that women shouldn't have to tweeze/wax/otherwise painfully remove! Ugh the things we do for vanity. I wouldn't say I'm overweight, but I have to be very careful. I look at carbs and I'll gain 5 lbs. and I have to be twice as strict and workout twice as hard it seems to lose and maintain my weight compared to others. I had some mild endo removed about 8 yrs ago, but never had the heavy periods like endo and PCOS often bring with it, just right sided abdominal pain that was unexplained until a laparoscopy.

I've decided to try some chaste berry extract capsules again. I did a bottle the month before my first Clomid cycle but read that it took a few months to maybe work, and I was nervous to take it at the same time as the Clomid so I stopped. I figured this next cycle will have no help so I thought why not. Do any of you ladies have any experience/opinions on chaste berry or vitex?

 

[Loves Vintage]

SS - I have not heard of those supplements, so no help there. Sorry. Thanks for clarifying your history. I think that moving to an RE will bring you some clarity. Hopefully they can get you on a better treatment plan right away.

BS - Good Luck today with the FET! I will have to google to see how the process works? I am so hopeful for you! I don't really know when I will test. I did NOT take the supplemental HCG. I told them I will never do that again, so I take progesterone in pill form. I think they have me coming in to test my estrogen and progesterone levels (on Monday maybe?), but I do not see how that is even necessary, so may opt out of that. I have to call about that. I'm thinking I should be good to test by Tuesday, which would be 9 or 10 DPO? Hoping all of the trigger would be gone by then? What do you think? When will you test?

SB - The waiting is no fun! Fortunately, I am extremely busy at work and at home, so I just fall asleep at the first moment I can, and haven't given it much thought thus far. I am not too optimistic, I'm afraid, but such is life at the moment! On another topic, what is the stone in your avatar photo? What kind of stone is it? It looks like a colored stone, but maybe it's just the background?

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Hi ladies! I just wanted to pop-in to say hi

SS-I took Fertilaid for several months before I conceived and it contains vitex. I would highly recommend the Fertilaid supplement. DH and I both took it and I think it made a big difference. I can't remember much about all my research re supplements. I seem to have blocked it from my memory. But, if you go back to May/June on this thread I think I detailed what I was taking. I also took clomid my last two cycles.

Good luck and huge hugs!!!

 

[dcgator]

Hi Ladies,

Just a quick drive by here, as I am still traveling, but will be back manana. So, to answer your all's questions, I have been testing since Monday (9DPIUI). I got nada then, which is kinda good, b/c I saw there was no more HCG lingering in my system. I tested yesterday morning at around 5 am (don't ask), and it was barely anything, so I tried not to get too excited. So here is where I need you to walk me off a ledge here. I tested this morning at a more normal hour, and I have attached a pic of my test. Tell me what you all think. Btw, I apologize for not giving you guys the 9-11DPIUI progression, but I will do that when I get back home. Fingers crossed, but I think this is positve...In any event, I am going to schedule an appt to get my betas tested tomorrow to make sure there is something going on in there. Also, normally, I would wait a couple more days till I was sure, but with the weekend approaching, I'd rather now before then. Without further adu, here we are (sorry for the bad lighting in the pic, hotel room...)

 

[S&I]

I totally see a line!!! Congrats, and I hope you can get in for your first beta before the weekend. I know the waiting can be hard!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I see a line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

SS- I found my supplement list in this thread (I think it was page 59): [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-official-ttc-for-6-months-or-more-thread.151851/page-59']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/the-official-ttc-for-6-months-or-more-thread.151851/page-59[/URL]

DCG-I am so happy for you!!! best wishes for a sticky, sticky bean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dcgator]

Thanks Bella and SI. It was pretty faint, so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It is still really early, so I am not trying to get too excited, but I think if my line is darker tomorrow and my betas are decent, I will feel better. I have my appt at 8:30, but I probably won't get my results back till later in the day. Till then, I think I will just be sweating...

 

[amc80]

I see it! I don't trust those tests though...do you have a FRER?

 

[Laila619]

I see it DCG! A line is a line! Congrats!

 

[lizzyann]

I see a line DC Gator!!!

Rooting for all of you ladies!! Bright, I'm crossing everything that this is your month lady!!!

 

[BrightSpot]

Dcg, I see a line! Congrats!! Lots of sticky dust coming your way. Keep us posted on your beta results tomorrow.

SS, thanks! The antibiotic during the FET is to minimize the risk of infection, methinks.
I hope you can get in to see a RE soon & bring up the possible PCOS symptoms you mentioned.

LV, thanks! The FET was pretty easy, especially compared with our last cycle.
I'm glad you didn't have to take the hcg boosters again this cycle. How are you tolerating the progesterone pills? My trigger was always out of my system by 9dpo so you should be safe to test then. Good luck!
My beta is next Friday so I'll probably test the day before (if I can hold out that long.)

Lizzy, thanks so much-I am too!

Hi to everyone else.

Afm, the FET went smoothly today & I was able to see my acupuncturist immediately after, so I hope that helped. I'm a little confused as to the quality of our embryo, though. When I had the consult with the doc last month, he confirmed my thoughts that the embryo was most likely not normal because it didn't expand to blastocyst stage until day 6 (normally it should do this by day 5). When I asked about it today, he said he'd grade it a 2 (1 is best, 3 is worst) but also said there's no difference in pregnancy rates between grade 1 & 2 embryos (grade 3's don't make the cut to be frozen.) I guess this doesn't matter as only time will tell.
I'm taking it easy & have similar restrictions to last month's (no heavy cardio, no lifting over 10lbs, no BD), but my doc did ok some very light exercise, which makes me feel better.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Congrats, DCG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We need updates!! Are you back home now?

BS - Glad to hear the FET went well. Sending you much much luck for a BFP!! Glad to hear you were able to go to acupuncture afterward! Re: the progesterone pills, I experience no side effects whatsoever, so that is good!

 

[dcgator]

Hello my lovely ladies,

I know you guys have been eagerly awaiting some more news and now that I am back home now, I thought I would share some more photos.

Before that though, thanks very much to amc, Laila, Lizzy and LV for the love. It's great that we are all here for eachother, through the good and bad.

Bright - Sounds like you did everything you possibly could with both the IUI and the FET, and I am sending you all my positive vibes! Loads of dust lady.

So, tested this morning, and here were the results. I have attached both the progression of the cheapies for 9DPIUI-12DPIUI and the FRER at 12DPIUI: One thing to note though for the ladies using the cheapies; I either forgot or the test have changed and the second line took a lot longer than 5 minutes to show up. Thank God I also did an FRER test too, or I would have thought I was out this month...

I also did a beta this morning, so will be awaiting the call from my doc with the results ...please do keep me in your thoughts and hope that this little bean decides to stick. Thanks again ladies for all the support!

 

[monkeyprincess]

DCG, that's so exciting!!! Keeping my fingers crossed for you! I hope you have a sticky little bean and a healthy pregnancy!

LV, geting closer. I'm happy to hear you won't have extra HCG in the mix to confuse this time around, and I hope you see a line in a few days!

Bright, glad to hear the IUI and FET went well. Keeping everything I have crossed for you!

SB, wishing you lots of luck in your 2ww as well! I hope you have beginner's luck!

SS, so sorry to hear it didn't happen this month and that you have to wait a bit to see an RE. The waiting is the hardest part of this whole process. I agree that it is most likely a matter of when, not if. I keep trying to tell myself that too!

TB, how are things going for you!

I haven't checked in for awhile, so I hope I didn't miss anyone!

AFM, I had an ultrasound today, and while I have four follicles that look about ready to go, she wasn't happy with my lining, so she didn't want to do a trigger and just said for me to try on our own this time. I'm crushed because lining has never been an issue for me, and I just feel like nothing seems to be going as it should anymore, and I know there's pretty much no chance of anything happening this month. She said she wants me to try letrazole next cycle with a trigger and IUI. I know there are things you can take to increase lining but she said she just wants a clean slate since this was a strange month. Anyone know much about letrazole? I think that's the same thing as femara. Sorry for the pity party. Just disappointed by the news this morning.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Bright-I hope that all goes well and that you are able to relax some between now and next week. Glad that you were able to see your acupuncturist!!!

DCG-I see the line!!!! Fingers crossed for a sticky bean and great betas next week!