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The Official TTC for 6 Months or More Thread

fisherofmengirly

Ideal_Rock
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Bright,

I am walking in faith with you. 6 weeks is early, friend. Hold on. Grab faith & hold on tight.
 

Laila619

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LtlFirecracker|1336083261|3186907 said:
Lalia - thans for you input, when the doc said they could do something "more aggressive" I was assuming that meant injectables. How often did you need to go in for monitoring on injectables? I guess my question is how many days in a row did you need to go in? I want to do that if the clomid fails after the 2nd or 3rd cycle, and I think my doc will no do more than 3 cycles of clomid/HCG. I just need to figure out if I can do it in July or if I have to wait until August when I will have flexibility in my schedule.

LtlFirecracker, oh gosh, I went in for monitoring a ridiculous number of times! But my case was not the norm. I was responding really quickly to the injectables, and they were worried about my overly high estrogen levels and hyperstimulation, so I basically had to go in on CD 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Then I triggered on CD 9 in the evening (really early to trigger). But don't worry, you probably will NOT have to go in that many times. It's much more common to be on meds a bit longer and trigger later in the cycle. Anyway, it did the trick. The two cycles I was on Clomid did nothing, unfortunately.

DUST to everyone! I'm cheering you all on and hoping you get your BFPs very soon. Infertility sucks, but you will overcome it!
 

Laila619

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BrightSpot|1336081701|3186886 said:
Hi guys. Well, I have news but it's not great. I'm 6w1d today & the doc saw a gestational sac & the beginning of a yolk sac. No embryo yet. At this time last pregnancy there was a gestational sac but no yolk sac so I guess this is progress but it's not resoundingly good news. He said that since I'm so early in my 6th week (when a lot of things change & develop) it's possible that when I come back next week there will be a fetus & even a heartbeat. But he advised me to be cautious because it could easily go the other way. (He was also concerned that my beta hcg levels were on the low side).
So, again I wait. 

BrightSpot, hugs sweetie. I hope it will be great news next week! t's still very early.
 

Prana

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This happened last night when I got home from work at 830 PM.

:shock: There's no question of those lines!

I'd like to thank all of you for your peer pressure and support! :bigsmile: I called my Doctor first thing this morning, and our first appointment is May 24th!

By the time my husband got home at 1245AM I had taken a Clear Blue as well haha.

DSC00064.JPG
 

monkeyprincess

Ideal_Rock
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Big congrats, Prana! Seems as though the clomid was just what you needed. Very happy for you!
 

S&I

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Congrats Prana! :appl: :appl: :appl:
What a great souvenir from your Scotland trip! Tons of sticky bean dust to you!

Bright, I'm so sorry that you are still in the waiting game, but it is a good thing that you saw the yolk sac that was missing last time. I'm hoping and praying that your little bean was just a few days late implanting, and that next Thursday's ultrasound will show a nice healthy heartbeat! Hugs to you, my friend!
 

mayerling

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Prana, I'm so happy for you! :appl:
 

Prana

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Thanks ladies! It doesn't feel real. I'm still sort of in shock. It was quite an episode when I saw that second line appear last night!
 

Puppmom

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Prana, :appl: ! I'm so happy for you and your DH!
 

Prana

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Thanks Puppmom! I hope it's a sticky little bean in there!
 

BrightSpot

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Prana, congrats! I had a feeling you had a little lad or lassie in there. What a lovely souvenir! So glad the clomid worked so quickly for you & sending lots of sticky dust.  :appl:

Fisher, Laila & s&i, thanks for your thoughts, prayers & hugs. It means a lot. 
 

CurlySue

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Sorry I have been MIA... have been swamped at work.

Prana - YAY!!! Huge congrats to you! I took one look at your chart and *knew* you were going to see a BFP!

Bright - I am so frustrated for you right now. Please try to hang in there and stay as cautiously positive as you can. I know that's easier said than done. I am very, very hopeful it was just too early and that next week you will get the positive news that is WAY OVERDUE for you to hear. You so deserve to have something to celebrate and cherish. Know that you and your little bean are in my thoughts.

Ltl - I am so sorry this was not your cycle. I just have a feeling that it won't be much longer for you, though, as you have a great plan, and it sounds like your doctor is focused on getting his patients their BFPs.

Tammy - So glad to hear you have found some peace with things. That actually helps to inspire me to focus on the positive!

AFM - No real news. Am sitting at CD10. I've been really throwing myself into work, which has been a nice distraction. Even when I am not posting, know that I am thinking of all of you.
 

Prana

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Thank you Bright and CurlySue!

Bright, I've been thinking about you. I still have posistive feelings for you for your next appointment. I'm confident for you, and I hope that all of the PS positive energy that you're getting helps you feel a little better.
 

Laila619

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Prana, yay, congrats!!!
 

tammy77

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WOOHOO Prana!! Congrats!! :appl:

Bright, thinking of you and praying every day! Can't wait for Thursday. Big hugs!!!
 

JGator

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Congrats Prana! Sending super sticky dust your way for a healthy baby.
 

Prana

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Thank you again!
 

BrightSpot

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Curly, thanks, sweetie. I'm trying to stay cautiously optimistic, but it really just feels like "here we go again." I'm glad you've been able to distract yourself with work lately. That definitely helps. I hope you get your sticky bean very soon!

Prana, thank you. All of the PS positive energy definitely helps. ::) I'm over the moon for you, by the way. :appl:
How did you like Scotland?

Tammy, thanks for the prayers & hug & sending both back at ya!

Happy Friday, everyone. :wavey:
 

Prana

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Thanks again Bright.

Scotland was wonderful. It's so beautiful there, and we had a really great time. We had 2 nights in the Isle of Skye, and 3 nights in Edinburgh. Skye was our absolute favorite. I'm very sad to be back! ;(
 

BrightSpot

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Prana, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Scotland is a beautiful place. What a great way to spend your last 2ww! It's always hard to come home from vacation but that's great that you have such exciting news to pull you out of your post-vacation slump.

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend. :sun:
 

Bella_mezzo

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Prana, I am so excited for you!!!!
 

Prana

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Thank you Bella!
 

pavelover

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Hi Everyone :)
I have been spending time catching up on the ttc pages and lurking but I wasn't ready to post, I guess. I spent a good amount of time on pricescope a few years ago and recognize some members from then. It's so great to see lots of positive stories.
I have a three and a half year old little boy, had a bligthed ovum and d&c before him and had an ectopic pregnancy last year resulting in surgery where they were able to save my tube. We have been seriously trying again for four months (I guess this is the 5th) without success, but lots of stress on my part :( You guys are the only people I "know" who pay so much attention to your cycles and are also poas addicts like me!
I don't chart, but I used to be able to tell my fertile times by cm and what I thought was "o" pain. I had three pregnancies and although they all weren't successful, I got pregnant so quickly (within the first or second month). Fast forward and now I am going to be 41 this month. After I tried for a few months, I thought I better check on my tubes since there was a chance I had scar tissue from the ectopic. I went back to the dr. who did the surgery who also happens to be an RE and wow I got an earful. She was blunt, of course, and put me at a 1percent chance of conceiving on my own due to my age and how long there was between my son and the next pregnancy. Honestly though, I was NOT trying to conceive for all of that time- I did not feel ready for several reasons. Anyhoo I was so shocked (even though I already knew the info) by her information and her push to get me into IVF. I think she said at least three times in our visit, well if you are ready lets just go for IVF.
I feel like I could go on writing for ever (and I've already written a novel, sorry). So I'm going to stop and get to my questions.
The RE is on vacation. I went back to my OB and I did a sonohysterogram which showed everything was looking good tube wise and also he could see the egg on my right ovary that was getting ready for that cycle and a few smaller follicles on the left side. The OB was much more positive in the fact that she said yes I should have hope and that there are people that do conceive on their own. She also said that if I wanted to I could try clomid this next cycle if I don't get a BFP.
I do ovulate according to OPK (I know this is not definitive) and at least I was ready to ovulate this cycle according to the u/s. I'm not totally clear on if and also why I should try clomid, since I believe I already ovulate.
Next steps are also to get fsh on day 3, AMH and some thyroid studies and an SA for my dh.
I don't have my calendar but I think I am around day twentysomething- I got positive opk on day 14 and 15 although the ob thought the sticks are not accurate as she thought that I likely ovulated over the weekend (a few days after the sonohysterogram). I have been trying to get through my 2ww alone but I am starting to use hpts already which is ridiculous. Just thought I would check in with you ladies as I know you have lots of experience and wisdom and awesome support! Thanks in advance for reading this looooooong post.
Congrats to the recent BFPs and dust to everyone.
 

Prana

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Hi Pavelover and welcome back!

Sorry to hear about your Doc's blunt attitude, but it sounds like you're still fairly fertile. As far as IVF goes, that's a step that you can only take when you are absolutely ready and well educated and empowered.

It also sounds like Clomid was recommended for you. I ovulate regularly on my own as well, never missed a cycle. However we tried (we were charting temps, CM etc) for 8 months with no success. Within that 8 months, I had a saline US, an HSG US, CD3 hormones checked and my DH had a sperm analysis. We both checked out perfectly, so we couldn't figure out what the problem was. I reluctantly tried Clomid last month, and wouldn't you know, I got pregnant! I'm still very early, so still very cautious, but the Clomid gave me a stronger ovulation- so it produced better eggs and probably increased my progesterone levels helping me to get pregnant.

I think knowledge is power in a case like yours, and I would suggest maybe to start temping as well as continuing to use OPK's and CM. It doesn't hurt to have that extra verification that you did in fact ovulate, and your temps can tell you an awful lot about what is happening during your cycle.

Whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck and a very short journey til your next pregnancy. :))
 

pavelover

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Prana, thanks so much for your reply! I knew you recently got your bfp! Congratulations! Would you mind reminding me what dose you were on and what days did you use clomid? My OB gave me a script for clomid in case I want to start. I believe she started me on 150 mg/day for days 2-7. How did you find the side effects?
I agree I need to start temping. I'm not sure why I have resisted. It shouldn't be a problem because I wake up so early each day.
How far did you go exploring options and where did you find the best information? I am from the U.S. but I am living in S.E. Asia. I feel a bit nervous not having access to my docs at home, honestly. On the plus side, I don't think they refuse to treat you here if you are too "old"" as I have hear may happen in some clinics in the U.S. Thanks again, Prana. I appreciate the support.
 

tammy77

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Hi Ladies!

First order of business, I must dump more dust on Bright! Hope you're holding up okay over there my dear, only two short (okay ridiculously long, but you'll get through it) days to go. Hoping and praying for you, as always.

Second order of business is to welcome Pavelover! I'm so sorry that you're struggling. :(sad I don't have nearly as much info about clomid, etc. as the other ladies because I haven't taken that step yet, but just want to echo the temping suggestion. It offers a lot of insight regarding not just the timing of your ovulation, but your LP length, etc. and is the cheapest/most reliable way to confirm ovulation.

Third, I'm coming out of my rabbit hole for some advice. :oops: I am annoyed to say that my GP did not order an HSG for me. She did, however, order an U/S. It happens to be on CD15 and I typically ovulate between CD 14 and 16. I've kept to my promise of not temping at all, however I am having second thoughts about it now. I keep wondering if I should know if I've ovulated or not, if I'm surging, etc. because they're going to do this pelvic U/S at what I'm assuming is a good time to take a peek at things...but would be fairly useless without temp/opk info.

So help me out here ladies, what should I do? If it's likely to provide some good info, I'll go ahead and do opk (I have a stack of wondfos...) and temp Wed/Thur/Fri morning (and I guess Sat if I haven't ovulated yet). Then let go again and forget about FF. I'm determined NOT to temp no matter what after I ovulate, even if I do decide to monitor for my U/S appt.

Sorry to ramble, I'm just not sure what to do and need some veteran advice! Thanks!! :halo: Hi to everyone I didn't address individually, I'm out of practice sorry!! :errrr: :nono:
 

pavelover

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Tammy thanks for your welcome! Appreciate it. And I agree- lots of dust to Brightspot! Hope you are finding good things to keep busY with and that you get fantastic news at your u/s.
Tammy since I'm just starting out, I don't have too much to offer. I guess it couldn't hurt to temp and use opk- I'm not clear what the u/s will be able to see versus the t/v u/s. Did the doc tell you? Are you hoping to see follicles or the egg? Are you wanting confirmation by using the opk and tempting? Sorry for the questions - just want to understand. I know you stepped away a little bit- just wanted to send you a cyberhug. I know it's really hard to go through this where we have little control. I tend to get consumed and am worried I will also need breaks. HanG in there, Tammy.
 

tammy77

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Thanks, PL.

I nosed around a bit online and I think my answer is that it really won't do much for me unless I have a before and after snapshot of the follicles. I think I'm just looking for an excuse to confirm ovulation, which I've been able to consistently do for the past 7 cycles w/o getting pregnant. So I'm just going to hold firm on the no crazy girl month and back away from the opks/thermometer. :rolleyes:

I'll keep you girls posted on the U/S though. I'm assuming it's going to be abdom and t/v because that's what I ended up having back on Nov '11. Bleh :knockout: I just want to get rid of the pain at least, even if I can't get pregnant at this point in time. It stinks.
 

Prana

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Thanks Pavelover! My OBGYN put me on 50mg days 3-7. I took it at night so that if I did have any side effects, I would sleep through them. However, this cycle I was very cranky after O (that's putting it mildly). I had A LOT of cramping and gas during O. I really knew that I was ovulating, and I'm pretty confident I O'd from both sides.
As far as exploring options, I wasn't thrilled when my doc suggested Clomid the first time, which was after my HSG in January. I didn't think it would be beneficial for me as I was ovulating on my own. I felt as if she wasn't listening to me (I thought I had low progesterone, as I ALWAYS spotted before my periods). So I waited 3 months before going to see her to get the Clomid prescription. Again, I wasn't thrilled because I honestly thought it wouldn't work, so I was just doing it to get to the step that I thought I was eventually going to need (IVF). I would have had to done 3 cycles on Clomid, a couple on Clomid with AI, then maybe IVF? There was probably more stuff in there, but I don't really know.
I went as far as calling my insurance company to find out what they covered, which was nothing, other than infertility testing. So I panicked and felt hopeless because we would have had to save up for all of those procedures, and that would have set us back a lot. I took the generic Clomid, and the pills for days 3-7 cost me $18.
I'm still very early in my pregnancy, and I realize that anything could happen, but I'm optimistic and positive, and now I know that I can get pregnant. I hope that helped!


From what I understand with Clomid too, (and don't quote me on this) is that the days you take it alter your response. I believe that when taken days 2-6 it has a higher chance of producing more follicles. Days 3-7 still could produce more follicles than the usual one, but it's supposed to give you less eggs of better quality than when taken days 2-6. When taken days 4-8, it usually produces one follicle of the highest quality. Again, I could be wrong, and those would be textbook responses. Anyone feel free to correct me, as I don't want to provide wrong information!

Tammy They probably want to to the saline US first to check for polyps/cysts/ masses before they do an HSG. I think that most practices have a protocol of infertility treatments in a list, and you have to check each one off before moving onto the next. It's still a cool US though, because you get to see everything in there and it's just an added bonus to know if you have anything growing where it shouldn't be. I had my saline US the day before I O'd, I think. And you can't BD for 24 hours from the US, so thats a decision you have to make. It could put you out of the game for that month. (I'm not even sure you're talking about a saline US, but I assume that's what they want to do?) I read that sperm can survive saline, but I bet a lot of them got washed out afterward. But they might not do an HSG without doing that first, and your insurance might not cover an HSG without the other US either.
I would say to go for it, with the mentality that it might put you out of the game the month you have it done.
 

BrightSpot

Ideal_Rock
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Apr 14, 2005
Messages
2,547
Pavelover, hi & welcome! And thanks for the dust! I'm sorry to hear about your rocky ttc road, but glad you've come to join us. It's a wonderful community here & offers invaluable support during stressful times. 
Ditto to prana's post. Temping can be a valuable tool, especially if you have a consistent wake schedule. Also, I don't think I'd jump directly to ivf without giving some less invasive options a try first. 
I've used clomid (with hcg trigger & iui) for 2 cycles. Both at 50mg, 1 at days 4-8 & 1 at 3-7. I had no side effects the 2nd time & hot flashes at night (totally manageable) the 1st time. I only produced 1 follicle each time-1st resulted in pregnancy followed by blighted ovum & d&c, 2nd in pregnancy + ? (6w6d today so too early to really say).
I would say that clomid has often helped achieve pregnancy even in women who are already ovulating by themselves. It's not invasive, often has minimal side effects, so probably worth a try? Hoping it does the trick for you quickly like it did for Prana. 

Tammy, thanks for the dust, sweetie. I'm hanging in there & trying to remain as positive as possible. It's been a long week though. 
That sucks that your doc didn't schedule the hsg. Boo! Is it just a regular transvag u/s you're having? (not a saline one) I think it doesn't hurt to temp/OPK just to predict & confirm o, then stop during the 2ww. 
I hope the u/s provides valuable info that'll help you get your bfp ASAP. You've waited long enough! Hugs. 

Hi to everyone else. It's been quiet around here lately. 
 
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