The Official TTC for 6 Months or More Thread

[Bella_mezzo]

BRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am crying tears of joy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! best wishes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Bright!!! Just joining the chorus of people who are cheering for you! I am so, so happy for you!

 

[Dandi]

I am a total lurker here, and it's Thursday morning here in Australia and the first thing I thought of when I woke up was Bright!! So so so happy for you and your DH Bright, sending you all the healthy, sticky, happy vibes in the world!!!!!!!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Bright - My heart is filled with joy for you!! I am sooooooooo happy for you and your DH!! This is such wonderful news!!!

 

[mlk]

Bright I am over the moon with delight. Your little bean already has the best mummy!

 

[CurlySue]

I could not possibly be happier for you and your DH, Bright. Congratulations!!!

 

[lizzyann]

Bright, yay yay yay!!!! It's finally your turn and you deserve it sister! Enjoy every moment!

 

[pancake]

Bright I am over the moon with happiness and excitement (and relief!) for you!!

(and please come and join us in JBP when you are ready!)

 

[Laila619]

BrightSpot, I am so happy to hear your wonderful news!!! I've thought of you often and hoped so much for you to be a mother one day. CONGRATS to you and hubby!!!!!!!!!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Bright, still so happy when I think of your good news, and I'm continuing to send you thoughts and prayers that for that growing little baby! Yesterday must have been such an amazing day for you after your losses. Here's to a healthy and happy pregnancy!

I've kind of lost track of where everybody else is in the process, but I continue to think of all of you and hope for good news for everyone here.

AFM, after being stuck in the airport for about 18 hours, I finally made it home. I thought I was going to miss a chance to get an ultrasound, but the NP was willing to stay late yesterday, so I rushed to the clinic from the airport. I triggered last night, and will have another IUI on Friday. I had about 3 follicles big enough to go and one just a little behind. If this doesn't work, then I guess we wait for an appointment with the RE, which is currently not until April. They called a couple days ago because there was a cancellation for today, but I didn't take it because I'm in the middle of a cycle with the NP. If this doesn't work, hopefully, there will be another cancellation, so we don't have to wait so long.

ETA: We finally got everything in order and put our old house on the market on Tuesday and just accepted a pretty much full price offer this morning, so that was some good news after a string of not such good news!

 

[lliang_chi]

MP, Wow! Congrats on the offer! I'm sending you lots of baby-making and house-selling dust from Chicago

 

[aviastar]

MP- that's great news on the house! And on getting in your trigger after such an awful travel delay! I bet there will be another cancellation before April, so if this isn't your cycle, I don't think you'll have to wait that long to see the RE.

I'm just waiting on AF here. Like Monkey mentioned a few posts back, I have been questioning the NP's interpretation of my blood work and I was very skeptical- willing to give it a go with the clomid because that is such a standard first intervention, but always wondering if maybe we were fixing something that wasn't broke.

Well, after a week since confirmed ovulation I have changed my mind. I did get a call from the office with my progesterone results which were "fantastic". So they think it worked (now, I know that if the last cycle's test was taken too early or misinterpreted then this wouldn't mean very much), but just based on my own experiences whatever is going on in there right now is different than what has been going on in there previously. 1) My skin has been a hot mess since coming off the pill and it miraculously cleared up, overnight. 2) I have made it all the way to 9DPO without any spotting. 3) I had some slight nausea, very similar to when I tried the progesterone BC pill, that I don't usually have in the TWW. 4) I have had some cramping, but not nearly as consistently or as intensely as normal. I feel great, when normally the whole week before AF is not great.

Today is 10DPO and I did have some spotting this morning, so I do expect AF by tomorrow. If she held off till Saturday I would be thrilled; we'll see if my on-the-short-side LP is extended at all. I haven't been temping since we were out of town, so I don't know what my temps are doing, but I am counting this cycle as a positive even if (when) we do not get a BFP.

Still smiling like a fool for you Bright! And thinking about you all!

 

[tbaus]

Oh Bright!!!! I didn't have time to post earlier but when I read your news I spent the next hour smiling like a maniac but with tears running down my face! I am SO happy for you, you really deserve this. There's plenty of space in the JBP thread when you are ready

MP- Sorry you were stuck in the airport so long, that would've sucked. Fingers crossed this is your cycle.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Bright, how are you holding up? I hope you are off doing something relaxing and enjoying every moment.

Aviastar, I am so glad to hear that your cycle seems more normal this time, although I'm sorry you think AF is on the way. Hoping you are wrong about that, but if you aren't, do you know what the next step will be? I think that's great you noticed a difference just from taking the clomid. I have found that unless I get a trigger and use prometrium, clomid is not enough to keep me from spotting at 9 or 10 dpo. With the trigger and prometrium, my last few LPs have been like 17 days. I still think that you have probably been ovulating all along just based on your regular cycles and ability to track temp changes, etc., but maybe the clomid helped you have a stronger ovulation. Hoping you are one step closer to finally getting a BFP.

Tbaus, hope things are going well for you. Still so happy you got your BFP and are continuing to do well in your pregnancy. I think I saw you mention some spotting on the other thread, and I meant to respond, but never got around to it. I had a couple incidents of bright red spotting during my pregnancy, and even then, everything was just fine. I really do think based on your description all is well, and it was probably just some irritation. Take care!

LV, SB, SS, BL, and anyone else I may have missed, hope you are all hanging in there.

AFM, IUI #4 is done. I'm trying to keep my expectations tempered this time around, if that is possible. We had good news on DH's end. There were no WBC in his sample, so the antibiotics worked, and his count was back up to what it used to be before the WBC started showing up. I'm still thinking the problem is probably mainly on my end rather than DH's, but I'm so happy the infection is gone and was nothing more serious.

 

[BrightSpot]

Thank you so much for to everyone for your sweet posts. Your support makes me so happy & really helped me savor the good news. I don't think I could've made it as long as I have without you guys.

MP, yay for a good IUI & sample from your dh. That's wonderful that everything has cleared up on his end. Crossing my fingers for you. And congrats on the house too! I think this is the first in a string of good news you'll receive.

Aviastar, that's great that the clomid made such a difference! Fingers crossed that AF stays away.

Thinking of the rest of you lovely ladies & hoping there's tons more good news here soon!!

I'm sorry for disappearing. We left to attend a family wedding the day after the ultrasound so I haven't had a chance to post. And I also just found out that our apartment has flooded in our absence so I'm not sure what chaos to expect when I return home.
I guess distracting myself will be easier than I'd anticipated.

 

[royalasscherlover]

Bright, so glad you're continuing to do well! Good luck with the flood...that sounds like a mess.

MP, sorry about the travel woes, but glad that your IUI went well and your DH is back to normal. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! More on me later, but the ladies here were right that the injectibles are easy to use and not painful. But I hope you don't need them.

aviastar, you have a good attitude about seeing the positives in all of this and I'm glad that it looks like the Clomid is helping you. Here's hoping that AF is still holding out and you get a surprise.

I'm having a rough day. I went in for my CD 10 u/s today, and while I have two large follicles almost ready to go at 18 and 16mm and several smaller ones, my lining is bad. They cancelled the IUI because my chances are not good with the lining, so we'll do one more dose of Gonal-F tonight to give it a little more time, trigger tomorrow, and BD. But I'm not expecting much.

I asked what we can do to improve the lining, and they said nothing other than recommending a switch to pure injectibles next cycle since this hybrid Femara/injectible didn't seem to work well for me. My lining was better on Femara alone, but still just about 7mm each time, so not great. I'm feeling really frustrated, discouraged, and down - I know this is just one cycle, but I don't feel like I'm making much progress.

 

[Loves Vintage]

SB - Sorry your iui was canceled. Are you still doing acupuncture? I hope I'm recalling correctly, but I think you were going . . . anyway, acupuncture is said to help with lining, so definitely mention this to your acupuncturist. Also, my RE prescribed estrogen to help with my lining when I had a clomid/follistim cycle. During follistim only cycles, I did not have lining issues (though I never asked what it was, they just always said "lining looks good" during my ultrasounds.) Your clinic may have certain guidelines re: lining measurement so hopefully they are just being overly cautious, and there's still hope for you this cycle. This whole process is really an exercise in patience. I am sure it is just a matter of time for you. I know the wait is so hard though. Hugs to you!!

MP - Glad you were able to schedule the IUI. Hopefully, the 2ww is off of your mind for now. WOW to selling your house so fast. Why do you think it went so quickly?

Aviastar - Anything NEW with you? Are you a wait-to-test TTC-er?

Bright - Glad to hear you are doing well. Sorry about the flood!

 

[aviastar]

CD2 here; start round 2 of Clomid tomorrow. We've been talking about how to proceed; DH wants me to go ahead and make an appointment with whoever we want to see next. The midwives have done what they can do after three clomid cycles; and I don't feel like I need to bump up to 100mg, so I don't know if I would want to do a third cycle of 50mg or just go ahead and move on. If this month is unsuccessful; which, let's be honest, is the likely hood at this point, I would still like to be evaluated for endo and I think that after two failed clomid cycles when all the blood work and such is on target that a block somewhere would be the next thing to rule out. There is a doctor (OB/GYN) very close to where I live who lists OB surgery as a specialty, she is well regarded among all my RN friends, and she takes my insurance (cause it won't be too long before we hit our deductible at this rate). Or I can call the infertility clinic that I worked with as a donor; they know me, have my records and I really liked the staff, but they're over an hour away and I need to do some checking on the insurance policy in regards to infertility. I think that once we hit our deductible then it's all covered, but it would be just my luck for the fine print to exclude infertility. Thoughts?

LV- thanks for asking about me! How are things going for you?

shortblonde- I'm sorry your IUI was cancelled. I've been told they are looking for 10mm in the lining. Have you ever had an ultrasound on an unmedicated cycle to see if 7mm is your norm or if you are being affected by the meds?

Bright- The flood is bad news, but the distraction is good news!

MP- I found the same here, r.e. spotting on DPO10&11, but as I have been spotting as early as DPO4&5, this felt like a vast improvement. So great that's your DH's infection is gone! Keeping my fingers crossed for you this cycle!

I had a totally random encounter the other day that made me think of you all. I ran into a neighbor of my SIL at the grocery store; we're friendly acquaintances I guess and he's a great guy who's first baby just turned one. Well, right there in the aisles he asks if DH and going to jump on the kid wagon any time soon; I brushed it off and said no. And just as I am thinking how very rude he was, he just simply states that things always happen when they are supposed to; apparently they tried for years and after several miscarriages just gave up. Lo and behold, a sticky pregnancy just when they least expected it. And he said, you know it was the right time for us and she's the right kid. It's perfect. I think I probably needed to hear that.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Aviastar, sorry to hear AF arrived. Because you suspect you have endo, I think it is definitely a good idea to check your uterus and tubes initially. From what I've gathered, a laproscopy is the best way to evaluate endo, so I wonder if that will be the next step. I'll be thinking of you and hope that you get some answers soon. I'm glad the conversation with your acquaintance ended the way it did, rather than him being just a nosey person rubbing it in your face. I wish I could understand why some of us have to struggle so much to make this happen, but it is nice to be reminded that even after a long wait, most people end up with a baby one way or another.

LV, how are things going? Any word on when you will begin the IVF process? Hope you are able to relax a bit during this much deserved break from the insanity. As for the house selling so quickly, I think it was because the house had pretty high end finishes for that size of house and price range, and it backs up to a park. DH redid a good portion of the main level before we even met, and then we redid the rest of it while we were engaged/married. We only had two showings, and the other showing called to make an offer shortly after we accepted the first offer, so it was pretty crazy. Also, I think the timing was good because the market had probably been a bit stale with the holidays. I really hope it's not because it was priced too low, but my MIL is our realtor, and she said that if she had priced it any higher it probably wouldn't have appraised high enough for loan approval. Regardless, we are happy to hopefully have it off our hands soon and to be able to drop the utilities and insurance, etc. They are doing the inspection today, and hopefully that all goes okay. That was probably way more explanation than you wanted!

SB, oh, geez, what a bummer. I'm so sorry. I had a cycle where I was taking just clomid, and she wouldn't even let me trigger because my lining was too thin. It is so disappointing, and I'm sure it is even more disappointed because you had gone through the effort of the injectibles and everything. You never know though, with the trigger and ovulation, your lining might thicken up a bit, so it's not like you are totally out this month. I say give it your best effort and hope for the best. I'll be thinking of you because I know how disheartening all of this can be.

Brightspot, have you been back to your apartment yet? Was it flooding due to something inside the building or what? How frustrating! I hope that you do not have too much damage and can get everything back in order soon. Continuing to keep you and that little baby in my thoughts. Grow, grow, grow!

 

[royalasscherlover]

Thanks LV, Avia, and MP. You're right that I am still doing acupuncture and I know we've done some 'building blood' stuff in the first half of my cycle. I'll go in tomorrow so perhaps she can still work on that. I asked my doc about estrogen supplementation but was told that they don't recommend it because it suppresses follicle growth - isn't it crazy that they all have different opinions on everything? Trying to keep my chin up...

Avia, I would go get the endo stuff checked out now, I think you've waited long enough.

MP and LV, thinking good thoughts for you!

 

[brightlight]

Yay, BrightSpot! I'm so happy for you and your husband. I hope the flooding in your apartment isn't too bad.

Monkeyprincess - Congrats on selling your old house! I'm glad you were able to get back in time for your IUI. It sounds like you have a good plan in place in terms of next steps if this IUI doesn't work. Fingers crossed for you!

Shortblonde - I'm so sorry. Is it possible to take estrogen post-trigger to improve your lining? Since you'll start it after ovulation, you wouldn't need to worry about follicle growth. It would probably require more monitoring, but could you test it out this cycle since your IUI was cancelled? Hugs to you.

Aviastar - Even if your insurance doesn't cover infertility, you'll still get a huge discount if your doctor's office accepts your insurance since you'll be charged the insurance negotiated rate and not the out-of-pocket rate. I think it's a good idea to go ahead and schedule an appointment to be evaluated for endometriosis and to discuss your next steps. Sometimes, there can be a long wait for an initial appointment, so at least you'll have that in place. I hope you get a happy surprise this cycle though!

LV -

 

[split_shank]

Grrrr lost my post.

Quick check in as this week is crazy with to-do's before vacation this weekend. I had my US today that showed follicles, 2 @16, 2@14, 12, 2@11, 10, and 9. It is CD 12. They suggested trigger tomorrow, do you think this is too soon? My lining was 7mm, I thought that was low but they weren't concerned. So.... We'll see! I don't feel anything like the Clomid overstim golf ball feeling so that is nice! Lots of EWCM this weekend but kind of tapered off today, not sure what that's all about.

Hope everyone is having a good week! My work day was absolutely awful but I am determined not to let it get to me. I have a lot of other things to focus on this week!

 

[tammy77]

Avia, endo isn't just a fertility thing. I had a lap/d&c/dye test for my tubes and ins paid 100%! You just need to preface convos with something like " I'm having trouble conceiving, but am also experiencing xyz unpleasant endo symptoms". I hope that makes sense! It's late and I'm sleepy!

 

[monkeyprincess]

SB, my NP wasn't a fan of estrogen supplements for lining either when I brought it up with her. I can't remember the reasoning, but I guess it is one of those things where there isn't a consensus. I am definitely going to bring it up to the RE when and if I need to see one though because I don't think my NP necessarily has all of the information/experience an RE will have. I really hope lining isn't an issue for you next cycle, if you end up needing another one.

Brightlight, thanks for the good wishes. Sending them right back to you.

SS, sounds like you had a good response. I usually trigger when the leading follicles are around 20 I think. They must think yours will be big enough by today, and maybe they are concerned about waiting too long since you have some many that are close behind the leaders. Good luck!

Aviastar, Tammy makes a good point. It sounds like endo has caused pain and other issues, so it wouldn't just be for treatment/diagnosis of infertility. Hopefully your insurance covers it though, but definitely make sure you find out. My insurance won't cover any fertility treatment or diagnosis, which is so frustrating. Fortunately, we can afford it, but if I don't get pregnant soon, it is going to start to take a toll on your financial situation.

 

[amc80]

Hey ladies! I know I don't really belong here yet but I have a question. I met with an RE today. Yes, I know it was jumping the gun a bit, but 1) my insurance covers IF, 2) My OB wouldn't do any testing and said she would just refer me out, and 3) When I booked the appointment I thought it would take months to get in (it took two weeks).

Anyway, here I am. He looked over my charts and says it looks like I'm ovulating every month and our timing has been perfect, so why am I not pregnant? Yes, exactly what I was wondering, doc. He did an ultrasound and saw what he thinks is a CL cyst on my right ovary (I'm 1DPO). But, my poor left ovary...apparently it's attached to the top of my uterus. Dr. Google tells me that it's generally caused by endometriosis, and I don't have any symptoms of that. He said it's likely that tube is blocked so the next step is an HSG to check (and he didn't say but I am wondering if he was thinking that righty was blocked too?).

Well, technically the next step is CD3 blood work and a SA for DH.

I was hesitant to keep the appointment due to the thoughts/advice of others here and in the TTC thread, but I'm really glad I ended up going. Because, obviously, the best ovulation and timing in the world won't help if my tubes are blocked.

Do any of you ladies have experience with an ovary that is in the wrong spot?

 

[dani13]

Amc, honestly, I would not worry too much about this. Have the HSG first and see what that says. Remember, unless you have endo,a history of PID, or had pelvic surgery, why would you have adhesions causing your tubes to be blocked? That wouldn't make sense clinically. Yes, stranger things have happened, but I do believe that is unlikely. Pelvic organs usually move freely within the pelvis, so just because the ovary was near the top of the uterus when the doc scanned you, this doesn't necessarily mean it's adhered.

Anyway, I'm sure you will have the million dollar work up, so keep the faith that they will investigate this thoroughly. Good luck, still hoping this is your month!

 

[amc80]

Amc, honestly, I would not worry too much about this. Have the HSG first and see what that says. Remember, unless you have endo,a history of PID, or had pelvic surgery, why would you have adhesions causing your tubes to be blocked? That wouldn't make sense clinically. Yes, stranger things have happened, but I do believe that is unlikely. Pelvic organs usually move freely within the pelvis, so just because the ovary was near the top of the uterus when the doc scanned you, this doesn't necessarily mean it's adhered.

Anyway, I'm sure you will have the million dollar work up, so keep the faith that they will investigate this thoroughly. Good luck, still hoping this is your month!

Thanks, and me too. I'm not worried at this point, just trying to gather information. But I'm sure you're right.

Also, a few years back I had pneumonia. Took forever to heal, and when it finally did I ended up with a horrible pain every time I took a breath. It took a few pulmonologists 7-8 months to figured it out. Turns out I had a pleural adhesion and my lung was stuck to my ribcage. Ended up losing the bottom part of my right lung since it was dead. Not related to TTC, just illustrating that if something weird is going to happen to someone, it's going to be me.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Amc, I for one think it's great you went to the RE. Sure it might be a bit too soon to worry, but if you have insurance why not get a jump start? I don't have experience with endo or if I do have it, I don't seem to have symptoms. My ovaries have always been where they are expected to be. However. I've had two HSGs, and both times one of my tubes has had a bit of a blockage or something that made one tube spill the dye slowly. It is likely some kind of adhesion according to my doctor, yet, I have no symptoms of endo, have never had a pelvic infection or surgery, and I have never had an STD (I have only been with DH). So there is no clinical reason would have blockage in my tubes, yet I do. I know Dani works in the field and it is probably not a big deal, but I wouldn't poo poo the findings. It might explain the strong pain you've been feeling at ovulation, and it could mean your tubes aren't able to grab an egg from that side. Or maybe it really is nothing. By the way, that's great it looks like you ovulated from the other side this month, and maybe that will be all it takes. Really hoping you get pregnant soon and don't have to join us in this thread. It's not a fun place to be, but at least the company is good.

 

[dani13]

MP, my intention was not to downplay AMC's meeting w the RE, just trying to speak from my experience/ expertise, that's all.
It would be unlikely that all of a sudden she has adhesions out of nowhere. In your unfortunate situation, there may be adhesions due to unknown endo (which is only diagnosed w laparoscopy) or possibly a motility problem in your tube(s). Any way you look at it, it just stinks, and I really hope things work out for both of you!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Dani, I understand my situation is different from amc's, but like her,I do not have classical symptoms of endo or other clincal indications, yet I seem to have some sort of issue with my tubes, although it is unclear that is what is causing my fertility problems. Like you said, lap is the only way to diagnose endo, so someone who has it may not know about it until a problem arises. I have a friend who had to have an ovary removed due to a dermoid cyst, and they told her they found quite a bit of endo during the procedure, and she was worried about her future fertility, but lo and behold, she got pregnant her first month of trying ( two different times). So, you just never know. My whole point was that because they found something unusual in amc's ultrasound, she might has well follow up on it especially since she has fertility coverage because it might explain why she was able to get pregnant two times in a row on her first tries last time, but is having trouble this time. And if it turns out it is nothing or she ends up getting pregnant before she even needs to do further test, then that will be wonderful. Sorry amc, I didn't mean to start a debate over your situation! I am sure you know we are all cheering you on and hoping for a BFP for you very soon!