The Official TTC for 6 Months or More Thread

[Laila619]

Fisher, congrats on a good first u/s!!

Pave Lover, congrats on your TWINS!!

Hugs and dust to everyone else. I know how hard and sucky the TTC road can be. Just keep hanging in there, and don't be afraid to ask for a new protocol or even switch doctors if something just isn't working. I finally conceived DS # 1 after I switched to a much better RE.

 

[CurlySue]

Hi, ladies! Happy Thursday. All the cookie-related posts made me smile this morning! If I wasn't having aversions to sweets right now (blasphemous, right???), they probably would have made me hungry, too!

Tammy - I was thrilled reading your last update. Definitely sounds like your new office has its act together, which is a good sign. For what it's worth, my sister did both clomid and femara, and she strongly preferred femara (and was on it for the cycle they conceived #1). I hope you are still on the road to recovery. So sorry it was rough on you.

Drk - Nice to see you posting. I had read a lot of your story in older posts. I'm sorry the road to #2 has been so difficult.

Bella - I have to say, I'm fascinated by your posts about the acupuncture. I've always sort of wondered about it, but I don't know anyone personally who's done it. It sort of scares me - not sure why.

Bright - I am thinking of you today and hope your appointment goes well. Have you given any more thought to how much you'll share with your mom about your next steps? It must be tough when you feel she is pressuring you for the information. I'm not sure what I would do in your shoes. Your comment about the skinny jeans cracked me up. For some reason, baking normally relaxes me, so I did a TON of baking in late June and July when I was feeling bummed out. I recently put on a pair of pants that I hadn't worn since the spring, and it was quite humbling. I know I'm a bit bloated right now, but... not bloated enough for the pants not to button!! So I have my baking addiction to thank for that. Awesome!

Fisher - What a beautiful picture of your baby!!! I am so happy it went well for you!

JGator - I stalk you on the pregnancy thread, I hope you don't mind! I just read the post about your doctor not letting you go past your due date. Very interesting! Pretty exciting to have a clear "end date" in view.

to anyone I may have missed or who is out there lurking!

So... my u/s is tomorrow, and could use any positive thoughts you can spare. I will admit I am very, very anxious about it. Doesn't help that the nausea I was feeling last week seems to have gone away. Thankfully, I've been traveling this week and most of the week has been filled with tons of meetings, so time has flown by and I haven't had a ton of time to dwell on negative thoughts. My goal for the next 24 hours is to think positive thoughts and distract myself with a good book while I'm traveling home today (I downloaded "Gone Girl" to my tablet - anyone read it?). I'll try to give an update tomorrow after the appointment.

 

[Puppmom]

Curly, sending you positive vibes for tomorrow. FWIW, I had bleeding AND loss of symptoms and it turned out everything was fine. Sure did scare the heck out of me though!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Wow, so much going on here!

Fisher - congrats! It must be such a joy to hear the little heart beat.

Curley - congrats to you as well!

Tammy - I am sorry to hear that about your tube and endo, but at the same time, I am happy they figured out what is wrong. I am glad you have a plan in place to get some help.

Bright - looks like you are looking into IVF? I am hoping that the pricing works out for you.

Bella - I really hope you stop bleeding too, hopefully your procedure took care of everything.

DrK - I am wishing you luck on number 2. Can femara work without an HCG trigger? I am on menpur and the prescribing package states you have to do the HCG trigger. I assumed the FSH/LH would shut down your own natural production though a negative feedback loop, and therefore prevent the LH surge. But I could be wrong. Regardless, it must be hard with you and your husband not on the same page. My husband and I are on the same page on how far to go with ART, but we are not on the same page about adoption if this does not work. I am wishing you the best.

AFM - I love being in San Antonio, but my new job is rough. I am almost never on the computer at home anymore. I am working 10-11 hours days. I try to go to yoga 2 days a week, so I often get home late. But I am doing well. I took last cycle off to get settled at work. I negotiated time off for this cycle. I basically told them I could take my vacation and they would not have me for a whole day or they could give me the time off and have me for a half day. They elected the latter. So I am doing menpur again with an IUI this time. I am doing my forth day of injections today, and my next US is tomorrow. I will be cycle day 7 at that point. I am having some headaches, not sure if that is related to the medication or not. They are having trouble getting my blood, it took them 3 sticks yesterday and that was just my first blood draw. So I am wondering how tomorrow will go. Wish me luck.

 

[BrightSpot]

Happy Friday ladies!

Just stopping in quickly to wish Curly luck at her u/s today.
I hope if goes wonderfully & your little bean is doing great!
Keep us posted.

Hi to everyone else. I'll try to post more later...

 

[Sha]

Delurking to send quick shout-outs to everyone... this thread has been really active lately!

Curly - all the best for your u/s today! I hope that, despite the decrease in nausea, the baby is growing well.

FIsher - awwww!! what a cute little bebe!! Thanks for sharing the pic! Sooooo excited for you and Paul!

Tammy - it's great that you have a good plan going forward. Glad you feel comfortable with your new RE too.

BrightSpot - hope the ivf cost isn't too much. I can relate to the situation with your mom. My mom keeps dropping hints and pressing for info too, but I don't want to start sharing or then I'll have to tell her EVERYTHING (and mommy's a worrier), so I try to stay as quiet as possible for now.

Drk - Sorry ttc#2 has been difficult. Are you guys going to do any more intervention at all or just NTNP for now ? My DH also doesn't think we need to have another baby, but I would love to have another. We had a discussion/argument about it recently and agreed to NTNP. It's tough when you're not on the same page, like someone else said.

Bella - good to hear the acupunture seems to be working!

to anyone else I missed!

 

[CurlySue]

Thank you *so* much for the well wishes, everyone! It meant a lot to me.

The u/s went perfectly! We saw a heartbeat of 146, and our little one is measuring 7w3d, which is exactly where I thought I should be based on when I thought I ovulated. As soon as the u/s tech told me there was a heartbeat, I broke into tears. I was so happy and so relieved. It was just a rush of emotion. My EDD is May 4th, which my dorky (but cute) DH said is a Star Wars birthday ("May the Fourth be with you" - get it?), so we are calling our little bean Little Jedi. Our next u/s will be 4 weeks from now for the NT scan.

Firecracker!! Sooo great to hear from you! Your days sound incredibly long, but I'm so glad you are liking San Antonio. I hope your u/s looked good today and the IUI does the trick for you this cycle.

Bright, looking forward to hearing how your appointment went.

Sha, what is new with you? We like when you de-lurk!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Congratulations, Curly! So happy for you! Love your little nickname.

Firecracker, wishing you lots of luck with this upcoming cycle!

 

[Sha]

Yayyy for a great ultrasound, Curly!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Yay Curly!!!! So glad to hear that little jedi is snug and thriving!







AFM-I am on day 6 of my second period (I had 1 day then 6 days off and now 6 days on)...all bright red med-heavy flow. I am moody, annoyed, hypersensitive, tired, and really don't understand this at all! My OBGYN is great as an OBGYN, and I think would order any tests I asked him to, but he's not into the RE side of things at all so he's just like "go see the RE guys"...

I have accupuncture tomorrow (crazy b/c DH scheduled a work shift for tommorow so B is coming with me to my appointment we'll see how that goes). Anyway, I am going to talk to the accupuncturist, but I am thinking that I might need to go to an RE to see WTF is going on with my uterus/hormones. I am concerned that an RE is going to push ART and in general be more aggressive than what I want, and my insurance only covers a limited number of REs in network and isn't really clear about what it covers...so, we'll see how that goes. I don't really want treatment from an RE right now, I just want to get an accurate diagnosis and know what treatment options are available to me.

I just want a regular period/to know WTF is going on with my body, my fertility, etc....sigh...so sick of feeling like I am in perpetual PMS

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Curly,

Yay!! It's such a wonderful moment when you hear the thump thump! We recorded ours & I have played it over & over! We got it for the baby when he or she is older, but I'm not sure how long the battery will last with my frequent use.

Bella,

Does B have a favorite busy activity? Maybe he will be distracted.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Bella I think seeing an RE is a good idea, not to pursue reproductive treatments per se, since you are not interested in that, but to try and find out what is going on with your hormones and cycles. I really want some answers for you!! And some relief.

Yay Curly and Fisher on your US results!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Bella I think seeing an RE is a good idea, not to pursue reproductive treatments per se, since you are not interested in that, but to try and find out what is going on with your hormones and cycles. I really want some answers for you!! And some relief.

Yay Curly and Fisher on your US results!

Bella - I agree with Dreamer, RE's don't just do infertility, they handle PCOS, endometrosis, and other hormone imbalances. Often these imbalances lead to infertility, but they often take care of women who are not interested in TTC. Typically, things that cause irregular cycles or other hormone issues are covered by insurance no matter who is taking care of you. If you see an RE, I would just communicate that while you want to think about a baby in the future, right now you just want to normalize your cycle.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

thanks DD and LtFirecracker! Unfortunately, most clinics/practices in NYC seem to really REALLY stress the IVF side of things and most doctors in those clinics (at least thus far) don't seem to have much interest in other hormonal imbalances, etc., but I found doctors in two practices (Cornell and NYU) whose fertility treatments are really highly regarded, but also get high marks for their patient care, listening to patients, individualized approaches, etc. My accupuncturist also said she has had many patients very much like and respond to these Drs and they are open to accupuncture,etc.

So, I am calling my insurance Monday to see if they'll cover me at either of those practices/for the specific doctors. The Drs don't show up on the online search by speciality (only 17 REs do show up and they all seem quite sketchy except for 1...but he's in a far away part of Westchester, not in the city...)

but...it seems that NYU and maybe Cornell are designated as "centers of choice" for my insurance so I am hoping that means they will cover treatment there even though for some reason the doctors themselves don't show up on my insurance site.

B was great at accupuncture today and my accupuncturist said that many women experience the kind of crazy cycles I do. Although irregular, they are not "incurable" which is what I have been FREAKING out about for the past few days. So, here's hoping that I stop bleeding this week and/or find a great RE who is also covered by my insurance...

Either way, accupuncture was very calming today as she talked me off the ledge and the treatments seem to help so I am glad for that.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

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

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

FISHER!!!! I just happened to open this thread and am more than delighted to see your precious little one!!!

I will be praying for all three of you!!!


And my heart goes out to all of you on the thread...and prayers for little ones for all of you soon, too!

 

[dani13]

Just popping in to say congratulations to Fisher!!! Im so thrilled for you!! Best wished for a happy & healthy pregnancy!!!

Wishing everyone else good luck and lots and lots of baby dust for all of you!!!

 

[BrightSpot]

Curly, I'm thrilled to hear your u/s went so well! Big hugs to you. You & your dh must be so happy & relieved. And I love your dh's comment about your EDD. Too funny. Continued dust for a happy & healthy pregnancy & little Jedi. 
I'm still not sure what I'll share with my mom about next steps. I guess we have some time to figure that out though. 
As for bloating, just blame it on the Jedi!  

Sha, yep, it's really hard to divulge some information to mom without divulging everything, isn't it? I kind of wish I'd kept mum about the whole process. Oh well. I'm sorry yours is pestering you for info. I hope it's not too stressful & that you can keep her worries at bay. 

Ltl, it's great to see you back! I'm glad you're liking San Antonio but sorry your new job has been rough. 
I also had a lot of headaches (daily ones which often included nausea) on Gonal f. They stopped a few days after I stopped the injections so I think were hormone related. I hope yours stop soon. How are your u/s going? Do you know how many follicles you have? Best of luck for the iui. I hope this is your month!

Bella, I'm glad acupuncture was calming & that B was great during your appointment. I'm also glad to hear you're looking into seeing a RE to help straighten out your cycles. I would think that getting to the bottom of what's going on would help on the ttc front too even if you don't pursue aggressive treatment. 

Jgator, thanks, dear. I hope I can get off this crazy ttc train soon too. How are you doing? You're getting close!

Pupp, thanks, lady! I hope you're doing well & baking away. 

Mp, thanks for your sweet post. I think of you often & am so happy you're going to me a mom soon. I do wish we could've shared the pregnancy journey but I guess my baby is just taking his/her sweet time. Kinda like me. I hope things will fall into place soon. 

Tammy, thinking of you & hoping you're doing well. 

Fisher, continued dust & prayers coming your way. So happy for you!

Afm, I finally had the meeting with the office manager at the new RE's office on Friday. She was very thorough about all of the charges & it was a lot of information (frankly, a bit overwhelming.) At first glance, it looks like going with the new office would be about $2k more than with my old RE, who gave us a bit of a discount. So I guess I need to figure out if that's the full & total charge with my old RE (no additional fees that weren't mentioned) & if so, I guess I could ask the new RE if there's any flexibly with pricing. I really would rather try the new office as I like what I've seen so far (pricing aside) but if there's a significant difference in cost, I'm not sure if I can justify the switch. 

 

[Bella_mezzo]

bright, If you are comfortable messaging me through my rose gold eternity band listing on DiamondBistro I'd love to hear who your new RE will likely be and what you like about them...

 

[BrightSpot]

Bella, just sent you a message on db. Gorgeous ring, btw!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Hello everyone,

Just a quick fly buy for an update. I my US today and had 3 follicles on the right that were 20 mm, and a couple on the left that were in the 14-15mm range. They had me trigger right after the US and the IUI is tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!

 

[BrightSpot]

Ltl, that's great news! Fingers crossed all goes well tomorrow & that this is it for you!

 

[JGator]

Congrats Curly on a great ultrasound!

Firecracker, good luck! Your follies sound great!

Bright, hope everything gets sorted out with the finances for the new RE. It never hurts to ask if they can do anything on the price to match your current RE.

Fisher, great news on your baby's strong heart beat! Congratulations!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

good luck LtlFirecracker Sticky, sticky dust!!!!!!!

 

[CurlySue]

Good luck today, Firecracker!! Sending positive vibes your way!

Bright, I really hope your new RE's office is open to providing flexibility with pricing. It's definitely worth asking.

Bella, hugs to you! You sound so frustrated by the irregularity of your cycles. I would imagine you should be able to find a good RE in NYC who can help you get to the root of the issue.

 

[tammy77]

Hello ladies!

I confess I have been lurking but haven't posted because the truth is I don't know what to say these days and I'm never able to check in except on my phone. I stink at making sure I include everyone even when I have a big monitor to scroll back through!

Anyhow, please forgive me. I am so excited for all the recent bfp girls and Ltl's awesome follie count! Good luck lady! Bella, I'm sorry about the weird bleeding that doesn't sound right at all and I hope an RE can help you!!

Bright, I (to a way lesser degree) can relate to the money thing. We've been toying with using an ob gyn to do clomid/iui to save money but everywhere I've read online says to find the best re you can afford and you won't regret it. So I'm passing along that nugget, especially if you're set on one ivf cycle. You will always wonder if you go with the less desirable one and something gets messed up. Big hugs, and prayers to you on your decision.

I'll be back later for a more coherent afm. nothing much tho!

 

[drk]

Just skimmed through a bunch of responses since the last time I was on. Can't totally remember who said what, so sorry!

Femara can work without HCG as you'll get a natural surge as far as I remember. If you're going to do IUI, it's good to have the trigger to time things right and be sure the egg's released. I think people do take femara and see what happens though.

Curly - congrats on a great U/S!
Fisher - love your photo. Hope to see another soon with a little gummy bear on it!

About IVF, I wouldn't pay too much attention to how much. I'd pay more attention to stats, convenience, and to how you mesh with the RE. Our RE was definitely the most expensive around here, but I felt like he had some of the best stats in the city, so I figured paying for 1 successful cycle with him would be less expensive than paying for 2 cycles with someone else. He really worked around my schedule and tailored things to me, which I appreciated. I'd absolutely go with him again if I could ever talk DH into another round, as he's got fantastic lab/ultrasound hours in the mornings which let me get monitored without missing work (which I can't do).

DH and I aren't on the same page. I'd do another IVF cycle, he refuses. Our compromise this year was to try our frozen embryos out, and see what happened. We had a blighted ovum with the first try, and the second failed. I'd still like to try again, but can't talk him into it. Now we'll just see what God has in store for us on our own.

 

[tammy77]

Okay back on my way home from work so I'll try a me post. I'm good at those usually . I think I've mostly digested things at this point but I'm still unsure if I'm being completely honest. I waffle so much. I know I want to go with this RE for sure but it's a fairly complicated road to get there. I have to change our medical grp with my insurance, then choose a pcp, then get an appt with them THEN get a referral for the RE. I really wanted to get this show on the road next cycle but I can't figure out how. I keep worrying that we'll miss our window of opportunity since they did find endo in addition to my crap tube. I so want to be ktfu before I'm 36.

Dh is being amazing about it all, which helps. He even said today that even though it's awkward, he wants to do the sample at the facility to make sure we get the most accurate lab results, and that he's on board with iui if she says that is much more likely to lead to a baby than just meds and timed intercourse. So much for the romance of ttc, eh?

Anyhow, that's where I'm at. Ready but terrified of making the wrong decision and costing us our chance at a baby. It was a huge blow to find out that I definitely have multiple problems between the tube issue, my uterus and my advancing maternal age. The only plus is I've conceived before with my ex and I do ovulate regularly (tho this month is totally messed up, ugh). I'm on cd 17, had lap on cd 6. Usually I've o'd by cd 16 but all I've had is some patches of Ewcm and very faint lines on wondfo opks. I just feel like a time bomb.

Okay done whining! thank you for letting me get all of that out. I have been bottling and ignoring but it's keeping me up at night now.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

drk-huge, huge hugs! I understand re the DH not being on the same page regarding pursuing another child (especially when specific and definitive steps need to be taken to pursue having another child).

DH and I are currently at an impasse regarding starting another adoption and it is one of the most difficult/frustrating places to be. I think the thing that makes it so frustrating is that it doesn't seem like a 50-50 compromise, it's one of those decisions that is all or nothing and so one person's feelings (usually the person who is saying "no") matter more than the other person's.

I feel strongly as well that I want our child to have siblings and that I don't want a huge gap between them and, in terms of adoption, that it seems crazy to me to not adopt again when there are so many children (especially boys over the age of 2) who need families and we want more children...in our case, DH wants more children and really wants to try getting pregnant (well, me getting pregnant and he is becoming more and more certain that as much as he loves our son he doesn't want to go through another adoption process/the initial year+ of bonding, etc.

 

[tammy77]

Apparently all I needed to do was mention my ovulation woes here because I think I did end up o'ing sometime late yesterday! I know it's unlikely with everything (ok highly unlikely) but I'm really excited to see what my post lap tww brings.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

I just called and made an appt with an RE. Earliest apt is in late Nov, but I figure that will give me sometime to get used to this idea and give the accupuncture some more time to strengthen my body.

I am going to get my file/labs/films/surgery report, etc. from my current OBGYN to take with me...anything else I should do?