38 and TTC first baby, anyone else?

[Wish2BMom]

yay, dandi!!! I'm glad you can move forward with everything!!
I thought the egg reserve was AMH? I got lost in all of the acronyms. I do know that mine was low, though - paired with DH's SA results, we hopped aboard USS IVF. I hope you don't have to but I'm saving you a seat just in case. And a cocktail for when you board.

 

[elliecain]

Pothole, the doctor sounded rather uncaring. I hate it when I get a jaded health professional. Sometimes they seem to forget that we are people... I'm glad you stuck to what you want to do. I really hope this works out quickly.

Dandi, I've got an HSG coming up too and am dreading it. My uterus is apparently hard to reach so smear tests are agony for me and I've been warned about the HSG. Like you, I'm hoping so much to be pregnant this month and not need any more tests. DH hopes to avoid the SA too as he had to deliver his sample to the hospital that is half an hour away at 8.30am!!!!

So I'm hanging out at 8dpo. My ultrasound is booked in for next Wednesday and AF due the day after. I had day 21 bloods done yesterday and getting the results for both lots later today.
We started moving house yesterday. I'm going to do all the little bits and dh has organised a friend to help him with furniture. I normally do it all, but I'm playing the "possibly pregnant" card this time!!!

Does anyone know what the optimum FSH result is? I realise the lower the better but would like to know a ballpark figure when I get mine late.

 

[Dandi]

Best of luck Ellie! I hope that you're pregnant this month and don't have go any further with the tests. Fingers crossed for us both!

DH got his semen analysis results back today and the doctor's office told him that they were fine. So A) that's great news and one less thing to worry about B) that means it must be my body that's the problem. I have such unexplainable mixed emotions. I'm utterly relieved, but I also want to cry.

 

[Pothole]

Ellie, hopefully, you are pregnant even as I type this and won't need this. You joined us after my hsg, so I'm repeating advice here. If you walk into the room and there are no stirrups for your feet, leave your shoes on. The table I was on was a flat metal table with two short metal bars to rest your feet on. If you have shoes on, you can brace against them and absorb some of the pain and pressure. Without shoes, you have no leverage and your feet will hurt along with everything else because you'll be pushing so hard against those tiny rests. It may feel odd to be wearing only shoes below the waist, but it could help.

Dandi, I felt exactly the same way. I don't think that there is any right or wrong way to feel in those moments. It just is what it is. But if you feel like crying, go ahead. Sometimes a good cry clears the air and makes things easier to deal with. As much as it hurts DH to see me cry, it's usually worse when I pretend I'm okay. We are here if you need to vent.

 

[Dandi]

Thanks Pothole. I'm over it now. I had a mini pity party this afternoon, then got my head right and moved on. I spent my evening filling out the endless medical history for the RE and reading HSG horror stories (bad move). So has anyone had a HSG that wasn't really that bad?

 

[Star2011]

Goodmorning Ladies,

Pothole glad you made a decision based on you and not that horrible doc. Maybe this IUI is the bfp one. Hoping for the best for you.

Ellie- i agree with Pothole that you get your bfp this month so as to bypass all the upcoming tests and procedures. Enjoy your new home

Dandi- Am sure there are people who have had a super easy hsg. Mine was ok when the dye first passed through the left tube, BUT when it passed through my right tube it was painful. Dh had to hold my hand coz i was trying not to scream but clenching my teeth. Thats the tube that is blocked. Hopefully your Hsg goes smoothly. Dh SA results are also good but am the one with issues. I had a moment of self pity that day when we found out that i have a blocked right tube and DH had super results with his SA. But now am good knowing that people can still get pregnant with one tube. Best of luck with your upcoming tests and procedures Dandi.

Hello to the other Ladies.

Afm, still on break this month. We are on our way to Chicago for DHs friend wedding tomorrow. They are SDAs so can only do weddings on Sunday. Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far.

 

[Mdc]

Happy Saturday lovely ladies!

Dandi, my HSG was no big deal. Just a couple deep breaths on the slight cramping passed. I did prescribe a glass of wine with lunch before I went bc I was nervous The RE that did it said the majority of time most women jump off the table saying it was easy. I know some people had way different experiences, but I think most are not so bad. Not the experiences here (bc we are just honest here), but some on other sites are a little over zealous.

 

[Mdc]

Also, are you going to an RE or radiologist? My first attempt (supposed stenotic cervix) was with a radiologist and that is where they had the flat bed like Pothole had. The RE had nice comfy cushioned stirrups. The RE said that some radiologist are better than others doing the HSG. As an RE they do them all day long and they are more skilled. So I highly recommend doing it with an RE.

 

[Dandi]

Well I was referred to a radiologist to have it done, but when I called to set up my RE appt I was told I could wait and have it done there in office. Because of my cycle and appt date though, it would set me back another whole month if I wait to have it at the REs office. I'm going to try to just suck it up and go have it done so it's one step closer.

 

[Mdc]

I would not want to wait either. Hope it goes super smooth for you! Good luck!!!!

 

[Wish2BMom]

just a note - mine was with a radiologist and was a piece of cake. I didn't feel a thing and was more interested in the xray pics of it spilling out.

 

[Dandi]

I can't decide what to do, ugh! I've been going back and forth all weekend between getting my HSG and day 3 fsh done before the RE appt so that we have the results and are ready to go or wait until the RE appt and have her do them the following cycle. And I started tonight so I need to decide by tomorrow. Oh, the pressure.

 

[krasavitsa147]

Happy end of the Monday workday, ladies! At least where I am...

You know, I am so happy that we have so many very special teachers on our thread! I could never do it. The decisions you make can be so tough and effects you have on young lives are so significant. I had thread catchup to do today, so that really stuck out at me. I love my job but have the utmost respect for those who teach and those who care for those with special needs.

Mdc, glad to hear those symptoms aren't overwhelming. Keeping my fingers crossed that you have a nice first tri.

Ellie, glad to hear you're getting things moving, so to speak! Hopefully you can switch the "might be pregnant" to the "pregnant" card very shortly.

Wish, Star, Sugar, Dandi, Pothole-hope you ladies have an awesome week, and anyone else I may have missed. Welcome to any new ladies I may have missed, too-spent the last week on vacation with DH building a chicken coop, so was offline a lot. Got the baby chicks in last Wednesday. OMG...so cute!

AFM, CD 17. I O'ed this morning. It's an interesting thing with those darned OPKs-I was negative from CD12 on, negative twice yesterday, positive at 2:30 this AM, and felt the sharp ovulation pain I've grown accustomed to feeling at around 7:30. Last test yesterday evening was at 5:30, so I suppose if I just missed the start of it...sheesh. That's not much notice, ovaries.

Best to all of you!

 

[elliecain]

Star, have a great time in Chicago! Am I being thick... what is SDA?
Dandi, I reckon just go with your gut feeling. I'm sure they would both be fine, just do whichever will put you at your ease the most.
Mdc, how is the little bean? Any new symptoms?
Krasa, thank you. It's not always easy, but it can be really rewarding and I can't imagine doing anything else. It's funny with ovulation pain. I'd never noticed before, but now I chart I can feel it and recognise it from before. Previously, I think I had thought it was trapped wind or something!!!

Afm, 11dpo is drawing to a close here in England and I've not had the slightest urge to poas this cycle. Seriously, the lack of a second line is so awful that I've decided to just wait. AF is due either Wed or Thurs and I've got an ultrasound booked for Wed, so it's all good. I got my blood results today and my progesterone was 35.2 and my FSH was 8.2 and LH and prolactin were normal. Once I've had the all clear from the chlamydia test, I've got to book in my HSG. I've got my first appointment with consultant booked for 1st October, a week after DH has his SA. It's all so full on and I'm just hoping so much that all this will be irrelevant by this weekend. I'm not going to poas but I'll know by Friday, as I'm always on a 27 or 28 day cycle.

We finished moving today and I ache all over. I borrowed my dad's van and trailer and we did 7 loads over 3 days. DH kept being distracted by stuff while we were packing up and loading, so I'm sure I ended up doing far more than him. We did get a neighbour to help with the wardrobes though, as I drew the line at that! Our new house is so gorgeous, even has a nursery already, though it's currently filled with guitars and amps!

DH and I are going to Reading Festival on Saturday, mainly to see Metallica. DH is a rock guitarist, so he's really excited. We went to see ACDC in July and, frankly, I won't be going in the mosh pit this time if I haven't seen AF by then!

So how is everyone? I'm hoping for more bfps on this thread soon!!! xxx

 

[sugargully]

Hi! I'm still here. Just waiting to O and silently stalking you ladies. Ho hum.

 

[Wish2BMom]

ellie - my goodness, you live a rock star life!! hahaa! So here's a weird request and I can't tell if it's too much sharing - I LOVE looking at gorgeous houses online. I don't need to know the address or anything but if you don't mind sharing any pics? I can't interior decorate my way out of a paper bag but I just love looking at the different details in cool houses. The charm gets me!
That's a good plan for poas - I hated seeing that stark white answer every time. to you and hopes that AF doesn't show! Has anything felt different at all?

krasa - I hope you have a wonderful week too. I'm with you - these ladies who teach and work with special needs are angels. I love my job and there's no way I could handle theirs.

Hi Sugar! Hurry up and O already!

nothing going on here - met with the RE yesterday for the plan for next cycle and we're basically not changing a thing. As soon as cd1 rolls around, I start up on my BCP again. I'll take that for 10 days or so and then start my stims. The hypothetical calendar I went over with one of her nurses a couple of weeks back should stick, so if all goes according to plan, I'll be transferring the first week of Oct.
She asked if we wanted to do the genetic testing beforehand, to look for any abnormalities in the embryos before transferring. We're not going to do that - she said what would make the most sense for us would be to do 'batching', which is to have a few cycles of IVF to get a good amount of eggs (considering they only retrieved 7 from me last time) and test them all at once, rather than testing at the end of each cycle. I don't know how many more IVFs are covered by my insurance, but I don't think it's enough to do this batching thing. And given that my mc ended b/c of the most common abnormality and not some weird thing we have to be on the lookout for, we're ok foregoing this process again.
I know this is pure Greek to some of you but I know you also like to learn about the other stuff, so that's why I share!

 

[Dandi]

This is exciting Wish!!! Basically just one more month and you could be PUPO again! Question so I can learn... are the stims a shot?

Afm, I decided to wait on my hsg and day 3 bloods until I see the RE. I couldn't find anyone who would order by day 3 fsh, so I just decided I'll wait and it do it all with the RE to make sure it's what she wants. Plus, I heard the hsg is cheaper in office instead of at the hospital and we need to save as much as we can since we don't know how long this ride will be. My appt is on the 10th, so I figure I'll probably have to wait until my October cycle to do all of the tests and then maybe we will have a plan in place for November. I'm already missing my zen month.

 

[krasavitsa147]

Wish, thank you for sharing that. It does help me, I know, to hear about you ladies that are further along in that process than I. We did a great job of timing this cycle, and if it doesn't work out, I'll be headed for an RE referral to see if we can't get this show on the road. We were thinking that we would wait to see if DH's swimmers got their act together, but at this point, I'm on the dark side of 38 and can't justify more delay. So hearing about the workup, etc really does help.

Ellie, I'm with Wish. Would love to see pics of your new place. And also agree with what you said about testing. I've only done so a couple of times but each time that negative is a huge letdown to my spirit. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts this week-I so hope you're going to get that LO you long for!

Dandi-makes sense to wait, I think. If it isn't something that your RE thinks is necessary then it's just one more blood draw. We have a cap on reproductive care (thanks, insurance!) so I have to be watchful of that stuff.

Hope you O soon Sugar!

Here, feeling upbeat and positive. I feel like there is a plan in place if there is another negative this month, and I always feel better when there is a plan-another step forward, anyway. And we covered the three days before O, so hopefully that gave us the best chance we can have, if it isn't our month, we did everything we could do.

Have a good day, everyone!

 

[Wish2BMom]

I know, i'm so excited!!! yep, the stimulants or stims are the daily shots I have to give myself. So the stims stimulate the ovaries to produce as many plump follicles as possible, and then I have to start an antagonist so I don't overstim and the follicles rupture and I ovulate. They keep watch on the follies with daily ultrasounds by then and measure them. When we have enough of them measuring between 18-20, THEN I have one last shot that is the trigger. That is one last burst of stuff for the follicles and then 36 hrs later is my retrieval.
It's really such a super cool process.

And for the real nerds, here's just nice to know info....
I asked yesterday if all of this meant that I would hit menopause earlier than I would normally have without IVF. I have diminished ovarian reserve (DOR, low AMH test results) so was taking all of these eggs at once each time carving off months until menopause? she said nope (and I'm not the first to ask) - apparently each month, we have multiple follicles with eggs that sorta fight for the hormones that we are putting out. The one that gets the most wins and ovulates, all of the others die out. So the IVF process is just giving us more of that hormone so more follicles can stimulate and grow eggs than normal and these extra eggs are just the ones that would normally die. Cool, huh?

 

[Pothole]

Wish, that is fascinating! If iui doesn't end up being our ticket, I will be picking your brain. Speaking of which, my 2nd try is scheduled for Thursday at 4pm. Lucky me, I get to do my trigger shot at 4 am tomorrow morning. I am already dreading it. It is a bit after 7 pm here, and I very well may go to bed in the next half hour just to make up for that truly unnatural wake up time.