40+ and Trying for 1st? Join in!!

[kaysbc]

Hello everyone. I've been gone for a long time, so sorry about that. But unfortunately Im still here in the TTC world.

I'm having a pretty terrible day, and I thought of you gals. AF has arrived and it just so happens that its on the day my friends blow up facebook with baby announcements because they just found out the sex of their baby. Seriously there are just some days I can't take it. Another girlfriend of mine had a baby last week, and I was fine with that, but today in the mail her thank you card arrived for the flowers I sent. I broke out in tears. This day is too much.

Welcome all the new gals: wcpp, PS, cruzin, tammy, justme! PS I'm so sorry to read your news. Hang in there, this board is great for giving hugs when you need them.
I've been on this board for years (yes years) but this year have not been around much because I was dealing with other medical issues. August marked 3-years of TTC'ing for me.

News for me: I'm still TTC, seeing my acupuncturist although she treats me mostly for my shoulder injury and it is uncommon for her to do a fertility treatment on me now. Usually only does that at the time of ovulation.
I'm still taking a giant list of chinese herbs and supplements.

I went to my PCP and had a bunch of tests done. to check for vitamin deficiencies and hormones. I found out my vitamin D is really low so I'm supplementing that. My estradiol is really high, so I'm taking DIM for that. I also found out I'm pre-diabetic. I went to a nutritionist and she does not think its due to my diet but rather due to my accident. Apparently being in pain consistently for long periods of time raises your blood sugar. Who knew.
Nonetheless I have stopped drinking coffee and stopped eating refined carbs and things with added sugar. Eating is seriously no fun anymore. I need to get my A1c tested every 3 months.

Best of luck to everyone on here, I miss you gals and you all have so much going on. I wish everyone the best. We all sincerely deserve it.

 

[terripeachy]

kaysbc- Just reading your second paragraph is making me want to cry.

Hi to the new ladies. You have to keep up this thread so I have someone/something to follow!

 

[Vonn]

kaysbc--thank you for the update! I am so sorry you've been down. It really seems like your accident has sidelined TTC, or least taken priority. That was many months ago, so it is a huge bummer that you are still have pain and side effects. Low vit d can cause serious fertility issues; who knows, maybe raising that up will have a huge impact! Hormone imbalance like estrogen dominance can also be super problematic. Good luck getting all that in order. I really hope things come together for you soon!

 

[Pussycat1]

Hi Ladies, it's certainly gone quiet on here. I keep popping by hoping to read some positive news for you all.
Kay, I'm so sorry that you're having a rough time still. Please don't lose hope, i know that's hard however it took me 4 years and 9 rounds of fertility treatment to get here it can happen. Each step of the way you learn something new and that will bring you closer to your miracle baby. Sending you big hugs.
Vonn / Terri how you doing?
Hi to everyone else, I miss hearing from you all! x

 

[Jean40]

I just found out that where I work is changing the health insurance next year, so I have to find out what fertility things they cover. I already maxed out lifetime number of certain diagnostic scans on the old insurance.

 

[kaysbc]

I'm in the same situation Jean. It's time for me to sign up for insurance for next year and I need to find out what's covered. My insurance has never covered any fertility treatments. I"m hoping they will, but I"m not too excited, I'm sure I won't find this change when I look into it.

Thanks for the hellos everyone and good wishes. I am in a better mood now. First day of AF is always rough but I've settled back down to "normal".

 

[Jean40]

I went for my lining scan & it's at a 10, so perfect. Then I had to turn in legal paperwork, get the rest of my medication schedule, and pay. It was only $2750, which is MUCH less than I was originally told (unless they thought that would include medication, which my insurance is covering most of except for one type of progesterone). So, I went and did a little shopping. I bought fabric to make baby blankets. Just a little wishful thinking and I'll have enough leftover fabric to make some for future baby showers, which I know are coming.

 

[Vonn]

Tammy--welcome! Our group's been quiet lately, but it's nice to have a place to come where we are all 40+ and trying for our first. It's certainly got its own tribulations. It looks like you stopped and started back up. Have you ever tried any ART?

Jean--FET on Nov 3, exciting! I can't recall if you'd told us how many embryos you will be transferring. What's the story there?

Pussycat--how's the pregnancy going? If you aren't comfortable writing a lot about here, is there a thread where you are sharing/updating?

Kay--so glad you are feeling a little better!

AFM--still no AF, CD 53. I am getting seriously annoyed. I hadn't wanted to force AF with provera as I figured my body needed this time to heal and get back on track, but this is ridiculous. I have a lab appt tomorrow to get progesterone, estradiol, FSH checked so the dr can try to figure out what's going on.

 

[Jean40]

I am transferring 2 embryos! I stop Lupron tonight (thank God, stupid headaches) & start adding crinone tomorrow.

 

[Weezy9]

Hello Ladies
How is everyone? And welcome all the new ladies
Kay - it's lovely to have you back and seeing you back on the thread. It's awful that the accident has impacted so much in terms of your health, fertility and time, but at least your getting back on track.
Terri - have have you been. Have you any plans ahead?
Vonn - did you research anymore into the immune side of things?
Jean - hope insurance works out
Pussycat - wow your half way there. Any clue to if it's blue or pink team yet?

AFM: it's been ages since I've last posted as things have been up in the air a bit. Last time I found I had elevated immune issues and my clinic wanted me to take Humira which I wasn't keen so I pushed to do intralipid instead. The clinic wasn't keen on this and wouldn't let me cycle until my levels are down. So I went to see another clinic who was happy for me to take 3 rounds of intralipid and let me cycle at the same time as waiting for the immune re-testing result ( if the levels were still high I would freeze all my embies) I took 3 intralipid 2 weeks part and the retested, The results came back within range and my immune levels almost halved to what it originally was. I was obviously really pleased as I don't need to freeze the embryos until my level went down.

I'm in my 2nd week of stimulation. I had a scan on Monday and all is well but a little disappointed that I only have 8 follicles. When I had my monitoring scan in September I had 11 so having so much less has put a little damper on me. 5 of them is growing at the same rate 15mm, 1 is 10mm and 2 of them is small, maybe 5mm.

Back tomorrow for another scan. The nurse said I may go into EC on Friday/Saturday but will see what happens tomorrow.

I'll just have to hope with the ones I've got, they are good quality and my nutritionist has help do the job of improve quality of my eggs.
I had my review with the Dr on my immune and he's please that levels are now within range but he has ordered me to do another intralipid tomorrow. He said it's really important that I do that as don't want any flare up whist stimulating!

In my last IVF cycle in March, they found 2 small polyp in my cervix. Although it wasn't an issue but they advised me to have it removed. When I had my monitoring scan in September, my consultant found my polyp was still there when they should have removed it when I had my hysteocopy in July by my local hospital. I was so annoyed and my IVF clinic wrote a letter to the hospital to ask them to give me an earlier appointment to have it removed prior to my next round of IVF ( which is now). I never got an earlier appointment...or so I thought. I got a letter today from the hospital which was also sent to my GP saying following the letter from the GP, they have given me an urgent/last minute appointment but I didn't turn up!!! I would of turned up if someone had told me I had an appointment. I didn't get a letter, phone call, voicemail or a text message to notify me of this appointment.... I'm so annoyed with whoever made this blunder.....I know I'm doing IVF, I need to chill...relax...zen......grrrr

 

[tammym1974]

Thanks for the warm welcome, ladies!

Vonn--Yes, you are right. I thought I was done with the madness of TTC but here I am again. No ART for me yet. I was always on the fence with that before but I'm open to it now. I hope I didn't wait too long.

 

[Reverie22]

Hi Everyone, it's been forever since I posted (page 120-121).
As far as health insurance I thought I'd share what has been helpful for us as this is the time of year when it's time to sign up for insurance. Although the study I posted recommended IVF over IUI neither was covered by my insurance or my husband's.
We then made the decision to purchase my own insurance by shopping the policies and finding one that covered IVF. While it is twice as expensive monthly it covered 4 IVF cycles/transfers per year and the majority of the medication. To put that in perspective I paid $700 for $17,000 of meds last June for my first round IVF.
Unfortunately that round was unsuccessful, we switched clinics when the Dr wanted to move on to DE. My husband and I felt that we finally had the insurance coverage so why not pursue more IVF rounds?
In July I had a polypectomy to remove 7 (!) polyps and are in the middle of our 2nd IVF cycle. The meds this time around were 100% covered.
I just received a notice that our policy is expiring at the end of this year, I am able to refill the meds 2x before it expires.
Depending on the state you live in find out if you are able to shop around for a policy that fits your health needs instead of relying on your employer's insurance. We never would have been able to afford multiple IVF attempts without it.

 

[Vonn]

Weezy--so good to hear from you! How did the scan yesterday go? I hope this is your cycle! 8 follicles seems like a dream to me. Was 11 your antral follicle count at the start of a cycle? My AFCs are like 3, so getting into double-digits gives you such a better chance!!

Sorry you had so much trouble with the polyp removal situation. I hope it will be water under the bridge when you have a successful IVF. This stuff can be sooo maddening. I've had crazy crap to deal with with my polypectomy. I made 100% sure the referral I needed for the hospital I was have the surgery at was in place with my insurance company. Afterwards, I got a $7400 bill for the surgery & my insurance claimed I did not have a referral. That is a bald-faced lie. D@mn scamming insurance company... After a bunch of hassle, I did get the referral redone and no more $7400 bill, thankfully.

Thanks for asking about the immune testing. I have had some done & everything's come back negative. Have some tests that I couldn't get done through my RE or my GP--had to go through both because the RE would only do a few, GP did some more, but still not the full complement. Not sure that I'll be able to get the others done, but at least I have more info than I had before. I'd probably have to go through yet another dr and pay out of pocket for any of the other tests. We'll see if that happens.

Reverie--wow, thanks so much for posting this. I had never thought that I might be able to buy private insurance that would provide IVF coverage & save money as compared to paying out of pocket for IVF. What a revelation!! I have immediately called two local insurance brokers to look into this possibility.

How is the 2nd IVF cycle going for you? Is the protocol different this time around? How many follicles do you have? When do you go in for collection? GL to you this round!

Jean--less than a week until you are PUPO with 2 embryos! You must be super excited.

Tammy--waiting too long...that is the MILLION dollar question for those of us in 40+ group. I feel the same way, but I couldn't start without DH on board. I told him when we started dating when I was 35 that the clock was ticking, but he did not hear that. Right now we are on a forced break & he is all up in arms about how we don't have that much time. I informed him how he is feeling now is how I felt about 5 years ago. He looked at me like what I was saying was the most unbelievable thing in the world. Clueless.

Hi to everyone else!

AFM--I am on CD 56. It's the cycle after my polyp & fibroid removal and it just won't end. The dr ran some blood tests and as of yesterday my progesterone was 9.2, so I did ovulate at some point. I HOPE that means I have less than two weeks before AF finally shows up. Then I HOPE my next cycle is normal so the cycle after that I can do my final insurance-covered IUI. Everything feels so drawn-out right now.

 

[Pussycat1]

Hi ladies! Seems like things are hotting up again on here. Great to read all your updates. Weezy so pleased the intralipids seem to have worked! Don't be downhearted about 8 follicles that's a great number when you're over 40! Keep us posted as to how egg collection goes.
AFM, yes more than half way there and there's no hiding the fact now! We found out we're having girls and are thrilled! I've been so lucky having a relatively easy pregnancy so far, hopefully it will stay that way. xx

 

[kaysbc]

Good luck to you Weezy. We'll all cross our fingers for you.

Thanks for the idea to look for insurance Reverie.
I will always get my employer health insurance because I have so many healthcare needs and its the cheapest way for me to go, but that doesn't mean I couldn't look into some supplemental coverage just for fertility.
I never thought of that idea before.

 

[Weezy9]

I hate my phone!! Why does it never update this thread. I never know if anybody has posted until I look at my iPad....so annoying!!

Jean- best of luck in your transfer, it seems we will be doing our 2ww and being PUPO together fx fx we'll it be our time.
Vonn - really sorry to hear you've been having so much trouble with your cycle. I hope it'll normalise for you soon. It's great you're able to get some of the immunes tested, so at least you can take them out of the equation.
Kay- thank you very much for the well wishes
Pussycat- amazing!! I'm thrilled for you...girls...me my DH LOVE girls. But saying that I'll be thrilled to have a baby of any gender.

My scan and intralipid went ok. I'll be doing EC on Saturday morning. He say we will have low numbers. We've got around 4-5 good size follicles ranging from 17mm to 15mm and the others are small so probably won't catch up. I did my trigger last night so let's hope for the best. I got all my medication for after egg collection yesterday. Will be doing prontogest and clexane this time because of immunes.
Pussycat - any tips on doing the prontogest injection. I'm really dreading that one

I'm sorry that this is a bit TMI but has anybody ever pass out blood in their stool whilst stimulating? I had that since yesterday. I've been quite constipated the whole time I've been stimulating and I just found blood in the toilet last night. Looked on the Internet and they say this could if you're taking aspirin. I've been taking low dose aspirin, so maybe that's the reason?

 

[terripeachy]

Pussycat-so excited to hear you're having twin girls. That's wonderful!!

Wheezy-glad thugs are going well with you too. I don't know anything about blood in your stool, but I would call your nurse and see what she says. I hope your egg collection goes great on Saturday and I hope your egg number is better than expected. Some could be hiding. You never know.

Jean-good luck with your upcoming transfer as well!

Afm-just stalking everyone. No plans for anything but I can't stay away!

 

[Pussycat1]

Hi weezy, I'd ask the nurse re blood in your stools, you should always get that checked out, especially if your going to be on Clexane as that's a blood thinner. Re Prontgest, is that PIO? I was terrified at first but you soon get the hang of it. I did all mine myself (perfectly possible with a bit of twisting and a mirror). I got the nurse to draw target marks on my bum so I knew exactly where to aim for the first few times. Make sure you do it in different sides each day, I did mine first thing then had a shower and I think the warm water helped dissipate the oil, either that or give the area a good rub after you've injected. I did get bruises and a lumpy bum and the further along you get you may get bruising and bleeding but really it's not so bad, you'll be fine and think of the end goal! x

 

[terripeachy]

Weezy-I agree with pussycat on the PIO. It gets easier the more you do it, but definitely put a warm compress and rub the oil around in circles. you'll get a sore butt, but in the end, we have to do what we have to do to achieve our end goal, so just think about the future, and jab that needle in. hee hee. You'll be fine.

 

[Reverie22]

Vonn - I have 8 follicles so far this cycle, the same as last cycle. I am on a different protocol and the 2 cycles are very different. Last time I started stim on a Sunday evening and triggered the following Sunday (day 8) evening. The follicles progressed very rapidly in size during that week.
This cycle they are growing 1-2mm per day which I'm told is good, the crazy thing is the largest so far is 13.9 (day 8), the last cycle my largest ones were over 20 at this stage.
Fingers crossed that slow and steady is the way to go!