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

[IowaGirl]

Emmi- so sorry.. Hugs to you

Kat- good luck! My fingers are crossed for you!

Bash- I have never heard of a uterus wash... What is that suppose to do? And it sounds painful!

 

[wannabamama73]

Hi Kat! Thank Goodness for kindness and compassion like yours! I have just turned 40!!! YIKES!!! I am so seriously confused about the fact that I HAVE NEVER, EVER BECOME PREGNANT IN MY LIFE...YET!!! I haven't given up hope yet. My Dear Hubby has 3 grown children and, now his children have 2 children. One is a newborn. I have gone to Gyno to have the HSG procedure just to find out that all is normal. Tubes clear, estrogen levels fine, FSH fine, progesterone fine. All bloodwork fine!! What in the world could be wrong with me??? Hubby and I have been together for 8 years and no baby YET!! I decided to take things into my own hands this month. I have started a fruit and vegetable juicing diet and taking prenatal vitamins, cod liver oil, iron pills, evening primrose and dandelion root. I started tracking my BBT and tracking my ovulation. Also, a steady regamin of dancing and Zumba I have been feeling like a new woman since I started this HEALTHY lifestyle. If I don't get a positive HPT this month, Im gonna move on to natural progesterol cream. I feel like a complete failure as a woman, and the fact that I have no living relatives (both mom and dad have passed away) makes life even lonlier. We cannot in any way afford IVF. Any suggestions would be Wonderful as I am at witts end!!! Baby Dust to everyone!!!!

 

[Kat S]

Wannab, congrats on the healthy lifestyle. That's great! Get your body ready to carry that baby. Sounds like all your parts are A-ok, so maybe for you it's just a question of missing the right O day? A question: If your progesterone levels are fine, why would you use a progesterol cream?

 

[Briss]

wannabamama, have your DH been checked? you mentioned that he has children but these things change so it's good to be sure if he is fine.

 

[wannabamama73]

Hello Kat! Thanks for the quick reply. I had the hsg about 2 yrs ago and 3000 miles away. At the time, the only negative thing that I was told by the doc was that I am not producing high quality/quantity eggs due to my age. I was only 38 at the time. So the doctor prescribed clomid for 5 days. The same results. I read online that progesterol can improve egg quality. I haven't been in touch with that doctor since after that procedure. I just kinda gave up after not conceiving after that procedure. Now at 40, the possibility of not having a little angel is seeming more and more like a reality and I want to try everything I can possibly do to increase my chances. Have you tried the natural progesterol cream? Do you know anyone with any success using it? I don't know enough about it to try it yet and don't want to do anything that could potentially harm my chances. Thanks Kat. Blessings!!!

 

[wannabamama73]

Hi Briss. At the time of my hsg procedure I was 38 (2 yrs ago) and at that time he was willing to do it but something always seemed to prolong it. Now at 40 he is not willing to do it. He is convinced that he is A-OK because he has 3 kids. He is now telling me that if its meant to be...it will happen. That just doesn't sit well with me. Its easy for someone with 3 kids to say...ARGGG!!!! I am truly feeling hopeless. My next move is trying natural progesterol cream and tons of prayers!!! Have you tried it? I don't know enough about the cream and its hard to rely on google for answers. Thanks for the reply. Blessings!!!!

 

[Briss]

wannabamama, please be careful with self administering hormones it can do you more harm than good, your hormones were fine and it's really easy to ruin that hormonal balance. I am actually suspecting that you DH might be the issue in which case there is very little you can do really (believe me I've tried) by trying to improve your fertility. you are most likely fine, possibly some egg quality issues due to age. although heathy lifestyle is fantastic anyway. maybe you could ask your dH to start taking vitamins and supplements? definitely no alcohol and no heat to that area etc.

 

[bash73]

Iowa, first time I had this wash thing...and it was very painful because the doc says to me "did you empty your bladder" which I totally did. However and here comes some possible TMI...I hadn't had a BM yet and the pressure and cramping was unbelievable if that's anything like labor I will beg for a c-section!!! But after talking to my private nurse (friend who is RN) she told me the wash which is saline (sodium) doesn't do well w/bowel because it drys out any fluid hence the cramping. As soon as the doc stopped w/the fluid I was fine. And I didn't have a chance to tell her y i thought i was in pain because I just kept praying Hail Mary after Hail Mary. Usually I can get a decade of the Rosary in if I'm uncomfortable having a test but I have no clue how many I said because I couldn't pray and count w/the pain I was in. So the test is to wash out the uterus and check for any polyps as I had one removed in February. She was making sure I was good to go. Which I have everything in order minus the right tube. If one of these eggies can get to the left tube and have the fishy meet up and then MOVE on this time and not lodge itself in my only good tube, I won't need hormones and IUI of IVF. I still hold onto that it happened once a few months ago, it's time for it to happen again! So we will start trying...

 

[jen379]

wannabamama, please be careful with self administering hormones it can do you more harm than good, your hormones were fine and it's really easy to ruin that hormonal balance. I am actually suspecting that you DH might be the issue in which case there is very little you can do really (believe me I've tried) by trying to improve your fertility. you are most likely fine, possibly some egg quality issues due to age. although heathy lifestyle is fantastic anyway. maybe you could ask your dH to start taking vitamins and supplements? definitely no alcohol and no heat to that area etc.

wannabamama, i agree with Briss about adding hormones you don't necessarily need. it really can mess things up and then take months to recover. about a year ago AF was about two wks late after i over self diagnosed some issues. turns out i had developed a cyst. dr wasn't sure if the cyst was caused by no AF or if no AF caused the cyst. i ended up doing acupuncture and that helped bring on AF and the cyst dissolved naturally.

i think you're headed in the right direction with diet. it's an excellent place to start.

 

[Kat S]

Hi, Everyone. It's 9 dpiui: Testing Day Eve. Tomorrow is the big day. I can say that I haven't felt anything particular. Everything I feel can be chalked up to pre-AF. I have a big, nasty zit; I had diarrhea for three days; mild cramping here and there; Day 7 I felt two very nasty pinches right smack in the middle of my uterine area; and right now I'm feeling cramps on the left. So I might have a good cyst going - ugh. The only thing I felt that made me go "huh?" was this morning my stomach felt a wee off and I was burping. It dissipated by 11am or so. BUT that happened back in May and I wasn't pregnant, so it's probably nothing. AT least this is the first cycle in a while where I didn't lose all hope after 3 or 4 days. I think losing my cat really distracted me for the first half of the TWW.

 

[wannabamama73]

Hi Briss! Thank you for your advice. I remember my gyno telling me that my estrogen level was a bit high also. Could that effect my progesterone levels? Im thinking that I should get in touch with the gyno that did all this testing on me so I can get a clearer understanding of what my numbers were: estrogen, progesterone, fsh. All I really wanted to hear after that hsg was "your fine" go make a baby! I really need a copy of all the tests that were done to me. AF is due in 3 days, Ive been cramping since yesterday, and my bbt is staying the same. Who knows? This is awfully stressful. As for DH...he swears that he is fine. I always offer him a morning vitamin, sometimes he takes it...sometimes not. By the way, my juicer broke yesterday so I have to get another one...more $$$!!!! Im trying very hard to remain calm. Blessings!!!

 

[Kat S]

Wannabe, no, I don't think your estrogen levels affect your progesterone, but be sure to talk to your doc about that progesterone, ok? In the meantime, good luck!!! Keep away AF!!!

 

[jen379]

Hi Briss! Thank you for your advice. I remember my gyno telling me that my estrogen level was a bit high also. Could that effect my progesterone levels? Im thinking that I should get in touch with the gyno that did all this testing on me so I can get a clearer understanding of what my numbers were: estrogen, progesterone, fsh. All I really wanted to hear after that hsg was "your fine" go make a baby! I really need a copy of all the tests that were done to me. AF is due in 3 days, Ive been cramping since yesterday, and my bbt is staying the same. Who knows? This is awfully stressful. As for DH...he swears that he is fine. I always offer him a morning vitamin, sometimes he takes it...sometimes not. By the way, my juicer broke yesterday so I have to get another one...more $$$!!!! Im trying very hard to remain calm. Blessings!!!

hi wannabamama, hope ok to respond b/c you might be on to something if your estrogen is high. i see a naturopath who told me that i should use prog cream b/c i have endometriosis and the endo is an estrogen driven thing. using the prog would help me balance the estrogen. i do know some advise taking it after ov but my naturopath advised me to take entire cycle.

also, as we get older (seems like i've read in my research for answers) that the communication loop b/t ovaries and pituitary gland gets interrupted with stress, poor diet, pollutants, etc. which can cause your hormones to get out of balance. taking supplements, eating organic, acupuncture, reflexology are all efforts to support proper communication throughout reproductive system.

i guess what i'm saying is that if estrogen is high, and def look at numbers again, i would take a look at everything to decide what is right for your situation. don't panic and take a deep breath. it seems like you've gotten positive feedback from your dr. as well and have a lot going for you. don't know if you've heard of Dr. Randine Lewis? she explains hormonal imbalance very well on her website. she also wrote The Infertility Cure which is really helpful if nothing else but for information. https://thefertilesoul.com/pages/Diagnostic_pgs/HORMONAL-IMBALANCES.php Hang in there and stay positive!

 

[Kat S]

BFN, but I'm not surprised. I know "it's early" but I really don't have any special symptoms. Everything has been pointing to AF.

 

[Briss]

Kat, sorry about bfn, i hope it's just too early.

wannabamama, i had high estrogen levels a couple of months ago and it was because i had ovarian cyst. the cyst disappeared on its own and estrogen went back to normal. High estrogen (over 200) should be investigated, also it will suppress FSH so your FSH reading will not be valid. re progesterone, I am now on progesterone suppositories following ET and have lots of side effects including, very sensitive breasts, constipation and possibly spotting. they change my dose depending on my symptoms but i am under medical supervision. I have to say my LH is much better when I am on my natural progesterone but I guess in an IVF cycle you do not produce your natural progesterone so have to supplement.

 

[Kat S]

Wait. I may have been hasty. I looked at the test again and there's a faint line. I didn't look at it again after 3 minutes until just now. I've never gotten an evap line after a few hour before. Now, it could be the trigger still, but this would explain my nausea, shakes, and headache this morning.

 

[Briss]

Kat, that's exciting. when did you do your trigger? I had mine on Monday and yesterday it was faint positive but today more like a proper bfn. hopefully the trigger is out now. it's so confusing.

 

[Kat S]

I did my trigger the morning of September 26th and had IUI on the 27th. In the past my trigger was no longer showing by 9 dpiui. Every cycle is different, though. I wish I had waited the full 10 minutes and not gone back to bed so fast, but I was feeling so sick I wanted to lie still.

 

[Briss]

Kat, your trigger was a while ago, hopefully this is real BFP. fingers crossed!!

 

[Pussycat1]

Kat, keeping everything crossed for you. It would be so amazing if you got your BFP, we're rooting for you! x