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

[myonechance]

Vonn, I forgot to answer one of your questions...you asked why I am in DC area when i live in the midwest...
I actually lived here last year and had all my workups, etc... before I moved to WI late last year. I just thought it would be easier to continue with the same clinic, RE and nurse instead of having to start all over which would have pushed back my IVF timeline. So, the IVF, travel expenses added up but the peace of mind for myself and DH was worth the big savings account hit

 

[Pussycat1]

Jean, sorry about your BFN, is it still early so you can test again in a few days? Sorry list track of where you are.
Vonn, keeping everything crossed for your test this week, you never know... If it does come to using donor eggs, you know that's where I now am so totally get where your coming from.
Myonechance, I never had bloating after ER so can't offer any advice there. However sounds like you're getting out. Arlington is a special place and it sounds like you have extra reasons to connect. In this roller coaster ride it's amazing how one cycle becomes 2, 2 became 4 etc, however even I have to draw a line somewhere and this cycle is my last. Good luck with the transfer, I presume you'll have both put back?
AFM, I'm happy to say my scan was good, 8mm! So flights booked (though three times the price as before due to short notice, so going by myself). I fly Friday, back on Sunday. xx

 

[Jean40]

I did NOT test this morning, 15 days past IUI, because I was really crampy this morning & thought AF would be here shortly, but so far, still just spotting. It's too late to call the RE office about scheduling day 3 ultrasound today, so if it comes later today, I will call in the morning. I have a couple patients scheduled for Tuesday morning, but I should be able to leave after that if I can get a late afternoon appointment.

 

[Vonn]

myonechance--I hope the transfer is going/has gone perfectly! Thinking of you today.

Pussycat--Great news on the lining! I forget where you are based, what country are you flying from? This time just has to work, lots of positive vibes to you!

Jean--Sorry this cycle didn't work. Will you be doing another IUI next cycle? Seems like it if you are planning to have a day 3 ultrasound.

Hi Terri!

Nothing going on with me, just checking on you ladies!

 

[Jean40]

Yeah, I am trying to figure out the money part. I always have half of it, then have to scramble to get the other half. I can put part of it on my AmEx card like I did the last couple IUIs, then I have to pay that amount off in full when the bill comes.

 

[Pussycat1]

Jean, hope you can work the money out.
Vonn, I'm in UK and will fly from Stanstead direct to Brno, it's a short flight and when I'm there it's very easy to get around. Busy downloading TV etc to my laptop to keep myself amused as I plan to follow your advise on bed rest post transfer for as long as I can.
Saw my SIL today and it's put things in perspective, her current treatment is not funded and costs £23k per session, so far she's had three .... words can't express how desperate the situation is as this is her only chance and there's no guarantee this will work. 😔 x

 

[myonechance]

Transfer went without any probs. Only one made it to today. a grade 1 -7 cell...( i think that is good?) the other was only 3 cell so I chose to leave it out. I'm super tired and can't wait to go home tomorrow. Now my wait begins.

 

[Clizard]

Lots going on here! How exciting myonechance, and you too pussycat - what are you going to watch on bed rest duties? Good luck with the money stuff Jean, it is always a drag, but I am sure you will sort it out. PS I have never seen a diaper cake, so thanks for the link. Vonn, I read a great comment from someone on these over 35 boards about using donor eggs, something to do with how being a mum was more than just biology. Think she also discussed how the 'host' mother ie. you! actually determines what DNA is 'switched on' in the bub. Bodies are amazing things.

Speaking of bodies, I went to my endocrinologist today and got a good report on my type 1 diabetes and all the other usual tests I have to do. I have been injecting myself 5 times a day now for nearly 20 years (diagnosed when I was around 26). Chronic illnesses suck, and I get tired of the never-ending act of watching my diet, measuring food and calculating what insulin doses I need, and then testing my blood sugars 6 times a day. BUT, when you do it regularly you feel good - physically and mentally. Oh, and just so you know, I still cheat and eat chocolate.

 

[myonechance]

Clizard- congrats with the positive news on the endocrine front! Def something to be proud of!

 

[terripeachy]

myonechance-I hope this is it for you. I really do. It's not cheap to fly east and west and pay for all this stuff. fxfx. Take it easy for the next couple days.

Clizard-Woohoo on a great test. And even though I don't have diabetes, I'm sure it can get tiring if you really take care of yourself.

Pussycat-Glad your lining was cooperating and your flights are booked. fxfx for you too.

Jean-One more is the charm?

AFM-A whole lotta nothing is going on here. Just enjoying the weekend by doing nothing. A little cooking, a little tv watching...mostly playing with the dog and running in and out.

 

[Jean40]

Looks like AF is finally here, so I have to call to schedule the day 3 ultrasound, which will probably be Wed since today is the first day of full flow, which is their criteria. That's better for me because I don't have any patients scheduled for that day nor any machines to help run.

I've been reading a little on epigenetics, which is how you can help determine which genes in the baby get turned on and off, such as diet, exposure to chemicals, pollution, exposure to drugs and alcohol. It's interesting. I get certain exposures at work and try to make sure to minimize those by using ventilation hoods when working with certain chemicals and wearing lead aprons when I'm where they use radiation (not often). So yes, you can be a major part of gene selection even if you are not the biological parent but carry the baby in your womb.

 

[Pussycat1]

Hi ladies,

Well I didy first POI shot and all was fine! Only when I did it I realised how worried if been! All systems go now!
Clizzard, good news on your results!
Myonechance, got everything crossed for you!
Jean, so sorry it didn't work out hon, what's the next step?
There's a lot of interesting stuff on epigenetics out there and to be honest I've almost forgotten that these eggs aren't mine, though of course it took me a long time to get here. Our next step is adoption so at least if this works one of our gene pools is in there! I so want it to, if not it's the end of the live for DHs family and with his sisters Illness it would be so nice to bring some positive news.
Beautiful day here on the south coast of England so spending the day at my allotment! xx

 

[Jean40]

I guess the next step is IUI#3. I have to see if I have cysts on my day 3 ultrasound, then have a chat with the RE. I might do one more round of clomid, but this will be it for me using that. If it doesn't work after three times, I move on to something else. My gut is finally back to normal the last few days, so the clomid really messed me up for a week and a half. I want to discuss moving on to donor embryos (or eggs, we'll see) if the loan comes through. I'll be 43 in August, my eggs are probably saying enough is enough. I don't want to waste any more time. I don't care if I use my own eggs, I just thought I'd give it a chance. As I discussed with my GYN, it's probably better to NOT use my own eggs given my family medical history and I'm ok with that. I would just like to be pregnant and have a baby, at least once.

 

[Pussycat1]

I hear you Jean, good luck with the scan. xx

 

[futurebbmoma]

Haven't been able to get excited about ttc since early loss in january after frozen transfer. Then had a surprise positive end of aoril. Was so amazed, excited... you name it. We managed to do this on our own? Then 4 weeks of suckiness. Another loss this time requiring a d&c.

A little lost now having to figure out what to expect next. Will try to go back and catch up on where everyone is. Onwards and upwards!

 

[Clizard]

Sorry to hear about your losses future, love the onwards and upwards spirit though!

 

[Jean40]

Ovary check went ok, even though I do have a small cyst left on the left one, she said I can go ahead with it. She switched me to Femara (2 pills a day, days 3-7), then on days 7, 8, & 9, 2 vials of Bravelle each of those days. Since I've hit my out of pocked max on my health insurance this year, I paid nothing for the Femara at Walmart, but I will be paying a lot for the Bravelle. Since I've now bought 10 vials of it, I am eligible for a rebate, so I have to look at the papers the pharmacy sent me. I go back next Friday for mid cycle ultrasound. OH just finished his work for the next couple weeks, so he is coming back from Europe. And yes, they have a donor embryo program at this office, but I didn't find out about the cost yet. This RE wasn't happy with how I responded this last cycle, that I should've had some response on the right ovary, so that's why she's adding in more days of Bravelle. I am wondering if I didn't respond on the right side because I have been tracking which side I normally ovulate on since I've had many ultrasounds since December, so first medicated cycle, I would normally ovulate on the right side, so I took the Bravelle shot on that side (2 follicles right side, 1 on left). Second cycle, I would normally ovulate on the left side, so I took the Bravelle shot on the left side, 2 mature follicles and 1 immature on left side, none on right. I guess with using 3 days of Bravelle, I will be switching sides, but would it really even make a difference which side the shot is given? I don't know, I wouldn't think it would make a difference at all.

Ok, now I'm rambling, I only got 2 hours sleep last night. I keep trying to go to sleep, but my head kept saying "you have to be up at 5am so you can drive to the doctor". So stupid.

I had asked for the clomid change because of the lactose. RE looked and didn't see anything in the Femara, but when I got home, I googled inactive ingredients and it DOES have lactose in it, too. I tried looking on my iPad drug apps while I was there, but I couldn't find it. I guess I just take the lactase enzymes with it, too, and hope for the best. I know it's difficult for even pharmacists to know all the fillers they put into medications (the companies can change them whenever they want to), so I shouldn't be surprised the RE didn't see it, even though I told her to look in the inactive ingredients. One day, there WILL be a law passed that requires all the major allergens to be listed on medications just like food in the US. I know they are working on it right now.

 

[Clizard]

Glad you got the ok to go ahead Jean, lets hope the Femara and Bravelle combo works for you. I hear you about being unable to switch off the brain sometimes, being over-tired doesn't help either. Best advice I ever heard was on the radio, a clinical psychologist was explaining how she dealt with all sorts of interesting disorders and said she tells her patients that the thoughts are just that - thoughts. Let them go round and round in your brain, they will disappear eventually because trying to reign them and 'control' your thoughts in is what drives people to despair and into some destructive behavioural patterns.
It's still hard to let it go and sleep sometimes!

 

[Vonn]

Clizard--good advice, but oh so hard! Also, going back a few days, I saw the same post you referenced about our bodies switching on certain genes in a donor egg. After reading that I have begun to give more consideration to donor eggs. I was really freaked out at first by the idea of carrying "someone else's" baby. Feeling like my body would be helping determine the genes of my baby really eased my mind. It's a process. I'm not all the way there yet & to be honest, DH and I haven't even talked about it since the RE told us it was our highest percentage option in January. I have just been thinking about it a lot on my own, sorting out my own feelings. Since we don't have IVF coverage, we can't afford to waste the money we spend if the IUIs don't work. I'd love to have a baby with my own eggs, but at what price? We are not rich. These are such tough decisions!

Jean--GL this cycle. I hope the femara doesn't have the same side effect as the clomid. I'd never heard of epigenetics, so thanks for introducing me to the term. I've got some more learnin' to do. Google, here I come!

Futurebb--welcome & sorry for your heartache. So, you are considering IVF in Mexico? I'd love to hear more.

Terri--how's the post-birthday week?

Pussycat--I'm glad the poi injection wasn't too bad. I am a little freaked out about the longer needles, I'm glad the follistim has the short one. Do you leave on Friday?

AFM--no luck this cycle for me, had the blood test today. On to next cycle with needles. Got my fertility yoga and meditation video, gonna try real hard to get zen.

 

[Pussycat1]

Future, so sorry to hear what you've been through these past few months, terribly sad. No wonder you're feeling a bit lost. I hope you can work through this. If you need to vent we're here.
Jean, good luck with this next cycle, hopefully the change in meds will do the trick. I'm not sure about whether the side you inject in changes anything, to be honest I doubt it.
Clizzard, good advice indeed, though when I'm in one of my 'late night worrying' phases and suffering from insomnia, nothing seems to work. Thankfully relatively under control at the moment, though right now it is 5:40 am ....!
Vonn, sorry it didn't work this time, but seems like you knew that from the start, still cr@p though. Moving to DE is a big step and you gave to do it at the right time. I had 6 cycles using my own eggs and I had to be sure I'd done everything I could to try having a baby that was genetically mine before I could move on, I think there is a grieving process you have to go through. We also had a counselling session before our clinic would let us move to DE. Now I don't even think of it. Epigenetics is a really interesting subject, there was some interesting talk on this on another thread (search 'is anyone else using DE', it's a long thread and I think it was probably quite early on in the thread. Most people moved from this thread to 'inconceivable and beyond' (got a bit bitchy towards the end), and I still post there. The vast majority of ladies that were on there have either had babies or are pregnant, think I'm one of the last to get there.... Try these links
https://www.yourivfjourney.com/epigenetics-can-ivf-affect-your-babys-genes/
https://eggdonorsblog.giftovlife.com/#article/111
If you do consider it, I would really recommend looking at clinics overseas (Czech Republic), it's so much easier than I thought. Much cheaper and somehow seems less stressful as you're a bit removed from it.
Anyway, now I'm babbling! I fly tomorrow with embryo transfer on Sat. I know we've done everything possible this cycle (scratch, increased dose of steroids, intralipids, POI, then embryo transfer will be done under sedation). If this doesn't work nothing will so it's the end of the road for us, or hopefully the start of a new one! xx