Any other irregular gals out there?? Let's stick together! (TTC#1 FORUM))

[2ducks]

InkedLady- sorry things aren't working out this cycle like you hoped. When I was forced to take a month break due to switching docs I wasn't happy but I did find it relieving to not temp/OPK/TI for a few weeks.

I had my consult this morning with the RE over the phone. Talked about doing IVF next summer when I am off of work. He is going to email me a list of additional tests for me and OH to get in the spring. He also said taking Clomid with my OBGYN is fine but recommended no more than 4 cycles and then switch to a couple cycles of Fermera. Even thought this is a long term plan I am feeling really good about everything and I am glad to have a road map. I am comfortable with jumping straight into IVF with no other low level treatments. By next spring it will have been 2 years! Of course, hopefully Clomid works and I don't even have to think about IVF again...

 

[MEPride]

Sarah-
We welcome everyone! I too am the atypical PCOS patient. I really only have 3 symptoms: acne, irregular periods, and low libido. I'm going through all the testing stuff right now and it's frustrating because it's all coming back 'normal'. It's cant all be normal otherwise I would be ovulating!!!! But I don't! My DH and I have been ttc since last October. Not a long time but long enough.

InkedLady-
I'm sorry it's not looking too positive this cycle. We are all here supporting you in this journey.

 

[Inkedlady88]

Sarah, I too am a slightly a-typical PCOS case, myself. The only outward signs that I'm a cyster is acne and abnormal hair growth. I'm considered a "thin cyster" as I'm not overweight but I have irregular cycles, testosterone dominance, low libido, and lots of ovarian cysts on both sides. You don't have to fit a specific mold to fit in here in our happy little land of irregulars, so welcome!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you 2ducks! It stinks that you already have to start thinking about heading straight into IVF, but at least you have time to prepare. Whatever works at this point, right?

 

[sarah2211]

Thanks so much ladies. I really appreciate how welcoming you all are.

I had my fertility appointment today and I think the only way it could have gone worse was if he had said we'd never get pregnant.

In a nutshell, he lost our SA and blood test results. Then he said that my GP's blood tests do suggest PCOS but if I ovulate on my own then there's nothing that can help. I asked if because of the PCOS could my ovulation be weaker than someone without PCOS and therefore be making things harder. He said no, if you ovulate then you ovulate and there's no difference.

So we have to repeat the progesterone blood test and DH's SA and I have to have an ultrasound. But I already know I have no cysts on my ovaries (I had an O/S on Wednesday to check if everything had passed from the MC and I asked about my ovaries and she said no cysts). I also know I ovulate, I get a temp rise and the previous progesterone blood test showed I did. So unless DH's SA shows something, we are on our own.

If we wanted to find a new Fertility specialist, we'd be looking at traveling 2-3 hours and paying for everything out of pocket.

 

[2ducks]

Sarah- Holy shit that sounds terrible. Many women who ovulate on their own are still prescribed clomid to help release more follicles and increase changes of pregnancy. Also if you are ovulating too soon or too late in your cycle there are meds that can help with that. This doc seriously needs to read Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Also have you had an HSG to see if your tubes are blocked? That could be impacting things. What hormones are off for you? If testosterone is off you may want to consider giving up gluten and dairy which impact testosterone levels. The RE I consulted with yesterday recommended 2000icu of vitamin D a day to help strengthen egg quality.

 

[Inkedlady88]

How are we doing today ladies?

11/12 dpo IC: FRER: Evap/indent


Sarah, I'm really sorry about your bad experience with your RE. I O even with PCOS, but I tend to O really late and have an LP defect. My RE still put me on Clomid and progesterone to help me O stronger and to lengthen my LP. Hopefully your RE will change his tune!

 

[MEPride]

Sarah,
I think we are all in agreement here that perhaps your RE isn't the most up to date with treating PCOS. I too ovulate but infrequently and I know for me that if I eat poorly it affects when I ovulate. Earlier this year I was ovulate roughly between CD 14 and 25. I went on vacation in April and my diet went to pot and I have yet to ovulate on my own since then.

Perhaps consider a second opinion from another RE. Clomid is one of the first go-to medication for women with PCOS regardless of whether they ovulate or not. It does more tha. Stimulate ovulation. It helps with regulation, so if you are a person like me who ovulates irregularly or infrequently, it will make it more predictable.

 

[2ducks]

Inked Lady- CD 10 for me. I am going to start testing tomorrow morning since I will want to have a few drinks this weekend. I definitely don't feel like my progesterone levels have risen any higher, only mildly tender breasts. I'm just going to use my wondfo ICs and my wal-mart cheapies, not going to spend any extra money this cycle!

 

[sarah2211]

Thanks so much ladies. I went home and rung the lab and they found our SA and blood test results and faxed them through to the doctor. Not sure why he couldn't have done that rather than order new tests.. We won't hear from him until our next appointment while will probably be at least a month away. Useless is how I'd describe him.

I told him I'd been charting my cycles and my DH asked if he'd like to see them. His response, a very rude 'no'. He's meant to be one of the country's best fertility specialists... I don't live in the USA and we live in a small city so would have to travel to get a second opinion.

No HSG. The only tests ordered by him were progesterone on CD 30, ultrasound for me and another SA for DH. I haven't got all my blood test results that my GP did but he said high testosterone and low estrogen. That's when I told him the GP put me on Metformin. He said 'it won't be doing any harm but it won't be helping'. I've been gluten free before and didn't notice any improvement in my PCOS symptoms but I was also eating dairy. I'm having a good think about cutting out sugar first, then gluten and dairy I think.

The stupid thing is I know for a fact that they prescribe clomid and try IUIs and DO help women who ovulate naturally. I read their brochure about unexplained infertility and the major fertility clinic in our country (where he works privately) have made a TV documentary and his colleagues on the tv show prescribed clomid and then IUI to a couple in a similar position but had been trying much longer than us.

I usually O about CD 22 but my cycles have gotten longer like I said early and they've crept from O on CD 17 to CD 22 last cycle. My LP changes length too.

My DH and I talked about it and we are going to stick with this doctor and the public system until the 12 month mark. We will get all the tests done through the public system and in a few months, if we still are in the same position, we will look at traveling and paying to go privately. That way we aren't paying for tests that we could get done for free. Part of me wants to pay and go privately now but it's probably best to just wait until at least the 12 month mark and see if we get a flat out no from this doctor. I said to DH, I can put up with him being rude if we get pregnant as a result.

Thank you ladies.

 

[2ducks]

CD 11 for me BFN

Sarah- Sounds like you have a solid plan in place and it is definitely good to get whatever testing you can get done for free with the public healthcare system. You definitely have a hormone imbalance, be it PCOS or not, that can really impact things for you. I also am sugar free as well! I have always been a huge sugar addict, I get crazy sweet cravings in the afternoon and use to buy candy on my way home from work. I gave up all added sugar, no honey, maple syrup, corn syrup etc. In reality I am about 95% sugar free. I have alcohol which is sugar and once in a while have ice cream. Its funny, last night we went out to eat and I ordered a margarita which is one of my all time favorite drinks. I make my margarita's "skinny" at home. It was too sweet for me to drink and i had to ask for soda water to cut the sweetness. My palate has totally changed from giving up sugar and when I do occasionally have a sweet I only need a tiny amount and then I am done. I learned a lot about PCOS from PCOSdietsupport.com.

How is everyone doing???

MEPride? InkedLady? Joy? ILoveme29? Anyone else who has fallen off the thread???

 

[joy8751]

2ducks, 11dpo is still early to test, do you feel hopeful this month?

First cycle of clomid for me, and I finally got a positive opk today at cd25!.. I am still hopeful even if I would have prefered a much earlier O...
I guess we will see in 10-12 days..

 

[Inkedlady88]

12/13 dpo, on FRER and IC. Thinking its time to give up the ghost with this cycle and stop testing. I'll have to stop the progesterone in the next couple of days to bring on AF. Looking at my chart, we'd be cutting it super close to when OH leaves for his trip if we medicate next cycle and try to do IUI (assuming I O again around 14/15 dpo like I did this cycle.) I don't want to medicate and then not be able to do the IUI's and essentially waste a month. I'll call my RE on Monday and go from there I'm officially done with trying this with timed BDing. It's not working and if OH's motility/morphology is as bad as I think it is, it won't work and we are just wasting time and money.

Time to move on to the world of assisted conception....


Edit: Now I'm having light brown spotting.... I'm expecting full flow by tomorrow even though I haven't stopped the progesterone yet.... So weird...

 

[sarah2211]

2ducks, how long is your LP usually? What did you RE say about IUI rather than jumping straight into IVF?

I am feeling good about the plan, although it's frustrating it won't just happen soon. My DH is in the army and he could be deployed for 6-12 months with only a few months notice. If we find that out then we will straight away pay to go to the private clinic.

I use to be sugar free and I felt so much better not eat it but man it's hard. Sugar is in everything and it is so addictive. I really just need to bite the bullet and cut it out. Do you still eat fruit?

This cycle I started EPO and got EWCM today for the first time ever! I usually get some watery CM. I showed DH and he was so excited haha. Who would have thought that this would become our lives?! Haha

 

[2ducks]

Joy- Yay! That's so exciting, I read lots of stories about women who ovulate late on clomid. As long as your LP is 10+ days it doesn't matter too much! Get to "work".

InkedLady- Ugh. So sorry that is is looking to be another BFN. IUI seems like a good next step and since Clomid does make you ovulate I bet the semen wash will be really helpful.

Sarah- I still eat fruit, one of my staples is bananna and organic peanut butter. If I have fruit usually eat a few almonds with it to keep my blood sugar balanced. Going sugar free at first was hard because I had to read labels. Sugar is in everything! There are only two brands of pasta sauce at my grocery store with no added sugar, salad dressings are the worst culprits! I still get sugar cravings but not nearly as bad as before, it was like if I didn't have skittles I was going to go mad and run people over with my car! The biggest indicator to me that I was a sugar addict was that when I stopped sugar I had actual withdrawals like I was coming off drugs; stomach aches, headache, fatigue, tiredness....

When I first noticed EWCM I texted my partner and he was super excited too! Its nice that is isn't like "ewwwww".

Well.....yesterday I took at IC and wal-mart cheapie and BFN. I then came to the kitchen, poured my coffee and began to post on TB. I went back to the bathroom 20 minutes later to go potty and saw a faint second line on each test! I yelled for OH to come to the bathroom and he thought something was wrong. I took another IC and it was positive. I then went to the grocery store as soon as it opened and bough e.p.t digital and an FRER and both were positive too! I am still in disbelief, I never thought I would see those second lines!

I had a nightmare last night that I had an early MC. I have heard so many loss stories that I am trying to be cautiously optimistic.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement. I hope its ok if I continue to check in on this thread, but hopefully I won't need to come back to TTC1! Stay strong ladies!

 

[joy8751]

OMG OMG 2ducks, this is soooo exciting!!! Do you have any weird symptoms that you never experienced before?
I send you all my wishes and will be looking forward to your BFP confirmation in the next few hours or days!

Inkedlady, I wish you the best for this coming cycle, medicated or not. Will you decide after your call to the RE tomorrow? What CD would your OH be leaving? I also have loads of business trips which don't make our TTC life any easier...

Sarah, good luck if you are in your fertile days, I agree with the details sharing with our partners, would would have thought that TTC would get us to open up like this?...

MePride, how are you? what cd are you now?

 

[Inkedlady88]

Congratulations 2Ducks!!

Still spotting today. Going to continue the progesterone until the RE says otherwise. If I stop it and get full flow by 17dpo, it would be CD16-18 that OH will be out of town. So if I weren't able to O early like this month, we'd be out of luck for IUI timing most likely.


Edit: spotting has stopped, or is just intermittent. Not sure what's going on...

 

[joy8751]

Any update 2ducks?... Was it a true bfp? We need to see some bfps around here!!!

Inkedlady, how are you?

Afm, finally got my termal shift this morning so officially dpo1!

 

[sarah2211]

2ducks, I'm glad you still eat fruit! I think I could cut out the other stuff, but I'd struggle without apples haha. But yes it's in everything. It's so difficult to cut it out entirely. Wow those withdrawals sound intense, I'm guessing it got better once you got past that?

Try not to worry about your dream! I understand why you're worried, I worried too. It didn't make any difference unfortunately. But enjoy it, you have a baby growing inside you!

You're full of amazing advise, so please don't leave us! Keep us updated on how you're going too.

Joy, thank you. I think I am in my fertile days but I had an early loss last cycle so I'm not sure if things will go back to normal. But based on CM things are looking promising. I agree, DH knows things about how my body works in a way I never thought he would haha. I hope the TWW goes quick for you!

 

[Inkedlady88]

I'm officially out again. AF showed up full force with cramps and all this morning. Going to call my RE and let her know we had another failed month.

 

[ILoveme29]

Hello ladies was on vacation and was taking my mind off of TTC.

Inkedlady- Im so sorry for your BFN . have you thought about your next steps?

2Ducks- Congrats and im wishing you a Happy and Healthy 9 Months. Did you get to do your Beta yet?

AFM- went to visit RE again and she says my Blood work doesn't look as bad as I thought. she doesn't think I have Anti-phospholipid syndrome if so its a very low or mild case of it. Im continuing to take now 2000mg of Metformin a day. I did my HSG and waiting for those results. I had one done in 2014 with no issues, but she wanted to check it again since my MMC last year. I cant wait to begin the wait is the hardest part. Also my cycles have been normal lately so im hoping that continues.