Hoping April is Our month for good things to happen

[beaglemom]

I feel much better. I just went shopping with my husband. We have a family reunion on Sat we are getting ready for. Something else to add stress. Then we went to Applebees and I got a steak and huge Bahama mama. I usually avoid alcohol in tww...not much of a drinker anyways. So I feel so relaxed. Also before I left my boss gave me my annual raise. still felt like quitting but I know tomorrow will be better.

Savvy I totally have stomach issues when anxious. I can have major anxiety and just thinking about it gets me in knots.

Side note...maybe the progesterone made me more emotional ???

 

[MissStacy]

MissStacy, I have IBS and after reading some of the health forums I have found that a lot of woman have less symptoms when they are pregnant. I find though when I get nervous/ anxious it just makes my symptoms worse, I can talk myself into feeling horrible within seconds. I got the wrist bands back when I got my bfp in December. I love traveling but take dramamine on the plane, I didn't want to risk the meds if I was pregnant plus I wasn't suppose to take anything while on my 8 week elimination diet. The bands totally helped my nausea, I picked them up at CVS. I also got the ginger candies from Whole Foods, I can't chew gum with the artificial sweeteners so I chewed on the candies while on the plane and in the mountains. They were good and helped my nausea too. They are called Gin Gins, they are in a green bag. They have other varieties too. I hope you feel better soon! Super funny about the "CM"...I find myself talking to my hubby like I would type on here, he gets so confused! I guess at least I haven't introduced him as my "DH" to anyone...yet!

I plan to look at CVS or walgreens tmw for the bands. I had another gf tell me today to try the ginger candies so I will look for those this weekend. Anything to help, it's getting to be a major burden.

 

[MissStacy]

Surgery went well. I'm still a little nauseous and light-headed. I'll write more updates later.

Glad everything went well, get lots of rest and take care!

 

[floridasian]

Hi ladies,

Thanks everyone for keeping me in your thoughts. I'm still feeling a little sore down there. I think they put a catheter in to drain my bladder again after they put me out because I had the same bleeding as I did after the D&C out of the urethrae after the surgery. There is no vaginal bleeding so that's good.

Doctor came out and talked to DH when I was still in recovery and gave him two color photos of before and after the surgery. There was some white dense fibery-looking scar tissue in my uterus - that we already knew. What we didn't know was that there was also scar tissue outside of the cervix. I'm wondering maybe that's what was causing my lack of CM? He said the D&C in Jan already broke up the scar tissue in the uterus (my uterus was stuck together by the scar tissue before). He just had to go in there and clean it up. The surgery lasted about an hour so I guess he took the time to make sure everything was thoroughly removed.

He came to talk to me when I woke up. But of course just like last time I was still groggy so I don't actually remember everything he said and I forgot to ask him how my lining looked. I remember him saying that my uterine cavity was all cleaned up and that's about all I can remember.

Before the surgery we talked about options to help heal the lining and/or prevent future scarring and he mentioned either giving me estradiol (estrogen) or putting a balloon in (which he did not want to in fear of infections which in turn might block my tubes). He said it would depend on what they find during the surgery and how the surgery goes. He did not end up prescribing me the estrogen so I'm guessing my lining looked pretty good (nice and thick?)

Oh and I O'ed on CD12 (Wednesday) already and he knew that. At the pre-op ultrasound my dominant follicle measured 17.2mm and I told him I thought I might O the day of the surgery on CD13. I guess he knew I was wrong and I couldn't make it to CD13 as he asked me just before the surgery if I felt the ovulation the day before , if I felt it "pop" and I said yes. I think he knew there was a possibly I might get pregnant from BD'ing before the pre-op when he told us to "avoid each other" and when he saw how close I was to O on the ultrasound. Maybe that's why he didn't want to mess around with giving me hormones. He said at the pre-op they'd be giving me antibiotics to prevent infections too but they never did. Not sure if that's also related.

So that's the story of my surgery. I can't wait to get my BFP next cycle!!

 

[floridasian]

For those of you who'd like to try or are already taking CoQ10 - Ubiquinol is the better CoQ10 as it has been pre-converted to be easily absorbed by the human body. You'd have to take 4 times as much regular CoQ10 to achieve the same dosage as Ubiquinol. Although there's been no clinical trial done on humans with CoQ10, lab tests on mice showed when given 1200mg per day, the older mice had eggs that performed the same as younger mice. I think most ob's suggest no less than 600mg per day if you'd like to try. I'm taking 200mg (2 x 100 mg capsules) three times a day.

Ubiquinol normally comes in bottles of 30 ct and sells for about $30 at drugstores (for the Nature Made, Nature's Bounty, etc. brands) but Costco carries the Qunol brand 120 ct and they are on sale this month for $28.99 (https://www.costco.com/Qunol™-Mega-...701&keyword=ubiquinol&langId=-1&storeId=10301). The 60 ct sells for $47.99 on Walgreens' website (https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/q...ry-supplement-softgels/ID=prod6123641-product). The reviews are excellent too on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Qunol-Mega-C...UTF8&qid=1397228276&sr=8-5&keywords=Ubiquinol). $28.99 for 120 ct is an excellent price if you'd like to try!

My local grocery store has yam on sale for $0.88/lb for Easter so I also picked some up. I don't think this is a regularly stocked item. I think they are only put out as a seasonal product (don't confuse yam with sweet potatoes - they are totally different).

 

[savvysaver]

floridasian, thanks for the update on the CoQ10. I was at the drugstore checking it out this morning but I ended up not buying it because I think it might be a better idea to wait until my appointment with the RE. Plus I am suppose to clear new meds/vitamins with my dietitian and GI. But I have this on my list to ask about! I am really thinking that maybe all I need is a boost of progesterone and to get my Vitamin D levels up. I hope you feel better soon. Don't you love the pictures you get after surgery? I remember after my colonoscopy my GI gave me dozens of pictures, they totally gross me out! I asked her if I should post them on facebook! It sounds like your doctor got you all fixed up so you should be ready to get your bfp soon!

If anyone is in need of some cheap vitamins and you live near a CVS stop in by tomorrow. This week they have their CVS brand vitamins on sale buy one, get one plus they have a $2.00 off coupon if you scan your cards at their coupon center when you walk in.
Folic Acid is priced at $3.79, after the bogo and $2.00 coupon you pay $1.79 for two bottles.
Or you can get Vitamin D is priced at $4.29, after the bogo sale and $2.00 coupon you pay $2.29 for two bottles.
Limit one $2.00 off coupon per household, I got myself more folic acid since it was so cheap. You can mix and match vitamins and just pay for the most expensive. I think it is a great deal!

(TMI) Does anyone spot for a long time after AF? Today is CD8 and I am still spotting, it is more brownish red but it is getting quite annoying. My temps are also a bit higher than usual, not sure if the spotting could cause that.

 

[MissStacy]

If anyone is in need of some cheap vitamins and you live near a CVS stop in by tomorrow. This week they have their CVS brand vitamins on sale buy one, get one plus they have a $2.00 off coupon if you scan your cards at their coupon center when you walk in.
Folic Acid is priced at $3.79, after the bogo and $2.00 coupon you pay $1.79 for two bottles.
Or you can get Vitamin D is priced at $4.29, after the bogo sale and $2.00 coupon you pay $2.29 for two bottles.
Limit one $2.00 off coupon per household, I got myself more folic acid since it was so cheap. You can mix and match vitamins and just pay for the most expensive. I think it is a great deal!

(TMI) Does anyone spot for a long time after AF? Today is CD8 and I am still spotting, it is more brownish red but it is getting quite annoying. My temps are also a bit higher than usual, not sure if the spotting could cause that.

I work about a block from a CVS so I will have to go check that out on my lunch.

As far as AF I never spot after only for a day or 2 before. I normally have heavy flo for a day or 2 and then it just stops suddenly. My red flo normally only last 2 days and usually 2 days of spotting prior. I guess I won't complain about a short AF.

 

[ERosePW]

Erin, yep we are headed to the lake this weekend! I am excited to start getting ready for the summer, we love our boat and it is hard to not be able to use it all winter! We finally can get it out of storage and get it ready to go in the lake next month. Your Vit D at 24.8 isn't too bad - but it never hurts to have it higher. I think 30 is a good number to aim for. Since my Vit D is extremely low at 9, my doctor gives me a prescription for 50,000 mg once a week for 8 weeks at a time. My multivitamin also has 1,000mg. Did your doctor give you a prescription?

I'm excited about summer too! We are able to take our boat out throughout the winter since we live in FL, but we really don't that much. The lakes here in central FL are much less busy in the winter, as I think people just don't go out as much... it can be downright cold on the water sometimes, and it gets dark earlier and all that crap. So we are now in full swing! I bet if my Dr had tested my Vit D after a nice long summer, it would've been much higher, lol. No, she didn't give me a script...I guess since it wasn't that low, she was okay with me getting OTC and just taking 4000 IU per day for one month, and then she's gonna retest.

 

[ERosePW]

For those of you who'd like to try or are already taking CoQ10 - Ubiquinol is the better CoQ10 as it has been pre-converted to be easily absorbed by the human body. You'd have to take 4 times as much regular CoQ10 to achieve the same dosage as Ubiquinol. Although there's been no clinical trial done on humans with CoQ10, lab tests on mice showed when given 1200mg per day, the older mice had eggs that performed the same as younger mice. I think most ob's suggest no less than 600mg per day if you'd like to try. I'm taking 200mg (2 x 100 mg capsules) three times a day.

Ubiquinol normally comes in bottles of 30 ct and sells for about $30 at drugstores (for the Nature Made, Nature's Bounty, etc. brands) but Costco carries the Qunol brand 120 ct and they are on sale this month for $28.99 (https://www.costco.com/Qunol™-Mega-...701&keyword=ubiquinol&langId=-1&storeId=10301). The 60 ct sells for $47.99 on Walgreens' website (https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/q...ry-supplement-softgels/ID=prod6123641-product). The reviews are excellent too on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Qunol-Mega-C...UTF8&qid=1397228276&sr=8-5&keywords=Ubiquinol). $28.99 for 120 ct is an excellent price if you'd like to try!

Floridasian, i'm glad you're feeling better today, and I'm so happy the Dr took care of everything! You should be good to go now! Regarding the antibiotics, they may have just put those into your IV. I assumed the IV was just for the anesthesia, but then I realized they were also putting some kind of relaxant in there, and an anti-nausea med. So I have a feeling they ran an antibiotic through there too, but I didn't ask.

thanks for all this info regarding CoQ10. So, if you buy that more pure form, do you take the same amount that your Dr told you to take of the CoQ10, or would you need to take less? My Dr told me to take 200mg 3X per day. Would i need to take less of the Ubiquinol?

 

[ERosePW]

savvy, as far as spotting goes, mine comes prior to AF, and it's always brown. It's always been a huge annoyance for me, because it can sometimes come up to five days before! Other times, its only 2-3 days before. Now I kinda use it as a sign that I may or may not be prego. When I got prego in Dec, that spotting never did come. It was my first clue that I might actually be about to get a BFP. It was a couple days past when it would normally start, and there was NO sign of it. But as far as post-AF spotting, I really only have it for a day or so. My periods are only about 3 days, and that last day is super light. The next day, I might have the brown spotting again, but then it goes away.

 

[floridasian]

Erin: I'm not taking less in the pure form since up to 1200 mg a day is considered safe and since I found the Ubiquinol at Costco it's really cheap enough for me to take 200 mg x 3 times per day, but I'd think you could probably get away with taking half of that - 100 mg x 3 times a day.

And yes you are right, they did put some kind of relaxant in my IV so maybe the antibiotics were in there too.

 

[floridasian]

Oh - and while we are on the subject of cheap supplements, Walmart sells a generic Mucinex called "Mucus Relief". It's 15 ct for $0.88 and has 400 mg of Guaifenesin as the only active ingredient. I found it by accident when I was looking for the $0.88 pregnancy tests as they were all in the same large bin. So if you are taking Mucinex for CM you can't go wrong with $0.88!!

 

[beaglemom]

Oh - and while we are on the subject of cheap supplements, Walmart sells a generic Mucinex called "Mucus Relief". It's 15 ct for $0.88 and has 400 mg of Guaifenesin as the only active ingredient. I found it by accident when I was looking for the $0.88 pregnancy tests as they were all in the same large bin. So if you are taking Mucinex for CM you can't go wrong with $0.88!!

I have seen this...or I bought something similar at Dollar Tree. While I love the idea of a pill form...I just didn't feel like it gave me the same result as the liquid. But definitely a good deal. Maybe with pill I would have to give it a few more days to get in my system.

I am totally freaked out by the 88 cent bin at Walmart. I don't know if all stores do it, but a lot of the ones here have a bin at the registers filled up with all their cheapo 88 cent meds. They also have pregnancy tests. But something is just off about a bin full of meds...lol...I by no means think there is anything wrong with the meds...just their way of displaying/marketing them.

 

[savvysaver]

I'm excited about summer too! We are able to take our boat out throughout the winter since we live in FL, but we really don't that much. The lakes here in central FL are much less busy in the winter, as I think people just don't go out as much... it can be downright cold on the water sometimes, and it gets dark earlier and all that crap. So we are now in full swing! I bet if my Dr had tested my Vit D after a nice long summer, it would've been much higher, lol. No, she didn't give me a script...I guess since it wasn't that low, she was okay with me getting OTC and just taking 4000 IU per day for one month, and then she's gonna retest.

I love the summer, I wish it was warm enough to go on the boat now. Sadly it is barely 50 yet so it would be too chilly and we can't keep the boat in the water in case it goes below freezing again. It is nice you are able to use your boat all year. Each month when I make the payment I think about the boat all covered in snow!

My Vit D is definitely higher in the summer, so that is good that summer is coming soon! I think her plan sounds great, hopefully when she retests you it will be at 30.

 

[savvysaver]

Thanks girls, maybe my spotting is completely normal. It is just odd for me since I am not used to it. On BCP I barely had AF, so even though it is been over a year now I am still learning my cycle. I spotted the last few months but not this much.

 

[beaglemom]

I meant to tell you guys about something that happened at work yesterday. Part of my stress was due to my job being reassigned to a new manager. So yesterday we had lunch with her. I also sat with her for a while before that. So the situation was not stressful...just stressful to be away from work for so long when I had so much going on. Anyways, as you remember, I told my current manager about my situation because my appointment may start getting more disruptive to my schedule. Quick side note, I still assist my current manager, he just no longer supervises. She will supervise all of us on a much larger scale. Anyways...I don't know if it was because we talked a lot obout my life & she was easy to talk to...or because she is a woman & a mother...or maybe I am becoming more open about my situation...or maybe the progesterone is making me act all sappy like a little girl & open Anyways, before she left, I told her my situation. I basically just said My husband & I are going through fertility treatment. Currently I am out of the office about 3 hrs once a month in town...but I may have to go more often in a city an hour away. So the first thing she said was well if your husband is not with you at the appointments, you can set up office on those days in our area (same area as my ferility specialist). I thought that was really awesome. She is not trying to make sure she gets more work out of me, she was trying to make it where I didn't have to use so much of my personal time. So I could leave early from my house, set up there, & just be out for the appt & only have to use a few hours personal time...or none if I skip lunches. Anyways, it just felt really nice to tell her & be so open about it. I wasn't detailed or anything, but I felt no anxiety about telling her. Sometimes things like that make me want to just tell whoever & say who cares if they know. As I have said before...it is nice my banker knows now because sometimes when we are taking a little break from the computer we will talk openly about me wanting to have kids...or if I thought reminds us about the situation, we are not hesitant to just talk about it. It's nice...& it is nice to have support in the real world. I love this forum...but sometimes just having a person with you that knows really helps.

So I know I am not the only one keeping this secret. But maybe my experience yesterday will help you guys in making decisions on if you want to involve someone in this part of your life just to have that support. I would love to tell my mom...but sometimes my mom can just blurt out her thoughts & they aren't always nice or compassionate. She doesn't mean to. Part of it is a defense mechanism that I think she is placing on us. I really just see her saying I should not be going through this & I should adopt...or be happy with my life how it is...or don't spend my money on this kind of stuff. What she is really saying is I am scared for you...& I don't want you to go through any pain.

 

[beaglemom]

Thanks girls, maybe my spotting is completely normal. It is just odd for me since I am not used to it. On BCP I barely had AF, so even though it is been over a year now I am still learning my cycle. I spotted the last few months but not this much.

Savvy, I spot before & after & yes it is SO ANNOYING! I usually can tell when it is about to start & I have a pantyliner ready. At the end, I basically judge the tampon...when it is really low (I use the lites at the end...I hate pads) I switch to pantyliners & just use them until they are clear & it is clear when I wipe. I think you should be more concerned if it happens before AF because it can be a sign of low progesterone.

 

[floridasian]

Savvy - I have no experience with spotting so I can't offer any advise but I would start gathering notes/questions for your RE's appointment in May. A few weeks before my first RE appointment I started writing down questions whenever I thought of one on a ruled note pad and by the time the appointment came I had like 20 questions! My doctor saw it and said, "looks like you have a lot of questions for me!"

 

[Suzy18]

(TMI) Does anyone spot for a long time after AF? Today is CD8 and I am still spotting, it is more brownish red but it is getting quite annoying. My temps are also a bit higher than usual, not sure if the spotting could cause that.

I do! Even though AF is gone, the spotting sometimes continues up to CD 7 or 8 like in this cycle. TMI: It's more light brownish

 

[beaglemom]

Not a lot going on here this weekend. I hope everyone has good weather & is enjoying it. We had the reunion yesterday for my husband's family. We are exhausted. I was thinking about the calendar & Thurs is my FS appt. On the one hand, I can't believe it is already here. On the other hand, I can't believe yet again this TWW seems to be taking forever. This week was crazy for me...so it seems unreal more time hasn't passed.