Hoping April is Our month for good things to happen

[beaglemom]

Yeh it is very cool to think that if I don't get a positive this cycle, we will basically be doing the exact same process maybe close to the same days...since we O'd close together this cycle. I am excited...not too excited after seeing the pricing list, but better than IVF. So they told me to tell them I am doing timed intercourse instead of IUI until I get my meds in the mail, then say I changed my mind & decided on IUI...that way insurance will cover some of the meds. How ridiculous is that? Insurance can be so stupid. Why would you cover it if it was timed instead of the procedure? IUI has to be more successful that just timed intercourse! So in the long run, they will waste more money on timed intercourse than if they just embraced the IUI.

Oh I totally forgot...me & my husband went out after the appointment to just shop & hang out. We went to Babies R Us...by the way, TONS of good deals. We didn't find anything for us that blew us away. But we went to a Burlington Coat Factory...if you don't know what that is, I would compare it to a Marshalls, Ross, or TJ Maxx. And I found me a baby bag...pretty inexpensive & a neutral color...so we got it. I am pretty psyched. Baby bags are one of those things that when you find a good deal & it is the right bag, you just buy it because you will never find it again. It was about $20 cheaper than the bag I had my eye on at Target. We also bought a box to put our fertility kit in...in case I didn't mention, we box it up & store it under the bed until I am pregnant.

So we had a great afternoon together & now relaxing watching the Yankee game. My stomach has been upset all day. I think it was nerves from anticipating my appt. And the cramping continues. It is weird when you have cramping & feel sick because it can be hard to tell the different in cramps or upset stomach cramps.

Oh & Erin, 11 or so DPO & still no spotting for me...pretty sure I get it by now...so still holding out hope.

 

[ERosePW]

How exciting no spotting yet!! I'm def still holding out hope for you! I know a lot of women do have spotting before a bfp, but since my bfp cycle was the first time in years that I didn't have any spotting, I tend to look at it as a good sign. My spotting went away today, which is rare once it starts, it usually stays til AF arrives. So I even have a tiny bit of hope back myself. I am feeling slightly crampy like you though. I'm probably still messed up from that surgery though, so I'm not even trying to guess, lol.

Btw, I've been meaning to tell you... A lady on the other thread I'm on got a bfp after having IUI the day after she O'd.

 

[floridasian]

I'm glad your appointment went well Beaglemom! Fingers crossed that you'll get your BFP this cycle and you won't have to go through it again! No spotting sounds good!

 

[floridasian]

FutureBabyG - I was finally able to pull up the video on my phone. Somehow it only pulls up on my phone but not on the computer. Thank you! It's very informative!

 

[Suzy18]

I had my post-op with my OB yesterday (routine follow-up after surgery), and I told him that I'd had my appt w/ the RE. It's located right behind my OB's office, so he knows the Dr's there really well. He was happy to hear that I had gone. He said he'll feel better knowing I'm in the hands of someone who specializes in this, and he said once they get me prego, they send him a letter after a few weeks of monitoring me, and they let him know that they're handing me back to him. So he said "I'm really looking forward to getting that letter soon, and I hope the next time we're in an operating room, I'm telling you to PUSH!" Hehe.

This all sounds so exciting Erin. I'm excited for you . I understand that you feel more optimistic now that all the "issues" are solved. If I don't get prego this cycle, I'm going to see a RE as well. I've already done some research and found a good one nearby. And apparently their success rate is really high so that's exciting.
to you hon

 

[Suzy18]

So we had a great afternoon together & now relaxing watching the Yankee game. My stomach has been upset all day. I think it was nerves from anticipating my appt. And the cramping continues. It is weird when you have cramping & feel sick because it can be hard to tell the different in cramps or upset stomach cramps.

Oh & Erin, 11 or so DPO & still no spotting for me...pretty sure I get it by now...so still holding out hope.

I'm still hoping for your BFP beaglemom! Keep us posted!!!

 

[Suzy18]

So I started the OPK's again on CD13. The line is not only faint, it's almost non existent. Jeez...I'm going to try again later today but this really bothers me. Is there no LH in my body at all?
Anyway, I'm on day 4 of drinking the yam tea. I read that you have to drink it every day for one week before you're supposed to O (I started on CD12 which is when I bought them). So I guess it's a bit like Clomid if I'm not mistaken? I'm going to drink the tea for 7 days. Let's see if that triggers my O. I really hope so. One of the many disadvantages of having irregular cycles is that they can take a very long time. And when you want to get PG, it takes way too long. Most of the women have the TWW before they O and then the TWW after until AF. My wait until O is basically unknown and that's really frustrating. I never know when my next cycle will begin or end. That's why I'm pinning my hopes on these ovulation boosters (yam, vitex) to see if they help my body do it's thing. Working from home today so I'm much more relaxed. And, IT'S FRIDAY!!!

 

[savvysaver]

I am having a great morning so far! Hubby gets Good Friday off from work, so we were able to sleep in. Also I got a positive opk!! Today is CD15...and if you have been following along the past couple months you know that I usually O really late (CD17 or CD20) so I am hoping this means I O on or before CD17. Now if we catch the egg and my LP can be a bit longer I might be all set! I couldn't believe it when the wondfo had dark lines so I used a second wondfo and then confirmed with the clearblue smiley.

 

[savvysaver]

Trying to catch up from yesterday, so I am hoping I don't miss someones post...if I did I apologize.

misaacs, glad you checked in here and that you are healing up well from your surgery. Hoping you get a + opk very soon.

FBG, thanks for the video link, I will check that out!

Beaglemom, I am so glad you had such a great appointment. It sounds like the doctor is confident that a well timed IUI is exactly what you need. Hopefully switching over to Femara will be just what you need to get that extra O boost. Is the office open on weekends for IUIs? I still have high hopes of you getting your bfp this cycle but I am glad you have a back up plan ready to go. Insurance is definitely crazy, while I am so thankful that we have very good insurance it still bothers me what woman have to pay when we are ttc. Even my GI bills are insane sometimes and I look at what I would have to pay if we didn't have insurance and I can't imagine what I would do without it. Meds are crazy too - I had H Pylori back in the summer and I had to go on heavy duty antibiotics, they cost me $50, if I didn't have insurance it would have cost me over like $800 for a 14 day treatment of 8 pills a day...ugh, worst two weeks ever. Our insurance covers the cost of most fertility tests but I think it only covers 20% of the procedures. I will probably faint when they show me a price list!

Erin, glad you checked in with us! Your chart is still looking great and it is still very possible to get your bfp this cycle. Your body is still recovering from the m/c and your hsg and surgery. If I remember correctly you had wanted to switch to femara after 3 unsuccessful cycles on clomid, so I am glad you will get to try it next cycle if you need to. I think you have a great back up plan in place and I see you will be posting a bfp very soon. Thanks for making me feel better about the "floaters", it honestly freaked me out because of the pain I was having. I was worried it was a kidney stone or UTI...I kept an eye on it and continued to pee in a cup for 24 hours but luckily never got them again. I also read online that dehydration could cause them and I didn't drink much water that day.

Suzy, I hope the ovulation boosters give you an O day soon. The opks do get frustrating when they are stark white. But mine usually get super white and then I get a blazing positive. So my fx'd that you get your + soon. How is the yam tea? I bought yams and put them in my basement last week since it is cooler down there and I totally forgot about cooking them up.

Floridasian, how are you feeling?

 

[beaglemom]

Thanks everyone...I hope you are right & I don't even need this doctor. But we will see. I was tempted to test today, but I am still holding out. I am determined not to buy any more tests...at least not for this cycle. I have 2 cheap tests from Walmart, one frer, & one clearblue digital. Savvy, yes this office is open weekends! They are a true fertility office. I also wanted to say, while none of you were this way, I had a few people being negative about my process with my gyno. After sitting down with the specialist, I know that even though it didn't work, I am so happy & grateful for what my dr did. I really think it made the specialist appt so much easier. And they gave me a price list for the HSG & SA...WOW! So glad I did that without a specialist. Even though some make look at it as wasted time & moeny, I totally don't see it that way. She did the best she could & judging from some of you guys' experiences, she was a step up from a normal gyno. So I am happy about how our process has gone so far. It has been a long 7-8 months, but I know that we were doing the best we could & going at a pace we were comfortable with. When I started this, I was dtermined to give it my all for a year...that year is not up yet & we are just getting to the good stuff!

Savvy & Suzy, I really think what you are doing could be a great help by using vitex or teas, vit B, progestrone cream. I was reading about the cream online & getting mixed impressions. I am not using a lot of it, but it is giving me peace of mind. They all say go to a dr first, but my dr didn't see a problem. The way I see it, it can't do much harm if pretty much every fertility specialist puts you on medicated progesterone after any IUI procedures. Suzy I hope the yams help. If it doesn't, I am still a big believer in clomid. It is very inexpensive, a regular gyno can prescribe it, & it lengthened my normal cycle & I know it can regulate a long cycle or create a better O date. Savvy, I am excited for your appt in May!

I have already sent an email to my new manager about what is coming in the next 2 weeks. And I will speak with my banker when he comes in. I hope all the driving & missing work won't stress me out.

 

[savvysaver]

Beaglemom, I am so glad that the office is open on the weekends for you! It seems like the previous cycles have had weekend interference. Now it won't matter what day you O. I wish my regular OB would have done some of the tests, or at least a SA for my hubby...I think you regular OB did a great job getting you this far. Obviously they can help get you preggers but can only do so much, at this point I feel it is time to move on to the expert. I wasted so many years feeling sick with my stomach issues, the doctors at my MILs office were great in running tests and giving meds and checking for all they could but after so long if you still are not better then it is time to move on. I am so glad I have my specialist GI doc, I wish I had gone to her back 3+ years ago when my stomach issues started.

I had totally forgotten about the progesterone cream, I meant to order it on amazon and freaked out this morning that the earliest I could get it would be Monday with Amazon prime...do you think I should hold off and not purchase it?

Do you have a lot of appointments in the next two weeks? Hopefully your new manager and current boss will understand, you have spoken with both of them and it sounds like they are aware of your situation and sympathetic. Maybe it would be possible for you to make up your hours or could you ever work from home? Good luck, sending positive thoughts that everything works out with your situation.

 

[moni77]

Beagle sounds like a productive appointment. FXed you don't need it though!!

Erin - FXed for you as well. I am not sure about side effects with the trigger - I've been getting a lot of ovulation cramps after it, but I think that might be due to the extra follicles from the clomid. THe shot itself is not bad as long as you put it into fat and not muscle. They say to inject it into the stomach or thigh - definitely do the stomach. I tried the thigh once and it really hurt and bruised up.

FXed for all the easter testers. I'll let you guys know how it goes (prob on Monday). But I'll update FF on sunday....

 

[beaglemom]

Savvy, I bought my cream at Vitamin Shoppe (not sure if you have those). I think GNC has it, too. You could check there & get it. Not that expensive. You just have to make sure not to start it until after you O. I don't think I can advise one way or the other on using it. I am okay with trying it. If you are okay with it, I would try it. It's not like you are wasting too much money. But check out Vitamin Shoppe or GNC & you can buy it OTC...no waiting for shipping.

As far as work goes, I cannot work from home, but I have PTO (Personal Time Off). This is what I use for any time off I take...whether it be sick, personal, or vacation. I have a decent amount, so I have no concerns with that. I am going to try to schedule things early or late in the day to help with being away from the office. I can also stay late, come in early, or skip lunches. But I knew this was a possibility, so I have been hoarding my time so far this year.

Moni, thanks for the info on the shot. I am nervous about that only because I hate needles to begin with.

 

[Suzy18]

Hi ladies and thanks for the support. I did the OPK today and there is definitely a visible line today. It's not a positive but at least it's there and it's not faint at all. I'm also beginning to feel some activity in my ovaries. Here's hoping I'm close to O.

Savyy, glad to hear you O'd earlier this cycle. Get to work honey

Thanks for the encouragement Beaglemom. I didn't know a regular gyno could prescribe Clomid. Let's see how this cycle goes with the natural remedies.

 

[ERosePW]

Suzy, Fxd that you O early like you want to! I hope the yams and teas and everything do their thing! I've heard that some of that stuff can be pretty powerful, especially the vitex. So you'll probably notice a difference already this cycle.

savvy, you could still put in the order today if you'll get it on Monday. I think it's supposed to be used similar to the pills. You wait until after O, and some people even wait until they get their CHs, just to confirm they did O for sure. Prior to O, your P is supposed to be low. If your P is higher, your body may not O at all. Although the cream is much milder, so I dont know that it would necessarily have that effect like the pills might. Btw, congrats on the pos OPK!! I know you have been hoping to O earlier, so I'm super excited for you! I bet you'll O tomorrow or the next day, wuhu!

beaglemom, I think you did just fine going through your Dr for IUI first. I would've done it through my Dr if I could've, because I love him so much. But they just dont do it at their office. He did write the clomid script, and the order for the HSG and the SA also, so I stayed with him for as long as I could, and the RE was actually happy that I'd done all that, because it meant we could get started on my treatment right away. Pretty much jump right into it! I'm tempted to go touch the statues again the day I take the shot.

moni, thanks for the info on the trigger shot. I'm sorta dreading that part....not a huge fan of needles. The nurse said its a really small needle, and it's not a big deal at all, and I've seen a lot of women on the forums using it and not complaining about it, so luckily I dont have that much anxiety over it at the moment. But still not looking super forward to it either, lol. But on the other hand, I am looking forward to it, because I know what its going to do, and anything that could help me get a BFP is a good thing!

Really nothing new with me today. My spotting hasn't come back fully, but I do have some light beige color to my CM. It's a little different than my typical cycle, but I'm sure things were a little off after the cyst removal. I had a 25-day cycle while it was still in there (and that was on clomid!), so I know it affected my body for sure. But as for the aftermath, I'm not real sure. I feel like my cycles have been a little off ever since the m/c anyway. But I'm hoping my body is just completely back to normal if AF arrives again, and that I'll be in the best position possible to start treatment with my RE.

 

[ERosePW]

Oh suzy, I meant to say also... don't worry too much about the light OPKs. Like savvy said, I've seen mine get really light, and then BAM, that night or the next day it's positive. If you really think about it, they do call it a "surge", so the OPKs dont necessarily have to progressively get darker. It could be light one day, and then the surge could happen the next day. Although you know your body better than I do, certainly! So if yours do get progressively darker, then that may just be how your surge works. I just dont want you to get too discouraged by it. There was one cycle that I was tempted to post a pic of my OPKs to show the difference just from morning to night! I had tested in the a.m. and got an obvious super light neg, and then tested after work and had a super dark positive! I recall thinking, wow what a HUGE difference just from morning to night!

 

[ERosePW]

Ugh, I keep forgetting stuff... I meant to tell you girls that I did POAS this morning and it's neg. I'm 13dpo today, and I know sometimes BFPs dont come until 14dpo or later, but I'm really not so sure about this cycle, so I'm just hoping for a short cycle and getting on to the next. Our BDing wasn't at all ideal since I'd just had surgery and didnt expect to O so early. And besides that, I can't help but think that an egg released on cd9 wouldn't be a very good mature egg, but what do I know?! LOL I know I can't count myself out for good just yet, but if I test in the a.m. and have a neg still, I'm probably going to just start looking forward to AF getting here.

 

[floridasian]

Savvy - yay for the positive OPK! Hope you O soon!! And I didn't start my progesterone until after I got my BFP so it's definitely not too late to order it now.
Suzy - Erin is right, sometimes those OPK's have no line and then all of a sudden it's blaring positive. That's why it's called a "surge" after all! Hope you O soon too!
Erin - I see that you usually have a long LP. Not sure if long LP's correlates to later BFP's? Your temp is still up. Fingers crossed for you!
Moni - your chart is still looking good. Fingers crossed for your too for a BFP!
Beaglemom - let us know if you test this weekend!

Not much going on here. I'm working today but DH has the day off so he's running errands.

I'm just waiting for this cycle to be over so we can officially start TTC again!

 

[beaglemom]

I just had another weird conversation with my banker (the used to be bossman). Basically he wants no details, but then wants to know why I have so many appts! He is not being a jerk, just being himself. Sometimes he just says things & I know he just doesn't get it. To him a baby came a totally different way so all this is new for him. Plus he is a man. Plus he is TOTALLY reliant on me & can't stand when I am not here. I guess it is good job security...but he better get used to it, because maternity leave is around the corner! He also mentioned if this went on over several months needing to tell the Area Executive...basically the guy over him & my boss. And I was just like really? This is weird enough. Can we tell him I have a non emergency medical situation? So basically I guess we will deal with that if it comes up. But I really don't think everyone higher up needs to know what I have going on. Before it gets to that point, I will talk to my supervisor. She is a woman & I think can understand better. And he says no details, but then when I said after the weekend I will know if I have to do anything of this, he says oh so you need to pee on a stick? REALLY!?! I think he thought my dr would have known yesterday if I was pregnant. I don't think he really knew what yesterday was all about.

Still having intense cramping off & on but no spotting. It almost feels as if AF is coming. I have had this before...so it could go either way.

Oh & I also wanted to say my opks are the same way...very light & then dark on the next test...the color is nothing to worry about, it's only important when it's positive.

And I think I just might test tomorrow...really nervous, though.

 

[savvysaver]

Beaglemom, thanks I looked and we have a Vitamin Shoppe a few miles away. I am thinking of getting the 2oz jar there and just using a small amount. That is good you have a lot of PTO time and you can work earlier/later if needed to make up some hours, at least you have some flexibility. Just remember, it is all worth it to get your bfp!

Suzy, keep testing, hopefully you will get a + opk soon. Do you test more than once a day? I tested last night at 9pm, since I was out all day and totally forgot about testing in the afternoon. At 9pm the test had a very light line...I tested again just before 7am this morning and it was blazing positive....I got my surge in less than 10 hours. Let me know if you want me to post a pic of the two tests, I still have them on my counter (yep I am crazy and save them to compare)

Erin, thanks! I am very excited if I actually O early...I will find out in the next few days. I think it is a good idea to wait until the CHs or at least a clear thermal shift before I use the cream. I am going to go easy on it especially since I didn't clear using it with my dietitian or GI doctor...not sure if it would have an effect on my stomach issues. I am sorry you got a bfn today...but didn't you get a bfp 14dpo in December? Keep us posted, I am still hopeful for you!

Floridasian, you got lots to look forward to...I am so excited that you get to officially start ttc again soon!