The 'OFFICIAL' Ex Mirena Thread

[RainyMama]

Hi guys! Sorry for my absence, I had a bad couple of days with a fever. Yuck. I am feeling a little better. I was freaking out though because I came across an article linking 1st trimester fevers with autism. Never google anything. Ever.

Stacey- I am so excited to chart stalk you tomorrow morning!!

Babyo- I am soooooo excited for your RE appointment! Sounds like you are super busy! Best of luck with the committee!

Dreamers- I just got sooooo super hungry reading your post. Sounds marvelous, I would have certainly had a breakdown. No question.
I am exchanging emails with my midwife to schedule an appointment that works for both of us. Should be the week of 8/6- I will be 9 weeks that Thursday.

Molly- great job calling the midwife. You are blessed to ovulate each month. Maybe hearing from the MW that you are having regular cycles will help you I think letting DH's swimmers build up will be really helpful too.

Lvn- sorry about DH. Awful. Something similar happened to my DH when DS was 3 months old. I had a little breakdown at first and we were seriously strapped for cash for a little while, but some of our happiest times were when we were crazy poor!

Calasen- how are you doing sweetie?

 

[gardenofedens]

How many threads around here get excited over spotting? lol Dreamers, I am so excited for your spotting!!!

Jones--your chart gives me a headache. It doesn't make any sense! Hopefully it will soon. I want you to be proof that the FB does something. I had a couple of weird spikes like that last cycle and I have no idea what caused them. I didn't take anything at all in my follicular phase.

LVN--(((HUGS))) I am so sorry to hear that! Do I need to go punch somebody in the face for you? I only weigh 100lbs with rocks in my pockets, but I can be feisty!!

edens I can't believe you only have a month left! I remember your BFP like it was yesterday. (UGH, that reminds me how long I've been going at this.)

AFM...my proposal is sucking up every spare second of my time. I haven't even thought about the RE. I did manage to get my records together and got them in order an got DH's records in order as well. I still need to make a list of questions to ask.

DH went to his PCP today to have a ball check. (Don't even get me started on that TTC funny. To hear the man describe his prostate exam sent me into stitches.) The doc gave him antibiotics in case he has some type of infection down there (he has a history of epididymitis and referred him for an ultra sound of his balls. He also has to do a urine analysis tomorrow so they can rule out other stuff. At least that's still moving along and we don't have to wait on the stupid Dr. Cancel Urologist Man to order that test. Doesn't he know I'm a woman who gets stuff done?!?

I'm sorry BabyO. It definitely does seem like forever since my bfp - I hate that more of you haven't joined me on this journey yet. And I wish that those who had would have stuck around and updated us a little more often - like Panda, Ginger, and ...I can't remember who else.

That's great that DH can get so much testing done. My DH had two SAs done but it was like pulling teeth to have him do those and he refused to do anything else. He really should have had more testing done to find out why he had low seminal volume in the first place. They offered him a urinalysis but he didn't want to. Hopefully next time it won't be so difficult since we at least know now it's hands off for him for four days before I ovulate. (Three days wasn't enough volume and five days was too many abnormalities coupled with low volume)

 

[OperationBbyO]

Can you tell me everything you did the cycle you got the BFP including what days you guys BD prior to O day? Like doses of meds and everything. Now that we know for sure DH has swimmer issues I will try to calculate it to four days. But did you BD the day before O? day of O?

I'm not going down without a well planned fight!

 

[gardenofedens]

hmm, let's see...I don't have all the specifics but here's what I remember:

DH was sporadically taking Folic Acid, Zinc, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E on top of a men's multivitamin for 3 months. I say sporadically because he only remembered a few times per week when I reminded him, lol. I was only taking my prenatal vitamin and had just been prescribed Clomid for the next cycle.

After months of charting and overlaying charts, I felt I could pinpoint when my temp should go up/down and what day I'd ovulate so I had a bit of a heads up but that cycle I was traveling and sharing a room with my boss so I didn't get to temp every day. CD17/18 were the most common days so I hoped that would hold true that cycle but I had low hopes of conceiving since I didn't even know if I'd be around DH. From taking Mucinex 1-2 cycles prior, I learned that I had the most CM 1-2 days after I stopped the Mucinex so I took it (plain Mucinex with only Guaifenesin) CD 13-15 to plan for CD17/18 ovulation. We used PreSeed every time we had sex but only as a topical lubricant. That cycle we also used ConceivePlus internally but only on CD17. DH ended up coming to surprise me on my business trip on CD14 so we had sex that afternoon. I went home on CD17 so we had sex again late that night. I left out of town again on the morning of CD19 and we dtd again just in case since my temp had spiked that morning. I think we conceived from our BDing on CD17 though.

There's a link to my charts in my signature if you want to see it on FF too.

 

[OperationBbyO]

Did Mucinex give you EW CM? I never get that stuff. I'd love to make myself have it.

 

[gardenofedens]

I should mention too though that DH didn't have a quantity problem...it was only that he didn't have enough fluid for the swimmers to get where they needed to go. The dr said "normal" fluid volume is 2-6mL whereas DH had only 0.5 after 3 days and 1.0 after 5 days.

Oh and that reminds me, DH had cut WAY back on caffeine. He went from six sodas a day to one and increased his water intake from probably none to four 16 ounce bottles a day. (Prior to this, his volume was a couple drops TOPS)

The dr said they look for greater than or equal to 20 million sperm. DH had 50 million after abstaining for 3 days and almost 70 million after abstaining for 5 days so that definitely wasn't the problem...

 

[gardenofedens]

Did Mucinex give you EW CM? I never get that stuff. I'd love to make myself have it.

Yep, that was the only time I ever had it. I always had creamy CM, like throughout the whole cycle. I'd get what felt like watery cm but never ewcm until I used the Mucinex.

 

[OperationBbyO]

Did you take the Mucinex as directed on the box?

DH's SA looks like this:
Volume: 7.3 mL (no problems there)
Sperm concentration: 20 million/mL (no problems)
Total sperm: 148.2 million (no problems)

Progressive sperm: 46% (no problems)
Total Motility: 60 (no problems)

Viability: 79% (no problem)

Morphology:
Normal 1% (THE PROBLEM, should be over 4)
Total normal sperm: 1.5 million (I guess this means this number is low)

This was 3.5 days of holding it in.

He also had an abnormally high number of immature sperm cells so that is another problem.

 

[gardenofedens]

It would certainly help if all doctors provided the same kind of results! Here's DH's...the first number is after 3 days, second is after 5 days

Volume: 0.5mL / 1.0mL
Sperm concentration: 53 mil/mL / 68.4 mil/mL
Total sperm: 26.5 million / 68.4 million

Rapid %: 50% / 30% (normal > 25%)
Immotile %: 50% / 60% (normal 0-50%)
Morphology: 65% / 55% (normal > 70%)

So I'm not entirely sure how that matches up with your DH's results. Your DH definitely doesn't have a count problem; it makes my DH look like he did though. Dr didn't seem concerned about anything other than fluid volume though.

Anyway, yes I followed the instructions on the box for the Mucinex. Just make sure it's the kind with only the one active ingredient.

 

[OperationBbyO]

I think there are two ways to measure the little swimmers. One is the Kruger/Tygerberg Strict Criteria and one is the other way but I don't know the name. I don't think the "strict" thing is actually any stricter, but has different number cut offs and assesses things in a different way. DH had the Strict Criteria one.

It would help if they all did the same things.

 

[gardenofedens]

That would definitely be easier! I tried to login to my doctor's website to find out more about how they did the test but it's down right now. I'll try again tomorrow...

 

[RainyMama]

Babyo- I am so glad you have started charting, from eden's experience it sounds like it will really help you with timing. I am so excited to see your BFP, I know it is only a matter of strategy and you will get that sorted out quickly you are a force to be reckoned with!

 

[gardenofedens]

BabyO - I was finally able to login to my dr's site. Here's the explanation for the way they do the tests. I don't have time to read through it right now since I'm at work but maybe you do during a break from your dissertation.

A semen analysis measures the amount of semen a man produces and determines the number and quality of sperm in the semen sample. Results of a semen analysis are usually available within a day. Normal values may vary from lab to lab.

Semen analysis 1 Semen volume
Normal: 2–5 milliliters (mL) (0.002–0.005 L in SI units) per ejaculation

Abnormal: An abnormally low or high semen volume is present, which may sometimes cause fertility problems.

Liquefaction time
Normal: 20–30 minutes after collection

Abnormal: An abnormally long liquefaction time is present, which may indicate an infection.

Sperm count
Normal: 20 million spermatozoa per milliliter (mL) or more

0 sperm per milliliter if the man has had a vasectomy

Abnormal: A very low sperm count is present, which may indicate infertility. But a low sperm count does not always mean that a man cannot father a child. Men with sperm counts below 1 million have fathered children.

Sperm shape (morphology)
Normal: More than 30% of the sperm have normal shape.

Kruger criteria: More than 14% of the sperm have a normal shape.

Abnormal: Sperm can be abnormal in several ways, such as having two heads or two tails, a short tail, a tiny head (pinhead), or a round (rather than oval) head. Abnormal sperm may be unable to move normally or to penetrate an egg. Some abnormal sperm are usually found in every normal semen sample. But a high percentage of abnormal sperm may make it more difficult for a man to father a child.

Sperm movement (motility)
Normal: More than 50% of the sperm show normal forward movement after 1 hour.

Abnormal: Sperm must be able to move forward (or "swim") through cervical mucus to reach an egg. A high percentage of sperm that cannot swim properly may impair a man's ability to father a child.

Semen pH
Normal: Semen pH of 7.1–8.0

Abnormal: An abnormally high or low semen pH can kill sperm or affect their ability to move or to penetrate an egg.

White blood cells
Normal: No white blood cells or bacteria are detected.

Abnormal: Bacteria or a large number of white blood cells are present, which may indicate an infection.


Certain conditions may be linked with a low or absent sperm count. These conditions include orchitis, varicocele, Klinefelter syndrome, radiation treatment to the testicles, or diseases that can cause shrinking (atrophy) of the testicles (such as mumps).

If a low sperm count or a high percentage of sperm abnormalities are found, further testing may be done. Other tests may include measuring hormones, such as testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), or prolactin. A small sample (biopsy) of the testicles may be needed for further evaluation if the sperm count or motility is extremely low.

And his complete results after 5 days from their website:
Component - Your result - Standard range Units
Collection time, semen 1148
Semen volume - 1.0 >2.0 - mL
SEMEN, TIME READ 1216
pH, semen 8.0 >7.2 -
Spermatozoa, rapid % 35 >25 - %
Spermatozoa, nonprogressive % 5 0 - 50 %
Spermatozoa, immotile % 60 0 - 50 %
Liquefaction, semen YES
Appearance, semen NORMAL NORMAL -
SPERM COUNT, SEMEN 68.4 >=20 - M/mL
Spermatozoa, morphology 55 >=30 - %Norml
WBC COUNT, SEMEN FEW NoneSeen - HPF
RBC Count, Semen, LIGHT MICROSCOPY FEW NoneSeen - HPF

 

[taurusmom05]

Omg, im missing a lot. At work but will be reading and replying later! Just know ill be here to give input later!!!

 

[OperationBbyO]

DH is having an US on his balls tomorrow. There is no telling what is going to come out of his mouth! lol

 

[gardenofedens]

lol

 

[Calasen]

If only I had the choice to set at things with such strategy But I know it will definately work for you one day soon

AFM I'm avoiding thinking about babies (HA thats at least the lie I'm telling myself) until after the wedding

In all honesty though I really am not coping and am coming to the realisation that a natural conception is completely out for us.

 

[OperationBbyO]

Calasen--that has got to me hard to come to terms with. I am already trying to prepare myself in case that is what happens with us. There are so many feelings that come along with medical conception. I personally feel defective. like I am somehow less of a woman because I can't seem to conceive. A big hug to you. My crazy last ditch efforts are because I'm afraid to face the fear of IVF. You aren't alone!!

 

[sjones1125]

Ummm ladies,Can you look at my chart please? 6dpo? really? The 98.1 temp was sunday morning, I did drink 1 mikes hard lemonade...is that enough to cause such a temp rise? If I discard it then my ch's disappear. I'm really confused right now with my temps lol.

 

[LVnMommy]

Hi ladies, Im in search of a new OB doctor!! after working with mine this past week at the hospital by chance(he was the on call doctor as i floated there) I can say i am in desperate need of new doc! LOL tip -- never work with your doctor//. I do have a ultrasound scheduled for monday and i think i will go to that then find a new doctor, because i really really wanna see that heartbeat!!

Rainy- Hows everything going so far?? has it really sunk in with you yet? and have you told anybody ?

BabyO- has your DH thought of the possibility that SS may no be his after all?? I mean you two both know how crazy his ex is and any level of crazy seems possible with her!You shouldnt fear IVF! Just think of it as a another possibility for you ! just another door down the hallway of TTC to open if you choose.