TTC 1st child 35+ (Please spoiler any PG news/announcements).

[Dwrgi]

FM & Constance, its good to be excited for family when there is a pg. I felt the same way when my brother and SIL adopted my neice. They got her as a newborn and were matched up with birth mother early on. When it was close to her due date I was texting my SIL constantly. I couldn't wait to see pics and I absolutely adore my little neice.

dwrgi, that sounds like a load of crap with your FS. I second what HA says and don't give up. And yes, keep the blood moving in your uterus. You got to keep it baby ready because I know it'll work for you.

Mammywanna, welcome!

AFM, taking it easy this weekend. I just did some yoga and I'm going to dinner with a friend tonight. She's been really supportive with everything I've been going through. I know this is the time I need to stay around supportive people. I have scan on Monday and I should be starting injections on Thursday.

Good luck Missy! Hope you had a good time with your friend! Fingers crossed that this cycle will work for you! xxx

 

[purplelou]

Hi ladies, hope you are all having a good weekend, and doing something nice

dwrgi - bah!! to the FS for saying you could have the IUIs and thn saying you couldn't. you should definetly try and speak to him/her directly and if not - appeal!! what a blow!

hi mammywanna - welcome to the thread xx

hope everyone is well, sorry this short, just wanted to pop on quickly and send everyone some


afm, well I think O has happened, tomorrow FF should confirm it, I think next month I may start using the CBFM (which I brought just before I got my bfp in august) because my temps are a bit all over the place. I think it's likely to be a bfn this month as poor DH had a stomach bug on the day before and the day of likely OV, so I doubt the BDing we did was at just the right time, never mind. also I have been having a tiny bit of spotting/smearing since af (now CD 14) which I am guessing is related probably to the MC. looking at FF, my next O date should likely fall around or even on our 5th wedding anniversary......my DH said that's a sign (bless him) would be lovely if it were though. anyway, enjoy the rest of your weekend ladies xxxx

 

[constancev18]

Ladies, do you count the first positive opk as the day of ovulation on online software etc, or do you count 1 or 2 dys later as ovulation day? I've gone back and forth, which is messing up my data gathering.

It's cd9 and I had my first positive opk so hopefully I can make dh think he initiated bd'ing. If that doesn't work I'll just have to be a killjoy and tell him tonight is the night. Ugh. I like for at least one of us to think it's impromptu.

 

[Dwrgi]

Ladies, do you count the first positive opk as the day of ovulation on online software etc, or do you count 1 or 2 dys later as ovulation day? I've gone back and forth, which is messing up my data gathering.

It's cd9 and I had my first positive opk so hopefully I can make dh think he initiated bd'ing. If that doesn't work I'll just have to be a killjoy and tell him tonight is the night. Ugh. I like for at least one of us to think it's impromptu.

This is a tough one as you need to detect the surge. Some test twice a day. Generally ov will happen 24-36 hour after the first positive with an opk... I always know mine as I have serious side twinges. Good luck!

 

[Dwrgi]

Yoo hoo! Where is everyone?? Very quiet on here! I hope you all had a great weekend! Wales lost in the rugby semi final, sadly.

Well girls, my ovulation is all over the place this month-CD16 today, and first faint positive on the opk.... Quite late for me-but have had acu etc. so that may affect it.

Hope you're all well-thinking of you all!

Much love,
Axxxx

 

[Butterfly67]

yes, is a bit quiet. The finally landed last night so today is officially cd1 for me. Just trying to get my flight organised to go back to the UK in time for O. Stressing a bit as I need to get all my stuff sold and paint the place in the next week or so - argh!!

 

[Dwrgi]

yes, is a bit quiet. The finally landed last night so today is officially cd1 for me. Just trying to get my flight organised to go back to the UK in time for O. Stressing a bit as I need to get all my stuff sold and paint the place in the next week or so - argh!!

Oh dear, so sorry that AF showed. I am thinking of you. But, onwards and upwards! Good luck with your preparations for leaving, it must be quite daunting, but I'm sure that you will be okay! Things always work out in the end!

Take it easy hun!

 

[purplelou]

Hi, it is quiet, sorry about the rugby Dwrgi, I bet the whole of wales cried at the results I would think that ovulation can be affected by stress, and you have had more than your fair share lately,so maybe that's why it's all over the place??


Butterfly - love that little ducky avatar - so cute! anyways, wow - you have a lot to get done, do you have tons of stuff to bring back to the UK? when do you think you might be back for good? good luck with all your preparations. so sorry about that damned witch!!

constance - I have never used OPKs but Dwrgi is wise, so hopefully what she said has helped. Im going to have a go with the clearblue monitor next cycle I think xx

How is everyone else doing today?? did you all have a nice weekend ?

Bug and to all who need it xx

 

[Butterfly67]

Lou!

I am hoping I can pack everything into 3 cases - I have a case of stuff I took back and left at the BF's place when I hopped over for the weekend last time. Only thing is you always have more than you think Trying to book a flight for 26th Oct at the mo

 

[Dwrgi]

Hi, it is quiet, sorry about the rugby Dwrgi, I bet the whole of wales cried at the results I would think that ovulation can be affected by stress, and you have had more than your fair share lately,so maybe that's why it's all over the place??

Im going to have a go with the clearblue monitor next cycle I think xx

How is everyone else doing today?? did you all have a nice weekend ?

Bug and to all who need it xx

Hey Purps, I forgot to say hello. If you have the CBFM, you may as well use it! And I think your DH is very sweet in saying that next month augurs well as it's your anniversary. Hope you're okay hun?
Axxxx

 

[HappyAuntie]

Ladies, do you count the first positive opk as the day of ovulation on online software etc, or do you count 1 or 2 dys later as ovulation day? I've gone back and forth, which is messing up my data gathering.

My RE (reproductive endocrinologist/fertility specialist) said to count the day of the first positive OPK as 0 dpo, to have sex (at a minimum) that day, skip the next day (1 dpo) and have sex again on 2 dpo, and to test at 14 dpo. It is impossible to pinpoint exactly when ovulation takes place, so you count from the first positive opk. It's just easier to say dpo than dpfirstpositiveopk! But the bigger reason for it is that it is crucial that the sperm be up there before the egg is released because the sperm can live there for a few days but the egg can only live for a max of 24 hrs (more realistically closer to 12 hrs) once it's released. So knowing the day of actual ovulation is not nearly as important as knowing the days leading up to ovulation.

It really was quiet on here over the weekend! I barely had a chance to log on because we were out enjoying the weather, and I expected to have to read for hours this morning... where is everyone? Helllloooooooo? echo... echoechoechoecho.....

DH and I went hiking in another state park yesterday. And Saturday we went to our local orchard for our last apple picking frenzy of the season - I have a lot of cooking and canning to do this week! But it's always fun. We had another weekend of spectacular weather (highs in the upper 70s F) but it's going to change drastically soon - I think tomorrow's high is 48F! I guess it'll be time to turn on the heater....

We decided to go ahead and do another IUI this month, so I started injections on Saturday evening. If this one doesn't work, we're taking a break until February. I bounce around all over the place from ambivalent to terrified to annoyed to cynical to pessimistic to wondering why the hell we even started all this sh*t three years ago.... I am SO over all this.

Happy Monday, ladies. Hope you're all doing well.

 

[Butterfly67]

HA

 

[missyt]

Butterfly, I'm sorry to hear about AF. Stupid witch!

HA, hiking and apple picking sounds like so much fun! I'm rooting for you on this IUI.

AFM, I had my "day after I stop the pill" appointment today with the RE. If all is good I start injections on Thursday. I'm freaking out a bit because they never called me with my AMH results so I asked the nurse. She acted surprised that the doctor didnt' call me. She said when she got them back she let the doctor know and to have him call me with the results because she doesn't know a whole lot about that test since its kind of new. She said not to quote her but she thinks my results were 0.4. I just looked it up online and that is bad! And really bad for someone my age. AMH tells you what your ovarian reserve is and I read that it can affect how many eggs your produce and if I don't produce enough of eggs my IVF cycle can get cancelled. Does anyone know anything about this AMH test???? Help!

 

[Dwrgi]

Butterfly, I'm sorry to hear about AF. Stupid witch!

HA, hiking and apple picking sounds like so much fun! I'm rooting for you on this IUI.

AFM, I had my "day after I stop the pill" appointment today with the RE. If all is good I start injections on Thursday. I'm freaking out a bit because they never called me with my AMH results so I asked the nurse. She acted surprised that the doctor didnt' call me. She said when she got them back she let the doctor know and to have him call me with the results because she doesn't know a whole lot about that test since its kind of new. She said not to quote her but she thinks my results were 0.4. I just looked it up online and that is bad! And really bad for someone my age. AMH tells you what your ovarian reserve is and I read that it can affect how many eggs your produce and if I don't produce enough of eggs my IVF cycle can get cancelled. Does anyone know anything about this AMH test???? Help!

Hi Missy, I know a little bit about amh, as I too have been grappling with low amh!! Basically, it is not an indicator at all of egg quality, more suggestive of how many eggs they may get through stimms. If it is 0.4, my guess is that they will go for max drugs and hope to get 1-2 eggs, hopefully more. There is no getting away from the fact that clinics and websites will tell you that IVF success tends to be dependant on egg numbers-the more eggs you produce, the better the success rate. It's simply down to the maths. More eggs and they can 'afford' for some not to fertilize as you'll have others 'in reserve' that may fertilize. I recently read somewhere that low amh suggests old poor quality eggs, but in all my reading, this isn't the general consensus, so phew. I have also heard and read a lot about people with low amh having natural cycle IVFs, with perhaps only a few injections given towards the end of the stimming process, and this result leading to success as they don't 'over-cook' the follies and let them develop more naturally.

If it is 0.4 then you need to be prepared to look at egg quality and making sure that your eggs are the best that they can be. As it takes about three months for egg quality to be affected, experts suggest that you adopt a three months in advance outlook on preparing for IVF. That means a really healthy diet, cut down (or cut out ) alcohol, and perhaps look at vitamins and supplements like Royal Jelly, bee pollen, and also, of course, DHEA! DHEA is controversial as some claim not to have had any effects from using this, but others claim it is a miracle drug with hugely improved egg yields and egg quality following this. You need 75mg per day. I have read that to really reap its benefit, you need to use it for about six months, which is, of course, a lifetime away if you want to have a baby.

The Zita West clinic in London considers the holistic experience of TTC, and they have pages of information about success in people with low amh. They consider things like, diet, exercise, stress, your relationship, how 'ready' you are to actually have a baby (are your thoughts blocking you from getting pregnant, etc.). If you google her name, you'll come to it. They endorse too, hypnotherapy and acupuncture in treating stress and helping you relax.

What I am heartened by is that I read a fertilty expert comment that thousands and millions of women get pregnant without ever knowing that they have low amh-it is not the be all and end all, so you have to remain positive.

I hope that you are okay, hun. It's amazing they didn't actually tell you the amh result themselves, and the nurse may have got it wrong, but chin up, and focus on baking the very best eggs that you can!

Sending you big hugs and lots and lots of positive thoughts! And love, of course!

 

[HappyAuntie]

AFM, I had my "day after I stop the pill" appointment today with the RE. If all is good I start injections on Thursday. I'm freaking out a bit because they never called me with my AMH results so I asked the nurse. She acted surprised that the doctor didnt' call me. She said when she got them back she let the doctor know and to have him call me with the results because she doesn't know a whole lot about that test since its kind of new. She said not to quote her but she thinks my results were 0.4. I just looked it up online and that is bad! And really bad for someone my age. AMH tells you what your ovarian reserve is and I read that it can affect how many eggs your produce and if I don't produce enough of eggs my IVF cycle can get cancelled. Does anyone know anything about this AMH test???? Help!

I would try to hold the panic until you find out two things: A) is 0.4 your actual result? (She could have remembered it wrong.) and B) what scale did they use? My dr used a ng/ml scale (results from 0-4), and some use a pmol/L scale (results from 0-15+)... which scale they used will have a HUGE impact on the meaning of your result. I don't know much about it all either, but this website has a pretty easy-to-understand explanation. And this site has a good comparison chart of the two scales out there.

But if you look at both sites, you'll see part of the problem - there is currently no agreement in the field as to what is "normal" and what is "low", etc. Different Drs have different opinions on the matter, and there is no consensus on the matter because, as your nurse said, it's a fairly new test and not a lot of research has been done on it yet. As that first site said, "We do not have a lot of data yet on what to tell couples going through IVF about their AMH results and chances for conception."

IF your nurse remembered correctly and your result is indeed 0.4, and if your dr used the ng/ml (0-4) scale (it seems most US drs do), then I think most clinics would classify that as low. But low does not mean none. Don't put the cart before the horse - you're worried about maybe having to cancel a cycle before you've even started stimming! You have a good track record of responding to meds during IUI, so you KNOW that your body is going to produce some healthy, mature follicles on this IVF cycle. You aren't likely to get 20 of them, but NONE of us on here are - only women in their early 20s should expect those kind of numbers.



Take a deep breath. Talk to your dr before spending another minute of your energy worrying about this - you might find you have nothing to worry about. Ask him what his expectations are for retrieval. As long as you have more follies than you would for an IUI cycle, I can't imagine they would recommend canceling retrieval. And if for some reason only 2-3 follies develop, you can always convert the cycle to an IUI and know the cycle wasn't wasted. But you're going to be on MUCH higher doses of stims, and I cannot imagine your ovaries, which have proven responses to lower doses of the stims, not responding to the higher doses.

 

[missyt]

Thanks dwrgi & HA, the nurse called back and said the number was definately 0.4 but she didn't tell me on what scale. She said as far as she knows, it only means they may give me a higher dose of meds towards the end. I'm just worried because she asked if I was still going to do the shared risk program (6 IVF tries for $20K and you get your money back if you don't deliver a baby) and I said yes. She said the doctor asked and he'll probably call me later today. Now I'm worried that I won't be able to do the shared risk because of my low AMH number. Ugh, this is so frustrating. And girls, I did read this test isn't very reliable. You think they'd make everyone do it. That is why this has really thrown me for a loop.

 

[missyt]

So the RE called me and said they are accepting me into the shared risk program but they can drop me at anytime. That is due to my low AMH numbers. I just want to cry right now. He basically told me that low AMH means I don't make as many follicles that will develop into eggs. Well now I know what to tell my mom when she keeps telling me I look young for my age and I'm healthy and there's no reason I can't get pregnant at 37. I'm really trying to stay positive but its so hard. I don't know how to snap myself out of this. I just feel like my clinic doesn't have much faith in my response to the meds. I really wish I didn't sign up to work late because I want to go home, crawl in bed and cry.

 

[twinkle1975]

Oh Missy - sending you big hugs xx

 

[Butterfly67]

Missyt - how is that going to work then if they say they can accept you but can drop you at any time - surely it is a contract at the beginning and if they pull out then they would have to give you your money back anyway. Obviously that is a side issue but that does not make sense to me

Like dwrgi said I have also seen a lot of stories of people getting pg with a low AMH and also quite a few doctors saying it is not a worthwhile test so please don't get too despondent about it - they would not take you on at all if they did not think you have a chance of succeeding

 

[missyt]

Butterfly, if they drop me I do get my money back. When we first went to that clinic the RE told us that they can help 99% of couples. Its hard to believe that they possibly consider me to be in that 1% due to my AMH numbers being low. I'd think they'd discuss donor egg with me first.

Dwrgi, you mentioned stress affecting those numbers. It just so happened I had just flown back in from out of state taking care of my sick dad and dealing with my alcoholic brother. Maybe I'll just try to make myself believe that stress played a role in this.