March 2010 Infertility One Thread - Page 5

[lesliesara63]

Originally Posted by ladylaura

Negative blood test oh well. I'm okay though I'll certainly spend the next day or two mourning. One thing that factors into using donor sperm is the number of vials from this donor- we have 12- and how that translates into the number of children we can have. That's not pressure i'm really okay with... On to attempt #3, I guess.

[ladylaura]

Originally Posted by CharlottesWeb

I'm sorry Ladylaura! That sucks... You have the right attitude though- be positive and stay stong. It will happen! What is your plan for this cycle? Gee...I never thought of that. You want all your children to have the same father...that makes sense, so they will all be connected. Very cool.

We are all here to support you. I was really xf for you all afternoon

Thanks. I think I'm always able to find the positives in all of this just because it's what helps me get through everything. I mean, I have a 90 minute massage scheduled on April 2 that I would've had to cancel if I'd been pregnant, and since it was a bacherlorette party, all the girls would've noticed... so I don't have to worry about that anymore. That's pretty much the only positive thing I can come up with right now...

Yeah, I mean, having our kids have the same donor is ideal just because I like the idea of consistency. They'll all have the same medical history and will be 100% related to each other. But... I'm starting to think about what it would be like if for some reason we ended up using more than one donor. Like, if we could afford the treatments and the cost of the sperm, and we wanted to have a certain number of kids, how would I feel about having our kids be from two donors?

The thing I have to stop thinking about is how we spent several thousand dollars on these 12 vials of sperm and now there's 2 vials gone. I really need to not be attaching a price tag to these vials because I know we will find a way to buy more vials (even if they're from a different donor) if we need them.

Lots to process...

[brichole1214]

Just got back home from the RE and they said all but 2 of those old follies are completely gone...so as long as the rest of my blood work comes back good we get to start an oral/injections round this weekend and i'll get to go back for another u/s and more b/w either thursday or friday next week....but if my levels haven't come down yet then i will just go for another redraw on monday or tuesday and then go from there. I really hope they are able to get me to O by next weekend because that's the same week I got pregnant with DD 7 years ago and that would put their birthdays close. Even though I don't want another december birthday to add to the other 6 that we have in my family it would still be nice to be able to have a 2010 baby. We'll just have to wait and see though. The doctor said if this doesn't work he still has several other things in the works for me and DH that shouldn't break the bank yet.... I'll edit later to add my b/w results. TGIF!!! Everyone have a great and Blessed day!!

[ladylaura]

Originally Posted by brichole1214

Even though I don't want another december birthday to add to the other 6 that we have in my family it would still be nice to be able to have a 2010 baby.

This makes me giggle. My husband says I always find something to make the due date kind of special - I can always line it up with a birthday, an astrological sign, a holiday, etc. This past cycle would've been a thanksgiving baby, so now we're trying for a Christmas baby. Don't know how I'd swing the following month - maybe aiming for my husband's birthday on Feb 4.

[CharlottesWeb]

Originally Posted by ladylaura

This makes me giggle. My husband says I always find something to make the due date kind of special - I can always line it up with a birthday, an astrological sign, a holiday, etc. This past cycle would've been a thanksgiving baby, so now we're trying for a Christmas baby. Don't know how I'd swing the following month - maybe aiming for my husband's birthday on Feb 4.

I know right....my daughter was born 3 days before my Birthday on Nov 27th and came home from the hospital on my Birthday Nov 30th. If I do end up being pg this cycle (blood test on Monday??) this Due date would be the 25th of November. I do the same thing!

Good luck this cycle Brandy!

[brichole1214]

Originally Posted by ladylaura

This makes me giggle. My husband says I always find something to make the due date kind of special - I can always line it up with a birthday, an astrological sign, a holiday, etc. This past cycle would've been a thanksgiving baby, so now we're trying for a Christmas baby. Don't know how I'd swing the following month - maybe aiming for my husband's birthday on Feb 4.

That would be so cool... : ) my DD's b'day is December 14th. The doctor said that she was early but i know what week i got pregnant and it was the week that my ex's granddad passed away.. They were trying to count my 3 days of implantation spotting as a period. I JUST LOVE DOCTORS!!!! I was only 19 at the time so they thought i was young and stupid...i reality i had already done maternity clinicals with my high school a year in a half before then so i knew a little bit of what i was talking about then...oh well. I guess you live and learn.

Originally Posted by CharlottesWeb

I know right....my daughter was born 3 days before my Birthday on Nov 27th and came home from the hospital on my Birthday Nov 30th. If I do end up being pg this cycle (blood test on Monday??) this Due date would be the 25th of November. I do the same thing!

Good luck this cycle Brandy!

I hope that your test goes well monday!!! Got my FX!!!!




AFM: Instead of editing my last post after writing this one i thought i would give my update from the doctor's office now :::::::


I start 5 days of Femera (2 pills at a time) starting tonight at 7. Then on top of that i'll be doing 4 days of Menopur on 150 IU's and then 3 more days of 112. I go back to the doctor on friday the 19th and we will see if these follies are ready to release by then!!! YAY for my levels being back to where they are supposed to be. Now i have to get ready to head to Target to get my femera before going to work....lucky for me it only takes 15 minutes for me to get my meds there !!! I am soooo ready for this to work!!!!!

[lesliesara63]

Laura you have a great attitude. I'm sure if you ever need to deal with the issue of separate donors you'll work through it at the time. 12 vials could easily be enough for you to have a family though.

Brandy good luck!! Are you going to ask for an iui? I've never heard of someone taking all these drugs and not doing one. Can I ask what the femara + menopur is supposed to do? I've also heard of clomid + gonal-f and I was just wondering how its different than doing only injectibles. If I don't get pregnant soon on Clomid I'll be asking my doctor about this.

AFM: I would gladly pay money to make my period start right now!!! I normally have a 25-28 day cycle. Now I am on cd35 It just feels like a slap in the face, I'm not pregnant but AF won't get a move on and get started either. I haven't taken the Estrace/Prometrium since Tuesday so it will probably come tomorrow. But the extended PMS phase is getting really old. I called to schedule my u/s with my old RE today. Even though day one will probably be tomorrow I booked it. The office is closing for March break so I wanted to get it taken care of. So March 23 @ 10 should be my first follie scan.

[anne1140]

AF started yesterday. It's extra hard, because just last week, a friend had a baby, and two days ago, another friend found out his was a boy. He's posting about it on Facebook twice a day it seems.

I'm also having a really hard time with anxiety lately. DH and I might take a break this month to adjust my meds. As frustrated as this makes me (it will be an increase), it needs to be done. I went home from work on Monday, because my anxiety was that bad. Sometimes I wonder if this contributes to our infertility. If it does, I don't know what to do about it. Because DH has only borderline sperm issues, it really does make me wonder if there's something else. I don't like that uncertainty.

[ladylaura]

Originally Posted by anne1140

AF started yesterday. It's extra hard, because just last week, a friend had a baby, and two days ago, another friend found out his was a boy. He's posting about it on Facebook twice a day it seems.

I'm also having a really hard time with anxiety lately. DH and I might take a break this month to adjust my meds. As frustrated as this makes me (it will be an increase), it needs to be done. I went home from work on Monday, because my anxiety was that bad. Sometimes I wonder if this contributes to our infertility. If it does, I don't know what to do about it. Because DH has only borderline sperm issues, it really does make me wonder if there's something else. I don't like that uncertainty.

I know how you feel. AF started for me yesterday, and it's been HORRIBLE... maybe the worst period cramps I've ever had. I was curling up in a ball sobbing because it hurt so bad, and that's after taking medicine. I finally was able to fall asleep for two hours and woke up feeling better. But I've had cramps on and off ever since yesterday morning. Nothing like a stark reminder that once again you're not pregnant.

On top of that, a friend IRL who was pregnant when we started trying 3 years ago is now pregnant with #2. Since we were trying during her first pregnancy, the two of us always talked about our first kids being close in age and us being pregnant at the same time. That baby is now over 2 years old and #2 will be older than my #1, if even close in age at all.

Funny how life works sometimes... I'm so grateful I have all of you here who understand everything I am feeling right now...

[MOMTOALEXIS]

Originally Posted by ladylaura

I know how you feel. AF started for me yesterday, and it's been HORRIBLE... maybe the worst period cramps I've ever had. I was curling up in a ball sobbing because it hurt so bad, and that's after taking medicine. I finally was able to fall asleep for two hours and woke up feeling better. But I've had cramps on and off ever since yesterday morning. Nothing like a stark reminder that once again you're not pregnant.

On top of that, a friend IRL who was pregnant when we started trying 3 years ago is now pregnant with #2. Since we were trying during her first pregnancy, the two of us always talked about our first kids being close in age and us being pregnant at the same time. That baby is now over 2 years old and #2 will be older than my #1, if even close in age at all.

Funny how life works sometimes... I'm so grateful I have all of you here who understand everything I am feeling right now...

Right here with you. Just got news in the last 2 wks of 2 friends preggo with #2 who started trying for #1 same time as us. I knew the day would come but your just not prepared to see your friends have 2 kids in 2 1/2 years and we still have not had our first together. I always just remind myself that its not a race and our baby will be cuter than all their babies put together.lol. Might not be nice but it helps me get through. Hugs to all you strong women who walk through this journey.

[CharlottesWeb]

Originally Posted by MOMTOALEXIS

Right here with you. Just got news in the last 2 wks of 2 friends preggo with #2 who started trying for #1 same time as us. I knew the day would come but your just not prepared to see your friends have 2 kids in 2 1/2 years and we still have not had our first together. I always just remind myself that its not a race and our baby will be cuter than all their babies put together.lol. Might not be nice but it helps me get through. Hugs to all you strong women who walk through this journey.

I'm with you too! Had my blood test...waiting to hear back this afternoon somtime. Ironic...as soon as I left the blood test I had signs of AF and spotting. Looking forward to a BFN- again....

[CharlottesWeb]

Got test results back.....Positive but HCG level was only 14. They hope to see it around 30 now. Doctor said that this number combined with the spotting usually indicates an early miscarriage. I go back for a follow up check on Thursday. Sad

[brichole1214]

Originally Posted by CharlottesWeb

Got test results back.....Positive but HCG level was only 14. They hope to see it around 30 now. Doctor said that this number combined with the spotting usually indicates an early miscarriage. I go back for a follow up check on Thursday. Sad

I really hope that those numbers go higher for you instead of the opposite!!! I'll keep my fingers crossed!!!!

Originally Posted by anne1140

AF started yesterday. It's extra hard, because just last week, a friend had a baby, and two days ago, another friend found out his was a boy. He's posting about it on Facebook twice a day it seems.

I'm also having a really hard time with anxiety lately. DH and I might take a break this month to adjust my meds. As frustrated as this makes me (it will be an increase), it needs to be done. I went home from work on Monday, because my anxiety was that bad. Sometimes I wonder if this contributes to our infertility. If it does, I don't know what to do about it. Because DH has only borderline sperm issues, it really does make me wonder if there's something else. I don't like that uncertainty.

s I am sorry AF found you...she's a rather evil witch to us women in here....I was made to take a total of a 5 week wait after my doctor overstimulated me and it really helpede me out...i think sitting back and just regrouping is a good thing for the most part. Then you can start the next cycle full force with more energy and a clear mind. G/L though and I hope that things work out for you guys very very soon!

Originally Posted by lesliesara63

Laura you have a great attitude. I'm sure if you ever need to deal with the issue of separate donors you'll work through it at the time. 12 vials could easily be enough for you to have a family though.

Brandy good luck!! Are you going to ask for an iui? I've never heard of someone taking all these drugs and not doing one. Can I ask what the femara + menopur is supposed to do? I've also heard of clomid + gonal-f and I was just wondering how its different than doing only injectibles. If I don't get pregnant soon on Clomid I'll be asking my doctor about this.

AFM: I would gladly pay money to make my period start right now!!! I normally have a 25-28 day cycle. Now I am on cd35 It just feels like a slap in the face, I'm not pregnant but AF won't get a move on and get started either. I haven't taken the Estrace/Prometrium since Tuesday so it will probably come tomorrow. But the extended PMS phase is getting really old. I called to schedule my u/s with my old RE today. Even though day one will probably be tomorrow I booked it. The office is closing for March break so I wanted to get it taken care of. So March 23 @ 10 should be my first follie scan.

The femara + menopur is suspposed to be less invasive than what he had me doing last cycle but work faster at making my follies grow. The last cycle to where they over stimulated me i was on the injections for like a whole month straight and they increased my dosage 2 times during that time to where i went from 1 1/2 vials a day to 3 vials a day before the meds finally worked and then they worked too good...so my RE feels like the pill/injection combo with lower dosages at the same time will help me instead of doing one and then the other a week later like we did the first time that I got only one follie. I really would like to do an IUI this cycle but since he went ahead and put me on these meds now instead of waiting until my next cycle i won't have the funds to have one done because of the whole not getting a full paycheck situation i'm in right now. So i guess i'll be going at this the harder way...that obviously hasn't been working for us but we'll see....maybe we can actually time our BDing this month better than we did the last time i had a follie release....i have a few more extra days off work so that will help. My first follie scan after these meds is for the 19th at 8 am...so i really hope that things start moving in the right direction!!!! That would be wonderful!!!!

ETA: My body doesn't respond to clomid at ALL so that's why the doctor is trying to find the right medication combo for me. It doesn't help that my body becomes immune to medication rather quickly also.

I see that AF finally found you finally...i really hope that this cycle is a good one and I'll keep my FXed for your first scan on the 23rd!!!


I'm so ready for all of us to finally get a dead set BFP!!! That would be great!!! I do have a question...once yall find out you are pregnant are you going to keep it to yourselves until a certain time or go ahead and tell people? I am "ridin the fence" on this one because DH wants to be able to tell everyone right away but i wanna make sure that the pregnancy makes it into the second trimester...anyone else struggling with that issue at all? With my DD i didn't find out i was until i was about 8 or 9 weeks pregnant and i was scared to even tell anyone at first....1) because me and DD's dad had only been married 9 months and i was affraid what our families would say and 2) i had had several friends have M/C's around that time and i was just scared. I don't want to tell mine and my now DH's families right away and then m/c and have to deal with telling everyone...i'm just confused and worried about when to tell...any imput would be great!!!! I hope this is a great week for everyone!!!

[ladylaura]

Originally Posted by CharlottesWeb

Got test results back.....Positive but HCG level was only 14. They hope to see it around 30 now. Doctor said that this number combined with the spotting usually indicates an early miscarriage. I go back for a follow up check on Thursday. Sad

Oh, that is very sad. I think I would feel like stabbing things if someone told me there was HCG but the level wasn't high enough. I will cross my fingers for you anyway...!

[anne1140]

Originally Posted by CharlottesWeb

Got test results back.....Positive but HCG level was only 14. They hope to see it around 30 now. Doctor said that this number combined with the spotting usually indicates an early miscarriage. I go back for a follow up check on Thursday. Sad

I'm so sorry. I hope you get unexpected good news.

Originally Posted by brichole1214

I do have a question...once yall find out you are pregnant are you going to keep it to yourselves until a certain time or go ahead and tell people?

I think we'll tell a few select people (my immediate family, his immediate family, a very close friend, two of my co-workers, my ladies small group of 3, his men's small group of 2 Is that a lot?), but keep it a secret to the majority until the second trimester. Those who we would tell from the get-go are those who we would want to know if we had a miscarriage. We wouldn't want everyone to know about that. We'll have to swear them to secrecy, though!

[anne1140]

Forgot to add, I just ordered FertilAid for DH. I've been putting it off for awhile because of the price, but I've finally decided to give it a go. DH is very skeptical. I also ordered FertilCM for me, seeing as my CM is unpredictable. Sometimes, it's great. Other times, it's barely there. I figure it can't hurt.


How it's going for us right now:

I was supposed to have a laparoscopy/hysteroscopy last summer to repair my partially septate uterus, which my RE didn't think was necessary. (It could potentially cause miscarriages, but since I haven't had any...) It was cancelled, and I haven't rescheduled it, mostly because I've been up in the air about it. I've finally come to a decision about it.

Next month, DH will be getting his final post-varicocele repair SA. After that, we will be starting IUI with some sort of fertility drug (probably Clomid or Femara). This will most likely start in June. We will be doing up to three. (Unless I get pregnant and miscarry. In that instance, we may consider more.)

If those don't work, our next step will be embryo donation. (We've decided against IVF for the cost factor.) If we get to this point, I will have the surgery, since the embryo donation is far more costly than IUI, and we would want to lower our risk of miscarriage as much as possible. However, if at any point during the IUI or trying naturally, I become pregnant and miscarry, I will go ahead with the surgery then. (One of the reasons I've decided to not do it now is because of the cost factor. With insurance, it would still probably cost us around $1500. Since the RE doesn't think I need it, I will trust him...for now. If we get into the more costly procedures, or if I have even one miscarriage, it's off to surgery for me.)

Anyhow, that was really long. I'm just excited that we have a plan. Hopefully, we don't have to make it very far down that list. If the embryo donation doesn't work out, we haven't decided what we'll do next. Maybe adoption. But we don't need to think about that yet.

[ladylaura]

Originally Posted by brichole1214

I do have a question...once yall find out you are pregnant are you going to keep it to yourselves until a certain time or go ahead and tell people?

My stance on this has changed a bit over the past few years. Initially I figured I'd tell my parents, sisters and closest friends as soon as possible. But now I'm more likely to wait, which is strange to me because I always thought I'd call people immediately after getting results. I think part of that was related to the fact that lots of people knew we were going through IVF and then trying to get going with IUIs, and now only a few people know - our closest friend knows about specifics (like what day we have the IUI, when I test, etc), and others who know include my boss, my acupuncturist and two co-workers who know generally that I'm getting fertility treatments actively.

If I'd gotten a positive result last week, I was toying with the idea of telling my whole family this past weekend when we were celebrating family birthdays, but I was also feeling apprehensive about that. I think the world at large won't know until I'm over 10 weeks pregnant... and I think I'm just going to go with my gut in terms of family and close friends.

Anne - Sounds to me like you've got a good plan in place. I think it's really smart to know what you will try next if one kind of treatment doesn't work, and exactly when you'll decide to do surgeries. I'm like that, too, always trying to figure out what I'll do next, but of course sometimes you have to go through SO MANY MONTHS of things before you can even begin to try something else.

You mentioned issues with your DH and also with your uterus, but I am curious about your decision to use donated embryos - would it be because of a low sperm count, bad eggs, your septate uterus...? Just curious, because we don't see embryo donation on here very often but I'm always interested in people using egg/sperm/embryo donors since we are using donor sperm.

[SimplyRochelle]

I am so bummed today. I still haven't had a positive opk even though I've had days of almost positives. Yesterday was awful. Right after DH called to tell me he lost his job, I got to my car and realized I had locked my keys inside. We will be ok for a few months on my part time job since I paid our rent until June this past month. I just hope he can find another job quickly. With our luck though, I'm pretty sure I will finally get pregnant now that he is unemployed so we'll see.

[ladylaura]

Originally Posted by SimplyRochelle

I am so bummed today. I still haven't had a positive opk even though I've had days of almost positives. Yesterday was awful. Right after DH called to tell me he lost his job, I got to my car and realized I had locked my keys inside. We will be ok for a few months on my part time job since I paid our rent until June this past month. I just hope he can find another job quickly. With our luck though, I'm pretty sure I will finally get pregnant now that he is unemployed so we'll see.

What a crappy 24 hours.

Hang in there...

[anne1140]

Originally Posted by ladylaura

You mentioned issues with your DH and also with your uterus, but I am curious about your decision to use donated embryos - would it be because of a low sperm count, bad eggs, your septate uterus...? Just curious, because we don't see embryo donation on here very often but I'm always interested in people using egg/sperm/embryo donors since we are using donor sperm.

No, I don't see it anywhere very often. We are very much hoping to conceive either naturally or through IUI, but if that doesn't work, we've decided to move onto embryo donation. A lot of people would try IVF first, and then possibly donor sperm, but we've chosen to skip those. IVF is just too expensive for us to justify (not criticizing anyone else, of course!). It's mostly my DH who doesn't want to go with a sperm donor. I agree with him, but he's much more adamant about it. Without going into too much detail, it's for religious reasons, creating a baby from my egg and someone else's sperm wouldn't jive with what we believe. If we go with donated embryos, they are already created, so no issues there. It's also only a third of the cost of IVF (though not quite as successful, from what I understand). I think DH is also afraid that I would bond with the baby more if it was just biologically related to me. Would it be true? Probably not, but I respect his feelings, and I am perfectly happy with the option of embryo donation. (This is not meant to criticize anyone who does IVF or sperm donation...just to be clear. )

And yes, this would be due to DH's sperm issues...morphology, and sometimes motility, specifically. His count is fine. As far as we can tell, I don't have any problems other than the septate uterus, and that shouldn't cause any issues getting pregnant. It's staying pregnant that's in question. And since I can't get pregnant, we don't know yet if it will be a problem. (A lot of women have oddly-shaped uteri with no negative consequences.) That's why I said if I even have so much as one miscarriage, I'm going in for the surgery.