Thanks everyone! I take one 500 mg extended release tablet at bedtime every night. I'm only on it to regulate hormones; I don't have insulin issues at all.
Outdoorsy -call your insurance company and ask them directly. Mine is required by law to cover u/s and blood work because they are considered diagnostic tests. If they say it's not covered, ask them if it will be covered if you can get a referral from your doctor. That often changes the picture as well.
Hey Everyone,
To those few in the 2WW hang in there! Just know it will be over, one way or another soon. AKA it won't last forever! I know that is easier said than done.
Outdoorsy: It sounds like your doctor is telling you similar info that our doctor told us. I am 27 and haven't had any major health problems (thank God) and so with me being "young and healthy" they said a basic IUI should work. If it hasn't in 3 tries she said we would look into fertility meds and an ultrasound. I am perfectly fine with this approach. If the ultrasounds were free I would be all for it but my insurance covers absolutely nothing so I'd rather not spend and extra $1,000 each cycle. (Thats a guess on the price, but I know its expensive). I also really trust my doctor and the fertility clinic we are going to, I'm sure that makes a difference.
Hopefull: It sounds like you really want to try again this month so go for it! When donors haven't worked out for us - and been unavailable by the time we are ready - I kind of see it as a sign that the one we originally chose wasn't meant to be. Also our clinic only lets us do overnight shipping, I've haven't asked much about this but I assume they think that preserves the quality in some way.
AFM: I am just starting CD1 and happy about it! Let the countdown begin. Lol. I feel much better this time around since I've experienced it all once before. Its a little bit easier to stay sane.
good luck everyone!
A very big thank you to Krista and everyone else who chimed in. I recently turned 36, so it is true that time is of the essence, especially with my recent 39ish-day cycles. Krista and Wanna were right to bring up the age issue. Darth, I think that might have been the source of our misunderstanding -- even though I used the word "nutty" about my chart, I didn't mean it was funny, because at 36, having anovulatory, long, and/or screwed up cycles is a scary sign that I could have age-related fertility problems. Anyway, no hard feelings, girl! I just have to figure out where the correct line is between advocating for myself (with the midwives) and going overboard. I think it's time for some advocacy.
Outdoorsy - When I think about advocating for myself in this process I know that I need to get better at it because someday I will be advocating for my baby and then my child who will need me to be strong for him or her. I tend to accept what authority figures tell me, maybe it's a "Don't rock the boat" sort of thing. I figure this is a good time to practice standing up for myself so that I'm more prepared to stand up for our baby in the future.
Funny story - My wife and I were joking around the other day about naming our baby Fusion Camaro in honor of the money we are spending that could have gone to buy us a car! We always say we need to buy our gay baby first and then we can get a car. Here's hoping we can have both soon!
Pokey: that's awesome. We would have to name ours Forrester. ;)
I'm so excited that so many of you are in the tww right now! It's going to be exciting around here pretty soon.... AFM: nothing is happening. We're still on hold. It feels indefinite but I know time will pass surely enough, we'll be back in the saddle and I'll be fondly reminiscing about how relaxing it was to take a break.
Side note to wannabmomkt: I pay out of pocket for ultrasounds. My fertility clinic charges $110 per US, and for a monitored clomid cycle, I had 2-3 US. Don't avoid intervention that might help you b/c of the perceived price tag. My clinic has a 'price sheet' (for lack of a better phrase) so patients without fertility coverage can plan accordingly. Hopefully this is information you'll never need b/c you'll be pg soon, but you should feel free to ask them outright for their prices.
Wannab: I hope this is the cycle for you!
Outdoorsy: Definitely advocate for yourself, girl. It sounds like you and I have some of the same issues; I would get right up to the point of ovulating, try to surge, and then not. My RE said that's one of the rarest problems he ever encounters. I ovulate on my own now, with the help of metformin and cabergoline, but I didn't before. I know your midwives don't want to medicalize it, but not ovulating correctly IS a medical problem. You need testing, and you might need to go see an RE.
Pokey: Awesome. Ours would be Kia Rio, because we've already spent enough to pay off our current car!
Mrs2: It's good to see you again! Please don't disappear, even though you're on break!
Regarding Insurance: Don't assume you do not have coverage! I have a crappy individual policy, but my RE has gotten them to cover EVERYTHING but the IUIs. I had two u/s and three blood draws this month, for a grand total of like $1500 and the insurance company had to cover it. The new healthcare law has changed a LOT of what insurance companies can and must cover. My clinic also has a price list and they don't charge that much to clients who have to pay OOP, but our nurse said no one with insurance has to pay OOP for u/s anymore. If your insurance absolutely won't pay and you think you need an u/s to check the state of your ovaries (which you should have b/f doing fertility treatments anyway) go to your regular OB/GYN and see if she can get you one under the premise of checking you for PCOS. The dianostic code versus the infertility code makes a big difference. (And, btw, your clinic should always bill ALL of your tests as diagnostic.)
I hate insurance companies...ok, rant off.
AFM: I'm 5 DPO. Yes, I'm sure I ovulated Sunday into Monday. Those cramps were unmistakable. The feelings on Tuesday weren't nearly as strong -hence the reason I wonder if they could be smaller follicles. I had several in the 10-12 mm size on my last u/s. I'm also having a lot more residual soreness than usual this month; enough to bother me and it's actually been making my back hurt, which is totally new. It may just be that I had a *much* stronger ovulation this month. I had four follies in March, but I didn't have nearly as strong an ovulation.
I feel very positive about this month; even if we don't catch, I know I had good eggs and a good ovulation.
Outdoorsy- ditto on what rs said about checking your coverage. Also, you're in Massachusetts, right? I'm pretty sure MA has mandatory infertility coverage, no? If you need RE recs near you, let me know. And yes, we are SO EXCITED about our New England vacation. :)
mrsandmrs- nice to see you! We'll be on a break after this cycle for at least a month if things don't work out. I hear you on time moving slowly.
rs- glad that you had a good ovulation! I just heard a story about a friend inseminating a day after she felt ovulation pains, and getting a BFP. Fingers crossed!
AFM, feeling miserable from the clomid, feeling convinced that my uterine lining has thinned too much (no, I have no basis for this thought, I'm just feeling sad and miserable), and feeling like this cycle isn't going to work. Even though we haven't even insemed yet. On Monday I go in for an ultrasound to see how the follicles are developing, and then we'll trigger and insem based on that. I already decided that we're not doing another clomid cycle. I just can't take it. We'll talk with the doctor about what's next. Maybe a monitored, unmedicated cycle with a trigger? I don't know. Anyway, sorry for being so blue. The clomid is not good for my head space.
Angela our new RE switched DW to femara from clomid--because of the clomid induced anxiety/depression. And, so far, DW FAR prefers the femara...and actually seems to respond to it better than clomid (clomid caused long cycles for her after the first couple of months--like 45/50 days).
DWs next ultrasound is Saturday and we're hoping a trigger sometime Monday/Tuesday for an insem either Wed/Thursday...we'll see (we are going to do two iui this month just to see if that does the trick and give us a bigger window).
Ohhhh, and just for those who are wondering about GP/NGP and bonding...I just listened to our DS (who I carried) scream for DW for the past 20 minutes. "I wannnn Mommy!!!!" He can finally say "mommy" and he's making up for lost time.
Angela: They can give you a medication to increase your lining if it's too thin. As far as the clomid goes, I take tamoxifen because I am completely clomid-intolerant; it overstimulates me and makes me have near suicidal bouts of depression. Tamoxifen, OTOH, has exactly zero effect on my mood. The only side effect I experience is sore boobs in the first couple of days after I finish the treatment. What I like most about it is that it has been studied extensively because it's used so often as a breast cancer drug so I know exactly what the risks are.
Wishin: Good luck at the u/s! I hope DW has some beautiful follicles.
AFM: This has been the oddest cycle we've had yet. I STILL have residual pain in my ovaries; they are rather sore. I was having some bad back pain yesterday afternoon, which is probably unrelated but is rare for me. The RE also put me on a gel progesterone this month because it gets absorbed better and I'm afraid I've been having some "Cloments" because of it -mostly irritation.
DW had two mature follies (yeah femara!) but we have a timing question. She triggers tonight and then has an iui tomorrow at 10:30am (so 14 hours later or so) and then again on Monday. She can have the iui on Monday at either 10am or 1:30pm. Do any of you think that the difference between 10am and 1:30pm matters? (we'd prefer 1:30 for logistics, but 10 would be doable if we had to)
Question for you ladies about progesterone... Do most of you who use it take it in pill form? My clinic has me on the suppositories, and I hate them! Not that they make me feel bad or anything, but they're so messy... And I feel like my nether regions are just damp all the time. Yuck. And being all gross down there is seriously messing with our sex life! We're both hating it! ;-)
Any side effects that you've noticed from taking it in pill form? I'm thinking of requesting those next time.
And wow, I'm surprised at all the side effects some of you are having from Clomid! Sounds like a serious mood-altering drug! If it caused me to be sad/down at all, I probably didn't notice because there were so many outside forces at the time making me feel the same way. My partner and I are in the process of buying a house, but we've had a LOT of stops and starts with that. Had I known on Day 1 of my cycle that May would be so challenging for us, we wouldn't have decided to even attempt an insem this month!
Good luck to every one of you this month!! 
Question for you ladies about progesterone... Do most of you who use it take it in pill form? My clinic has me on the suppositories, and I hate them! Not that they make me feel bad or anything, but they're so messy... And I feel like my nether regions are just damp all the time. Yuck. And being all gross down there is seriously messing with our sex life! We're both hating it! ;-)
Any side effects that you've noticed from taking it in pill form? I'm thinking of requesting those next time.
I use the suppositories...it's not pleasant for the reasons you mentioned but apparently it's the best way to get maximum benefits from prog. supplements so I figure it's worth the grossness in the short term.
I'm not feeling anything exciting at all this month...6DPO....
OMG, I just had a hot flash. Wow. Hormonal much?
OMG, I just had a hot flash. Wow. Hormonal much?
lol that sounds exciting!
I had the craziest dream last night. At one point I was looking at all these blood test results and then I realized they were mine. I started looking at every line item and realized my FSH was super high and all my other tests were extremely abnormal. Not the most positive dream!
7DPO today...big temp drop (hoping it's implantation). My temp has been a bit odd this cycle since O.
DW had two mature follies (yeah femara!) but we have a timing question. She triggers tonight and then has an iui tomorrow at 10:30am (so 14 hours later or so) and then again on Monday. She can have the iui on Monday at either 10am or 1:30pm. Do any of you think that the difference between 10am and 1:30pm matters? (we'd prefer 1:30 for logistics, but 10 would be doable if we had to)
Sorry wishin', I'm no help with triggers and insem timing....I know there are lots of people here who can help though!!
well, first insem is done and another scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30pm! Today's vial had 37 million sperm AND DW had two ripe follicles at the ultrasound :) Here's hoping!!!!
7DPO today...big temp drop (hoping it's implantation). My temp has been a bit odd this cycle since O.
OMG CARMEN YAY!!!!!! Fingers crossed!!! Maybe the shitty weather will push the little bean to burrow into your cozy lining??? ;)
And hi everyone!!
DW is almost on CD1 again, so we'll be scheduling the HSG. Fuuunnnnn times. DW and her BFF went out for an adult afternoon and I looked after the BFF's absolutely GORGEOUS 12 week old son! And I had to take him to RMT. Holy god, best thing ever. He was all limp and glossy eyed and completely dazed by the time our RMT (he and I have the same woman, who is amazing) was done with him. I am so down for baby RMT now (BFF takes him because her DH's benefits cover the baby! Yay!). Absolutely epic. Apparently he sleeps for long stretches after RMT too!! Very very cool.
Good luck to everyone!!!!!
Carmen: Good luck! I hope it was implantation!
Wishin: That's a fantastic sperm count! I hope the two IUIs is the ticket to success for you guys.
Darth: What's RMT?
AFM: I'm 8 DPO now. I'm going to hate this progesterone even more if I don't end up being pregnant; these symptoms are brutal, especially the hot flashes. I had two of them yesterday -I felt like I was on fire. I also had a tiny bit of spotting yesterday -dark brown stuff, but it's nothing to get excited about because the same thing happened in our second IUI cycle and I ended up not being pregnant. I'm STILL having residual soreness in both my ovaries and woke up with the worst backache yet this morning. Of course, all of this could be symptoms of the progesterone.
Good morning everyone!
Thanks for all the luck and good wishes about my race! It was amazing. I was hoping to run it in 33:00 or less - my official time was 30:47! I was thrilled! I'm looking into a 10k in August - we shall see...
gloom - How are you feeling? Hope you're having a great time in San Diego!
lovestreet - Hi! Welcome! - how are you feeling this week? I hope this week flies by for you with a nice surprise at the end.
pokey - I've seen that book before - what are all the 'types'? I'm intrigued. Never tried the massage you mentioned but I did google 'self fertility massage' and found a couple of videos. I tried them out - can't hurt, might help, right?
Angela - I'm so jealous of your visit to P-town! My dad lives on the Cape (Falmouth) and whenever we go see him I make it a point to get up there at least for a day. Love it up there. Can't wait to hear all the details! Hope your u/s goes well today.
Hopeful - Did you end up ordering? We got our #1 (well technically #2 since that one wasn't available - you know who I'm talking about 
) so we're happy. I hope you get who you want and that it all works out.
Carmen - ooooooh! I hope that dip is a sign of good things to come! Fingers crossed for you!!
to everyone I missed! I hope you all had a great weekend!
AFM - Our tank arrived on Friday - I opened it up to check the vials and make sure they were the right donor number (they were) and noticed the date that they were acquired - March of 2009. We were married in March of 2009...I looked closer and the day was when we were on our honeymoon. I couldn't help but think it was kind of a cool little coincidence - I even got a little teary eyed. We might get a 'honeymoon baby' after all! Ha! So now we're just waiting for the +opk! I am starting to get a little nervous about timing...last time we had two vials we did 12 & 24 after - but I think I may actually o later - so we're thinking of doing 24 and 36 or 18 and 36 - any thoughts? I honestly may just throw specific timing out the window and just go by gut feeling and what my body is telling me. Ahhhh!
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