Queer Conceptions: November 2012 - Page 3

[darthtunaqueen]

Has anyone heard from Krista? She should have had her embryo implantation by now.... Krista if you're reading this, I think of you very often and hope all is well!

[scorpioma]

well, here I am on day 23 and I just got my first (EVER) + OPK. dang. We inseminated on day 19. 

Looks like we did it too early, even though at the time it seemed perfect... My body was about to ovulate on schedule and then delayed. I know very little about delayed ovulation, so I need to do some reading. I'm sad today. Chances of BFP are VERY small, if nothing. At least I know I can rely on OPKs.

I will move myself to Waiting to O when I get AF.

Today we are meeting with our friend, N, to discuss being a KD. We are excited. He is smart, adorable and gay. He has had some preliminary health testing done, and we are just meeting to discuss everything. 

Sigh. 

xo

scorp

[KnittingTigers]

Scorpio, I'm sorry- that's so frustrating. If you're planning to move forward with a KD, this might be less relevant, but if you're going to keep buying frozen, it might not be unreasonable to check in with an RE, or at least your OB/GYN, at this point to get some basic testing done. Though it's $$ up front, it may save you a lot in the long run if it helps you pinpoint ovulation and address any issues. (And, I say this as someone who got pregnant at home using frozen sperm the first time around, without an ounce of medical intervention, so it's really not my default position to say "go to the doctor!") Sometimes doctors can code the testing (and even ultrasounds) as diagnosis of PCOS, so that your insurance should pick up the tab even if you don't have infertility coverage. Might be worth a conversation.

Feel free to ignore this advice, obviously, and either way, give yourself some hugs and know that we've all had cycles where we just don't get it right. (Having done this myself, I really do know the pain of, "wow, we just wasted $1,000 worth of sperm.")
 

[scorpioma]

Thanks so much, Knitting!

I thought of that myself. I don't think I'm at the point of needing medical intervention at this point, but I'm going to  keep it in my mind.

The CRAZY news is that we just met today with our potential KD who we have been discussing using for months, and he said YES.

He is literally everything we want in a KD...we are in shock, and it came at a good time.

I cannot believe it!

So happy!

[KnittingTigers]

Originally Posted by scorpioma 

Thanks so much, Knitting!
I thought of that myself. I don't think I'm at the point of needing medical intervention at this point, but I'm going to  keep it in my mind.
The CRAZY news is that we just met today with our potential KD who we have been discussing using for months, and he said YES.
He is literally everything we want in a KD...we are in shock, and it came at a good time.

I cannot believe it!
So happy!

That's great! Congrats! Fresh sperm should make the process much less stressful (well, these parts of it, anyway!).

[lisedea]

scorpio--That is wonderful! Not only does fresh sperm live longer AND is cheaper, you can insem more often. In fact, have you thought about asking him for some now? If you got a positive today, you could insem tomorrow and have it be good timing.

[scorpioma]

I'm totally thinking about it- DP feels we need to do the health tests first (which of course is a good idea) but if my temperature doesn't spike we might... 

drama!  what a month! 

otherwise I am beyond excited (this really is a dream donor situation- more to come but not now because I am already monopolizing this board, it seems!)

xo!

[Sphinxy]

Scorpio - what a month! Sounds like a mix of good stuff and tough stuff. I can relate to the feeling of "too much drama", but it sounds like maybe it is getting you one step closer to the way it's meant to be. And for what it's worth, though you may feel like you're "monopolizing" the board, it's actually been really helpful for me to read your story. I still have no Internet access thanks to hurricane Sandy, and posting on my tiny phone keyboard isn't that fun. But reading through your posts has helped remind me that I'm not the only one who feels like I'm losing my mind around ovulation prediction time. I told you to trust yourself and I can't even take my own advice!

Today is CD19. I usually O around CD18. I was prepared to O a little late this cycle because I got a cold right after AF, and historically that tends to lengthen my cycle. My temp was lower these last few days, but not as low as I usually get before O. Yesterday was my first day of EW CM, and I've had three days of negative OPKs. After looking at past charts, I was SO convinced that I was going to wake up today with a good low temp and then get a pos OPK. So convinced in fact that I woke up at 3am stressing about what my body was going to do, and struggled to get back to sleep. That stressed me out more because then I was worried I wouldn't get an accurate temp, and the cycle continued. I did eventually sleep again, not sure how long, and woke up at my normal time to a middle-of-the-chart temp. Ah! I have two vials of frozen swimmers sitting at the foot of my bed (no closets, good advice granite!), and I'm petrified of missing my window. Trying to just be patient for my pos OPK...

Also, have we heard from fmorris? Her and I were cycle buddies last month. If you're reading this, I'm sending you good thoughts whether you decided to take a break or try again!

[redrockband]

mrsandmrs: That is frustrating, Hopefully this break will be the last. Vent vent away, I'm glad this space is here to do that.

sphinxy: Glad you are ok, thanks for checking in. Amazing that the swimmers arrived as scheduled

sandiego: so sorry for the news, hugs to you both

scorpio: bummer about the late ovulation. Timing is the most stressful thing about this all for me, it seems like a guessing game all the time.That's so exciting that everything is working out with KD, we were really nervous when we asked our friend and were surprised when he was so excited about it. 

AFM: Not much...it was my birthday so DW made me amazing homemade butternut squash raviolis for dinner. Still waiting on KD's results, I suppose we could bug him about, there really isn't a rush though as we can't start insems until I get a full time job. 

[joyseattle]

sphinxy - it makes sense for a cold and the stress of a hurricane to delay O. good luck on your insems.

Scorpioma - Sorry it seems that O was later than insem this cycle. The KD sounds promising!

2justicemamas - Happy Birthday

AFM - This morning I had a phone appointment with my ob/gyn's colleague (mine's on vacation) about my LP/progesterone. She's writing me a prescription for three rounds of progesterone to start at 5dpo. She offered labs to test my levels, but also said those are usually CD21/7dpo which is after she'd recommend starting supplementation during an insemination cycle. So, I'd rather have it on board already than do the testing (which can fluctuate even on the same day). We're prepared to do this for 2-3 at home cycles and then make a new plan with an RE if we get to that point.

[mrsandmrs]

scorpio - holy crap, you are having quite a month, huh? nothing like the ttc rollercoaster to keep you on your toes. fingers crossed that things fall into place smoothly for you. 

joy - i have never heard that there is a problem with too much progesterone, so it seems like erring on the side of caution before you get testing done is a reasonable plan! 

justice - what kind of time frame are you looking at before you start? 

I haven't heard anything about Krista in a long time either. I hope everything's good with her. I love seeing all the veterans posting over here with their wisdom. Hi Tigers & Lise! 

no updates from me. i am "resting" my ovaries, drinking pumpkin beer, dying my hair, and taking showers as hot as I like. My wife scheduled a "second opinion" appt with another local fertility clinic for next week to see if they have more flexible hours and progressive treatment protocols. Hey, if I have some insurance coverage, why not shop the options, right? I am nervous about retaliation from my fertility clinic if they find out (i.e. requesting medical records or whatever) because they are so petty and mean, but I figure it's worth talking to this other doctor, just to see what they say. I would kind of need to fall in love with this other clinic for it to be worth transferring my records, care and frozen sperm, but it could happen. 

[Sphinxy]

Anyone good at charts want to take a look and offer some advice on insem timing?

I just got my pos OPK at 11:30am today. We are wanting to do one IVI (at home) and one IUI (at midwife's office) this cycle, both with washed frozen sperm. Last month we did just one IUI, about 22 hours after my pos OPK and got a BFN. This time around I've had a cold that I'm mostly over by now, and some difficulty sleeping due to ttc anxietty and there was a little storm stress. Not sure if I'm doing this right to share my chart - I still have no Internet so I'm doing this on my iPhone. There should be four charts.

http://fertilityfriend.com/home/3d8708/

Thanks!

[scorpioma]

Sphinxy~ so exciting!!

I will let the more experienced members speak, but my midwife recommends 1 IVI the morning after the +OPK (so you'd do it tomorrow morning) and 1 IUI 36 hours after the +OPK.

GOOD LUCK! Keep us posted!! 

xo

[lisedea]

sphinxy-I only see one chart right now. When do you typically get a temp jump after a positive OPK? Next day or day after?

[Sphinxy]

Lise - shoot, I don't know. Last month was my first with OPKs, and I missed my temp the first day after pos because I slept so poorly...

[joyseattle]

Without a history of timing between opk and O based on temp increase, I'd go with timing similar to what scorpio mentioned. Timing between opk to O can be between 12-48 hours, but usually closer to 36 on average. The goal for IVI is usually 8-12 hours and for IUI is usually 6-8 hours either side of O. If my math is correct, a positive opk at 11:30am would mean O most likely between 11:30pm this evening and 11:30pm tomorrow night. So by those guidelines you'd do an IVI in the morning and an IUI in the evening would be good coverage if you don't have other signs to tell you otherwise.
 

[outdoorsy]

Hi all. I hope you don't mind if I post about some preggo symptoms -- just until Friday. I still consider myself a QCer until I get ultrasound confirmation that something's really in there, so I haven't even poked my head in over at QPP yet. On Monday I started having some queasiness, and it comes and goes in waves. The "morning" sickness is not confined to the morning, though I can see how it got that name, because when it's mild, I can kind of supress the awareness of it during the middle of the day, at work and such. It seems like my pattern is to feel pretty good and fantasize about junk food in the morning, then start feeling queasy around 10 a.m. Tiredness hasn't been too bad, but the nausea kind of has the same effect of slowing me down. This Sat. I'm having a Thanksgiving-style dinner for some friends, so I need to pull myself together to get ready.

Good luck to everyone!

[Sphinxy]

Outdoorsy - good to hear from you! Good luck on Friday. FX you'll have lots to celebrate this weekend.

AFM - thanks for your thoughts to joy, lise, and scorpio. I continue to have strong pos OPKs today. We did our first IVI at 8:30am. Such a better experience than doing IUI in the office! Mother Nature is chuckling here in the North Jersey/NYC area - a nor'easter has just arrived so it's snowing. It's not suppose to be too bad, but I'm going to keep my eye on the roads and we may just do the 2nd insem tonight by IVI again rather than going to my midwife.

Scorpio, when you have a sec, can you move me to Waiting To Know? Thanks! How are you doing? Did you insem this month with the KD after all?

[fmorris28]

Sandiego, Congrats to see that BFP!!! Super excited for you!!

Sphinxy, I'm still lurking! Have had a crazy few weeks lol! i've got so much hope for you this cycle! sticky vibes your way nd best of luck with the insem!

AFM, Well its been some time since I last posted ladies, but its been crazy. So Had BFN #2 last month..UGH. And so we're back in the huddle. I was thinking about doing a few cycles @ home nd maybe switching back to the clomid seeing as I had more and bigger follies with it. Not sure though. I was thinking maybe the atmosphere at home nd just DP and I would be good for us. I'd love to do it, but have never before so we'd be going into uncharted territory, but i see so many of you all that do at home ICI's nd get your BFP's! Any thoughts or tips from the DIY ladies? We'll see, i'm still nursing DP back to health after breaking her leg a couple of weeks ago!! Needless to say, between work and the leg...its been hectic.

[redrockband]

mrsandmrs: well we still need to write up our donor contract once we get the swimmers results, so we won't be ready by this month and next month KD is going to be in Tanzania so it's looking like Jan or Feb if all goes well. I love pumpkin beer! DW and I need to stock up before they stop selling it, or we could just brew our own...hmmmm, It might be nice if you fall in love with the 2nd clinic, petty and mean doesn't sound like a pleasant experience.

outdoorsy: I do wonder how it got the name "morning sickness" most women I've known have had it all throughout the day. Excited to hear how the u/s goes

fmorris: glad to see you back. Sorry about the BFN last month and DP's leg. Are you using frozen? 

Happy day after election day, what a great day for equality! Just might have to move to Washington