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The Fertility Challenged One Thread -Winter 2015

13K views 330 replies 21 participants last post by  tracyamber 
#1 · (Edited)
The Fertility Challenged One Thread -Winter 2015

The One Thread is designed for all on the MDC board. No matter where you are in your cycle, you are welcome to join the One Thread! We are also open to those who are "Waiting to be Ready" for one reason or another. We continue to embrace those of us who struggle with infertility or challenges becoming pregnant. Feel free to jump in at any time and introduce yourself!

To keep the list up to date, please bold your status when you want it updated!

:1praying IVF/FET Waiting to O
Oceanspray


:1praying IUI/Waiting to O


:eyes Donor Eggs
XXX


:goodvibes IVF/Waiting to Know


:goodvibes IUI/Waiting to Know


:eyes IVF/IUI/Other Treatments
lrex99
girlspn



:Hug Waiting after Loss
Verdahekawi


:Hug Waiting after Failed IVF

:2whistle Waiting to O


:scratch Waiting to Know (2WW)
siuann
tifga


:confused WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!
XX


:idea Waiting to be Ready
Devilish
mummabear13
tinytina
saharaviolet
Anna1979


radiowave?
:joy 2015 GRADUATES~
Big congrats to you all!

:heartbeat January BFP's
treehugger86


:joy 2014 GRADUATES~
Big congrats to you all!



:heartbeat November BFP's
oxford
SplashingPuddle

:heartbeat October BFP's
LittleKind

:heartbeat September BFP's
toothfairy2be

:heartbeat August BFP's
adiejan
chuord

:heartbeat June BFP's
Kewpie80
Tracyamber
iixivboots
alivewithyou

:heartbeat May BFP's
shelley4
Xerxella

:heartbeat April BFP's
NaturallyMo

:heartbeat March BFP's
mainebaby (IVF)
Autumnlaughing

:heartbeat February BFP's
Alivewithyou


Taking a break
XXX
 
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#2 ·
Hi everyone,

Sorry I am so late starting our Winter thread. I have been struggling to get back into a routine after the holidays.

We found out that we have the green light to go ahead with an IUI attempt in January. I will start testing on January 6th. I feel a renewed sense of positivity for this cycle. So hoping to ovulate in the next week. We will be going forward with a PAP test on January 12th so that if we have to try again, we will be able to probably in March.

Hope the bleeding stops soon @SplashingPuddle

We are back in the game for January @adiejan

Hi @chuord and @tracyamber

Sorry to hear AF found you @Oceanspray, like I said I feel better this month. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.

Good luck on the upcoming transfer @treehugger86. Hope your side effects have lessened.

Glad you are over the flu @tifga. Good luck on your upcoming transfer too.
 
#5 ·
Hi everyone, sorry I've been absent from the thread. I've been horribly anxious and depressed due to everything going on. It has been really hard waiting for pathology results from my December 19th D&C and laparoscopy. However, I'm hoping that I'm starting to feel more stable, as I got my results back today! FINALLY. So much for the 'rush' they put on it-- supposed to be 72 hours but with weekends and stats, especially Christmas, I guess that is what happens. Anyway, NEGATIVE for gestational trophoblastic disease!!! So relieved!!! Plus, I had a beta hcg draw yesterday, and the results are that I'm down to 0. I'm just so thankful that it wasn't the worst thing it could have been.The pathology report stated that there were "products of conception" intrauterine. Seems like what happened was this: baby wasn't healthy, died, placenta kept growing/pumping out hormones at a minimal level, tissue was starting to breakdown and create an inflammatory-type response in my uterus. Looked like GTB, only pathology could rule it out. I had a jerk of a surgeon who could have given me more information instead of leaving me hanging, and spending the last two weeks in this awful limbo--thank goodness we had gotten in to see our regular fertility doc on the 23rd and she had told us that she had seen it other women where their uterus is reacting badly to an early missed miscarriage... I had been holding on to that hope, a little bit-- at least I had that. I am very, very sad about losing this pregnancy though... at the same time, I am back to taking my prenatal and Ubiquinol CoQ10. My mom said to me, "You aren't going to try to get pregnant again, after going through all this, are you?" Nobody has any idea we went through fertility treatment, nor will I tell them-- so I just said we were NTNP. Which is true for now. I hope to get my cycle back soon. We can try again with the gonal F, etc. drugs and IUI, but I'm not sure if the nurse said that the first cycle doesn't count, or if it does... the way it works at our clinic is you call on Day 1 of your cycle, and then they put you in the system and get you set up to begin the process the second cycle. Anybody have any experience with getting cycles back after a D&C? Oh, and when we met with our doc on the 23rd, she told us that most clinics in Canada will not do IVF in women past the age of 42... our clinic has done it up to age 44, but with dismal results. She says after that age, IVF just doesn't do it's thing, and that the way we are going about it with the IVF drugs and IUI offers us the best chance. So... yup, hoping for our rainbow baby now.

Sorry it's an AAM post... I'll hop back on again soon. I am supposed to be finishing my paper from last semester. It's been untouched through all of this. I don't really care about school right now... I'm months away from finishing though. Bleh to school.
 
#6 ·
subbing!
 
#7 ·
Glad you got the best possible news, considering the situation, Tenzins! Still sucky and sad, but better than cancer. I hope you can try again soon.

Tina - glad you're finally getting another shot!

Wishing you all a happy, baby-ful new year. I'm coming up on the one-year mark of getting pregnant. Hard to believe my little one didn't exist a year ago. Hopefully there will be some October 2015 babies conceived soon!
 
#9 ·
See my ETA correction below...

@treehugger86: regarding your lower back ache. I am not sure they are related to Estrace. I just googled it a bit (I don't recall any particular side effects myself), and found no references to that kind of side effect. See a summary here from one website:

Side Effects
See also Warning section.

Stomach upset, nausea/vomiting, bloating, breast tenderness, headache, or weight changes may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.

Tell your doctor promptly if you see the tablet in your stool.

Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

Tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including: mental/mood changes (such as depression, memory loss), breast lumps, unusual vaginal bleeding (such as spotting, breakthrough bleeding, prolonged/recurrent bleeding), increased or new vaginal irritation/itching/odor/discharge, severe stomach/abdominal pain, persistent nausea/vomiting, yellowing eyes/skin, dark urine, swelling hands/ankles/feet, increased thirst/urination.

This medication may rarely cause serious problems from blood clots (such as heart attacks, strokes, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism). Get medical help right away if you have any serious side effects, including: chest/jaw/left arm pain, unusual sweating, sudden/severe headache, weakness on one side of the body, confusion, slurred speech, sudden vision changes (such as partial/complete blindness), pain/redness/swelling of legs, tingling/weakness/numbness in the arms/legs, trouble breathing, coughing up blood, sudden dizziness/fainting.


I think if you have serious or painful symptoms that are not even related to regular Estrace use, you may want to call up the emerg line just in case, unless you can explain them away with something else. I hope they resolve soon. :hug

ETA:
Hold on, I just reread your post - you have some bleeding and abdominal cramping, too - I think this qualifies as a reason to call your Dr or the emerg line right away based on the paragraph in the middle above.

"Me? I am on Estrace (2mg 3x/day) to prepare for a transfer in January. I will having a lining check on Monday, and a date will be selected for the transfer. Any other experiences with Estrace? Clinic has been closed, and I haven't been able to ask about these side effects. I have severe lower back pain, and abdominal cramps. I also have slight bleeding that is also of concern. I have an emergency phone number, but I don't think this would constitute an emergency, and I thought I would ask here. My mood is low, but stable. I'll take that as an improvement."
 
#10 ·
Who has used fertility acupuncture?

I think I know what my plan for the next months is. Since that's the case and I want to make every opportunity as worthwhile as I can, I am finally looking into acupuncture. I know some of you have used it for IVF, FET and for other types of ttc procedures.

Any advice, suggestions, good/bad stories, or warnings? Best before or after transfers, for example? Best to start a month or more before transfer or will it likely make no difference? How often and where (on your body) did you get it done for fertility reasons?

FWIW, I don't have any specific fertility issues that I am aware of (unexplained), and my lining and ovulation have always been fine. I just want to see if it can help with that extra boost if I do FET this round.

Something to get excited about again. :)
 
#11 ·
Subbing! @ToothFairytobe, @SplashingPuddle and @Milk8shake - none of you are on the grads list here - just saying!
Apologies I've been AWOL over the break too, hugs to you all! I'm so excited that so many of you are ready to get into it and try this month! A new thread and a new active year (can you feel it in the air?) feels so promising and I can't wait for you all to join us in the grads thread! @tenzinsmama - hugs for all you had to go through, and a huge congrats on it being just what you hoped... Re trying this month, after my failed ivf cycles I was always keen to try the month after so as not to lose time - in hindsight I think a month off to regroup and let my body recover would have been better. It's a lot of money to put out when there can be less chance while your body is healing - having said that some do get that back to back pg. go with what's best for you - I know the age thing weighs on your mind (it did on mine)
 
#13 · (Edited)
@Oceanspray I did accupucnture! I loved the way it made me feel weeks approaching my first transfer. But the research is out there that the protocol used for the day of the transfer( before and after the actual procedure) is what works for the uterus to relax and be receptive to the embryo. The protocol the day of is pretty much a universal standard. All the other ones that I had before hand had a different goal/ objective. That is why many women will opt to only have the procedure done the day of the transfer. None days before or days afterwards. Money was a crunch this time and I did not have the luxury of doing accupucnture for leisure so I only did it the day of , before the transfer and afterwards and I got my bfp. I hope this was helpful.

http://www.familyacupunctureandwell...-Reproduction-Outcome-in-Infertile-Women1.pdf

The day of needle was put in my scalp and I believe one in each wrist and somewhere else I can't remember but it was the same location for the day of from two different Chinese acupuncturists. One in 2010 and one in 2014.
I want to be clear that both these cycles were fresh and the four frozen transfers I too did only the day of but got bfn but I truly believe that my embryos were not genetically viable..
 
#14 ·
Thanks for chiming in, @tracyamber! I know I will definitely go the day of - and I didn't know it was a point in the scalp! I think it would be wise for me to take the benefits of acupuncture for some time beforehand, but it is good to know that it is not directly correlated with greater pregnancy success (except for certain fertility issues, I think), since I may have trouble getting in. I have a few contact numbers and will be calling around this week to get more information. Thanks for that link, too, which I will take a look at next. If I end up doing a fresh cycle again, I will definitely do acupuncture, as well - I didn't last time and had no idea it would be of benefit. Well, different place in my life, now, also. ;) I also hope to do some meditation again. I have not for a long time, but I am just the kind of person who needs it most (I think). Trying to get to a place where my body is most ready and receptive to a blast.

BTW, all the best in the next 3 weeks - wow, how close it is now for you! Stalking you and a few others constantly, of course. *sending you good birthing vibes*

If anyone else can share their experiences, I would still appreciate it! :) :)
 
#17 ·
@Oceanspray I did acupuncture for the better part of 3 years for fertility. Out of 7 transfers I had 2 BFN- one in which hindsight tells me my body was just not ready that soon after miscarriage and I should never have done a transfer then and the second I believe was egg quality and lining- it was a disastrous fresh cycle from the start. I loved my acupuncture experience. I was going weekly if not more through every cycle. I just stopped at 17w because with twins I am only working part time and financially it just wasn't affordable any more. It is true what tracy says, that research shows improved pregnancy rates as long as you do treatment the day of transfer to reduce contraction of the uterus. If not that my acupuncturist is a good friend I would probably just have done that. Also do some research on taking piroxicam an hour before transfer, it also prevents contraction of the uterus and significantly improves pregnancy rate. If you are looking for good fertility meditations I swore by circle + bloom. I am using their healthy pregnancy meditations now. Message me for more info if you want & good luck! Sounds like this year has so much potential!
@tenzinsmama Will continue prayers for healing and for a rainbow baby for you. It always took me 2 full cycles after d&c/natural miscarriage to have a regular healthy cycle but I know there are plenty of women who get pregnant sooner. After my 2 d & c my cycles were about 5 weeks instead of 4 and if your hcg is already down to 0 you should ovulate any time.
@tinytina Glad to hear you are on track for a chance to try this month! Wishing you the best!
 
#19 ·
Hi everyone! I really want to make time to stay up to date on this forum this year! I know that I'm super bad about posting and reading most of the time, but man, life just got crazy over the fall and during the holidays.

Here's whats been going on over the past few months. I had a HSC done. The one where they stick a camera up your uterus to look for fibroids or polyps. Well, they found 3 polyps. I was kind of shocked because the RE said (before he did the procedure) that he didn't think they would find anything because polyps are usually found in women over 35 and I have no symptoms of fibroids. They sent a sample off to the lab and it came back benign. Phew. That was a relief. Also, our RE put my hubby on HCG shots to help increase his counts, and guess what? It worked! He went from 10.9 mil to 6 mil (second test) to 69 mil!!!! Btw our RE only counts whats motile, so it sounds like he's finally in normal range for his SA, right? We were totally shocked. Funny story of how I found out: I was in the airport when I got the email from our nurse and I started bawling from joy and everyone around me cleared out. Which was kinda strange because I was at a charging station. A few minutes later the TSA guy with the bomb sniffing dog started casing me! He circled me (trying to be casual) about 5 times before my plane boarded. It pissed me off at the time, but in hindsight I think its kinda funny. Wish he would have at least stopped to talk to me to ask if I was ok or something. Anyways, this was the first month we've been on the same "level" as a "normal" couple goes as far as conceiving. We should find out this week if we were successful or not.

Here's our plan as far as treatment goes: we are going to give it a few months to try on our own before we start a medicated cycle. We wanted to start a medicated cycle in March if we aren't successful on our own, but we might have to push it off to April or May. We are in an out of state wedding in March and I don't think that the finances or the timing will work, due to being out of town for about a week.

Also, over the past week we have found out that 2 close friends are pregnant. They are both going to be due within a couple weeks of each other. They are a part of our small group at church. This is a really really tight knit group and I'll have to see them a couple times a week. This is going to be super hard to watch their bellies grow, esp if mine stays empty. I know that everyone has their own journey, and one of the couples did the whole NTNP thing for about 4 years before their bfp. I'm just feeling really conflicted. So along with them, theres also a couple that just lost their son at 17 week gestation and another couple that isn't trying for kids. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with this situation? I'm considering starting yoga to help with the added stress of this situation. We don't want to go to another small group because these people are like family to us, and not going isn't an option because we are firm believers in the importance of community.

I just feel stuck right now in spite of all our plans and our possible future treatments. I think thats about it on my end. I'm sorry this is such an all about me post, I'll get better about things. Sorry for the novel.
@tenzinsmama I'm sorry that you went through all of that over the holidays, as if they aren't hard enough.
@tinytina I'm glad you are able to go ahead and do an IUI this month. My fingers are crossed for you!

please add me to waiting to know
 
#20 ·
@tinytina Thank you for the new thread!

@tenzinsmama Glad to hear positive results! I'm sorry to hear about your mood. I know the feeling! School is overwhelming, but I always remind myself that everything does eventually get done. I'm back to classes tonight, too. HUGS.

@Oceanspray Thanks for your concern, and looking out for me! I really appreciate it. I am sorry that I haven't been back to post. I did end up calling the emergency line, because I was not getting relief from over the counter pain medication. The team was not concerned, but I did some bloodwork, and I had an ultrasound. Everything is normal.

@siuann Sounds as though you had a good plan in place! We, too, are surrounded with babies and bellies, and I find it very emotional. We still support our dear friends, but I also take time for myself for self-care on those days, because I know I will come home feeling low. Yoga is a great idea. Exercise has always been my best defense against stress. Even a short walk can make a difference.

My transfer date is next Monday (12th)! So many emotions!
 
#21 ·
Hi everyone,

Today is CD 10, so I get to start testing tomorrow. Feeling a mix of anxiety and excitement.

Hi @Oceanspray, good luck with the plan for acupuncture

Sorry you have been away @tenzinsmama, glad the results came back in a positive light. Glad you got some answers. Good luck finishing your paper.

Hi @toothfairy2be (thanks for the support), @SplashingPuddle and @Milk8shake- would love to add you to the list. Let me know where to put ya!

Thanks so much for the positive energy @monkeyscience and @chuord

Hi @Xerxella and @tracyamber (feeling excited). I want to go with excited rather than anxious. Thanks ladies. I appreciate all the positive energy and support you all give me. I am still going to do the PAP on the 12th just in case I need to keep trying in the upcoming months. Since my uncle's unexpected passing late in 2014, I have felt this baby energy surrounding us, so I am trying to stay hopeful for January. I think its the right way to start our year. We need things to start going right for us.

Hi @siuann, welcome back dear. Fingers crossed dear. I am finding it difficult with all the pregnancies surrounding me right now. I find myself getting really emotional.

Hi @treehugger86, cannot believe your transfer is so soon! Fingers crossed.
 
#22 ·
@tracyamber I think lorazapam or valium, etc that they give at most IVF clinics is more to relax your whole body whereas piroxicam is similar to NSAIDs so you don't feel anything physically as you can with anxiety meds. It I believe is a COX2 inhibitor and prevents uterine contractions. It is also used for arthritis and the like. The dose is the same as you would take with valium, one hour prior to transfer. I used 20mg. In NaPro Technology they use 10mg on 5,6,7 DPO to prevent uterine contractions during the time the egg could be entering the uterus.
@tinytina I was a September graduate. Feeling excited is a good way to start the cycle! Of course anxiety is always close behind but absorb all that baby energy you feel around you. Wishing you a great cycle!
 
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#23 ·
Just hopping back on to say how I really appreciate everyone's kind words, thoughts and prayers for me. This is the only place where I feel like I can really talk about this stuff, and I know that you all understand in ways that others don't. This is such a short post, as I'm just exhausted... I can't shake it. I am trying not to have too much caffeine, which really is the only way it feels like I can get through the day. I want to try and get my body track with things, so I'm trying to be kind to myself as much as I can. I was thinking about supplements-- anybody taking anything? Grads who check in here, what were you on? Did your fertility doc recommend anything, or did you do it 'on the side'? I have been taking CoQ10, the Ubiquinol kind... I phoned our fertility clinic's pharmacy today and for women they sell regular CoQ10 (she says the recommendation is 600 mg a day, and it doesn't have to be the Ubiquinol form). She also said that for egg quality some of the fertility docs prescribe AHA or DHA (or would this be DHEA? I couldn't make out what she was saying). I don't know why my fertility doc hasn't suggested it, maybe she just didn't think we had needed it... but maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask her now, since I'm older.
@toothfairy2be, so are you saying you had 2 full cycles and then on the 3rd, that is when you resumed regular trying or treatment? Did your docs have a 'formal' recommendation? I use ovulation tests each month, to track my cycles and find out my most fertile days (outside of the fertility treatment cycles) and I have no idea when I should even begin to start peeing on sticks, because I can't figure out my mucous pattern at the moment. I bled for 15 days, and now I'm just like, what's going on now...
@tinytina, it's great to hear that you are feeling excited. It's a new month, a new year, a new cycle... I'm cheering you on!
@treehugger, how do you manage to motivate yourself through the low moods, to continue on with school? I return a week from tomorrow. My heart isn't in it, and I'm basically fed up with some of the dynamics that occur. Especially when it comes to working on group projects...some people are more concerned about the marks at the end than group processes and supporting one another. I had this experience as it was near the end of the semester when I found out the pregnancy wasn't likely to be viable and I had to push myself to care about this group project and a couple of the ladies knew I was distracted about something important and yet they didn't care to ask what was going on, I think because they were so focused on grades and/or they were uncomfortable with real life problems. So I just had to swallow everything and try to get on with things. Disappointing, when you think that we are in a social work program! I can only imagine how your emotions must be, awaiting your transfer! I hope all goes smoothly and it leads you to having your little baby at the end of it all!
@Oceanspray, I loved having had acupuncture. I used it for natural cycling, and my medicated IUI cycles (Clomid, as well as Gonal F ones)If I could afford it, I would be doing it regularly. I went once every two weeks or so, (the odd time I would go once a week, but that was when I was working). If I was doing IVF, I would definitely do it pre-transfer. Now I'm wondering if there are good times to go post-D&C, and around the time I'm prepping for another round of medicated IUI.
@chuord, you are right about the age thing weighing heavily on my mind. I know I have to wait at least one cycle, the way our clinic does things with phoning in and letting them know you are ready to take on treatment... treatment is always offered the month after you phone on your Day 1. So I'm really hoping they don't make me wait two cycles, then call in, and then I get treatment on the 3rd. Although, maybe I should just relax and whatever will be, will be... I just want my baby!
@Xerxella, how is Matt doing? I haven't seen updates on the CaringBridge, I hope I'm not missing out on CaringBridge alerts, due to a computer glitch or something.

Hi to @monkeyscience, @siuann, @tracyamber, and anyone else I've missed
 
#24 ·
Tenzi - Maybe they meant ALA or DHA, both of which are omega 3s? But I haven't heard of that for egg quality. I'm pretty sure @Xerxella has read some research on DHEA, but not sure if she has time to share. I want to say that one depends on the issues you're having, but I don't remember for sure.
 
#25 ·
@tenzinsmama - I take DHA fish oil, it's got a higher proportion of omega 3's that are good for brain health - it accounted for 50% of my migraine reduction (2 x capsule twice a day) I've continued it throughout as I think if it's good for my brain it must be good for the babies :)
I never did dhea but I did do melatonin (up till ovulation) it is a good antioxidant for eggs apparently, the bonus is it makes you drowsy - take it at 7pm and sleep like a baby. I would be tempted to go to a health shop or place where you can chat to a naturopath - it sounds like your body is a lot drained after everything, they should be able to work our what you specifically are lacking and help you get your mojo back. Vent as often as you like :) re school doing my grad school one of the girls in our group had to take time off to give birth - we carried her through, it just seemed normal.
 
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