New thread, renewed hope! Prayers for everyone...

Suzi: Waiting for cycle #7 (last cycle) in January/February
Okiejpb: one more cycle of injectables and possible IVF later this year
Sarah: Beginning fresh IVF #3
Sarah (sarahgrace): FET tentative for November
Kimberly: in donor process
Dana: in donor process
Angela:Waiting to cycle, back to school to become a nurse to work with IF women! What a BLESSING!!
Carla: Hanging in there, waiting for beta
Andrea: waiting the earliest appointment possible, about to go on vacation :tongue2:
Judy: :bfp: beta 7/27, TWINS!! :yippee: :yippee:
Andrea30: :bfp: beta 6/16, u/s on 7/6 :yippee:
Brenda: :bfp: beta 4/19, TWIN GIRLS!! :yippee: :yippee:
Amanda: :bfp: HPT 5/28, Baby Girl Jessica is due in February!! :yippee:
Pam: About to pop, due on October 22nd :yippee:

I think I got everyone - if not, remind me and I will add!!

Suzi,
Could you add me too? We may be doing a FET in November, but it is still undecided. At any rate whatever we do will involve some hi-tech assistance, so I would appreciate any advice from this group.I hope this next thread will see lots of BFP's!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just joining in. I can't believe is already time for a new thread!

Sarah, I am HAPPY to add you!!! I wasn't sure if you still had plans/what was going on - we haven't heard from you in a while! Hope your FET gets you a BFP!! :nod:

Sarah that is great!!! I hope whatever you decide to do you'll get pg right away.

Suzi wow that is some list of bfp's!! I love it.:) I think it's great to start out with that reminder of our pg gals.

Wednesday I start prometrium then if all goes well on the 26th I start stims again. I had a dream last night that things were going badly again. Hopefully this time will be different. :)

Thanks for starting a new thread Suzi. :clap:

May all our dreams come true. :pray:

Kimberly

Yay new thread - looking forward to seeing lots of new BFP' s!! :crossfing

Hi everyone. Sorry for not posting much on the last thread. If we start IVF, it won't be until later this month. That' when I'd actually start on bcp. Just a quick update, we went to a new RE which is only 5 minutes from my office and was referred by a co-worker's spouse. He suggested trying one more cycle of Follistim since I've responded to them so well in the past. This is my 5th cycle this year. Hopefully all goes well this cycle. Trying to stay grounded and prep mentally for IVF. Any advice?

Okie, I don't think it's POSSIBLE to prep yourself for an IVF cycle. It is frought with emotion and the drugs don't help matters any. All you can do is hang on for the ride and await the results! :dunno:

It is great to see the list of all the BFP's. It is a wonderful reminder that this does work!

Okie -- I agree with Suzi. The best thing you can do is to expect that some things will NOT go according to plan & stay flexible.

Does anyone else have an RE who has them take HCG boosters in the time between transfer & pregnancy test? I've never heard of it before I switched to my current RE & it makes pregnancy tests pretty frustrating because it takes longer before you know if you have a true elevated HCG.

I went in for bloodwork this morning & am anxiously awaiting a phone call. I might go crazy!!! I've actually been feeling a little pregnant this weekend, but don't know if its just from the HCG shots. My gums have even started bleeding when I floss, which happens a lot when I'm pregnant.

I had a dream last night that we got a dog, which we're planning on doing if we can't have another baby.

One more funny thing before I go back to sitting by the phone & watching the clock. I have had a lot of "deja vu" with this cycle. I did my retrival within 2 days of my retrival 5 years with my son. I went to Mexico about a week and a half after my failed cycle this spring. I just found out that my husband has a work retreat to Cancun next weekend, about a week & a half after we find out if this worked. Life is too weird!!!!

O.K. I just heard from my doctor's office & I still don't have a definitive answer yet. My HCG is 82, but since I took an HCG shot on Friday, we don't really know. I'm supposed to go back in for bloodwork on Wednesday & we should know for sure then. I'm not very optomistic because I looked at my past cycles & my HCG was a lot higher (200-400) by this point if I was pregnant.

At least I'll have a nice long weekend in Mexico to relax & forget all about this!

Carla, my center used to do booster hCG shots. They gave them up about 2 years ago, there's not much research that shows they are effective. On the flip side of that, there's no research to show that they HURT! :dunno: I am on pins and needles with you - let us know as soon as you can!! :nod:

Carla, we posted at the same time! How many days post-transfer are you? The "target" for 11-12 days past a 3 day transfer is only 100!! :dunno:

:crossfing and :pray:

Thanks Suzi and Carla. Silly silly question, something I should know from Infertlity 101, but is the size of a follicle determined by taking the average of the two numbers (two angles) dr. measures on the screen? For instance, on Saturday my largest follicle was 18 x 14, so the dr. said it was 16mm. It looked huge, bigger than an 16 I'd ever had before. Not sure if this was due to the angle. Lord knows that I don't have the trained eye of a professional, although I should after having had so many done:)

Okie, that is about correct. Measurement up/down averaged with left/right gives the "full dimension" measurement of the follicle. Don't forget, measurement can vary from one person to another based on where they locate the "X" and click.

HI Ladies

Thanks Suzi for starting the new thread!

Carla~ Hope you start off this thread right!

I had an interesting week. On tuesday, I got a call from a reporter, Jane Gordon, from the New York Times wanting to interview me regarding the infertility coverage in CT. At first, I was a little skeptical but asked her how she got my info and she answered all my questions well. In early spring/summer when insurance coverage was about to be voted on, I was asked to write a testomonial on my experience with IF and how insurance would be beneficial to me and so many people. I guess my testomonial is open to the public and that is how she got my name, address and number. The IF law went into effect Oct 1st, so that is why the media is interested again. So she asked me questions about the coverage and what I thought. She said my name and story/quotes would be in Sunday's NY times. I didn't believe it, but it is. I bought the paper and there it is in the CT section. She did a really good job. I was so afraid she would misquote me. I never am off on Tuesdays. I just happenned to have the day off to go to the BIG E.

I had my first test last week too. I got a 90%. I am happy with that. Right now we are learning about different types of tissues.

Thanks Suzi for starting the new thread! It's great to see so many successes and so many new cycles starting!

Amanda

Thanks for starting a new thread Suzi! You Rock!

Hey Carla-on pins and needles for your results and hoping this threads starts off right for you also!

Man it's great to see all those BFPS! Heres to hoping for many more to come!

hi all..

just gonna copy and paste from the blog. :)

I went for my 28 week check up today.

It's not good, people.

My bloodpressure was very high.. and there was protein in my urine.
I've had some back pain in one area, and some stomach issues for the
last week. also have had headaches, some problems with pressure
in my abdomen.. among a few other things.

So tomorrow I go in for my 3 hour GTT... and while I'm there,
they're going to test me for HELLP Syndrome and Pre-E. Loverly.
He ordered about 15 tests....

I start going TWICE a week now. One for blood pressure check,
and the other for a routine check up.

My uterus is measuring 36 weeks.. and I certainly feel it.

I go back on Thursday for blood pressure check...and the doc
explained that if it's high again, I'll likely go straight to the hospital
for bedrest for the duration.

IF the bloodwork comes back with high liver functions or any other
problem... I could be sent to deliver these girls as early as the end
of the week. If that's the case, they'll transfer me to Brigham and Womens
in Boston where they have a level 3 NICU. They'd rather me deliver there
if I go this early instead of having the babies transferred without me.

I'm scared. Shitless.


YAY for starting a new thread!!!! Maybe I can keep up with this one! :lol:

:jawdrop: I am praying already!! :hug99:

:jawdrop: I am praying already!! :hug99:
Ditto! Take care Brenda your little family is in my prayers! Really hoping your tests come back with good results!

Oh Brenda that is just aweful. i'm praying so hard that you and your girls are ok. I can only imagine how scared you must be right now. Hopefully they can get your bp down and your liver functions right again so the girls can have a longer stay in you. I hope that you feel a little better real soon.

Brenda~Geez, I'm so sorry. :disbelief :sadhug: I'm praying that everything will be O.K. :crossfing

Ang~It's kind of fun to make the news huh? That's great that the article was well written. Excellent score on your test! :thumbsup: Keep up the good work.

It was a heck of an emotional rollercoaster ride of a summer for me and it seems the Fall is starting that way. :tearhair: Personally, I continue to have emotional setbacks here and there. . .not everyday, but somedays I feel like I'm going to loose my mind. My sister mentioned that she was worried about me the other day, saying that I'm extremely emotional and sensitive and easily agitated. Crazily enough, I thought I was keeping this a big secret and hiding my distress from everyone, but it just wasn't so. I'm feeling O.K. today and I'm trying so hard to do everything I need to in order to stay emotionally healthy (meditation, yoga, no drinking, getting enough rest, etc.) Although coordinating with my donor could be another month away, it was suggested that I start BCP now. Even though I've been happy with my decision to go the donor route, I was truly hoping that in the meantime, we'd get pregnant on our own. Being on birth control right now is like this big turning point for me. I can't turn the clock back. Like this is it. . .I've truly given up chance of ever having a biological child. :cry: For the last 3 weeks, I'm being trained to cover someone else's work while he's gone for a month. Even though most guys take a week for Paternity leave, he's asked for a month. Just the fact that I'm going to work double duty for the next month for someone who is going to be on paternity leave, has brought on tons of feelings of jealousy. Like, SHOULDN'T I HAVE TIME OFF AND ASK FOR LESS WORK SINCE I'M TRYING TO PREPARE FOR A PREGNANCY??!

A tree fell on our house during a wind storm on Thursday (we made FOX News and DH had a soundbyte). The house was fine, just some gutter damage, but we were lucky. It was a gigantic tree and the whole thing uprooted and fell, leaning on the gutters. A day later, my dog tested positive for Lyme disease. We're treating him with antibotics and feel confident that it has not gone into his kidneys and he will be alright. :crossfing

Remember my friend Polly who was pregnant and then had the M/C this summer? She called me crying last night. Remember I had mentioned once that I thought her marriage wasn't going to work out? That was my way of being happy for her pregnancy. . .in terms of that none of us have perfect lives and even though I want to be pregnant, she may wish she had a better marriage. I certainly don't wish anything bad on her as you know, it just somehow forced me to recognize that I need to be happy for her pregnancy because I certainly wouldn't want her husband. :thumbsdow So anyway, she is extremely scared that this marriage is going to end in divorce and told me that she's not even trying to get pregnant anymore because she doesn't want to bring a child into this situation right now.

My, my, my. Circumstances, emotions, your present and future can change at the drop of a hat. "Life" is both a troublesome and beautiful place. :disbelief :scratch:

Kimberly

:hug99: Kimberly I'm so sorry so many things are crashing down on you. I can totally understand how going on bcp's is a big turning point. Sometimes we think we've accepted something but until something like that just confirms it you have like a second greaving period. And you should allow yourself to feel it. Don't hold it in. Call your sister and unload on her. I'm sure she'd like you to. It helps you feel better by talking about it and I'm sure it makes her feel good that you aren't holding it all in. My sister and I've had the same exact talk. I thought the last couple years I was coping ok. I certainly thought that no one other than Brandon knew what a mess I was inside. Well my sister said the same thing to me. It's good that we have such wonderful family that can help us thru these rough times. And I really hope that soon your co-worker will be training for your job soon!

Brenda -- I am so sorry & will be praying that everything will be o.k. It sounds like you have a doctor who's keeping a very close eye on you.

Kimberly -- It sounds like you have a lot of things coming at you right now. I don't think that it is possible to stay entirely "emotionally healthy" while you are going through this whole process. I think that its wonderful that you have a sister who is sensitive enough to notice when you are having a rough time.

Well, no good news here. My HCG is now 42, about half what it was 2 days ago. I am now 18 days post transfer, so its not looking very good. I am not surprised, since I've been feeling pretty good the last couple of days. I have to go in one more time for bloodwork, but I really don't think the doctor sees pregnancy as a possibility.

I have been thinking about what my plans were if this IVF didn't work & I had a realization. I think if I quit right now, I'd have to get a new hobby! I have spent quite a bit of time on this "project" this year & would really have a lot of free time if we decided not to do it again. I really would like to try again. I just don't think that I'm ready to give up yet. We will have to do some serious thinking this weekend!

Carla~I'm really sorry. :sadhug: But what a great attitude! Getting a new hobby. . .what a novel and positive thought. :banana:

Kimberly

Carla, I am sorry. :hug99: I understant about not being ready to give up just yet...here I am - about to start IVF #7! :lol:

Suzi -- I used to think that it was only women who were really obsessed that would do IVF again & again & here I am thinking about doing #3 this year (plus 2 cancelled cycles!) The funny thing is that I really don't feel that obsessed!

Carla, I thought the same thing...until I did 4 cycles last year! What else can you do?? :dunno: :lol:

Carla-I'm really sorry, I'm feeling for you right now and I'm glad to see that your not ready to throw the towel in yet! BIG HUG!

Kim-Crappy the emotions the BCP is bringing out, but just think when everything comes together in the universe for you it will have made the experience sweeter for you. You have already become a strong woman for having this experience, and no matter how your child comes to you, it shall be a blessed child and they will always know just how much you wanted to hold them.

Has anyone heard How Brenda's doing? I sure hope their OK...

Well we got home this morning and there was an envelope from the clinic with all the blood work orders and everything for DH's TESE. His appointment is on Nov. 1st. So we get home and then we hit the road again the next day to ensure we get there in time! I am so reved up I just cant wait to meet all the voices from the phone! THen SIL called and told me they cant do my bloodwork in YK because they dont test for estradol same day here. So when it comes time to start the cycle I'll have to do it in Edmonton, so yeah I get to stay at my DD's for a couple of weeks! Well I've been up for over 36 hours now so it's officially bedtime! Good night!

:bighug: Carla :bighug:

Brenda - keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Although coordinating with my donor could be another month away, it was suggested that I start BCP now. Even though I've been happy with my decision to go the donor route, I was truly hoping that in the meantime, we'd get pregnant on our own. Being on birth control right now is like this big turning point for me. I can't turn the clock back. Like this is it. . .I've truly given up chance of ever having a biological child.
I'm having a lot of the same feelings you are. Everytime we move forward with the donor cycle I get excited, then sad. Its another reminder that this is really it. I'll never have another biological child (and yes, I know I am very blessed to have my Owen). But, crap - its sad.

Everything is on schedule for our cycle. Dave talked with the coordinator yesterday. I go in Monday for a blood test. If my progesterone is at the right level, I'll start Lupron on Tuesday (or maybe Monday - I don't remember). Dave also spoke with the pharmacy and got our drugs (mine and the donors) ordered. At this rate my embryo transfer will be somewhere arround December 4-6!

Carla & Suzi~I stopped after my 7th (not on my own accord), but like Carla said, even though I didn't feel obscessed about it (I was just doing what I thought any one would in my situation), most outsiders interpret your behavior as being "obsessed" or "not getting the hint" that it "wasn't meant to be" or that you're "trying too hard". That is what really killed me most. I used to think that if didn't have any friends, family or collegues soliticiting their opinions, that I would feel so much better about myself and would've handled this whole thing so much more gracefully. Of course, I would never give up my friends and family so. . .:dunno:




I'm having a lot of the same feelings you are. Everytime we move forward with the donor cycle I get excited, then sad. Its another reminder that this is really it. I'll never have another biological child (and yes, I know I am very blessed to have my Owen). But, crap - its sad.


Dana~I'm so glad you said that. I'm having such a difficult time with this and I didn't really expect this. In time, when DE becomes more mainstream (and as more women continue to delay marriage and child birth, it will be), perhaps they'll have more resources for women going through this.

Kimberly

Kimberly, you are right. When I think back to my first IVF cycle, I remember thinking that it HAD to work 'cause we'd never be able to afford another chance. $50K later....and I STILL can't fathom having burned that much money on IVF cycles. But this is for my family and I am willing to make whatever sacrifices I have to to build it. :dunno:

Outsiders would probably recoil in horror and say they'd NEVER spend that much on trying to have a baby...to them I say: wear my shoes and THEN tell me you'd never spend it.

Dana, I can't believe you are getting so close! I SO hope all works well with the donor - you are in my prayers!

...to them I say: wear my shoes and THEN tell me you'd never spend it.

I haven't told many people about what I'm doing with DE, but to those I have, I've basically had to tell them the same thing.

It's funny because I remember talking to 2 of my female co-residents about my experiences with IF and IVF. They were both amazed that I went thru all of that and one of them even commented that she would NEVER be willing to do that. So she's now going on to IVF cycle #3 and the other woman is about to start IVF cycle #1. Ya just never know...

Amanda

Though I would never wish IF on anyone, I don't know if its possible to truly understand the frustration & heartbreak that comes just getting to the point of trying IVF, let alone going through it. I have a lot of friends who seem to get pregnant quite easily. One of them made a comment a couple of months ago that women who have IF just don't appreciate what a pain it is when you get pregnant so "too easily." (She is currently pregnant with her 4th child. I think that she usually gets pregnant the first month that she tries.) Anyway, I think that I had just had a cancelled cycle when she said that, so I was glad that we were in a large group so that I didn't have to respond to that!

Does anyone know if endometriosis would affect the outcome of IVF? I've never been worked up for it, but have recently found that several close relatives have it. I'm now wondering if it is a possibility.

From a study in 1999, found on obgyn.net:

Results following IVF in women with endometriosis are comparable to those for women without endometriosis and they do not seem to be affected by the severity of the disease. Because a comparable number of embryos are available for transfer, even in patients with advanced disease, the outcome of IVF in terms of implantation and ongoing pregnancy rates are similar in patients with varying severity of the disease. The use of GnRH agonists in a long-protocol of ovarian stimulation leads to the highest pregnancy rates, although the role of prolonged pituitary suppression remains unclear. The presence of endometriomas does not generally impair the results of IVF but it increases the risk of infection.

Thanks! I knew someone would know.

Carla,
I have mild/moderate endo and got pg on our first IVF attempt and had no problems during pregnancy. Endo is an odd ailment I know several people who have severe cases and got pg on their own. Also the wife of one of my co-worker's had a severe case of endo and got pg on their first IVF attempt with triplets, which she delivered successfully at 36 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I had my "What's the plan?" meeting with my RE today. After a couple of days of feeling sorry for myself last week, I decided that I'm not ready to give up yet. So I'm going to have some testing done this month & if everything is o.k., then we'll be ready for IVF again!

I talked to the doctor about endo & he said that if I have it, it's mild enough that it wouldn't impact our IVF tx, so at least I won't have to get worked up for that. I'm just going to have an HSG & bunch of bloodwork. It will seem strange to only go to the doctor twice in a month. I have sure spent a lot of time there lately!

Carla, I am so glad that you have a plan! Hopefully the next time will be your LAST!! :aok:

Carla, I am so glad that you have a plan! Hopefully the next time will be your LAST!! :aok:
:nod:

I had my progesterone check yesterday. It indicated I had ovulated, so I start Lupron tonight!

:woo: This is getting exciting!! :yippee:

Dana~Wow! Moving quite along. :banana: That was fast. . .are you timing your cycle with the donors already? :scratch:

Kim

Carla - I'm glad you have a plan!
Dana - Wow! That's exciting!!!

Amanda

Dana~Wow! Moving quite along. :banana: That was fast. . .are you timing your cycle with the donors already? :scratch:

Kim
I guess the starts or planets or something was in alignment, because we're already in synch. I don't really understand how it could be that easy, but I don't have to go on BCP. I'll be starting the 'mock cycle' somewhere arround October 24.

I guess the starts or planets or something was in alignment, because we're already in synch. I don't really understand how it could be that easy, but I don't have to go on BCP. I'll be starting the 'mock cycle' somewhere arround October 24.

Well darnit!!!! Can I stand under your sky????? I'm tortured currently being on BCP and from the last I knew, my donor still has not even had a medical workup yet. :tearhair: But really, I'm happy for you. . ..O.K. just a little envious. :mope:


Kimberly

So quiet in here... How is everyone doing?

Hi Everyone, Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. I started spotting today which means AF is just a day or two away. My RE wants me to start bcp's on cd 2. He also said that he needs to do a hysteroscopy on me since he had such a difficult time with my insemination. He needs to do this before I start on IVF meds. Although everyone's treatment plan varies, can anyone give me a quick glance at what I'm looking at calendar wise (how many days/weeks on bcp's, lupron (or whatever medicine they choose), more med's, ER, ET.....).

Okie...glad you made it back! A typical long-stim protocol (what most people use) is about 55 days, start to finish. Of course, it will vary depending on what cycle you use and how long you are on BCPs. Typical breakdown goes like this:

BCP: CD3-24
Lupron: CD19-end
Down reg u/s: CD29
Stims: CD30-40
Trigger: CD40
ER: CD42
ET: CD45 or 47
Beta: 55

Hope that helps!

Sarah, we are hanging in there! We are starting the SAs soon - Chris is scheduled for one on Monday morning. He'll do another in 2-3 weeks, then another in 2-3 weeks, then another in 2-3 weeks...as necessary to see if the sperm count/quality is improving. Chris quit riding the motorcyle in late August, we should be seeing some improvement by now if the motorcycle was the problem (and I'm just sure it was). :crossfing

I still have to re-take the Annexin V IgG and IgM tests...my RE wants a definitive test on that. THe first time it was astronomically high, the second was not near as high but outside normal limits. If a third comes back elevated then we will know for CERTAIN that I have Hughes Syndrome - if not, then I don't. :crossfing

BCP will start in January...that's not very far away!!! :eek:

Hi girls!

I am new to all this and would love to be a part of your group! My name is Vyonne and I am 45 and currently undergoing treatment for ovodonation. My transfer should take place in about 1 week (Oct. 24th). Sorry I am not familiar at all with your abreviations... so I am a bit lost.

I´ve had a couple of inseminations and this is my 5th IVF. Currently I´m leaving in Lima, Peru (last 4 years), so I feel a bit lonely (originally from LA, California). Right now, my main issue is my endometrium growth, so I am taking some pills, but wish I was in the US, so I could get the famous "Viagra Suppositories". They don´t get them out here... so I am screewed :(

I would greatly appreciate your keeping me in your prayers... so that this time I get it!!! Age wise and financially speaking... it is about my last chance!

Thank you and good luck to all of you!!!

Hugs,
Vyonne

Hi Vyonne. :welcome: You've come to a great place. I wish you all the best. I am in the process of being a donor egg recipient myself. . .although it's not happening as soon as yours is. How is ovadonation different from egg donation? Or is it the same thing?

Kimberly

Hello everyone. Has anyone ever used Prometrium suppositories? I was on 200mg/night for 10 days. Last day was this past Saturday. AF usually comes by 12 dpo, today is 13 dpo. I've been spotting since Friday (10 dpo). Although I've been spotting, still took HPT this morning which came back BFN, not surprised just wanted to get that out of the way as I had been waiting 2 weeks to POAS. Weird but during these times your hormones are somewhat out of whack. Wishing everone lots of Baby Dust and a wonderful week.

I am so incredibly frustrated :tearhair: As usual, I'm still feeling like I have the worst luck following me everywhere. :mope:

I've been on BCP now for just about 21 days. I called the donor egg coordinator at the IVF clinic to find out if I should continue on the placebos or just go to a new pack. I also wanted to find out the status of the donor. I found out that it took a month for the donor to turn in her paperwork. When she did, some of it was not completed. I checked back with the donor agency and they say that according to the donor, the parts she didn't complete said, *optional*, but of course, according to the IVF clinic, she should have filled them out. I have no idea who's right. In any case, the donor still needs to finish the required paperwork, that still has to be looked over and approved and then she still needs her medical workup. This could easily be another 6 weeks!! And that's even if she's approved! I still haven't spoken to the nurse who will consult with me regarding the BCPs (and was told she couldn't get back to me until tomorrow), but I'm going to stop taking the Pill until this donor is truly ready. I'm so sick, SICK, SICK of this!!! I just wasted a month where I could've tried on my own. :furious:

Kimberly

Hi Kimberly!

Thank you for welcoming me in and for your good wishes!!!

Ovodonation is the same as egg donation. I am so very excited (and nervous) with my upcoming transfer. Today I went to see my doctor and my endometrium had gotten to the needed size, so I will go thru with the procedure. As I was laying down getting checked... I could not stop thanking God, because I was terrified that my endometrium would not grow.

I can´t believe all that you are going through with your donor.. sounds a bit flaky! I hope that you will not have too much time to wait, as I know how anxious one can get during this waiting period. Out here in Lima, things moved rather quick... once we found the donor with the physical characteristics, blood type, etc. she came for a meeting with the doctor, who gave her a prescription for a whole panel of blood work. Then, three days later, she was on BCP and within a couple of weeks, got her started on Lupron. Now she is on Lupron and Puregon Pen and will be going in for the procedure, hopefully on this coming Friday or Saturday. However, I must tell you that everything in the process had me on pins and needles, first waiting for the blood results, later on making sure that she was being responsible with her shots. And, the most stressing time was when she had her first check up to see her follicles response, and thank God she responded well!

I wish you all the luck in the world and hope that very soon you´ll be undergoing your treatment too. :nod:

Hugs,

Vyonne

PS Has anyone heard anything about drinking pineapple juice after the transfer? It is supposed to help the embryos nest in better???

Hi Vyonne and :welcome:

I'm glad your cycle is progressing well - I can only imagine how stressful it must be to undergo an IVF cycle without being able to control what ne normally can control - drug administration, timing, health, etc. WOW!

Your doc has you doing baby aspirin beginning day of transfer, right? That is to help thin the blood making it easier for implantation. I have heard of the pineapple but not sure if there's solid evidence to support...

At any rate, best of luck to you and keep us posted with the progress checks - I am excited for you!!

Hi Vyonne! Its always exciting to see a new member here (especially another going through a DE cycle) I just wish you'd found us earlier.

Kimberly, I'm so sorry your donor is giving you grief. You so deserve a break. I hope some good luck comes your way soon.

Hmmm....I don't think I have anything new to report. One week of lupron down. I'm feeling very tired and unmotivated. I don't know if its the drugs, or if I'm just lazy.

Hi Suzi & Dana!

Thank you for the nice welcome! Oh, you bet I will keep you posted as to my progress checks. And I couldn´t be happier so far with the results this cycle. After so many failures, I am hoping with the DE method, I will stand higher chances of conception. Yes, you are right... the stress level when you are not in control (DE) is unmeassurable :owow:, but I can´t complaint about my donor, she is only 20 years old, yet very matured and responsible.

I am so happy to have found you, as it is wonderful to be able to share all these happy/hard times with someone whom actually "understands" what we go through. I guess no one really knows, until is truly there!

Dana, I too wish I´d found you earlier, but better late than never, right? I am just grateful to be a part of your group and happy to have you all:grouphugg

Suzi, thanks for the tip on the baby aspirin, because my doc hasn´t mentioned anything about it yet, and has never before prescribed it during my previous IVFs. I will certainly tell him on my control tomorrow and see what he says. The only meds beginning day of transfer that he has always had me on before is Geslutin PNM (progesteron vaginal suppositories). Are you guys familiar with that med? Since I have never had any fertility treatments in the US, I am not familiar at all with the meds used out there. I see that Dana is on Lupron now, so I see that at least that med is same as the one I used. All I know about Geslutin, is that it is a pain, because you are constatntly eliminating the residues and gets pretty messy... yikes!

Dana, are you taking Lupron in daily belly shots? In all my previous attempts (4), I was always on the daily shots (0.05 mcg), but this time I received just one shot on my buttie, instead of the belly shots, which was great!

Good luck to you all and thanks again!!!

Vyonne

Vyonne, in the US most (if not all) IVF centers use progesterone suspended in sesame oil injected intramuscularly in the hip. Research shows there is better progesterone delivery/absorption - not to mention not having that mess... :lol:

Suzi I hope both your test and DH SA's go well. Keep us posted!

Kimberly I'm so sorry you've hit another delay. I can only imagine how frustrating that is. I hope that she finishes her paperwork and gets that in right away.

Vyonne, Welcome! I'm so glad you found us. This is a great group of ladies. And good luck with your tranfer. I am so happy to hear that things are going smoothly. that sure makes things easier. I'll be on the progesterone suppositories and pills. I am allergic to the PIO(progesterone in oil that Suzi was talking about) so I have to take 2 supps and 2 pills a day. If that isn't enough we'll see what they'll add to it. But I have heard the same thing you said, messy messy messy. I'm really not looking forward to that. The PIO was nice for no mess. And I hope your RE agrees to let you take the 81mg asprin. Everyone I know that is going thru most ART proceedures takes it. Since it is lose dose it can't hurt anything to take it but can really make a difference if you do take it. But I haven't heard anything on the pineapple juice.

I started lupron again yesterday. I should get af any day now. Then on the 26th I'll start stims. I am really hoping that this cycle proves better for us. But if it doesn't I've already started talking to my sister seriously about what she would need to be our donor. She hasn't been in for a yearly exam in well over a year so she was going to do that anyway. I just told her to make sure her Gyne tests for everything he can. That way if we need her that is one thing I don't have to wait for. While I am really praying this works for some reason I just have this deep feeling that we will need her. I never have before, I just knew she was there for us if we needed. But in the last week or so I just have this feeling we will. I guess we'll just wait and see. I hope not because of course I would love a child from my eggs but if it doesn't work at least I have a good plan. I know I've grown increasingly worried about another m/c. And using her eggs might take that risk away. Perhaps that is why. I don't know. If I can't stim more than 2 eggs worth we'll never find out if it is my eggs that are bad since we'll never make it to ret. But now that we are getting closer I'm trying my best to put any negative thoughts right out of my head. I dont want anything come in the way of our chances.

Welcome Vyonne. This is definitely a great site. Although I don't post often as I have not yet officially started IVF, I do read the posts daily.

It hasn't really hit me, but I'm somewhat bummed to find out that I will need to wait until January to start IVF. I was going to start bcp tomorrow, followed by lupron, stim's, .... My RE called today to tell me not to start bcp as we had discussed. The way they do it in their office is to try to put you in with a group of other women who are also going through IVF. They put you in groups so that they can efficiently do ER, ET, ...anyway this is how I understand it. Apparently it's too soon for me to start (he said soon, I'd say late) with the November cycle since I'd only be starting bcp tomorrow. He wants me to start with the December group, which would mean starting bcp with my next cycle in November. I have a 33 day cycle (pretty much religiously) when not using any med's. The problem is that I have a business trip I have to go on in mid-December to Philadelphia, which is right around the time I would be ending injectibles or prepping for ER/ET. So now I can't start until January, I guess that would mean with my December cycle I'd start on bcp. Although I just starting seeing this RE this past cycle, I'd really like to stick with him. Besides for me not fitting into the timing of their group schedules, he said that they've found that being on bcp for too long can cause me to be overly suppressed; therefore resulting in fewer follicles. Urggggh. Has anyone else ever run into this? He suggested taking a break and saving my resources (did he mean money or eggs???). He said that I've pretty consistently responded well to the meds, so he must mean the $$$. What do you think the odds are of me conceiving naturally this month without anything but good old fashioned love-making? Wouldn't that be nice? Anyone, hope everyone's having a great day. By the way, I look forward to reading the posts throughout the day. It's nice having the support of other women who know what I'm going through and vice versa.

Okie, sorry for the delay - my office also does cohort groups for IVF so I understand your situation. With the holidays though, it'll go by faster than you imagine. :nod:

I'm glad that you like it here, this is a realy great place - you will find out just how great when you start your cycle!! :lol:

HI Everyone!!

Welcome Vyonne!

Kim~Hang in there! It will all come together.
Sarah and Suzi~Good luck and fingers crossed.

Lot's of stuff going on in here!! Boy oh boy!!

Well I got the most amazing news today. I balled my eyes out like a baby.

I WILL HAVE IVF COVERAGE EFFECTIVE 1/1/2006. I will not have to wait till January 2007 like I was originally told. I called my insurance company and confirmed. It is true!!
I called my RE today for an appointment but their computers were down so I will call again tomorrow to make an appointment. January is right around the corner so it will be interesting to see what the plan will be once I meet with the RE hopefully in Oct/early november. I am so excited and scared all at the same time. I will keep you all posted!!

Angela, that is the BEST NEWS I have heard all month!!! AWESOME!!! :banana: :yippee: :rahrah:

Dana, I keep meaning to ask you - how are Teri and Sue and Kat (and everyone else from UB IF threads)?? Please send them some hugs from me!! :bighug:

Welcome Vyonne! Good luck with your cycle!!!
Kimberly - I hope you catch a break!
Dana - Sorry you're feeling tired but it's exciting that things are moving forward.
Sarah - I'm crossing everything for you this cycle.
Suzi - Hope all the tests are going well!!!
Okie - Sorry about the delay. How frustrating!
Angela - I am SO HAPPY for you!!!!! That is just great news!!!!

No news from me (which is good!). Things are moving right along...

Amanda

Angela that is awesome! I remember when I first found out we had coverage. I was at work and found out that a few months before we were doing our ivf the state of IL passed the mandate for coverage. I actually teared up.(we had no idea how to pay for the ivf since we were already in debt and had no savings) So I totally know how you feel and that is just awesome!!!

Okie, I'm sorry you have to wait. I totally know how frustrating that is. While my clinic doesn't have groups, I've missed cycles by litterally 2 days because of my appointments. I hope the time flies for you with the holidays. Is there any possible way you can get them to change the date of your trip?

Amanda good to hear!!

Well I don't know what is going on with me. I'm supposed to go in for baselines today but af completely stopped yesterday late afternoon. I have just a little spotting and it's only dark brown. That has never happened to me for af. So I'll have to call them before I go to see if I should still come. I don't know if that wasn't af(though it was flow not spotting but mostly brown/red as my af's start) Last cycle I had bleeding for only 1 day. It was fairly heavy but not real heavy to warrant only 1 day. TTC and all the meds I've been on really is doing a number on my body.:rolleyes:

Vyonne~Wow! You're right, your clinic moves things right along. (Unlike mine) :rolleyes: That's great that your donor is so responsible. I guess it would be weird if a donor recepient wasn't on pins & needles huh? With all I've been going through, my RNs and the donor agency, etc. keep reminding me that this is a tough process because even more so, it's out of our control. . . .O.K. already, I just want it to be over with! I have heard of using pineapple for implantation--fresh fruit, not juice. Pineapple contains bromelain which is an enzyme that could possibly aid in implantation. I have been eating a lot of pineapple and taking low dose aspirin daily as well. Along as it doesn't kill me or prevent me from getting pregnant, I'll pretty much try anything. :dunno:

Dana~I'm rallying you on. . .:rahrah:

Sarah~I'm thinking of you and wishing you all the best. :crossfing I have to tell you that I have also experienced very brief periods as well--maybe one day of blood, and not that much, and mostly brown and spotting. It's really bummed me out and I've been trying to do some more research to figure out why. I've always have short and light periods, but not this short. I am aware that my age could be a factor, but you shouldn't have to worry about that. Anyway, it's really nice (and hopefully you won't have to go there) that you spoke to your sister about the possibility of helping you out. I think that's amazing. I've been reading the book, "Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation" which Dana recommended. Not that you should read it now, but I mention it only because it gives a lot of helpful imformation about using a known donor such as a sister.

Okie~I'm so sorry. :sadhug: That just stinks!!! I know only too well how painful this waiting process is. :crazy: If you want to try to put a positive spin on it, at least you can indulge during the upcoming Holidays. :dunno:

Ang~What exciting news! I'm so happy for you. :yippee: :rahrah: :banana:

I'm feeling a bit better today. Not that anything specific happened, I just told myself that I had to let this anger and sadness go and stay positive that things will fall into place. :pray: I am officially off BCP for the next month and will not go back on until the donor is absolutely ready! You know what ladies??? I WANT SOMETHING IN MY CONTROL FOR ONCE! I want to be on BCP for the minimum amount of time which according to my clinic, is 3 1/2 weeks--2 1/2 on BCP alone and then one week on BCP and Lupron. So, I will not take it until the last moment possible. I have to do this for my own sanity really. I have called the donor agency and asked them if they could impress upon the donor my anxiousness in getting this process moving in a timely manor. The woman at the agency was so sweet and understanding and reassured me that they must do this often with donors and it's a balancing act between getting them to do things in a timely fashion and not giving them too much pressure. (We wouldn't want her to back out). I mentioned that perhaps she could bring up to the donor the fact that the Holidays were coming up and that it might be nice if she could get the cycle done so that she can "enjoy herself" during the Holidays. Hey, maybe it'll work? :dunno: When I told the RN that I wanted to go off BCP and possibly use the time to try on my own, she was a bit concerned. She told me of a woman who did the same thing, got pregnant, canceled the DE cycle, had a M/C, sought the donor again and wound up loosing her to another client, and then had to wait for a long period before doing a DE IVF. She mentioned that even if I got pregnant, my chances were high that I could have a M/C or worse, another ectopic. It did have an effect on me because even though I'm going off BCP, she did make me nervous about trying next month. What if I did have to go through another dreadful ectopic? In any case, we'll see. I might feel differently as soon as I start ovulating. Can't teach an old dog new tricks! :awink:

Kimberly

Kimberly I totally know how you feel but honestly your nurse is right. When you've had 2 ecoptics your chances of having another one are super high. Even if your tubes appear normal on an hsg. And the story she told you, I know someone personally from UB that this happened to(she lives not to far from me). She was lined up with a perfect donor that looked just like her, she went in for her precycle testing and she was pg. Unfortunatly she lost that baby a couple weeks later. She got into a battle with the agency for her money because she couldn't handle trying anymore. And her donor had moved on anyway. So that really is an important choice to make. I've had 2 ectopics and my RE said absolutely no trying on our own that we had about a 70% chance of a repeat even if my tubes looked normal. It's so hard to give that up on your own. But just look at it all. I hope which ever you choose that it works super well for you.:) And I hope that when she talks to the donor it will light a fire under her. I'm assuming she is paid a fee for her doing this like most agencies so wouldn't she want the money at the very least soon? I hope she gets it together.

Well my one day fairly light af is over I guess. Still nothing, not even spotting. My lining was thinner at baselines but still one there to shed. My acu is worried about not getting rid of all that old blood. It could possibly inhibit a good new lining from developing. I told her how I feel my body is just too messed up from all that it's been thru in the last 2 years. It's just not bouncing back like in the past. I guess when I really look at everything I can kinda understand that. Had 2 previous laps, I was on depot lupron for a year, tried for a year, had IVF, had a c/s, m/c'd 5 times(one ectopic that passed on it's own), failed FET, m/c'd with ectopic with lapand metho in addition to having bad endo, PCOS and aweful adheasions that have gotten much worse. I read my surgery report from the ectopic and it took them a very long time before they could get thru all the adheasions to even see my uterus. After the cancelled ivf I had a one day af. Now I've had another one but is wasn't as heavy and mostly all brown blood.

So I think that my body is really telling me it can't do this anymore. I know a lot of people tell me oh but you're young you have time. We honestly don't. Yes I'm only 27 but my RE has confirmed that it behaves like that of a 40+ year old. So no there isn't time and it has proven that time and time again. It's just not what it should be and nothing is going to change that. Thankfully my sister doesn't seem to follow in my footsteps. She seems healthy with all that. She's only had one surgery in her life and that was for her tonsils out. I've had 9. So let's hope she will never ever have to know personally what we all have gone thru.

I am putting as much positive thinking in this ivf as I can but I also know that inside my body seems to be telling me it just can't do this anymore. And I have to go with that. Hopefully it won't come to that. I would love to have another biological child of my own. But at this point I want another child more. And at least Meghan still has similar genes. Whatever happens I just need to be done with this all. I just can't keep going thru this.

Sarah~Gosh, thank you so much for your post. :bighug: Were you talking about Melissa from UB?? If you were, I totally remember her story. She was such a great thread buddy. I'm dying to know how she's doing these days. I know the "facts" about what could happen if I did get pregnant on my own, but there's this. . .I don't know, psychological "pulling" in me that thinks that I should not let any opportunity to get pregnant on my own pass by. It's that "addiction" that has gone on for so many years. I get AF, wipe my tears, feel convinced a day later that the next cycle is going to be "it", I feel refreshed and renewed. I prepare by eating right and exercising, then ovulation comes and I'm using the OPKs, timing it all with DH, and then waiting with so much expectation for the outcome. It's always a rollercoaster ride, but with it comes moments of so much hope. It's a hope that helps to get me through each day. Your post however, also reminds me of all the pain that came with it and you and the RN are correct. I'm not going to try this month. I've invested so much emotionally into the DE cycle, that I don't want anything to mess that up. Your post was simply the push I needed to get through this month without concerning myself with babymaking. Sure, I could/might get pregnant and go on to have a baby, but at this point, it's not a risk I want to take. I'm even more convinced now that I need to use this opportunity to reconnect with myself and DH and possibly have sex without thinking about making babies. DH sure would love that! :awink:

It seems to be that you know your body well and in the end, you are the best person to know what more your body can take. You've gone through so much already and like me, all of this *craziness* is bound to be tough on our bodies. I'm so sorry that your body is behaving like someone 40+ and I can only imagine how many people are telling you that you have time. :rolleyes: I get the same thing and I'm 41! Luckily, I don't look my age (good genes I guess). . .and ones that I probably won't pass on. :mope: Unfortunately, my body is doing what's appropriate for my age.

I'd be interested to hear what you're told about shedding your lining of the old blood. Not my Drs, but my accupuncturist is convinced that I don't fully shed blood each month, thus the high incidence of brown AFs. I often feel that Western medicine doesn't account for that type of stuff. My IVF Drs never ask me about AF, yet my accupuncturist always does. I'm very interested to know what they have to say.

I wish you all the best Sarah and remember that you're not alone if you should have to go the next course.

Kimberly

Kimberly yes it is Melissa. She is doing ok. she belongs to OLU but is very very rarely ever on the boards. In fact this is so funny but she just sent me a little card in the mail since we haven't talked in ages just to say she was thinking of me. So I'll be talked to her today and I'll let her know you were thinking of her. Her story breaks my heart everytime I think of it. She still doesn't talk much about it and has seemed to close the doors on trying. I still pray for her all the time and hope she gets pg again with a healthy little one.(as I do for all my ladies here:)) It's funny I was never a religious person before. Not that I consider myself that I still don't go to church but I do pray for our gals because every little bit helps.

Anyway I hope that my post wasn't pushy. I really didn't mean it that way. I know sometimes we just have a feeling and sometimes it's worth trying for it. I'm in the same boat as you as far as that part goes. And I wanted to still try but our RE really explained to me how bad my chances were. The ectopic was the worse thing I've ever been thru in my life and I never want to repeat that. So we stopped on our own. It is totally your choice alone. I just wanted to let you know what I was told. Sometimes it's really hard to except the bad. I had that with this last ivf. It was very hard for me to just come to terms that it just wasn't going to work. I kept thinking oh but what if the others catch up then I could get 4-5 follies. We just need to grasp onto something. I just hope that very soon we will all have our little babies and we won't have to ever go thru all of this ever again.

And with af I totally agree! My RE hasn't ever really gone into detail about asking about my af. My acu does every single month. I think that Eastern medicine tends to look at details more than Western. And she is so right with things that sometimes our doctors overlook. I totally trust her 100%. It does make sense if you think about it. She worked on me Wednesday to get my blood moving so I'd get more af. And it kinda worked. Last night I had terrible back pains and cramps. And started to have some red spotting. Hopefully today it will turn into flow. That was really the first RED that I had this cycle. Hopefully it'll clear out. I start stims on the 26th still.

And I am fortunate to have such great support here. I wish that no of us needed to be here but I am comforted to know that if we need to use donor eggs I have some great women here to help me thru that all. My sister and I talked a bit yesterday about timing. She said she would be ready in 4-6 months. She wants to switch jobs but she should be our donor first since the job she has now would accomodate ivf much better. She wants to go back to bartending which would be aweful for stimming not to mention you can't really take off time at a new job. She wasn't planning to leave right away. So I think that makes her want to do it more like 4 months or less. I don't want to rush her but I also want her to be as comfortable as possible so it is easier on her. Oh and her job is right down the street from one of the clinics. But where she lives is no where near one.(she lives in Chicago but the nearest clinic is in downtown and far) She drives far for work but at least she'd have one right there. So we'll see how things go with our ivf. We wouldn't be ready for another ivf donor or not until at least January anyway so timing would be good. Guess we'll just wait and see!

Sarah

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum - I did not know that there were so many of us out there - my story is - went in for cyst on ovary - found out it was much worse - had both tubes and one ovary removed - did an ivf cycle in May/June - got pg - but due to low hgc - mc'd at 7wks. Just had my 2nd transfer on the 15th and I do not feel pg - last time I was extremely tired all the time - I know that they say every pgncy is different - but I am extremely nervous - when can I take a hpt? any opinions - I am thinking about taking one tomorrow or should I wait until I get closer to the day I take my beta test on the 27th?

I seen that some of you are really experienced with this and I would be extremely grateful for advice.

Dawnie:help2:

Hi Dawnie! Glad you found us but I'm sorry you've had to go it alone for so long! We are here to support however we can, just jump right in!!

As for HPTs, the hCG shot CAN stay in your system for UP TO 15 days. That said, I think it is usually gone by day 7. If you do decide to HPT, I would caution you STRONGLY against giving ANY meaning to the test until 15 days past trigger.

If you had a 3 day transfer, implantation typically occurs around day 6 (give or take), it would be way too early to teel anything yet.

Best of luck to you and I hope you'll hang out with us during the rest of your wait! :nod:

Hello girls!

Sorry I haven´t been around the past couple of days, but I had my brother visiting from FL, plus between my controls and following my donor´s check ups, I´ve been full :crazy:

Can you believe I had written a long mail right now and I don´t know what I hit and it was all gone!!! What a bummer! Oh, well, here I go again...

I have to start by admiting that when I read your mails I am having a bit of a hard time understanding your abbreviations. Sorry about it :confused: , but since it is my first time doing this and all my treatments have taken place out here in Lima... I am not familiar with the terms out there. Will someone please send me some of the most usual abbvs. so that I can understand it all?

Hi Suzi, it is pretty interesting how the treatments vary from place to place. What are you undergoing right now? I asked my doc about the baby aspirin and he said that he doesn´t "use" it out here, but that he had heard, mostly from foreigners about about it. So, he said that if it makes me feel good to take it, to go right ahead. My only question about taking it daily is that when one is pregnant, they tell you to not take any meds. I even remember hearing that if you have a headache, you should suffer it out, to avoid putting the baby on risk. So, how is that a daily med like this one doesn´t compromise the baby? Regarding the way they give you out here the Progesterone in tabs is also different, but after being so worried about my endometrium not growing fast enough... all of the sudden it started to grow beautifly! I was quite concerned that the treatment could go sour because of it, but thank God, all is going well and I am now schedule so far for my transfer next Tuesday,the 25th :crossfing .

Hi Sarah, yes, the progesterene suppositories are horrible, mostly because it is messy and it is no fun to keep on inserting them! I will get started on them tomorrow after my donor gets done. I am excited for you too... :yippee: it sounds like you are moving right along! Best luck to you and I am sure that everything will work out. If for any reason your last chance is with a donation, be happy that at least you have your sister to help you through it. That alone would be a true blessing! On anothet token, you also mentioned the 81 mg aspirin, so I think I am going to give it a try. As I mentioned before, my concern was mostly taking a med on a daily basis, but if everyone is doing it and it helps... I´ll try it too. My prayers are with you!

Hi Angela, so happy to hear your good news!!! It will certainly help with your economy. At this point having to pay for all my treatments out of my packet, I am nearly bankrupt :owow:. Best of luck to you!

Hi Kimberly, yes, I am very fortunate to have found such good donor. She is so very responsible and truly is an awesome girl. She is beautiful inside out and a very sensitive person about this whole thing. I feel I was pretty blessed to have found her. The way I found my donor was very unusual because in most cases the donor is supposed to be unknown to the recipient, but in my case, I got tired of the months going by and not having my doctor find the right one, with the characteristics I wanted. So, one day I decided to do my own search and started contacting "donors" from a list of emails that was given to me and for several days I went visiting malls, universities, coffe shops, etc. in search of my donor. However, I must tell you that when I found her (sitting on a bench chatting with a girlfriend), I knew deep in my heart that she was the one!:sunny: I immediately felt something in my heart and we exchanged info and within 3 days she was at my docs office and the next day doing all the tests required. To my surprise, without my knowledge (yet) she even had my blood type! I knew that God had sent her to be my little :angel: !!! She has also produced 17 follicles so far and they are all growing pretty evenly and her endometrium is great too. My doc says that it is a good sign of excellent quality eggs :ura1: !

Hi Dawnie, welcome! It is so nice to see our "family" keep on growing! Best of luck to you and try to keep a possitive mind. Remember that it has been proven that your state of mind has a lot to do with the response you´ll get.

Hi Amanda and best of luck to you too!!! I hope that very soon you´ll have excellent news for us all. My prayers are with you.

Hi Okie, what a bummer to have to wait... believe me I know the feeling! But I am sure that God will compensate your patience and things always happen for a reason... So stay positive and know that when the time is right it will move right along.

I sure hope to have gotten you all... if I havent please know that I am with all of you and if I can be of any help or if any of you need some advise, I am happy to help...

Will greatly appreciate your prayers!

A big hug,

Vyonne :pray:

Hi Kimberly, yes, I am very fortunate to have found such good donor. She is so very responsible and truly is an awesome girl. She is beautiful inside out and a very sensitive person about this whole thing. I feel I was pretty blessed to have found her. The way I found my donor was very unusual because in most cases the donor is supposed to be unknown to the recipient, but in my case, I got tired of the months going by and not having my doctor find the right one, with the characteristics I wanted. So, one day I decided to do my own search and started contacting "donors" from a list of emails that was given to me and for several days I went visiting malls, universities, coffe shops, etc. in search of my donor. However, I must tell you that when I found her (sitting on a bench chatting with a girlfriend), I knew deep in my heart that she was the one!:sunny: I immediately felt something in my heart and we exchanged info and within 3 days she was at my docs office and the next day doing all the tests required. To my surprise, without my knowledge (yet) she even had my blood type! I knew that God had sent her to be my little :angel: !!! She has also produced 17 follicles so far and they are all growing pretty evenly and her endometrium is great too. My doc says that it is a good sign of excellent quality eggs :ura1: !



That's so amazing how you found her! And good for you for having the motivation and assertiveness to do it on your own. What's funny is that I was at a restaurant with my husband and few months back and this woman walked in. She couldn't have been older than 25, and she looked so much liked me. I joked with my husband about which one of us was going to go over to her and ask if she wanted to be my donor. We both laughed, completely sure that it was out of the question to do something like that. If I had heard your story earlier, it might have given me motivation to do it. I just imagined that she would look at me and think I was insane. :dunno: I had to have an ad placed to find my donor. I was looking for an African/Hispanic mix and can you believe had a hard time finding it in a big city like Boston? In any case, my *hoped for* donor is Carribean and Panamanian, which is great! I'm Afro-Cuban. I'm just wondering, are you Peruvian and/or does your donor match your hereditary make-up?

Dawnie~:welcome: Suzi had it right about when to take the HPT. During my several IVFs :rolleyes: I chose not to use an HPT and waited for my bloodtest. Also, you're right, every pregnancy is different. From being on these threads for so long and from knowing other woman who've gone through this, I would suggest to not even concern yourself with your symptoms too much. I've known woman who had given up, calling their cycle a bust, and found out she was pregnant, while others who had every pregnancy symptom, weren't pregnant. This 2 week wait is the tough part. Hang in there. I wish you the best.

Sarah~You weren't at all pushy. You just really helped me along with something that was already in my thoughts, I just wasn't listening. I thank you for that. :bighug:

Kimberly

Wow Vyonee, things are moving along for you! What a wonderful story about how you found your donor - and that you felt she was the "right" one!

The 81mg aspirin is not harmful for baby, it merely thins your blood just slightly in order to facilitate implantation and placenta nourishment better. You keep taking it one tablet daily until around week 9 of pregnancy, make sure it's 81mg aspirin.

I am waiting to start IVF#7 in January. It will be our final attempt. Between now and then, we will be doing some testing on both me and DH. I tested positive twice for thrombolytic problems (meaning blood clots form between me and the placenta effectively cutting it off from blood flow) but we are not sure if that positive was real or not. I will do the test one last time and we weill take the 3rd answer as the final. DH has to do several SAs because our last SA was VERY irregular and our last cycle from 5 eggs retrieved we had NONE to transfer back. Normally we have an excellent fertilization rate so something was up with our last IVF cycle. We will do several SAs over the next three months to see if there is an identifiable trend.

Hmmm a list of abbreviations. I'll do all I can think of, I'm sure I'll miss a few:

IVF: invitro fertilization
ER: estimated retreival
ET: estimated transfer
FET: frozen embryo transfer
PG: pregnant
PGY: pregnancy
DE: donor egg cycle
SA: semen analysis
DH: dear husband
PIO: progesterone in oil
BCP: birth control pills
m/c: miscarriage
u/s: ultrasound

Thank you everyone for responding to my cry for help - I decided not to take the hpt and to wait - I will probably take it the morning of my blood test - that is what I did the last time - I do have some twinges in my lower abs - I had one 3 day and one 2 day transferred. My test is scheduled for the 27th - 6 days away!! -:grouphugg

Thanks for the abbreviations! Some of them are very confusing.

Dawnie

Hi Suzi,

Yes indeed! things are flying and consider myself quite fortunate to have taken the initiative to go and find a donor that I felt right about.

I will definitely start taking my 81 mg aspirin right after my transfer on Tuesday. Anything to help with my placenta nourishment ;)

I wish you all the luck for your next treatment in January. It will happen in no time... you´ll see. Have you considered having a donor at all? My doc told us that when you are over 35 your chances increase when you go thru donation. Maybe, since you would consider it your last chance, it may not be a bad idea to consult your doctor and see what he says.

Thank you so much for taking the time to send the abbreviations. Now I can speak your same language :) !!!

Vyonne

Hi Kimberly,

Well, when my doc suggested ovodonation, I was a bit skeptical with not knowing who would be giving me something as precious as their eggs, and I felt that I wanted to have a part on something so important in my life. However, I waited a few months (4) and when I was that the doc kept on telling that he still had not found a girl with my physical characteristics (tall, slim, blonde and green eyed) I decided to do my own search... specially knowing how picky I can be and how impatient too!!!

As I said before, I was most lucky (blessed) to have found her and from that point on... everything was smooth as can be. This girl is tall, slim, blonde and blue eyed, but in my family we have green and blue eyes, so I figured it was ok, plus she is a doll inside out. She definitely does match my hereditary make-up.

When I read all you are having to go thru with your donor, I can only imagine what I would have done if that would have been my case. I´d go nuts :eek: Plus being 45 already, every month that went by was like a century to me and became more and more anxious. I think my personality also helps... nothing stops me when I am set to doing something. I wish I would have posted my story earlier, so that you would have approached that 25 year old that walked into the restaurant. When I approached girls for this procedure, I would simply tell them that I was a "recruiter" and that I would not want them to feel offended at all, cause it was totally open, voluntary and for a nice cause... and when you mention $$$$, specially to younger women, they´d listen. Here in Lima, Peru, there are lots of girls with your physical description. I´m sure you would have had no hard times at all, but if you now have one, lets pray so that she is the one for you. But ask the agency to stress out to her that it is important that she shows responsability and maturness about this whole thing. I am even thinking about doing a non profit org to help other women that go thru this terrible ordeal in their searches... we´ll see :sunny:

Well on Tuesday I will know how many I will be getting transferred and how many will get frozen (just in case). My doc will keep me informed day to day about their progress. So please lets keep our fingers crossed!!! :crossfing

Lots of luck to you and please keep us posted ;)

Vyonne

I only have a second...

My period was supposed to start sometime between the 18th and the 20th. Here it is the 22nd and no freaking period. What the hell? I'm never late. And no, I am not pregant. I promise. As long as my stupid period comes by monday am, we're still on schedule. So, I'm starting to stress (which of course will only delay things more)

Is this common with Lupron? When I took it before, I was on the 'flare' protocol and didn't start in until after my period arrived. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!

Dana, Uhhh !! I am sorry. Hang in there. I know how frustrating this can be but just take a deep breath and think of only good things to come.

Dana, I can't speak for anyone else's experience but Lupron ALWAYS makes me late...and I am NEVER....EVER late. :crossfing AF shows soon!!

This time on Lupron I was only one day late - It also might be because I was only on 5cc and eveyone else would probably be on 10cc.

Vyonne I hope you have enough to freeze. That would really be wonderful Good luck!!!

Dana I'm sorry af is late. I haven't really seen af being late much with lupron. Maybe one day but that is about it. This time I actually got it one week early. So weird. I start lupron a few days to a week before af should come. I hope she shows soon.

Hi Sarah,

Well the aspiration went really well and at the end the doc got 11 matured follicles. However, for the first time my DH semen sample was aweful!!!:blue: . In all the previous attempts we had even joked about him being a stallion... but this time he had to take some meds for a couple of weeks prior to this, plus added to the stress of knowing it is our last chance, extreme stress in his business ... gave us this terrible result.

I want to stay positive until the end, in spite that so far we had to do icsi (instead of our usual IVF) and have lost 6 of the 11 we had :cry:, narrowing our chances to freeze to almost none! We attribute the loss to the bad quality sperm, because the eggs were of excellent quality. What a shame!!!

Please I ask all of you girls to help me with your :pray:, so that I get at least my 3 embryos for my tomorrow transfer

A big hug (keeping up the faith)!

Vyonne~What a great and inspiring story!

Kimberly

Vyonne, sorry your results were not exactly what you were hoping for. ALl is not lost though...you still have FIVE possible embryos!! How many will you transfer back?

Lots of prayers for you Vyonne!
Dana - I hope AF arrived!

Amanda

Kimberly,

Thank you!!! I just know that by doing it my way, it made me feel real good feeling a bit in control. I don´t know if I could have dealt with all the "privacy" protocols that surround having a ghost donor. That was just my own way of seeing things... although very unusual, I hear. And how is your donor coming along... any news???

Suzi, I know that I still have hope with the 5 left... but after so much going through (having had 11), to have things partially spoiled because of DH´s sample being terrible, comes on pretty hard. I guess, mainly because I had my heart set on freezing for the next time. And, more so, when DH NEVER before had a problem in that aspect at all :sad:. For everyone, including my doctor, this was completely out of left field!

Amanda, thank you so much! I sure need all the prayers I can get, and all of your kind support:grouphugg

Vyonne

Suzi, I know that I still have hope with the 5 left... but after so much going through (having had 11), to have things partially spoiled because of DH´s sample being terrible, comes on pretty hard. I guess, mainly because I had my heart set on freezing for the next time. And, more so, when DH NEVER before had a problem in that aspect at all :sad:. For everyone, including my doctor, this was completely out of left field!

I can relate completely...our IVF last July DH had strange things going on with his sperm and we ended up with NOTHING to transfer (when we usually have GREAT eggs and 100% fertilization!). :bighug: to you!

Vyonne~I missed your email the last time I posted. I'm so sorry. :sadhug: I'm sending my :pray: out there for you. :crossfing

No news regarding my donor. I'm just hoping that she has returned her corrected paperwork at this point and is soon to be scheduled for her medical workup. :pray: I continue to try to be patient. :rolleyes:

Kimberly

Vyonne I'm so sorry honey. I totally know how it is when something comes out of nowhere it really catch's you off guard. I think it is harder to handle that then when you know it is a possibility. That happened with the way I stimmed last time. I did well my first one so I thought I'd do at least ok this time. When they told me we'd have 2 at best I just couldn't believe we would have a cancelled cycle. If anything I was worried I'd overstim because of my polycystic ovaries and the fact they had already doubled my meds from my first ivf. It is shocking and scary. I am praying so hard for you that those 5 embies will push strong and you'll have your three to transfer and two to store.

Kimberly I'm so sorry you still have no news. I really hope that you get some good news soon. I can only try to imagine how frustrating this all is for you.

So Suzi, when is your blood test for the antibodies? I hope everything comes back ok. And when is Chris' first SA? Hopefully ditching the bike and leather will help him out.

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

You are totally right about being one thing when you expect a possibility and another when it surprises you! However, after getting a bit depressed for a little while, now I have gathered myself together and realized that I am still blessed! Looking at it from that POV, I have started by the second to feel stronger! This evening I went for a check up and found out I will not be getting transferred tomorrow as planned... instead it will happen on Thursday the 27th. I am fine with it, because doctor & biologist know best :nod: ! Plus my doc assured at my control that the 4 embryos are developing wonderfly and that they are Quality I, which was great to hear.

Thanks for your continued prayers!!!

Hi Kimberly,

Thank you for your "hug", prayers and good wishes!!! As I said before in Sarah´s message, I am doing better now after talking to my doctor this evening. I know that if everything had been going on great, there is no reason for me to doubt the end results. I guess we are all human, and no matter how strong... we still may have our moments of weekness. Now I am ready to see things differently and have accepted that God has something else in storage for me and He must know why he doesn´t want me to freeze. I am still very fortunate to be able to undergo my transfer in a couple of days! :awink:

Regarding your donor, I hope (for your sake) that she has returned the paper work in order and that you will not have to face further delays. I too will be :pray: for you! I sure wish you wre out here... we´d have a donor for you at no time!!! But don´t worry, you´ll soon have everything ready to start your treatment.

Thanks for your continued prayers!!!

Hi Suzi,

Must be in the air then... :confused: because like with your hubby, my DH had never before had a problem! Thanks for the big hug... it sure feels great to receive so much support at a time like this one! Now that I have a couple more days before my Thursday´s transfer, I am going to fill my heart and soul with positive vibes! I know I had to get over the hump... and now I am ready to conquer the world :thumbsup:!

Last night I barely slept with all the anxiety (was up from 2:45 am on), so now after feeling right again, I am sure that I will sleep like a baby! Need to recup my energies, so that I can offer a nice and warm nest for the BBs that will be getting transferred :love2:

I started spotting yesterday - the day AF is due - and I broke down and took a hpt and it came out -BFN- haven't told anyone yet not even DH - but I am not holding out any hope that the blood test will come back +++ - I just feel like I am getting AF - my boobs do not hurt anymore - I just have a lower back pain and mild cramps - I hope everyone else will have great sucess -and I will post with the official news.

:sad: :tantrum: :badwords:

I am just so upset about this.

Dawnie

Dawnie :bighug: I'm sorry

Vyonne -It sounds like you are doing a bit better. We've never had male factor problems either. Its been one of my fears this time arround. I just scheduled my poor husband for his semen analysis.

As for me, my period started Sunday. I went in for my estrogen check yesterday. I got a call from the nurse in the afternoon. I could tell something wasn't quite right. She said my estrogen was too high. Which shocked me. The reason my first IVF was cancelled was because me estrogen was too low. The lupron had done too good of a job last time shutting everything down. The nurse told me they would add a progesterone and pregnancy test to yesterdays blood draw. I'm not pregnant! The timing is waaaaaay off. And I've just had two very heavy days on my period. :tearhair:

I asked what it would mean when the test comes back negative for pregnancy. She said probably nothing. I must just have a high estrogen level, and thats one of the reasons I can't get pregnant naturally. *sigh* I'm trying not to worry, but every worse case senario is running through my head. Did I get a bad batch of Lupron? Am I injecting incorrectly? Am I so *old* I shouldn't even try? I just wanna cry. I keep reminding myself this is why they do the mock cycle. So they can get everything right before the real thing.

Continued prayers Vyonne!
Dawnie - I'm so sorry.
Dana - I hope everything's ok!
Sarah - Are you starting tomorrow???

Amanda

Dawnie I'm so sorry honey. :(

Dana I guess it's a really good thing they did a mock cycle first. I'm sure they can figure out how to get you in a normal range by then. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that they will be able to figure it out by next cycle.

Amanda yep tomorrow is my start of stims. I can't believe it. It just dawned on me that Sat will be my first progress check. I guess it is coming much faster than I thought. Nov seems so far away but it is next week! Today I will be doing a lot of relaxtion and put every positive vibe I have into this. My acupuncturist suggested a couple weeks back that I really try to connect to the soul of our baby. To let him/her know we are really ready for them. Heck I'll try anything at this point.:lol: so I've been doing a lot of that kind of thing too. Just telling my body it is ready to hold a baby and tell our baby we are ready for him/her. Hopefully that will help. Heck it can't hurt, right?

Oh and Amanda I just love seeing your ticker. :)

Sarah

Hello girls,

Well my doc is driving me nuts with all the date changes!!!:crazy: Yesterday on my last check up he stated that the transfer would take place this coming Thursday (27) morning... now he calls me and says: "Get ready for tomorrow noon" :yippee:. His decision was made based on the embryos looking great today and he feels they are ready for tomorrow! He decided that it will be best to transfer :pteddy: :pteddy: :pteddy: instead of the usual 2 that he did in the past!!! I am nervous, but very, very excited... I have lots of faith that this time.... it´s my time :victory:

Oh Dawnie, I am so sorry :sadhug: and understand your being upset! We go thru so much and when the results are a negative its hard to find comfort. After having so many previous disappointments myself, I can only advise you to NOT GIVE UP. Remeber that "each dawn is a new beginning". We are here for you to give you lots of TLC and help you keep on fighting...

Thank you Amanda, I need all the prayers I can get :pray: !!!

Hi Dana, yes I am feeling lots better :aok: ... I guess my visit to the doctor´s yesterday and realizing that no matter what... I was lucky to have a possibility, made me be grateful with God and leave everything on His hands.

Now regarding your comments about your estrogen being elevated... I would run a second test, just in case. Also, you may want to ask your doctor is you may get for next time the Lupron in one single shot instead of the daily dosis. Some doctors don´t like the single applicaction because they can´t control it in case having to lessen the dosage, but this time I did single shot. The most important thing is not to over worry. You mentioned maybe being too old... how old are you? Because remember that it gets to a point when our only choice is getting a donor to achieve our dream. I send you a big :hug1: and remebre that the state of mind is very important!

Sarah - Thanks! I'm crossing all crossables and saying a few prayers for your upcoming cycle. I really, really hope you get your miracle!!!
Vyonne - Sorry about the drama with the date changing but it sounds like things are going GREAT!!! Fingers crossed and prayers being said for your transfer!!!

Amanda

Amanda, thanks again for your kind support, good wishes and continued prayers!!! I am totally ready for my transfer!:yippee:

Vyonne

Dawnie~I am so sorry. It is painful and awful for any woman to find themselves with a BFN after something like this. Although you will still need to do what's in your best interest to comfort yourself, please know that we have all shared that same pain and we are all here to help get you through this. :sadhug:

Dana~For starters, you are NOT too old. And that's all I'm going to say about that!. . .(Forrest Gump) :nod: Remember, that you have concieved once and you will D*&m well do it again. But isn't it so strange how these just totally wierd things happen? Hell, I'm at the point where I can't figure a darn thing out about my body anymore. Sometimes I wonder if it's the long term effects of all the drugs I've taken throughout all my IUIs and IVFs or if it's just me and the normal effects of my reproductive system going through it's normal process of aging. :dunno: But really Dana, estrogen levels and things like that can be corrected. . .and that's a good thing. And it's great that you've done a mock cycle. To put a silver lining on it, it's good that this wasn't the real thing. Now your Dr. can tweak (I know, not the perfect word) to make you totally ready for your DE cycle?

Vyonne~What great news. :clap: I'm so happy for you. It sounds like your "chosen" one has helped you to have great embryos. Keep the faith babe. :dude:

Tomorrow evening my husband and I are scheduled for a conference call with the lawyer who will be going through all the paperwork with us regarding all the legalities of what is expected of us (it will also include us writing a check :rolleyes: ), what is expected of the donor, etc. The document is called, "The Anonymous Egg Donor Agreement" and it outlines things like what should happen if the donor withdraws at the last moment, our payments and any refunds that would occur if she withdraws, anonymity and disclosure, future contact between parties, insurance coverage, etc.

Yesterday, my husband and I also had an appointment with our IF Dr. where we signed some other forms regarding freezing, amount of embroyo transfer, what we would do with the embryos if one of us were to pass away, etc. Oy vie. So many documents to sign. So much to think about. :confused: :tongue2:

O.K. so now, I'm doing my part. . .and I sit here and I send positive, thankful, and motivational vibes to our donor who I hope in the end will be on board, eagar, and responsible in this process. :crossfing

Kimberly

Kimberly - I remember filling out all that paperwork regarding frozen embryos, too. I should have realized that there were all sorts of legal implications to using a donor! We're all hoping that she's on the ball and things start moving forward!

Amanda

Kimberly, I hope your donor gets with it...I can't imagine leaving all those things to someone else's care, how difficult!

Vyonne, thinking of you and hoping all went well! :aok:

Dana~For starters, you are NOT too old. And that's all I'm going to say about that!. . .(Forrest Gump) :nod:

I should have clairified - I know I'm not chrologically too old. Its just that my ovaries are old. Hell - they were failing when I was only 31!!!

More ups and downs for me. More mentally exhausting than anything. My period was four days late. I had my estrogen check on monday. It was high. Which was very surprising, since my first IVF cycle was cancelled because my estrogen was too low. They ran a progesterone and pregnancy test on monday. The pregnancy test was negative (duh) and progesterone was OK. The nurse said I must just have high estogen, and thats another reason why I can't get pregnant natually. I got to start my estrogen patch last night. Call me estrogen woman! I'll go in Friday for another estrogen check.

I'm worried that my periods have become so light. I'm so worried I'll have lining issues. I'm working with an acupunturist on that. Worry, worry, worry....it never stops.....

Kimberly - it sounds like you've had to do a lot more paperwork than we have (It must vary from state to state). We had to decide what to do with our 'leftovers' (since that is now federally regulated) but thats it. Gad -It hadn't even occured to me to think about what to do with possible embros if either Dave or I died.

I'm losing it. I just relized I already posted an update from Monday. I'm loony! I blame the estrogen.

We had to fill out the frozen papers with what should happen if one of us die, divorse, or if we both die. I guess there is a lot to cover there!

Dana I hope that your next draw goes much better. I totally know what you mean on how you aren't old but your body is. Mine is the same way. I hope that your lining gets better!

Vyonne, how are you doing?

Sarah

Vyonne - how are you doing?

Dana - how are things progressing?

Sarah, Carla, Goo & Julia - what is next for you guys?

As for me I am waiting for the results of the beta today - I tried to take another hpt about 3am and dropped the whole thing in the toilet!! I was so tried and really had to go. I bought one of the digital one and have one more test left - but I couldn't use it.

If this comes out neg I will take a few months off and start again next year. So far everything is still working I will probably need to have another FHS test in Jan. I had my 40th B'day last Sat. I really can't beleive it I still think of myself as being much younger. Do you guys remember when you use to hear that some was 30 and thought that they were OLD!

Thanks for the support I really apreciate it. It is comforting to know that I am not alone. I just have one question - what does RE mean?

Dawnie :happyhal:

I'm worried that my periods have become so light. I'm so worried I'll have lining issues. I'm working with an acupunturist on that. Worry, worry, worry....it never stops.....

At my last Drs appointment, that was exactely what we talked about! I told him that I was very concerned about this and was told that with the DE process. . . .the estrogen shots & patch, coming in for lining checks, etc. that if you have lining issues, they will all be *corrected* and monitored to insure the lining is nice and ready before a transfer.

Dawnie~Hang in there girl! :hug99: I do remember turning 30. I was single and millions of mental miles away from thinking about having a relationship with any guy or having children. I did run to the local drugstore and buy some sort of anti-aging face creams though. :thumbsup: I wonder, did I use RE in one of my posts. :scratch: If I did, I meant to use RN (for nurse).

Kimberly

Dawnie - Good luck on your Beta today. Looking forward to hearing from you again today:)

It was a :bfn: ! - but I already knew that - I will definately check in on everyone atleast once a week and hope to be included in the Jan/Feb/March Buddies.

I thank each and everyone of you for you insights and advise and I wish everyone great sucess.

Dawnie :thumbsup:

Oh Dawnie I'm so sorry it was negative.:( I'm sending you lots of hugs honey. by the way RE is reproductive endocrinologist. The specialists who do all our IVF's and such. I hope that when you are ready to jump in again everything will work perfectly.

I started stims last night and go in on SAt for my first progress check.

I'm so sorry to hear about your BFN. I was praying that it would be a BFP. By the way, Happy Belated Birthday. Enjoy your holidays.

Dawnie, I am so sorry! I hope you'll stick with us in the meantime - you can help keep me company until I start my cycle in Jan/Feb! :aok: I know what you mean about not feling old...I am about to turn 39 and don't feel a day older than the day I graduated high school. Wiser for sure, but certainly not any older.

Sarah, praying for lots of good things between now and Saturday!

Dana - I'm sorry for all the worry. I hope your results tomorrow are good.
Dawnie - I'm so sorry for the BFN. Happy belated birthday.
Sarah - Crossing everything for your progress check!

Amanda

Dawnie~I'm really sorry. :sadhug: Take all the time you need, but whether you're cycling or not, this is a great place for support and information.

I am about to turn 39 and don't feel a day older than the day I graduated high school. Wiser for sure, but certainly not any older.

Geez, you said it! I think if there is any reason for me to feel old, it's because in this crazy world of IF, the Drs keep wanting to use that damn word. . .OLD!! :rolleyes: Whatever. . .I still get carded. :banana:


Sarah~Wishing you the best! :thumbsup:

Vyonne~I'm hoping that things are going well for you.

We did the lawyer conference call last night. It wasn't too bad. We changed/added a couple of lines. Such as "DONOR shall update MOTHER and FATHER, through Attorney. . .., if the DONOR or anyone in her immediate family develops a medical condition that may genetically relavant to the CHILD. . . ." This lawyer also works for the donor to insure that we are in agreement with everything. Per the donors request, should we both pass away with frozen embroyos in store, they should not be given to other couples but instead used for research or disgarded. So much to think about. Imagine. . ..simply getting pregnant, having a baby, and that's that. What an elusive thing. :scratch: I was so tempted to call the clinic today to find out the status of the donor. Had she completed and turned in the corrected paperwork? Did she have an appointment? I didn't call--I didn't want to hear bad news. I'm making every attempt to have a nice evening with DH. (I've been so sad I haven't paid much attention to him). I think I will give it another week. I just finished AF so I won't even be thinking about starting the pill again for another 3 weeks or so. . .so I have time. I just continue to hope that things are moving along. :dunno:

Kimberly

Hi, all! I've mostly been lurking around the board lately, trying not to think about this too much! There sure has been a lot happening on the board. I hope we have lots of happy news soon.

Yvonne -- Welcome! I hope things go well for you!

Dawnie -- I'm so sorry for you. I've had two failed IVF's this year & it is really depressing.

Kimberly -- It does seem strange that some people just decide to have a baby & get pregnant. When you have IF, it is such a commitment to try to have a baby. Other people just commit to being pregnant & having a child. With IF, you commit to an unknown journey that may or may not even work out to produce a pregnancy.

Dana -- I know what you mean about the "old ovaries" thing. I am only 32, but my ovarian function seems to have decreased a lot from the last time we did IVF 3 years ago. My doctor thinks that either the function is decreased or we got lucky when it worked before.

Sarah -- How are stims going? We are getting ready to start stims next week, so I think that I will be about a week behind you. I think that I was a little ahead of you when we started cycles in September. Hopefully, this time will have better outcomes for both of us!

I had an HSG done last week, which was fine & a BUNCH of bloodwork, 14 tubes. By the time that she got through, my arm was going numb! If everything is o.k. with that, then I'll start my lupron probably Wednesday & stims on Friday. The funny thing is that my husband hasn't traveled since we finished our last cycle & he's supposed to be out of town most of the first week of my stims, which means trying to find someone else to give my shot. I just laughed when I realized that. Life is funny!

Kimberly I hope that things are moving well. And I hope you had a nice evening.:)

Well I'm not sure anything is really going on with me. Because of all my adheasions and endo oh and scar tissue I am always having pain, thru my whole cycle.But when I stim I am in a lot of pain. Today I have nothing. Some super super light af type cramps but no pain like I usually have. Tonight will be the third day of stims.(still early) But I'm on twice the dose and I felt more by now for the last cycle. I certainly am not saying this is a bust, way too early for that. Just simply preparing myself to hear not so good news tomorrow morning. I don't expect to feel a lot of pain but usually by now I feel a lot of discomfort and I don't have that same feeling at all. So we'll see. Just have to wait and see how the next several days goes. good news is that the gonal F doesn't seem to be giving me any hives like the follistim was. I haven't had a single hive from the two shots I've done so far. Not even redness. :) So that is good! I'll keep you guys updated when I hear something tomorrow.

Sarah

Sarah :crossfing

Carla, glad to see you posting! Hope your new cycle ends up better than the last... :nod:

Sarah, I know you had a progress check today...hope all is well!

Thanks Suzi.:)


Well my first scan went ok, a not so great ok. I have about 8 follies but it seems they aren't close in size. I knew that since I haven't been in my pain. they kept my dose high until Monday so we'll see at that scan. I'm bummed that on twice the dose as last time we are still in the same boat. We very well might get cancelled again.:( I just don't get it. This is 3x the amount I was on for my first ivf where I did well. I cried when I got home and told Brandon. I just needed to let it all out. The stress of all this and the disappointments that just keep coming. I'm not giving up yet. Maybe by Monday we'll get better news that more of them are growing closer together. Brandon wants to go ahead with this cycle if we have 4-5 good follies. He really wants our baby to be biologically ours. And of course I do too. He wants to give it a shot. So I guess if we can get 5 we will just do it and pray for the best. If we were doing regular ivf I would be ok with 5. still disappointed but ok with it. But with the PGD and the history of problems I have we really need as many as we can get. We have to push them to day 5. And the fact of my problems we know that they won't all make it that far. Not to mention we can expect a good number to not pass the genetic screening. I just hope that we get two that make it to transfer free of genetic problems. I felt much better after crying and just letting it all out. Sometimes I hold it in too much trying to ignor the feelings I have and that isn't good.

So I'll be back sometime on Monday with an update. Hopefully it will be a better one. The tech I see during the weekdays is much better at giving me info. The other techs don't offer anything and I have to pry out of them the info and even then they are very vague. But Monday I'll see Nataly and she'll fill me in.:)

Carla - That's great that you're getting ready to start again!
Sarah - I'm sorry that your scan wasn't better. Fingers crossed for better news on Monday.

Amanda

thanks Amanda it could still turn around. We've got a little time and hopefully some will take off.

So how are you feeling?

Sarah - I'm crossing my fingers that things progess for you. :crossfing

Carla - I'm happy that things are starting for you!

My estrogen check on Friday came back 'perfect'! *phew* I now have on two estrogen patches. On Wednesday, I'll put on four! Where am I going to fit all of these things? I swear every time I give myself my lupron shot, I hit a vein. My thighs are covered in bruises. I know, I should start giving them in the belly.

Sarah, hope things are looking up by Monday! :crossfing

Dana, I can't even imagine giving shots in my legs...switch to the belly, girl!! I swear it doesn't hurt - half the time I don't even feel it! :nod:

Carla~Nice to hear from you! Wow! 14 tubes of blood drawn. I know I would have fainted at that point. Life is funny isn't it? :scratch: :rolleyes: :awink:

Sarah~I was talking to a friend the other day about crying, saying that I don't cry enough. I get angry, pouty, and then I usually start having those horrible and unproductive thoughts about how I must have been cursed or done something really bad in my past. But when I do fine myself crying, it does often feel as if I've been cleansed. I was reading an article called, "Tears are for the Soul". It talked about how there is strength in tears. Anyway Sarah, I'm so sorry about the pain that you're feeling. That sure doesn't make this whole process any easier. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you in this cycle. :crossfing

Dana~:clap: Congratulations on a perfect estrogen check! What a difference a day makes huh? . . .and more drugs of course. :biggrin: Supposedly, whenever this damn cycle takes place, I'll be doing estrogen shots and patches as well. My husband usually gives me the shots in my thigh and I think it was Suzi who suggested the belly to me as well. I actually go back and forth alternating between the belly and thighs. . .to help with the bruising. But for me, I'm still a chicken shit with the shots and they seem to always sting regardless. :dunno:

I decided to call the IVF clinic on Friday afternoon to find out the status of the donor. It wasn't good news. :blue: She evidently had not yet turned in the corrected paperwork. I was glad that I made the phone call on a Friday afternoon because I promply left work after that. So then I called the donor agency. I had a long conversation with the woman at the donor agency (Christine) and ultimately felt better afterwards. In short, Christine was very understanding and seem to know exactely how I was feeling because she addressed those feelings before I even really had the chance to burst out. She let me know that it's her job to make sure each donor is up to this and told me (like she has before) that the donor was very apologetic and always been available and easy to reach, returns phone calls, etc. I guess the donor had left the paperwork at her job and that stalled her and etc. , etc. Christine told the donor point blank, that if this is not a good time for her that she should tell Christine right now so that we (the intended parents) could go on and look for another donor. Evidently she told Christine that she was absolutely sure that this is what she wants to do, she's thought about it for a long time, she is absolutely ready and from her initial reading of our profile, she really likes us and quote "would not do anything to jeapordize this cycle for us." Before I could say it, Christine pointed out that there is a bit of a decrepency with how she acts (dragging her feet so to speak) and what she says but Christine said that it is her job to feel these donors out and Christine is confident that the donor will come through for us. I guess the latest "ultimatum" is that the donor has to send the paperwork in on Monday and if she doesn't, Christine told her that their going to have to consider that she doesn't really want to do this. And so, I'm supposed to call Christine next week to check in and see if the donor has indeed sent in the completed paperwork. :pray: Geez, you know, why? why? why? Once again, I sit here and struggle with staying positive. . .but the reality is, I don't have any other choice.

Kimberly

Hi Ev