Long Term TTC & Assisted Conception - April/May 2009

:hello: Morning Ladies,

Well update for me is we will do an FET next period so should be early May. As my previous embies didn't thaw I don't have any hopes with it as that way there is no let down, if we can get 2 to thaw we will put 2 back otherwise just 1 which would be better than nothing I would just be happy to get something to thaw.

If that doesn't work or happen we will do a stim cycle in June.

But for this month we are on our own !!! I might buy and actual ovulation kit maybe that would help ??? Anyway my suggestion to hubby was dtd twice a day I will stand on my head after to help the swimmers get there and maybe we can create a miracle ha ha! Wouldn't that be a neat trick! I have read so much info on how to improve sperm quality it unbelievable and it all contradicts itself, one says caffeine helps the others say it doesn't OMG can they ever get it right???

Anyway I hope you all have a great day, I am off to pick up easter bunny supplies mmmmmmm, be better if I actually ate chocolate too!

Hi everyone,

Sorry i havn't been around much - i have been lurking though!

Selfish post....

I caved and POAS this am - 13 dpEPU and 9 dpET (blastie) there was a definate faint second line within 5 min..... oh my god ..... do you think this might be it..... i have never seen a second line before!!!!!

will BBL with personnals but had to tell someone!!!!

xxBella

Bella55 that is great news.....I hope it turns out to be a BFP for you!!!

Hi Everyone!:hello:

Big congrats to you Lani and 2 Mums!:leap:
Bella fingers (and toes) crossed for you!:crossfingers:
Boc - I am pretty much at the same stage as you I think - but I didn't have to do the nasal spray - thank God by the sounds of your side effects!
And to everyone else (there is so many of you all) - I hope things are going well for you what ever part if your cycle you are at!!:goodluck:

AFM- I have been patiently waiting for AF to appear so I could call the clinic to start my first ever IVF cycle (yay) and of course she was 2 weeks late - anyway after she arrived I called the clinic and I am having my blood test done tommorrow at 9am and will then find out when I can start on my injections. I was so annoyed with all the waiting and now the time has arrived I am getting nervous and excited all at once. I know we are sooo much closer now than ever:confetti:

I guess I am going to have a lot more to write about now that it is all happening - I bought a camcoder to document the journey to share with our future children to show them the amazing way they were conceived!

Take care everyone, Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter everyone! Have a safe and happy one! And good luck wherever you are at.

Oooh Bella!!!!!! :crossfingers: my fingers, toes and everything else I possibly can for you that you get your BFP!!!

Now ladies this brings up a debate for me.

To pee or not to pee, that is the question!

I have been told a number of times that I really shouldn't POAS whilst doing the IVF for fear of false positives etc, but more and more people seem to be doing it. So should I or not? And if so, when should I? Stupid ignorant me thought they only worked AFTER the date your period was due anyway but I have a friend who does them every month on day 21 of her cycle so I'm really confused here.

Hey Mahli we may end up being 2WW buddies! Thank your lucky stars you didn't get stuck with the Synarel. I decided to spoil myself tonight but ended up wasting perfectly good Pizza (ewwww yukkk sorry :tmi: hehehe) but feeling pretty crapola right about now.

Have a great Easter peoples and hope the Easter Bunny is generous but also don't forget the reason for the season!

Hi,

New member here. Trying to conceive for the last 3.5 years. Got pregnant naturally after almost 2 years of trying which we lost at 12 weeks. Started IVF in 11/08 and got 20 eggs with 7 good embryos. First fresh transfer didn't take. Planning on a FET this month. I'm already annoyed with my IVF provider. They made a few mistakes on the first cycle which hasn't done much for my confidence. Tried to phone in for day 1 of FET today but couldn't get through to accounts despite sitting on hold for 30 minutes, trying again and finally leaving a message. Reception wouldn't let me speak to the nurse until account was paid which I was trying to do but couldn't! Anyway, they seem to be a very popular provider and have only heard good feedback but am annoyed and stressed all the same. Hoping they'll be open on the long weekend. I'm sure everything will work out but felt the need to vent all the same.

Howdy all,

Welcome to all the newies! Congrats to the Lani! Yey - great Easter Bunny present!

The POAS debate is an interesting one - sounds good Bella:pray: - I always POAS as I couldn't stand to find out the dreaded news on the phone - especially receiving the call at work...and especially since I never get AF before beta test so would always be thinking if it worked - atleast a POAS warns me/prepares me!!! I buy them off ebay - nice and cheap and reliable! And it is always in the back of my mind that a faint positive could be from the trigger - mind you yet to see one yet!

So my update - got a BFN negative on Friday and am still waiting for AF to come properly - so weird as normally it comes with vengence and is full on - not sure why it isn't coming properly and basically not at all! And not much crinone coming out - maybe I'm blocked up!!! :wall: So no natural FET this month as cycle all over place - bring on May :clap:

Good luck to others in 2ww and those who are cycling!

Happy Easter - may it bring lots of 'buns' in ovens and lots of 'eggs'!

P.S - Not sure which thread it was - can't keep track! - but someone asked me how FS was monitoring diminished ovarian reserve?? It is done through blood tests at ovulation time. I've had two tests so far in 12 months to monitor it - it is low but not critically low yet. Antagonist cyle way to go though - I have 5 days on clomid then 10 or more days on gonal at 375ml and then 3 antagonist shots/ one trigger then pick up! Always average 10 eggs at pick up and normally 6 fertilise through ICSI and transfer two and 4 normally make it to freeze!!

Hi there all! After a good few months lurking, I guess it is finally time for me to tentatively pop my head in here and say hello. My story as briefly as possible goes like this - I started the depo injection shortly before our wedding which was the best thing since sliced bread at the time, until we decided to ttc. I came off it May 2005 and 22 months later still hadn't had AF so was waiting for an FS appointment when lo and behold I discovered I was pg. Unfortunately this was molar so had to be terminated with the associated wait before ttc could resume. Since then, I have had irregular AF (with no sign of PCOS) and a further m/c. We have just found out that in addition to this, DH has low sperm count and motility so again, we are waiting for an FS appointment. A quick question - I have been googling like mad as the day DH did his thing, he had just come down with some nasty bug and had quite a high temp. In my google mission, everything has said that high temps in the three months preceding the test can decrease count and motility - if he had a temp the day of his test, could this account for his bad results? Either way, we still need that appt. Anywho, that is our story
Bella - I remember you from 6month+ thread, I have everything crossed for you and hoping that line is darker tomorrow!!
Looking forward to getting to know you all and hope you all have a great Easter

Well hi all, Hope everyone is having a lovely easter weekend.

As for me Af arrived today so BT tommorrow, lets hope it will truely be a good friday and I can start injecting on Sat. Unfortunately it came 2 days early which means I will need to have second bloods done while I am away in melbourne. We are staying in the city, does anyone know of a clinic in the city area? A name would help so i can arrange to have bloods and results given to my clinic in perth.

Dont eat to much chocolate now. hope everyone can take some time to relax and chill over the weekend as for me Painting DS new room to move him out of the nursery as possitive that we will be needing it soon.

Hi Melissal,

My DH has low count, motility and poor shape. His first tests came back as such so the FS ordered another test because he hadn't been feeling well and she said that this could affect his count. I believe that she said shape is genetic and can't be changed but that numbers could definitely be affected by being unwell so I wouldn't worry about it too much at all. Also, if need be there is always ICSI. Apparently using ICSI yeilds the same fertilisation rate as a normal sperm profile so again, I wouldn't stress about it. Best of luck with IVF!

JME - thanks, I am guessing he will be in for another test much to his disgust!! However, we are still waiting for the morphology results, how long should they take? We are both a bit torn really, I mean, I am really hoping for his sake that everything is normal and it was just his illness but then on the other hand, we have had the frustration of not knowing what is wrong as well. Oh well, time will tell :)

Morning ladies!

Happy Easter long weekend! Hope you're all enjoying it.

Bella55 - i think congratulations are in order! So excited for you and I have everything crossed for you

Pollyanna75 - so sorry for your BFN. 8 transfers!! Cheers to you for not giving up - you sound so positive, you must be made of strong stuff. I am in a similar situation to you - everything appears fine just no BFP. I'll be doing transfer number 5 soon. It's definately time for your BFP - best of luck.

jme - welcome. i suspect we have the same clinic. Melb IVF? Love my FS and most nurses have been great but hate hate hate the whole process with them. They only recently changed to the 'call the PLA first and pay before you can speak to anyone' - the first time this happened to me i was so shocked I cried. As if it isn't bad enough to have to call someone and say 'I got my period - here's my credit card details'?

Saph204 - You also sound very positive with your attitude. Glad AF arrived for you and best of luck for your coming cycle.

BOC - you poor baby!! You've had such a rotten time with all the drugs. Hope things get a bit easier for you. I didn't have any trouble with the drugs but did develop a mild case of OHSS towards the end. Good luck with your jabbing. And to answer your pee or not to pee question - if AF hasn't shown by 2 days before my BT i always pee - I'm the same as Polyanna - i need to know before that dreaded phone call. I'm also with you on a 'BFP Bonanza' - go girls!!

Lionfish - thanks for the welcome. Good luck with your pill popping.

JBM - go the six week challenge - hope you get results.

Sandygirl - the hardest part of IVF has always been the mental/emotional part for me. Wishing you all the strength you need.

On-track - i completely understand your being upset about a possible month off. Crossing my fingers this isn't the case for you. I hate the waiting - why are we always waiting??

xxRobxx - Good luck with trying naturally. How does that go again?? lol - think i've forgotten.....
As for improving sperm quality my husband takes zinc and folic acid and wears boxers. He's had heaps of sperm tests and each one has shown improvement. Definately give the zinc a go.

Trueblue - hi and good luck with trying naturally.

Loops - hope your TWW goes quickly. How do we not look for symptoms? Impossible!! Anything promising so far?

Melissal - Welcome and good luck. So sorry for your losses. My FS has told us that being unwell definately affects sperm quality, especially fever. Chances are his results are worse than they would normally be. I've also been told that you shouldn't rely on one test but a serious of tests. My husband has had to do three tests over a week before to get a better picture of what is actually happening.

JBM - woohoo for the 1/2kilo weight loss!

Smithy - hoping May comes quickly for you. Good luck

Ella'sMum - hope AF comes soon for you.

Mahli09 - hi and welcome. The camcorder documenting your journey for your future children is a lovely idea. Hope it's a short journey though.

AFM: AF arrived today - i think?? I have issues here. I spoke to my FS during the week and we will be going ahead with this thaw cycle as usual - but with blood tests to monitor ovulation not just the LH kit and progesterone pessaries for support. He's also order me a stack of blood tests for potential implation problems - will have the test next week and see what shows up.

Wow - massive post - if you made it to the end well done! Sorry to anyone i missed or if i mixed anyone up. :bluedust::pink-babydust: to all.

Good morning and happy Good Friday!

Melissal - I think the tests took a week or two to get the results but I'm not 100% sure. FS went away on holidays and her replacement wouldn't give us the results we had to wait longer than initially told. Unfortunately multiple tests came back with the same result for us. DH was quite upset. I was quite excited to be honest because I knew that ICSI wouldn't pretty much fix the problem as long as he wasn't zero and because I didn't want to fall in to the "unexplained" category or worse, to find out that I couldn't carry.

Infinity - yes MIVF. I wouldn't say I was looking forward to speaking to PLAs but I was anxious to pay the fee, speak to the nurse and find out what I had to do. They made mistakes on my stim cycle and I almost had to delay three months (because of Christmas shutdown). I ended up running back to the clinic the day before I was supposed to start my injections to pick up the pen and had to teach myself to do the injections with the video. It was all pretty stressful so i was hoping to avoid that this time. Now with the four day long weekend, I'm just hoping that it won't be too late to start if I only get to speak to them on day 5. It's my first FET so not sure what to expect. I looked up the process on the website and think we should be ok.

Saph204 - Good luck with the BT.

Has anyone used acupuncture? I've read some articles stating that it improves the success rate, and figured that it couldn't really hurt. Anyone know of a good one in Melbourne CBD?

Good morning lovely ladies.... HAPPY EASTER LONG WEEKEND!

Infinity - GL with all your bloods - hopefully you get some answers.

Melissal - i to remember you! we were cycle buddies a few times! - sorry to see you here. As for DH sperm - i see a naturopath who is fantastic and she was telling me about treatment for men and how effective it is - my DH sperm is ok but they wanted to start him on cholesterol tablets but apparently that can effect the sperm so she was going to give him something to balance - anyway we didn't have to as we did ICSI which overcomes any sperm issues anyway - plus i suppose they can't be that bad you have conceived naturally twice right? anyway worth checking out but also ditto zinc and folic acid...GL and take care. xx

Saph - GL with bt today and hope you can begin jabbing away!

Pollyanna - thanks for the good wishes.. sorry about the bfn but best of luck for upcoming FET.

Welcome jme

BOC - interesting debate - my understanding is you only get a flase positive if your on HCG supplementation like pregnyl.. I'm just on crinone so don't think that effects it!

Mahli - GL with you cycle just remeber to take it a little easier than usual and be extra nice to yourself throughout!

Rob - GL on your free month!

Hello to everyone else....

AFM - another BFP today within 3 min - these are tests i pinched from work (with permission from my boss!) which are 25iu tests so i think it's looking really good - DH won't believe til BT so thought i might go into work and get one done today - sooooo naughty i know! will keep you all posted - thanks for crossing fingers/toes and for all your prayers keep them up for now please!!!!!

xxBella

Just Quickly....

Bella- That is so exciting :pray::pray::stickyvibesgirl::stickyvibesboy:

Melissa- i just saw your post. Welcome. It's nice to see another familiar face (so to speak), even if under these circumstances. My DH also had not very good SA results. He was also sick the week prior to test and we conceived since then anyway (2nd ectopic). We are going for our first FS appointment on the 20th of this month. I'm guessing he is going to have another test anyway.

BBL for more persies.
DH is getting cranky that i'm not helping with the cleaning .

just wishing you all the best easter ever !! be good and be healthy and hope we get some BFP's soon .xx to all :leap:

Hey ladies

Just a quick one, to the ladies with DHs with sperm issues, have your FSs told you about Menevit? It's the male equivalent of ladies' Elevit. It is supposed to be the best for increasing sperm condition. Our FS put DH straight onto it and I have another family member who's count was only 30% and after 6 weeks on Menevit it increased to somwhere around the 80% mark. A lot of chemists etc don't carry it but most are usually happy to order it in for you. It's about the same $$ as the womens, about $20-$30 for 1 month supply or it also comes in a 90 day pack.

Happy Easter to you all and again, echoing Pollyanna's wish, lotsa aggs and "buns in the oven" WOOHOO!!!

Hi Ladies

Sorry to everyone that hasnt received good news for this Easter etc.

Jme :hello: and welcome. Don't think I have met you on here yet. GL to you

Melissa :hello: and welcome. My DH and I are in the same boat - he has poor sperm count and mobility and his count is constantly changing so it makes it hard to get the right time.

My DH is on "Menevit". His count has improved a tiny bit only but he has only been on it for 3months - if that. We get it from a chemist warehouse down here. I think I want to try him on some other things though if this IUI doesnt work out this time.

Bella - so very excited for you - its looking so good.:stickyvibesgirl::stickyvibesboy: Look forward to the proper results.

Infinity - thanks. I havent had any real major symptoms as If Im pregnant and today on 10dpo, I feel AF is just about to arrive. I have had a lot of tummy pain. Still hoping for the best but I dont think I'm going to get that BFP now. The only thing I did have that was different was pimples on weird parts of my body such as my legs.
Anyway only about a week before BT but I will probably know before then.

Goodluck to everyone, whereever you are at.

Well it's official..... HCG 137!!!!!!!!! :hooray::hooray:

DH and i have just been out for lunch.. now ready for arvo snooze!

Happy easter everyone

xxBella

YAAAAAAAAYYYYYY BELLA!!!!!!!
:hooray:
:leap:
:dance:
:happyforyou:

Here's wishing you a H & H 9months :bellygrowing:


AFM am having the worst day so far, feeling totally rotten. The only thing I seem to be able to stomach is dark chocolate and ginger ale :wtf:

And I inhereted this lovely trait from my mother whereby whenever I am sick all the capillaries around my face & neck pop which leaves the most enticing puffy blotchy look. So as you can imagine I am so hot right now :rofl: my neighbour just came around and as soon as I opened the door he went eeeewwwwww! Gee thanks.

Anyway DH has gone to hit some golf balls so I might go have a nap with the furbaby. She still loves me even though I'm deranged and ugly :lol:

Quote for the day: Gotta love it.

Who is your REAL best friend?
Lock your spouse and your dog in the boot of your car for an hour.
When you come back, who is really happy to see you?


Have a good one!

:happyforyou::confetti::confetti::happyforyou:
Yay Bella!

:dance: congrats BELLA ,well done hunny
enjoy your pg :clap:

Well done Bella, Hope everything is just wonderful for you and DH

AFM green light to go ahead start jabbing tomorrow. Blood in Melbourne on thurs and have found two collection centres within a block from our hotel. Now lets just hope no dramas with taking drugs on plane.

Hi ladies,

Well once again I find myself preparing for my 1st IVF cycle. We've had quite a few setbacks but now I just need to 'pass' my BT on Tuesday and I'll actually be starting! We managed to get some of DH's sperm frozen, somehow inbetween all his illnesses (he's had infected testicles 3 times since November) and antibiotics, some of them remained healthy enough!

So I think I'll definitely need some support in here - I had become accustomed to having to wait until about July, so now just need to get my head around starting now! Very excited though!

ETA just realised I had to update my sig as I turned 30 last week - eeeek!

Bella - :dance::dance: awesome news hun :dance::dance:. I see a naturopath as well and went to see her as soon as we found out so now DH has an evil concoction to take as well as zinc. I must admit, I just cracked up the first time he took it - just the expression on his face was classic!!
JME - oh I am glad that I'm not the only one who was glad in a way that there was actually a problem. I've seen enough people who have fallen into the unexplained category and it was a daunting thought to have to go down that road myself. My SIL is about to start her second cycle of ivf so I've also read about AP increasing success rates and to me, def sounded worth a shot
Sandy - :hello: hun, good to see another familiar face!
Infinity - wow awesome job with your persies, I am V impressed!!!! :goodluck: for your thaw cycle
Mrs P - happy belated :birthday2:!! I am in the same boat, turn 30 in a few weeks except I am thinking that it won't be as traumatic as going from 27 to 28 - seemed such a huge jump at the time :rolleyes:. Best of luck for your first ivf, hope it is first time lucky for you
BOC - hope you get well soon, crappy way to have to spend a long weekend!
Loops - hi and thanks for the welcome
Sorry but this is all quite new to me so will apologise now for all of the questions. Just got DH full SA back and it didn't look good. His morphology came back 4% normal, 96% abnormal - going back to the whole illness thing, does this affect just numbers and motility or can it affect morphology as well? I am totally clueless about this side of things but those stats look really frightening to an ignoramus like myself. I know I should wait to hear from the dr what the plan of attack will be but I am far too impatient to wait that long!!! Hope you are all having a great long weekend, sadly I am spending the whole time working nightshift, fun fun!!!!!!

bella : yeah such great news. !!!!!:dance::clap:

Hi All,

Bella congratulations and all the best!!

Melissal - Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure morphology is genectic and isn't affected by illness. My DH has 8% normal in addition to low count. We had 11 eggs injected (ICSI) and got 7 embryos. They only need to inject one sperm per egg and out of the millions of sperm, 4% will be more than enough. Definitely hard for DH to hear but at the end of the day you have an answer and a viable solution. My FS seems very confident about our chances of success and it sounds like you're in the same boat so stay positive. Fingers crossed it will all work out.

Mrs P - Best of luck with the BT.

Saph204 - Good news. It's nice when things finally start rolling.

Loops - Praying that you get good news. That tww is the hardest.

Best wishes to everyone.

Melissal - if it makes you feel better, my DH has a 99% abnormality rate and we still have excellent fertilisation rate. Last time out of 24 eggs we got 19 embryos. I was told by the scientist that even with 100% abnormality rate they can still get ICSI to work so I wouldn't worry too much.

JME & Mollygirl - thank you so much for the reassurances, it is good to know that it can still happen. Funny, DH seems ok with it - its something he has always made funny little remarks about - I seem to be the one that is more upset. But then again, he is a good one for not saying his true feelings often for fear of upsetting me. BUT we CAN still do this :)

:p happy easter girls

Hi everyone...it's been a while since I posted in here, but we are just starting another IVF stim cycle, so I figure it's time I return.
Some of you I know, and some I don't really know yet, but I look forward to sharing our ups and downs as we all edge closer to our longed for BFP!
I've just started on the pill and it feels like ages until we'll get to the 'business end' of this cycle...

Welcome back Possums. GL with this cycle. :pray:

Morning Ladies,

JME, your first FET should be much less stressful. My experience at MIVF is if you have a fairly regular cycle then you'll have a scan about CD 10/11, use LH pee tests until you get a positive then transfer 3 days later. I've been thinking about acupunture too. There are lots of people on here that use it, most seem to think it's great - if not for a BFP then for generally feeling better able to cope.

Bella - officially congratulations!!!! Wishing you a wonderful healthy pregnancy. Will you be sharing the news or keeping it to yourselves for a while?

Loops - hopefully AF has not shown up. My only BFP I was convinced I was getting my AF. I'd even had my emotional meltdown that comes with it. I had a lot of cramping from DPO 10 to 12. We all know what the last few days of the TWW are like so I am thinking of you and hoping you get your BFP.

BOC - thank goodness for Furbaby's. I don't know where I'd be without mine. Loved the quote - so true.

Mrs P - hello. Good luck with the BT tomorrow. After your setbacks its time for a dream run - hoping this is the case for you.

Melissal - I agree with the others about SA results. We are the same as Mollygirl, we did ICSI and have excellent fert rates and fab looking embro's despite DH having high abnormalities - our FS was very unconcered about the SA results as he believes ICSI overcomes most of the problems. Gotta love science sometimes. You can definately still do this!

Hi Possums - nice to 'meet' you, hopefully I can be of some support during your journey. x

From me - Af has not arrived - spotting for 5 days now. What the?? My last FET, AF due on a Wednesday, BT Friday, on progeterone pessaries - no AF but BT BFN, stopped pessaries Friday, AF Saturday. Then this cycle missed ovulation - now three weeks later and spotting for 5 days. Does anyone know if Progesterone support can muck up the cyle following? i am frightened that I may have hormonal issues now. I'm confused and a little scared. Does anyone else believe that IVF may be 'messing' their bodies up?

Sorry - another essay - I warned you all though......

sandygirl- thanks and wishing you all the best too

infinity- sorry I am not sure about whats happening with you...although a friend of mind also going through IVF has had quite irregular cycles going on ever since her stim cycle...so i guess it can muck up the normal cycles of your body. hope things settle soon

Bella - :happyforyou: congratulations hun. Wishing you a h & h pregnancy.

Happy Easter to everyone, hope you have all had a great long weekend.

Welcome to all the newbies.

Wishing everyone all the very best.

:goodluck: to everyone. :pray: we have plenty more :bfp:

Thanks for the well-wishes ladies!! I'm so excited to have my BT tomorrow. Am praying that it's baseline - because of my clotting disorder I can't go on the pill so am not sure what they'll have planned for me if I'm not baseline.
Anyway I'm feeling positive about it so fingers crossed. Fortunately the lab is just a couple of blocks away from my work - very convenient!

Here's a silly question - roughly how many days do you need to do the injections b4 EPU? I know it varies, but is it roughly 2 weeks? Trying to get an idea of a timeline...

Hope everyone has had a lovely Easter!

Hi MrsP, hoping baseline for you. I take a liong time to trigger but I think I am the exception to the rule.

AFM still jabbing away but very excited of to Melbourne in the morning with the girls to catch some shows and do some shopping. Have the ice ready for the drugs and the letter for security, sure to get stopped at every check point. Hope it will be all right. Talk when i/ get back.