Long Term TTC & Assisted Conception - August/September 09

Hello Everyone,

A new week is upon us. GL to those who are expecting results, completing ET, EPU's or any other special activity this week.

Sonyalouise: I started the pill CD5 which was last Thursday. I understand you can be on the pill anything between 14-21 days. I am wondering if I will start FSH on CD21? I guess this will all be confirmed when I visit the nurse on the 9th of Sept. How about you? Perhaps we can compare each other's IVF cycle?

Nix76: I am doing my IVF at City Fertility. To be honest we didn't really search and compare different IVF programs. Our GP referred us to Dr Anne Poliness who works at City Fertility. So far everything has gone well :p Also thanks for the heads up on the needles - I am sure they are not too bad and it's just me making a big deal about it :lol: BTW GL with the TWW!

I am discovering that IVF is quite an involved process - many visits to the Fertility Clinic etc for US, BT, ET, EPU etc. Don't get me wrong, I am prepared to do anything for a BFP, but I was wondering how everyone manages these visits with full time work? I was in two minds to mention something to my manager as I will be requesting time off as required.

ME:35 :heartbeat: DH:32 & Furbaby
TTC since Nov 07
IVF #1 - Just started the pill...next milestone visit Nurse on 9th Sept.

wow look at all our gorgeous newbies, hello and welcome girls. I havnt been here all that long but the girls have been brilliant such a huge help on this massive learning curve.

Starbright- good luck for tomorrow

Onja- FX for you

Nix FX for you too hun

And everyone else I hope all is going well, so sorry by time I read through all the posts Im having a hard time remembering where everyone is at.

AFM- I have EPU on Tuesday. OMG I am terrified out of my mind, it feels like its all happening so fast and out of my control. I had my trigger about an hour ago and the skin all around is quite irritated:doh:
I will be ok, gotta keep busy tomorrow, I asked for a day off work coz I was expecting to have to go in for bloods, now I dont, so might go shopping instead lol

Hi to the newbies, hope you get all the support you need in here and look forward to going down this journey with you all. I truly hope you are not in here long.

Mummawannabe - IVF transfer is not much different to IUI perhaps a tiny bit more discomfort than IUI but you will only have a bit of tummy pain for a day then it should pass. All the very best - I hpe your 1st IVF works out.

Good luck to you all xoxo

Onja - GL in TWW. Hope you dont go crazy and get your BFP at the end! :bluedust::stickyvibesgirl:

Star-bright - thanks for the tip about writing questions down, i'll do that.

Sorry just quick ones today ladies as Im at work. :hello:

Thinking of you all xo

Hi Girls,

Welcome Calin, melttc & Sonya- GL with your journeys.:welcome:

Sonya- You are great to be following everyone. Thanks for the luck. I've caught it.

Onja- I have been doing acupuncture too. I love it. Is is very calming. That's funny that you were dreaming about the transfer. I kept dreaming about the acupuncture and being late for the transfer. The mind is so amazing.

Mammawannabe- Great to see things moving a long for you. I haven't had IUI, so can't help. I might see you in the 2WW.

Nix-THanks for the run down on the transfer. I found it particularly uncomfortable. :(

Tracy- THanks. it is a crazy process. My advice is try not to think too far in advance. One day at a time. It helped me- a bit. GL for EPU tomorrow.

AFM- Yesterday was pretty dramatic. I got the call about 11am to say that the embie thawed nicely and ET was booked for 7:30am. From there I pretty much freaked because the AP clinic doesn't open that early and I had my heart set on doing AP before and after. After a few text messages and calls my lovely APist agreed to see at a different place at 6:40 this morning.
So, after a very early morning I had my ET and double AP. The procedure was very uncomfortable and the FS had trouble getting the catheter in. DH was great and held my hand through all the pushing and prodding. It looks like I'm off into the 2WW thread for a very slow wait. GL to all and I will continue checking on you all.

Hi ladies,

Quick one from me as i am back at work too.

WOW - there are so many of us in 2WW or very near to it. GL to all of us!

Starbright - you have had a busy start to the week - and i can't beleive you have posted already!! make sur eyou just chill for the rest of the day!!

Tracy - Don't stress re your EPU. Think of it as a forced deep sleep for a bit! I must admit though, I have been very lucky adn have next to no side effects or issues through my whole process so far and I know that can differ person to person. I was terrified about trigger thinking it was going to be the worst - but it was the bext needle so far as I literally did not feel a thing! EPU was fine too - all the nurses and anaeth people are there to comfort you. I think the worst about it is just knowing how un-private your body becomes! Buy hey - had to get over that a long time if we want to have babies!! :goodluck: for Tuesday I am sure you will be fine.

Melttc - the joy for me of going with MIVF - although they are in East Melbourne, they have satelite clinics so you can go there for your US and BT's. I work in Mt Waverley and so go to the MTW clinic and it has been very un-obtrusive to work as I make 8am or 8.15am appointments. Also I work on a give & take attitude with work. I don;t just walk out the door at 5pm each day so I am lucky to have a bit of felx in my week.

I did end up telling my (male) manager about a week before EPU as I knew I wanted to take the 2 days off and knew there would be more time off after that with ET. And I have an open communication where I normally tell why I was sick or need to be away and so it just didn't feel right to just call in sick. He appreciated my honesty (think it helped that I shed a few tears when I was telling him - totally un-controlled) and he said it was probably better I was open about it as he understood I would be in and out and need more time off as I go.
The thing is - most people would respect your privacy. And something I have found is - once you tell someone what you are going through they mention how they know someone else who has gone thru it too! And so they will understand more than what you probably thought. However - obviously every case is different and only you can follow your instincs about how to handle it. It is tricky though - its not something you normally share with everyone!!

Hi to everyone else and hope you all had a lovely weekend! I'm counting down the days (almost hours) but trying hard not to :doh:

wow so glad your boss is so supportive, wish mine was as good as that

Hi Girls,

I hope everyone has had a great start to the week. I am so excited for those of you who are at the EPU, ET and 2WW stages. I am living through your experiences at the moment.

melttc- Wow! I started the pill on CD5, which was last Thursday. Not only that I almost ended up at City Fertility with Dr Poliness as well! I had an app booked with her and at MIVF in the same week, ended up cancelling app wih Dr Poliness. Decided on MIVF because of the satelite clinic in Epping which makes it more convenient for appointments, it opens at 7.30 so I can go before work. A friend of mine is with Dr Wilkinson from City Fertility and can not speak more highly of the whole staff. Dr Wilkinson used to be with MIVF, then started up the City Fertility clinic.

Starbright- I sympathise with your plight regarding your AP. I can imagine I will be facing the same issue as my AP only works certain days on my side of town. As it is it still takes and hour to ge to her. Good luck with the 2WW:stickyvibesgirl:

Tracey- Good luck tomorrow

ooooh my god!!! i logged on and my heart fell to the pit of my stomach...just when i thought i got with the program..I see all these NEWBIES on...and i'm so overwhelmed i can't keep up....how do you guys do it?!!

Anyway..:welcome:to all the newbies...hope your IVF journeys are smooth and succesful..any questions, hesitations or just plain old venting..the ladies here are gorgeous and very helpful...GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!

NIX76 - thanx for forgiving me..:hug:
As for chemical pregnancy? I have no idea what it is exactly..all i know is that the egg was fertilised (ICSI) the blasty was transferred and i was pregnant on my BT..a day later i was seeing all this black discharge and went for another BT and was told it was a chemical pregnancy..i did question what exactly that is..and the nurse, (not the one i usually see) said that it just arrested and stopped growing...it is NOT a miscarriage as it had not formed into a fetus yet..so therefore they call it a chemical pregnancy. I do not know how tru it is..but i will ask my usual nurse, (she explains things really well) to confirm what the other nurse said.

Loops12 - I was also told ICSI is the best way to go..that's why we picked ICSI as well...maybe you should ask if the Antagonist would be better for you than the Down reg ? OR maybe change medications ? I am sure FS would know better, but i just thought it might be something you can maybe question FS about...ny FS has changed my drugs...i was on Gonal F now i will be starting on Puregon ( higher dose ) and instead of the crinone i will be on injectibles for progesterone support too. Hope all these differences get me a better outcome.:crossfingers:

Starbright - GL with the 2WW..it may all be worth it in the end hon..!

Calin - welcome!

Onja - GL during your 2WW too.

Melttc - welcome to you too!!

Tracy - GL with EPU tomorrow!!

AFM - still waiting....waiting....waiting...where is AF ? !! hurry up and bring it on!!!

Hello all, another newbie here!

On day 3 of gonal-f injections and booked in for my first US on Thursday. Am feeling very excited that the process is finally underway :)

Melttc - although i'm only at the beginning i've told my mangers what's happening and they've been most supportive. I think being male they just want to know i'm okay and don't need any details, so all I have to say is 'I have an appointment' and they tell me to take whatever time I need...! Hope it gets easier for you.

Bestest wishes and fingers crossed for everyone this week - apologise for no personals, i'm a bit tired and sore tonight and my brain seems to have turned to mush.

lise xx

me: 33, DH 34
TTC since Nov 07

just started 1st antagonist/ICSI cycle.

lise - welcome!!!

Hope the IVF rollercoaster is kind to you amd i am sure you will find all the support you need right here..GL and i look forward to reading your journey.

Hi girls

OMG... there is absolutely too much happening in here since I posted last week. I haven't got a hope in hell of catching up with personals right now (will attempt to do this on the weekend perhaps as I have a crazy busy week at work this week).

Sounds like some of you have already moved over to the TWW, and some are not far off it. Good luck to everyone there and I will be joining you all soon I hope. Sorry but I'm just so behind on where everyone's up to that I'm not sure who's in the TWW right now. Best of luck though, and I'll be thinking of all of you.

Quick update on me - had my 3rd U/S and BT this morning. U/S measured 21 follies (between 11mm - 20mm), but other than a few between 11 - 15mm, most of them are between 15 - 20mm, so I'm happy with that. Also, uterus lining is 8mm which is great. Got the call from the clinic this arvo and my E2 is just under 6000, so don't think OHSS should be an issue (yay). I will be triggering on Wed night and I have EPU scheduled for 8am Friday morning.

Welcome to all the new girls. I have no doubt that you'll find a lot of support here. I've certainly found it to be great.

Good luck to everyone else out there who are still injecting, and fingers crossed your EPU's go great.

I will be so happy to stop with the injections in a couple of days. I'm so over them right now. My stomach looks like a warzone - bruises everywhere.

Anyway, so for no more personals girls, but as I said, too much has happened in the last couple of days. Hope to be back up to speed again soon.

Wishes xoxo

wishes - you have some really good follies there and alot will catch up by Friday...good luck for you EPU..look forward to hearing how you go...GL

As for all the posts...i think its easier to keep up if you lurk around everyday..the minute you leave it for too long..you get lost. :doh:

Thanks for the welcomes - definitely makes it easier to stop lurking and start contributing when everyone is so friendly :D

Hoping someone has an answer to a quick question - is it usually okay to take antibiotics and/or other medications whilst on gonal-f and other IVF drugs? I've had a headache since starting injections and the nurse said panadol was fine, but i've also had a really sore throat for the last week and have an appointment with my GP tomorrow. I'm a little hesistant to ask the nurses in case they tell me I have to stop treatment which I really really really don't want to do unless I have to...

Sorry, not such a quick question after all. Or just not a quick explanation!

thanks in advance,
lise

hello ans welcome Lise

I would be telling your GP what meds you are one and he should be able to perscribe something that wont interfere. HTH's

Tracy, you're right of course! I'm just being paranoid about something happening before I can even get started, need to tell myself to RELAX or i'm never going to survive this!!!

Thanks for the reality check :)

Hi girls,

I have decided I need to read posts morning and night to try and keep up with what's going on, it is a bit crazy, but does make the waiting process a little easier.

Lise- I understand why your stressing, one of the biggest fears I have is that the cycle has to be cancelled because something interferes with the process.

Wishes- Looks promising for a successful pick up, good luck on Friday.

Emerald Star- Hope your AF comes soon.

Have a good day everyone.

Star-bright - GL in TWW, hope all goes well. Sorry they struggled with your ET - hope your recovering well.

Nix - Hope you're going ok in TWW, not pulling your hair out. FX its all worth it!

Sonyalouise - GL for your 1st IVF cycle, hope you're one of the lucky ones and it works 1st go!

Same goes for all the newbies!!!

Emerald Star - thanks so much. I will ask him lots of questions - it will be interesting to hear what he says. Hopefully we can make some changes too - so that it works second go.
I really hope your changes work for your cycle and hope AF comes very soon so you can get started. :crossfingers::pray: for you!! xo

Lise - another newbie - :welcome:. All the very best for your cycle. Hope you're not in here long i.e. it works 1st go!

Wishes - excellent BT results!! All the very best for Friday and so happy that you wont be getting OHSS. Good luck with the jabbing! xo

AFM - getting closer to FS appoint. yay and starting to get our finances sorted so hopefully we will be able to do another IVF cycle this year. But Im still trying to stay pos that there is a slim chance it could happen naturally.