Long-term TTC & Assisted Conception - December 2009/January 2010

[Daisie]

Hi Juniper

Sorry your cycle was cancelled. It's interesting that all the doctors have a different way of doing it. My FS found an ovarian cyst on my pre IVF U/S and was adament that I have the lap and hyst before commencing IVF. He didn't want to do IVF until I'd had the endo removed. I still seem to be a low egg producer, only 3 eggs each cycle. The second cycle we did ICSI and got two blasties and a BFP. I don't really understand why the FS wanted to do ICSI, but he recommended it and we went with it. On the first cycle of the 3 eggs only 1 fertilised normally... so I guess they they wanted to make sure healthy swimmers got in, hence the ICSI. I had DH on Menevit for a few months prior to IVF (which is the male equivalent to Elevit). Don't know if it did anything...but we'll try anything, right? Good luck for next year.

[melttc]

Hi Ladies just a quick post to say...

Nix ~ Congrats on the BFP!!! I haven't logged in a while and I knew you were expecting your results very soon so I thought I would check today! Imagine my excitement when I saw your successful result!! All the best for a happy & healthy 9 months ahead.

Emerald star ~ sorry to hear about your chem preg. Hope you are doing ok

[Leabie]

Nix76 - CONGRATULATIONS!!! That's wonderful news. Great to see some positive action starting to happen for December too Hope you have a H & H 9 months!

Juniper76 - I'm so sorry to hear that your cycle was cancelled how totally frustrating for you. ABSOLUTELY get your endometriosis checked out! I can't believe that your FS has ignored it. I've had endo in the past, and the very first thing my FS did was book me in for a lap, to see what we were dealing with, before any treatment regime was decided on (as even minor endo can sometimes affect fertility). Hormone treatments (such as IVF) can exacerbate endo too. I would go to your GP if you like them and discuss your concerns, and get a referral for a gyno.

Sorry if I seem like I'm ranting, being dismissed by doctors is a pet hate of mine (I had undiagnosed endo and PCOS, and in my quest to find out what was wrong with me, I was told by one doc that I just had wind, and should go home and take De-Gas... )

Trubabe - hope you're doing OK, hon

[xx Rob xx]

[QUOTE=Leabie;2102145]

Sorry if I seem like I'm ranting, being dismissed by doctors is a pet hate of mine (I had undiagnosed endo and PCOS, and in my quest to find out what was wrong with me, I was told by one doc that I just had wind, and should go home and take De-Gas... )
QUOTE]

Hi Girls,

I am still lurking and can see whats going on. I just read Leabies post and wanted to give you a little advice

I was with our state Ambulance Service for 6 six years. In that time I saw alot of good and alot of bad, when it came to watching dr's treat patients. I just want to ask you all to do one thing,

Take a piece of paper and write a list. Its really easy to go see a dr, ask a question and get snowballed by their answers, only to get home and take it all in and realise they didnt answer the questions you really wanted answered. Write down any symptoms you are having. Ask about any test available. "BE PROACTIVE IN YOUR HEALTH" Never be afraid to do this and remember you can always change dr's. If you have a dr and you aren't comfortable then get another opinion.

As a medical professional I could never give my personal thoughts on dr's i had seen, I used to have to be professional and say we are taking you to the best care, which was true somewhat. But I could tell them exactly what I have told all of you.

And so along with Leabie I am also for the rant but I really beieve that everyone should have access to the best medical care, public or private, and the best way to achieve that is to make the system work for you. After all that's what YOU PAY FOR!

[Nix76]

Good advice Rob. And I guess if you go to one Dr and get advice and then get a second opinion you can compare the response you get from the both. Plus you do forget to ask or mention things so writing it down sounds like a good idea.

After all we write a list when we go shopping so we don't forget anything, why would we not do the same for our health so we get it all covered!!

[WeeMansMummy]

Im big on lists, and every doctor i think ive ever seen thinks im totally neurotic!!
Ive just convinced my Dr to do a ton of BT's to see if there is a reason i had a Bio chem pg.
It is a little hasty as it was only my first transfer but hey, its my money = my choice!
And with PGD its so hard to actually get a viable embie so im not waisting another one!
xx

[xx Rob xx]

Im big on lists, and every doctor i think ive ever seen thinks im totally neurotic!!
Ive just convinced my Dr to do a ton of BT's to see if there is a reason i had a Bio chem pg.
It is a little hasty as it was only my first transfer but hey, its my money = my choice!
And with PGD its so hard to actually get a viable embie so im not waisting another one!
xx

I totally agree. I am not sure how any other states are going but the out of pockets in SA are nearly doubling next year. DH and I had decided after years of drought after these embies were done we wre going to walk away, lucky for us this one worked.

But Jak exactly what you said is right. When you buy a car or house you ask and if you dont like the salesman you go somewhere else, so you should do the same with health care. And as for dr's thinking you are neurotic, tell them to do there job. We had a friend in her 50's this year go to the dr with headaches for 2 months, in the end they did a ct scan to shut her up and she had a brain tumor. She lived only another few months.

That can be the same if you have tumors on ovaried etc, I dont mean to scare anyone sadly its the facts. And with all the smoking and chemicals we are exposed to we need to keep checking on ourselves regularly.

Take care girls, sorry to be ranting again, lol, I'm sure your own could tell you this too.

[mitf]

Just popping in to sat CONGATRUALATIONS NIX.

So glad to see your number came up and I wish you all the best for a happy & healthy pregnancy.

[murraycod]

Trubabe I hope that you and your family are doing ok, be strong, we are all here for you if you need to de-stress and vent XXX Take care honey XXX

Nix darling congratulations on such great numbers!!!! Best Xmas present ever!

Juniper I'm so sorry to read that your cycle was cancelled. Accupuncture is meant to be great, when I misscarried it got me back to norm cycles straight off the bat, and I am planning to start the accupuncture as soon as I start my FSH at the end of the month. Wish you all the best for your journeys ahead, hope thay get a little easier for you XXX


Hello to everybody, hope you are all soldiering through 'Silly Season', this time of year can totally suck when we don't have a little one to spoil, and play with. Hopefully all of us will have next year! X

AFM still popping the pill, have appt tomorrow to pick up all of my meds and lovely injectables, very excited to have tham sitting in the crisper in my fridge...move over tomatoes!
As excited as I am, I'm terrified.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

[Brunette]

Nix, Congratulations! What a fantastic early Xmas present, hey? Well done

Juniper, sorry to hear that your transfer was cancelled. I would be really interested to hear how your DH goes with acupuncture and sperm issues. My partner had a vasectomy reversal about 2 years ago, after having had a snip for about 7 years. His sperm was a problem, hence why we had to do IUI and then IVF. We've been seeing a naturopath for about four months now, and after only 2 months of him taking this tonic and other pills, his sperm count (motility, morphology and volume) is absolutely normal and our FS said we could conceive naturally if we wanted! I am seeing an acupuncturist early in the new year to see if it can help with implantation for me, and also to regulate my cycle/hormones. I figure it can't hurt ... She wants me to do a 6-week detox before our next transfer but we're on hols for 2 weeks in mid-Jan, so we will do a 4-week detox. I don't know all that it involves yet, but it's definitely no alcohol, no caffeine and no smokes. I don't smoke so that one's easy, but the other two will be more difficult

Trubabe - Big hug to you because you sound like you're going through hell at the moment, and it's the last thing you need midway through a cycle. FX for your mum when she sees the specialist next year.

Murraycod - Good luck for your first IVF cycle!

AFM, I am enjoying the silly season a little too much, but I figure if I've got to detox next year I may as well make sure I need it I've got to get 12 vials of blood taken for BTs but I've put it off till next year as I can't face doing it at the moment.

I hope everyone has done their Xmas shopping and is getting ready for Xmas! Only 4 sleeps to go ...

[juniper76]

Thanks ladies.

I had a pleasant surprise today (they actually do happen ). I called in sick to work and my manager told me he hadn't been expecting to see me this week in light of what happened. Apparently me balling my eyes out when our regional manager called me to ask what "transfer cancelled" meant made an impression? So, instead of working 4 days this week, I'll be doing the bare essentials at home and taking the rest of the week off. Which is probably good for them too since right now I could not care less about work!

[Loops12]

Hi lovely ladies
Ive been MIA for a little while now mainly because of the "Silly Season" and work being so busy. I finally have a couple of days at the moment but will be working Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Christmas Day is the only day we are closed for the whole year.

Anyways I'm happy again because looks like we will be able to afford IVF in Feb after all, since the pre-payment has gone down. Even though we probably wont get as much back at least we should be ok to do it and have I have started the pill now, Synarel on the 15th Jan and the Transfer should be around 8th Feb (day after my 30th birthday).

Trubabe ~ So sorry to hear about your mum - not a very nice thing at all and especailly at Christmas, my heart goes out to you and your family. Treatments and doctors these days are incredible so keep faith and will be praying they can get rid of it. Big Hugs xoxo

Em-Star ~ So sorry about another chem preg, I can in no way comprehend what that is like, feeling for you though and I will pray that you can find some answers and you get your miracle in 2010! Big HUGS XO

Juniper ~ So sorry your transfer was cancelled - that must be very hard too. Thinking of you and hope you can have another go soon. xo

Nix ~ A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS! and that your wish came true and especially for Christmas. All the very best for a H&H nine months!!

Hi to everyone else and I hope you are all doing well. I'll try to catch up with everyone on here soon. In the mean time GL everyone and happy festive season!!

[Mrs P]

Nix - congratulations hun, welcome to the Dec hall of fame We have very similar paths - I too had 2 EPUs and 3 ET's. And I'm not getting my scan until early Jan either - apparently my clinic isn't keen on doing them very early. Hope you have a H&H 9 months - we'll be neighbour belly buddies as I think you'll be due in the 2nd half of August?

To all the other wonderful ladies in this thread - I am sending you lots of baby dust, let's get some more Dec BFPs!!

[babytruj]

Hi all

Trubabe, I hope you and your family are doing ok.

Juniper, I am so sorry your transfer was cancelled. Maybe a healthier lifestyle in the New Year will be good for both of you. Try and get yourselves into a good routine and a stress free one. Definitely see a gynae about the endometriosis, you shouldn’t have so much pain! And maybe a new mindset will help put you in a better place for the next cycle. (or maybe it will happen naturally)

Daisie, my FS was the same, I had to have a hysteroscopy before starting IVF. She wanted to check my lining to make sure all was ok, and that there was no endometriosis or anything else that may cause the embryo not to stick. They found a small cyst under my fallopian tube and removed that, but otherwise all seemed ok.

Rob, you are so right. My DH wrote down a ton of questions on our first FS visit, and I thought he was neurotic, but we got a lot of answers and advise, probably more than we would have gotten if we didn’t have questions to ask. And each of the initial visits, he had additional questions. He also has a friend in the UK who has been through IVF (2 positive pregnancies - 3 babies (twins) - a couple of miscarriages and several IVF's - so there is hope out there) and he was getting lots of things from his procedure.

We just went for “counselling” yesterday to explain the procedures and risks etc. This seems a bit late, as we are almost ready for EPU (sorry, I am very excited as this is my first IVF) Anyway, they explained the ICSI, and basically, the eggs have a thicker shell with IVF procedure what with all the drugs you have in your system, so the sperm may not be able to penetrate. ICSI basically injects the sperm into the egg, so the sperm doesn’t have to get through the egg’s barrier. This is also done if there are any issues with the sperm, and Daisy, as you only got 1 egg fertilised on the first cycle, this way is more guaranteed of actually fertilising the egg

AFM, I have been on 150 Gonal F for 6 days, I went in for my first scan yesterday, and I have 10 eggs on Right side, and 15 on Left side, with about 13 of them a 6 or bigger, which is a good size for where I am. So we have another scan on Thursday, and then we see if we do EPU on Saturday or Monday. I am very excited about this all. I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but you have to just a little right?
Murraycod, how often do you go for acupuncture?

Everyone else, if I don’t pop in again, have a great Christmas, and lets all try and relax and enjoy it a little bit!

Sorry, I'm a bit all over the place. Can I blame it on the meds

[lise]

Hi ladies, just popping my head in to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to Nix, I'm so glad you got your BFP -what a perfect Christmas present!!! Hope you're feeling well and taking good care of yourself

love lise xx

[Nix76]

Hey Ladies,

Thank you to you all for your congrats and well wishes - I still can't believe that it is really directed at me finally!

I am doing well, in fact everything feels completely normal, no pain, no sickness, no twinges. And cos I didn't POAS its still so hard to believe! Really hanging out for that 6 week scan on 5 Jan so then maybe it may sink in a bit more.

To all the other ladies still waiting for your precious gift, I'm sending you loads of baby dust and I hope you all get your long awaited and so well deserved BFPs soon.

I have been investigating obstetrics costs now and have learned that it is not only IVF that is affected by the terrible new medicare safety net changes, but also obstetrics charges for pregnancy. It now means if you go private your out of pocket expenses are way, way more. I just dont get it. Its going to cost me around $4500 to have our baby in a private hospital with my choice of obs and I have private health insurance anyhow which covers the hospital. Its the obs that is now even more expensive as medicare rebate hardly anything back.

I also got a letter from MIVF to say they have now got the ruling from medicare and so can now help advise you how much treatment will cost you next year. I feel terribly lucky to have gotten another stim cycle in just before the end of the year, and even luckier to fall PG. I feel terrible for how much harder it seems to have just gotten for everyone. It's utter BS.

Sorry for the slightly downer post. Someone aluded to the costs in a previous post and got me thinking.

I hope you are all doing well. And I wish you all a very, very Merry Christmas. I hope you have a relaxing time with your families and remember to give yourselves loads of TLC in the break - we all deserve it for sure.

[juniper76]

Merry Christmas ladies! I hope you all have a wonderful day!