Long Term TTC & Assisted Conception ~ October 2006

TwoMums,
I was really sorry to read about your disastrous cycle. I can't see how anyone can be telling your partner not to have children after only one IVF cycle. I would have thought they would have to do some PGD or full karyotyping (?sp) before they would make such a statement.
As for doing the ICSI without your consent, our clinic gives us a form with tick boxes to fill out to say what procedures we are having, how many embies to transfer etc. and we sign it so we are virtually writing the treatment plan. Last time, the nurse had written my husband needed a needle biopsy to get the sperm out when he can do it naturally!! Imagine how upset he would have been. I picked it up straight away so I think that system is very good.
So I would also question their competence about making a diagnosis for you as well. I would be changing doctors. Sorry, don't know any docs in Brisbane.
good luck.
Cazzoom,
I belong to an egg donor site which also deals with some embryo donation issues. you can donate to someone privately or anonymously via a clinic. The state/clinic policies vary so can't really help much there but could give you the site name if you are interested.
AF arrived for me yesterday so my eggs have reached their use by date. But we are hoping a friend will donate for us so might get another baby yet.

Just a quick hello from me ladies. Hope you are all well. :hello:

Seems to be a lot of jabbing going on at the moment..goodluck to you all.

Keen - So sorry to hear more bad news for you. HUGEST Hugs :hug:

Not a lot happening here with us. We didn't even BD until after ovulation this month! My temping hasn't been happening at all, but will try to keep on top of it next month. No more discussions on when to make a FS appointment, but I'm sure we'll get there eventually.

Catch up with you all later. :)

Nic

Sorry guys I still can't do personals still no computer up & running at home.
Well had my laproscopy & turns out I had severe endo but it has been taken out which explains why I am so damn sore, I was not prepared for it to be this bad but then I didn't know I would have so much stuff done, both of my ovaries were stuck down with endo.
You really have no idea what's going on inside your body.
Anyway hopefully when I recover enough we can start ttc again hopefully with good results.
Hope everyone else is doing well, have been thinking about everyone.
Jo

Jo - sorry to hear your feeling so sore, hope DH is taking good care of you!

Just a quick pop in from me before DH comes hom as ive had my RDO today and am ment to be doing houswork!!!

Well the reasons why i havent and its not because ive been shopping again, NO, ive had a head ache all day since i woke up the morning. i think chasing a fly round the house with spray sisnt help!!!

well i phoned my nurse yesterday and the bleeding is all good. they said that they want a thin linning for my scan on Monday.

I collected my drugd and the GUN as i call it as it might as well be it hurts anyway!

well then i realsied that iam on the drugs that i had with our first ever stim cycle so i called DH to tell him and all he could say was whach out physo in a very funny voice i guess you had to be there. I dont remember being that bad but maybe i wasnt very relaxed with that cycle. Anyway im now a little worried as i did nt have any success with that cycle and at the time i rember blaming the drugs as i put on so so much weight (but i do have a sweet tooth!) and today for some unknown reason i ate a whole bag of fun size snikers!! yes thats 12 mini snickers!!!(is that bad? I started at breakky with 2 at 8.am?

Anyway when i changed gyn i told her that the last lot of drugs i was on, the dosage was 225 and i over stimulated but forgot to tell her that that was on Gonal-f. when i was on Puregon the first time i was only on 150 for 4 days then 100 for a futher 5 days but my new doc has got me on 200 of Puregon. Does anyone know if this will case me to over produce so many again.

When i was on Puregon in 2004 i got 8 or 11 eggies (I cant keep up with all my eggies) but i think only 5 fertlised but when i was on Gonal - f i got 16 and all fertlised but i also had to have a stitch as they got a vessel (very unlucky i was told)

I know im rammbeling but can someone give my any idea what i am worrying about!!! Im thinking about talking about it with mu Gyn when i see her for the scan on Monday morning.

Hope every one is doing well and i will bbl

HI everyone

we started jabs yesterday, DH has been chief jabbing officer and doing them for me and he is doing a great job, we decided for us anyway it is just easier to let him to it. So far so good, can't say I feel any symptoms or anything which is good.

Lou - I haven't felt like eating a whole bag of snickers yet, you poor thing you must have felt ill after that. You sound really stressed about it, have you thought about talking to the nurses about your concerns? I have called them before a couple of time, like when I was spotting on the pill and they were really helpful, sorry I don't know how to help you with your worries but seriously I would give them a call and talk about your concerns. If you are having your scan next week I would tell your specialist too perhaps.

Keen - sorry to hear things are still not going well

Jo - I have had my endo removed heaps of times now (9 laps all up) and can sympathise with your pain, it really does hurt, make sure you take it nice and easy for the next few days and get lots of rest.

Everyone else - big Hi, will be back in over the weekend

Hi Everyone
Twomums just wanted to let you know i have a great Gyno / Fertility Specialist in Brisvegas.. her name is Dr Julie Lindstrom and she is on Wickham Tce (aren't they all!!)she may be able to help you out.. We are seeing her and going through City Fertility Clinic, but she has her own practice as well.. hope this helps.. Cheers

Thank you Shannon for the info re your specialist. I don't quite know what to do, whether to change clinics or just specialists. I don't know if my doctor would be happy to refer me to someone else in the clinic i already go to. Guess i will have to ask him to find out. Seen as how both Kim and I have already registered with QFG, it seems a waste of money changing clinics, but on the other hand, we arent that happy with the place overall...but then again, maybe a change of specialists is all we need...hmmm, just paid $150 US to gain access to unlimited profiles from the Sperm Bank in the US that QFG uses. Hmmm thinking.......QFG might refuse treating me after all the complaints i made and the fact that i asked for a refund, and got it!!!!

Two mums - I just want to let you know that i changed Gyn and clinic early this year and from doing so had test done that were not even on offer to me at my old clinic. I changed because i felt as though i was plodding along doing nothing and felt like each time i went the doc would say dont worry your young!!(but three years later after trying im still not pg)

If you aree not happy where you are then i would suggest that you change. Dont worry about what your current Gyn will think someone told me when i changed that people change Gyn and/or clinics all the time.

I figure that my old Gyn is so busy with other paitents anyway he proberly doesnt even miss me.

I would have though that they would have liked to know why i left (other than the nurse stuff ups which i am still having to follow up) but ive heard nothing and my new Gyn didnt recieve my notes from them for ages thats if she ever recieved them !

About wasting money, its not a wast if you have changed to feel happier. I still have a full cycle in credit at my old clinic but that doesnt mean im going back there some times you have to let go in order to move forward.

Do what makes you feel happier

I hope that helps

Ps you both sound like strong women if they refuse to treat you sue (sp) them!!! i dont know on what bases that they can refuse you

Megan - I changed specialists as well, for different reasons to you and Lou, we hadn't started IVF yet, but we found him to be really hard to get appointments with for follow up and could never get a straight answer out of him. My gynea gave me some great advice about dealing with them, he said you really need to pin them down and make sure they explain things properly and tell them what you want, don't just coast along with them. He said his patients change FS all the time, especially if they are not getting the desired result and the main thing is that you are happy. I seriously don't know how we would have gone without having my gynea as a sounding board, he was able to recommend different specialist and explained their different philosphies and approaches which really helped. Do you have another Dr that could help with this decision? As Lou says it is not a waste of money, I always look on those sorts of things as learning curves that help us make decisions and get to where we want.

Be back later for more personals, hope everyone is well:hello:

First of all huge :hug: to you Keen....just know that we are here for you what ever the outcome.

Too Many personals for me to catch up on so I will simply say good luck to everyone who is cycling...oh and to Twomums.....IMHO get a fresh opinion. They have no right to make those judgements about your fertility on the basis of the cycles you have had without further investigation.

Well I have to have a small personal woohoo. Since our first miscarriage in July 2004 my cycle has stretched out to 56 days:eek: . Three and a half weeks ago I started seeing an acupuncturist and a naturopath to both aid in the IVF treatments and also to see if they can help out with a digestive disorder I have which leaves me with constant nausea and tiredness. Anyways they have not even attacked the fertility side yet, have just been focussing on my digestive issue as they reckon I have problems with food stagnating and not absourbing adequate nutirents and this could have been affecting my ability to nourish the embryos. All made sense to me so I said I would give their ideas a try. So for the past 3 weeks I have been making minor changes to my diet. I have cut out diet coke and pretty much all processed food. I have swapped the foods I eat for organic varieties and anything that has additives, preservatives etc has gone. BTW I have also saved heaps on the gorcery bill......I thought it would go up but because it is all fresh stuff has ended up saving us heaps. And it has really been little changes like cutting out bikkies (they have some nice organic shortbread though) and using organic raw sugar instead of bleached white sugar, stuff like that.

Okay If you are still with me.....here's comes the huge payoff....After three and half weeks of this and no actual fertility treatments as such I got AF today......A 33 DAY CYCLE.....WOOHOO. Eating differently has almost halved my cycle and I have barely started on it!!!! I can't believe it....I don't even care that I am not pregnant ths month...I am just so happy to have an almost normal cycle back that I am jumping for joy...Also no pain, no headaches, better digestion and more energy to boot. Just goes to show how closely related what we eat is to our fertility.

It has all left me looking forward to this cycle with a great deal of positive energy especially as it will be our last before we start IVF (we are just waiting for our genetic karotyping results to come back in about 3 weeks time). Anyways yay for me and if anyone in this forum gets anything from this post...Yay for you too. I just can't believe diet can make such a huge difference. BTW I am a type 1 diabetic and as such I have a very healthy diet anyways it was just getting rid off all the artifical chemicals that has made the difference.

Happy Happy Days to all:) :)

Good to hear of the beginnings of success on a naturopath's regimen. I too have consulted a naturopath and I feel great. I was told to eat more fish and only lamb, veal or turkey, with plenty of green veges. We are being very creative with these ingredients and have cut out all the heavily processed stuff and I am feeling great! I am also taking drops and vitamin supplements. Effects so far are that I have tons more energy. I used to be the nap queen but now I don't feel the urge to nap as much and if I do I might lie down for ten minutes and then want to get up. I used to have 2-3 hour naps all the time. Now I am just waiting to see if I get a natural AF. :crossfingers: Keep me updated with your results!

Hi Girls

Well i bit the bullet and rang my doc today and he is eager to help me in my quest to have a procedure called hysterosalpingography. Basically its a high resolution ultrasound with radiopaque medium to see if my tubes and everything are ok before we embark on IUI. We basically had a consult over the phone and he is sending me out a request form in the mail. I have to wait for AF to come and go before i can have it and the ultrasound place said to ring them when i am day one. Kim got AF yesterday so it won't be long. Even so we are having a rest cycle this month, because of all the different drugs i was on in trying to prepare for the ET that was never to be.

I thought long and hard about changing specialists and i figure that my doctor knows me and my uterus etc better now and by all reports he is very good at what he does and has the highest success rate in the clinic i go to. We both agreed last cycle was a disaster and he went into bat for me getting my refund and he is going to bulk bill me for any other procedures because he knows that we are low on funds and that it will take longer for me to get pregnant with IUI and the fact that if we import semen from the US it will be alot more expensive than using a local donor. I think after last cycle he will be doing everything by the book so to speak so i am sticking with him after all. I'm putting the past in the past and looking upward and onward.

Thing is the sperm from the US is of very high quality and the count is 3 to 4 times higher per vial so its value for money in my opinion. With the money we got back, we will be able to have about 6 IUI's in total, so we will be reserving 6 vials. After that, if i'm not pregnant, we will consider another IVF cycle, but that is over 6 months away...

Thank you all for your advice and support through all of this and i hope everyone is going ok, thinking of you all..xxx

Good luck Megan with the HSG.. they are fairly straight forward and don't hurt a great deal... i had one done sometime ago now... I am glad your doctor has come to the party and I think he realises you guys had a rough trot last time, so I am sure he will do everything he can to get you guys in the motherly way... take care love leis xx

Hi girls,

I went to the gyn for my down reg scan today and the gyn said that i was ready to start injections i talked over with her the dosage in drugs and she said i should be fine. well i was ment to start injections tommorrow and my follow up scan on Monday but she couldnt do the scan till Tuesday so i asked to start the drugs on Wednesday (one less day to jab i thought) and she said that was ok.

The only problem is that when i have my scan on Tuesday its at the womens and its on the 6th floor and i WILL NOT go in a lift so i will have to take the stairs. (Gyn was impressed with that but i told her i have no choice)

And a BIG THANK YOU to sez as she is comming with me (i really need some one to hold my hand with this one. lol)

Sorry for the lack of personals but will check in later

Hope everyone is doing well

Megan - have you started jabbing yet?

Hi Lou,
Yep, I started the jabbing on Friday so I have had 4 so far! It's not that bad I've learned!lol Just before the first one I thought I was going to throw up I felt so nervous! DH is doing them and I think he's finally got it all under control. The first couple were a bit painful, but now he's got the hang of it, it's ok.
I've got my scan on Friday and guess we will see from there when pick up may be?
Is it usual to be feeling twinges in my lower abdomen after only a short time on the FSH?
Last night in bed I noticed I couldn't put any pressure on my belly (and I hate sleeping on my back!) and today it was uncomfortable when I sneezed or coughed.

Megan - Sounds like DH has got the jabbing under control - goodluck!

Loula - good luck with your scan today

Twomums - how are you going? Best of luck with the HSG

Melbel - So good to hear your cycle has length has come right down. I've just started seeing a acupuncturist too, she has also put me on some chinese herbs.

Jo - how are you recovering?

Hi to everyone i missed - hope everything is going well.

Nothing happening here, still waiting to O. I've been thinking about ringing my specialist and making an appointment to see him in Decemeber if we haven't got a BFP before then. Last time I saw him he said we should wait until next year to take the next step but the whole TTC thing is really starting to do my head in i'm not sure that i can wait that long.

Thanks for your message Leis i have a good feeling about all this :) ...well i have a request form from my old FS to have the Hysterosalpingography (phew!) basically a high resolution ultrasound with a special contrast being flushed through my uterus and hopefully out my tubes. Apparently this ultrasound is so good it can see the tubes and if there are any blockages or debris or mucous which may be hindering conception...I have picked a sperm donor from the states and i even have a baby photo and an adult photo of what he looks like!!!! It is rather expensive, but due to the lack of ID Consent donors in Australia they have had to accept less than optimal count and quality donors now and the vials from the states have a much higher count and quality per vial. I'm starting to get really excited.

Doc said that we will be trying clomid first with hCG injection for trigger to time everything perfectly...and then onto injectables if that doesnt work...i have a good feeling that everything will be fine.

Boo i would make the appointment, at least if you get pregnant in the meantime you can always cancel, but the sooner you see him the better i say, tell him you want to get the show on the road already huh!! :hugs:

Megan you are so brave letting DH do the jabs, i was the opposite, i had to do them myself...they arent that bad when you get used to it, just keep thinking what you are doin it for :)

Loula fingers crossed for your scan today...

Thinking of everyone, i'm on here everyday seeing how you are all going... must confess i am totally addicted and don't mind being so, its such a great support talking to you all xxx

sorry girls i ment my scan is booked for next tuesday lol thats to see how may folls i have then a date will be set for EPU.

Im getting a little nervous. very worried i will over stim this cycle and still thinking about what i will do with work and wether i take time off or power through

Hi everyone

Megan - I am feeling sore around the ovaries now as well, I started my jabs on Thursday last week and DH is also doing mine, same as you I am having my stim scan on Friday and will find out when EPU is. I'll have to hop straight online after I have it done and let you know what is happening.

Lou - good luck with the jabs tomorrow, I think you gals are brave who DIY with the jabs.

Megan - your new plan of attack sounds promising, I have everything crossed for you guys that all goes well.

Boo- I would definately make an appointment, Dec isn't far off now, and you don't want to miss or have to wait when you are feeling ready. I know when I started with my dr I had a huge wait in the beginning and I wouldn't wish that on anyone, it's worse than the actual cycle.

Well I am still humming along quietly, just waiting for the next few days to pass so we can see what is going on Friday.

:hello: Big hello to everyone else

TwoMums - Fingers crossed for you and Kim. Glad to hear everything seems to be working out for you. Can't wait to hear more!

Boo - I agree with the others..I would make that appointment if you want.

Big hello to everyone. Sorry for my lack of personals, I was telling the girls in TTC6+ that DD has been sick and I haven't been getting any sleep. Finding it hard to keep up with everything on here lately.

I'm just waiting for AF to show and start temping again with a new month. Didn't temp this month. Once we have another 2 months up with the temps we will go and get another referral that isn't 2 years old LOL! Hopefully we will be seeing someone just after xmas.

Nic

Thanks for your messages girls - I had a chat (and a cry!) to DH last night about it - seems he is feeling as stressed as i am about it but didn't want to stress me out further by saying anything. I have to go in for a blood test next week (more BT to see if i'm Oing regularly - i've had them done before and all was good, I get the feeling he is just stalling us) so while i'm there i'll book in for December then no doubt he'll probably refer us onto someone else - i'm not sure?

Twomums - Sounds like everything is coming together for you guys now - my fingers are tightly crossed for you both!

Jane - goodluck with your scan on Friday

Nic - It's nice not worrying about temping isn't it? I feel a whole lot more relaxed when i don't - i only started temping again for my acupuncture.

Boo - Yeah, definately nice to not be temping this month. I hate how I get my first temp for the month then I sit and stare at the screen wondering where it will be tomorrow LOL!

Nic

Well girls its done !!

I did my first injection tonight and i got DH to stand with me we tosses up who would be doing it as i stood there and said i cant, i cant so he said he would then he stood there and said i cant, i cant !!

So i did i just went well here goes and ........................done, a bit relieved now that its done, i do keep worrying that i will over stim, I hate not knowing what my body is doing or not doing all the time.

I mean i was over 8 weeks when i had my ectopic and had no idea that i was even pg. (mind you this also happened to my mum until she was 7 mths!!)

so im worrying when i should be relaxing i know. well tomorrow night im going to see my counsellor (sp, i know im really bad and lasy to check!) so will talk it over with her

I have also booked into have hypno therpy on Monday to over come my fear of small spaces and being locked in a lift, you all know what it is called but cant even attempt to spell it!!

so i am also thinking ive now taken on enough to take my mind off everything else lol

I hope every one else is doing well and cant wait to hear some BFP in here soon

Lou - well done with the jab, I must admit mine don't hurt but I still don't like them, if that makes sense

Well I feel revolting tonight, I am bloated and my left ovary is really heavy and sore, I feel like am ovulating x 100. I am pretty tired and work has been taking it's toll this week, for some reason it has been really busy. I am really looking forward to the weekend so I can have a bit of a rest.

How are you going Megan?

Boo - you won't regret getting your appointments lined up, especially if they refer you to someone else, goodluck

Big hi to everyone else

hi girls,
sorry for lack of personals but in a rush today. Had trigger injection yesterday morning and IUI is booked for 230 this afternoon. Very Very very nervous.

Take care
racheal

Lou, good on you doing the jab yourself. I wish I could, but know I would struggle! DH can keep doing it for the time being!
Jane, I have had a bloated feeling on and off. It worse at night time after I have the injection. Speaking of injections, the last 2 have really hurt. I barely felt them in the beginning. Maybe my tummy is becoming a bit sensitive!
Hope everything goes well at your scan tomorrow. I'll report back tomorrow night. Hopefully we will both have an idea of when EPU will be. I've never been so keen to be in the TWW before in my life! lol
Boo, I agree with the other girls. Definitely make an appointment and get things happening! It does sound like your doc is stalling you a bit by having repeat BT's for ovulation. For your own sanity, I think it's a good idea to get your specialist appointment so you feel like you're doing something about it. It definitely helped me!

Bugger, time to go to work! :( Have great day everyone. :)

Well I had my scan this morning and I am ready to roll. I find out tomorrow when OPU is, it's either going to be first thing Monday or first thing Tuesday, dr was confident that it will be Monday. I have 17 follicles ready to go which he was really pleased with, as were DH and I. I feel like I am going to explode though, I am very sore. He has told me to take it easy over the weekend which I was planning anyway.

Be back in over the weekend to do some personals and see what everyone is up to.

WTG Jane on the excellent amount of follies!

Way to go Jane...17 Follies...Let's hope they're all winners!! Good luck for OPU when it happens.

Jane this is great news... I am sure you will get a great fert rate and some top notch embies... I can feel it in my waters... i think this is your turn...

love leis xx

That's great news Jane! :) Hope you're ready to go on Monday so you can get it over with and get rid of any discomfort you're feeling at the moment.
I had my scan today as well. I have 16 follies at the moment but they are all a bit small. The biggest measuring at 11mm and they need to be at 18-20mm for pick up.
So, I have another BT in the morning and they will decided whether to change my gonal-f dosage and then another BT and scan on Monday morning to see how they have progressed. Hopefully then we will have more of an idea whats happening. Jane, do you know how big your follies were??
I'm quite sore today and doubt I will be doing alot over the weekend either!

Congrats Jane

Hoping it is monday for you as then its one less day with any injections

Wishing you all the very best i cant wait to be in the tww wait with you and Megan

Dont worry Magan they just want nice and juicy ones and you must be pleased with 16 wow thats great

Hi Megan - they were 20mm on the left and 19mm on the right, so he said I was well and truly ready to go. They are just organising the theatre schedule and letting me know whether I will be on the Monday list or the Tuesday list.

Lou - I am hoping it's monday too, one less day of injections and I feel like cr@p to be honest, I am really bloated and sore. I can't wait for the tww as well.

Mel, Sush and Leis - thanks for the kind thoughts, the support in here really has been fantastic

Jane, no wonder you're sore! ;) I can't imagine all of mine almost doubling in size from what they were this morning! lol I've read that they can grow up to 2mm per day so I'm hoping mine are almost there on Monday.
DH doesn't want transfer until Thursday. A while ago we bought tickets for Jimmy Barnes and that's on Wednesday night and he really wants to go!! lol For that matter, so do I and its a fully seated show so I should be ok (unless I happen to have EPU that day) But, he's planning it all out and talking to my follies, telling them to wait until thursday!! lol

Megan what are the odds your tickets would be the same week as your pickup lol, one of the fun parts of IVF really isn't it, all this suspense of when it is going to happen (tongue firmly planted in cheek)

Well pickup is Monday, we are triggering tonight, thank heavens. I am feeling pretty rough at this point, I feel a bit blah and am quite sore so I am not surprised we are all ready for pickup. It's funny we haven't told our family or friends what is happening, I did tell work (after all the dramas) so that I could organise the time off, it was going to be too hard just to call in sick with the way they have been monitoring my every move, so I am having a few days off. So now any time I talk to my fam or friends I feel like I am hiding something. I think it is better than getting quizzed everyday about whether I have news or not.

I am off for a snooze and then finish my assignment I have been procrastinating about - that should keep my mind off things ;)

Jane, hope it all goes well on Monday
IKWYM about telling family. I had only told work and one friend and some online friends. I normally only speak to Mum every few weeks and she lives a few hours away so it was quite easy not to tell her. I told DH I didn't want his mum to know because she doesn't know how to keep things to herself. Last weekend my mum left a message and I had this huge wave of guilt wash over me so when I rang her back I told her. I felt such a huge relief after I told her, and I know she wont tell anyone except her partner and that's fine. However, the next day MIL came up for a visit and DH wanted to tell her so now she knows too. She's been told not to tell anyone but I think she would have been on the phone withing 30 seconds of leaving here. The main thing I guess is that no one has called all week! lol I really don't want a hundred phone calls after pick up/transfer and during the TWW!

Jano, i will be thinking of you tomorrow... can hardly wait to hear how many.. i think you will get double figures... have been thinking of you over the weekend... love and hugs leis xx