LT TTC & Assisted Conception May-June 2010

MiniMe, good to hear 6 embies made it this far! FX transfer goes perfectly today! As far as I know, OHSS usually sets in a few days after EPU (early onset) or a few days before a BFP (late onset). I know it can also happen earlier, but I think these are the two most typical scenario as it is usually the hcg (from trigger for early onset or pregnancy for late onset) that sets it off. I'm usually pretty bloated for a few days after EPU and I did get that bloat return a few days before my beta, but I haven't had full blown OHSS (thankfully).

Justina, I had light bleeding (red and then brown) last week for two days before my beta and was sure I was out. Turns out it was implantation. Try not to give up before you get your blood test done. I hope you get the result you want today! Which Spring Hill are you talking about? There's a few in Australia. If you're in Brisbane then I go to Jenny Byrne at East West Fertility at Ashgrove. She's pretty highly regarded and I have been very impressed with her. I haven't heard anything about a clinic at Spring Hill, but that doesn't mean anything.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone, and sorry for no personals...

Any suggestions as to what blood tests I should have done? To rule anything out??

Hi all
Im so sorry want to do persies but I just havent got the time and have struggled to ctah up - there is so much going on in here.
To Babytruj and others that have had difficult news and BFN's - im so sorry and feeling for you - big group hug. Hang in there and keep trying - we can all do it!!

Hi to the newbies and wishing you all the very best!
To all those currently waiting - fingers and toes crossed for you all. And GL to those jabbing sniffing etc.

AFM ~ Have just ovulated about 6 days ago and have been getting hopes up because Ive had some strange tummy pains, back and neck pain (same as what I had with last BFP) and a lot of mucous (sorry TMI). So Im hoping but trying not to get too excited. Guess I'll be testing after the weekend - dont think i'll be able to help myself but I'll see how strong I can be.

Big hugs everyone and sending out lots of babydust and stickyvibes!!!
xoxo

loops, good luck!! We need some BFP's here, it's been a slow month!

aagghh...was just at the end of a long post and lost it when I accidentally touched a wrong key.

Loops - you go girl, a natural BFP would be fantastic, crossing my fingers for you

Minime - hope your transfer went smoothly and the embie is making itself comfortable for the long haul

Justina - I seen a lot of girls on BB who bleed before getting their BFP so hang in there. If you do need further tests, and hopefully you wont, I saw a thread about this in the Long Term and Assisted Conception page. I asked my doctor to give me all the tests named in here. GL with your BT

Trueblue - make sure you take some time to do something nice for yourself

AFM: I have my down reg scan tomorrow so hopefully I start stimming tomorrow. I try and make a nice morning of it (well as much as you can before work) and go early read a book or some work stuff and have a hot chocolate. Not looking forward to the scan as I still have AF. Saw my naturopath today and feel like I've paid a small fortune...I keep forgetting about that IVF payment on my VISA.

Loops: fx'd chick and remember if it's a bfn it's not over till the fat af sings
LisaB: I have been doing things for me had a loverly relaxing bath last night and just relaxing I am back to work tommorrow woohoo have missed the cows so much woohoo as of tommorrow only 7 days to go till bt... and the days should go quick tommorrow is back at work and also a dairy expo we are going too, friday am working plus I am getting my photos ready for a comp the following weekend my mum and dad are coming this weekend and mum's taking me to SATC2 then monday is just another day at work but tuesday we have a farm walk, wednesday normal and then woohoo it's d day so really the days should fly by it would be so loverly to get some more bfp's in here it certainly has been a slow month

Good morning ladies,

Lisa B - best of luck with the scan today. hopefully youll be jabbin away soon, and enjoy ur hot choccie too!

Loops - ohh a surprise natural pregnancy would be lovely, fingers crossed for you. i have heard lots of stories of couples falling while in between ivf cycles, hope you are one of them.

Terry - good luck with the FET

littlemissmoo - sounds like 4 could be your lucky number!!

Babytruj - so sorry to hear you had a chemical preg, i have had a few of them and it just s%#ks! we work so hard to get a positive results and then the excitement and hope comes crashing down at the next bt. just have to pray that next time it well & truely sticks :pray: take is easy, be kind to yourself xxx

Justina - did you have ur bt yesterday? maybe it was a bfp & you are still off celebrating, oh i hope so!

MiniMe - fantastic effort!! 6 perfect embies, i would be over the moon to get 6 embryos as i usually only get about 2 or 3 if i'm lucky. When is the transfer?

With regards to the stress issue, as Lairdoz said IVF is a stressful process in itself and lots of women get preg with ivf!! I have come to accept that anything can happen during an ivf cycle and i try really really hard to take each step at a time. its so hard to do but if you can try and not "run away" with your hopes and dreams and just tackle each set of results as they come up then it can help i think...the number of follicles does not necessarily represent the number of eggs you will get....the number of eggs you get will not necessarily be the number of eggs that fertilise...and the number of fertilised eggs you get does not mean that they will all grow to day 3 or day 5 and be transferred. Anything can happen in this game and i think the trick is to expect the unexpected...or try not to expect anything at all and maybe be pleasantly surprised!!

Anyway, sorry am blabbing on a bit. Big hello to all the lovely ladies here who i have missed, am sending lots of calming vibes and good positive energy your way. :p
Still waiting for the wicked AF to show, she is usually a few days late :rolleyes:

Well, I'm sitting here almost literally twiddling my thumbs. I hate the waiting game...

Juniper - Thanks for the kind words and the sound advice. I don't think I have OHSS, just some stomach cramps. I hope they don't affect implantation though.

Loops - Good Luck, FX'd for a natural! That would be great!!

Lisa B- Hope your down reg scan went well and you can start jabbing yourself as soon as possible!! Thanks for the kind words!!

Trueblue - Good luck getting back to work. I'm sure the time will fly!

AFM - Had my ET yesterday. They said I had an excellent expanded blastocyst and the doctor upped my odds by about 5% (still at a 50% chance). That made me feel really good, but I was terrified that it was going to fall out!!! :o They have a really old lift there and it bounces you when you get to the floor and I was pretty much freaking out, then a nice nurse told me how my endometrium was like a jam sandwich and it couldn't go anywhere, even if it wanted to. That made me feel a bit better. Bed rest yesterday, and today pretty much the same. I don't want to rush back into my normal activities, I need some 'me' time.
Hope everyone is well, GL with all your planned endeavors.

Just a quick one from me just now.

Had my down reg scan, all is going well, yay! Starting Gonal tonight. I can't believe I got the Gonal on medicare...something for free!!! I've had to pay for all other medications all the time including the puregon when i was doing OI. Is everyone getting Gonal for free? Will I need to pay for Crinone? I was paying about $200 a month for progesterone pessaries for OI.

Lisa, I'm surprised you couldn't get the puregon through the PBS. I've never had to pay for either the puregon or gonal-f. I can only think that maybe you hadn't fulfilled the conditions for prescription for some reason? I've always had to pay for the synarel, but the crinone for the 2ww has been included in the cycle price. Any progesterone after the beta has to be paid for. I'm on the progesterone pessaries instead of crinone this time, and on the weekend we paid $80 for a week's worth. :( Every cent is worth it if it means a baby in our arms though!

Hi Ladies
Thanks for your lovely wishes, yes it would be absolutely awesome to get a natural BFP! Including the fact that it would be free for a change LOL.

Lisa B ~ Glad things are going well with your cycle. FX for the rest and a BFP at the end!!

True ~ So glad you are occupying yourself but have also been relaxing :pray: for you.

MiniMe ~ Excellent news about the blasty, GL, and everything crossed for you 2!!

Yogi Bear ~ thanks hun! Hope AF comes for you soon so you can try again.

Juniper ~ Will all be worth it, GL hun!

Wow - you miss a day on here and so there's so much to catch up on.

Minime - loads of good luck and good vibes heading your way for the little emby growing in your tum!

Justina - I've also had implantation bleeding before a BFP, so I wouldn't stress (there's that word again) as it could actually be a really good sign.

Babytruj - so sorry about your results. That thread someone else mentioned has heaps of tests to ask for. I went to a naturopath / acupuncturist yesterday who said that clotting disorders can be related to very early miscarriages - it's a shot in the dark but could be worth checking out???

Loops - Hope you can stay strong over the weekend. A good clear result on mon is better than something hazy over the weekend. Fingers crossed that you get a BFP - you could spend the ivf money on something fun instead, maybe?

Lisa B - I know what you mean about the money - constantly forking out for things. Went to a naturopath yesterday who didn't really tell me anything new but I just want to give anything a go (more money). Do you find yours is helpful? Mine couldn't give me very much advice as I'm already living a fairly boring, oops, I mean healthy life. Yay - starting stims - things are moving and happening!

Trueblue - hope when I'm up to my TWW I'm as busy and positive as you

Yogibear - great advice about ivf and expectations. If nothing else we're all learning that virtue of patience. Hope AF comes soon so you can get on with things.

AFM - heard one of those freaky stories yesterday about a girl I know who went to hospital with stomach pains and gave birth to a 7 pound baby boy - she had no idea she was pregnant! Imagine not having to wait at all!!! Anyway, like I said, have started going to a naturopath / acupuncturist because I've read that it can have good results with ivf. I have no idea how this could be but am willing to try anything. She mentioned a few disorders that I could be tested for if this cycle fails, but I was surprised that my FS hasn't ever talked about these. I've never really had any tests or investigations apart from the initial stuff a few years ago before I had my DS. It seems they can just keep collecting the money for each cycle without really doing anything else. Imagine any other doctor only having to aim for 30% success rate? Now I'm just being cynical.

It's good to be on cycle - feels like I'm doing something

Quick question - I just rang to find out my BT results and I ovulated this morning as I could feel the pain as well as the BT results which showed my oestrogen went down from yesterday and LH peaked etc - but my blast transfer isn't until next Wednesday. I rang the clinic as I though it should be on Tuesday (Ovulation day +5) but they said no, they allow two days to ovulate which means for me my transfer will be ovulation day +6. Is this normal for any of you guys to have a transfer potentially one day past your actual cycle date for a FET? - Hope this makes sense!
Sorry no persies - hope everyone is doing well!
xxx

Hello there Lairdoz - the few fets i have done is as you say ovulation day is called 0 then count from there and have transfer on either 3 or 5 days after that. but maybe they are going to thaw the embryo on the tuesday and give it a day to grow a bit more before transfer on wed, not sure? But anyway congrats that all systems are go!! am sure all will be fine and will be crossing everything that this cycle is THE ONE! good luck

Hi again to everybody :D

Hello everyone,
I have been reading over the posts and I must say, I am surprised at how many people out there have been on a long road TTC and you don't realise it is so common.
To know of others going through the similar situations, make it that little bit easier and knowing that there are people out there to talk to about what you are going through, even though each case is similar, it is still different for each person, the level of support that is on BB is amazing and gives you the strength not to give up.
Thank you in advance for all of your knowledge and advice that I know you guys will give over time.
I look forward to seeing you around BB :)
Take care
Nicole

Hi ladies

Oh well, I'm officially out again this cycle :( Got a BFN on my BT yesterday.

It was a hard morning for me yesterday - burst into tears as soon I was back in the car after having my bloods done at QFG. Poor hubby didn't know what to do.

I think I already knew the results and felt really overwhelmed by the whole process.

Anyway, that was last cycle and I'm now looking to the future for this cycle.

So I've now decided to start acupuncture and try some Chinese herbs. I met up with Zam yesterday afternoon and she was lovely :)

We had a big chat about my history and she has started me on herbs and acupuncture to address stress and sex hormones (kidney), as well as herbs to help with sleep and my cycles (apparently your liver contributes to that).

So here is a list of what I'm taking:

Omega 3 (2 tablets) each morning
Mexican Valerian (1x morning and night)
Premular (1 x morning)

And 8 mls (morning and night) of a very horrible tasting liquid mix of echinacea, elecampane, bupleurum, eyebright and marshmallow.

I'll also be doing acupuncture once a week.

Here's hoping this helps.

All the very best to all the lovely ladies in their TWW - have everything crossed for you.

I'll pop back for an update in the next few days on how the herbs are going.

Thanks again for all of the advice - its much appreciated :)

J xxoo

Juniper - hope you are doing well. I think I've had to pay previously because I was doing OI. Wow, the crinone will be included that's great I was factoring in $200 for that. :clap:

Trueblue - 7 days and counting. I hope the days fly past. It sounds like the will as you are busy.

Yogi - I agree, I try and break it all down to stages that I have to pass to get to the next. I also think stress is part and parcel of LT TTC, unfortunately. Hurry up AF!

Minime - congratulations on having such a great blastie. 50% chance is great. That's so much more than a woman doing it the natural way. Hopefully this will be it for you!!

Loops - GL as you head towards testing.

Kaybee - I know what you mean about wanting to give anything a go. I've tried so many different things before getting to IVF. I've changed shampoo, stopped painting my nails, tried a feng shui clean, acupuncture and a naturopath. The naturopath gave me a lot of advice like eat more greens, and egg almost everyday, add fruit to my diet (I'm vegetarian and I also dont really like fruit), oh and heaps more suggestions. The main thing these days is really to touch base and let her know where I'm up to and to pick up more pills. She changed my tonic now that I'm on IVF and gave me an extra tablet. She's nice to talk to and a really lovely person. In relation to other tests, I basically demanded tests all up front. I researched them and told my FS what I want to be tested for. My FS was agreeable but felt they were unnecessary. I'm glad I did them even though they were all negative, at least I have some peace of mind.

Lairdoz - sorry hun, I don't know the procedure for FETs as yet. GL I'm sure it will all work out.

Nicole - welcome and GL with your journey.

Justina - :hug: sorry to hear about the BFN...not fair! I agree the herbal tonics are horrid. I slug mine back in minimal water so it just one mouthful to skull.

AFM: Just about to watch my Gonal DVD and do the injection. I'm transferring from puregon so not too stressed about the injection.

Justina - So sorry to hear about your BFN, it never gets any easier does it. I always give myself a consolation bottle of wine & lots of chocolate, I find a glass just won't cut it! I done acupuncture with my last cycle but I'm not bothering this time around due to costs. Also, I did find some of the insertion of the needles quite painful & uncomfy didn't find it relaxing at all.

Minime - Fingers crossed for you

Lairdoz - I always find with my clinic for a FET the transfer takes place 6 days after trigger

Yogi- Why does AF never behave itself & always does the opposite of what you want her to do!!

Loops - How amazing would it be to get a natural BFP, fingers & toes crossed for you

AFM Had my first follicle scan today. Bit dissapointed seems I'm on go slow. I only have one egg that is at 1.5 & all the rest are still only at 1.0. I do remember last time that I was slow to start but then seemed to catch up so not going to stress about it & will just wait & see. I'm guessing I'll have my next scan on Tuesday but the clinic will call me tomorrow to confirm. I'm also very frustrated as my clinic opened a little 'subclinic' literally less than five minutes drive away where I could go for my blood tests and scans but when I went in today the manager informed me that tomorrow is their last day of operation & I'll have to go back to travelling up to the city!!! The lady that runs it is moving to Thailand & they have no one else to run it. Dam it, back to leaving at 05:40 to drive to the city so I can beat the rush hour.

Also quick question, whilst everyone is on the drugs do you do anything different?? We're staying with friends on the weekend & we usually have quite a few wines. I've always still had a glass whilst i'm doing the drugs but because I had such poor egg quality last time not sure if I should or not. Has anybody heard of having a drink effecting the quality of your eggs???

Thanks girls