LTTTC & Assisted Conception ~ April 2006 #2

Thanks Leis. :) I haven't had a lap and my Dr last night said there was no point as I "appear" fine, and it takes ages to get an appointment so no point wasting time. I don't really know anything about endo, but as you say you had hardly any symptoms and had a severe case of it.
I think we are just going to have a think for a couple of weeks before going ahead with the preliminary tests he has referred us for.
Is the ultrasound usually internal? I was so shocked that he was talking about IVF straight away that most of the questions I wanted to ask at the time left me. :(

Hi Megan I'm not up to the IVF stage yet but just wanted to say that most of the ultrasounds you undertake will be internal. Its just one of those unpleasant things you have to do! IVF comes in many many different forms. There is the though of IVF - where they take your eggs and fertilise them outside of your body and put them back to IUI which is insemination at ovulation. I think maybe you need to see which it is your dr is actually talking about. As you have unexplained infertility I doubt you would be going onto the most complex form straight away - well I would be surprised if you would!

Thanks Percy :) I think my Dr is wanting us to get these tests done and then it is back to him to discuss the best plan of action. I really know very little about IVF so I think I am about to go through a big learning curve!
I have been looking into the costs which is a bit scary. :eek: I guess we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it though!

Megan,

you details have been updated, my sweet. Welcome to this forum and I really hope your stay is short.

love
sushee

Megan - welcome to BB. I tend to agree with Leis, I also have severe endo and I remember years ago when I went to the doctor for horrendous period pain they didn't think I would have endo and with me the symptoms were glaringly obvious, I still remember the twit telling me I would be better once I had kids, which was not helpful to a 17 year old. That being said it's not just endo that could be your probelm so I would get a referral to a FS rather than a general gynea and let them guide you. I know a couple of FS in Melb that do laps as well as fertility stuff so perhaps one of those would be worth seeing? (just a thought)

Meredith - I dont mind your ticker either, good to see you are travelling along nicely and hope that the problems you have been having settle down soon.

Sushee - nice to see you back on the board, Charles is just gorgeous

Cherie - glad to hear that your dad is on the mend and that your cycle is going to plan, will be thinking of you

Shan - how are you going?

Big hi to everyone else:hello:

Me - the tww is almost over and I feel like death warmed up once again, so I imagine AF is due for another visit, :boohoo: I am at the point now that I don't even try and work out if I am pg or not, talk about pessimist. One good thing though, I am officially off clomid until I see my new FS and my gynea doesn't think the new FS will put me on it which is a relief after last week. It turns out the problems I had last week were probably from clomid as I bled into my ovary when I ovulated which was a tad unpleasant.

Hi Jane, would you mind sending me a PM with the names of the FS you know of? That would be a great help. Just confused as to why my GP referred me to a gynae instead of a FS??

No probs Megan

Cheers

Jane

hi girls well my first wait is almost over, we have our first ivf appointment next tuesday with melbourne ivf but we are going to the clinic in ringwood, i am a little nervous and a little excited, what should i expect from the first visit, do things move reasonably fast once that is done
i have also been looking for a new job it currently takes me 1hr to 1and 1/2 hours to get to work and home again, we moved into our new home in january but had to move to DP side of town as we have joint custody of his 13yr old dd so needed to be close to her school and unfortunately not close to mine, some days i cope better with the travel than others last week i did not and my poor boss asked me to do something and i burst into tears, he was fine though but last night i went for an interview at a school much closer to home so fingers crossed, oh well sorry i seem to be rambling, hope everyone else is coping with the cold and not getting horrible bugs
michelle

Good luck Michelle :goodluck:

Hi Everyone,

I am new here but I have been ttc for a long time so I pop in every now and then. I had started with clomid and fell pregnant last year on our 3rd cycle of clomid with twins but sadly we lost our girls at 22 weeks due to an incompetent cervix. It has now been 10 months so we are quite desperate to fall pregnant again. Since our loss I have tried 5 months of clomid with no success so we are now considering the IVF path. I am nervous but excited about hopefully getting closer to our dream.

Michelle- I noticed you said you had an appointment with Melb IVF, I had my 1st appointment a week and a half ago with Melb at Freemasons. Next week I will have my Nurses and counselling session at Ringwood and from there it moves quite quickly. I can probably start with the process next month and hopefully the month after they can place a fertilized egg into my body. I will keep you updated. I guess it also depends if any tests are required, we had aleady done quite a few recently so they didn't need to really do any more.

Hopefully we can all have success soon.

Love Linda

Michelle, Megan & Linda
I just wanted to wish all three of you the best of luck with IVF. Hope you all get that BFP very very soon.
How's everyone else doing?
Love
Kate

Percy – my Dad’s going great guns (thanks for asking :) ) He was discharged home from hospital on Monday night, and saw the orthopaedic surgeon today, who was really pleased with how all the bones were healing. I didn’t know that metformin could damage your liver .. are you supposed to have regular blood tests if you’re taking it? I’m taking 2 tablets a day, without too many side effects (although DH would tell you that I’m more gaseous than usual psml :cryinglaugh: ) Hope you’re enjoying the move to your own place.

Chookie – very exciting that you’re using the bush flower essences. I’ve always been interested in them, but have never tried any. What effect does the She Oak bush flower essence have?

Megan– welcome to LTTTC. Even though I’m sad you’re here, I’m also really happy to see you .. I found it difficult to keep up to date in the TTC threads, and was always wondering how you were going. So it will be lovely to be able to keep track of you more easily ;) It sounds like you took a running leap into the world of assisted conception. Are you having any tests other than ultrasound, e.g. a hsg where they shoot blue dye through your tubes to check if they're clear? The ultrasounds that I had during my investigative period were all internal – the first one I had was done by the most sensitive, gentle of technicians, and since then, the OB’s have been a bit rougher, but I had a nice ‘introduction’ and am not too bothered by them now. I also saw a gynae first up .. she did all the testing and eliminating reasons and trying simple stuff first, and then referred me onto the ivf clinic (although the person managing my cycles is also an OB)

Jane – yeouch at bleeding into your ovary! I honestly hope there’s a BFP on the way for you, and not AF *hugs*

Michelle – best of luck for your first ivf appt. It’s a bit nerve-racking isn’t it, as well as being kind of exciting too … like you’re finally doing something proactive about TTC (or that’s the way I felt, anyway). After my first appt, things moved fairly quickly, mostly because I’d already had all the blood tests, ultrasounds, hsg, sperm analyses (well, not me .. DH did) etc, so we jumped straight in and started the Synarel spray about a week after my first appt. If you haven’t had all your preliminary tests done, it might take a little bit longer to get things up and running, but still shouldn't be too long for you.

Linda – I’m so sorry that the clomid hasn’t worked for you hunny. I hope you have lots of success on the ivf path.

Leis – I’ll be thinking of you next week, and hope that your op goes well. It all goes uphill from here!

As for me ... OMG ... Why didn't anybody tell me that my ovaries would get this sore with the injections :eek: Every time I sit down heavily or cough I get shooting pains rights throughout my abdomen. I had a blood test this morning, and when I phoned the clinic this arvo, they said to drop the Puregon dose from 125mg to 75mg, so I'm hoping that lessens the pain a little. I honestly don't know how you all stay so cheerful on these drugs .. I feel absolutely dreadfully unwell .. I'd just like to crawl under my doona for a few days, until this is all over. Tell me it gets better .. please!

Cherie glad to hear your dad is doing fine...I remember when I had my IVF and as soon as i had the trigger shot, the pain began, i could barely walk it hurt so much, but now i think it was due to all the endo in there making my ovaries sit incorrectly... youch.... love leis xx

Michelle, all the best for your 1st appointment. Please let us know how you go. :)

Hi Linda, welcome! :) Seems there are a few of us here starting the IVF journey. Wow, the whole process does seem to move quite quickly. I've been suprised reading other people's experiences at how fast things move along.

Hi Cherie! Ditto at being able to keep up with you as well now! lol I was trying to keep track of you too, but now it will be much easier! I tried sending you a PM the other day but you've reached your quota!! lol
I have found out since my last post (thanks to Jane ;) ) that the Dr I am seeing is very good and is a FS - he does the works! He is from Monash IVF. I didn't know this when I went to see him but I feel much more at ease knowing that he is good at what he does and there would be a reason he isn't doing a lap or any other tests - I think I just need to learn to ask more quetions (if I can remember them when I'm there! lol) He did breifly mention a HSG but I got the feeling he is waiting on the results of these other tests first.
As for the internal ultrasound, I guess I just have to get used to that! He did an internal when I saw him the other day, so I guess that's the first of many & I will have to just grin and bare it!
Ouch at your ovaries! That certainly doesn't sound like fun at all. I just noticed your ticker - only 11 days to go until your egg pick up. How exciting.
What do you need to do in the meantime? Do you just continue to take the Puregon until then?

I hope everyone is well. It's much easier to keep up in here than the TTC threads I must admit! ;)

Cherie - that sounds terrible! Hope you are doing ok!

Aleida - welcome and good luck with your journey! I used to go to Melbourne IVF before I moved to NZ - I thought they were very nice! If we have to do IVF I'll be back over there to do it :)

Well my blood test came back normal - so thankfully I can keep on taking the metformin. My FS over here is very very cautious - some what too much! - and is very much a go slow dr which is very very frustrating. In Australia the next step we were going to do was the gonal F injections but this dr thinks we should just try metformin on its own for a bit as I managed to get pregnant (though I m/c) on my own. I really feel like I've slid down a big huge ladder and am right abck at the beginning again.

Anyways we just have to wait and see if I ovulate this cycle - if I do then I'm to keep on with the metformin on its own - and if I don't then I'm going to go back to my good old pal, clomid :( Blurgh he's a horrible "friend"!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful relaxing weekend!

Hi all, I haven't posted in a long time, and being the other "jane" I thought it would confuse people...but I'd like to join in if that's OK with everyone... we are doing our 1st IVF cycle, with blastocyst....I'm on day 12 and looks like Monday, Tues or Wed next week will be egg collection...I'm very, very nervous about the whole thing, and excited at the same time. DH and I have unexplained infertility and after 3 inject cycles, we've decided to bite the bullet and go for it - IVF that is. My prayers are with everyone that we all hit the jackpot this month! I look forward to chatting and getting the wonderful support and advise you all offer. Thanks
Jane - IVF first timer

Hi girls, well to make next week more crazy, not only do we have our first ivf appointment on Tuesday, I just found out I have got a second interview for the job i went for on wednesday, i am meeting with the principal of the school on monday night, have ivf appoint on tuesday and we are booked into crown towers on saturday night for my birthday. Anyway in relation to our first appointment a couple of you mentioned tests, i have had the usual pre pregnancy tests done, rubella, i needed a shot and have since been retested and i am fine, also a pap smear, my dp had a vas revers in december and it seems to have not worked he has had numerous sperm tests since so that is why we have been referred i have not been through a battery of tests, can anyone let me know what tests i may be in for. I have all of tuesday off, which i am looking forward to. Oh well the weekend is nearly here,
Aleida, sounds like we could be going through Ringwood about the same time, will be good to have someone to compare notes with, we are actually seeing the dr at ringwood also
well must go

Shellendo- Although it is not nice that we have to go down the IVF path it is nice to know there are other people out there in the same boat. I am a little bit excited to have things moving closer to our life long dream. I have my nurses appointment on Wed and see the counselor on Thur and I will keep you updated on how things go from there. I hopefully don't have to have many tests done as I have previously gone through a number of tests. I had a levivist done Dec 2004 to check the tubes etc and nothing. So far I have been catagorised as having unexplained infertility. Hopefully we will both find success soon.

Talk to you soon

Love Linda

Megan - oops .. sorry about the PM :o I have cleaned out my inbox now, so there should be lots of room lol. As far as I know, I just keep taking the Puregon + Synarel while I wait for my EPU date.
I'm glad you're feeling confident with your Dr now .. I'm sure everything is going to go just fine for you.

Percy - glad to hear that your blood test results were good. I hope all this 'go slow' stuff either results in a bfp, or goes by quickly ;)

Janee - welcome back! Of course you can join in. Wow - so early next week is the big day. I hope you're able to relax a bit over the weekend, so that you're not so nervous anymore.

Shellendo - OMG your week is going to be very busy next week. You won't have time to sit down and think! But seems like lots of good things are happening for you though.

Linda - good luck for your appointments next week :hug:

I dropped my Puregon dose today, but my ovaries are still pretty tender though. And I'm booked in for a scan on Monday morning (at 6.40am :eek:), so I'm not sure what will happen after that.

This may be TMI, but has anyone else experienced a huuuuuge increase in EWCM while they're using the Puregon? I've never had anything like it ... if I got EWCM like this normally, I'd probably have no need for IVF lol.

How's everyone going on the BFP Express?

Haven't felt much like posting the past few days, very irritable... and want to stay positive if thats at all possible!

Started spotting a bit yesterday and today... sorry if this is tmi but not on the knicker liner only when I wipe? Not sure what that means... also cramping, bloated and feel like crap! Hoping that its not the evil af anouncing an early arrival! Temp is still up so am hopeful that maybe we caught the egg after all:pray:

Leis, especially want to wish you all the best for your surgery next Wednesday.

cheers
Kate

Hi Girls

Cherie you can get a huge increase in EWCM with the puregon. Depending on your scan on Mon Bob will either book your EPU or more likely arrange another scan for a couple of days after that. Hope all is going well. The early morning appts are killers aren't they!! And now that it's getting so cold!!:pray: this is your cycle
:heartbeat: Shez xox

Thanks Shez :) Nice to know that I'm progressing normally lol.
I hope everything is still going well with your bump - I think of you every time I sit in Bob's waiting room, hoping that you left some babydust on the seats lol.

Kate - :SAAF: I hope your spotting doesn't amount to anything, and your temp stays nice and high. Keeping everything crossed for you hun.

Hi all

Good to have some more company in here, although I wish we all got to know each other under different circumstances.

Cherie - I have got everything crossed for you this month, I hope those tender ovaries have lots of healthy eggs, and that things aren't too uncomfortable for you

Kate - I hope you are still hanging in there on the BFP express

Shell - good luck on Tuesday with Lyndon, I hope it goes well

Janee - welcome back and goodluck next week, I am sure we'll work out who is who either that or we can think of a good nickname for me, I have never really had one

Percy - I am glad to have helped a little and glad that you are feeling less stressed about everything

Leis - not long to go now, gosh it will be good to have it over and done with

Chookie & Shan - how are you both, I scrolled down but couldn't see you in the last couple of posts

Me - well AF is almost upon me so I am out for another month, have terrible cramps so I know she will be here by the end of the day. Only two more cycles until I see the new FS so hopefully time will fly, with the amount of Uni work I have I don't think I will have to hope too hard, this year is flying along already. I am having some acupuncture on Wednesday night for the period pain and PMS, just so that I can keep on top of it all in the mean time.

Hope everyone is going well.

Hi all, thanks for the welcome. I shall do personals I promise, but I'm in a rush today, so making it quick.....just wanted to check in w everyone and say thankyou for letting me join back in. We are going in for egg collection Monday - very very early......well at least it doesn't give me all morning to get nervous about it. Fingers and toes and everything else crossed. There were 14 follicles at scan yesterday so here's hoping! Best wishes to everyone
janee:)

Ohh, best of luck for tomorrow's EPU Janee :hug: I'll be up early too, for my scan, so I'll send some positive babydusty thoughts your way.

How are you doing Jane? Did AF show up yesterday? I feel so sad for you hun :hugs:

Thank goodness my poor little ovaries are feeling better now. I think dropping the dosage of puregon really helped, but now I'm freaking out that because I can't feel anything, it means that nothing is happening in there, and I am imagining my scan tomorrow showing no follicles have developed at all. I know I'm being ridiculous ... just can't help myself :rolleyes:

Janee, good luck on your first EPU, I'm sure all will go well with you.

Cherie, on my first I didn't feel that much & for a minute second thought they'd gone, of course not though. I got a good haul.

Good luck ladies, and to all you other on your 'virgin voyage'.
Hoping for lots of success.

Hi ladies

Just wanted to say a final 'cheerio' before i make the pilgrammage down to Sydney tomorrow.... the big operation is on wednesday first on the list so will probably be around a 530 arrival at the hospital.. I hope when I return there are heaps and heaps of BFPs about.... we need some more graduates.. will check in sometime next week.. love to you all and good luck

Love Leis xx

hi all. well i thought i would join you all. i am currently on metformin and clomid. today is cd22. i have been reading through the posts for awhile now and i can't tell you how much it helps. i feel there is actually people out there that understand how i feel. anyway keeping my fingers crossed for everyone including myself.

Leis - best of luck for your op! I hope they get all your endo this time so you can get a BFP! :)

Good luck to everyone who is having an EPU this week!

Jori - welcome! How are you finding the metformin? What dose are you on? Is this your first cycle of clomid and met together? Hope you tummy isn't too bad!!! :)

Hi Girls,

Sorry i've been MIA but i've been working for my Mum for the last two weeks, but that's all over now and life is getting back to normal. I've spent half of this morning catching up on housework and stuff and the other half catching up on all the goss on here.

Thank you everyone who asked after me....i tried to get on over the last few weeks, but time got the better of me. I'm soooo not used to working full time anymore, so my routines were all out of whack.

I'll start my personals etc from my next post as it would probably take me at least 3 pages to get to everyone. DH asked me what i was up to this afternoon and all i could say was that i HAD to catch up with my BB friends...hehehe...he actually said 'okay..have fun'...

A big welcome to all the newbies in here.

Leis - best of luck with you operations...fingers crossed they get it all out and you can finally get going with making babies...i'll be thinking about you on Wednesday.

Have a great Day everyone....and it's sooooo goood to be back.

Hi all, still a bit whacked out from this morning's EPU...so sorry again for no personals...I went out like a light. Got 8 eggs in the end....I don't know whether to be happy or disappointed???? is 8 OK???? anyway, back at home, resting up and keeping everything crossed for a good fertilisation rate.
Love to all :)
Jane

Hey Janee .. glad to hear that your EPU went off without any dramas. I hope you're getting some good rest, and sending lots of fertilising vibes to your eggie :fertilise:

Shan - IKWIM about full-time work interrupting your BB routine ;) I never feel like I can keep up with everyone as much as I'd like to.

Welcome Jori - glad you've decided to come out of hiding. I hope things are going well with your clomid and metformin. Did you have a CD21 blood test yesterday?

Leis - big hugs to you sweets, and I'll be thinking of you as you have your op. I hope Dr Cooper does a fantastic job, so that you can jump back into your TTC journey.

Well, I had my scan this morning ... all my worrying was for nothing! There was about 5-6 follicles on each ovary, about 15mm in size. Bob said that my last blood test had showed that I was on the verge of ovarian hyperstimulation, so no wonder I was feeling so crap a few days ago! I've felt much better since my dosage was dropped.

My EPU has been booked in for Friday morning, and my transfer next Monday, so it's all starting to happen now. DH has arranged to take Friday off, so that he can drive me home afterwards.

Cherie - glad to hear everything is on track, and thanks for the kind wishes, AF did end up arriving although only today, I spent the entire weekend thinking she was about to arrive and of course she was late, mean old so and so

Janee - glad to hear the EPU went well, I hope you are taking it nice and easy, I will be sending lots of :fertilise: thoughts your way

Shan - good to see you back on board, how is everything going for you this cycle?

Big Hi to everyone else, I hope you all survived Mother's Day. My Mum gave me a lovely pot plant so I was quite chuffed with that.

Yay!! Cherie... here's to another Bob Watson success story!! :pray: for a good haul on friday.

Love Shez xox

Thank you everyone for your warm welcome.

Percy i have been on the metformin for about 3 months now. don't find it too bad. i am taking 850mg morn and night. this is my second month on met and clomid together.

Cherie the first month of taking met and clomid together i was told to go for a blood test on cd22. the results were that i ovulated. specialist didn't mention going for another blood test. i was told to come back and see him if i wasn't pregnant within 3 mnths.

Jane, bugger about AF arriving, and playing tricks on you to boot. Mean old cow.

Janee, 8 eggs is perfect! That's what most clinics aim for, between 8 - 10 eggs, so you did suberbly!

Cherie, sending you loads of GL vibes for your EPU on Fri. It sounds like your ovaries are doing what they're supposed to, and yes, stimming was always uncomfy for me, and I never got more than 10 eggs. I too couldn't walk after the trigger, there was so much discomfort. I'm hoping that you won't have to go through it again, because a BFP will be waiting for you at the end of this.

To everyone else, :hello:

love
sushee

Good morning all... I'm feeling sane now after my potion of anaesthetic drugs yesterday, so here goes for my first official personals:

Cherie - good luck for Friday...I hope all goes well for you. I was so nervous, but really don't know what I was worrying about now. I think I was most scared about embarrassing myself, as with the "twilight anasthetic" you can still be talking even though you're out of it.

Jori - welcome to BB. I'm kinda new, as I didn't post for a while, but really think the support is amazing here.

Jane - sorry to hear about AF arriving. Doesn't she know when to stay away?

And to everyone else - a huge big hello:hello:


Me, got the phone call today, that out of 8 eggs, 7 have fertilised!!!!!
Can't believe it. We are doing blastocyst, so another few days of waiting and anxiousness, but :pray: :pray: :pray: all goes well for a transfer on Saturday!

Hugs to everyone. Have a good day all.
Love

Janee

Janee,

what excellent numbers! WTG! It bodes well for a few blasts for you to choose from, so will be keeping my fingers crossed for loads of healthy embies to do their thing!

love
sushee

Thanks sushee, and also for your reply to my epu question!
I'm off work for the rest of the week, so hoping to rest up.. not really my thing keeping still for more than 5 minutes, but I'm gonna try.
Hope everyone's having a good day! :)
Janee

:

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I think I was most scared about embarrassing myself, as with the "twilight anasthetic" you can still be talking even though you're out of it.

---

Hehe .. me too! I'm worried that I will wake up and find myself picking my nose or scratching my crotch or something equally embarrassing :o (as you can probably tell, I'm a mass of insecurities LOL)

YAY for your 7 fertilised embies Janee :confetti: I hope the next few days go by quickly for you (and you can enjoy the time off work resting). I'll be thinking of you on Saturday.

Thanks for your lovely thoughts Sush .. I hope I have a BFP announcement in a few weeks too.

Hey Jori - that's great that you already know that you ovulate on the clomid/met combination. I had to have blood tests each cycle on clomid, because I didn't O the first few times and we were adjusting the dosage for a few cycles. Best of luck to you hun.

Jane - :hug: bummer that AF showed up. Nasty nasty witch.

Thanks Shez - I'm hoping your Bob Watson babydust rubs off on me! You were right though - he is an absolute gem!

I'm a bit cranky - I rang out of Synarel, and had to buy a new bottle of it (at $110 mind you) - I'm only going to get 2 days use out of it :wall: DH keeps reminding me that we have to do things properly, and that a second cycle would be far more expensive than a second bottle of Synarel, but I still feel a bit cranky about it.

I've got one final scan tomorrow morning, and then my hcg injection tomorrow night. Is that the trigger shot that a few people have said is so uncomfy? Maybe I shouldn't plan on doing anything too strenuous at work on Thursday.