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Please share your LTTTC success stories here! Sometimes the thing that can help someone cope is knowing that there are others who have walked the same road, endured what they are enduring, and have eventually had success. So please share your story and inspire hope in others.
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I was 26, had already had 3 children and was a SAHM when my husband at the time decided that we weren't ever going to have any more kids. I was shocked and angry as I wasn't ready to stop, but he was adamant, saying he would not agree to any more kids, and since we were going to be together forever, I would obviously not be having any more anyway. We looked at him getting the snip, but as I was scheduled for a lap on an unrelated matter (polycystic ovaries) my gynae said he'd tie my tubes at the same time, and my husband thought it was a marvellous idea. Within a month, it was done. No one really asked me if I really wanted to do it, and at 26, I don't think they should have anyway, but that's a whole different thread.
We stayed together for another 6 years, and when I was 30, I started telling him that I regretted tying my tubes and I wanted to have the operation reversed. I researched my options and by the time we split up in Aug 2000, I had already decided I was going ahead with my operation.
In Feb 2001, I bumped into a really good guy friend who I worked with for 3 years and he asked me out. Within a couple of weeks, I knew he was the man I'd be with for a long time, and in April 2001, he moved in with me. In July 2001, I got the news that I was scheduled for my tubal ligation reversal!
I had the op and was then told that the first 6 months after the op was the optimum time to fall pg, so my long-time colleague but brand-new BF and I decided to start TTC! I bought a MaybeBaby and we went to work, timing ourselves perfectly. But month after month after month, AF would arrive, right on cue.
After a year of trying, I suggested getting more tests done, fearing something had gone wrong with my op. But less than a week after, BF proposed! And BF became DF and suddenly my parents wanted us to wait until after the wedding to continue TTC (good Catholic parents that they are :rolleyes: ). DF and I agreed to keep trying naturally and if we hadn't fallen by the wedding we'd do the tests.
We didn't have any success in all that time, and after we got married in Jan 2004, 2 and a 1/2 years from when we first started TTC, we started fertility testing. In very short order, we discovered that the operation to reverse my ligation was unsuccessful and my tubes were completely and irreversibly blocked.
In July 2004, we did our first IVF cycle.
Because the blocked tubes was seemingly our only obstacle to success, and because I'd conceived my first 3 children with relative ease, we were given the best prognosis possible. Every medico we met believed we'd quickly and easily achieve a pg. My FS himself told me not to be too optimistic, but he believed we shouldn't take too long to achieve our dream.
And when my first cycle produced 6 evenly matured eggs and 5 fertilised, it felt like it was all meant to be. Everything was going along in a text book fashion and on transfer day, we transferred a beautiful grade 1 day 2 embryo which was already at 8 cells. The clinic staff joked that it was a perfect outcome, and I was sent home to wait til my BT, armed with crinone and high spirits.
On 13dpo, I went to the loo and found I was bleeding.
I was devastated. I mean I know you're not supposed to expect it to work first time, but I actually thought it would for us. DH was philosophical about it - he never believed it would be quite that easy. Never mind, I told myself, maybe it didn't happen the first time, but it will happen soon, I knew it.
The next month, we did an FET. Of our 5 remaining embryos, 2 thawed well, so we transferred both. This time I was a little more realistic, but still optimistic. It was also at this time that I was looking up IVF-related stuff on google, and found BellyBelly. I coped with the TWW better being able to talk to others in the same situation as me on BB, even though back then the community was very small, maybe only 7 of us doing IVF. I was obsessing about symptoms and trying to keep my mind off it when at 12dpo, there was blood on the tissue when I went to the loo. I left work and rushed to the clinic, but by the afternoon, AF had arrived. The call to the clinic confirmed what I already knew.
I immediately called my FS and hounded him into allowing me to do a stim cycle straight away, and when he relented, I scheduled annual leave for the duration of my impending TWW. DH and I went mad reading up on anything and everything, and we decided that bedrest was the way to go.
My third cycle (2nd stim) we collected 7 eggs and 6 fertilised. We transferred 2 grade 1 embryos, a 6 cell and a 4 cell, and the minute I got home, I got into bed and barely left it for two weeks. It was hell, but I wanted to give it everything we had.
Two days before my BT, my sister called. Her first words to me were 'How could this be happening to me?' She then told me she had 'accidentally' fallen pg to her new BF. She came straight over and did a HPT at my house, then called her BF and my parents to tell them the news from my home phone. I sat there being supportive but I was dying inside. The very next day, I started bleeding.
My FS thought it might be best if we went straight into an FET and we did, transferring 2 embryos the next month. I tried bedrest for a few days, and then went back to work. It was my fourth cycle, and in my mind, the law of averages meant that surely I would be pregnant by this cycle, but tbh I wasn't surprised to find myself bleeding again on 12 dpo. Christmas was coming, so we were forced to have a break now. I felt mentally and emotionally exhausted, and despite wanting to keep plugging along, knew it was time to stop for a little while.
That Christmas turned out to be one of the worst times of my life, as it happened. My sister was already showing, and all everyone talked about was her pregnancy and about babies. My mum joked about how I could stop trying now because she had enough grandchildren, my BIL joked that he was so virile that he could get my sister pg without trying. The look on my DH's face when he heard that broke my heart into little pieces. I felt like I would never ever smile again. I didn't know we could be so hurt or feel so alone.
When January rolled around, and a new (3rd) stim cycle started, everything else in our lives went pear-shaped. We got into a nasty custody arguement with my XH over my older kids, and my beloved furbaby of 11 years, my cat Trini, passed away unexpectedly, these events occuring all within a few days of each other. It seemed like all I was doing between injections was crying. So I suppose it was no surprise that when I went for my scan, they only saw 3 small follies. We discussed it with my FS and agreed to cancel the cycle. I was now on a break again, this time for two months.
In those two months, I read a lot, researched a lot, and decided that perhaps I had been too negative. People talked about being positive, and how visualisation helped them, so I made some decisions. I started seeing a naturopath and an acupuncturist. I even began going to a chiropractor. I began to excercise and lost 6 kgs and was on the road to losing much more when I started stim cycle number 4. A few blood tests into the cycle and my levels weren't moving. I called my FS to ask about it and he asked me what I was doing differently, and I told him about the alternative stuff and the weight loss. He immediately and sternly told me to stop trying to lose weight now, as my fertility issue was not weight-related, and I was likely stuffing my my cycle by dieting. I stopped dieting that very minute.
After a longish cycle, we did eventually manage to get 9 eggs, but of varying maturity. Only 6 fertilised this time, and we transferred 2 grade 1 at day 2. This cycle, I kept up the positivity. I sang to my embryos, talked to them, made plans for them, visualised them sticking and growing and evolving. I told my DH that I felt differently this time, and he agreed and said he did too. My BT was on Good Friday and we made plans to see my family, including my heavily pg sister, for Easter lunch. We had a good feeling.
On Good Friday, DH and I walked hand-in-hand to the clinic. This was the first cycle where AF had not shown up before the blood test and we felt it meant something. The clinic nurse also said she felt like this might be it, and we smiled at each other, feeling like we had a little secret between us. We got home from the clinic and the day yawned in front of us. The phone call couldn't be made until 2pm, so DH and I decided to nap until then. We fell sleep holding hands.
At 1.30pm, I got out of bed to prepare, and went to the loo.
I was bleeding.
I can't begin to tell you how dark the days that followed were for us. We didn't eat, we didn't speak, even to each other, all we did was walk. We didn't turn up for the Sunday lunch, and no one called about it either, which was a blessing. We just kept leaving the house at 11am and walking 4-6 hours, until we were both absolutely exhausted. Then we'd sleep, and the next day we'd start all over again, walking. I lost 4 kgs in 4 days, my DH even more. My DH talks about how he felt like we were alive, but not alive. I know what he means.
On the Tues, he went to work and that night, I broached the subject. I knew we couldn't keep avoiding it. We talked for hours and decided that this was changing us too much, that our older kids were suffering, that there needed to be an end date. We had gone from the people who everyone believed would be pg in no time, to the people at which the staff at the clinic looked at in sympathy. Even here on BB, it felt like everyone was moving on but me.
The next day I made an appt with my FS. We met with him and discussed our options. We'd only done day 2 transfers so far and I wanted to try something else. He suggested that we thaw our remaining embryos to blastocyst stage, and if that failed, we'd do a full stim blastocyst cycle. We agreed and I also said that as I had had not the tiniest trace of HCG in my system in all my previous cycles, I also wanted to try Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), which at that time, was incredibly new to Perth still. I had a well-documented history of failures to implant, I was a perfect candidate.
But FS said we'd try to blast cycles first, so we agreed. 3 more cycles at most.
The FET that followed was pretty much doomed from the start. The 4 remaining embryos we had didn't thaw well, and within a day, two had succumbed and the remaining two were looking worse for wear. I got a call from the clinic saying they thought it might be better if I transferred on day 3 than wait any longer, and spooked, I agreed. It was no surpise to any of us when that cycle, too, failed.
The next month, May 2005, my sister delivered a beautfiful baby girl by elective c/s. My sister had asked me to be the little girl's godmother and I had cried with gratitude. But going to see my sister and her new baby in hospital was sooo hard. My DH stood in the corner watching all the well-wishers and the new mum and bub with the saddest eyes I'd ever seen. I almost couldn't bear to look at him.
That night we talked and realised that something was changing in us. We were looking to a future without a child. Not out of choice, but nonetheless, we could now see it. It was more real now to us than it had ever been, and we were finally starting to accept it. We had at that stage done 7 cycles - 4 stim cycles, 3 FETs - and had not registered the slightest trace of HCG in all that time. Add that to the 3 years we tried naturally without any succcess, and we believed the writing on the wall was clear: we had to face the fact that we might never have a child together.
We moved into our 5th stimulated cycle with wariness. We were therefore surprised when my levels went off like a rocket and we collected 10 evenly matured eggs at EPU. 9 fertilised and of those, 3 went on to become blastocysts. Five days after EPU, we transferred two Grade 1 blastocysts and froze the last.
The TWW was very short, only 9 days, but I knew I was a quite jaded at that stage, and felt in my heart we were just going through the motions. I did an HPT at 11dpo, and when it came back -ve, I was resigned to another BFN. My brother came on a visit from overseas at that time, and the day before my BT, he came for dinner. We talked about our journey with him, and I told him that if DH and I never ever had a child together, that I would still consider myself so very blessed to have the life I have. That night DH and I talked about how I was feeling, and I told him I hadn't the slightest symptoms, where in previous cycles I'd had many. The only thing I was feeling was very bloated, to the point of discomfort, and it was why the clinic had asked me to come in for my BT a day early, fearing OHSS. We planned our next cycle, both aware that it was to be our last.
The next day I went for my BT then shot off to a work training session. DH was given instructions to call the clinic at 2pm and to sms me the result we were both expecting. When 2pm rolled around and I didn't get an sms, I started getting peeved, thinking he'd forgot. When my phone rang at 2.15pm in a deathly quiet training room, I got angry with him. I picked up the phone ready to give him a piece of my mind.
But my big, 6ft 4in, strong-and-silent husband was crying. "You're pregnant" was the first thing he said.
And that's when I started crying too!
Charles Alan was conceived on our 8th cycle. He is the light of our lives, the spoilt younger brother of 3 much older siblings, and the very much loved, very precious grandson to both sets of grandparents. He was born at 1.59pm on the 16th of April 2006 (Easter Sunday!) weighing 7lb 14oz. He was worth every minute of every day of our journey, and to this day, I cannot believe he is here and he is mine.
And even though he's here, I am truly changed forever by the experiences DH and I had, and will be a LTTTCer at heart forever.
In Dec 2007, we transferred our last blastocyst embryo and it didn't stick. Our TTC journey is now over, but never ever forgotten.
Hi Sushee,
Thank you for posting this thread. Although I can't really add to it in terms of a success, it is encouraging to know that some people do get BFPs! :)
Still holding out for mine, and after reading about your experiences, it does seem to be perseverance and a numbers game.
Thanks again for the encouragement and a glimpse of a little light at the end of what has become a very long, dark tunnel.
Hi Sushee,
how could I NOT drop a line on this thread after you asked me. I actually felt really chuffed that you thought it a good idea, hopefully giving inspiration to others in (what was) our boat !
Here is my story ..................................
In 1997 I was blessed with a baby boy (natrually) with then partner, after not trying for long at all. All my family had emmigrated to Adelaide 7 years before, while I married and settled in the North of England (then 27 yrs old).
Unfortunately partner and I seperated in June 1998 and I proceeded to go back and forth with DS too and from UK for about 3 years. In between living with friends and making my way as a single mum.
February 2000, I met my now ROCK and DH (I was then 30). Meeting through mutial friends we moved in together 6 months later. He had previously been married before too, but with NO kids.
January 2001 to my surprise I took a HPT and found it to be positive. Although a bit of a shock, we both were delighted and not for one moment, did I think anything would / could go wrong !!!
Two weeks or so after the test I started to bleed and Dr sent me for a scan, NO sac was found. But after taking Hcg blood test they were found to be going slowly up. Consultant soon confirmed it was a an ectopic pregnancy, probably between 6 - 9 weeks. I was kept in hospital and had my left tube removed !!
Two weeks to the day ....................... on going to bed I suddenly awoke with 2 paramedics in my room !!! I had suffered a major seizure (poor DH thought I was having a heart attack). Only to have further test and told I had Epilepsy. The ectopic had bought it to the fore-front (as it has been lying dormant since my teens and the stress triggered it).
We moved on and proceeded to keep trying, I seemed to fall pregnant every 6 months or so. Unfortaunately each time they ended in M/C (usually between 6-7 weeks). I remember each time I would go to the EPU praying for them to find a heartbeat .........................it never happend. Between 2001 and 2004 (just before we emmigrated to Adelaide too) I had 5 M/C !!!
We settled well over here and started to try again .................... took another HPT in June 2005 ............. positive. We thought all our Christmas's had come at once. Start of a new life downunder and a new baby.
By that time we had already joined a fertility clinic (who had been doing test's on previous m/c). They then confirmed I was peri-menopausal (hence low, poor quality remaining eggs, I was 35). I went in for a routine scan, consultant seemed very quiet and confirmed my abdomen was full of blood. I had had another ectopic, but this one was very serious. The right remaining tube had ruptured, I was bleeding internally and rushed straight to hospital. Hcg count was found to be 26,000, I was probably between 9-13 weeks !!! Hence remaining tube had now gone.
Our only option was IVF ....................... so the journey began !!!!
To cut a long story short we did 3 cycles of icsi, back to back in 2006.
1st: 5 eggs, 2 embies BFN
2nd: 3 eggs, 2 embies BFN
3rd: 1 egg ................. cancelled the cycle.
January 2007 DH and I had a long hard talk about whether or not to keep riding this "rollercoaster". I decided I could put myself through it ONE more time, I wanted nothing more for DH to become a Daddy.
March that year I started my 4th cycle (icsi) and used another injection along with all the other meds. Luveris ............. which I believed helped my poor quality eggs (it boost the eggs during a critical time of harvesting).
Each previous cycle had ended with AF arriving the day before the blood test. This time I was determined to be MORE focussed ......................... I was so much more positive in my self and would take 20 mins a day to focus on my 2 embies that had been put back in April (that cycle I produced 6 eggs).
The night before I was due to test, I had not bled and I knew in my gut-feeling that this time it had worked.
DH and I went for the test at the clinic and waited in the city for the call. IT CAME ............................... "Sarah, you've finally done it" said the nurse, Hcg was 284.
That was May this year .................................. My long awaited baby girl Angel is due this Monday !!!
I still pinch myself now, when I feel my bubs moving inside me. She truely is an angel sent by God. I feel so blessed and just want others out there to know that IT CAN HAPPEN !!!!!!
I will never, ever forget my other little bubs that never made it too this world. They will be in my heart always and I know when this baby is born I shall be VERY emotional, knowing my journey has finally come to an END. I will never forget the feeling of laying on the bed waiting to see/hear her heartbeat ............. many times before I had been let down, SHE truely is a fighter.
Stay strong ladies and gentlmen (yep, the partners are often over looked). There is a GOD .......................... he will guide your heart if you stay focused.
Much love and luck to you all
Reags Xx
Thanks for posting your story Reags. I am so glad you have decided to share it with us! It is very inspiring, and is a great addition to this thread.
Sushee and Reags, you are two very strong women and reading these stories brings tears to my eyes. I am so very happy u got ur prayers answered and I'll keep praying for all those who are TTC.
Hi Ladies,
Thankyou for posting your stories - it does give hope. I often search the web for success stories such as yours to keep me going - there have been times in the past when i think i am just wasting our time/emotions and money. But something in me/us just says keep going so here i am just turned 43 and still no kids but i just don't want to give up - i will do just about anything to have a baby - we are too old to adopt in australia and the wait for overseas is ridiculous and some countries still think we are too old. I pray everyday that someone up there will hear us and answer our prayer.
All i know is we are blessed to have wonderful donors and hopefully this will give us our long awaited bundle of joy - oh we so hope :pray:
If anyone else has a wonderful /inspirational story please share with us - it does help other to get thru. Again thankyou ladies for sharing - even if you made me cry at times.
Love, love, love, this thread idea.
Sushee... I am in tears. I think I was around a couple of years back for part of your journey (05, I was doing IUI then), but was never able to piece together the rest since my return to BB last September. I am just so thrilled for you, what an amazing story of courage, determination, persistence and love.
Reags... What a painful time you have had. To finally see that heartbeat and go to the scans and see that life must have been an incredible experience for you at long last.
I am really encouraged to read those stories of secondary infertility too, they make me feel more normal, and less alone. I don't know many people with secondary infertility, so its sort of tough at times.
Kimnastics... The dark days you must have had. I can feel it from what you wrote. I guess we all have them, but to see it in a new perspective, from the other side, is so encouraging.
Thank you all so much for sharing, I hope many more follow suit. :clap:
Hi all,
Sushee, I had been waiting on the safe arrival of my dearest daughter before posting in here and last night spent at least an hour on my story only to have it completely dissapear when I hit the enter key once!!! So annoyed! Anyhow, I mean to do it again soon ... I havent forgotten!
Sazz
I am loving this thread too ... Sushee was in tears over your story! Reags and Kimnastics thanks for sharing your stories! It is so inspiring and it really pays to be positive!!
Look forward to seeing more stories
Mon :)
We tried for 3 years before our little one came along.
I had a history of fibroids, had had some surgery for this but had been told that all should be fine...
It wasn't...
In the first year, I just kept telling myself "this will happen..it just takes time". Meanwhile, all our friends were started to fall pregnant. Strangely, I always had this inkling that it might be tricky for me...but we still lived in hope. Didn't do anything special in year 1...just waited and waited!
In the second year, things started to get a bit tougher. I went to see several Gynaecologists, with little success. I had some ultrasounds which revealed more fibroids, but again, was told they shouldn't be impacting upon my fertility. Some of our friends now had babies. It was certainly getting tougher...people stopped asking when we were going to have kids, knowing that there was probably 'something wrong'.
Another year went by. Still no success. Never a confirmed pregnancy...just period after period after period. 36 misses in a row!!! Heart breaking actually. We started looking into international adoption thinking this was going to be the only way for us. No doctor could give us answers. I had ultrasound after ultrasound. My DH had all the tests. It was almost more depressing when they told us he had 'super sperm'..."great...it's really my fault!"
We started doing serious charting. Doing the deed lost all it's romance!
Finally we went and saw a fertility specialist...our one last shot. We had pretty much decided not to go down the IVF route...not because I'm anti-IVF, I just didn't know how I'd cope with the disappointment. We wanted to see if anything could be done before we finally set our hearts on adoption.
So we saw the FS...I went through a million more tests. 25 blood test, I think! A HSG, more ultrasounds...again, no answers! Just 'unexplained infertility'. The FS decided to try me on Clomid. Although my periods were fine and I was ovulating, I think the Clomid was prescribed as being a bit of a hormone turbo boost. DH had his own little "boost" (if you get my drift) and we went for it.
And amazingly...a little miracle. Our first confirmed conception after 3 years. First round of clomid! We also used pre-seed, which I'm sure helped.
The pregnancy, although a little scary, went so smoothly. We were so fortunate. The only 'glitch' is that our little boy never engaged and I was told I needed to have a c/s. But after waiting for so long, I got to the point that I really didn't care how he came out...as long as he arrived!!!
And...at 40 weeks and 8 days...Felix was here!
He's just gorgeous. He's now nearly 6 months!
I don't think I'll ever forget the journey we went through to get him...but rather than feeling distressing, my memories of the journey only reinforce how special he is.
I wouldn't wish LTTTC on anybody...but I'd wait 3 years again to get our special little boy!
The road to having Celeste...
We always knew we would have trouble conceiving as DH had undecended testes which weren't operated on till he was almost 7years old. He was left with low sperm count, little mobility and bad morphology (shape): the trifecta! We had discussed it when I was around 18 (we married when I was 20) and decided we would do whatever was needed at the time.
When we decided the time was right (March 1997 Me:23 DH 25) we went straight to the GP for tests to confirm what would need to be done and were referred straight to the FS in Adelaide. We had the usual introductory appointments to discuss what could be done and organise tests but luckily for us we already knew the Male factor infertility side of things. By November we had all the blood tests done to make sure there were no sperm anitbodiesor hostile mucous in me, the usual STD screening, scans and bloods to check I was ovlulating and also a Laparoscopy with dye to check that my fallopian tubes weren't blocked. All was completely normal with me and I still don't know why they bothered me with having the lap and dye as there was almost no chance of DH swimmers making the journey on their own so we would be doing the full ICSI thing.
We began our first fully stimulated IVF ICSI cycle in mid 1998 with Synarel nasal spray twice daily and the Puregon injections once a day. I was a complete ball of stress throughout as we were keeping it all to ourselves and didn't discuss it with anyone. In fact it took almost 9 years to tell my best friend about it all - not something I would recomend anyone else do! The EPU resulted in 6 eggs being collected but only 2 fertilising and being suitable for transfer on day 3. The moment I woke from the EPU I looked at that number written on my hand and my hopes sank already. I was dissapointed in the number. None were frozen. BFN. For some reason I had kind of expected it to work first time, it does for some doesn't it? I was devestated and inconsolable. Days of crying ensued. Around this time I began plummeting into depression.
During this time the two couples we were closest to had had their first babies. I found it so hard to be completely happy for them as I knew we were starting down a hard road. They did things together and we felt left out a bit.
Second full stimulated cycle happened late 1998 with 8 eggs being collected. I was still dissapointed with the number but at least it was better than first time. Only 2 were suitable for transfer on day 3 though and still none for the freezer. BFN. This cycle was harder on me emotionally. I did the trigger injection in the car in a carpark at a wedding reception we were attending and missed the cake cutting. I was embarrassed and ashamed and didn't want anyone to know still. We hadn't even told our parents what we were doing and my folks were still unaware that there would even be a problem.
People DH worked with began to start their families. I later realised that he hated coming home from work to break the news that someone else was pregnant, not knowing if I would dissolve into tears or become angry as the result varied day to day. Others I knew would occasionally comment "I thought you would have had kids by now" or something equally innocent (although a little rude) and I would want to tear their face off. I think DH was wondering who this mad woman he was married to was but years later when reading books about LTTTC I realised that all these emotions are actually completely normal. We looked at adoption locally but realised the waiting time put it out of the equation for us.
We began our third fully stimulated cycle in mid 1999. ( The cost and emotional toll forced us to take things reasonably slowly) and againwe had 8 eggs picked up. This time I did the trigger injection in the loo of a pub while out with friends. A good way to up the stress levels while trying to keep things quiet. Things went a little better this time though with 2 transferred on day 3 and 2 frozen!!! Although we had another BFN we had a freezer full of hope. This time I had not had a bleed till hours after the blood test was taken and we went to the Dr for the results. I can still see his face when he called us into his rooms to tell us the result. (Later, he would phone me while I was still on the operating table after the ceasarian to congratulate us!)
Our natural frozen cycle took place in feb 2000. Of the 2 embryos frozen, only one thawed nicely but still resulted in a BFN. Following this I had a near breakdown and told my parents everything. I should have done so years before. It turns out that they had kind of figured out we were doing some sort of IVF thing and were very supportive. Dad even rushed off to the library to read all about it on the day I phoned them a blubbering mess to tell them.
Due to the emotional and financial stress we decided to take a break from TTC. The only thing we have to show for the few years torment was a few surgery scars, a depleted bank account and one picture of our very last embie transferred.
As it turned out, the break went from months to years. People we knew married, had children, divorced, remarried and had more children all while we waited our turn. During this time we went down the natural therapies road. We consulted a naturopath and followed her regime for a while (interenstinly, she is a specialist in natural family planning and has 10 children of her own!!!). In 2005 we discussed adoption again and looked into international adoption. We attended the workshop and completed the mountains of paperwork to get through stage one in early 2006 and the interviews to begin stage 2. At this point we decide to spent the next $3000 required for that stage on another go at IVF instead. Our GP had reccomended we look at it again as there had been advances made in the 6 or so years since we had tried it. There had indeed been changes: the company was now private, not university operated. They had lovely premises, there was the development of letting embryos go to day 5 now with higher success rates, and medicare now covered more of the cost. We were referred to Dr Richard Henshaw who happens to be the medical director and he is extremely positive and says that yes there have been big improvements and that we can start again soon, going to blastocyst stage. The numbers that make it to that stage may be less but the chance of success will be much higher with those that do. We go into it feeling much more positive than at anytime before.
It was at this time that I discovered Bellybelly. I really wish I had known of it before as the forums have been such a help to me emotionally this time. We go on a real health kick, with Dh cutting down on his alcohol and we also trimmed down our consumption of preservatives and chemicals in the home. I also have a much more positive frame of mind with my mental health definately much more on track this time. Positive thinking is my 'new thing' and I take to it with gusto!
19th of march 2007 is my 33rd birthday and the day I have my day21 bloods taken to confirm the start date of my cycle. I take this as an omen. Synarel twice daily again and puregon once daily but happily that has improved now with it being administered in a pen like insulin not the old way of mixing the vials together and drawing the med up into the needle. This helps to simplify things and lower the stresses too. I treated myself to massages during this time also... can't hurt right?
At the scan they located at least 10follicles on the right and 4or more on the left. They couldnt see the left side too well but I am really happy with those results as there are more there than ever before. The trigger injection is even better than previous cycles too, being now only a subcutaneous not intramuscular as they used to be, much nicer!
EPU brings 10 'lovely' eggs! The most ever and the phone call to tell me that 9 had fertilised made me extra happy too. Things seemed to be finally going our way. Day 5 we had 2 blastocyst embryos transferred and there were at least another 2 which would be frozen, possibly three. We were so excited that after transfer we went to the shops and spent the whole day looking at and planning for baby things. This was April 21st 2007.
By April 28th I felt terrible. I was crampy, headachey and bloated like a dead animal! By 7am, April 30th I was in hospital suffering from Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. Our local hospital hadn't heard of it and needed to consult the FS who got excited and said that this long after the stim drugs usually indicates early pregnancy. I had tried to tell the GP that but he didnt believe me. We went home the following afternoon and I took a HPT which I had ordered about 10 or 20 from the internet. Low and behold, after 10years and 1month we had our very first BFP!!!! There were tears and kisses and shaking. We could hardly believe our luck. It was confirmed by our blood test results on the 3rd of May.
Our first ultrasound was at 6weeks 2days and there was a heartbeat! Joy!!! All that could be seen was a tiny flickering blob and an eggsack still in there. We fell in love with it instantly. The pregnancy went like a dream with few health problems and very little morning sickness. Unfortunately we went 10days overdue, had to be induced and had a dramatic emergency caesarian section in the end but we finally have our longed for baby in our arms.
Celeste Martha took 10 years, 10 months, 10 days to arrive... including 5 IVF attempts, rounds of 'natural' therapies, lifestyle changes, induction, 6internals during 28hours of labour and an emergency caesarian! She was certainly worth it though...she is real, she is ours and she is perfect!
Just loving all these happy endings.
Sazz - you will be an inspiration to many i'm sure.
these are all great stories i love them,been doing ivf for 12 months and 6 times, now having a break and trailing a new thing that the male takes called menevit.monnie just woundering what pre-seed is and who takes it???
Hi Ladies,
I know i am new here, but i know the heartache of LTTTC very well. I'm going to keep this brief though.
DH and i decided to start TTC on the first day of August 2006, it was 3 months before our wedding, silly us thought it would happen straight away... weren't we wrong!! WE tried and tried and tried, and i never once got even a faint line in a pregnancy test!
12 months passed and still nothing, people were asking me when we were going to go and see a fertility specialist, but i was in denial, more scared to find out that something was wrong, so we never actually went.
coming up on our 15 months of trying, we were moving house, our dog had puppies and we just werent thinking about TTC at all.... and one night i decided that i hadnt done a pregnancy test in a while so had better bring myself back to reality and see the usual negative result, i peed on the stick and got a strong positive straight away... having never seen one before i nearly fell off the toilet seat!!!
Thats my story in a nutshell, i am now 18 weeks pregnant, and find out in just over a week if we are having a boy or girl!!
There is not much i can say to the LTTTC people that they havent already heard, but keep strong, the right bubba is waiting for the right time to pick you are their loving parents.
Vanessa,
My DH took zinc, vitamin E capsules and an amino acid called L-argenine all recomended by the naturopath to help sperm quality. We had male factor infertility. Just a suggestion. :)
Sazz, so good to see you post and how time flies and little Celeste is almost 3 weeks! You must be so proud!
It gives me hope that one day I will be posting here too...wish that day comes sooner though! ;)
I want to share my success story ..it was a long journey.In 1991 when I was 22 I required an emergency C section to deliver my beautiful daughter.She was born weighing near on 8lbs & oh so healthy.Unfortunately for me I aquired a nasty infection which resulted in a pelvis abscess & obstructed bowel.It was 2 weeks after my c section that they operated again to drain the infection...causing infertility.It was truely a nightmare.I was so traumatized by the surgery & illness resulting from an otherwise healthy pregnancy that I was unable to consider having another child for many years.I was resigned to not having another child... or so I had convinced myself.
Fast foward 15 years..my dear husband just couldn't let go of the idea of having another child luckily for me.He convinced me to try IVF. I became pregnant after our first fresh cycle.I delivered our beautiful second daughter (VBAC) on the 10/06/2007.A wrong was righted on that day & we are overjoyed by her birth.To see our two daughters together was the most joyous day of our lives.All of the pain of the past had just melted away.Why did we wait so long:heartbeat:
Vanessa Guy...pre seed is a sperm friendly lubricant...
Apparently lots of lubricants aren't particularly friendly to the little swimmers, where as this one nourishes them...not sure if it made a huge difference...but I'm sure it hoped.
Wishing you all the very best...
Bei bei...lovely to see you around...just wishing you the very very best chickie!
thanks sazzafrazz, i will try them, monnie thanks for that......
Well by the time I get there it will be a 14 year journey for me. I started TTC at the age of 28 and will be 42 when our little boy arrives.
My ex and I were married for 3 years before we tried. I thought it would happen within a few months. I learnt about temping, and CM and thought by doing that it would come in time, it didn't. After 2.5 years of no luck I saw a FS. Ex's testing came back on the low end of normal which meant there should be no issues. My testing came back completely normal. Unexplained infertility. That hurt. I wanted to have it explained. They couldn't explain it. I tried Clomid for 3 cycles but I couldn't handle the extreme mood swings it gave me. I got a BFP 3 months after stopping Clomid (3 years after starting TTC) but had spotting from that day onwards. The pregnancy was confirmed by BT but was no longer when the spotting stopped two weeks later. That's all it was - continual spotting but my much wanted baby was no longer. It was hard to believe.
I figured that if I could get pregnant once, it would happen again. It never did again in that marriage - 8.5 years of unprotected sex in total and it never did we get another BFP. We discussed IVF & adoption we decided against both. I tried cutting out caffeine and alcohol, nothing happened. I tried Ruth Sharkey herbs, nothing happened. After 13 years together we went our separate ways. Our infertility put a wedge between us but it was not the cause of our separation.
I had a couple of years of singledom and was always very careful about contraception just in case it was possible for me to conceive.
I met a much younger man and we fell madly in love and moved in together. Soon after we were engaged and he started talking about us having a family. He already had a young daughter and wanted another child. I was hesitant because of what I'd been through but after some thought figured "why not"? We started trying but I put all thoughts of having children out of my head. I really did not think that at my age (40 by then) that I would have much chance at all, considering my history.
Nine months later I realised I was about a week late. I'd always had regular cycles (that's why I was so shocked when I couldn't get pregnant), so I thought something was up. I tested and got a BFP. We were over the moon. I was going to wait a week before getting a BT done. I tested the next day another BFP. Day after BFN. Panic stations. My DF rushed me out to a pharmacy to get one of those digital HPT's - a nice big PREGNANT this time. Next day I had slight spotting. Saw a GP - he sent me to the local hospital due to my history and due to my age. He was asian and said that this is what we call a "precious baby" due to those factors. My BT at the hospital came in at 3 - anything over 5 would've been positive. I was told I'd either been pregnant and was miscarrying or it's just too early to tell. You can't get 3 different brands of HPT all be wrong (I had a gyno confirm this some time later). My next BT was 3 days later and it was zero. My m/c was only very light bleeding, no pain, but yet another baby was gone.
I found Belly Belly the day I started to spot and it was my saviour. I don't know how I'd have got through without the support of all the lovely ladies here. I started temping and found that I had a short LP - 10 to 11 days...not good. I noticed I was very rarely getting fertile CM.... not good.
I saw a GP who did a little testing - she said my hormones were all over the place. I had a scan done to check for PCOS - didn't appear to have it but they thought I had a fibroid. Referred to a gyno. He decided I needed a lap & at the same time I should get the fibroid resected. He felt the fibroid had caused the m/c. I was put on a waiting list..... and the shocker...... I was told my only hope was to have IVF - it was too late for me to do things naturally. I was in complete shock. I had not expected that.
Four cycles after my m/c I tested positive again. I had been using evening primrose oil for the first time during that cycle to help with fertile type CM - it had worked!!!! I had a BT done and the doctor congratulated me when the results came in. My face fell when I saw the result. The HCG was only 21 and it should've been higher... the doctor didn't even realise this.... I knew this from BB, it was early but it should have been at least 100. I asked for another test and had it done 3 days later. It had dropped to 17. By then I was spotting so I knew what was going to happen. Same as last time, spotting followed by light bleeding, no pain for 3 days....less than a period. How can that be a miscarriage? It was. A week later I was back to zero again. My gyno said there was nothing to do but wait for the lap. It was the fibroid causing the m/c's. That was that.
My DF and I didn't handle this m/c well. We didn't lean on each other and things went very bad very quickly. We split briefly. I thought my TTC days were well and truly over. I swapped my family sized car for a little one as I had no need for anything bigger than me and my little doggy. We got back together and I fell pregnant immediately. Yep immediately. At the time I was very stressed at work, and of course at home (was this going to work out) and I was drinking bucketloads of coffee. I thought there's no way this one will stick, I've been too stressed and I've had too much caffeine.... but stick it did. I knew I was going to fall pregnant this cycle. It will sound weird but I just knew. The day we DTD I saw fertile CM that I very rarely got - just one little bit and then I O'd the next day (I hadn't got out of the habit of temping yet). I had a temp dip at 6&7DPO and I'd had a 3 day dip in my last pregnancy cycle so I just knew what was coming... I couldn't believe it. I also had bleeding gums and a stuffy nose - another sign for me - from when I had the dip.
I tested positive at 12DPO day 24 of my cycle. BT confirmed it with a nice number in the 100's - it was higher than the doc expected and he said.... could be twins. I had a couple of drops of brown blood a week later and panicked. Put on bed rest for a couple of days. All OK. Again about a week later - a couple of spots.... put on bed rest for a week this time. Was sent for a scan but the sonographer would tell me nothing. Back to the GP for the results a whole 24 hours later and a live bub was seen in the scan. Yay!!!! No mention of fibroid at all.
Being 41 by this time I had to have the NT scan - the risk at my age for downs is 1/45. The measurement came in at 4.2. My risk increased to 1/37. Four very long weeks later I had the amnio done. 24 hours later I had the FISH results. No abnormalities detected.... and it's a boy. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I had to wait another two long weeks for the karyotyping tests to come in for all the other more rare genetic things but all came back as no abnormality detected. Huge sigh of relief.
I'm exactly 20 weeks today - the halfway mark. It's been pretty stressful at times but I've felt really well throughout and love every ache and pain I get, it's just a sign that he's growing nicely in there. It's just amazing to think that all going well in 20 more weeks I will have my baby boy safely in my arms. I can't wait for my next scan in two weeks to see him again.
I hope I can provide some inspiration to someone out there who is feeling the despair of LTTTC. Whatever you do don't ever give up.
Hi Satya,
Loved reading your story - even tho i remember most of it from the other thread.
Made me cry but also made me so happy- miracles happen and they happen every day and you are proof of that. Thankyou for sharing your story - it is an inspiration to me and i often wonder how you are - glad to hear all is well. Not long and you will have that little bundle of joy in your arms.
Hi everyone. I too, like many others had a hard time trying to fall pregnant. We started trying in 2003, it started off fun but then got to 1 year with no results. I'd spend days crying and it got to the point where I couldn't even serve the pregnant customers or even look at other babies....awful I know. When one day in late 2004 my mum told me that my younger sister was pregnant and was too scared to tell me herself I flipped but it also made me want to do something about it. I went to my GP and he gave me a referral to an IVF specialist. I started 6 months of AI with those painful injections and then when that didn't work went straight to IVF. Thinking this was going to be another looooong journey we started planning to enjoy our life and travel a bit....as you do, to get away from it all.....anyway, I went in for the procedure and they got 18 eggs out of me, out of those I got 12 embryos, one of which was implanted and I got my beautiful little girl on June 1 2006. I'm about get another transfer next month and hopefully this will work as well.
To everyone on this journey.... Never give up hope, my parents always said that we are very lucky to have these options available to us as in their day if you couldn't fall pregnant then that was it..
Good luck to all.
Thanks to all for your lovely and inspirational stories. It does help to give me hope that I will soon have my BFP.
Although I've been lucky and only had to wait 14 months, I know how hard it can be.
We started seeing a specialist after only 6 mths as I have little cysts on my ovaries (not full blown PCOS). According to my doctor everything was normal....although my LSH levels were high (not abnormal though) so loving his response when he put me on tablets and said we couldn?t even try to conceive!
After another 8 weeks I was put on Clomiphene and Dexamethasone. So each month I?d take the pills, go for a blood test and be told that I hadn?t even ovulated! The silly thing is, my cycle has never been regular so I think I single handidly kept the pregnancy test kit companies in business. I was so excited every time I may have been late, that I would test several times. Then I?d get my blood test results?and nothing. It didn?t help that my sister fell pregnant ( only 2 mths trying!) and then my best friend (they weren?t even trying she just wasn?t great at taking the pill!). So each month, we?d go through the same thing.
But keep your spirits up, as we are now about 8 weeks pregnant. I haven?t had any scans yet and am worried that I have no morning sickness in the last 24 hrs. But as everyone keeps saying, think positive thoughts! I wish everyone the best of luck. Keep focussed on how it will be when it finally happens!!
hi everyone,
I cannot believe it is really ME posting this - I just got a positive blood test today!! I am still crying because I am so happy. I am also scared and hope this little darling stays around - it is still such early days.
My story? well, we concieved a beautiful boy in 2002 without IVF and without really trying...he is now 5. For 3 years we have been trying for a sibling for him.
Many people said ' you do too much training' (I am a runner/triathlete) but I knew this was not the reason...as I concieve my son while training for a marathon !! So I kept up my running, swimming and cycling, did most races in the season and even trained and did a Half Ironman (1.9km swim, 90km ride and 21.1km run).
Don't get me wrong, I did not go overboard at times when it mattered, like after a transfer!! And I have in fact LOST a lot of fitness in 3 years, compared to the very competitve athlete that I was in the past.
What was different this time? well, I still kept up my running and swimming in the TWW (HR under 150) but this time I had accuputure on Transfer day and also about 3 days later (implantation day?). I was also given some no-so tasty herbs to take...
I only had 1 embryo on this FRESH cycle - which proves it really one takes ONE!!
I did believe it could happen one day.... and I sincelely hope it will happen to all you lovely ladies who have been there for me on this forum..
Runnermum, that is wonderful news!!!!!:clap::clap: Congratulations. I run too, just did the SMH half marathon, but I have cut down quite a bit whilst TTC. I still love to get out there though.
All the best with your pregnancy :D
thanks heaps for your post Neptune!! Nice to hear from a fellow runner! still sinking in that I am pregnant, and just hope so much this little one stays around...
Congratulations Runner mum! That is great news! Wishing you a H&H PG!
thanks for sharing your story! It is truly inspiring
Mon :)
I was asked to write about our little success story while I was pregnant, but I wanted to save it until we had our treasure home safely with us. He is 9 weeks old as I write this.
DH and I met in 1998, but we were young and travelled a lot and didn?t get married until early 2004. We had our family plans all laid out ? start TTC immediately. Naively, we had no thoughts of it taking any longer than a few months. After 12 months of TTC I started to question whether everything was OK, but DH works shifts and DH and anyone I spoke to all assumed that we were missing the right times. But honestly, deep down I knew we weren?t, and that something wasn?t right. After 17 months of TTC I went to my GP who ordered blood tests and a SA for DH. All the tests came back 100% good. So we were referred to a fertility clinic. Instantly they told me I probably had PCOS, and put me on Clomid which was monitored every month. Every month I had a great response ? lots of eggs, good sizes, but never a BFP. DH then got a new job and moved away. I stayed behind for 3 months selling our house etc and sorting everything out for the move. Oddly enough those three months were great for me emotionally? I knew I couldn?t be pg, so I didn?t spend days in anticipation, or crying once I knew it wasn?t going to be this month.
My new GP referred me to a new FS, who checked our whole history, discounted the PCOS theory, and suggested a laparoscopy. Sure enough, the lap showed endometriosis, and adhesions ? and not just a little bit either. It had been there for years and was a bit of a mess. It was now 12 months since we saw the first FS, and we were just so mad that we had spent all that time wasted. We were now told that we should have a good chance of conceiving on our own, and we should try for 6 months. Of course, another 6 months of sadness and frustration went by. Back we went to the FS and he wanted to see how we felt about IVF?well it?s all we had been thinking about for the last 6 months and we were just desperate to have some hope again. So we started all the tests again, and we were so surprised the learn that although DH had always passed his SAs with flying colours, it turns out that they had never done a motility test on the little swimmers, and he had a very low motility result. Chances of a natural conception were very very low. ICSI was the only way to go. So again we were just a bit angry and frustrated at the time that we had spent trying, when our chances were so low.
We jumped into our first IVF cycle in Feb 2007 ? very excited and with everyone telling us that our chances of a good result were excellent. All the medical professionals kept saying you are both young and fit and healthy ? if I only had a penny for everytime someone said that to us. Needless to say our first cycle was a complete bust! I was devastated and I would have been a mess if it had not been for a few very very special BB ladies who kept me sane. My body had not responded well to the drugs and my egg quality was quite poor. I think I found this harder to deal with because we had been given so much confidence by everyone we had spoken too ? I had not really thought about the possibility of only having one little embryo at day two, which we were not really given much chance of it implanting. I was given lots of support and reassurance by BB members, and I soon learned that first cycles are often a bit of trial and error. We were given the option of taking a break from all the stress and financial burden of IVF or jumping straight back into another cycle. We jumped straight back in ? I think I couldn?t bear doing nothing for another couple of months and found the best way for me to deal with the disappointment was to try again. Our FS suggested we manage the cycle a little differently due to my reaction to the drugs the first time. Again, the BB girls kept me sane for the duration of this cycle. The results were much better this time with 5 embryos making it to day two ? although the quality was not so great. We had spent hours talking about one vs. two embryos and had decided to only do one. This was what the FS had recommended too, but when we turned up on day two he told us that he thought two was a better idea considering the quality, and he had the two best ones there for me. So two it was, leaving 3 for the freezer. We were a lot less optimistic this time and we were so amazed and surprised when we got a BFP. I remained very cautious and I did not want anyone to know until the magic 12 week mark, so it was our little secret until then. If it wasn?t for the PG after LTTTC thread and the wonderful people who helped me through my pregnancy, I?m not sure I would have coped with the emotions that follow being pregnant after 4 years of trying. Our little miracle arrived on his due date, and is still a constant amazement to us. I feel lucky and blessed every day.
I am still so grateful for the help and advice I received from some very lovely and amazing Belly belly members, and I am just waiting for the days when I can celebrate with them all when they too have a bundle of joy in their arms.
Lenny,
Congratulations on your new little bundle of joy. Thankyou for sharing your story with us - it always gives me hope when i read these stories - i hope one day i will be able to share my story here.
Well ladies all our prayers have been answered we just finshed our first ivf cycle and after a few ups and downs and a hospital stay( due to very painful ohss) we got a :bfp:
We are due in feb. 09 we are very exicited, my hcg levels were 440 at 12dpo so that al so is a great sign yeh yeh! so looks like i will be moving on to the preg. forum now so i wish you ladies all the best and my prayers are with you,:clap::hug:
Congratulations Dove, looks like we found out at the same time... I'm due then as well after my second attempt.
Hi there.
I'm new to BB and my husband and I have been TTC#2 for 2 years. We have a 6 year old DD and we didn't expect to have any problems falling pregnant. (We fell pregnant with DD straight away). I can't believe the amount of stories I have read regarding TTC#2! It helps so much reading everyone's stories. We've had all testing done and they have come back with "unknown infertility". I have recently been diagnosed with Factor V Leidens Syndrome....this is where you are more prone to getting blood clots, which can cause miscarriages. This is where we think that having this syndrome has made us unable to fall pregnant :angry:. I would love to hear from anybody, especially from other's diagnosed with FVLS.
Hey MamaKaz, I too couldn't fall pregnant as all test showed unknown infertility and I know your pain. This is a great group with heaps of support and people that will help you overcome your problems and just somewhere to vent your worries. My first child was born through IVF and I'm now pg with my second with the same batch. I had no hope of falling pg and it happened eventually. It is a hard time but it also makes a relationship stronger and I hope you will find success soon. Good Luck.
Thanks kbanitskas. Congratulations on your pregnancy :happyforyou: I love positive outcomes!! Good luck with it all you deserve it. It's nice to know that there is somewhere to talk about these issues. The stories on here are very inspirational. We've been trying for 2 years we're not giving up now. Good luck to everyone on here. I send you all:bluedust: and :stickyvibesgirl:.
I've been meaning to post for a while - here goes
DH and I decided we wanted to have children together in early 2005. A few months went by and nothing, so I started researching. Learning all about how babies are made (and discovering it wasn?t all that simple after all); the different methods of tracking fertility, the pills and potions that promised success?.
We had been trying for about a year when we first went to a fertility specialist. The initial prognosis was that I had PCOS and a laparoscopy showed mild endometriosis, but our doctor didn?t think it would impede fertility too much. DH was another story ? plenty of sperm, but few swimmers. And every test he took the results got worse.
We were set to start IUI in a couple of months ? giving the supplements the urologist had suggested for DH a bit of time to (hopefully) do their magic. But then one day I thought I felt a lump in my breast. The doctor thought it was nothing, but decided to send me for an ultrasound to make sure. My breasts were fine, but the sonographer picked up a lump in my thyroid. It turned out to be cancer, so we put TTC on hold for a while.
When we were ready to try again we headed off to a local FS (having relocated to Australia) with our previous test results in hand. Our doctor decided that IUI was probably not going to work with DH?s low motility, so we began our first IVF cycle last April. I handled it all fairly well, no side-effects or anything, until the egg collection. I woke up in recovery to be told that they hadn?t got any eggs. It was fairly devastating to think I?d gone through all that crap for nothing and thoughts of never being able to have children floated through my head. DH was great as usual and we bounced back fairly quickly.
A couple of months later, we tried again. This time was different ? 14 eggs. We tried not to get our hopes up too much in the coming days, but we were so thrilled to hear that 13 fertilised, 9 survived to day 3 (they froze the 4 ICSI ones then) and finally we had 3 blasts on day 5. This time we got to transfer. In the meantime I?d started to develop symptoms of OHSS, but we went ahead anyway. The OHSS got worse and I ended up in hospital for a few days, but we got our BFP. Our beautiful son is now four months old.
Wishing the best of luck to everyone on the TTC path
Wow Marcellus what a huge journey you've been on. I'm so sorry for what you've had to go through. You are an inspiration and I am so happy that you got through it all. Congratulations on your beautiful baby. Being a mother is the best thing in the world. Enjoy :hug:. We are still not pregnant but we know it will happen one day. Staying positive....:)
**warning some way out spiritual beliefs mentioned and mention of violence against a woman**
I was married at 21 to a man who I thought was perfect for me. Unfortunately he changed. Violent, jealous and controlling, I spent the next 8 years of my life watching him beat our pets with dripper hose, when they stepped out of line (and he would threaten me with it if I tried to intervene). He was abusive, emotionally, financially and physically (although this was in the form of raping me, so there would be no brusies to show). I feared becomming pregnant and was very regimented with contraception. In 1998 my beloved mother died of cancer and at the end of the year my father moved to Victoria. My family was safe and so I fled the state, walking out on all my worldly possessions and started a new life in a new place. Easy it was not and it has taken me years to get over what happened to me. I chose not to let my experience make me bitter, and instead followed a spiritual path, looking for answers.
It was in the new city here I met the man of my dreams - he was everything I had always dreamed about. We were soulmates from the start, we clicked, became good friends, then lovers and in 2002 married. I knew he would be a perfect father - it took him quite a lot longer to realise this and I had to change the way I thought about children (I desperately wanted them since we married). It wasn't until his sister feel pregnant in late 2006 that his mind began to change. He was on medications which resulted in no sperm being produced, so I knew IVF and donor sperm was our only option (now I just had to convince the doctors and DH).
Late 2007 we saw a FS who performed two surgical sperm collections on DH (to prove there was no sperm there).. I bluntly informed the FS "I ain't getting any younger here doc, do something" and he did. We went through the counselling process, got registered and in April 2008 started our first cycle of IVF.
I dragged my poor darling husband to Mary Mackillops chapel in sydney - I'm not catholic, and I'm not religious, but very spiritual. It was there that I received a message of strength and I sat crying in the chapel for awhile....I underwent Reiki to make sure my energy levels were right and I receive a lot of spiritual healing during my sessions.
On monday, I'll be 6mths pregnant. I count my blessings every single day. My shoulders are extremely painful and have been so since the first month. I haven't slept through the night or had a day without pain since. I am seeking alternative treatents, but every time my shoulders hurt, I am reminded of the blessing that I have been given and am eternally grateful for IVF to work for us first time. Shoulder pain is a price I am more than willing to pay to be able to have bubs on board.
Namaste
Congratulations Tarkine and thank you for sharing - what a lot you've been through!
Have you seen anyone about your shoulders? I just ask as I've heard some kinds of pain can indicate certain problems with pg - don't want to alarm you or anything, and perhaps you've already ruled out other problems anyway, but just thought I'd stick in my meddling nose and mention it just in case.
Take care