Infertility Buddy Group ~ New Members Welcome ~ Jump On In! December 2011/January 2012

lbm436 Posted: 11-30-2011 7:44 PM | Locked

Welcome!      This is a revolving buddy group for women who are experiencing the emotional ups and downs of infertility. Please use this group as a place to compare notes and symptoms, while also encouraging one another through IF. Every so often a new thread will be started. If you feel a new thread is needed, please use the Report Abuse feature. 

This thread is amalgamation of the 2ww and waiting to O infertility buddy groups that we had previously. It was decided that keeping this separation wasn't working optimally, so now it's just one group. This is an open group, so jump in introduce yourself and post as much or as little as you like. This is a place to share, ask questions, vent -anything goes. Anyone experiencing infertility of any sort is welcome (primary, secondary, pregnancy loss, whether you have a diagnosed fertility issue or remain unexplained).

Last Page Of Last Month's Thread

twinroth replied on 11-30-2011 8:45 PM | Locked

Well ladies I guess I am starting off December! I wish I had something new and exciting to post to start off the month but not really much new here.

Natpink: I'll be thinking about you Friday. Good luck!

Eliza: Thanks for the pep talk. I do know its still early but as well know its still hard to see the stark white strip. What did you start at for the GonalF dose? Any comments on it? I'm moving on to that next cycle.

Eitherway: Thanks for the The nurse that gave me my progesterone results told me it looked great and I should keep my fingers crossed. HA as if they weren't crossed all along!

Lovebug: I bet you are still lurking I hope you are doing well!

Dorcas: I'm pretty sure wee_pee and pee_wee are the same. I think some of us repeatedly mess up her screen name!

AFM: 10DPO and BFN today. I feel like I am super sensitive to smells but I also think it could very well be all in my head! I am oddly looking forward to next cycle if this one is a bust. Is that weird? I think I just have bigger hopes for next month since its a new treatment plan (GonalF).

Question for you ladies: if you are using Gonal F or Follistim do you use the vials or the prefilled pens? I'm leaning toward prefilled pen because it would be easier to have with me at work when necessary (I work some nights).

JG2007 replied on 12-02-2011 11:03 AM | Locked

HI twin. Just thought i'd pop in and say I use the pen. It is easy but for some reason I am not giving myself the correct dosage- a 1/3 of the med was still in the vial at the end of my last cycle. Maybe they put more med int he vial than what they say they do ?  i did not realize it until i took it out and compared it to a new vial. Anyway, it s super easy and convenient. I recommend it. in any case, hoping you get your BFP so you won't even have to worry about the pen

eitherway replied on 12-02-2011 11:07 AM | Locked

twinroth - I can understand what you mean about being excited about next month and trying something new - I think we like to have something productive we are trying, that will hopefully be our individual solution magic..! seems like an appropriate place to sprinkle some That is fab about the progesterone result!  who knows, maybe you won't have to worry about how to take GonalF b/c you'll have a little bean this month :)  I'm sorry, I've never taken GonalF, so I don't have any comments about that..

AFM - Today is an interesting #s game.  AF SHOULD come in the next 3 days at absolute LONGEST, but tomorrow seems like the likeliest, if the o-date is correct...  no brown spotting so far, which I'm thrilled about!  hopefully that keeps up.  I really want AF to come tomorrow now, so that I can think of the brown spotting as being gone as a result of my treatments this month.  Wouldn't that be cool?

 The next 3 days are going to be intense for me - I need to shift my mental frame so that I'm "pleasantly suprised" if I don't have any brown spotting, rather than crushed if I do.  I need to prepare myself that AF might NOT come tomorrow, and try and channel every patience reserve I have.  Easier said than done.  I thought maybe writing it down would help...  here's hoping!

twinroth replied on 12-02-2011 3:03 PM | Locked

JG: Thanks for the input. I saw your post in the other buddy group and meant to comment... they do overfill the vials for any pen delivery system (hormones, insulin, etc). I'm a pharmacist and customers ask ALL the time!

Eitherway: I think I am already convinced this isn't the month so I'm already moving on in my head to next month. Thanks for the encouragement!

AFM: I took a digi today and got "Not Pregnant". As if the FRERs weren't clear enough... My beta is Sunday but I'm sure its going to be negative. I'm ready to move onto cycle 4 and give up Clomid for Gonal F. I am keeping my appointment with the RE on Dec 7th so that we can discuss if she has any ideas why it hasn't worked so far and what she thinks our chances are if we continue IUIs or if we should be moving on to IVF. I'm not sure I'm ready for IVF but at the same time if its whats going to work I know I could get ready pretty quickly.

ElizaLL replied on 12-02-2011 4:57 PM | Locked

Twinroth - sorry to hear about the test result....I can imagine how you are feeling. Glad to hear you are looking positively ahead to the next cycle/different treatment plan.

On your questions re: Gonal F, I also use the pens. I wasn't offered the vials, but from what I could find on the internet the vials looked much more complicated. I started off on 50 units of Gonal F, but after 3 days my RE reduced the dose to 25 (I have 6 follicles that are maturing - I am guessing this is too many?). This is my first medicated cycle - I'm not too sure what's supposed to happen. Do some of the follicles stop growing? Or not release at trigger? I'm on day 7.

Natpink - how did it go today? Or is the IUI next Friday?

Eitherway - sorry I must have missed it from a previous post - what treatments did you have for the spotting? Also, glad to hear you are keeping busy with the end of the semester craziness!

AFM - to all the ladies who have done medicated cycles, is it normal to have all or most of your follicles on one side? I have five on one side and one on the other - seems strange to me although maybe I am overthinking things.

Baby dust to all.....

Eliza :-)

Mopie replied on 12-02-2011 8:11 PM | Locked

Twin - I wanted to pop in here quickly and just post something for you.  I'm sorry to hear it isn't looking like it is in your favor this month.  I hope the conversation with your RE is helpful and gives you better comfort with the next steps.  In terms of the Follistim, I use the Follistim pen.  I'm not sure I'd say they are prefilled but maybe what you referring to is.  I don't mix anything but I do have to move the dial to the appropriate dosage I am to receive.  Usually my cartridge is 300 iu and I only take a small amount each day.  So, the cartridge lasts a few days before I have to swap it out for another one.  It's really easy and only a bit complicated the first time you have to swap it out when you get a partial dosage that you need, then have to put in another one and finish your dosage.  It's double the poking but those needles are just so darn small that it doesn't bother me to do multiple pokes.

I'll try and come back later this weekend and give a support post to everyone else.

eitherway replied on 12-04-2011 10:30 AM | Locked

twinroth - how's it going with you?  How did the beta go?   

ElizaLL - "treatments" are really internet herbal solutions..hehe.  assuming that blocked tubes is a potential problem and possibly causing the brown spotting, I am trying to increase blood flow with cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ginger and garlic and acupuncture.  I did some massaging around my fallopian tubes pre-ov also.  To increase AF blood flow (another potential problem) I massaged an acupressure point 2 in below my belly button (uterus) for 2 minutes a day pre-ov.  We'll see if it worked soon!  I haven't done medicated cycles so I'm not sure about that, but it does seem like a lot of women post about similar things, with all the follicles on one side....

AFM - So I POAS with FMU this morning on one of the babyhopes 20 mlU tests...........and BFN.  So why'd I test - I woke up and took my temp, which was still up.  While I laid in bed and watched the snowfall, I started daydreaming about waking DH and getting to tell him we are pregs...  When I realized what I was doing I decided I needed to POAS so that I wouldn't be crazy daydreaming all day and getting my hopes up too much (they were starting to soar, no kidding, even though we weren't "trying"!  sheesh)  So today is CD30 (longest cycle yet) and DPO 13 (14 is longest).   A reasonable time to test..  I think there MAY have been some darker hue tinge on the tp, but really not enough to waylay daydreaming w/o a BFN..  I hope AF comes today and stops these shenanigans of mine!

cgobla replied on 12-05-2011 2:47 PM | Locked

Hello I thought I should post since I will officailly be infertile by the end of this cycle. I have my first infertility appointment with my ob/gyn on the 14th and I feel like I have been waiting for this appointment for six months. I have irregular cycles with my longest in the last year being 67 days and my shortest was 25 days. I am so anxious to figure out what the problem is and hope that will happen soon. Did it make it better when any of you found out the cause?

Also I am getting tired of people telling me to stop thinking about it and then I will magically get pregnant if I am not trying. Anyways looking for some mutual support and also I thought it would be fun to share my journey into infertility as I go through testing and treatments.

eitherway replied on 12-05-2011 6:31 PM | Locked

welcome cgobla!  given the irregularity of your cycle it sounds like a great idea that you are getting to the dr finally!  I hope the dr is able to help. It seems like most drs have a pretty good problem-solving strategy, and I'm sure yours will too.  For me, just having a plan, even if its not guaranteed to work/solve the problem, does help quite a bit.  It helps to not feel quite so helpless..  I also hate those people that say I just have to relax.  I don't feel particularly stressed until they say that and then all of a sudden my BP goes up!  

AFM - AF showed up today and temp dropped.  No brown spotting!  woohoo!  sooo excited about that.  Although AF is pretty light so far..  hopefully she will get heavier and I can feel like my uterine lining is up to snuff.....  Can't wait for 2nd acupuncture appt in 9 days.............!

cgobla replied on 12-06-2011 3:42 AM | Locked

Thanks eitherrway, over the last few days I have been preparing for my appointment by doing research on diff causes and tests and treatments. I have developed a few diff game plans based on what happens with the tests. I know the docs dont like it when you research stuff but i dont care I learned that I need to be my own advocate here. I am a military wife overseas and the base clinic is the only option I have for the testing stage. There are woman here that took a year for an easy IF dX cause the ob/gyns dont know much about IF. Also a lot of blood tests take weeks to come back cause they have to ship it to America since they dont have the analytic equipment here. I already picked out an IF clinic to use if it comes to that so that helps a lot too. I forgot so far i had 2 blood tests done: Prolactin - normal and Thyroid - normal. Also my DH SA was totaly normal and good as well to which upon finding out he announced to his office at work. I was an little disapointed both of my blood tests were normal I thought I had a really good chance of one or both being off. Well I need to stop dX myself and wait for the other tests.

dorcas replied on 12-08-2011 9:41 AM | Locked

Welcome cgobla!  I'm pretty early in my infertility journey, and even though we don't know 'why' things are the way they are, I feel tons better knowing we're trying to do something about it, instead of just mindlessly waiting.  I hope you get some answers soon!

Everyone else - I've been lurking and reading, but y'all been talking about stuff I don't know anything about! And I haven't had anything to share.  Until now!

I FINALLY got in to my Dr.  My wonky cycle was a cyst.  I'm cleared to start Clomid again in January.  I found out I was never on 50mg, she started me on 100mg because "50mg never works in anovulatory patients".  Holy shazam, I'm a doof.  I saw 50mg on the Rx, 50mg on the bottle, and assumed the 2 pills I was prescribed added up to 50mg, not each was 50mg!

So ladies beware....If you are taking 2 pills you are taking 100mg!

If this next phase of Clomid doesn't work, we do HSG and SA for poor DH.   She actually recommended the testing right away, but I was NOT expecting that so soon...I've only had 2 ovulatory cycles! Seems like not enough time to let nature run its course.   So we'll do it in March or so.

Also learned, if I want to do all the hormonal blood testing (aside from 7 day progesterone test) I need to go to a different Dr.  My Dr. thinks all that is a waste of time and money, and only stresses you out more that need be, especially since I'm so young.  If we hit the official 1 yr mark  TTC (May) then I'll probably move onto RE.

On a different note, FWIW I learned in another thread, and some googling about a recent Yale study that found 93% of infertile women had lower levels of Vitamin D, and about 2/3 were clinically deficient.  So I'm adding more Vitamin D3 to my daily regimen to make sure I get at least 1000 IUI, especially going into winter.  

cgobla replied on 12-08-2011 11:40 AM | Locked

Dorcas - Welcome to you too! I was wondering what tests you have had so far.

akind062 replied on 12-08-2011 1:49 PM | Locked

Hi everyone! So nice to read about other people's journey and learn from them. Hope December is good to us all! I thought I would be on clomid by December, but I was put back on progesterone and I have a HSG scheduled for mid-Dec now so at least things continue to move along. I am kind of nervous about having that done!

Lovebug81 replied on 12-09-2011 7:19 AM | Locked

dorcas- Regarding the Vitamin D. Since finding out I was deficient last spring by my RE, I have done a lot of research on this. I actually take 4,000 IU daily. And was told to continue this during pregnancy. It can help with prevention of preterm labor, gestational diabetes, and other complications.

Another great thing is that if you take enough as a mother, your baby will get enough from your breastmilk. My friend was told her baby needed supplements because mothers breast milk doesn't have a enough. Seemed simple enough to me that if the mother took more, the baby would get it too. And after doing some reading, that is exactly the case.

I started taking it in the spring. I don't know that it necessarily increased my chances of conceiving, but I am sure it has had a positive impact on  my health.

AFM- I still linger and lurk here checking in. I had my first ultrasound this week. It was pretty amazing to see the baby, and hear the heartbeat. I can tell you that all the tests, treatments, and procedures were totally worth it to see my baby on the screen. Don't give up hope ladies. It took DH and I over 2 years, and it can happen!

Best of luck!

~Susi

dorcas replied on 12-09-2011 1:22 PM | Locked

Lovebug - Did your RE tell you to take the 4,000 IU or was that your own decision?  

Previously I was only supplementing 400 IU via multivitamin.   I'm actually now up to 1600 IU after getting some new vitamins and extra D3. I'm afraid to take above 2,000 IU without being diagnosed with deficiency.

Lovebug81 replied on 12-09-2011 2:43 PM | Locked

The RE told me to take that much. I had a blood test showing my deficiency. I retested a month later after taking the 4,000 IU and it was in a good range. I was advised to keep taking it.

I can understand you not wanting to take it without being diagnosed. But thus far in the research I have seen, you can never take too much. Especially if you live a cold weather state, where sun is limited at times.

ElizaLL replied on 12-09-2011 3:55 PM | Locked

Hi ladies - I have been meaning to post to say hello, but for the past couple days my posts were being rejected! Hope you're staying strong....

Eitherway - sorry to hear about the BFN. They never get easier, even on the months we're not "trying". Thinking about you. Also, very glad to hear that you didn't have spotting! Keep is posted on the acupuncture.

Cgobla - Welcome! Sorry you have to join this group, but hope you will find some support and information here. I know I have. Isn't it just TERRIBLE when people tell you to relax and it will happen? Not only does it make me mad and frustrated, it makes me feel guilty that it's my fault, that I'm not doing a good enough job relaxing. At least you have age VERY MUCH on your side. This is a big plus for you.

Hi Dorcas! Thanks for the tip re: the vit D. I was actually diagnosed with a deficiency a couple of years ago, and since I haven't been taking vit D supplements lately maybe that's one I should add since no one seems to even have any theories about what's wrong with us....

AKind - Hi! Good luck with the testing. For me, that was one of the most difficult parts of the process. Why are you on progesterone? I am on supps following my most recent IUI, and the side effects are terrible! I hope they're easier for you.

Lovebug - thanks for the pep talk. I need one this cycle....

AFM - while I am technically in the 2WW, my first injectibles cycle was a bit of a bust - all things looked good on my end, but on IUI day the sperm report showed a count NEXT TO NOTHING! This was completely out of left field b/c we have no MF issues (4 prior SAs). So I'm trying to keep my sanity, but I'm very frustrated at all the work that went into this cycle for nothing. Trying to look ahead to next cycle, but it's hard....

eitherway replied on 12-09-2011 10:36 PM | Locked

dorcas - I know exactly how you feel, I felt pretty blown away by the testing so soon when I went in a month ago for my 1 year no pregs appt.  I haven't been anov, but I felt like there were other troubleshooting things to do first... and was totally blindsighted by HSG, then IUI that the doc prescribed.  But people on this site and my mom and sister have made me feel a lot better about the HSG.  We're still waiting probably 6 more months before looking into it, while I try alternative therapies, but it makes sense to me now that it is simpler to diagnose and fix than hormones (I was also hoping for some blood tests and a "simple" thyroid problem or progesterone deficiency).  And so probably in the long run an HSG is potentially less expensive than hormone evaluation through each stage...and I think for the doctors, less confusing probably.  It makes a ton of sense to me to give it more time with your ovulatory cycles... I think docs just want to give us the quickest fix possible.  Anyway, that's REALLY interesting about the vitamin D3!  Thanks for the heads up!

akind062 - similar to what I was saying with dorcas, my mom calmed me down a lot about it.  She had one done when she had an ectopic pregnancy.  She said it really wasn't too bad, and was super quick.  The doc said that sometimes just doing the HSG can "unblock" something and some women get pregnant the first month after an HSG!  When is your appt?  

lovebug - thanks for sticking around.  heartbeat!  wow!  shivers.  

ElizaLL - Thanks!  It really feels great to have someone understand how hard it is to get BFN even when supposedly "not trying".  Oh man.  I'm so sorry about the sperm report.  Did they go ahead and try the IUI anyway just in case one of those next to nothings might make it?  How is DH holding up?  

AFM - AF was maybe a couple teaspoons heavier than usual, so that's good at least.  I still would prefer even heavier though..  DH and I went and got a puppy on Wednesday!  He is 8 weeks old and a german shepherd/lab mix.  Very very cute.  He is helping a lot right now with distraction, that's for sure!  hehe.  anyway, acupuncture is on the 14th and I can't wait.  

dorcas replied on 12-11-2011 5:49 PM | Locked

An HSG makes sense as a prerequisite to more invasive treatments or heavy duty drugs.  But, I'm not bringing out the big guns just yet, so I'm cool waiting.  Akind you'll have to know how yours goes! Good luck!

And don't mind me, I'm a walking billboard for Vitamin D right now!