/|\ November Angels Check-in 4/16 /|\

HeyMrsPotter

Hi, November ladies. Please accept my apologies for the late and abbreviated check-in this week. Work has been crazy and I haven't had much time to Bump. I'll bring back the personal shout-outs next week!

This is a weekly check-in for those who have lost an angel with a November EDD. If you would like to be added to our group, please reply to this message with your EDD and date and stage of loss. Please also tell us a little bit about yourself and your TTCAL journey so far. Those with loss dates in November are also welcome.

As time goes on, it is only to be expected that there will be graduates. If you get your BFP, please PM me so that we can congratulate you properly in the next check-in. Lurking on PGAL isn't something I'm always up to doing.

General Updates: How are you doing? Any appointments or other updates you’d like to share?

Shout outs: If you aren't listed, we haven’t heard from you for a week or two. Please jump in!

@sarcaztic10
@amanda040
@LesliW
@redtwizzlers
@mara005
@irons633
@bigboneded

QOTW: If I came to your house for a dinner party, what would you be serving? Who else would be there, and what would we talk about?

amanda040

Hello ladies! @HeyMrsPotter‌ I know this is late but I am sorry for your BFN. Even though I was gone I was thinking of you! @sarcaztic10‌ What an ordeal you have had I am so sorry! Yay, for getting to be back to "normal" at least somewhat! Hope your numbers drop fast Warning BFP and Ectopic mentioned AFM I have had a very rough two week limbo! I got a BFP with a number of 48 at 16 dpo boo. At 18 dpo it went to 68. Then 108 then finally it doubled then doubled again! They thought maybe a late starter but always kept warning me about ectopic. At 6 weeks had an ultrasound nothing was seen. More bloodwork, yay! After 4 days my number only increased by 100. Another ultrasound at 6 woks and 2 days possible sack but way small and nothing in it. Question a pseudo sack you see with ectopics vs blighted ovum. Had another blood draw numbers went up by 200 again. Call they are now sure ectopic and they will administer methotrexate. Today I received the methotrexate. They said there is a chance I will need a second dose. We will be TTA for three months then headed back to our RE. Sorry this got so long! Have a great night ETA: Formatting!

amanda040

Sorry my post is all clustered tried to edit did not work! Sorry!

chicagojackie

Hey ladies, my baby was due 11/6/14. It would be great to join.

General updates: CD34. No period yet (CD1 was the first day of the natural m/c). I am getting so irritated that I can't just have this period and move on. I know I am not KTFU. I am really irritable at work, too.

QOTW: I make a great Lasagna so that is what I would serve along with salad, bread, italian sausage, etc. Also lots of red wine and probably chocolate cake for dessert. If I was behind at work that week I would get everything from Whole Foods and serve it like I made it. True story.

RedTwizzlers

@sarcaztic10 - I hope you can get in to see the RE soon, FX your betas drop quickly! With my first loss, it took 3 months to drop and it was hell, so I know how much it sucks. ((hugs))

@amanda040 - I'm so sorry. ((hugs)) I had MTX with my first loss and other than some pain at the injection site, I didn't have any weird side effects. I did have weird bleeding on and off for about 2-3 months though, which is pretty common, so be prepared for the possibility of on/off bleeding. Hopefully you won't have that though.

@chicagojackie - I'm sorry you're frustrated. I know it sucks waiting for your first post-loss AF. I'm waiting for mine too, from this most recent loss. But CD34 is really not that long so try to hang in there! Hopefully she'll show soon.

My update: We decided to TTA this cycle after all, so we can get our testing finished. It sucks to TTA, but I feel like we made the right decision. Repeat SHG on Monday showed some septum left (which we knew already), but otherwise looked good. Since I had 2 losses after my septum resection, and this most recent  loss was in the right place, it seems like that isn't our problem after all.

QOTW: My go-to for having guests is a leek quiche I make, and DH  makes homemade foccacia and we make a salad. Looks fancy, tastes yummy! I also always bake dessert, I love to bake.

mara005

Hello Ladies, thanks for the check in @HeyMrsPotter

This week has been tough, my loss date was Monday, I cried hard. I really don't want to even think about having to do that twice a year, every year, from now on.

QOTW: If I came to your house for a dinner party, what would you be serving? Who else would be there, and what would we talk about?
I LOVE to cook so I have a very hard time deciding what to cook when (in the rare event) we have company over. But we usually have 1 big BBQparty a year so, I would grill up some Inside out burgers (cheese in the middle of the meat instead of on top) with bacon and mushrooms, them with sides like greek pasta salad, corn on the cob and chips. And of course we would have some great booze/beer/wine!

amanda040

@chicagojackie‌ sorry for your loss! @RedTwizzlers‌ thank you for the information! I am so sorry for your recent loss. I hope they figure out what is going on if you are looking into it more. @mara005‌ ((((hugs)))

chicagojackie

@RedTwizzlers TTA does suck! Here's to getting our first post-loss AF out of the way....the leek quiche sounds amazing BTW.

@amanda040 so sorry for your recent loss. MTX is a tough med to take. I hope you are feeling OK! If we had a boy we would name him Richard so I keep reading your siggy over and over.

HeyMrsPotter

Hi, ladies. I'm sorry I was out of touch this week. It was a really busy few days at work, but I'm off today and glad to be starting my 3-day weekend by catching up with you. You all sound like fabulous cooks. I haven't had lunch yet and your meals are making me hungry.

@sarcaztic10, I will be hoping those levels go down for you quickly so that you can get some answers about the potential tube blockage. ((HUGS)). I'm glad you're able to return to normal activities in the meantime.

@Amanda040, I'm sorry it's been such a rough road these past couple of weeks. How did you do on the MTX? Thinking of you...

@chicagojackie, I'm so sorry for your loss, but welcome to the check-in. You've found a great place for support. I know the waiting is really difficult. FX that AF shows for you soon.

@redtwizzlers, I'm sorry you're having to TTA, but getting the testing done sounds like a smart decision. I'm glad that all looked good on Monday and that the remaining part of the septum still looks like it's not an issue. But I do hope the rest of the testing gets you some answers and a clear path forward. 

@mara005, I'm so sorry the loss date hit you so hard. ((HUGS)). 

QOTW: If I had you all over, I might make my favorite grilled dinner, flank steak pinwheels stuffed with sun-dried tomato paste, prosciutto and provolone. For my vegetarian friends I'd add a grilled eggplant provolone. I'd serve it with homemade french bread, arugula salad and lots of wine and/or red sangria. I'm sure we'd talk about the Bump and the occasional crazy on our board, but I'd also look forward to hearing stories about our real lives as well. 

HeyMrsPotter

My update: If you saw my AW post last week, you know DH and I are now considering donor eggs. It's not that our RE isn't willing to try IVF, but given my low AMH, we'd likely go broke on multiple OOP rounds of treatment. I actually proposed jumping ahead to DE because the chances are just so much better. Given that I don't feel strongly about using my own eggs, the RE agrees it's a good choice. But I have lots of reading and thinking to do. In the meantime, we can try IUI one or two more times. But I have a cyst on my ovary right now, so no treatment for us this cycle. 

amanda040

@HeyMrsPotter‌ the MTX isn't too bad. I have some crazy restrictions which is frustrating . The injection sites are the worse with a ton of pain radiating down my one leg. I am glad you are at peace with your next step. I hope you get all the information you need and you get a great outcome!

mara005

HeyMrsPotter said:

My update: If you saw my AW post last week, you know DH and I are now considering donor eggs. It's not that our RE isn't willing to try IVF, but given my low AMH, we'd likely go broke on multiple OOP rounds of treatment. I actually proposed jumping ahead to DE because the chances are just so much better. Given that I don't feel strongly about using my own eggs, the RE agrees it's a good choice. But I have lots of reading and thinking to do. In the meantime, we can try IUI one or two more times. But I have a cyst on my ovary right now, so no treatment for us this cycle. 

Educate me please, how and where do you get donor eggs? I mean I know women donate them but I am wondering the process of getting them from there?

HeyMrsPotter

@Mara005, I think there are many ways to go about it. Some people know a person who wishes to donate fresh eggs to them. Some clinics will match you up with a specific donor for a fresh egg transfer. What I'm looking at is much more affordable, which is frozen eggs from an egg bank.

My RE's office is willing do do this treatment. They work with MyEggBank North America, which would send the eggs to my clinic, and then they would be thawed and fertilized with DH's sperm. Then my RE would transfer the eggs much like regular IVF. You can find background info on how this all works on the MyEggBank website as well as a couple of other similar egg banks out there. The total cost is actually a little less than IVF for us, and using the donor eggs may increase my chances of success from about 20% for IVF to 50% or higher with donor eggs. And, because you get multiple eggs in the batch that comes from the donor, fertilization often results in extra embryos, and you can often freeze and save them so that you can try again in the future. 

I'm not sure I want to do this with my RE though, because I'm not sure how experienced his embryologist is with all of this and what their success rate is. PetraStoneGirl was successful with this treatment. I plan to pick her brain once I've thought more about my questions. She uses one of the two clinics in the U.S. with the best success rates.  People can do the initial testing with a local RE and then travel to one of those clinics for the procedure, but my RE doesn't work with those clinics.

There's also medical tourism -- Spain and the Czech Republic appear to be the most common destinations. A quick look suggests that treatment there, even with travel, can be significantly cheaper than treatment at home.

I'm also thinking about the ethical implications... what it would mean to parent a child who will have no access to information about their genetic background, etc. 

We're still thinking this through so I haven't gotten much further than this. But that's what I know right now.

HeyMrsPotter

amanda040 said:

@HeyMrsPotter‌ the MTX isn't too bad. I have some crazy restrictions which is frustrating . The injection sites are the worse with a ton of pain radiating down my one leg. I am glad you are at peace with your next step. I hope you get all the information you need and you get a great outcome!

@Amanda040, ouch! I'm sorry the injection sites are so painful. I hope that stops soon. ((HUGS))

HeyMrsPotter

Hi, @Katydid2014. Welcome, and I'm so sorry for your loss. Your dinner sounds like it's just my speed; I just finished putting a roast in the crock pot for tonight. Guessing by the date of your March BFP, I'm wondering if you meant to write that your EDD is in November rather than December? Either way, you're of course welcome here if the month of November has loss-related significance for you. 

mara005

@katydid2014‌ Welcome, I'm sorry for your loss.

LesliW

Welcome @katydid2014‌! Sorry for your loss..
Hi @HeyMrsPotter‌ thank you for the check in...I've. Been following your journey. Big hugs lady! You're pretty amazing.
I've been doing good..I had some random high temps early but no cm, then a temp drop. Now it seems it's shifting again. I've been keeping FF busy, giving me CHs, taking them away..ya know. I'm difficult...
QOTW: Probably Mexican feast. Tacos, chips and quacamole, dirty beans...margaritas and sangria. Living in San Diego we get really good at making Mexican food, or going out to get it!!

amanda040

@katydid2014‌ ((((Hugs)))) sorry you find yourself here! Good news about numbers are going down.

HeyMrsPotter

@katydid2014, yes, you've found a great place for support.

@LesliW, Sorry your cycle is all over the place. FX those crosshairs stay put where you want them to be. And if I ever get back to San Diego I am totally coming by for Mexican food and sangria!