Weekly checkin - June 17

dolphin012

This check in is for anyone on this board to participate in and will occur every Wednesday. If you are new here and haven't made a separate intro on the main board please do so before checking in so we can "meet" you! It's easy to do just click the new discussion button in the top right and post away. 

1. Your Name or Screen Name (not full names) and State you are from. 

2. How long have you been TTC? Are you TTC #1,#2,#3, etc.? 

3. What are you doing this cycle? Are you seeking help with a fertility specialist (RE)? If so, what stage are you in? Charting/temping? Testing? Medicated cycles? IUI? IVF? DE? 

4. Where are you in your cycle? (Waiting to O, 2WW etc) If in the 2ww when will you test? 

5. How do you feel about this cycle? (Are you hopeful, anxious... etc) 

QOTW: What are you reading? Any recommendations to share for a good summer read? 

Feel free to add any vents or shout outs.

suziq1978

1. suziq1978, central IL

2. ttc #4, 10 or 11 cycles?

3. temping, charting, sex

4. I haven't got a clue.  My temp has been up and down this month.  FF gave me dotted crosshairs yesterday but took them away today.  I seriously think I already O'd but I'm not really sure,.

5. Frustrated, anxious.  Depending on when O happened our timing could be good.  My chart is a mess and I just really can't tell what's going on.

QOTW: What are you reading? Any recommendations to share for a good summer read?

I read a lot of YA books.  I just finished Arena One by Morgan Rice.  Lately I've been into the apocalypse type stories.  I really enjoyed the Fallen Series by Lauren Kate.  It's about fallen angels and demons.  It was pretty good.

Feel free to add any vents or shout outs

carrieandr

1. Carrie from Florida

2. TTC #1 since January. (BFP Feb, D&C Apr)

3. Charting/temping, opk

4. CD3

5. This is cycle 3 since the d&c and it's the first one where the temps started off in the right range, so I'm super hopeful for this month. Fx for ovulation and good timing.

QOTW: I'm reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It's not as good as his other stuff so far. I have such a long list of books I want to read!

BulgariHeart

1) BulgariHeart. Bicoastal.

2) Cycle #2 of TTC #1.

3) Doing the usual supplementation, CM observation, OPKs and charting/temping. I am determined to catch my surge this month. I'm stocked up OPKs and will start testing three times a day starting CD9. Maybe we'll try the sperm meets egg method.

4) CD6.

5) I'm hopeful. This cycle I will have no interruptions so I can focus on carefully reading all my fertility signs. 

I also took appointment for a pre-conception visit with an acupuncturist/Chinese medicine doctor for next month and am avidly looking forward to it. Perhaps it will turn into a post-conception visit  

QOTW: I'm fond of biographical books and am reading a great one on the recordings of The Beatles, titled "Here, there and everywhere".

jilligan14

Hi ladies!

1. Jill from NC

2. TTC#1 (not preventing since 11/12, actively trying since 8/14)

3. Lots of vitamins, increased dose of Vitex from cycle day 3-9, OPKs, temping/charting, exercise, increased protein, etc.

4. CD21, 1dpo (if I did in fact O, not enough data to confirm)

5. I've been so up and down this whole cycle - feeling positive one day and then defeated the next. I had strong O signs - EWCM, a clearblue peak OPK and +Wondfo but my body has geared up like this before without actually ovulating so who knows? We had good timing too (-4, -3, -1, 0). My temp today was inconclusive since I woke up every 2 hours, starting at 3am, and I don't know which one to use. The bummer part is that I won't be able to rely on my temps since I'm starting progesterone tonight and that always increases my temp, regardless of whether or not I did O. Also, not seeing my previous obgyn anymore and she was doing progesterone blood tests at 7dpo to confirm ovulation. I guess I'll just have to wait the full 2 weeks to see if anything happened!

Summer reading: I just finished "Secret Daughter" by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. It was about a women experiencing infertility issues who ends up adopting a girl from India. It was a really good read. I'm about to start on "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaleo Hosseini.

Good luck everyone!! Can't wait to see some BFPs soon!!!

bookworm40

1. Your Name or Screen Name (not full names) and State you are from. 

Joanne, NY

2. How long have you been TTC? Are you TTC #1,#2,#3, etc.? 

TTC #1 for 16 or 17 months now.. I've lost count

3. What are you doing this cycle? Are you seeking help with a fertility specialist (RE)? If so, what stage are you in? Charting/temping? Testing? Medicated cycles? IUI? IVF? DE? 

Waiting for my July cycle to start so I can move on to IVF#2

4. Where are you in your cycle? (Waiting to O, 2WW etc) If in the 2ww when will you test? 
Waiting to O

5. How do you feel about this cycle? (Are you hopeful, anxious... etc) 

at this point it's just a means to an end, get AF and start up again with IVF so I never thought I would be anxious to get AF lol

QOTW: What are you reading? Any recommendations to share for a good summer read? 
Oh man.. I'm a librarian.. I have a to be read pile a mile high! However I'm a young adult librarian so most of my reading is Young Adult Fiction! 

Tomerine

1. Your Name or Screen Name (not full names) and State you are from. 

Tomerine, MA

2. How long have you been TTC? Are you TTC #1,#2,#3, etc.? 

TTC #2 for 6-7 months

3. What are you doing this cycle? Are you seeking help with a fertility specialist (RE)? If so, what stage are you in? Charting/temping? Testing? Medicated cycles? IUI? IVF? DE? 

Vitamins, OPKs, scattered temping this month (so I gave up)

4. Where are you in your cycle? (Waiting to O, 2WW etc) If in the 2ww when will you test? 

2WW- I will wait for a lack of AF before I test.  

5. How do you feel about this cycle? (Are you hopeful, anxious... etc) 

Hopeful- which is a new feeling.  The past few months I haven't been hopeful once all of the activity around O time has passed.  So, this feels good!

QOTW: What are you reading? Any recommendations to share for a good summer read? 

If you want light and breezy summer reads, I recommend Cathy Lamb.  I just finished one of hers.  I just started (before I fell asleep reading it last night) Loving Frank, about an affair that Frank Lloyd Wright had with a married woman.  @jilligan14 , I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Khaled Hosseini writes some seriously intense, but seriously good books!  And @cupcakegal930 , I secretly love young adult fiction!  Let me know if you have an recommendations!

happyktmom

1. happyktmom from VA

2. TTC#2 since April 2014

3. Done with drugs and RE for now.  This cycle was not great with timing and no BBT's or CM checks.  I am taking PNV, Vit D, Vitex, CoQ10 and Metformin.

4. CD20 in 2WW.  Without temping and some really shady OPK's, its tought to say if or when I O'd.  Typically it would be on cd15.

5. Not too hopeful.  I will test on Fathers Day just because I found out Mothers Day 4 years ago I was pregnant with DD. Anything is possible!

I'm currently reading: Taking Charge of Your Fertility   (It's come highly recommended by TTC'ers and has lot's of good info)

efhoping2010

efhoping2010/WY

IVF/ICSI/MESA #4 but FET 2 with 2 CCS Normal Blasts, the first at the big clinic.

Please see history for the details

Started Lupron today 10iu in the am and the last bcp will be on Sunday, yay then wait for AF to start vivelle estrogen patches on CD 3.

So FET 7/15 so far, depending on when AF shows up after stopping bcp.

QOTW: On Book 4 of the Outlander series

dolphin012

1. dolphin012 from CA

2. ttc #1 for a while

3. second ivf cycle

4. I am on day 7 of stims. I had an u/s this morning -- 16-17 follicles ranging between 8-13 mm. I go back on Friday. If cycle is similar to last time i should be pretty close to triggering on friday. 

5. Got to be hopeful  . Of course, anxious, too. Good to know i am responding well again, so now moved on to being anxious about the retrieval -- timing and how many mature they can actually retrieve. Fx!!

6. I am currently reading Overwhelmed: Work, love, and play when no one has the time. It is a work/life balance book recommended to me. I just started it so can't provide any recommendations, yet. I did just finish The Martian and would recommend it as a fun, fast paced read. It is fiction -- sci fi, but also appeals to a broader audience. 

@jilligan14 -  A Thousand Splendid Suns is an excellent book, one of my favorites. 

Carazona5

1. Caroline from Arizona

2. ttc #1

3. Opk, fertility diet (found online - mostly it's just nothing processed, no caffeine, low sugar, extra veggies, etc. it's healthy either way)

4. CD 4

5. A little more excited/hopeful than I was last month. But also nervous because we've decided to see an RE if it doesn't work this cycle.

6. The Girls by Lori Lansens

emsmama15

1. Your Name or Screen Name (not full names) and State you are from. 

Heather from MN

2. How long have you been TTC? Are you TTC #1,#2,#3, etc.? 

TTC#2 for 13 months, 9 cycles, 6 medicated

3. What are you doing this cycle? Are you seeking help with a fertility specialist (RE)? If so, what stage are you in? Charting/temping? Testing? Medicated cycles? IUI? IVF? DE? 

ON A BREAK with cyst-y ovaries.  I'm due for AF soon (just finished BCPs) and I'm just hoping my ovaries are all clear.

4. Where are you in your cycle? (Waiting to O, 2WW etc) If in the 2ww when will you test? 

Waiting for AF

5. How do you feel about this cycle? (Are you hopeful, anxious... etc) 

Not necessarily about this cycle, but I'm having a sad infertility day.  I had in my head that we started trying (with the return of AF postpartum) last June and I just looked back and it was May.  So, it's 12 vs 13 months and for whatever reason, that sent me into a freaking tailspin where my thoughts started racing and the end point was "maybe we need to set a deadline that we'll stop if we're not pregnant!"  HUH?  NO!  I don't want to do that.  I'm not in a place to do that right now.  I don't know.  But oh the tears.  It's just been a long day.  I haven't actually cycled since the beginning on March.  I just need to make some forward progress!!!  UGH!!  So, there's my crazy cakes rant for the week...  Thanks for listening.  

QOTW: What are you reading? Any recommendations to share for a good summer read? 

I just read "What Alice Forgot" - it's a very light read but interesting.  I also recently read "Girl on the Train."  Also good.  I'm going to check out "Secret Daughter" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns."  

lady+bee

1. Lady+Bee from OR

2. 3rd cycle of TTC#1

3. Temping and opk's

4. waiting to O - should be in the next few days

5. I don't know...it seems like things are coming together, sort of. Temping is going well, and looks like I may have a good charting and prediction this month. OPK's are not helpful for me, I take too many diuretics and they can't detect anything. I tried the Clear Blue Easy this cycle and after a series of error messages gave up to start again next month. So I guess hopeful that the temping might be getting our timing better, and stressed because the opk's gave me a sense of control, which makes me feel better. DH and I are more on the same page this month, which also helps. He's finally come around to the idea/fact that it's not just going to randomly happen, we need to put some effort into timing and planning.

QOTW: I just finished "As You Wish" by Cary Ewles. It's about the making of the movie "The Princess Bride" and was very good if you are a fan of the movie. Not sure what I'm going to start now...I have a pile of books I want to read and will just see what catches my eye when I go to grab the next one.

carrieandr

@emsmama15 -- sorry you had a rough day.

efhoping2010

dolphin012 good luck with the rest of stims and with ER, likely this weekend

jilligan14

@emsmama15 - sorry you had a rough day yesterday. I too was crying a lot and just felt very emotional about the whole TTC thing. It sure can hit you hard on certain days. Sending you warm thoughts and happy hugs today!

thistle8677

@emsmama15 & @jilligan14 I just posted about wanting to cry, and now I see each of your posts.
I'm so sorry for any and all of us feeling frustrated and down right now.
I just woke up 40min ago and I don't even want to face the day.

thistle8677

1. Thistle8677 in Oregon

2. TTC#5 for the past 9mo (recurrent mc)

3. Temping & opk's

4. Today is cd15

5. Feeling frustrated overall today. I don't know. I posted about it a few min. ago

6.QOTW: I am not currently reading anything. All the kids just finished school, so I'm literally cleaning and trying to make sense of reality. I do appreciate the prompt however. Maybe I NEED a book asap.

Shout out to @CarrieandRoy!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!!

emsmama15

@CarrieandRoy, @jilligan14, @thistle8677 - thanks for the support.  I've been doing so well lately, I'm mad that I veered off my "zen" path.  I've been seeing a therapist the past few months to deal with my anxiety around this whole process and she's teaching me meditation and we've talked a lot about what I can and cannot control.  I think that's the hardest part for a control freak like me - I have NO control over this.  I can do everything right and I still may not get what I want...  Jill, I'm sorry you were also tearful - maybe it's an atmospheric thing (moon phases, tides, etc?)?  

emsmama15

Oh, and happy birthday @CarrieandRoy! I hope you have an amazing day!

carrieandr

@emsmama15, thanks!  --I'm a control freak, too. Thank goodness for thermometers and charting. It gives me something to focus on. I would draw a detailed map of my reproductive organs if that would help the sperm find their way.

jilligan14

@CarrieandRoy - Happy Birthday!!

Yes, I'm a control freak too and I keep thinking if I just do everything completely right, it'll happen. I'm also so obsessed when my temps don't do what I want them to do. What's funny is that the first time I got pregnant, I didn't do a single thing. No temping, no OPKs, no tracking my cycle. We weren't preventing, but we weren't actively trying either. Since my cycles were highly irregular, I thought nothing of the fact that it was CD45 and I still hadn't gotten an AF. I was starting to feel dizzy and lightheaded, but I just thought it was from working so hard. How much things have changed now! I symptom spot like crazy and pee on so many sticks and am already on my third thermometer. Sigh....

thistle8677

Meditation! Yes. @emsmama15

Knottie16743552

1. I'm knottie-something. I didn't choose the name and can't figure out how to fix it! I'm from NJ.

2. TTC#2 for me, #3 for him and #1 for US

3. Temping and opk

4. CD4

5. I'm feeling happy it's Friday!

6. I'm reading "The Impatient Woman's Guide to Getting Pregnant" (I think thats the title)

carrieandr

@Knottie16743552, I saw someone on another board that was knottie-something and I thought it was you. I can't remember what she was posting about, but I remember thinking it didn't sound like you at all. I checked the numbers, and sure enough it wasn't you.

Knottie16743552

@CarrieandRoy ( I need to figure out how to change it! My real name is Erin, not knottie!

emsmama15

@Knottie16743552, you have to go back to the Knot to change your username.  I do know that.  I changed mine not that long ago but I can't remember exactly how.  I bet @GoldenKeys can help you figure out how to do it.  It would help us out too!

FemShep

1. Your Name or Screen Name (not full names) and State you are from. 

FemShep, MA

2. How long have you been TTC? Are you TTC #1,#2,#3, etc.? 

TTC #3, 3 cycles past miscarriage

3. What are you doing this cycle? Are you seeking help with a fertility specialist (RE)? If so, what stage are you in? Charting/temping? Testing? Medicated cycles? IUI? IVF? DE? 

Charting, temping, PNVs, CoQ-10, OPKs, sex, baby aspirin

4. Where are you in your cycle? (Waiting to O, 2WW etc) If in the 2ww when will you test? 

CD 20, 6 DPO-I'll test on Father's Day even though it's too early.

5. How do you feel about this cycle? (Are you hopeful, anxious... etc) 

This is the first cycle post-mc that seems at all reasonable, with fertility signs aligning.  Last cycle was anovulatory.  So, on one hand, I'm hopeful!  On the other hand, I'm 42, and I'm well aware that the odds are that I won't have another healthy child. Although we're actively trying, we're making plans as is our family is complete; it's a weird sort of limbo.

QOTW: What are you reading? Any recommendations to share for a good summer read? 

I just finished "The Royal We", which is a nice beach read.  I just read a review of The Rocks, which sounds good.

Waving to fellow MA girl @tomerine !  I'm also an Outlander fan, @efhoping2010 ; did you watch the series on Starz?  Happy belated birthday @CarrieandRoy !

GoldenKeys

emsmama15 said:

@Knottie16743552, you have to go back to the Knot to change your username.  I do know that.  I changed mine not that long ago but I can't remember exactly how.  I bet @GoldenKeys can help you figure out how to do it.  It would help us out too!

Hi!

The user interface has changed a bit, but I think that you can still change your username by logging into TheKnot.   After you're logged in, choose "Account Settings" on the lower left hand corner.  You should be able to change your username and your password on the page that comes up.  If you still have difficulty, inbox me and I'll run the issue up to the bump gods...

Tomerine

Hi @FemShep ! How 'bout them Sox? X_X

efhoping2010

@FemShep I did watch the Starz show, it is not as great as the books but they are doing a wonderful job

dolphin012

loving all the book recommendations!!! I have the Outlander series on my to read list per an earlier discussion and strong recommendations from this board. 

I have my retrieval tomorrow (early afternoon)!!!! I responded well to the stims again. So fx for tomorrow. I know the trigger shot is suppose to be very reliable as far as timing, but i still get anxious they won't stay put until the retrieval time!!! I am sure it will be fine though.  

Knottie16743552

Fx for you @dolphin012!!!

dolphin012

Thanks!! It went well- 16 retrieved.

emsmama15

Keep us posted on fertilization @dolphin012!!  Will you have them PGS tested again?

efhoping2010

@dolphin012 wishing you a great fert report, glad ER went so well