TTGP Grad check in 7/20

heatherdubrow

I was thinking this could be a more informal check in to just catch up with our friends! So What's everyone got going on this week?

heatherdubrow

This thread is slowly dying, where are you ladies??

vflux33

Nooooooooo it must live on!

GG620

Hi!!! Sorry so busy at work today. We have had 4 people quit in the last week, 4!!! So freaking out a little. 

As far as baby goes, hoping everything is going great and baby is growing. After so many appts every 2 to 3 days with the RE, a week and a half between my last beta and next wedneday's ultrasound seems like forever ha. My PGAL brain has me terrified and we are hoping so hard to see a strong, healthy heartbeat at the u/s.

How id everyone else??

vflux33

@GG620 I know what you mean about time passing slowly between appointments. I have 6 days till this u/s and freaking out. I was 6 weeks as of yesterday and like clockwork got major aversions and cravings and nausea all at once. I guess that's not bad though because it's a new symptom. Also I had been so good for about a week and a half on this dairy free thing trying to be strong like @bethennyfrankel and then yesterday I caved and it felt SO GOOD. I am weak!

bethennyfrankel

@vflux33 It took me about a month before the cravings/urges to eat dairy stopped. FWIW, I've been slowly slipping bits of dairy in the last week with absolutely zero side effects! I'll probably still try to limit dairy throughout the pregnancy and afterwards, but it feels good to know I don't have to be so strict

Nothing too new for me. First u/s is Monday morning. Nausea/car sick feelings hit whenever I don't eat every 2-3 hours. Still super tired and unable to function. I tried working out to fight fatigue, but I lost my breath, got dizzy, and nearly threw up. So more rest it is I suppose. Most of my days are just spent surviving at this point. Wish me luck.

Sending you all good vibes and hoping you're doing better than I am!

ladybugsamom

Hey guys!  Things are good on my end.  Just anxiously awaiting my first appointment next Thursday.  I can't seem to think about much else lately.  Time is going soooo slow!   I just want to see a heartbeat and make sure baby is measuring on target.  After that, I can focus on something else (like the kiddos heading back to school).

I'm still not having many symptoms - no nausea. Just slight fatigue and severely sore/tender breasts.  In my past pregnancies, my nausea usually showed up around 7-8 weeks, so I'm anticipating the same this time.

vflux33

@bethennyfrankel I'm sorry MS is hitting you so hard! I'm kinda bracing for it. That's amazing the dairy isn't giving you as much trouble! I read somewhere butter is "not as bad" as cheese or milk. Do you think that's true? Because going more lax on the butter would def make things easier for me. 

Also @heatherdubrow and @antoto I've been meaning to ask you guys as other NIR PCOS' ers who are KU, do you have issues with dairy? Have you tried to cut it before or after your BFPs, and if so, did you have positive results? If you didn't cut it or re-introduced it, what played into your decision? I'm trying to figure out where I stand in all this and it helps to hear what others are thinking. I've done some looking around online and I get the reasons for quitting it, but I'm still a little confused (and honestly also looking for excuses not to monitor my diet so strictly, because I love food).

If you cut dairy when KU, how do you know for sure if your reduction in side effects are a result of cutting dairy or pregnancy? Also if reducing dairy and cutting dairy completely have similar results, KU or not KU, I'd rather be less strict generally. 

heatherdubrow

@vflux33 I don't seem to have an issue with dairy, but gluten seems to bother me. One thing my daughters pediatrician said was not to cut out food groups during pregnancy. My DD had a dairy/soy protein intolerance so I asked 'if I get pregnant again should I just cut it out from the beginning' and she said that lack of exposure could make it more likely that my next child would have that intolerance. Sorry not related to pcos but thought I would put in my two cents.
What symptoms do you have when you consume dairy? I've never noticed a problem myself.

vflux33

@heatherdubrow Because I found out about the PCOS the same day as I got my BFP, I never tested cutting dairy before I was KU and so I don't know for sure what it caused. I suspect it may have played a role in adult acne (mild but still frustrating), but I heard you need to cut it at least a month to know for sure if it helps with that. And even if I did cut it for a month and my skin improved, if that happens while I'm KU couldn't the hormonal changes of pregnancy play a role in that improvement, and would I ever really know that dairy was the magic bullet? Other than acne I don't know. Maybe IF? But I didn't cut it before my IUI that worked so I can't tell. I was told my PCOS is on the mild side (and no cysts). I could have "hostile cervical mucus" that is/was really the problem for all I know.

I appreciate what you said about the food intolerance. I definitely want to do what I can to avoid a kid getting that, obviously, and I hadn't considered that before. 

bethennyfrankel

@vflux33 It would make sense that butter isn't as bad as milk or cheese because butter is mostly fat pulled from milk while cheese is essentially solid milk. I would still try to replace butter with healthy fats like olive oil as much as possible. That's more of a health thing than a PCOS thing though.

For me, I had serious elevations in testosterone. This resulted in excess hair and bad breakouts. Cutting dairy reduced/eliminated those signs of high testosterone for me. Being pregnant, however, elevates your estrogen which counters high testosterone. With that in mind, a small amount of dairy would be inconsequential to that balance. Along the same lines as @heatherdubrow, I also don't want to give LO a dairy intolerance by not consuming enough during pregnancy. All of that is why I'm trying to incorporate dairy back in (slowly) during my pregnancy and why I hope to have small amounts of dairy once I'm back on bcp.

*I hope that all makes sense. I'm only half awake.

vflux33

@bethennyfrankel That makes a ton of sense! Thank you! Just hearing what you guys are saying about this I already feel the pressure lifting and another delicious buttered bagel coming on... 

[Deleted User]

Re: dairy I haven't consumed much of it since before my diagnosis. I'll maybe have 3 or 4 servings a month. And some months I have none at all. I don't think it actually has any impact on me when I do have it, it's just that H is lactose intolerant and he's the cook in our house so...  But if you do decide to take a break from it the good news is that the food market is absolutely flooded with good non dairy alternatives, especially if you're close to a Whole Foods. Kite Hill makes a really good brie. 

My beta is Saturday and ahhhhhh I'm so impatient. My lines are getting darker every day on my tests so I'm feeling really positive and excited.

Some of you know I'm a high school teacher. Students come back Monday and I'm completely unprepared. I can't concentrate on anything! I just want to stare at baby stuff all day.

heatherdubrow

@antoto I think you're entitled to that desire, you've waited long enough!!
Ill be crossing everything for you on Saturday!

vflux33

@antoto Thank you for your dairy input!

I hope you have an amazing beta. As for the students coming back, wha??? So summer doesn't exist anymore? Did you only get like 3 weeks off? 

[Deleted User]

@vflux33 well we started summer the first week of June. So it's fair. 

GG620

@vflux33 ahh can't wait for you ultrasound! So excited for you!

@antoto I totally hear you and not wanting to do anything but baby-related things haha. It is all I want to do lol so excited for your betas!! Can't wait to hear about them

mdfarmchick

Sorry I'm late today. Still visiting family which makes things crazy. Mostly I'm wondering if my boobs are going to stop growing. They are already the same size as they were in the height of breastfeeding. With DS my boobs didn't grow until the third trimester.

I can't weigh in on the PCOS/dairy debate, but I have heard the same as @heatherdubrow said about cutting out food could cause allergies for the baby from my doctor as well. 

@antoto I hope you have fantastic Betas!

@ladybugsamom Hopefully you can find some good distractions to make the next week pass by quickly!

@bethennyfrankel I hope your u/s goes well Monday. I'm sorry that you didn't feel better working out--but selfishly, it makes me feel better because the idea of doing any kind of workout makes me want to hurl. I'm so tired too. 

@GG620 4 people quit?! That sounds like a rough week. Does that leave you alone at work?? Also, hopefully you can keep busy until your next appointment too. 

@vflux33 I can't wait to hear how your u/s goes either! 

GG620

@mdfarmchick ughh it is awful. My unit specifically went from 3 people to just me (other people left in other units) and the office is currently asking for recommendations for new hires. Even once they interview and select someone, its a 30 day background check so pretty much i am currently doing the job of 3 people for 2 months. I just can't and have no idea what to do. Also, F that kind of stress right now lol

haylsbayls-2

I'm impatiently waiting on my second betas. Do you think the nurse can see if I reload the page 42789304 times?!


ETA: Hope it's okay I just jumped in here

kmalls

Lol @haylsbayls I had the same fleeting thought yesterday morning when I was waiting for beta results. I was all "hmmm I wonder if there's a log somewhere that shows them how many times I've accessed this page." Because it was definitely in the dozens Hang in there, and I hope the number is good! 

heatherdubrow

@haylsbayls hey!!! I'm glad you posted!! Ugh I did the same thing waiting for my betas. I called my ivf nurse like 3 times asking for results. I'm sure they're used to crazy...

haylsbayls-2

@kmalls @heatherdubrow  my line wasn't darker and pretty faint this morning so I don't think I will believe it until I see the numbers!

mdfarmchick

@haylsbayls FX for good numbers!

GG620

@haylsbayls I was the same way! FX for awesome betas!

haylsbayls-2

Thanks ladies! After refreshing frantically all morning - beta was 268! It was 38 on Tuesday.

heatherdubrow

@haylsbayls great number!!! 

haylsbayls-2

@antoto Ahhh good luck with your beta tomorrow. You must be so anxious!!! That summer break still feels short, I feel as though we had mid June - early September.

vflux33

@haylsbayls That's great!!

kmalls

@haylsbayls that's so great!! Congrats! You're giving me hope, I just had my second beta draw this afternoon and I'll be on pins and needles until I see the number. My first beta was lower than yours

haylsbayls-2

@kmalls good luck!! When do you hear back from the?

kmalls

@haylsbayls I won't hear from my OB until Monday, but I have access to my chart through the patient portal and that updates the moment the results are recorded. I'm hoping I'll see the number before noon tomorrow. 

...so yes, I'll be hitting refresh from now until who knows when

vflux33

@antoto Do you know when you're supposed to get your beta results back?

heatherdubrow

Oh yes @antoto good luck!!

[Deleted User]

Beta just came in at 524!!!!!  I'm 10dpt today!

vflux33

@antoto Awesome!!

heatherdubrow

@antoto great number!!! 

haylsbayls-2

@antoto yay!!! That's a great number. 

GG620

@antoto yyayy, awesome number!

kmalls

So I finally got my beta results back from Friday. I went from 14 to 46, which is more than double and that's great. I just wish the number was higher, my PGAL brain is in serious overdrive   

I'm still only 4w1d today, and the nurse said the number is appropriate. I'm just feeling a little anxious, still. 

vflux33

@kmalls It's more than doubling, which is great! I'm sorry you're stressing. Most people don't even get a beta before the 4 week mark, maybe this is why... Are you going to get another one?