IF Testing and Treatment W/o 8/27

thegirlwhowaited_

This is a place for those of us who have already started TTC, but have started infertility testing and/or treatments. You can express your thoughts, feelings, and frustrations on infertility. TTC can be a long journey naturally, then add in the difficulties associated with infertility, and it becomes a whole new ball game. The road to infertility can be lonely, frustrating, and complicated, so let's make this a place where we can vent, ask questions, and support one another. Feel free to resurrect this thread at any point in the week if you have something to say. Treat this as an ongoing conversation. 


Diagnosis (if you've been): 

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA):

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): 

How are things going?: 

Any questions?:

GTKY: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Or

What is your most unusual talent?

*Edited because I'm a little slow this morning and didn't change the GTKY. Opps.

crookshanks10

Good morning ladies! This is my first post on the IF Testing and Treatment board I have been on TB for almost a year now and have enjoyed giving and receiving support that to me, is priceless. I have been lurking and have been keeping my fx for all of you and will continue to do so! All of you are so strong and inspiring.

Diagnosis (if you've been): LP defect

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): First IUI 

How are things going?: Good. I met with an RE this past Friday and it was so nice to see a specialist and come out with a game plan. 

Any questions?: None at the moment.

GTKY: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Be grateful and focus on your joys.

thegirlwhowaited_

@crookshanks10 Hi! I saw in your spoiler siggy that you've done 3 clomid cycles already. Do you have a plan for any meds with your IUI?

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained, possible endometriosis

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): IUI w/ clomid, trigger shot, and pometrium.

How are things going?: Pretty well. I did the trigger shot last night. I was more afraid to let DH do it and to just do it myself, but it wasn't bad at all. IUI is tomorrow morning and I'm getting more and more excited about it. DH was been doing some googling and he wants me to take headphones and listed to comedy bits after they do the IUI and I have to lay there for a few min. He read about some study regarding women who watched a clown performance after their IUI's were more likely to have implantation over the ones who didn't. I will appease him. He'll probably make me listen on the way home too.

Any questions?: Did anyone else get heightened libido after the trigger shot? or maybe it's residual from the clomid? I was very in the mood this morning and of course our last day to hio was yesterday and we did yesterday morning.

GTKY: What is your most unusual talent?
I remember completely random bits of information. My previous boss said I had a mind like an elephant and they would call me in to ask me questions randomly when things got messy or lawyers got involved because I could remember the smallest details of past conversations. 

crookshanks10

@thegirlwhowaited_ I am going to be taking Femara and doing a trigger shot! I actually liked being on Clomid because it fixed my LP issue, so hopefully Femara does the same! I'm somewhat nervous about the trigger shot haha. Let me know how your IUI goes! I have my fx for you!! Maybe I should follow in your footsteps and watch a comedy bit afterwards as well? It can't hurt! Also, I'm jealous of your memory. I can never remember anything

thegirlwhowaited_

@crookshanks10 I was actually surprised how easy the trigger shot was. The needle is so tiny I didn't feel it and it's such a small amount a fluid that's going in. I hope Femara can help your LP too! I'll update everyone tomorrow after it's all said and done. And my memory only seems to apply to random odd pieces of information, not the important stuff lol. At least not when it's important to me. So did you already do a baseline u/s and are you starting the Femara/IUI this cycle?

Avrilmai

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained officially, also low AMH and AMA

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFAF

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): ER last week

How are things going?: well they're going. We had one of our embryos make it to blast and frozen at day 5 and will now wait for the PGT results. In the meantime just WFAF so I can call the RE and get set up for another ER cycle.

Any questions?: For those that have done an ER, how long until you got AF?

GTKY: I am drawing a blank on both questions. um, I'm really good at scooping ice cream. My scoops are always round and fluffy and look much bigger than they actually are. 

@crookshanks10 sorry you find yourself here, GL w/the IUI. 
@thegirlwhowaited_ FX for you & good for you for doing the trigger shot yourself, I've always been too afraid to do any of my own injections. I've never heard the thing about comedy, but I would NOT want to watch clown videos. I don't find them scary, I do find them extremely annoying. 

thegirlwhowaited_

@Avrilmai How many ER are you doing? I'm terrible at scooping ice cream! I make DH do it for me. Maybe I'm just not strong enough to really get through the cold ice cream. Now I want ice cream... 
Clowns are just like awkward slapstick humor and that doesn't do it for me (I was never into the Three Stooges either). I have Christopher Titus in a playlist on Spotify that I'm downloading to my phone for tomorrow. At any rate it can't hurt and gives me some entertainment for the 15min I have to lay there after.

beachbunnyxo123

@crookshanks10 sorry that you’re here but this is a great group of knowledgeable, strong, and supportive women so I’m confident you’ll feel supported here! 

@thegirlwhowaited_ glad the trigger shot wasn’t so bad! GL this cycle 

@Avrilmai my first ER I got AF 10 days after and my second ER i got AF 13 days later. My nurse said 8-14 days is typical. 

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained 

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA):
WTO 

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): 
Hopefully saline sono and biopsy tomorrow, depends on if my beta today is negative, was still positive last week. 

How are things going?: 
Okay, just trying to practice patience as I wait to see what our plan is. I will update again later after I talk to my nurse 

Any questions?:
nope

GTKY: I can curl my tongue into a clam. I used to eat jaw breakers when I was a kid and when it was smaller and white it would look like a pearl in the clam haha 

Avrilmai

@thegirlwhowaited_ at this point DH and I have agreed to a second ER. I decided after going through the first one that I could do it again. A lot of the anxiety for me was the fear of the unknown, I mean that is what anxiety is, and having done it once and making it through, I know I can do it at least once more. I don't know what will happen after that. But I'm hoping we will only need one more. 

crookshanks10

@thegirlwhowaited_ I'm glad to hear the trigger isn't bad! I did have an ultrasound/bloodwork at my appointment last Friday and I'll start taking the Femara this Thursday and have my mid-cycle scan next Friday, 9/7. It all happened so fast since AF came early!

@Avrilmai Thank you! I hope your results come back good!

@beachbunnyxo123 Haha I love your unusual talent! My DH can do that as well!

wishiwaspreggo

Lurking

@thegirlwhowaited_ - I saw that study! I'm going to listen to Gilbert Gottfried read Fifty Shades of Grey. If you haven't seen the YouTube clip, I recommend waiting to watch it for your IUI. That's pure comedy gold right there. His facial expressions really add a nice touch.

emmasemm

@crookshanks10 welcome and hope the femara does the trick for you!

@thegirlwhowaited_ glad the trigger shot was easy enough. They typically come with nice small thin needles. 
Though my last few triggers have been triple ones, so three times the fun! Hope all goes well with the IUI. I also get more “frisky” on stims and with a trigger shot - basically the more my estrogen rises the more frisky I get, and for me estrogen rise matches really well with increase in CM especially EWCM. 

@avrilmai please let me know if you need my WTF question list before the weekend and I’ll try to get it to you one evening. Just a bit crazy with work. I’m the one woman entertainment for Internal Audit this week it seems, the whole lot of them... whatever you do, my advice is don’t let them put you on BCP until you’ve had your WTF appointment.

@beachbunnyxo123, I can’t quite bring myself to say that I hope your beta is negative... that’s just too weird... and sad... so I will just say hope you get the go ahead for the Saline sono and biopsy tomorrow

Diagnosis (if you've been): DOR, AMA, autoimmune rubbish thrown on top

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO I guess

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): after O I will start estrogen priming for IVF#7

How are things going?: 
Last week we decided although my baseline labs were pretty damn good, because of the cyst we would skip a cycle and hope it goes away on it’s own. If not we will probably drain it after next baseline.
The upside is I will definitely not be stimming on my birthday!!! And DH has something planned for it (it’s a round one...) so it will be nice if I can enjoy one Aperol Spritz or a glass of Rose for once. Also to not have to worry about where we will be for the injections.
The most crazy thing is I am more swollen everywhere and more spotty than when I’m on stims! I guess my body is getting its natural revenge on me.

Any questions?:

What is your most unusual talent?
I think some of you already know I can stomach tube a seal... I can also sing in 11 languages but can only speak four. Two different parts of Your brain are responsible for singing and for speaking. My singing one is definitely the winner! 

thegirlwhowaited_

@emmasemm Good to know I'm not alone. I've had a ton of watery CM today. I still haven't had any EWCM this cycle, maybe by tomorrow I will. Kudos on the singing and I hope you have a very enjoyable birthday with a nice glass of whatever you want!

@wishiwaspreggo Now I really want to watch... Maybe after I get home tomorrow. I don't get very good reception in the REs office so I'm going to stick with my comedy playlists on Spotify because I can download them and not have to wait for buffering. But I'm sure I'll be on YouTube all afternoon from home.

madspunk

@Avrilmai I got AF just 7 days after ER. 

rallykat14

@Avrilmai mine typically came 5-7 days after.  I think only once it was later by a couple days

lulu1180

@crookshanks10 Welcome to the thread, I’m sorry that you find yourself here; I’m glad that you had a good appointment last week, it feels great to have a game plan in place.

@thegirlwhowaited_ GL on your IUI today!!  I hope this is all you need friend!

@Avrilmai I’ll be keeping everything crossed that your next ER yields some great results and that you end up with at least enough embies for how you always imagined your family.

@beachbunnyxo123 I hope that you got the go ahead for the saline sono and biopsy, if so, GL today!

@emmasemm I’m so happy that you don’t have to spend your birthday stimming!  I hope that YHs plans are able to keep your mind off of everything you have going on!  When exactly is your birthday?

Diagnosis (if you've been): AMA/DOR, high prolactin

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): trying on our own for a cycle

How are things going?: Not good.  I didn’t get AF until Saturday, which was 19 DPO.  I had been spotting for 3 days and not only is that 2-3 days late for me, that’s 2 days longer than what a normal LP should be.  I was incredibly frustrated and have no idea why it happened!  I had decided to test Saturday morning when full flow hadn’t started and the test was negative, as I expected, but I just wanted to be sure.  Thankfully it finally started that afternoon. 

Then Sunday I had a bit of a breakdown.  I can’t pinpoint a specific event that trigged the breakdown, I think it’s just a culmination of everything over the past 2 years.  I’ve come to realize that I can’t handle this on my own anymore; I’m going to make an appointment to talk to someone.  This is a pretty big step for me, but DH and my BFF are both happy that I’m taking this much needed step.  I find it incredibly exhausting interacting with other people and pretending I’m not falling apart the entire time. 

Any questions?: Any advice on choosing a mental health professional from a list?  Also, other than the obvious (education), what’s the difference between a psychologist and a master level clinician? ETA I'm able to search specifically for those that specialize in IF so I've already got it narrowed down that way.

GTKY: What is your most unusual talent?  I also have a pretty good memory, for which some of my friends make fun of me

thegirlwhowaited_

@lulu1180 I’m sorry about your breakdown. I think it’ll be good to have someone else to talk to and let it out. *creepy internet hugs*

crookshanks10

@emmasemm Thank you! I'm happy you won't be stimming on your birthday so you can relax and enjoy your night! Have that glass of rose girl!! (:
@lulu1180 I'm so glad you're going to talk to someone. I'll be thinking of you friend.

Jens_Hoes

lurking

@lulu1180 typically a masters level clinician has to do supervised clinical work over at least 3 years before being able to take the test to become a masters level clinician.  Psychologists can often do therapy right out of school and after being licensed.  That's not to say that psychologists aren't as good or better than masters level clinicians.  I'd suggest going to psychologytoday.com and looking up people in your area (who then specialize in IF & take your insurance if that is important). You can also do a phone "interview" with them to see how many years of experience they have.

tamalahoops

@lulu1180 I'm so sorry this cycle didn't work out and that you're having a tough time. IF is so isolating. My therapist was recommended by my RE. It might be worth reaching out to yours and seeing if they have reccomendation. 

darkstar42

*lurking*

@lulu1180 I think it’s great that you’re going to see someone! My therapist has been a lifesaver. I find that level of education matters less than the therapeutic approach a practitioner uses. If there is a particular approach to therapy that you like you can use that as a search term (for example, I always look for someone who has training in cognitive behavioral therapy and who doesn’t use psychodynamic therapy). I highly recommend setting up initial appointments with two or three providers to see who you click with. Good luck and feel free to pm me with questions!

beachbunnyxo123

@lulu1180 YGPM 

@emmasemm I’m glad to hear you can relax and enjoy yourself for your birthday. With everything you’ve been going through that’s the least you could do! When is your birthday?

*TW* rant ahead 
AFM, welp, no good news here. I did my saline and biopsy this morning. Saline showed two abnormalities possibly placental tissue. I’m waiting for a call from my doctor but the doc this morning said I’ll probably need a hysteroscopy to remove it. I’m trying my hardest to not be upset here but I am upset. This will be my third hysteroscopy this year. I’ve also had two ERs and a D&C. I hate anesthesia. I thought the d&c was supposed to clear everything. I know this stuff happens but I’m upset. And to make matters worse I chose not to do birth control so now I’m probably gonna have to wait a whole month to do it since I’m day 9 of my cycle today and they’re gonna make me go on BCPs again anyway. He also did the biopsy and when it was done realized he didn’t have enough and did it all over again and my husband couldn’t be there so I was crying in pain by myself. I’m just upset embarrassed and annoyed. 

Edit- typo

thegirlwhowaited_

@beachbunnyxo123 I’m so sorry you had to go through the biopsy twice alone, and in general for all the news. go do something nice for yourself. 

rallykat14

Diagnosis (if you've been): endometriosis and low amh

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): waiting I guess

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): intralipids and HCG wash today, FET tomorrow

How are things going?: going with two embyos tomorrow. We will see. Lots of pressure for this to actually work

Any questions?:

GTKY: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Or

What is your most unusual talent? Talent....not unusual but I'm a really good figure skater

@beachbunnyxo123 I'm so sorry hugs to you

thegirlwhowaited_

@rallykat14 I hope everything went well today. I have everything crossed for you tomorrow!

AFM, I'm finally home on my computer to type normally. The IUI went well. DH had 30 million sperm in his sample this morning. The RE said that anything more than 10 M is bonus, so woohoo! We went to breakfast while they washed his sample. It was nice to have that time with DH. 

The actual procedure was fine. I was a little shocked and jumped a little when the cath went in. I would say about the same cramping as with my HSG just not as long of cramping. My RE is out of town, but the RE who did the IUI said my cervix was nice and soft and open so the cath actually went in easy. She also said I had a lot of "good" CM, so I'm assuming EWCM since I finally had some last night and it was like a river of it all of a sudden. 

I'm spotting a little and having some discharge. My concern is any of it the sperm? Do I need to be worried about that? I laid on the table with my hips slightly elevated for about 10-15min after the IUI, but then obviously had to walk out and sit in the car for the drive home up right. I went to the bathroom when I got home and noticed the spotting and discharge. 

The RE also looked at the left ovary and saw a very nice big follicle that she said was "beautiful". It was still pretty large on the screen and dark. Does that mean I haven't quite ovulated yet? I did the trigger shot Sunday night.

Swiftlet

*lurking*

Glad to hear things went well for you today, @thegirlwhowaited_ - was looking for your update

@lulu1180 Good for you for taking such a big step for yourself. I hope you're able to connect with someone who helps

@rallykat14 good luck tomorrow!

@beachbunnyxo123 Big hug. I'm sorry you went through all of that today - definitely not the news you're wanting to hear. Remember that you are very justified in feeling that way.

meatballs37

*lurking* to see

@thegirlwhowaited_  ‘s update. So glad it went well! 

rallykat14

@crookshanks10 welcome. I'm sorry you find yourself here but you couldnt be surrounded with a better group of ladies

@lulu1180 good for you! I hope it helps to things out to the universe.  I have recently stepped up with sharing some things and I've found it is much easier to have the support then try to create a cover up for my situation

@emmasemm sometimes breaks are just what we need!


IV for intralipids went well. Had Valium which helps.  Also hcg wash this morning

lulu1180

Thank you all for the advice on finding a mental health professional...I never knew there were so many different choices!  I did leave a message yesterday with someone so I'm just waiting on a call back

@beachbunnyxo123 I'm so sorry your procedure didn't go quite as planned.  I hope they're able to get everything taken care of once and for all and all of this leads to your take home baby soon!

@thegirlwhowaited_ I'm happy to hear the IUI went well!  I hope this is all you need!

@rallykat14 GL today!  I'm sending all the sticky vibes your way!!!

thegirlwhowaited_

@rallykat14 Good luck today!

Avrilmai

@rallykat14 thinking of you today and sending all the good vibes!!
@beachbunnyxo123 lady, this year has been so unfair, you deserve a break. I'm here if you ever need/want to talk, vent, what ever. 
@lulu1180 I'm a little late in responding I'm glad you contacted someone. I will say this, it takes a lot to reach out and seek help Good for You! and sometimes it doesn't go well the first time, but don't let that discourage you. What I mean is, if this counselor/social worker/psychologist doesn't feel like a good fit for you, I would encourage you to find someone else. interview them, find out their style just like they are finding out about you. As for the difference between psychologist and master level clinicians, the master level clinicians tend to be a bit more affordable and very,very generally psychologist (PhDs) can do testing. PsyDs are more into counseling and master level clinicians do mostly counseling. Every state regulates their providers a little differently. Psychology Today is a great place to start as someone else mentioned. I also go with word of mouth. If your employer has an EAP you may be able to get a few sessions covered.
@thegirlwhowaited_ FX for you! glad everything went well. No need to worry about spotting or discharge, that is common. You may not have ovulated just yet when they did the IUI, but remember that sperm can live for several days, so even if the IUI was yesterday and you ovulated last night or today you still have great timing. It is better to have the sperm in there before the egg is released as opposed to after.

thegirlwhowaited_

@Avrilmai Thank you, I have to keep reminding myself that the sperm are fine being early to the party.

rallykat14

@Avrilmai @thegirlwhowaited_ @lulu1180 @Swiftlet @wabash15 thanks ladies!

Transfer went well.  Two frosties acupuncture before and after. Headed home to relax for a couple of days

beachbunnyxo123

@rallykat14 yay that’s great news!! I’ll be thinking of you!!! Hoping so hard this is it for you!

Thank you ladies so much for the kind words and support  got some better news today. Even though I’m on CD 10 my BW from Monday was still baseline so I started BCPs today and they are gonna try to get my in for my surgery as soon as possible. Still waiting for a call from my doctor so I will update when I have a little more info but I’m feeling a little better today. I know I just need to accept that as much as it sucks there’s nothing I can do and atleast I’m thankful they found it before we moved on. I may even wind up prepping for my transfer sooner now that I’m on BCPs and won’t need to wait for my body to cycle and do it’s thing on its own. 

lulu1180

@beachbunnyxo123 I'm glad there was a silver lining out of all of this!

suzycupcake

@rallykat14 You got through all of that like a champ, wow! I don't know what frosties means but I hope they both burrow into your lining and stay there. Cheers to taking some time to relax  

Diagnosis (if you've been): ovary adhesions

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): NTNP, waiting

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): I reached out to my RE today because it has been 6 days since I sent lab test results. I know that I told him I would sit tight and wait for him, but my next cycle probably will start around 9/9ish. I don't want to miss out on being able to do an ER in September because I will be out of town in October working. 

How are things going?: Way better than last week. I've stopped drinking so much, have been reaching out to a lot of people to talk about stuff, and am actively seeking therapy. I should have been doing this already but instead I chose to form a drinking habit which only served to prolong grief. I was so scared that grieving meant that I would forget, even though I knew that wasn't true when I chose to increase the drinking frequency. I'm still feeling very good about doing IVF. I am hopeful. I've mostly been lurking here because I'm trying to distract myself. Watching you ladies post and get through, what I thought were insurmountable things, is so inspiring! 

Any questions?: Not right now. 

GTKY: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? The only difference between you and the people out there who are successful in career is that they got up and took action. They didn't stop when it got hard. 

What is your most unusual talent? I know there are other people who this happens to, but when there is an emergency, an actual emergency involving people other than myself, I have this uncanny ability to remain calm and not freeze up. I can solve the problem quickly and effectively. When it's over, I have no idea how I did it. The feels come rushing in and it takes a couple of days to recover. 

purplg8r

@crookshanks10 welcome! (Although I’m sorry you have to be here)

@thegirlwhowaited_ my RE always tells me to expect some discharge. 

@Avrilmai I have my FX for you that your frostie comes back normal!

@beachbunnyxo123 I totally just sat here and tried to make my tongue into a clam. I don’t have that talent 

@emmasemm yay for no stims on your birthday!  (When is your birthday?) And what do you mean that you can stomach tube a seal?

@lulu1180 that’s so frustrating that your AF took so long to come. What does your RE say about it?  And I’m sorry about your breakdown too. This shit is so hard. 

@rallykat14 I‘m glad today went well! Question for you—leading up to your FET, how often did you go acupuncture?

Diagnosis (if you've been): AMA, mild pcos 

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFFET 

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?):  FET

How are things going?: AF finally showed up on Friday.  I started bcp yesterday for 14 days.  I have my baseline ultrasound on September 11 and then 20ish days of meds. 

Any questions?:

GTKY: 
What is your most unusual talent? I don’t really have a talent.  

rallykat14

@purplg8r I did it weekly for about 5 weeks leading up and the couple weeks after.  This cycle I just couldn't do it. I am so over the process that I couldn't do one more thing .but I did it today with the transfer

suzycupcake

@purplg8r Yay for AF! Who knew we'd be so excited to see her  

@KristoKekerooni Thinking about you. How's the moving and planning coming along?

rallykat14

Ugh...a couple days in with the lovenox and the bruise on my stomach is insane. This is the exact reason I can't do anything past this cycle.  On another note do you think golf is an ok activity after FET? They said take it easy for a couple days but beyond that....I've never played, got suckered into playing for a thing at work.

beachbunnyxo123

@purplg8r you’re so close to tour FET!! So exciting!!!

@rallykat14 is it like full course driving range golf or like mini golf? I would probably say no just to be safe with all the twisting and swinging that comes along with legit golf. Mini golf I don’t see why not. If they don’t know you’re doing IVF I would just opt out and say you pulled a muscle or something and cant. Ugh I’m supposed to do lovenox next FET. Do you have a blood clotting disorder or they just thought it could help to add?