IF Testing and Treatment w/o 7/27

kpearse99

@keikilove DUDE!!! What DO you eat then?!?! No potatoes? No Ice Cream Cake?! Those are like 2 major food groups! Maybe your follies ran away because you won't give them what they want... potatoes and cake! hahaha all jokes aside, I am SO DARN happy and relieved for you! I agree that the delay was a blessing in disguise so that you could focus on a few other things and to get yourselves and bodies in the right frame of mind for the ER! I'm loving your happy dance, friend!

akoros

@keikilove Wow, that's all so helpful, thank you! My first loss was a TFMR for T21, had no idea that there's a link between trisomies and immune issues. Going to go Google all the terms you mentioned and take notes, thank you so much again. I'm fully prepared for there to be inconclusive or "just another random thing" results, but anything I can proactively learn about is useful. 

bluetickgal

@keikilove thanks, friend! Yep...this is for our 3rd IUI, but only 1st with injectables. I read your comment about Metformin and egg quality...I did not know that about it and I stopped it several months ago after my RE said it would be fine to stop! 🙁 Yay, I’m so glad your ER didn’t end up getting delayed that much! That’s awesome you have been able to get some thing taken care of in the meantime too...here’s hoping it all helps and you get great results with your ER!! 

@emeraldduchess glad your interview went well!! That’s good you won’t have to wait long to find out...hope it’s great news too!! 

keikilove

@emeraldduchess Oops! I misread your description of treatment. So now you’re in the patches and injections will start after CD1 & baseline. Got it! I wonder if we will be cycle buddies?! Eeeek!😬 Glad the interview went well, fx for a good result! 

@kpearse99 Girl, you are killing me this week!🤣🤣🤣 Well let’s see... I eat nuts & berries, lots of protein, little carbs... BORING!! 

@bluetickgal Here’s to hoping three’s a charm!🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽 Thanks for the good luck wishes☺️

@akoros I am glad you found that info helpful. It’s also good that you are prepared to have a “random” or inconclusive result. I think that is very often the case with losses, especially late ones.☹️ It was very difficult for me to accept; I still wonder everyday if I could have done things differently for a different result. But as you know, we can drive ourselves crazy with those kinds of thoughts! I hope your genetic testing gets you some answers.💓

shoogapoff

@acleverusername Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I will be thinking of you for your HSG. I have heard a lot of people say it isn't too bad. Mine was pretty uncomfortable, but I also have a blockage, so don't use my experience as a guide at all! 

@keikilove Thank you for the suggestions. We've definitely been doing all the supplement recommendations in It Starts With the Egg, but that's a great thought about Metformin. I hadn't really looked into it at all. Yay for re-starting ER cycle! FX so hard for you!!

@inthewoods23 Thank you so much! I think we would definitely pursue embryo adoption before donor eggs. I know for some people, it's helpful to have their child be biologically-related to one of the parents, I think it would be hard for me to have my child be related to my husband and another woman. Also, I never responded on last week's thread, but I am also in some CurlyGirl FB groups. I wonder if we're in any together?!

inthewoods23

@emeraldduchess I definitely don't miss all the needles 

@bbrahmbhatt I was probably a little crampy for some time after but felt completely fine later in the day. I had some spotting post-HSG. It's all just that "during" part that really sucks because it's not comfortable to shove fluid through very tiny tubes!

@bluetickgal I was usually pretty good with the belly injections, but I struggled most with the ones in the backside. I did those injections myself so I had to be in a twisted position. I was prone to coming out with the needle at an odd angle so I'd knick myself a bit. I never experienced the major bruising some have from the IVF meds! Seems crazy! My stomach never looked like I got beat up. Glad to hear you've been good since the first injection

@keikilove yay ER!!! FX for no runaways! I can't remember, are you doing the testing as well or a fresh transfer? DH says he was using the shower even when he was like... 4 - they had a tub too but I think they'd shower with him until he could do it on his own? I don't think the collapsible tubs are the size to fit an 8-10 year old. I still haven't looked at the actual dimensions! At that point I'd just be supervising them in the shower until they had the hang of it. That's what my mom did with us. She'd sit in the bathroom and if we needed help with anything she'd be there to poke her head in through the shower curtain, most likely to make sure we got all the soap out of our hair or something. That probably lasted only a few times.

@shoogapoff I totally understand where you're coming from. I remember having no problem with donating our embryos but then... when I started thinking about it, the whole idea seemed weird to have a fully biological child of ours out there being in the world! Are you part of the Curly Girl Rejects group? Cuz I definitely am There are groups out there that are so strict about it. Like it's a sin to even mention the word shampoo. I use "approved" products and try some of the techniques but I would go mad if I never used heat ever again. And on the rare occasion it's fun to straighten my hair!

acleverusername

@keikilove hooray for your ER cycle moving ahead! I didn't know they could control the timing so precisely. But I guess that's what BCP does. Question: what will have happened to the 2 runaway follies? Also, you're like a well of information. All that stuff about Vitamin D and Reproductive Immunology... wow! I didn't even know RI was a discipline. Also, what is TE? 

ramzlau

Hi! I have missed you! I have so much catching up to do! 

@gingermama29 Yay for being off BC! I hope you ovulate like clockwork! 

Will try to catch up with more tags! 

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFAF

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): WE ARE OFF THE BENCH! Woohoo! Got my clearance on Friday and met with RE yesterday! Redoing AMH, Tsh, h1c, and vitamin D levels. Talked about redoing SA too. We have 2 medicated cycles left and then we talk about IVF. Hoping we don’t get to that. 

How are things going?: Hoping 2020 has gotten all its issues out now, ready to move on to the good stuff. 

Any questions?:

GTKY: How do you feel about ice cream cake? Don’t love it as much as just ice cream, but won’t turn it down. It better not have any cake in it though. Frozen cake is disgusting. 

ramzlau

@emeraldduchess Keeping fx on good news for the job! And yay for starting protocol, it feels good to be doing something to move the ball forward. 

@inthewoods23 House projects are the only thing that is keeping me sane these days! Hope you are enjoying yours! There are so many bathing options these days I wouldn’t even worry about a tub. The only time it crosses my mind is for the resale value of the house if you are in a family dominant area, but even that isn’t worth considering if you prefer just a shower. You do you! 

@kpearse99 I go back and forth so much on saving space, things, etc for “future baby”. Part of me thinks if I let it go, then maybe something will happen, but of course that is as irrational as saying if I let it go or change the space it never will. But I can see why it would be hard for YH to know that you haven’t given up on it. Hope you are enjoying the summer and the NTNP phase! 

@akoros So sorry for your losses! Regarding vitamin D, it is something my RE tests and adjusts the levels accordingly. Sounds like you got lots of great advice from keikilove ❤️! 

@bbrahmbhatt Clomid has such crazy side effects! Sorry they are hitting you hard! 

@misshelen86 I didn’t go back and read last weeks post, but sorry the IUI didn’t go as well as you hoped! I feel like so much of the process is such a luck of the draw that it is crazy it ever works right. I hope you are one of the 2%, someone has to be! 

@bluetickgal Yes, when I was doing injectables I always ovulate a few days early. It depends on how you respond to them though. With the additional monitoring it does give them the advantage to up the dosage to get you to ovulate sooner too! GL! 

@legallykate Yay for 3 frozen!  That is a lot of waiting! Hope it all passes quickly for you! 

Back for more tags later! 

legallykate

@keikilove So glad you are able to get started again so quickly, FX for Tuesday!

@emeraldduchess Glad the interview went well, hope you hear good news soon!

@ramzlau Congrats on being off the bench! Agree that hopefully 2020 can get its crap together for the last 5 months.

No real updates from me, still no AF despite cramping on and off since the weekend. They were so bad overnight they woke me multiple times but still no sign when I woke up. The PMS (or withdrawal from injectables?) has made me a weepy mess, I cried yesterday because I didn’t want to eat what DH was making for dinner. I never have PMS this bad so I just need AF to show up and make me normal again and so I can get this stupid wasted HSG cycle over with as quick as possible. 

inthewoods23

@ramzlau yay for being off the bench!

@legallykate If I recall, I was told it could be up to 2 weeks to get AF after the ER. My charts shows it showed up 10 days later. Hopefully AF is on its way for you!


AFM, I've started the process of getting 2nd/3rd opinions. DH is getting the name of the doctor his coworker used as their 2nd opinion. I submitted a contact form for a clinic that has discounted rates, etc which is what we really need since I'm pretty sure the ER maxed out our lifetime fertility coverage of $10k. While I'm excited to be doing something, it also kept me up last night. I couldn't sleep until it was past midnight - and it was around 10:30 when we went to bed. I'm always irritable at the start of my cycle. DH likes to watch videos before he goes to bed but it always is so loud. I'm not even watching the video but I can't do anything but hear the audio when I'm trying to fall asleep and that keeps me up. And of course once that was over with DH is kind of snoring and then I'm thinking about when am I ever going to get pregnant. Will we always need treatment? Can we be successful naturally? When will I ever be mentally well enough that my body allows me to get pregnant? I had a LOT running through my head last night and it wasn't fun.

Thank you for listening to my TED Rant.

emeraldduchess

DH never signed the documents for embryo testing. They sent it electronically to him back in MARCH along with multiple reminders to his email. I am SO mad at him right now...apparently he thought I was handling everything, so he ignored the emails. 

inthewoods23

@emeraldduchess at least you could do that electronically! I either had to schedule appointments that worked with DH's work schedule or he'd have to schedule it separately himself because he couldn't make my baseline appointments.

So stupid that this is a common theme

bbrahmbhatt

@inthewoods23 and @emeraldduchess ugh, that is so frustrating!  I feel a little bit of your pain; I made our first RE appointment, which will be September 1 and MH said he might not be able to make it, even though it is a ZOOM appointment. To be fair, he is a teacher and the latest appointment time I could get was 1pm. Ugh, but still. 

keikilove

@inthewoods23 I see what you’re saying about the tub. Makes sense to stick with showers in your house. We grew up with only a tub, no shower until a much later bathroom remodel, so my brain has a hard time imagining life without a tub.😬 Congrats on starting to seek out 2nd/3rd opinions. Sorry it kept you up late, though. This doubting & worry that comes along with IF is brutal. FX that the Fall brings you a transfer cycle that works right away so the 2nd/3rd options aren’t even necessary! AFM, my RE expects to get few eggs so she has told me the best plan is to do a Day 3 fresh transfer. The dr from CNY said the same thing so it makes me think it’s the right plan. But if we get more than a few embryos I’m pushing for them to try to get them to Day 5 & do testing. It’s nerve-wracking to even think about. I wish I had more control in that part of it. Don’t we all! Sigh....

@acleverusername Yeah, I knew none of this stuff until I had to learn! It’s been my quest for answers to my losses that’s gotten me here. Anyway, the cancelled cycle turned out to be some drama that I thought I’d spare you all, but since you asked😬: Dr thought the larger follies would continue to grow faster than the rest and that I’d ovulate within a week. She advised us to have sex this cycle & after that we’d try a round of natural IVF. I was excited by this, because I’d wanted to avoid BCP from the very beginning. But then my blood results came back & showed no elevated hormones (LH or estradiol) so Dr decided the follicles must actually be inactive cysts that would disappear w more BCP. She’s been working w me for over a year & has never seen any cysts before so this surprised us both. I think it’s because of the BCP throwing my body off so badly. I had abdominal/ovarian pain & bloating the whole time I was taking that higher dose. So she put me on the lower dose of BCP and so far, no problems. FX the cysts really are gone at next week’s baseline U/S. As far as “What is TE?” It is simply a typo, hahaha! I meant “RE”. My phone is insane with autocorrect & messes up my typing all.the.time. 

@ramzlau Welcome back!!! We’ve missed you. Congrats on getting off the bench! Agreeing w you 💯 about 2020 needing to get itself together for this second half. We could all use some good stuff coming up!

@legallykate Ugh, Sorry for the PMS-y delay of AF. Hope it gets here soon & gives you some relief! 

@emeraldduchess & @bbrahmbhatt Sorry for your frustrations! Ooooh, I’d be SO  annoyed with both of those situations! Why can’t our guys understand how much of this we already handle, & how it would be great if they’d be fully on it for the few things they need to do? Sigh...

@shoogapoff I just saw this helpful post in one of my FB groups. It’s a bit much—I don’t take all this stuff—but it looks like a really handy guide. There was also a good discussion & helpful article links about the benefits of 600mg of N-A-C on egg quality & preventing miscarriage. Maybe you’re already taking that too from ISWTE? Anyway, hope this chart is helpful to some of us here. 

emeraldduchess

@ramzlau welcome back! Hooray for being off the bench!
@bbrahmbhatt I get the appointment scheduling frustration. BOTH DH and I are teachers and very few doctors/dentists have schedules that match up with ours. We always have to take time off and it's super awkward asking for a personal day or half day. 

inthewoods23

@bbrahmbhatt haha yeah I remember my RE isn't in until 8AM but you can do your monitoring appointments with the nurses as early as 7. So having appointments that require the RE and DH are a pain to get scheduled because I hate scheduling things mid morning or afternoon. If I can get in right away or possibly sometime around lunch is more ideal so I'm not out for half a day of work. But my boss is awesome and basically gives me free range if I ever needed to because he knows I get shit done.

@keikilove I'm the same with my brain! The idea of no tub was like "what do you mean no tub?!?" like it was such a preposterous thing. I couldn't wrap my head around his growing up in which all 4 of them shared 1 bathroom which is why, when we bought our house that doesn't have a master suite, I was so hesitant. I was hoping we could add a 2nd sink since there's the room to do it, but then where do all my daily essentials go that I currently have on my side of the counter?  So funny how our experiences affect the way we see things.

kiki047

Sorry I'm wayyy behind this week, I'm on vacation next week so have been working overtime trying to stay on top of my work, which has resulted in me spending today doing absolutely nothing productive because I'm burnt out. Hah. Will try to catch up on tags after. 


Diagnosis (if you've been): PCOS, MFI

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFAF 

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Waiting for AF so we can get our FET cycle going but according to FF I think I'm an-o this month so who knows if/when AF will even show up. 

How are things going?: Ugghhh. My RE instructed me to POAS (or go in for a blood beta tomorrow morning if I really want to be sure) then if AF doesn't show up tonight to start provera tomorrow to force a period. I did, and it was a BFN obviously. He doesn't want me to miss my window since he's only allowed to do 1 FET in every 2 week period, and I'm up first. This happened last time too and we talked about putting me on BCP before my cycle but I had been regular for the last 2 months so he didn't think it was necessary. Dammit body, why must you hate me? If this FET fails we're probably going to do another ER before we transfer our last remaining frozen embryo so we'll tweak the meds again next time. 

Any questions?: What should I expect from the provera? This is my first time needing it, I have a prescription for it but have always started bleeding before I actually needed it. Side effects? How long after I finish should I expect AF? Will it be heavier than usual? 

GTKY: How do you feel about ice cream cake? I like the idea of it but the DQ cakes are too hard. I am an old lady and have sensitive teeth so I make my own and they're delicious. 

inthewoods23

Eh, figures. That place I submitted the online form to called me back. It's one of those that just do the actual treatment. They don't do anything with diagnostics and what not. So essentially you get referred by your doctor to use them and then you agree to their pricing etc. Still waiting on the name of the doc DH's coworker used, but he's a busy guy so we might not hear back for a little while (as I remember when we first asked he had to get the name from his wife). Plus I think this was a doc from 10+ years ago so maybe he's not even in the practice anymore, but I can still give that medical group a call and set up an appointment.

kiki047

@keikilove YES friend!! That's wonderful news!! FX your ovaries/follies cooperate this time. And that's good to hear that your doc would finally prescribe the meds for YH. Both myself and MH were on doxycycline to make sure neither of us had any infections for the ER, and I'll be on it again for the FET. My RE insists on it. 
@emeraldduchess GL with your interview!! and feel free to PM me anytime if you have any questions about the injections, etc. I'm not very good at keeping up with the threads but I do check my PMs usually. 
@inthewoods23 I don't think planning for your future children is getting ahead of yourself. I think that's being prepared, because no matter how you get there or when it happens, you know you want kids so unless you're planning on moving you're probably going to want a proper bathtub. I know it's hard to visualize that when we're still struggling to conceive the first one but the way I see it, my future kids are inevitable, one way or another. 
@kpearse99 sending you big hugs my dear. I'm sorry that spare room is causing some friction. MH often tells me he feels left out of the process too because *I* know what's going on with my body so I will give up (on a cycle) long before he does and he feels left in the dark. Especially when he knows I have my TB friends to talk to about it and he has nobody.   Glad the reno is moving along, and that's awesome about your commitment to being healthy! Get it girl!! 
@akoros I'm so sorry for your losses, and that you find yourself here. You've come to the right place, but I hope that the rest of your stay is short. 
@misshelen86 I'm so sorry that you don't have any more answers yet but I am keeping everything crossed for you for this IUI. Though it may be a long shot, it's not impossible. I don't have any experience with the natural start to the ER, I've only heard of it for natural FETs. I think I did 9 days of BCP before starting stims. 
@gingermama29 omg LMAO to that gif. Congrats for being off BCP!!! Yeehaw, giddy up girlfriend! 

OMG I'm only halfway down the first page of tags. I have to go do some work then I'll be back! 

inthewoods23

@kiki047 my 1 time on provera they for whatever reason had me only take 6 pills instead of 10. I personally don't recall any side effects and AF came the day after my last pill. I took them after they did my lining biopsy so I maybe the thought in only doing 6 is that I was already considered to be at "5dpo" when the biopsy was done.

--
I finally did the smart thing and checked what REs in my area are covered by my insurance and found another place we could get our 2nd opinion. We likely can't use the doc that was used by DH's coworker since I didn't see anyone from that practice listed. It's alright though, because this other place got back to me so fast! And BOOM we have a Zoom consult scheduled for 8/20.

emeraldduchess

@inthewoods23 that's great that you could get an appointment so soon! You must be so relieved that you won't have a long wait. 

inthewoods23

@emeraldduchess yeah I'm hoping August flies by! I'm curious if they will want to do all the diagnostics again since it's been 2 years and if they do, well at least AF would be due about a week after the appointment so there won't be so much downtime waiting for AF to show up! I know we got kinda screwed on that 2 years ago. I was somewhere between AF and ovulating that time so that wait felt like forever.

gingermama29

Ooof I've fallen behind on this thread. Hopefully I'm not missing anyone.

@bluetickgal glad AF arrived when you wanted her to. Small victories for sure! And yay for starting injections! Things are starting to really move ahead!

@legallykate congrats on the day 7 blast went having 3 frozen! That's so exciting!

@shoogapoff hugs friend. I'm sorry you're feeling that way. Sending all of the positive vibes that your embryob will be a tiny perfect THB!

@acleverusername I hope your HSG went smoothly and wasn't as bad as you were expecting.

@keikilove oooh yay! Glad to hear the ER is only delayed instead of canceled! Crossing everything for you!!

@ramzlau thank you friend! So glad to see you back and SO happy for you that you're also off the bench!!!

@emeraldduchess ugh so frustrating about YH!

@kiki047 ugh PCOS is the worst. It's been a lot of years since I took provera to force a period so I don't have any information but I hope things move quickly for you so you can get started on your FET! 

keikilove

@kiki047 Oh, I hope AF hurried up for you!! No experience here w provera, sorry. But I hope that it makes everything work quickly! Recently I’m on here trying to figure out who I might get to move to a BMB with... FX for all of us that we can all get moving soon! 

@gingermama29 This thread is massive this week! Thanks for that hilarious gif earlier—I forgot to tell you how much I enjoyed it too.😆 You had everyone up in here laughing our heads off with that one! Oh, the days when TTC felt like that hahaha...

@inthewoods23 Hooray for that 2nd opinion appointment getting scheduled so soon! Way to go, you got that accomplished almost as soon as you put your mind to it. 

bluetickgal

@inthewoods23 yeah, I don’t know why I bruised so badly with that first one...luckily that hasn’t continued though! Oh goodness...I can’t imagine doing one in my backside, you are a rockstar! That’s awesome you have a Zoom consult scheduled for a second opinion! That’ll be here before you know it! 

@ramzlau thanks, that’s good to know! Yay for being off the bench!! Fingers crossed so hard that one of these medicated cycles does the trick for you!! 

@kiki047 ugh, so sorry your body is being a jerk!! I’ve taken Provera several times...side-effects are minor. I’ve gotten weird joint/muscle pain (mostly in my neck, which was scary the first time)...but not much otherwise. I have had AF show the second day after stopping, but I’ve had it take almost a week before. This most recent time when I started it mid-cycle after my follies didn’t grow, I started the second day after the last pill and AF was very light (started spotting the day before). I’d say especially if you think this cycle was an-O, AF shouldn’t be super heavy. Everything possible crossed that AF shows up quickly so you can get to your transfer cycle! 

@gingermama29 thanks, friend! They are moving so quickly!! I hope the same happens for you as you jump back in!! 

AFM, I had my second monitoring appointment this morning. There were a couple larger/dominant ones on each side...he said there was one that was just under 10 mm and two slightly behind that. He gave me 2 measurements for each follicle, which through me off! Apparently mine are oblong, which sent me down a rabbit hole when I got home...not a ton of info out there, but I think all is ok from what I could find...I hope so at least! I’m supposed to continue the injections at the same dose, and I go back on Monday for more monitoring. He said I could possibly trigger then, but I’m betting it will take another couple of days. I guess we’ll see! I’m just happy they are bigger already at CD7 than they were at CD15 last cycle!! 

legallykate

@kiki047 I hope AF shows up soon for you. So frustrating when she takes her sweet time the one time you actually want/need her to show up.

@inthewoods23 Sounds like this 2nd opinion RE is perfect! Hopefully August will fly by and the 20th will show up before you know it.

@bluetickgal Some of my follies were oblong too, I think that is super common, my doc would just average the two measurements though and give me one number, but I have seen a lot of women with both numbers in IVF groups. Yay for having great response and growth already though!

I have two big (and good!) updates: AF showed up yesterday afternoon so I was able to call and schedule my HSG for next Wednesday (which I am not looking forward to, but I *am* looking forward to getting it over with) and the embryologist called this morning to say they amazingly already got our PGT results back and two of our embryos are normal! The third (the day 7) is a mosaic so she recommended genetic counseling if we ever wanted to transfer that one. They are also all male. So looks like we will be transferring the day 5 BB next cycle

bbrahmbhatt

@legallykate that is WONDERFUL news! FX you get your HSG done with no hiccups!

@bluetickgal that seems like promising news! FX for some progression  in the next few days!

emeraldduchess

@bluetickgal great update! Grow, follies, grow! I'm giggling at the thought of googling "oblong follicles". I am sure all our search histories would raise sooooo many eyebrows!

@legallykate that is awesome news!!

AFM, still waiting on AF (surge was 13 days ago). I think these patches are making me super hormonal and emotional, because my latest job rejection hit me harder than I thought it would. The feedback I am getting every time is nothing more than, "you're an excellent candidate, have the skill set, but the field is very competitive and we are going in a different direction." Yeah, duh, it's elementary education. I am trying really hard to remind myself it's NOT a reflection on my teaching skills, but it still sucks and is frustrating as hell. 

inthewoods23

@legallykate bravo! that's wonderful!

@bluetickgal Mine are sometimes oblong I think? I guess that's why they always look at the average for what they consider the size of the follicle to be.

@emeraldduchess sorry for the job rejection 

bluetickgal

@legallykate @inthewoods23 glad it’s not just me with oblong follicles! Haha. I’ve watched him measure width and height, he has just never given me all the numbers. I’m pretty sure he just hadn’t done the average yet because I asked sizes right after he finished the US, so I was worrying/wondering for nothing! Lol. 

@legallykate that is a wonderful update!! I hope your HSG cycle goes well...hoping all is good with the HSG and the rest of the cycle flies by!! Fingers crossed so hard for your BB embryo!!! 💜
@bbrahmbhatt thanks, lady!! 

@emeraldduchess right...I can’t even tell you the countless weird searches I have done since we began TTC! Just have to laugh about it...and sometimes clear search history! 😂 Oh, I’m so sorry for both the extra hormones and another job rejection! Obviously that’s good that it is not a reflection on your teaching abilities, but I’m sure that doesn’t make the blow much easier!! I’m so hopeful the perfect teaching job is out there for you and you are going to find it very soon!! 

keikilove

@bluetickgal Yay, so glad you’re getting better growth with the injections! FX they keep right on track & you can trigger soon. 

@legallykate That is big good news!!!💗💗💗 I bet you feel so relieved! Hope the hsg comes & goes so easily, so you can get the transfer scheduled. So exciting!  

@emeraldduchess Oh, I’m sorry the job hunt is getting you down. It is hard to not take rejection personally, but try your best to remember it really isn’t a reflection on your teaching.  Am I remembering correctly that you were at a private school before? Are you applying to public or private openings? 

emeraldduchess

@keikilove yes, I was at a private school, but I am mostly applying to public schools now. In general, private school teachers are not paid well and there were things going on in the lead administration of the larger system I was in (regarding how they treated the staff) that were unacceptable. I loved the school community I was in, but it was time to move on. 

keikilove

@emeraldduchess I see. That stinks when the leaders are being unethical. Sorry you had to go through that. I also had to leave a private school system for those reasons. It sucked. 

Edited to add spoiler for long response. Not sure if this is helpful at all, but I’ve conducted many interviews for private & public school hiring. Maybe these thoughts are helpful? If not, please disregard. 

In the public system, it was sometimes assumed that private school teachers weren’t fully prepared for the rigors of the public system’s structures. This is no reflection on you whatsoever! I’m just sharing a bias some interviewers might have that you will want to address directly or indirectly in your responses. For example, many private school teachers did not have to follow the Common Core, and were not ready for the rigorous standards that had to be taught in every curricular area. They also weren’t prepared for (or sometimes didn’t agree with) the frequent testing and progress monitoring that is done in public schools. (The evils of constant testing.) The biggest question was whether they could handle the behaviors and diversity in the public school setting if they had come from a sheltered private school setting. So, in some ways the private school teachers were at a disadvantage against experienced public school candidates. 

I remember you shared some things about your school being diverse, and the usual student behaviors, so you could talk those things up to your advantage. I’m not sure what your experience is with the other areas I mentioned, but in your interviews I’d definitely speak to teaching to high/rigorous standards, getting X% results on student achievement data, awards you earned, etc. Sorry if you’ve already done all this & nothing I’m saying is helpful. Just wanted to share my insights from the hiring side in case it illuminates anything helpful for you. Feel free to message me with any other thoughts/questions. 

emeraldduchess

@keikilove thank you. I know exactly what you are talking about. I can PM you later tomorrow with some details about what I have experienced so far. 

acleverusername

This thread's happening this week (need to graduate more people! Hopefully in the next 2 cycles... looking at you / sending you ALL OF THE WISHES @emeraldduchess @legallykate @keikilove @misshelen86 @shoogapoff @bluetickgal @kiki047)

@kpearse99 I'm your you're an excellent cook / YH isn't lying to you. Congrats again on the marvelous weight loss achievements! I concur with you re: WFH is great for cooking more/better. 

@bbrahmbhatt reporting back on my HSG in my update below. 

@bluetickgal thanks for the positive vibes! I definitely felt them. ☺️ Congrats on your follies getting bigger than last time! FX this is a positive sign and that all goes well on Monday. Either way, it sounds like things are lining up for a trigger sometime next week! Yay. 

@ramzlau Congrats on being off the Bench and being BACK IN THE GAME! Good luck with all the testing. 

@inthewoods23 I hope that 2nd opinion is gonna put some wind back into your sails!!! Sometimes it's all that it takes. I have a friend who recommended me the clinic we've ended up going to because her friend had a successful IVF round there and that's after several unsuccessful ones in NY! So, a change in clinic/doctor/protocol can be the difference!

@emeraldduchess Men and paperwork. I can't handle it. I'm going to have to do all the same things you're doing. Latest was asking him to create a profile with fertility clinic so that he can receive his blood labs. I am so sorry about the job rejection. I can bet that those hormone are magnifying the experience. And what the heck does "we're going in a different direction" even mean? Grrrr. Something WILL work out. I bet lots of opportunities will come up in August, though I know it's tough to ke

@keikilove LOL. Sorry for squeezing all the info from you! LOL. I'm glad(?) that those two "follies" weren't run away follies at all. I guess it's easy to confuse follicles with cysts? I'm adding the question marks because I really dob't know. Anyway, it's a good thing they're double checking everything with blood tests and can proceed with your ER confidently! Also, holy cow that grid is both useful and intimidating. I'm not taking half of the stuff on that list. Should I?! I think I'll email the NaPro just to confirm what I'm taking is enough. 

@kiki047 Hello my Canadian friend! 🇨🇦Dang, I'm sorry your body is messing with you. I hope you get your AF with provera and can get that FET underway. Don't think about it failing! Positive thoughts only! Btw, I can't remember if you report on how the mock transfer/biospy went last week. Did you get those results right away? 

@legallykate Yay for PGT testing results (although, what's a mosaic?), and yay for AF, and yay for HSG and yay for transfer next cycle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

*** out of breath *** I hope I got everyone above! 

AFM,

I've been kinda MIA in the last few days; super busy with work, and needed a mental break from the hyper-focus on TTC leading up to my HSG yesterday, which wasn't so bad. Like... I wouldn't eagerly sign up for another one, but it was less uncomfortable than I had thought it was going to be. The best part is that nothing was blocked! Woot. So, hopefully we can move on to superovulation + IUI next cycle! Also WOOT for DTD. Haha. I've been feeling very amorous the past few days and couldn't do anything about it!

At this point, I think our dX is late luteal phase defect, but why? No idea. My TSH is too high for TTC, which apparently can be a cause. So, hopefully taking levothyroxine will help. Not sure if I should go forward with my pelvic MRI. It's currently scheduled for Aug 11, to check for adenomyosis which is a potential source of infertility. The RE said that a dx of adenomyosis won't change the protocol though, so wondering if it's worth it. It's so freaking expensive and I'm not sure if my insurance will cover, so currently checking on that. Costs in spoiler. 

Cost of pelvic MRI if billed to insurance is an ungodly $9466. My co-pay is 20% so either way, it's a lot of $$$. 
If insurance doesn't cover it, the self-pay rate is $3137. I think it might still be worth it though to know for sure since after babies are done, if my periods are super painful (which was reason I had the u/s back in 2016 which showed suspicion of adenomyosis) I might need to have a hysterectomy. 

Also, DH and I went to get the last of our RE-ordered blood tests for him and that was an "exciting" trip to say the least. Posting the details in spoiler since I've already talked about it in WTO daily. 

Now, excitement of the day: DH and I went to get our remaining blood tests done (before IUI hopefully next cycle) and, well, DH has always told me he’s afraid of needles and in fact getting him to go to a doctor is about as likely COVID being over by August. Anyways, he PASSED OUT! 😱😱😱 And that’s after a bout of seizing and making ungodly noises. Scariest thing ever for me. I got called in/did my tests first and was patiently waiting for him in the waiting room when the phlebotomist called my name again. I rushed over and saw it all happen. He was so pale and clammy and sweaty. Anyways, after a while he came to and the 2 phlebotomists took him to the back area and had him lie down for 5-10 min while he recovered. 

They didn't get all the vials they needed out of him, but the phlebotomist seemed to think they could make do with what they got. I hope and pray that he doesn't have to go in again. 🙏🏻

As a treat, he ruined his Whole30 streak by eating a frozen pizza for lunch. I felt so bad for him, so I couldn't say anything. Although I felt pretty bad since he's been doing so well and losing the stubborn weight he hasn't been able to lose! 

Final update is that I got all of the results that the NaPro doctor ordered. A few interesting / confusing things:

1. My 6DPO progesterone was 15 this time, up from 6.97 last month. I've been doing seed-cycling and taking melatonin and both are supposed to help with that. Now I'm wondering if I should just keep doing that, or if I should take progesterone supplements as both OB and RE have said (RE said to take 200mg AM and 200mg PM). 
2. My 9DPO progesterone was at 4.5; not surprising since AF started that evening. Hence definitely a diagnosis of LPD. Estrogen was super low too. Once again, not suprising. 
3. MTHFR... holy hell this one's confusing. Apparently I have C677T and A1298C. What does that mean? What should I ask my doctor? The PNV I take has folate, not folic acid. 
4. @keikilove this might be one for you. My Vit D came back at 33. It's above the lowest point of the range (30), but the NaPro stated it's too low. 
5. Cortisol came back at 9, which is below any range, but NaPro said it's too high, and claimed I'm stressed. I looked online and that seems like a fine number to me. Measurement taken 1s thing in the morning. 

Anyways, all other tests came back normal. I've got a few more tests to do for NaPro (3 E2 tests during my FW: one before peak, one at peak, and one after peak) and then she'll make a plan for me. She's already hinted that it'll be Letrazole / Clomid. At the same time, plan with RE would be to do super-ovulation + IUI as early as next month. So, I'm not sure what to do. 

The only testing left for us is genetic carrier screening spit test which is a mail-in kind of thing. 

emeraldduchess

@acleverusername wow, that's quite an update! I am so glad that the HSG wasn't as uncomfortable as you anticipated and that nothing is blocked. I hope your DH is feeling better after passing out. I have a similar reaction to needles/medical triggers sometimes. It's called vasovagal syncope and it can be scary as hell. Your nerves misfire, your heart rate and blood pressure plummet, you get tunnel vision, etc. I would encourage him to request that he lie down for all blood work in the future (that's what I do, there's actually a note on my chart). His reaction is a legit medical issue and I'm sure the phlebotomist would rather have him already lying down rather than faint and get hurt during the fall.  

acleverusername

@emeraldduchess thanks for letting me know that it's an actual disorder! The phlebotomist also told me to make sure that whenever he had a blood test in the future, to make sure he is lying down. Question for you: do you react the same way to flu shots? I wonder if I need to be extra vigilant when DH has one of those too. 

emeraldduchess

@acleverusername I do OK with shots, actually. Maybe because there's really no blood involved and the needles are smaller? I think with shots they're also much faster than getting blood drawn so you have less time to think about it. 
ETA make sure he drinks a lot of water and has something to eat before a blood draw (unless they tell him he needs to fast before it, like a cholesterol test). If you're hydrated it's much easier!

bbrahmbhatt

@acleverusername I'm glad the HSG wasn't as bad as you anticipated, and even more glad that it was normal! Hmm, some of those are confusing. Is your RE having you do supplements? How long is your LP, if you don't mind my asking.