WTO Thursday 9.24

chindimples04

**This is a thread that welcomes all regardless of where they are at in their TTC journeys. Please be mindful of topics that are discussed that could be hurtful to those going through tough times. Mention of children or pregnancies of others should have a TW (trigger warning) and be in a spoiler if possible, and only be mentioned if it is extremely pertinent to the conversation. Thanks for keeping this a safe place for us all to engage!** 

Month/Cycle: 

CD: 

WAYDTGKU: 

R/R: 

CS/Q: 

gingermama29

Month/Cycle: 16/10

CD: 21

WAYDTGKU: temping, prenatals, OPKs, and HIO of course

R/R: Work is so crazy busy, I've been neglecting my updates here. Things are going pretty well. Covid cases are starting to pop up in nearby school districts but so far we haven't had any positives here, thankfully. There's definitely no shortage of people (both students and teachers) out sick that can't come back until they get a negative test in my district though.

CS/Q: still all negative OPKs here.

photographerwife

Where y’all at?! 

Month/Cycle: 15/14/8al 

CD: 10 

WAYDTGKU: bbt, opks, SMEP-ish i guess? Wallowing in self pity, you know, the usual. 

R/R: I have been pretty busy the last few days. Cd1 had me feeling bummed, but we finally got a move out date of October 12th! So we can finish the ground work before our new home is brought in. So I’ve been cracking down on packing and all that. DH and I are also in a friends wedding this weekend, so I’ve had to do a bit of shopping and primping for that! I’m happy for them, they been together nearly as long as dh and I and we’re celebrating 7 years of marriage October 5th! Anyway, life is good. Hoping to be KU by the end of the year, or my OB wants to start more fertility testing. 🙃 Thankfully this is the best time of year to keep my mind off of that stuff. 

CS/Q:

photographerwife

@gingermama29 man, that sucks. I’m sure it’s so difficult to be a teacher right now with all of this. I hope everything calms down soon! I’m ready for the world to get back to normal! 

krash_

@gingermama29 I hope you get a + OPK soon! Good to hear your district hasn't had any positives!
@photographerwife sometimes it's nice to have a distraction from TTC. Have you not done any testing yet? 

Month/Cycle: 10/11

CD: 8

WAYDTGKU: PNV, BBT, OPK, HIO EOD, waiting to hear back from my dr

R/R: All day Webex meeting yesterday and today. It's draining to just sit here! I might try to fold laundry but we have to have our cameras on so Idk if I can do it without anyone noticing. Not much else going on.

CS/Q: Question - is it really not important to let the jizz marinate? I have heard people say their drs said it doesn't matter but I have always tried to let it sit. But this morning we did it and of course I couldn't just lay there, I had to get dressed for work so I did the *jizz shuffle* to the potty (who was it on TTGP that pioneered that?) and got that isht out of there. Now I'm wondering if I should even count it for timing because most of it ended up in the toilet. I tend to ovulate early so CD 8 could be -5 or -4 for me. 

photographerwife

@krash_ I have done some mild stuff. My doctor tested my progesterone for a couple of cycles, and checked my tsh and testosterone recently. But they don’t want to do anything until it’s been a year since my loss. Even though, I lost a tube due to ectopic. They say my chances should still be okay, but here I am! Temping, ovulating and nailing in on the head every month! 🙃
I don’t usually just hop up right away either. But If I do, I’ve used my menstrual cup a couple of times to “keep it in” and it may be tmi, but dh always tries to finish on top so it’s less of a worry. 😅

krash_

@photographerwife I'm sorry about your loss. I just had an HSG on Tuesday and found out my right tube is blocked so while I haven't had an ectopic, I'm kind of in the same boat with only one tube. I haven't heard back from my Dr yet about next steps but I want to get more info about how I'm ovulating on my good side. I hope you can get some more info soon too. 

A mensural cup is probably a good option. I think @inthewoods23 (not sure if I can tag her since she's graduated but I know she's lurking lol  ) was doing that too so I might have to give that a try. 

Kenneylynn3

I will respond to everyone later today.

Month/Cycle: 2/1AL

CD: 1.... Yay for AF!

WAYDTGKU: prenatals, bbt, opk, baby aspirin

R/R: I'm excited for AF to be here so I am back in the dailies

CS/Q: none yet.

photographerwife

@krash_ I have seen some people be given clomid to help stimulate their ovaries more in my ttc after ectopic group on fb. But my doctor seemed to think that having one tube wouldn’t affect my chances alot but who knows. I guess we’ll see in January if I’m still here. Thankfully they removed my damaged tube so the risk will be down on that side for another ectopic. But the chance will still be higher for me in the future. They have said that they’ve seen several several women with one tube go through to have healthy pregnancies though. So fx! 

krash_

@Kenneylynn3 this is the one and only time I'll be happy for someone getting AF! 

Kenneylynn3

Haha... Responding because I have a free moment.
@gingermama29 I can't imagine being a teacher during this pandemic. Yay for no positive cases yet. 
@photographerwife moving sounds like a nice distraction. Glad you have a move out date. 
@krash_ my situation is slightly different as we use known donor sperm, but I use a menstrual cup. I find it as easier clean up. Plus, it might just be optimistic thinking, but I feel like it gives better chances knowing I've kept them in there. 

acleverusername

@gingermama29 It sounds like your district is being very strict about who comes to school and who has to stay home; hopefully that'll keep the COVID away as long as possible. 
@photographerwife Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate to keep you busy. I'm kinda of surprised that your doctor isn't treating the lack of tube. In my mind (and maybe someone more experienced than me can set me straight) since you don't ovulate from the same side each month, it's almost like whenever you ovulate on the side that isn't attached to your uterus, it's "wasted". Clomid would help multiple follicles, possibly on both ovaries grow. But what do I know? Might be worth asking about it; if there's one theme I've learned since being on this and other forums, is that you have to advocate for yourself. Don't just blindly trust that your doctor knows what's best for you. 
@krash_ I'm dying laughing here. Honestly, I read that having to let "jizz settle" is a myth; whatever sperm was gonna get inside your uterus would make it there at ejaculation. But I do the cup thing like @photographerwife, but more because it's less messy. 🙂Also, glad to see you went ahead with testing; is YH doing an SA as well? 
@Kenneylynn3 Yay CD1. Hopefully not too many CD1's in your future. FX. 

Month/Cycle: 8/9

CD: 1

WAYDTGKU: Clomid + OPK + TI this cycle; PNV, Omega3, Ubiquinol, Extra Folate, D3, baby aspirin, progesterone after O. Also doing some additional blood testing to check for other autoimmune conditions & DH is seeing a reproductive urologist. 

R/R: We are not doing an IUI this cycle as we want to see if MH's side of equation can be improved, so he's going to be (hopefully) getting more in-depth testing done with the urologist (ICYMI: semen analysis from IUI was vastly different from the semen analysis at the beginning of June and not in the good way.) 

Work is really busy right now as we have a big milestone in early December and the entire 1000-person company is working towards that. It's good on one hand cause it keeps my mind of TTC. But on the other hand, I'm exhausted by the time I finish my day and all I want to do is watch a bit of Netflix, read a book, and turn in for the night. My posts in the dailies may become less frequent as December approaches but I will endeavor to lurk as much as I can, and to continue to participate in the weekly IF thread.

CS/Q: It's blank. 🤷‍♀️

photographerwife

@acleverusername absolutely! I agree. One thing with the ovaries is that they aren’t attached to the Fallopian tubes, the tubes actually kind of hang back behind the uterus and the “hands” of the Fallopian tube can gather eggs from each ovary. Even though I only have one now, the remaining tube can get the egg from either ovary. The chance is lesser if I ovulate from my right side, since I only have a left tube, but still possible. Or so, this is what I’ve been told by my doctors and others who have been through the same experience. And another reason I think my doctor wants to hold off is because 
TW: lc previous pregnancy 

I do have an almost 3 year old, that was conceived after about 8 months of ttc, and my ectopic pregnancy was conceived after about 6 months.

Dh isn’t scheduled to have a SA, yet, but we’ll look into it if we aren’t KU in the next couple of months. I’m just as frustrated about it as you are. 😂 but I can give it 2-3 more cycles. I don’t want to have to do testing either if I can avoid it. I don’t work full time, and I don’t have a ton of extra money to spend on a bunch of treatments, unfortunately. 

I’m sorry that you can’t move forward with IUI right now. I hope that your RE is able to get yhs count back on track soon! 

krash_

@acleverusername MH has his SA scheduled. He initially scheduled it for during FW and he can't ejaculate for two days before it so I made him reschedule so I think it's in a couple weeks. Sorry work is so crazy but it's nice to have a distraction from TTC sometimes. 

acleverusername

@photographerwife oh, I totally didn't know that Fallopian tubes can "collect" eggs from either ovary. Pretty cool! Sounds like you have a good plan in place. 

As for us, one thing that sunk in is that REs are just specially trained gynecologists; they really aren't experts in male-side issues. Hence why we're now going to see a urologist. So much learning happening over here... 🤯

krash_

@photographerwife I have been doing a lot of googling since my HSG on Tuesday and it seems like the general internet consensus is that having just one tube doesn't significantly impact your chances of getting pregnant but given how long we have been trying it seems like either it could be affecting things more than is "normal" or there is another factor impacting our fertility. 

I think the best course of action is to improve your ovulation as much as possible. I haven't looked into it much but I have heard that Chinese medicine and fertility acupuncture are the cheapest way to improve your ovulation and chances of getting pregnant. 

babyfeverbeliever

@gingermama29 Schools around me are really ramping up with cases right now too! 

@photographerwife I love a fall wedding! You must have gotten married on the same day as my sister in 2013. There were so many beautiful colors for her wedding. I have definitely heard of people with one tube having perfectly healthy pregnancies. I personally know a couple!

@krash_ I'm lol'ing at "jizz shuffle." But know EXACTLY what you mean. I have always felt like I should let it marinate for a while...but I've also heard that it comes out with so much force that a lot of it goes where it needs to right away. However - I did see this one YouTuber last week who was on her NINTH pregnancy. She used disposable cups...like a period cup...to "hold the sperm close to the cervix." I see it mentioned in this thread too! Maybe something to it...

@kenneylynn3 Congrats on AF being here and getting back in it!

@acleverusername I totally agree about not blindly accepting the direction from the medical professionals - I always asks questions! Today I had a baseline ultrasound to make sure my huge 29mm follicle from last cycle didn't turn into a big cyst (it didn't - there's a small cyst there, but it's properly dissolving). I took that opportunity to ask that nurse if she thought a 29mm was too big to properly ovulate a viable, mature egg. She said the same thing that the last nurse did - it's NOT too big. She said they often do the baseline ultrasounds and then have people come in with follicles in the high 20's and they know it's not a cyst because they previously did the baseline. Just thought it was interesting, I see a lot of forum talk about follicles being too big.

Month/Cycle: 6/6

CD: 3

WAYDTGKU: 10mg Letrozole CD3-7 + 250MCG Ovidrel + Timed Intercourse + Digital OPK's in case I ovulate on my own

R/R: A little frustrated and let down from last cycle. I was feeling hopeful with my timing and my 2 follicles I had. This is the 6th cycle with Letrozole and 4th with Ovidrel so if I'm unsuccessful this cycle we might change up the plan.

CS/Q: n/a - but still hoping I can get it together and actually post something here this cycle

akoros

Month/Cycle: 27/2 AL

CD: 3

WAYDTGKU: OPKs, vitamins

R/R: It's my Friday! Work's been super busy, ready for a few days off. On the rant side, having some crazy acne for no reason and it's driving me nuts! Massive (painful) cystic zit on my chin, a big one above my eyebrow, and just noticed one that popped out on my nose (no wonder it hurt when I touched my nose earlier). WTF, I'm 35, you'd think I'd grow out of this at some point

CS/Q: none

@krash_ I frantically put my underwear back on and then try to lie still, but at least 50% of the reason is because of the mess

photographerwife

@acleverusername well hopefully the urologist will have some answers for you guys. I haven’t really seen many people talk about male factor here either. I think someone’s husband took clomid? But I don’t know what for. It’s really cool about the tubes! I didn’t know that either until I was prepping for surgery! 

@krash_ I agree. My ovulation is semi normal, but who knows man. All of my tests have come back normal so far, so it’s just a waiting game for us at this point. 🙃 

@babyfeverbeliever we must have! Saturday’s in October are always big for weddings! It was a beautiful day! Our wedding was rained on, but even the rain was pretty. I hope the tube thing doesn’t affect us too much. I know a couple of people who’ve had good pregnancies with one tube and one even with only one tube and ovary after having a major cyst cut off the blood supply to her ovary, and it had to be removed. I’m sorry that last cycle was a disappointment! Fx for you this cycle! 

@akoros Sorry for the acne! Mine isn’t terrible, but the mask thing really has be rocking some maskne 😬

akoros

@photographerwife It's reminding me of when I went off birth control and my skin completely freaked out. Like being 15 again!

acleverusername

@krash_ LOL at you making YH reschedule the SA; but obviously it's the right thing to do. I really had to push hard to get MH to do his during my period. One thing I wanted to mention is that alcohol consumption really affect sperm production and the sample that ends up getting tested is sperm that was "born" 3-3.5 months ago. Just something to keep in mind given everything you've been through over the summer. I've been doing fertility acupuncture and, while it's very relaxing, I obviously haven't gotten KU'ed yet. But I continue doing it because of the relaxation benefits. 

@akoros the acne sounds awful; I'm having a bit of that myself this cycle. Do you have any product that can help with that? I have this really intense mask I apply whenever I get acne and it really does dry the zits out nicely. 

@photographerwife Not a lot of talk of male factor here, but definitely lots of knowledge over on the IF thread. I have learned A LOT. If the urologist is going to prescribe any treatment, it will likely be Clomid. The sucky part is that for men, it takes at least 3 months to have effect (because that's how long the birth > ejaculation cycle of a sperm is.) So, if that's the path we have to go down, we're not looking at seeing any positive effects until Jan / Feb or later. 

gingermama29

Ugh sorry I've been terrible about responding on here too.

@photographerwife yay for an official move out date!! So exciting!!

@krash_ I think the "jizz shuffle" phrase came from @shamrocandroll. I think you should still count that for timing though.

@Kenneylynn3 yay welcome back to the dailies!

@acleverusername yeah for the most part, I think our restrictions are good. I'm kind of irritated that if a student is out and can't return without a negative test, their siblings can still be in school if they are asymptomatic. It just makes me anxious. I hope testing for YH goes better this time around and there is vast improvement from the previous results.

@babyfeverbeliever sorry you're feeling let down with this cycle. TTC is so hard mentally! Hopefully you'll be successful this cycle though and won't have to work about trying something different next cycle.

@akoros ugh acne is the worst. Hope it clears up soon! 

Kenneylynn3

@acleverusername work sounds like a nice distraction, but sorry it's so crazy.
@babyfeverbeliever FX for this cycle
@akoros acne is the worst. I'm 28, and still haven't figured mine out. It's frustrating when a break-out happens.