IF testing/treatment w/o 2/1

acleverusername

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: Top restaurant meal you've ever had! Give us the dets: where did you eat? what did you eat? 

bumblebee0210

Diagnosis (if you've been): repeat loss

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): The full spate of RPL testing for me and my husband. So many tests!

How are things going?: Ok. I am coming to terms with the fact that we are likely headed toward IVF. On the one hand, it feels nice to have some control. On the other, it's a bit daunting. 

Any questions?:  I am starting to get results back on my tests, and I am reading them as "not quite DOR but not great for a 34-year-old". I'm wondering if there is any good reference for what is "normal/good" for AFC, FSH, etc. The internet seems full of conflicting information... 

Also-- I had 8 follicles on one side and only 2 on the other. Is it normal for it to be so unbalanced?

GTKY: Top restaurant meal you've ever had! Give us the dets: where did you eat? what did you eat? It's hard to narrow it down. I ate at Alinea in Chicago in 2010, and it was truly incredible-- more of a show/experience than a meal. I also had an incredible tasting menu at McCrady's in Charlestown on my honeymoon. Also in Japan I ate at Jiro Sushi, and at Narisawa, and both were next-level. 

Lisa3379

 Diagnosis (if you've been): A couple losses, getting old. 

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO. Well, waiting for egg retrieval. 

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): IVF cycle 1 in progress 

How are things going?: Pretty good! Injections are evidently doing their thing, and my doctor is guessing we’ll do egg retrieval this weekend. Feeling pretty tired from all the hormones, but not too bad. 

Any questions?: Nope 

GTKY: Top restaurant meal you've ever had! Give us the dets: where did you eat? what did you eat? Alexander’s Steakhouse in Cupertino. Champagne, scallop appetizer, massive steak with lobster mac and cheese, and something for dessert... maybe a Creme brûlée. And of course a couple glasses of wine. 3 hour dinner. We usually go for my birthday - this has been the first year in a long time we haven’t. 😭

kiki047

Diagnosis (if you've been): PCOS, MFI

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFFET #3

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Gearing up for our third and final FET before we have to go back and do another retrieval. 

How are things going?: Good, I think! Had my 3rd lining check this morning at CD9 and my lining is already over 8mm, whereas I've never been able to get it over 7mm in the past. My RE is satisfied that we're good to proceed. FET is booked for Valentine's Day, Sunday Feb 14th. I'm hoping that will bring us luck. I mean, millions of people around the world have gotten KU on the international day of love, why not me? *hint hint nudge nudge Universe. Throw me a bone here please*



Any questions?: No, just hypothetical ones. Like I don't have to go back again for any more monitoring between now and the 14th which makes me nervous. My lining can't get thinner at this point without bleeding, can it?! MH keeps asking why I can't go in again. If it was up to me I would go back at least once more but they said no. 

GTKY: Top restaurant meal you've ever had! Give us the dets: where did you eat? what did you eat? I've been fortunate to have eaten at some pretty spectacular restaurants in Japan, most of which I don't remember the names of but truly unforgettable experiences all around. Also loved our meal at the (now closed) famed Alan Wong's restaurant in Honolulu on our honeymoon. It was a wedding gift from a dear friend. They have a cold tomato soup with a foie gras grilled cheese appetizer that was literally to die for, along with a lobster lasagna roll, and those were two of the most satisfying bites I've ever had in my life. 

kiki047

@bumblebee0210 "On the one hand, it feels nice to have some control. On the other, it's a bit daunting." That about sums up my approach to IVF when we were starting down that path too. I will say it feels really overwhelming at first but the ladies here in the IF thread held my hand through every step and it made it a lot less scary. I do think it can be normal to have uneven follicles, but are they going to measure your AMH too? That will give you more insight than just AFC. Jiro Sushi is on our list for when we make it back to Japan - have you seen the movie? 
@Lisa3379 Ooh this weekend, that's exciting! Glad the hormones haven't affected you too badly. Make sure you have some gatorade on hand for after the retrieval and stay hydrated.

bumblebee0210

@kiki047 My AMH has not been resulted yet for some reason, and the last time I got day-3 testing, the lab screwed up and didn't test AMH, so now I feel like it has been so built up it feels like an elusive magical number to me. My FSH was 9.2, which for my lab is still normal (<11) but from what I read on the internets is pretty high for my age. I know I just have to wait to see what the RE thinks, but I have a tendency to want to jump the gun and know everything in advance. And yes-- we saw the Jiro movie and then had to eat there. 

That's exciting that everything is going well for you. Now it's just the waiting game-- is there a reason you are going 2 full weeks from now? I don't really understand how FETs work...


@lisa3379 Sounds like you're having a pretty chill time of it, which is nice to hear as someone staring down the barrel of IVF myself (and I am guessing a similar protocol, since I also have RPL and likely have some amount of like old-person eggs)

Lisa3379

@bumblebee0210 As someone who is squeamish over just about any sort of medical procedure, big or small, the process has (so far, I still have some pretty big events to come, haha) been pretty decent. I definitely made a way bigger deal out of it. And yeah, I feel good knowing that we’re doing everything possible to help this one stick.  

acleverusername

@bumblebee0210 I'm sorry that you're officially headed down the IVF path. Hopefully it will lead you towards your THB. There really isn't a clear guideline of what's normal for these hormones and antral follicle count. The ranges for AFC vary even more than those for hormones, but I'm 99.9% sure that any doctor will tell you that AFC of 10 at age of 34 is in the normal range (it's definitely not DOR). I always have an unbalanced number of follicles. During the last two cycle, I had 8 on my right and 2 on my left. During my ER in Sep 2019, I had 11 follicles develop on my right; and only 4 on my left. I call my left ovary the "lazy ovary." Keep in mind too that AFC can vary from cycle to cycle. Also with regards to hormones, depending on the lab that analyzes your sample, they'll all have slightly different ranges. I also wouldn't compare yourself to other 34-year olds. That's an exercise that can only end in disappointment. The # of follicles pre- and post-stim doesn't matter; it's the number of mature eggs within those follicles that's important. Adding a bunch of info in spoiler. 

Here's what my LapCorp results say about AMH & FSH: 

AMH concentrations of >= 1.06 ng/mL is correlated with a better response to ovarian stimulation, produced more retrievable oocytes and higher odds of live birth according to Gleicher et al. Fertility and Sterility. 2010: 94:2824-2827. The current AMH test method correlates with the study method with a slope of 0.94.

Females at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) may exhibit elevated serum AMH concentrations. AMH levels from PCOS patients may be 2 to 5 fold higher than age-appropriate reference interval values.

FSH: follicular phase 3.5 - 12.5 mIU/ml
Also, this is useful for interpreting what the different results mean https://www.verywellfamily.com/day-3-fsh-levels-test-1960172

AFC: 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5015663/ > as you can see, the mean AFC in your age group is 12 with a standard deviation of 6.

From personal experience, I can tell you that in January 2019, when I was 35, my AFC was 22; in June 2020, at the age of 36.5, my AFC was 14 (and this was actually my result during October and November treatment cycles; at the last 2 baseline monitoring visits, my AFC has been 10. 

@lisa3379 Glad to hear that you're not feeling _too_ bad! Is it very mean of me to tell you that it gets worse from here? I felt OK during the 1st half of my stim cycle, but after Day 6, it went downhill because of all the follicles that were growing inside of me. Btw, it's a good idea to take a stool softener as you enter the last stages of your stim cycle as it's going to get pretty painful to 💩. Will be rooting for you this weekend during your ER! If you're comfortable, share you test results: # of follicles and Estradiol levels. Also, I've made a note to self to check Alexander's Steakhouse when it reopens. 

@kiki047 Oh my goodness! Lining of 8mm already?! That's amazing! Wooohooo! I'm going to pray to the Universe that, this Valentine's Day, you get your sticky THB! It sucks that your doctor doesn't want you coming back for a check-up pre-transfer. Can you INSIST? Your doc has been so supportive of you to date; surely he'll understand? Can you offer to pay out-of-pocket for an additional ultrasound (I've previously arranged to pay out of pocket for non-standard procedures in Canada; specifically to have a PAP test before I was due for one.) In some ways, this stuff is easier in the US because you can hypothetically just throw money at the problem until it goes away. 

Diagnosis (if you've been): "Unexplained" aka my eggs are old

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): waiting on the results of a Combo IUI cycle (Menopur & Letrazole); plus 2nd opinion consult with The Egg Whisperer (TEW) on Wednesday WOOT! 

How are things going?: I'm really excited for my TEW consult this week! MH and I already talked about it, and, if this cycle doesn't work, we might try an IUI with her. I _don't_ think we could afford IVF with her, but it it's only doing 1 cycle, we could contemplate. The problem I've had with my (now former) clinic is they were approaching the first cycle as a "exploratory / diagnostic" cycle. TEW really customizes her protocols, leveraging all that she knows. That's why the interest to do an IUI cycle to see what additional info she'll glimpse from it. However, earlier today I reached out to the research coordinator for the CLARA study (Phase III clinical trial I'd mentioned late last year) to see if they're planning to recruit participants through March. If yes, I might be eligible for it, and would need to take a cycle off. Otherwise, I'm trying to remain hopeful that we succeeded this cycle despite the wrench that our clinic threw into it. After all, my lining was the best it's ever been, and my follicle grew very slowly which could be indicative of a good quality egg. 

Any questions?: NATM. 

GTKY: Top restaurant meal you've ever had! Give us the dets: where did you eat? what did you eat? Three meals come to mind: Nobu in New York City; our wedding dinner at Le Champlain at the Chateau Frontenac; and Sushi Hon in San Francisco. 

Edited: grammar / spelling mistakes; also forgot to provide an answer to GTKY. 

bumblebee0210

@acleverusername  Thanks for the info! I'm not *officially* doing IVF yet, but it seems to be where we are headed unless we get a natural surprise in the meantime. My RE doesn't really believe in medicated cycles or IUI for RPL without subfertility, so she said it's basically nothing/progesterone, or IVF with genetic screening, unless something obvious comes up in my testing, which thusfar it has not. I am also leaning IVF (versus more trying naturally), because if we want a larger family I would feel better if we could get some embryos in the bank. 

p.s.-- I feel like I missed the story of what happened at your clinic this cycle? I remember you were feeling weird about them...

acleverusername

@bumblebee0210 I _too_ would feel more confident with having embryos in the bank. Re: my clinic, TL; DR. They screwed up the total motile count (TMC) calculation. So instead of 60M sperm they wrote that was inseminated, the number was closer to 7.5M. Apparently a jr tech made the mistake, but it was "checked" by someone senior in the lab. And the doctor also didn't notice it and made sure to point the 60M number even though even a cursory glance further up the sheet would have shown that pre-wash TMC was 44M and there is no way to have a higher TMC post-wash. This isn't the first time they've made a mistake on an official report either; they screwed up lining thickness on my ultrasound in December which I noticed 2 weeks later and frantically emailed my doctor to ask "how could we have gone ahead with an IUI with a lining this thin?!?!" She had to check the u/s films and said that actual lining thickness was 2x was was written down. 

Lisa3379

@acleverusername not mean of you at all! I can use all the input I can get. I’m definitely more tired every day, and thanks for the tip regarding pooping 😂 They just moved my next appointment from Wednesday to tomorrow based on my lab results, maybe that’s a sign we’re a little ahead? And I’m definitely willing to share my follicle and estradiol levels when it’s go time. And yay for your consult this week! I hope that it meets your hopes and optimism and fingers crossed for you for this cycle of course! 

acleverusername

Well poop 💩... my appointment with TEW was rescheduled to next week. Sigh. Oh well, maybe I won't need it! 🤞🏻

bumblebee0210

@acleverusername Yikes-- that sucks about the clinic. Being married to a physician has taught me a very important lesson, which is that a lot of doctors are not very good at their jobs. I think a lot of people have a kind of reverence for physicians which causes them to expect too much (when lots of things are unknown/unfixable), but also to trust what they say and do without question. Given that you live in the bay, why not just go to UCSF or Stanford? Those are two of the best hospitals in the country-- won't they also have good REI?

Lisa3379

Whoa guys, egg retrieval was pushed up to Thursday! Trigger shot tonight. It's really happening. 

acleverusername

@bumblebee0210 We actually started at the UCSF clinic and didn't enjoy that experience. It was very "one-size-fits-all" approach and we wanted something more custom. As I mentioned, I've got a consult with Dr. Aimee (The Egg Whisperer) who is the best reviewed REI on FertilityIQ in all of the US. I have high hopes for that. 

@Lisa3379 Wow! That changed quickly Woohoo! How many follicles do you have? What's your Estrogen levels? 

Lisa3379

@acleverusername I actually don't know how many follicles right now! At this morning's ultrasound I want to say there were maybe 6 that were 15mm or more, and then a handful of others that were between 11-14mm. Estrogen is 1485. 

quiltandknit

@bumblebee0210  what @acleverusername said.  AMH and AFC can vary greatly, and there aren't good reference ranges online.  Definitely ask your RE for help interpreting those and what they mean for your ovarian reserve.  Sorry it's looking like IVF but hoping they can guide you through the process smoothly.

@Lisa3379 yay for egg retrieval this week!  

@acleverusername hoping your combo IUI is successful.  And so very curious to hear what you learn from TEW (but also hoping you don't need her!!)

Diagnosis (if you've been):  unexplained 

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?):  Clomid + IUI (finally, treatment!)

How are things going?:  So far so good, 2 days into Clomid and it isn't bad.  I have all my other AF symptoms except the bleeding has stopped--super tired, sore boobs, and bloated as heck.  But thankfully no headaches, mood swings, or hot flashes, so I'll take it.  Hoping I don't become a monster by Friday, lol.  I feel better about this cycle now that we finally have a plan.  And it feels like I'm "doing something" by taking Clomid, even though I have no control over the outcome.  I'm just a super anal planner so not knowing when the IUI will happen, just "at some point next week, probably" drives me a little crazy.  I just feel bad because when I take time out to do that, patients will have to be moved at the last minute.  Thankfully the RE office is not that far from mine, so the mid-day IUI visit shouldn't affect too many of them.

Any questions?:  No questions--the process is pretty straightforward.  They want me to do the OPKs in the afternoon/evening, even though the packaging says morning, then I leave a message on a voicemail line and plan to go in the next day.

GTKY: Top restaurant meal you've ever had! Give us the dets: where did you eat? what did you eat?  I honestly haven't been to too many high end famous restaurants.  When we travel, we eat our way around each city, trying little things along the way.  I can't decide whether San Francisco or New Orleans is my favorite food city.  Dying to go back to either one of those soon!

LJMoon6

@bumblebee0210 I hope all your test results come back quickly. It feels good to finally take control. Hope you can figure out next step plans with your RE soon. I like your insight about physicians. Really they are just humans too, and make mistakes. They all can’t be a Dr. House lol.

@Lisa3379 Yay for trigger and retrieval!!! That’s so exciting! Can’t wait to hear how the rest of the week goes. I’m glad you’re feeling pretty good overall. What a blessing.

@kiki047 Yay for a great lining! I’m a little bit of a noob when it comes to FETs, but why do you have to wait so long to do the transfer?

@acleverusername Girl, you have been through so much with your clinic. I’m glad you’re cutting ties with them. Did they ever come back with a plan to “make it right?” Sorry your appointment with TEW got pushed. I know you’re super excited for that (I am too lol). But maybe you wont even need it. FX!!

@quiltandknit I’m glad your handling clomid pretty well. Is there a reason they’re not doing a trigger with your IUI? The last minute appointments are hard.

 

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

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

How are things going?:  Going ok. We didn’t get the best timing this cycle, which isn’t that big of a deal since it’s unlikely to happen naturally anyways. I was taking the very relaxed approach and then got a little lazy with the OPKs and possibly read one wrong… Then of course I started stressing about that lol. Why is this so hard!? Really just looking forward to letrozole next cycle.

Any questions?: nope

GTKY: Top restaurant meal you've ever had! Give us the dets: where did you eat? what did you eat? Haven’t been to any fancy restaurants at all… I did have an amazing “last supper” in France before the semester ended. It was some duck dish and that’s all I remember lol. There was also a hole in the wall pub in Galway that had the most delicious pulled pork. Omg, now I just want to travel and eat a bunch of food!

acleverusername

@Lisa3379 those numbers look good! I hope you get lots of mature eggs at tomorrow's retrieval. FX!

@quiltandknit regarding the OPKs, you'll get a different opinion on timing depending on the OPKs you buy or who you ask. If you want to understand the scientific background behind LH surges, peruse the OPKs thread. I posted about it ad nauseam in mid-2020 (I'm very science-based, so I like to get to the bottom of things). TL;DR though, as you approach ovulation, LH is released in frequent pulses so doing an OPK test it at any time of day will catch a surge. In early follicular phase, LH isn't released at all during the nighttime hours, which is why 50% of people tell you to test in early afternoon/evening. 

I too hope that I won't need TEW second opinion. FX for me!

@LJMoon6 Maybe a relaxed approach is what you needed?! Hopefully. I know you're convinced it won't happen naturally, but it still could. The last supper in France sounds OMG so good. 🤤

laura-kay

Lurking this week due to some family emergencies hence low availability of time, but my update is the same as last week I’m rooting everyone on!  F/X!

acleverusername

@Lisa3379 good luck with your ER today!!! Keeping my fingers crossed that you get a good number of mature eggs!

@laura-kay 🤗

kiki047

@bumblebee0210 I don't have much more to add from what clever said, other than not to focus too much on AMH - it's not the be-all and end-all of fertility indicators, but in terms of diagnostic significance it does help paint a picture, particular with regards to signs of DOR. But by the sounds of it maybe your issues come down to quality vs quantity. Are you currently taking any vitamins or supplements? 

@lisa3379 woo let’s get this show on the road!! Good luck tomorrow!! 

@quiltandknit I know what you mean about that feeling like you’re “doing something”. FX the clomid works as it should!! I like your style about just eating your way around cities. We do that on vacation too. My Japan experience was different because I was part of an invited Canadian delegation hosted by the ministry of foreign affairs, so a once in a lifetime kind of trip. 

@LJMoon6 to be honest, I think the only reason by transfer is so late in my cycle is because of scheduling. I naturally ovulate very late anyway so it’s still in line with what could be considered “normal” timing for implantation in a regular cycle, plus in the past I’ve had issues with thin lining so I needed more lead time to build it up. My first FET was done on CD17, my second was CD22. This one will also be CD22. They essentially micromanage everything with drugs to simulate the optimal conditions to transfer a 5-day embryo, meaning my hormones should mimic 5dpo ratios. I’ve been on estradiol since CD2, then I start progesterone 5 days prior to transfer, then add PIO 3 days prior. 

Glad you were able to take a more relaxed approach to this last cycle before starting the letrozole, even if you’re now second-guessing the OPKs. 

quiltandknit

@LJMoon6 My RE didn't mention anything about a trigger injection with this IUI cycle.  Plan is to just use my home OPKs and go based on my LH surge.  He will do an ultrasound right before the IUI to make sure things look good to proceed.  But he did say if I do 5 days of OPKs and don't get a peak reading, we would need to do an ultrasound and blood work to figure out why I didn't ovulate yet.  That may show a need for a trigger injection, but I'm hoping I won't get to that point!

@acleverusername Thanks for the tip on OPK timing.  I thought the LH surge was one-and-done, and if you missed it, you're out of luck.  Glad to know there are pulses so I won't miss it testing late in the day.  Love learning about this stuff and will definitely read the OPK thread closer.

@Lisa3379 Thinking of you today with your ER!! Hope it goes smoothly!

@laura-kay hope things are getting better and your family emergency resolves quickly!!

Lisa3379

I'm done! Everything went smoothly, and I couldn't believe how fast it happened! I was maybe out for 20 minutes. They were able to get 15 eggs, and I'll hear back later today about how many were mature. Now I'm on my basement couch with a heating pad and a latte, watching Dateline   

LJMoon6

Jumping in to say yay! to @Lisa3379 (will be back later with more tags). 15 is a great number!!! So exciting! Curled up on the couch watching dateline sounds so nice. Relax and enjoy your resting time! Can't wait to hear another update soon!

acleverusername

@Lisa3379 woohoo! That’s an amazing number of eggs! Let us know how many fertilize! 

kiki047

@lisa3379 Wooo! You rocked it girl! 15 is a great number. How are you feeling today? 

photographerwife

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained secondary infertility, one Fallopian tube.

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW 

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): trying naturally. We haven’t started treatments yet. Just doing my supplements from it starts with the egg, and hio! BBT and opks too. 

How are things going?: Things are going okay. My referral finally got to the REs office, but they won’t see us until APRIL 28th?! So In the meantime, we’re taking up my OBs offer to do the HSG, and sperm analysis with them. I just picked up the sperm kit today, and they told me to call on the first day of my next cycle. Since we have to meet our deductible we’re basically paying for everything OOP, so I hope our insurance will cover some fertility after that! I get so confused by this insurance stuff. I took some time to myself this week to de-stress and recoup and I’m feeling good today! 

Any questions?: not atm 

Also, I apologize that my responses are short. I’m trying to get used to the terminology over here! 

GTKY: Top restaurant meal you've ever had! Give us the dets: where did you eat? what did you eat? I love all the food, and haven’t done any major traveling. So, I don’t really have any big ones that stick out! 

@bumblebee0210 I’m sorry that you’re finding yourself going down the IVF route. I hope that things go well! It sounds so daunting! 

@lisa3379 good luck with your cycle! I hope everything goes well and you stay feeling well

@kiki047 oh yay! A Valentine’s Day transfer seems like good juju! Hoping the universe throws that bone for you! 

@acleverusername I hope your consult went well! I think you recommend me her podcast somewhere else and I listened to an episode this week! She’s good, I’ll probably check it out more as we get into treatments. Did you hear anything back about the trial? Is it an ivf trial? I’m sorry, I’m trying to keep up! 

@quiltandknit I hope the meds aren’t bothering you so much now! That’s nice that your REs office is so close! When we see one it’s like an hour away Good luck with your IUI next week! 

@ljmoon6 I feel you on that! I feel like I’ve gotten so lazy about opks and stuff as time has gone on! 

krash_

*lurking*

@photographerwife don't make the mistake I made, check your insurance to see if your RE is in network. My insurance would have covered 80% after trying for 12 months up to a certain $ amount but my RE wasn't in network so it was all out of pocket and I was just about to switch to an in network RE this year. You should be able to check online. We did all of our initial testing with my OB but because everything came back "normal" they weren't going to proceed with treatment, I think it's just a CYA thing for them. I would also make sure you are on any cancellation list with the RE. 

Lisa3379

@kiki047 I'm feeling a lot better today, thanks! The fog from the anesthesia is totally gone and my cramping is very minimal. Just waiting on pins and needles to see how many eggs are mature *fingers crossed*

@photographerwife I hear you with the insurance stuff - it's like my worst subject. It's so hard for me to wrap my head around everything. When I went to order my IVF meds a couple weeks ago, it was insane trying to figure out how much we would pay if we just paid cash vs. how much insurance would be billed if we went that route. My head almost exploded. 

photographerwife

@krash_ thank you! I hadn’t considered looking at that yet! I just went with the clinic that my ob recommended. But I will check that out! Arkansas “offers” fertility coverage, but I’ve heard that some employers won’t opt for it. So who knows, but I definitely want to keep it on the more affordable side! And they did add me to a cancellation list:) thanks for the advice! 

@lisa3379 omg I know! I’ve changed companies a couple times over the past few years too because of work and government changes, income changes and all that so it’s made it soo confusing! Hope you were able to work it out! 

Lisa3379

Got some good news! Doctor said that 9 of the 15 have definitely fertilized normally, and 4 have not shown definitive signs of fertilization, but haven't shown signs of abnormal fertilization either, so it's possible that those could become good embryos. So now I wait until Tuesday for my next update. 

acleverusername

@Lisa3379 Wooo! To little cells! Develop well! 

keikilove

Hey friends, I’m so late to the party this week. Hope everyone had a good week, and 😀happy weekend😀! I said I would update at the start of this week but never got a chance so here’s a quick summary. 

Last week I posted a very brief update that my FET was cancelled till next month due to a thin uterine lining. I’ve spoken to my nurse at my Reproductive Immunologist: she said there’s no way it was thin from IVIG, but very likely caused by the BCP the RE had put me on the month prior. (I swear, BCP is the devil for me.) Anyway, I had gotten an IVIG infusion prior to the trip for the FET; those side effects kicked in 3 days later—so I had a pounding headache and was throwing up on the way to the RE. Not fun. After finding out the FET was cancelled we were still able to get another LIT treatment, which was great. But they perform the simple procedure a bit differently than the previous doctor we’d seen, so I’m eager to see what my LAD levels are after the next blood test and see if it actually helped improve things. 

Diagnosis (if you've been): RPL, DQ Alpha match (leading to increased Natural Killer cells), blood-clotting disorders, AMA, DOR 

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW 

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): We tried naturally after learning the FET was cancelled. I saw so many big eggs on the U/S that I just couldn’t waste the cycle. (That never happens—I can never tell what I’m seeing on the U/S.) No idea if my lining could improve enough to be ready to accept an embryo now...

How are things going?: OK. Extremely busy work week, a million stressful Zoom meetings, thus my being mostly MIA on TB. 

Any questions?: NATM 

GTKY: Top restaurant meal? No idea. But I did have a work trip to Thailand where every meal blew me away. The presentation of the food was always a work of art. I’ve never seen anything quite like that. 

@Lisa3379 Hooray for so many eggs collected and fertilized! Hoping with you that they continue to develop well. 

@kiki047 Soooo excited for you for this Valentine’s transfer!❤️❤️❤️ Sending so much good energy your way.

@quiltandknit Good to hear that the Clomid wasn’t affecting you too badly earlier this week. Hopefully you’ve made it to the weekend without any worse side effects! 

@bumblebee0210 It looks like you’ve gotten lots of really good advice regarding your questions. Honestly, I think most (if not all) of us who’ve joined this thread over the years have been shocked and in denial that we actually had IF or would need interventions like IUI or IVF. We are here for you as you go through these stages. (As a fellow RPL sufferer, I feel obligated to tell you that there is a ton you can try besides just progesterone or IVF. It would be worth it to ask your RE what else you might try once you get your test results.) After all the medical experiences I’ve had, I agree 100% with your husband’s statement re: not all doctors are good at their jobs. 

@LJMoon Right there with you with the natural cycle and not the greatest timing. Hopefully it was good enough for both of us. 

@photographerwife Sorry to see you here. But it sounds like a good plan to start the testing with your OB while waiting for your RE appointment. We are here for you with any questions or needed support in the meantime. 

@acleverusername So sorry that you’re consult with TEW got pushed back a bit. I’m sure we are all eager to see what she has to add to the info you’ve already collected (if you even need the consult after this IUI). Hope you’re having a great ski weekend!

@laura-kay Hope all is well with the family emergencies.💗

*Edited to fix weird spacing. 

 

acleverusername

@photographerwife I know that April 28th feels far away. You’re doing all the right things in the meanwhile with the HSG and the SA; this will shorten the time you spend in the diagnosis phase once with you’re at your RE. And hopefully a cancellation will come up in the meanwhile OR you get a nice natural surprise. 🙂 quick answers to your questions: my consult was pushed to next week (Wed, 2/10). As for the clinical trial, it would cover the cost of a complete IVF cycle including a natural transfer (so not genetic testing of embryos.) Since my insurance covers $0 after diagnosis of infertility, this would be good for us.

@keikilove seeing your update makes me so happy! Especially these parts: “lots of big eggs on u/s” and “got another LIT treatment!” Yay! When are you getting your LAD levels results? It’s good that you likely found the source of your thin lining issues! Also, your meals during the Thailand trip sound A-MAZING!



AFM, in a very unpleasant surprise, AF arrived overnight, giving me a luteal phase of 9 days. I was both physically and mentally unprepared for this. 😭😭😭 I obviously didn’t take my menstrual cup with me so I’ll have to dash out and get some emergency tampons later on. I honestly don’t get my body. Anyway, this next cycle will be a forced natural cycle since we’re in between doctors right now. 

laura-kay

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained 

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): cycle just started  

What are you doing this cycle? Natural cycle in between injectable IUI treatments 

How are things going?: It’s been a stressful week though personal issues took priority over the IF issues.  My 98 year old grandma went into the hospital with congestive heart failure.  She finally got out, thank God.  Then my brother in law went to the hospital with a serious case of sepsis (recurring - really bad this time), and still is there. Crazy week!

Any questions?: NATM 

GTKY: Top restaurant meal? We have so many places we like.  One of our recent favorites was up in Portland Maine - and awesome foodie town.  We went to this Italian restaurant called Solo Italiano.  It’s an authentic Italian restaurant - and we treated ourselves for our anniversary.  It was so good!  

keikilove

@acleverusername Ugh, sorry to hear about the surprise AF visit. That stinks. The progesterone was my question too. FWIW—and not to be annoying—but I take it every single cycle, natural or not. It’s strange your LP jumped to 14 & then 9. So sorry, that’s got to be frustrating. The CLARA study sounds like a great & timely opportunity. 

@laura-kay Whoa, that is a lot of family stuff at once. Hope everyone is doing better now, or very soon. Try not to stress—although that’s likely impossible after a week like that. Hope you’re able to find some nice downtime this weekend. 

acleverusername

@keikilove yeah, I guess I have to do that as well. One of the reasons I wasn’t taking it is that to be considered for the CLARA study, I need to be off progesterone for 3 months. So since the doctor didn’t say anything about it, I figured it’s okay not to take it. I know differently now. But I’ve already now heard that microdosing hCG could also help with progesterone production by the corpus luteum. 

@laura-kay wow, crazy week! I’m glad your grandma is doing well and hopefully your BIL will recover!

quiltandknit

@keikilove yay for big eggs!!! FX for you!

@Lisa3379 yay for a good number of embryos!  Hope they continue developing well!

@laura-kay what a crazy week!  Sending your family lots of healthy vibes!  We went to Portland summer of 2019 (actually that was our last "real" vacation pre-covid) and it was omg so good.  Lots of amazing breweries there too which we fully enjoyed!

@photographerwife I feel ya on waiting for the RE.  I think it took us 10-12 weeks too from the time I called to get the consult.  Great that you can get your HSG and SA done by your OB, can they also order your day 3 and infectious disease preconception labs?

AFM, I felt pretty okay on the Clomid this week (M-F were my days 3-7) other than some bloating and fatigue.  This weekend I am getting pretty moody, I know it's from the medication but I don't like it!  I get very angry or very sad very quickly.  Odd for me because I'm usually pretty even-keeled.  Hoping it gets a little better as I get closer to O this week.  OPKs start Monday pm, curious to see when I will ovulate on Clomid because on my natural cycles it isn't until day 19/20.  At least this cycle should be shorter?

Curious what the group's experiences are on this: I'm taking CoQ10 300mg three times per day and DHEA 25mg three times per day on my RE's recommendation.  He said usually he recommends it to women older than I am, but if I wanted, I could give it a try because neither would be harmful.  The CoQ10 dose seems pretty high but I also read that the absorption of a lot of the forms of it can be very low so I guess that makes sense.  I tried to look into the studies but don't have access to a lot of them and there doesn't seem to be consensus on dosing.  Anyone come across any good info?

acleverusername

@quiltandknit ha! I just asked you about DHEA in the dailies so ignore the question there. I’ve gotten some mixed reviews on whether to take it or not. I had one “specialist” in NYC who said I absolutely need to take it - because I have low testosterone and pretty low other androgen hormones though all still in range - and so I’ve been taking 75mg a day (3x25) since that consult. But most other REs I’ve consulted with said that I don’t need to be taking it. The RE at our first fertility clinic said that I don’t need to take it because I don’t have DOR. The RE I’m AZ I just consulted with said that there’s limited proof that DHEA actually helps, even in DOR cases. He also said that we don’t really know how much testosterone a woman needs and as long as testosterone isn’t high, it’s fine (I.e. low testosterone is okay). I’ve also asked that question during Egg Whisperer live Instagram shows, and she too said not DHEA unless your have DOR, and that low testosterone is fine in women. Anyways, I’ll be asking her again during our consult on Wednesday.

As for COQ10, both MH and I take 600mg. I used to take Ubiquinol same qty, but it’s really hard to find either COQ10 or Ubiquinol in high doses unless you want to take 6+ pills a day, which is annoying. The last time I found 300mg pills at Costco, which were COQ10, so that’s what I’m currently taking. Maybe next time it’ll be Ubiquinol again. I head that Ubiquinol is better absorbed by us older ladies. 

Hope this helps!

Sorry to hear you’re starting to feel some of the Clomid nasty side effects. Hopefully they won’t last!

keikilove

@quiltandknit The DHEA question is really common, and I keep seeing the same advice constantly in my immunology group: Get your levels tested first (DHEA, DHEA-S, testosterone) then have them tested again every month while you’re on it. I started this whole process with slightly low testosterone and DHEA. My Reproductive Immunologist recommended 25mg of DHEA supplementation, as did my RE. I ignored them and took 75mg per day per ISWTE. Well, my testosterone shot through the roof, beyond the max normal range. So I finally listened to my doctors’ advice and now take only 25mg per day. Stop it if positive HPT.

The dose I consistently see for Ubiquinol is 600mg spread out across the day. Most people take 200mg at a time, as the body supposedly can’t absorb more than that at once. But some people take 300 in morning and 300 at lunch because ubiquinol is naturally active/rises in the body at these times, and taking it at night isn’t in sync with one’s natural body rhythms. Also, everything I’ve read is that ubiquinol is the more easily absorbed/no need to convert it/ form of CoQ10. If you’re able to, you may want to switch to ubiquinol. Jarrow makes a formula that comes in 200mg pills.