IF Testing and Treatment W/O 12/12

mambo5-2

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 ballgame. 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 (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched):

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

How are things going?:

Any questions?:

GTKY: What is the best Holiday Dessert?  Bonus points for recipes

optimistgardener

just dropping in here for a sec to be like FAAAAAAAAAHHHHHKKKK an endometrial biopsy hurts
i'll be back later for a proper check-in

mambo5-2

@optimistgardener I want to lovetit that but I do not lovetit that so, disliketit

gingermama29

@optimistgardener ooof. Sorry friend.

Diagnosis (if you've been): PCOS, RPL, prothrombin gene

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): IUI

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Gonal-F, ovidrel, Endometrin, IUI

How are things going?: just trying to stay distracted during this TWW so I don’t SS too much. My therapist agreed with that approach and encouraged me to distract myself when I felt my mind wandering in that direction. Luckily I have my chorus concert tomorrow night and my colleague’s on Thursday and have started baking Christmas cookies. I also started a sewing project this weekend so I’ve got plenty to occupy my mind through this TWW. I’m trying to stay optimistic but also not let my hopes get too high which is a very fine line to walk as I know you all know. In the not so great news, my MIL fell and broke her hip yesterday and has to have hip replacement surgeries. She’s in her 70s and not in the best health so I’m a bit anxious about that. Hoping all goes well though.

Any questions?: natm

GTKY: What is the best Holiday Dessert?  Bonus points for recipes. I love gingerbread cookies after I got a great recipe from a coworker. Chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies are also a favorite! 

mambo5-2

Diagnosis (if you've been): MFL, RPL, Possible Funky Blood

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): Benched

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): H has his varicocele repair today

How are things going?: Pretty good, I'm anxious

Any questions?: Nope

GTKY: What is the best Holiday Dessert?  Bonus points for recipes
I make amazing sugar cookies, they are a fav

bearmomma1

@optimistgardener nooo sorry for the painful surgery
@gingermama29 I hope the distractions work! I need to find some good ones as well.
@mambo5-2 I hope H’s surgery is uneventful!

Diagnosis (if you've been): retired ovaries, LPD

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): TI for now, while we wait for possible IVF with DE

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): nothing special. Haven’t started spotting yet. Last 2 cycles I started on CD 2 so I started progesterone. Before I ever started progesterone I’d start spotting on cd 6 or 7. So every bathroom break is like an experiment. Will there be spotting or not? As soon as a I see any, I’ll start progesterone, unless it’s toward the end of my LP, then I’ll take a PG test first to see if it’s even worth it. 

How are things going?: eh. I’m having trouble finding the joy in the holiday season. I think I’m slightly depressed so everything seems like a major effort to do. I feel like I’m running out of time to get things done but I’m also like meh, whatever. I can’t even imagine putting any presents under the tree since the cats and dog will destroy them. 

Any questions?: nope

GTKY: What is the best Holiday Dessert?  Bonus points for recipes My mom always got me those almond Roca in my stocking, so I’ve equated them being holiday candy. I’d rather eat those than cookies or pie. 

mambo5-2

@bearmomma1 hugs my love. I said dessert for a reason, if you want candy you eat the candy. Candy is joy!

anniemarie887

gah @optimistgardener i'm so sorry! did you take some advil beforehand? i double up, i figure if they can rx 800mg i can surely take that equivalent on my own. i'm sorry it hurt, i always had so much anticipatory anxiety going into mine. i hope you don't have to repeat it!!!
@gingermama29 i'm so sorry about your MIL, i hope the surgery goes smoothly for her and a quick recovery.
@mambo5-2 i hope your H's surgery is also smooth and a swift recovery!!
@bearmomma1 i felt like i was in a funk at the start of the month, i hope it passes for you. big hug.

Diagnosis (if you've been): uncooperative uterus/RPL

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): well, hello cd1. my rational brain isn't surprised, but my emotional heart was of course hoping for something different. this month officially makes 25 months of trying. i've got a massage Thursday (edit to fix day), and acupuncture Friday - glad to have some self care this week. 

How are things going?: kind of answered that above. i stopped progesterone yesterday and AF showed up today, so also weirdly happy that if i'm not ku my body isnt sitting in limbo at least. 

Any questions?: natm. 

GTKY: What is the best Holiday Dessert?  Bonus points for recipes snowball cookies! 

recipe in spoiler:

YIELD: 4 DOZEN

Almond Lime Snowball Cookies

These almond lime snowball cookies will delight your friends and family!

PREP TIME20 minutes

COOK TIME20 minutes

TOTAL TIME40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups salted butter (4 sticks), softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sliced almonds, chopped
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 limes, zested and juiced
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Add all the ingredients (including the lime zest/juice) EXCEPT the powdered sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until a soft dough forms.
3. Form the dough into 1" balls and drop them into the slots of a mini muffin tin. (Placing them on a baking sheet works fine too, if you don't have a mini muffin tin.)
4. Bake the almond lime snowball cookies for 18-22 minutes, or until they are lightly golden on top. Remove the pans from the oven, and let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes before you try and take them out.
5. Coat each almond lime snowball cookie in powdered sugar, and then set them on a baking rack to cool completely. Coat them one last time in powdered sugar.

optimistgardener

thanks for the sympathies, all!

@gingermama29 thank goodness for distractions. best of luck to you in the TWW. also, sorry to hear about your MIL! i hope her surgery is uneventful and recovery smooth.

@mambo5-2 i hope that by now you've gotten positive news and YH is recovering from his surgery.

@bearmomma1 i think you can count no spotting yet as good news!

@anniemarie887 that recipe looks delicious.

AFM, sorry for the cry for sympathy this morning, i just was having a crampy self-pitying moment in the clinic parking lot. i know you all know how that goes.

Diagnosis (if you've been): elderly ovary with bad eggs

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): about to start FET prep, assuming tests come back clear

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): soon to be treatment

How are things going?: ok! i went in this morning for a hysteroscopy but talked my RE into doing an endometrial biopsy while he was already in there. for this reason, i didn't have a chance to take prophylactic ibuprofen, which i think is why he was super-duper worried about how painful it might be (and indeed it was). but he said the hysteroscopy looks really good, no signs at all of anything to worry about. they're also going to add dexamethasone to my protocol to try to dampen my immune response.

Any questions?: not at present.

GTKY: What is the best Holiday Dessert?  Bonus points for recipes

ooh jeez. i love the gingerbread man recipe from the old Joy of Cooking, but like quadruple all the spices and add a twist of black pepper plus finely diced fresh ginger, and then decorate extravagantly with lemon icing. my family have been doing this every year since i was tiny.

gingermama29

@mambo5-2 I hope everything went well with YH’s surgery.

@bearmomma1 I’m sorry you’re feeling in a funk. I hope it passes soon. 

@anniemarie887 ugh sorry AF showed up. Glad you’ve got some self care planned for this week. 

@optimistgardener sorry it was so painful but I’m glad you were able to get it done and everything looks good! Yay for FET prep starting soon!

mambo5-2

@anniemarie887 it's a weird double edged sword when periods happen like "normal" but we aren't pregnant. Definitely better than limbo. 

@optimistgardener I have never had a super good gingerbread man. My family wasn't gingerbread people. 

gingermama29

Forgot to add my gingerbread recipe earlier!

anniemarie887

I must confess… I don’t think I’ve ever tried to make gingerbread myself. But I am loving @optimistgardener comment about lemon icing with it. That sounds like a delish combo. 

optimistgardener

@mambo5-2 and @anniemarie887 our family loves both gingerbread and gingerbread cookies (we're suckers for spice, i guess). the best gingerbread is a rich, dark, moist, molassesy thing, sometimes cooked with a bit of coffee in the recipe or (a personal fave of mine) with some pomegranate syrup in place of a part of the molasses. it can be topped with a lemon/sugar drizzle or something more substantial like a cream cheese frosting. i like to chop some fruit and layer the bottom of the pan before pouring the batter across the top--apple or pear does the trick nicely, making for an almost caramelized base, but i could imagine other fruits (persimmon?) playing the role as well.

gingerbread cookies should, by contrast, be thin, crispy, and super spicy. we used to make ours and then drill holes in them to hang them from the tree. time spent on the tree did not seem to injure their flavor or texture, which i guess speaks to the hard-tack like qualities you're aiming for. photos of a few from a past year in spoiler. we don't really do "proper" christmas aesthetic but you get the drift.

anniemarie887

@optimistgardener all of this sounds delish. while i won't say no to a classic choc chip cookie, i def like cookies out in a little bit of left field. those snowball cookies can also be made with pecans and skip the lime. which is how my grandmother preferred them. i should add, these are my favorite choc chip, they are shortbread based which is controversial in the choc chip cookie world (aka MH hates them, lol)

Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies Recipe - NYT Cooking (nytimes.com)

mambo5-2

@optimistgardener I see you have deep feelings about gingerbread! Teach me more oh wise one!

mambo5-2

H's surgery revealed A LOT of scar tissue. The urologist thinks I should be able to conceive naturally again, we shall see in a few weeks if we have good swimmers.  

gingermama29

@mambo5-2 such great news!! FX for good swimmers!

bearmomma1

@mambo5-2 horray! I hope his recovery is smooth.

@optimistgardener I'm glad everything looked good! even though it was painful..

@anniemarie887 Sorry for CD1, I think having some self care lined up this week is a great idea.

AFM, I just noticed a tiny twinge of pink when I wiped. I'm at CD 8, so now I'm deciding between starting progestone and not testing until Sunday? Or taking a PG test to see if it's worth it to start progesterone? argg.

optimistgardener

negative for endometritis, yay.

mambo5-2

Good news @optimistgardener!!

anniemarie887

@optimistgardener great news!!