IF Testing & Treatment w/o Sep 18

maggiemadeit

**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 your all-time favorite movie or book?

charmedlifex3

Diagnosis (if you've been): repeat pregnancy loss, blocked left tube. 

Status (TI/ICI/IUI/IVF/FET/benched): benched for the next three months after treatment for ectopic. 

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): we are going to take this enforced break to do some more testing, including a new HSG. It’s been a couple years since I did it so the doctor thinks it’s worth doing again. 

How are things going?: a little better. 

A very traumatic week last week but I made it through in one piece which was in serious doubt. I’m still bleeding and clotting badly but pain is a lot less and it’s much less than it was. 

Just trying to hold gratitude we get to try against but I’m just SO angry this is so hard. 

Any questions?:

GTKY: What is your all-time favorite movie or book? Jane Eyre! I’ve read it so many times! 

britters314

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained

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

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

How are things going?: Well I’ve been having some weird stuff going on the past few days. *TW possible CP mentioned*

I’ll spare you all the details, but I’ve been having some bleeding that’s not at all like a normal period. I talked to someone I know who used to work for an OBGYN and she said it sounded consistent with a CP. I did not get a BFP, but the test I took may not have been sensitive enough. I did get 18 days of high temps, which TCOYF says almost always means pregnancy. So idk for sure, but if it was a CP then that at least means acupuncture is helping.

It’s also possible all the weirdness is just a side effect of the herbs I’m taking (albeit not a side effect most women have). Either way, the treatment is doing something at least, which makes me hopeful.

Any questions?: Nope

GTKY: What is your all-time favorite movie or book? I don’t have one favorite book, but usually in answer to this question I say The Winds of War by Herman Wouk. Some of my other top choices, though, are Ella Enchanted, As the Crow Flies, and Anne of Green Gables

maggiemadeit

@charmedlifex3 I'm glad to hear that things are getting a little better. I like your plan to use this mandatory time off to do some more testing. And FWIW, you have every right to be angry. This really sucks and is completely unfair. Yes, you made it home with all of your parts (which is amazing), but it's still super shitty that you had to go through this. Here for you

maggiemadeit

Diagnosis (if you've been): DOR, RPL

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

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): 5mg letrozole CD3-7, then progesterone after O

How are things going?: They are going fine now, but oh man, letrozole really gave me a run for my money this cycle. I didn't have so many side effects last time, but this time was tough. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat (so sick to my stomach), my internal thermometer crashed entirely, as did any semblance of my emotional control. My poor husband lol. I went from picking fights with him to crying on the kitchen floor so fast it would make your head spin. Of course I'm hoping this will be the last time for letrozole.... (please universe?)

Any questions?: NATM

GTKY: What is your all-time favorite movie or book? The Sun Also Rises, Memoirs of Geisha, and the Water Dancer are my top 3 books, but I can't choose just 1 favorite! 

winterecho

Diagnosis (if you've been): PCOS 

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

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): AF is here so I'm starting Letrozole at 7.5 dose CD3-7 then monitoring to see how many more days if I need to keep taking it

How are things going?: I really hope I don't need to take Letrozole for 15 days like last month. The side effects on my stomach were awful (anything I take on general seems to hit my stomach the worse). Aside from that, I'm excited for a girls trip I'm taking on the weekend. 

Any questions?: no

GTKY: What is your all-time favorite movie or book? My go-to recommendation is When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. It blew me away the first time I read it and I love dystopian novels!

winterecho

@charmedlifex3 good idea on taking some time to run some updated tests! 

@maggiemadeit I've got Memoirs of a Geisha in my bookshelf (borrowed from a friend) but I haven't gotten to it! I'll see if I can get to it this year

aisleofviewtwo

Diagnosis (if you've been): TBD

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

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Did bloodwork (infertility testing + genetic screening) and baseline ultrasound today, saline sonogram will be on Friday, then another meeting with the RE once all the results are in. Hopefully answers are coming soon!

How are things going?: Fine? I didn’t love my RE at our initial consultation, but she’s one of very, very few options considered in-network by my insurance, so here we are. 🤷‍♀️ I’m grateful we’ve got coverage, and telling myself she’ll grow on me.

Any questions?: 

GTKY: What is your all-time favorite movie or book? Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. I return to it every few years and fall in love with her writing all over again.

charmedlifex3

@winterecho @maggiemadeit I tolerated clomid much better.  The side effects of Letrozole were brutal for me for whatever reason. The doctor assured me it “should” be the reverse, but everyone is different! I hope it goes quickly and successfully for you. The doctors said they stopped using clomid because of side effects I was like … yeah no. 

@aisleofviewtwo infertility coverage is brutal. We have to “demonstrate” a need every time they want to try a new treatment. We had to do “post pre approval” for a treatment related to a loss (read emergency) - I was like those words don’t  even make sense. Fingers crossed your journey with this provider is short and successful. 

@britters314 I’m so sorry for the disappointment and confusion. 

I had a chemical in 2018 (tested faintly positive then started bleeding that night, and my tests faded. 

It’s such a rollercoaster of emotions. Give yourself space to mourn the “might have been” - I kept telling myself I didn’t have a right to feelings about it since it was over so quickly and that wasn’t healthy. 

Adding for myself- 

My husband is pushing me to consider adoption. I don’t think I’m there yet but he’s really struggling with nearly losing me last week. We both agree we want another child but are disagreeing on how to get there from here. 

Also- considering embryo adoption as a compromise. The doctor thinks most of the losses are related to our ages, and genetic abnormalities. All adopted embryos are tested, and it would save us the heartbreak of each stage of IVF failing and save me some medical procedures. 

Have any of you looked into either? I don’t know that I’m ready to give up on a biological child for us, that I give birth to- but I think my husband is. Obviously his views/ concerns have weight. 

winterecho

@charmedlifex3 it's crazy how different it is for everyone! I don't think I ever had any noticeable side effects with clomid 

It's a lot of tough decisions to make with your husband. In the past I've told mine I'm open to adoption but he really wants biological children so he says we could try surrogacy if our TTC journey heads in that direction 

britters314

@charmedlifex3 We have adopted from foster care and looked into domestic and international adoption. Foster care has the most need and the lowest wait, but if you want to adopt without fostering first, it’ll most likely be a school-aged child. If you want to adopt a baby, domestic adoption is your best bet, however there isn’t a lot of need for it anymore. Some agencies aren’t even taking on new adoptive families since they don’t have a lot of birth families choosing adoption anymore. I’ve also looked into international adoption and we considered it for a bit, but then I’ve been reading that there are still some unethical practices going on in some countries, so make sure you do your research if you choose that option. We’ve decided not to do any of those this time around and if the acupuncture treatment doesn’t end up working for us, we are also considering embryo adoption! Does your RE’s office do donor embryos or would you have to go through an organization to get them?