Newbie Intro

mrschandradennis · May 2013

Hello All!

I'm not sure if I'm in the right place or not...I have been looking around the last week or so and figured I would finally post something. So first of let me start by saying don't kill me if I'm posting this in the wrong board. Second I have no idea how to change my signature and third I'm still trying to get use to the abbreviations.

So, my husband and I have been TTC since 2010. In 2010 we tried clomid (if I remember right 50mg) and had severe overstimulation that landed me in and out of the ER. My ovaries grew to the size of cantaloupes and cut off my bladder causing me to have a catheter put in. I finally ended up having surgery to dissolve the cysts. Needless to say never again will I try clomid. That was when I was diagnosed with PCOS. Skip ahead to 2011 and we tried something else that did absolutely nothing. Not ovulation or any type of development. Skip ahead to last month. I started my first round of follistim 50mg which developed an egg! WooHoo! I used a trigger shot this past Saturday and am now in the waiting 2WW.

So I have a couple questions:

How closely do you track all of the treatments/medicines you have tried? Is this something I need to be very diligent about?

How do you pass the 2WW and how do you cope after if you get a negative result? I?m trying not to get my hopes up in case the outcome is negative but it?s all I can think about.

Thanks All! And I look forward to getting some great advice.

Chandra

P.S.

Any advice you can give me about navigating around the forum would be appreciated.

Meemeelee · May 2013

Hello, and welcome! Sorry you're going through this. There is a FAQ at the top of the TTTC page, check that out for more info on the page.

Your story is exactly why I've been to scared to try Clomid. I'm still in the testing phase, but I can tell you from my experience that you are your own best advocate and doctors are NOT always right (as you have already experienced). Be diligent about everything, research everything, track everything you can.

How to pass the 2WW? If anyone figures that out, let me know too haha.

monimu13 · May 2013

Hi there, and welcome to the board! Good luck with your first cycle on follistim! You will never go wrong if you know exactly what treatments you are on and be your own advocate. As for the 2WW, I took up photography as a hobby about 14 months ago, it keeps me busy with something to keep my mind off everything.

To change your sig!: go to my bump>edit avatar and Sig> then scroll to the bottom and make your changes. You then will probably have to hit save about 20 times (not kidding). You can then open an old post (like this one) and see if it updated. If not, go back and hit save a couple more times.

sueann911 · May 2013

Welcome! I'm so sorry you have to be here. Your story with Clomid is why we warn against unmonitored cycles and to newbs who take it like candy. I actually just linked to an ignorant twit on TTGP who thinks it's OK to trust her doctor, not an RE, with being unmonitored. I hope you don't mind.

I keep track of my stuff very diligently with a notebook as well as my blog, though not in as much detail on there. I had some issues with insurance coverage for my Lap and I learned then to write down EVERYTHING. I also keep all of my receipts and records so that I can refer to them at any time. I love my RE but throughout this, I've learned not to completely trust doctors.

I'm glad you got some response this cycle and are in the 2ww.

Like a PP said if someone figures out how to deal with the 2ww better let me know. Lol I usually get several books, immerse myself in house projects and just try any way possible to keep my mind off of it. Obviously, that doesn't always work, but it does help some.

Welcome and good luck. Feel free to jump in and participate. This board is a great resource to each other.

katib77 · May 2013

Hello & Welcome!

As for how closely I track each treatment cycle...I try to blog about everything so I can always go back and look. I like to be able to see "What was my AFC last time?" or "How many days did I stim?" especially since I've had to take long breaks in between cycles. My husband thinks it makes me a little more obsessive and crazy, but I'm a numbers girl so I really like to just have the facts laid out.

How do I cope in the 2ww? I try to make a list a little things I can do: clean out the closet. Vacuum out my car, etc. yet I know that while it helps to stay busy and not be searching doctor google like mad - that I still end up thinking about it all day every day. But at least my house gets more organized! And what to do if it's negative? Give yourself some time to wallow in the grief, but not too much. I usually drink that weekend that I find out. And forget about eating right. I'll let myself eat whatever the hell I want for a few days. And of course let yourself cry if you feel like it. Then just accept that I need to get back to life.

As for navigating the board...aside from the FAQ that you were already directed to...just time. It takes time to get the full swing of things. But jump in, post support, ask questions, etc. Oh, and there is a bump glossary far down on the left hand side if you wonder about acronyms.

mrschandradennis · May 2013

Thanks so much for the posts. It's so comforting knowing that everybody else has trouble with the 2WW. I'm trying to stay off Google but this baby fever I have is taking over!

A lot of you are posting about blogs. Our infertility troubles are not something that we normally go around telling people. My parents know and that's about it. Do most of you freely tell people? I could see that this would be liberating but I'm not sure if that is what I want to do.

If I'm keeping track of my records should I be writing down my hormone levels and ultrasound results or is that going too far? Or just stick with medicine levels and results.

katib77 · May 2013

mrschandradennis:
Thanks so much for the posts. It's so comforting knowing that everybody else has trouble with the 2WW. I'm trying to stay off Google but this baby fever I have is taking over!
A lot of you are posting about blogs. Our infertility troubles are not something that we normally go around telling people. My parents know and that's about it. Do most of you freely tell people? I could see that this would be liberating but I'm not sure if that is what I want to do.
If I'm keeping track of my records should I be writing down my hormone levels and ultrasound results or is that going too far? Or just stick with medicine levels and results.

You can have a blog that is private, only you see it. My blog was private the first six months or so. And even now when I am open about everything IF with anyone, my blog is still only for the IF community. I've never shared it with my family. Even my husband knows I have it but has never asked and I've never shared it with him.

You can click on the link in my siggy and go to January of this year to see what types of things I keep track of. I don't do it as a list, but as free form writing. But yet I always mention the size of follies, meds, AFC, P4, post wash etc.I don't write down my hormone levels aside from P4 because, well it's not part of my diagnosis so it's different for everyone based on what they feel is important.

RunCC37 · May 2013

Welcome & good luck! There's a lot of great advice from the PP above. I keep a log to document the medical side of things (like appointments with the RE, medications, dosage, etc). I just started a blog to help clear my mind of the emotional side of things. I've found it to be therapeutic and fun

As far as the 2WW goes, distraction is my way too. It doesn't work 100%, but it helps a lot. I'm also trying to turn my attitude around to focus on the positive.

ttuprincess · May 2013

Welcome! The ladies in the previous posts have given some great advice. As for the 2WW, I took up knitting a while back to help me through my Lupron treatments and it has given me something to take my mind off of things. It gives me a project to focus on.

Good luck to you!

Meemeelee · May 2013

sueann911:
I actually just linked to an ignorant twit on TTGP who thinks it's OK to trust her doctor, not an RE, with being unmonitored. I hope you don't mind.

I was SO tempted to do this... I'm glad someone did. The timing was perfect, "oh hey, you don't want to believe us? Check out this story about exactly what we are trying to save you from." The only reason why I held off was because I was pissed- I was pretty flucking nice to the girl and she never even acknowledged it, she just called us all fat and peaced out.

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