I'm starting this up a bit early because I may not get to log in till late tomorrow. I Hope you ladies are well and I'm rooting of all of you!
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, and treat this like an ongoing conversation.
Diagnosis (If you've been):
Cycle/CD:
Status (WTO/TWW/TTA):
What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?)
How are things going?
Any questions?
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials?
*TW*
TTC 1/2012
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
Re: IF/Testing Check-in Week Jan 30
Hi. I'm new here. I've been reading this thread every single week for a few months now, and I've learned a lot from you ladies both in terms of content and about advocating for myself. We saw an RE in January and we are embarking on our testing cycle now. I hope I can be half as useful and supportive to you ladies as you have already been to me as I lurked.
Cycle/CD: Cycle 10/CD3
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? I enjoy watching football so I guess both.
also I've never heard of the post coital test but would be interested to hear if anyone here has done it.
Cycle/CD: cd20 ish
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? Commercials unless my team is playing.
Cycle/CD: 10
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? Neither I usually don't watch at all
@adirat we've never done the post coital test, but I briefly looked it up since I noticed my insurance covers it when finding out what IF stuff they cover and from what I read it's kind of one of those things they don't do very much because it may not be accurate in place of a semen analysis. However, I have been interested in getting it done even though DH got an SA done just for my benefit to know that I'm not killing off his swimmers.
Cycle/CD: 14/22
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? Commercials for sure! And to know if I win any money off my squares
@businesswife @kaitlink33 Thanks for weighing in. My thought is that if there is an immune component killing the sperm, there will be no point to IUIs, so why waste time and money? (In the interest of full disclosure I did not think of this on my own -- this is what the book said and I agreed with it.) But if my RE typically only does them for another reason, I'm not sure if that means (a) this isn't standard or (b) he may not know what to look for? I guess I'll revisit this question after we get our other results back.
Cycle/CD: 11/ 6
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? Eh. The commercials and halftime I guess. I don't really care about football but I live in Boston so everyone is pumped for the game - except H who is a Giants fan. I am hoping we stay local or host something at our house because I will have to do stims mid-game.
2017 - egg retrieval #1 - 3 eggs, 0 embryos appropriate for transfer; ER #2 2 eggs, 0 embryos on day 3; ER #3 1 egg 0 embryos
moved to donor egg in summer 2017; 35 eggs retrieved; 19 fertilized; 9 total embryos
Fresh transfer Dec 2017= BFP! baby boy born 8/22/18
May 2019 - surprise natural pregnancy ended in MC
Nov 2019 FET; MC at 9 weeks
May 2020 FET; BFN
July 2020 FET; CP treated with methotrexate
Oct 2020 BFP!
Take a look at my blog
Cycle/CD: 13 mo/12 cycles/ CD 15
Can't decide whether to test out my trigger. I took .5 ML of the Ovidrel on Friday night. Instructions from the RE was to wait two weeks and take a test which isn't really helpful. My LP is typically 13-14 days. I'm really scared of a false positive.
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? If it's a team I can get behind I'll watch for both. But let's be real. I'm really there for the snacks haha!
@laurad75 so excited for your first IVF cycle!!
@LadyMillil I know it's been a long time coming and I'm so happy your appt is right around the corner.
@adirat that was one test I haven't had but I have to admit that with a diag of unexplained I wish it was available to me. What is a mini IVF round btw? Sorry if I missed that.
Diagnosis (If you've been): ovulatory dysfunction & mild mfi (low morph)
Cycle/CD: Day 9 of stims
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? I have no interest in football. I don't think I've ever watched an entire football game including the super bowl. I will be happily watching law & order or criminal minds by myself on Sunday.
Married May 2014
TTC # 2 Since December 2021
Baby girl W born 2/2021
Our journey so far...
(tw loss & infertility)
Working with an RE since March 2016
2 failed TI cycles
3 failed IUI cycles
IVF Feb - April 2017
23 eggs collected, 20 mature, 14 fertilized with ICSI, 4 day 3 blasts, 3 day 5 blasts, 1 PGS normal
Transferred 1 PGS normal embryo 4.12.17
BFP 4.21.17
MMC due to small gestational sac 6.8.17
Our adoption journey:
12.25.18 Agency picked and apps submitted!
5.1.19 Adoption on hold so we can buy a house!
1.1.20 Homestudy process started
3.14.20 First social worker visit
5.25.20 Homestudy Approved & Submitted to Agency
6.1.20 Surprise! Positive pregnancy test!
Healthy baby girl born 2/10/2021
PCOS
2nd with RE day 5
clomid 50mg, trigger shot
Well on day 2 I went in for my ultrasound and they found a cyst. Just a tiny one. She said it was nothing to be worried about and that it should go away. So hopefully on the 2nd when I got back things aren't worse. Other than that not too bad. She said things were good last month so she wants to stick with clomid 50mg and since she decided against the shot last month she wants to add it this time.
I've never liked football and would never even watch the super bowl, but since I got married I watch football everything.
@heatherdubrow Oh I'm so excited for you for this cycle! At least your having hot flashes when it's winter time?
@saralee797 Glad to see you posting!
@laurad75 I'm going to go read your story on the IF board after I post! The meds thing really scares me about all this stuff... but somehow reading how people got through it, no matter how hard it was, really helps.
Diagnosis (If you've been): PCOS looking more and more likely...
Cycle/CD: 8/7
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials?
This year, the commercials. I am so over the Patriots.
2017 - egg retrieval #1 - 3 eggs, 0 embryos appropriate for transfer; ER #2 2 eggs, 0 embryos on day 3; ER #3 1 egg 0 embryos
moved to donor egg in summer 2017; 35 eggs retrieved; 19 fertilized; 9 total embryos
Fresh transfer Dec 2017= BFP! baby boy born 8/22/18
May 2019 - surprise natural pregnancy ended in MC
Nov 2019 FET; MC at 9 weeks
May 2020 FET; BFN
July 2020 FET; CP treated with methotrexate
Oct 2020 BFP!
Take a look at my blog
@Saralee797 omg the hot flashes!
@tamalahoops Thanks for the welcome! Good luck with your IVF!
@hartmich that does seem like a lot. I've had 17 and 15 before. Hope you get some answers soon!
Cycle/CD: 20/12
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? Sometimes I'll watch the commercials. There are few sports I dislike more than football.
Cycle/CD: 10/5
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? the commercials!
@adirat welcome! Neither of my RE's recommended that testing, so my guess is its not super common and saved for if things aren't working.
@heatherdubrow fx so hard its all worth it
@kaitlink33 GL on Wednesday
@leekat14 fx your timing was good!
@laurad75 I did read your post the other day. I'm sorry the first day was a bit of a cluster. I hope the rest goes well and you stim nicely.
@Saralee797 welcome! My last RE wanted me to POAS at 16dpIUI but I could never wait that long and would always test at 14dpIUI. I never had a false + testing at that point, and never tested out my trigger. I know some ladies (@mrsdaddario) had their trigger in their system until 12dpIUI... I am thinking about testing out my trigger but mostly because I bought a new pack of wondfos. I have heard you can use the OPK's as a make shift pregnancy test but I don't know how reliable it is... GL
@tamalahoops ugg I hate having to deal with specialty pharmacies... I'm glad your RE was able to give you some to tide you over
@hartmich that does seem like a lot of eggs... I think they told me that they wanted to see at least 10 antral follicles total, I had I think 26. On the written US report they called one of my ovaries good and the other polycystic....
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
Alternatives and science: (that for super long, sorry. Also, full disclosure: it's been several years since I took biochem, so some of my explanations might be a tad off, but this is as I remember it)
Now, if we are talking strictly immune response, there are a few good things to know. 1, semen is part sperm, part trash, and part immune suppressants. Sperm literally suppresses the immune response. There also isn't really a huge immune response anyway. I mean, there is, but during the "right" time, it's slow and not very intense. Once you are post the vagina and into the uterus, it's different, too. The uterus is not even close to as hostile as the vagina. The uterus is made for sperm. It's typically nutritious and helps sperm, actually.
Now, it is possible for your body to cause a larger immune response, but a few things, most of the time, responses are because at some point, semen has passed into the blood, because that's where the response would really start. This could cause a larger immune response and you could react, rendering future ejaculations to be met with a response. It's really important though to know, most of the time you will know if you are having a response. It'll be your typical allergy response. this is really quite rare.
There is such a thing as natural killer cells. but that is also fairly rare. You can ask to have it done, but that's typically down the line after other things are eliminated because it is pretty rare.Also, ANA. that is a blood test you can do instead of a post-coital. It will basically tell you if you have an autoimmune disorder. That has potential to affect fertility, and also leads to RPL. This is typically included on the initial panel of blood tests when you first see an RE.
Diagnoses: RPL, Endometriosis, MFI (count, morph, DNI, DNAS, multiple bilateral subclinical varicoceles), low progesterone
Check out my Infertility blog
Check out my Infertility Instagram
BFP: 15 August 2015, loss confirmed 23 August 2015
BFP: 16 November 2015, loss confirmed 22 November 2015
BFP: 18 July 2016, loss confirmed same day
BFP: 04 March 2018, loss confirmed 23 March 2018
BFP: 12 June 2018, TWINS; D&C 06 July 2018
Met with OBGYN in January 2016
Me: all clear, H: OAT
November 2016: HSG = All Clear!
January 2017: H tested again, High DNA fragmentation and stainability
February 2017: Clomid + TI + Progesterone = BFN
March 2017: Clomid + HCG + IUI + Progesterone = SA/wash: zero count on attempt #1, <1,000 on attempt #2= BFN
Varicocele Embolization- 5 May 17
December 2017 SA: Zero improvement after embolization
January IVF- 25 retrieved, 11 mature, 8 fertilized, 3 frozen day fives (3AA, 3AA, 3AA), 1 frozen day 6 (5BB), 1 frozen day 7 (3CC)
Three PGS normal (3AA, 3AA, 5BB), one inconclusive (3AA)
FET #1: 27 February 2018, 3AA & 5BB, one stuck! BFP 04 March 2018.... Loss confirmed 23 March 2018
May 2018: SHG/SIS = all clear "beautiful uterus"
FET #2: 04 June 2018, 3AA PGS normal embryo, 3AA PGS hatching inconclusive embryo.
BFP: 12 June 2018, EDD 20 February 2019
Ultrasound, 25 June 2018: There are two!
Lost Baby A 02 July 2018
Baby B not growing, D&C 06 July 2018
Laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, chromotubation: 23 July 2018: blocked right tube, heavily inflamed, covered in endo. Removed right tube. Removed more endo from uterus, tubes, ovaries. Endo remains on bladder and bowel.
ER#2 ~Jan 2019
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
sorry for the DD...
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
@LadyMillil I'll be crossing my fingers so hard that the new RE is better for you!
@wabash15, I think I've said it before but I'll say it again, woohoo for the medicated cycle, I hope the first one is the charm!!
@Saralee797 I'm sorry you have to be here, but I'm glad you decided to join in. It's nice to "see" you!
Diagnosis (If you've been): MFI, borderline hypothyroid
Cycle/CD: 14/34
Not so great right now. **TW** My best friend called to give me some news Sat night. She's pregnant with their second. I feel horrible because I know I was not super enthusiastic or supportive to her at all. I don't know why it hit me so hard, I just really felt like my heart dropped out of my chest. Maybe because we used to talk about our kids growing up together and joked about forcing them into an arranged marriage...back when I was still in ignorant bliss about how this was going to be for H and I. I love her to death and am truly happy for her, and she was so, so great about it. She knows about our issues and how long we've been trying and I could tell from her voice how much she wished she didn't have to say it, but I really appreciate that she had enough sympathy, kindness, and respect to do it the way she did. It just really, really hit me, more so than the random announcements in Facebook. **/TW**
I'm not even excited to be at the TWW, it just feels like more wasted time. At least we're moving forward now.
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials?
Mainly the commercials. I lose all interest in football after the fantasy football season ends and I have no reason to be competitively interested anymore.
Cycle/CD: Cycle 31, CD12
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? I watch it for the food, let's be real.
Diagnoses: RPL, Endometriosis, MFI (count, morph, DNI, DNAS, multiple bilateral subclinical varicoceles), low progesterone
Check out my Infertility blog
Check out my Infertility Instagram
BFP: 15 August 2015, loss confirmed 23 August 2015
BFP: 16 November 2015, loss confirmed 22 November 2015
BFP: 18 July 2016, loss confirmed same day
BFP: 04 March 2018, loss confirmed 23 March 2018
BFP: 12 June 2018, TWINS; D&C 06 July 2018
Met with OBGYN in January 2016
Me: all clear, H: OAT
November 2016: HSG = All Clear!
January 2017: H tested again, High DNA fragmentation and stainability
February 2017: Clomid + TI + Progesterone = BFN
March 2017: Clomid + HCG + IUI + Progesterone = SA/wash: zero count on attempt #1, <1,000 on attempt #2= BFN
Varicocele Embolization- 5 May 17
December 2017 SA: Zero improvement after embolization
January IVF- 25 retrieved, 11 mature, 8 fertilized, 3 frozen day fives (3AA, 3AA, 3AA), 1 frozen day 6 (5BB), 1 frozen day 7 (3CC)
Three PGS normal (3AA, 3AA, 5BB), one inconclusive (3AA)
FET #1: 27 February 2018, 3AA & 5BB, one stuck! BFP 04 March 2018.... Loss confirmed 23 March 2018
May 2018: SHG/SIS = all clear "beautiful uterus"
FET #2: 04 June 2018, 3AA PGS normal embryo, 3AA PGS hatching inconclusive embryo.
BFP: 12 June 2018, EDD 20 February 2019
Ultrasound, 25 June 2018: There are two!
Lost Baby A 02 July 2018
Baby B not growing, D&C 06 July 2018
Laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, chromotubation: 23 July 2018: blocked right tube, heavily inflamed, covered in endo. Removed right tube. Removed more endo from uterus, tubes, ovaries. Endo remains on bladder and bowel.
ER#2 ~Jan 2019
Diagnoses: RPL, Endometriosis, MFI (count, morph, DNI, DNAS, multiple bilateral subclinical varicoceles), low progesterone
Check out my Infertility blog
Check out my Infertility Instagram
BFP: 15 August 2015, loss confirmed 23 August 2015
BFP: 16 November 2015, loss confirmed 22 November 2015
BFP: 18 July 2016, loss confirmed same day
BFP: 04 March 2018, loss confirmed 23 March 2018
BFP: 12 June 2018, TWINS; D&C 06 July 2018
Met with OBGYN in January 2016
Me: all clear, H: OAT
November 2016: HSG = All Clear!
January 2017: H tested again, High DNA fragmentation and stainability
February 2017: Clomid + TI + Progesterone = BFN
March 2017: Clomid + HCG + IUI + Progesterone = SA/wash: zero count on attempt #1, <1,000 on attempt #2= BFN
Varicocele Embolization- 5 May 17
December 2017 SA: Zero improvement after embolization
January IVF- 25 retrieved, 11 mature, 8 fertilized, 3 frozen day fives (3AA, 3AA, 3AA), 1 frozen day 6 (5BB), 1 frozen day 7 (3CC)
Three PGS normal (3AA, 3AA, 5BB), one inconclusive (3AA)
FET #1: 27 February 2018, 3AA & 5BB, one stuck! BFP 04 March 2018.... Loss confirmed 23 March 2018
May 2018: SHG/SIS = all clear "beautiful uterus"
FET #2: 04 June 2018, 3AA PGS normal embryo, 3AA PGS hatching inconclusive embryo.
BFP: 12 June 2018, EDD 20 February 2019
Ultrasound, 25 June 2018: There are two!
Lost Baby A 02 July 2018
Baby B not growing, D&C 06 July 2018
Laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, chromotubation: 23 July 2018: blocked right tube, heavily inflamed, covered in endo. Removed right tube. Removed more endo from uterus, tubes, ovaries. Endo remains on bladder and bowel.
ER#2 ~Jan 2019
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
Diagnosis (If you've been): PCOS, MFI (though I'd like to do follow up testing to get more info/confirm this)
Cycle/CD: Cycle 14 (not counting my time benched)/ CD 56
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? Definitely the commercials. And the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet because...well, puppies.
@LadyMillil So happy to see your RE appointment has finally come. FX that it goes well.
@Saralee797 I'm glad to see other familiar users come out of lurking. I'm sorry that you find yourself here, though. I had terrible hot flashes when I took Clomid last summer, so I feel your pain. I hope your first IUI proves to be successful!
@hartmich Ugh, the amount of bloodwork I had to do (often at once) was intimidating when we first started testing. Good luck with your results...I agree with @heatherdubrow that the high follicle count could be indicative of PCOS, like you suspected.
@zwink1 I'm sorry you are having a rough time with your friend's news. I've been in a similar position and it hit me like a ton of bricks, which surprised me. It's totally possible to be happy for someone else but at the same time sad for yourself, and I don't think it's something to be remotely ashamed about. GL with your DH's SA this week.
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
@magnolia131 welcome back, it's nice to see you again! I'm glad things are working out and you and your H are able to finally be together!
Cycle/CD: 21/9
GTKY: Do you watch the Super Bowl for the game or the commercials? Both!
Married May 2014
TTC #1: May 2015
September 2016-December 2016: Met with RE, fertility testing, diagnosis of tubal scarring, and plan of IVF
*TW in spoiler boxes*
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17