If Testing & Treatment w/o 8/13

zamoraspin · August 2018

@suzycupcake Good luck today with the new dr. Let us know how it goes.

@nitnat007 I'm glad you're tubes were open. Good luck this cycle.

@kristokekerooni Thanks for the tips! I ordered those ice packs. That is incredibly frustrating that your dr did not even seem to remember your history. This is a pet peeve of my mine with drs - not looking at charts. It doesn't instill a lot of confidence. I hear the same things about loss - that for some of us it's a numbers game, which is terrible and unhelpful. I hope you're able to find a dr who listens and can help. That's kind of cool about Dr. Braverman being in the FB group. Those tests are definitely pricey though. You have done some immune suppression stuff already, right?

@purplg8er I'm sorry for the confusion with the OPK and Provera. I hope AF will come quick for you so you can move on to your transfer cycle.

@rallykat14 I wish I could give you a hug. I'm sorry for the bad timing of that announcement. I think all you can do is take it one day at a time with this cycle. Is there anything you can look forward to or distract yourself with?

AFM My IVF nurse finally emailed me Monday night and called me late afternoon yesterday. I'm scheduled for my consent appt, remaining bw, and mock transfer next Thursday. My nurse told me it was "the only available appt", which is really annoying because she was supposed to be finding this appt for us for weeks now, and DH can't make it. He's not technically needed at the appt but he will have to pre-sign the consents and won't be there to ask questions. I am planning to say something to my RE about me not really jiving with my nurse. I'm never sure if it's because I'm a low priority since we're just waiting, or whether this nurse doesn't have good time management skills. She also told me that the Sept. 7 start date is still subject to change based on when I get AF - if it's around 9/1 they'll put me on BCP for a week and then take me off around the 9th for the Sept. 14 start date, but if AF holds off until 9/4 or 9/5 I'll just be able to start on 9/7.

rallykat14 · August 2018

Thanks @lulu1180

lulu1180 · August 2018

A little inspirational meme for anyone struggling today

beachbunnyxo123 · August 2018

@emmasemm that’s great news!!! Congrats!!

@suzycupcake I got married in the fall and I just love the weather and the spells and pumpkin everything cause I’m basic AF. Haha. GL with your apt today!

@rallykat14 ugh, sending you all the hugs. I’m sorry you’re feeling completely wiped out. I know you’ve been through so much with all this and can imagine how exhausted you must feel. I’m really hoping this cycle is it for you and will
make all the trials and tribulations worth it

@nitnat007 glad your hcg was all clear!

@purplg8r hopefully AF comes soon! I’m right there with you waiting on it! I’ve been getting so impatient I hate it!

@KristoKekerooni WTAF. I’m irritated at your doctor for you. Everything that you’ve had going on and that’s all he had to say? I hate the whole “welp sometimes we just don’t know” answer. It’s so frustrating and invalidating but it would’ve been more appropriate if he atleast took the time to read through your chart. Ugh. I hope your move brings you better and more personalized care. I’m waiting for AF and then doing my saline and endo biopsy and then with that next AF starting my transfer cycle. So starting fET meds around mid to end of September

@zamora_spin FINALLY!!!! So glad you got answers. Hoping there’s another nurse that can help you throughout this process though!

@lulu1180 I can’t see your gif!

lulu1180 · August 2018

@beachbunnyxo123 It was there on desktop but I can’t see it now on mobile. Let’s try this again...

thegirlwhowaited_ · August 2018

@purplg8r Thanks

@suzycupcake That's a good idea! That just might be my plans for this weekend/next week. If my appointment goes well tomorrow then I should be starting clomid on Friday.

@KristoKekerooni Wow... I almost don't have words for your doctor... Just the bad ones. But I'm glad at least one doc somewhere wants to help! I hope moving goes quickly and doesn't hinder any appointments/tests.

@rallykat14 Sorry about AF *creepy internet hugs*

I wish I had some advice to help reduce your stress.

@zamora_spin I hope you can get a new nurse. It would seem to me like bad time management, which patients seeing an RE don't have time for.

@lulu1180 I love it!

Avrilmai · August 2018

@rallykat14 I hate that you're feeling this way. It is all so overwhelming. Anxiety can be so difficult to manage sometimes, if you ever need anything I'm here to talk, or to listen if you need to vent.
@KristoKekerooni I'm feeling a lot of anger about your WTF appt, seriously? that is not okay. I think it is great that you got a response, but the cost would be a barrier for a lot of people. Is the move definitely in your future?
@zamora_spin I'm so excited for you to get started and move forward. September will be here before you know it.
@suzycupcake how did your consult go? (or if you haven't' gone yet, GL, let us know)
@Sparty18 have you started meds yet? How are you feeling?
@lulu1180 thanks for sharing
AFM,
work has been super busy and a good distraction I guess. Had a monitoring appt today and definitely had some more growth. Left side had several over 10mm (14, 13, a few at 12 and a few others) and Right side had 3 total with one at 16. At least 2 more days of stims. Go back on Friday for my next monitoring.

nitnat007 · August 2018

@purplg8r Your mom sounds like one amazing lady! What she has done to give back, and been through....just wow!

@suzycupcake I had done a sono last month and they were sure that the right side was open but were unsure of the left. So while I was waiting for my next appointment with the RE to determine our plan, I went if for the HSG to be sure.

@KristoKekerooni That is utter nonsense. I am so frustrated for you. You would think that with all the money that you spend (insurance or not) on these fertility treatments that the doctors would at least give your file a flip through to know the basics before meeting you. It sounds like not even that was done. You deserve so much more/better than that. I am so sorry that you were not given any answers and felt like it was somewhat of a waste of time. I do hope that you are able to work with the Dr Braverman at some point soon though. That is a lot of upfront costs. Would your insurance that you are currently on reimburse you for all of it? Or would some of that be OOP completely?

@rallykat14 I am hoping with everything that you never experience that with an IV again. And that this is your cycle. You have been through the wringer with all of this. Sending you all the good vibes. *hugs*

@lulu1180 Love it!

@zamora_spin I hope that your RE is understanding and that you are able to switch nurses. Having to deal with that throughout the cycle would be hard on the head, and the nerves. GL

@Avrilmai Those are great numbers! Hoping that Friday brings you more good news.

rallykat14 · August 2018

Thanks ladies, I know we all have our battles, decisions and there are many of you that have been through far worse. It's just nice to come and vent to people that get it

@Avrilmai those are some good follies developing! Good luck Friday!

@suzycupcake How was the appointment today?

@zamora_spin yay for somewhat of a plan!!! I really don't have anything planned but trying to keep busy with things

@KristoKekerooni I wish I could say I've gotten better advice but CNY basically tells me the same things. Just try again. They have mixed things up so it's not the same everytime. If I wasn't ready to be done I might look for a new RE but I don't have it in me.

@beachbunnyxo123 Hope AF moved it along for you. @purplg8r I was really hoping for a couple extra days but I should be thankful for a 32 day cycle.

@emmasemm yay for those follies!!!

purplg8r · August 2018

@KristoKekerooni woah! I do NOT like that your dr didn’t look at any papers and almost seemed to give you the brush off. I’d be so pissed!

@rallykat14 I’m sorry you’re struggling with all of this. And seeing announcements just makes it worse. Hugs!

@zamora_spin not sure if you already knew this, but since DH wasn’t able to go to my appt, he either had to go to a notary to sign the consents or make his own appt.

@Avrilmai I’m glad you saw more growth. Grow follies grow!

*eta: I wasn’t done

suzycupcake · August 2018

@lulu1180 I hear you stark white vs cd1 and thank you for the wishes.

@KristoKekerooni Man.... sending you hugs girl. I hope that the immune testing will show something that can be remedied. It's a really good idea to consult with more than one. I pray that one of them is a unicorn

@rallykat14 Hugs to you as well. The anxiety of this is really tough to deal with. If I could send you a package containing peace and calm through the mail and have it transfer to you, I would. Hopefully my words help.

@zamora_spin That's gotta be both incredibly annoying and frustrating. I get that people are really busy, but please be on the ball because it's not like we are going to purchase a new tv. I really hope you do get things squared away with the nurse, if not getting a new one, then at least being able to express your needs to her so she can make changes. Hang in there!

@beachbunnyxo123 Thank you. I love the smells of fall too. Pumpkin yes please. I got a pumpkin candle for my dad last year and lit it next to his bed every day while he had his coffee. I hope af comes for you soon so you can get the ball spinning again.

@thegirlwhowaited_ How did your appointment go?

@Avrilmai Attention to your ovaries: Grow follies grow! I have a question. Is there a lot more u/s monitoring with ivf and it's that they add more stims along the way to get them moving faster for ER?

@nitnat007 Oh that's right. I remember what we talked about now. Glad you pushed for the other test. I can't figure out why they don't just recommend that in the first place. I hope you will be a ss in the meantime

suzycupcake · August 2018

The appointment today went very very good. I just need to process it for a couple more hours before I come share about it.

suzycupcake · August 2018

The short version is that he doesn't think I have pcos and thinks that adhesions from an open stomach ovary surgery I had years ago is what's causing the infertility. The reason he thinks that is because even though I have a lot of antral follicles, elevated dheas, and irregular cycles, I don't fit the typical pcos patient since I don't have weight gain, hair growth issues, or insulin problems. He says that the antral counts are not that high.

The other reason is that I didn't start having alternating cycles until after my surgery, long periods of amenorrhea, painful sex, one regular, one really long with no ovulation and then back to regular again. He thinks the ovary that was operated on must've been damaged and it is a surprise we were able to get pregnant once with iui--that it's highly likely it was an abnormal embryo. He said, "Really it seems like without treatment, you're ovulating maybe once every 3 months!" He does think there is a hormone problem but we didn't really get into that.

He said he could go in laparoscopically to see where adhesions are formed but that it's a waste of time because the only fix is surgery which means they'll come back, we have been trying for so long, and that should end now. He did an ultrasound and everything looked good except there was a fibroid in there. We can bypass the adhesions with ivf so we decided to go straight to ivf. He was immensely straight forward when necessary, calming when necessary, and humorous at the right times.

My instructions were to go in there in 7 days to drop off only lab test results from before because I had sent him 500 pages of records and he wants to see only the lab tests. He will decide from there which tests he wants to repeat and what is missing. He did say that he will most certainly be testing my thyroid again because he won't treat me until that is balanced out, if it isn't already, and was pissed that my previous RE didn't check AMH since it had not been done in 4 years. Then I will reserve the ivf medication, go home, and wait for his instructions.

I will start stims next cycle if my thyroid is in order. The protocol will be follistim and menopur, all subq. That's all I know so far and that he wants to get around 20 eggs and freeze the good ones. He said no to mini ivf and reserves that for women who are older who may only be able to get 4 or 5 eggs. He doesn't ever do fresh transfers with his patients because he believes in allowing a woman's body to calm down and balance before preparing the uterus for transfer. I cannot tell you how happy I was to hear that! When I told him I was concerned about meds because of the cyst experiences I've had with clomid, he said he will not let me get cysts because he will go in and take the eggs out before that happens. I didn't know they could do that.

He looked at me point blank and said, "I cannot make any guarantees. If it doesn't work, we will be able to say that we tried and you'll be able to move forward. I can tell that you have a lot of anxiety from having to fight for yourself for so long. This should've never happened. Do exactly what I tell you to do and let me worry about things because that's what you're paying me to do. I want you to go home, have a drink, and relax. No more charting and temping, no more peeing on sticks, and no more anxiety. I really do care and there is no ego here. I will be here for you every step of the way." I was about in tears at this point. The best part was that my husband left work to be there with me and didn't watch the clock the entire time in a hurry to get back to work. He was very involved in my appointment.

So basically, every fear that I had about ivf, he had an answer for it and calmed me. He has been doing this for over 22 years and has a 60% success rate. I didn't think that I'd ever be able to give up control of this process, but I did today. For once, I did not feel the need to Google anything. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, am hopeful again, and I have you ladies to thank for some of that.

Here we go!

nitnat007 · August 2018

@suzycupcake Wow! Your RE sounds amazing. I am so happy to hear that he was so understanding and tentative during your appointment. He sounds like he has a solid plan for you moving forward. This is how our doctors should be. So good

madspunk · August 2018

@KristoKekerooni Ugh! I'm so sorry you didn't get answers from the RE. That's so incredibly frustrating. When do you move? This is for YH's job and then you'll be looking for a new one, right? That is expensive for testing; I hope YH's new insurance covers it!

@rallykat14 Stupid pregnancy announcements... You've changed so much from being anxious about the trigger shot to being able to do all these IVs. I don't blame you for not feeling like you have it in you to do any more. You have done so much already. I really hope this cycle works out for you, and somehow you're able to keep the stress somewhat low. Here for you for all the venting you may need to do.

@suzycupcake What a blessing your RE is. I know how hard the decision to do IVF can be. Take a deep breath. That's great you are able to move forward.

KristoKekerooni · August 2018

@suzycupcake . WOW. Wow. He sounds AMAZING. I know IVF sucks, but wow, what a plan! What a comfort! I am SO optimistic for you. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that you can start right away and all goes perfectly.

Thanks everyone for all the love. I'm glad it's not just me thinking the docs and the clinic has been less than stellar. I'm so glad to be putting it behind me.

Sparty18 · August 2018

@suzycupcake What an amazing update! I'm so hopeful for you.

@Avrilmai Yes, I took the meds Friday - Tuesday. I really didn't have any side effects other than one night sweat and the obvious higher temps and less CM. Very curious to see if it will really delay my O.

Avrilmai · August 2018

@suzycupcake So glad to hear that you had a good meeting with the RE. I hope you take his advice and allow yourself to let go of even more of that worry/anxiety. (i'm glad you feel a weight has been lifted) It can be very, very hard to let go of control, but did we ever really have control over these situations? To answer your question, yes, there is a lot more monitoring with IVF. They are looking at follicle growth and labs (E2, LH, progesterone) and making recommendations for medications (change this, keep that the same, add this one, etc.) and follow-up appointments. My experience has been going every 2-3 days, and now it is every other day. Some people go daily once they're a few days into stims. But, DO NOT start getting anxious about all of the appointments, there is no point in wasting energy on that worry. It just has to be done. GL to you

thegirlwhowaited_ · August 2018

@suzycupcake That appointment sounds like it went amazingly well! I'm so glad he was compassionate and understanding, yet straight forward.

AFM,
My appointment went well this morning. All is quite in there. No cysts and my one little fibroid I had before is gone. The plan is to start Clomid tomorrow night (CD5) at 100mg through CD10. Another u/s next week on Thursday and that's when she'll decide when to plan the trigger shot and the IUI. I left with a calendar in had of what the next week will be, and a prescription for Clomid 50mg (2/day in evening), Ovidrel 250mcg/250mcg PFS, and Prometrium 100mg. Does anyone know if the Ovidrel comes in a syringe or as a pen?

After the appointment MH and I went to an early lunch and talked about everything. We talked about how many IUI's we plan on doing before we re-evaluate. We agreed on 3-4, basically till Christmas/end of the year. Then we'll have to decide what we want to do from there. Benefits reset and I'll have to reach my deductible again. Which if we do IVF at that point it'll be reached with what we'd have to pay up front out of pocket. But we'd have to take a step back and make sure we have what we need in savings. So not thinking past Christmas, and hopefully we won't have to come back to this discussion. Trying to be practically optimistic, as DH calls it.

Swiftlet · August 2018

@suzycupcake I am THRILLED for such a great appointment with a doc who sounds amazing. Very excited for you!

@thegirlwhowaited_ Good that you and YH have at least a short term plan for things

suzycupcake · August 2018

Thank you ladies!

@thegirlwhowaited_ That sounds like a great plan. You may even be on the saturday trigger monday iui schedule at that rate. I hope you will get a couple of nice and big follies. My experience with clomid was some nutty feels on the 2nd or 3rd day of taking it. Keep that in mind and hold on. Laugh about it a lot and you'll get through this. It does go away really quickly

It's a really good thing that you and your husband communicate like this, keep it up!

meatballs37 · August 2018

@suzycupcake Round of applause for your RE! It’s truly refreshing to hear a medical professional be 110% involved. And good for you for allowing yourself to give up control! That takes a lot of strength! Praying that IVF is your long awaited answer.

drewsdarlin · August 2018

Had phone consult earlier to discuss test results and things and talk about IVF.

purplg8r · August 2018

@suzycupcake I love the sound of your RE! It sounds like he has a great plan worked out for you! Hopefully your thyroid is all good!!

@thegirlwhowaited_ I’m glad your appt went well!! The ovidrel comes in a syringe

thegirlwhowaited_ · August 2018

@suzycupcake my RE said it was possible to even do the trigger Thursday at my next appointment and they would schedule the IUI on Saturday. That would be the earliest it would happen, but I don't think so since I usually ovulate later around CD17-CD20 (I think that's what FF told me). But I also know some have said clomid made them O sooner. We will wait and see what happens.

@purplg8r Thanks! It helps to know what I'm expecting.

Edited because I can't think this early.

suzycupcake · August 2018

@thegirlwhowaited_ When you are doing a treatment cycle with a trigger shot, your usual O date pretty much goes out the window. What they do is monitor follicle growth with ultrasound and schedule the trigger shot based on that. The shot overrides natural ovulation and causes you to ovulate around 36 hours later in time for an IUI. So if your follicles are around the size of maturity by the time Thursday comes, then they will tell you to trigger that night. If not, they will tell you which night to do it since they can grow 1mm-2mm in size each day.

It's pretty cool that they can control a cycle in this manner.

thegirlwhowaited_ · August 2018

@suzycupcake Wow, I didn't realize they could really predict it that well. That's pretty cool though. That eases my nerves a little too.

suzycupcake · August 2018

@Avrilmai I'm hoping that you had good news on the follie front today!

Avrilmai · August 2018

Monitoring went well this AM. Trigger tonight with ER on Monday!

suzycupcake · August 2018

That's such great news, gl on Monday. I hope you hit the mother load!

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