IF Treatment and Testing Week of 10/14-10/20/19

NYTino24 · October 2019

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. Treat this as an ongoing conversation.

Diagnosis (if you've been):

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA):

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

How are things going?:

Any questions?:

GTKY: What jewelry, if any, do you wear?

NYTino24 · October 2019

Diagnosis (if you've been): AMA, RPL, LP defect / low progesterone, low morph, ?

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): did IUI + Clomid + trigger, progesterone with a check today and beta 10-21... should also get results today that determine if I need Lovenox or not

How are things going?: Eh, I waver between hopeful and hopeless

Any questions?: not until results come

GTKY: What jewelry, if any, do you wear? Wedding and engagement rings, an infinity ring DH tossed to me before he was ready to propose, a wishbone with Nov birthstone necklace, and mismatched diamond studs since the matching ones both fell out

kpearse99 · October 2019

@NYTino24 I hope your check goes well today! I keep going back and forth with hopeful and hopeless too. This part sucks so much!

@hanshotfirst77 Good luck today, my beta buddy!!! I am so hopeful for you!! 🤞🏼💜🤞🏼

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained IF

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW with betas TODAY!!

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): 5mg of letrozole, 250 mcg of ovidrel and IUI

How are things going?: oh man, I don’t know! I’m scared for today! I go in an hour for my betas and then I’ll know this afternoon. I’m cautiously optimistic but also not expecting anything... If that makes sense? I just don’t want to get my hopes up.

Any questions?: nope

GTKY: What jewelry, if any, do you wear? I wear my wedding rings, a necklace with a small giraffe pendant and a small circle pendant with the letter P on it... and small diamond earrings in the second hole of my ears. I change out the earrings in the first hole of ears but the other ones I always wear.

emeraldduchess · October 2019

Good luck with betas today, @hanshotfirst77 and @kpearse99! 💚🍀
ETA @NYTino24 I hope you get good results today! 💚

bluetickgal · October 2019

@kpearse99 @hanshotfirst77 best of luck today!! Sending all the positive vibes to both of you!! 💜

emeraldduchess · October 2019

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained IF and RPL, possible luteal phase defect with low progesterone

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Progesterone post-O

How are things going?: Eh. My chart is a rocky nightmare, so I am not feeling good about this cycle.

Any questions?: Nope

GTKY: What jewelry, if any, do you wear? My engagement and wedding rings, I have a variety of earrings, and I just got a necklace *TW* to remember our losses. It has angel wings and birthstones for August and March. *End TW* I have the pearl earrings from our wedding that I wear on special occasions.

NYTino24 · October 2019

Hoping for some great news for you today @kpearse99 @hanshotfirst77!
@emeraldduchess My chart is quite the hot mess too.

emeraldduchess · October 2019

@NYTino24 I am trying not to put too much stock into my chart because my coverline is much higher than normal. Also the nurses at my RE office have said on multiple occasions not to dwell on it because there are so many things unrelated to pregnancy that can affect your bbt.

keikilove · October 2019

*Lurking, but that seems silly since I just saw y’all*

@kpearse99 & @hanshotfirst77 Praying so hard for you both today!♥️ @NYTino24 Hope you get clear answers today in your results & more forward movement with your plan! ETA: Also 🤞🏽 for great betas on 10.21!

mvt2003 · October 2019

Diagnosis (if you've been): Not yet

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Testing, I've finished my stuff just need to do SA.

How are things going?: Meh. The timing for the SA has been awful, so it means we effectively had to choose between "trying" this month and getting the SA done. I have an appt with my OB on Monday to discuss the results of testing and make our plan, so the SA must be done before then. We don't even have the lab order yet, and he needs to do a multi-day hold starting today. So we probably can't get it done before Friday.

Also, apparently I am one of the lucky people who had an awful reaction post-HSG. I felt fine on Friday all afternoon, then after dinner once my Tylenol wore off, all bets were off. I had abdominal cramps so awful that I could barely stand. I had read that some people have that reaction, so I tried to just sleep it off. I woke up feeling better on Saturday morning, so I counted myself lucky!

Any questions?: Any idea how long they should need to get results of the SA? Do I need to try to push my appointment to later in the week?

GTKY: What jewelry, if any, do you wear? I basically just wear my wedding and engagement rings every day. I forget most other jewelry! I alternate between a couple of necklaces MH has bought me over the years, but I don't wear something every single day.

mvt2003 · October 2019

@NYTino24 Hope you get some answers today, and keeping everything crossed for betas!

@kpearse99 thinking of you today, friend!!!! Good luck! I'm going to try to stalk the board today through my meeting!!!!!

@emeraldduchess Keeping my FX for you too!!!!!

ruby696 · October 2019

*lurking*

Sending all the good thoughts to @hanshotfirst77 and @kpearse99 today! Good luck ladies!!! ❤

hanshotfirst77 · October 2019

*lurking*
@kpearse99 Keeping my fx for you today friend! I will be stalking the board for updates and you too @emeraldduchess

you both!

@NYTino24 Fx for good results for you today too

NYTino24 · October 2019

@mvt2003 You should get results within a week. Sorry the HSG sucked so much!

mvt2003 · October 2019

@NYTino24 thanks, I'm going to try to push my appointment to later in the week I think!

kpearse99 · October 2019

@emeraldduchess I agree with your RE about not putting too much thought into your chart, because there is so much that can change the temps on a given day.

@mvt2003 I believe DH's SA results came in pretty quick... in a few days. But I think you're doing the right thing by pushing the appointment back a little bit to be on the safe side.

Thank you so much for thoughts and good vibes!!! It's getting me really pumped and anxious for these results!! And I am so flipping happy for you @hanshotfirst77 !!!!! You are incredible!!! My heart is so overjoyed for you!

inthewoods23 · October 2019

Will eventually come back for tags...

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained, MFI, implantation failure?

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): nothing else this cycle but waiting for the next one. All BW that has come back is normal

How are things going?: my test OPK line is basically non-existent and I'm trying not to worry about what that means. Line has not darkened over the last 8 days. I wonder if my body is completely thrown off by the failed FET as well as my horrible mental state over the last 2+ weeks.

Any questions?: I'd like to know why I have almost no LH in my system but Google isn't helpful

GTKY: What jewelry, if any, do you wear?
Every day is my wedding/engagement rings, an aluminum ring DH made me 12 years ago when we started dating, the diamond heart necklace he bought me as a.. 3? year anniversary gift, and a varying number if silicon wedding bands. Sometimes I swap out my diamond wedding ring for a phosphorescent glow ring (glows from UV light)

jennifer_louise · October 2019

@kpearse99 everything crossed for you today!!

@mvt2003 sorry this SA is such a headache for you

I know it's frustrating for sure. FWIW, I got our SA results in less than a week. It might have even been sooner - I didn't know to look for them since MH didn't tell me he'd gone in. 🤷‍♂️ Males. And sorry for the icky HSG reaction, hope all is better now.

@emeraldduchess I'm sorry your chart is looking wonky, but yeah, I agree that it's not the "be all end all" that we'd like it to be. I've spent so much time looking at my own beautiful charts that didn't get me anywhere. Here's hoping you won't need that IUI after all!

@NYTino24 report back with your results!

Diagnosis: unexplained

Status: WTO

What are you doing this cycle? Letrozole + trigger + IUI + Progesterone. Whew.
I go in for an ultrasound on Thursday and I think my IUI will be this weekend (at least I hope, it's always nice not to have to duck out of work).

How are things going? Trying to stay hopeful, but it's not going well. Trying to distract myself too, also not going well. I avoided a social event this weekend because I knew there was going to be a PG person there. Not my finest hour, but also not feeling guilty about it at the moment.

GTKY: I don't wear jewelry other than my wedding and engagement bands. I don't even have my ears pierced!!

kpearse99 · October 2019

@jennifer_louise So excited for you and your upcoming IUI!!! Don't feel guilty about doing something you felt like you needed to do.

@inthewoods23 can you get any insight about the OPK line from your RE?

NYTino24 · October 2019

Quick post with results. I’ll be back late tonight! Progesterone 27, other test was inconclusive so we are sticking to baby aspirin.

inthewoods23 · October 2019

@kpearse99 anxiously waiting for your news!! I haven't thought about asking my RE about my LH, but that might not be a bad idea!

@emeraldduchess that necklace sounds like a beautiful idea!

@mvt2003 glad you're doing better after your HSG! Sounds brutal!

@jennifer_louise if you're having a roller coaster of emotions, is it even TTC?? 😆 Oh goodness. I'm always all over the place too emotionally. This is hard!

kpearse99 · October 2019

Dammit...

TW (possible 2nd loss)

Just got the call. My hCG was at a 5. My RE thinks it's a CP. I'm to go back Friday for repeat blood work to see if it's back down to 0 or I am to call if AF arrives before then (which I have a feeling she might as I started brown spotting about an hour ago), and then we do baseline testing and onto round 2 of IUI.

Do you think the 250 mcg of Ovidrel could still leave a trace of hCG in my system? Instead of it being another CP? I typically do spot brown the day before my period arrives.

I just emailed them and asked about the ovidrel thing and what my progesterone was at (not sure if they tested that too or just the hCG). And I asked if they had any insight as to why I had a 2nd CP.

I was not expecting this news. I was expecting a YES or a NO... but not a CP.

keikilove · October 2019

*lurking*

@kpearse99 I am so so sorry for this news. That is so hard to get a surprise variation of the results that you were not prepared for.😔 I am hoping & praying that your instincts were right & that IUI #2 is The One for you.♥️
As far as your questions,

I wondered the same thing about whether the hCG shot was lingering for the first low beta & I could tell from the nurse’s voice that she was also thinking the same thing. There was no way to know until a 2nd beta.

Does your doctor not want to run a second beta test, or did that already happen?
I truly hope they ran your progesterone. If not, can you ask them to run it right now? It may not be too late even if AF is arriving soon. It may give you some insight as to what happened. So many (((hugs))) to you, friend.♥️

inthewoods23 · October 2019

@kpearse99 ugh, I'm so sorry for the news! I can't comment on the Ovidrel, but my clinic always tests progesterone with HCG since that's important to know in case of pregnancy. I think my progesterone was around 5 or less with my BFNs.

kpearse99 · October 2019

@keikilove thanks, friend

I am waiting for them to get back to me with the answers. I hope they ran my progesterone too, I feel like they would? 2nd beta is scheduled for Friday, as of now, unless AF arrives beforehand in which I am to call and change that appointment to a baseline testing one. I'm curious to hear what the RE thinks may have happened. I'm assuming your hCG was higher than a 5, though, right?!

After a day or two of sulking in my failing body I'll get back to being hopeful about the 2nd cycle

hanshotfirst77 · October 2019

*lurking*
@kpearse99 I'm so sorry. I'm not sure about the ovidrel but they definitely should be testing your progesterone too. Were you supplementing? Sending you big hugs friend

kpearse99 · October 2019

@hanshotfirst77 I was not supplementing - my RE said he didn't need to put me on progesterone unless blood work showed I was pregnant but my progesterone was low.... then he would put me on it.

emeraldduchess · October 2019

@kpearse99 I am so sorry. This sucks and is so unfair.

keikilove · October 2019

@kpearse99 Sending you a PM.

My first beta wasn’t much higher than yours & honestly, I’m not out of the woods yet. That’s why I haven’t posted in the June board yet. More betas today for me.

jennifer_louise · October 2019

@kpearse99 I'm so sorry the results didn't get you a clear answer. I was sooo hoping for your announcement today. Sending lots of ❤️❤️❤️.

ruby696 · October 2019

*lurking*

@kpearse99 I am so sorry. I've read that some people keep the trigger in their bodies for more than 13 days, so maybe that's what's going on? I hope they checked your progesterone too. Sending love my friend. ❤

@keikilove Sending you all the positive thoughts today. ❤

kpearse99 · October 2019

Update: They do not think the hCG being at a 5 is because any ovidrel is still in my system. They really believe it would have been out of my system by now. My progesterone was only at 1.3, so def. on the low side. I asked the nurse to talk to the RE about the possibility of putting me on a progesterone supplement after the next IUI and to get his thoughts on that in general. I'm curious to hear what he thinks. At the end of the day, I do trust my doctor and believe he knows what he is doing and knows the best way to get us our end result. But the progesterone is something I've really been wondering about for quite some time now, especially with last cycle and it never increasing at all - indicating that I never O'd. So, I hope he will consider it.

Editing to add.... my RE just got back to me and said I could try the progesterone supplements next time, if I want, but that in his experience it doesn't really make a difference.... thoughts on that?

misshelen86 · October 2019

I’ll be back later for tags!

Diagnosis (if you've been): MFI

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): HSG and more bloodwork next cycle.. DH has a bunch of testing as well. Once we have all these results we will decide between IUI and IVF. I’m leaning towards IUI if the Dr thinks there is even a small chance of it working. At our initial appointment she felt that IVF would be our best option, but that was only based on one SA. She gave us the option of starting letrozole either next cycle or the following one. I picked up the prescription but I think I might wait until we have all our results and have made a plan.

How are things going?: It’s been a rough week. I really wasn’t expecting to hear IVF presented as an option yet, so that’s still sinking in. I do feel better that things are starting to move along now. Unfortunately my RE will not be available to discuss our test results until Nov. 18th, so it will be back to waiting again for a bit.

Any questions?: What is considered a normal CD3 estrogen level? My RE thought mine was a bit high at 245 pmol/L (67 pg/ml). Dr. Google tells me less than 75 pg/ml is normal. I was so overwhelmed at the appointment I didn’t think to ask her what she considered normal

GTKY: I wear my wedding/engagement rings and my Fitbit lol. Occasionally if I’m dressing up I’ll wear earrings or a necklace.

NYTino24 · October 2019

@keikilove Keeping all of the things crossed!!
@jennifer_louise Keep us posted on the IUI! @misshelen86 That does seem high, but I can’t remember what it could / should be.
@kpearse99 so sorry!

My CP had a beta of 131 at a little under 5 weeks and progesterone of 29 with the supplement. The BO before that at 7 weeks measured 5 weeks and only had a progesterone level of 4.7. They expect a minimum of 11 for a viable early pregnancy. It makes a huge difference for me.

keikilove · October 2019

*Still lurking*

@kpearse99 It’s great that you trust your doctor, but he does sound very conservative in his approach. Not sure what he wants to see for progesterone levels in very early pregnancy; my lab paperwork here shows an expected baseline of 20. However, I creep in a Reproductive Immunology group until my upcoming appointment with the RI: I see she wants her patients to have a progesterone level of 40 in early pregnancy & recommends supplementation for this from a few days after ovulation through 10-12 weeks of pregnancy, depending. Just FYI that oral progesterone is least effective, vaginal delivery (pills or gel) is more effective, and progesterone-in-oil intramuscular shots (in the booty) are the gold standard/most effective. Hope this helps!

@NYTino24 & @ruby696 Thanks so much.❤️

kpearse99 · October 2019

@keikilove thank you for all of that information. It helps a lot. I still have time to decide, but I'm glad he's saying I can try the progesterone if I want to. I think you'r right, he is more conservative with his approach, but my level was so so low... I feel like my gut is going to tell me to at least try it.

@NYTino24 thank you for sharing your experience/results with me.

I'm curious as to what others say/think about progesterone supplements being beneficial too. Maybe it's worth asking him to come in for a progesterone level check a few days to a week after the IUI and then maybe starting the progesterone if the levels are still low? Thoughts on that? (I'll probably ask all of this again in another week or two when I'll really have to decide haha)

ruby696 · October 2019

*lurking still*

@kpearse99 My RE doesn't even check progesterone - I started 200 mg of progesterone vaginally the night after my trigger (pretty sure it was that night), but before the actual IUI. And she kept me on it until after betas. In fact, with my last CP, my RHR wasn't increasing so I asked for progesterone and they told me it was too late to start it at that point. I would push for vaginal suppositories during your next TWW.

kiki75 · October 2019

*lurking*
@kpearse99 I’m so sorry. IMO, I think that supplementing is worth a shot. I know there are a few schools of thought, including some that are perhaps more based in clinical thought but for me, I prefer to do it.

*TW* I think that some REs think that maybe supplementing isn’t necessary for pregnancies that would have been healthy anyways but perhaps facilitate your body holding onto a pregnancy that ultimately will not work out. I was supplementing with my CP (after IUI) and it was still a CP. But, the suppository progesterone isn’t terribly expensive, has low risk, side effects are tolerable, and at the end of the day, I didn’t have that little bit of doubt that maybe if we had done them, it would be different. So I think that’s kind of the approach of a lot of RE’s. They don’t necessarily think it will change the outcome but if it helps the patient otherwise, can’t hurt.

But that leaves the question of why progesterone might be low. We did some RPL tests after the CP and found I had elevated prolactin, which I believe was creating so-so ovulation with so-so corpus luteums and that was the ultimate cause of my low progesterone in natural cycles. So it might be worth investigating in that direction, too.

kpearse99 · October 2019

@kiki75 Thank you for all of that helpful info - I just sent you PM.

inthewoods23 · October 2019

@misshelen86 I can tell you that my RE wanted to see below 70 before my ER and below 80 for the FET. 67 would be considered totally normal at baseline.

misshelen86 · October 2019

@NYTino24 I hear you on going between hopeful and hopeless. It’s a roller coaster for sure! FX so hard this is your month!

@kpearse99 I am so sorry for your news. Sending you hugs! Hope you take some time to do something nice for yourself. I don’t know the answer to your question about progesterone, but I would think it doesn’t hurt to try it right?

@emeraldduchess Sorry you’re not feeling hopeful this cycle. Sending you all the positive vibes!

@mvt2003 Sorry you had such bad cramps after your HSG. Glad to see things are moving along so quickly for you and you will be making a plan soon! My H’s regular SA results were back pretty quickly because they have to run the sample right away (within an hour I think). I think we got the results in about 2 days. But his more in-depth SA testing will take about 2 weeks.

@inthewoods23 So glad to hear all your BW is normal. Not sure what’s going on with your LH.. I hope your RE can give you some answers.

@jennifer_louise Don’t feel guilty about missing the event. You do what you need to protect your heart girl

Keeping everything crossed for this IUI to be a success. Hope you can find lots of time to do things you enjoy over the next few weeks!

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