Infertility Testing & Treatment w/o 03.08

[Deleted User] · March 2021

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. <div>
</div><div>Diagnosis (if you've been): </div><div>
</div><div>Status (WTO/TWW/TTA):</div><div>
</div><div>What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): </div><div>
</div><div>How are things going?: </div><div>
</div><div>Any questions?:</div><div>
</div><div>GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!?

ETA GTKY</div>

bumblebee0210 · March 2021

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

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): Finishing up BCP

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): ER this month-- baseline appointment on Wed. Hoping to get the go-ahead to start stims Saturday

How are things going?: Ok-- the hang-up right now logistically is that the clinic has not yet gotten prior auth for all of my meds (apparently they only put in the requests for the trigger meds but not the stims? why?), so I am back to my general campaign of calling people every day and attempting to annoy them into action. Emotionally I am definitely getting anxious-- I have a hard time with things that matter a great deal to me but are basically out of my control. I keep having to get myself out of the mindset of "goals" for things that are essentially out of my control, like eggs/embryos/etc, and just focus on what I can control like nutrition, getting enough sleep, sticking to the protocol, making decisions about more treatment, etc. It is certainly unfamiliar territory for me, but I'm working on letting go!

Any questions?: Not really-- you guys were great on advice about the injections. I get botox for migraines and am generally not afraid of needles, so I'm hoping it won't be too traumatic. I'm more worried about the emotional roller coaster of learning how many follicles are growing, etc., but that can't be helped! I'm trying to at least take a longer-term mindset assuming that this will be the first of many cycles.

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!? Oh my god everything. I always get the urge to plant things as it warms up, even though I am not much on follow-through.

[Deleted User] · March 2021

Hi, frans!
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/10/6jt90dcgfm70.gif" alt="">
I'm an OG from 2016 coming back to treatment soon, planning for FET in April. We only have two remaining embies and won't be doing another retrieval, so depending on how this goes, our TTC journey is about to either go out with a fantastic Bang!!? ...or a very sad bust. 😔

Diagnosis (if you've been): Azoospermia

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFAF and the start of a testing cycle

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Being slightly terrified. Trying daily not to chicken out of taking MY FISTFUL of vitamins.... 🤢

How are things going?: Okay. I kind of can't believe this is about to go down...

Any questions?: NATT

GTKY: The snow is melting here, and I can't wait to see the little early spring bulbs start to come up! Crocuses and Forsythia are my signs of hope for better days...

[Deleted User] · March 2021

@bumblebee0210. I hear you SO MUCH on the urge / follow through! 🤦 I was just looking up this morning about when to plant various wildflowers. We may be moving anyway, but there is a perfect little slope I see from out my kitchen window I've never done anything with as long as we've been there (and DH wouldn't eat anything we grew there bc of the dog poop. 😆 ) But WILDFLOWERS!!!! I may actually try prepping the soil and throwing some seed down for just just to see what happens....

Deep breaths. Idk why it seems like these paperwork things seem to always have to wait till the 11th hour!? It sounds like you have a great attitude though. Number one is just take your meds as directed. My doctor legit did not care about anything else lol Number two is possibly SLEEP??? I honestly feel not much else really even matters at this point, and so much just comes down to luck. Super science-y, I know. But the meds will do what they do, your body will respond how it will, and we just have to trust that our doctors will know how to take it from there. (((Hugs)))

Lisa3379 · March 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained/old

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): confused?

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): about to start FET

How are things going?: You guys, things have been interesting. I stopped BCP on Thursday, and started bleeding on Saturday. I was told that was just withdrawal bleeding, and that I’d have to wait until I actually get my period to start the transfer cycle. That bummed me out, because who knows how long that will be, since my cycles aren’t so regular. Anyway, a nurse pinged me and asked if I started full flow yet. Uhh, yeah - that’s what I had told the doctor, but was told it was just withdrawal bleeding. Long story short, I’m having my baseline ultrasound tomorrow? I mean, that’s great if that means I start my transfer protocol tomorrow, but I definitely have some questions. I wonder if it’s because I ovulated during BCP they just figured that this is a period?

Any questions?: just a ton for my doctor! Haha

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!? I don’t know. I live in California so spring is not all that different than a lot of the year. I still want winter.

[Deleted User] · March 2021

@Lisa3379. That is so exciting! What a whirlwind though

Lisa3379 · March 2021

@BusinessWife Welcome back! Hopefully your stay here is brief

and I’m excited for you starting up again!

@bumblebee0210 wow, this has happened for you so quickly! I’m sorry you’re having to go through the phone hassles. And I love your mindset - just take control of the things you can and stay optimistic as much as you can. You got this.

bumblebee0210 · March 2021

@Lisa3379 That's so exciting! I thought all "periods" on the pill are just withdrawal bleeding? Weird distinction. FWIW, I think at my clinic no one expects you to have a full cycle off BCP before FET-- I think it's normal to start right away after BCP just like an egg retrieval. Good luck!! I am rooting for you.

bumblebee0210 · March 2021

@BusinessWife Welcome back! I for one will be glad to have a veteran around for all of my questions. Hopefully you're out of here in a couple of months! You certainly deserve one easy one...

Lisa3379 · March 2021

@bumblebee0210 I know, I was super confused. I think they were anticipating some light bleeding, and maybe a regular period in a couple of weeks? But I’m like, no, this is like major period bleeding! (Sorry, TMI 😆)

quiltandknit · March 2021

@lisa3379 yay for FET cycle getting started soon!

@BusinessWife welcome back! I hope your stay here is short and you go out with a bang! All the best!

@bumblebee0210 ugh girl, so frustrating! I’m with you, I’d be calling every day to get it approved too!

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): treating with Clomid + IUI + progesterone

How are things going?: I’m relieved to be starting a new cycle and feeling really good about it. My only focus this month is keeping myself from going too crazy. Last month I let the rollercoaster of emotions and hormones get to me. So this week I’m taking my Clomid and this weekend I’ll start OPKs. One day at a time!

Any questions?: nope

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!? Can’t wait for some warmer weather so I can get back to lunchtime walks!!!

optimistgardener · March 2021

Hi all,

Diagnosis (if you've been):

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA):

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

How are things going?:

Any questions?:

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!?

optimistgardener · March 2021

Hey there. I'm new to this message board but not, unhappily, to trying to get pregnant.

Diagnosis (if you've been): I've had 1 ovary since birth. I'm also old (38), with low AMH. Had a myomectomy for some large fibroids last year, including one that had grown through the wall of my uterus. Surgeon encountered unexpected endometriosis, did a little clean-up while he was in there. Subsequent hysteroscopy finds my uterus recovered well. Who knows what else might be haywire in there.
Other diagnosis: I'm single (I pay for donor sperm).

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): This is my 2nd injectables cycle. Menopur.

How are things going?: I'm exhausted. I've been trying to get pregnant since 2018. I'm not sure how many more cycles I'm going to be able to do this. Right now I'm thinking if this medicated IUI doesn't work, I'll maybe throw myself at one IVF round and then call it a day. Part of what is so challenging is that in spite of everything, I "feel" fertile? I always have good cervical mucous, stable cycles, blah blah. My AMH is low but my other numbers are fine. In my first injectables cycle last month, the doc was pleased to find that despite my one hard-working old ovary, I had 7 antral follicles on day 3, responded well to stimulation, and triggered on day 10 with 2 follicles at 20mm, 2 at 16, and 1 at 15.

Any questions?: Only unanswerable ones.

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!?
Gardening, as my profile name would suggest! I've been getting seedlings started out in the greenhouse, and (maybe I'm overcompensating for my own body's shortcomings on this front?) have purchased altogether too many packets of seeds to plant this year. I'm way outside the realm of being able to fit that many plants in my garden.

bumblebee0210 · March 2021

@optimistgardener. Welcome! I am also in the "low-AMH but everything else is fine-ish?" category, starting my first round of IVF so we shall see whether it works! Are you in the TWW now from the IUI or is that cycle already over?

@quiltandknit. Congrats on the new cycle! I hear you on trying to keep the crazy to a minimum. That is like my only goal and I am hovering around ~30%

AFM: Baseline appt went well this morning! Ovaries are suppressed and as long as my bloodwork was fine I'll be all set to start stims on Saturday. The first batch of drugs (follistim/menopur/novarel) arrived today and I'm still waiting on ganirelix and leuprolide. I just rearranged my whole medicine cabinet to make room for all of the supplies! My AFC this morning was 10, 5 on each side. This was about what I was expecting, given that my AFC was 10 last month or whenever I had it checked, though I am hoping for more because that time it was 8 and 2, so I am like come on ovary I know you can do 8!

[Deleted User] · March 2021

Glad to hear everything is baseline and looking well! @bumblebee0210

optimistgardener · March 2021

Thanks for the welcome, @bumblebee0210! Best of luck with your first and (hopefully only) round of IVF! I'll be curious how it goes for you as I am working my way towards that strategy if this cycle doesn't work.

I, too, talk to my ovary. Like, "come on champ I know you've been in there thanklessly chugging away all these years NOW. IS. NOT. THE. TIME. TO. GIVE. UP. KEEP GOING I NEED YOU."

I read a lot of horror stories online about the menopur but I found it really straightforward and not painful to do the injections. I had a little bit of injection site response yesterday (quarter-sized reddish spot, localized hives), but it's not a huge deal. the injection needle is TINY. You hardly feel it.

I've just started stimulating this cycle. Last time I responded really quickly and triggered on something ridiculous like day 9 or 10 of my cycle, after only 7 days of stimulation. (Which got me all freaked out but my doctor talked me down, saying it's pretty normal. I guess a short follicular phase with injectables is a different thing than in a natural cycle. I have a hard time letting go of the wheel on this stuff, since I've been obsessing about the details of my natural cycle for such a long time.) One upside is I only used half the meds from my first round, so this cycle feels (but isn't) sort of like a freebie. Anyway, I'm day 4 of my cycle, day 2 of stims, I once again have 7 antral follicles on my remaining ovary, and will be headed in for another ultrasound on Sunday (day 8). If things go as they did last month I'll probably trigger a day or two after.

Lisa3379 · March 2021

@optimistgardener I also triggered super early, on day 9, too! It was really surprising, and then I was like, why did I buy all these meds! I guess that’s one consolation if I have to do egg retrieval again.

deaf_girl · March 2021

Hello everyone,

Diagnosis (if you've been): PCOS

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): According to FF this my O week.

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): ED method and Pree Seed. If this don't work, I'll start using OPKs as well.

How are things going?: Kinda hard right now. I feel as if I'm running out of time. I haven't been sleeping well.

Any questions?: Some, and I don't know whether to start a new thread or not, since I haven't come across the answers...if there's anyone that can help that is. I've tried using the search option, but can't seem to find it. My doctors aren't being really helpful right now.

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!? Seeing my miniature rose bush blooming again, and planting new flowers. Plus maybe I'll get better used to hearing birds through my cochlear implant. Right now they sound all screech sounding like.

laura-kay · March 2021

@deaf_girl Feel free to ask questions here in this thread! We are happy to answer anything if we can - and that’s one of the purposes for this thread.

bumblebee0210 · March 2021

@deaf_girl welcome! This is a great place to ask questions-- I know we have some other PCOS-ers and cycle tracking can be extremely frustrating.

I am just here with my regular update about clinic incompetence: this time my ganirelix was denied by my insurance because my doctor's office just didn't put in a diagnosis code. Cool guys! They also forgot to have us sign one consent (something about COVID?) and are insisting we both come back in together to see the doctor and sign it in front of her. Like I get it for the embyro stuff-- you want to make sure both parents know what is going down with their potential offspring. But for COVID? What an enormous waste of three people's time. I really hope the bureaucratic nonsense in the front office is not a sign of incompetence in things that matter-- like embryology, dosing, etc.

photographerwife · March 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained secondary, one fallopian tube.

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW, but we didn't get a great chance this cycle because of my HSG.

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): I had my hsg earlier this month, and my other tube is clear! That is a relief, and DHs SA came back good too! I think, the doctor said everything was normal, and I was so confused trying to figure it out.😬Were with my OB still, in preparation to see our RE next month.

How are things going?: Okay, Its been a stressful month for me. My best friend has been blowing me off big time after some life changes in her own life, and it sucks, its been bothering me alot. Ive been feeling pretty fragile mental health wise anyway, and to have what feels like a break up on top of it has made me sad, and pretty pissed tbh. But things are good on the home front! My house plants are doing stellar, and were getting ready for lots of new spring projects at the new house! Our next step is putting decks on the house since we only have stairs now. Im ready, we hated our old place so much after being there so long, and im ready to make our new house an oasis. Other good news, is that STIMMY, and dh gets his covid vaccine next week! He asked me if he should hold off because of ttc, but everything ive seen shows that its okay even though we already had covid in November. Im in finance, and dont think I can get mine until the next wave.

Any questions?: I think this is good? I dont really know what all of this means.😅 DH SA:

motility- >=40% 99
count- >=15.0 M/ml 371.0
count/ejaculate- >=39.0 M/ejaculate 1484.0
morphology- >=4% normal 56

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!? Warm weather and working on our projects outside! We have a ton to do, and im looking forward to planting my yard and prepping beds and stuff. we basically have a clean slate to work on!

@bumblebee0210 im sorry that you are having to call around again for your meds! How frustrating! TTC is such a struggle for fighting things out of our control. At least doing IVF will give you more control than you could have had otherwise? I can imagine your stress is getting real though, hope it all works out for you soon! You may be able to get somethings going inside now! Im about to plant elephant ears so i can take them outside in a couple of weeks! Just read you baseline went well. YAY!

@Businesswife welcome back! I hope this IVF cycle for you is smooth and easy! I am literally so sorry you still have snow... while im over here already enjoying 70 degree weather.

@lisa3379 sorry you're having a confusing cycle. Hopefully your baseline will go well tomorrow and everything will go as planned!

@quiltandknit I hope this cycle is less stressful for you.. sending good vibes for a good cycle!

@optimistgardener Im sorry youre feeling exhausted, this shitty road trip is for the birds. Wishing you lots of luck on your cycle! I totally feel you on overcompensating with the plants. I have a ton, and sometimes think to myself, since don't have a baby to take care of at least i can nurture, obsess on love on my plant babies. solidarity friend. Also dying at talking to your ovary, I need to tell my tube the same thing!

@deaf_girl good luck this cycle!

[Deleted User] · March 2021

@photographerwife That SA looks awesome to me! One might say, "off the charts"!? But what do I know lol. Glad it's so nice there! The days have been beautiful, but it's still going down to 23 tonight. Wut?

Lisa3379 · March 2021

@photographerwife I'm sorry you're going through that with your friend. Do you plan to confront her about it?

@bumblebee0210 That is beyond ridiculous that you have to both be physically there to sign a Covid consent form! All we had to do was sign the docs online, even the embryo consent forms.

AFM, my baseline ultrasound was cancelled. On Monday, it was like a group text between my nurse and another doctor, because I guess my regular doctor was busy? Anyway, after we scheduled the appointment, later that night, my doctor entered the chat and said that no, we're not ready based on my labs. Ughhhhhhhhhh! I mean, I definitely don't want to start when I'm not ready, but what a confusing day. Anyway, I'm now waiting for who knows how long until my period comes back. Hopefully just a couple weeks? Ho hum.

bumblebee0210 · March 2021

@Lisa3379. Ugh that is so annoying. Did he say what was wrong? Agreed you don't want to start until conditions are optimal but you've already waited so long and you have all of those great embys!

deaf_girl · March 2021

Well, I have a J tube (feeding tube) inserted, and I don't know how or even if that will/would affect the potential pregnancy. I've checked the web, searched here, and just can't find anything...

All I've come across is GJ tubes, but my GI thought the J tube would be best. I go in April to see another GI doctor, so maybe he can help, but my GI doctor just says go for it, but that he doesn't know if they would have to remove the tube.

Honestly I'm not expecting anyone to have the answers...but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask...you know??

My OB just says to let her know if/when I want to try Clomid again. She doesn't seem concerned about it either...

Am I just freaking out for no reason??

Lisa3379 · March 2021

@bumblebee0210 When I had my saline ultrasound, the doctor noticed that a follicle had grown, and they did some blood work to see my estrogen level to determine if I was due to ovulate soon. Blood came back and showed that I was, so they opted to wait until that happened and I started my period to have a start from zero, so to speak. But then when I went off BCP, I had withdrawal bleeding, so I guess that doesn't count as a period. Whatever. But my worry is that, when I went off BCP years ago, it took FOREVER to get my period! I'm hoping that only 2 weeks of BCP didn't do too much damage to my cycle.

photographerwife · March 2021

@BusinessWife awesome! I wasn’t sure about it! I’m sure he’d love to know that. 🙃 Hopefully it warms up quick for you guys! I think the first day of spring is in a week or so!

@lisa3379 yes, I have actually. I’ve talked to her a couple of times about what’s going on and kept reaching out a hand, and finally after being cancelled on and blown off for weeks sent her a text about it and she hasn’t responded. It’s pretty shitty tbh. She’s just fallen off the face of the earth after years of close friendship. We’ll see what happens. I’m sorry your baseline was cancelled! I hope you’re able to go back in soon. I just listened to a podcast last night from the egg whisperer called what is IVF, it is her recent episode and she discussed a timeline for what she tells her patients about IVF and she discussed having to postpone or change plans before and after a baseline ultrasound. maybe you’d be interested!

Lisa3379 · March 2021

@photographerwife That's so weird, I'm so sorry. Thanks for the heads up about the podcast. I'm listening to it now, and I just heard that she podcasts from the town next door to my parents!

acleverusername · March 2021

Hi! I've been swamped at work this week (Q2 planning... joyful!) so this is the first chance I have to hop on here to provide an update!

First of all, it's both wonderful and sad to see this thread growing in number of participants. Wonderful because I'm hoping the new folks will find this a useful corner of TB. But sad obviously because it's led them here. In any case, welcome @deaf_girl and @optimistgardener, and welcome back @BusinessWife! I would love to get to know you all a bit more outside of IF thread so feel free to intro yourselves in the Newbie Intros thread that @fantasyflyte started yesterday.

@bumblebee0210 wow, it's been quite the week for you! I'm sorry that you're running into so many roadblocks with your clinic. Since you don't start ganerelix until mid-cycle, are you still on track to start stims on Saturday? Also, re: ovaries, I also have a "lazy ovary"... most of the time I have very few follicles on my left side, and lots of them on my right side. When I did ER in 2019, at retrieval, I had 10 follicles on my right, and only 4 on my left! Btw, having the "this is a first of possibly many cycles" mindset is probably a good call. It's certainly a "mature" way to think about the journey ahead. But, also try and focus only on the next 1-2 steps.

@BusinessWife Welcome back! I am really hoping that you'll only need 1 FET for your TBH to stick and stay. Have all your FET protocols been the same? Have you found that one "golden" protocol and are you starting with it? In any case, I'll be here rooting for your TTC journey to go BANG! (In a good way!) PS... I'm really curious about your NaPro / Creighton experience. Are you still doing that?

@Lisa3379 You're another one here who's having a rollercoaster of a week! I know you haven't asked too many questions of your provider in the past and I'm not exactly sure if it's because you don't feel like you should be asking for info or if you just don't know what you'd do with this info, but... did the doctor say what was wrong with your labs in order to call the cycle off? Either way, this entire TTC thing is waiting, waiting, waiting. It's frustrating beyond belief but there's nothing that can be done about it. Hopefully BCP hasn't effed up your system to much and that you can get going ASAP.

@quiltandknit I'm so happy that you're able to start another medicated cycle so quickly! And with progesterone supplementation, maybe/hopefully this one with be the sticky cycle! Your "one day at a time" attitude it bang on. Though of course, it's really hard to take one's own advice. I do have a question about Clomid: how has your lining responded to it? I had a noticeable negative changes to my lining between the 1st and 2nd cycle I was on it.

@optimistgardener it IS SO frustrating when you feel fertile but things are just not working. Having 7 follicles on the 1 ovary is seriously impressive though! Hopefully your one hard-worker can keep going! What injectables are you using? Has your doctor opined as to why you respond so quickly to the meds? Have you changed up your protocol between last time and this time? Have you tried doing double IUI? I've recently polled the R e d d i t infertility community and it sounds like double IUIs may have some success especially in single-parent/same-sex couple situations. One more question: have you had genetic testing between and your donor to make sure you're compatible? Finally, I love your "ovary pep talk." I think I'm going to steal it!

@deaf_girl without using OPKs and BBT, do you know for sure that you're ovulating? How long are you cycles normally? Have you had your hormone levels tested (AMH, FSH, LH, Testosterone, DHEA, etc?) Also I know that it's easy to get into that negative mindset that you're running out of time, but I assure you... you are not! At 33, you are still very much a young and fertile woman. Hopefully we can help answer some or many questions you may have. Regarding the J tube, what is your question specifically? Does it affect fertility? I don't know anything about it, but I'm pretty good at research so if I come across something, I'll definitely forward it to you.

@photographerwife YH's SA is STELLAR. It's basically what every man hopes for. And yay for your 1 hardworking tube! Hopefully with a bit of assistance, you can be on your way to a BMB. As for mental health, I hear you. I was near crisis in September when we started treatment. I've had to go on anxiety medication, and start seeing a fertility therapist. I also ended up singing up for a group mindfulness course in Feb (it's 8 weeks). In exchange, I gave up working out, but I justified that my mental health is where I needed to focus on. Do you have any options to see a therapist or participate in a group to help take care of yourself? I'm sorry your BFF is blowing you off though. It sounds too like maybe she's not being mature about it? Has she been forthcoming with you that she needs some time to take care of her own stuff or did she just start ignoring your outreach?

acleverusername · March 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): currently running more testing to see if we can explain the "unexplained" which is what we've been told. But also AMA and likely MFI given inconsistent SAs.

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTAF

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): well we didn't get all of the testing that TEW had prescribed done because the earlier appointment to check for ASA was 23 days out (on Mar 23). So, we're going to have to skip another cycle (i.e. try naturally) before moving on to any kind of treatment. This week we sent off our genetic carrier tests, including hereditary cancer screen for MH. The genetic carrier stuff is a repeat as we've already done it in August, but the doctor ordered it so we did it.

How are things going?: It's alright. Bummed of course that this wasn't our cycle. And that we have to skip another cycle because the place where we need to get the ASA test couldn't accommodate us for 3+ weeks. But, there's nothing we can do so I've just resigned to make the most of the time we have. I did manage to book an appointment with a doctor at the clinic where I did my ER in 2019 to start discussing fertilizing and testing those eggs. The appointment isn't until April 30 though. It's not a rush, but I'm glad there's some forward movement on this other, parallel initiative.

Otherwise, as I've hinted in the dailies, I've been doing a little research experiment on myself, specifically on how different supplementation effects my luteal phase. I'm putting the results in spoiler since it's long.

I've collected data I have on how different progesterone supplementation or no supplementation affects my luteal phase progesterone. To do this, I've done some self-ordered (through Walk-In Lab) progesterone blood tests, in addition to those that have previously been ordered by various providers. Here are the data and graph of these results:

From this, I'm deduced the following:

Supplementing with hCG this cycle has been really beneficial to my progesterone levels. However, this last cycle, TEW had me do a 1000IU micro-dose 3DPO and 10DPO. And it seems that I metabolize hCG very quickly. This is seen both in cycles where I've used Trigger shot; and also in this cycle, where my hCG dropped pretty quickly after the 1000IU dose 3DPO. I was testing out the micro-dose shot, and the 10mIU/mL test strips turned white 5 days after the micro-dose (8DPO); hCG blood test showed a level of 9 that day.
Vaginal progesterone (specifically Prometrium) alone doesn't seem to do much for me (except give me an itchy vagina). I only have 2 data points to support this: Cycle 8, when I was on 400mg of progesterone suppositories and my 8DPO reading was 16.2; and this cycle, where... after hCG had metabolized, my progesterone hovered around 10.

So, the question is: what do I do next? I asked TEW, and she's recommended the following options:

Take Prometrium orally
Switch to a different type of vaginal progesterone: Endometrin or Crinone
PIO (she said worst possible option given the side effects and the fact that we're still in the IUI phase of our treatment).

(Interestingly enough, I suggested to TEW that try more frequent micro-dose, but she doesn't feel that hCG micro-dosing alone would provide adequate progesterone supplementation.)

Of course, my "research" is pretty flawed in that:

Serum progesterone levels can fluctuate wildly and if I took the test 90 min later, I could have gotten a totally different result.
Luteal Phase Defect is not something many RE's believe in. In fact, ASRM has produced a white paper stating that LPD is not a cause of infertility. Therefore it cannot be treated with exogenous progesterone.
If LPD is not a cause of infertility, then what is? Of the possible causes listed in the white paper, thyroid dysfunction applies (but it's under control). Maybe endo? This going to get validated when I go for my baseline ultrasound when we start a cycle with TEW.

Does anyone here have any thoughts on this?

Any questions?: See spoiler above.

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!? Well, being in SF, this question doesn't really apply to me because it's actually been a cold week here (temperatures between 40-50) and it doesn't really get warmer than 55-60 in SF ever. I do like the rather flat temperature curve.

deaf_girl · March 2021

My questions are...will it affect the baby?? Also can I still have a C section (an absolute must for me health wise)??

Honestly I don't know...which is why I will be going back to OPKs next month, if this one fails. I never got the hang of exactly how to do BBT, so I gave up. My hormone levels haven't been checked recently.

It's kinda funny, my cycles used to be all over the place, between 17 days and 5 months in between. But when I was put on a Foley catheter, they have evened out a bit over the months. Now my longest so far has been 33 days...I don't know why that is.

[Deleted User] · March 2021

@acleverusername Thank you!!!! I hope so too! **TW** We have never been successful in the first try, so that is something that's weighing on me...
/**TW**

The easier question to answer is no, I'm not really doing the Creighton stuff anymore. I just track AF in FF and log ewcm or any truly notable symptoms. Bc with Azoospermia, there's really no point, except knowing when to anticipate AF. :/ Creighton made it way easier to track CM - completely demystified it for me, so that's awesome. And the Napro stuff was really cool, but I mean, if they had just done DHs SA sooner, we would have realized right away we were barking up the wrong tree. That is one thing that's kind of annoying about the whole thing. For all the throughly fascinating data we collected about *me*, (including 24hr cortisol tracking), we could have saved a lot of time and money on testing by just doing the SA when we both walked in the door. 😔

As for our transfers....
(The Cliff's notes are in my siggy, but....)
***TW*** IVF success and failures,
*mild mention of delivery*

<div class="Spoiler">After two back to back IVFs, first I needed a polypectomy to prepare for transfer. We did a pretty standard medicated protocol with our very best 5AA embryo that ended in a CP. We tried the same exact protocol again, and had success the second time in 12/2017.

When we returned to center, I didn't need any extra procedures, except bc my first was a c-section it was a whole fiasco getting Obstetric clearance to transfer. LSS I switched Obs lol 😂 but anyway, my RE said we could try a natural cycle. So we did. It failed. She said, "okay, we can do medicated! At least we know that worked before." I started a medicated protocol with PIO... Only to have my progesterone Not. Rise. Like WTF. Still have no idea what happened there. We even sent my vials out for analysis, but I don't know if my RE ever heard anything back. 🤷 So natural cycle it is, we waited for AF and tried again. That one also failed. (Sorry, it's hard not to get emotional about it.) But my RE insisted there wasn't any other testing we needed, nothing else she would do differently, we just had to try again. So we did. And it worked!!!! OMG. Idk what we would have done if it hadn't. But it was also 12/2019, so it would have been a new deductible year lol but seriously, we probably would have needed a mental health break at that point, but anyway, we finally got lucky, and here we are!

We also managed to have a VBAC, so the wait time between deliveries is less. My clinic waits a year from delivery to transfer from a section, but only six months after a vaginal delivery, just in case anyone may be in a position to try for a sibling down the road...

Phew! Anyway, hope I didn't say too much. I'm always happy to answer questions, and I will always err on the side of spoiler-ing.</div>

[Deleted User] · March 2021

@acleverusername how are you liking the mindfulness course? Where did you find it? Is it specifically IF focused?

acleverusername · March 2021

@deaf_girl I think those are excellent questions for your OB! Do you have a high-risk OB by any chance? If not, I would recommend looking for one. In any case, Google for J-tube and pregnancy led me to this blog. I skimmed some of the article, but sounds like the author has had a feeding tube since childhood and has successfully had at least one child. If you're interested, perhaps reaching out to her might be a good idea.

Good thing about cycles getting more even. If you start OPKs and try BBT, you might actually figure out if you're ovulating and that would be step 1. Good luck.

acleverusername · March 2021

@BusinessWife Wow... you've been through a lot. I can understand how rehashing it can bring up some of those near-to-the-surface emotions. Thank you for sharing your journey in so much details. *Virtual hugs* So, you're going medicated route this time around? Hopefully your progesterone will rise on PIO! Did you ever have the ERA test done?

As for mindfulness course, it's not IF focused. It was recommended to me by my psychiatrist. Here's the link to it. It uses the teachings of Jon Kabat-Zinn who is a well-renowned mindfulness expert. He started doing a stress reduction course at UMass in the 1970's and ppl whom medicine could not help were referred to him by doctors. Last night was session 6 so only 2 more classes to go. It's been REALLY helpful. The homework can be pretty intense (I think in week 3 we had to do a 40 min sitting medication, a yoga meditation and 3x3 min mediations throughout the day), but it's meant to build out a toolkit and enable you to carry on your meditation practice beyond the course.

fitzfizz · March 2021

*Lurking*

@deaf_girl To echo what @acleverusername said, I was also thinking that you really should meet with a high risk OB/MFM doctor prior to trying to get pregnant. They would best be able to answer your questions and come up with a plan before getting pregnant. I always recommend women with any type of chronic health conditions have a preconception apt with MFM, so it is a pretty common thing for them. Anatomically a GJ would not be a problem with pregnancy or a C-section, but I would be more concerned with coming up with a plan for nutritional requirements of pregnancy as I’m assuming if you have a GJ you have some difficulty with gastroparesis or dysmotility. Additionally, you mentioned a Foley, and whether it is an indwelling or intermittent self cath, you would definitely want to have a plan for that in pregnancy. Both anatomically and for increased infection risk. If you don’t already have an OB, a PCP could place a referral.

[Deleted User] · March 2021

@acleverusername no we never did ERA. I guess my doctor felt that<div>
***TW***
<div class="Spoiler">
Since it had worked once before, we knew I should have normal receptivity. This time will be natural again. It's crazy. I've had both medicated and natural cycles work, and not work. It really is a crapshoot at times, scientifically speaking... 🙄</div></div>

deaf_girl · March 2021

I met with a high risk OB once...when we first started trying. I'll have my SO get ahold of my OB and try to set up another appointment. Thanks for the help

bumblebee0210 · March 2021

@acleverusername Oh man I love your data nerd ways. Thoughts on LP, etc in spoiler. *tw will mention lc/mc*

Ok, so grain of salt, not a doctor, etc. I also had short-ish LPs basically since starting to try at age 30 (though they were 14 days the first 3 months off of BC before my first mc, after that they have been 9-12. Generally shorter after a pg). I never thought it was an issue because I actually had a fairly easy time getting pregnant, and it's not like my miscarriages were all CPs (I have had 2 of those, but also one at 8 weeks and one at 11 weeks, which were not progesterone issues). I also had one healthy pregnancy during that time.

I think, in retrospect, the shorter LPs (and now longer FPs-- used to O on day 11-12 now more like 17), and the miscarriages, are all a part of my general ovarian aging and low egg quality. I am younger than you (34) but my AMH is super low and and I have family history of early menopause. Basically, I think the shortening of my LP over time is not the problem itself, but a symptom of my ovaries starting to crap out.

As I said-- not a doctor! And it's just a hypothesis. But I would try to parallel process your frozen eggs and maybe try to retrieve more. If cost is an issue maybe try the Mexico clinic or your AZ option? Easy for me to say from New England where fertility coverage is mandatory!

AFM: Ganirelix and Leuprolide arriving today. COVID consent nonsense (mostly) dealt with. All clear to start stims tomorrow. Just hoping those 10 follies can grow some eggs!

keikilove · March 2021

@deaf_girl Welcome! Sorry you’re dealing with IF treatment too. Just wanted to add that the advice from fitzfizz couldn’t be better: in case it wasn’t clear, she is a doctor. 😉We relied on her feedback a lot before she graduated from TTGP.

@optimistgardener Welcome! Sorry you’re feeling burnt out. Your follicle count sounds promising—hopefully this cycle will reap some reward! There are several of us (still) here who have been trying since 2017 or 2018, so you are not alone on that front. (Or the “I’m old” front 🙋‍♀️ or the “low AMH” front 🙋‍♀️). Basically, you are amongst friends here. 😊

@quiltandknit Yay for feeling good about a new cycle! “One day at a time”’sounds like a great plan.

@Lisa3379 Sorry for the ongoing waiting game. As others suggested, you may want to ask your doctor why you have to wait to get started: what did your test results show? It’s very possible that it was a real period after bcp. (Happened to me 2 or 3 months ago during bcp.) So what’s his reason for delay?

@acleverusername Way to go with the tracking of data! FWIW, I’ve always heard that progesterone should be around 20 for the average healthy pregnancy, and for those of us with autoimmune issues, the RI doctors want to see it closer to 50. With your numbers, it would seem likely that only PIO or Crinone will get you there. P.S. I see absolutely no difference in my levels if I take progesterone orally, but boy do I have the horrible side effects of feeling KU when taking it that way.🤢 The PIO & vaginal administration do not give me side effects. (Sorry you had to deal with the itchy vag! That sounds like reason enough to switch administration routes!)

@bumblebee0210 Congrats on being ready to start stims! Sorry you’ve continued to deal with all that coverage bs. It’s such a hassle. Best of luck with growing those eggs!

@BusinessWife Welcome back! It was nice to see your official intro.☺️ It makes sense that you’re really feeling the weight of it. I hope this final cycle is equally as successful as the last.💕

@photographerwife I’m sorry it’s been such a stressful time for you. That really sucks about the friend. I hope she will reach out to you eventually and let you know what’s going on. And congrats on YH’s stellar SA! One less thing to worry about.

I hope I didn’t miss anyone! It’s been a long week and there were lots of interesting comments to read through...

Diagnosis (if you've been): RPL, DQ Alpha match (which likely is the cause of elevated NK cells and activity), blood-clotting disorders, AMA, DOR

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFAF

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): We just did a frozen embryo transfer (2 embryos) almost 2 weeks ago. I am sure it wasn’t successful. I’m skipping the beta next Monday, hoping AF will show up before then. If it was going to be a positive I would’ve gotten a clear BFP at home by now.

How are things going?: I’ve had a few days to process that this FET very likely didn’t work, and then a couple days of BFNs to confirm that. So I’m doing ok now, but was wondering the other day when is the right time to throw in the towel on this whole process? I was also wondering when is it too long to keep posting in TTGP? Like, this ish is seriously getting old.... Feeling better today.🙃I contacted my RE’s office to set up a phone consult/touch base and next steps. I also emailed my Reproductive Immunologist’s office to set up an appointment with the head wizard of RI: I want to discuss my meds and which ones may not be needed. I had a suspicion that my body might’ve been overly suppressed by all the immune meds when I did the FET, not allowing implantation to occur correctly—I have a gut feeling my instincts are right on this.

Any questions?: NATM

GTKY: As the weather starts to warm up, what has you most excited about Spring!? It’s always decent weather here overall. I like Spring only because it’s one step closer to Summer—my favorite! ☀️

[Deleted User] · March 2021

Oh @keikilove
<img alt="" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/j7/7wjuucd6omp4.gif">
I feel so hard for you. ❤️ Obviously there's no right or wrong answer to that. I don't know how many embryos you may have remaining, but for me, I know I wouldn't feel right about it until at least we had brought them all home. If continuing would mean a whole new IVF cycle, then that of course is another ballgame. But I have a feeling you will / would know. ❤️ I personally stayed in TTGP for a looooong time when I was either effectively or officially benched. It was many months between getting our official dx, and then when DH finally had his sperm retrieval, so I didn't know if our journey was going to end right there. :/ But everyone kept loving on me as much as I needed to get through those dry months. As far as I'm concerned, there's always a place here for you if you want it. ((((Hugs))))

ETA I have also come to learn that there are lots of paths to grow a family as long as that's still in your heart, and heaven knows I doubt any of us here thought our journeys would look exactly how they do. Goes to show, you really never can tell....

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