IF Testing & Treatment w/o 6.28

keikilove · June 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.

Diagnosis (if you've been):

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA):

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

How are things going?:

Any questions?:

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general?

inthewoods23 · June 2021

Hi hey. I guess I'm sorta doing something so I may as well check in

Diagnosis (if you've been): low morph, unexplained/inflammation and/or possibly minor immune system related issues

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): trying out an antihistamine protocol. Half because it likely won't hurt, half because I know my sister takes Benadryl constantly with her allergies and she's never had a problem conceiving so maybe that's why she's never had a problem but I do *shrug*

How are things going?: I'm doing well with our 5 year anniversary and vacation on the horizon and FW starting

Any questions?: I can't seem to find an answer to this but I'm really crappy at searching things - I did an ERA a year and a half ago and found that my lining was receptive at the time they did the biopsy (smack in the middle of the receptive window too). Does that also mean that there is nothing that could be blocking implantation? My ReceptivaDX test also showed no inflammation/endometriosis, but there's also endometritis that is also a type of inflammation? I'm really not sure what I'm asking. I just feel like there's a missing piece to my puzzle that I'm so close to finding.

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? With our anniversary on Friday our plan A is to spend the day at Six Flags. A place we haven't been in 10+ years haha. If it is going to be raining quite a bit then our plan B is to visit a very vacation-y county in our state that has some state parks and such. It's a decent drive to get there but that's half the fun! Other than that we just do a summer vacation with DH's family also in July. One of these days when the time is right though my family might all come together and go on a cruise. But that's really it for summer for us.

daisy0322 · June 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): POI

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): Not sure

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): waiting for my appointment

How are things going?: things are fine just waiting

Any questions?: so I had two days of spotting about a week ago, any one have any guesses why? That’s unusual for me.

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? Mini Vacation - I’m pretty excited. We are just going one state away but we have a lot of fun stuff planned.

And846 · June 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained secondary

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): medicated and monitor. This was to be IUI cycle #3 but the timing of my cycle looks like we will be OOT on vacation. Since we will be together the clinic is advising we keep it medicated and see what things look like next week.

How are things going?: I'm kind of happy we are doing just a medicated cycle this month without an IUI. Takes the pressure off and will allow me to just chill. I've been so stressed over all this that I need to relax for a month. And I'm sure stress while on this journey doesn't help the matter.

Any questions?: Dr won't consult with us until after the third failed IUI about moving onto IVF but being a type A, I'm looking ahead financially. I know the clinic has told us what the range can be and after looking up the lab fees and procedure fee, it looks like half the cost is coming from Rx. Go figure that our insurance won't cover Rx or IVF. I'm currently getting some meds through Freedom Fertility Pharmacy but wondering if there are cheaper options...or if I'd even need a bulk of them based on tests. My lurking here the last few weeks has given me the idea that it's all individually driven based on the person.

STATS in spoiler

cycle is 28-31 days
ovulation occurs naturally each month between days 13-16
Sperm Analysis: normal
AMH: 5.26 (tad higher but dr not concerned)
FSH: 6.0
Estradiol: 26.4
Prolactin: 6
Vit

28.1 (low)
HSG: normal flow / no tubes blocked

IUI #1 - 1 mature egg after Letrozole 2.5 mg // SA post wash good
endometrial lining on CD 10 was 5mm and Estradiol prescribed. lining increased to 10mm
IUI #2 - 2 mature eggs after Letrozole 5 mg // Estradiol vaginally immediately after Letrozole complete // SA great post wash

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? This holiday is the usually family BBQ and being hosted at a house without a pool so a giant inflatable water slide was rented. I'll probably feel my age the next day. First vacation is for a beach trip with 6 other families and I may or may not have already pre-packed by having all the clothes I plan to wear set aside.

inthewoods23 · June 2021

@And846 Freedom seems to have the lowest prices to my knowledge. We had been using Schraf's 2.0 for the IUI triggers and progesterone suppositories but later found out for IVF meds our prescription insurance required it to go through Freedom. My protocol include lupron, menopur, gonal-f, and the trigger shot. You might be able to find some coupons online or programs if you don't have insurance for the meds. If you search back in the IF threads from a 2-3 years ago you might find some other good tips for cheap meds. If your insurance doesn't cover the meds, you might have more options like getting your meds overseas. I've heard of some people ordering them online from a pharmacy in the UK, Canada, or even Israel(?). Your stats are pretty similar to mine so you might not need a ridiculous amount of meds. I did not require a lot for stimulation. They actually dropped my gonal-f dosage after my first monitoring appointment so I was left with an entirely unused 300IU pen of it. What's your AFC? Do you know?

optimistgardener · June 2021

hey @And846 my clinic usually has me buy my drugs both through freedom fertility and through an israeli company called IVFPharmacy. The latter seems to have cheaper options for drugs like menopur and gonal-f. They have been really easy to deal with.

Edit: apparently Israel is aggressively pro-fertility in its social welfare policies for its citizens, which helps keep the costs way down. IVFPharmacy ships regularly to the US and were not at all flummoxed about dealing with me.

kiwi2628 · June 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFAF

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): waiting for AF so I can do my ET!

How are things going?: geared up and excited and time is moving SO SLOW

Any questions?:

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? Going up to Lake George for our yearly friends-gathering up there in August. Hoping to be able to surprise them with fun news!

keikilove · June 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): Ugh, so many things I’m actually tired of thinking about it.

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO/WFER

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Sometime at the end of this week it’s our second round of egg retrieval in our second attempt at DuoStim. This is the luteal phase collection, which is usually better than the follicular phase collection. I’m hoping that it pans out that way for us.🤞🏽

How are things going?: Things are good. I’ve been feeling hopeful & positive. My boobs have been hurting like crazy the past few days of stimming so I’m hoping that means my estradiol is high, and that we have lots of healthy eggs. On my way to first U/S monitoring appointment now at my local RE to find out!

Any questions?: For anyone else who has done DuoStim (@bumblebee0210 and anyone else?) did your doctor ever check your estradiol in the luteal phase? My RE does not— she says it doesn’t work the same way during the luteal phase. I’m just curious to hear what others may have experienced. Thanks!

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? Right now we don’t have any set plans for 4th of July. We don’t know our schedule yet for egg retrieval, and there’s a chance that’s how we are spending the holiday (or maybe recuperating from ER the day before?). Our anniversary is coming up after that; DH told me last night that he already has a plan that I’m going to love so I don’t have to worry about planning anything. That’s nice.

@optimistgardener That’s great that your clinic recommends you to order meds though IVFPharmacy! I’ve heard nothing but good things about that company. There’s also IVF Smart Pharmacy with a good rep overseas & stateside.

@And846 So sorry your insurance doesn’t help cover any of this! It only adds to the inevitable stress. It’s great that some of your stress is being alleviated by switching to a medicated TI cycle. Sometimes it helps to just take a break for a minute! If/when you do get back to planning for IVF, you can trust several overseas pharmacies for much cheaper meds (mentioned above). You can also apply in the US for Compassionate Care, which may qualify you for discounts off of certain major meds that are frequently prescribed in this process.

@daisy0322 Your post is so vague that I don’t have much to respond to!😆 But I hope your mini-vacay is super fun. What will you be doing for fun or relaxation?

@inthewoods23 I hope others with more knowledge than myself will chime in on your question. My assumption is that if your ReceptivaDX came back all clear then you are good to go re: endometriosis or endometritis. My REs have all told me that ReceotivaDX tends to give way more positives than not, even if a person doesn’t have endo, so if you get a negative you are all good. As far as receptivity, it would seem that implantation should be able to happen if the ERA showed good timing. But there could be some kind of immune response shortly after implantation that is causing problems. Your antihistamine protocol is meant to address that potential reaction during/ after implantation. And hey, my limited knowledge with that protocol is that it cannot hurt anything. So, best of luck with it!🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽

inthewoods23 · June 2021

@keikilove thank you!! That's reassuring. I can't be too mad if it doesn't work this one time because most people aren't unicorns lol. I will be curious in the future to have an immunology work up and see where I stand. I'm hoping I can fix it on my own here in the coming months and look into the why later. I just don't want to do it yet without trying my vaccine theory. If it does work, well then the question is going to be what the heck do we do decide to TTC for #2. I can't just hope for another pandemic vaccine

@optimistgardener oh good I was right about Israel! @And846 definitely check with the clinic when it's time to make a decision about moving to IVF what options they allow for purchasing meds. I think some places would not be willing to write a prescription to an out of country pharmacy, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

daisy0322 · June 2021

@keikilove yeah I guess I was, sorry I was kind of grumpy earlier. I’m having a lot of joint pain lately. I’ve mapped out some different parks I want to go to, there’s a museum I want to see, and for the 4th I got river boat tickets to watch the fireworks while we have dinner floating down the river. That’s so great YH put plans together for you that’s so thoughtful.

@kiwi2628 the lake sounds nice! I’ve always wanted a boat. What do you all do up there?

@And846 ahhh yes I’m not much of a planner but packing ahead of time is a must. I’m a heavy packer too lol

optimistgardener · June 2021

I'll be back to tag tomorrow but wanted to get a post in before the day was out.

Diagnosis (if you've been): the usual: DOR, etc. anxiety, apparently

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): waiting for baseline u/s (July 4th!)

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): ivf #1: nuvaring/225 gonal-f/225 menopur/cetrotide

How are things going?: fingers crossed so hard that i can do this finally with no more delays. i'm getting by ok. i believe i have already complained elsewhere on this board recently that it is hotter than sh** where I live and I have mostly been cowering indoors. Tomorrow I will try to get out the door for a super early run.

Any questions?: Not really.

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? does poking yourself in the belly with needles count as "fun"? apart from that... I'm hoping to head out to the beach (it's 3 hours away) at least once more this summer, and am also hoping that I will get a visit from an old friend from my fieldwork days later in the summer.

knottie7bc8467b6ac68efe · June 2021

I'll be back later from a computer to do tags.

Diagnosis (if you've been): Irregular periods/poor ovulation

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFAF

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Next cycle I start letrozole + monitoring + timed intercourse.

How are things going?: I am so relieved that how I've been feeling for 5 years wasn't all in my head; switching care providers is revolutionary.

Any questions?: Uh, never done any of this so I'm sure lots but none come to mind now.

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general?

The rodeo this weekend.

And846 · June 2021

back for tags!

@inthewoods23 hey! might as well try out that antihistamine protocol. Whats the worst the can happen from a few Benadryls this month. I'm jazzed about your six flags plan A. I hope the weather pans out for that! I jotted down the Rx protocol you had so I can start looking at coupons and discounts.
AFC counts at CD 3 (is this right? or it it a different lab I should be looking at)

IUI #1 Left 9 Right 12 // ended with 1 19mm on Left
IUI #2 Left 14 Right 16 // ended with 20mm and 12mm on Right
Medicated #3 Left and Right "looks like a lot growing in there"

@optimistgardener so many mentions about this Israeli pharmacy. I will def have to look into that as an option. FX for you that you do not have any delays! I'm with ya on the super hot weather. Can't catch a break here...boiling hot, rain, boiling hot again.

@kiwi2628 Yay for ER! I know the feeling of time moving so slow when you have something to look forward to. Do you have anything planned until ER to keep your mind occupied?

@keikilove do you have any idea what DH may be planning for your anniversary?

@daisy0322 River boat with floating dinner sounds pretty darn good!

@beakay8 100% with ya on the relief feeling. I didn't switch care providers but when I realized things were not working out on their own and started getting tested and got this current plan in motion there was a feeling of relief.

optimistgardener · June 2021

back.

@inthewoods23 i'm curious to see how the antihistamine protocol goes! I feel like if i were taking benadryl regularly i would just become a fuzzy-headed slug on the couch in the corner. It knocks me out! How are you doing with that?

@And846 I am happy to share more about IVFPharmacy (or Freedom Pharmacy) if you think of any questions. The last time IVFPh shipped drugs to me, they did it in 2 shipments and, although they warned me they would do this, it was sort of buried in an email I didn't read very carefully and so I initially freaked out when only half of my prescription was there. I sent them a panicked email about it and they responded quickly to calm me down. The second half of the shipment arrived 2 days later.

@kiwi2628 woohoo! ET time! that's exciting.

@keikilove i laughed out loud at your answer to "Diagnosis." I feel like every time I do the weekly check-in answering that part of it is a bit like, I dunno, staring the fates in the eye or something. Plus I could probably add a half dozen other things to my list of diagnoses (mild endo, possible mild post-surgical scarring, vit. D deficiency, etc.) but never bother because it seems clear that my decrepitness and my ovary's loneliness are the main issues. I realize in reading your update that I don't really understand the DuoStim process very well. I'm going to have to read up on it. Fingers crossed for another successful retrieval!! I hope the traveling this time around is way less stressful.

@daisy0322 sympathies on the grumpiness. that's been me a lot lately. there's just a LOT going on, and sometimes it comes out in ways that I don't even notice until I look back and I'm like, woah, i was friggin grumpy this morning. Sorry to hear about the joint pain. 😕

bumblebee0210 · June 2021

@kekilove I didn't actually do duostim, i did 3 back-to-back follicular phase cycles, so I got my e2 levels checked each time. It does make sense though because normally in follicular phase (esp post stim) e2 is dropping so maybe the levels are really hard to interpret.

AFM: Hopefully back later for more tags/updates, but I'm back in the game! Tonight is day 3 of clomid, day 1 of injectables. @optimistgardener cycle buddies??

optimistgardener · June 2021

@bumblebee0210 that would be nice! i've still got another half a week before my first appointment, so we might be kind of half-overlapping cycle buddies, depending on how fast you stim and whether they give me the green light! but the comradery would be nice. How are you feeling this time around? I hope feeling good about your time off and ready to get back in the action. I almost tagged you the other day with a really interesting study I found looking at how the ovaries respond to back-to-back ovulations (like if yr left ovary, say, decides to take on the duty twice in a row, or in my case, my right ovary just always being in the captain's seat) vs switching off turns at bat. The conclusion was that quality of follicle was improved when the ovaries trade off because it gives the "off-duty" ovary an opportunity to recover and not bathe in hormones for a bit. There was some discussion of how this could have implications for back-to-back retrievals, and whether it might be better to do bcp cycles between retrievals to get in much-needed resting breaks for the ovaries. Of course, I'm doing a terrible job of describing this and like an idiot I didn't bookmark the article, but I'll try hunting around for it again later because I found it really interesting especially in light of your experience of your ovaries kind of pooping out after a couple of cycles last time around.

Edit: found the article. My description of the study is a little off, plus it's from 2000, so basically it's ancient and should therefore be taken with a grain of salt, but I still found it interesting. The discussion section in particular is worth a read-through.

inthewoods23 · June 2021

@optimistgardener yes poking yourself does count as fun

it was fun for me just because it was something I had never done before. FX every thing looks great at your baseline! The antihistamine protocol doesn't actually start until 4dpo although I have read that claritin needs like a month to be effective, but maybe that's when you're talking actual seasonal allergies. I haven't seen a clear answer if the protocol continues into pregnancy or if you do stop at 10dpo (or likely when you do get a BFP). There seems to be some debate over how much Benadryl. Some will take just 50mg at night since it makes you sleepy. Others do the 25mg 3x a day. Not sure what I'm going to do. I have about a week to decide.

@beakay8 curious what poor ovulation means? What does it take to figure that out?

@And846 so far it looks like our weather is actually going to be perfect! Last I checked it'll be 72 and mostly sunny. Your AFC looks pretty good too! My RE always liked to see at least 10 in total (for IUIs anyway). GL!

knottie7bc8467b6ac68efe · June 2021

@inthewoods23 I'm going to put this answer in a TW for mention of LC, which was relevant to this decision/diagnosis...

So it took a few things, but essentially it was a handful of things all together: (1) My cycle is approx. 32 days, and I ovulate around CD 20, so my LP is 12 days, but I start spotting every cycle around CD 10... so I spot 2-3 days, and then have a light AF; (2) yesterday, when doing a vaginal u/s for a health check on my uterus for another reason, my OB noted that my uterine lining was only 4 mm, and it should be >7 mm at this half-way point in my LP (I was 7 DPO yesterday) to really support implantation; basically, my luteal phase is short and there's just not enough time to get things done, so with a luteal phase defect like that, helping my body super ovulate should bring ovulation sooner, improve lining development, and extend my luteal phase to help pregnancy happen; and (3) I have a living child, and it took me 16 cycles to conceive him naturally, which she said really didn't match my age expectations, and my fertility workup at my previous provider showed everything in "normal" range, which she said was probably true but after 12 months they really should have done a deeper dive (my previous OB told me I probably wasn't "trying to get pregnant right" whatever that means), and we basically discussed that getting pregnant with a luteal phase defect isn't impossible, it's just highly unlikely and tends to take a very, very long time, which matches with last time, which suggests that there likely isn't a more inhibiting fertility factor at play, or at least not one we should look into quite yet since I've had a successful pregnancy before (which doesn't mean too much for this time, exactly, but does make her and I a little more optimistic that this will work and it's worth starting here sooner).

That was a massive information dump and I hope answering your question.

kiki047 · June 2021

@inthewoods23 I basically live on antihistamines this time of year so I'll have to remember to bring that up when I have my consults. Benadryl makes me sleeeeepy (it's the same active ingredient as Unisom) so I use it as both an antihistamine as needed, and a sleep aid.
@daisy0322 are you still on your same crazy long an-o cycle? Hormonal imbalances are the most likely cause of spotting mid cycle, which makes sense given your dx/history. I had the same thing this month and I'm on CD36 with no real signs of AF (normal for me is 29-31 days).
@and846 even though changing plans stresses me out, sometimes that unexpected detour is kind of a relief. Hope you're able to make the most out of this medicated cycle with just good ol' fashioned HIO without all that pressure of the IUI.
@kiwi2628 ooh I sure hope you'll have good news to share on your trip. If not, that sounds like a fun distraction with your friends! Do you rent a cabin all together?
@keikilove hope your monitoring appt went smoothly without any hiccups this time. Keeping everything crossed for you for a fantastic second ER. I was sorry to hear that your Day 5 embryo didn't make it last week. Sending hugs. Excited to hear what YH has planned for your anniversary though! We're going on a little golfing vacay next week our our anniversary, first time we'll have gone anywhere other than a week at the cottage since our honeymoon 2 years ago.
@optimistgardener oh god, the heat. If it's this hot in Canada, I can only imagine how hot it must be where you are. Stay cool, friend! When is your anticipated CD1 again?
@beakay8 hi there, welcome! Sorry if I missed something in between but I went back and read your intro and there was no mention of any history of IF or testing and with this only being your 3-4 cycle off BCP that's quite a leap to medicated cycles. Can you help fill in some of the gaps for us? Glad to hear you changing providers is empowering you to seek the treatment you always thought you needed! We are always preaching that you are your own best advocate for this reason.

knottie7bc8467b6ac68efe · June 2021

@kiki047 I filled in some gaps, I hope, above in reply to @inthewoods23. Essentially, my previous provider spent a lot of time gaslighting me and telling me I couldn't get pregnant because "I was doing it wrong." This is my first time off BCP *this time* and not my first time off BCP, in general, and I use BCP to treat irregular cycles; I ovulate late and have a short luteal phase naturally, and it's something I've known my entire life, but my last care provider was very dismissive of it, and my new one is not. They took my menstrual history seriously, and I've tracked these three cycles closely.

kiki047 · June 2021

Sorry, I type too slow. @beakay8 I saw your response to ITW, that makes more sense. A 10-12 day LP isn't really a defect, I'd consider 8-9 days to be more alarming because the implantation window is typically between 7-8dpo, any shorter than that would be reason for concern. Good that your OB is being proactive but that doesn't sound entirely accurate. Did they do bloodwork too? You'd want to get your progesterone checked around 7dpo if you're spotting. Progesterone supplementation can help lengthen your LP and stabilize your lining long enough for implantation and to hopefully sustain a pregnancy. I don't see where "poor" ovulation comes into play other than maybe you ovulate a little later than the typical CD14. Are they going to re-check your bloodwork? AMH? AFC? If they haven't or aren't going to do any new labs that raises some red flags for me because I wouldn't just send someone off into a medicated cycle without some baseline info. What about YH? Has he been checked?

mvt2003 · June 2021

**lurking**

@beakay8 Greetings! TTGP grad over here, and a longtime member of this thread! @kiki047 is totally right on to ask about further testing, and to include YH! I routinely have a 12 day lp, and when I was actively TTC and VERY stressed about it, I would also have the shorter LPs with spotting that you've mentioned. Once we pursued full testing, we discovered MH's count was very low due to a varicocele, so the issue preventing conception was not from my end, and *TW spoiler*

we now have LCs even with my 12 day lp.

Even given your TTC history, it would be worth having your H checked, since count can be affected by so many things!

inthewoods23 · June 2021

@beakay8 I'm just being nosy asking...

so how were you able to conceive DS the first time? It sounds like they didn't offer your any help the first time around. Did you try out natural things that help increase lining (certain foods I think do). I assume you did nothing medicated at the time.

I agree with what @kiki047 said. A 12 day LP is in normal range so it sounds like your issue is just that your lining isn't building and therefore can't support a pregnancy. I think the thinnest lining I've seen from this thread that was still successful was somewhere above 6mm. As you probably know, they like to see at least 7mm. I take it you were tracking thing back then too so the idea of "you're not trying to get pregnant right" is silly. Also who says that??? I mean, say that to the people that think anal is the right hole (happened to a couple in China or somewhere in Asia). Not to the people who are tracking and know their timing is correct.

@kiki047 definitely worth mentioning the antihistamines since my research indicated it changes your TH1/TH2 ratio/levels. I don't know by how much though. From what I gathered some don't believe it helps and others do. Sounds like everything else in the IF world

optimistgardener · June 2021

@kiki047 It was 112 yesterday, which is basically hell. I am supposed to take my nuvaring out today (but will actually wait till tmrw on the theory that i am at more risk for a runaway follicle than being over-suppressed). hoping for a CD1 of Fri/Sat with baseline appt on Sunday.

kiki047 · June 2021

@optimistgardener oh sweet pickles that's hot! Yup, that's basically hell on earth lol. I hope you have AC in your house. My BFF on the west coast doesn't have AC because temperatures are usually fairly mild but she's positively melting in this heat. FX for your baseline this weekend, will be checking constantly for updates!
@inthewoods23 I'm snorting at your comment, sometimes when MH is goofing around I'll holler "WRONG HOLE" at him and he rolls his eyes like 'I know that...' Sure didn't feel like it BUDDY. (also, he hates it when I call him Buddy, lolll)

Diagnosis (if you've been): PCOS, RPL/RIF, mild MFI

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): Not tracking, just waiting out this cycle on CD36. I'll probably POAS this afternoon before my 2nd vaxx appt.

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Limbo. My follow up with my current RE is on Friday so I'm most likely going to do a few letrozole cycles while we wait.

How are things going?: Ah, up and down. With my birthday coming up in September I feel like I have AMA looming over my head (I'll be 35) and while I know that my (in)fertility isn't just some cliff that's going to drop off, I do feel time ticking away.

*TW* LC and MC mentioned

I had a minor meltdown after we had our first big family get together since last fall before things got locked down again. Watching MH's whole family just fawn over our only nephew is torture, and I was overwhelmed with the feeling that we'll never get there.

Then we finally got the hot tub going this year after dragging our feet all spring. It's a bit of a misnomer because we keep the water below 90 degrees in the summer so that we have somewhere to cool off from the heat, but also because TTC = no hot tubs/baths/saunas for MH. As I was floating in there it hit me that the last time I was in it last fall, I was maybe 9 weeks pregnant and didn't yet know that the baby's heart stopped beating. There's more to it but maybe I'll save it for TTCAL instead. Anyway, that triggered my post-MC PTSD in a way I never would have predicted.

Any questions?: If I'm already on metformin, will that skew my glucose levels when they test me? I was put on it back in October 2018 and have been on it since, and my RE has always commented that my blood sugar is fine but wouldn't that just mean that the metformin is working? I have to remember to ask this before any future tests so I can stop any meds the day before.

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? July 1st is Canada Day which I have off, but I have to work Friday, blah. We're going to have some family over, just a small backyard gathering. We used to run a massive 1,000 person community picnic on that day but in the last 10-15 years it hovered between 200-400, and then we stopped doing it all together a few years ago. It's been a 40+ year tradition for the family so we still try to spend that day together.

inthewoods23 · June 2021

@kiki047 live image of me at my desk right now

I. AM. DYING

ME TOO!!! I have no interest in that nor do I want to accidentally end up with an infection up in there. Dude can't you just guide yourself starting towards my front and working your way back and in?? lol

This was super TMI wasn't it haha

kiki047 · June 2021

@inthewoods23 right??

Image: https://media.giphy.com/media/XGOKTEoHSgduavRvVc/giphy.gif

keikilove · June 2021

@kiki047 @inthewoods23 Same girls, same.

MH sent me this on the topic.😬 NSFW:

inthewoods23 · June 2021

@keikilove @kiki047 we have the best conversations here

mokay19 · June 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): PCOS

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WFHysteroscopy

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

How are things going?: I hate being on birth control. I'm just on norethindrone since I can't take BC with estrogen in it due to severe migraines and I am SO BLOATED. I have seen many eyes look straight to my belly and I hate it.
I'm very happy that DH scheduled his SA for the same day as my procedure so we can just go up to the doctor's office and knock out both things at once. I also need to vent about DH and his SA.... he's done about 4 of these over the years. The first two were fantastic (2016). Then in 2019, those two were not as fantastic. And don't get me wrong, our issue first and foremost is that I don't have cycles, however, he seems like he's really struggling to grasp that his results 2 years ago were not great so he could be a combined problem with me. I tried to explain it to him and he basically just said he'll do the SA to "check the box." Deep breaths.

Any questions?: Not currently!

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? We're going to a lake house rental up north with all my mom's family. She's from a family of 8 kids and I have 26 cousins on that side of the family. My family has done this every year for as long as I can remember and it's my first time able to go in like 8 years!

keikilove · June 2021

Catching up today.

@inthewoods23 I laughed too hard at your “can’t just hope for another pandemic vaccine!”😄 True, true.

@kiwi2628 Sorry, I missed you yesterday! We must’ve been posting at the same time. Anyway, sorry time is dragging by when you’re so excited to just do the thing already! Totally understandable. The weekend trip sounds great. I hope that gives you something to look forward to and be occupied with to make the time go by faster.// My husband likes bougie things😄 so I’m guessing we are going to get dressed up and have a nice dinner somewhere.

@daisy0322 No need for apologies! Sorry, I was just looking for something to comment on in your post.😉 The trip sounds great!! Have fun floating the river.

@optimistgardener FX so hard for you that you get the green light this week! And also thinking of you in this heat wave. Good luck staying reasonably cool! Those temps are outrageous. // DuoStim is pretty simple
in that it allows for 2 retrievals in the same cycle. One retrieval happens right around the regular ovulation time, as in a normal IVF cycle. Then, after just 4-7 days of no meds, the patient starts a new stimulation cycle, growing more eggs in the luteal phase. This is possible because science has realized that we grow crops of eggs in patterns throughout our cycles and not just the ones that get produced for ovulation. So, DuoStim takes advantage of this by super-ovulating those that are being primed in the luteal phase. The odd thing is that it is normal to get a period during the second stim cycle and yet the eggs are still retrievable and are not shed with the lining at that time. I’m praying I don’t have my period when Dr has to go in for this next retrieval.😳

@bumblebee0210 Thanks for your input, that is helpful. And congrats on being back in the game!! Super exciting!

@kiki047 Aaawww, friend, I’m sorry for the triggers. 😢 I hope all the fun activities you have planned coming up will really lift your mood! Sounds like so much fun. I’m excited to hear what comes out of your appointment this Friday. Letrozole sounds like a happy medium until you can get in with the new place.

@mokay19 Ugh, sorry about the BCP and side effects! That is the worst!! And also sorry about YH’s smug outlook. Mine was exactly the same way— he kept referencing his “perfect” cholesterol and blood pressure levels 🙄 While I was there almost blowing my top trying to get him to understand that those things are NOT the same as the info in his SA! Best of luck to you with maintaining your patience.

UPDATE: I’m feeling kind of blah after yesterday’s monitoring appointment. Travel was smooth sailing, thanks to my local RE being willing to do my monitoring from the comfort of her private office that I usually go to. God bless them all: her nurse even coded it so that insurance would cover it, despite me doing IVF elsewhere. Anyway, the scan was less than comforting: We saw fewer follicles than I was hoping for. Appt details in spoiler.

Dr saw 2 or 3 good-sized follies on the right, plus something else that looked like a corpus luteum or possibly another follicle or maybe a cyst. I suspect it’s a corpus luteum left over from last retrieval. I’m wondering if it was a follicle that my RE in MX couldn’t see or didn’t get to when she retrieved the rest.🤷‍♀️ Dr also saw 3 on the left, all the same size thankfully, but a couple of mm smaller than those on the right. So it’s interesting the convo above (@optimistgardener) about ovaries taking turns sometimes. I’m thrilled if my left ovary is taking its turn this time, as it usually performs poorly compared to the right. I also saw lots of other dark circles on the U/S that I hoped were more follicles but my RE didn’t mention them. She did mention blood vessels though, so I guess that’s what they were. My RE in MX has brand new equipment and her images are clearer, so I’m hoping to see more follicles at that appointment tomorrow. It would be unusual to have fewer follies during this luteal phase than in the follicular phase. Anyway, in the beginning of this stim cycle I kept saying to MH that I had a feeling that I should increase my low doses for this second round of stimming. I said it for a few days but didn’t want to do anything without having monitoring. Now I feel like my instincts were right but nothing to do about it now. Oh well. So much of these IVF cycles are trial & error and learning how one’s individual body responds. I’m trying to remain content and hopeful and just look forward to meeting with my RE in MX to learn what our next steps are.

Another interesting thing is that my local RE’s nurse asked me yesterday if I wanted to check hormone levels. I told her that the RE in MX doesn’t do it for the luteal phase since it’s not accurate like in the follicular phase. The nurse said we could do it if I was curious, which of course I was! Results came back confusing: LH was super low, as it should be, Progesterone was low at 3.1 but higher than we expected to see (maybe caused by the leftover corpus luteum?), and estradiol was only at 114. 🤔 So I didn’t even get an explanation for why my boobs & nipples have been hurting like crazy for 4 days straight. Of course, today is the first day the pain is subsiding, which makes me nervous and questioning what’s changed in my body. Can’t win! Now I see why my DuoStim RE doesn’t check the BW.

Edited for spacing.

inthewoods23 · June 2021

@mokay19 have fun up north! Wherever that happens to be for you haha. Is that happening this weekend?

@keikilove I hope things all turn out well for your next retrieval. I know after a while the nurses were only counting the larger follicles during my monitoring appointments.

keikilove · June 2021

@acleverusername & others interested in the benefits of Letrozole: here is the article I mentioned recently that discusses the benefits of continuing Letrozole through the entire stimulation cycle instead of stopping after 5 days.

daisy0322 · June 2021

@optimistgardener this has been an incredibly hot year. That’s so nice that you live so close to the beach though!

@kiki047 yes the never ending cycle. I’ll put a shot of my chart in the spoiler. It’s a sh*t show. I reas your spoiler I just wanted to say my heart goes out to you if you ever need someone to talk to I’m a great listener 💕 Grief can hit at unexpected times but it’s never easy. I hope you get to enjoy Canada Day 🇨🇦

FF just keeps thinking I’ve ovulated Poor thing lol when I got these CHs I didn’t e en get excited I was just like bless your heart your tryin lol

Sorry I keep getting interrupted I’ll come back for more tags

mokay19 · June 2021

@inthewoods23 Hayward!

inthewoods23 · June 2021

@mokay19 I haven't been to that area! We vacation up in Three Lakes 🙂. A couple times we've spent a day at the zoo in Minoqua

optimistgardener · June 2021

@mokay19 sympathies about the birth control. it's totally the worst. I was moaning about being on the pill a couple of cycles ago on this thread. this time around i'm using the nuvaring, which seems to have been easier, side effect-wise, but probably not an option for you since it's based on the combo. also 🙄 omg about YH's dealio with his SA. What is it with dudes and their inability to cope if their spunk is anything less than jawdropping, sheesh. I hope your procedure goes super smoothly and that it's done in a jiffy. I gotta say though I'm a little torn here as to whether I should add, "and I hope YH's SA #s are spectacular!" How about this: I hope he swallows his pride, acknowledges his part in this journey, and is super supportive of you before and after your procedure! And that his numbers are solid (if not spectacular).

@kiki047 we are lucky and do have AC in this house (and, super lucky, a crazy old antique pool that my grandmother had installed when the house was built in the early 70s, so I am not complaining, much...). I hope your friend stays safe and cool in this heat. It's really quite frighteningly hot, especially for folks who don't have a cool place to stay.

mokay19 · June 2021

@inthewoods23 my friend has a lake house in Three Lakes so I've been up there a few times

@optimistgardener I'm also torn about wanting to prove me right vs wanting good results haha but really, I hope it's great to avoid further delays! Also, I'm glad that you have AC! Like kiki said, I have friends in the Tacoma area with no AC and they're struggling this past week!

bows22 · June 2021

@inthewoods23 I hope the weather turns out okay for six flags! I’m excited about your antihistamine plan - you never know!

@daisy0322 watching fireworks from a riverboat sounds awesome! We are going to be at a lake and I wanted to go out on the boat for the fireworks but DH says there will be too many boats out there 👎🏻 So I’m very jealous of your plan!

@and346 I’m sorry your IUI timing got messed up but I’m glad you’re feeling good about the medicated cycle too!

@keikilove looking forward to hear how your appointment goes today! I hope you see some more follicles!

@optimistgardener i think a baseline ultrasound is the most fun way I can think of to spend the 4th of July haha! I’m excited things are starting up for you again! I hope you were able to get your run in before it gets too hot!

@kiki047 ❤️ I’m sorry that things are triggering/annoying lately. I don’t blame you though. I’m glad you are finally having your follow up and can do something productive while waiting for the new consult!

@mokay19 I have issues with migraines too and I’m nervous for when I stop the BC and everything comes crashing back down. And eyeroll to YH about the SA!

bows22 · June 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): unexplained,AMA,endometrial polyps/thickening

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): Benched

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?) hysteroscopy next week!

How are things going?: I actually have an update so I thought I’d check in! I had my pre-op appointment today. It was uneventful as far as the procedure but I finally got to talk to them about next steps. I have to have a withdrawal bleed + wait through another cycle for a period before I can do an IUI, so I’m going to stay on the birth control for an extra 2 weeks or so. I know that cycle may be longer while my body adjusts but if for some reason I bounce right back I’ll be taking clomid while I’m on vacation with my family and I don’t want to be miserable (mostly as in moody). So we decided we would try to push it back so that I won’t start that next cycle until after I get home and then only DH will be subject to my side effects!

Any questions? You can ovulate during the cycle that starts with the withdrawal bleed right? I swear I did when I came off BC before I started TTC? I guess we can just try on our own since they don’t want to do an IUI?

GTKY: Any fun holiday plans for this weekend, or summer holidays in general? My grandma is turning 90! I’m excited to celebrate her and see my extended family. Then we are going to a nearby lake for the rest of the weekend.

optimistgardener · June 2021

@bows22 you totally can ovulate in the cycle starting with the withdrawal bleed! i think the general idea is that it might take a little bit longer for your body to gear itself up (so if O happens a few days late don't panic), but my post-bc cycles have usually been quite timely.

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