IF Testing & Treatment w/o 9.13

keikilove · September 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: What is your favorite thing about the changing of the seasons (esp. summer to fall)?

acleverusername · September 2021

@keikilove you were up late or early starting all these threads! I love the image you've included with this one. Such good advice.

optimistgardener · September 2021

I didn't update last week because I had no new nothin' going on over here, and I still don't really have anything very much to note, but I hope you'll not mind my posting anyway. It sort of helps pass the time, I guess!

Diagnosis (if you've been): old, crappy eggs, 1 ovary, etc.

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): CD1, still benched, but wondering if i'd be able to convince my donor friend to oblige, once again. it seems kind of wrong of me to ask him to help me out when I basically know I don't have a shot at it with a natural cycle, but it is mentally useful (i think?) to feel like I've got a chance.

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): benched. But I did chat w/ the clinic IVF coordinator and I'm on the calendar to start another stims cycle in late november. I'm feeling sort of resigned about all the extra waiting. I can't do anything about it, and even with careful scheduling, I'll still have to figure out somehow how to deal with missing 4 lectures right at the end of the term. I'll cross that bridge when I get there, I guess.

How are things going?: @acleverusername I think you were saying something in another thread about bitter old hags? I believe that's how I'm feeling these days. I am not usually much of a mirror gazer but I've caught myself looking in the mirror a few times lately and thinking, "I wonder what I'm going to look like when I'm post-menopausal."

Any questions?: how strongly do people feel about vitamin e supps?

GTKY: What is your favorite thing about the changing of the seasons (esp. summer to fall)? when I have any time in my life at all, I love to knit. Usually the shift from summer to fall is a great opportunity to dive headfirst into my yarn stash. This year not so much yet, but hopefully I'll be able to carve out a bit of time. I've had a sweater half-planned in my head for months that I'd like to get on needles, and a pair of simple socks.

bows22 · September 2021

@optimistgardener +1 for bitter old hag. I think there are a lot of us who are the same age so at least we are in good (bitter) company

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

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?) had an endometrial biopsy and then tried on our own.

How are things going? I won’t repeat my rant about my RE’s office that I posted in the TWW today but they are frustrating me. I just want to have everything set so that I can do an IUI next cycle. My ovulation next cycle will be right at the 3 month mark since my hysteroscopy, I don’t know how much of a window we have until the polyps come back but I’d like to capitalize on having a fresh lining. Hopefully I can get someone reasonable to reply to me.

Any questions? Nope

GTKY: What is your favorite thing about the changing of the seasons (esp. summer to fall)? Summer for me is busy weekends, always having something to do. I love it but fall is a welcome change since it is more laid back with time to get organized and regroup before the holidays/winter!

shortstack930 · September 2021

@optimistgardener I'm sorry you have to wait awhile. I hope you're able to figure out your lecture schedule. IVF can be so hard to juggle work and appointments.

@bows22 I hope your RE gets back to you and you're able to get everything in place for your next cycle!

Diagnosis (if you've been): Endometriosis

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

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

How are things going?: We had a lovely weekend away in the mountain with some friends. The weather was absolutely beautiful and has me really looking forward to fall. I have my saline ultrasound/trial transfer today and should be starting on estrogen next week if all looks good.

Any questions?: Not right now but thank you for all the input last week regarding PIO vs. suppositories. I've decided to go with just the PIO, so we'll see how it goes!

GTKY: What is your favorite thing about the changing of the seasons (esp. summer to fall)? Fall clothes! I love being able to break out my cute boots and sweaters. Although down here we don't really get to wear sweaters until close to November/December.

inthewoods23 · September 2021

@optimistgardener re: vitamin E - my RE had me on it for both IVF and FET (I think). I haven't looked it up in a while but I believe it helps with egg quality and helps build your lining. I just had my consultation with the RI and he asked me to go on 400IU per day of vitamin E so it's pretty common to recommend.

@bows22 I hope your RE gets things in order ASAP!

@shortstack930 hope everything looks good for you to start a FET cycle.

Diagnosis (if you've been): currently unexplained but TBD on an immune issue diagnosis

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): gonna be doing another saline sono and biopsy, plus lots of labs and karotyping. Results will be back after my next cycle starts

How are things going?: my RI consult went great! Love a doctor that's essentially like "we need to find out what's wrong with you".

Any questions?: I've heard the amount of vials they'll need of blood for all these tests is like 20+ maybe even in the 30s. Anybody know the maximum number of vials that can be drawn at a time? I have no idea how much it will compare to when you're donating blood.

GTKY: What is your favorite thing about the changing of the seasons (esp. summer to fall)? Getting to wear long sleeves even if it's not that cool out with the change from summer to fall. Also I love wearing beanies and winter hats so fall, winter, and early spring are totally my jam. I like to walk around with a purpose and speed when I'm wearing boots. They make a great clunking sound on hard floors. NBD, just a badass walking through haha.

shortstack930 · September 2021

@inthewoods23 holy crap that sounds like a lot of blood! I would think the max would be around 30 because most tubes of blood are a max of 10 mL and when you donate blood they get around 350 mL. I'm glad your doctor is determined to get to the bottom of things!

acleverusername · September 2021

@optimistgardener I guess I feel strongly about Vit E?! Lol. I’m taking 1000mg currently. My herbalist / acupuncturist wanted me on at least 80g but that dosage isn’t easily available as the standard dose seems to be 400IU or 236 mg. As for why it’s good for you, “it helps slow cell aging and promote egg health.” Supposedly COQ10 does the same thing but I figure the 2 don’t cancel each other out. The amount of supps I’m taking for egg quality is truly mind blowing.

@bows22 already commented in TWW, but happy to see that being diligent has paid off. I’m hoping that everything is now set up for a smooth IUI next cycle. If tou need it.

@shortstack930 I hope your saline sono and mock transfer went well! Your FET is haut around the corner! Woo! Are tou taking anything for your endometriosis?

@inthewoods23 OMG I’m so excited that your appointment went well! I love that doctor already! YES, LET’S figure out what’s wrong with you!!! Re: blood tests, keep in mind that vials come in different sizes. Some are as small as 2.5ml. Most are 4ml. The largest ones will be 8ml. I asked the phlebotomist that question when I did my functional medicine labs (only 8 vials), so I think tou should be OK. However, I would recommend getting yourself driven to and from the blood draw just in case.

Will do my update tomorrow, but wanted to get started on the tags tonight.

shortstack930 · September 2021

@acleverusername thank you, it all went well! I’ve never taken anything for my endo because I actually never knew I had it until I couldn’t get pregnant. Infertility was my only symptom other than really heavy periods as a teenager before I went on the pill.

acleverusername · September 2021

Diagnosis (if you've been): Officially, it's "Unexplained"; Unofficially, it's Hashimoto's, AMA, and sperm-driven fertilization issues.

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Still waiting for AF to show, and after that I've asked for a full Day 3 panel (I haven't had one of those done all at once in 1+ year), and tracking ovulation for a mid-luteal start IVF cycle.

How are things going?: They're going OK. I'm going to stop posting to Dailies for now, because I'm sure I'm annoying others with my resistance to POAS. Truthfully, even though there's a rational part of my brain that's telling me it could be, I'm just effing scared. I don't want to take a test only to, once again, see a stark white, which would mean there's yet another obstacle to overcome (i.e. an estrogen-producing cyst). Plus, as per the OPK Help channel, I am questioning when I actually ovulated. Here's where not temping is actually a detriment. Anyways, I've decided that if AF still isn't here by Sat, I'll take a test. So, if I did actually ovulate 3 days later (when I had EWCM), Saturday would be 14DPO. FF is predicting CD1 on Friday.

Any questions?: Yes, actually. Has anyone ever heard of using glutathione to improve egg quality? I'm actually taking this supplement (in liquid from) as it was prescribed by my func medicine doctor. It's a very powerful antioxidant, and I've seen it referred to as the "mother antioxidant". I did a bit of searching on the internets about it, and there are some references of it helping with egg and sperm quality. But there's also 1 paper I found that too much glutathione can lead to an MC. Anyways, would love to hear thoughts from others.

GTKY: What is your favorite thing about the changing of the seasons (esp. summer to fall)? As I've lamented before, SF doesn't really get the standard seasons, so it's hard to identify when they do actually start to change. And unfortunately, there is way more negative things about changing seasons in SF than there are positive. That's when we actually start to get mini-heat waves, and that's when the results of previous winter's lack of rain rears its ugly head in the form of forest fires. We've been exceptionally lucky in SF proper (no so even 30-45 min away from us) to have had good air quality thus far, so I guess what I've most enjoyed is the warmer weather we've been having. We've had way more nice days in the last couple of weeks, then all summer long.

zwink1 · September 2021

@shortstack930, glad to hear your saline sono went well yesterday!

@optimistgardener, vit e was one of the things both me and H were taking prior to my retrieval. I'd be lying if I said I remembered exactly why I included it, other than just general egg/Spearmint health, but there was definitely a reason!

@bows22, FX you can get someone reasonable to reply to you soon and you're able to capitalize.

@inthewoods23, glad to hear you had a great experience with the RI

Diagnosis (if you've been): primarily MFI

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

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

HSN is scheduled for tomorrow. Other than that just working on getting my embryos transferred to the new RE but am currently stuck waiting on paperwork to arrive.

How are things going?: mostly fine. Not really looking forward to this HSN tomorrow, but I understand the necessity. I've heard anecdotally that they're a little better than an HSG, so fx that's true because that ish hurt.

Any questions?: not really

GTKY: What is your favorite thing about the changing of the seasons (esp. summer to fall)? I think just the general change in the air. Also tea. I start drinking waaayyy more tea and every year it's like I've forgotten how good it is over the summer.

bumblebee0210 · September 2021

@acleverusername. I feel you on the not wanting to test. You don't have to! And since you are now like 14+ DPO, whenever you do test, you will at least know that there is none of this "too early" nonsense going on-- negative is negative and positive is positive. Obviously I am hopeful you got that post-stim fertility boost and are on your way out of here, but I know how complicated these feelings can be.

@inthewoods23 I asked MH tha question about the blood and he said like almost no amount of those little vials is a problem. He said they take a ton of blood from people in the hospital constantly, and it's fine. Also-- at least when I did my RPL panels, it was a million tests, but only like 8 vials or something. I am also so psyched you have found a doctor who is on your side and invested in figuring out what is up.

@shortstack930. GL with the PIO-- I have been dreading it when I actually do get to the FET phase. But the stim injections were way less bad than I'd feared, so hopefully PIO will be fine too.

@optimistgardener. I'm sorry you're feeling so down-- Since you have some time between now and the next stim cycle, maybe it makes sense to try to do some things to take care of yourself. Starting a knitting project or other fun, non-work, non-procreation things could be helpful.

@bows22. Sorry man-- I hate institutional bureaucracy. I have really found that calling all the time and annoying the crap out of these people helps enormously.

AFM:

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

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): Stims

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Egg retrieval #5, part 1 of a duostim

How are things going?: Weirdly well. Stats in spoiler

Stim day 5 monitoring appointment today. I had 6 measurable follicles, all 10-12.5, and 11 more under 10. My Estradiol was 345. I am totally gobsmacked. I have *never* had numbers like this on day 5. It's early but I am cautiously optimistic. I may even start taking those OHSS precautions like electrolytes seriously!

My AFC was also 50% higher this cycle than the top of my normal range, and my AMH has also shot up from 0.42 in Jan to 1.39 now. I hove literally no idea what is going on, but I am here for it.

Any questions?: Nope.

GTKY: What is your favorite thing about the changing of the seasons (esp. summer to fall)? It cooling off! I hate the heat/humidity, and fall is so beautiful in New England.

optimistgardener · September 2021

@bumblebee0210 hot damn lady, those are some fantastic numbers!

@zwink1

about "spearmint" health!

bumblebee0210 · September 2021

@optimistgardener. Right? Whose ovaries are these??

acleverusername · September 2021

@bumblebee0210 holy ovaries!!! Amazing! I hope follow ups ultrasounds will keep on giving you the good news!!! Also thanks for understanding why I don’t want to test! The knowing 💯 that it’s positive or negative is what I need right now.

@zwink1 @optimistgardener I also lol’ed at spearmint health. Haha. Gotta find the little things to laugh at during this fiasco.

inthewoods23 · September 2021

@acleverusername oh man scared to POAS, that is me so much. I have this feeling of terror once I put the stick down and wait the 5 minutes. It's just glaring at me and I refuse to look at it that whole time.

@zwink1 what's an HSN? Certainly not the Home Shopping Network lmao.

@bumblebee0210 I figure prepping for this amount of blood work would be on par with prepping for donating blood. Just gotta make sure I've eaten something and am well hydrated! Also... STIM IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!!

optimistgardener · September 2021

@acleverusername @inthewoods23 I hate POAS. Long gone are the days of hopeful anticipation! I also feel it staring at the back of my head while I will myself to walk away from it during the wait.

bows22 · September 2021

@shortstack930 glad everything went well today! One step closer!

@inthewoods23 so glad your appointment went well! That’s a lot of blood 🤢

@acleverusername I selfishly want you to test! But whatever you want to do with the dailies is fine, I would never say anything to someone from the IF thread delaying testing because it’s totally different obviously but a 1/1 newbie posting that they are a million dpo and haven’t tested would have me 🙃

@bumblebee0210 that’s amazing that your cycle is going so well so far! I will have everything crossed that it stays that way. As far as calling the RE’s office, @acleverusername mentioned that too. Are you guys actually able to speak to someone when you call? When I call you pick your doctor and then it takes you to the voicemail for their specific nurses. Then they call you back, as I told clever in the TWW, if they deem you worthy. I am never worthy and just get a message in my portal as a reply. It’s so frustrating to be totally on the same page as the RE when I have appointments, but everything outside of that goes through the nurses who are on a totally different page it seems. At my biopsy when I asked about doing an IUI next cycle she said yes and told me not to be afraid to be persistent with the nurses, so I feel like she knows, but it’s still frustrating. Anyway, sorry for my long rant, I’m not in a great head space right now.

AFM - update-ish in spoiler. You can skip if you are not in the mood for the pity party I’m apparently throwing for myself even though I really don’t have any concrete bad news yet.

the PA that I see (I refer to her as my RE just because it’s easier, since she is the primary provider that I see) messaged me and said that she needs to discuss my test results with her attending before we move forward with a treatment cycle. I don’t even know what that means. As far as I can tell there is nothing exciting about my results. I replied and said that I know it’s not much time but I’m expecting AF early next week and that I would really, really like to do a treatment cycle after waiting so long, unless there’s a reason I shouldn’t obviously. I’m just scared that whatever she is talking to him about is something that’s going to delay me months. To top it off, I’m feeling extremely bloated and crampy, like to the point where I have to get up and walk around because I’m so uncomfortable, which makes me feel like AF is coming. I had a 7 day LP last cycle which I attributed to the first cycle off BCP but I’m only 6 dpo today and that scares me.

I just feel like I should get some kind of credit from the universe for having to wait so long and now it should be my time to move forward. Thanks for reading my dear diary post.

zwink1 · September 2021

@bumblebee0210, fantastic news!! Fx things keep going well!

@optimistgardener & @acleverusername, lol! Totally missed that autocorrect!! Now I'm giggling too.

@inthewoods23, lol, I sorta wish! Just my RE's word choice for a saline sono. Same difference.

Edit: more autocorrect issues (not nearly as funny).

bows22 · September 2021

@zwink1 I knew I missed someone! Good luck tomorrow! Is an HSN the same as an SHG? I’ve had 2 SHGs and 1 HSG and I had some cramping with the HSG but felt literally nothing with either SHG so hopefully that’s the case for you too!

optimistgardener · September 2021

@bows22 ah jeez. i can imagine your combination of trepidation about what it is they may need to talk with you about in combination with, like, can we please just try to stay on track for this next cycle, plus just general body not cooperating/pms symptoms at the wrong time. that's a lot. you deserve to have someone at your clinic respect and actually respond to you in a timely fashion. ugh.

bows22 · September 2021

@optimistgardener yes! That’s a much better non-whiny way to say it. 😂 I also have some stuff going on at work that’s annoying and it’s like, can something just make sense? I’m feeling better today, still mopey but the logical part of my brain telling me that there isn’t anything to be upset about *yet* is making a comeback

laura-kay · September 2021

Good luck everyone! Haven’t been able to reply much but reading updates and cheering everyone on.

optimistgardener · September 2021

@bows22 i wouldn't call it whining! you're well within your rights to be super frustrated.

bumblebee0210 · September 2021

@bows22. I would as your doctor specifically how to get in touch (past the nurses) if you have a question. The next time you leave a message, I would specifically ask to be called back by your provider. This typically works at my clinic. You can also typically call after hours and page the physician on call. You don't want to do this all the time, but it can work as a last resort. Also, for bureaucratic stuff, I found the clinic manager to be really helpful-- now she pushes anything through for me. But in general just leaving a ton of messages, emailing everyone, etc to get things to the top of people's desks has been a useful (if time consuming) strategy.

@inthewoods23. HAHAHAHA Stim it like you stole it. I'm dying.

@zwink1. GL today! *tw lc* I think these procedure are a lot easier if you have already had a vaginal birth-- mine was fine *end tw*

bows22 · September 2021

@bumblebee0210 when I got my results saying the hysteroscopy showed endometrial hyperplasia, I left a voicemail asking for the PA to call me back and received a portal message from the nurse that the PA was not available. I asked if they could have another provider call me and they instead went and asked one of the physicians to read my results who told them to tell me the polyp was benign and totally missed the hyperplasia part. I asked again for a provider to call and the “not available” PA finally called me. You’re right, I should just ask how to get in touch with her when I need to, but I don’t think it should be THIS hard.

bumblebee0210 · September 2021

@bows22. That is really irritating. I would ask the provider directly next time you see her, and think about switching to one of the other docs in the practice. Realistically, anyone who is not the attending will sometimes have to like "check with the boss" on stuff-- and that will always cause a bit more delay or confusion. In some practices, there is a tradeoff in which the fellows or PAs are more available for patient care but it doesn't sound like that's the case at your clinic. FWIW, MH is a physician and he like *refuses* to see (or have me see) anyone who is not an attending for these reasons. Especially given that your case is a bit complicated, I think it is not crazy for your to request to be seen by the attending directly (though of course that may cause some short-term delay as well!) Either way-- keep being the squeaky wheel.

bows22 · September 2021

@bumblebee0210 that’s true, and was actually going to be my plan after my first hysteroscopy - I really liked the doctor who did it and was going to ask to switch to him. Then the pandemic happened and we took a year off from going there and I was so grateful to even have a spot there because their wait list is insane now. And I do really click with her! So if it was just waiting for her to talk to the physicians I think it would be fine but it’s convincing the nurses that I know what I’m talking about is infuriating! She actually just called me and I asked what i should do if I need to talk to her directly and she assured me that just requesting to talk to her will work in the future, that these issues are because of the gaps in my chart and the nurses not understanding the full story. I should have pushed more but I was just so happy to be talking to her.

Well my pity party was officially unwarranted - I’m allowed to do an IUI next cycle! She had said at my biopsy that the results were most likely going to show a polyp because she took such a large sample and if any part of one they removed was left behind it would show up. But that we were just going to ignore it if that happened. However, they have a new medical director and she got scared that she might have a different opinion so she wanted to get her buy in. They decided to leave the choice up to me whether to do an SHG to make sure there is not a significant polyp or try a few cycles first. My thought is that these polyps are going to come back eventually (since they already did once) and I’m 38 - waiting any longer is a risk too. So we’re going for it!

zwink1 · September 2021

@bows22 and @bumblebee0210 , thank you for the well wishes!! It was much less painful than the HSG and all is clear, so I'll take it!

@bows22, ugh, how absolutely frustrating. I'm happy to hear your pity party was unwarranted but frustrated on your behalf that you had to deal with that run around.

bumblebee0210 · September 2021

@bows22. So glad you can do the IUI next cycle-- sounds like you just need to bypass the nurses as much as possible and get through to your PA.

@zwink1 glad it was easy!

AFM: Stim Day 7 monitoring today. Stats in spoiler.

So, um, I guess my ovaries are normal now? I'm still kind of in shock at how well this cycle is going.

I had *eleven* measurable follicles today, all 10-16 mm, and a couple more right on the edge. My estradiol was 671, up from 345 on stim day 5.

For reference, my e2 on day 7 in cycle 2 was 231, cycle 3 was 171, and in cycle 4, with estrogen priming, was 521 on day 8. The only time I have had e2 levels this high this early was my very first cycle when I had one giant follicle that was already mature on stim day 5.

Guessing trigger will be Sunday (day 9) or Monday (day 10).

optimistgardener · September 2021

@bumblebee0210 dude. those numbers are amazing. i dunno what's in the water around here these days but i want some of it!

zwink1 · September 2021

Awesome news @bumblebee0210!!

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