The Official TTC for 6 Months or More Thread

[brightlight]

BrightSpot - Thank you for your kind words. My RE referred me to another specialist to explore what she thinks may be the issue before we do another transfer. Yes, I did use a growth hormone and didn't experience any side effects. I ended up with 19 eggs, 17 of which were mature. The growth hormone I used was omnitrope. It costs around $650 for a week without insurance. My RE also had me take CoQ10 and put me on a high protein diet. She told me about research that showed that women on a high protein diet have higher quality embryos and healthier pregnancies. I think CoQ10 is also supposed to improve egg quality. I started taking CoQ10 before we started IVF, and I noticed that my temperature shift after ovulation was stronger. If you do decide to do another round of IVF, send me a private message if you'd like me to send you any of my meds. They're completely unopened and have been refrigerated - in original boxes and sealed. I was stupid and picked up all my prescriptions at once. I ended up using less than half my meds. I was thinking of trying to donate them somewhere since I can't return them and they'll be expired by the time I get around to another stim cycle. I really don't want to throw them away. I know this journey has been a lot longer and more difficult than you (and I) imagined, but hang in there!

 

[BrightSpot]

Fly by post. Just got my u/s & b/w.
the ultrasound didn't show anything in the uterus & a thin lining, my ovaries looked ok & he couldn't see swelling in the Fallopian tubes. So that's good. But the beta didn't go down as much as they wanted (down to 21 today from the 30's) so they're still concerned about an ectopic. I'm a bit freaked out since the doc said the next step would be a d&c (!) to make sure nothing was left in the uterus. If my levels still don't go down I have to get a shot of a chemotherapy drug to terminate the pregnancy (which is scary & also means we couldn't try for 2+ months after.)
I'm going to have another beta drawn on Thursday & we'll go from there. I really can't catch a break here.

Bright Light, thanks for your sweet post & offer. I meant to ask my doc about the growth hormone today but it slipped my mind with everything else we discussed. I'll definitely ask next time. I'm glad it helped you produce so many eggs, though! How many did you transfer? Do you have any frozen? I'm so, so sorry this round didn't work. I hope your new RE can provide more clarity & advice & a good plan to move forward. I so hope you have a happy resolution to this process soon.
That's interesting about the high protein diet & CoQ10. I've been taking that for a while but will try upping my protein intake.

I'll be back to post more later. Just trying to process this.

 

[Loves Vintage]

BrightSpot - None of this is fair. I do hope your beta goes down again by Thursday so you can move forward.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Hugs Bright. I'm glad they didn't see any evidence of a ectopic, but I'm sorry it wasn't conclusive. Really hoping that beta goes down fast. In the past did you have lingering betas? I seem to remember you did, but I might be thinking of somebody else. Take care of yourself.

LV, sounds like you at least have two good-sized follicles. When do you trigger/IUI? Sending loads of dust your way that this time's the charm!

AFM, AF is still a no-show. I have felt bloated and a bit crampy the past couple of days, so I hope that means it is coming soon. I took another HPT this morning just to be safe, and it was still as negative as can be. DH is kind of freaked out about me taking letrozole because it is has not been approved by the FDA for ovulation induction, only breast cancer treatment. When I picked it up at the pharmacy yesterday, the pharmacist made a special point of making me confirm I am not pregnant. Apparently, if you take it while pregnant, it can cause birth defects. However, if you take it to induce ovulation, it is supposed to be out of your system by the time you are pregnant, and it is not an issue. DH isn't satisfied with that answer, so I will be taking to the NP more about it once AF freaking shows up.

 

[royalasscherlover]

Hi all. Sorry I've been MIA, had some travel.

MP, how frustrating that AF is taking her time. I did some research on letrozole before I took it and the half-life is about 2 days, so it would be nearly out of your system within a week, around when you would ovulate. And I do wish there was some way to look into a crystal ball and know whether or not this would be successful and when, so you wouldn't need to worry so much in the meantime!

Bright, so sorry that you didn't get the all-clear. You have been through so much. We're here to support you whether you choose to keep trying or not, only you know what is right and it's ok to take care of yourself too. Hugs.

Brightlight, thanks for sharing your experiences. I hope you have success soon with your new specialist.

LV, keep growing! Thinking good thoughts for your US tomorrow.

tbaus, sorry you don't think this is your month. I understand how you feel like you should be happy to ovulate since it's a step in the right direction...but it's still a challenge.

dcg, glad you got reassuring news!

afm, I finished my Femara a few days ago, so I'm just waiting for my ultrasound this weekend to see how I'm progressing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for at least one good egg again, but I'm admittedly having trouble staying positive. I also started acupuncture last week and go back again tomorrow, so we'll see if that helps at all. If nothing else it did make me feel relaxed!

 

[lizzyann]

Bright, just wanted to give a quick post. There is a chance your betas had gone up slightly after being in the 30's and then dropped. So the drop into the 20's may have been larger than just 10.. I would try to look at the good news that it is going down here. I'm hoping Thursday brings a great drop for you.

 

[monkeyprincess]

SB, thanks for the info on letrozole/femara. That sounds similar to what I have read, and I know tons of people have taken it without issue. I understand how hard it is stay positive, but I'm really hoping you have a good response and better luck this time around. Wil you be doing another IUI?

AF seems to have finally arrived for real today, so I put a call in with the clinic to find out what the plan will be. She prescribed 7.5 mg of letrozole, but they came in 2.5 mg pills, so I'm thinking I will take either one or two of them a day, but definitely not all three.

 

[split_shank]

MP, good luck with the upcoming cycle! It looks like will be trying the Femera as well if this cycle doesn't pan out.

The visit with the RE was fine. He is out of another city so most of the correspondence is via email and telemed. The email/ electronic chart is nice because they are quick to send results and answer questions. He didn't get too detailed about the plan since we have to wait until this month since he thought I may have indeed ovulated (more on this later). He said next cycle, if needed, we would try the femera as it is easier to manage dosage compared to Clomid, as the jump from 50 to 100 was way too much. Appointment over.

So I asked my regular OB if I could have a day 21 progesterone level check yesterday, which she was fine with. I called for results, and the nurse said she was sending a letter out but could give me the number. She said the level was 4.8, and that this was looking promising that I had ovulated. 4.8????? Isn't it supposed to be at least 10? Last time (6 months ago) my level was 5.1 and she said it indicated I was not ovulating. I am utterly confused.

Had some cramping yesterday (CD21) which got my hopes up but will just ride out the next 7 days. This progesterone number really threw me for a loop. It was taken after lunch, mid day, if that has anything to do with results varying.

UGH!

 

[Loves Vintage]

An update: Triggering tonight. There is at least one big follicle at 17. There are three others, no idea if big enough to release. Will see if I can get more info, but I know at least two were smallers, so looks like two if I'm lucky. Funny since I was trying to orchestrate more than the usual three, and I wind up with just one. Well, not really funny, but you know what I mean. When I talked to the nurse at the u/s, she like me, thought I would be coming back on Friday for another u/s, but bloodwork shows my LH is rising. 26.something. Not sure how high the levels go, but I looked back and it was like 6 something prior to my last trigger, so looks like I'm about to ovulate one way or another.

Wish me luck!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Another update. I had the first iui this morning. The nurse said one was 17 and one was 16. Maybe the 16 grew overnight. Who knows? I called the acupuncturist. Would have been difficult to get there today. She said I should just rest. Another iui tomorrow morning, then I get a nice two week break from appointments, and hopefully a tiny little miracle. We shall see.

BrightSpot- Good Luck today. Thinking of you.

BrightLight - If you are still checking in, I'm curious about the high protein diet your RE put you on. Was it just higher protein than you normally eat, or a specific percentage of protein that she suggested? Would love to hear more about this if you have the time. Also, you are more than welcome to post more about yourself here. I know it's not for everyone though, to share all of the details, but just wanted to say that anyway.

 

[BrightSpot]

LV, great news on the IUI! Fingers crossed for you!

SS, good luck with the femara.

MP, I'm glad AF finally arrived. What did you decide with the femara dose? Wishing you luck.

SB, fingers crossed that your follie(s) are growing nicely!

BrightLight, yes, ditto to LV's post. Please come join us!

Lizzy, thanks for chiming in. I wish you were right...

afm, so I got the call from my doc & the last beta went up very slightly. (I think it was 29 yesterday, up from 21 on Tuesday.) So they wanted to schedule me for a D&C ASAP. I'm currently traveling, though, so the soonest I could schedule it was for Wednesday. I have to have another beta on Monday to see if it drops after all (please, God!), then go for a D&C on Wednesday. (And I'm instructed to go to the emergency room if I have pain/a lot of cramping.) Apparently the D&C is just to check to see if there's any remaining pregnancy tissue in the uterus that could be causing my betas to rise slightly. After the D&C, if it's not ectopic, the beta should drop. If it doesn't drop, it's ectopic & they have to give me the chemotherapy drug to terminate the pregnancy. I really can't believe this is happening, but I guess I should expect this kind of thing by now.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Oh Bright, darnit! That's not the news we wanted to hear at all. I'm really hoping there is just some reason why the betas are lingering and they will drop after the D&C. Most of all, I'm just really sorry you have to go through all of this again.

LV, fingers crossed for you that the IUIs do the trick, and that you had a couple good eggs to work with!

SS, hmm. 4.8 is definitely on the low side for ovulation. Are you sure the progesterone was tested on 7dpo? I ask because as you know, CD21 is not 7dpo in most women, and 7dpo is when your progesterone is supposed to be tested. Either way, I'm sure it's something that can be addressed, especially because your last cycle wasn't medicated. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

AFM, I start letrozole/femara tonight. She said that she wanted me to take 5 mg. I'm really hoping I get 2-4 follicles and no more or less, so we can do the IUI and have a good shot this cycle. I *think* I will be able to avoid traveling the week when I expect I'll do the IUI. We had a meeting yesterday, and I just flat out said that I could pretty much travel any days except for that week, and nobody questioned it. I'm a little worried something else will come up, but keeping my fingers crossed I'll be in town at the right time.

 

[brightlight]

BrightSpot - I'm so sorry you're going through this. I can only speak from personal experience, but I know that with incomplete miscarriages the hcg level can start to rise again and won't drop completely until after you bleed a second time (or more). With my first miscarriage, I had to bleed twice before my hcg level finally got below 5. I hope your beta drops naturally by Monday. As for me, we still have two frozen embryos left. 12 of my 17 mature eggs fertilized, and 6 made it to day 5 and were biopsied. Of those 6, 4 were normal. We went against my RE's recommendation and transferred two blastocysts. We knew it would be difficult and exhausting having twins, but we had been ttc for so long that we would have been happy with twins regardless of how difficult it would have been. Looking back, we were probably too eager and should have listened to our RE. I'm having additional tests done while I'm off medication, so we won't be able to do another transfer for a while.

Shortblonde - Good luck this cycle! I also did fertility acupuncture and will again once I start another FET cycle. Acupuncture is also supposed to help prevent morning sickness and/or lessen its severity.

Loves Vintage - Thank you for the welcoming invite! You and I were actually in the same group of ladies ttc when you got pregnant with your beautiful Samantha. I was so emotionally drained after my miscarriage that I just needed to step away from ttc forums. My RE didn't mention a certain percentage. She just told me to increase my protein. I believe the study she was referring to classified the high protein group as more than 25% protein. 64% of the embryos made it to the blastocyst stage vs 34% for the low protein group. The pregnancy rates were 67% vs. 32%. Live birth rates were 58% vs. 11%. When combined with low carb intake (less than 40%), the pregnancy rate went up to 80%. In another study from last year, women who switched to a low carb/high protein diet increased their pregnancy rate from 17% to 83% and their blastocyst rate increased from 19% to 45%. Of my 12 fertilized eggs, 50% made it to the blastocyst stage. Both studies were conducted with women undergoing IVF. I'm too lazy to count calories, but I just make sure I eat protein at every meal. I have Greek yogurt or egg whites for breakfast, a large chicken breast and two vegetables for lunch, and usually a vegetarian dinner with protein like tofu or beans. Sometimes, I'll have fish or beef for dinner. I also have a handful of nuts and fruit each day. Good luck to you this cycle!

Good luck to everyone!

 

[split_shank]

So here I am, 11 DPO, in a hotel room and can't sleep this morning. What do I do of course? Go POAS. This is what pops up in less than a minute....

 

[split_shank]

A pretty dark line (for me) in that many DPO which makes me excited but my progesterone levels earlier this week is terrifying. Have to wait til Monday for any intervention I guess. I'll just have to enjoy the fact that I was able to do this one on my own for once!

 

[royalasscherlover]

ss, congrats!

brightlight, welcome and thanks for the info on acupuncture and diet. The more I read, the more I'm honestly confused about what to eat! So many conflicting things out there. But I'm glad the high protein is working for you.

mp, good luck with the femara and timing.

bright, big hugs. no one deserves to be tortured like this! i hope there is something good lurking around the corner soon.

lv, good luck with the 2WW!

afm, I had my appointment this morning and have one follicle at 26mm, so we went ahead with the trigger. I was surprised since I was only at 16mm at this point in my last cycle - perhaps the acupuncture helped? We've decided not to do an IUI this cycle since it's not covered by our insurance and I think I ovulated late last cycle, putting the timing of the IUI in question (I triggered on a Thursday, did IUI on Friday, and had EWCM on Sunday). So I'm temping for the next few days to try and pinpoint ovulation. I was really gung-ho about the IUI last cycle, but having it not work has made me less enthusiastic, particularly since we think my DH's swimmers are ok. I'm guessing I'll flip back and forth on this in future cycles, but I do want to gather some more data. So we're on BD duty for the next few days. Fingers crossed!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Wow, congratulations SS! Hope your progesterone has already gone up, and if not, hopefully a little supplementation is all you'll need.

SB, good luck to you! I hope you get the timing right this month. An IUI isn't for everyone, especially if you think ovulation is your only problem. Wishing you lots of luck this cycle!

 

[royalasscherlover]

Thanks MP! I hope I didn't make it sound like I think IUI is bad - I definitely don't and I suspect we'll try it again in the future. I just want to make sure we get the timing right. I really wanted to do it last cycle so that I could feel like I'd done absolutely everything I could, but now the 'everything I could' involves a little more investigation about how my crazy body works!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Thanks MP! I hope I didn't make it sound like I think IUI is bad - I definitely don't and I suspect we'll try it again in the future. I just want to make sure we get the timing right. I really wanted to do it last cycle so that I could feel like I'd done absolutely everything I could, but now the 'everything I could' involves a little more investigation about how my crazy body works!

SB, not at all! I understood what you meant. IUI certainly isn't the end all be all, and it doesn't work for everyone. In my case, I've tried TTC on our own many cycles with no luck Between TTC#1 and TTC#2, I've tried clomid 4 times alone without trigger or IUI, and it didn't work for me. The only time I've gotten is pregnant is the time we did a trigger and IUI. But that is the only cycle I tried that, and I have no idea if it will work again this time. This whole TTC thing involves a lot of trial and error. Hopefully, we will all find something that works or just plain get lucky.

 

[blackberry16]

Bright Spot: Sending you hugs during this difficult time! You are in our thoughts.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Quick request for PS dust! My younger sister who just got married this summer just found out she is pregnant! I'm so happy for her because she was worried it would take awhile because she only has one ovary, and my older sister and I both had trouble. Anyway, it is still super early, and she is a bit stressed because she has been having panic attacks lately, and she apparently has been on some medication for that, so now she's worried about being on it while pregnant and worried about what will happen if she goes off it.

Nothing new here. I have one day left of femara, and I haven't really noticed any side effects, except for a few headaches. That seemed to happen to me from clomid too though. Really hoping everything goes well this cycle unlike the last couple!

Bright, I'm sending tons of dust your way that your betas are going down.

Thinking of everyone else and hoping November is a good month for this group!

 

[blackberry16]

Hi Ladies,
Hope all is well. I'm really going to try to get back into the swing of things on here and keep up with you all.

AFM: I've had kind of a bummer few months. Three months ago I ovulated too late to have an IUI. Last month I'm convinced that I was pregnant for a minute b/c I had implantation bleeding just like I did when I got pregnant with DS but AF showed up eventually. This moth I went I. For an US on day 17 and my lining was super thin and that none of my eggs looked very good. They told me I probably would not O at all this month. Next month I'm going to start Femara which I'm feeling very apprehensive about. I didn't do any meds with my IUIs before and I really hadn't considered that I might have to this time. DH tests passed with flying colors so this time around the problem is me not him.

 

[blackberry16]

Quick request for PS dust! My younger sister who just got married this summer just found out she is pregnant! I'm so happy for her because she was worried it would take awhile because she only has one ovary, and my older sister and I both had trouble. Anyway, it is still super early, and she is a bit stressed because she has been having panic attacks lately, and she apparently has been on some medication for that, so now she's worried about being on it while pregnant and worried about what will happen if she goes off it.

Nothing new here. I have one day left of femara, and I haven't really noticed any side effects, except for a few headaches. That seemed to happen to me from clomid too though. Really hoping everything goes well this cycle unlike the last couple!

Bright, I'm sending tons of dust your way that your betas are going down.

Thinking of everyone else and hoping November is a good month for this group!

Sending lots of dust!!!

 

[blackberry16]

A pretty dark line (for me) in that many DPO which makes me excited but my progesterone levels earlier this week is terrifying. Have to wait til Monday for any intervention I guess. I'll just have to enjoy the fact that I was able to do this one on my own for once!

Fingers crossed for you!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Blackberry, sorry to hear that you've had a few frustrating months. Sounds kind of similar to my situation. I'm taking femara this month because I had thin lining last month on clomid. What is your worry concerning the medication? Is that you will have multiples? I'm sure your doctor told you this, but the risk of multiples is not that high from clomid or femara. The month I conceived my son, I used clomid, had 3-4 follicles, and ended up with one baby via IUI. If you do have multiples, having more than twins is quite rare, and I'm sure your doctor will be monitoring you carefully. That's great that your husband's issues seem to have resolved themselves this time around.

 

[blackberry16]

Blackberry, sorry to hear that you've had a few frustrating months. Sounds kind of similar to my situation. I'm taking femara this month because I had thin lining last month on clomid. What is your worry concerning the medication? Is that you will have multiples? I'm sure your doctor told you this, but the risk of multiples is not that high from clomid or femara. The month I conceived my son, I used clomid, had 3-4 follicles, and ended up with one baby via IUI. If you do have multiples, having more than twins is quite rare, and I'm sure your doctor will be monitoring you carefully. That's great that your husband's issues seem to have resolved themselves this time around.

Hi MP,
I hope the Femara works better for you than the Clomid did. Is this your first time with Femara?
Yes, I am concerned about the idea of multiples and I also I just flat out don't want to take meds. I think taking something makes the problem seem more serious and I worry about how much difficulty we are going to have this time. Also escalating the treatments means more time and the Dr and which my job it's super hard to coordinate a simple IUI once a month.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Blackberry, I get what you mean. Clomid always worked fine for me in the past, so I was really upset last month when I found out it had thinned my lining, and when she told me she didn't want me to use clomid anymore, it freaked me out that things were going to be more difficult this time around. And yes, it is difficult to to have to schedule so many doctors appointments and not knowing exactly when the IUI will be. DH and I both have jobs where we can get away pretty easily, but the next couple of months, I will be traveling quite a bit, so I'm worried about the timing too. But if it works, it will be worth all the sacrifice. Best wishes to you!

 

[BrightSpot]

MP, thanks, dear. I really wish this weren't happening as well. Sigh. Thanks for the dust & support.
Congrats to your little sis on her pregnancy! I hope she is feeling more relaxed about everything soon. Were the panic attacks caused by pregnancy related stress or something else?
I'm glad the femara hasn't given you many side effects, aside from headaches. (I always get those on fertility meds too.) When do you have an u/s to check on how everything is developing? I hope the femara does the trick for you!

SB, thanks, dear. 26mm is huge, lady! Good luck with your BD-ing & sending lots of dust your way! Have you used OPK's before? That might help, along with the temping, to help pinpoint your O date.

SS, congrats! Sticky dust coming your way. Progesterone is really easy to supplement if your levels are still on the lower side.

BrightLight, thank you so much for your post. That's reassuring to know that it might be an incomplete miscarriage, rather than an ectopic pregnancy, that might be causing my hcg levels not to drop. With my second miscarriage I used misoprostol to induce the bleeding. It worked, but the bleeding didn't stop for 3 weeks. (It was not heavy the whole time, but I knew it wasn't over yet.) This time it seemed like a regular period, lasted for about a week total, then stopped. So it surprises me that everything wasn't finished, but I guess this is fairly common. I wonder--if I don't bleed again, is it even possible for my beta to drop?
I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. Big hugs to you. I think if I were in the same situation, I would've chosen to transfer 2 as well. Please don't beat yourself up over this decision. If you don't mind my asking, what additional tests are you having done?
My RE said that I could have a uterine function test & DH & I could have some immunology testing done if we wanted to be really exhaustive, but these are rare issues. I'm not sure if we're going to pursue this or not when it seems most likely the issue is egg quality.
Please keep us posted on your progress. I hope the new RE will be helpful & that your frosties will be on their way to becoming healthy babies soon!
And the diet info is very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

Blackberry, thanks so much. I'm sorry to hear you're had a frustrating few months. I hope the femara does the trick for you. It's helped a lot of ladies around here & the risk of multiples is still pretty low. It is definitely difficult to come to terms with the idea that getting PG might be harder than you'd anticipated. Sending dust to you!

tbaus & LV, hope you ladies are doing well.

afm, I've been pretty stressed & sad lately thinking about what lies ahead. I'm scared about the possible complications if it's ectopic (ruptured tube, etc.), or even if I have to take the chemotherapy drug. I'm sure it's not easy on the body & I"m also worried about additional hair loss. It's also sad to think that if this is an ectopic pregnancy, it could've been a normal embryo that lost its way.

I'm getting another beta today. Really, really hoping it's dropped sufficiently so my doc thinks we don't need to do a D&C on Wednesday. I really hate the idea of having to go through one of those again, especially since it seems like a preventative measure & might not even address the problem if I'm actually dealing with an ectopic pregnancy. I asked if we could try misoprostol because it worked for me last time, but the doc was concerned it might cause bleeding in my tube if it is indeed ectopic.

To make things even more confusing, if we count the first day of bleeding as CD1, I'm CD16 today & just had a ton (for me) of EWCM. (Usually I get little to none.) I shouldn't read too much into this & I guess we can't try this month anyway considering what's been happening, but it's all very odd.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Bright, you'll be in the my thoughts over the next few days. Your situation is so confusing with the bleeding and up and down betas, and I just hope that you get some clarity without additional procedures and drugs. My sister started TTC right after they got married, and I think between that and work, she just started getting really stressed out. This has happened to her in the past - so I think she just has a tendency toward anexity disorder. Anyway, I guess with all that was going on she kind of forgot to keep track of where she was in her cycle. But I'm just hoping she can get herself back on track with the anxiety issues and that the little one is a sticky little bean.

 

[lizzyann]

Bright, thinking of you... I am so sorry you are going through this. Please try to take it one obstacle at a time. Thinking too far ahead is going to cause you even more added stress. I could never quite understand how ectopics happen in IVF. The embryo is being inserted into the uterus, so the egg is not travelling down the tubes you know? Maybe I'm totally ignorant, but just how does that even happen in IVF? It just doesn't seem possible really. I'm hoping your betas come down now so you can move on without any more medical intervention here. Big hugs to you lady...