The Official TTC Thread!

[aprilcait]

I''m finally ready to join. Yay!
DH and I have been married for a year and a bit (we''ve been together for 10 years this September), and we''re ready to start TTC. I''ve been on BC for years and last night was my last sugar pill. So I am officially off of the pill and on prenatals as of today. DH and I are super excited, a little nervous, and ready to see what is ahead.

 

[Festy]

NewShiny - I'm so sorry for your loss but am delighted to welcome you to the TTC thread! How great that you have a trip to Hawaii to look forward to! Here's hoping AF shows soon.

LV - Blech and urgh. Is there any worse insult than feeling sick AND getting a BFN? I hope you cussed at that evil pee stick. How long are your cycles normally?

Swimmer - Awesome! The 28-day cycle is truly a thing of beauty. So your US on day 3 is to check everything out and get a baseline? I think I get one of those too when I start Clomid.

April - Welcome! I hope you're not with us for long.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 8/5/2009 12:56:57 PM
Author: Festy

NewShiny - I''m so sorry for your loss but am delighted to welcome you to the TTC thread! How great that you have a trip to Hawaii to look forward to! Here''s hoping AF shows soon.

LV - Blech and urgh. Is there any worse insult than feeling sick AND getting a BFN? I hope you cussed at that evil pee stick. How long are your cycles normally?

Swimmer - Awesome! The 28-day cycle is truly a thing of beauty. So your US on day 3 is to check everything out and get a baseline? I think I get one of those too when I start Clomid.

April - Welcome! I hope you''re not with us for long.

NewShiny, Sorry to hear of your loss and welcome.

April, Welcome! Have you started charting at all? Do you know where to begin? Have any questions?

Swimmer, Thank you for your response. I''m glad to know it''s not just me. DH was at home this morning when I got sick, so even he has bought into my symptoms now!!

Festy, My cycle lenghts are erratic. FF shows my shortest cycle was 26 days, max was 34 days (I definitely had symptoms during that long cycle, grrr!) and average is 29 days. Last month was a 28 day cycle. I don''t know why my cycles are so inconsistent (never taken the pill).

 

[Laila619]

Welcome April!

 

[aprilcait]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Festy, Loves Vintage, and Laila!

Loves Vintage I haven''t started charting yet. I thought I would just start off kind of "winging it" since my OB/GYN told me that, though it''s possible, it''s not entirely likely that I''d ovulate right away because I was on BC (I was on it for nine years). Any info you''re willing to share, I''d certianly appreciate. I''ve always wondered about charting. Any tips?

 

[Festy]

LV - did you POAS during your 34-day cycle? It''s possible you had a chemical pregnancy and that the variation in your cycle length is not as dramatic as it seems. It''s frustrating. The one cycle I had where I felt nauseous for 5 days straight I never POAS and I regret not having done so.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 8/5/2009 3:47:59 PM
Author: Festy
LV - did you POAS during your 34-day cycle? It's possible you had a chemical pregnancy and that the variation in your cycle length is not as dramatic as it seems. It's frustrating. The one cycle I had where I felt nauseous for 5 days straight I never POAS and I regret not having done so.

Yes, I did POAS. On many of them, actually! Several different brands and types. I was fairly well convinced that I was pregnant, but that for some reason none of the tests could pick up on it!!! I even called my dr's office, and they were like, "uhm, call us in another week!" lol.

Last month was a good month for me as far as temp'ing goes, and because of that, I had a better understanding of what was going on because I had a clear temp drop on CD27 and then AF arrived on CD28. Just curious because I certainly have no hesitation when it comes to POAS!!!

May I ask what prevents you from POAS'g, like in the month you mentioned, where you felt nauseous for 5 days?

 

[cakeny]

Took my first pregnancy test today (was 2 days past AF due date) and got my first negative. That's all!

Greetings AprilCait! We are semi-winging it too.

 

[Festy]

Date: 8/5/2009 4:10:33 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Date: 8/5/2009 3:47:59 PM
Author: Festy
LV - did you POAS during your 34-day cycle? It''s possible you had a chemical pregnancy and that the variation in your cycle length is not as dramatic as it seems. It''s frustrating. The one cycle I had where I felt nauseous for 5 days straight I never POAS and I regret not having done so.

Yes, I did POAS. On many of them, actually! Several different brands and types. I was fairly well convinced that I was pregnant, but that for some reason none of the tests could pick up on it!!! I even called my dr''s office, and they were like, ''uhm, call us in another week!'' lol.

Last month was a good month for me as far as temp''ing goes, and because of that, I had a better understanding of what was going on because I had a clear temp drop on CD27 and then AF arrived on CD28. Just curious because I certainly have no hesitation when it comes to POAS!!!

May I ask what prevents you from POAS''g, like in the month you mentioned, where you felt nauseous for 5 days?

Will power. But truly, I probably just didn''t have any in the house. They would have been negative anyway, it was very early. I think I do remember you''re talking about the various pee sticks that cycle. Sorry - my memory only takes me back several days on this thread!

 

[Festy]

Cake - that stinks! I hope you weren''t too upset?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 8/5/2009 4:28:38 PM
Author: Festy

Date: 8/5/2009 4:10:33 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Date: 8/5/2009 3:47:59 PM
Author: Festy
LV - did you POAS during your 34-day cycle? It's possible you had a chemical pregnancy and that the variation in your cycle length is not as dramatic as it seems. It's frustrating. The one cycle I had where I felt nauseous for 5 days straight I never POAS and I regret not having done so.

Yes, I did POAS. On many of them, actually! Several different brands and types. I was fairly well convinced that I was pregnant, but that for some reason none of the tests could pick up on it!!! I even called my dr's office, and they were like, 'uhm, call us in another week!' lol.

Last month was a good month for me as far as temp'ing goes, and because of that, I had a better understanding of what was going on because I had a clear temp drop on CD27 and then AF arrived on CD28. Just curious because I certainly have no hesitation when it comes to POAS!!!

May I ask what prevents you from POAS'g, like in the month you mentioned, where you felt nauseous for 5 days?

Will power. But truly, I probably just didn't have any in the house. They would have been negative anyway, it was very early. I think I do remember you're talking about the various pee sticks that cycle. Sorry - my memory only takes me back several days on this thread!

Yeah, that was me! I like to test!! So much so, that a day or two after BD, DH will jokingly ask me if I took a test yet!!!

 

[cakeny]

I didn''t think I would be... but strangely enough, I was. Which sounds so silly given that it''s still so early and we''ve only just begun (and "casually" at that!) I mean, what was I expecting??

 

[Loves Vintage]

Negative digi this evening. It could still be early, though, right?

 

[cakeny]

Yes! crossing my fingers for you. (and all the rest of the ladies!)

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Cara,

Loving the Alps picture. Awww... looks so serene. It sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing the pictures (I''m always up for a diversion on this thread every now and then, especially when pictures are involved!!)

***
Swimmer,

Thanks for that information on Clomid and grapefruit juice. I will have to get some ruby red soon! It makes sense what you''re saying about clomid, why keep taking it if it''s not doing anything on its own? Maybe that''s why Drs. will only prescribe it without any other medications/interventions for a limited number of months, and not because of side effects. I did hear from my Dr. that he doesn''t recommend taking it over 5 cycles without having a break, though. It''s hard to imagine just one cycle would be much of a gap to remedy the buildup of the medication, but I suppose it is, since so many Dr.s are hard and fast about the 6 cycle rule.

HSG (is it just me, or does this always make you other ladies think of the hormone needed for the positive on a pregnancy test??---confuses me every time!!) is something we''ve talked about and the Dr. didn''t think we should do it before having Paul checked, so I''m thinking if we''re not pregnant by the next Dr. appt (October), that will be the next thing to do on the list. I have a good friend who had it done and she said it''s no more painful than having a yearly exam/PAP, so that''s good to know. I have heard some people have some cramping and pain afterwards, though. Still, it should be pretty minor. Part of me wanted to do it in June when we were in, in hopes of the "priming" issue that works out so well for some women. Eh, October will be fine for that to happen, too!

Yay for a short cycle!!! I was *so* excited (aside from not being pregnant, of course) my first cycle on Clomid with a 30 day cycle... I was thinking about how fast it went by, and I was so jealous of those who get that every month!! (what is an F appt?)

***
Laila,

I know others have stated this, but I will again, anyway.

Many, many women and couples have issues getting pregnant (even when there''s "nothing" wrong, it usually takes a while) and we never hear about it. To be honest, prior to Paul and I starting down this road, I had no inkling that so many of my friends/co-workers were going through the same waiting game. I think it''s something that most people don''t talk about (me included, other than the fact that everyone knows I''m crazy excited to be a mommy one day), and because of that, it''s very easy to assume no one else is going through what you''re going through. But just know people are, and likely someone you know. It''s easy to get stressed out about it, and I think that cycles 4-8 were the biggest stress for me because I just kept thinking it *had* to happen soon, so I could fit into the category of "most" couples who are able to conceive within 6-9 months. Eh, so that didn''t happen. Big deal. Now (for the most part) I''m more calm about it, and I think a lot of that is because once I passed the point of what people say is "normal," I figured that this is going to happen when its supposed to, regardless of how anxious I let myself get over it. Anyway, once some friends figured out we were trying and weren''t preggo yet, they started talking to me about their journey, too. It''s definitely an opportunity to bond a little more and cultivate a deeper friendship. I''m glad Novemberbride popped in to mention that there are several women on the pregnancy thread who also tried for a while. A lot of our "graduates" are there and just a few months back, they were here with us, talking about the grrrr and argh moments of when the test is negative and the new cycles begin. So, just keep on keeping on and come here whenever you need to vent (we''ve all done it, and it really does help to get it out).

****

Blushing,

I had been wondering about pre-seed myself and was thinking of getting that over the net, and lo and behold, on Monday I lost my debit card and had to order a new one, so I don''t think I''ll be getting pre-seed this cycle. Maybe that''s a sign I don''t need to use it, but I was planning on doing that and the "egg meets sperm" theory, to see if that worked out for us. I''ve heard good things about that theory (ie- it works), and was thinking of trying it out. So much for sany level of being spontaneous.

So glad you had a good vacation (even with the delay getting home). Savannah and Tybee Island are my most favorite places, I think, in the South. I miss the Cali beaches, but Tybee is a close second. I could just sit and be in a trance with the waves for forever, I think. I should have been a beach bum, I swear.

We''re taking a girls only trip in October to Savannah/Tybee with my family (to celebrate my birthday... 30!!! When did I get to be so close to that age??) and my aunts are in L

VE with antiques... did you find any good stores that we should hit while we''re there?

****
Gongj-- Congratulations, lady!!! How very exciting!!! I bet that first sight of the baby was amazing!!

Wishing you lots of great moments in your pregnancy!

****
Festy,

Haha on the waiting game that is life. I met Paul when I was 25, married him at 27, and my *plan* (you know, that grand scheme you mentally file away at age 16 or so) was to met him at 23, marry at 25, and have my first baby at 27. I think life just continually shows me (AKA forces me to learn) that I cannot make things happen on my timeframe. Every stage of life has precious moments and every stage has challenges. And most the time that biggest challenge is made up of our attempts to get from that stage to the next.

I was an insanely impatient lady in waiting in 2006..... Man alive, I loved that time of my life, the excitement, the anticipation, continuing to learn so much about Paul and dream of the day I''d get to wake up beside him for forever, but gosh, I''m glad the drama of the wait is over!

Glad your hubby''s test came back with better results. I bet he was pleased with himself!! (Is it not funny how men are about this stuff? Paul was all puffed up when I told him the results had come back within normal limits. I almost think men hold it more to their hearts than we do, as far as *problems* with reproduction issues go.) I''m still curious to get the actual results, so I can analyze a little. I will be interested to hear if you complete acupuncture and what it''s like... I''m so scared of needles (although this process has gotten me past that to a small degree), and I''m not sure I could allow tons of them to be pricked into me, no matter how small. I have not seen "Happy Go Lucky," but will have to look into it. Side note: my current favorite movie: "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." It''s so funny/cheesy. I could seriously watch it twice a week and just laugh my head off (over vacation we watched it at least 5 times; it''s my nephew''s favorite movie. He likes to repeatedly state (with the accent and everything), "Peanut Blart and Jelly." It''s hilarious.

***
Vesper, I think symptoms (types, when they occur) are different for everyone. I have one friend who was sick as a dog right away and one who never felt any symptoms or had any aversions to foods or smells at all and didn''t think she could be pregnant until she realized that she''d completely missed a period. Hoping your symptoms keep on coming and that you get a positive soon.

****

DrK,

Yes, I''m supposed to be doing OPKs, but I have to admit I''m not as good about taking them as I should be. I took a big break this past cycle because I wasn''t on Clomid and I knew my cycle would likely be LONG and I didn''t want to waste the test strips. But now I''m back on it and am saying (and hoping I follow through) that I will take them starting CD 12 (I don''t ovulate before CD 14 on Clomid, and it has been as late as 19). I keep checking on you on your thread... but I was wondering, did this ultrasound come complete with a picture you could bring home yet??

Back to the SA testing stuff: low volume, what is considered low volume? Is this something that is measured with all SAs? I ask because I thought they onlly tested the following: morphology, motility, and count. The count isn''t the same as the volume, though, is it? If it were low, would that make a test not come back within normal limits, or is that something that''s counted aside from the "main" categories?

****
NewShiny, Welcome to the board!! I''m so sorry for your loss, and am thankful that each day gets a little easier for you.

So, as another transplanted Cali girl, what do you miss the most? For me, it is (aside from my family who still lives there) the beach and the wonderful drag of PCH from Laguna to Santa Barbara. I really, really love that stretch of road. I did so much thinking, picture taking, dreaming along that roadside. Ah... How long have you been away from California? What part did you live in? Where are you living now? A funny thing about the South is how easily the "twang" can end up in your speech patterns. I still can fly into my "valley girl" fast talking with all the likes and stuff, but the twang is hard to keep away.

****
Vintage,

Hoping you''re not waiting it out for long, lady!!

****
AprilCait,

Welcome to this place, too! I''m excited to have some new people... we need to rejuvinate this place a little bit. The very beginning of TTC is pretty exciting--- hope this is a short journey for you!

****
Cakeny,

I remember my first negative pregnancy test.

I hope you didn''t get as emotional over it as I did. And if you did, I hope you''re feeling better about it now. Hoping that the period stays away and you get to test again in a couple of days with the opposite result!

****
A friend of mine at work has been out all week. Didn''t know why, but today the supervisor said she''d talked to her and wanted a few of us to know... she had a misscarriage.

Wasn''t incredibly far along, and likely didn''t know about the baby for long (my speculation only in that regard). She''s on a "form of chemo" right now, because of the pregnancy, which totally confuses me. I wonder if something was wrong prior to her pregnancy, because that doesn''t sound like any form of treatment for a misscarriage or any fertility issues I''ve heard of before. I am not sure if the supervisor heard right or not, because that just doesn''t sound like it would be about a pregnancy/misscarriage. At any rate, I''m sad for her. She started trying about 3 months ago or so, and was so sad when the first cycle came and went.

 

[cara]

Fisher, sorry to hear about your coworker. I read about the miscarriage chemo a little bit when I kept bleeding after the first week. Basically, you need to get all of the products of conception out of the uterus and this can be difficult. Even a D&C is not always sufficient as it is a surgical procedure and will remove macroscopic bits of tissue but not always all the microscopic bits. Even a few placental cells can stick around and keep dividing and keep you bleeding, giving you 'placental cancer' and neverending miscarriage bleeding. Chemo is the best way to get rid of these, as it preferentially attacks rapidly dividing cells. Luckily I didn't need that nor a D&C, so that sucks for your friend. Also freaks women out to be referred for chemo after a miscarriage, but sometimes things go awry and medical intervention is needed.

April and NewShiny, welcome to the boards. Sorry its taking so long for you NS, but hopefully you both will have short stays.

LV and cake, definitely not over til the fat lady sings.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 7/30/2009 8:11:56 AM
Author: *Lindsey*

Date: 7/29/2009 11:17:57 PM
Author: cara
Oh, Lindsey, I am so glad to see you here! Yes, your poor body, but take care of yourself and trust that your body can handle it. Women''s bodies can handle a lot. I think we have several clomiders (or potential clomiders, in the form of blushing) but I am not one of them. Hopefully they can chime in with their experience.


Don''t want to pry if you don''t want to share, but I was thinking of you on the thread about prenatal genetic testing and what came out of your experience...


As for the potential birthday, thats a toughie. But if you and your husband are ready to try again then there is just the hope that your joy will outweigh the tears next April...

Thanks you for the kinds words and thoughts.

cara, after consulting with specialists out in Texas and then another here in Maryland, we decided to try naturally. My husband and I both had blood phenotyping done, and we have a 50/50 shot of having an O- or O+ baby. Natalie was O+ which was the problem. We could try IVF and only implant the rh- (O-) embryos, but when I spoke to the Rh disease specialist in Texas, he mentioned that a handful of couples across the country had tried it, but for whatever reason the success rate was much lower than you would suspect for otherwise healthy fertile women undergoing IVF. They''re wondering if there is some hidden mechanism not being accounted for in the PGD (prenatal genetic diagnosis.)

The doctor in Texas (Dr. Moise) is the top specialist for this issue in the country. He works closely with a doctor nearby to me at the University of Maryland Medical Center. My protocol for the next pregnancy is this:

1. Come in for a dating scan
2. 12 weeks -- have a maternal DNA test to determine the gender/blood type of the baby. It''s really interesting -- if the result comes back Boy/Rh+, Boy/Rh-, or Girl/Rh+ then the test is accurate and the test is detecting the baby''s DNA in mine. If the result comes back Girl/Rh- then the test is inconclusive because I''m also a girl with a negative blood type

3. If the baby has a positive blood type (would be O+), I start immunoglobulin IV therapy at 14 weeks to 20 weeks. I go to the hospital once a week for the treatment. This overloads my body with benign antibodies that will cross through the placenta and confuse the baby''s immune system and keep it busy -- this prevents the baby''s immune system from reacting to my anti-D (anti-Rh) antibodies) so that if the baby has positive blood cells, its body won''t try to destroy them as quickly because the immune system will be too busy. This is considered experimental (but both specialists recommended it) and very, very expensive but I am lucky to have health insurance that will cover it.
4. The IVig will hopefully get the baby alive to 18-20 weeks, the earliest that blood transfusions can be performed on the baby -- before that, the umbilical vein is just too small. Then I would have a couple of US scans a week to see if the baby is becoming anemic, and if so, off to the hospital for a transfusion.

So that is the route that we are going. Sometimes I think that we are nuts, but both specialists first reaction was: try again -- which really surprised us. I thought they would be like ''you''re going to try again, are you crazy?'' But we do have that 50/50 shot. But I went into this telling myself that this baby will be O+ so that I don''t get my hopes up and am then devastated. I want to go into this assuming almost the worst!

Lindsey, I''m so glad to see you back here. I often think of you and Natalie - our due dates were so close together. I do give Daisy an extra strong hug at those times and remember how fortunate I am that both of us are here.

I talked about your situation a lot with my dad and with my OB friend and both of them said straight away that you should try again asap, which surprised me as I thought they would have thought you should at least wait for the sake of your body . But apparently we are all made of sterner stuff!

I wish you and your husband so much luck.

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Fisher- methotrexate is probably what she was given. They gave it to me when I had the ectopic. It stops the metabolism of cells.

 

[littlelysser]

Hi ladies!

Just wanted to check in and let you know that I''m thinking about you and following you all. Not in a stalker way...you know what I mean.

Anyway, Hi!

 

[Pandora II]

Grapefruit Juice:

Any of you trying this, please, please check that it is compatible with any meds you are taking. It can interact with some to hugely increase plasma levels.

I know when I was on certain meds I was warned to avoid the stuff because of this issue.

Just thought I''d flag this up!

 

[swimmer]

Good point Pandora,

There are a few drugs that don''t mix well with grapefruit juice:
as listed by the Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN00413
Amiodarone (Cordarone) A drug used to treat and prevent abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
Buspirone (BuSpar), sertraline (Zoloft) Antidepressants
Carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol) An anti-seizure medication
Cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), tacrolimus (Prograf) Immunosuppressant drugs
Felodipine (Plendil), nifedipine (Procardia), nimodipine (Nimotop), nisoldipine (Sular) Calcium channel blockers used to treat high blood pressure
Saquinavir An HIV medication
Simvastatin (Zocor), lovastatin (Mevacor), atorvastatin (Lipitor) Statins used to treat high cholesterol

On the flip side, I had to drink grapefruit juice when going through chemo in order to help metabolize some of the drugs that killed my tumors.

Fisher, so sorry to hear about your co-worker. To answer your question, my appt is on F (friday

), so by chance an appt to figure out what didn''t work last cycle is turning into another cd3 appt. I think my cycle was short and sweet because of the progesterone inserts. Lulu, is it working the same for you? Or have you tended towards regular cycles?

Welcome April!
Sorry to hear your news Cakeny, love your doggie photo.

 

[melz]

appropriately as i am posting someone has brought a baby into the office who is crying ...

swimmer curious to hear what you think of acupuncture. i had someone else mention they thought it worked for them, in this case to regulate the woman''s cycle. i dont have a problem there but i''m going to give it another shot, especially as this is our first ivf cycle.

speaking of shots, i started the gonal f injections last night. it really was not painful at all i was really surprised. started to get nervous as the time approached. my DF was going to give me the shot, then he chickened out (i was kind of relieved actually). it was enough that he sat there with me and read the instructions. i''m going to continue with the nightly shots (as well as the syneral i started last week) and then have an ultrasound and blood drawn on sunday to see how it''s going. not sure when the actual ivf will be.

gongoo congrats!

how fab. thanks for posting the additional info re acupuncture and the wheatgrass and antioxidant advice. any particular brands you recommend for those?

festy my insurance did not cover acupuncture, even tho the clinic is attached to my ivf clinic. so i''m going to guess the chances are not good it would be covered for you but you never know.

vesper i''m going to log in this weekend to see your hpt results!

welcome April and NewShiny! may your stay be short.

 

[Festy]

Cake - yeah, it''s hard not to be disappointed.

Onward and upward!

LV - dunno if it''s too early...are you 13DPO now? Have you run out of tests yet?

Fisher - I''m so sorry to hear about your friend.

Sorry, I know I forgot Blushing, Swimmer, Cara, LuLu...hope you''re all doing well! As for me, I took the plunge and decided to do IUI and Clomid next cylce instead of just Clomid. I took a look at DH''s SA lab results and even though most of it is in the normal range, the morphology, volume and pH are on the low end of normal. Given that we''ve been trying for a year I don''t see any reason to wait. My insurance has already approved it, so away we go! Now I wait for AF, go get an US, take those pills, then start with the OPKs to see when DH get to make lab love.

Fun fun!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Festy - You''re so funny! Yes, I am "approximately" 13 DPO today. I did not test this morning!

I will try an internet cheapie test tonight. Love those!! Not close to running out of tests either. I''ve got probably 20 internet cheapies and 2 nice digitals!! Woo-hoo.

I wish you the best of luck this cycle!! Glad to hear that the insurance is not standing in your way!!

 

[Festy]

Date: 8/6/2009 2:58:21 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
Festy - You''re so funny! Yes, I am ''approximately'' 13 DPO today. I did not test this morning!

I will try an internet cheapie test tonight. Love those!! Not close to running out of tests either. I''ve got probably 20 internet cheapies and 2 nice digitals!! Woo-hoo.

I wish you the best of luck this cycle!! Glad to hear that the insurance is not standing in your way!!

Hey, by the time you run out of tests maybe someone will have invented a patch for pee-stick withdrawal!

I kid, but seriously it is hard to stay away. I hope you''re hanging in there.

 

[cakeny]

Thank you for all the kind words ladies. I feel embarrassed that I''m even disappointed since so many of you have been going through this much longer ... and with challenges to boot! But I guess who better would understand even the beginning stages of these little disappointments than than the peeps who have gone through this experience themselves! Reading your stories (victories and disappointments and all) really taught me a lot.

So when did you guys start getting "nervous" - after 6 months? a year?

 

[gongjoo143]

Melanie - yes I can suggest the brands I like. I order a lot from vitacost because prices are competitive.
Fish oil 1000-2000mg daily. Nordic Naturals is good.
Wheatgrass/greens combo - Barlean''s Greens in Natural Berry is my favorite.
Antioxidant - Pycnogenol 100-125mg for both men and women. Even some RE''s suggest this.
Hope this helps.

In regards to acupuncture being covered by insurance, you can always try to submit, but they will never take a diagnosis of "infertility". Pain diagnoses such as back pain, headaches etc are more likely to go through. If you have these symptoms during PMS, it may work.

 

[melz]

Date: 8/6/2009 5:51:19 PM
Author: gongjoo143
Melanie - yes I can suggest the brands I like. I order a lot from vitacost because prices are competitive.
Fish oil 1000-2000mg daily. Nordic Naturals is good.
Wheatgrass/greens combo - Barlean's Greens in Natural Berry is my favorite.
Antioxidant - Pycnogenol 100-125mg for both men and women. Even some RE's suggest this.
Hope this helps.

In regards to acupuncture being covered by insurance, you can always try to submit, but they will never take a diagnosis of 'infertility'. Pain diagnoses such as back pain, headaches etc are more likely to go through. If you have these symptoms during PMS, it may work.

Gonjoo that is a fabulous insurance tip, thanks! As a matter of fact, I do get migraines .... thanks as well for the supplement recommendations.

Cakeny, that's an interesting question. I was just thinking about it yesterday. I started getting nervous when the first iui failed, because my DF's sperm count and motility was so off-the-charts good. It seemed like it should have been a sure thing.

I hear about people trying for years, and doing multiple ivf's, and I just don't know where the optimism comes from. But then a couple of years ago, I never would have thought I would do ivf at all. If we didn't conceive "naturally," we'd adopt. But here we are. And we'll keep trying as long as the insurance keeps paying for it, I guess. And I heard another story yesterday about a couple who stopped trying and then got pregnant. And then had to try another five years for the second. Craziness!

Guess I'm babbling on here, sorry for that. I am really hopeful this ivf cycle will work. And if it's twins even better, then we don't have to worry about going through this again, unless we want to (I'm an only child and want my child to have sibling(s).)

EDIT: Sorry if that was a downer. Yes, a negative is ALWAYS a disappointment even if it's your first one. You know logically it's much too early to be nervous, but still it is depressing. That's why so many ladies here will wait to test, sometimes even when all signs are pointing to their being KTFU. Somehow it's easier getting AF then getting a negative. Completely normal.

 

[swimmer]

Melanie, I''m going to start seeing an acupuncturist next week in cambridge, Cambridge Alternative Therapies (acu and massage in each session, glorious). I found that Massachusetts covers every aspect of infertility except acu. booo.
Will report findings to you. More interestingly i''m starting gonal f shots tomorrow so am right behind you. How are the shots impacting you and how often do you have to go in for monitoring? I''m just glad to still be on summer vacation.

Festy, lab lovin'' can be the very best kind. Good luck with it! Friends who had to go with iui because they are both female and purchased some super sperm say that making their baby was perhaps the least romantic thing that they have ever done. DH and i go to breakfast afterwards to make it more like a date in reverse. Well, at least he has fun...in a clinical sort of way.

Wow, sometimes it is scary the amount of info that we discus here when some people in other threads are freaked out over a discussion of sanitary pads. Which i am now going to go on the record as saying they are way gross and i hate using them when doing progesterone. Anyway, that is the least tmi statement of this post.

LV, now that you are actually in the window for testing, how goes it? fingers crossed for you!

CakeNY, as far as "normal" time to be concerned; if you are timing and getting it done in the window of opportunity for 6 months and you are over 33 (i have seen this vary up to 35 and down to 31 by drs or insurance), or 12 months if younger and nada...then you call your pcp and ask for a referral for a Reproductive Endocrinologist, sort of a step up from a regular ob/gyn in that they have more training. You probably already know all this, but I know a couple of lurkers might also have that question so am going overboard with info. Are you in NY? As a state they do not mandate coverage for IF, but you might want to call your insurance to find out what can be covered...for example lots of testing can be done under the code for "irregular cycles." So, you will cross that bridge when you get there, but know that for example in the UK, they want you to try for 24 months before seeking intervention. But if you have endometriosis, pcos, fibroids, or anything of that nature you won''t have to try that long as you get fast-tracked into treatment. Did you have a pre-ttc consult with your gyn? He or she will have way better ideas and time schedules for you. Again, I''m just a lifeguard

But i know that every negative is just another punch in the gut. The first was about the hardest. May you never see another one!

Gongjoo, good info, do you have any thoughts on fishoil vs flaxseed oil? I just hate those fishy burps, but i could just take them before bed rather than taking them in the am and then working out with fish taste, yummy. Can I ask what state you work in? I have heard that RI in their mandated if coverage includes acu, but am not sure of it. Gah, why on earth do insurance companies have so much control over our bodies?

Good luck to all, hoping that your spirits are high and that your weather is awesome.

 

[melz]

Swimmer I just found a new acupuncturist as well, this one is in Dedham which is close to where I work. I have an appointment for next Wednesday. But yours with a massage sounds heavenly!

I am so glad we are doing this at the same time ... so last night was my second shot. I had a bit of a headache yesterday, and I do feel bloated but I've also been eating everything in sight so that is the more likely culprit.

My first time to go in is Sunday morning for an ultrasound and bloodwork. The nurse guesstimates that my retrieval will be Monday after next. I hadn't expected it to be so drawn out.

Gonjoo I ordered wheatgrass and antioxidants from the site you recommended, thanks again. Also going to get my DF on the multi you suggested.