The Official TTC Thread!

[BrightSpot]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

So, I broke down & POAS. Just like I said I wouldn't. It's interesting to know a wondfo pregnancy strip comes up negative with an hcg level of 4. The OPK was also negative. I don't know what I was thinking.

JGator, it does feel odd hoping for AF to show up on this thread! I guess all of those symptoms can indeed mean AF is on her way (though I was confused by the ewcm as I don't normally get that before AF, but I guess after a m/c, all bets are off on what to expect.)

mia, welcome & sorry for your loss. My BBT is from CVS & I like it reasonably well. It seems accurate & it doesn't make too much noise (it beeps only when you turn it on & when it's finished, not continuously like some do.) It takes around a minute to get a reading.

mlk, hope you caught that egg!

trekkie, I too have read lots of miracle stories about metformin, but maybe it just takes a while to work its magic. I've been on it since November. How about you? How did your appointment go?

tammy, I'm glad to hear you're getting a full workup. Also glad your DH won't have to wait long for his results. We had to wait over 2 weeks for my DH's SA results & only found out because we bugged the doctor's office! Keep us posted how things come out. Hoping every thing is a-ok, but if there is a problem, better to be able to address it asap.
That was what I was wondering too (if I was ovulating). I do still have hcg in my system, but not much. I read somewhere that it's only levels over 20 that stop ovulation, (mine's been under that for at least a couple of weeks) but I don't know if that was correct or not. I guess I'll just have to wait & see. Thanks for the hug!

Jen, I'm definitely hoping for my wait to be over soon. How exciting that 22 of your eggs fertilized! That's amazing! Hoping for lots of great quality blasocysts & a sticky, healthy bean for you!

JGator & MP, continued excitement & dust headed your way.

Hi to everyone else!

 

[Trekkie]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

JGator AF is still not here, the witch. Why is she taunting me like this???

Tammy Good luck to you and your hubs with the SA! I so agree with you that forewarned is forearmed. We want to do one as well but it involves 4 days of abstinence and a 90 minute trip to our nearest city! So we'll have to wait a while.

Jen Congratulations on 22 fertile eggs! Can't wait to hear how the next step goes!

BrightSpot Soon AF will arrive and then it all starts again! Thanks for your HPT experiment. Weird as this may seem, I am sure that knowledge will come in useful at some point. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but it is very encouraging to me that you fell pregnant on Metformin. Reading internet "success stories" is not quite the same as (almost) "knowing" someone, is it?

As for me... Well, I had an appointment with my GP yesterday. He is quite happy with my general state of health (gah!) and changed my meds slightly. I asked to be weaned off my SSRI, which he agreed to (YAY - I wasn't sure if he would!). He also increased my Metformin from 500mg per day to 1000mg per day. He says to try this out for two more months. He also offered me an appetite suppressant but I am reluctant to try it as I have substance addiction issues (as if diamond addiction is not enough!). I also tentatively suggested Clomid but my doctor feels I should give it a little while longer and if nothing has happened naturally by June we can start looking in that direction.

My doc also gave me some advice which seems to contradict what I've read online. You know, normally, I stick to what my doctor tells me; I don't have a medical degree, he does, so clearly he should know what he's doing. Anyway, he suggested that we abstain for a minimum of four days before I ovulate so that "the sperm are plentiful and mature". Uhm, ok? I thought we were supposed to wait until O approaches and then BD like crazy? Does anyone have any insight into this? You all have been around a lot longer than I have, so any advice is appreciated!

Also, (SORRY! TMI ALERT!) my doc suggests that I don't pee after we BD? Apparently I'm supposed to lie there for an hour to an hour and a half so that the sperm can "swim upstream". Have you heard of this before? Is it a good idea? Do any of you do this? I usually lie there basking for a few minutes and then I feel a desperate need to pee... So I pee. Also, I thought that peeing after BD is supposed to help prevent UTI?

Sigh. Another post all about me, me, me... This is such an awesome, supportive thread... It's so easy to get lost in it and just offload.

Anywho... Hiiiii to everyone and I hope that everything is going well with you all!

 

[mia1181]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Thanks for all the BBT recommendations guys, hopefully I can grab one soon this is making me crazy!

Trekkie-. Haha thanks for that list! My favorite is #1, the $90 thermometer! Oh I would love to have it since I am a gadget nerd and I love that it stores six whole cycles in its memory... Oh to dream

Brightspot- Aw thanks so much for your condolences on my "loss," I chuckled a little when I read that!

Jen- Thanks! But I'm not joining you ladies just yet! Still in the wanting but waiting camp until May!

Okay now I will go back to lurky-land... Good luck everyone!!!

 

[tammy77]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hey Trekkie,

Your doctor is semi right. You want to abstain for a couple of days (if you O on CD14, then abstaining from like 10-12 can help build up his count) if you have any kind of male factor issues. Regarding peeing right after, you do want to try to lie still for about 20 minutes at least. I tried softcups to keep everything in there and avoid "spillage" and give us a little boost. It didn't work for a bfp but it does help keep everything in place!

 

[Trekkie]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Mia - I know, right? I want that one too! I am such a nerd. *ahem* If you require further proof of this, just have a look at my name and avatar!

Tammy - Thanks for the info! I think we'll give it a go... It's just so weird having all these "rules" in place. I mean, what happened to getting married and just placing an order with the stork to deliver 9 months later?

 

[enbcfsobe]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Things are crazy at work but just a drive by post and more complete one later.

Trekkie -- docs differ on abstinence to address potential male factor issues, and if they can't figure it out not sure how we're supposed to know what to do! re: peeing, i had chronic problems with uti for years before meeting dh so i was compulsively peeing immediately after bd for as long as i can remember. i stopped doing that and started laying down for about an hour after bd, and thats when we got pregnant. twice. hmm. hadn't discussed it with the doctor before i changed this but when we talked about it later he said that its possible that it could help. i haven't had a problem with uti so far, though i try not to hold it during the day and to drink cranberry juice occasionally.

 

[Missy0483]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Just an FYI, I never stayed in bed after BDing and I'm 26 weeks pregnant. I didn't want to chance a UTI because I was prone to getting them, so if I felt the urge to go pee, I would go pee! I've always heard that the sperm goes where it needs to go, anything that comes out is "dummy sperm" anyway.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Trekkie, I think you said you just started trying to conceive, right? Were you able to confirm ovulation from charting this month? If you haven't read it, I highly recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility. What I've heard is that when you first start trying, you can go ahead and BD every day of your fertile period. If it doesn't happen for a few months or you determine that your DH has a lower sperm count, then they recommend BD'ing every other day during your fertile period. I always used the restroom before BD'ing, and then I'd lie in bed awhile before getting up, sometimes I'd fall asleep for a few hours before getting up. I'm not prone to UTIs though, so I might have felt differently if I were. Hoping you get your medication all sorted out and that you start ovulating regularly!

Tammy, I hope you get good news today!

Bright, I'm not surprised the wondfo didn't pick up the small amount of HCG. For me, the wondfo didn't have a second line for a few days after I got a faint line on the FRER. I just don't think it is as sensitive. I've heard some people say the FRER can pick it up when it is as low as 6. Hoping that your body is gearing up for AF, and that's why you're getting the EWCM.

JGator, tomorrow's the big day. Sending you lots of dust for a good first ultrasound!

Thinking of all of you other ladies!

 

[amc80]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Just an FYI, I never stayed in bed after BDing and I'm 26 weeks pregnant. I didn't want to chance a UTI because I was prone to getting them, so if I felt the urge to go pee, I would go pee! I've always heard that the sperm goes where it needs to go, anything that comes out is "dummy sperm" anyway.

I think I stayed in bed for 5-10 minutes. I'm paranoid about peeing after as well- I've gotten two UTIs in my life, and both were when I didn't pee immediately after.

Also, regarding abstaining before ovulation- I had always heard that if the guy has normal sperm counts then it really doesn't matter. Our plan was to BD every other day starting around CD12 (or whenever I got EWCM, which was sometimes a little earlier). Then once I got a positive OPK we'd switch to every day, until my temp shifted.

 

[Jen_91909]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Stopping in to wish JGator good luck at her ultrasound tomorrow!!!

Question: has anyone here ever taken endometrin suppositories? I have to do them 3x per day and find the leaking to be terrible. The nurse said there is no way to avoid it... Yuck.

Eta: Tammy, did you get any results?

 

[tammy77]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hi Ladies!

Jen, thanks for asking! We gave up hope of finding out today but his results were posted after hours and it looks like everything is normal for him! It's a huge relief but I'm really glad that I'm getting my FSH tested at the right time and getting a workup. Chances are we're just one of the people that's normal but going to take longer, someone has to help offset the jerkstores statistically speaking, may as well be us.

 

[BrightSpot]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Tammy, that's great news! Yay (and lol about offsetting the jerk stores.)

Jgator, good luck tomorrow! Let us know how it goes. Dust!

Hi to everyone else. I'll write more tomorrow. Poor dh has a cold & needs some care. No more updates on my end.

 

[mlk]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hi everyone, just a quick post as I've had a crazy week at work, it's 10pm and I'm facing a pile of extra work on the weekend. Aaargh just want an excuse to take some time off/ cut back to part time etc. Although I did get a very overdue promotion today (unfortunately no pay rise though!)

Thanks for everyone's well wishes in catching the egg. Don't like my chances this month cos my cycle was all over the place we didn't time bd well.

One quick question, can anyone tell me what ovulation pain feels like and how long it lasts. I got a very positive opk 2 days ago, pain around the middle of my stomach yesterday, which I thought was o pain. But then today I had a lot of pain on my left side, almost like pinching. Was pretty strong for an hour or two in after on and then on and off in the evening. I have also just started getting a headache.

No real temp shift yet, just slight increases over the last 2 days after a drop on the day of theb positive opk. But that was my temp pattern last month too, just a gradual buildup.

Is my mind/body just playing tricks on me?

Just a quick shout out to Tammy and Jen forntheir great news too

Hi to everyonevelse back tomorrow. Hopefully when I wake up I will get a temp shift

 

[lizzyann]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Jen, I always used prometrium three times a day and yes, they always leaked too. At one point, I thought I was having an allergic reaction to prometrium so they ordered me the endometrin as a backup but it was found I was not allergic to the prometrium, so I never had to use it. Anyways, when they ordered me the endometrin, they warned me that it was messier than prometrium. Good thing is that if you get pregnant, you'll only need to take it until you see a heartbeat! One piece of advice on the suppositories in general is if you can try to lay down for 15-20 minutes after inserting it, it helps keep it up there with less leaking!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Tammy, great news on your DH's results! One less thing to worry about. Hopefully your results will be reassuring too, and it is just a matter of time before you get your BFP.

Jen, I've only taken the prometrium, but fortunately, I'm only taking one at bedtime, so there isn't too much of a mess. I'm having a harder and harder time remembering to use them lately, so then I wake up in the morning and have to use it then. Not fun, but it will all be so worth it if it helps you get and stay pregnant! My thoughts will be with you in the next few days as you prepare for the transfer. So hoping this is it for you!

Still thinking of all of you ladies and hoping you will all be blessed with wonderful news soon!

 

[JGator]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Bright, thanks for the dust. I can use it. I will post later with the results of the ultrasound. Hope DH feels better soon. I did get a lot of CM about 2 weeks before AF showed after my MC. And, I never get much CM. So, I think that's a good sign for you.

Trekkie, my RE said to clear out any old sperm 2 days before the time I expected to O and then abstain for 2 days (which is what my DH was told for his SA also) and then just to BD the day of and the day after O. Also, I usually put my legs up and stay in bed for 30 mins after BDing to make sure all the sperm get up there. But, I know I have read that all the sperm you need are probably already there.

Mia, let us know if you have any questions with the BBT. Make sure you try to temp at the same time every day and put it out where you can't miss it until you get into the routine which took me a couple weeks to get used to. I still am temping as it's a hard habit to break.

MP, thank for the well wishes. 2 hours till the ultrasound. Not that I am obsessively clock watching or anything. Got some blood work this AM. The nurse lost the vein in one arm and had to take the blood from the other arm. Oh, the joys of TTC/pregnancy.

Jen, thanks for remembering my utlrasound. I can't wait to hear what you find out on Sunday. It sounds like you have amazing numbers to start with so I'm sure you will end up with many embryos/blastocysts in great shape. Grow, grow, grow. That's what I tell my bean. With the PGD, will they freeze the embryos? I heard it takes some time for those tests. I haven't taken endometrin - just Crinone. Sorry can't help you with that.

Tammy! Woo hoo! Congrats on a good SA. And, I also loved your comment on the jerk stores. I am with you as one of those helping to weigh the averages down.

MLK, I have never had ovulation pains. Sorry can't help you. I'm sure some of the other ladies will chime in though.

AFM, waiting till 12:45pm EST today for my ultrasound. I was in the RE's already this AM for blood work. Should get those results when I go in this afternoon.

 

[tammy77]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Hi Girls,

Quick question about DH's SA that I have but I *think* it's okay. I just want to find out if anyone else can remember their results to compare/assure me since the info we found isn't exactly black and white. Some things were really good - 2.7mL vol, count was 128M, total count was 345.6M, motility was 70%, normal viscosity/appearance/progression, no agglutination (what's that??). The only thing that was really close to their version of standard was the "sperm normal forms" category, performed by Kruger Strict Morphology method. The "standard" was 4% and DH's was 5%.

Is that something we should look more closely at or is that really normal and okay? TIA for any input! It feels weird writing about his stuff even though I've gone into great detail about all of mine.

I'll be back in a little bit to write a less memememe post, I promise!

 

[ChinaCat]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

It's 12:45 EST right now, sending JGator some dust dust dust for her u/s!!!

 

[tammy77]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Oh it is 12:45! Well, 12:50...good luck, Jen!!! Can't wait to hear about your U/S!

Bright, how are you doing? Hope you're okay and are able to dodge your DH's cold, poor guy!

MP, it's so very nice that you pop in and say hi to us still. I'm ridiculously happy for you!

MLK, maybe you're just one to have a slow rise after you ovulate? I'm not sure what it means in terms of fertility, just that I've heard about it. I haven't really looked into it much though since it's one of the few things I know doesn't pertain to me. Regardless, good luck this cycle and I hope your TWW goes fast!

Trekkie, it sounds like you have a pretty good GP that's willing to work with you. I'm right there with you on that appetite thing! My DH and I just started using an iphone app called "Lose it" and I'm HOOKED! So that's my suggestion for a little boost. It's really great and I don't say that often about a fitness/nutrition tracker!

Mia, come out and play with us, you don't have to lurk!

enbcfsobe, hope that Friday is being kind to you and things are settling a bit.

Hi to anyone that I've missed!!

Lame catch up but it's truly the best I can do today.

 

[Puppmom]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Adding to the truckload of dust for JGator!

 

[amc80]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

The only thing that was really close to their version of standard was the "sperm normal forms" category, performed by Kruger Strict Morphology method. The "standard" was 4% and DH's was 5%.

Is that something we should look more closely at or is that really normal and okay? TIA for any input! It feels weird writing about his stuff even though I've gone into great detail about all of mine.

I'll be back in a little bit to write a less memememe post, I promise!

Check out this site-

http://www.fertilitydr.com/male-infertility-semen-analysis-kruger.html

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Tammy, the NP told me the only thing that was borderline on our SA was the motility, so I never asked about morph. And unfortunately we were never given a detailed SA analysis, so I'm of no help. Is your doctor going to give you an analysis of the results? If not, you should definitely call if you are at all concerned. I think the fact that you are dealing with really good counts and motility bodes well for you though!

JGator, thinking of you!

 

[JGator]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

China, Pupp, Tammy, and MP - a heartfelt thanks for all of your support and dust ladies. I really appreciate it. You all are the best!

We have a healthy singleton! RE said he/she is on track size wise and in a good position in the uterus. And, everything looks good in there. The baby is on my left side where the slight cramping I have been having is coming from. We did not see the heart beat as expected as it's a bit early. I will post the picture as soon as I can get it off my phone. The RE said we could come back in 1 or 2 weeks for another ultrasound. I have a big work meeting next Friday so we're going to hold off till 2 weeks from now for our next appt as DH travels a lot and isn't usually around on other days. The RE said if all goes well, at that point, I'll be released to my OB. They did not check my beta today as they said it's far enough along not to check anymore - I wanted/needed a number, but I will have to let that go. My progesterone is 28.7. That has gone down from last time, but it's still normal and higher than my last pregnancy ever got. So, we are relieved and optimistic.

 

[tammy77]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Jgator, WOOHOO happy DANCE!! I'm so happy to hear your update, wonderful news!!!

ETA: Amc that website has me scared. Blah. On one hand, I think it's okay because everything else checked out good or above average and the website specifically says that it's highly objective. On the other hand, they say that at 5% or below they recommend IVF/ICSI. The lab that he had to take it to is actually at the Cancer Center, not a fertility center, but I don't have any idea of whether or not that is a factor.

ETA2: Our GP did say that everything came back normal, didn't seem concerned about it at all. I don't see why the lab would say that anything above 4 is considered standard with everything that I'm reading now. Urgh.

ETA3: Okay I'm NOT going to freak out about this. Did my math and he had 345.6 million, 39 million is "standard". So doing the math here. 14% of 39 million is 5.46 million but 5% of 345.6 million is 17.28 million. I think we're okay if he has on average three times more "normal" ones even though the percentage is lower. Does that make sense or am I just trying to trick the numbers to feel better? Sorry to have a moment, this stuff is stressful!

 

[ChinaCat]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

CONGRATS JGATOR! So happy to hear this news. One more down...NEXT!

Bright- Still thinking of you often. Glad you had a lovely vacation- sounds like it was just what you needed. Spring is around the corner- new beginnings for everyone. xoxo

 

[monkeyprincess]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

YAY JGator! That's wonderful news! I bet you're breathing a big sigh of a relief! Continued sticky dust!

 

[BrightSpot]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Mlk, sorry work has been so busy. I don't have o pain, but have heard about a slow rising temp after o, so you may well be in the 2ww. Hope you caught that egg (even if the timing wasn't great, there's still hope!)

Jgator, so glad everything went well today! Yay! Sounds like you're in great shape & your little bean is growing away. I'm so relieved to hear this. Hugs to you. 
Do you think you o'd before your first post-m/c af? I haven't been tracking, but that ewcm really threw me. 

Tammy, I hope I can dodge the cold too, but am not especially optimistic. Poor dh. 
I think your dh's numbers look great! (his  counts are fantastic!) I think the strict morphology number is normal too. (the number is usually low on that one.) But if you're concerned, wouldn't hurt to call your doc for a more thorough explanation.  I think it won't be long for you guys. 

China, thank you for your sweet post. It made me tear up just a little. Somehow, you always know what to say. Hugs. Here's to new beginnings. How are you doing?

Mp, I've never used an frer. Only the wondfo cheapies. Good to know re:sensitivity levels. I hope something happens soon but we'll see. 
How are you feeling? I think of you often. 

Mia, hee hee. Glad you enjoyed that. We're here when you're ready to officially join us. May is right around the corner. 

Trekkie, I'm glad you're encouraged a bit by a metformin success story (sort of.) I did have additional assistance (clomid + ovidrel & IUI) but I read about lots of women getting ku via metformin alone. 
I usually try to lie for about 20 min after bd-ing, but then get up to pee (fear of uti as well.) I used to take a bath after too, but stopped doing that even though my ob said it was ok since the swimmers were already where they needed to be by then. 

Jen, I used crinone, not endometrin. I only had to use it once daily & it wasn't too bad. Crossing my fingers that your have great news tomorrow!

Ltl, haven't heard from you in a while. Hope you're well. Are you in the testing zone now? Dust!

Hi to prana, hot,  & anyone else I missed. 

Afm,  not much to report here.  We're going to see my family this weekend. Hope all goes well. 

 

[Missy0483]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

JGator - So happy that you got good news!!!

 

[amc80]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

JGator- Yay!

Tammy- It seems that the test is really subjective. From what I read, they randomly pick 200 sperm and then determine what percentage of those sperm are normal. But it's up to the person looking at the sample. As others have said, the other numbers look so great I really wouldn't worry.

 

[tammy77]

Re: The Official TTC Thread!

Thanks, Amc. I read that too. 200 seems like a pretty small sample size considering even the lowest acceptable count is 20-40 million.