TTC 10+ months thread 12

[buzzybee123]

A very friendly and supportive thread for those taking way longer than they had ever expected to make a baby.

[seaviewasia]

And rabbit - I am also a pancake and have a collection of padded bras which came in v useful. I keep hoping boobs will have a growth spurt if I ever get preggers.

[EuroShagmore]

rabbit I agree that you won't have done any long term harm. Your periods are back, so your ovaries are working.

I went through a period of controlling what I eat. I was an early developer (tallest in my primary school, beating all the boys) and broad so I always felt chunky. I found it easy to lose weight too. Now I have a sedentary lifestyle (office job), having got a bit slack about regular exercise and live with someone who is an amazing cook. But I feel fat with a BMI of 22, even though I know I am not on paper. I am just bigger than I would like. But the steroids and hormone drugs helped with that.

PM me your address and I'll pop it in the post. If IVF doesn't work though, we might want it back in a couple of months to read through again before we do more testing. But you can have it until then!

[Poutintrout]

seaview Good news that you are all done. What is the correct and polite terminology for such things? All IUI'ed up?? I will add you to the chorus cheering on for a sticky bean.

euro I am laughing (in sympathy imagining) your taxi journey. I have a really irritable bladder anyway and just can't hold on without feeling like I will pee my pants. I had to have an ultrasound on my kidneys once and I thought that I was going to cry in the waiting room because I was so desperate for the loo. I agree though with seaview that it is pretty bad in your situation to leave you for an hour. You kind of imagine that you would be a priority and that your comfort, today of all days, would be more important. On that note when I had my trial ET and needed a full bladder I was seen straight away - I have a really nice gynae!

I snorted at the filling of bras with 200 quids worth of change That is genius, especially the wrapping in clingfilm to stop rattling. We really all ought to collaborate and write a guide book for barrens.

rabbits I really don't think that you have anything to be worried about regarding your ED and maybe messing up your fertility. I know that when there is no obvious medical explanation for infertility we want to look for answers and reasons and often focus on something to berate ourselves for but really and honestly I don't believe that you have anything to beat yourself up over. Our relationship with food is strange sometimes (I was always dieting between the ages of 14 and 18). I think that adolescence is a complex time. My own particular choice of nuttiness seeking control at that time was an obsession with electrical sockets and having to check many, many times that they were off. It was a miserable time!
It is interesting what you say about your snotty nose and aching. Strangely I get the same old weird things at the same time each cycle. Bleeding gums at the time of ovulation and just before AF is one oddity.

[buzzybee123]

rabbit is SIL pregnant or getting married??

gin is it all systems go :)

euro fingers crossed for you :), no surprise that Create kept you waiting, right now I am glad I have not gone with them, I'm too much of an anal re tentative control freak to cope with all the waiting

pout are you down regging or just stimming??? at big dog

seaview fingers crossed for you too

well I have been in spring cleaning mode again but there is still so much to do, met up with friend who has given me a lovely bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine we are meeting adoption friend tomorrow but can't think of any questions to ask but I know I will as soon as I leave

hope everyone has something lovely planned for the weekend

[joycep]

Euro - well done on ET today. Go mini Euro. Pleased it wasnt bad. Impressed you did it with a full bladder. Mine was half full and twenty minutes into te process (they took forever to bring the embryos out) I thought I'm going to pee. It was a real struggle to keep it in- especially a those muscles can't be moved when there is a catheter up there!. I think some people must pee during the process!

Sar - I hope you have a fabulous fabulous weekend.

Seaview- I did giggle at your £200 story. Ingenius. I go the other way and take off my watch when I'm weighed- anything to lower the figures.

Rabbit - Plenty of people have had ED but I believe the body is very resilient and snaps back in to shape once healthy eating is resumed. I flirted with it when I was 14 and my periods stopped for over a year until normal eating resumed. A friend asked me whether she thought that episode in my life was the cause of my fertility issues which scared me. But having read women gave birth in concentration camps and many survivors went on to have children after years of severe malnourishment, I really think there is nothing to worry about.
Uuum (scratches chin) about your flare ups before AF. Intriguingly the months where I thought I had conceived, I got incredibly achey and almost fluey and i thought my body was trying to fight off an embryo. So it could be an immune reaction, it seems odd that you are getting it at the time an enbryo would be trying to implant. Have you ever been tempted to get your NK cells tested?

Pout - your 300 spider story has really freaked me out! I hope all your drugs came ok. It's very daunting when you see them all but it's surprising how quickly they go down.

Art - god what a horrible horrible scare. Poor you . I am glad all is ok. I am not surprised you are staying away from sex. I would as well.

Gin- what a nuisance that you have had to postpone FET but it's important to be in good health. Bloody typical though.

Ok here. Beta has been doubling as it should. Still terribly nervous but very grateful to have this chance. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

[EuroShagmore]

Hurrah for good numbers, joy.

I am sure those gynaes must get peed on a lot. He kept asking me if I wanted to let some out, but I had already done one mini wee and couldn't trust myself to stop mid-stream again!

I agree with you that Rabbit's strange symptoms might make it worth getting NK cells tested. I did say, slightly morbidly, after the embryo transfer when we were left alone with the image of it on the screen "I wonder how long it will take for my body to tear that to shreds". I am sure that we have made embryos before, to no avail.

I'm not terribly comfy at the moment. My belly is really distended and I have a bit of spotting. Hmmm. I hope that doesn't mean it wasn't a good transfer.

[rabbitonthemoon]

Joy I'm just amazed by you. Don't leave us.

Euro, try to ignore the spotting - you've had a tube thru your cervix. That has never failed to make me spot/bleed. You've done everything you can and there's an embie on board. Yoga trousers?

Anyone watching utopia? Fuck me it's scary.

[mrsden]

I spent this afternoon at a one year old's birthday party, I had stupidly agreed to help out my friend. It was fine, but it did make me think. He is one and I know my friend started ttc 6 months after we did. She is probably thinking about trying for her second now.

Rabbits, does your sil know about you ttc? I think I'll get an a* annoucnement sometime soon. It doesn't bear thinking about.

Af is here. Dh is taking me out to dinner to cheer me up.

[EuroShagmore]

Sorry to hear about the arrival of AF, mrsd.

My friend who started trying for her second the same month we started trying has just had her coil removed to go for #3. We will get there. We are the tortoises to their hares*.

Joy I agree with rabbit. Stay around for as long as you can.


*No offence to Mr Rabbit intended.

[MuddyWellyNelly]

I wrote a long and brilliant post earlier that clearly got lost in cyber space. So basically, happy weekend

[ThatWayMadnessLies]

And I am sure it was brilliant nelly. You always are .

Sorry gin about the delay but best to wait for optimal conditions. Still rubbish though.

I cannot imagine ever trying to make myself heavier for a weigh in. When I was on the rowing team in high school we had to go for runs to sweat outs much water as possible and couldn't have a drink or eat breakfast before a weigh in!! I return to the trainer on Tuesday night in hopes of losing a few pounds before the ivf (and of course subsequent pregnancy) begins. I cannot motivate myself to exercise at all so paying through the nose for someone else to tell me what to do is the only option.

mrsd and euro it is rubbish when you can measure this jitney in other people's children. I have a colleague who was married just after me, started trying the same month as me, and I am sure they will be going for number 2 soon as well. Her daughter is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen but it still hurts to look at her sometimes . I am looking forward to being able to feel happy for others without it being tinged by sadness for myself.

rabbit I know it won't help to tell you not to dwell on the past. I am sure that you didn't damage your chances permanently. Your cycles have returned and that is the important thing.

Any news doll? I hope you're not working too hard. Sending lots of positive thoughts your way.

Very exciting eurothat you have an embie on board. I imagine that feels very strange!

Fingers crossed for sea. It worked for my friend first time so here's hoping you're the same.

Rather tipsy after a whole afternoon watching rugby in the pub. Good for MrM that the Irish won and not so good for Scotland. All very civil though with only good natured banter between Scottish and English fans (all two of them!). Have told MrM that this will be the last year we can waste a whole afternoon in the pub for the 6 nations. He countered that we'll just ask grandma to babysit

Big waves to pout, lemon, joy, princess, buzzy, sar, art and anyone else I've missed.

[EuroShagmore]

Happy weekend to you too nelly.

It does feel a bit odd. Mr Euro keeps trying to treat me like I am going to break. I am beating that out of him straight away until I feel really lazy and then might let him ! I decided the embie mostly needed chocolate and homemade flapjacks this weekend.

[MuddyWellyNelly]

Euro I milked it! Mr Nelly wouldn't let me do heavy lifting which was interesting as that doesn't fit well with my hobby

Thanks Madness I do try

[buzzybee123]

madness I was like that about losing weight before IVF, I had no motivation and then my life coach pointed out its a choice between a baby and the food, amazingly I found my motivation straight away,as I'm paying a shit load of money I want to have the best chance at making it work. When I get home and look at the 9 flights of stairs I need to climb and then look at the lift I say out loud do you want a baby or to take the lift I am also on the slimming world programme which is a doddle to do and I am never starving as I can east as much as I want of most food types, I've lost 4 kilos in a month and can now fit my smaller size jeans which I am happy about. I watched some of the rugby too although I don't really mind who wins aslong as its the frogs I have a soft spot of Wales but Barry keeps telling me its because I am sheep shagger too :)

gin sorry I mis read your post earlier, hope you feel better soon

mrsd sorry about AF, when are you planning IVF??

euro chocolate is always good are you planning on testing before the blood test or are you going to wait?? It all very exciting

nelly happy weekend to you :)

Well we had lunch and a chat with friend and her beautiful adopted son, she was amazing and went through it all, gave us some tips and a book to read. It was really useful ans lovely to see the two of them. I now feel happier about it all but Barry looked a bit shell shocked

I don't have many friends who have kids so I don't know who is planning to have them and who are planning their 2nd or 3rd, I assume most will be trying at some stage so no announcement will be a massive shock but some will still hurt I suppose, I don't worry or compare my ttc journey to theirs I have surprised at how many people I know who have had IVF though, I am only focused on my own journey really and after today I feel that come 2014 I will have a baby and I don't believe it will come from IVF but adoption so this year is about going through the motions

waves to everyone else :)

[EuroShagmore]

buzzy that sounds really positive. I know one adoptee (no adoptors) and she was adopted 40 years ago in another country, so will not be much help in terms of the process!

I'm not sure about testing. Currently I feel like I have had enough of drs and being messed around with so I want to do the pee stick and leave it at that, and skip the blood test entirely. But I might cave if there is any uncertainty as I need to know whether to stop the progesterone.

[buzzybee123]

euro Barry has a friend who was adopted, I'd like to talk to her at some point just get an idea of the other side of the coin. I can understand not wanting to wait for the answer from a blood test

[akuabadoll]

Sorry I'm a bit behind...

gin sorry to hear about the delay. Of course it's best to take their advice, annoying as it must be. Go for the early spring version with mrsden.

euro great news on your transfer, despite the bumps on the way. I join buzzy in asking are you doing bloods or HPT? Considering our EC was on the same day I guess we test 'together' too? I'm going to do a HPT on 14 February. does it mean something, does it, does it?

seaview your coins and cling film is the best story of that nature I have come across, excellent work As rabbit and others know who have been around here a while, I'm on the small side too. Around a BMI of 18 for most of my adult life, at my low 16.5 (but I was ill) and now at an all time high of between 19 and 19.5. It seems to be over the last 6 months but I can't be sure and I'm not sure how or why. I've never been able to put weight on at will. This is the weight I would have liked to have had years ago but honestly considering it didn't impact my fertility it can bugger off. All I got was a kind of thick waist/belly/muffin top - on an otherwise lean body with no boobs, not a good look.

joy I too love your thank you in a cupboard story. It has to be said though, in my heart you will always be remembered most for the 'my nuts and his nuts' commentary

pout glad to hear Ken is not alone in the loo wank club

On family pregnancies rabbit Little Doll is the youngest cousin by a long way on Ken's side. Ken is the youngest of a whole bunch but his nearest brother is only 11 months older than him, his youngest is 18 years older than Little Doll! I have only a younger sister, she beat me to it too. It is what it is for us.

seaview congrats on IUI, you are not alone in being late to AC.

buzzy great news on the adoption talks, very positive

pout loving the idea of a barrens book.

rabbit congrats on February. I believe it was known in pagan times as the month of wine

Now all this full bladder talk....I have heard much speak of full bladders before ET on MN. Not from my own clinic actually not that they are big on prep so on my first IVF I bought a small bottle of water on my walk to ET and drink about half of it on the way. The Dr (yes the one who answered his phone) had a hunt around and announced that this was going to be a very straight forward transfer and indeed it was. In 'my' clinic you have to lay down for an hour after so a really full bladder would be even more of a nightmare.

Anyway this time, I read euros taxi story and thought I really should take the full bladder thing a bit more seriously. My ET this time was also a 3 day transfer and took place yesterday. Got on the slab with all of the usual undignified spread leg shuffling about. He (different doctor) could not get the tube in, said my bladder was way too full. I answered that I had thought this was good, he said not in all cases and my uterus was very difficult to reach due to some weird angles and shit. So off the table with sticky belly, out of the operating room and down the corridor with the nurses trying to work out what the hell was going on for half wee. Back for further undignified spread leg shuffling. No still way in, back off table and down corridor, ffs...... Anywoos....

I have one embie on board. Grade A with 8 cells, for what it's worth that seems about as good as can be expected for a 3 day transfer (Gin I'm sure that it was the egg I would have produced naturally). I don't feel that hopeful being that I had 2 last time and it didn't work and that in the context that I'm doing this in, my doctor wants 3 or 4 for a women of my age to have a 'real chance'. Oh, yes nearly forgot, I had assisted hatching too. I know that alot of people think it's bollocks but the feeling was desperate times desperate measures.

Anyway I'm taking as much rest as I can this weekend as last week was really too much and I want to give this little bugger a fighting chance. This is my last TTC whatever the outcome, I'm sure of it. And that's ok.

Happy Sunday to the many I missed sar lemon art critter nelly madness ...

[akuabadoll]

euro sorry I see now u answered the question about testing. Makes sense.

[EuroShagmore]

doll a Vally's Day BFP would be amazing, wouldn't it? Our date for blood test is 13 February, so I will just miss Vally's Day.. On a normal cycle I would just about have got AF by then, so I might not need it.

A Grade A 8 cell is brilliant. Ours was a grade 1 2 cell at day 2. I'll have everything crossed for you!

BTW, on the full bladder, I do query whether it helps. I was told it has two benefits - to guide the transfer and to use the full bladder to press the womb lining together around the embryo. I'm sceptical about both. As my clinic was running an hour late, it just added a lot of stress and discomfort. And unlike my IUIs (which were not ultrasound-guided, so were done with an empty bladder) I found it rather uncomfortable and bled afterwards. The fashion over here is for guided transfers, requiring a full bladder, but I do query whether it really does. I found this fascinating video which shows how the womb moves the embryo around to where it wants it to be anyway, so all this faff about placing it by ultrasound seems a bit unnecessary. As for the lining squashing bit, I don't get that at all. There is no implantation until after blastocyst stage, so for a day 2 or 3 transfer, I don't see the point of trying to squash the embryo into the lining.

[akuabadoll]

Yes euro I guess if you do go for a blood test you could go a day earlier. I'm going to HPT on the 14 th and call the Dr with the result. The 14 th is a holiday here (not Vally's Day but of course an assassination memorial day) so it will either be very exciting or very boozy.
My ET was guided too (I haven't heard of the pressing the womb lining before though) I don't know what all this about my insides being werid was about. Surely I'm anatomical the same as in November Thanks for saying that the 8 cell is good, I know it doesn't mean much but it's good that the little bugger put in an effort. I will be thinking of you too. I'm having a Sunday morning to myself, lovely.

[akuabadoll]

slight wobble alert...euro my transfer would have been okay right? All this getting up and down was before the embie was on the scene. If the tube was correctly placed in the end, that's what counts? I remember that you sar described a tricky transfer you had that you were worried about impacting the result, but I don't recall the issue in your case. I know there is nothing I can do apart from put it out of my head but it was all a bit of a mess.

[GinSoaked]

doll I'm sure the transfer was just fine! Sounds like they got the tube in fine in the end and they don't put the embryo in until the tube's in I think. A grade 8 cell embryo sounds great! What does the hatching do?! Interesting about the full bladder. I thought it was purely so the ultrasound works. I got told off the second time for not having a full enough bladder but I was too scared of the evil cystitis reappearing. Plus as I was sedated, it meant having to hold the water for a realllllly long time, as you can't have any for up to several hours beforehand. I think Vally's/massacre/assassination Day must be a good sign :)

euro excellent that you have a top grade embryo onboard too. It was our embryo that was a 4 cell on day 3 that made it to blastocyst by day 5/6. I had bleeding after the 2nd ET. The dr said something about their being blood in my foof, but that it wasn't from the womb lining. I think he meant it was from the knitting needle wounds. It was odd pale bleeding I had, so I wondered if it was from the cervix... Sorry about the long wait. I know I caused long delays during EC when I had the bleeding, as I was in theatre about 3 times as long as I should have been and kept having to go back in to have packs taken out/put in. I could hear all the ladies waiting for transfer bitching about how late things were thanks to the non-privacy curtain.

In your situation, I'd def get a blood test, as it'd show if the embryo had started to implant, as you've suspected a few times. However I'm very much hoping this one will properly work out!

rabbits I was massively relieved your sil wasn't pregnant too Announcements from sils are my big fear at the mo. I probably just need to man up about it though, as the odds are they'll all get there before us, despite the fact we're the eldest siblings. How was utopia? Dave has sky plused it, but I'm worried it may be a bit violent for me.

joy I hope you are doing ok lovely. That's brilliant news about the hcg. Has it sunk in yet?

pout my dentist told me to expect bleeding gums just before AF! It's due to the hormonal changes apparently and completely normal, so hopefully that's one less thing to worry about.

mrsd boo to af arriving but at least it means your cycles can get back to normal. Hope dinner was nice.

madness boozy afternoon in the pub with the rugby hot men in short shorts sounds ace. We were meant to be doing that, until this bloody flu struck.

buzzy the chat with your friend re adoption sounds interesting. I find it comforting to see how much adopted parents love their kids and see them very much as their son/daughter.

I'm feeling a bit meh today. I think it's probably partly to do with having been ill for what feels like all of jan and the fact that I have been bed bound the last few days. I was looking at the clinic's website and the pregnancy success rate for women my age last year having mild ivf was 64%. They don't have that many women in my age category, so my 2 unsuccessful goes we're probably the 36% :( A bit of me can't believe that I've had 4 embryos put back in and that none of them have worked. Maybe I should have done conventional ivf and got hundreds of eggs, giving us a better chance. I just hope it's to do with the sperm and not my womble and that DS will work, but I have a feeling it won't.

Urgh sorry for the misery ladies. It feels like I have pmt but it's the wrong time of the month! I cried several times at my sad back yesterday... Must be a post-viral thing. We have a busy month with lots of nice things planned, at which I can now drink, so am sure I'll get back into the swing of things.

[rabbitonthemoon]

Hand hold doll. I'm sure the transfer went just fine and it was just that your bladder was too full. I've had to half empty and empty my bladder when I was asked to have a full one in one of my billion dildocams, I think things move around in there and they just need the right view and position on the day. Assisted hatching is great. I always remember the first ever infertility blog I read was about a woman who found her eggs had a thick zona pelludica (sp?) and assisted hatching did the trick. We are all here cheering you on.

Back later. It's bloody cold and miserable here

[GinSoaked]

Sad back?!! Sad book I meant! It was a proper weepy one. Don't read the Garden on Evening Mists if you want cheering up! I'm going to have to read some nice trash now to take my mind of it..

[rabbitonthemoon]

Cross post gin - I saw your book on good reads and liked the look of it. I too have had lurgy on and off through jan and plan on being curled up on the sofa after I've done the boring Sunday jobs. I 100% think you will get there. Maybe it was the sperm or just bad luck. But lots of hope left and I will do believing for you while you feel blue. Lurgy doesn't help. Utopia is very good. There have been too scenes now that I've hidden behind a pillow but mostly it's implied. It really is worth a look. But it is creepy!