TTC 10 + months, part 14 (eek)

[GinSoaked]

A friendly, supportive thread for lovely ladies taking waaay longer than they ever expected to win their babies

I'm not really sure what my protocol is called, critter. I start on cd 3 with gonal f 125 then add in centrotide at some point to stop ovulation.

den I'm not an expert but that sounds like short protocol to me - if you aren't taking the pill for a month first before starting stimms. Wow, so you are really, really close to being off to the races! Exciting stuff.

Yes, not long! The dr thinks ec would be on cd 13 but I guess it all depends on how I react to the drugs. In natural cycles I think I'm a late egg developer with ovulation not until day 18 or so. I've no idea if this as any link to ivf cycles. How are you feeling? Are you on lp?

Just a quick one to say massive Congrats to Gin & Mr Gin.. This is fabulous news. Really really well deserved. I hope it all goes well and pregnancy will be completely uneventful. Enjoy it. You are going to have a baby Gin...

Joy - Sorry to hear you are feeling het up. I can't believe your friend would be so tactless as to include a scan on an email. I honestly don't know what people are on. I know how you feel about pregnancy announcements. I get scared when I hear about engagements now as I think even those couples will be pregnant before me... It's happened quite a few times already. I know it's not a zero sum game but it still feels so bad especially as I haven't told many people about AC and when people ask the "when are you going to have kids" question, I still say... maybe one day. Maybe I should just be more honest.

Critter - good luck tomorrow. You must be excited to start the process.

Right, off to bed early to sleep off my horrid cold...

Hello Ladies, This will have to be short and sweet as I just lost a mahoosive and detailed post - damn you dodgy pc!!

But Hooray for Gin - please don't overly worry (if that's possible) embryos can do their own thing and it doesn't mean anything is wrong.

Hoorah for Mr Euro's all clear - I doubt fragmentation is your issue as you would have had reperated miscarriage and CP's during natural cycles I believe, if that makes sense??? And you wouldn't have implanted the only time you did IVF? Surely the same embryo quality would be floating in to your womb each month and implanting like the last one did. Hope that idea gives you a bit of comfort (if it does make sense)

Joy - goodness you are not sensative, you are deeply selfless. Sorry for the poss pregnancy annoucement. The anticipation I know is awful awful. But you DON'T want their baby if they are pregnant (there baby won't be as cute as your baby).

Rabbit - I am so sorry for af, I am glad that you want to give ac a shot. Your chances are about to significantly increase. Big hugs.

Good luck to the stimmers and down reggers and soon to be egg producers - Madness, Critter, Den and Nelly. Wow, the awesome foursome (have I left anyone out and did I get that right). We will be cheering you on. I can't remember who is lp or sp etc???

Sea, I will message you about Dr Tubes - let me know next time you are up north.

Buzz - how are you feeling? Are the ovary pains settling?

Hello to our lovely and beautiful pregnant ladies, Art, princess and Doll. I love hearing how you are all doing. I know after all our trials and tribulations, pregnancy and feeling ok abiout stuff isn't a walk in the park. But I hear that starts to lift somewhat once the baby has arrived.

Hello to all the other lovely ladies. I am sorry so many of us feel 'old'. I can relate to that too. I feel deeply let down and embarressed by my old crappy body. This is in such conflict and irony with how people tell me they see me i.e. youthful and fun loving. For heaven's sake, I was ID'd in a restaurant a while back. Huge gap between what people think I am and what is the reality.

Well I am booked for my HSG on 19th April (assuming af doesn't bugger me around). My consultaion will be the same day but a few hours later. I may go on to clomid if all is well with the tublets. What is clomid like, any clomid experts? But I have been round the block with this game far too many times to expect the tublets to be hunky dory. Part of me wants to just relax now I am in new hands and see what the next few months brings. If Dr Tubes theory is right, I could never have got pregnant before and only now do I stand some chance post surgery. Clomid and monitoring may tip things our way. But if he is wrong and the tube was never retaining fluid which was disrupting implantation, then I don't know what else can be done because IVF didn't even overcome what ever our problem is. Even if I do allow myself to opt for the relax and see what this year brings option, I then begin to panic (hate myself for this) about my sister pipping me to the post. Also, if the tube was the problem after all, now if it is fixed, why am I not pregnant now? Obviously I'm not at all impatient . It struck me that we seem to be doing our baby steps the wrong way around after the big guns - ah well, that is me and chumba for you.

Evening all,

What a lovely busy day with fantabulous announcements gin and lovely visits from preggo 10plussers. Exactly what we all need when so many of us are diving headlong into ivf cycles.

nelly are you in an east or west clinic? I am east. Very exciting that we're cycle buddies either way though . I am absolutely petrified but feeling so much more positive today.

rabbit I am intrigued about your doctor dilemma and thinking that I need to get back to fabric shopping! I hope that it isn't going to add too much stress. Really sorry that you are officially on AF but pleased that you have come to terms with treatment and are ready to get going. I totally get the feeling old thing. This whole process really gets you down but lots of people have been reassuring me that it is all in my head.....

critter only one week behind is nothing. We really are on our way now!

joy commiserations for the scan pic. Every night when MrM comes home and says he has something to tell me I think that he's going to tell me someone is pregnant and Facebook is a flipping nightmare these days...... I too have gained some weight. I had lost a few pounds before going off the hrt but have been feeling so lethargic this month that I haven't been exercising enough and have been indulging myself in a few too many treats as well so have put it back on. Now that you are feeling more yourself I'm sure that the extra pounds will come off.

MrM calling me for dinner so big waves to the rest and I'll be back later.

Thanks ladies. Ths seems a v friendly thread. It'll just take me a wee while to get to know you all but am very pleased to see some of you getting great news.

Hi I posted here a few months ago with my ttc dilemma, and it hasn't got any better as it's now a year since I came off the pill and still no sign of a baby. I keep having phantom symptoms before af is due, swollen veiny boobs and getting my hopes up but yet again it came. It's just ended today and was painful, clotty and depressing.

Thought I'd come here as the support is great, I'm giving up trying naturally now and am going to make a doctors appointment as it seems apparent I have pcos. I am slim though and exercise regularly so hoping they will not mess about with tests and treatment? My sil is now showing it makes me so depressed especially as she has just caught her OH messaging other women explicitly on Facebook and stealing her money for drugs again, me and my OH have such a loving honest relationship and he'd make a great dad, it's not fair! :(

Xxxx hope you ladies are well

Oh Mad no I'm the West clinic, even though I live nearer the east. For some reason I thought you were too. I suspect you will beat me to EC though - I'm a bit slow . We have to go private and didn't get on with the consultant at the East clinic.

Sar I can confirm you too look very young and fresh as a daisy! You've had information overload lately and it can take time for that to be processed. Be kind to yourself, and certainly don't feel you are doing things the wrong way. There really is no wrong way, it's just whatever feels right for you. You've already been so strong by finding Dr Tubes and not just sitting accepting what you had previously been told.

MrsD yes I think that sounds SP. We are all so close together!

Critter our clinic is rather more dull than that! But did you perhaps see any of my wedding photos on facetube??? I'm glad you had such a nice holiday. Come join our IVF gang.

Joy that was so insensitive of your friend. I know it's exciting but honestly, who thinks that other people really care that much about a few squiggly out of focus lines. I'm sure your cycles are just settling down, you had two embies as well remember, maybe that makes it harder for the body to settle

Princess haha at the sponge! But no way are you 31 weeks already! How exciting but so sorry about the house woes. And Art - half way! I find this amazing but I have to say makes me think that could be me, if my first cycle had worked. I usually steer away from any kind of date benchmarking for this very reason. But I'm very very happy for you though . what news of the other grads - Kitty or Izzy etc? I am not brave enough to read the thread.

Who all have I missed? Euro, Sea, Sweets, fizz, Lemon, Rabbits, Buzzy and many more!

Sorry you're having a hard time angel. There is nothing fair about this business. Unfortunately, I've concluded that the vast majority of 2ww "symptoms" are just side effects of progesterone increasing after ov, and that happens pregnant or not. FWIW, I had fewer "symptoms" on the cycle when I got my BFP than most other cycles, so I have given up on symptom spotting entirely.

I hope you get some answers from your dr.

fizz we tend to chat quite a bit!

Hurrah to starting mrsd. You must feel like you have waited forever for this given what you have said about the slim chances of natural conception for mrd.

sarlat if that's a short and sweet post....

Good point, although I do think we have had at least two implantation failures before. I also think that because I don't seem to produce much in the way for EWCM anymore and his SAs have been low in volume and thicker than normal, I suspect that conditions are not ideal to move less than premium swimmers to the right place. My mental meanderings are all part of my need for a cause as to why this isn't happening for us.

How are you feeling about another HSG now?

critter is there anything you want me to bring over for you? I'm only coming for 5 days and don't need need to bring reams of paper this time, so I should have loads of suitcase space.

gin I'm still grinning for you.

So many of us are on the way to IVF now! I think I will be the last of the bunch aiming for late May?

just quickly popping on to say a massive congrats to gin

Such, such good news gin It's really true, you're preggers So pleased for you. I bet you can't believe it!

There really is a clutch of IVF'ers right now. Roll on a wave of BFPs!

angel I hope that the doctor is helpful. Be prepared that the GP will probably want to order some tests because from what I was told they have to do this before they can refer you to a specialist. It shouldn't be too time consuming though, just a few blood tests. I can understand why you would feel a bit depressed given the situation with your SIL. It does seem massively unfair at times.

sarlat I am so hopeful for you that the HSG and Clomid will do the trick.

Just watched that dratted programme again, A Thousand Kids and Counting & had a panic that these ladies are my age or thereabouts and have already knocked out a football team of kids. This hasn't helped my frustration at wanting to get on with things!

sar meant to say, the article I read last year said DNA frag issues were found in 80% of cases of unexplained infertility, so I guess it's not necessarily the case that you would get lots of implantation failures/mcs with it, although I am not sure why that should be. Perhaps the damaged swimmers go round in circles or something?

Thanks, it just gets me down sometimes I don't feel like a 'real' woman because of it, my oh is chilled out about the situation but I get the impression he thinks it's something that can be easily fixed, after reading some tales about women going through years of treatment and disappointment it totally deflates me.

I hate feeling jealous and avoiding situations, at the moment i have no child free girlfriends to talk to, everyone I know has kids and seems to get pregnant everytime they go anywhere near a man, my ohs best mates fiance is also pregnant they also have a dd and I am avoiding going round there because it upsets me and makes me feel uncomfortable. I dread never having my own baby and never giving my lovely OH a child. It would make me feel so selfish and such a failure :(

I just hope that as I am tackling the problem early (I'm nearly 22) I have a better chance of having atleast one child. Ideally I'd like two.

I told my OH he will likely have to provide a semen sample and he's quite uncomfortable about doing so in a doctors setting, is it possible to do this at home and then take the sample back?

Xx

Thanks for the good wishes ladies.

angel yes your oh will def be able to do the sample at home, as long as he can get it to the hospital within 30-60 mins. Sorry to hear you are feeling so down.

mrsd you are def on SP, it sounds exactly the same as mine - same drugs and same doses! At my clinic what you are doing would be classed as mild ivf, which I think is a v good thing if you have a high antral follicle count. I too ovulate around day 18 and my EC was on day 14 both times. Ignore them if they tell you things are growing slowly!

madness not long til the stabbing now! And nellie you've started stabbing? Btw you won't need 23 eggs - our issue was sperms and only had 1.8 mil per ml last ivf. There must be some sperm x egg divided my cycle formula...

sar that's good to have a date for the hsg. I hope having something booked makes you feel a bit better. It really does sound like you are in excellent hands, with someone who totally knows their stuff

sea hope the cold has buggered off.

critter at operation fatso!! From the pics I've seen of you, there is just no way you are in the slightest bit fat.

pout keep away from those programmes! Even seeing the title of that in the paper made me angry.

Waves to everyone else (a swift train post again...) And enough of the looking old talk! You all look so young and lovely from the pics I've seen. In fact, I think we're a particularly foxy bunch and my friends with kids all look old and Boden-ised

Hi angel you definitely have time on your side. Most of us on here are considerably north of 30! as Gin says, usually if you can get to the hospital in under an hour with the sample, your partner can produce it at home. However, he should be aware that if you do end up having treatment such as IUI or IVF, he will have to produce at the clinic. I don't think any of the blokes really find that ideal but most of them manage to come up with the goods.

Gin at this point I think I was in a state of "terrified euphoria". Is it sinking in at all yet?

critter having met you recently I can say that Operation Fatso has not been a resounding success - you were still looking terribly svelte.

I went for my repeat smear this morning (some of you might remember last years mess when I got my first ever abnormal smear result in the middle of the hellish time I had downregging). Apparently I should have had a recall in December but I never got it. Grrr. Anyway, they wouldn't do it because the protocol is to wait 3 months after a miscarriage. How annoying. If IVF#2 works, 3 months after miscarriage could be when I am pregnant again! So the nurse is going to ask if they will accept one two months after mc, if I go back next month. Of course, that will mean I get the result when I am in the middle of IVF again. Gah.

angel At 22 you have at least the comfort of lots of time on your side. If you do have PCOS then it is natural that it might take you a little longer to conceive. Also be encouraged that ovulatory issues is one of the easiest things for doctors to fix. It could be as simple as taking a drug called Metformin that your GP can prescribe. Have you looked into following a low GI diet? That can apparently really help the PCOS. Failing that Clomid can have brilliant results. Don't despair though it is really hard when it feels like EVERYONE around you is pregnant!

euro FGS at the smear timings. How frustrating. I hope that they can do it for you earlier.

Anyone know anything about caring for injured birds? I've got an immobile Robin on my lawn that keeps rocking forward. I don't want next doors cat to get it and have put the recycling basket over the top of it weighted down with a rock but am at a loss at what to do?

pout call the RSPB - we did this last year when a baby seagull fell past our window and couldn't get back into its nest on the roof. They have volunteers who can come 'round and help :)

Princess you helped a seagull??? I'd have hit it with a hard object been less caring a robin is worth saving though!

Angel yes at 22 things are definitely in your favour. Pout in particular has hopefully reassured you, and although Euro is right about Mr Angel perhaps having to perform on demand at an AC clinic, you are a long way from that and I wouldn't scare him yet.

Gin how are you feeling now. I'm so excited for you!

Art I hope my comment last night didn't come out wrong

Rabbit have the pains passed?

First stab done this morning. I nearly forgot!! I laughed at how different it was from last time, when we spoiled ourselves by going away for the first 2 days to a luxury hotel. I took a long bath and pampered myself before planning it all out, and had MrN watch. This time it was done hurriedly in the kitchen, alone, whilst wearing filthy hobble gear and my only concession was to wash my hands. Oh the glamour...

Better get back to work!

angel welcome (and welcome to fizz too) - I am sorry you're having such a rough ride, other ladies have given great advice. I bet you'll be pregnant before the end of the year. I'm a thin PCOS lady myself but more, ahem, 'advanced' in years than you. [smileDo you ovulate regularly?

nelly hurrah for the start of stabbing! You're a pro now. It's funny how we get used to things. Are you stimming with gonal f on its own? I think I did maybe subliminally get my inspiration for the antler bedecked wood panelled Scottish clinic of my imaginings from your wedding pics, yes!

euro you are so kind to offer to bring me stuff. There isn't anything, really - I stocked up on things at Heathrow after my holiday, so am all set for UK treats! But thank you. How bloody irritating about the smear. Goodness the fun just doesn't stop does it?

den I'm on lp, yes - so have done two weeks on a low oestrogen pill, and just started stabbing with lupron (which stops you from ovulating) this morning. I'm due to start stimming in about a week's time, so will be about a week behind the rest of the Awesome Foursome .

sea announcements are the worst. Just remember, you don't want their baby, you want your baby. And you will get your baby!

gin aw I am still just grinning from ear to ear about your news. Hope you're feeling ok. It's just brilliant.

sar it's great that your HSG is a week away. Clomid is fine, it can be a bit mood swingy but nothing you can't handle after a fresh IVF cycle, two FETs and an HSG. I did five or six rounds of it - the main thing I'd say is that it's great that you're being monitored on it. I have heard that it can help with luteal phases, although I am interested as to why he is prescribing it given that you ovulate regularly. Maybe it's to do with timing things precisely?

madness I have started hiding and 'unfollowing' particularly egregious baybee-bothering offenders on FB. It's surprisingly satisfying to say sayonara to their annoying posts!

pout any news on RobinWatch?

joy how are you feeling? I hope the A* announcement didn't come.

princess aw at the baby seagull says the person who lives miles from the sea What is your due date again? Is it in June?

Started lupron this morning, was in a huff as the nurse didn't write down my dose so I ended up just doing the dose I thought she said - luckily when she called me an hour and a half later, it turned out that I'd remembered the correct amount. But it was very easy - tiny needle, all very straightforward. And it feels good to have climbed back on the conveyor belt and have the decisions out of my hands. I am getting a big hard chin cysty spot though. madness did you get spots downregging? Hope your stimming is going well.

nelly at washing your hands! I wouldn't let MrP watch the actual stabbing part because I knew that his "helpful" suggestions would piss me right off put me off.

critter I am amazed at how little info we got about the meds. Just a sheet with spaces and stuff scribbled in it. Much of the printed info was just confusing and not well written at all. Good though that you remembered the dose.
Oh yes at the comfort of the conveyor belt. I found it such a relief to have things taken out of my hands and I'm not liking this first unassisted cycle one bit for that reason! I got very spotty on my cycle but mainly my back and shoulders - yuk!

Well my birdie is deceased seems I kill all plants and birds now and is currently lying in a very stiff, taxidermist-like pose on the lawn. I keep telling MrP to man up and get a shovel and at least put in a bush or something. Whatever he does with it he will have to deal with it before the dogs get let out shudders at the possible consequences

Popping in to wave to all before MrM makes me go for a run. I spent years encouraging him to do exercise and now it's coming back to bite me. I would much rather sit in and watch telly with some crisps but then I would feel ridiculously guilty so must go.......

critter I did get spots but that's not terribly unusual for me mum lied and said it would go away at 18 so hopefully your current spot is a one off aberration .

Well done nelly for your first stab. I am glad that you washed your hands . I am a bit sad we aren't buddies in the same clinic. I was planning to play "spot nelly" in the waiting room on scan days. Oh well. I am very happy to be part of critter's aptly named Awesome Foursome though!

Wish me luck - this will be painful......

madness it was clever sar who came up with the Awesome Foursome title, although perhaps we should really be the Scintillating Sixsome as buzzy and euro are both on the imminent in vitro track too! Good luck on your run, and at 'one off aberration'!

pout I was a bit shocked too at the lack of info - like you I just got a few sheets of paper with not particularly well-thought-out instructions. Thank goodness for Youtube and the internet! The uncertainty is really hard. Sorry if you've already said, but when is your FET? I bet you're keen to get back on the horse. about the ex-robin.

Evening all

Just popping in quickly to say yay Gin that's terrific news!!! I'm so excited and fingers crossed the next two weeks pass quickly and uneventfully before the scan. Time for a tail-feather-shaking sparkly-knob-waving fertility dance, hope this gives renewed optimism to the other IVFers too. I must admit I am v v curious about you hearing my name in a work context and hoping everything that was said was good

i'm in a rush so can't catch up properly. Just wanted to say Joy you're not being over sensitive, it's rubbish of friends to send scan pictures especially when they know what you have been through. I don't understand people circulating them full stop. The only person I showed ours to was my mum. Why the hell would people want to see pictures of my insides? and every single scan picture looks exactly the same anyway

Waves to everyone, must dash, but will be back