Aussies and Kiwis!

DianeC · Post by **DianeC** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 11:27 pm

Hey Bella-s

Good luck with your scan on Friday - I will be thinking of you and keeping my fingers crossed

Cheers Di

bella-s · Post by **bella-s** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:09 am

thanks Diane

BelB · Post by **BelB** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:22 am

Bella,
I've been thinking about you too.
Not long to go now (thank goodness hey!!)
It'll be fine..
Good luck buddy!
Belinda

Tiger · Post by **Tiger** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 2:03 pm

He-y Gals,

Hi Em!! wlecome!! I am so happy that you found this briliant site and you were thrilled to find us. Yes, do let us know how you go this Friday. And if you do go on IVF (hopefully there is no need to....) I wish you best of luck, you never know, maybe you're one of those that get it right the first time around. If that is the case.... you will be a mummy by this time next year - imagine that!

Bella, not long now, only 2 more sleeps to go. I am so proud of you , you have really come up trumps

.

Belinda, how is Little Miss Annie-Boo doing these days? I am thinking about adding a new ticker on my signature but I am not sure what for... maybe count down to my hubbie's birthday.... (yep same as Annie's b'day

).

Diane, when is your consultation scheduled with your doc in US? will it be done over the phone? web-link? or are you travelling to US again? I hope they can direct you on the right track. Will you ever consider tmt in OZ?

Take care all, chat again soon.

Cheers, Tiger, still living out of a suitecase...

BelB · Post by **BelB** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:24 am

Hi Tiger,
Miss Boo is LOVELY thank you, just lovely! She turns 17 months on Saturday, she is growing up so so fast..she is saying more and more now, mainly "mummy" "daddy" "abbie" (she can't say Annie..this is as close as she gets!) "more" "no" and "yep". All very cute.

Great idea to start a new ticker, I like the idea of counting down until hubies birthday..go to it girl..And may you not have to live out of a suitcase for too much longer

take care all
B

Tiger · Post by **Tiger** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 2:14 pm

Hi All,

Belinda, glad to hear that Annie is doing great. 17 months already? she was only around 6 months when we first started this thread I think. How time flies.....

We signed up on a flat yesterday!!!! BUT I am trying not to get too excited about it until we have a definite confirmation that we have got it. Fingers crossed!! Interview with the agency went well too.. now I am waiting for them to call me back, I've got my fingers crossed on this one too.

Cheers, Tiger

bella-s · Post by **bella-s** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 11:20 pm

Tiger - I hope you get it!!!! I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Love your new ticker - how many years have you been married?

Bella.

BelB · Post by **BelB** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 6:10 am

Hey guys,
Tiger, well done on finding a flat, that's excellent..will be lovely to unpack and have a home base. Love your ticker as well!!

Bella, just read that your scan went well..awesome news, great heartbeat and a great size I reckon as well!!

Take care all
B

bella-s · Post by **bella-s** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:06 am

Thanks Bel. Have just had a nap - I can't keep my eyes open in the afternoons at the moment.

Heartbeat was 154bpm, and around 9mm. I love the little bean so much - looks just like DH!

Tiger - did you get it?

Bella.

bella-s · Post by **bella-s** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 10:52 pm

We were right down the bottom again!

Hey - just wondering....does anyone know if a heartbeat of 154 is too high?

Bella.

Xrayem · Post by **Xrayem** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:35 am

Hi everyone,

I'm at home recovering after my laproscopy and I don't know whether I'm thrilled or devestated. It showed no evidence of endo or scarring and both tubes are beautifully patent. So we are still no closer to knowing what the problem is and how to treat it. All of our hormone/blood/sperm tests have been normal to - so why after 4 years are we still childless? I feel like a fraud even being on an IVF site!

Will get over it. Have another appointmen with doc on the 21st to plan our attack but my DH said that even the doc was suprised that everything was normal.

Em

BelB · Post by **BelB** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:46 am

Hi guys,

Bella, you worry too much (kind of like me I guess!!). 154 is FINE..and there's an old wives tale about if it's above 150bpm it's a girl, below 150 it's a boy..so maybe start looking at the gals section in pumpkin patch!!

Em, great that all is clear, but yeah, can understand your frustration at being no closer to explaning the fertility issues. "Unexplained infertility" is one of those awful diagnosis that i think is almost given by default, ie when they have no bloody idea what's going on. Can I ask (you may have already posted this but I missed it) what clinic and doctor are you under? Some of the girls with this diagnosis seem to have had some luck with reproductive endocrinologists (seen in addition to their fertility specialists at the major clinics). I have hear good things about Claire boothroyd, I think she is in Greenslopes?

Annie isn't well at present, another bloody cold for the poor kid to deal with..Not much fun for any of us..

take care
B

josiemack · Post by **josiemack** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 3:11 am

Hi everyone - looks like we have all been busy! Congrats Tiger on the flat, hopefully things will start to feel a little more settled. We are all well, I can hear Tilly just waking up (timing is everything!), so only on for a sec - althoug I managed to type half of my assignment with one hand, not bad...

Tilly, Grace and I are off to Tassie for Easter, the boys are going for a 30k hike - DP is a scout leader and the kids are quite heavily involved (haven't got much choice...) - so with forecast of snow, and DS (12) with his arm in plaster, they are off the the delights of Marysville, and we have just spent a small fortune on weatherproof gear etc etc - they are excited, so are sure to have fun.

Tilly is going great guns, has a bit of a cold at the moment, not so good for the plane - am off to the chemist this afternoon to find the famous snot-sucker that Bel so kindly described to us a few months ago - have also had good comments on it from the mothers group.

Warning to anyone at home with too much time on their hands - avoid ebay - it can become quite addictive. Have recently purchased high chair, pumpkin patch and oililiy clothes for Tilly and mobile phone for DS - not good when you have a competitive nature (I want it and I want it NOW and at all costs...), so have placed self imposed ban...

Hope all are well!

Take care
Jo

ozstock · Post by **ozstock** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 11:58 am

Hi guys,
I've been busy with work and things so haven't had time to post for a while. Also been spending some time tossing up options on how to proceed (try IVF again, try natural fertility approach, take a break, Chinese herbalist...).

Firstly, I haven't had a chance to congratulate Bella! I was very excited to hear about your graat news! You must be over the moon. It's a pretty amazing feeling to have this little being grow and develop inside you. Enjoy this special time and lap up all the extra care and attention you will get as a pregnant lady!

Tiger, I hope everything works out for your apartment and job search. You know all this change could bode well for you- new country, new apartment, new job, new baby... will probably happen when you least expect it!

A couple of weeks ago, I met with Francesca Naish (author of Natural Fertility etc.) for an intro session at Jocelyn Centre and for the most part, what they say makes sense (pre-conception health program for 4 months, no alcohol, caffeine etc. but for both partners, supplements etc. for detox and to address any other health issues) but I have trouble justifying the $4,000+ that it will cost over the first 4 months (most of which isn't claimable from Medicare/private health insurance). It's also hard to actively NOT try to conceive for 4 months.

Also met with my IVF doc last week, and he says next time around, they will half my dosage again -this time to 50 (as both times I had so many follicles develop- about 25-30+). He said if they reduce the dosage during the initial 'recruitment' phase, then there won't be so many follicles develop and hopefully they will be of a higher quality (if needs be, they can increase the dosage after the recruitment phase, depends on my blood tests as my estrogen levels were pretty high last time as well). Worst thing about last IVF is that we didn't have any embryos to freeze so have to go through the whole nasal spray/injections/EC process again. (although doc says they now have a daily injection as an alternative to spray which has less side effects).

Sounds like OHSS is more common than the IVF clinics like to admit. I know of a friend of a friend who had 3 treatments cancelled due to OHSS and the doc told me about a lady (who had similar response to drugs as me, where they did the blastocyst transfer on day 5 and she fell pregnant but has been in hospital for the past 3 weeks with OHSS- possible renal failure, not sure if she will be able to keep the baby).

To top it all off, I have some work coming up for 8 weeks starting after easter, so hard to do all of this + work. So at this stage, thinking about taking a couple of months off (from IVF etc.) and maybe see a Chinese herbalist, then go back for another IVF attempt. Failing that, maybe Jocelyn Centre.

Em, I can feel for you as I am in a similar situation. We've been trying for almost 3 years, with an 'unexplained infertility' diagnosis - although PCOS is probably the one condition I have (polycystic ovaries with irregular cycles, but not overweight/facial hair).

To top it all off, seems like everyone I know has either just had a baby or pregnant. At the same time, I have a girlfriend who is about 34 with 2 young kids who is battling bowel cancer (no history of cancer in her family). She's had 3 operations, her ovaries removed and it battling to stay alive to be able to watch her kids grow up. It's hard to ***** about anything I might be going through sometimes when she is fighting her basic health every day.

Despite all this though, I haven't given up hope of giving birth to another child. I just never thought it would take this long. I suppose they always say that good things are worth waiting for...

Warm regards to everyone.

Annette

bella-s · Post by **bella-s** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:51 am

Annette,

Thank you for your sweet congrats. I am over the moon, but as Bel so aptly mentioned above, a real worrier too. I think I get it from my mum who still worries about me being out after dark!

I was also a bit oblivious to OHSS until I got it last year, and was in hospital for a week on a drip & with a stomach drain. It was awful, but I guess one advantage is it showed how easily I reacted to the stims. I changed clinics this year, and with this knowledge, they were able to tailor a cycle to my body a lot better. I took the daily injection instead of nasal spray, and I started on a dose of 75. They reduced it to 50 after a blood test showed I was peaking a little, but then went back to 75 after I stabalised again. It was a lot of blood tests & set backs (they also waited until my levels baselined completely before even starting stims), but I think it really did result in a better quality of eggs. Whereas last time I had 12 eggs retrieved & only 6 fertilised, this time I had 8 eggs retrieved & 7 fertilised. I thought this showed a better quality - I felt better about it. This clinic also transferred day 5 blastocycts instead of day 2 embryo, so only the little munchkin growing inside me now & 1 other little one on ice made it that far. But I feel comfortable knowing that they were probably both really good quality & just waiting to be born.

I also feel a little connection with you & your friend. Last year my good friend died at aged 29 after fighting cancer for 3 years. She had never mentioned kids to me before, but once she went through a bone marrow transplant it was definitely not going to be possible. This broke her heart, and mine too. She died before I started my IVF journey, but she would probably have felt for me more than she did herself (that was how she was - she was worried about a skin cancer I had removed while she was going through chemo...).

But the important thing is, there will always be someone who has it harder than us. This helps us put our problems in perspective, but it shouldn't mean you devalue your situation. We can only deal with and handle what is on our plate, which may be really full to us, but half empty to others. Either way it is there for us to deal with.

It sounds like you have a lot of options, and plenty of time (but maybe less patience...know what that feels like!). $4000 does seem like a lot with Dr Naish, but maybe less stressful than IVF? I think you guys will figure out which path to take, and am sure we'll read about your next bub soon!

Bella.

Aussies and Kiwis!

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