AUGUST/SEPTEMBER CYCLE BUDDIES!

[Julieboo]

Hi, Ladies!

I just wanted to add my two cents about the bloating on stims.

Because of the reduced amount of activity one can engage in while on stims, I made a conscious effort to eat low (complex) carb and high fiber foods. The low carb-ness helped keep my abdomen area non-swollen and the fiber helped with the constipation ( ) that can occur while on stims. To help stave off hyperstimulation, I drank loads of water and Gatorade and ate a lot of cottage cheese. I'm not sure what it is, but the electrolytes in the Gatorade and the whey in the cottage cheese are supposed to help. This worked for me, and I felt fine while stimming.

My ultrasound tech said not to take Metamucil or anything like that because it makes the ultrasound really hard to read.

Have a great evening!
Julie

[hellokitty]

Hi Ladies,

Christin - Glad AF showed her ugly face. Hopefully that's the last time for at 9 or 10 months!!!

Chinamiff - Welcome, Welcome! Thanks for your advise. I know I will be picking your brain as well.

KM0803 - Lala iand Julieboo are right. We all react differently to these meds. Although, I stayed hydrated but my tummy started to pooch by the 7th day. Found out why...21 eggs! There is a lot of fluid in those follies and that contributes too. Hopefully, this won't be your issue.

Lala - Yeah the night sweats are terrible! My husband said that maybe meopause won't be so bad because I've been through this....threw a very big, heavy pillow at him! Haha....sometimes I swear he just doesn't get it!

Julieboo - Thanks for the heads up on the constipation thing. I will put that in practise.

As for me, doing okay...add moodiness to my list of symptoms. I cried half the day and was happy to be starting my shots for the rest of the day. Don't know what's going on but I just told DH to buckle up for a wild ride !

Baby dust to all!

[KM0803]

Thanks to everyone for the advice on bloating. I'm on my 5th day of stims and so far I just have some pretty bruises on my belly from the injections (I think it's from the Repronex that burns a little going in). I think I'm getting pretty good at giving myself the injections, other than the Repronex burning a little bit they haven't been that bad. I have my first scan on Monday and I'm sure I'll learn a lot there. Hopefully my body is responding and I have a lot of mature follicles making beautiful eggs.

Christin- happy days that AF is visting. I've never missed a period or even been too late since I was 15. I bet that's a rollercoster to not have her show up when you want her and vice versa. Congrats!

I haven't really noticed any night sweats but I've been dealing with a head cold so things haven't really been normal. I think I'm finally starting to get better though. Good thing because next week is our tentative ER week.

The only thing that I've noticed is I've had some headache's and have had to use the bathroom more. Has anyone else had these sympotms? It may just be my imagination because I've always had a small bladder.

Wishing you all good luck and a happy and safe weekend!
-Kelly

[Christin]

Kim
I am so glad you mentioned the bladder thing. Look, for the last week, I have been going to the bathroom literally every hour to hour and a half. And it isn't just tinkle tinkle, it is a full-throttle urniation. And this is just with me on Lupron. I asked the RE today if that was a side effect and they said no. But..i think I beg to differ. Also, I am glad to hear you are getting over that head cold. That is a cruel joke mother nature is playing on you!


Update
Today I went in for b/w and u/s. They said that my ovaries, uterus, and b/w came back perfect. I will begin my Follistim and Menopur tonight!! So just so that I am accurate with the jargon....am I now officially on my stimms? I think that is what it means, but din't want to misspeak.

I asked them when they expected my EC to be, and they said on Sept 4, with the ET on Sept 9. Now, of course all of that depends on how quickly or slowly my body reacts. But at least I know have a tenative date!

So I will reduce my Lupron down to 10 units beginning in the am, but will continue Lupron with Follistim and Menopur until they tell me to discontinue it. I go back for another u/s and b/w on Monday the 27th to see what my body is doing. I can't wait to see if I have follicles by then. Do you think they will see follies by Monday (which is 3 days of stimms)?

[lala]

Hi hi guys. Christin Congrats on getting that perfect report. Way to go! Grow follies grow! Isn't it nice to know at least some dates on your ER/ET? My ER is supposed to be on Aug 30 or Aug 31st. I can't wait!!!

Julieboo Thanks for the advice. I will really need to work on reducing my carb intake. I am such a carb craver!!! Usually, I work out to get a control on my weight. I can't do that now so I guess I will have to put a lock on that snack pantry

KM0803 So you are on your day 5 stimming huh? So that means your ER is really just around the corner. How exciting!!! Have you started feeling bloated just yet? You know? I am also having a slight headache since I started stimming. I thought that's cuz I was not sleeping well. Or maybe it's a combination of meds and not sleeping well for me. Never know what's causing what.

hellokitty Good to hear from you. Yeah, telling our DH to buckle up for a wild ride is right. Since giving myself that Lupron, I find myself more edgy. I get annoyed really easily. Poor DH. He, of course, gets all that

Hey, not sure if it is the right question to ask just yet. But have you guys begun the conversation with your DH and doc about how many embies to put back? We have and we just can't make up our minds. My doc told me that I am a perfect candidate for one embie and my chances of getting twins are very high if I put back two. My DH is very much against putting back two because he fears any added risk of pregnancy and/or developmental delays. Sigh...I don't know. I am so nervous about things not working if I just put one back. HELP!!!

[Christin]

lala
We haven't really spoken to the Doc about it yet, but I really want to put back two embies. DH and I are in agreement on that. Hopefully Doc will agree. I think their concern is that since I am only 27 (which you are only 29 too), that the odds are higher for both embies taking. But in my mind, twins is not a negative. I am a twin actually. My family has twins often. When DH was growing up, he always wanted twins, and now..he married one, plus may have them too!!! So long story short, I want to put back two. Hopefully my words have some weight in the decision, but not sure how that works.

[hellokitty]

Hi Ladies,

Since I am the big 35, we are going to put back 3, if we can get some viable embies. Last time, we put back 3 too and the embie specialist(can't spell the real one for anything) eyes almost popped out of his head! I think I was 33 then. My RE had no problems with it. I have to admit though it was pretty scary thinking what in the heck would we do with all 3 babies if they took. So, I've experienced the nervousness and I am still going for 3. It is a difficult decision.

[Julieboo]

Hey, everyone!

I'm finally back up on the Internet after losing cable in the huge storms that blew through Chicago yesterday. How I've missed my 'puter!

I gave myself the Lupron shot this morning and it ain't no thang. I didn't feel it at all. DH wants me to give myself my Menopur shot tonight. He's sick of hurting me. Nice guy.

If we get to that point (fingers/toes crossed, picking up lucky pennies, throwing our savings in a wishing well) I think we will definitely put back two. I know that twins should be seen as a complication, but...I just want my odds upped a little bit after all we've gone through.

Grow follies!
Have a great weekend!
Julie

[Christin]

Julie
I am so proud of you for doing your own Lupron! Now, don't you feel so much better about it? I know I did. As soon as I realized that I could do it myself, I was no longer afraid of it. Becuase I knew that I was in charge at that point!!! Good job!

Hellokitty
I think of twins as an added bonus. I am on your side with adding as many as you can. 1) It increases your odds, and 2) How awesome is it to go from no babies to more than one in just the matter of 6 agonizing weeks??? LOL

Update
I wanted to give an update on my stims shots. I was overwhelmed this morning at the RE when they explained how to do the Follistim Pen and how to do the Menopur.

Menopur: When I got home this evening to administer the shots, I realized that the needles that I had for Menopur were WAY to big for my comfort. I called the clinic, but since it was after hours, they had to put me through to the phyisican on call. At first, I didn't want to bother the doctor about my needle scare bc I am use to working with the nurse. But then I thought longer, and realized that at this point I want me to be numero uno. So I explained my concern to her. I had two different sized needles for Menopur: 18guage 1.5 inch, and a 22guage 1.5 inch. I am not sure if any of yall are using those in your tummy..but i was scared to death. I wanted to throw up bc I was so nervous. Luckily the on call doc called me in some alternative needles to use. I am now using 25guage 5/8 inch. That needle was a piece of cake. Very similar to my Lupron needle. Menopur burned a bit going in, but i just pushed the med in very slow. I did find that my tummy bled after. But I think that I was pressing the needle in too far bc I was stressing over it. I applied a bit of pressure on it for about 1 minute, and now it is fine!!! I am so proud of myself..LOL. I got through them!

Folistim: The follistim is a breeze. The only thing that I found difficult was holding the pen in my tummy, while trying to press the dial. So it took complete team effort. I inserted the needle and held it into place, while DH SLOWLY did the dial.

One day down, about 10 more to go!!

Grow follies!!!

[Christin]

Quick questions.

Coffee
What do yall think about coffee during IVF/ICSI? I used to drink 2 Grande Lattes (Starbucks) a day. Just prior to starting on the BCP I limited myself to 1 Grande Latte per day. Now, I just have one every now and then. Probably once every three days or so. Do yall think it is safe, or should I just stop drinking it all together?

Accupuncture
What do yall think about Accupuncture? Believe it to be helpful? What other ways are there to increase our blood flow? I have been trying to get out and walk a couple of miles a day. I do some light weights (5lbs) for my arms (I don't like my jiggles...LOL). Other than that, what is safe for us right now?

-Christin

[KM0803]

Lala- Ya know I haven't really felt bloated or anything yet. I just gave myself the 6th injection of Stims. It's crazy to think that my ER is just around the corner, hopefully next week. I think we'll put back in two embies, my RE said they don't usually put back in more then 2 unless you're older. However I had a friend that put 4 back in and ended up with one beautiful baby boy (only 1 embie was good quality). I think my ER will be around the 31st as well. We're on the same schedule How long have you been on Stims? Are you feeling bloated at all?

Christin- My clinic is having me switch out the 22G 1.5 inch needle for a 30G 1/2 inch (the 30G is much smaller and much like the Lupron needle). It burns a little going in for me too and leaves red bumps for about 24 hours. I have a sad looking belly right now. With the Follistim pen I just use my thum to push down the dial and hold the pen with my fingers, much like you would a normal pen. Oh the nurse did tell me to get used to the 22G 1.5 inch needle because it's the one you use for your HSG injection and all the progestrone shots. YIKES Hopefully this week I'll be getting the HSG injection so I'll let you know how it goes.

Julieboo- Congrats on giving yourself the injection. It's almost easier to be in control rather than rely on DH.

Good luck to all
-Kelly

[Christin]

Kelly
What is the name of your HSG injection? I am trying to think through what I haven't used yet, and other than Ovidrel (which has a pre-filled syrenge), Projesterone, and antibiotics, not sure which one would be the HSG. Ovidrel is an HCG. Same thing?

I still feel so ignorant to this stuff..LOL. I am slowly learning!

[lala]

Hi Ladies. A little update about me. I've had 4 days of stimming and I am on my 5th day stimming tonight. You know, I am sure clinics do things differently. I am on Bravelle 225 IU and Menupur 75 IU and they let me mix those meds so I end up only needing to give myself two shots a day (the 5 units Lupron and the stimming)!!! Oh Christin, you know, I went through the same scare thing. That mixing needle (the 22 1/2 gauge) is indeed nerve wracking!!! Luckily though, before I started stimming, I took all of my meds and syringes to the IVF coordinator and I had her explained everything little thing to me and she said I only use the big one for mixing if I want to. I use the 27 1/2 needle for shots. They are like the Lupron needle except a little bigger. It doesn't hurt when I do the injection (since remember? I am using the numbing cream as well ) but it does sting quite a bit when it goes in and it bleeds a bit when the needle comes out. I don't see any bruises yet, but my tummy is starting to become soar. Are you guys using the Q-caps at all? I use them to mix the meds and that way, I don't even have to see/use the big needle. Thank goodness!!!

I had my first blood test/u/s yesterday since stimming and they told me everything looks fine. My follies are still very tiny because I am still very early in my cycle. They did say I have the potential for many follies though. GROW FOLLIES GROW I go in again tomorrow (Monday) and they said they should be able to tell me much more then.

Kelly No, I haven't started feeling bloated yet. Last night, my ovaries hurt a bit, but not sure if it's related to the meds. How about you? How are you feeling?

Christin I haven't had any caffeine for a while now. My doc said it's ok to have a cup per day but she said it's best not to have any. So, I haven't had any yet. As far as acupunture goes, I've heard a lot of good things about it, but haven't tried myself. Are you thinking of trying? If so, let me know how it goes, ok?

Sigh...we still haven't decided how many to put back yet and it feels to me that ER and ET are really just around the corner. I feel so pressured (by myself) to know exactly what I am going to do, assuming I have follies to put back. My DH is still very much against twins...(not really too happy about that), but at the same time, I do understand his concerns for the kids and for me. I am so glad to hear that most of you and your DH are on the same page. Sigh...this is stressing me out. Maybe I will talk with my doc tomorrow again.

Have a good day you all!!!

BABY DUST TO ALL!!!

[Christin]

lala
I am so glad to hear the good report! Your follies are going to grow to be perfect and plentiful, I just know it!!!

Thanks for your response! I do use the Q-caps for the Menopur. I go back to the RE tomorrow, and I am going to ask them if I could mix my Follistim and Menopur. That is an excellent idea!! Oh, about the needles, my tummy bleeds a little too when I pull the needle out. It worried me, so I am glad that others experience the same thing. I find that when I am doing the Menopur, I keep the needle in for a long time, bc I make the med go in very slow, since it burns. The med feels like I am constantly re-poking myself. I hate it. So maybe the extra time in the skin makes the bleeding...no clue?

I am not sure about the accupuncture yet. I have been reading a little bit about it, but I am always scared to try new things that aren't "clinically proven". I am going to lay off of my coffee from here on too. Plus, I just need to get used to it anyway for when get that BFP!!

Grow follies, grow!!

-Christin

[hellokitty]

Hi Ladies,

Julieboo - Glad that you have access to your puter again. The menopur shot should not be too bad either. DH does not get to touch me until the PIO injections!

Christin - Yahoo 1 day of stimming down!! You will be doing them like a pro, just like the lupron. I'm with you on the twins....0 to 2 seems perfect to me. I will proberly close up shop and be happy with them. But seriously 1 would be an awesome blessing too ! Not too picky. Coffee - I stay away from. But I was reading that 2 a day was fine during IVF but I need all the help I can get. Also, my clinic loves accupuncture. I just need to get past that many needles. They said it is a great way to deal with the stress of IVF. They don't say it increases your chances with IVF though.

Lala - Sounds like everything is right on track. I'm mixing Bravelle and Menopur too but I do it twice a day...slow responder now for some reason. Last time, I did have a little bleeding with the injections too. Can you tell me the name of your numbing cream? I really want it for PIO injections. They are terrible for me.

Kelly - Glad to hear you are not bloated. The days are going to fly by now for you. At least that's how it seems for me when I start to stim. How ofter do you see your RE during your stimming days?

As for me, I took my last BCP Saturday. So, only dealing with lupron. I start stimming on 9/1. I was wondering if anyone boobs hurt while taking their stimming meds. I always have that and was wondering if that was just me. I don't think the numbing cream would work with that issue or would it ??? Anyway, hope everyone had a great weekend!

Baby dust to all.