The Over 40 Crowd

[Catharine]

Hi Everyone

Sorry, I've been real busy. I have had the occasion to read the posts.

Welcome back Yasmina. Your daughter is gorgeous

Welcome to the group DJB

Gracie-fingers crossed, some babydust your way.

As for me, still no AF
Did have another hCG test last week, awaiting results. Chriss what is PIO shot? I will call RE today and see what can be done. I'm not in too big of a hurry I need to get through the winter holidays first with minimal damage.
DH is doing well. This journey has brought us closer and has enriched our love for one another.

Hello to Andrea, Amy, Tammy, Sonia, JenB, LuAnne and anyone I may have forgottten [apologies]. Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. I think of ye all alot and pray for more BFPs among us

Take Care all I will post in a few days when I have more data.

Cheers
Catharine

[children]

Catharine,

PIO - progesterone in oil.

Here is a good link to know the recovery after D&C.

http://www.pregnancyloss.info/waitingforaf.htm

Yasmina

[DJB]

Thanks to all that have welcome me. I wish everyone on this board the best of luck. I hope I can be as supportive as those already on this board.

I'm 41 and today was my 1st attempt with IUI. No medications given. I received a positive OPK stick yesterday morning. Of course, I'm hopeful but know I may have a long road ahead of me. I'm assuming most people are not successful on their 1st attempt. Due to my age my doctor is recommending IVF with the next attempt. My songram on Saturday showed 3 folliciles 8mm/11mm/16mm. Since I'm new to this I asked the doctor would there be a chance of twins he said I will never say never but very highly doubtful and we will be lucky to get one. But he wished me luck.

[Catharine]

Hi All-
A quick update to yesterday's post.
Thanks Yasmina, I should have thought of that but I was a bit brain dead. Thanks for the website. It is most informative and very helpful.

I talked with the RE yesterday and my hCG level is still quite high. My body still thinks it's pregnant. Go figure. The silver lining the levels have dropped significantly since the last test and I will test again on Friday.

I'll keep you posted.

Everyone have a great rest of the week

Catharine

[chriss]

Hi girls, i haven't posted in a day or two and missed a lot of posts.

Gracie-good luck with ER today! Thinking of you. Please fill us in asap!

Yasmina, you are a wealth of knowledge. Your daughter is beautiful. I'm so glad that you are on this board! Thanks.

Catharine, Yasmina answered already, PIO is Progesterone shot. The same ones we did during 2ww, only a higher dose. All of my levels were low, maybe that's why my doctor recommended it. Since your hcg was still elevated, they may make you wait.

LuAnne, thnaks for the heartfelt message. I know that you have been through similar experiences as me. I look to you as a sign of hope. Thanks for being there and staying with us after your BFP! I hope you stay on as Yasmina and Tammy have. It's inspirational to us.

DJB, welcome. Trust your doctors. Keep moving forward.

JB, how are you? Thnbaks for your support. I am feeling better about things. When my DH and I spoke with Doc last time, he suggested not giving up on own eggs yet. So I do not feel anxious about this cycle. I know that we will be able to keep trying with own eggs for a little while. If DE becomes the next option, I welcome it with open arms. My DH and I want to keep moving on as long as there are options.

Amy, Af yet? Fingers crossedc so you can start soon.

Andrea, you have some decisions ahead of you. I like the way that you are taking your tinme to reflect and think about things. Sometimes being impulsive is not the best way to go. Sounds like you have some good options. Can you tell us more about the DE sharing?

Hi Sonia, how are you?

As for me, been on stimms since Sunday. Will go in tomorrow for blood and sono to see what's brewing. I'll let you all know when I find out something. Enjoy the day and thanks for being here. You are the best! -chriss

[Kiwi expat]

Can I have a DRUM ROLL please...!

I've pulled my finger out and decided to go straight to DE!!!! What a revelation - I feel so free now and feel a weight has been lifted off our shoulders!!

I don't know what it was that made me decide so suddenly but last night my DH and I were begrudgingly at yet another Doctor's appt, which happened to be running 4 hrs late! By 9pm, I had had enough and was grumpy, hungry and tired. We started arguing in the waiting room - DH got chest pains and walked out. In the end, we had to cancel our appt - both exhausted and p*ssed off with life and just everything. I think it just sunk in at that moment that we have both reached a new low and just want to get on with our lives now.

Yes, I think I will go through some sort of mourning process about not having a biological child of my own, but I know that over the last 4 painful years I have given it every chance with my own eggs and will find peace in that.

I have had 6 IUI's, 3 FET, 5 ICSI's - (I have an abbreviated signature below as I didn't want to bore anyone!) so a new cycle would really have been my 15th ART procedure, not to mention a laparoscopy in between all that nonsense! We also did some really depressing sums and figured we've spent $160K on all this as unfortunately as we are both working abroad we don't qualify for medicare, NHS or US insurance benefits. (Now THAT really hurt!)

Anyway, the plan is FET with DE in our clinic's egg sharing scheme as soon as Jan 08 or change clinics next month to one associated with an overseas egg donor agency, and we'll go from there!

I am now going to relax and enjoy the rest of this year and start afresh in 2008! I was really looking forward to being cycle buddies with Amy, Chriss, Grace, and Sonia this month - but hey I'll be cheering you all from the sidelines!

Amy, Catharine and all the other helpful ladies who gave me information on DHEA - I've stopped taking DHEA and the herbs as well for now. I feel I don't want to tempt myself to change my mind and go ahead with a fresh cycle(!) and want to give my body a complete break. It's a shame tho, as my FSH had dropped down to 15 (still not good but falling anyway) and my lining etc was looking great. But was still completely paranoid about my overall egg quality.

Thanks again to everyone for being there for me!
A huge Hi to all!!! (Will check in later with personals)

Andrea

[summerbaby]

Hi!
Andrea - you sound elated and fresh in your thoughts - like you had a sudden revelation...great to know what your plans are and wishing you all the best in 2008!

chriss- good luck with your upcoming scans and tests! hoping your follies are growing, growing, growing!!

big hello and good thoughts and warm wishes to Catharine, Tammy, Yasmina, Sonia, Gracielope2, Anna, DJB, LuAnne+2, BigJ & JenB!

Thanks to JebB for the jig - it worked like a charm!
The only thing is, is that I got the results from my latest thyroid test and my levels are too high (3.54) to begin a cycle. My RE said it just didn't make sense to start till the levels were back to normal (1-1.5)...so, I'm back to waiting. Not sure why they've jumped up -- just terribly disappointed that we can't begin on Saturday. On the other hand, glad my RE didn't have us start knowing that our chance wasn't very good for success.

Wishing everyone cycling at this time much luck and lots of BFP's - sorry I can't join in this time around!!

Take care,
xx Amy

[Gracielope2]

Andrea: It must have been a really hard decision for you to make. I’m so glad you are at peace with it. It must be a refreshing feeling. Wishing you the best of luck with DE!

Amy: So sorry to hear that you can’t start this month. It’s hard, when we really want something, but sometimes we get ourselves all anxious because we don’t want to miss on an opportunity, the anxiousness is not a good thing! At least the way I’ve experienced it. Next month is going to be “the” month. It gives you time to take meds for the thyroid and get it down again.

Chriss: How did the blood and sono go? Hope you have some good news!

LuAnne41: Would love to hear the sexes when you get news! My best friend had twins last year, a boy and girl. She now has 5 little ones running around.

JenB: Loved the egg collection… thanks. Hoping and praying that everything goes well with the hysteroscopy and immune testing. – 2008 will be a good year.

Sonia, DJB, how are you doing? I’m sorry if I missed anyone.

Yesterday was retrieval – I had 16 follicles retrieved. Not sure how many fertilized yet, I should get the call sometime today. Still very soar from retrieval, no sleep last night from the cramps. The 2WW is when I usually hit my low, I’m going to try not to get stressed and keep up the PMA ----I truly believe this is key; I'm curious to hear how many did actually fertilize. I’m still not sure about 3day as opposed to 5day.

Yasmina: I’m going to ask RE what you suggested ---- transfer as many as you think that will bring us a live baby! Thanks for your words of wisdom.

Just wanted to say how I really appreciate everyone on this forum. Family and Friends don’t understand IVF or infertility. My friends and family didn’t have a problem with conceiving.

So - I just want to say thanks for listening, and understanding. You all have different journeys, different heartaches, but in time I believe we all will have a happy ending. With life you can’t shut down, and give up! Dust yourself off and look forward to tomorrow – it’s a new beginning.

[Gracielope2]

RE called. Out of the 16 follicles- 13 fertilized. They want to go to day 5. I asked for day 3 - with the experience we have had in the past, with day 5 we get 4 embroys that make it, and I would like to transfer more than 4 this time around. RE said if more than 6 make it on day 3, they are going to change it to day 5. So as of now my transfer will be on Saturday. They rotate Dr.s and the Dr that will on Saturday, is actually the Dr. that I wanted. So, that nice.

[jen babes]

Gracie wow what a fab result sweetie...you are an egg machine...
and yes you will be sore. have you ever had acu before/ after ET. It heps the body relax and balances energies so the embies take better??? in fact anything that helps you relax at this time would be good massage aromotherapy etc hope you get to relax and take some time off work to get ready to carry those embies for 9 months good luck with ET... x x x

Andrea- posted on eggheads to ya love xxxxxxxx

sorry gotta go phone love to ya all

jen
xxxxxxxx

[jen babes]

am back..sorry about that ...MIL ( mother in law) on the phone...
anyway where was i ??????

andrea been a hard descision for ya hun but good to know where yu are going ...bet ya DH is pleased x x x love and hugs x x x

Amy ah hun what a nightmare for ya..ya must be p'ed off. Do you have thyriod problems ???or is this just a usual thing all us women go through??? never had thyroid checked except at yearly blood work for local doctor (GP)?? at least you know it would have ut a damper on things and it would have been a struggl of a cycle so better to postpone, but it must hurt . ((((((((HUGS)))))))))))

catharine- hard times for you too with this high beta..at least as you say it has dropped some. Difficult to move on when your body feels differant. At least you know that your body does want to get/stay pregnant so roll on next cycle

chriss how did bloods and scan go????? are we ready for EC soon???? or ER as you usa girls call it!!! thinking of ya sweetie good luck with it all.....

DJB good luck withyour 3 follies hope they grow and grow and all hold lovely mature eggs for ya x x x sounds like soon be ER for you ..good luck with that sweetie x x x much love and hugs x x x

to everyone else...i must go and do dinner dishes now yeuk!!!! and then to bed...
my sister is due up tomorrow morning for a long weekend., I am so looking forward to seeing her ( can you tell by my mood ) so excited to see her . She is 4 yrs older than me and hass 3 kids ( 17 girl, 15 boy and 9 girl) and is a stunning looking woman, who has put on 2 stone ( 28lbs) after her divorce and has lost all her self esteeem. I really feel for her as she gets so down but as we now live 300 imiles apart its so fifficult to catch up except by phone...so looking forward to hugs malboroughwine and shopping!!!!!!!!! she leave s monday so will catch you all then
have a good weekend everyone

jen
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[children]

Gracie,

You are done with your part. Close your eyes, sit back, relax, and let the REs do whatever they feel confident of doing. Don't hang up on the numbers or days of embryos, at this point, everything is determined by luck and the performance of your clinic! Since you can't control the performance of your RE, good luck is all you need.

2ww is a killer, I played chess online to pass time and I peed on a stick since the 7th day post transfer, twice daily!

I am sorry if I sounded bossy, I blame my job, I have been a teacher for too long - 25 years! Boy, I am old.

Yasmina

[chriss]

Hello everyone.

Yasmina, I really apreciate your posts, keep them coming. You are right in the advice to Gracie, relax, don't worry about numbers, etc. What will be will be. I am going to try to apply this advice to my own situation. What keeps coming back to me is what you said about the whole desperation feeling and letting go of that. I am doing that now. I know that I still have otpions, so what happens this cycle, happens. Easier said than done, but I keep reminding myself. So thank you. I am a teacher also... 14 years. I can be a bit bossy myself. (Smile)

Gracie, things sound great! You really are fortunate to have so many eggies. That's wonderful girl. Thinking of you for ET! Hope you are feeling better from ER.

Jen Babes, as always, thanks for your uplifting posts. Your personality really shines through. I enjoy hearing from you. You have a gift. Enjoy the time with your sis. I'm close with mine as well.

Amy, sorry to hear about results from thyroid test, but better to wait until you are fully ready. Time is flying, it will be here before you know it. I wanted to be cycling with you too, but you know, we are not going anywhere. Look at Tammie, Yasmina & LuAnne, they all had BFP's and they still hang around. It's nice. So enjoy the time off from all of the shots, etc. and have fun this holiday season! You can have a drink... yahoo.

Andrea, great for you! I feel a sense of relief for you. These decisions are very big and you did the right thing, you gave yourself time to mull it over and you and your DH came up with what is right for you. Excellent! I too have found the eggheads board very informative and encouraging.

Hi Catharine, Sonia, DJB, Tammy and anyone I missed.

Had blood and sono today things look good. I am responding a little more quickly than last time so ER will be sooner than I thought. So far 8 follies. I am okay with that. My first IVF I only had three, my second IVF I had 10. So 8 seems fine. Quality, not quantity, right? So I go in everyday for the next few days and I'll know more as I go. Right now it looks like trigger shot Sunday or Monday so ER on Tues or Wed. We shall see. I've been keeping up with my yoga. That's been helpful. I seem to be very tired from stimms this time around. Anyone else ever feel that way? I am also very thirsty. Gotta go take my shot and drink some water. then go to bed! Look forward to hearing from all of you tomorrow. Bye friends, chriss

[Kiwi expat]

Hi Ladies
Can't quite seem to tear myself away from these boards...!

Chriss - wow! - I didn't realise you were so far along in your cycle -That's great! Nicely done with the number of follicles. Do you know that 8 is a very lucky number here in Asia where I'm posted!
Yes it's a good idea to drink lots of water. Zita West's book recommends at least 2 to 3 litres of water a day to help the development of follicles and the body in general.

Amy - how disappointing to gear yourself up for a cycle and then have it cancelled just like that. It's good that you have such a diligent RE tho, (as I don't remember having my thyroid levels tested except in a once of year annual check up by my GP). You're totally right, that at least this cycle wasn't thrown away with a less than perfect chance for success. Now - go ahead and enjoy the Xmas season (you can now eat and drink and be merry with abandonment!)

JenB - Sounds like a perfect weekend to me! Good company, good wine, and a large dose of retail therapy to top it off! - You go girl!! [The Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs are particularly evil, as they taste sooo good that before you know it, you've finished off the whole bottle (or two) and low and behold, the entire afternoon's gone...! (Ok - so I'm a little biased here on our home grown wine... )]

Grace - Thanks for the words of wisdom - It's really encouraging.
GOOD LUCK FOR YOUR TRANSFER TOMORROW!!

DJB - Sending good vibes your way on your first 2WW - most people say that this is the hardest part! So keep yourself busy and relaxed- Take it easy!

HI to Catharine, Yasmina, Tammy, Sonia, LuAnne, BigJ and all I may have missed.
HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Andrea

[Gracielope2]

JenB – Your personality sure does shine through! You’re the type of person that brings forth positive energy. A person that is worth being around! Thanks for the laughs with the egg machine - I thought it was cute and very funny. I was thinking about doing acupuncture before ET. The Dr. that I go to is only there Tues., Thurs. Sat. & Sun 12-8. I only went once this week. So, instead I think that I’m going to indulge into a nice massage.

PS- enjoy the time you spend with your sister. To me there is nothing like a sister, my sister is also my best friend! I hope and pray that your sister will feel better soon. Life can be really harsh and challenging. But the bright side, we can always count on a better tomorrow. We can look forward to a new beginning, we just need to leave the hurt behind us, and start grasping for what is ahead of us.

Just want to stress again – the energy you bring to this forum is truly a blessing for all of us – so thanks!

Yasmina: I look forward to your responses. You seem to get right to the heart of things – so thanks! You are 100% correct with “me” harping too much on the # of embryos. I definitely agree. I also agree with what you said about good luck is all we need. Luck faith, and God’s Grace. Thanks!

Chriss: Eight is a great number - looks like things are moving smoothly and quickly for you! I met this really nice woman named Christina when I went through my 1st IVF. At retrieval time she had 8 follicles retrieved, when it came time for transfer she ended up transferring 3 really good ones – and out of the 3 two attached. She now has twin girls. . It definitely is quality and not quantity. But on the other hand - I’ve even heard stories were, the quality wasn’t that great and the embryo attached. So don’t worry. Just try and relax and have a PMA. BTW: I was really tired myself with the stimms this time around.

Andrea: Your peace with the decision you made is shining through email. I’m so very happy for you!

Hi to – Catherine, Tammy, Luanne, DJB – sorry if I missed anyone!

Have a wonderful weekend!

I have a question. After transfer – did any of you stay in bed for three days? My Re says to rest for 24 hours. My friend tells me that she believes IVF worked for her because she stayed in bed for 3 days.