September/October Cycling Friends!

[mjay]

i'm so glad to be able to share this experience with you ladies. even if i do cycle in august i hope it's okay that i stay here. i'm about to go crazy and haven't even really begun yet. the clinic did give me an estimated calendar but there were no dates on it! just stuff like lupron for 10-12 days, fsh 9-15 days. i'll have to get them to be more specific.

what does AFM mean?

i was diagnosed with graves' disease today. that means i have hyperthyrodism. my doc said it was very mildly overactive and they must have caught it early, b/c i have no symptoms other than an enlarged thyroid. he says i can still start lupron on 7/31, but it's up to my RE. do you guys know anything about ivf and thyroid disorders? i spent 2 hrs crying b/c i'm scared he won't let me start my cycle.

[shelbyrn0214]

mjay - hang in there. I don't know much about Grave's, but I'm sure your RE has dealt with this before and he knows exactly how to handle it. Just stay positive and even if you have to wait a little longer, it's best to make sure that everything is being done and in order BEFORE you start so that your chances of success are higher. Wouldn't it be great if you were treated for this and then conceived naturally?! Either way, you're going to get a BFP!!!!! I have nothing but high expectations for you!!!!

AFM stands for As For Me....

[mjay]

shelby- thanks so much for the attitude adjustment. i just have to keep reminding myself to relax and go with the flow. i have such high expectations, when things don't go according to plan, i have a melt down. i know that it's better to know now than in the middle of a pregnancy where my treatment options may be limited. DH said we need to be grateful for the blessings we do have, like almost 100% insurance coverage on meds and the entire IVF process. he is totally right!

i started acupuncture this week and it is really helping me to calm down.

i can do this! we all can do this!

[shelbyrn0214]

You are so lucky for the insurance coverage. Mine covers NOTHING!!!
So this will be our last shot @ it. Well, I say nothing...practically nothing. It will cover the PIO, estrogen patches, and progesterone pills, but not the expensive stuff!
I have thought about acupuncture, but haven't convinced myself of it. I have been sticking with massages. I may look into it a little more.
Hope you had a great weekend!

[wolffie]

mjay - are you planning on talking to your RE on Monday about the Grave's disease? I know that it would totally suck to have a cycle canceled but it might be better for you (and future baby) to get everything needed in check. Trust that at the end of the day your RE has the same goal for you that you have for yourself...to be preggo! make sure to tell your acupuncturist about the graves disease too. there may be some points that they can focus on to help treat it. I see from that you are in Illinois...me too! Illinois is one state that has great insurance coverage for fertility treatments.

shelbyrn - I did acupuncture during my first cycle. I loved it. i thought it was almost as relaxing as massage. I don't think i'll be doing it during this cycle since I just don't have the finances for it now.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

[jaydentd]

Thanks Shelbyn, wolffie, penny and all of you girls for your reply. It's nice to share my experience with others that are going through the same thing. Today is cd 1 for me but I'm starting ivf next cycle. My doctor is on vacation and won't be back until next week. I feel like I'm loosing time waiting.

mjay- I have thyroid disorder also, but I have an under active-hypothyroid. I was diagnosed at age 14 and since then I have irregular cycles, and I cannot function without my medication because I feel so tired. Other than that I'm good. Don't get discourage and I hope you get a BFP at the end of your cycle.

Can't wait to start seeing lots of +++++++ HERE

[mjay]

wolfie- i'm making an appt with an endocrinologist tomorrow and i'm calling my RE. he won't be in until tuesday, but i want to make sure they got my test results and maybe the nurses could shed some light on the issue for me. ur right about the insurance for IL. i work for county government so mine are still better than most (praise GOD!). just as the nurse got done telling me what great insurance i had, she had to tell the woman in line behind me that she had to pay in full for all of her consultations with the RE. the lady left w/o seeing him. i felt so bad.

shelby- do the acupuncture! it's great! never had a massage so i can't say if it's better or worse. it's so relaxing. at the very least it will help with anxiety. find a school that teaches acupuncture to save $. it's way cheaper. i know of someone else from GA that is doing acupuncture b/c of the lack of insurance coverage for infertility.

jayden- what did your RE say about the hypothyroidism? do you have to do anything special? i know what you mean by losing time, but we all must be patient. when we get our BFPs, it will be much more special b/c of all the hardship we had to face to get it.

[jaydentd]

mjay-my thyroid has been under control for years with medication and they never told me I would have a problem with it or that it would affect ivf. Your so lucky your insurance covers ivf, in ny is not mandatory that insurances cover infertility. Mines only covered diagnostic and we can only try once for now, but I'm really excited and something just tell me I will only be needing one...lol

[shelbyrn0214]

I don't know who did the AF dance for me, but THANK YOU!!!!! Woohoo! Time to get started again! 21 days and I start Lupron. This is it....I can feel it!!!! Come on ladies.... let's get pregnant!!!!!

[wolffie]

I am loving all the positive attitudes on this board. I think that a PMA is one of the most important parts of this process. I know that is easier said than done sometimes.

shelby - is the massage you are doing fertility massage or regular massage? The holistic fertility center that I went to in the past (in conjunction with the IVF) also offers massage but I haven't done it. I can't afford both acupuncture and massage and can't decide which route I should go with this cycle. YAY for AF!!!

jayden - I am hoping and wishing that we all get our BFP this cycle! Have you thought about how many embies you'll transfer?

mjay - keep us posted on what the docs say. I bet that the nurses would be able o shed some light for you. From what the other ladies have said it should like if shouldn't effect your cycle. (keeping my fingers crossed for you)!

Has anyone made any changes to their diets? I have read a lot about nutrition for fertility and am wondering if others are following any nutrition guidelines.

AFM, I start Lupron on August 12th. I am anxious to get started again but also hoping that the 12th doesn't come too fast. I go back to school (work) on the 17th of August and am SO not ready. This summer really flew by.

[shelbyrn0214]

wolffie - the way my clinic does it is a "package". you pay one price for all the labs and ultrasounds, 2 massages, the ER and ET, and RE consults. It pretty much pays for everything until my BFP. Then insurance kicks in and I pay the balance. I used to do regular massages, but since I've been doing this, I'm sticking with the experts. The lady that does the fertility massages is awesome! I may stick with her even after my cycle!
The main changes I will make for my diet is to eliminate caffeine all together and no seafood - this is going to be the hardest part! I love me some shrimp scampi, catfish, and tilapia!!!! YUMO!

[statsgoddess]

wolffie - We actually brought up doing a fresh cycle instead of a frozen with the clinic, just because the odds are so much better. Plus we are paying out of pocket and we still have $1200 of follistem in the fridge from earlier this year. I was kind of worried the clinic wouldn't be supportive - you see a lot of places that say you have to use the frosties first, and I'm sure we had paperwork to that effect as well, but given that we ideally want more than two kids, we were going to do it again anyway even if the FET worked, so I guess they didn't mind. DH and I were laughing over the idea that if the fresh cycle works, we could have kids with younger brothers and sisters who are technically older than them - just frozen for a couple of years

shelbyrn - I really think teenage boys would be a lot easier! Girls are difficult enough, plus this is a time when most of them aren't particularly close to their fathers, so they are pulling away naturally but then the divorce situation makes it even more complicated. Plus, their mom doesn't really parent them, so they get mad if they are told "no" on anything they want to do. It's difficult, but I keep telling myself we can make it through until they go to college. I can't imagine letting either of them give me a shot!! You are much more brave than I am!! We aren't telling the girls we are doing IVF, nor are we telling anyone in his family. My sister knows, and a few friends, and that is all. He told his family when he got the reversal and they didn't keep their mouths shut (I had told him that would happen and not to tell them, but he said the idea of more grandchildren might make them live longer so he did it anyway), so I've had to endure several awkward family moments where random extended family ask me if I am pregnant or if I am the one trying to get pregnant. That's been difficult, so we are keeping this mostly under wraps.

I feel pretty positive about this cycle. I think we decided no POAS this time, though

[Lady_J]

Hi Ladies... sorry I haven't been keeping up... but I see we r very busy!!! I hope everyones cycles are doing great!!!

AFM... I start BCPs tonight. My AF started early this time. I just had it on July 4-9, but it was just spotting. And now I started again on Friday the 24th, heavy from the beginning thru the weekend... today it is more spotting than anything. Well the RE told me t call back when my next AF starts and I will start meds for my FET. Scary!!!

Well ladies... everyday I am rubbing my Buddahs belly for all of us. I hope this will be it.

[mjay]

shelby and lady j- congrats on AF's arrival! i think it's so crazy that we have all been excited to see AF so we can begin. lol!

AFM- i do NOT have grave's disease!!! whoooo hoooo! i called around to 4 different hospitals today to get somebody who could see me in a reasonable time. i got lucky and an endcrinologist had a 1:00pm cancellation today! she emphatically told me that i don't have grave's and called my RE while i was in the room and told them not to delay my cycle. she said the the thyroid levels in my blood are all normal so there is no need to worry. she is going to keep seeing me for bw and an ultrasound periodically just to be safe. my RE's nurse called me to tell me we were still on schedule. my meds arrive tomorrow and i start lupron on friday!!! i am so hopeful b/c everything has been going so well.

has anyone taken the meds and syringes on a plane? i'm going to a conference next week and don't know how to pack it.

[shelbyrn0214]

mjay - SWEET!!!!!!! I'm so happy for you! Lupron, here we come!!!! As for the plane thing, not so sure about that. Have you tried the airline's or airport's website? They may have exceptions when it comes to liquid medications. Good Luck!

Lady J - Congrats on AF! I've never been so happy to see the old hag visit!

statsgoddess - DH and I did the same thing when we first tried. We told NO ONE! But after our BFN, we decided to let everyone in on it. I wish you the best and all the strength in the world. it'll all be worth it this time. We are shooting for a 100% BFP rate on this thread! WE CAN DO IT!!!!!

Woohoo! YIPPE!!!! ok, now it's time to go eat some Japanese food.