FEB / MARCH 2011 Cycle Buddies!! can't wait!

[karenvancouverisland]

Hi all!!

i'm so excited about our next cycle! it's hard to be patient, and i've discovered in the past 6 years of TTC, that i need to focus my energy and get excited about upcoming cycles/ opportunities..

i am blessed with a miracle son through IVF.. we were given a very poor prognosis for birthing our own children... but we persevered, and our boy is 18 months.. before i told god many times 'just give me one child and i'll never ask for more'....but since motherhood has given me such a gift, and awoke a strong maternal desire for a bigger family.. so here i am again. desperate for #2..

i'm doing DHEA for 3 months before stims.. i do the flare protocal for poor responders.. i never thought i'd be so excited to spend another 12 $ K !! lol..

i would LOVE anyone's company while we await our next cycles!!

[HopeIsAllIHave]

Karen, you're so cute! lol. Lots of baby dust to you!
I hear you about the maternal desire. Long story short, I got injured at work 2+ years ago when a bipolar patient torqued my arm in an attempt to AWOL. I've been seeking treatment since then for my torticollis (severe muscle spasm in neck). Recently, my doctor finally reached a dosage of Botox that is effective for the pain in my neck. The problem is that I'm going to need Botox every 3 months for the rest of my life. BUT since I've been wanting to have a baby for the longest time, I've been in a limbo.. should I have a baby and go through the pain which will be exponentially increased or keep trying my treatments in the hopes of getting rid of this nasty pain for good? Well, I did put my treatment on hold for a bit, only to find out later about my diagnosis of PCOS. It threw me under severe depression.. so bad that I needed to be hospitalized. Everyone around me was getting pregnant and at first, I thought I couldn't get pregnant because of my work injury, and then to find out later that conceiving would be harder because of my new diagnosis just had me thinking all negative. DH and I have lost our patience to try to do it just by taking metformin and clomid, so we asked our RE for an aggressive treatment of IVF. So here we are.. & hoping for the best!

[HopeIsAllIHave]

SD, per my case manager, I'll be looking to start sometime in February. I was supposed to start in Jan but missed taking my BCP's on time as I was not able to get a hold of anyone at the reproductive center.
So the plan is this: going in for my saline sonogram with mock embryo transfer tomorrow. IVF class next Thursday. When my next AF arrives, I'll start BCP's after which they'll start me on Lupron. So I'm going to fall somewhere between late January/early February, I believe. Since I'm new to this IVF world, I have lots to learn from you ladies. By profession, I'm an RN, but because of this injury, I haven't been practicing nursing for nearly 2 years now currently going back in school to further my education so I do not have to rely on bedside nursing.

[JenMink55]

Hi Karen and SD !!! Well here we are again!

Well I figured I would join this group since I will be transferring in Feb/March. As you two ladies know I had a Chemical on the FET in November Well, what can you do but get back up on the horse and try again.

Went to the RE today to discuss the failed cycle. Got some weird news... he basically said my maternal age is 45, even though I am 37. My egg reserve is low and he feels that I need to try again ASAP before my eggs dry up! (my words of course LOL) Anyway, he is wanting to change protocol to a "flare protocol"... I honestly have no idea what that is and I am scared to ask questions when I am at the office. Anybody know what a flare protocol is or can share an experience?

So we are waiting for AF to show up in January and then it's all systems go for a Feb transfer. Yeah for another $10k But if it gives me the baby I am so desperatly wanting then it's totally worth it.

Thanks for starting this group! I hope we all get our BFP's....

~~Jen~~

[JenMink55]

SD-- Thanks for the warm welcome!

Well about my Beta... I actually got chewed out today because it's been 2 weeks and I still haven't gone back for Beta # 3 to make sure it's at 0. I don't know, I already got AF and am expecting her again in 9 days and I just don't want to waste the money going to the lab-- They don't cover the Beta's at RE's office and we have no coverage for IVF... I know I totally need to go, and I am going to try to go tomorrow. Draggggginnnnggg my feet. LOL

Aren't Chemical's just horrible! I was so sad when I heard yours was a chemical... It really broke my heart. BUT--- this time will be OUR TIME... I know it, there just isn't any other choice! haha

Thanks for the information on the Flare Protocol... it's been so long since I went through a Fresh Cycle that I am confused and feel like a newbie again. Hopefully it will all come back to me!

~~Jen

[to_have_fun08]

I'm in for Feb/March. If all goes Ok, should have a transfer the first week in March. Seems so far away. I am trying not to get my hopes up but it is hard seeing that we are doing donor egg. The donor is 25 and has done 3 previous cycles. Don't know how much support I will be on here. I'll probably just be a big lurker.
I am getting myself set up for a big heartache if this one doesn't work. i was even checking out baby stuff the other day and after so many years of TTC I have been able to keep myself away from that.

I know 4 babies being born today. One of which is my nephew. If my best cycle last march would have worked. that would have been me. its gonna be a long day.

[hopinginnc]

I too will be doing a FET in Feb/March. My DS will be a year in February, so hoping to give him a really special present! Cant wait to get started again and to cycle with you all.

[sunshine.12]

chris..we had cycled together in jul 2009..i have a good feeling about this one.. i am sure we will all get our happy IVF stories soon..

we took a longer break than expected after that cycle..mainly waiting for insurance coverage, so that we can go through the process with a little less stress..

[nicnad1]

Hi! Can I join you? I'll be having FET in mid-Feb (assuming my natural cycle continues). I had IVF in August with a BFP, then m/c at 10 weeks. : ( (what a roller coaster of emotions!) We have 2 frozen blasts. I could have the FET in Jan, but we are going to Mexico and I want to have a few margaritas! This is our last effort to give a sibling to our son who is almost 6 (conceived naturally). We have unexplained secondary infertility. RE says that the FET will follow my natural cycle so nothing crazy like IVF. I'm kinda glad for that as I had Ovulation Hyperstimulation really bad after IVF. I will eagerly follow your journeys! We kept the whole IVF thing secret which I found difficult but necessary. It's good to connect with others... Take care all! Let's hope that we have a "parents after treament" board later this year!!!

[MamaBoo]

I'm hoping to do FET in March. I have a son that just turned a year old on Nov 28 He was from an FET also. I do not have IVF coverage. However, I will shortly have coverage for anything in which the fert takes place inside the mother's body (IUI or GIFT). Therefore, our FET will be self-pay. Hope it works! We don't have any other snowbabies. Any other tries would have to be covered by insurance....probably....It has to work. I want to bring my snowbabies home!

[cwehrs]

Well hello again girls. I too will be cycling in feb/march. Not sure of exact timing, since my cycle is so irregular (when they are not pumping me full of drugs ). Theoretically I should get my AF in about 3 weeks, then BCP and IVF sometime in Feb. I won't know my exact schedule until I actually start my next cycle though. I'm trying to keep up a PMA, but it's really hard to stay optimistic after my last cycle. Definitely not as excited as last time around. But I'm not ready to give up yet either, so here I am!

[brit1612]

Just thought I would join ya'll if you don't mind. I'm not cycling this spring, but will be trying for number 2 this summer. I am a teacher, so I have to wait until the summer to cycle.

[BlissfulCS]

Hello ladies!

Well its nice to see some of the folks I was just beginning to get to know in the November Cycle board...but I wish that NONE of us was here. I am excited though about having company along the way this time as I only discovered this site while I was in my 2ww for my FET. Although being a part of the group caused an obsession with HPTs (to which I only succumbed the day before my Beta...though I never confessed it on the board ) it was really helpful to have the insight of others and share in the joy and pain along the way.

I am not sure when I am cycling again, but it will probably be in March. I meet with the RE next Wednesday to discuss. My main challenges are that we live in a rural area three and a half hours from our clinic and I have a highly demanding job that reuires a lot of travel. So it took some time to coordinate a consultation after our failed November cycle. This is our third attempt at IVF. We do not have insurance but we are blessed with the means to keep trying so we have decided to go with another fresh cycle despite the fact we have 4 3day snowbabies. Reason being is that I am about to turn the dreaded 35 and we want two so I thought we might as well go with a fresh cycle for the better odds and then freeze my 34 year old embies for after my successful pregnancy (PMA).

I have sent a list of 20 or so questions to my RE which he had a coordinator respond to for me. I was curious about waiting to blast stage and it turns out my clinic is not supportive of it. I guess the embryologist is an adamant believer that the embies are better off in the uterus. Still, I can't help feeling that it would be right for me since I had 8 embies the first time (we transfered 2 each time). Tough call since my RE has the best results in the state (Michigan).

I am excited to report though that the clinic is really supportive of alternative therapy. The doctor supports me taking DHEA this time and will also allow us to bring my acupunturist to the clinic for before and after transfer. So I am staying with them and putting my faith (and money!!!) into their expertise.

SDtrying, JenMink, to have fun, cwehrs- it stinks to be here again...but I am glad we are here together!

Good luck to all.

[DandMe]

I just wanted to jump in and say.... we tried for two years (natural and IUI) before turning to IVF. We did our first cycle in January 2010, then a FET in June 2010, and then another fresh in October 2010. I joined and rejoined boards (even pregnancy ones - we had blighted ovums). I want to say that it was worth it. When it finally happens, and the initial shock has worn off (it never fully does) that all the heartache, drugs, money and emotional stress is worth it.... It's hard to believe it'll ever happen, but it will. So many women dropped in to tell me that and I was kind of 'yah, yah, easy for you to say, pregnant lady'... but I needed to hear it over and over... so here I am... giving you girls a huge hug and waiting for all of you to join the pregnancy boards. Sending you tons and tons of excellent vibes. MANY of you will be pregnant from this cycle - keep up the hope!!!

[Karian]

Good Morning Ladies!!!!

I also come from the Fall board. I got my BFN a couple of weeks ago and had not posted anything since then, but always kept reading and cheering from the sidelines.

Our Doctor has really high hopes on a second cycle. He said that maybe the egg quality was poor due to the fact that they retrieved too many eggs.... Have you heard something like that?

We are planning for a February cycle. So I'll be joining you on this board and wishing all of you tons of baby dust!!!