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

[cindylou]

SDtrying#2 - thank you so much for the welcome...and the hint about the list of acronyms. I've been struggling to figure out the lingo code around here! My post probably read like a novel because it was in longhand --

And hey, wow, you're pregnant! Six weeks! That's wonderful, hope you're feeling well!

Thanks again for the support!

[blairwh58]

cindylou- I will add you to the ongoing list next time I go to update it...but until then Welcome to the boards! I know IVF can be extremely stressful and this is a great place to talk to people going through the same things. Even though we are all here to talk, Im not going to lie- you still worry worry worry the entire time. If your not worrying about one thing its something else. I know the first IVF can be very overwhelming but just ask any questions you have. Most of us have been through more than one and are happy to share whatever we can to help ease your fears. I am on a similar protocol to yours, but will be about a week behind you. I started Lupron yesterday after what seemed like forever since our miscarriage and D & C in December. Just take things one day at a time. Let me know if you have any questions- Ive done the Lupron/Follistim protocol before so Ill answer whatever I can. Good luck with your cycle!!

[WeHaveHope]

Cindylou,
Welcome. So glad you joined. On this forum you will find lots of information & ladies who are going through what you are experiencing. You will also find lots and lots of support. I am looking forward to your posts and hoping to be able to help you in anything I can. This too is my first IVF cycle after a failed IUI. I just recently had my ER and unfortunatly developed OHSS. Feeling back to myself again and just waiting for my FET. Best of luck.

[crissylove]

Welcome Cindylou!

Thanks for giving us such a candid glimpse of yourself and sharing your fears and concerns. I can tell you from my personal experiences that this is a place where some great ladies help you to bravely face those fears head on which makes the process a little easier to deal with. I too look forward to reading your future post and sharing your journey with you. Good luck!

SD-when is your U/S? You must be excited.

[BlissfulCS]

cindylou- welcome! I posted a long drawn out story for you but forgot to hit submit and subsequently deleted. The short version? I think I "enjoyed" IVF more during my first round because I knew LESS and I am not sure it helps me that much to know more. But I am a control freak by nature and feel that I have to know EVERYTHING. We should educate ourselves as we are our own best advocates but stop googling when you feel it is affecting your mood.

I spend most of my time right now trying to do meditation and forget about percentages and data!

You are right, keeping a positive mental attitude is important and these ladies are amazing at helping with that.

AFM- I continue to grow even more positive and have completely shed all that fear I initially had from not transferring two blasts. I still have moments of doubt as we all do, but feel like this is our time!

I woke up this morning and had to fight back nausea for at least an hour before I could eat anything. I was convinced my little ones were all three producing HCG. Ha Ha...I am only 2 days past transfer so that is not possible, but I liked thinking it! It's probably just a fluke or the drugs (which did not cause nausea for me in previous cycles).

Our blast should be attached and burrowing by now, and our morulas should have hatched and will also be attaching today/tonight. I like this part of the process because I know they are now connected to me! Makes me feel even more pregnant.

Crissylove- am I correct in thinking you did a 5 day transfer? Or did I read it was a day 6?

Any of the other pregnant ladies feeling any morning sickness yet? We haven't heard from some of you in a while.

FUN- how are you holding up???

[BlissfulCS]

Crissylove- you can disregard my question...I can see it was a 5dt in your siggy. Lol.

[trying4second]

Hi everyone! I thought I posted yesterday, but it does not seem to have gone through!

Sorry for being MIA - it has been a very long week. I had my first BETA on 2/24...a whopping 336! Then second BETA two days later...but it did not double. Went up to 546. The doctor said his best guess was that it was a twin pregnancy that reduced to singleton, but it could be a bad or problem pregnancy or everything could be fine...

so it was a long wait until the ultrasound two days ago when we saw one perfect little peanut! We go in Friday to the perinatologist and hope for a heartbeat! Sorry for disappearing when things get stressful...it is just overwhelming.

Along with the wait, it is tough now because I cannot pick up my 16 month old daughter. I have a nanny three days a week when I work, but the other days I need to fill in with my mom, friends, my husband staying home from work, fill-in babysitters...it has just been lots of logistics (a good problem to have I realize, but still hard!)

Hugs to all!

[to_have_fun08]

Trying - Congrats on your healthy little bean!!! Can't wait for you to hear the HB.

Bliss - I'm not holding up too well, Debbie downer today. I don't think it worked and too scared to POAS because i do not want to see another negative. You would think with transferring two awesome genetically normal embies, i would be able to muster up some hope but its not really happening. I am not stressing about it, it is what it is and i can't change it. How are you doing? sounds like you have lots of PMA. Your beta is on the 14th correct?



Hope everyone else is doing good. I'll try and do more personals later on.

Chris

[BlissfulCS]

Trying- great to hear from you and congrats on your little bean! What a scary ride. Sounds like your RE was right on twins going to a singleton.

Fun- according to that list of how this whole thing progresses, your little beanies may not even be producing HCG yet, let alone enough to pick up on a HPT. Stay positive! After all you have been through I know how tough this must be (it has been tougher for me this time...so much so I have been wondering if I can do it again regardless of what happens). You have done everything you can to create the perfect chances for success and I know you have a GREAT shot this time. For goodness sake you had a beautiful blast hatching. Smile.

FYI- when I really go negative, I journal. If you've never tried it, do so. Just write down whatever you are feeling. I always write until my thoughts turn positive and then I end up doodling positive baby/fertility related stuff.

I am praying for all of us, but especially you since you are in the wait with me! Sticky, happy, vibes to you.

[BlissfulCS]

Oops...

FUN- I am doing well thanks. I was AWFUL the day of transfer because I only transferred one blast and the two morulae. Since then MUCH better. I start the day as a Debbie Downer...then journal and meditate until I have the PMA going.I figure that now that they are connected to me they need my encouragement, especially those lazy morulae! Yes...Beta on the 14th. I will POAS on the 13th to prepare myself. DH was planning on a work trip to Vegas on the 14th but do to unforseen events will now be at home with me for the test on the 14th. Really happy about that either way it goes...

When is yours?

[cindylou]

Hi ladies, thanks so much for the welcome. I'm inspired by the sharing of your experiences, and I hope to learn from you all. i see more and more how strong and resilient women are.

blairwh58 - yay, we are on a similar protocol - its nice to have company! how does it feel to be getting started again? i'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriage. does it give you hope that you were able to GET pregnant, or is it overshadowed by the (emotional/physical) heaviness of having lost a pregnancy? i hope this cycle is successful for you, i really do. cheers to you for always moving forward.

wehavehope - so even though you developed OHSS, they were able to freeze your embryos..and you will have them transferred when your body has regained balance? I understand just a little of OHSS, but out of what must have been a terrible (frightening!) circumstance, I am so relieved to hear you are recovering and your embryos may still be transferred! best of luck to you!! can't wait to hear a good update!

crissylove - congrats on being 5+weeks pregnant! wow, it must feel so good. i hope you are feeling well.

blissfulcs - okay so you're in the BIG LIMBO. i am very hopeful for you. i've heard about the benefits of positive visualization, so i'm hoping you can "see" the magic going on in your body right now! i hope any symptoms you may have are all positive indicators.

trying4second - congrats on the peanut!!

to_have_fun08 - Fear is real. I feel for you. Hold on to that little bit of hope. I hope we're celebrating for you soon.

I'm continuing my daily injections of Lupron and Follistem, and also taking Dexamethasone. Anybody else have to take Dexamethasone? I looked it up online but can't quite figure out why it's included in my protocol. I go in on Weds for E2 labs...what kind of numbers should I be hoping for? I need to ask what my last E2 #s were so I can compare.

cindy

[timber5k]

Well, I had 24 hours of bliss after my 2nd draining. Unfortunately, the fluid has come back. Saw my RE this morning and he said it seems like the fluid accumulation has at least slowed down, but it's possible I'll have to go for another draining. He told me the draining record for one person in his office is 3 times, so I better not try to set any records.

I'm just so tired of feeling this way.

Nancy1 - I know you said that you couldn't tell the difference between your OHSS bloating and when you started to really develop a baby bump, but did you at least start to feel more normal after a certain number of weeks? I can live with being bloated, but I want to be able to sleep lying down and not struggle to breathe.

Good news is my third beta last Friday was 427 and he did another one today and it was 1006. Is it odd that they do so many betas? Maybe it's just because I have OHSS.

How does everyone feel about when to share the news about being pregnant with other people? I really wanted to wait until after the first trimester. I've never gone through a pregnancy before, but I figure that an IVF pregnancy is considered high risk, and so I wanted to wait. My husband is DYING to tell people. At least his family and friends, but I won't let him. What have you all decided to do?

[BlissfulCS]

Hey Timber5k- great to hear from you but I wish you were reporting that you were back at 100%.

Funny- I was jut thinking about the "to tell or not to tell" question. We have been so open about our procedures that most of our family knows and so do some of our friends and colleagues. I felt like it was such a big part of our lives that it was hard to keep it hidden, plus I wanted the support of close friends along the way (especially my Mom and sisters). Now that I am in my third 2ww, I am thinking that I will approach it differently in the future. This is hard enough on me, and there is no reason to drag them through the emotional anguish as well. Plus...God forbid we did get a BFP that didn't lead to a baby I think it would be easier to handle privately. So I guess my answer is... I know I will share with close friends and family this time but will wait until after 12 weeks for those who don't know we are trying.

Curious about your screen name- Are you are runner? The 5k part made me wonder. Its my passion when I am not on bed rest...

Continued congrats on great Betas. Not sure why so many but yes I would guess because of OHSS. When is your u/s?

Cindylou- I downloaded the book you recommended. So far it is very good but just a little dark for a girl on the 2ww. Had to stop reading for a little bit to pick up the PMA but its calling me back already. I think it is cool that there is music in each chapter, and its not bad tuneage either! Very cool in the iPad version because it plays at the beginning of each chapter.

[WeHaveHope]

Hi all,
Just checking in with everyone. I wanted to welcome all of the new forum members. Be assured that you will all find lots of very useful information and more importantly the support you need.
As for me, I am feeling back to myself. Well kind of, I have found myself to be a bit teary eyed in the last week for absolutely no reason. I guess it is the ups and downs of my hormones. I went from having and Estrogen level of over 8000 prior to ER to God knows what at this point after getting my period a week earlier than expected. I spoke with my RE today to get a better idea of the plan moving forward. I am not going to pretend to understand all that is involved however let my try my best to explain the two scenarios.

Scenerio #1: I can start Provera on Friday x 10 days and expect a period on or about the 10th day. Then I can start Estrogen Patches x 15 days. Lupron injections will overlap the patches by about a week. Then Progesterone (Crinone Gel) x 5 days then ET.

Scenerio # 2: All of the above remains the same with the exception that I would be placed on BCP 18-21 days after the 10 days of Provera and then after yet another period begin the Estrogen Patches and the remainder of the protocol.

I would love to begin this as soon as possible as all of the OHSS symptoms have gone away. Has anyone else done an FET cycle? Maybe someone can further clarify the process for me. I am a bit confused. Thanks in advance.

[LYD10]

Hello folks! you are probably wondering who the heck is LYD10 and where has she been all this time I am the one with beta of 20 at 14dpo, then 4 days later 54, and now another week later, as i just found out, 274. My doc wants me in for the heartbeat U/S on 3/16, but they didnt have an opening until 3/18. I am keeping my fingers crossed that i'll see a heartbeat in 11 days on 2/18. this is exactly one day before my DS's 1 year birthday and a bunch of relatives are coming into town to celebrate - so i am praying i'll see a heartbeat the day before.