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

[BlissfulCS]

Go Big Blue!

For my fellow worry worts...just read a quote in the book Cindylou recommended that I thought was great...

"Anxiety is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn't get you very far."

[MamaBoo]

I am just hanging out trying to be positive. Taking my meds, figuring out they didn't give me enough to make it to beta. Had to call and have it expedited. But ordered yesterday, and it is here today. One more worry averted. Phew! I'm a bit of a worry wart. I am soooooo excited for Friday. I cannot wait. I am already have nausea, and I haven't yet had ET! Must be that ***** juice progesterone. I was such a raving lunatic this morning, I told a manager in my office I was in such a bad temper, I felt like ripping someone's head off and shoving it up their a**. He decided he'd better leave my office in short order. Oh well, par for the course I guess. I was going to start POAS on 3/18, but not sure now. I am wavering. Last time, I POAS at 3am the morning of beta.

[Jcoope28]

Well I got through my 7 days of Lupron and yesturday began my .20cc of Del estrogen injection. DH did a wonderful job doing injection!! This morning I did wake up at 5am with a nagging headache. Anyone notice headaches from the Estrogen? Well anyway I survived, took some tylenol. I also felt bad anxiety attack in the middle of my class today followed by exhaustion lol. Just hoping this cycle works so I dont have to take all this crap again.
Next injection will be later in the month, PIO. Heard that one is a real doosy.

[Pumpkin11]

Hi All! I am new to the forum. I have been following for days and finally decided to register. First of all I want to say that I appreciate ALL the emotions and information that you all have shared. I have been inspired by each of you and found hidden courage to submit myself to the whole process again.
I am 31 with PCOS, have tried fertility treatments in the past (clomid, clomid w/iui and iui with injectables) 9 cycles total. 1 cancelled due to ohss, 1 chemical preg and 1 ectopic which ended with methotrexate followed by laparosocpy to remove tissue. My last iui cycle was in 2006 and I got divorced shorty after. I remarried in 2009 to an amazing man . He is absolutely normal with no issues. We tried 'naturally' for 1 year and a half without success. in November I decided to go for a new fertility evaluation since I'm older now and with a new husband. In went to my original RE and he wanted me to do IUI again. My husband didn't agree to it because I had already spent so much time, emotion and money in the passed with iui. He felt that we should seek a 2nd opinion that would offer a new opinion and more options. So, in December we went for a consult with a RE specializing in PCOS and IVF. We liked him instantly. He did say that he probably could take me the iui route 1st but because I had spent so much time at it before I should go straight to Ivf and give myself the greatest percentage of having the healthy baby I've always wanted.
So, that brings us to now I did 24 days of bcp (loestrin) and will begin injectables (gonal-f) on Friday. The preliminary regimen which has been prescribed to me is gonal-f, menopur, cetrotide, aspirin, hcg and progesterone. Although, I used these mess previously for iui, Ivf is totally new for me. I am anxious yet excited. Please feel free to comment and offer me advice. Please recommend what foods i should eat and stay away from. I did read some of you are doing Gatorade to avoid ohss I find that makes me thirstier, does anyone feel that?

I look forward to taking part in this forum. Sorry for the long post but wanted to get you all upmto speed with my history.

Good luck to you all who have already had your transfers remember the secret, visualize what you want and you will receive the healthy baby we all are longing for. Those of you that are waiting or are just starting like me, I look forward to sharing our journeys and being there for each other.

Good night and sweet dreams to all!

Please excuse any typos as I'm writing from my ipad

[blairwh58]

Pumpkin- First off I just wanted to welcome you to the board. Even though you are on a different regimen I am hoping to only be a few days behind you. I know how frustrating all the IUIs can be- we did 1 natural, 1 with clomid, and 1 with follistim. Luckily my RE said he would only do 3 before we moved onto IVF. So here we are on #4 and with a new RE a year later. I'm not sure when my baseline appointment will be but I'm assuming sometime next week. We are all here if you need anything or ever want to vent. Wishing you and DH the best of luck with this cycle.

[Pumpkin11]

Blairwh58, thank you for the warm welcome! Consider it a good thing that your RE did put you through more iui cycles. They were brutal for me. I guess God does everything for a reason but at the time I didn't understand why and was very upset over not achieving my goal however, now I am no longer married to that partner and I'm sure I wouldn't have married my present husband had I had a child with my ex. I consider this a new beginning and a second chance so I am very optimistic about doing our 1st Ivf cycle. I wish you lots of luck and you're only a few days behind me so we'll go thru it together. I'm here as well for you and I looking forward to sharing our successes!

[WeHaveHope]

Pumpkin11,
WELCOME. I am very glad you decided to join us. I know that this process is very difficult and can be very confusing. I also had a failed IUI and am now undergoing my 1st IVF. Unfortunately, there have also been some delays to this process due to having developed OHSS after retrieval. I can tell you that joining this forum was a great decision for me. I think you will find it very informative as lots of the members have great information and are so willing to share. We are all very supportive and are there for each other with words of encouragement during difficult times. Please keep us posted and make sure to continue to ask plenty of questions. I wish you all the best of luck in the journey and look forward to reading your updates.

[Pumpkin11]

Wehavehope, thank you for the welcome. I LOVE cocker spaniels I Can relate to you with the ohss I had that in the passed with 2 iui cycles one was cancelled and 1 we went on with. I felt uncomfortable and with a lot of discomfort. Drink lots of fluids, I did read about Gatorade. I'm nit a Gatorade fan but had I known when i had ohss that it was an option to ease symptoms I would've drank it by the gallon!!! I have been following for a few weeks and the encouragement is priceless. Having a strong support system is essential when going thru these cycles. I for one have decided that I don't want anyone to know with the exception of my husband, mom, sister and best friend. In the passed I had too many people questioning me and it didn't make me comfortable as I don't think their intentions were positive. So, my philosophy for this new opportunity is the less people that know the better. This is one of the main reasons sought out this support group. We are all in the same boat and can relate. I don't want to deal this time with ignorant and inappropriate thoughts and comments from people that have never gone thru this. I am a worry wort so, the less stress induced by external influences the better I feel. Therefore, I have adopted this pattern and I will be happier I am sure. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and hopefully being of some help to others.

[WeHaveHope]

Wehavehope, thank you for the welcome. I LOVE cocker spaniels I Can relate to you with the ohss I had that in the passed with 2 iui cycles one was cancelled and 1 we went on with. I felt uncomfortable and with a lot of discomfort. Drink lots of fluids, I did read about Gatorade. I'm nit a Gatorade fan but had I known when i had ohss that it was an option to ease symptoms I would've drank it by the gallon!!! I have been following for a few weeks and the encouragement is priceless. Having a strong support system is essential when going thru these cycles. I for one have decided that I don't want anyone to know with the exception of my husband, mom, sister and best friend. In the passed I had too many people questioning me and it didn't make me comfortable as I don't think their intentions were positive. So, my philosophy for this new opportunity is the less people that know the better. This is one of the main reasons sought out this support group. We are all in the same boat and can relate. I don't want to deal this time with ignorant and inappropriate thoughts and comments from people that have never gone thru this. I am a worry wort so, the less stress induced by external influences the better I feel. Therefore, I have adopted this pattern and I will be happier I am sure. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and hopefully being of some help to others.

I know what you mean. I too have kept this very quiet. This is difficult enough as it is. Having people constantly asking questions I thought would just be too much for me. I have to tell you that I decided I did not even want to share this part of the experience with my own mother. I love her very much and she means well but she would just be way too worried and she would also be the #1 culprit in asking 1001 questions everyday. God willing, I will be able to give her good news at the end of this journey. I am glad to be able to share my thought, fears, and anxieties with others who understand what I am going through. I look forward to reading more of your posts and sharing more of our experiences.

[cindylou]

Hi all, looks like it's been a busy day all around...it's such a nice treat for me to check in at the end of the day.

Blair - thanks for your open-ness. having never been able to GET pregnant, i wondered if there was a (mental) benefit to meeting that milestone, if it offered you a different level of hope. but I can see how it would be devastating as well. i hope, and i believe, it will finally happen for you.

Bliss - hope the wait is smooth sailing for you. i've taken the day off from sitting in my "rocking chair" - you?
the yoga will feel good, especially if you're getting restless with the physical inactivity (and mental/emotional marathon!) I started doing yoga for the potential fertility benefit, and now I love it. I find that it's a good way to help me stay connected to my body in this process. There are some great (gentle) fertility poses!

Mamaboo - good thing you checked your meds! that's totally a fear of mine...running out unexpectedly, something that could throw your whole cycle off. sometimes don't you think that if you weren't such a worry wart, so much would be overlooked? (that's from one worry wart to another!)

Pumpkin - we're on a different protocol, but I'm new to the IVF process too! welcome!
as far as foods, my acupuncturist suggested I eat lots of green, leafy foods and as little processed food and/or caffeinated drinks as possible. i'm having a hard time eliminating the caffeine, but i've got it reduced to one 12 oz coke a day (thank god i was never a big coffee drinker). plus, since I have allergies, i've substituted Bee Pollen for the standard allergy meds. Bee pollen apparently has some fertility benefits in addition to helping alleviate allergy symptoms (anyone who wants to try this should make sure to get the bee pollen granules, not the capsules. you can find them at Whole Foods or Earth Fare markets)
I too would love to hear from others with any suggestions for foods/drinks/exercises, etc to include or avoid!

Hope everybody has a good day ahead !

xoxo

[BlissfulCS]

SD- told you the u/s would be great! Yay!

Cindylou- tonight I will try to look back over the thread and find the page where Blair, Jenmink and I had a good lengthy discussion on fertility diets. Sounds like your ap is giving you good advice.

Welcome pumpkin.

AFM- tried yoga and made it about 10 minutes before freaking out... I'm waiting until after BFP when I know the embies are good and implanted. Not logical...but who says I have to be logical?

Off to WORK. Ugh!

[blairwh58]

SD- yeaaaa!!!! Congrats on seeing the yolk sac and fetal pole. I know how reassuring it is to finally see your little one in there. When do you have to go back for another US?

Bliss- Stinks that you are back to work. I know after I am on bedrest for a few days I always feel a little glad to be back, but also sad that Im not at home with me feet up anymore. This time we will be taking a trip to California to visit some friends towards the end of the 2ww. At first DH was hesitant that we should take a trip so soon after the transfer, but we decided we needed to go for it. Im sure Ill be nervous walking around a lot, but since I know we are going to bring home a baby after this cycle its all good. As soon as I have the transfer date Im switching my ticker over to pregnant lol- being optimistic.

cindylou-I think this will be a BFP for both of us this time!!!

wehavehope- I agree that I think its easiest on me if we keep everything around our cycle on the down low. No one knows taht this is our 4th IVF (with the exception of my mom, my sister, DH mom, and a friend). We ended up having to tell them after the miscarriage and D & C. The only one who actually knows the details of this cycle is my friend who went through 6 ivfs to get her little boy last october. The others just know we will be doing our 4th cycle at some point but dont know anything else.

AFM- The rest of my baby in a box are being shipped today. Even though I already had the follistim, i went ahead and had the antibiotics, steriods, valium, lovenox, PIO, and Viagra delivered today so they would be here when I needed them. Still makes me a little sick to think Im paying $8 for every Viagra suppository...but if it gets me my baby Im all for it.

[Pumpkin11]

Good morning ladies!

Wehavehope- I know what you mean about your mother. The only reason why we decided to tell my mom and sister is because my DH will be doing some travel during the cycle and he said he'd feel more comfortable if someone knew in case anything were to happen to me. So I told my mom last week and 2 days later she asked my if the embryo was already being developed. LOL you gotta love moms, they truly mean well. My wish for all of us going through our cycle this month is that we can share the news with others on mothers day this year. By then, our miscarriage rate will be significantly decreased.

SDtrying#2- thanks for the welcome and congrats! I'm sure that actually being able to see your peanut on US gives makes it all that much closer to reality. Again, congrats and take things easy don't overdo yourself these 1st weeks. It's all about the baht now!

Blissful- thanks for the welcome! I'm sure these wait days seem to move at a standstill. The wait is worth it. Sounds like you're feeling good. Are you still doing the anju meditations ( I think it was you that posted about that some weeks ago) if you have done them do you find them beneficial? Hope you continue to feel great and can't wait to share in your journey. Stay positive.

Cindylou- welcome to you too! I've always heard the bee pollen had medicinal properties but didn't know about helping with allergies. That sounds like a good alternative to conventional remedies especially when you want to be as healthy as possible for the baby. I too went to an acupuncturist some years ago during my 1st fertility run and I remember I used to take a supplement called super greens or 8 greens which had all the vegetables you need in a day. The taste was harsh for me because it had to be taken at room temperature. I think I'll have to stick to the real green veggies. I to would like to know about others successes and issues with food and exercise. I want to start an exercise regimen as I want to be as healthy as possible without gaining an enormous excess of weight. Sounds like you are doing well with the acupuncture and the greens, that's great!

Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!! Keep positive!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WeHaveHope]

Thank you all for being so supportive. I wanted to bring you all up to date. My husband and I have decides to jump right back in. I will begin Provera on Friday for 10 days. I am excited and nervous but ready to jump back in.

[crissylove]

Hi All,

I'd like to firstly congratulate SD n Trying for their great U/S's. Must be a huge relief to cross yet another milestone. It's somewhat unfair that we have so many we face on this journey unlike woman who conceive naturally. By the time most of them are even aware they're preggers we've already bitten 8 outta 10 of our fingernails down to the nub. Again, bravo!

Lyd-so happy u made it outta beta hell. Wishing u a great u/s.

Bliss n Fun-glad to see u guys are keeping it together as much as possible. Beta day will be here b4 u know it! Also keeping my F's X'd for Kyleen (hope e'things okay), sweet, and eclope.

Mamaboo- ur on deck! As someone else so eloquently stated. Good luck.

Blair-i know it feels good to have everything in front of you. Happy shooting.

Welcome all the new gang! Madi, way to make a splash. Congrats on ur BFP and I wish u a fantastic fist u/s too. Pumpkin-nice to have u with us.

And for everyone with upcoming FET's it's almost ur turn.

I'm really just hoping the best for everyone. I never knew I could become emotionally invested in a bunch of ppl I've never met, but it's hard not to be.

AFM this is my third week home from work. The OHSS really took it's toll, but I'm finally starting to feel myself. I'm anxiously awaiting my own milestone tmrw, and I know I won't be able to sleep tonight. Not that I have in over a week. I have to sleep on the couch sitting propped up to make sure the fluid doesn't move upward. Im hoping after tmrws u/s I'll finally be able to relax. U guys be well.