The Over 40 Crowd

[randa2006]

Hi All,
Finally finished with the surprise 40th b-day party and aftermath. Whew! Everything turned out great, but it was sooooo much fuss.
I've been reading and keeping up, just no time to post.
I hope scans and appointments go okay this week for those who have them.

Anna - so sorry that your cycle was cancelled. That really sucks!

My suppression check is today. Took last bc pill yesterday. I have 2 days w/out drugs then start Lupron for 2 days followed by the beginning of stimms. Getting close.

Reading all the info and emotions that we go through with a miscarriage and a BFN has really helped me to prepare myself (as much as one can) for potential failure. Thank you to those who have endured these hardships for sharing. I'm trying very hard to stay grounded. First time lucky is rare and I am trying to brace myself that we may be going multiple rounds before success.

Here's the list again:
BigJ (Jules) - BFP 9/12/05 praying every day,scan 17/01 (10 weeks)
Randa - EC Jan 31
Anna - appointment 24th Jan to discuss next step
Kat - Going to Spain 2nd March for testicular biopsy & then hope to start DE tmt again soon
Jen - meeting with consultant 27th Jan
Lisa - 20th Jan flight to Vegas to begin IVF cycle
Lara - planning IVF in Feb/March
Tammy- appointment 17th Jan to discuss next step

[AMck]

Hi Ladies
Lots of news today

Kat, which dr did you see? Didn't sound too helpful. I totally understand about going to appt all geared up then feeling miserable as I come out 'cos I haven't asked the right questions. Sometimes I think they believe we are mind readers! Glad to see you got things sorted in the end.

Lara, Jen, do you think I should be taking bc pills? I have never been offered them!

Jen, hope your dad is Ok

Bev, read your story, wow you've been through a lot. How strong you are.

Tammy and Jules, hope appts go well tomorrow.

Robyn, I've added you to the list, hope you don't mind. I like lists!! I can keep track of all that is happening!

BigJ (Jules) - BFP 9/12/05 praying every day,scan 17/01 (10 weeks)
Randa - EC Jan 31
Anna - appointment 24th Jan to discuss next step
Kat - Going to Spain 2nd March for testicular biopsy & then hope to start DE tmt again soon
Jen - meeting with consultant 27th Jan
Lisa - 20th Jan flight to Vegas to begin IVF cycle
Lara - planning IVF in Feb/March
Tammy- appointment 17th Jan to discuss next step
Caroline - natural FET in February (prob around 10th - current best guess)
Robyn - appointment Thursday 19th Jan
Bev- waiting for egg donor, considering abroad
Amfy - FET March/April

Sending positive vibes to all on this thread.


Bye for now
Anna x

[Jeni Babes]

Hi all..
thank you all for your support, on my dads heart op.
My dad is going from strength to strength and had now been moved to another ward. he had his 1st solid food today ( 2 spoons of corn flakes ) since last tuesday. He is still on o2 but improving.

Anna good to see your positive post...About the bc pills... i had heard helps reduce cysts!? (Maybe i am wrong here so if anyone thinks differantly please correct me!) you could ask at the clinic on the 24th!!! Thanks for doing the list

Randa- woohoo!!! it will soon be stimming time. Are you getting excited!!!
You never know what Mother nature will send your way, have HOPE and FAITH. It doesn't matter if its 1st or 10th IVF it helps to take it all 1 day at a time. It will be good to cheer you and Lisa on through stimms, EC and ET soon. Then Lara in February!!


Kat- what a day you have had! at least you know know that you don't need a d&c. And hopfully AF will be here in 10 days time ( i am due then too)

jane- I have no tubes (due to 2 ectopics)my FSH was 18 in July 2005 and my ivf tmt was cancelled . In Nov 2005 i did a short protocol ( also called cetrotide cycle) and managed to respond with 5 follies and 2 grade A eggs. both fertilised and i went to ET and then onto 2ww. Although the embies didn't stick i am still hopeful about another cycle. please don't give up. I hope you find out from the others about donor eggs or ask at the clinic about the short cycle for poor responders. good luck

Bev - my heart goes out to you and your family. you have had a stressful time of it...I hope you can get some support too as caring for someone adds so much stress to your life...hugs x x

Lara- what a heart breaking story about your poor friends Dad..goodness i sometimes wonder about the world we live in!

Robyn- I was told to wait a minimum of 3 mths before starting another tmt.

So now buddies am i off for a cup of refreshing herbal tea and to chill out in front of the telly...

take care everyone and big Hi to everone else
love jen
xxxxxx

[surreyjane]

Hello everyone, Well I have been sitting here for the past few hours and it has been like revising for an exam, I have been finding out about you all, I must admit to getting confused quite a bit, but I put that down to a combination of age and wine....So many stories and such sadness too, it's all so wrong, here's hoping we all have happy endings.

Bev, thankyou for your reply, you really are going through it , I really hope your poor dad is ok, he must be very shaken, I hope you are getting all the help you can. Did you name your dear little girl? we named our little boy Ryan. I hope that soon you will be able to have some calmer times and time for you to think about what next for you both.

Lara, thanks for info on clinics, and good luck with your own eggs, fingers crossed!!

Kat, what a time you have been having, you poor thing, lets hope these pills sort you out and AF comes soon so you can feel better about everything and concentrate on March, It's a big thing waiting for the first bleed after a miscarriage, I found it a sign that things were getting back to normal, a bitter sweet feeling!!!! Thank you for your pm re the clinics, I will try and mail back but as I said not to good with technology (can't even work the video, eek..)

Jen, I'm glad your dad is on the road to recovery, if he's anything like mine, they make terrible patients, my dad had a strangulated hernia on the same I lost Ryan and a few months later had his prostate done, my poor mum, I don't think she knew is she was coming or going. Where did you have your treatment for your short cycle? and do you have any frozen embies?

It seems that we have all been through so much, I hope you are all managing to have some happy days in amongst these awful times, I know mine are on the increase, I didn't think I would ever smile again after loosing Ryan in September, but you do, what a relief.

take care everyone and good luck for those pending EC, ET and the dreaded 2ww...
love Jane

[Jeni Babes]

Hi Jane

I was at the Royal Hospital in Glasgow for my short cycle...I was a poor responder and only had 5 follies on which only 2 were the correct size. Luckily both had good eggs, that fertilised, and were put back in. (so no frosties.) Sadly none took.
Awaiting consultant review on 27th Jan to see if they will let me go again. It's NHS as i lost both tubes with seperate ectopics in 2003 and 2004. Fingers crossed they will fund another cycle.

jane i was heartbroken to hear about Ryan. I was grief striken when i found out i had an ectopic at 10wks. you must have had such a terrible time cause your Dad was ill too. I am so glad that you are talking to us and sharing all your thoughts about trying again in the future....

I hope 2006 is a wonderful year for us all...

Love jen
xxxx

[BevT]

Hi,

He had sort of counselling, adapted to someone of his age.
Lara x

Hi Lara,

Thank you for your message of support re my dad and his situation. You said above that your friend's dad had counselling. Do you know what agencies were involved in his case? It sounds like the police were involved and that there were proceedings regarding the abuse, but were there any other agencies for example like the "battered wife refuge" alternative for the elderly? Although Social Services are involved, they do seem to have little to offer in the way of advice, other than to split them up so they're not living together and as my step-mother won't leave the home, it means that my dad has to leave. He keeps saying that he cannot stay away and that he is still her husband and should look after her.

Sorry girls to hi-jack the site with a totally unrelated topic, but I just wondered if Lara could point me in the right direction.

LOL Bev xxx

[Kat]

Hi

Jane - I pm'd you back - yours worked fine. Where are you planning to have treatment if you do it in the UK? Assume you are in Surrey because of your name - whereabouts are you?

Anna - it was a doctor called Moulod (I think similar nationality to Ebtisam) and he really could do with a wash. Perhaps he had just had a stressful day, poor man, I shouldn't write him off like that!
Re the bc pills - from what Nurse Julie said to me yesterday I think it is the onset of AF which is regulated by the pills that gets rid of the cyst not the actual pills themselves but I may be wrong. I was never offered them until the treatment in Spain when I had them to get my cycle in line with the donor.

Hope everyone else is OK, Tammy hope your appt was helfpul and Jules - hope your scan was good, I'll go and have a look on the other side for some news but you make sure you keep us posted too!

Next up for an appt - Robyn on Thurs - good luck to you too.

Lots of love
Kat xx

[teachertam]

Hello Girls:

My appointment today went as well as could be expected. Of course the doctors did not know what went wrong with IVF #1. My progesterone level and lining thickness were fine. Both doctors were alright with proceeding with IVF #2, since we had 2 embryos that made it to blast. My RE agreed to perform a "Saline Infusion Sonography" on me at the beginning of my next cycle, at my request. I still have a question regarding polyps or fibroids, since we did not test for these prior to the IVF. Has anyone had this test before? It sounds like they fill your uterus with saline solution and do a vaginal ultrasound. My good friend, who is 1 month older than me, had polyps removed and got pregnant on 1 cycle of Repronex. She is 5 months pregnant now.

Of course, our odds of success are only 10 - 20% due to my advanced fertilty age. DH and I talked and I believe that we are going to proceed with IVF #2 on my next cycle. My RE said that we only have to sit out one cycle and I'm doing that now. Stimming should start around 2/01 or so. My DH wanted to entertain the donor egg option, but I want to try with my own eggs. I think he is looking at the odds.....................10 - 20% success rate using my eggs or 50% success rate if we use donor eggs. We decided that we can only justify one more IVF, due to the outrageous cost. We still want to be able to adopt a baby from china, if we are not successful with IVF #2 and that will cost $$$.
I found out from my RE that DH and I are TOO OLD to adopt in the US . I was unaware of this. Good thing we want to adopt from China, if it comes to that.

Kat: The birth control pills were always presribed for me to get rid of cysts. They have always worked. After I have 1 cycle of drugs, I always have residual cysts and have to take the BC pills. I think it is more than just the AF getting rid of the cysts.

Jules: I hope you had a good scan today

Lisa: Good luck with your ET on 1/19 !

Girls: Sorry I did not get to address everyone separately, but I'm a little swamped right now. I have been keeping up on the posts, some which have been heart wrenching. Some of you have gone through so much. I have to admit that having my IVF friends, really helps me to get though this insanity ! NO ONE UNDERSTANDS, UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH IT.

Take care all!
Tammy

[surreyjane]

Hi everyone, hope you're all ok, just a quickie to Kat to let you know I have pm you, hope it gets through, it's still a bit hit and miss with me and computers.

Jane

[AMck]

Hi Ladies! Here's our list again

BigJ (Jules) - BFP 9/12/05 praying every day,scan 17/01 (10 weeks)
Randa - EC Jan 31
Anna - appointment 24th Jan to discuss next step
Kat - Going to Spain 2nd March for testicular biopsy & then hope to start DE tmt again soon
Jen - meeting with consultant 27th Jan
Lisa - 20th Jan flight to Vegas to begin IVF cycle
Lara - planning IVF in Feb/March
Tammy- IVF cycle 2 Feb 06
Caroline - natural FET in February (prob around 10th - current best guess)
Robyn - appointment Thursday 19th Jan
Bev- waiting for egg donor, considering abroad
Amfy - FET March/April

Jen, what type of herbal tea do you drink? I have tried so many 'cos everyone says that they are good for you. I can't get used to any of them. I think they taste awful. Any you would recommend?

Hi to Jane, do we need to add you to the list? What stage of tmt are you at?

Kat I have never heard of the dr you mentioned. How many different drs are there at QM? Sometimes I really do feel just like a number on their list. No sense of empathy or aware of how we might feel when they tell us bad news! I took a sneeky look at my notes last time I was there. They were very accurate.ie Anna got upset and was comforted by nurse. ...Anna upset today and needed time to calm down!!!!!

Tammy, glad your appt went well. Good luck with your tmt. I know exactly what you mean about nobody understanding what is going on except those who have been through it. Thank goodness for this site!

Robyn good luck with your appt tomorrow. Hope all goes well.

Sending PMA to all
Bye for now
Anna x

[randa2006]

Oh my gosh! Am I counting right? Looks like we have 12 over-40 ladies on our list at the moment! And if Jane joins that would be 13!
How wonderful that we all have each other!

Have to keep this quick bc my computer keeps crashing.

My suppression check resulted in a mix up that was worked out (thought my lining was too thick). However, my EC date has been bumped one day as a result. Could have been worse.

So now ec is Feb 1. Counted 4 follies on one ovary and 3 on the other, but waaaaay too early to rely on anything. No cysts and no sign of those pesty polyps! woo hoo! as I've had both before and was sweating that.

Start Lupron tomorrow and stimms on Sat! (everything moved out 1 day)

[teachertam]

Hello Ladies:

Randa: Glad to hear things are going well with your cycle. I am always nervous, during my first visit to the doctor after starting the stimming. My doctor does not use the Lupron, but starts right with the stimming. I believe that we are going to use the same protocol this time.

Robyn: Good luck on your appt. tomorrow.

Lisa: Good luck with your cycle in Vegas.

Next week we have Anna and Jen's appointments.

Lara/Caroline: I wonder if we will be on the same IVF schedule? I'm estimating that I will be doing EC and ET the week of February 13th, of course, that is assuming that no polyps are discovered during the SIS test.

Take care all !
Tammy

[robyn]

Hi
Well I had my appointment to discuss my next step since the BFN on my first cycle. First they said I should wait one to two cycles before stimming. I will probably have another go in March. I don't know when because my periods aren't always regular. I will be travelling in Feb so DH and I will wait until March and still try naturally. Even though the egg they transferred was a high quality they explained it could have had chromosomal irregularities and that could be a possibility it didn't implant.

I was dissappointed because at the EC we only got one follicle with one egg. We will try a slightly different protocol this time around. The Dr.'s also explained that the short protocol is rec becasue they feel they will get more follicles. So I will be up to three injections a day no clomid.
I will use puregon 400u Merional 150u and from day 5 orgalutran and hope for the best. If we don't see many follies i will either cancel or change to IUI. It is alot for me to go through for one egg when my chances are slim to begin with. I am really hoping for three follies so that I can increase my chances for implantation.

Jules

I hope u are doing well! Congrats. It is moe results like yours that keeps me going!

Randa- Hope they are able to collect many. But is sin't alsways quantity. (that's what I have to keep reminding myself)

Anna good luck with your next step

Kat- Hope Spain is sucessful in that biopsy is cear! i'm not sure what DE is.

Jen GL with the cons on the 27th

Lisa-Vegas sounds good, I wish you the best!

And to all the rest I hope you are successful! Again I will start IVF again on my March cycle somewhere mid March (hopefully)

Those of you on a long protocol do you know the difference? benefits? etc???

Thanks
Robyn

[surreyjane]

Hi Girls, I use the term girls, the first time I was referred to as a lady it made me feel really old, eeek.
Anna, I may be joining you and Kat in Spain for donor eggs, I am going over on Tuesday to have an appointment and hopefully decide what to do, so I may yet get added to the list....

Tammy, don't quote me but it sounds a bit like an aqua scan, I had one before my last IVF due to fibroids to see if it would have an effect on implantaion, they do put fluid it and scan at the same time to see if its in the way, it wasn't too bad, a bit uncomfortable, crickey the things we go through hey!!

I hope I am not an unlucky 13 to us mature gals.
Take care
Jane

[Kat]

Blimey Jane - that was quick work!! Which clinic are you going to?

Robyn - did you come away from your appt feeling more positive? I had both long and short protocols and preferred short but I think only because it all moved along faster, don't remember any differences in the way I felt generally. (DE is donor eggs by the way)

Lisa - good luck in Vegas (you're probably on your way right now)

Hi to everyone else too

I have mild af pains coming on & off - - those pills must be doing their stuff...

Love to all
Kat xx