Aussies and Kiwis!

[BelB]

HI all,
This is my second attempt to send this message, has been a hectic day in sunny Brisbane!..Annie and I arrived back from Sydney yesterday, the flight back was just AWFUL, Annie is getting her top two teeth and is certainly not her happy normal self. She cried about half of the journey and the rest of the times was very unsettled. As soon as we got off though so smiled and laughed at her dad (making me look like a complete liar when I told him how hard the trip was!!)..Is lovely to be home though, there really is no place like it!!

Debra, lovely for you to drop in, drop in anytime!!!..Tasmania is a cold place, Johnie and I are fantastizing at the moment about moving down and buying a renovated church to live in - we saw it advertised in the weekend Australian newspaper..the cold weather is a complete turn off for us though!!!

Josie, I also had sore breasts and nipples, though I used to engage in a bit of boob bashing - checking them constantly to see if they were sore..I had read that this was a very typical first sign of pregnancy and I was keen to keep an eye on proceedings...the things we do!?!?!

Donna, so lovely to hear from you, we have loved chatting to your mum and keeping in touch with your happenings..I, like Josie, have definately had breast / nipple signs associated with my pregnancies..I would take this as a good sign..I have everything crossed for you!!!..please keep in touch and let us know how you go on Wednesday!!

Deanne, how did your scan go today??, are you going for egg collection on Wednesday????

Hi to everyone, Heather, what are you up to in sunny Rocky??, is it feeling like winter up there yet??
Belinda

[Deanne]

Hi girls,

Jo, congrats on the ET - how exciting this is! Hope you're feeling great and that all is going well.

Belinda, glad you got home safe but sorry to hear Annie didn't enjoy the flight. I'm sure it was almost worse for you than her though!

Heather, I was just thinking that it's officially June in two days, so not long for you to wait for your next cycle now. Any idea yet whether it will be in June or July?

I had my scan and bloods this morning and just got the call from the clinic. My blood level is 6,659 which is apparently good but I don't really know why - anyone?!?

They're happy with my follies at this stage, so my EC will be on Wednesday (1/6). I've got 6 large follies on my right ovary, with a further 9 small ones. My left ovary didn't respond as well (probably because of the big, pre-existing endometrioma), but I do have 2 large follies on that ovary, making a total of around 8. So hopefully from those there'll be at least a couple of decent eggs.

My sweet DH is getting a little bit nervous about his side of things now. Last year, out of three SP tests, two were on the low-ish side and one (the most recent) was ok. So there's a chance that we'll need ICSI, depending on the quality of the SP on Wednesday. I'm just reminding him that he's done everything he can lifestyle and nutrition wise, so fingers crossed we'll be fine either way.

Anyway, I'm sending lots of good wishes to you all. Best of luck to Donna for her test on Wed.

Cheers
Deanne

[hlloyd]

Yay Deanne. That is great news. The test measures your Estradiol levels which should be between 200-600 per mature follicle so your results indicate that there are plenty. No need to worry. Good luck for Wednesday. I am sure everything will go well for both you and DH. Can't wait to hear the results.

Thanks for asking about my treatment, it is still an eternity away. I have started BCP but will be downregging for about 5 weeks. EC is scheduled for 13 July. I am going to pick up a new batch of drugs on Wednesday so maybe that will spark me up a bit!

Belinda, sorry to hear that you trip home wasn't so pleasant. I always feel sorry for parents on planes, there is not much you can do to make a teething baby happy! I hope Annie has settled now. You are right, it is nice going away but also nice coming home. Winter has definitely hit Central Queensland. I have my fluffy slippers out and the heater on. I lived in Canberra for most of my life and still find the winters here really cold. I think it is because the houses here are built for the heat and not the cold. We live in an old queenslander which was a novelty when we bought it.....not so cute in winter! Having said that, nothing would entice me to visit my family in Canberra between April and November!

How are you feeling Jo. Hope you have recovered and are happy and healthy.

Best wishes to all for a great week.

Heather

[Deanne]

Hi Heather,

Thanks for shedding light on that blood test result for me!

I hope the next few weeks pass quickly for you. Don't you find that once you start the drugs the days do go by faster than you think? Today my scan was done by the nurse who gave me my first lot of meds, and she couldn't believe that it was already more than 3 weeks since she'd first seen me.

My Mum lives in Canberra and the number of trips we make down there definitely drops in the winter months. Although, her house has lovely central and underfloor heating so it's often warmer than ours. We've got heating but our house is split level and open plan, and I feel guilty turning it on too often. Will be giving in soon though.

Bye for now,
Deanne

[BelB]

Hiya,
Deanne, your scans and levels sound great!!, sounds like egg collection for Wednesday will yield a good result!..Don't stress re. ICSI, lots of the girls on this site have had it, it seems to be associated with really great outcomes and high fertilisation rates, so I say its a positive move..

Heather, know what you mean about cute Qld type houses, we lived in a 120 year old two storey manse for two years when we were first married, it was just beautiful, high ceilings, polished floors etc etc, but FREEZING in winter and no way of heating it effectively..W're now in a federation brick place that is a much younger 60 years old with ducted air con and heating..is bliss!!!

Hi to all!!, Donna, am thinking positively for your test tomorrow..please let us know how it all goes!
Belinda

[hlloyd]

How exciting....Wednesday is a big day down under!

Barbara, just wanted to add my best wishes for Donna for tomorrow. I sincerely hope she gets the positive result that she deserves. Good luck.

Deanne, also sending some positive vibes your way for your EC tomorrow. I am sure that everything will go really well and that you will get a bumper crop!

Fingers and other bits crossed for both Deanne and Donna. Can't wait to hear the news from both of you.

Hope everyone else is well.

Best wishes
Heather

[DonDaz]

Hi girls, (and guys)

I just spoke to Donna as she got off the phone from her doctor. Her test today was positive, but not a high enough number (????) She has to have another blood test first thing on monday morning so fingers and everything else crossed ! ! ! !

Look forward to hearing about you all.
lots of PMA
Barbara

[hlloyd]

Barbara...congratulations to Donna and Grandma on the positive result. I will also keep everything crossed that the numbers increase before the next test. Hang in there.

Best Wishes
Heather

[hlloyd]

Deanne

How did the EC go? Can't wait til you are feeling well enough to post your results.....I hope everything went well and you have lots of lovely little eggs. Try and stay calm over the next couple of days (much easier said than done) and I will send tonnes of positive vibes for lots of healthy embies.

Best wishes
Heather

[BelB]

Barbara,
That sounds positive..I know a couple of girls on this site have had this result, so it much be a bit common..They have had to go for further testing in a couple of days time and hope and pray that the numbers increase..I will keep everything crossed for her and for you..

Deanne, get us out of our misery..how did eg collection go??????

Belinda

[missmolly]

Hi everyone,

I have not posted for a while, because I have just finished 7 days straight at work & have been exhausted!!!!! My period finally arrived on Sunday, so hopefully ET should be in a couple of weeks - I can't wait!!!!!!

BelB: Sorry to hear about you dreadful flight. I used to be a flight attendant, so I can totally understand. I used to feel so sorry for parents with little ones. I hope the rest of the trip was fantastic.

Donna: I hope everything stays positive for you - I have everything crossed for you.

Josie: Well done on the ET - its such a nice, emotional experience. Hang in there, it will be test time before you know it!!!!! Waiting sucks though.

Heather: I know what you mean that by actually picking up the drugs will make it all seem more real. I felt much better when I went in to pick up my clearplan kit & got all of my instructions - I hate not having anything 'IVF' to do!!! You will be into your treatment againg before you know it - how exciting.

I start testing with the clearplan on the 8th June, so we will be looking at a mid June ET. If this cycle in not successful, I have to go and see a hematologist & maybe go on blood thinning injections (during my infertility investigations I went to see a hematologist as I have mild lupus. He did every blood test under the sun, and discovered that the lupus was inactive, but discovered a totally new problem!!!! I have a genetic mutation of my prothrombin gene, which means I am at a risk of blood clots. He said if I had two failed IVF cycles, I would need to go on medication. Yippee, more injections)

It is getting really cold here in drizzly Melbourne. Winter is with us now! I have a couple of days off now, so I plan on doing nothing. I have hurt my shoulder and arm - I was walking a patient to the toilet and he decided he did not want to walk anymore, and his legs gave way! In an attempt to get him safely on the floor, I hurt my arm and shoulder. I am going to work during my 2ww this time around, but will try to avoid all lifting.

Have a lovely day
Missmolly

[Deanne]

Hi girls,

Barbara, that does sound promising for Donna and I really hope that a +ve is confirmed next week.

I haven't got very good news I'm afraid. Although the EC seemed to go well yesterday - we got 11 eggs - the clinic just rang and only one has fertilised. Two were developing abnormally and the majority didn't fertilise at all. When I woke up this morning I just felt that it wasn't going to be good news. I haven't been able to reach DH yet and know he's going to be disappointed.

I know it only takes one embie, and I will try and stay positive, but it's really not looking hopeful for us this time around. Our Dr's going to do the transfer tomorrow (as there's probably little likelihood a single embie would reach blastocyst stage). I just hope this little one can even hang on until tomorrow - it'll be so heartbeaking to not even make it to transfer stage.

My Mum, Dad and brother are coming to stay with us tomorrow (a previously planned trip) and I'm so glad as I think we're going to need some comforting and distraction this weekend. They know about the treatment and have been really supportive.

Well, I've stopped crying now so even just writing to you has been helpful!! It's so good to be able to share this with people who know what this rollercoaster feels like.

Anyway, I'm going to give my puppy a cuddle and get stuck into my novel.

Take care everyone,
Deanne

[missmolly]

Deanne - I am so sorry to hear about your disappointing result. Its true though - it only takes one. Give that puppy hugs all day long, it will help make you feel better. Just think, you are still going for a ET, so you have every chance of falling pregnant. Good luck for the ET, I will be thinking of you.

Missmolly

[hlloyd]

Oh Deanne, I am sorry to hear that everything didn't go as planned. It is true that it only takes one embie but I can still understand your disappointment. I think that crying helps to relieve all the stress that comes with this process....so cry away. Cuddling the puppy is a great comfort too...they always seem to sense when you are feeling blue and do things to make you laugh.

We also had problems with fertilisation and were grateful that IVF was able to provide some answers that other testing had not.

I hope your little embie thrives until ET day and that everything just falls into place from there. Good luck and take care of yourselves.

Hugs
Heather

[hlloyd]

MissMolly

Glad to hear you are finally getting a break after 7 days straight....eek. Too bad about your shoulder and arm, take care of yourself and try not to do anything active until your injuries have healed. Nurses have a huge risk of injury don't they...lugging people around can't be easy.

Great news about the FET...not long to go now. You are right about needing something to do, only a few more days until you can use your clearplan kit and begin to feel like it is all happening again.

I did pick up my drugs yesterday and feel a bit disappointed that they have changed me to Gonal-F. Don't really care about the drug but the applicators are different and seem a bit complex...I wasn't really paying attention when the nurse was telling me how to use them as I was distracted by a bloke running around the clinic with a ladder who kept butting in. I am sure I will work it out....they come with a 17 page instruction booklet!!

Relax and get well.
Heather