AUG/SEPT BUDDIES!

[valerie68]

Good evening ladies,
Well, I went for AP today and found out that she's leaving for China next Saturday and will be gone for 3 weeks and be back on Aug 2! I was shocked and it totally threw me off! I was and still am a bit upset about it...She suggested that she will talk to another acupuncturist and see if we can make arrangements so I can see her in the meantime. My AP has taught her a lot and feels confident that she'll do a good job.
DH saw right away that something was wrong when I came home, maybe it's upsetting me more than I realize. I just have to reprogram my plan in my mind and make the best of it!
It has done so much for me that I don't want to stop for 3 weeks! I'll find out Monday if this will work out.

jharris: I think AF can be a little unpredictable after all the meds we injected. I was late one day...hopefully, AF will visit you tomorrow.
I know it's not set in stone, but it looks like you'll be with us. I would not want to risk an ectopic and perhaps damaging you, but that's something you have to weigh.

Babycrazy: Those jams sound really good. My mango jam turned out great...I'll have to make more. We used to make rhubarb jam in Belgium too, I loved it!
I can't wait to go back to my clinic as well, maybe because it would feel like I'm going somewhere. I feel good there too, relaxed and ready to joke with the nurses!
I'm glad the andeomyosis does not affect your pregnancy, that's a huge relief and once the baby will be born, it'll go away...Great!

I had a question for all of you. Since the chemical, I have not had sore boobs at all, not even around the time of my period! Do you girls experience that as well? I almost can't wait to go back on bcp so they can be big..GER and sore. I'm not well endowed at all and bcp do help in that department. Right now I feel deflated again

Where I was working today, they have laying hens and I saw a bag of chicken feed in the garage that said: MORE EGGS. I thought: Perfect!!! If I eat some of that every morning with soy milk (kind of like oatmeal), it should give me more eggs at the time of retrieval! What you you think? Might improve the quality as well. And no doubt it's a lot cheaper and healthier than the drugs we inject!

I wish you all a wonderful and safe 4th of July !!

Catch you later..

Val

[valerie68]

bell02: I didn't see your post while I was writing. Welcome to our group and I'm very sorry that the first time did not work out for you.
Don't you worry! For the most part we are second timers and we just know we are going to have BFPs left and right and up and down this board.
Like so many of us, just waiting for AF to arrive. Who knew we'd be looking soooo forward to that! I hope it comes soon for you!

Val

[karenvancouverisland]

hi all,
well i heard back from my friend (by email), it was short and vague..and it feels like a friendship is gone.. i'm sad, and it's weird- i was so reluctant to talk to her before, as it hurts to talk to pregnant people (non fertility-challenged ones). but now it hurts that i myself lost a pregnancy, and i'm hit in the face tonight with the realization that i've been losing friends too! i've distanced myself from not only her, but others too. and her and i were tight; i've laughed alot with her and considered her a real, heartfelt friend. this all just SUCKS. all this infertility crap and how it's affected me. i feel like crying again. i just never imagined this was going to happen to my life. and am i going to lose my chance to have my own baby, or lose my whole life- friends, sanity, ... i don't know what's going on in my head all of a sudden. i have times like this when i go from normal to losing my marbles in about 5 seconds..

and baby crazy- i totally relate- i could camp out at the fertility clinic. i feel so happy and hopeful there (most times).. i don't want to leave. i think it's reflective of the absolute desperation i feel.. like maybe if i hang out there, some small extra thing will happen that will definately make me pregnant this time. (again, sometimes i think i'm nuts!).

thanks for hearing me ladies. it helps to blather somewhere that i don't feel judged and it helps so much to hear the struggles and goings-on of others on the same journey. lots of love, karen

[karenvancouverisland]

hi again, just wanted to say welcome Bell- nice to have more company here..i'm doing another ivf in september so i won't' be too far behind you and there is great support in this group, so glad to have you join us.

valerie- sorry to hear about your AP, sounds like a bad surprise and i can imagine how lousy that feels for you i hope things work out with the sub AP. and i'll take some of that chicken feed too! also looking forward to bigger bbs in the future

jharris- hope AF arrives soon; i'm not sure about cycle lengths after ivf- my last one was 'normal'.. myself i'm wondering about when to expect AF after a m/c.. dr. says 4-6 weeks, and i'm 4 wks + right now.

all the best, good night ladies

[Kate21]

Hi Girls,

Just a quick one as I have to go and teach in a few minutes!!

Valerie - in response to your question about sore boobs. I always used to get them just before AF but as soon as I started having AP they stopped, think it is something to do with the balancing of our hormones.

Karen - after my m/c my first AF afterwards was on time but the ones after that were totally off - I was always a 29/30 day girl and they went up to about 38 days. Kind of freaked me out but after about 4mths they sorted themselves out again - think it just takes our body a while to get back to normal.

Hi to everyone else - hope you are all ok. Hi to Bell - welcome to the thread!

Kate

[JDC]

Valerie: What a shocker with your AP leaving....it will be okay though. Thank goodness she was able to recommend somebody to continue with. I would not want to disrupt whatever pattern of treatment you have going on...... I've really been feeling the benefits of AP myself. I really hope it works out with the new AP! Hey, can you send me some of that chicken feed? I REALLY need MORE EGGS!

jharris: I don't know about ivf screwing up AF, but I can say sometimes it can be unpredictable....I've always been on a 26day cycle. A few months prior to even starting ivf I had a 35 day cycle! My obgyn said it was nothing to worry about and once in a great while it can just happen. I was hoping I was pregnant that time because I still had my tubes then, but of course I wasn't. I hope AF comes very soon for you so you can move onto the next step towards a BFP!

bell-02 Welcome! I'm so sorry your first ivf cycle did not work out. We are here to support you. I'm also a second timer as a lot of us are on this thread. Take some time and be very kind to yourself. For me it was a devastating loss when my first cycle was cancelled. It took a few weeks before I started feeling like a human being again because I was very depressed. But now I am full of hope for my next cycle and you will be too!

karen: Your feelings are totally understandable. You have been through a lot and I'm sure the pain is deep. I hope you don't lose your friend. But I guess sometimes in life these things do happen even without infertility and our struggles. Most important, please do not isolate yourself because you need all the support and love you can get! We are always here for you! Sending you big hugs......

babycrazy I wish I could relate about loving my clinic. I do love it in a certain way, but everytime I go there i feel a nervous wreck. I think it is because I always get bad news! My clinic is really big and sometimes during morning monitoring there will be like 40 women in the waiting room. But they really do have it down to a science because I've never felt neglected or questioned the job they are doing.

kate21 and babyloves Hope all is well and have a wonderful holiday weekend.

As for myself, I'm doing okay. It is early morning as I write, and unfortunately it is pouring rain outside. Hopefully it won't last because I'm going to the fireworks tonight at NY harbor.

Oh, I wanted to comment on the breast tenderness....I think AP really does help with that. Although during my last AF I still had tenderness, I had NO cramps for the first time in my life. My ap asked about the breast tenderness though, and it does come down to hormone imbalances.

Until later my friends.........

[jharris12]

Good morning ladies!! Happy Independence Day!!! A day off work! Yay!! I hope you all get an extended vacation as well. I know some of you aren't in the US, but hope you have a wonderful weekend as well!

JDC: Thanks for the AF info. I'm sure a BFP would have been my thoughts after a long cycle like that. I would be okay with AF waiting until tomorrow, after the 4th celebration! I am so ready to get started again. Enjoy the rain for me. We hardly ever get rain anymore. We are still under drought condition.

kate21: What do you teach? I have always envied the patience teachers muct have!

karen: I am so sorry to hear about your friends disappointing note. What did she say that makes you believe the friendship is over? Keep in mind that it can sometimes be hard to tell the way a person feels from email. Words can come across the wrong way. Don't give up on the friendship if it was truly a close relationship. Just remember you are both on an emotional roller coaster right now, you with IVF, her with being pregnant. I feel you will work it out. Feel free to blather to us anytime, we are here for you! Good luck.

valerie: I can't believe your APist didn't tell you sooner! She knows what you are going through and knows that you need AP through those 2 wks. Hopefully the sub-AP will help you just as much in those 3 wks. And I'm with you, taking all the hormones helped my boobs, too. My mom had even asked if I had gotten a boob job during my last IVF (she didn't know we were doing IVF, no one did, so she didn't know why they would be bigger! ) That chicken feed sonunds great! They should sell it at infertility clinics!

bell: Welcome to the group. We would love for you to join us. SEveral of us are 2nd timers. I think only one other is doing FET. But we are here for you, and this is a wonderful group of supporting women. Good luck!

To the rest of you ladies, hope you are moving along.

So AF still hasn't arrived, but I'm starting to feel crampy, so I should start today or tomorrow. I tried to get my DH to help me push it along last night. Hopefully that worked! Plus, yesterday I was a little hormonal anyway. I went to Target and passed the baby section and my heart sunk. All I could think was that my first cycle should have worked and I could be shopping in that esction preparing for the little ones arrival. So I'm sure AF is coming soon! I am going to my brother's today for a July 4th cookout/party. His wife is pregnant, due in Oct. My sis has a baby almost 1, and there will be several other babies there. At least it will feel good to be around babies until I have another of my own.

Enjoy you day, and be safe.

[Rinnie]

Hey Girls Happy 4th!!!

I'm up visiting my family in Canada so no fireworks today. It's so beautiful though...clean air & mountains!!
I'm a little nervous about my meditation space but hopefully they'll do a good job while I'm gone. I'm going to need it

JHarris Wow...I can't imagine losing DH. Of course you want to have another child now that you have somebody else you love. I think whenever there's a lot of uncertainty about which way to go because you're close to the cut off line you should go the more radical route. It just ups the odds, so I'm glad you're doing IVF & that's settled. Now, take a breath and meditate & know that everything is going as planned

Val I think I need some of that feed!!! But I can't have jam....cutting down on the sugar. Sounds so yummy...that rhubarb sounded good toobabycrazy Ahhh...I can dream:) I'm so glad you're feeling good Val ! Can't believe about your AP..how frustrating.


Babyloves Welcome! A lot of us are doing AP here...it's amazing!!! I'm going the herbs too...really helped the quality of my eggs last time.

Karen It's totally understandable what you're going through. We pull back to protect ourselves....this is all so stressful & we don't need the drama. It feels like a holding pattern I know, but stay positive and know that things will all work out.

Bell Welcome!

Well...I won't be posting a lot for the next week, but will try to keep up.
Gotta go deal with my little nieces...they're sooo cute, but it's sooo hard.

Rin xo

[SueQiwi]

I hope you all are having a super holiday over there in America! It is wintertime here and has been raining all weekend--HAILED yesterday! I can see snow on the mountains across Cook Strait. burrrrr!

Val~I feel for you with your AP leaving unexpectedly. She should have given you more warning! And I know from your posts that you are the type of person who likes to know the plan in advance. Hang in there--here's hoping that the substitute AP will be just as good.

BabyCrazy~I only wished I loved going to my clinic! JDC~Im with you--that place stresses me out. I think because of all the disappointment surrounding those visits so far. And I dread the wanding! Anyplace I have to drop my pants upon entering a room is not on my list of favourites! I think that is why I enjoy my AP appointments so much more. It is so much more soothing--and I get to keep my cloths on for once!

Karen~Please dont beat yourself up over your friend's brief response. Or your up and down feelings and not wanting to socialize. You are doing the best you can during a tough time. Be good to yourself--it's ok to have these crazy feelings.

I started taking my herbs and they taste yucky! But I'll do anything for more/better eggs. (maybe that chicken feed is a bit tastier than my herb concoction!? ) My accupunturist got me a little worried as she told me I should have gone to a TMC doctor and not a Natreopath for the herbs. But I just could not get an appointment with the TMC Dr she reccomended--they were fully booked until August! I just figured herbs are herbs--but alas she tells me otherwise. TMC doctors must study for four years and use only top-quality herbs whereas an herbalist does not have regulated credentials and can use any source for herbs. I am going to bring in my herbs to show my AP just to be sure they are ok.

[turtlesonastump]

Hey everyone, I would like to join your board. I just got a BFN from my first IVF cycle. I know many of you from previous boards. I have a lot of catching up to do as you ladies already have 11 pages!!

A little about me, this will be my second go at IVF/ICSI. I have scarring issues with my tubes and had the left one removed 1 1/2 years ago. I started IVF in Feb. and was one week on Lupron and had an ectopic that took my right tube. I attempted to start again in May, but was a poor responder. I finally finished an IVF round in June and of the 6 eggs retrieved only 2 were good enough for transfer. Unfortunately, it was a negative. So now I am waiting for AF to start BCP's. If it arrives soon, then it is a go for ER around Aug. 18th.

So I am looking forward to another round. I will be trying AP this time around. I called to make an appointment but have not heard back from them. I did email them and they said they have had 12 successful IVF patients. They charge $45 a session with the first session being $70. Does that sound like a good price to you? I don't know anything about AP. How long do sessions last and how often should I go? Thanks everyone!!

[JDC]

turtles: I'm sorry about your BFN. I do remember you from the May/June thread...this is my second cycle and I only had 3 follicles for my first also, but we decided to go ahead but never made it to transfer. This time we will also do icsi. About the AP - I have been doing ap and herbs for the past month myself, and I've already experienced some unexpected benefits - I would definitely recommend it to you. The price you got sounds very good actually. For my ap it cost 185 for the consult, then 75 per session. Good luck to you, and I'm glad you joined us!

[karenvancouverisland]

hi veronica! nice to have you join us. i wasn't on the threads before, but now i'm a full-on poster. the price you quoted for AP is what i've experienced as standard here in west coast canada.. i'm also an ivf/icsi gal..we're doing our 3rd try this sept. our first was cancelled early due to poor response- i was shocked and devastated. our second was end of march and although i responded poorly (only 2 big follies) we went to ER and got pregnant (freaking amazing!). then we miscarried at 12 weeks, but it had likely died at 8 weeks. anyways, that's a bit about me. sounds like we have similar experiences.

to the rest of the ladies- thanks for you kind thoughts when i was down last night.. i've re-read the email from my friend multiple times, and you guys are right- don't read too much into emails!! they are hard to interpret. it just felt yucky that it was so brief and seemed emotionless. oh well, i'm not going to dwell on it. on the other hand, i had an AMAZING moment today that felt like a GOOD SIGN. the other night i went kayaking with a group from work, and we saw 3 white doves perched in a tree, in my experience this is rare in our area (lots of eagles..but i've never seen a white dove before).. they were very beautiful and touched my heart. then today, right outside our kitchen window- there were 2 white doves!! i couldn't believe it.. it just struck me that it's a good sign. it felt like they were bringing us a gift. they hung out for about 1/2 hr, and me and DH just watched them.

wishing everyone else good cheer and look for those good omen's that are around us all. karen

[Rinnie]

Hey Turtles Welcome! Enjoy reading all about Val's cooking...I'm can't read her posts when I'm hungry Well, you already know I'm a huge AP & herbs fan. My egg quality was way up after 3 months doing it. That price sounds really good. Mine's double that. Listen, if you're going again immediately you won't get the optimum improvement on your eggs, as it takes about 3 months but every little bit helps. I do twice a week & the nasty herbs every day. It'll really help for the lining and implantation too.
I'm glad you're over here, I know it's been a long road with the cancellation.
Stay positive...it'll happen!!

Sue Yucky is putting it mildly Find out what they are too...you can look them up in the TCM books & make sure you're on track. I've heard good things about natropaths but it all depends on the person.

Rin xo

[valerie68]

First of all, welcome Turtles !! I was pulling so much for you on your last cycle and was really sad that it was negative.
As I told you on the other thread, it will be good to start AP as soon as you can and the price you got sounds very reasonable. Ask the AP how much experience they have with infertility ( not how many years but how much practice they have in hours, how often do they do it? ). The first session last about 1 1/2 hrs and the subsequent ones about one hour. If you can go twice a week for at least two month prior to treatment, it think that's already good but it all depends on your budget.
Take your time to recuperate and then get started. We'll be here by your side cheering you on !

Sorry I have been MIA but I had a girlfriend in town that I had not seen in 9 years and we spent Sat. together from 8 am till midnight ! It was wonderful!! So much catching up to do and still not enough time!
And this morning, I had a bunch of friends over for what we call ' Breakfast At Wimbledon' as we are huge tennis fans and we witnessed THE best tennis game I've ever seen in my life! Something I will never forget and to share it with my friends was that much more fun!

Karen: Loved your story about the doves! That so cute and seems like a beautiful sign of great things coming! I also look for signs like that..it gives me hope, it makes me dream...I look in numbers and what they represent in my life and the coincidence of them matching. It happens more often than not.

Jharris: Is AF finally here for you? Have you started BCPs? You're late and I'm early!
I started spotting today but very very lightly and cannot be considered the first day yet. I'm about 2/3 days ahead of schedule. I'll have to see if it starts tomorrow.

You all make me feel better about not having sore boobs and see it as a good sign. Still not sore this month with AF trying to decide whether to come or not...just very slight cramping for 1/2hr but that's all so far and that very light spotting.
It looks like I will be starting BCPs ahead of schedule. I have to contact my nurse tomorrow and go in for BW and I hope to see my FSH # a bit lower. It will be interesting to see!

Hoping: you should be starting your stims real soon! Are you excited?
Babyloves: Have you started stims as well? Still waiting for AF?
I can't wait to cheer somebody on and see our first BFPs

Coco, jharris, Rinnie, Sueqiwi, JDC, Kate, Babycrazy and Bell~ hope allis well and that you all had a fabulous weekend! Let us know how you are doing.

Watching tennis today made me think about ivf because here are two guys trying so desperately to win a championship and so often all they need each is one more point...one more point to win this game, one more point to win this set and one more point to win another set. Sometimes they fall backwards a couple points or more and have to regroup and always keep this positive attitude to win... ALWAYS...kind of like we do...one step at a time, one shot at a time (ours go in our bellies and theirs on the court), sometimes a step backwards but we all have to put one stage at a time behind us. Win this hurdle and then the next and then still win another hurdle.. but with our positive attitudes, we can all win OUR championship...We must always believe that we will be successful in the end, believe that each stage of our journey will be successful!!!
They win a trophy and we get the best prize on earth: a baby we can all cherish!

Best to all....much love...

Val

[turtlesonastump]

Hey thanks everybody for the welcome. Well, I didn't have to wait long for AF to arrive. Can't believe I am happy it arrived I will call tomorrow to get instructions. I think I will be on BCP for the rest of July.

I am still waiting for a call back from the AP office. It is the weekend. I hope she is good because she is the only one in town that is not connected with a chiropractic office. she is a tcm doc, but she is only in town 3 days a week. She travels to Pensacola the other days. Hopefully I can get in right away.

Karen- nice to meet you. I grew up in Sequim, Washington which is right across from Victoria, B.C. Is that were you are?