March/April cycle buddies??

[kimbob]

Hello all,
Sorry about my little rant earlier. I had just lost my second post and was very frustrated!

I am going to accupuncture, too. He did a little extra treatment for the cramping and it seems to really be helping. It also helps to think about Carolyns' statement that this is the last one for nine months! I like your thinking Carloyn - thanks for the PMA boost!!

I will try to retype my personals, but I have a feeling they may fall a little short. Here goes...

Welcome to all the new ladies - happy to have you here!

Bianca - Wow, Prauge. I hope it goes well for you. I'm guessing it's less expensive than self-paying in the US? I bet it will be beautiful over there in the spring, too!

Melanie - I'm glad your Mom is going to be able to be around to help you out. That outta help keep your stress levels in check, which we all know is a good thing! Good luck!

Jenn - I'm glad to see you and DH are 'right back on the horse' so to speak. I remember seeing you on the jan/feb/mar thread. I hope this cycle is the one for you!

Sisi - got your sunshine today! It was extra bright bouncing off the snow that we got in a freak storm yesterday! Hope you're having a blast in Florida.

Sari - wow, I couldn't imagine how daunting it would feel to get all the meds at once. HOw are you feeling about them now? You we're all here for you when you have questions. Unless I'm the onle who feels overwhelmed by the meds!

Sprout - hope you're not too bogged down by your course right now. At leaast you know we're always thinkin' about you!

Latino: Im glad your saline sonogram went well. It's exciting to get the go ahead, isn't it!! Good luck!

Hazel, Hope your SSD (Sniffing Start Date!) comes quickly for you! I really don't think I've had much in the way of side effects. I really think the biggest (and best IMO) is that I a am a bit tired, but I sleep REALLY well!! It's lovely to get such a good night's sleep! I hope you have a good experience, too!

Lee I hope you are enjoying the toddlers even if they are an adjustment. I'd like to echo Carolyn's sentament by saying they were sent to you to give you the practice you need for your very own little ones who are waiting just around the corner!! If you have the time, let us know how the estradiol is treating you. If not, just know we're rooting for you!!

Carolyn, thanks for being our cheerleader right now. You always know just what to say to boost PMA. Did you say only about 23 more days until AF, or 23 more days until you're ready for transfer? Hey what are the chances that you and Bianca will wind up in Prauge at the same time! that would be cool. I hope the time passes quickly for you. This is your time - I feel it!

Michele - thanks for keeping us all sorted. I love the bling, too! I'm so glad that you finally got a date. At least you now that you can go ahead with your cycle with nice pretty uterous for your baby to snuggle into! I was reading what you were saying about the timing and why you wanted a baby born this year - then just as I was thinking, "But if it's twins, maybe they'll be December babies." I was reading the very same thought that you had written! I hope you have your dreams come true! BTW - I love your new ticker for Ella. It's almost as adorable as she is!


Trying, Waiting and Sun, if my memory serves me correctly we haven;t heard from you in a while. I hope all is going well for you and you're gearing up for a great and successful cycle with us all!

HA HA HA! I just counted how many people are listed on our tracker to try to check that I didn't miss anyone. I counted 15 people but couldn't figure out why I only addressed 14 poeple. Hmmm... could I be the 15th person?

Well then... AFM... I seem to be in a WAY better mood this evening than I was at 4 this morning. That's a good sign for sure! I played telephone tag with a lovely nurse form my clinic all day. My phone kept buzzing in my pocket at just the worst possible times! Anyway, I get to start the injections tonight, then go for my first bloodwork on Monday morning. I'm feeling pretty good about the injections thanks to the fact that when they gave me the protocol and showed me how to do everything, they also made me do a saline injection on myself. I wasn't expecting that, but it has helped me to know it's not so bad and it's given me an extra bit of confidence!
Sorry that this post is sooo long! I have to pull my computer off-line for a few days in order to force myself to get my report cards written! (I could write a book called "Confessions of a Procrastinator-aholic!) I'll keep reading from DH's computer, but I won't post 'till I'm done reports.

Take care ladies!
Kim

[hjw]

Just looking at Kim's list of names and the list on the tracker (kindly blinged up by Michele!).

Didn't Riley and Silken join this thread a while back? Where have you gone to ladies? From memory, Riley is gearing up towards ET at the end of March and Silken is on stims?? Hope you are both doing OK - check in with us when you have time!

Have a great Friday all. Weekend almost upon us - woo hoo!!

Hazel

[hjw]

Can I ask all you lovely ladies a question? My clinic has asked me to decide whether to have a local or general anaesthetic for ER. I don't know what would be best - I would prefer not to be completely knocked out with a general anaesthetic, because recovery afterwards will be easier (plus I've had three generals before and they always mess with my system for a couple of days) but I'm really apprehensive about the level of pain/discomfort. I would probably prefer to go down the local anaesthetic route, but I'm worried about getting on the table and then being in agony.

Has anyone else been given the choice by their clinic? And if so, what did they choose?

Hazel

[Sisi1]

This will be my first IVF so I do not have the experience.

My clinic does not give me a choice (I wish they did) I would prefer to be knocked out for the whole thing!

I was concerned about discomfort too so they told me if I feel any pain they will just give me more medication.....that sounded good to me.

[Sara30]

Hi

Hello to everyone, Welcome to Bianca and Melanie, really sorry going to have to be quick today just read your question Hazel and thought I would tell you my experience,

I was not given a choice and was knocked out for ER with sedation not a general, however I did wake up towards the end before it was finished, I felt the most excruciating pain and heard my consult say shes bleeding and then I guess they knocked me out again as I can't remember any more, I would choose to be knocked out rather than a local because I am a big baby anyway!!! I must say that even tho I felt pain during the procedure due to them having to stop my bleeding via pressure on the area it was only momentary and I would do the same again.

I can't adcvise you about what a local is like as I have not experienced it.

Take care everyone and I will try and get back on later and do personals.

Lee xxx

[CT_Michele]

Ladies- Do yourselves a f avor-too many of you have lost posts after spending so much time on them, and i learned the hard way a long time ago how frustrationg that is, so after you are done typing, highlight it, right click and copy it, then hit submit. This way if the server messes up, all you have to do is paste and try to submit again. Trust me, you will get used to doing it, it takes a sec, and no more losing your posts!

kimbob- i will update you on the list later. You start stims today, right? how exciting! When you are done writing report cards, let me know when expected er/et is.

hjw- I was not given a choice, and I think I was given what they call "twilight" anesthesia. It is supposed to sedate you or make you woozy, but it always knocks me out. I woke up in recovery, and I was in pain, so I would not have wanted to be awake for it, I am such a wimp with that stuff especially when it involves going in my you-know-what!

Sisi- thanks for the florida sunshine, but it didn't make it to CT! All clouds here building up to our supposed 6 inches of snow sunday, ugh! I though we were done with snow.

Bianca- Wow, Prague? How come you are going there? I bet it will be nice, but i could never do it, I am terrified of flying and would be so stressed about the flight, my body would not do well with ivf i am sure.

melanie- don't worry about being first, I wish I was first. This is the second thread I have joined and was supposed to be first and dropped to last but plenty of us have been through this before, so we will still be able to answer a lot of your questions.

To all I missed- I will catch up with you later and have a happy friday! I am off to another childrens museum with Ella. It is a bit of a drive, and she is missing her morning nap, so I hope she doesn';t get cranky!

[CT_Michele]

one more thing...

kimbob- thanks for noticing my new ticker! She turned 6 months yesterday and I booked a park for her 1st b-day party and I felt she needed an updated ticker counting to her first b-day. It was so hard to get the lilypie one to work, but i love it, it is so cute!

[sprouthaus]

Hello beautiful ladies!

I am sorry that I have been MIA - I have been seriously swamped at work and trying to get ahead both at work and with school as I have a trip next week. Looking forward to a bit of a vacay!!!

Welcome to all who have joined and big hugs to the rest of you. CT-Michelle, thx for taking over the tracker - I would never have figured out how to add all the fun extras.

No time for personals, But I promise that I am thinking of each and every one of you - and I at least log on to check what's going on every few days, even if I don't have time to write.

[Sara30]

Hello to everyone, hope your weekends have all started off well,

Sprout your trip next week is that the one where you are coming over to our part of the world?? Or are you going somewhere else?

Melanie Not sure if you have posted so sorry if you have, do you have a date for your ER yet? Yes I know what you mean about the going nuts feeling, I have felt nuts for the last few years now!! Am hoping the 'nuts' feelings will disapear this year as IVF will end for us this year one way or another!! I sometimes wonder what I will be like without IVF in my life and the limbo feeling life is like when you are going from cycle to cycle!!

Bianca and Carolyn It would be totally cool if you both ended up in Prague together!! How wierd would that be!! see we live in a very small world really

Carolyn Yes I am ok, feeling a bit rough at the moment,the synarel is really affecting me, my nose really hurts this time I am sneezing constantly and I am worn out with these little ones I have got with me. My lifestyle is just not set up for 2 tiny ones at all any more I have realised so yes I am definately getting in some practice for 9 months time!! How has your accupuncture been going??

Kim How frustrating to lose your posts, Michele is right copy every post you write as a habit and then you can just paste them if you lose the thread. I learnt the hard way and ALWAYS copy now even if I have only written a couple of lines!! You are so amazing posting personals to everyone!! Its so thoughtful, I can't always remember what everyone has said when there are lots of us I am sure it is alzheimers setting in early, I am mad I have to have lists for everything or I forget all the time!!

Hazel So have you made a decision is it going to be local or knock out?? Yeah silken and Riley where did you go??

SisiDo you have a local then for your ER??

Jenn Due to my alzheimers and I am using that as my excuse from now on!! I am not taking the fun out of anyone who has alzheimers by the way, I have nursed people through this dreadful disease and sat with them when they have left this life, so I hope I do not offend anyone, Well back to what I was saying Jenn I can't remember if I have said hello to you yet so hello!! We have a great thread here with everyone being really supportive, I see from Kims comment you are cycling again, I hope this is your time.

Hi to Michele, latino, sari, trying, waiting and sun, I did what you did Kim and counted so hopefully have got everyone in!!

Have a good weekend, and see you later

OMG i just previewed my post and saw my ticker says only 10 days to go how did it come round so fast!!!

Lee xxxx

[Sari]

Hello to you all:

Our group is growing up!!! So good to see we are not alone.

Melanie - Fantastic! your mom is going to be with you. You are right, nobody take better care of us like our mom. I am not telling my mom, at least, I don't plan to. My DH says he is going to take a few days off of work to take care of me.

Hazel - Have you decided if you are going to get knock out? My clinic says will be full anesthesia, didn't give the choice. But I think It will be better that way.

Sara - I couln't imagine wake up in the middle of the procedure. You felt a lot of pain, didn't you? Scary!

Michelle - Good luck with the birthday, its a lot of work, but its a beautiful thing. A few month ago I help to prepare the first birthday of my BF's girl. She is a doll. The decorations, the cake, the food, the clown, everything, is very emotional. The baby, the mother and me enjoy it very much. Hope the same for you. What is the theme?

To everybody else, keep on in the journey.

As for me, nothing new, except, thoughts and fears. I am in my last days of BCP. It's driving me crazy, my nurse hasn't call with my schedule. I kept thinking of all the "what if". What if I don't produce enough eggs. What if my DH don't produce enough or good sperm. What if it didn't fertilize. What if it didn't implant. What if I get a miscarriage. It's tough, I had tried almost everything. My DH surgery, inj, pills and some kind of juice. Me - 2UIU, inj, pills, surgery. There were a time when I didn't wan't to think about it. I went to college, I took 2 jobs, so I couldn't think. Now, when I felt more relax, my Dr. told me, "you have to think about this now or decide to get hysterectomy to not have more problems". And now I'm thinking about this all the time. And the What if, makes me cry.

There are days I felt, "good, I know I am going to be a mother" and went out to shopping ended up buying childrens book. There are other days I felt like: "what am I doing?". Do you feel the same or am I a pessimist?

Sorry to vent with you. Thanks for lend me your ears, I mean eyes. Don't let me put you down, I am feeling crappy today. Sorry.

[Sari]

Ohhh!!!

I should mention. When my DH saw all the meds, laugh and laugh and me. I asked him. "what at you laughing at?" and He said " I am not the one getting the inj!!!!" I could kill him. But I ended up laughing with him.

How cruel men are sometimes.

[CT_Michele]

melanie_100 - Started Stims Feb 21, ER 3/4, ET 3/9
kimbob - Stimming!


Trying for another angel – IVF early March

Sara30 - down-reg start - Feb 8, estradiol start - Feb 22, FET with DE Mar 10 or 11

Sisi1 - IVF start Mar 9

SunMoon&Stars – DE w/icsi, ET Mar 16

Latinosunshine – Last BCP Mar 16, ER around Mar 30

Wishing4Baby - Feb 24, start Lupron; March 6th, start Follistim;
March 18th, estimated ER

Sari - Starting BCP Feb12, last bcp Mar 4?

Waiting For 4 - Consult w/ RE Mar 13

sprouthaus - ganirelix/antagonist cycle - Apr

biancajb - Last bcp Mar 20, IVF early April

wishfull27 (carolyn) - ET around early April, ICSI/DE

Hjw – down-reg start Mar 5, baseline Apr 2, ER around Apr 13

CT_Michele – Polyp removal Mar 12, Start stims 4/10, ER/ET & fresh TESE week of 4/20

[Sara30]

Hi Sari

I am sure all women and some of the DH who have to go through IVF to hold their baby have gone through all the what ifs you have mentioned also, somedays we are positive other days we can't find a positive bone in our bodies. This forum is a good place to get all your what ifs out and wrtitten down as I always think they don't seem so bad when they are out of my head. You are not a pessimist you are a woman who desperately wants a baby and can't achive it in the way most couples do, and have the fear in the back of your mind that you may never hold your baby in your arms. We are here for you on the days when you are feeling no PMA as we have all had them from time to time.
I really believe things work out for us in life the way they are meant to and we all travel a different path to get to where we need to be, all the trials and tribulations and celebrations we go through help us to learn the things we need to and as long as we give our best in our lives we will be fulfilled and happy at the end of our lives whether we have acheived our dreams or not.

You take care and when you need to cry tears you do it as they are always better out than in!!!

Love Lee xxx

[melanie_100]

Hello Ladies, It's snowing here in Richmond, VA (USA), and I mean really really snowing. We haven't seen any this year yet, so it's actually pretty cool for us!
I went to RE again today (Day 9 of Stims) and my E2 is in the 3000's so we are all set for the ER on Wednesday, and then a day 5 blastocyst transfer on March 9th. Still haven't decided whether to transfer 1 or 2. RE says we have time to decide around day 2 to 3 Post ER, since we'll know how many are of good quality,etc and can make a better decision.
I will tell you, my belly is quite sore from all my "eggs", my breasts are super sore, and TMI but they don't tell us first timers this, I have a lot of cervical mucous discharge. I was freaking out the other day, because I thought maybe the boobs meant I had already ovulated. RE assures me this and discharge is from the estrogen levels rising and is not a bad thing. Good to know.
Hazel- My facility will be using IV sedation combined with a local anesthetic for my ER. This seems the safest and best option to me, as an RN. There can be more complications with general anesthesia (GA). With GA, they will paralyze your muscles, therefor having to breath for you. With IV sedation, you will be given a medication called Versed, it is very relaxing like Valium, has an amnesia affect- so you don't remember, and is very short acting- so it leaves your system quickly without leaving you too groggy. They will of course also give you pain meds in your iv. Most do this with little nose prongs for supplemental oxygen, but your breathing on your own. The local anesthetic will be injected into the vaginal area where the probe will be inserted,but this will happen once your sedated (or should anyway). The added benefit of this, is that they use a long acting medication, that will keep your vagina pain-free for hours afterward. I imagine there's not much they can do for the abdominal pain that will come from harvesting the follicles and eggs from the ovaries. That will need good old pain medicine that you can take there and at home.
I would ask your facility to use this option, any doctor or anesthetist that can do General anesthesia can do Iv sedation. If they don't let you have this option, I would go with General, even with it's risks. The local anesthesia they are offering you will only numb your vagina, but what about the pain in your abdomen? I certainly wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm surprised that's even an option! But you know us women are doomed to be tortured- HaHa.
Well hope I didn't get too technical for some of you. I want to be informative but not scare anyone.
I have my ER on Wednesday, and can let you know how it goes.
Take care ladies. Here's sending a little extra love to all the ladies with huge egg filled abdominal cavities like myself!

[hjw]

Good morning ladies! Hope you all had lovely relaxing weekends. My weekend was great - DH and I took his father out to lunch on Saturday and we had a lazy day otherwise that. We played golf in the (very weak) UK sunshine yesterday and then (this is mostly for the benefit of the US ladies on this thread!) I got up to date with American Idol. I just can't understand why you didn't vote Norman Gentle/Nick whatsisname through, lol!

I'm finally hopeful that spring is round the corner for us. The sun is out again today so the sunshine wishes that Sisi sent over to us from Florida a while back finally arrived! Keep them coming...

Thanks so much for all your input on the question of local v general anaesthetic for my ER. I still haven't made a decision, but am leaning towards trying to be brave and just have a local. The clinic said I don't need to make a final decision until shortly before ER, so I still have another few weeks yet. Only 3 days to go until I can start sniffing my down regulation drugs on Thursday though - yay!

Melanie - it's so exciting that this time next week you will have had your ET! You're our first lady to go on this thread I think? Hope your final few days of stims go OK. Has your Mum arrived yet? Thank you so much for your detailed advice on the local v general decision. My information sheet from the clinic says that it is probable that I will be given local anaesthesia with light sedation - if this is used, I will be given a tablet to relax me before going to theatre, followed by intramuscular sedation and local anesthesia to numb the region around the cervix. It says that I would be awake and aware of my surroundings and people in theatre. Does that all tie in with the IV sedation you were referring to? If so, I think you have managed to allay my concerns and I will definitely try and be brave and go for local!

Kimbob and Trying For Another Angel - you can't be too far behind Melanie? When are your ER's likely to be? Hope all is developing well for you both.

Lee, only 8 more days to go for you then. Yay!! Are the two little ones still with you and running you ragged?

Michele, still loving all the bling you've put on our tracker, you're so clever!

Everyone else, hope you are all well.

Hazel