The Over 40 Crowd

[chriss]

Hi Sonia, good to hear from you! So, typically, how long will you be on meds before the transfer? Can they tell you that or is it a wait and see kind of thing? Aren't you glad it's a new year? I sure am. We had 2 iui's back to back yesterday & today. My clinic does that when Sperm count is low. It was pretty low on both days. But we knew that already. ANyway, fingers are crossed, we shall see. I am getting very excited for you, you are almost there. You sound good too. Keep it up. Hope to hear from you soon, -chriss

[summerbaby]

chriss - all the best to you with your IUI - you sound very relaxed and I've got my fingers crossed for you!

catharine - great news that the surgery did the job and that you've recovered so nicely and that all worked out with your RE - February will be here before you know it! In a crazy way, it sounds like your body really liked the idea of being pregnant. I really hope everything comes together for you this time.

sonia - glad to hear you were able to get away and leave the day-to-day behind. Hope you'll get some encouraging news from your clinic soon to put your current worries at ease.

to tammy & yasmina - don't feel shy - would love to see some pictures of the holiday season with your little ones! It makes me smile to know you can share this delightful season with your children. I hope to be doing the same next Christmas or soon after!

hope all is going well with you andrea!
jenB - hope you are taking some well deserved time off and will stop in at some point to update on what you've been up to.
gracielope - how are you? hope everything continues to go well.

and, I hope to get a good report on friday to pass along to my RE -- will keep you posted. thanks for thinking of me!

Big hello to those I've missed.
thinking of you LuAnne.

xx Amy

[Kiwi expat]

Hi ladies - Sounds like everyone's kicked off the new year with some positive steps forward!

Amy - with her new job! And Gd luck for your test results this week too.

Catharine - with her successful op! And fresh cycle in Feb!

Chriss - straight back into it with your IUI's (I've got a good feeling about this)

You go girls!!!

As for my caffeine and alcohol free diet and rigorous exercise regime...Sorry Catharine and Chriss, but I let the team down! I did slip up a tad - on New Years Eve (ok, now that can be forgiven ) and had a wee glass of wine the other day at a night out with the girls...This week's a tough one tho with 2 good friends having babies yesterday and on Monday. Going to visit one of them tonight and luckily the other one is in a different country so the 'exposure' will be minimal!

To kick off 08, I'm aiming for a FET around the 25th Jan (using own eggs left over from last cycle). It's actually a mock cycle for DE at this new clinic but I'm hoping all won't be wasted and I can turn it into a way to move forward as well... Started suprefact shots and progynova pills last week which have been making me feel like cr#p - very tired and headachy, but I know it's just the drugs and am desparately mustering up all the PMA I can in the last few days to try and counteract it. Also experimenting with acupuncture for the first time. It makes me feel kind of drowsy afterwards but so far is totally relaxing.

Anyone else cycling this month???

LuAnne - I hope you get this post - I just hope that you and the babies are doing well and am thinking of you.

Sonia - your ski trip sounded fab! I sooo miss the snow back home, but I haven't skied for years now (sigh!)

Grace - keep us updated on those scans!

Big Hi to everyone else and looking forward to loads of BFPs for us all!

Andrea

[chriss]

Hey Andrea, I just posted to you on the eggheads thread, but just thought of something. Keep up the exercise part, maybe it will help with the foul feelings the drugs cause. The acupuncture should too. Anything we can do to feel good. I had some wine at Christmas, but nothing from then on. My DH is going cold turkey too, even without my forcing him to. Anyway, great to hear from you. Your plans are in order. Stay positive, all things are possible. -chriss

[Catharine]

Hey All-

Hope JenB, LuAnne, Yasmina, Gracie, Tammy and other MIAs are still popping in to read, I'm thinking of you all. Thankful for all your past replies, well wishes and offers of advice. Wishing you all the best.

Andrea and Chriss I know it's hard to drop the alcohol. Sounds like ya'll are doing well with it even with the minor infractions Please, don't stress over this. I think it is more important to remain relaxed. When relaxed that PMA just pops out of now where. I believe it is more important not to over indulge with the alcohol

I've given up all coffee, including decaf. In an effort to try to keep all toxins to a dull roar in my body, I've added blueberries to my diet with the pineapple, along with glutathione supplements and omega-3 fatty acids. I'm starting to feel like my 'normal' self. My energy levels are returning to their levels from last summer

Wishing everyone all the best.
Catharine

[chriss]

Hi Catharine, you sound really good! So tell me about the decaf coffee, cause I drink it every day. Do you think it's best not to have any decaf as well? I've been off regular coffee for like a year and a half now. I take fish oil, which is the omega-3. How much of a dosage do you take? I'm trying to eat healthy as well. Of course pineapple-smile! So glad that your energy is up! Keep smiling, I heard it can do wonders. -chriss

[Catharine]

Hey Chriss-
Right back at you with that pineapple smile I gave up the decaf just to get rid of all coffee; complete removal of temptation. No special reason. And the Omega-3 I'm not certain it's the standard unit in a capsule. I'm just trying to eat as natural and healthy as possible. Decrease the animal meat intake and increase the fruits and veggies. Trying to minimize ingestion of dyes and preservatives. I've been packing yellow squash and zucchini in my lunch as well. I eat dried fruit and nuts as a snack [natural plant oils and fats]. I've significantly decreased the intake of carbohydrates [processed foods] and the side of effect of that is no longer feeling bloated.
Here's to our successful 2008. PMA to all

Catharine

[children]

Hi Ladies,

I am posting today mainly to comment on healthy eating habit and exercise. I wanted to tell you that I am a strong supporter of good eating habit and moderate exercise. My DH said I am overemphasizing the importance of it since I demand nutrition balance for EACH EVERY meal. I have also resumed running schedule, every other day for at least 30 min each. I was re-inspired by this website: http://doctormama.blogspot.com/. After few weeks of running, I find that running becomes essential in my daily life since not only it protects my "alone time", but also it is the only way to get myself out of stress/worries from work - I do have a very stressful and demanding job. I have to tell you this, once your child is born, you will never can put her/him back anymore. Needless to say, I run at the times when Eloise is sleeping and I don't take the sleeping beauty on wheels. But the father just bought a jogging stroller since he would like to come along and we will see how that goes.

I wanted to let you all lovely ladies know also if you don't see my posting, does not mean that I am not reading/listening. I am guessing that others used to be here and succeeded through ivf also drop in from time to time to check everyone's progress - we don't just forget how painful it is to wait for one cycle after another. We are always companying you along the way and wish for your success.

Lastly, I am posting one more picture of Eloise, she certainly becomes a big girl now. I apologize in advance if you think that I am being insensitive. I know that I should go to participate in "Parents after IVF" forum. But I feel that I belong here - the over 40 crowd! I sincerely hope you all take it as an encouragement. I thank everyone who indulges me to stay.

Good luck in 2008, ladies!

Yasmina

[chriss]

Yasmina, Eloise is BEAUTIFUL! I like to see the photos, it is an inspiration. We need you on this thread! You have consistently provided us with knowledge, encouragement, inspiration and support. You have helped me so many times. So yes, yes, yes, keep on posting! And by the way, I am a runner too! I have slowed down since IVF procedures, but i sneak it in regularly. I used to run 40 minutes a day 5 days a week, but now I am down to 20 or 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. It just keeps me sane. I don't run after retrieval or transfer but I have when on stimms, just not as rigorously. My doctors say it's ok. I think it helps me get through it all. There is nothing like it for me. What are your thoughts on running during treatment? I walk and do yoga on the days when i don't run. I have gotten a lot slower, but that's ok. There's always the future. Good luck with the jogging stroller. I've been eyeballing them for years.

Catharine, sounds like a great healthy food plan, I am not going to say diet. I try to eat properly also. My main problem is not what I eat, it's how much of it. Seems as though I gained 10 pounds doing all this baby-making stuff the past year and a half. I try not to get down about it because I know that it's not so important right now. I've cut out diet soda, coffee and I always eat lots of fruit and veges. Thanks for encouraging me to keep it up. Reading your post is a good reminder. WHy decrease animal protein? just curious. I eat a lot of chicken.

Hi everyone. Hope all is well. Look forward to reading your posts!-chriss

[Catharine]

TGIF

Yasmina-thanx for staying with us and sharing the lovely pix of Miss Eloise; She's gorgeous.

I too am a runner. I'm back up to running my top load while await tmt. When I started this venture the clinic had a heart to heart with me and my vigorous exercise. I had to curtail my sports training, this was not hard to do given that my and DH's goal is to have children. Although, when I see that weight creeping up due to the tmts I have a hard time pushing it out of my mind. But when I think of the goal and how hard we've had to work to get to this point, I feel 10lbs isn't that bad. I can deal with it after we've welcomed our beautiful healthy child(s) into this world.

Chriss-I have no sound scientific reason for reducing the animal protein in our diet except that the RE told DH to omit the processed meats [lunch meats, hot dogs, suasage] from his diet for the chemical preservatives may have an adverse affect on male fertility. This cut a majority of his diet In addition, some nutritionists argue that Americans eat far too much animal meat; humans are not made to eat that much animal product. A real plus to reducing the animal meat is reducing animal fat

Hello to everyone. PMA to all. Have a very nice weekend.

Catharine

[chriss]

Catharine, thanks for the reply. So, what exactly did they tell you about your exercise? What did they tell you about running during treatment???? How much is advisable? Did they say not to run at all? Fill me in please. Thanks! -chriss

[pricecake]

Hi all, I am new to this thread, may I join in?????
I am currently in the 2ww.
I had 10 follicles going into the ER. We only retrieved 5 eggs in which all 5 fertilized. My RE decided to be aggressive because of my age so he transfered all 5 on the 8th. My preg test is on Sat the 19th, so I am in the home stretch.
I am feeling pretty tired, but it is probably from all the stress of the whole process. I didn't have any probs with the injections. I was on 250 gonal f and 1 menopur, twice a day. Anyone else have similar?
I will try my hardest not to HPT, but I might do it on the Friday before. I hope I can hold out until Saturday.
I also am trying not to be too physical. It is a bit difficult since I am a phys ed teacher.
Well, thanks for letting me jump on in here. Success to all......

[Catharine]

TGIF
Chriss- okay I had tried to post earlier and it wouldn't post. I'll try to replicate what was lost. The heart to heart was because I play 3 high level sports, having a BMI of 13. Esentially my body is always in the fight of flight mode. the RE said 'if you want to get pregnant and have a child, you have to stop!'. Right So I had to significantly curtail my activities. When I got pregnant with my last tmt [sadly ended in mcc due to genetic anomoly], I was exercising but at a much reduced level than I normally would have been. Rather than running 8-10 mile runs I dropped to 2-4 miles 2-3 times a week. I changed my weight training of heavy weight strength training to very light weights for tone maintenance. The week before ET I stopped running and lifting because the ovaries are enlarging due to the growth of follicles. Any vigorous exercise at this point may lead to ovary rupture, tube twisting, or more. My belly this last tmt was expanding due to OHSS, so I was limited to walking. My point is be smart about it. Keep your RE in the loop, listen to your body. Don't start exercising if you haven't been leading up to this point. Many would argue I was an idot, but my RE was in the know through the whole process and knows what my physical status was/is . There were and are no illusions between us. I hope this is helpful.
Catharine

[Kiwi expat]

Hi Chriss, Catharine - my 2 cents worth...

I too have always been a bit of a sporting fanatic (tennis, golf, yoga, gym), but my last clinic banned patients from all forms of exercise during any form of treatment. They stated that exercise takes the blood flow away from the ovaries and uterus when it should in fact be directed to that specific area, especially when stimming. They also banned chicken from our diet due to the artificial hormones (also found in other meat as well, but they specifically stated chicken because of the higher growth hormone content). Zita West's book also backed up these views on exercise and diet, basically advocating avoidance of as much processed and chemically enhanced foods as possible ie: going back to basics and eat loads of fresh fruits and vege, nuts, whole grain foods etc etc... I know - not very exciting stuff

However, (this is where it gets tricky!) my new clinic advocates (moderate) exercise at least 3 times a week to promote good blood circulation during treatment cycles - Great for me Chriss, as like you said, it really helps physically and psychologically to put me in a better mood! No other do's or don't's until after transfer as far as I know from them yet.

Anyway, so now I'm totally confused!! - I'm following the new clinic's protocol, but as Catharine said, not over doing it. Say 25-35mins running a couple times a week and yoga every other day. DH and I have been trying to clean up our diet for the last couple of years eating a lot of organic foods and cutting down on red and processed products (with varying degrees of success!!!!) Even if it hasn't worked out yet, you do feel a bit better for it and I guess you can't ignore the overall health benefits of it in the long term

Hope everyone's having a good weekend!
Andrea

[Kiwi expat]

Sorry - meant to say "we're cutting down on red meat and processed products"!

As I type, DH is taking some good ole NZ steaks out of the freezer to defrost for dinner tonight... Oh well, it is the weekend!