The Over 40 Crowd

[teachertam]

Ladies: I'm sorry that I haven't posted for awhile. I've been so busy with school and Andrew. I also have a cat with kidney failure that has been keeping busy.

LuAnne: Congrats on your 1 boy and 1 girl!! That is great. Take care of yourself.

Catharine: Good luck on your follies and ER!

Hello to everyone else.

I better get off of here. Andrew is napping and I'm sure he will be waking up soon.

Take care all,
Tammy

[Catharine]

TGIF

Just a quick update. Tomorrow is the ER and then either Monday or Tuesday is the ET. I'll know more over the weekend once they have the count of mature eggs followed by the fertilization report. Fingers crossed. Had acupuncture yesterday. I so needed it; totally relaxed me right into a nap. The acu doc advised me to not think abotu the ER. yeah right. I'm continuing with my deep breathing exercises; trying to maintain that centered energy

Everyone have a great weekend.

All the best,
Catharine

[chriss]

Good luck Catharine. Thinking of you. I'm also wondering about acupuncture. How did you find a good one? What should I look for?

Hi everyone, sad news. Got Af this morning, so BFN for me. ALso went to consult appointment and was told that FSH is higher than before. Not good news. Will continue to try a few more times. Just don't want to give up. Considering DE as possibility in the fututre if needed. ALthought is very expensive and as we all know... not a guarantee. Gotta go. Not feeling up to more chatting. Thinking of you. -chriss

[Catharine]

Oh Chriss- I'm so sorry I will hold you in my prayers. My acupuncturist came recommended from the clinic. He has had great success. One of my former coworkers used him during her IUI protocol. Perhaps you clinic has a list. The one I go to is a chinese doctor. He uses acu and herbs to improve the patients Qi, energy. My last session, he said my coloring and pulse were very good I became very relaxed through the process that I fell asleep. I really needed the nap.

Okay they triggered me early to minimize the risk of OHSS. So far no signs of OHSS, but this is not surprising as it will be 5 to 10 days after ET that I may notice the signs. Sadly they only retrieved 14 follies, not certain how many actual eggs yet, will get word today. Praying for good quality, something I've lacked in the past. May have transfer tomorrow [monday], day 2 depending on the outcome of fertilization, ICSI, otherwise on Tuesday, day 3. Trying to keep a positive, relaxing mental attitude, lots of deep breathing exercises.

Thinking of everyone.
All the Best,
Catharine

[summerbaby]

chriss - words can't express how sorry I am for you and DH. wish I knew what to say to make you feel better. take the time you need to let your body + soul heal from this process. on another thread I contribute to a girl there just went through ivf and only produced 3 eggs, which all fertilized and they put all 3 back. she just found out she's pregnant with twins. it can happen and it will for you, too.

catharine - thinking of you and hoping you hear that your eggs have improved in quality, even if you didn't get the quantity you had hoped for. Do hope the measures they've taken will keep the unpleasant OHSS away and that transfer will go equally as well for you this coming week. relax and keep up that PMA!

LuAnne - so nice to hear from you! been thinking of you and sincerely hoping that all is well. take care of yourself and your little boy and girl and update us when you can.

tammy - thanks for checking in! enjoy the time with your little guy. thanks as always for you continued support and encouragement!

jenB - any sign of AF? I'll do a jig for you, if you'll do one for me!

sonia - how are you? what's your plan looking like these days? thought of you as I drove along the foggy bodensee last week....

At the request of my RE, had to drive to my clinic on valentine's day to have him do a scan. Usually, my ob/gyn does the tests and we send everything because he's a 4 hour drive from where I live...He said AF likely didn't show because my lining was too thin when I got my depot shot (a time-release down-reg shot) in mid-Jan --now the lining is too thick to start right now ..He has me on progesterone for 10 days to encourage AF. I'm to call when she arrives and drive back for another scan March 4th. Hope AF comes soon, because I feel so full I can hardly button my pants ...It's the 1st time in over 8 years that I've missed AF...
anyway, looking forward to starting a cycle in the spring. By the way JenB, it will be a fresh cycle.

enjoy the rest of the weekend, girls xx Amy

[kimmysq]

Hi! I am hoping to join your thread. I will be doing FET in May (hopefully) and am 43.
I am sending baby dust to everyone, and will try to read more of this thread this afternoon.
Kim

[summerbaby]

Welcome Kim! Have I read your signature correctly that you've had 2 successful ivf treatments already? Wishing you lots of luck with your upcoming FET! -- Amy

[Catharine]

Good Mondy Morning Ladies

Welcome Kim . Wishing you all the best with May FET

Chriss-how are you holding up?

Just wanted to give an update. ET tuesday morning
of the 14 follies, 14 eggs, 12 mature, 10 fertilized. So far so good. No word on quality yet. No mention of degree of delicateness during ICSI. Praying all 10 progress to 8 cell stage. I'm feeling great compared to last august, so far no signs of OHSS. Focusing on my immediate tasks at hand. work. and relaxation.

Thinking of everyone. Wishing ya'll well.
Catharine

[chriss]

Catharine, that's an excellent number. No complaining from you. Many of us can barely get 4 or 5 follies. Your stats sound great. Wishing you the most success with this one girl! Glad you are feeling good. RELAX and visualize it working! Oh, yeah...About the accupuncturist... did you take the herbs as well? I did get a couple of cards from my RE. I looked into those accupuncture sites and they didn't seem to focus much on infertility. Then I found one on-line that boasts about their IVF support program and all their success with IVF patients, etc. etc. The website is impressive, etc. The thing is, they are kinda, well, very... far away from where I live. Will the added stress of trying to get to them 2x a week be worth it? OR should I just go to "JOE-Regular" acupuncturist that is close by? I'm confused! Will they essentially be doing the same thing?

Hi AMy, sorry you have to wait some more. Better to have optimal conditions though. Thanks for PMA about another friend of yours who had succes with 3 follies. Still reading the zita west book.

Welcome Kimmy, sounds like you're an old pro. Good luck with upcoming cycle.

I'm still sad, just can't help it. Hoping for the best for us all. -chriss

[Catharine]

Hey Chriss-
Yes I did take the herbs with a few rules. Not during AF for many of the herbs have blood thinning properties: stop taking 2 days before AF and weight 1-3 days after before resuming. Do not take the herbs during stimm IVF tmt. I typically went once a week. the week of ER I went twice. My understanding is that 1) want to center the Qi and 2) the acu tmt promotes the blood circulation of the ovaries and uterus. I liken it to cleansing the toxins from these areas.
my acupucturist just put up a web site: http://www.drmingmcheng.com/orientalmedicine.html
I'm addicted to acu. I always feel so good after tmt, so relaxed. It's a drug, cheaper than a good body massage. Is there a china town near you? a chinese community? This could be a rich resource for picking an acupuncturist. I guess in the long run you have to have faith that this tmt will work for you. The hospital affiliated with my clinic offers acu at a much more costly rate and is performed by a licensced physician. Funny thing the clinic recommended the fella I see. Read what you want into that one.

Good luck. I hope you get to feeling better soon. Try a session of acu.

Catharine

[jen babes]

Hi all

Chriss aw hun much love and cyber hugs to you...its a tough time. How high is your fsh....Mine was 17 and still had ok ivf ( 3 eggs fertilised) are you gonna stick with iui? thinking f you and sending much love x x x x
P>S> i swear by acu too its so relaxing.

Catharine- Hey sweetie well done you 10 mature eggies fertilised fantastic...hope next steps go well and you dont get the dreaded OHSS again. looks like they are looking after you at your clininc. good luck x x x

KIM welcome to the thread x x x tell us about your little ones we
would love to hear x x x

Tammy lovly to hear from you and Andrew x x hugs x x x

Amy- My AF has arrived !!!! Hope the AF jig does the worrk for you toox x x good luck with your fresh cycle x x x and hope you dont pop soon lol x x x

A big hugs and Hi to everyone else x x x

I have my AF now ( she was 4 days late naughty minx ) so have endometrial scan on thursday 21st and if all okay then we will have FET on the 29th Feb in barcelona. have booked my pre and post FET acu and have transfer herbs to take night before and morning of ET. Its to stop contractions at transfer. will cath ya all later in the week

love and hugs
jen
xxxxxxxxxxx

[summerbaby]

hey jenB - great news that AF arrived. best of luck to you with your scan on thursday. hope everything is a-okay and sets you up for FET 2 weeks from Friday -- wow - just fantastic! how many will you transfer at the FET? Do you also have to take meds/shots prior to FET? I have no idea how that works...never had any embies to freeze before -
I'm still taking progesterone till Saturday and AF should come I guess about a week after I stop?...if all goes well, perhaps I'll be able to cycle at the end of March/beg April...hello spring, hello easter and praying for lots of eggs, real, chocolate or otherwise..lol..

how'd ET go, catharine? relax, drink lots & take very good care of yourself and your embies snuggling in!

chriss - how are you feeling this week? been thinking about you. seems this last try really brought you down - a combination of everything all at once...those hormones and your loss last year as well at the same time. Really consider taking a break and take the time you need to feel sad and dejected and upset - perhaps it isn't the best idea to jump right back in. give your body a chance, too, to get all those meds out of your system --come back to your dream of becoming a family when you are ready and relaxed, optimistic and positive and when the emotional low is no longer in the forefront. What I write here is just my opinion and my feelings - I hope you understand what I am trying to say and aren't upset. sometimes it just helps to take a step back when things get too overwhelming and stop being "fun" or is no longer and exciting journey -- take care of yourself. we are all here if you need anything.

xx Amy

[Catharine]

Good morning Ladies

JenB-wonderfull news. All the best. will be thinking of you PMA

Amy-lol on the chocolate eggs Thinking of you. Spring is suppose to be a wonderful time to cycle according to chinese medicine. In Spring everything is growing Passing on positive vibes to you, grow follies grow.

Chriss-thinking of you. I hope a ray of sunshine can burst through the blues you seem to be in. I have to concur with Amy, sometimes stepping back for a bit to give the body a rest, to recharge can be the best thing. Finding an acupuncturist may help get that 'Qi' up to snuff for your next cycle.

Thanks to all the well wishes.

The ET went fabuolously. 5 embies on board. All five grade II [2]. Two looked superb, no fragmentations, or in the cell bio field we call them blebs. After the transfer and rest in the 'recovery' zone, DH and I had lunch at the local Waffle House. This has become much the tradition for us during this journey we have found ourselves on. Once our palett's were sated, we finished our trek home where I promptly parked myself on the coach and fell asleep for several hours. I still am practicing the deep cleansing breathes, the PMA, visualizing those little embies snuggling in. In addition still maintaining a nutritious diet for the embies long slumber.

Hello to everyone else. PMA to everyone.

Catharine

[summerbaby]

catharine - sending you lots of baby dust and PMA to keep you going during the next 2 weeks. -- you're on your way! take good care - sounds like you are doing all the right things to bring on that bfp! I do think the combination of relaxation and visualization is a great tool.
DH & I also have a similar ritual of stopping for a bite at the same place before continuing on our way home after ET...really nice that you do the same.
We were again in austria today. DH had to give his "little banditos" (as my ob/gyn calls them, really she does!) early due to the fact that he'll be travelling to asia and therefore had to "do his part" before he gets his shots for the trip...speaking of shots, I've started with Decapeptyl...and can't believe how much I'm looking forward to seeing AF one day soon...

Big hello to everyone!
xx Amy

[Sonix]

Hi everyone,

Catharine, great news! With 5 embies on board you’re well on your way to a BFP. Good on you for keeping up those mental relaxation exercises. Hope you have managed to cut down your sports without feeling too bad about it. I should be performing end next week in a dance show and am in two minds about whether I should. But I hate having to lie and feel like I’m letting the others down. Sending lots of positive thoughts your way and enough distractions to keep you sane over the next 2 weeks. xxx

Joanna, glad that you are able to move forward with your decision to go the DE route. For me, the decision was part of a process which involved getting over our last BFN, coming to terms with what egg donation means, and DH and I getting in sync about it. I can’t say we that we’ve had any specific reservations along the way but it was still important to take our time getting to the stage we’re at. I found a lot of inspiration on this web site. You might find the book “Having your Baby through Egg Donation” by Glazer/Sterling useful, especially if you are in the US. The approach to egg donation here in continental Europe is a bit different but I’m finding a lot of general issues, which are addressed in the book, helpful as guidance. Wishing you and DH good luck with your future plans and keep looking ahead.

Pricecake – how are things going for you? Are you going to take a break and go on that planned trip? Looking forward to your news.

Chriss, how are you doing? Do allow yourself to be sad and let yourself go when you need to. When you’ve let out some grief your PMA will come back again so please don’t be too hard on yourself. Any luck in finding a good acupuncturist? Mine was recommended by my previous clinic so I knew that they must have an idea about IVF. As far as the actual treatment goes I think a lot of it has to do with improving general health, helping the flow of Qi and generally supporting fertility treatment. Luckily mine is so near my home and workplace that I can even manage to go at lunchtime without added stress. My thoughts are with you. xxx

JenB – so nice to have you around again. Glad to hear AF has arrived and you are back on track with your FET coming up soon. Good luck with your scan tomorrow!

Andrea – hope you are feeling better and finding a way forward. Do keep us posted.

Welcome Kim, wishing you all the best for your upcoming FET cycle!

LuAnne, so good to read your post and know you and your little ones are OK. Thinking of you and wishing you a smooth journey over the next weeks and months.

Amy-in-waiting, so sorry to hear you have had to cope with all this stop-and-go. What a test in patience it has turned out to be. Great that things are finally moving forward for you. AF will be turning up soon, I know she will. March, and springtime!, is nearly here already and your time will be here soon! Enjoy the sunshine!

Thanks for your encouragement and for asking after me. I’m plodding along and have finally arrived at the start of a transfer cycle AGAIN. My first lining scan is on Friday and I’m hoping the high dosage of estrogen will do the trick this time. Anyway we’ll know more in about a weeks time. Either I’ll be using those all too familiar words “delay” “cancel” and “wait” again, OR I’ll be preparing for a trip for transfer. Scary, eh? Or should I be getting excited?

A big hello to everyone else and many thanks for your wonderful support. Wishing everyone all the best.

Sonia
xxx