AUG/SEPT BUDDIES!

[SueQiwi]

ooooh Karen--I love the new quotes. I think I like the Marcel Proust one best of your batch. And HOPE.

I have a question about the TCM herbs. (I've been doing pure AP and thought about adding herbs this cycle after hearing all the raving from you ladies.) My Hubbs (who is a biologist) is worried about me starting the herbs as they are actually drugs in raw natural format and he wonders if they will react with the IVF drugs. But I think if I just do the herbs before my cycle begins--it's fine? As long as im not downing herbs the same time I am injecting myself with IVF drugs?

[hopinginpa]

SueQuwi and Karen- Thanks for the inspiration. I loved it!

Karen- that was a great idea sending a letter. My friends were AFRAID to tell me when they would get pregnant. It didn't seem to bother me too much...They all have 3+ kids.
My brother on the other hand....I need to send him a letter as well. He is upset with me that I have withdrawn when it comes to his fiance's pregnancy. I feel terrible. I know I have been distant and hate myself for it. I will email him shortly.

Valerie- Bravelle/menopur question for ghost would be good. There are so many people now that have had poor response. That is why I am switching back to follistim. Follistim is 4x more expensive but it worked the first time for me.

JDC- I am with you on the PMA this cycle. I have a very good feeling but don't want to get too excited.

Coco, Jharris, Kate-hope you are doing well. Thinking about you!

I went to RE yesterday for baseline US and BW. I started on BCP last night for 2 weeks. I have another appt for US on the 11th of July and start stims that day. The lab is closing for an internal cleaning so we are on hold for 2 weeks. I am happy with the timing. We are looking at the 22nd for ER. It will happen so fast. I WILL start the BFP for this thread!!!!!

[cocosmomma]

Sue: Your husband is correct - you shouldn't take herbs while also taking the IVF meds. My RE asked that I stop the herbs 2 weeks before I start my Estrogen patches (I'm doing an FET, not a fresh).

Karen: So glad you wrote your friend. Therapeutic, isn't it? Baby steps. You'll feel back to normal soon and the hope will return!

HopinginPA: You're on your way! Good luck! We will all be praying for you and encouraging you. I agree with Valerie - the good vibes we get from our friends on this thread can only help with our PMA.

Val: I was on Lupron, Bravelle and Menopur my first cycle and it was cancelled because of my low response. I was 32 and perfectly healthy so there was no reason for it. The next cycle I did with Lupron, Menopur and Ganarelix and they retrieved 27 - all but 2 mature and all but 5 fertilized. The Ganarelix made a HUGE difference for me.

As for me, I ovulated finally on Day 20. Geez. But my temp has shot up like it should, so we shall see. Trying to keep my diagnosed "cold uterus" warm. LOL.

Have a great day, ladies!

[valerie68]

I just posted the question regarding Bravelle and Menopur to Ghost. I'm anxious to see his response! The common denominator seems to be Bravelle ! I'm more and more inclined to ask my RE to switch meds. Is that something I can ask? After all he is the doctor and not me ! I feel I would be stepping on his toes but at the same time I feel it's my body and my cycle and I want the best results possible.

I'll catch up with all of you later...gotta go to work before the rain chases me away once more !
Have a fabulous day !

Val

[hopinginpa]

Val-I did ask RE about the meds and got switched. We pay lots for this and everybody wants the best results. I think they try bravelle because it is cheaper. Can't wait to see Ghost's reply!

[jharris12]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are doing well.

valerie: I agree with hoping. We pay entirely too much money NOT to question them. It is best for you to voice your concerns if you have questions about your protocol. Otherwise it will just worry you. Your doctor may have a good reason for using the meds he does, so it's best to ask. You won't be stepping on any toes!! Good luck staying ahead of the rain!

cocos: It is interesting to see what everyone else used. I was on Lupron, Gonal-f (cheaper version of Follistim), and low-dose Ovidrel, with an Ovidrel trigger. I ended up on the max dosage of Gonal-f (600iu's). My body didn't respond well, so I am curious to see how it gets changed this cycle.

hoping: I am sure your brother will understand. A letter is a great idea. You can really get all your feelings out there that way. Congrats on starting BCP's already!! That is exciting that you are getting started again!! I can't wait!

SueQiwi: I would definitely ask your RE before taking anything during IVF, including herbs. Good luck. Hopefully they will help tremendously before you start up again.

karen: I'm glad you feel better after sent your letter. I am sure your friend is looking for the right words to respond. It is so good to feel positive going into IVF! Kepp us updated on your friend and your hysteroscopy.

JDC: I feel the same way about being positive this time. I too kind of felt that try #1 is a test to see how your body reacts so that they can get everything right the 2nd time. Financially I wish it had worked differently!! But I feel good about this cycle!

Hope everyone is having a great day, and I can't wait to go through this with you wonderful ladies again!!

[JDC]

Sue I'm doing herbs, but I don't think they should be combined with the ivf drugs. My ap says the ones I take will not interfere, but I don't know. I told my RE I didn't plan on taking them and the IVF meds at the same time, but I still need to ask him how far in advance I should stop them. I think I'll give my nurse a call tomorrow. I'll let you know what they say.

Hoping Lead the way girl! I'm so excited for you and for everyone!

To everyone: I want to address everyone individually, but I am entirely too tired right now and I have a terrible headache....but my day is not complete until I catch up on how all of you ladies are doing. I don't know how I would get through this time without you guys. Even when nothing's bothering me, just to know I'm not alone and you all understand and support me and each other is the best!

Have a great night. Ta ta!

[valerie68]

To All : You all bring a smile to my face and a wonderful inner feeling that this is going to be our time. You are all so positive and I think we all feel so good about our coming cycles...like JDC, it is such comfort to know we have such an amazing group of ladies to share our journey !

Ghost's response seems to be that they like Follistim. I will ask him why they DON'T like Bravelle. I will speak to my RE and ask if we can switch...although it is 4 times more expensive ! Ouch in our pocket book

Hoping: You're going to have all the cheerleaders all to yourself...How about that !
Just like I suggested to Karen, I think writing a letter is the best...you can say exactly what you want, totally sob while doing it and relieve your heart of this weight !

jharris, Coco, SueQiwi, Karen, Rinnie, Kate and JDC...I know we are all just waiting...one day at a time.
Can't stay much longer as dinner is cooking and I'm getting some strange smells in the office..I always seem to write while cooking...
Have a great night.

Much love,

Val

[SueQiwi]

Thank you so much for all the replies on herbs. im hoping Rinnie will check-in soon and also offer some advice, since she is so passionate and knowledgeable about them.

It is interesting to read about all the different drug combos and protocols out there. I think we have different drugs here in NZ. I am on a microdose flair protocol using Buserlin and stimming with Puregon. My trigger shot is Ovridel and they are giving me a double this time around--600 units! This is because my eggs hung on extra tight at retrieval and they had to flush my ovaries numerous times to get them. This removed a lot of the cumulous cells and affected our embryo quality. The double trigger shot is supposed to release them better this time--fingers crossed!

I agree with you all that this group is such a comfort to me! You all understand what I am going through and are such a warm and positive force during this uncertain time. I have you all imagined in my head--and of course you are all beautiful and wonderful!

[baby_crazy]

Hi Ladies, I'd like to join your thread. Have been reading it and find it very supportive. I was supposed to start end of june but started spotting 6-7 dpo and was hoping it was implantation bleeding but unfortunately, AF is here so i'll be starting Lupron and Provera around mid july. This will be my 2nd IVF/ICSI, hopefully it will work. First time i had 11 follicles but only 4 mature eggs and only 3 of them were good (2 excellent and 1 good). They transplanted all 3, but resulted in BFN. This time my ER wants to put me on stronger dosage so i produce more eggs. He also wants to add AH and wait till blastocyst stage. I'm thinking about accupuncture as well. Anything to get those embies to hold on!!!

[jharris12]

Welcome to the group baby_crazy. Sounds like you are right there with several of us. I think that most of us have been through at least 1 IVF cycle already. This will be my 2nd cycle as well. I only produced 10 eggs, with only 6 mature, and only 3 fertilized, transferred all 3, but a BFN. My RE is also planning to change my meds a little. So it sounds like we have similar experiences. I hope the increased med does the trick for you this time. We are all here for any kind of support you need, and several women are using AP, so feel free to ask questions about that, too!

[cocosmomma]

Welcome baby_crazy! So glad you are joining us. As you've read, there are several of us on this thread who are using Traditional Chinese Medicine this cycle (some who have done it for past cycles, too). Some of us are on herbs, some aren't. We're all on different protocols and some are doing fresh cycles while others are doing frozen. We're just a big melting pot of IVF! It will be fun to have you on board with us. We can use all the support we can get!

Man, I went to yoga today for the first time in several years and WOW! It was so awesome. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. And while I clearly don't have the core strength I used to have, it wasn't as difficult to get in the positions as I expected. Kind of like riding a bike. I tell you what, between the diet, herbs, acupuncture and yoga, I might not be pregnant but I'll damn sure be fit!

I'll check in on everyone later! Have a great afternoon.

[valerie68]

Good evening ladies !!
Well, I managed to actually eat dinner before starting a post!

Welcome Baby_Crazy ! We'd love for you to join us and have another one to cheer for! Sorry it didn't work out the first time. But a lot of us are doing our second IVF. I will be doing a fresh cycle with 3 weeks of bcp starting in Mid July and stims in early Aug. I'm doing AP without herbs and love it !

I was not on Lupron the first time and it doesn't seem like I will be on my second one either.

Coco: Sounds like yoga was wonderful! I've never done it but you sure make me want to try. I don't think I'd find the time for it, just too many things going on with work. You are going to be fit AND pregnant !

jharris: Did you get the green light from your RE? It sounds like it!

I got the results of my antiphospholipid tests and everything came back negative ! I'm very happy . Something else I don't have to think about at all...
I went for AP yesterday and asked her why she did not prescribe any herbs. She told me that she thought I was healthy enough and that the AP itself would work. I'm not so sure I would have liked to take the herbs anyway, I feel more comfortable like that.
She also told me to drink hot water with honey and lemon juice in the morning and no tea as it has a cooling effect. I drink decaf Earl Grey normally. I'm not too fond of lemon but for the sake of the future baby(ies), I'll do anything ! And I should eat fresh made soup every night...I do it but not every night!

Ghost has shed some light on the subject of Bravelle and I will talk to my RE and figure out what our best plan is. Once that's squared away, I will feel totally ready in my mind and I will go full steam ahead!
I used Ganorelix for 4 days at the end and triggered with Novarel.
I would like to have a few more eggs this time but I was happy that the 2 I got were top quality. So I think I will sacrifice quantity for quality.

We haven't heard from Rinnie, I hope you're doing well!

All the other girls, hope you are all doing well and look forward to your posts.

Val

[karenvancouverisland]

hi ladies! welcome babycrazy. i noticed you're in canada also- i'm on the west coast..are you anywhere near me?

coco- you've got me thinking about yoga (again), i often say i should try it, but haven't followed through yet..maybe i should reconsider.

valerie- glad to hear about your test (even though i don't totally understand what that is)..it's nice for any of us to have 1 less thing on our plates to worry about.

sue- i noticed in your signature you have high FSH.. so do i. mine was 11.2 on day 10 of the clomiphene challenge test..my clinic said they want it below 10 points, and require it to be below 12 in order to do IVF..what's your understanding of all this? it's been the only thing (but obviously a big one) effecting my fertility that they know of.

so other updates from me-

i saw my OBGYN today, follow up from the d&c m/c..he said by the time they did the d&c i had already 'passed' everything..which means the embryo had mostly been re-absorbed or broken down for many weeks. i had an u/s at 7 weeks with a slow heartbeat, i m/c'd at 12 weeks, so it's likely the baby died shortly after the 7 wk u/s. i felt shocked..so there won't be any examination of the remains to determine any genetic/chromosonal reasons for m/c. i'm not sure yet how i feel about all that. i briefly wondered why he didn't tell me in recovery at the hospital, or tell my DH in the waiting room. then i thought it's better this way- we were both already so overwhelmed with everything else we'd heard. but the hysteroscopy is booked for august which my RE requires before another IVF, so some hoops are getting done.

my pregnant friend i had emailed about our m/c hasn't replied to me yet, initially i was relieved, but the last couple days i've been wondering why she hasn't? but it doesn't matter, i did what i needed to do and i don't need to make myself crazy about it after the fact.

so i'm continuing on my self-care missions, going horseback riding again, have a group kayak trip next week, doing some gardening, getting to the gym...i'm behind the mark compared to all you regarding herbs/ acupunture. trying to find an AC who can see me on evenings or saturdays (i work weekdays)

well that's all for now! wishing everyone a lovely night, karen

[JDC]

Good morning everyone and welcome to Baby crazy! Just one more BFP to add to our upcoming list I hope!

I spoke to my nurse regarding the herbs yesterday, and she said my RE does not want me to take them with the ivf meds (no surprise), but that the dietary supplements are okay. She said I can stop them the night before if I want, but we agreed that I would stop them right after I get AF because I will begin stims on day 3. They ordered my medications yesterday, so it hit home that yes, I am really going to do this again! I'm so excited for all of our BFP's!
Valerie....you give me hope because I only had 3 eggs retrieved last time, but they were poor quality....I see that you had only two but they were high quality. My focus all along had been on the quantity.......but I see that it is not necessarily that simple.

Well, I'm off to work....I hope everyone has a wonderful day.