[ssnikitas]

Hi Ladies,

Just looking for others like me that are also in between treatments right now. Just had my 4th failed IUI and now taking a break for 3 months. Scheduled IVF consult with RE for 3/15 and will then determine next steps. Probably looking at doing IVF #1 in March/April.

Anyone else in between treatments?

[Chryssimae]

I am in between treatments as well. I had my 2nd iui end in an ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage so I'm waiting for my beta to drop before we move on to ivf but we're hoping February/March is our timeframe. All the waiting

[cgong1]

My IVF cycles was cancelled a couple days before retrieval due to risk OHSS. Will be waiting to start in March/April again as well.

Either one of you doing anything to get ready?

[ssnikitas]

Hi Ladies,

I am just trying to relax, eat healthier, take my vitamins (Prenatal, DHA, Fish Oil, Baby Aspirin, Red Rasberry Leaf Tea, Royal Jelly), time intercourse and exercise during my break. How about you?

[SassyGurl]

Hi Ladies,

Looks like I'll be joining you for a little break!

I was travellling earlier this month so knew Jan would be a "try naturally" month, but figured I would probably try one last IUI in Feb before moving onto IVF.

But, I had a consult with my RE today to check in and see what the best plan of action going forward is, and looks like I'll now be on a break until Mar/April. (On a side note I booked this appt at the end of Dec when I got my BFN, and get this, it was the only appt left in Jan! Lucky to get it, esp as I'm only in town 3 weekdays in Jan between vacation an work travel).

Anyways....I was expecting him to either advise that it was time for IVF and that we're wasting time doing more IUIs, or that it was worth trying another IUI since I have gotten pregnant using IUI (staying pregnant has been the problem there), so either way gear up for a Feb cycle.

But, instead he says he wants me to take DHEA for 8-12 weeks (ideally 12 I think) before I do anything else! The idea is to hopefully improve egg quality and increase chances of pregnancy/decrease miscarriage risk. The main reason seems to be that I've had the two losses and we don't know why.

At first I was totally against taking a break (as if this process hasn't been long enough already!), but the more I thought about it, the better I felt and I actually ended up being in a great mood tonight, and feeling "at peace" with the plan for the next few months. I've been doing accupuncture since Sept too, so it's also a good opportunity to get further insight into how that's regulated my cycle without the distraction of fertility drugs.

Anyways, nice to have some "cycle buddies" for the next little while

[cgong1]

Sassy - Sorry to hear about the delay in starting again. I will hopefully be gearing up in Mar/April as well. Maybe you should consider taking Royal Jelly. I'm not sure if it works but have read a lot about it on here. I bought some from the vitamin shoppe...it's royal jelly mixed with honey. You have to eat it at room temperature.


I'm also taking prenatal vitamins, DHA, melatonin and as soon as I'm off these meds...I'll start working out 30 min a day. I guess its supposed to help increase blood flow to your ovaries.

I have a WTF appointment on Tueaday with my RE to talk about next steps so hopefully I will know next week what my schedule is going to look like.

[SassyGurl]

Thanks Cgong!

I'm actually surprisingly okay with the delay (at least now, probably won't feel that way in a month!). I did have to sell it to my DH though last night and tell him why we were doing it. I think he's coming around, but he's getting worn out by all the waiting, waiting, waiting we've done the last few years and wants to feel like we're taking some action.

One good thing is that having to wait has made the IUI/IVF decision easier. I had been thinking of doing one last IUI "just in case" (assuming the RE thought it made sense to do), but now with having to wait, it pushes us back to what was going to be my IVF timeline anyways, so decision is made. I was looking at some of the posts in the IUI forum this morning and thinking "I'm so past that...that was sooooo last month!" Funny

Interestingly, my RE would not give me an opinion as to whether we should do another IUI or not. All he said was that IVF had better success rates (which obviously I already knew).

As to supplements, I had read about the royal jelly back in the summer and was thinking of taking it, but then chickened out as I didn't want it to negatively interact with any of the meds I was taking for my IUIs in the fall (as I think it does directly affect your hormone levels?), or mess with what accupuncture was doing.

But now, I may revisit it, thanks for the suggestion!

I see you're taking melatonin...I just started seeing this pop up in people's posts the last few days so was thinking of checking that out. Do you remember off hand what it's supposed to help with?

As to me, I'm currently taking prenatals, omega 3-6-9s, L-argnine, Coenzyme Q10, and baby aspirin. I started the baby aspirin in July and the other stuff (other than prenatals) in Sept/Oct. I also did the red leaf rasberry tea the last few months, but didn't bother this month since we were on vacation earlier and it was a "month off". I might do it in Feb though.

Good luck at your appt on Tue, I hope the RE has a good plan for you. I get so worked up before such appts, thinking about them constantly until they happen, it's such a relief to get in there and find out what the next steps are.

[ssnikitas]

Hi Ladies,

Looks like our little "In between treatments" group is slowly growing.

sassygurl!!! I am sorry to hear about your break, but I am sure that taking DHEA is beneficial to your health and the health of your potential baby. I wish you best of luck!!!!

AFM, I have to honestly say, that in the last week, I have not thought about IF, IUI, IVF, etc. I am really enjoying this break right now. I think I have a bit of OHSS this cycle from all the meds I was on in the last 4 months, but otherwise, I feel great being on no medications right now. Its also relaxing to know that I dont have to time anything right now as far as , IUI, meds, OPK, etc. This is good timing for me to take a break as well in regards to work & school. I have a stressful schedule this semester and a big trade show coming up that I am planning for, so this break is appreciated for me.

When I first started to take this break a couple of weeks back, I was very frustrated, emotional and impatient. I have to say that I have learned to live with it and am currently at peace about it. I know that it will eventually happen, so I keep reminding myself that this break is not there to punish me and extend the struggle with IF. It is there for ME to sit back, relax and reflect on what has been happening to me, and to look ahead at what might come in the future. While I still want to have a baby in the worst kind of way, I know that it will take time. I think once I go meet with me RE in March, I will be in a position where I can do 2 more IUI's if needed before I really have to move on to IVF. And my current outlook is that I truly belief it will happen eventually. I just have to stop stressing about it and wait until its my turn to be . It took me a looong time to get to this point, but I think that is the main point I have gained thus far in this break.

I also noticed my relationship with DH has improved since we are not talking IF and treatments at the moment.

How is everyone else doing?

[ssnikitas]

Originally Posted by SassyGurl

I see you're taking melatonin...I just started seeing this pop up in people's posts the last few days so was thinking of checking that out. Do you remember off hand what it's supposed to help with?

As to me, I'm currently taking prenatals, omega 3-6-9s, L-argnine, Coenzyme Q10, and baby aspirin. I started the baby aspirin in July and the other stuff (other than prenatals) in Sept/Oct. I also did the red leaf rasberry tea the last few months, but didn't bother this month since we were on vacation earlier and it was a "month off". I might do it in Feb though.

What exactly is melatonin? I heard of this a couple of times as well. What does it do or what does it help with?

Also, what is the difference with DHA & DHEA? I am taking Prenatal vitamins, DHA, Fish Oil & Baby Aspirin in addition to Royal Jelly & Red Rasberry Leaf Tea (which I discontinued since on break). I have heard people taking CoQ10, but looked at the store the other day. It was very expensive. What is it for? Also, what is L-argine?

I have to say, its sad when I see all the pills I have to take every morning... I am starting to feel like an old person...

[SassyGurl]

Originally Posted by ssnikitas

What exactly is melatonin? I heard of this a couple of times as well. What does it do or what does it help with?

Also, what is the difference with DHA & DHEA? I am taking Prenatal vitamins, DHA, Fish Oil & Baby Aspirin in addition to Royal Jelly & Red Rasberry Leaf Tea (which I discontinued since on break). I have heard people taking CoQ10, but looked at the store the other day. It was very expensive. What is it for? Also, what is L-argine?

I have to say, its sad when I see all the pills I have to take every morning... I am starting to feel like an old person...

Ssnikitas - Thanks for the welcome, and like you I seem to be okay with the break.

I will have to get back to you on the CoQ10 and L-argnine. I started taking them based on what I read in a book I have "Making Babies a Proven 3 month program for maximum fertility". Most of the stuff I've tried is based on what I read there. Anyways, I can't remember off hand what these do, but the book had a whole chapter on supplements that are helpful for fertility and based on what they said I tried to pick the minimum # of pills to get the best benefit. The CoQ10 and L-argnine seemed to be the stuff that was hardest to get through diet/prenatal alone, so I added it. As a general note, most of the supplements had to do with increasing egg quality, so it was probably that. Hmmm, I don't remember the CoQ10 being more expensive than the other stuff I'm taking, will have to see if that's the case here!

DHA is a fatty acid, so similar idea to the fish oil. DHEA is more like a hormone (similar to estrogen and testosterone), it's produced naturally by the body but apparently starts to decrease a lot in your 20's. Apparently, they don't really know what it's purpose is, but studies done have shown that increasing it seems to help with better egg quality and better pregnancy outcomes. There's a whole thread on it somewhere on this forum (I think in the general infertility section) discussing how it's good for people with DOR. This isn't my issue, but my RE seems to think it may be good for me anyways if my eggs are poor quality (which we don't know for sure, but they may be). Apparently you can buy it over the counter in the US, but here in Canada need a prescription for it.

[SassyGurl]

Hi Stef,

To answer your previous question about CoQ10 and L-Arginine, I checked my book, and here's what it said about each one:


"CoQ10 - antixidant promotes good blood circulation. Body also uses CoQ10 as it produces energy at the cellular level. CoQ10 is difficult to get in significant amounts from food, so we recommend a supplement if you want to boost your levels. Improves pelvic blood flow, esp to uterus, so particularly helpful in Phase 1 of a woman's cycle. Studies have shown that women taking CoQ10 had higher fertilization rates in IVF with ICSI than women who weren't taking supplement. Research links CoQ10 deficiency with miscarriage." Recommended dose: 30-100mg.


"L-arginine - Amino acid that helps improve blood flow to the pelvis. It has been shown to help fertility in both men and women. People who have the herpes virus should not supplement with L-arginine as it can cause outbreaks. According to at least one study, women diagnosed with infertility who take L-arginine can significantly increase their odds of getting pregnant. Another study showed improved IVF outcomes when women classified as "poor responders" to fertility drugs took L-arginine." Recommended dose: 500 mg.

Hope that helps, and glad to have the excuse to remind myself why it is I'm taking them

Oh, and I totally know what you mean about feeling like an old person with all these pills. We used to have those little pill boxes with the days of the week on them where my husband would put our multi vitamins in, but they just looked like something for an 80 year old, so I made him get rid of them. Anyways, now I'm travelling and trying to avoid taking 5 different bottles of pills with me so was asking him about whether we still had those pill boxes so I could just fill them up and take them, and he was like "Remember, you made me get rid of those,". Oh, yeah, ooops

Have a good weekend everyone.

[SassyGurl]

Wow, I seem to be the only one posting on this thread anymore! Hope everyone's doing well, and maybe by posting it will bump it up so others who may also be on a break can see it.

Anyways....all good here. I'm halfway through my 2ww this month. Originally, I was looking forward to not worrying about testing this month, just sitting back and waiting for AF and only testing if it's late. But I'm supposed to stop taking the DHEA once pregnant, so now I'm thinking that just in case I probably should test, so I can stop taking it as soon as possible. The handout I have about it does not say what happens if you take it while pregnant, but my RE was very adamant that I should stop if that happens.

So, of course now I'm thinking of when to test..arghh! Will probably test on day 12, but will see how it goes.

[cgong1]

Hey SaddyGurl! I hate the 2ww...so stressful! I've been avoiding the boards recently because I'm hoping time will go by faster if I'm not thinking about being on hold right now!

I had my WTF appt with the RE last Tuesday and he is going to half my meds again. We will have to wait until at least March to get started again....it feels so far away! How many days do you have till day 12?

[SassyGurl]

Cgong - Yeah staying away from the site makes sense. I was weaning myself off it the first two weeks of Jan, just checking periodically but not posting anything. But then after my last appt, I had all these new questions and thoughts so got sucked back in

I'm on day 8 of my 2ww, so day 12 will be Tue. It is kind of annoying to have to be aware of the timing, but is way easier than a 2ww with treatments.

Glad to hear you have a plan for March, hopefully that will work for you. I'll probably be starting in March as well, but will check in with my RE in Feb to make sure he doesn't think it's too early. Want to get started as soon as possible, but also want to give it the best chances of working, so we'll see!

[flip26]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a place to be while I wait to do another round. We wont be able to do another round until June. We are also currently shopping around for a new RE.

A little about me. DH and I had one failed IVF attempt due to chromosome issues but we also had a low fertilization rate. Our RE at that time said it was due to the male factor but we just had a consultation with a new RE and he thinks it could have also been my egg quality so now I am looking into supplements to improve both him (because he has low everything and balanced Translocation) and me encase there is poor egg quality.

I had an eating disorder when I was in high school and college and right before we tried our IVF I had just lost a bunch of weight in an unhealthy manner. I am wondering if that could have had anything to do with the low fertilization? I do have a DD from a previous relationship.

I hope everyone is doing well. cgong1 March will be here before you know it.