[lilac]

Erica, your follicles sound great! They are supposed to grow 2mm a day so they should be a good size by Monday. Excellent news!

Can't help you on the trigger, sorry!

Well, the AF-like cramps seem to have subsided again... I feel very much like AF is coming though I can't put my finger on WHY I feel like that! I will keep you posted...

There is an acupuncture place in my city that specializes in infertility and conception and they also do massage therapy! I'm thinking about it...

[kblythe]

The numbers sound good, Erica. When I stimulated, my follies grew at about the rate of .2 every day ... or so I seem to recall. So you should be good to go on Monday.

Like DeeDee, I used the pre-filled Ovidrel syringe. If you left yours out of the fridge for a long time, I'd call the RE and let them know.

I'm actually feeling a bit crappy today. I hope its just pregnancy symptoms and that I'm not coming down with something!

Kathryn.

[Deej]

Kathryn: sorry you are not feeling well! no fun especially for a pregnant woman, you cannot take much for it!
Happy Friday!

[Squeezan]

Hi Ladies
Sorry I've not been on for a while, I've just been so tired. I was in bed at 10pm on Christmas Day and by 8 or 9pm most other nights. Thank goodness I'm not back in work now til 2nd and can have a few lie-ins.

Erica - glad the scan went well. They say follies grow 1 - 2mm a day but mine sometimes just took off towards the end. The last cycle they went from 15mm to 25mm over the weekend so I'm sure yours will be perfect by Monday. Not sure about the hcg as mine was always given by the nurse but presumably she knew how long it would be til you used it when whe made it up.

DeeDee - try to stay positive, remember it took me 6 goes to get my BFP and I very nearly didn't do the 6th one as I was feeling so low.
That does sound expensive for the lap, I hope your insurance will cover it (if you need it of course). I was lucky that to get mine on the NHS.

Kathryn - I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I seem to have caught every cold going since being pregnant and just feel really drained at the moment.

Not much going on here really - put my jeans on this morning and I'm sure they're getting tight and it can't be the christmas goodies as I've not felt like eating that much.
Love Su x

[ELOVE]

Good Morning Ladies!! You all were my first thought as soon as I woke up! Well after surfing the net last night looking up HCG and refrigeration, all I could find was bodybuilding websites (steroid users) that actually talk about using HCG to gain muscle mass. They claim it can be refrigerated for up to 30 days. Believe it or not it actually made me feel a little better. Maybe being in the refrigerator will make the difference .

Su--Glad to hear from you. Morning sickness/night sickness, fatigue, tight jeans!! Sounds absolutely wonderful! Hopefully by 2 Jan you'll be feeling awesome. I wonder if the people at your job will be able to tell right away .

Kathryn--Sorry you're feeling crappy. Hope it's pregnancy symptoms and not the crud. I've had a chest cold now for a week. I could probably use a Z-pack but I didn't want to use any other medication besides Tylenol.

DeeDee--Okay one more day down. You won't need to go to 6 IUIs 'cause you'll be pregnant this time!

To New Beginnings....

[Deej]

Glad to hear you found a little relief in what you read online! I was told to let the shot come to room temperature, about 1/2 hour outside the fridge before giving it...
Best of Luck with the shot! I think it will be fine and more than that, this will be your time!
I did buy a .99 cent hpt test. I peed in a cup, and am letting it get to room temp. This morning right when I woke up I was almost excited because I did not feel any pms symtpoms but once my body got going, I feel them. We shall see....
Lilac Su Kath and Alley
I hope all you ladies are doing well! It is so awesome to have ttc and preggers in this thread!

[Deej]

Ladies, I hate to admit it but I did the .99c test and it was negative. Oh well! I am less upset than when AF comes, so perhaps testing is a better way for me mentally deal w/ not getting pregnant??
Now comes decision time. Do I go straight for the lap surgery or keep the faith and go for one more medicated IUI? I had no s/e w/ clomid, actually had really incredible results, but no pregnancy.... I have read posts by women who wish they had not spent another dime on IUI's until after the Lap and I have read to try at least 3 of each attempt before moving to the next plan. So a happy medium may be to do one more medicated IUI. A very small part of me thinks there may be a problem, but I do not even like writing that as it takes away from my faith...
Suggestions? Su, I think you were on your last IUI when you got preggers... THank you ladies.

[kblythe]

What exactly does a laporoscopy do? I had the hsg done, and since I had no blockages, I guess I was good to go. But I moved onto ivf after only 2 iui cycles, since tubes aren't an issue then.

My two iui cycles were medicated ... I used follistim. In hindsight, I wish I had gone straight to ivf. But that's really expensive and insurance didn't cover it, so I can understand why other's don't go that route.

Well, I feel much better this a.m. Trying not to convince myself that it's because I'm NOT pregnant. Sigh. Will the worrying ever stop? Probably not!

Kathryn.

[Deej]

I too had the HSG, and it was perfect.... Apparently even with a perfect HSG there can be other stuff going on that is not visible with hsg or u/s. The lap is where they fill up your ab cavity with air so that they can see all the organs clearly. Many women have endo w/out symptoms... That is what my doctor is afraid of. I have suffered w/ menstrual cramps since my first period at age 12, and never once did anybody ever mention endo. I do not want to get discouraged by I am worried about what the doc may find if I do the surgery. "if" I do it because I am not sure it will be covered by insurance. Money and emotions aside, my age is another concern. At 37 I do not feel I have the luxury of sitting out some cycles and thinking about it.
Su, you may be my inspiration to try one more IUI...

[ELOVE]

I am so sorry Deej. Well I certainly know how you feel concerning the age thing. I would certainly attempt at least one more IUI with clomid. I don't know why your doc didn't use clomid from the beginning. I guess since I had only one fallopian tube, it was a no brainer to use clomid. As my doc explained to me and I have read it as well, it takes a few cycles to get your body in sync. I think your body is realizing, "oh we're making a baby" and is now cooperating. I know it just sucks, and I know you don't want to waste any more time. I really think you're on the right path with the clomid.

Oh, and test tomorrow if you don't get AF. I believe you've said you don't even make to betas before AF. Good luck sweetie. Lots and lots of . Don't give up just yet.

[Squeezan]

DeeDee, sorry to hear you got a BFN. Maybe it's just too early, you're 12dpiui I think? My BFP at 14dpiui was really faint, I'd bet it wouldn't have shown at 12dpiui so don't lose hope yet.
As for the lap, I didn't realise you'd already had hsg. My clinic only did a lap 'cos I'd had really painful AFs for a couple of years. They didn't find anything tho' and just put it down to pelvic congestion caused by increased blood supply during AF. At least you know your tubes are clear. I think I'd be tempted to carry on with iui if I were you but I can understand your worries. After a few failed cycles I'm sure we all worry that maybe there's something wrong that we can't see, I know I was worrying that my eggs were poor quality or that I was making empty follicles with no eggs at all, none of which can be diagnosed unless you do ivf.
In the beginning I was given a success rate for iui of 15% per cycle. I figured this is between 1 in 6 and 1 in 7 so had told myself I wouldn't worry too much until I'd had 7 failed cycles.
We are the same age (actually I turn 38 in a couple of weeks) so I understand how you feel about not wanting to wait.
Have you thought of using any complimentary therapies? I've been seeing a homeopath since my cancelled cycles. Homeopathy treats the whole person - body and mind. I'm sure it helped my body to respond to the meds and AF became much less painful. I also listened to a relaxation cd every evening during my last cycle and was reading 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne which is about the power of positive thinking. I honestly think these things made all the difference, I felt like a different person - more positive and relaxed than I'd ever felt.

[lilac]

Wow, you ladies have been busy while I was sleeping...

Kathryn- glad you are feeling better. And no, I don't think the worrying will ever stop!

Su - get lots of rest, you must need it!

Erica - that's funny about the bodybuilders - at least it made you feel better!

DeeDee - I admit, not a positive sign, but you are only 12DPIUI and lots of people only get a faint positive on day 14 or 15. Do not give up totally yet! If AF doesn't come, do another test. I am still hoping for you! And if this is not the one, I think it's worth trying another IUI with clomid. You responded really well to it this time, and many don't.

[kblythe]

I agree with the others, Dee Dee. At 12dpiui, I think it's still too early to throw in the towel. And if I were in your shoes, I'd probably try one more iui before going for additional surgery. Would your RE consider another kind of med to really stimulate you, such as follistim?

Kathryn.

[Deej]

elove: i agree w/ giving my body time to know what it is up to.. the fertility coach said the same thing after the first 3 failed iuis... the doc did not want to put me on clomid immediately b/c all my bloodwork and hsg (done after round 1) were good AND the risk of multiples...
Su: you are my hope to do one more iui before having the surgery... but i have read more posts about women who wish they had stopped trying iui's b/c when they saw their insides there was no chance of conceiving w/out ivf... i too do meditation, read positive thinking books, and use visualization. i am giving thanks from before i get out bed and end each night in prayer/meditation. that is another thing that makes it hard, doing what you are supposed to do, having faith and thinking positive. now is the acceptance part: it was just not meant to be this month, perhaps next!
lilac and su: you all have me about convinced to try another round w/ clomid. i did respond well, with no side effects. but the reason the doc did not go to injectibles (after #3 failed, the fert. coach had asked about injectibles and i was gung ho) is because it is investing more financially mentally and physically, and he will not do that until he has looked inside. i know where he is coming from, all the follicles in the world cannot help if there are bigger issues.
Perhaps the test is too early, if no af today, I may test again tomorrow.
I am upset but will deal with it, and figure my next move. It is only money and emotions, and I will run out of money before the emotions are gone!
I appreciate the encouraging words, all of you!
Deep down I want to believe my body is healthy, that number five would be the magic number, and what is another $1500 when you have already spent $9000?? I would rather spend the 1500 and get pregnant and not have to worry about surgery... And there is always the chance the surgery will show no problems, indicating to continue with IUI.
Elove: is your shot still chillin? tonight the night?
lilac: did your period come yet?
Kathryn: are you feeling better?

[ELOVE]

Yes, go for one more DeeDee! I'm liking Su's statistics average. I've asked myself again and again, how many IUIs would I do before moved on. It's really difficult, 'cause the money we've spent on 6-7 IUI cycles could have paid for (or almost) an IVF cycle. I was saying 4 would be my limit, but now after reading Su's post, I'm thinking more towards 7.
When has AF showed in the past? 12dpIUI, 13, 14? I'm asking because AF for me shows up like clockwork..13dpIUI. As far as multiples, I've twins, but rarely multiples. I know the idea of a single mother raising twins is truly scary, but I believe we are all strong enough to handle it.

Oh, yeah...many of the women on the other posts have medical problems, such as PCOS or DH doesn't have good swimmers. Your cycles have been regular so why would you even fathom your "insides" were messed up.

Speaking of twins...Kathryn I see your betas are really high? Are you having more than one? When are you scheduled for your first u/s?

Don't worry DeeDee we'll be pregnant soon and paying off little bean's debt for next 9 months. Heck yeah, we should be spending our few thousands on cute little onsies!!