[Tanter602]

Originally Posted by ms610

TTCAngel--Do you know why some RE's use Prometrium and some Endometrin?? Is one better than the other?? If there isn't a difference is outcome, I am seriously thinking I will ask for the Endometrin. A pill inserted with my fingers......oh my gosh.....can they make this process a little more frustrating!!

Amax-- I have heard different stories on BCP's. I had one RE tell me it just keeps your cycle in order and then I had another tell me it helps you produce more follicles. I think you will be fine.

1dayatatime---hope you find the answers you are looking for on Thursday. What a huge decision.....my prayers are with you.

I read in one of my books that you should give up artifical sweetners as well when doing IVF. Improves egg quality. I have given up caffiene as well. After my m/c, I started having difficulty sleeping, so giving up caffiene just made sense. I didn't drink that much anyway, but I do miss my diet coke everyday. Guess I will trade out diet coke for grape juice........

No caffeine OR artificial sweeteners?? Really? Which book are you reading? I'd like to order it. I'm pre-diabetic so real sugar (in any form) is bad for me, so I pretty much exist on Splenda!

[TTCAngel34]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

I just ordered the yoga dvd too . I am so excited about it! Thanks Angel!!
How do you like it?

No problem! I didn't get a chance to do any of the yoga part of it last night since I got home so late, but I went to the breathing segment and it was soooothing. I'm planning to try the yoga tonight, so tomorrow I'll let you know how it went!

With regard to the Prometrium suppositories, Tanter said that she was reminded of when she had a yeast infection - that's a PERFECT analogy. If you've ever used a Monistat suppository for a yeast infection, the Prometrium residue/discharge/icky-leftoever-stuff is a lot like that except yellow.

No sugar and no Splenda?! Argh!! (I now remember that I had heard a few months back that artificial sweeteners were to be avoided, but I think I just buried that information deep down, hoping against all hope that I'd never need to use it...)

Btw ladies, I'm so glad we're going to be able to cheer each other on through this. I'm grateful for you! That said, I'm still hoping I'll end up dropping out of this thread because I get knocked up this month. (Although it's going to be a little challenging because I should ovulate on Saturday/Sunday, my MIL decided to come visit from tomorrow through Monday, and I'm pretty sure I have the squeakiest bed in the world!)

[Christeena]

Originally Posted by TTCAngel34

No problem! I didn't get a chance to do any of the yoga part of it last night since I got home so late, but I went to the breathing segment and it was soooothing. I'm planning to try the yoga tonight, so tomorrow I'll let you know how it went!


Btw ladies, I'm so glad we're going to be able to cheer each other on through this. I'm grateful for you! That said, I'm still hoping I'll end up dropping out of this thread because I get knocked up this month. (Although it's going to be a little challenging because I should ovulate on Saturday/Sunday, my MIL decided to come visit from tomorrow through Monday, and I'm pretty sure I have the squeakiest bed in the world!)

Angel, u are hilarious!
squeeky bed !!! GL, and maybe throw pillows on the floor?

[TTCAngel34]

Originally Posted by Christeena

Angel, u are hilarious!
squeeky bed !!! GL, and maybe throw pillows on the floor?

We've got squeeky floors too! Maybe I'll just offer her some earplugs. Yep, I can see it now - that wouldn't be weird at all.

[thebunn]

You ladies are cracking me up!! If your MIL is older, maybe she can't hear very well And me too-- I'm hoping to drop this group because I'm preggo; I'm sure all of us are!

I just had a consult with the most amazing RE... he looked through all of our information and said, "I'm going to look at every reason why you're not pregnant and then we're going to discuss every possible solution". We looked at study after study, issue after issue, and he answered every single one of my questions. Ahhh... a doctor who is willing to give me information- hallelujah! AND HE EMAILS HIS PATIENTS!! Needless to say, I have a gazillion tests getting run, but hopefully we'll get some good info and be on preggo soon. I feel so good about this next round... I'm informed and feel like my RE is competent- yea

Does anyone have experience with taking great amounts of fish oil and antioxidants? He was showing us studies about how it affects endometriosis. No one else had ever said anything to me and I thought it was really interesting... just curious if anyone else was on that track.

Have a wonderful night, ladies!!

[justwantababy]

ladies, do you mind if i join in with you? i just got a BFN today after our 5th attempt at IUI. not a good day today. but my re has already told me we can do an egg retrieval august 16th or 17th. they don't do them in july, which is a bummer....more waiting.

but in the meantime i figured it would be a good idea for dh and i to work on being healthy. we're not unhealthy really, we both like to exercise regularly, but our eating habits could improve. any of you have any advice you've heard about foods that could help with fertility? at this point, i'm willing to do anything. i wish we could give accupuncture a try, but that's so expensive. so for the next 2 months, it's exercising and eating right for us and maybe, hopefully, add that with ivf, and we'll have our BFP.

another question....anyone else going to need some financial assistance for this? we've been talking about taking out a loan, at least for part of it. i found this website called medicalfinancing.com and wondered if any of you had heard of it. i guess they deal just with fertility issues. i'm kind of skeptical about it, but i wondered if there were other options out there besides just going to the bank and taking whatever they can give us. any ideas?

[thebunn]

I am so sorry about your BFN... hopefully August will be your month!

As for the financing, an RE I met with Monday mentioned that before some insurance companies started including fertility coverage, patients would sell some their eggs from their IVF cycle to the clinic in turn for reduced prices. I don't know if clinics still offer this type of thing, but you might want to ask.

Good luck!!

Originally Posted by justwantababy

another question....anyone else going to need some financial assistance for this? we've been talking about taking out a loan, at least for part of it. i found this website called medicalfinancing.com and wondered if any of you had heard of it. i guess they deal just with fertility issues. i'm kind of skeptical about it, but i wondered if there were other options out there besides just going to the bank and taking whatever they can give us. any ideas?

[ms610]

Tanter602--I am not sure which book I saw that in...about the artificial sweetner. I am almost positive though that Splenda is ok in moderation. It is the aspartame, Nurtasweet, kind of sweetners that is bad. I have a huge box full of books......it is amazing how many good books I have read over the past 2 years. If I come across the article I will let you know though.

Just for a side note , I recently read a book called "A Few Good Eggs", it has a comedic feel on the whole IVF process. I really enjoyed reading it. Sometimes you really need to laugh so you don't cry!!

[amax]

So I know we're all anxiously awaiting .

I also know some of us are hoping that it won't come because we are .

But what in the heck is going on with my cycle?

I am at cycle day 33 today, no sign of AF, and I swear I just saw a lot of the eggwhite-like CM that one is meant to see around ovulation time. Is it possible to ovulate this late?? I'm sure my ovaries are a bit freaked after the IVF cycle, but sheesh... Sorry if that was too graphic.

[Christeena]

ANGEL -- LOL! instead of earplugs, maybe a nice ipod loaded with her fave music?? heehee!


I WANT to say , that it's sooo nice to know I am not the only one that secretly hopes for pregnancy the old fashioned way between cycles!!!


thebunn -- wonderful news that you found yourself a top notch RE! I just love that he emails you. Mine does that too, and its the best. Im not familiar with fish oil or antioxidant treatment for endo. It sounds like you are on the right track! cool.


Justwantababy -- im sorry about your bfn today. As far as fertility diets go, I read that the following foods are really really good to eat while trying to conceive: Walnuts, salmon, eggs, grape juice, leafy greens, and lots of fresh fruit especially pineapple. I am doing the royal jelly/bee pollen in honey also. Its only 20 bucks a jar.

My DH's insurance covered 2500, but I had to come up with the other nine thousand! I used CARE CREDIT for some of it. They are a "healthcare only" credit division of GE and have low interest rates. let me know if u want the website.


ms610 -- thx for the tip on that book! I saw it online & will check it out =) laughing is something we need !!!


amax -- hmm, not sure why you would be having the eggwhite cm so late in your cycle! ?? did u take an hpt yet? u never know. crazier things have happened. Maybe like you said, its just our bodies trying to get "normal" after all the hormones we pumped them up with.

[Tanter602]

Sitting here having my low-glycemic oatmeal, flavored with Splenda (faux sugar) and Smart Balance (faux butter) and drinking my decaf chai tea with non-fat, lactose-free milk and thinking ... "What I wouldn't give for a Belgian waffle with creamy, melted butter and hot syrup, topped with cinnamon apples and whipped cream, and a hot cup of real tea and cream, just the way my Nana used to make it, when I was a little girl growing up in Boston."

The older I get the more I feel like I've had to give up: I can't eat what I want, can't stay up late or sleep late. Heck, sometimes I can't even stay asleep at night, worrying about bills or my blood sugar or IF or something else. I'm bummed about endometriosis and all this IF stuff; we've had a recent spate of car trouble, which is detracting from the little bit of money we had saved for IVF, and I even found gray hairs the other week!! Ack!!!!

But you know what, I would really give up all my favorite foods (even chocolate brownies a la mode!), lose sleep, have to exercise five times a day, and spend all my money, etc. etc. if it meant I was going to hold my little baby in my arms one day soon.

So I won't complain. I'll just think of all my many blessings instead. You know, if I was growing up back when Nana was, there wouldn't be any help for me at all. They would have just labeled me "barren," and that would have been it. So I'm thankful for this "hearty cut" oatmeal. And I'm thankful I have memories, at least, of drinking real tea with cream with my Nana. And I'm thankful I have you ladies to bounce things off of and learn from and lean on. Most of all, I'm thankful I can give everything I have to try to give life to a tiny little baby. That's sweeter than any waffle or chocolate brownie could ever be.

[Tanter602]

Angel, that squeaky bed thing cracked me up! It could be exciting, maybe? Like when you were younger and doing things you shouldn't have been doing, and hoping no one came home and caught you?
Not that I have any personal experience with that or anything! ;-)

I'm gonna get that A Few Good Eggs book. I totally need more laughter in my life.

I definitely wish for pregnancy in between ART cycles. I was REALLY hoping for it this go-round, since we are right on the cusp of having to spend every dime we have. It would be so nice to POAS and tell DH, "Put the checkbook away, honey! We're gonna need that money for a college fund!"

I haven't done anything really special food-wise, because I already have so many darn food restrictions. So I am just trying to exercise at least 30 minutes, 5 times a week, stay away from too much caffeine, avoid processed sugars, and religiously take my pre-natal vitamin and an extra vitamin C, which helps me absorb more iron.

I can't remember who had the CM issue, but I'm for you that it means something really, really exciting!! How great would THAT be?!

AFM, I got the call from my ob/gyn about giving his second opinion about my elevated blood sugars. He said he thinks it's fine! Yay! And one of the partners in his practice thinks it's fine! Double yay! But he wants to present my case at a meeting of all the dr's in his practice at a "high-risk patient" meeting on Friday and get consensus. If everyone agrees, then he'll send a note or give a call to the RE (who he knows personally) and tell him he thinks it's not a problem! If RE accepts their opinions, I can cycle in August with all of you! Triple yay!!!!
There was only one problem: I had an abnormal pap! Boooooo!
The ob/gyn said it's not major, just some low-grade abnormalities, but I have to come back in for a colposcopy (double boooo!) when he gets back from vacation, sometime around the first week in July.

If all goes well, I'll still be on the BCPs during that time, so it shouldn't interfere with the Lupron or stimming. But have any of you heard of an abnormal pap interfering with your IVF cycle? You don't think this will hold things up, do you?? Grrrrrr!

[WinniePoo]

So I'm taking Prometrium to induce and I am majorly tired today! Also I think I have Promtrium induced ADD cause I can't consentrate on ANYTHING All I can say is that better show up by June 25th or I will be waiting until September for my IVF

So all I have to say is this

How is everyone else doing?

[ms610]

Tanter602-I am not sure about the abnormal pap, but I don't think your RE will let you do a cycle unless he is 100% sure you are ready. As I was reading your post, I couldn't help but feel your desire to have/ hold a baby. I never got to hold my baby, but I can say this. I was so in love with my baby, that I would give up just about anything in this world to feel as great as I did the 10 weeks I was pregnant. I am thankful I did get to experience pregnancy, even if it was the worst part......the first trimester. Even though I felt bad physically, from just being pregnant, emotionally it was the best feeling ever. I have never been so happy. So, don't you ever give up on your dream...you just keep eating oatmeal and drinking decaf tea. It will pay off........soon!!!

Amax--It is very common to have an irregular cycle from doing IVF.......maybe you should demand BCP to get your body back on its normal track. I bet you would only have to take them 2-3 weeks to line things out.

pregnant in between cycles.........oh how I have daydreamed about that.....how nice it must be to have sex and actually get pregnant. How simple things would seem.....guess I need to just keep dreaming!

[kaydliz]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN!
HOPEFULLY WE HAVE BETTER LUCK THIS TIME!
GYPSY

I am glad to see you again too! Hopefully next time it is on the pregnancy boards though. So, how have you been? I had to take a break from the boards for awhile, I just couldn't handle it but now I am back and ready to get things going!