Any other DISers trying to concieve? Reread OP for the QOTD!

[DisneyGirl4188]

Hi!

I would HIGHLY recommend Fertility Friend. It has been pretty easy to chart on there and VERY eye-opening! I think they still give you a trial free period to see if you like it. I got a thermometer (Basal Body Temp one) from Walgreens and it was only about $5 so well worth it.

Good luck to you!


Tracy

I'll look at the site. I know a bunch of people use it here. I back and forth on what I want to do. Do I want to temp and use OPK's? Or, do I want to see what happens? The whole thing drives me crazy.

 

[DisneyDreamer8]

The whole thing drives me crazy.

a big AMEN sister Sometimes I think that ignorance is really bliss but I just can't live that way. I want to know what is going on!!! So I guess I will just have to live with being crazy

Baby Dust Tracy!!!!!! Hope you get your BFP this time!!!!

 

[Octoberbeauty]

Is there a list somewhere of what all the abbreviations are? I'm not in touch with my TTC lingo. Help!

 

[DisneyDreamer8]

Is there a list somewhere of what all the abbreviations are? I'm not in touch with my TTC lingo. Help!

I don't think there is a list here but here are some:

CD-cycle day
dpo-days past ovulation
CM-cervical mucus
EWCM-egg white cervical mucus "fertile"
BFP-big fat positive
BFN-big fat negative
POAS-pee on a stick
FF-fertility friends web site
OPK-ovulation prediction kit
2WW- 2 Week Wait
AF- Period (Aunt Flow)
BBT- Basal Body Temperature-Basal Body Thermometer
BD- Baby Dance (Sex)
FMU- First Morning Urine

 

[arizonacolbys]

Michelle - I'm very picky in what I'll eat too! I've found that I've actually gotten a "little" better over the last couple years, but I don't know anyone as picky as me. I've also been eating eggs for dinner lately with hubby working late & having evening classes. It's quick & easy & now it sounds like it's good for me right now, too! Have fun at acupuncture - relaxing sounds good right about now...

Steph - Thanks a bunch for the aspirin info - my doc hasn't really given me any info on anything different to try after our loss in December because she doesn't think I'm any higher risk right now. I understand what she's saying, but am willing to try some additional things if they don't hurt me in the meantime. Still considering switching doctors...

Elaine - Oh My!! I at your BIL!! Too funny!! Well, I hope they have a good trip anyways - I can't imagine cabbing it everywhere down there - that'll get pricey fast!

Tracy - Welcome!!! Good luck in your 2 week wait! That's always the longest time of the month.

Skuttle - All my weight gain is in my belly right now, too, so I feel your pain. I definitely don't have the bbs problem, though - I went from a B to an A when I was 10 pounds lighter over the summer. Good luck in your 2WW - hopefully, this will be your month!!

Amber - Great news on getting some baby stuff from friends - that's great of them to share. I also highly recommend Fertility Friend. I agree with you - in the beginning I thought that I just wanted to see what happened naturally. But, we both got anxious to get a BFP, so I started temping & charting to try to help our odds.

I'm on CD12 today, just waiting to O. I took my first OPK yesterday evening & it had a very faint line, so O is probably a ways off - FF estimates I'll O around CD18 (per last month's O date.) I'll keep using the OPK's until then. My temp dipped a bit today, so not sure if that means anything other than it's just too darn cold outside!

My weight has been all over the place over the last couple years, too. I'm about 5'5 & currently right at 150. I was hovering at 143 over the summer & briefly got into the high 130's & at that point a size 6 wasn't a problem. Now, I'm probably an 8, although 10's are nice & comfy. I've always had a hard time staying out of the Juniors dept, too - that's where all the cute & trendy stuff is, but it always makes me feel huge to shop there!! I always have to go up at least a size, sometimes more, to wear that stuff. Both of my husband's sisters are twigs & wear a 0-2 most days, and I agree - they are the exception, not the average! I'd rather be 5-10 pounds overweight & enjoy cooking & eating food, than be too skinny & never get to eat anything good.

 

[lovinwdw]

Ok, so as I had posted in the past, I have been off the BCP since September of 2006. I was on the pill for around 11 years. So, AF is getting back on schedule, now 31 day cycles. But, my AF is so light, it's barely existent. is this normal? should i call my ob/gyn?

 

[Octoberbeauty]

I don't think there is a list here but here are some:

CD-cycle day
dpo-days past ovulation
CM-cervical mucus
EWCM-egg white cervical mucus "fertile"
BFP-big fat positive
BFN-big fat negative
POAS-pee on a stick
FF-fertility friends web site
OPK-ovulation prediction kit
2WW- 2 Week Wait
AF- Period (Aunt Flow)
BBT- Basal Body Temperature-Basal Body Thermometer
BD- Baby Dance (Sex)
FMU- First Morning Urine

TY! TY! TY! I can now start deciphering this thread!

 

[skuttle]

Good luck, Michelle!!

I've been temping since December. I haven't tried OPK yet, just because they cost money and FF is free. For those of you that use OPK, do you use just that, or do you also temp to know when to use the OPK??

I'm not sure when/if I'll test this month. The past three months, my cycle has been one day later each time. Just enough to get my hopes up, test, and then a BFN! So I'm trying to wait it out this time. I think I have one test left over from last month, so I may use that one since I already have it. I don't know. Based on my past cycles, AF should arrive on Valentine's day of all days!

I told DH last night that I'm either having a baby or going back to WDW next summer...so at least that gives me something to look forward to.

 

[exwdwcm]

Skuttle, i temped for a while, but i was all over the board, this was when i was temping for the ob/gyn. i was put on clomid after we realized i was haywire. from then on, i gave up on temping and just used opks. i had a good idea of when i was going to ovulate, since i got pain on the meds. so it helped having meds. but i didn't temp with the opk, i strictly used the OPK only.

well sono went okay this am. found a small cyst, but they said my estorgen was okay and didn't show the cyst in my levels, so they said i should be good to continue with my IVF cycle. i'll get a call today if it is otherwise, but she said it should be fine. i start my 2 stim shots on sunday. i have sonos scheduled for next thursday, saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday! they really closely monitor me day to day to adjust my drug doses or see that i am ready to trigger ovulation. i won't ovulate on my own while on stim drugs and lupron. the lupron keeps me from ovulating so that they can control it and tell my body when they want it to ovulate. so they think the earliest we will do the retrieval will be on valentine's day! so only like 10-12 days away, i'll be getting my eggs harvested!

 

[kimntrent]

Can I ask, how do they harvest? I found out through my DR that kaiser doesnt cover IVF but it does cover fertility treatments and that every out patient procedure is 20.00 per visit and they cover hospital stays for fertility treatments. So I am wondering is my IVF 20.00 per visit. Most of my durgs when I did IUI were covered with like a 10.00 copay.

 

[helenabear]

Ok, so as I had posted in the past, I have been off the BCP since September of 2006. I was on the pill for around 11 years. So, AF is getting back on schedule, now 31 day cycles. But, my AF is so light, it's barely existent. is this normal? should i call my ob/gyn?

Were your periods light while on the pill? I know mine were and until the miscarriage they remained lighter than they were after I went on the pill in the first place. Now they aren't heavier but they are a smidge longer htan before (5-5.5 full days instead of 4)

I admit, even though I am short, I am very curvy (think J-Lo butt and legs)... I'm top heavy too so even though I love the Junior's department, it just doesn't work out well for me at all

I can't wait to hear from my BIL when he returns. I am sooo afraid for him. It totally blew us away that they hadn't put a smidge of thought inot it at all. His g/f is from NYC though, so I have a feeling they were thinking of treating it like that

Emily, I might give you a run for your money with how picky of an eater I am... my sister claims I am on a beige diet

How bad is this, I forgot if I welcomed Tracy or not!! If not, welcome... if so, welcome again I get so forgetful sometimes.

Skuttle, good luck with the wait... and yuck on Vday for AF to show. I think I am technically in the 2ww at the moment, but with the total change of PMS symptoms I have no idea when I am really due. I usually have a cycle that is about 25-28 days.

Michelle, so glad that the sono went well. I do hope that the cyst won't cause any troubles for you. I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed for you right now!

We have a busy weekend coming up. This is our church's annual ball and we are helping to set up. Sunday is my birthday so we have to throw that in with the whole church and super bowl timing. I'm sure I'll be ready for sleep come Monday!

 

[lovinwdw]

Were your periods light while on the pill? I know mine were and until the miscarriage they remained lighter than they were after I went on the pill in the first place. Now they aren't heavier but they are a smidge longer htan before (5-5.5 full days instead of 4)


While i was on the BCP my periods were normal. Heavy for about 3 days and fairly light the last 2 days. now, AF lasts 7 days and is light throughout.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I've been temping since December. I haven't tried OPK yet, just because they cost money and FF is free. For those of you that use OPK, do you use just that, or do you also temp to know when to use the OPK??

I do the whole charting thing on FF and then start using OPK when I'm within one week of my earliest recorded CD that I O'd. Then once my temp goes up, I know I can stop using the OPK. Since I'm so stinking irregular, this means that I start with the OPK on CD13, and I O anywhere between CD20 and CD28. Except of course THIS month I O'd on CD 14 (grrrr!!!), so who knows what I'll do next month if I don't get a BFP. I held off on the OPK for the first 3 months of TTC, but I realized that it would really help with accuracy (and keeping DH from getting tired out! ).

Test day is Monday, and I'm just dying with impatience, even though we only BD on one day during the O window, so our chances are low for this month to be a BFP. I'm super tired, not sleeping well, having crazy vivid dreams (and talking in my sleep, too, according to DH ), feeling extra warm, and I just ache all over. I have no energy, and keeping up with the kids I babysit is wearing me out this week. Of course I'd love to attribute all of this to early pregnancy, but to be honest it really isn't any worse than my typical PMS.

 

[mtakac]

Were your periods light while on the pill? I know mine were and until the miscarriage they remained lighter than they were after I went on the pill in the first place. Now they aren't heavier but they are a smidge longer htan before (5-5.5 full days instead of 4)


While i was on the BCP my periods were normal. Heavy for about 3 days and fairly light the last 2 days. now, AF lasts 7 days and is light throughout.

lovinwdw - I went off my BCP the end of october and I am the opposite of you. Hardly anything while on the pill and heavier and longer now off. It's what I expected b/c I had really heavy periods before going onthe pill 15 years ago (which is why I started taking them to begin with). Do you recall what your periods were like before you were on the pill? That might be an indication. Just for peace of mind, I'd call your doctor. There are soooo many kinds of BC pills out that maybe the brand you were on causes very light periods when you are off it. Sometimes I get quicker answers if I ask to speak my my doctors nurse. Good luck.

 

[exwdwcm]

Can I ask, how do they harvest? I found out through my DR that kaiser doesnt cover IVF but it does cover fertility treatments and that every out patient procedure is 20.00 per visit and they cover hospital stays for fertility treatments. So I am wondering is my IVF 20.00 per visit. Most of my durgs when I did IUI were covered with like a 10.00 copay.

the egg retrieval is an actual 'surgery' in the hospital. you are put under complete anisthesia (more $$!). they put you out, insert a needle through your cervix to suck out the eggs. it doesn't take long, but you are on bedrest and feeling crappy for 2 days probably.

my insurance last year covered IUI, but NOT IVF. It did not cover the drugs i needed for IUI though- i had to pay for clomid and follistim injections ($1000). they are bad about paying for injectables period (and that is all you use for IVF).

I am guessing that you will probably have to pay for the actual IVF treatments and drugs, but that your insurance will cover your related sonograms and labwork ($1500-2k), since those can be submitted as endo related or just plain fertility. What drugs did you do with IUI? I would specifically ask your insurance if they cover injectable drugs for IVF. If it says they don't cover IVF, i bet you will have to pay out of pocket for the retrieval, transfer and drugs. Although the retrieval is a day surgery, it is still part of IVF, so i am guessing it will count as IVF, not as just out patient hospital. while it is both an out patient procedure and IVF, i am guessing they will label it as IVF. I would get a letter in writing from them to be clear, so either way, you have proof and backing of what it is. You don't want to get into the cycle and learn later your insurance didn't approve it. get it approved beforehand instead, in WRITING. they will want you pre-certified anyways probably. good luck! i hope you have better coverage than me!

Here's what I paid out of pocket:
RE's fee for one IVF cycle- $2150
Embryology lab fees for retrieval and transfer- $3280
Anisthesiologist- $525
Drugs- 3 injectables- $2500
ICSI- (inject sperm into egg if bad sperm)- $1800
freeze leftover embryos for 2 years- $800

my insurance covers all labwork and sonos, since i had endo. my insurance covers things that have inhibited my fertility, like endo, but it won't cover fertility treatments. it will only treat the endo, which sonos are monitoring that it doesn't come back, while also monitoring my fertility treatments- so i get a 2 for 1 and get ins to pay for it.

Elaine- happy early birthday, have a great weekend. LOL at beige foods. i am a carb lover, so that is a good way to describe me too! lol

Imarriedgrumpy- good luck on monday! i am cheering for you!

oh and on BCP- i stopped taking them about 6 years ago (which is why we knew we had a problem- no accidents in 6 years? ). my periods on the pill were light and easy, no pms. but horrible side effects wiht stomach problems from taking it. which is why i quit it. the 6 years off of it- my periods are still light and last 2-3 days max. but now i have horrible PMS so bad i call into work sometimes. no fun. having the endo removed during the lap helped quite a bit though- and it isn't as bad now.

well have a great weekend all!

 

[DisneyDreamer8]

Elaine-





I will be off the board all weekend so I just wanted to make sure I got that posted.

I got a +OPK yesterday so we are off to the races.

 

[Pollito916]

Here's what I paid out of pocket:
RE's fee for one IVF cycle- $2150
Embryology lab fees for retrieval and transfer- $3280
Anisthesiologist- $525
Drugs- 3 injectables- $2500
ICSI- (inject sperm into egg if bad sperm)- $1800
freeze leftover embryos for 2 years- $800

my insurance covers all labwork and sonos, since i had endo. my insurance covers things that have inhibited my fertility, like endo, but it won't cover fertility treatments. it will only treat the endo, which sonos are monitoring that it doesn't come back, while also monitoring my fertility treatments- so i get a 2 for 1 and get ins to pay for it.

Wow - that is a lot of money! I can't believe how they get away with charging so much for something that should be covered by insurance. Our country is so behind.

If you don't mind my asking, how can they monitor endo with sonos? I also had laproscopy (6.5 yrs ago) and was told the only way to tell if it came back was another laproscopy.

 

[arizonacolbys]

Elaine - Happy, Happy Birthday!!!!! I hope you have a great birthday & enjoy some cake for all of us!

IMarriedGrumpy - GL waiting to test tomorrow - my fingers are crossed for you that you caught that egg!! KUP!

DisneyDreamer8 - Yeah on the +OPK!! GL this weekend!! I'm hoping to get a + in the next couple days, too.

Skuttle - I just started using OPK's for the first time this week & I am still temping on FF as well. FF estimates my O date will be around CD18, so I started using the OPK's a couple days ago just in case. I just bought the Walgreen's brand so I think they came out to about $2/each. If I need more after this month I'm going to look into buying cheaper ones on-line. I like your plans for next summer - WDW or a baby sounds like a great plan either way!

Lovinwdw - My periods have been lighter since going off the BCP. I was on BCP for over 10 years straight & have also read that sometimes your cycle can naturally change over that length of time & coming off BCP may not have anything to do with it. I think my cycle is still straightening itself out a bit after coming off BCP.

Michelle - I hope everything is going well with all the meds right now. A Valentine's Day retrieval would be awesome!

Well, it's about 1 degree outside today & just nasty out there!! I think I'm staying in with the dogs today! LOL I went to my coworker's baby shower yesterday & actually had a very nice time. She went thru a lot of fertility issues & it took them 3 years to finally conceive with medication after a couple of early losses, so it was really great to see her so happy. She got so many cute little baby girl things & she seemed to really like what we all got her.

I'm on CD14 & hoping for a +OPK soon - FF guesses I'll O on CD18, which is coming up soon. I had a temp dip this morning, so not sure if that's a fluke, or if I'll O sooner than CD18 at this point. Have fun watching the Super Bowl everyone!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Happy Birthday, Elaine! Hope your birthday is wonderful!

Well, I started spotting yesterday, and I've had even more spotting today. My temp hasn't dipped yet, so I know that technically there's still hope, but every other sign is pointing towards AF showing up tomorrow or Tuesday, and I'm guessing for tomorrow, since that will be 11 DPO, the date AF usually shows. Hopefully cramps won't be too bad, or will hold off until the PM. Sigh. Well, at least Feb is a "romantic" month! Between valentine's day and our anniversary (the 28th), we have several romantic dates and get-aways planned. Hopefully at least one of those weekends will be well-timed!!

 

[skuttle]

Hope you had a great birthday, Elaine!!

Imarriedgrumpy: Sorry to hear that! Don't give up just yet!! And if AF does show up, you are right...this sounds like the perfect month for you!

Nothing new here...just a waiting game for me. I think it's CD20. My temp has still been up, but I've taken anywhere from 4:50am to 6:30am. Not sure how accurate my chart is based on that. Maybe next month I'll try OPKs.

Well, I think my DS is making the transition from cute, Playhouse Disney cartoons to "boy" cartoons...ie, Power Rangers!! He'll be 4 in July, and I always knew this day was coming, but so soon?? My little boy is growing up!