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

[beckmrk04]

Carla- I'm glad your doc said everything was approved. TRY to relax about it- getting worked up won't help (Pot, this is kettle calling- You're black!) I know it's good advice, I am just having trouble taking myown advice.


So far I have tested (just ONCE a day) at 10 dpo, 11 dpo, and today at 12 dpo. All BFN.

So, I am not going to test again until I'm 18 dpo. I only have one test left. I'm not buying more. I have to stop this insanity.

 

[beckmrk04]

Reread the OP for QOTD.

QOTD: I don't know. I AM dirivng myself nuts. I need advice. The QOTD is a shameless beg for advice and tips, but hopefully, they'll help someone esle, because I know I'm not the only one doing this: there is a whole website dedicated to the 2WW....

I already set the ground rule that I am not going to test again until 18 dpo. By then I should get reliable results OR have gotten AF already. That way I can stop getting BFNs and holding out hope that those sticks just don't know what they are talking about because I'm an idiot and can't resist testing, even though it's still early.

 

[AllyandJack]

QOTD: I don't test. I just don't buy 'em. I have my beta scheduled for a certain date and I either get my period before that, or I don't, and I go for my blood test - well, either way, I go for the blood test, but knowing I have that "date with the needle" keeps me from testing. I have moments during the 2ww that I think "It worked!" Then, a few seconds later, I think, "You idiot. You KNOW it didn't work." I try not to swing too far either way.....I try....usually doesn't work.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Hi everyone, sorry I dropped my story and worries and ran. This is a bit difficult for me.

Carla--I really pray for you and your Dh. I have no idea about 99% of the stuff you mention but it all sounds incrediably difficult and extremely painful emtionally. I wish you a beautiful baby or 8 whichever youd prefer.

To everyone else, your stories are amazing at how you know your body and everything about it. I guess I need to break down and start reading in case things are difficult to conceive. Good luck to you all.


Now my story: Obviously I'm no skinny minnie by looking at my picture but other than the weight everything is completely normal and Im working on the weight. I am on a birth control pill but actually did come off of it last fall and remembered very quickly why the doctor put me on it when I was 19. I had the most horrible horrible cramps and bleeding. It's bad when you go through a package of pads in 4 days. My regular doctor quickly sent me to a Ob/gyn who started alot of testing including an intravenous ultrasound(I told the technician that I now know what a stick shift car feels like the way she was pushing the wand all around in there). She said the only thing that she really found was that both my ovaries had several cysts on them but still small enough not to be removed. She told me to go back on the pill because it would keep the cysts small and if I go off the pill, they will grow. I asked about when I start trying to conceive and going off the pill will work with the cysts and she said she honestly didn't know but thought the cysts would begin to grow. So I left confused.

About the age thing, she told me that by age 30 you should have your first child because after that your chances of carring to full term or having a baby with health problems lessen. Several of my friends are carrying babies to full term at 35-40,though I don't want to be pregnant at 40. I guess I need to start reading about everything and knowing my body.

The other thing I'm worried about is that I have been on antibiotics MANY times while on the pill and I know that the pill may not work with the other meds but never had a problem. I have umm practiced quite a bit while on the antibiotics thinking that maybe I could get pregnant while on both so I wouldn't have to make a choice, lol. I wonder if this means it maybe more difficult for us to conceive.

I had long email discussion with dh about going off the pill because I know that I can't just keep putting it off and expect a miracle. Right now he wants me to keep taking the pill until we know for sure if we are leaving this army posts for a nondeployable job(please keep your fingers crossed about this). We will know by the end of July and then we will look again because I think Im ready to go off the pill. I have been around babies all week and it's finally hitting home big time that I want one well more than one.

thanks for still reading if you are at this point

 

[zalansky]

lovemygoofy - Done't let nurses or doctors scare you, please! While chances of getting pregnant do decline as you age, it is not as dramatic as some people would like to believe. Now as you get closer to 40, maybe. I had my first baby at 34 and just had my second the day before my 37th birthday. Got pregnant easily both times and had perfectly healthy babies both times. Some people had me so freaked out about "abnornmalities" in moms over age 35 that I researched it to death online and found quite a bit of interesting info. In other countries, for instance, they do not do genetic prenatal testing unless a woman is over 40 years old.

Also, I know many friends that have had babies in the past few years who were over age 35 when they gave birth and I have not heard of one baby yet that had any problems. Yes, risks might increase but not to the extent some may say.

to you for the cramping & bleeding problems and good luck when you do try to conceive!

 

[AllyandJack]

Tina, I can't believe you're doctor would tell you to go back on the pill. I have heard the ob/gyns don't want to deal with fertility issues - or they're just not very good at dealing with them. Did she tell you to come back when you're going to stop the pill to TTC? I agree with zalansky....don't be afraid to speak up. Ask for tests to be done. Even the best of doctors.....I love my doctor, but we're currently in a heated debate. I want my P4 and E2 tested 7 days after retrieval. She thinks it's unnecessary. I think I'll win though. I go back Thursday and I plan to hit her with the "What can it hurt?" argument.

If you saw my doctor, she would have done CD3 bloodwork on you and a long fasting glucose test to check for poly-cystic ovarian syndrome. Since you have heavy, painful periods she might have done a lap to check for endometriosis. I didn't have that done at first since I wasn't presenting any symptoms, but the blood work is pretty standard. I had the lap for another reason during my miscarriage.

I hope the job comes through for your DH. Even you don't have problems conceiving, it's hard when someone isn't around all the time....both people sort of have to be there.

 

[beckmrk04]

lovemygoofy- I am also in the camp of "don't let doctors scare you." Really, if you do some research, you'll find that the statistics actually ARE NOT that scary or bad!!!

I would reccomend (and I am by no means a doctor) getting the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" and then going off the pill (with your doctors approval/consent/knowledge-whatever) and charting your cycle. It helps you learn A LOT about your body, and knowledge is power. We charted for a month and used condoms during that time, then stopped using BC altogether. Could you maybe use condoms or a diaphragm or some non-hormonal form of BC while you are charting and until you are really ready to start trying? Just an idea if you haven't already thought of that. There's lots of options.

I'm overweight too, and my doc said that everything else was fine- good blood pressure, no other problems, and so being overweight (although not ideal) wasn't as big of a deal as people make out to be. I just have to be careflu not to gain too much weight when I do get pregnant.

Like my doctor said, "Yeah- being thin would be ideal, but we just don't live in an ideal world!"

 

[Pollito916]

Hi ladies! Congrats on the BFP Tiggerstac, and baby dust to everyone else! Well, I don't think this month will be it for us. I don't think we BD'd on the right days, b/c I was traveling, and had a big exam, but I am still hoping. Still over a week until AF is due, so I'm trying not to think about it.

 

[LisaB]

Lovmygoofy-- I agree don't let them scare you. Correct me if I am wrong guys but I believe that your chances of abonormaliteis are actually very slim. I know in the case of down's just as many teenagers have children with down's as 35+ year old. Woman are having children much later now. Also How much do you love your doctor???? I know that in mho I would get another one

 

[AllyandJack]

The rates really do increase. In the case of Down's Syndrome, the risk is 1/1,300 at 25 years old; at 35, it increases to 1/365; at 45, it's 1/30. The reason more younger people have babies with Down's is because more people under 35 have babies. Women under 35 give birth to 70% of the babies with Down's Syndrome simply because more than 90% of the babies born are born to women under 40. That shouldn't be a reason not to have a baby though - and certainly not to give up at 30 or even 35. DH has a brother with Down's Syndrome, so I've done my research.

Pollito, this last week just drags by, huh? Hopefully with it being a holiday weekend, it'll go by fast for ya!

 

[LisaB]

I know someone who was in their late 20's and gave birth to a baby with downs and two over 40 with perfectly healthy kids.

 

[AllyandJack]

Just because the risks increase doesn't mean it's definite. My best friend miscarried her first pregnancy at 28 and tests showed it had Down's Syndrome. Two months later, she got pregnant with her son and he's perfectly healthy. The risks increase, but they're still pretty good. Even at 35, there is a 355:356 chance the baby will be fine. Those are really good odds and no reason to worry. I worry more about the freaky things that can happen....I watch WAY too much Discovery Health and see WAY too many crazy things that can happen.

 

[LisaB]

Do your realize that your stats for woman at 35 is the same as how many days in the year?

 

[AllyandJack]

Do your realize that your stats for woman at 35 is the same as how many days in the year?

I didn't notice. That's the number the AAFP uses. I wasn't a math major and I know nothing about how they get these numbers. The Down's Syndrome Society says 1/400. So, they seem to be close, but not exactly the same.

 

[2bemarried]

Congrats Tiggerstac

If you saw my doctor, she would have done CD3 bloodwork on you and a long fasting glucose test to check for poly-cystic ovarian syndrome. Since you have heavy, painful periods she might have done a lap to check for endometriosis. I didn't have that done at first since I wasn't presenting any symptoms, but the blood work is pretty standard. I had the lap for another reason during my miscarriage.

Tina, Carla is dead on with this statement. Your doctor should have done all of those tests. My suggestion to you is to get a referral to a reproductive endocrinologist. I'm also overweight...(5'2" and 250). My RE is the first doctor that has cared enough to run all of these tests. The OB/GYN just didn't think it was necessary even though she knew all of my symptoms pointed towards PCOS. Now that I know I have PCOS I'm taking Metformin to control my cycle and it will make getting pregnant easier...even via IVF.
Also the quote Becky posted from her doctor is so true!! My RE basically said the same thing. She did advice that being a down swing with weight loss is a lot better than being an up swing even if it's just 10 pounds.
Best of luck to your husband on the new job!!

[QOTD] Before DH and I knew that we couldn't get pregnant naturally I tested like crazy. I knew what my PMS symptoms were and if I was more than 2 days late I would test. Without fail....that same even aunt flo would show up. It's like she was laughing in my face. So....my best advice is to take a deep breath and wait till AF is at least a week late before you test. Otherwise you're going to get more and more fed up with TTC. You should be relaxed and having fun when BDing'.

Only 3 more days before DH's surgery. Poor thing, he's so worried that the doctor is going to come out and say that they found zero sperm during the surgery. His hormone levels were all normal so the chance of that happening is less than 5%...but he's still worried. I'm just worried that once Tuesday's procedure is over all the pressure will be on me.

 

[scifihippie]

everyone.

I just spent the last hour and half reading all the posts here. DH and I will probably start TTC#2 later this summer. It took us over two years to conceive DS and I don't want to wait too long to start trying for #2. I felt all your pain reading through the posts. I've been through it too, the temps, the pills, the HSG, the SAs, the injections to myself (DH was too chicken to inject me), the catheters................. I just want to give you all a hug and best wishes that you all have your BFPs soon. I will say what finally helped me was adding acupuncture to my RE treatments. I love the acu!

I was 33 when I gave birth to my DS. There's no reason you won't have a perfectly healthy baby no matter how old you are. We did have the amnio after the down's screening came back higher than my age risk. My DS is perfectly healthy. Don't stress about it.

 

[helenabear]

Busy weekend here, but I wanted to come in for the question...

QOTD: I have it easy in a way. Granted I do get upset now and then when AF shows up, but when it comes down to it, I go back to my religious beliefs... if God wills it, it will happen. Even when I wasn't so big on religion (or God for that fact) I've always believed in fate. If it is meant to be, it will be. I've gone into this knowing that I may or may not get pregnant. And if it isn't naturally, for me (and only me) I won't push it. My mom went through a lot to get pregnant and had very rough pregnancies. She wound up dying at the age of 48. If she had one more child, she would've died earlier.
Knowing all this makes me not want to push it. If it is meant to be, it will be. I can be disappointed, but that's just how I am.
This probably explains also why I am not big on charting or checking or anything. I don't do well with stress, and doing that would be so hard on me. I don't want my hopes up like that. so we are just taking it easy and going with the flow...

now I know by saying this, some might be offended... but please, know that what I say is only what I believe is right for me. I don't think anyone is bad or wrong, for doing it any other way. You can say, though, this really does take a lot of "stress" out of my life. I just simply refuse to test or even think about testing until AF is late.

I just hope no one was offended by what I said

 

[beckmrk04]

Definitely not offended, helenabear: everyone has to choose what's right for herself!!

But, speaking of disappointment.... Today is my birthday. And guess what showed up? AF. I was so hoping for AF not to show up, but on my birthday just feels like a double whammy.

Oy. Well- gotta sex it up some more in June, I guess. AND- now I know not to waste my money on stupid HPTs until AF is late.

 

[AllyandJack]

Becky, that stinks. There should be some kind of rule that, at the very least, AF can't show up on your b-day.

Happy B-Day....prepare for an exhausting June!

 

[AllyandJack]

This will all be worth it....right?