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

[MommyBryn]

..it would be best to consult your coaching couple if you have one and they can rewalk you through everything and help you analyze your charts if your goal is to not conceive at this time. If it is to conceive, they might be able to help you analyze the chart for that as well. (We had a coaching couple for NFP--if you didn't, my apologies ).

Interesting. I've never heard of a coaching couple...always done NFP on my own. Who is that through?

We're not TTC nor are we TTA. I'm really just wanting to understand my body even if my cycles don't return right away. Like I said...I'm fascinated.

My OB/GYN is a man and I just love him.

Mine is a man as well. I had a woman before I moved here and she was nice, but I like this guy too. He has 10 kids of his own so I figure he knows what he's doing. LOL

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Interesting. I've never heard of a coaching couple...always done NFP on my own. Who is that through?

We learned NFP through the Catholic Church--so couples teach the method to us--and we have them as a resource so long as they are still teaching. If they are not, we can contact the diocese and we will find someone for us. They are just well educated on the method and are qualified to assist with interpretations of your charts. They are fully trained by the diocese (I don't have the details on what they do to become qualified--but they have been able to assist me several times).

I have friends who are not Catholic and do it on their own who don't have a coaching couple either. I never knew there was a way to practice NFP via self study.

Sorry for the relgion aspect--I thought "NFP" was a catholic thing and didn't know that it extended further than that.

 

[MommyBryn]

We learned NFP through the Catholic Church--so couples teach the method to us--and we have them as a resource so long as they are still teaching. If they are not, we can contact the diocese and we will find someone for us. They are just well educated on the method and are qualified to assist with interpretations of your charts. They are fully trained by the diocese (I don't have the details on what they do to become qualified--but they have been able to assist me several times).

I have friends who are not Catholic and do it on their own who don't have a coaching couple either. I never knew there was a way to practice NFP via self study.

Sorry for the relgion aspect--I thought "NFP" was a catholic thing and didn't know that it extended further than that.

That's cool! I'm not Catholic (non-denominational Christian) and we've done NFP for years because I no longer believe in using BC to "prevent" children (for us, personally)...but that belief also stems from our trouble TTC #1.

But I think it's cool that you have a coach! I could've used one of them in my first couple months charting!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Beta test came back negative--so I'm complete I guess. wahoo! LOL! Okay not too much a celebratory thing other than the factory is back to normal.

I did run last night and felt great. I had trouble last week and though it was being preggers--but I think it was the side affects of the impending outcome if that makes any sense.

 

[mickeyboat]

Denae, if you ended up pregnant, I was going to say our fertility vibes just rubbed off on you! You know how they say women who live together end up with their cycles in sync? Maybe women who TTC around each other end up sending out vibes that reach out to unintended targets.

Are you trying to scare me away from this thread? After the morning I had with my five year old, that is definitely a threat!

So, Carla - I have gotten lost in all the DPO's CD's and whatever, what day will you find out? Is it the 29th? That seems like an awful long time to wait. I wouldn't be surprised if your cramps were implantation related. I don't remember that happening with me, but for someone more in touch with changes in their body, you might notice something like that.

Go bunlets, Go!

Jen - are you seeing an RE now, or are you still with your OB/GYN? Did you see the link I posted some time ago referencing DHMC's clinic, and that they have a satelite office in Manchester or Concord?

Lisa - congrats on your negative. That doesn't sound right, does it? But it's a clean slate for new hope!

I had a second interview this morning with a company I am very interested in working for. I will find out on Thursday if I get the job - which might mean less DIS for me. So everyone needs to have happy endings soon!

Denae

 

[2bemarried]

Good Afternoon Ladies

It's a BEAUTIFUL day here in North Carolina!! Our Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup last night and my appointment this morning went well!!

Me, the needle phobic fainter actually learned how inject myself with a needle. I can't believe that I managed to do it. Ok...so it wasn't a breeze..I did almost pass out..but once I layed down on the floor I was able to focus and just follow the instructions. Carla you're right, the Follistim pen is GREAT! I have to go back next week on the 29th for my baseline ultrasound and I'll start the Lupron injections that evening

The bad news is I had to give 5 viles of blood after that to test for HIV, HEP A&B, Rubella, etc and my veins kept collapsing. The nurse stuck me THREE times before finally getting it to work. I was on the verge of tears, but I sucked it up and got through it.

Lisa Congrats on getting a clean beta test and good luck with this next try!!

Becky..keep your chin up You won't know for sure until AF shows up...if she shows up. YAY on liking the new job

MommyBryn hope you don't mind a dumb question, but what is NFP?

Tracey welcome to the group!!

Denae, the fertility vibes flying around in here may just may get to you

Jen sorry this time wasn't it for you...but we're still sending you good vibes for next month.

Carla have to keep those bunlets cooking in there. Hopefully the cramps were the implantation. I know exactly what you mean by stabbing pains in the bb's. I had those after my biopsy in '03. They were NOT comfortable.

LisalovesPooh, LisaB, Rachael

I'm off to clean house now and finish packing my scrapbooking stuff for a retreat this weekend

 

[LisaB]

I love to scrapbook. I just got into it when we went to Disney which I still need to finsh but I am addicted to it kind of like Disney. It feels so weird to tell Lisa loves Pooh not to be confused with me congrats on the negative. Jen I know that my gyn/ob (who is a woman) went through 4 cycles of clomid with me and no BFP she said it was time to let the RE do their work. Carla in stats how sucessful is IVF

 

[connorsmom911]

Hey all, thanks for the warm welcome. I'm not a firefighter, I'm a 911 dispatcher for the fire department, but I get the pleasure (?) of working with the guys. It's been almost 9 years, so the novelty has worn off.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I knew what you meant on the congrats, guys!

 

[AllyandJack]

Lisa, that is great news about the beta. Your doctor told you to wait a few months to try again? I don't know....most people say it's phychological or for purposes of dating since cycles can be irregular....I ovulated 5 days after I stopped bleeding from my m/c and my beta was still 5. My doctor said if I was pregnant, we'd deal with it and it shouldn't keep me up at night with worry. I wasn't (obviously!), but she didn't seem overly concerned.

Denae, good luck with the job! My beta isn't until the 29th. They do it 15 days after the retrieval. It seems like a long time to me, too. But, I've never actually made it to 15 days....I always have to call and tell her AF has started and she has me come in that day to put me out of my misery.

Kristy, I remember the big vials of blood! Awful. I'm happy they did it though because there is a huge measles outbreak and 2 people who have rubella in Boston near where I work. It's nice to know I'm still immune. Looks like we're both going to be stabbed on the 29th. Have fun on your retreat. It's good to relax before you get something like this started.

Lisa, the CDC keeps the stats on IVF success rates for the clinics. The latest to be published is 2003. The Women and Infants Hospital has a 38.5% live birth rate for women under 35. MGH has a 36.4%, but they're just getting started. Boston IVF has a 35% success rate. The website is good to compare stats....or at least confirm that your chosen place is reputable.
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ART2003/clinics03.asp

 

[mickeyboat]

The website is good to compare stats....or at least confirm that your chosen place is reputable.
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ART2003/clinics03.asp

I checked out that site. It's really cool. DHMC has a success rate under 35 of 37.7%.

Let's talk about something I got reamed about on the DIS one time. I am curious about how all of you feel about it.

I am sure there are many reasons why there seems to be an increase in infertility, one of which is the age that women are starting families. We were raised to know that women can do anything and everything, and that we should wait until we have completed our education and become established in our careers before getting married and having children. That means we are waiting until our late twenties and early thirties to even be getting started.

But our bodies are most prepared and fertile when we are in our late teens and early twenties. Fertility rates steadily decline in our late twenties and early thirties. Sure you hear lots of stories of people who are having children in their forties, but there are just as many stories of people who aren't able to have children at that age. I think most women assume they are going to be able to conceive whenever they want to, and maybe even later with the help of reproductive medicine.

When I looked at the CDC webpage for my local hospital, it showed 0/6 success rate for IVF for ages 41-42. Are we really relying on information we shouldn't be - are we taking our fertility for granted - that we will be fertile when we are finally ready for a family, or that reproductive medicine is the panacea? Should we be telling our own daughters that if they want to have families, they need to put their educations or careers on hold?

I mentioned the decline in fertility to a young woman in her thirties on the DIS, and was accused of trying to scare her into having a family before she was ready. But I think it is worth mentioning that we can't take our fertility for granted, especially as we age.

Wow! What do you all think? Such intellectual thoughts for so late in the day.

Denae

 

[LisaB]

i think that stats can be scured (right word) either way. As long as the eggs are healthy there shouldn't be a problem. Why do woman over 40 have a higher rate of down's. Is it really the age or is it that maybe younger woman abort or m/c

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

From what I have read it is because the eggs are older.

Men are constantly making new swimmers.

We only have what we are born with. We don't make more. And what we have gets old. So that could be an increased risk of non-success or success with anomylies.

 

[LisaB]

Well I had a dream last night that af showed up a week before she was due

 

[beckmrk04]

OT-Guys- I am having a bummer of a day. Work went fine, and no AF (yet)but I took another HPT at lunch and it was negative. But the bummer is that because of my job situation (ie I didn't have one from January until recently- and just now got a good job), we're in a financial bind: money in does not equal money going out.

I hate paying things late. I hate not having money to pay things on time. Worst of all- my house payment is late. You wanna know who I owe? Yeah- the bank I just started working for. They haven't said anything (it's not super late), but I won't get paid from the salon until next week, and I won't get my first check from the bank until July 15th!

I feel so irresponsible and awful, and I know this is temporary, and we just need to get back on track from all the time I was off, but I don't know how to even begin to climb out of the hole.

Once I start getting paid regularly, our finances will be fine- actually, better than fine. But right now!

ETA- thinking about my bills has me GLAD I'm not pregnant. I would really be flipping out then. I think God's giving me some more time to get prepared.

 

[AllyandJack]

I have so many friends who talk about "we'll start a family in a few years." You don't know that. So, when I hear people say, "WHEN we have kids....", I tend to think they shouldn't be so confident, but what do I expect? People to walk around assuming they're going to have fertility problems? Of course not. I'm just jaded.

Unless you have a problem like PCOS or Endo diagnosed earlier, you really don't know and it is QUITE the shock to find out when you're two healthy people and you can't conceive.

There are more problems than just eggs with age. Progesterone production slows down. Estrogen production slows down (and thins the lining). But, those can also be helped along, so it's not something to worry about these days - if the levels look low during the initial beta, you get supplements. If you can't get pregnant, they do some blood tests, and give you supplements. So, in that respect, it is "easier" to get pregnant older these days as long as there is no male factor or egg issues like high FSH.

I don't think anyone should ever give up on having a baby at any age. But, I'm not sure what I'll tell my kids. I wouldn't want to discourage my daughters from having a career, but if they ever come to me and give me a line about waiting such-and-such amount of time so everything is "perfect", I may voice my opinion. I'm just happy I discovered our problem at 28 and not 34. Just because it's taken 2 years to get to this point....and who knows how long it will take after this if this doesn't work because I have no intention of giving up.

Becky.... Don't be so hard on yourself. Almost everyone hits hard times. Lord knows DH and I did when he lost his job (twice within 6 months). Ask if you can just pay the interest this month and next month on the home loan. They usually let you do that. If you call and explain, they'll probably work with you. It's almost July, so you'll be back on your feet in no time.

 

[RachaelRol]

Hello Ladies,

Must say, I love our group. Welcome Connor's Mom!!!

Beck, been there done that, especially when we were first married. It happens to many of us especailly when we're first starting out. Take Carla's advice and call the bank. They'll work with you especially if this is a first time occurrence.

As far as MickeyBoat's question, here are my two cents...

For women, the reality is our bodies are best suited to conceive when we are in our teen and early twenties. About 20 pages back we joked about how if we were 16 we'd be pregnant....

I am very lucky. My DH is a saint. He and I both work fulltime, but I would say his is more a job and mine is more a career. (not speaking badly of DH, he's perfectly ok with out situation)

I was very fortunate to get a job with a new insurance comany in 1997 right after graduating college. Since then I've been promoted several times and am now the underwritng manager for the youngest of the companies in the corporation I work for. Both the president I work for and the president I used to work for think I can be a VP in a couple years and wold like me to go for my MBA. This is something I was ready to take on until DH and I decided to TTC.

I want to get my MBA and I want to be VP. I love the company I work for and in the long run it would be great for our family. It may even mean DH could quit his job and be a SAHD.

But I know given my medical history I would have to be on bed rest after 20 weeks and up until then will have weekly Dr appointments that will really impact work.

Reality is we, as women are not percieved the same way at work even when we work our butt's off. It becomes, she's great but she's pregnant... Not stirring the pot, but this is what I think happens not matter the company. A business has to keep moving and if someone, no matter the reason is not able to perform at the level she has, she's looked at differently.

I know that I may be sacrificing my career as a result of TTC. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I am however a believer that we can have it all or can at least try to. We can have the marriage, children, career etc, if that's what we want.

Right now we want another child. I don't want my biggest regret in life to be not at least trying to have another child.

Wow, that was long, sorry about that.

Finally...If I ever have a daughter I will tell her my story and probably all of yours. I will foster her independance and nurture her natural instincts about being a woman. I will help educate and guide her and support her decisions.

Besides that I don't think there's anything else to do!!!

 

[FlyingBelle]

Howdy ladies... looking for some positive support.

I'm 35, married for the 2nd time (almost 2 years) to a WONDERFUL DH who loves Disney as much as I do (although he's afraid of the secret green club).

We're in our 2nd cycle of treatment. After many months of Clomid with DH#1 (although a Disney fan, no longer a fan of mine), his inability to cope with infertility was one of the causes of our breakup. Anyway...

This time it's different. Went right to Folistim shots. Last month had about 13 days of 75 units, 1 shot of ovidrel, and then IUI. All that to find my LH was too low and the supository didn't arrive in time.

Now on to cycle #2. I'm about 8 days into Folistim 100 units. Going tomorrow for BW and US to see if the two folicles they spotted Monday have been growing (they were about 8mm on Monday).

Going to Disney in August - hoping this works this month so I don't have to take a break from treatment for vacation!

 

[RachaelRol]

Welcome Flying Belle!!! There's plenty of support to go around!!! We hope you srick around!

 

[FlyingBelle]

Thanks... I never expected to find this kind of thread on a Disney board (I'm so used to the business-related forums that I scan for work).

It's a pleasant surprise - mixing my two favorite things: Disney and babies. I hope someday (hopefully soon) to mix the two in reality.

I'll be reading through to see what you all have gone through. Hopefully tomorrow the server will be working a little better.

Off to bed... dreaming of pink & blue!