New TTC Thread

[irisbud]

Good morning ladies.

I hope everyone is having a good day today!

Even though we have been TTC for a year or less, I have days when I feel really good and hopeful and then days when I just want to shut myself away and cry, especially since our MC.

My CBEFM STILL says high fertility but has never shown ovulation. I only have 4-5 more days before it will stop asking me to POAS, so I got a 7 day OPK for the interim while it resets itself. I don't get why it is doing that? Does it just stay high unless you ovulate once you have a high LH day?????

The good news is, my cycle was 40-42 days for a while, so if it is that this time I should ovulate right around the time when DH and I are in WDW! I would love to have a Disney souvineer!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Pollito916]

Jen

I have also been lurking here since I was TTC for Alex, back when Becky originally created the thread.

 

[KiKi Mouse]

skuttle,

*hugs*

I know how this stuff can push friendships to the limit. I had to avoid and still avoid some people for the same reason. I really isolated myself and I am not sure how healthy it was but it was self protection.

 

[esbrick]

Allison ~ How're ya feelin? Did your BFF answer your email?

So AF came this am . The good thing, cause I need to have a good thing, is that it will be done before my RE appointment next week. Wow. . . that's my good thing. . . how times have changed

 

[Mrs. Charming]

skuttle,

*hugs*

I know how this stuff can push friendships to the limit. I had to avoid and still avoid some people for the same reason. I really isolated myself and I am not sure how healthy it was but it was self protection.

I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling this way, who has to avoid certain people. Sometimes I feel like a crazy person, but I think I'd be a basketcase if I didn't.

By the way, hey, hi, I'm new to the thread Not new to TTC by any stretch!

 

[si-am]

Welcome Mrs. Charming!


I had my consult with the RE this morning. I'm honestly feeling a little underwhelmed by it.

She first gave me a 10 minute talk about things (caffeine, stress, etc.) that affect fertility. As if I didn't KNOW this after 2 1/2 years. Then she kind of glossed over all my other tests from my gyno and said everything looks normal and I should be able to get pregnant on my own (except I'm not!)

I had to ASK her about PCOS (which my gyno mentioned I could have after seeing my ultrasound), and she said "Oh yeah, okay we'll order a glucose tolerance test."

And she was pushing genetic testing/consultation REALLY REALLY hard. Which I'm sure insurance won't pay for, and besides who cares about genetics when I can't get pg anyway?

So, the plan now is to go in for Day 3 ultrasound (check egg quality/quantity I guess) and bloodwork, to see how desperate we need to be with treatment, depending on my egg reserve.

And I have to get my SHG film from my gyno so that the RE can look at it. She did NOT order an HSG, which you'd think she'd want to check for, huh? Not that I"m complaining about that!

But still... I kind of feel like this is exactly everything my gyno did last year, so what's the point of taking off work for all these redundant tests when I already know I don't want IUI and can't afford IVF.

So, I'm feeling a little

Skuttle, can't wait to hear how yours went today!

 

[irisbud]

Si-am: Sorry your Drs appt want more productive. Hopefully next time you can get some answeres. It sounds like she didn't even look over your problems before you got there!

 

[mickeyboat]

Si-am:

When I was seeing the RE, I was underwhelmed as well. I felt like he was just pushing me through the path that all his other patients were pushed through, and he did not take enough time to really figure out what was wrong with me. (It was PCOS, BTW - I had to beg him to test me and I was PG within weeks of starting Metformin).

What I wish I had done was come to his office armed with pointed questions, and to not let him steam-roll me. I wish I had made it more of a self-directed process.

What I did find is that the support staff (a NP in particular) in his office were incredibly helpful, so I leaned on them a lot.

Good luck.

 

[skuttle]

si-am, I'm sorry your RE consult did not go as well as you were hoping. Hopefully things will get better as you continue treatment!

I had my RE consult today and it went really great. I loved the RE, even though it's my first male doctor since I was in high school!!

We went over our TTC history a bit. What I really liked was that he talked about my chemical pregnancies as real miscarriage, not just something to be blown off. He said that since I've had two miscarriages that he might be able to get BC/BS to cover some testing that they normally wouldn't. As he said, BC/BS doesn't like infertility!

He doesn't think the surgery for DH would make a difference. He said normally, if varicocele is affecting fertility, it would affect the sperm across the board (count, morph and motil). However, with DH, he has good count and motility, only his morph is a bit off. He said the surgery wouldn't help the morph.

I asked about higher clomid dose, but he said more clomid wouldn't make a difference if I was getting good results with the 50mg. He said if clomid is going to work, it usually works fast.

He wants to do another insulin test since I haven't had one since I started Metformin 2 years ago. He also wants to check my liver to make sure it's doing ok with the Metformin.

We talked a bit about PCOS, but that my cycles are regular so that goes against PCOS. However, when I mentioned that I O late but still have AF every 28-30 days, he said that that may be a problem, so I'm glad I mentioned it.

He wants to start with IUI with injectables, Menopur to be exact. THe nurse came in and showed us how to mix the meds and administer the shot. Neither DH nor I think we can do it! LOL!!

He also put me on baby aspirn (due to the multiple miscarriages) as well as a prenatal vitamin since I stopped taking that during one of my "I'm sick of all of this crap so I'm not taking any more meds that make me feel bad" moments. They gave me to packs of prenatal samples. I'm not sure if I should fill the Rx or just do OTC prenatals.

I'm not sure if I will call when I start my next cycle (late Nov/early Dec). Part of me wants to wait until after the holidays. The price list shows approximately $2250 per cycle for everything (meds, ultrasounds, sperm wash, IUI). It'd be tough to get that extra money during the holidays. But, if I do it in December and some of this is covered by insurance, then I wouldn't have to pay it. If I wait until January, even if it is covered by insurance, I'll have to pay it all until I meet my $2800 deductible. My HSA is drained from the surgery and the three IUIs.

Luckily my cycle just ended, so I have some time to think about when I want to jump in to the injectibles.

I'm feeling good after the consult. The RE really was great and seemed to really understand what it's like to go through all of this. I could tell he really knows what he is doing and does care about his patients and won't waste time on things that aren't working.

 

[D&DDisney]

Okay... Vent time
Just heard today that a family at my school just got pregnant AGAIN, and she was on birth control. What????? How can someone on BC still get pregnant with ease and I haven't taken the crap in years and get NOTHING!!!! How can you be fertile even when you're trying not to be and others sit here going to REs, taking meds, standing on our heads, having procedures and get squat, bupkis, diddly!!!!!! Where the heck is the justice in that????

Oh and I can't remember who had the bad church experience this weekend, but here's what I saw this Sunday...
This family sits in the second row of church and the woman whips out her breast during the sermon and starts BF right there in front of God, the priest and entire congregation!!!!!! Good gravy. Have some respect.
It's called a pump - USE IT WHEN YOU COME TO MASS!!!!!!!

All right....I'm done now.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Sorry, I can't comment on anyone's posts, I can't stop laughing at D&D's signature. It's all I can look it.

 

[esbrick]

Si-am ~ Sorry that you had such a crummy RE experience. Maybe when they send over your SHG films they can send over your chart and a letter from your dr documenting what you have already done and the results? Or maybe you can get a second opinion. I agree you may want to talk to the nurses in the office. They usually have the scoop on who is the best person to work with.

Allison ~ Glad your appointment went well. I received my RE benefit package from BCBS of IL today and the coverage didn't seem to bad. One of the good things is that I have pretty much already used up my out of pocket charges for the year so I'm good to go as far as I know on that front, Thank God! I am paying close attention to what all are saying so when I go for my appt next week I will be prepared! I even have a folder that has copies of my insurance info so I can show the dr!

D&DD ~ I so know what your saying when it comes to those "super fertile mertils" God love em cause they drive me crazy! I especially loved it when my husband's cousin was visiting us and told us how easy it was to get his wife pg! The fact that he left our house without limping is a testiment to my self control!

DH offered this moring to come with me next week which was very cool. I was going to talk to him about it but just wasn't able to do so this weekend.

Sending hugs to everyone!

 

[si-am]

Esbrick-- My RE had my chart (everything but the film); she just didn't really bother to look at it. Even though I had THREE MONTHS worth of tests in there!

Unfortunately, this clinic is pretty much the only one in-network with my insurance, so I'm stuck with them for now. They are pretty cutting edge with IVF, and I kind of feel like that's what they're pushing me towards, even though there's no way I can afford it.

I have BCBS too. From what I've seen, it excludes infertility treatments relating to IVF and IUI. I think it covers everything else though? I should probably call and find out.

Allison-- sounds like your visit was really productive! Glad to hear it! My gyno mentioned that I have a polycystic ovary after one of my ultrasounds, but I don't have any of the classic symptoms, either (not overweight, my cycles are regular). But... I also O late around CD17 and start AF on CD28, so it could be a problem for me, too. My RE is at least doing the glucose test just to see what happens. That's one good thing that came out of it!

 

[skuttle]

si-am....I think BC/BS varies from state to state. For my IUIs, it covered all the follicle scans and the progesterone. It did NOT cover the sperm wash, clomid, HCG trigger, or IUI fees. They did cover the HSG and my surgery. The RE seems to think that BC/BS just did not make the connection that the scans were for infertility. I find that hard to believe, but he would probably know more about it than me! He did think that he may be able to code some things for the multiple miscarriages instead of infertility and get more covered. I guess we'll see. I have not called BC/BS about any of this yet. I didn't want to bring up infertility while I was having some parts of the treatment covered.

D&D...That is such a hard thing to deal with and accept, I know! I'll never forget...for my second IUI, my Dr and her nurse were on vacation. There was a "floater" nurse at the station when I went in to get my HCG trigger and IUI scheduled. She asked how long we had been TTC, and I told her 3 years. She said something like "Oh you poor thing. I'm a fertile myrtle so you should touch me! I get pregnant if my DH looks at me." Ugh! She obviously didn't mean any harm, but she needed some infertility sensitivity training!

E...I'm glad your DH wants to attend your RE appt. My DH came with me, and I was glad he was there. Even though I know he's willing to do whatever I say we need to do, it was nice to have him there.

 

[si-am]

si-am....I think BC/BS varies from state to state. For my IUIs, it covered all the follicle scans and the progesterone. It did NOT cover the sperm wash, clomid, HCG trigger, or IUI fees. They did cover the HSG and my surgery. The RE seems to think that BC/BS just did not make the connection that the scans were for infertility. I find that hard to believe, but he would probably know more about it than me! He did think that he may be able to code some things for the multiple miscarriages instead of infertility and get more covered. I guess we'll see. I have not called BC/BS about any of this yet. I didn't want to bring up infertility while I was having some parts of the treatment covered.

That's kind of why I'm afraid to call. They covered all my testing and my Femara last year. I keep thinking if I call and ask about infertility, it will raise a red flag and they will start denying stuff!

 

[esbrick]

I agree that the coverage must go state to state because the BCBS people I spoke with said that IL mandates that most infertility treatments be covered. I'm thinking that IUI may not be because it was not on the list, however, I'm hoping that it could be sublisted under something else. I'm going to bring the letter that they sent me so i can show them at the office as well.

Si-am ~ I am going to give my Dr. a call just in case to make sure that my stuff is sent over. It's couldn't hurt at any rate.

Off to work! Take care ladies!

 

[skuttle]

Hmmm....Moving to IL may be cheaper than these fertility treatments!!

 

[esbrick]

Hiya ladies! Well spoke to my boss about my RE stuff yesterday. I wanted to tell him because I figure there will be days that I need to go to the Dr office or that I may be grouchy or just whatever and I wanted to make sure he knew. Funny what you learn in conversations. . . He and his wife had "issues" a long time ago which I had suspected from past conversations but he confirmed. He was understanding and supportive so that's good. I also just told my Office Manager as she and I work very closely together and cover each other. She's going through her own stuff right now (not firtility but with her "lady parts" as she calls them) so we basically hugged it out and promised to be there for each other so I feel good about that.

I still can't say the "I" word without getting very emotional so I avoid it.

That's all for now. Hope you are all well!

E

 

[TrueEeyore]

Oh and I can't remember who had the bad church experience this weekend, but here's what I saw this Sunday...
This family sits in the second row of church and the woman whips out her breast during the sermon and starts BF right there in front of God, the priest and entire congregation!!!!!! Good gravy. Have some respect.
It's called a pump - USE IT WHEN YOU COME TO MASS!!!!!!!

All right....I'm done now.

Not trying to start a debate or any problems at all, I'm just wondering why you think God would have a problem with one of the most natural things in the world? I'm sure formula wasn't invented when Jesus was born. Breasts were made for that very purpose.

Still rooting on all you TTCers!! Sending baby vibes to all of you

 

[si-am]

I don't think this is the place for a breastfeeding debate.

I have a question for you all. Has anyone done the glucose/insulin bloodwork thing? Where you have to fast and then I assume drink something and wait two hours?

I have to do this on Tuesday along with an ultrasound. Will the lab (which is in a different part of the clinic) let me drink the yucky stuff, then leave and go up to my ultrasound during those two hours?

I have my u/s at 9:30. I really need to start the labwork before that because otherwise I'd miss an entire morning of work and let's just put it this way: that would not be good at all.