TTC thread take 2

[katiegel]

Hi everyone...we are officially TTC'ing. We had been waiting for our WDW trip next month...but at this point I won't get pregnant before then - so we're off!!! We're hoping this time won't take as long as last (over a year of TTC'ing)...we're using OP kits now (which I think really helped last time).

Take care everyone!

 

[cherbear]

What's on your Christmas list:

To be pregnant for Christmas *crosses fingers*
a back massager
a lush shower kit
a spa day at the beauty college
Disney gift cards for my next work trip and a figurine



For everyone else:
Kenny: not sure
Mom: watches
Dad: Elvis clock
G-ma Precious Moments clock
cousin: Madd Hattir watch
MIL and FIL: food kit
SIL and BIL: food kit
aunt and uncle: food kit
In-laws: Disney food kits (my aunt in laws loooove Disney!)
G-ma #2 (Ken's grandma) not sure.
Fernando: a toy

sounds like you've got it all planned out.

I don't really want anything. I just want to skip over Christmas this year. This is the second year that's gone by without a baby...I hate to be depressing, but I just get that way during the holidays (well, this is the 2nd year for it)

BUT then I get to a point where I want to make others happier, I still don't want any gifts for myself, and I know I can't afford anything for anyone but I always try. So I am thinking I'm gonna make gifts this year! Someone suggested soaps....might do that. I also can cross-stitch some ornaments. I already have a few kits for those. If anyone has other suggestions for making cheap gifts, send them my way!!

It also led me to think about doing the soaps and stuff and selling them, as a fundraiser for my IVF to come...but I don't know how I'd go about selling them. I'm sure some people at work would buy, but I'd like to reach more people.

 

[cherbear]

Just got back from visiting my alma mater this weekend (University of Illinois). Had a great time at homecoming with some of the most amazing people I know. Was definitely in a "happy place" for most of the weekend! Got the "when are you gonna have a baby?" question about a million times, but it was still a great weekend despite that and did end up being a good way to get my mind off TTC for a few days! Back to reality tomorrow

still kinda hard to get your mind fully off TTC when everyone is asking the baby question, right?

Glad you managed to have fun despite all those comments!

Hi everyone...we are officially TTC'ing. We had been waiting for our WDW trip next month...but at this point I won't get pregnant before then - so we're off!!! We're hoping this time won't take as long as last (over a year of TTC'ing)...we're using OP kits now (which I think really helped last time).

Take care everyone!

Welcome to the thread!! Hope your stay here is a short one. To introduce myself, I'm Cheri, 28, married to my DH for 4 years (as of next month) and live in the deep south....we have been TTC 22 months, and been through 4 IUI's and an IVF. We hope that one more IVF will lead to our beautiful baby(s) in 2011.

 

[esbrick]

sounds like you've got it all planned out.

I don't really want anything. I just want to skip over Christmas this year. This is the second year that's gone by without a baby...I hate to be depressing, but I just get that way during the holidays (well, this is the 2nd year for it)

BUT then I get to a point where I want to make others happier, I still don't want any gifts for myself, and I know I can't afford anything for anyone but I always try. So I am thinking I'm gonna make gifts this year! Someone suggested soaps....might do that. I also can cross-stitch some ornaments. I already have a few kits for those. If anyone has other suggestions for making cheap gifts, send them my way!!

It also led me to think about doing the soaps and stuff and selling them, as a fundraiser for my IVF to come...but I don't know how I'd go about selling them. I'm sure some people at work would buy, but I'd like to reach more people.

Christmas time is my "Happy Place" so I'm looking foward to it. Also to the fact that by the time Christmas gets here Thanksgiving will be done too. Usually we are all about the holidays but this year because of a "inlaw" situation and low funds it's going to be interesting to say the least! I'll get into that later BUT. . . CHERI I'm excited that you are going to do another round of IVF! When do you think you are shooting for? PS I love the ideas about the soaps and stiching ornaments. You should look into www.etsy.com. It's a website that people go on to sell home made goods so's to speak. Also if you really get into this you could post what you are doing on FB. I know myself that i am not crafty what's so ever so I love it when people can do that stuff.

 

[cherbear]

Christmas time is my "Happy Place" so I'm looking foward to it. Also to the fact that by the time Christmas gets here Thanksgiving will be done too. Usually we are all about the holidays but this year because of a "inlaw" situation and low funds it's going to be interesting to say the least! I'll get into that later BUT. . . CHERI I'm excited that you are going to do another round of IVF! When do you think you are shooting for? PS I love the ideas about the soaps and stiching ornaments. You should look into www.etsy.com. It's a website that people go on to sell home made goods so's to speak. Also if you really get into this you could post what you are doing on FB. I know myself that i am not crafty what's so ever so I love it when people can do that stuff.

oh yeah I know about Etsy. There seems to be SO many people making the same things though. It overwhelms me just going to that site.

I forgot I wanted to post a separate post about our followup meeting with Dr S (had it on Friday). I'll do that soon!

 

[esbrick]

The winds are howlin in Chicago! Shoot! Hope everyone is doing well! Nothing new here just wanted to say hi and wish our travelers happy journies

 

[joanne312]

Hi everyone...we are officially TTC'ing. We had been waiting for our WDW trip next month...but at this point I won't get pregnant before then - so we're off!!! We're hoping this time won't take as long as last (over a year of TTC'ing)...we're using OP kits now (which I think really helped last time).

Take care everyone!

Welcome to the TTC board! Hope your stay with us is short!

 

[ead79]

Good Morning, Ladies!

I had my annual exam with my OB-GYN on Monday, and we talked about my missing AF and TTC.

Here's her thoughts:
1) Do bloodwork on me (I go in on Friday). Her suspicion is that I have PCOS, which is messing up my hormone levels and thus making me miss AF.

2) Do an analysis on DH, just to be on the safe side to be able to rule out a problem on that end of things.

3) If the bloodwork shows I have PCOS, put me on Clomid. She said that they usually only use Clomid for up to 3 months to see if that works.

4) If the Clomid doesn't work, then she said they can do up to 3 IUI's at her office. She said that I can be referred to a RE at any point in this process, but that the IUI's would be less expensive out of her office.

5) She said that she doesn't think we need to do a HSG at this point. She said all the evidence is pointing to a hormonal/PCOS type of problem, and she has no reason to think the issue would be physical in nature. She said it's not likely in her opinion based on my medical history and the fact that evidence points to my hormones being out of whack.

Please give me your feedback on what she said. Do you think I should go the RE route, even though it would likely be much more expensive? We've only been TTC for just under a year, so I don't know how aggressive we want to be. I'm thinking that we should definitely give the Clomid a chance before getting a referral. I just don't know whether there is some sort of advantage to having a RE do any IUI's we might need.

I was a little surprised to hear that they would consider IUI's so quickly in the process. I guess I thought people took Clomid for much longer before trying an IUI. But I don't really have any experience with this, so shows what I know, LOL!

 

[Kronk's girl]

Morning Ladies! We just got back and had a nice time. AF showed up the night before we left (of course!), and my husband got sick with an awful cold on the second day we were there. And on the first night we were in line for ice cream and we got a phone call from a friend telling us she's pregnant.... I was happy for them, but it wasn't something I wanted to hear while trying to escape my troubles in Disneyland!

We did still have a little fun though. We went on all the rides we had wanted to, and saw World of Color which was pretty neat, and had some nice dinners. I enjoyed the Halloween decorations and there were tons of cute dressed up kids even though we didn't get to go to the Halloween party.

So anyway- welcome Katiegel and good luck!

Ead- Sounds like you doctor plans to do the usual work up. My OBGYN wanted me to try clomid 6 times. I tried it twice and it didn't work and I stopped. I don't have any ovulation problems and he wanted me to try it just to try it and I didn't really want to. If I knew ovulation was my problem and that was the solution I would probably try again, but since it's not, I wasn't interested. Good luck, I hope all of these tests go well for you and that clomid does the trick!

 

[cherbear]

Good Morning, Ladies!

I had my annual exam with my OB-GYN on Monday, and we talked about my missing AF and TTC.

Here's her thoughts:
1) Do bloodwork on me (I go in on Friday). Her suspicion is that I have PCOS, which is messing up my hormone levels and thus making me miss AF.

2) Do an analysis on DH, just to be on the safe side to be able to rule out a problem on that end of things.

3) If the bloodwork shows I have PCOS, put me on Clomid. She said that they usually only use Clomid for up to 3 months to see if that works.

4) If the Clomid doesn't work, then she said they can do up to 3 IUI's at her office. She said that I can be referred to a RE at any point in this process, but that the IUI's would be less expensive out of her office.

5) She said that she doesn't think we need to do a HSG at this point. She said all the evidence is pointing to a hormonal/PCOS type of problem, and she has no reason to think the issue would be physical in nature. She said it's not likely in her opinion based on my medical history and the fact that evidence points to my hormones being out of whack.

Please give me your feedback on what she said. Do you think I should go the RE route, even though it would likely be much more expensive? We've only been TTC for just under a year, so I don't know how aggressive we want to be. I'm thinking that we should definitely give the Clomid a chance before getting a referral. I just don't know whether there is some sort of advantage to having a RE do any IUI's we might need.

I was a little surprised to hear that they would consider IUI's so quickly in the process. I guess I thought people took Clomid for much longer before trying an IUI. But I don't really have any experience with this, so shows what I know, LOL!

Do you mind saying how much she would charge for the IUI's? When she says only 3 months of clomid, does that mean that you wouldn't be on Clomid for the IUI's? I've always heard that the max is 6 months on clomid, so maybe she meant that after the first 3 months, she'd do IUI for the next 3 months on clomid? I'd ask what meds you'd be on during IUI. I think it's great when OB/GYN's are able to do IUI in their offices, but you just want to make sure that you will be monitored properly...IE. if you're on clomid they should do an ultrasound on you to check your follicles, make sure you don't have large cysts, etc.

It's great that she will do a work-up on your DH. I couldn't get MY ob/gyn to order a S/A for my husband. (He apparently does the minimum when it comes to TTC issues. He put me on clomid for 2 months and didn't monitor me at all. ) So you have a good dr there for sure.

Also one last thought. Will she still put you on clomid (or would you even try it) if it's not a PCOS related issue? Or is HSG the next step if you don't have PCOS?

Just my thoughts there, if I confused you at all just ask and I'll explain more!

 

[cherbear]

Morning Ladies! We just got back and had a nice time. AF showed up the night before we left (of course!), and my husband got sick with an awful cold on the second day we were there. And on the first night we were in line for ice cream and we got a phone call from a friend telling us she's pregnant.... I was happy for them, but it wasn't something I wanted to hear while trying to escape my troubles in Disneyland!

We did still have a little fun though. We went on all the rides we had wanted to, and saw World of Color which was pretty neat, and had some nice dinners. I enjoyed the Halloween decorations and there were tons of cute dressed up kids even though we didn't get to go to the Halloween party.

ugh, sorry about AF during the trip! And your hubby's cold. WOW, I think I would've wanted to sock someone!! Apparently this friend doesn't know of your struggles?? (If she does, I think that was probably pretty insensitive of her to call especially while you were in DL)

Glad you had fun though. Did you have a few yummy Disney drinks??

 

[Kronk's girl]

No, this friend does not know about our troubles TTC-ing and she didn't know we were in Disneyland either- so I can't blame her...she's just excited to be pregnant, and hopefully someday I will be too. I did tell my husband that he couldn't answer his phone for the rest of the trip though .

 

[ead79]

Do you mind saying how much she would charge for the IUI's? When she says only 3 months of clomid, does that mean that you wouldn't be on Clomid for the IUI's? I've always heard that the max is 6 months on clomid, so maybe she meant that after the first 3 months, she'd do IUI for the next 3 months on clomid? I'd ask what meds you'd be on during IUI. I think it's great when OB/GYN's are able to do IUI in their offices, but you just want to make sure that you will be monitored properly...IE. if you're on clomid they should do an ultrasound on you to check your follicles, make sure you don't have large cysts, etc.

It's great that she will do a work-up on your DH. I couldn't get MY ob/gyn to order a S/A for my husband. (He apparently does the minimum when it comes to TTC issues. He put me on clomid for 2 months and didn't monitor me at all. ) So you have a good dr there for sure.

Also one last thought. Will she still put you on clomid (or would you even try it) if it's not a PCOS related issue? Or is HSG the next step if you don't have PCOS?

Just my thoughts there, if I confused you at all just ask and I'll explain more!

I'm not sure how much she charges for IUI's--I was getting so much info at once it didn't occur to me to ask. I honestly didn't know you could have an IUI without seeing a RE, so that was news to me in general.

My impression was that we would try 3 months of Clomid alone first (assuming I have PCOS), then we would try up to 3 IUI's. I'm assuming that I would take Clomid for those as well, since I don't seem to have AF (& I'm not sure if I ovulate or not) without it.

Thanks for mentioning the ultrasound--if it turns out that we do use Clomid, then I will know to ask for that. Do you have it every month you take Clomid, or just the ones that you do an IUI?

I too was glad that she gave us an order for an S/A for my DH. I would hate to "waste" my 6 month max of Clomid without knowing of any possible issues on DH's side of things. And other than the potential embarrassment factor, it seems like it's no big deal of a test. I burst into tears when I told DH that was the next step figuring he would be mortified at doing it, but he said he was willing to be tested no problem. Thank goodness, because I feel bad about it.

At this point I'm not sure what the next step is until I get my bloodwork done on Friday and get the results back. She seemed pretty confident that it is PCOS, I think mainly based on my medical history, weight, and lack of indicators for physical problems. If it's not, then I'll have to talk to her to see if we need to do an HSG or what our options are.

DH and I still aren't sure if we want to try IUI's, but that's a few steps down the line from where we are now, so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

[joanne312]

I'm not sure how much she charges for IUI's--I was getting so much info at once it didn't occur to me to ask. I honestly didn't know you could have an IUI without seeing a RE, so that was news to me in general.

My impression was that we would try 3 months of Clomid alone first (assuming I have PCOS), then we would try up to 3 IUI's. I'm assuming that I would take Clomid for those as well, since I don't seem to have AF (& I'm not sure if I ovulate or not) without it.

Thanks for mentioning the ultrasound--if it turns out that we do use Clomid, then I will know to ask for that. Do you have it every month you take Clomid, or just the ones that you do an IUI?

I too was glad that she gave us an order for an S/A for my DH. I would hate to "waste" my 6 month max of Clomid without knowing of any possible issues on DH's side of things. And other than the potential embarrassment factor, it seems like it's no big deal of a test. I burst into tears when I told DH that was the next step figuring he would be mortified at doing it, but he said he was willing to be tested no problem. Thank goodness, because I feel bad about it.

At this point I'm not sure what the next step is until I get my bloodwork done on Friday and get the results back. She seemed pretty confident that it is PCOS, I think mainly based on my medical history, weight, and lack of indicators for physical problems. If it's not, then I'll have to talk to her to see if we need to do an HSG or what our options are.

DH and I still aren't sure if we want to try IUI's, but that's a few steps down the line from where we are now, so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Sounds like you are in about the same boat as me. We went straight to the RE instead of thru the GYN because he came highly recommended from some of my coworkers. We recently finished all our tests and will start our first Clomid cycle once AF arrives in 2-3 weeks.
When you have your CD3 blood work done are you also going to have an ultrasound? I think this is important so they can see how many antral follicles you have and that everything looks ok in there. I also think the ultrasound is they way they tell if you have PCOS or not (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that one). If you get to the IUI point you will likely remain on Clomid for those and possibly get a trigger shot as well.
Also check into your insurance benefits for infertility as you are starting this process. Our insurance for infertility sucks (50% coverage, lifetime maximum coverage of $10,000) so the RE says we need to take that into consideration every step of the way. He said since our insurance sucks, he doesn't want us wasting our money on cycles that aren't giving us what we want.

Hope all goes well with your blood work!

 

[WDWorBUST]

Hey guys! I still keep up with you guys....I know I will see a new BFP soon!! But I just wanted to add a couple of things if you don't mind.

Kronk's Girl - I ovulated on my own but I took clomid because my luteal phase wasn't long enough to sustain a pregnancy if we actually caught the egg which was a result of my body not producing enough progesterone. When we started trying for #2 we were basically just going through the motions for our 6 cycles before the OB would prescribe clomid again and somehow managed to get pregnant without it. However, I miscarried because of low progesterone not realizing that was a big part of what the clomid did for me. So....all that just to say that you might be successful with clomid even if you do ovulate on your own.

ead79 - one question to ask when you are deciding to stay with your OB or go with the RE....you may have better benefits through your insurance with your OB. It's definitely worth looking into though.

 

[cherbear]

hey girls I meant to post this sooner.

My latest blog post has everything there is to know about my meeting with the dr to discuss why didn't it work, and what next.

www.infertilityinanutshell.blogspot.com

 

[ead79]

Sounds like you are in about the same boat as me. We went straight to the RE instead of thru the GYN because he came highly recommended from some of my coworkers. We recently finished all our tests and will start our first Clomid cycle once AF arrives in 2-3 weeks.
When you have your CD3 blood work done are you also going to have an ultrasound? I think this is important so they can see how many antral follicles you have and that everything looks ok in there. I also think the ultrasound is they way they tell if you have PCOS or not (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that one). If you get to the IUI point you will likely remain on Clomid for those and possibly get a trigger shot as well.
Also check into your insurance benefits for infertility as you are starting this process. Our insurance for infertility sucks (50% coverage, lifetime maximum coverage of $10,000) so the RE says we need to take that into consideration every step of the way. He said since our insurance sucks, he doesn't want us wasting our money on cycles that aren't giving us what we want.

Hope all goes well with your blood work!

At this point I'm just having intial bloodwork (LH, insulin, FSH, etc.), not the CD3 bloodwork. If it indicates potential PCOS, I'll see what she wants to do from there. So I'm not sure when the ultrasound would happen.

Thanks for the heads up on the insurance--I'll check to see what ours covers. So far I haven't had anything that isn't totally covered, but if we head down this road, I'm sure we'll encounter pricey stuff.

WDWorBUST, I'll try to see if stuff through the OB is covered at a higher rate. I noticed that she wrote "irregular menses" as the reason for my bloodwork order, so hopefully that will help it be covered fully.

 

[skuttle]

Elisabeth, I did my IUIs through my OB/GYN. After 3, I was referred to the RE. My OB/GYN was able to code my follicle scans so that they were covered by my insurance. I had mine starting around CD13 and had 2 or 3 each cycle until we found the magic 20mm follicle. I did clomid with the IUIs. My first cycle we didn't use clomid...just follicle scans because my Dr wanted to see what my body did on its own. I never got bigger than 18mm so we didn't do IUI that cycle and started clomid on the next. My Dr required that I have an HSG done before starting the clomid as well.

My OB/GYN ordered my DH's S/A as well. When it came back "weird" he had to go to an urologist before she would proceed with any add'l IF treatments.

It's a lot to take in all at once, but once you work through it all, it's actually nice to feel like you are taking charge of things instead of just sitting around and waiting.

TO YOU ALL!!

 

[esbrick]

hey girls I meant to post this sooner.

My latest blog post has everything there is to know about my meeting with the dr to discuss why didn't it work, and what next.

www.infertilityinanutshell.blogspot.com

hey lady! read this yesterday! Your new RE sounds great and I like that she is not giving you the standard dosages but she is taloring the schedule and doses so that they fit your situation. When I had my first IVF I thought that in all honesty they moved to fast with putting me on certain meds because that was the norm. I'm excited that you and Mike are going to try again in the new year though. Alot of people think that there are more successful IVF's the second time vs the first because they know so much more about how your body will react to protocols and meds. We'll keep prayen!

E

 

[cherbear]

At this point I'm just having intial bloodwork (LH, insulin, FSH, etc.), not the CD3 bloodwork. If it indicates potential PCOS, I'll see what she wants to do from there. So I'm not sure when the ultrasound would happen.

Thanks for the heads up on the insurance--I'll check to see what ours covers. So far I haven't had anything that isn't totally covered, but if we head down this road, I'm sure we'll encounter pricey stuff.

WDWorBUST, I'll try to see if stuff through the OB is covered at a higher rate. I noticed that she wrote "irregular menses" as the reason for my bloodwork order, so hopefully that will help it be covered fully.

keeping everything crossed for you!! Sounds like she knows what she's doing to keep your insurance guessing too

hey lady! read this yesterday! Your new RE sounds great and I like that she is not giving you the standard dosages but she is taloring the schedule and doses so that they fit your situation. When I had my first IVF I thought that in all honesty they moved to fast with putting me on certain meds because that was the norm. I'm excited that you and Mike are going to try again in the new year though. Alot of people think that there are more successful IVF's the second time vs the first because they know so much more about how your body will react to protocols and meds. We'll keep prayen!

E

thanks!! I hope that the 2nd time around maybe I will be more relaxed too, since I've done this before and I know what to expect.