They should hand that info out to anyone having measurements taken, don't you think?  It's not like follicular length throughout your cycle is common knowledge, lol.

Seriously, follicular length is not something I've ever spent time thinking about before all of this! My u/s this morning showed a 16 mm, so at least they're growing! I go back tomorrow and I'm hoping that it'll be at least 18mm. DH is preparing himself by giving up coffee and wine this week.

How's everyone else doing? It seems like things have been quieter on here lately. We can't let this board crash and burn like the wedding forums did because I will lose. My. MIND without you guys. :)

WPP, those measurements look very promising.  Here's hoping they continue to grow and you have a sucessful cycle!

That sounds good, WPP.

well, I'm almost 41 and not interested in medical intervention so chances are I'm out.  But, I'm here for you guys, anyway.

WPP - I haven't forgotten you guys here in TTC, I just feel weird posting too often since I've jumped to pregnancy! But you all have my support, and I hope to see you soon with us on the the pregnancy (and eventually Infants & Toddlers) boards. Good luck with this cycle!

 

WPP--thanks for the PM!  I will check it out.  :)  I'm glad those follicles are growing and I hope tomorrow they hit 18mm!  

I also feel conflicted about posting here, because I <3 you ladies and want to offer support, but I also feel like it might be bothersome to have pg women posting on this forum.  (I have had my share of days where I wanted to stay as far away from anyone pg as humanly possible, so I would hate to hurt any of you lovely women.)

You guys have great contributions; just because you are pg doesn't mean you no longer have anything worthwhile to contribute!  It's not like you're on here to say, "ha, ha, I'm pg!" LOL  You're here to offer support and knowledge you got in your own journeys.  Yay!

I'm here lurking too. We are hoping to venture back into TTC land next fall. For now I'll be cheering you all on!  WPP hoping for some excellent growth today!

AF returned again this month.  So many people told me it would be easier the second time around though I don't think that is the case for us.  We have been not preventing since last December and actively trying since April.  We have an appointment with the RE today so we will see what she says. It is the same dr we saw last time which is good as we liked her a lot, she was honest with us and really let us choose.  It is too bad that our insurance covers treatment "for life" and not per pregnancy attempt.  They will cover 3 IUI's and if those fail 3 IVF attempts.  We used 2 IUI's to conceive DD.   

WPP- your measurments look promising!  

 

Good luck to all!

 

Insurance companies sometimes feel like the most heartless things in the world. As if this process isn't stressful enough, it's the whole things of what's approved and who can supply what, etc.  DH's company cheaped out on their insurance this year, so we're switching back to mine for January - when we're in the middle of all this.  My PC's office is horrible, horrible with referrals, so there's that additional stress, too.

 

I was out Christmas shopping with my mom on Friday when I got the call that my health insurance was refusing to pay for coverage for one of the drugs I need.  Nothing like a meltdown in public to get into the holiday spirit, right?  Everything worked out fine in the end - they covered it if I switched pharmacies - but it's another reminder that there's yet one more thing out of my control.

Kar, don't count yourself out yet.  A woman who works with me conceived her perfect now 5 year old daughter naturally at 41 after years of trying. 

WPP, congrats on the new business!  You are so close now that that follie was a 16 yesterday... almost there.

Kinga and Northern, this is probably a controversial recommendation but if I were in your shoes I would just fudge the dates.  I did.  I started trying last October and if I had waited the full year that is recommended I would just now be having my first appointment with an RE instead of 10 weeks pregnant after 2 ivf attempts.  Granted I had shorter than normal cycles and started full force on day 1 of ttc with the OPKs and temping.  So after 8 cycles I had a strong suspicion something was up.  I made an appointment with my OB, showed her the 8 cycles of charting and fudged my dates a bit with telling her I was off the bcps for about 4 months before charting.  At the time I figured I would get the basic testing done to put my mind at rest and if all went well I'd be patient and we'd just continue trying naturally for a while.  Again I'm SO glad I did this.  The testing immediately showed us that we'd never get pregnant naturally with DH's low sperm count.  After our first IVF attempt and additional testing we also learned I have the eggs left of a typical 45 year old (I'm 31) and have a very short fertility window.  I was barely able to squeak out a few eggs with the most intensive dosage of ivf drugs permitted this past cycle.  So who knows if those 4 months would have made difference between expecting my twins and never being able to have our own biological children.

There's no need to fudge the dates.  Just tell  them you've been off BCP since X date. It's true. Let them extrapolate from that that you've been TTC since X date.  If you tell them "I've been TTC since X date" and you haven't, it's a lie and insurance fraud. If you tell them "I've been of BCP since X date" and it's true, and they happen to make a logical leap from that that you've been trying since that date, then it's not fraud.  Just don't tell them X date, if X date is not true.  GL

Good to hear from the lurking ladies! We don't disown you guys because you're pg now or had your babies. You're all great support and also a reminder that it worked for you so maybe we have hope too.

My u/s showed my follicle over 18--I think I saw 21 on the screen!-- so they had DH inject me last night with the ovidril. The instructions said to push carefully so a drop appears at the tip of the needle (before injecting) and instead of a drip we got a little squirt. Is that bad? There was still a lot in the needle. DH was nervous about it but I figure they know people don't know what they're doing and account for that? I didn't think we lost much.

They want me to go in for a pregnancy blood test the day after Christmas. I may wait until the 27th after my parents leave because I don't want to have to deal with my reaction around them for either result.

Wed, I'm sorry your insurance are jerks. Is there a difference between your work's insurance and your DH's?

I tend to agree with SS on the insurance dates thing, but I would go with ALF's suggestion and first give them as little info as possible. "I've been off BC since X" if that's adate that will help you. Your insurance co will do their best to f you over during this process and you don't owe them any favors. I'm completely okay with working a terrible, ineffective, unfair, and broken system to mybenefit. They couldn't care less about your best interests or family and you need to take care of yourself.

Yay WPP! I'm so happy that this round of Clomid is working so far! I hope you get your late Christmas present! :-)

As for the dates, ALF pretty much described my situation. I ended up with a referral to the RE at about 9 months of BCP, but only 2 months of actual trying. (I had a 60 day cycle that brought me to my GYN's office, which lead to an ultrasound which lead to the referral. I didn't just start calling doctors because I was impatient.) My insurance covered the testing right away and the Clomid, but wouldn't cover any other treatment. The things that insurances cover and don't cover blow my mind.

Wed - Good luck at the RE today!

Thanks for not kicking the non-TTCers off the boards! I hope that we're still adding some advice and support. And I'd miss you ladies!

Hello all,

I also agree that anyone is welcome on this board... so keep coming.  I've posted once or twice on the pregnancy board answering a question... and I hope and assume no one over there was bothered by it.  We're all good friends now it seems.

I have a really silly question.  And I know this has been discussed a lot before, but I am just totally blanking.  What does EWCM mean as far as where you are in your cycle?  I have always been someone who's just never had any... even before DS I remember never seeing it.  I did have it after my HSG test, about 2-3 days later, and then ironically that was the exact same cycle I conceived DS.  On Monday night (not to be way TMI) but I had globs of it.  And if I'm recalling correctly, I think Monday was CD10.  Had some yesterday morning too.. and now today, on CD12, everything back to normal.  We BD last night (I was in NYC on Monday night) and will again tomorrow (CD13).  I'm not temping or doing OPKs and having about 27-28 days cycles.. so who knows.  When I was tracking with DS... I O'd as early as CD9 and as late as CD14 (according to temping).  So I just can't remember what the EWCM means, especially never having it much.

From what I remember from reading TCOYF, EWCM means that you're ovulating or will soon. It sounds like you BD'd at the right time so hopefully this works for you! 

WPP, I think you are ok with the shot.  I missed up with my first IVF shot and still was successful.  Good luck, thinking of you.

IPW, Crossing my fingers and toes for you too!

IPW-  What WWP said.  Good luck!

I was off BCP since August 2011 but not really 'trying' until Jan 2012.  The RE was more than happy to order tests, etc.  Basically by the time all the testing would have been complete we would have been at August 2012.  Of course I got a BFP that didn't pan out right after meeting with the RE!  So we didn't do the testing until it was covered as RPL testing. 

WPP, don't worry about losing a little.  They overfill them since they know how hard it is to get just a drop out.  I squirted out a bit and it worked just fine.  Oh and 21 follies is amazing!!!  Drink lots of water and gatorade though since with that much action going on your more at risk for OHSS. 

WPP, I wouldn't worry about excess squirting out, it happened to us too.  

The appointment at the RE was uneventful.  It ended up how I figured it would, we have to go through most of the original tests that we went through for DD again to see if anything has changed.  The good news is that I don't have to repeat the HSG, though I have to do something similar where instead of dye, they insert a camera and look around.  AF is expected next week, so I am hoping to get the day 3 stuff all done before Christmas.  

Hi ladies,

I was just wondering what kind of lifestyle changes you have made while TTC (whether doing ART or not). For instance, coffee/alcohol/sweets, etc.? What have people eliminated?

 

In response to Sally2340's comment:

I joined Weight Watchers and lost fifteen pounds (and counting).

I still drink caffeine, but I've cut back a little.  I did cut out soda for the most part (which killed me because I love diet Coke), but I have found the lifestyle changes to be good for my overall peace of mind, not just the TTC part.

Stress had been a big thing that's hard to control - my husband's got a concussion that's not healing, so a lot of things have fallen on me that don't usually.  But it's been a good lesson that not everything is in my control and I shouldn't freak out about what I can't control.

In response to Sally2340's comment:

Hi Sally. You are going to get a variety of responses on this and people get very heated. Some, like me, have cut out nothing [b/c I've been TTC for 4+ years and got tired of depriving myself], while others have cut out everything under the sun that 'might' possibly be dangerous or reduce chances of fertility.  One side thinks the other is silly; the other side thinks the other is taking unnecessary risks.  Both sides are right.  In the end, what other people are doing or have done is meaningless. You have to do what is right for you.  If it feels right to cut something out, do it.  If it feels right not to cut something out, continue to do it.  GL.

Sally, ALF makes an excellent point (as always)! I will tell you that I didn't really cut any thing out during TTC. I found the whole process so stressful that it was important to me to keep some sense of normalcy with the things I could control. I was already eating a fairly healthy diet and exercising regularly in an effort to lose some weight but I didn't change anything else specifically for TTC.

Not much, I started taking a prenatal and I've been trying to drink more water and less soda (not completely cutting it out though).