Long termers TTC

stickybean

Just had my very final visit on the public system, they wanted to check if I needed a stick before we move onto assisted (IVF). Good news, despite having 3 Letz treatments, my cervix is just big enough that they aren't going to stick it now! And please God if when we get pregnant, they will review and consider them

As you guys advised here, when you move private things move fast. we got referred last week and already have our appointment in 3 weeks, can't believe how fast it was.

Hopefully after 3 and a half years, we will have some luck

nemo32

Thanks Sticky, Yes things will move very fast now that you have your app but I'm sure your glad of that. This is your time, take each day/app/treatment at a time and you'll get your happy ending xx

TomeeTipee

Nemo, congratulations!! Great to see some good news here.

Best of luck barbiegirl and stickybean.

lashes34

I was at a 1st birthday party at the weekend, I was so upset after it. Just brought it home to me how much I want the same.

We are married over a year now so constantly getting asked, its so frustrating, why cant people mind their own business. Sick of having to laugh it off and come up with a smart answer.

stickybean

Aw lashes34, I know exactly how you feel. My cousin announced she was pregnant over the weekend, after trying for 4 months, (she swiftly said, we never thought it would happen to us, we had 3 very disappointing months), Quietly I bit my tongue thinking we've had over 3 and a half disappointing years. I then started counting all the periods I've had (all 44), all the two week waits, all the late periods, all those please God and maybe moments.

It is so hard sometimes and such a taboo subject, I wish it could be more spoken about...

But we have to keep faith, some day it will be us announcing to the world "We're Pregnant", and unbeknown to us someone we tell will be exactly where we are now...

Neyite

stickybean wrote: »

Aw lashes34, I know exactly how you feel. My cousin announced she was pregnant over the weekend, after trying for 4 months, (she swiftly said, we never thought it would happen to us, we had 3 very disappointing months), Quietly I bit my tongue thinking we've had over 3 and a half disappointing years. I then started counting all the periods I've had (all 44), all the two week waits, all the late periods, all those please God and maybe moments.

It is so hard sometimes and such a taboo subject, I wish it could be more spoken about...

But we have to keep faith, some day it will be us announcing to the world "We're Pregnant", and unbeknown to us someone we tell will be exactly where we are now...

I find those ones the hardest to deal with tbh, the ones who moan it took so long to get pregnant when they were only trying for a few months. It enrages me that they dont know how fcuking lucky they actually are. Same way with the posters who go onto the chat thread and say that they were TTC for 6 weeks and soooo stressed out about it wondering if it will ever happen. I just bitterly read it and go 'HAH! you have NO fcuking idea, love!'

I know time-wise, I got pregnant on my 29th cycle of trying. Since the birth, its been nearly three years, so you could say two and a half more years on top of that TTC with misses along the way. Its depressing to find it easier to count TTC in years rather than cycles now. And I'm one of the very lucky ones in that I was successful once, which makes the second time around TTC so much easier to bear. There is sadness, yes, but not the emptiness that I had before I had him, that horrible feeling of thinking we might never become parents is gone.

I found out recently that someone I've known for years had serious infertility issues and was only able to talk about it once she got pregnant (and stayed pregnant) she was a decade trying. I felt so sad that we were side by side on the same journey without realising because its not talked about. But its hard to talk about it when all you get back is 'advice' sometimes.

lashes34

stickybean wrote: »

Aw lashes34, I know exactly how you feel. My cousin announced she was pregnant over the weekend, after trying for 4 months, (she swiftly said, we never thought it would happen to us, we had 3 very disappointing months), Quietly I bit my tongue thinking we've had over 3 and a half disappointing years. I then started counting all the periods I've had (all 44), all the two week waits, all the late periods, all those please God and maybe moments.

It is so hard sometimes and such a taboo subject, I wish it could be more spoken about...

But we have to keep faith, some day it will be us announcing to the world "We're Pregnant", and unbeknown to us someone we tell will be exactly where we are now...

True stickybean, very frustrating in the meantime. Life is just not fair sometimes but I know we are lucky in most other ways so trying not to dwell. My husband is away for work tonight and I always get down when he's not around, more time to think.

I read a post on the pregnancy forum, someone complaining she got pregnant too fast, like seriously you were TTC and you complain when it happens. God love her getting pregnant the first month she tries. I would love to shake her.

Anyway, onwards on and upwards :-)

yellow hen

@lashes, there are so many people out there who barely have to look at their spouse/partner/one night bedmate and they're pregnant. You feel so hard done by when you hear such comments.

On the other hand I was reading about a man from Limerick who is running the London marathon for premature babies after his daughter was born at 33weeks. That daughter was born after 11 miscarriages and one either still born or baby that died very young. My heart broke for him and his wife. Some people in this life are soldiers who take the pain and never grumble. Their determination is inspiring.

barbiegirl

Well guys I'm back on the roller coaster, started stimming on Sunday, next scan on Friday to see how we're getting on and get first dose of intralipids, and have accupuncture booked this morning. This is our last go, according to the docs, with my eggs, so we need a perfect storm. Good lining (it wasn't great last time), 3 good eggs making it to day 3 and a lot of luck. They added Luveris too this time, in addition to Gonal F and Clexane. We need everyone's good thoughts and wishes xxxx

yellow hen

barbiegirl wrote: »

Well guys I'm back on the roller coaster, started stimming on Sunday, next scan on Friday to see how we're getting on and get first dose of intralipids, and have accupuncture booked this morning. This is our last go, according to the docs, with my eggs, so we need a perfect storm. Good lining (it wasn't great last time), 3 good eggs making it to day 3 and a lot of luck. They added Luveris too this time, in addition to Gonal F and Clexane. We need everyone's good thoughts and wishes xxxx

BG I don't even understand half of what you've said there but I wish you all the luck in the world. I am sending you every positive vibe possible.

bobskii

best of luck barbie girl this time last year I was exactly where you are,keep positive x

nemo32

Best of luck Barbiegirl, I was on all the same meds for my fresh cycle apart from the intralipids, we added them on this FET and here I am 7.5 weeks pregnant so lets hope you get the same great result xx

Neyite

Oh Barbiegirl, the very best of luck to you on this cycle!

lashes34

Best of luck BG, I have everything crossed for you xx

Poppsie

New to boards..... Posted separate thread on my problem (problems) in ttc but haven't got any replies so thought I might have more luck posting here!
Ttc for 18months with previously known autoimmune problems (lupus /Sjögren's syndrome) . Both 34 and trying for first pregnacy. Haven't got any bfp in the past. Had first appointment at gfu in November last year to be told that I have low amh 3.4 and high anti sperm antibodies 80%. Fortunately for us dh tests all came back good so we don't have an issue on his part. Just wondering if anyone has had anything similar with the antibodies? We tried tsi after gonal f injections....over responded first month so we weren't allowed try and then second month dose was reduced so we could try but no success. We have now been told that IVF is our only option....just wondering if you guys have experience with this as I can't help feeling that they are pushing IVF without letting us try other options first? I asked would iui be an option for us and was just fobbed off straight away. It's a lot of money for IVF and worries me as our finances wouldn't be great at the moment so if anyone has success with iui in a similar situation to us I would be really grateful of any advice! It's great to read other peoples experiences on here and when you see someone comment saying they got their bfp makes me so happy for them and hopefully for us!!! Wishing everyone success in their ttc journey!!!

TomeeTipee

Hi Poppsie, hope I can help a little. I've a similar amh to you and also have autoimmune issues. In our case, my partner also has some issues so we were advised to go straight to ivf. To be honest, we were pretty much advised that based on the amh alone and my experience is that most clinics will suggest you move fairly fast if you have a low egg reserve. Have you had an antral follicle count? This is usually low if amh is low, but not always, and can be a better indicator of egg reserve.

Regarding the immune issues, i don't have the same issues as you, but for some people autoimmune issues can make it difficult to get pregnant while others are fine. In my case, it definitely seems to be an issue, so we have moved to a clinic that is good at dealing with imune issues - sims. Both sims and beacon care have expertise in this area so if you do decide to do ivf, it might be worth checking them out. We went to a different clinic for a few cycles before moving to sims and now i feel that we should have just gone straight to sims as other clinics often don't deal with immune issues. I sort of feel like we wasted time and money elsewhere and we should have gone somewhere with immune expertise right from the start - just something to consider. It is an expensive business though!!

Barbiegirl, the very best of luck, hope things work out for you this time. We won't be starting again for another few months, but it looks like i'll be on a very similar protocol, so hopefully it does the trick!

nemo32

Hi Poppsie, I echo what Tomee has said. Try and work with a clinic that will treat immune issues or else you could be wasting time and money. I didn't have any specific immune issue and all tests came back pretty borderline but Sims still had me on steroids/blood clotting meds and intralipids which all help treat immune issues and I got by BFP that round. Best of luck and remember fertility treatment works xx

Neyite

Popsie, I do have to say that if you attended GFU, then in my experience they wont waste your time & money if they think a less invasive treatment wont work for you, or have a poor success rate.

I've sent you a pm on a clinic I heard about recently abroad from a friend who sung their praises after doing the rounds of the clinics in Ireland.

stickybean

Barbiegirl, wishing you the very best of luck pet xxx

We had our first private appointment this morning, wow the difference. And you were right girls, things do move so much faster. I am going for my bloods tomorrow and we are going to hopefully start ICSI next cycle. Due AF any day now so we have opted to wait till the next cycle to start.

We had a 90 minute meeting, feeling very overwhelmed with all the information we got, I imagine it will take a few days to digest it all.

nemo32

You've entered a whole new world now Sticky but don't worry just take one day at a time and stop and take some time at any stage if you think it's moving too fast for you. There is a lot to take in but you'll be walked through each step as it comes so don't worry about trying to understand it all straight away. These are the steps to holding your baby in your arms so you can get excited too, I remember being really excited when I got started. What clinic are you with?

stickybean

Thank Nemo, feeling very overwhelmed, but we have a few weeks to wrap our heads around it. I am starting to get excited thinking about this new stage... We are with the Merrion Fertility Clinic, they seem really great, long may it continue

Poppsie

Thanks Tomee, nemo and Neyite for the advice I will def take it all on board. I am actually going an IVF information day at sims this month so hoping to learn more and feel more positive about the situ after it! Haven't had antral follicle count....what does this entail? Very naive about a lot these things at the moment!! I googled a lot at the start and just totally freaked myself out so had to stop!!
I am based in galway so gfu is the nearest and that's where I got referred to. Can't say my first appointment there was a good experience to say the least!! Without naming names I just was left in tears at the end of it! I couldn't get my head around how a doctor was telling me that I could always head off to Spain for a donor egg as if it was nothing! And this was just after looking at my ovaries during the scan....he didn't even have my blood results or anything at that stage... literally looked at my ovaries and said they looked pretty rubbish ! Talk about insensitive !i know this could have been my only option but I do not think it should be just blurted out without looking at all the facts and results first! I made the mistake of going to that appointment on my own and think if my partner were there I wouldn't have been spoken to so brashly! Thankfully I haven't had to hear that again, now the focus is on IVF since I responded well to gonal f.
Sorry rant over!!
Going to acupuncture and find it great for calming me down and trying the whole positive thinking vibe at the mo!! I can totally see myself as a mummy but I suppose I always could imagine that even before any of this crap came to light!!just didn't think it would be such a complicated road!! Ha does anyone think they are going to have problems!! And if another person tells me it's easy to concieve if you just track your cycle I will punch them! Oh ranting again...soz!
Best of luck stickybean in your journey!

Neyite

I know exactly who you are talking about. And you wouldn't be alone in having that opinion of that doctor.

Its a lot to digest. Take your time to read up on what your results mean for you. And do whatever it is you need to do when it all becomes a bit much and you need to step back. There's no need to apologise for your rant, that's exactly what this thread is for!

Penny Dreadful

Poppsie wrote: »

Sorry rant over!!
Going to acupuncture and find it great for calming me down and trying the whole positive thinking vibe at the mo!! I can totally see myself as a mummy but I suppose I always could imagine that even before any of this crap came to light!!just didn't think it would be such a complicated road!! Ha does anyone think they are going to have problems!! And if another person tells me it's easy to concieve if you just track your cycle I will punch them! Oh ranting again...soz!
Best of luck stickybean in your journey!

It's been a while since I've been around these parts but unless the rules have changed I don't think you ever need to apologise for having a rant ;-)

I'm a big fan of acupuncture for a number of things and used it a lot while ttc myself. If nothing else it helped to calm and relax me and that can't be discounted.

We're hoping to start ttc with #2 next month (bans is almost 7 months old). I've had a few odd things going on since having her and am starting back with acupuncture on Monday to try to correct things and hopefully help with getting #2 underway.
Good luck to everyone and by the way, some people DO deserve a big kick in the shin for their insensitive comments around ttc.

barbiegirl

Hi Poppsie, I have had immune issues, and the treatments to date have been a diet free of any foods that I show a any intolerance of, so basically everything ;-) high does of Omega3 and Vitamin B to reduce Cytokynes, Steroids and now Intralipids.
I am also with Sims and they do focus on the immune issues, whereas my understanding of GUI is that they don't. Also a good friend has had what I see as a horrendous experience with them over 12 years, one doctor in particular, with a God like complex, I suspect the same one you spoke to.
Anyway I find the Sims guys to be upfront, honest and to want you to be successful, with a touch of humanity about them.
The very best of luck.

Had my scan today 9 lovely follies all measuring around the 12 mark (first time they have ever been so uniform), lining 6.3 which she is happy with, and first intralipid done. Looking at retrieval next Wed/Thurs Hopefully Wed, cause then have Sat/Sun to relax if transfer goes ahead.

TomeeTipee

Barbiegirl, that's great, all sounds really promising. Best of luck with egg collection.

Poppsie, an antral follicle count is where they count the number of small follicles in your ovaries at the beginning of a cycle, using an internal ultrasound. You might have had it done already when you were on gonal f? Usually if amh is low then the antral follicle counf is also low, but not always so its good to get this checked. It gives an indication of how many eggs you are likely to get in an ivf cycle. E.g. my antral follicle count has usually been around 2 or 3 (can vary a little from one month to the next) , so even with maximum dose stimulation drugs, i never get very many eggs. If you were over stimulated on gonal f before, it might mean you actually have a decent number of follicles, which is good for ivf! So sometimes the amh test on its own doesn't tell the whole story when it comes to egg reserve. By the way, i think if you attend the sims information events, they give you 50% off a consultation with them!

LegacyUser

barbiegirl wrote: »

Hi Poppsie, I have had immune issues, and the treatments to date have been a diet free of any foods that I show a any intolerance of, so basically everything ;-) high does of Omega3 and Vitamin B to reduce Cytokynes, Steroids and now Intralipids.
I am also with Sims and they do focus on the immune issues, whereas my understanding of GUI is that they don't. Also a good friend has had what I see as a horrendous experience with them over 12 years, one doctor in particular, with a God like complex, I suspect the same one you spoke to.
Anyway I find the Sims guys to be upfront, honest and to want you to be successful, with a touch of humanity about them.
The very best of luck.

Had my scan today 9 lovely follies all measuring around the 12 mark (first time they have ever been so uniform), lining 6.3 which she is happy with, and first intralipid done. Looking at retrieval next Wed/Thurs Hopefully Wed, cause then have Sat/Sun to relax if transfer goes ahead.

Hi Barbiegirl,
I just picked up on your friend having a awful experience with a Galway clinic for 12 years. We are almost 9 years and have had a dreadful time with one doctor who just won't take on board anything we say. We have had 3 rounds of Ivf got a BFP twice but have lost each time. We wanted more tests but he refused and informed us that it is just one of those things and to get on with it.
My husbands family have immune issues and he just won't take it on board. I suppose we went with the doctor knows best until we read a few things recently and are now having doubts about him. I am 38 and my husband 39. Did it work out for your friend in the end? What do you mean by her having a horrendous experience with them.

barbiegirl

Hi Tryingforever. Primarily they have experienced multiple, multiple misses. All requests for further tests refused. She has now transferred to sims and fingers crossed they will work for them.

timitami

barbiegirl wrote: »

Had my scan today 9 lovely follies all measuring around the 12 mark (first time they have ever been so uniform), lining 6.3 which she is happy with, and first intralipid done. Looking at retrieval next Wed/Thurs Hopefully Wed, cause then have Sat/Sun to relax if transfer goes ahead.

I'm having egg retrieval on Wednesday if you're in search of a buddy barbiegirl! First timer so I wasn't paying attention to the numbers as I probably should have been. Triggering tonight, yikes!

barbiegirl

timitami wrote: »

I'm having egg retrieval on Wednesday if you're in search of a buddy barbiegirl! First timer so I wasn't paying attention to the numbers as I probably should have been. Triggering tonight, yikes!

Sounds like a plan. I'm triggering tomorrow night with retrieval on Thursday. Scary Mary time third time lucky for me.