Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 12:33:37 -0500
Subject: Success Story
Momma Kath, I can't believe I am sending you a success story!!
I've waiting *so* long to do this....
Thanks for your wonderful site.
It has helped us all get through this ttc ordeal.
IVF Success Story - 1st try!
I'm 27, dh is 29. Met about 6 years ago.
Before I met him I was ttc with previous *whatever he was*
for 3 years. No luck.
Met dh and had lap 2 months later.
Discovered stage 4 endo on ovaries. TTC for another year, no luck.
Saw RE, did another lap due to severe pain, stage IV endo
AGAIN on ovaries. RE told me to ttc since after surgery was a
*fertile* period. Well, no luck. Made appointment with new RE a year later
(since last RE was pushing IVF and I was more concerned about pain at the time)...
Well, just as we were proceeding with the IVF, I conceived naturally...
m/c at 7 weeks. :-(
This RE (current RE) told me to try naturally as a natural conception
is great news!
TTC for another 9-10 months and then I finally got fed up. I went to RE
and begged him to include me in the *round* of IVF.
Started .1 Lupron at cd21. When AF came at cd28, had u/s and all was a
*go*! Started stims on day 3. I was on .5 Lupron + 2 amps Pergonal + 2 amps
Gonal-F, evenings for 4 days. I then was on 2 amps Pergonal only for 2
days and then 1 amp Pergonal for 2 days.
HCG and then retrieval 2/12.
Retrieved 16 quality eggs. 12 fertilized.
Only 2 made it to 5 day blast.
THEN 2 more made it at 6 day blast.
(they are frozen, awaiting their new
home in me next year!) RE transferred 2 blast on day 5.
One actually stayed in cathedar, so the nurse says
it's gotta be a boy because he's going to be the troublemaker!!!!
LOL. Anyway, layed still for 1.5 hours at the office.
I got home and dh waited on me hand and foot for 3 days solid.
(I did squeeze in a shower and get up
to get my own water and go to potty
though.) On the 4th day I helped prepare shish kabobs,
which I belched all night (1st symptom?!)!!!
I had a total of 5 days at home with no stress
(except implantation dreams of course!)
Anyway, symptoms set in early.
By the time I went for my progesterone
test 7dpt I knew I was pg. (as you ladies *heard!*)
Bbs sore (could have been PIO though),
indigestion, p'n all night,
and cramping *down there*.
LADIES WITHOUT SYMPTOMS:
Please don't think you must have these symptoms...
My sister says I'm weird b/c she did not
have ANY symptoms until baby
started kicking!
I have to be honest with you ladies:
I started testing with HPT's at
7dpt. I got a big fat - at 7dpt but at 8dpt I got a +!
And then at 9dpt, and then at 10dpt, and so on.
So Kiki, when you ask "how many did you take"...
let's just say I should buy stock in them!!!!!!!
RE would be silly thinking we don't test before beta, sorry.
(BTW, DO NOT buy ClearBlue Easy...
the line appears and then disappears later on...
messes with your mind. )
I've said enough..still in shock big time.
Anxious for 2nd beta now.
(yesterday it was first beta!) Aye Yye Yye!!
+++ thoughts to you all...
Cheryl

: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 17:22:21 +0000
Subject: +++
I don't even know where to start!
I can't believe it yet.
It has been such a confusing road.
I am 34 and ttc#1. I was pg in Aug. but m/c and
had a d&c early Oct.
I never knew much about things before then.
After that I became obsessed with trying to get it all right.
I really thought I had my body understood the last couple of months.
Those months I kept track of things on fertility friend.
I used the fertility monitor to predict o, kept track of cm every day and temped.
I had o pain each month, my temps went into a triphasic pattern both months and
cm became thick whiter with some yellow. Both times I thought wow!,
this looks good only to get af right on schedule.
This month I gave up temping because I figured I had a natural triphasic pattern.
I never had any o pain so thought it was an anovulatory month,
and cm was dry or sticky like a supposed normal nonpregnant cycle.
Well, guess what? I was ++ 11 dpo, but a little light and much stronger 12 dpo.
Go figure.
It really shows that we are all sooooo different and that the signs we
look for may not be the ones to give us what we want. I didn't really
have any symptoms except my bbs did feel bigger, but that happens with
af sometimes. Now they are starting to get heavier feeling and a little
sensitive. That's all so far, but it is early. I hope this helps
somebody. I scoured this site for months finding hope and support along
the way. I wish positives and babydust to all. I wouldn't have gotten
here without you all!
Carolyn

After trying for 18 months I'm finally pg!
This was my 1st month on Clomid. I was advised by a few
friends to stop temping while I was on Clomid, so I
stopped. It was such a relief not to temp, that just
made me obsess more and stressed me out.
That was the major thing I did differently. The second thing
is I started praying and started writing in a prayer journal.
It helped to vent my frustrations when
nobody else wanted to hear me whine! For the 1st time in 18 months
I prayed that Jesus not allow me to be pg, but to give me
peace to endure this journey, and I would just wait for HIS timing!
I truly and completely gave it up and put it in God's hands,
it was like a burden was lifted from my body! I know that sounds corny,
but it is so true. I did do OPK's and vowed that when I got a ++ OPK
that I would not tell dh, I figured I'd take some of the stress off
of him to perform this month. The other thing was that I had
previously been bd every other day in my fertile time, just to
be sure I'd get the O day. This month I vowed not to do that, that I
would only bd when dh felt like it, not to bd "just to have a baby".
That seemed to take the pressure off of me too. I didn't take EPO
or Robi, just my prenatal vitamins. I felt very strong cramps around
af time and thought for sure af was coming on strong this month b/c
of the Clomid. When she didn't show on Sunday, I gave myself 4 days
before I tested, b/c my lp had never been that long.
Low and behold I got the +++ I'd been so desperately longing for!
For those of you who don't know my whole story,
we had been trying for a year, and dh had a SA done and came back
with zero sperm. I was completely devastated.
I thought I would never have another child, and was trying to
cope with that. Well, dh revealed to me that he had been taking anabolic
steroids for weight training and that was probably the reason for no
sperm. He quit taking them, but I really didn't know if the
sperm would come back, sometimes steroids cause permanent sterility.
Well, by the grace of God they came back 3 months later in Nov. 99.
Now here I am. I owe it all to Jesus Christ for allowing me the
privilege to bring another child into this world.
I give HIM all the glory in my pg! Thank for listening and sorry it's
so long! Don't give up, sometimes it looks like there is no way out,
but God will show you a way!
Gator/Susan EDD 12-17-200