O.k., here's my story.
I should probably start out by saying that
this website got me through many a dark and desparate hour
-you know that moment when you get your period-again!

In any case, my story goes back to when I was twenty,
I'm 38 now, and I had a large ovarian cyst removed
from my left side in addition to the fallopian tube
which was wrapped around the cyst.
Fast foward to my real attempt at getting pregnant
about two years ago. A year of unprotected sex got me wondering.
Began to chart Everything seemed normal, I was ovulating,
just not concieving. I then began a real regimmen:
Vitex every morning.
green tea,
EPO days 1-14.
Then flax after that.
Tons of carrot juice and water starting at about day 10.
This by the way really increased my cervical fluid.
I also began to see an acupuncturist every week and
drank the herbs he prescribed.
Acupuncture is great for balancing and increasing fertility.
Now I am 9 months pregnant and feel exhuberant!
Oh, I forgot to tell you that my doctor ordered the exam
where they shoot fluid to see if the tubes are open HSG. I now forget the name of it, but it showed that my right side was indeed clear,
and no on the left side due to the surgery.
You only need one side to get pregnant.
My only advice to all of you is to do everything that you can do health wise,
like taking your herbs, oils,
keeping your stress levels down,
eating well etc and also to try to be patient.
It will happen!

I wish I had been more patient, more calm, not so desparate.
As soon as a said "well, this is in God's hands",
I got pregnant.
Good luck to all of you and thank you so much for all the inspiration!

Our journey began in Feb. 02.
Prior to that (2001) DH didn't want anymore children -
we have a handsome son age 5 and gorgeous daughter age 4.
Then something changed -
maybe it was Sept. 11th
(he's NYPD and lost a lot of friends)
or maybe
because he turned 35 -
I really don't know what it was but all of a sudden
he decided if we had another child
(which I always wanted) he would be happy.

By this time it was now Feb. 02.
So, right out of the gate I started temping and charting
and I found this wonderful site.
I posted on the Temp DB with a bunch of great and wonderful ladies.
Then by the summer nothing was happening
and the emotional roller coaster was starting to take it's toll on me.
My other PG's were achieved very effortlessly -
so why was this so difficult?
So, I took a break from the boards and that helped me but I was still temping.
Then in Aug., I decided I'd better make sure everything is in proper working order,
so I called my Dr. (I'm 34 and will be 35 in Feb.03)
So, I had all the CD 3 tests done -they came back fine.
I had an HSG done - my tubes were clear.
I had CD 21 progesterone. test done - that was fine I was Ovulating.
Now the hard part - convince DH to have a SA done.
At first he said NO. So when AF showed again, he finally agreed.
Well, he was fine - and he got a HUGE EGO boost -
his count was 98 mil and molt and mobil were both fine also -
he now refers to himself as Super Sperm (LOL).

So, on Nov.1st we went to the Dr. for a consult and he
suggests that we go on clomid and do IUI's -
we say no thanks what else?
He says do NOTHING - what???
No OPKS, no chart, no temp etc, just have sex every 2 to
3 days during the cycle and you'll be PG within 3 to 6 months.
So I can't just quite cold turkey so I used OPK in Nov
well AF showed on Nov. 25th -
my anniversary ! UGH. So, Dec comes and we do NOTHING!!!
And I guess that was the trick - do nothing.
Just have sex every 2 to 3 days during the entire cycle
(as long as all your fertility tests are fine).

My symptoms are nothing out of the ordinary -
that was a hint for me. I got my bad AF cramps but no spot.
I have really bad headaches and a ton of creamy cm.
My CP changes but usually feels hard and tight but can be
high and low. BBS are mildly sore but nothing new for me.

Thanks to MommaKath and all the great ladies on this
site and especially all the great women on the Temp DB!
+++ thoughts to all +++

Cathy34 - edd 8/31/03 baby #3

I've been on this website since 97'
and that's how long DH and I have been ttc.
I never posted too much but read a lot.
(especially success stories):)
Well I've dreamt of writing this to you for sooooooo long.
I'm pregnant!!
We've been through every test under the sun.
all to tell us "unexplained"
We had our 3rd IUI on Nov. 20 and I was so positive it did not work.
In fact not last Sunday but the Sunday before my cramps were so bad
during church I left early and when I got home AF was there.
I was pretty much prepared for her because I felt her lurking about a
week before. cramps were so much like af.
But that Sunday the pastor (my father-in-law) was reading about
how Elizabeth in the bible got pregnant in her old age and
How NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
I left feeling so encouraged even though AF arrived.
My dh and I went shopping that night and I spotted a little more w/ cramps.
I went to bed that night and woke up with a clean pad.
went to work had the cramps but still a clean pad all day.
hmmmm???
It was about 12dpiui
Did not bother to test
because I was sure af was coming full blast any minute.
Actually had an appointment at the RE
but called and cancelled because af was here.
I Thought:)
On Monday night DH says to me
"You're breasts don't normally look that big in that shirt,
did you get your period yet"
All offended I responded,
"My boobs are normal and No! af is not here but will be any minute
so leave me be!!"
(just a tad P M S)
He forced me to get pregnancy test at the drug store
and I argued with him the whole way telling him how disappointed
he was going to be. I took it right away to get it over with.
but before I did I put my head in my hands and prayed to God.
"Lord, I leave this in your hands, whatever your will may be".
The test said wait 3 minutes YEAH RIGHT!!
It took 3 seconds! That line was soooooooo dark!
I screamed to my husband he rushed in and I collapsed in his arms.
We fell to the bathroom floor holding each other and crying.
I've been dreaming about this moment almost 6 years!!
got NO sleep that night. went to RE in morning nurse hugged me.
Beta was 74 at 13dpiui went day later and beta almost trippled to 211!!
praise GOD!! I go this Thursday. RE said #'s look good
they don't need to see me for a week. I really can tell you that I KNOW
what you are all going through.
TTC is a difficult journey to go through
I've cried and cried,
I felt alone,
scared that conceiving was something too wonderful to happen to me.
We have been going through this just about 6 yrs
and treatment for 1 year only iui's. but we only had 3 iui's
b/c I kept getting severe ovarian cysts that would last 2 months at a time
and those months would be cancelled.

Please be inspired. I know some of you have been
going through this longer than me.
Believe me, put your trust in God He WILL see you through.
He knows the desires of your heart,
He put them there for a reason.
Now for my next dream......
I pass on to you lots of
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
and prayers Jessica

Hello ladies, still can't believe I have EDD behind my name, here's my saga...
Tara, PG #1,EDD 8/27/03, IUI#1/Clomid success!

I am so happy to be reporting this good news, and just want to thank you so very much for your support and responses each time. We have a road ahead of us, we want to see those numbers go up, but right now, we are just so thankful for this blessing.

After trying for almost three years, I cannot believe that this is true. I know first and foremost before any procedure or drug, the Lord answered our prayers and said that it was time! We had a number of factors to overcome: Stage III endo, ovarian cysts and male factor due to ulcer meds.

First, let me say that I've never been pregnant before and "should have been" years ago, if you know what I mean. So, DH and I got married 2 ½ years ago and started trying from the beginning. I took two rounds of Clomid in March 2001 with no luck, but was not monitored while on it. The doc just prescribed it and sent me on my way. That's when I decided to try an RE. She is a gynecologist and RE so, I could always ask about my fertility when going for annuals and such, which I liked. She ordered an HSG in Aug of '01, all came back clear.

I had a lap done in September and was diagnosed with Stage III endo, which is probably why I've never been pregnant. My RE got as much endo as she could see during the surgery and said that she wanted me to start on Lupron for six months. I refused because I didn't want to deal with menopause and hold TTC for that long. They said, "well you need to get pg now before the endo comes back." So we had time working against us, too.

This summer DH's SA came back less than favorable with 7.5 mil and 50% motility and/or morphology. After the surgery, both DH and I went to acupuncture- DH had one treatment and I had six. DH also took one bottle of Chinese herbs (that was in Sept. and Oct.) Then, I put him on zinc, selenium, Vit C and Vit E. I don't know if acupuncture really helped, but I don't think it hurt. The acupuncturist treated me with needles and moxibustion (burning of the herb mugwort on your stomach) I still have the burn spots on my stomach J

So we decided to try an IUI in December. Before starting the Clomid, my RE ordered another HSG to make sure what she thought was a blocked tube during my laparoscopy, was indeed clear. Thankfully all came back clear. Took Clomid days 5-9. Had +OPK and went in for u/s before IUI. Two follies measured at 25 & 19mm, lining at14.2, and DH's count post wash was 76 million! RE said that this "may be your lucky month". Well, I sat on that table after she was done, and prayed and prayed. Breathed deep so the body could do its work. Afterwards, I had to go the store and while I was in the store, it felt like I was leaking. The line was long and I'm trying to stand in a way where all of the guys aren't falling down. I still had to go to another store, but before I went in, I reclined in the car to kind of lie down, so I could relax and keep those guys up there. Now this is the weird part, I was looking out of the windshield and side windows and saw these little clear things moving all over the window. At first, it looked like what doctors call "floaters" when you see little things moving like they're piercing the air, but these things looked like sperm moving- what you would see under a microscope. I said, "ok you're seeing things", and kept blinking and every time I looked at the glass, they were still there. I don't know what the significance is of this part; it's just weird when I look back.

Well, I also got sick with a cold and took Robitussin a/k/a Guaifenesin Syrup (which I'd already planned to do anyway) and noticed a big difference in CM. My RE even said something about it during the IUI. I also took my prenatal vitamins and one baby aspirin each night. I can't say for certain that the HSG did it, but I don't think it hurt.
So after a lot of prayer, I tested on 14dpIUI (one week before Christmas) and got a faint positive! Here's what felt different this month:

Hi Momma Kath! I wanted to send you my success story for the site!

After 3 years and 3 losses I finally get to say I'm PG and everything looks great! This was my 1st round of Clomid after completing all the infertility testing. After conceiving 2 healthy children effortlessly, everything changed. I was DX with mild PCOS and low progesterone. DH's SA came back excellent! 198mil, great morph and motility too. I took 50mgs Clomid days 5-9 unmonitored. My OPK was super +++ on cd14, and O was cd15. We BD the night of cd14, and the morning of cd16. My temps after O just kept going up and up! Then on 9dpo they spiked 5/10 and stayed. On 10dpo my software gave me the triphasic mess! age and I tested that morning with Equate. I sat there the whole 3 minutes and watched intently. LOL After 1 minute there was nothing, and the disappointment set in. Then at 2 minutes I began to see a line. When the 3 minutes were up I had a nice clear bright pink line! I tested again that afternoon with Equate and it was a BFP too and much darker than the mornings with FMU. I was completely in shock! I had all my usual PMS symptoms, and thought for sure AF was on the way. On 8dpo I got the weeps (as usual) and on 9dpo I started having that "AF is about to start flowing at any minute" feeling. I blamed my awesome chart on the Clomid. And the night before I tested all my dreams were watching all these PG tests turn +++. LOL! I tested again in the AM of 11dpo with Equate and FMU. It was a BFP too and much darker than the previous two. Went in to my RE/OB and their urine test was BFP. I finally heard the Dr say "you are PG, ! congratulations"! Well, as for my symptoms and signs:

Finally, after 2 years...
Momma Kath,
I just wanted to say thank you so much for this website!
I have met a lot of wonderful women here!
We finally became pregnant after our 2nd IUI with Clomid and Hcg shot!
We found out on New Years Day :)
Today, 1/21/03 we found out we are having TWINS!!!
Thank you so much!
Karen