**Calling all Sydney IVF/ART ladies- from limbo land to graduates** #2

[quartz]

Just got the official confirmation - BFP!!!!! HCG was at 462. At work so will be back later for personals

[EternalOptimist]

Wow we have had some awesome news in here in the last week, lots of Pom babies going around :-) Its so reassuring to everyone to know that we will get there and its about time our little thread got some good luck.


Quartz: Woo hoo that’s amazing honey, congratulations that’s a fantastic HCG level. With those kinds of numbers i wonder if you’re having twinnies? I can’t wait for your scan. How did your DH react to your wonderful news?


Kelbelle: Woo hoo and congrats to you too hon on your BFP. When is your first scan? You transferred two as well didn’t you? OMG i can’t wait to see if you have two or one, which would be amazing if there were three sets of twinnies in our little group.


Catfroggy: Congrats on your BFP as well. This sure is a busy BFP thread at the moment. When is your BT?


Felicita: How are you and your twinnies going? i think your view on the donor sperm to Peonies is an awesome way of thinking about it. Was that a suggestion your counsellor gave you?


Nessika: Welcome to our thread. I am so sorry to hear about your MC, its heartbreaking to go through. Sorry i can’t help out with the FS recommendation, i have only just got a BFP on my 7^th ET and we have been doing this for 2 years and my FS still hasn’t called me to say congrats or anything like that. He was very conservative with his protocols and all of the things i did in my cycles were behind his back as he believed in just getting the “right embryo”. I did the Sharkeys IVF program for 6 months and definitely attribute this to my BFP, i had previously done acupuncture for 2 years and think this was a waste of money, i believe that the acu is perfect for the pre and post ET sessions but that’s as far as the medical journals have tested and are willing to attribute an increased success rate.


Nattie: Sorry can’t help with the size of egg numbers before trigger. On my first cycle i had 13 eggs and no OHSS and then on my third cycle i had 25 eggs and SEVERE OHSS. Has your clinic called to confirm if they want you to trigger tonight?


Paddlegirl: I have had Doxycicline on my mediated FET and it definitely made me sick if i took it on an empty stomach. So sorry to hear about the tough baby shower, it’s so hard to deal with those things at the best of times let alone with being compared to someone else. Sending you lots of sticky baby dust for our ET on Wednesday hon.


Bebe: Yay for getting a rental property. You must be so excited to be moving out from your MIL place. How are you and lil bub going?


Bella: Woo hoo congrats on being PUPO hon. Did you take some time off after your ET or did you have to go back to work? When is your BT?


Peonies: Wow looks like you have taken great care of your RQ bracelet already, charging it and getting rid of the negative energy. I have only read the Pom juice theory for FET, not sure about stims but given its a food and the main reason for taking it is the iron content i think it would work the same way. Just make sure you stop it at EPU. So glad to hear you have chosen a donor, but i am praying that you get wonderful news on your DH biopsy and won’t need the donor after all.


Nat: Yay for O, hope AF has stayed away and you will have some great news to share with us very soon.


Lindylou: Welcome home honey. So glad you are back safe and sound, although so sorry to hear you have picked up the horrid flu, hope you’re feeling better ASAP. Great news on your fabulous lining, your perfect little embryo is going to LOVE its new home. Have you had a call from your FN to let you know when your ET will be?


TTHC: How are you going gorgeous? Have you ovulated this cycle yet so you know when AF is going to show up so you can do your FET?


Traveler: How are things with you going hon? Really hoping all that spotting has stopped now and AF has shown up for you to start again.


PinkB: How did Isabella’s specialist appointment go hon?


AFM: Not too much happening for me, we will be 9 weeks on Wednesday and will have my first OB appointment. I am so freaking nervous as we will get another scan and i just want everything to be going ok. Still have horrid M/S which is reassuring, will be speaking to my OB about getting some meds i think as its getting worse and i have lost 3kgs in the last week, which isn’t a good thing when i am already very petite.

[kelbelle]

Hi to all the Sydney ladies My email alerts seem to have stopped when the thread is updated...so I have got some reading to do! We ended up buying a new computer as the other one was getting old and had a few problems the last few months. I will need to come back for more personals.
Quartz - fabulous news! I have been working today and couldn't wait to log on when I got home and hear some more good news.

Eternal Optimist - wow, doesn't the time fly.It's hard to believe you are 9 weeks already. Not great about the MS. I hope that improves for you soon.

Nessika - welcome to our thread. I can't speak highly enough of my FS, although he is based at Genea Norwest (near Baulkham Hills) so I'm not sure if you want to travel that far? I haven't ever taken any TCM although I have weekly acu with a Chinese GP at NOrthmead. I am not sure if it makes any difference (other than pre/post transfer) but I figure I have already spent a fortune on IVF, and because he has a medicare number for acu, I only end up being about $6 a week out of pocket per visit because I have reached my safety net.

Catfroggy - congrats on your BFP POAS...I must say I have always resisted the temptation

AFM - Still can barely believe I'm pregnant after 13 attempts. When I'm driving I find myself with a little smile on my face without even realising...which I am sure has lead some blokes at the traffic lights thinking I am trying to pick them up!!! I had a little fright overnight with some blood but the FN thinks it was a bit of irritation from the pessaries. If concerned I could go in for a BT tomorrow but nothing more has eventuated. STill taking the prednisone, so it will be interesting to see what FS says when he finds out I am on it. For those who have taken it, did you continue on 20mg till 12 weeks, then ween down, or did you start weening down from 7 weeks? It was my birthday yesterday, so we told the in-laws and some close friends. My scan is on 30th March, so I am looking forward to that.

to all

[nattie84]

So many bfps in here ATM! Congrats ladies!

So doc has now reduced my dosage and will hopefully trigger wed so yay for Friday retrieval

[felicita]

So much great news in here lately!

Nessika - I was thrilled with my FS at IVFA, I've PMed you about it (at length ... sorry ... and I could probably add more!).

EO - MS has nearly vanished again this week. I'm sorry you're not having it so easy. Since my clinic did the first scan at 6w3d I keep being surprised that I'm only 2 days ahead of you - I'm 9 weeks today.
But Ob wants to do an elective C-section at 38 weeks because twin mortality and morbidity can start to skyrocket after that, so I expect I'll end up 2 weeks ahead of you. Since my mum always told me to go to 42 weeks (with a singleton) hearing 38 weeks came as a bit of a shock. At my last scan my FS provided more info and reassurance that my Ob knows what she's talking about there, so I'll have to get used to the idea. Ob did say that if there were no potential complications on the radar that I could try avoiding C-section, so it's not just that she has a game of golf to get to. The important thing is to get 2 healthy bubs, not to live some earlier notion of what ideal birth would be.
IVF counsellors never said much useful. Our view on donor sperm was what we came up with before any counselling, I think it might even have been before we asked any donors or got onto the anonymous list. It was up to DH to choose the donor he identified with best, whose sperm he was comfortable with accepting, and I had veto rights. We were there to support each other, but that was the underlying framework of how we felt about receiving donor sperm. DH's preference is why we asked one particular cousin to be a related donor first, and did not ask other cousins after the first decided he was unable to create the emotional separation for donation. It's not a case of begging (i.e. beggars can't be choosers), but of finding the right match. After asking FIL to be donor (and those cycles not working) we had run out of male relatives who we wanted to ask, which is why we went anonymous next.
The only thing the counsellor suggested that we hadn't known/considered was that when you get a BFP with donor then the grief of not achieving it with partner may resurface, so that you have a happy/sad conflict. But so far we have not relived the grief. It's been happiness all the way for us.

kelbelle - My prednisolone instructions read 20 mg until 12 weeks, then wean off by going down 5 mg each week. I know that my adrenals only start to return when I'm down to 10 mg, so I'm thinking of asking my Ob if I could start weaning after 11 weeks, so the 12th week will be on 15 mg. It's a balancing act, how much prednisone helps you with not rejecting bubs, vs how much it has a bad effect. If it IS something you need, then you don't want to come off it too soon, you need to give the pregnancy enough time to suppress your immune system itself (usually 12 wk mark).
I had high white blood cell count recently, caused by high neutrophils (early participant in the lines of immune defence). GP wasn't sure why so has redone the test, it turns out it might be a prednisolone side effect. She's going to inform Ob and they'll both keep a close eye on it.

[Nessika]

Wow I've really come to this thread at the right time to ask for advice - Congrats on on these BFP's ladies!

EternalOptimist Huge Congrats! Sorry to hear about M/S - my ob got me onto Restavit which is harmless, helps you to sleep as mine kept me awake too & helped take the edge off. Still it's a good sign that all is well. I have just started at with Sharkey's herbs, have to get more into it with temp charts & dietry change etc. Did you go gluten free as they often suggest?

Kelbelle So excited for you your first BFP! GL for a wonderful pg - you so deserve this! I've had another friend recommend Genea Norwest - just last yr I lived really close & lately I have been considering driving out there - is your FS Dr A Leighton?

Felicita Double Congrats! I can't believe it twins - how exciting! I had my DD at 38 wks & all was perfectly fine. I wish you a safe & happy pregnancy. Thank you so much for your lengthy reply re FS I will take this into consideration as I work out my next step.

[peoniesarepretty]

Hi Nessika - welcome! Well, I am currently with IVFA too (in the city) and haven't been thrilled with them, from the admin side of the things - although the doctors are nice. We are only really going through them because of Dr Golovsky and MFI issues. I previously saw Dr Mark Livingstone at Genea - not for IVF though. I was initially referred to him by my GP when she discovered I had large fibroids, and he had the foresight to also run a whole suite of tests on both myself and my DH (even though we hadn't even started trying). He was lovely - we really really liked him. I would prefer to be doing my cycle with him, but for the MFI reasons (discovered thanks to the tests Mark ran) we need to be with IVFA. He is also in the city, and I'd happily recommend him.

Quartz - well, official congratulations then!!

Hi to everyone else. Hope all's well.


AFM: Still no AF. Weird - never arrives when you're waiting on it, does it?

[felicita]

I feel so proud - I just had my first chunder. Took me by surprise as I'm not feeling ill at all, just dizzy today.

[SimpsonDesert]

Nat- I should have known you'd already tested!! Hoping that 2nd line starts appearing over the next few days

Felicita- when it comes to resourcing in the NSW Health dept, I don't think Workcover would be helpful. They would be concerned only with the staff welfare, not the patients. I hope your Nanna is being properly cared for despite the staff shortages. I loved your viewpoint on receiving donor sperm! Thinking of it just like any other donated organ or tissue that becomes your DH's once he's received it, that is beautiful.

Catfroggy- OMG!! A BFP so soon is amazing, huge congrats

Paddlegirl- Yay for FET tomorrow! We will be TWW buddies . I hope your embie thaws perfectly Sorry you had to suffer THE question at the baby shower, hopefully everyone will have their answer very soon!

Nattie- with your follie count, you'd be very low risk for OHSS. I have best results when I'm triggered with a lead follie at 20mm and the rest somewhere between 15-20mm. Looks like you're all sorted now with trigger tomorrow & Fri EPU, love it when the end of jabbing is in sight!

Nessika- Hi & welcome to our thread! So sorry you've just had a m/c I'm in the south west, so unfortunately can't help with an FS close to you. I haven't done TCM, but I have done Sharkeys herbs and the high-potency detox program they recommend pre-IVF. I found the herbs helped with 'normalising' my natural cycle, but didn't improve our IVF results. The detox program however seems to have made a huge difference. After following it for 3 months, I had my best ever stim response and that cycle produced 2 chromosomally normal hatching blasties (we did PGD). I'm doing pre & post acu with this FET, something I haven't tried before. Time will tell if it helps! I went not only gluten-free, but grain free. Sharkeys advised gluten-free, but my endocrinologist one-upped them & said eliminate all grains. But that's because I have a thyroid auto-immune disease.

Quartz- great levels! Here's hoping this bub (or bubs) is super sticky

EO- 9 weeks already, wow! I hope your OB appointment goes well tomorrow and he/she can give you something to help with the MS. You sure can't afford to be losing too much weight. My FET is booked for Fri 16th, don't know what time yet. I have a funeral Fri morning, so I've asked for FET to be in the afternoon if possible. Its going to be full on trying to attend the funeral, pre-FET acu, then FET, then post-FET acu. Hopefully it all falls into place for me

Kelbelle- I'll be taking pred too, and have been told to stay on it til 12 weeks, then wean off. The weaning process takes 4-5 weeks as you gradually step down the dose. LOL at the goofy smiles in the car! Let us know if any strange men ask for your number

Peonies- oh yes, its always the way that AF is late when we want or need her . Hopefully she'll be here in the next few days.

Mac8- thanks for the welcome home. Are you still starting Lucrin tomorrow? I hope you survive the first jab OK!

Bella- congrats on being PUPO! How many did you transfer? Were you lucky enough to get any frosties?

Traveler, Lola, Jeb, Catemer- you've all been quiet... hope you are all well.

Hi to everyone else

AFM- feeling much better today & have returned to the office. I'm confident I'll be back to 100% by Friday in time for my FET. As I mentioned to EO, its going to be a busy day with a funeral, FET and 2 lots of acupuncture to squeeze in. Really hope my FS can accommodate my request for an afternoon transfer

[SimpsonDesert]

Sydney Girls Roll Call

Waiting to Cycle
(limbo land, on a break, between cycles, etc)
The Time Has Come
Alison12
Lola77
Traveler
Crofty
Sticky11
Nat84u
Peoniesarepretty
Wishing4
Lillac
Nessika

Cycle Underway
(IUI, IVF, ICSI, FET, etc)
Mac8- pill popping
Jeb8303- sniffing from Feb 20
Nattie84- jabbing- EPU 16/3
Catemer- FET
Paddlegirl- FET 14/3
Lindylou78- FET 16/3


TWW
Catfroggy- 1 x blast- BT 16/3
Bella978- BT 21/3


UTD
Loulabelle
25andhopeful - natural miracle
Claire77
Bebehvala - Aug 2012
Felicita- Oct 2012- TWINS!!
EternalOptimist- Oct 2012
Kelbelle- Nov 2012
Quartz- Nov 2012

Proud Mummies
Nat84u - DD 2004
PinkButterfly- DD1 2007 & DD2 Feb 2012
Traveler- DS 2009
Lola77- DS 2009
Loulabelle- DD 2009
The Time Has Come- DS Aug 2010

So awesome to see our UTD list growing . We are all going to get there!