ROLL CALL......Anybody here????

[ter]

Hi, I am also a newbie to the BB and am over 35 (39 actually as of the beginning of this month). I have been trying (with breaks for my body to re-adjust) for 15+ years. My diagnosis is (finally!) PCOS.

I am responding to the questions about clomid. I have some personal knowledge. Although clomid itself didn't work it did on BBT charts (that was because of my PCOS.) I was not actually ovulating, as my eggs were not maturing and releasing. Clomid CAN help some. But, if something else is going on, it may not be detectible, either. Have you tried other ways of determining ovulation other than temp?

BABYDUST to ALL!!

[isys]

Hi Sisters:

I am 38 years old, soon to be 39 in November. I got married in 1996 and have been ttc since 1998. I had 2 surgeries for uterine fibroids and IVF/ICSI with BFP in 1999. Unfortunately I m/c on my 34th birthday. DH has azospermia (very low counts) and unfortunately smokes.

We finally started trying again after I got a job with fabulous insurance that covers 3 attempts. We started IVF again in January this year (2004). #1 was cancelled due to poor response (20 units of lupron) put my ovaries on ice!! I took my frustrations out on my garden. I have unfortunately been labelled a "poor responder" and have received "the speech" (donor egg)

IVF#2- (lupron mdf). Made it to retrieval. (If you are not sitting down I suggest you do so before you continue reading) 4 eggs were retrieved and 3 were mature, but DH gave sample twice and there were zero, I mean Zip spermies. I sat down with RE and DH in a small office (remember I am still spacy from twilight anesthesia) and he asks us what we want to do. Everyone looks at me. I calmly say " I want to go home to bed". I was dumb-founded. It took about 48 hours for my brain to start functioning again. I had just finished reading "a purpose driven life", I think that saved my sanity.

IVF #3 - My last one with this insurance, because all the other attempts were counted. My protocol is as follows: bcp for 14 days ( I started on 7/14). No lupron this time. I will be on 300U of follistim in AM and 150U follistim in pm plus 2 vials of repronex. I start stims 8/2, and antagon will be added at some point. ER 8/13 or 8/14, ET week of 8/16-8/20.

I just started a low salt, low refined-sugar diet. I have bumped up my protein (whey). I am expecting my guided imagery CD's in the mail any time soon. I am pulling out all the stops. I am taking care of me this time.

I look forward to getting to know y'all better.

Isys

[WellyB]

Hi everyone,

My name is Brenda (WellyB) and my dh and I have been TTC for 3 1/2 yrs. We've done many Clomid cycles and 1 injectible cycle but have only done 4 IUIs in this time period because of anovulation. I'm diagnosed with PCOS with a unicornate uterus. When I do ovulate, I seem to only ovulate from the right, where I have no communicating horn. After seeing an RE for 2 1/2 yrs, hoping and praying that the next month would be "the month", I got frustrated. I collected my records and went to a new RE and there we received quite a shock. We were always told that there was no problem with my husband, who always had very high sperm counts. However, when I picked up my records and his, I looked over his semen analysis results and noted that his morphology was not normal. Now, I worked in healthcare for 12 years and am very careful regarding my own care. I get copies of my results and analyze them carefully. However, I never did that with my husband's SA's. Now, I feel so ignorant and guilty. The new RE immediately sent my dh to a urologist specializing in male infertility and she has diagnosed him with bilateral varicoceles and he's having them surgically repaired Aug 20th. If only I had done this 2 1/2 years ago. Since I'm 38, I feel the passage of time more than ever. However, at least now I feel that we are making progess.

Now, let's see, back to the questions. My natural hair color is light brown and I'm a dark blond (colored). The things that we love most are our pets, a Pekingnese named Angel, and a rat terrier/dalmation mix that we adopted from the humane society, named Baby. My dh and I have recently purchased a bungalow built in the early 1920's and are planning our renovations and additions. I'm also a student. IF has kindled a fire within me to help others attain their dreams of having a family. I'm majoring in biochemistry and my ultimate goal is embryology.

I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone here and becoming more active on these boards. I've been a member for quite a while but tend to lurk more than I post.

WellyB

[Knot Borde]

I, too, am a newbie, but have spent my time on the IVF BB. Decided to cross over to this BB since I just turned 35 last week. Here's my story. This is a second marriage for both of us. My DH (44) has a son from his previous marriage. During his prior marriage, he and his ex-wife decided that they did not want any more children and he had a vasectomy. That was is 1995.

After our divorces, we met and really thought that we were both okay with the thought of never having children. It was something we discussed, but I assured him that I did not have to be a mother. We married in 1999 and still thought that we would not have children. By 2001, we both changed our minds. We love each other so much and wanted to be able to give our love to a child. So, we decided to have a vasectomy reversal. The surgery was a success, but as some you may know, it is considered a success if any number of sperm are in the semen. He now has low sperm count (4.5 - 7.5 million) and low motility (12%).

We initially went to an RE who recommended IUI even with those low numbers. How stupid were we to go through with it? Well, it was a BFN! We took about a year off to decide whether we were going to do IVF, switch REs, adopt, etc. We switched doctors and are now pleased with the new RE. She would have never recommended IUI in the first place with our factors.

Our current RE wanted to rule out any female factors, but after bloodwork and HSG, she confirmed that I was healthy. Compared me to a young female in her prime. I begin Lupron .10 cc tomorrow and will have my suppression check on 8-12-04. I will then continue Lupron .05 and also take 150 IU Follistim AM and PM. We are estimating that the retreival will be 8-23-04. On 8-26-04 if all works out the way they think, they will transfer 2 embryos. My RE is very confident since we are doing ICSI.

I must say that I am very excited to begin the process tomorrow. I thought it would never get here. I am very nervous about the PIO injections and get teary every time I look at the needles (22 gauge). My only solace is that if all of you can do it, so can I.

Isys, I will be keeping you in mind since we will be cycle buddies. Let me know how things go for you. I also have started a high protein diet. My husband has been doing it for a while now (because he works out) and has been trying to get me in on it. Want to do as much as possible so that I do not have any regrets later.

Janis

[Mrs. Chesnut]

Name: Mrs. Chesnut
Age: 37
dx and tx: DH: azoospermia, Me: Endo and dx this summer with very large (4x4x4 inches) mass near one ovary/fallopian tube.
Surgery this month to remove and biopsy for malignancy. If benign, and endo if is not too extensive, they will try to preserve as much of my reproductive anatomyas possible for DIU attempt or if we have the $$$ possible IVF, if ovaries respond (Clomid Challenge Test revealed I would probably not have success with IVF).

how long ttc: About 7 years

Personal stuff (Optional): On and off FT for a couple of years. Used to visit Primary bb (back when our only dx was MF) and now Endo bb. Very upset and depressed since recent dx. Things seem to be going from bad to worse to mind numbing.... Currently in therapy to deal with all the mental fallout.

What's your hair color (natural or colored)? Getting very white from all the stress! I was once a natural blonde, and boy oh boy did I have waaaay more fun back then.

What's your favorite hobbie? Trying to keep myself from obsessing about the future. .

Are you an active or inactive person? When I'm not depressed I'm very active and spend most of my time exploring nature. When I'm depressed I'm about as active as a garden slug.

How many hours a day do you spend on the computer? Hey, this is starting to sound like some strange marketing poll
Hmm, let's see, I spend good chunks of my day on the computer, but much less time surfing the internet. I read my mail, scan the news on a regular basis, other than that I don't spend much time on the internet, unless I'm searching for specific info or need to check in with FT.

[hyacinthNYC]

This is my first posting to any forum, so here goes . . .

I'm 36, and DH is 42. We have been ttc for 4 years. We were diagnosed for a long time as "unexplained" and now are diagnosed with "low ovarian reserve (low responder to drug stimulation) and mild male factor." That means my eggs are prematurely old (who knew?) and DH has lots of sperm but with big heads that have a hard time penetrating the egg shell. While his issue is solved with ICSI, mine is a bit more problematic.

Here is our history in brief:

Clomid 3 months, failed
#1 IUI failed
#1 IVF PG w/twins, 1 mc at 18 weeks, 1 trisomy18 D&E
#2 IVF canceled b/c too few and no good eggs
#3 IVF failed
#4 IVF converted to #2 IUI b/c too few eggs, failed

So now we are planning to try one last IVF in December with our own eggs before we consider alternatives, like donor egg or adoption.

For those in NYC, we worked with Keltz/Stein through Roosevelt Hospital for #1 IUI through #3 IVF. We moved to RMA-NY for #4 IVF. Our last shot will probably be with SIRM-NY with Dr. Geoffrey Sher.

Does anyone have any feedback on Dr. Sher? He seems to be the only Dr. in NYC who says we have any hope conceiving with our own eggs. I know he has offices all over the U.S., particularly CA and IL. Everyone else says we should just give up and move to donor egg. And I have to admit I am beginning to believe . . . but not quite yet.

This has been such a long and painful road for us, as I know it has been for all of you. Thanks for this wonderful bb that provides a safe place to share our story.

All the best,

HyacinthNYC

[RuaNY]

Roll call Questions:

Name: Cath
Age:38
dx and tx: PCOS because of Dx of insulin resistance
how long ttc:This time - not even sure I have the right to be TTC

Personal stuff (Optional): DH is 45, DD1 is 10 1/2 and DD2 is 2 1/2. We have a Pomeranian who is 11 and is SO CUTE! We are trying to sell our house and move in with my parents and renovate theirs. DD1 is a prizewinning Irish Step Dancers so a lot of weekends we are at competitions. She also has played the fiddle for 3 months so we are there on Saturdays now too.

What's your hair color (natural or colored)? v. dark brown dyed red!
What's your favorite hobbie? Scrapbooking and shopping!
Are you an active or inactive person? like more inactive things but have added working out 5 times a week to the repotiore for the past 8 weeks!
How many hours a day do you spend on the computer? About 10 - I work on it and recreation is here too!

[mom23Cs]

Hi,
I am Sherry, I am also new to this board. I am 38. For the first 10 years of our marriage, we lived in a rural area 8 hours from any specialty doctors. Due to the large distance, we decided to adopt rather than do infertility. We know about dh if, but did not know that I came with issues of my own. About 6 months ago (and 2 precious dd's later), I realized that I could not leave my 30's behind without ttc. We now live just 2 hours from a RE and so we have just begun our ttc journey. I was just DX in October with PCOS--which explained alot of things in my life. We are doing DIUI's. I took bc for 2 months and then started ttc. The first month, I had a large cyst. The second month seemed normal and we proceeded with the DIUI only to find out I had LUFS (which means the follicle never ruptured). Third month another large cyst. Fourth month finally had 2 good follies and took an HCG to force rupture. I am now 7dpDIUI and will be going in for a serum prog. this afternoon. It is not nice to hear from all of you. I am so worried that I missed my window of opportunity.
Good luck to all,
Sherry

[RuaNY]

Well, I am also PCOS and had a very hard time conceiving DD2. DD1 was a honeymoon baby!! The girls are 8 years apart. My Dr put me on Metformin for insulin resistance and I was preg a month and a half later!! After 8 looooooong years!! I lost 45 pounds while preg - it's like something kicks in and starts really working - and then I would not hop back on the Met after I weaned her and I gained it ALL back again with a little extra for good measure. So, now I have found that if I eat 15mg of protein w/30mg of carbs AND take the met I am have regular cycles. Whether there are actual s I am not sure. We are not actively TTC but we are open to what God might send - if that makes sense.

I wish you lots of luck on your journey! Sending you :stickyvib

All the best,
Cath

Originally Posted by srholland

Hi,
I am Sherry, I am also new to this board. I am 38. For the first 10 years of our marriage, we lived in a rural area 8 hours from any specialty doctors. Due to the large distance, we decided to adopt rather than do infertility. We know about dh if, but did not know that I came with issues of my own. About 6 months ago (and 2 precious dd's later), I realized that I could not leave my 30's behind without ttc. We now live just 2 hours from a RE and so we have just begun our ttc journey. I was just DX in October with PCOS--which explained alot of things in my life. We are doing DIUI's. I took bc for 2 months and then started ttc. The first month, I had a large cyst. The second month seemed normal and we proceeded with the DIUI only to find out I had LUFS (which means the follicle never ruptured). Third month another large cyst. Fourth month finally had 2 good follies and took an HCG to force rupture. I am now 7dpDIUI and will be going in for a serum prog. this afternoon. It is not nice to hear from all of you. I am so worried that I missed my window of opportunity.
Good luck to all,
Sherry

[marygoround]

I'm still here, and I check this board often to see if anyone has been posting. My name is Mary, and I am 36.

TTC: 3 yrs, 4 mos

Dx: Don't always ovulate, also a poor responder to stims. Had a septate uterus, which was corrected during lap 12/03. Shouldn't have affected fertility anyway

Tx: Started with the usual (Clomid), moved on to IUI with mix of Clomid and Repronex. That didn't work, so quickly moved on to IUI w/Repronex. I am now up to 6 vials per day, and because I am a poor responder, will be adding a Lupron Flare to the next cycle.

M/C: My 7th IUI resulted in a pregnancy, which ended at 9wks (baby never developed past 6 weeks).

Personal Stuff: I do color my hair, and was very active until my recent miscarriage. Since then, little motivation to run/exercise.

Next Steps: Plan on continuing with IUI for awhile, since it's fully covered by insurance. Docs seem to indicate that I'm not the best canidate for IVF with my own eggs, becuase I am such a poor responder to stims.

Should be starting another cycle in a few weeks...

Glad you guys are here, and glad to hear there are some of us over 35-ers around.