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Cool OP on getting pregnant. That's not the hard part. Now that the fun is over, what to do when pregnant?
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Feb 20, 2017 09:20
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Shbobdb posted:Cool OP on getting pregnant. That's not the hard part. Now that the fun is over, what to do when pregnant? Pregnancy Megathread II ?
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Feb 20, 2017 11:50
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Woke up this morning with an alert that I would be getting my period today. Thought about it and realized I hadn't had any PMS or spotting so I thought I'd take a test just for the hell of it and well...two lines! This happened last year as well and by the end of the fifth week my numbers had fizzled out and I had a chemical miscarriage. Last time though that second line was hella faint and I had to really look at an angle to even see it. This time there was no mistaking the second line and I'm only 4 weeks in so fingers crossed that darker line ends with better results. Currently waiting to hear back from the lab with my HCG/progesterone numbers. This has been a long time coming and I'm slightly terrified but I really really hope this one sticks! Edit: 3w6d along, levels look good this time around so fingers crossed I make it to 12w now! Roulette fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Mar 22, 2017 |
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Mar 22, 2017 18:33
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Congratulations! Great news. I wish you all the best.
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Mar 22, 2017 21:01
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Roulette posted:Woke up this morning with an alert that I would be getting my period today. Thought about it and realized I hadn't had any PMS or spotting so I thought I'd take a test just for the hell of it and well...two lines! This happened last year as well and by the end of the fifth week my numbers had fizzled out and I had a chemical miscarriage. Last time though that second line was hella faint and I had to really look at an angle to even see it. This time there was no mistaking the second line and I'm only 4 weeks in so fingers crossed that darker line ends with better results. Currently waiting to hear back from the lab with my HCG/progesterone numbers. This has been a long time coming and I'm slightly terrified but I really really hope this one sticks! quote:My life experience has taught me nothing happens by chance. Even the idea of the ball in a roulette game: it's not chance it ends up in a certain place. It's forces that are at play. - Andrea Bocelli May luck be a Nanny tonight!
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Mar 24, 2017 06:19
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Has anyone used a donor to conceive? My fiancee and I are wanting to start trying after our wedding in May, but I'm trans and thus don't make sperm. Trying to wade through options we're comfortable with, figure out legal things, logistics, and cost is all a little nightmareish.
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Mar 25, 2017 21:15
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RabbitMage posted:Has anyone used a donor to conceive? My fiancee and I are wanting to start trying after our wedding in May, but I'm trans and thus don't make sperm. Trying to wade through options we're comfortable with, figure out legal things, logistics, and cost is all a little nightmareish. It's a lot more complicated, to be sure. I used a sperm bank, started with IUIs and ended up doing IVF. It was pretty costly but made more sense factoring in my age and the cost of sperm. If you purchase donor sperm it's costly, but it makes the legal aspects a lot easier. Anything specific you want to know?
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Mar 25, 2017 21:48
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I'm generally angry at the unfairness of reproduction, but there's nothing that can be done about that. In general, I'm curious how you/others chose a bank or donor, how to manage the costs, etc. My fiancee has been reading that IUI is typically $2000/dose by the time you factor in all the costs. MIL keeps suggesting we just go to a bar with a Dixie cup. We don't like this plan.
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Mar 26, 2017 02:02
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I chose a sperm bank from a shortlist that the fertility clinic typically worked with. You can do a limited search for a donor on a number of sites; most of them ask a small fee to view more detailed family histories, personal profiles and early childhood pictures of the donor. The biggest sperm banks in the US are probably California cryobank or Fairfax cryobank. These will have the most diverse selection, but will also be the most expensive, so it's a good place to start browsing. Open or anonymous donor - the schizophrenia issue with the anonymous donor in Canada made getting an open donor important to me (so the kid can contact him at 18). CMV compatibility is also important and pretty commonly available as a filter. From there you can look for a donor with physical characteristics or ancestry that's similar to the nonbiological parent if that's something important to you. I narrowed to a handful based on age, profession/major and height, then looked at the detailed interviews and found one that just clicked. Check to see what your insurance covers - total cost of an IUI cycle can differ considerably depending on how much medication and monitoring they do. At the end of the day, though, each IUI cycle only has about a 10-15% success rate (declining with maternal age to about 2% at 41), which makes for about a cumulative 50% success rate in up to 4-6 cycles. Having a 50% chance of nothing after 6 IUIs makes skipping quickly to IVF a tempting proposition particularly if you want multiple kids and can freeze extra blasts made with younger eggs. No two ways about it, it is expensive. But it was on par with the expense of childcare for the first year in my area, so i used it as a chance to change up my budget early and saved for a bit while I was deciding whether to try.
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Mar 26, 2017 03:08
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My wife and I are struggling with unexplained infertility. We've been trying for over a year now, and pretty scientific about it for over 6 months (she gets ovulation tests strips in bulk on Amazon). I've had 2 sperm analyses done, the first said my morphology was a little low but everything else was good, I started taking a multivitamin and exercising more, and 2 months later the next analysis showed everything fine (her reproductive endocrinologist said "your sperm is great"). Early on when we were trying they think she had a chemical pregnancy. She went in for her normal wellness exam, and mentioned to the doctor that we were trying to get pregnant, so she gave her a urine pregnancy test to be safe (don't want to be scraping around down there if you're pregnant I guess). She got a positive, retested and got a positive again. Then my wife had her period when she was supposed to. The same week, she also found out her best friend was pregnant with the same due-date-month we were supposed to have, so its been incredibly hard on her. When she thought she was pregnant she went in to see an OBGYN. They did blood tests and found out she has hypothyroidism. They prescribed her levothyroxine, tweaked her levels for about 2 months, and now all her hormone levels are normal. She has to go in every 2 months to get her blood checked to make sure things are still good. She's a little overweight (5'6" 200lbs) but none of her doctors seem overly concerned about this (her RE said she just wanted her to exercise, not do anything drastic like crash diet or anything, that there is a correlation between weight and fertility but she isn't concerned that its preventing us from getting pregnant). She just had a pelvic ultrasound and HSG test. The tech said her uterus looked fine and they counted something like 10 follicles on side and 13 on the other. She said the HSG test was the most painful thing she's ever experienced, but the tech said there were no blockages. Our followup appointment is next week to talk about next steps with her doctor. Anyone know how common it is for an HSG test to open up a blocked tube? I'm really hoping that's what it was. She didn't seem to ovulate this month, but they said the HSG test can interfere with that.
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Mar 26, 2017 17:18
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To alwayslost: HSG tests are awful. I was hanging in there until she told me she had to inflate a balloon in my uterus. That said, I've heard that they often clear blocked tubes. I had mine in December (after just over two years of trying and no clear explanation for infertility). My doctor also put me on Letrozole. I don't know if it was the test or the medicine, but whatever it was worked. It took another few months, but I'm due in November...so...it's possible.
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Mar 28, 2017 04:20
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Just had an HSG test this afternoon, and was shocked by how much pain I was in. The nurse, tech and doctor also seemed surprised. Spent the time whimpering on the table. All looks good though, no blockage, all hunky dory. This was the last piece of the puzzle for how we are fertility wise, and everything is fine. We have been trying since June and nothing, so I guess it's just timing. Both the nurse and doctor said that the HSG test might increase fertility this cycle.
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May 3, 2017 08:29
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bee fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Jul 19, 2017 |
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May 3, 2017 10:56
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My wife just had an HSG done a couple weeks ago and while it wasn't sharp pain she was hurting all day after the procedure. This is all in preparation for fertility treatment. We are going the super-ovulation route to try and get pregnant and hopefully make it stick. We are currently at the taking provera to induce a period stage. From there it's an ultrasound, then 6 or 7 days of femara followed by another ultrasound to make sure there are eggs ready to go. Finally, an rear end-shot to kick start that ovulation and bang for 2 days then follow-ups with progesterone suppositories. It sounds like a whole lot of fun for her. We get to pay for it all out of pocket too since even my excellent insurance doesn't cover fertility treatment. It's about $1000 a cycle says the doc. At least I can drain my FSA for a single cycle of treatment.
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May 3, 2017 14:56
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I'm not a woo person at all, and I advice everyone take this with a grain of skeptic salt, however I have been struggling with infertility and horrible PMS for years and read something last year about Chasteberry supplements to help with the awful mood swings of PMS. Well, I took it for a few months and while it did help with my grumpiness, it also gave me really strong periods. I decided to lay off it for a month and low and behold, I get knocked up. Now, I'm not saying it's 100% the reason obviously, but if anyone is curious about helpful pills, you may want to look into Chasteberry. I used the generic Vitamin Shoppe ones that run about $10 a bottle and took one a day for a few months. Just wanted to pass on my experience!
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May 3, 2017 16:37
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Just in case someone reading this isn't aware - some herbal supplements can interact with fertility medication so talk to your doctor before you start taking them 
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May 3, 2017 22:12
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bee posted:Just in case someone reading this isn't aware - some herbal supplements can interact with fertility medication so talk to your doctor before you start taking them Yes good catch! I was not taking any fertility medication at all so I have no idea how supplements would affect them. Again, I urge you to be skeptical but you know, research if you want to.
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May 3, 2017 23:52
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I'm about to have my first egg collection in a couple of days so I googled about what to expect pain wise for the procedure and holy actual poo poo I am pretty sure I am still being objective when I say that all infertility related forums are the worst - I haven't looked at anything for ages and forgot how it is 99% puerile nonsense about 'embies' and 'yey cycle buddies!!' and 'wishing you heaps of baby dust~~!' (I can only ever imagine this as bukkake).
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May 8, 2017 08:53
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The only pain, and it's more just a general swelling discomfort, is well and truly after and that's from how many follicles you have. If you have more than 10 I recommend a day off work the next day, even though they say you'll be fine I felt quite uncomfortable walking around because it was like carrying grapefruit in my hip sockets. Also, yeah, gently caress those forums. The only baby dust you'll need is maybe some codeine.
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May 8, 2017 13:09
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Well poo poo I have about 35 (PCOS laughs in the face of my low dosage) and am already feeling uncomfortable as hell, but contracting so not keen to take another day off. Might just wing it and bail if it's too much.
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May 8, 2017 20:52
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Fair enough, and my job involved walking around a lot so if it's just sitting at a desk all day you might not be as worried by it.
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May 9, 2017 06:06
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So after my HSG, my period the next cycle was really heavy. No big deal, probably unblocked something. This cycle, my temperature stayed high around the end of my usual luteal phase, and hovered a couple more days around the same level. Did a cheapie test this morning, and got the double lines! I've bought a more expensive test to confirm it when I get home tonight, but it's looking good! This makes it a year we've been trying, no fertility issues, both in our early 30s, just a matter of patience.
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Jun 15, 2017 09:36
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bee fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Jul 19, 2017 |
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Jun 19, 2017 10:37
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RabbitMage posted:I'm generally angry at the unfairness of reproduction, but there's nothing that can be done about that. Still angry about this. We're ready to start trying, there's just...nothing to try with. Word to the wise: there are free sperm donor groups on Facebook. They are as terrifying as you imagine.
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Sep 6, 2017 03:50
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RabbitMage posted:Still angry about this. We're ready to start trying, there's just...nothing to try with. Our new neighbors had a solution for this. The woman's sister is gay and wanted a child with her wife so the husband (neighbor's husband, gay sister's brother-in-law) literally masturbated into a turkey baster in the bathroom and the lesbian couple used that. It actually worked.
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Sep 6, 2017 16:36
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Yeah. We've exhausted our small list of sperm-producing friends we felt comfortable asking already. Turkey baster is a good go-to.
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Sep 6, 2017 19:36
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No joke, conception sex timing can make the thought of the turkey baster route seem downright attractive. Check the calendar, give husband the turkey baster and cup, the end. If not for the needle sticks and medication dosing, that part of standard IVF always seemed the best to me. Not having to worry about timing, someone else just tells you when and where to show up and you just lie down and have them get on with it. Everything else though  8DPO here of our first cycle trying for #2. I did not miss the uncertainty of ttc, though this time around I'm not bothering with peesticks. I have the dubious advantage of working in a radiology department though so it takes 30 second in my lunch break to check for a dominant follicle and how big it is. My cycles and ovulation have been pretty regular but I'm still nursing our 17 month old a few times a night/morning, and pumping a couple times a day at work, so it'll be interesting to see what effect that might have if any. It took five cycles before our first pregnancy stuck, but we're both on the older side. According to the textbooks if sperm met egg and successfully made an embryo right now is about when it is in the process of implanting. Feels weird to have a Shroedinger's uterus. We'll find out next week I guess.
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Sep 7, 2017 11:31
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nyerf posted:No joke, conception sex timing can make the thought of the turkey baster route seem downright attractive. Check the calendar, give husband the turkey baster and cup, the end. If not for the needle sticks and medication dosing, that part of standard IVF always seemed the best to me. Not having to worry about timing, someone else just tells you when and where to show up and you just lie down and have them get on with it. Everything else though :smith This was the best part of IUI! It cut down on a lot of stress, especially when using frozen sperm. samizdat posted:4 IUIs later and the dr thinks maybe I have endometriosis, so I'm having surgery to check a Fallopian tube that may be blocked now and investigate the reasons for strange pains. That's on top of PCOS. Follow up: I did have endometriosis, stage 1, so they took care of it. I did another IUI in February and had another miscarriage in March. It was considered a partial success, I could actually get pregnant now that the endo was gone. Maybe next time it'd be fully successful! But while I was waiting for the go ahead for another IUI (the miscarriage was a chemical but I stayed "pregnant" for 8 weeks) my doctor was fired and his whole department was shut down at the end of May. I was getting fertility treatment from a reproductive endocrinologist at a Catholic hospital/university and they apparently decided to gently caress everyone over because it's against their religion to turkey bast me. Our military insurance only covers that hospital/university system and one other local medical school, nobody else takes them here because military health insurance is cheap and doesn't like paying out very much. Right now I don't have a doctor for my PCOS/endometriosis who is in network. My doctor had said he's going to either find someplace else to work or open up his own clinic but in the meantime, assuming it happens at all, I'm just sort of left hanging.
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Sep 9, 2017 02:27
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Are you doing IUIs over full IVF for any particular reason? Don't they have a lower success rate generally? I'm happy to be corrected, it's been awhile since I logged up the latest lot of stats. Either way it doesn't sound like a great situation samizdat I hope you get some clarity soon!Round two for us, I ovulated today, rather uncomfortably. Still early days so I'm not hugely worried, though setting an alarm to have conception sex during the time when you can guarantee the firstborn will be asleep is already getting old. Why can't we just lay eggs in a vat already.
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Sep 26, 2017 04:04
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nyerf posted:Are you doing IUIs over full IVF for any particular reason? Don't they have a lower success rate generally? I'm happy to be corrected, it's been awhile since I logged up the latest lot of stats. We may have to consider IUI next. Right now we're doing the superovulation thing and have gone 4 rounds with no success and 1 round where no follicles developed. We have a follow-up with a fertility doctor next month but the 5th round starts today with the base ultrasound. It's cheap for now, the ultrasounds are all covered by insurance but if we have to start anything more explicit insurance won't cover it 
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Sep 26, 2017 15:02
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Posting for solidarity with other goons who are in the wait cycle. No luck this month either. I'm not overly disappointed though it did tickle my hopes briefly when I got spotting way earlier than expected (this period is about four days early and I've never been early before) and we were all like "could it be implantation bleeding???". But no. Would have ended up being a mid to late winter baby too, so still in our earliest-we-can-stand-weatherwise calendar window of babyhaving. I guess I'd rather be early than late if no pregnancy is the outcome, means that next egg should be on the production line sooner. Only two cycles in but there's part of my brain that's convinced just because we've had a baby before this time around conception should be quicker! (if anything since we're older I'm realistically expecting it to take just as long if not longer)
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Oct 7, 2017 23:05
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Well I finally qualify for infertility testing after having a really rough second trimester miscarriage last year. Hoping nothing got particularly screwed up by my surgery, but I just... haven't gotten pregnant again after such a short time trying the first time. I hope if there's a problem that it's easily remedied, but the idea of getting pregnant again is also pretty scary I was three days late this month and it was such an emotional roller coaster.
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Oct 7, 2017 23:37
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Going through a loss is so bloody hard. I'm sorry. I hope there will be some peace along the way for you too, whatever they find out. We're on month three now, nothing interesting to report but just putting up my hand to say we're still in the ring. Haven't thrown in the towel yet. In a way I'm kinda glad we haven't bought bulk pee sticks this time around- I don't really want to know about any potential super early conceptions that end up going down the toilet within a week of when my period is supposed to be due. I've been self monitoring follicles at work (lucky my ovaries are easy enough to see transabdominally) in my spare time. It's Leftie ovary again this month third time in a row! Maybe my left ovary is laying duds. Rightie's on vacation.
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Oct 19, 2017 10:50
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So we got pregnant after 6 months of trying in January this year but it was ectopic and my wife had to get an injection to terminate and make sure it didn’t hurt her. Picked up super early (like 6 weeks) so no harm no surgery. We were told we had to wait 3-4 months to try again so we started trying in may? And after 6 frustrating months something has happened? Maybe? Last month her period was 5 days late. She is usually clockwork and has a light period anyway and she’s never been on the pill. No positive tests. This month again 6 days late (and counting- none yet) last week she took a clear blue test and not pregnant. Today she did a first response test and there is a line. Not the strongest but it’s there definitely. We got excited but nervous as the hospital last time said we need to book early for like internal ultrasounds as she is now “high risk” for further ectopics. About 3 hours later? She peed on a clear blue and got a not pregnant! What a gut punch. I just don’t know- a lot of googling says this is common and false negatives are common but a “line” when you aren’t pregnant is basically impossible. My wife isn’t on any medication and doesn’t drink doesn’t smoke etc. she just takes some vitamin d once a day and elevit. Like I said too not on the pill and never has been. Are we worried / excited for no reason?
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Nov 3, 2017 05:33
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Take a pink dye test like a First Response Early Results first thing in the morning - with the first pee. That will give you the most accurate look for the day. Periods are weird and fickle creatures, though. Sounds like you guys have been through the wringer already though - best of luck!
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Nov 3, 2017 08:37
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Yeah, sometimes urine isn’t concentrated enough later in the day to turn a test positive at the early stages of pregnancy. Have her take a test first thing in the morning the next day. Sometimes dr’s offices will want to draw a blood Hcg test to confirm- those aren’t affected by time of day. I get to go in for my day 3 blood work on Sunday- I guess I feel ok that at least I’m doing something about not getting anywhere.
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Nov 3, 2017 13:30
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How'd it go BS? Or did you mean they just did a blood draw on Sunday and you haven't heard results yet?
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Nov 15, 2017 23:10
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nyerf posted:How'd it go BS? Or did you mean they just did a blood draw on Sunday and you haven't heard results yet? Oh, thanks for checking I went in at the beginning of the month. Hormonally, things look good, which I’m grateful for. Had an HSG yesterday. It was very unpleasant, but they want me to come back for a follow up hysteroscopy to check out the degree of uterine funk I’ve got (not their words). Guess I’ll get to give my insurance coverage a workout.
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Nov 15, 2017 23:21
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That's good to hear about the hormones. What sort of uterine funk are they thinking? Polyp or something? Here's hoping your tubes were clear--I hear having a HSG can sometimes unstick stuck-together uterine tubes too. Good luck! I ovulated yesterday, so the two week wait begins again. This is the first cycle we're trying a 'conception friendly' lube so see what happens. Supposedly it's got magnesium and calcium (to promote sperm motility?) in it and doesn't have citric acid which kills them. Not sure if this is evidence based but I'd sooner try this than the raw egg whites for lube you hear about on the fertility boards  I also felt inside my cervix for the first time ever yesterday, weirdest feeling ever...!
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Nov 20, 2017 08:40
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I'm going in for iui today so I'm in the 2 week wait boat with you. Best of luck to you, and please continue not putting egg whites near your genitals, that sounds very sensible.
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Nov 20, 2017 10:52
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