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We've been trying for 13 months. Started with temping, but my sleep schedule was too erratic. So I invested in a fertility monitor, since it seemed like it would make things easier. My cycles were really long and really irregular (36 days one month, 64 the next, etc). We took a break from trying so hard (no monitor, no cervical mucus, nada), from September - December, still no luck, though my cycles did regulate a bit. I never did get a "peak" reading on my fertility monitor. Until February. I got two days of "peak" fertility at the end of February and we had sex every day for three days. Did the crazy elevating of hips for 30 minutes after thing, etc. I started spotting when my period would have been due, and bled sporadically for 3 days (gush, nothing for 12 hours, gush, nothing for 8 hours, etc.) I continued bleeding for 2 weeks, so I thought something was up. I took a pregnancy test late at night and it was positive. Several ultrasounds and blood tests later, my doctor concluded that I was having a "persistent abortion". Meaning that somewhere a cluster of cells was hiding, producing HCG and causing me to bleed. My HCG levels plateaued for almost 3 weeks with no signs of going up or down. So my doctor induced a period with Provera, caused a massively painful bleed, and flushed whatever was lingering out of my system. YAY. Doctor was considering doing the chemo shot to kill any cells that were lingering, which would have delayed trying again, so I was thrilled my body cooperated. Anyways, I didn't ovulate after that period, which was expected. Since the last cycle had no end in sight, on cycle day 28 she gave me another 7 day course of Provera to induce a period. I ended that course on Monday, so now I'm just waiting to bleed. On day 5 I'll start 50mg of Clomid (days 5-9). Here's hoping I ovulate! Jesus, that was a novel.
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May 13, 2009 22:48
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SKeefe posted:Well we just found out that the levels have only gone up to 275 so it looks like it's just a loving matter of time. That really sucks. So sorry  I hope that things end quickly and as painlessly as possible -- that may sound weird, but a lingering miscarriage is pretty much rubbing salt in the wounds. I hope she heals quickly and that you guys can try again soon.I know what you mean about it seeming like EVERYONE is pregnant. I work in L&D, amongst a very poor population, and it drives me crazy the people who come in. Not only poor, but druggies, teen moms, etc. A 17 year old should NOT have two babies under 2 at home, with a 3rd on the way. It's just WRONG. My job has turned me in to a bitter old hag before my time. Not that I don't love my job (I really, really do, and my patients consistently say that I'm awesome, so I guess the bitter hag side of me doesn't show). On the tail of that charming aside... I started bleeding today! Cycle day 1, woohoo! I'm totally anxious to hop on the Clomid bandwagon. Interestingly enough, the actual statistics regarding the effectiveness of Clomid are really encouraging. 80% of women will ovulate their first cycle, and 30% of those will get pregnant! That's crazy, especially considering that the average fertile couple only has a 20-25% chance any given month.
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May 15, 2009 16:22
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Hey, if anyone wants my copies of Getting Pregnant and Taking Charge of Your Fertility, I'd be happy to sell them for a very reasonable price. They run around $30 both on Amazon, so $20 shipped?
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May 17, 2009 04:43
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Awesome, Sally Slug, hopefully your transition from trying to conceive to OMG PREGNANT will be a short one.
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May 18, 2009 03:37
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Clomid isn't bad, so far. 12 hours after the first one my ovaries went nuts, but they seem to have calmed down. No other side-effects -- I had heard hot flashes are common, and I'm relieved I haven't had any. If the Clomid works, I can expect to ovulate in a week or so.
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May 21, 2009 23:48
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Duuuuurrrr Aardvarklet, I forgot to congratulate you in my post.  Congratulations! I'm cautiously optimistic. The statistics are in our favor, seeing as we managed to get pregnant before. So at least I know my tubes (or one of them) are open and that there's no endometrial weirdness preventing conception, and my husband's sperm do what they're supposed to and don't swim backwards or anything. If I ovulate, I'll be thrilled. Even if I don't get knocked up, just to know my ovaries respond is good enough for me.
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May 22, 2009 03:02
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Awesome, Longpig, congrats!
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May 26, 2009 16:58
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Getting to pee on things is like the only perk to this whole nonsense.
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May 29, 2009 01:35
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Period came. On to the next cycle of Clomid, upped to 100mg. No ovulation last cycle, but lots of fake ovulation pain. Stupid Clomid. Congrats to all the newly pregnant people.
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Jun 14, 2009 23:21
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I'm sorry Alterian. Not ovulating sucks rear end, and being unsure about it is worse. I know you're a charter, but ovulation tests and my fertility monitor have saved my sanity. I can handle the fact that I don't ovulate, but being unsure about it was driving me crazy. You chart with Fertility Friend?
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Jun 18, 2009 04:20
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A bunch of cheap internet strips and a digital OPK confirm -- I am ovulating! Probably today, since I got the positive tests yesterday afternoon. The Clomid worked! 
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Jun 30, 2009 20:19
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Thanks, Fisty!
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Jun 30, 2009 23:58
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Sex the day before, day of, and day after ovulation gives you the best chance of conceiving. But you would only know those days if you're using ovulation tests or a fertility monitor.
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Jul 16, 2009 23:21
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That's not creepy, but it is sweet. Thanks for thinking of me! I'm doing ok, hanging in there. Had some personal drama, that will be culminating in taking a once-very-good friend to court sometime this summer, so that sucks, but otherwise fine. Starting my third round of Clomid in 3 days, so that's good news. And I got a period without having to take Provera, which is awesome!
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Jul 17, 2009 06:06
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Er, no. I was regular as clockwork while on the pill, and after coming off it took me 9 months to get a period, and they never did regulate on their own. Even if her period was regular before the pill, your hormones and fertility can change radically between your teen years and late twenties, when most women are typically on birth control. Every body is different. Some women will resume normal menses right away like nothing happened, some women will bleed and spot for weeks, some women won't get a period for weeks/months/even years. The only thing you can do is wait and see.
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Jul 28, 2009 02:24
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Well, we're taking a break. I'm just sort of over the emotional bullshit that comes along with infertility. Need to take some time to get my sanity back. Good luck everyone!
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Aug 11, 2009 01:51
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So we're technically on a break for trying to get pregnant, but I'm pretty flabbergasted right now. I started having twinges in my side this morning, so I took an OPK -- glaringly positive. This is amazing to me, since I only ever ovulated on my own ONCE. I'm attributing it to recent weight loss. Pretty happy right now. 
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Sep 2, 2009 03:17
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We got so caught up in other stuff, sex didn't happen at the right time. Oh well. We flew to Atlanta for my sister's wedding the day I ovulated, and for some reason the thought of baby making in my childhood bed seemed sort of creepy.
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Sep 10, 2009 21:25
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Ha, I am pregnant! Just when we stopped trying, BAM. We didn't even have sex at the right time. Hilarious and awesome.
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Sep 14, 2009 01:19
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Thanks everyone!
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Sep 14, 2009 18:39
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Awesome news, you guys
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Oct 29, 2009 02:52
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Sorry to hear Chickalicious  Hope next month is it for you.
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Dec 14, 2009 04:52
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I don't know what your "boundaries" are, so to speak, Alterian, but IUI seems to be pretty successful in people with no real fertility barriers. You could just have a stubborn cervix. And I don't think IUI is all that expensive -- way cheaper than adoption, at any rate. Forgive me for not remembering, but did your tests include an HSG?
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Dec 28, 2009 04:15
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Ask your doctor about an HSG and see if your insurance covers it. They inject dye in to your uterus and fallopian tubes through your cervix, and take a series of radiographic images that track the progress of the dye. Things like blocked fallopian tubes won't show up on an ultrasound. The process has also been known to unblock tubes and allow fertilization to take place (I have not 1, but 3 friends that this happened to). HSGs are becoming more and more routine these days, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if your insurance covered it. It could also reveal a more serious problem. A friend of mine had an HSG done and it showed that her left fallopian tube was seriously deformed and starting to adhere to her intestines. She had to have the tube removed, and her doctor thinks it saved her from more serious complications down the line.
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Dec 28, 2009 04:32
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I tried Clomid and sort of got pregnant on it Meaning, the side effects were so ghastly for me that I stopped after 3 cycles, but the stim effects carried over to my next cycle (sans side effects) and BAM pregnant, without even trying! The anti-estrogenic effects of the Clomid dried me up and kept my cervix closed up tight. I am anovulatory on my own, and it did help me ovulate, but I would have needed IUI in order to conceive while actively taking the medication. I didn't ovulate on 50mg, but did on 100mg. A lot of people take it without the side effects I had, so don't let me scare you off it.
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Dec 29, 2009 02:25
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Ma_NiC, YAY! Congrats!
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Dec 31, 2009 20:29
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Guaifenesin, evening primrose oil, and grapefruit juice did nothing for me, unfortunately. I think I'm just a freak. I also got knocked up after having sex 3 days before ovulation and 5 days after, so my lady parts work in mysterious ways.
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Jan 1, 2010 03:55
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Yep, having a girl. And I *knew* she was a girl the second I found out I was pregnant. I'm 19 weeks, confirmed gender last week at work. Her name is Caitlin.
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Jan 1, 2010 04:39
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Aw, thanks! It was a long, lovely road to get here, but so worth it.
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Jan 1, 2010 04:41
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Oh, and her middle name is Theresa. Wasn't my pick, but it has special meaning to my husband. FITD, I didn't really care either way, but I just *knew*. I think I would be equally excited for a boy. Having a girl just feels *right*, though, if that makes any sense.
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Jan 1, 2010 05:20
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I feel bad cluttering this thread, but the exact same thing happened with us. We had a boy name settled before we even got pregnant, and a girl name was impossible to agree on. Funny how that works!
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Jan 1, 2010 05:24
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Haha, no, Logan!
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Jan 1, 2010 22:20
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Good luck! Don't be freaked out or disappointed if you don't ovulate this first cycle. I went in to my first thinking ALL RIGHT TIME TO MAKE EGGS, and it didn't happen and I was really upset. It's more common to NOT ovulate on 50mg, than it is to ovulate, evidently. And I ovulated late (day 18-20), so don't give up if you don't magically pop an egg by day 14. And I swear by the Answer brand OPKs that come in the little tube. You get a pack of 20 for $15 at Walmart. They were sensitive and wide, easy to read. And I would buy a pack of Clear Blue digital OPKs to confirm when I thought the regular ones were positive.
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Jan 5, 2010 05:22
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Longpig! HURRAH!!!! Ophelia's Ashes your job situation might prove to be tricky. Mine is already (I am the aforementioned other RN), and I'm only 23 weeks. I'm having symptoms of pretty severe SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction), and it's preventing me from working up to the usual physical standards. I'm lucky that I work L&D with a bunch of women who are all moms -- they pick up a lot of slack for me, and are mostly understanding when I just physically can't manage to lift a patient or wheel the epidural cart down the hall. My boss, on the other hand, can suck a big dick -- she's made it clear that as far as she is concerned, I get no special considerations. Good thing no one listens to her. I would just see if you can get paired up with a partner that would be able to manage picking up a bit of "extra" for you. And don't be surprised if you just cannot work until the end. I was planning on working until I go in to labor, but it is looking increasingly unlikely as the weeks pass. Good luck! I hope that when the time comes your employer is understanding and accommodating.
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Jan 29, 2010 23:09
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Argh, longpig, so so sorry. I really hope you can get some answers. AND HOLY poo poo CHICKALICIOUS! YEAH!
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Feb 10, 2010 23:43
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Just remember that even experienced OBs aren't always very, er, educated when it comes to reproductive endocrinology type things. Some OBs like to PRETEND to know everything under the sun, but most are faking it (I work with some of these people, they are the pits). 8 dpo is way too early for you to get a positive home test. The temperature dip is timed right for what's called an "implantation dip", which means you wouldn't be able to expect a positive test for at least 2-4 days. Are you confirming ovulation with tests, or only based on your temps? Temping is fantastic for most people, but isn't accurate for everyone. Your LP probably is short, but confirming with something other than your temp may make the overall picture a little clearer. Luckily short LPs (anything under 10 is too short, full stop, and most REs like to see 12+) are pretty easy to remedy, if there are no other underlying problems. Progesterone suppositories aren't exactly fun, but are worth it if you get a baby out of using them
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Feb 13, 2010 03:05
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Good luck, Longpig! Echoing what dishonesty said.. I lost my first pregnancy that we tried for. This pregnancy is the result of actively going OFF the fertility meds and avoiding my surprise fertile window. Oops!
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Mar 20, 2010 02:16
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Roxy Rouge posted:Checking back in with you all--round 3 with clomid was a bust. I switched the clomid up a bit this month on the advice from my doctor--I guess we we will see. I am taking a break next month on the clomid if this one doesn't take. I think maybe I just need a break? My thoughts are with all of you trying and especially Dishonesty and Long Pig...I hope you both get a sticky one soon. I am sending you massive "break from Clomid = BABBY" vibes! Hey, it happened to me
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Apr 15, 2010 05:26
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I'm so sorry I hope you guys don't have too hard of a time finding employment. Hugs.
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Apr 30, 2010 18:49
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Can't recommend the dollar store (and sometimes Big Lots) enough for cheap pregnancy and ovulation tests. The internet cheapies never worked for me, but I always got clear results with the dollar store ovulation predictor cassette tests. I saw a bunch at Big Lots yesterday for $.80/each yesterday, too.
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May 8, 2010 00:40
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