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Laurie, that is great you are getting information! I know exactly how you feel being "older." It is too bad our bodies and minds aren't ready for kids at the same time. So far, I have felt really well. I went for my first u/s today and I got good news and bad news. The baby is measuring what it is supposed to right now, and I saw the heart beating (159bpm and they want over 120). The bad news is that I have a blood clot, and the RE gives me a 20% chance of miscarrying. I have to go back to get another u/s in 2 weeks, and hopefully the clot will have shrunk. When will your cd1 be? They usually do the blood on cd3. Do you know what he is doing on cd1? I've seen the drawings and how the egg supply is running out several times. It is depressing, but try to hang in there. Just do everything you can to get your bfp asap. Keep me posted!

I am trying this again

Okay, a third time. Ann, sorry to hear about the clot and I will pray that it resolves. Very scary. I was in such a daze I didn't get all that he told me. I have to take in dh's sample next week. They tested me for prolactin and thyroid. Then I am supposed to tell them the day I next start. Not sure what happens after that. Horror story from a friend who told me that her sister was on Clomid for 6 YEARS then finally stopped trying. She was 32 when she conceived on her own, a year after she stopped all treatment. I wish that wouldn't have been shared at such a bad time. I am worried this is a place of no return. L

Try not to get ahead of yourself. Just take it day by day. The positive thing is that so far nothing is wrong w/you, but the flip side of that is that you don't know why you haven't gotten pg. When you call on cd1, they will have you come in on cd3 for blood work. The will test your fsh and estradiol and a million other things. Did he say anything about taking the clomid challenge test? If so, you will also do blood on cd10. Either way, they will take your blood 7 days after O/cd21 to check for ovulation. If all those are ok (and your dh's sample is ok), you will get a hsg and check to see if your tubes are clear. That is not right for a dr to keep someone on clomid for 6 years. Your body builds up a tolerence to it. You aren't supposed to do it for longer than 6 months. Not to mention, if the clomid hadn't worked yet, they should've tried something else after 6 months. She must have been seeing an ob/gyn and not a RE. The best advice I can give you in this whole process is to be as quick and agressive as you can. I feel like I wasted a lot of time w/clomid (and I waited to long to go in initially). It is not to late for you at all. You are doing the right thing getting checked out. You are that much closer to a bfp.

Ann, you are becoming down right positive!! I tell you, I am all over the map with this- with worry and fear and then sometimes just outright positive about it too. I read in the IVF packet that the RE had given me that you are a candidate for this if you are generally under the age of 40. It wasn't a hard and fast rule but still, it bothered me. That is two years away. The six years of Clomid sounded ridiculous, but I am not sure if they did IVF also (I got the impression that they didn't) and that was a fancy fertility clinic in KC MO, by the way. That was also 12 years ago and I believe fertility medicine has made GREAT strides in that time. So why do you feel like you wasted a lot of time with Clomid? Do you mean you would have gone to IVF sooner? Just curious because I asked him if we should just start IVF right away and I think it surprised him. He also acted like it was strange that if we did IVF, I would want PGD too. Why would that shock him??? He spent ten minutes covering my higher risk for chromosomal abnormalities!!! Are you visualizing your clot dissolving?

Hi Laurie. With the clomid, I just think 6 was too many tries at my age. We should have done the injectibles and moved on sooner. I also wonder if they would have picked up my fsh issues had they done the clomid challenge test on me before I even started with the clomid cycles. Now I don't know if it jumped quickly or if it was there all along and it just wasn't picked up. If that 6-year clomid thing was 12 years ago, I wouldn't even think about it. It seems like there have been huge strides made even in the last 5! If your tubes aren't blocked and you don't have endo, I would try a couple months of injectibles before moving on to ivf personally. But if your intuition says straight to ivf, go for it!! Being too aggressive is fine. Yes, I have been visualizing my clot dissolving! I also have still been going to acupuncture. I really think that helped me get pg. I tried just using opks for over a year before starting clomid and it never worked and the accupuncture was the only difference when I got pg! I think it keeps your body in balance, and it also creates more blood flow to the pelvic area (good for implantation). What is your next step?

I am scheduling another acupuncture visit today--I had intended to, then forgot about it. I haven't gone in awhile, but when I started all this, and from what I have read, I had faith in it. Then things were disappointing for awhile. Now that I am more serious about the fertility stuff, I am going to start going. I remember that you didn't think the acupuncture was that helpful, but I really think it might just take time. So, I have called to clarify (again thanks for your advice) and I have to call cd1 but they will pull blood on cd3. He never really told me much, thankfully you are! No one has called yet about the prolactin and thyroid tests so I don't know how those turned out. Are you still doing acupuncture now that you are pregnant? I didn't know what the thought was about that.

Are you sure I said that about acupuncture?? It doesn't sound like something I would say. I might have said that I didn't know if it was doing any good. But when I got pg, that was the only different thing from all the other unmedicated cycles I have done. Who knows! I am still doing it. I have read studies that, when used with ivf, the m/c rate is much lower. So I think it is good for me still. I know what you mean about the drs--they don't give you enough info most of the time!! The prolactin/thyroid tests were just blood, right? They should be back by now. You might want to call. Some offices are bad about calling you timely.

Ann, my RE mentioned in the first meeting about doing a laproscopy somewhere down the line. Did you ever do one of these? That one makes me nervous. No word yet on my tests. I figure when I start my cycle they will tell all. Laurie

Hi Laurie. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I have been at a client's office and can't get on the internet there. Yes, I did a lap. Every dr has a different opinion on whether you should get one or not. The only way I would consider not getting it is if I was going directly to ivf. The procedure is not bad at all. I don't want to scare you about the hsg, but I would get a lap ANY day before I would get another one of those! The reason I say only not get one if going straight to ivf is because of endo. You can't detect endo any other way. They say ivf bypasses endo issues, but it seems to me that it is better to know what is going on with your insides and to get the endo removed before starting anything. Any word on your tests yet?? I can't believe it is taking so long. Sometimes, they like to get all the test results and then discuss them with you. I can't take the wait, though!

To be honest, oursuing the results is like deciding to do this whole thing. Do I want to go this route? So, I have not called. Tomorrow morning I have to go in for my next test, whatever that is. This is how well informed I am. I think it is the cd-3 stuff although I started af on Saturday, so doesn't that make Tuesday day 4?? I was going to ask more questions at that time (like results of all previous stuff). I have tried to have the attitude that if it was bad news, they would have called me (like dh semen evaluation, for instance.) Interesting thing, I was reading this exerpt from the Mommie Wars thing in Self magazine and one of the women had three children starting when she was 38! Laurie

Laurie, I can just post quickly (at a client office), but my dr told me they can do the cd3 bloodwork on day 2 or 3 but not 4. If you call today, they will likely have you come in.

I am back for the morning. Of course only you can decide if the testing is right for you. However, one thing that pointed me in that direction was the thought of just trying naturally until it was too late and then realizing that, had I started getting help to conceive sooner, I could have conceived. Definitely some people at 38 (or even older) have no problems at all, but it seems to be the exception for those that have no previous pregnancies. I sort of misread your question yesterday, because I was looking so quickly (not supposed to be on the net out there). Yes, Tuesday is cd4. Did you end up calling your dr or are you just going to take a step back?

Hi there! I intended to write earlier. So, he did a scan immediately. I asked him about blood tests, he said he thought a lot of them were a waste of money! He said, "your prolactin and thyroid tests were normal, we don't have your husbands sample yet (I interrupted immediately yes they did, last week!), and I see good antral follicles." He started me on Clomid today. When I seemed taken aback he said "I told you I was going to try to get you pregnant" in an aggressive fashion. I just went with it, at this point I just feel like, why not. It was a relief to see no fibroids etc. All that was good. Give me your thoughts! Laurie

Ann, there is more!! I called RE office this pm because I got a bill already for dh's SE. i was ticked because we didn't have any results. Well, the RE office called me back and alas, there are some issues. Apparently motility and morphology are not the best. I have to say, dh is really upset. I am having a hard time not getting really excited because this is treatable. The nurse told me with his counts we would need IUI, but since I am going to have that anyway (glad she cleared that up for me since I wasn't quite sure what was next) because this is the plan the RE was starting off with, then it works out just fine. So, a scan next week, then followed at O time with IUI. (and hcG?) I think.

That is very odd for a dr to not want to run all the tests before starting you on clomid. Maybe he sees clomid as a mild thing to just try at first. The main concern I would have is that he didn't check to see if your tubes are blocked yet. If they are, all the clomid and iui won't do a thing! If they said your dh's sperm will be ok with iui, that is a good thing. I've heard of lots of people raising the count and quality with vitamins. Did he say what the motility and morphology are? When the sperm is "washed" before iui, it separates out a lot of the non-motile and poor morphology sperm. If that is all that is wrong, you should be good to go!! When do you start with the u/s checks? Usually it is about cd9ish.