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Sorry for disappearing! Our internet went down on Saturday and yesterday we had our fake Thanksgiving so that hubs could eat a big meal before the next chemo treatment.

twwtoolong i'm so sorry about another bfn. You certainly have been through too many twws and its about time we got some good news on this board, I was so hoping this was it for you. I hope all the med recommendations from Luckykap help! I may dive into them a bit as well if this first IVF doesn't work!

No update here. AF is trickling off, bc pills are being taken, thyroid meds being taken. Just watching the calendar until the Dec appointment now!

*edit*

Just got my bill for IVF. Felt like a big ole $10k punch in the gut! All due up front too. Blah.

Alright IVF is paid for so now it's just go to all the appointments and get through it all! Hopefully Christmas and the 3 paychecks coming my way in December will help replenish that and I dont have to think about the money, instead just focus on baby!

Luckykap - when you did the transfer, were you able to drive yourself home afterwards? They told me I would have to have some drive me after the egg retrieval on Jan 30th, and hubs is working that day but will take off if I absolutely need him to (im debating if I want my parents driving me home, we live 2 hours away from them so they would have to make an entire day of it and I kind of wanted to keep the dates of things happening a secret so there was SOME element of surprise with a pregnancy announcement). If its only the 1 time I'll need a driver I think hubs will take off, but if i'll need a driver after the transfer I would rather him be there for that.

Hi baby bump! Someone had to drive me both days. Doesn't it make you sick knowing that much money gives you one try. Anyway, it's nice knowing it's paid for and now you can just concentrate on getting pregnant:-)

Hey Ladies,
I hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving. Babybump, I hope you had a wonderful early Thanksgiving with your DH. That bill must sting - it's amazing that we have the technology to do these things, but I still stuggle with wondering and feeling at times that the infertility industry is a bit predatory.

We have officially entered our "fertile window" (depending on who you talk to or what app you use). I actually won't ovulate until the end of next week, so we are just having fun at the moment. We are both taking multivits (mine prenatal), extra vit. D and CoQ-10. I take my levothyroxine (synthroid) and B12 on top of that.

I have having a hard time this cycle with the "taking a break" approach and have been doing some reading and I have been considering taking a baby asprin this month. I have heard of other women using it just because they have read it can help with their lining and implantation and it's fair low risk with the minimal dosage. I have hesitated to try it in the past as I don't like to take meds if they are not necessary and I am not so keen on taking meds without supervision/recommendation of my Dr. However, I feel like I want to do something while we are waiting to go back into the clinic in the new year and there might be good reasoning for me to take it.

Sorry for the huge book of a message but here is why I am thinking about it. I am B12 deficient, so have to take a superdose everyday (1000 mg or more), otherwise, I would have to get shots each month. I chose to do the daily supplement as it seems to keep my numbers up and I don't go through a lull at the end of the month while waiting for the next shot. When I was diagnosed, I didn't investigate why I was deficient as the treatment would have been the same. However, I am wondering now if I should have had it investigated as one of the reasons why people are B12 deficient is due to a MTHFR gene mutation, which causes an autoimmune disorder that results in blood clotting issues (I can't imagine it being a dietary deficiency as I am not a vegetarian and eat meat and/or dairy everyday).

When I first went to my RE and we were talking about my B12 diagnosis, I told him my original B12 numbers (which were 112ng/L, just as a reference healthy levels should be at 450+, disease/symptomatic levels are 180-150ng/L), his reaction was literally "Well, that would do it" (referring to the cause of our infertility). I asked him whether I should be tested for MTHFR but he felt it was unnecessary given that my levels are back in the 400's by taking a daily superdose.

However, and sorry this is a little TMI, I have noticed since being off BCP, AF has had a lot of clots during the first couple of days. I know some clotting can be common, but mine can actually be quite large (like bigger than a quarter when I wipe). The first time I saw them I actually wondered if I had miscarried/had a chemical, but there was no way to know as I hadn't POAS before AF showed durig those cycles. It's only been the past couple of cycles that I have really tested before AF is due (when I get those weird squinters/evap lines). So now I am wondering if the clots are something to be concerned about. It could be possible that they were the result of early chemical pregnancies that I missed in the past (is quite common with hypothyroidism), or it could be linked to my B12 deficiency (MTHFR and blood clot issues). If it's the later, I have read that many women who have the MTHFR mutation will need to take baby asprin or injectible blood thinners to become pregnant and will need to continue taking them throughout pregnancy.

I am know I am totally being research obsessive and grasping at straws here, but I feel like I want some forward momentum again, but until we get back to the clinic in the new year (it's too late to monitor this cycle and we will be out of town for the holidays next cycle) this is all I can think of to improve our chances and not waste the next couple of cycles.

Have any of you tried this before? Have thoughts/warnings/suggestions instead?

Wow twwtoolong, you really have been doing some research! I'm sorry to say I don't really know anything about B12 and dealing with ttc with it or anything to give advice on what you should be doing. In my mind I'm all for let me take whatever pills say they will magically work and check the side affects later..which is probably a bad outlook. But I dont see baby aspirin being harmful enough to cause any problems that you would be worried about, so I say give it a try for a cycle.

The clotting does sound like it could have been something other than just AF if it's unsual for you and your normal cycles. How long have you been taking the B12 supplements? If he's so convinced thats what is causing the infertility, at what point does he expect to see changes with it? And how long have you been off BCP to see the clotting? I'm no doctor or anything, just giving you a fresh set of eyes on the situation!

Thank you babybump for your quick reply! I have to admit, I didn't do all this research all at once, it's just kinda a compilation of everything I have read along the way related all my diagnoses (B12 deficiency, hypothyroid and infertility).

I have been off the BCP for almost three years now (it will be 3 yrs in March). We were in the "not trying but not preventing", kinda in a "let's see what happens" camp for the first year and I don't really remember when the clotting really appeared. While on the BCP, I would actually miss every 3rd or 4th cycle. Once I stopped, I haven't missed a cycle, though they initially varied quite a bit in length (24-29 days). I was diagnosed with the B12 deficiency in June of 2015 and when tested in Oct 2015 (just over a year ago), I was told my levels were back in the 400's. I have a distinct memory of noticing the clotting just before that Oct (1.5 yrs off BCP and shortly after supplementing my B12). I had actually been a couple of days late compared to my cycles now, but they were still variable at the time, but I do remember wondering if I had had a chemical/just miscarried. The clotting isn't super noticeable every cycle (this past one wasn't too bad), but others it's quite a lot (like 5-6 quarter size clots and many more small ones).

Since there appears to be very little risk to taking the baby dose asprin, I might try it to see. Maybe I am just being too impatient and I should just wait and see if the levothyroxine will do the trick- I have been on it 11 weeks today and they say it can take up to 12 weeks to have an impact. Just hard I think to go from knowing everything and being tracked at a clinic to being on your own again. I enjoyed the break from the appointments, but I miss the feeling of doing something about our infertility!

How are you doing? Getting excited for your upcoming cycle? I can't imagine how weird it must be to go back on BCP!

Twwtoolong I've read about people taking the baby aspirin and having success, but haven't tried it myself. I wouldn't think it would hurt anything but I'm definitely not a doctor lol. I would give it a try if I thought it may help (obviously, look at all those supplements I'm taking lol).
About the clots, after my IVF I had a lot more and bigger clots that was due to the progesterone injections making the lining that much thicker. So maybe your lining was thicker this time or maybe the embryo just didn't implant. Just ideas but not really sure.

Thanks for the input ladies - the clots were definitely something that were not at all present when I was on the BCP and did freak me out the first few cycles when they appeared a couple of years ago.

I decided to try the baby aspirin - so started taking it on Sat (CD8). If AF doesn't show (fingers crossed), I have heard you need to continue to take it until at least the end of the first trimester. If AF does show up then I will stop. My next fertile window after this cycle is literally the week from Christmas Eve to New years Eve and we will be staying with either my parents or his the whole time. So not sure that we will get much BDing in. I think this is part of the reason why I wanted to do something different with this cycle to optimize our chances!

Hope all is well with you both!

Twwtoolong hopefully AF stays away and you won't need to worry about the bding over the holidays. That would be stressful in itself lol. Good luck and hopefully the aspirin is the answer for you.

Sorry for taking so long to reply back, I got sick over the break and was in blagh central up until yesterday!

Thats so weird if you've been having that for a couple of years and your body hasnt evened back out since being off bcp. Have you mentioned anything to your doctor about it? With it happening so often, I'm thinking maybe it wasn't chemical stuff and maybe thats just how your natural cycle is?

I definitely say good idea on the baby aspirin. One cycle of it won't hurt anything, it may not even be bad to do 2 cycles if you're feeling crazy! That sucks about the holidays, but that's usually what happens. The holidays are a tough time to plan BD'ing with so many other people around lol

I requested my leave for all of my IVF appointments, so we're definitely on track! Just a waiting game now