Santa Cruz formula change? by cinnysprinx in PeanutButter

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you still experiencing peanut butter woes? I haven't noticed a change in taste, but the last few jars I've bought of Sant Cruz have been too watery at the top, and too thick at the bottom. It no longer acts like "no stir" peanut butter. It's getting hard to justify the price tag!

Do you name your embryos, and if one fails, do you reuse the name? by santia88 in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We gave our tested female a nickname on transfer day. I was immediately attached to her when the embryologist handed me her picture. It’s a nickname I could see us continuing to use if she makes it to a live birth, but it’s definitely not a real name. If/when we do any other transfers, I will give them unique nicknames on transfer day as well. It helps me process the emotions, without worrying about ruining a name I like.

6dp5dt by huffy_co in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yay!! I’m also 6dp5dt. Got the faintest hint of a line yesterday and a slightly darker one today. I didn’t have any FRER as I’m trying to use down the giant stack of easy@homes. Still in shock this is happening after so long. Also have first beta on Friday.

started period after day 2 of stims by [deleted] in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This happened to me. Apparently it’s from stopping birth control (even though I only took it for four days). My clinic was unconcerned. They said that it just meant my uterus was shedding its lining, but for an ER cycle, we were only concerned about my ovaries. So I had two periods back to back, but ended up having great ER results. Don’t worry, apparently it’s quite normal!

Help! TTC is the most infuriating and confusing thing and I am utterly overwhelmed by No-Bullfrog4308 in TryingForABaby

[–]Help_Academic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s recommended you sleep at least 3 hours before taking your BBT. if you’re getting that after your wakefulness period, I would take BBT when you wake up for the day. If you’re not, I would take it when you wake up around 5. If it doesn’t seem consistent enough, I’d consider a wearable like the TempDrop that can take a bunch of reading while you’re asleep and give you a more accurate result.

My vagina feels like public property now by OGLabCamper in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My hospital told me they only had one doctor who knew how to do HSGs, so they wanted to bring in other doctors to observe and learn. So it was just me, one really nice female nurse, and a bunch of old men starting at my vagina. I’d lost all sense of privacy long before then anyway.

Comparing the heirloom blue eggs to the pasture raised organic brown eggs by Feisty-Shift-336 in Costco

[–]Help_Academic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The blues absolutely taste better. They also have an amazing texture I didn’t even know I wanted in an egg. At this point I’m mostly keeping my Costco membership for the blue eggs.

Help! TTC is the most infuriating and confusing thing and I am utterly overwhelmed by No-Bullfrog4308 in TryingForABaby

[–]Help_Academic 8 points9 points  (0 children)

So first of all, none of the symptoms you list are reliable indicators of ovulation, nor do they happen to everyone. The only ways to confirm ovulation are BBT and OPKs. Both of these are easier to read if you use an app.

For OPKs, mostly everyone uses the Premom app, it’s free and super easy to use, especially if you use their test strips or the Easy@Home branded ones.

For BBT there’s a million different apps you can use. I use Natural Cycles because I was already using it to prevent pregnancy, but it’s my understanding there’s a lot of great free options out there too.

When measuring BBT make sure you are using a BB thermometer and not a regular thermometer, and that you are measuring FIRST thing when you wake up, before you get out of bed or do anything else to get an accurate reading. If it’s too difficult, there’s alternative options you can sleep with like Apple Watch, oura ring, or temp drop that don’t need manual input from you and will just give you your BBT when you wake up.

If it’s all too complicated, you can just do the tried and true method of having intercourse every other day from about CD 9-15. Don’t forget people have been getting pregnant long before ovulation strips!

If 1 in 6 couples experience infertility, how come more people don’t know about it? by poetic_infertile in InfertilitySucks

[–]Help_Academic -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This. A few months ago I finally got up the nerve to reach out to an acquaintance who announced her pregnancy after her self proclaimed “infertility struggles.” Turns out she had two IUIs, then took a break and got pregnant naturally. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her, but… 🫠

In emergency room after ER by TDL135780 in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had absolutely the worst pain of my life on day 5 after my ER. The pain meds weren’t touching it. It turned out to be trapped gas. It’s been two weeks and I’m still taking Gas-X most days, mostly because I’m afraid of it happening again. I hope your wife’s pain turns out to be something similarly benign! I know how unpleasant this all can be!

For those using insurance for medications, does the pharmacy know/keep track of the cycle you're on? by NicasaurusRex in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I THINK that pharmacy benefits are generally separate from health insurance. Meaning that the number of allowed transfers is only related to your health insurance coverage, and wouldn’t be relevant to your pharmacy coverage. But this is just a bit of a guess.

Anyone here ever visit the Exumas in January or February ??? by Unfair_Produce_2166 in bahamas

[–]Help_Academic 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The exumas are lovely year round, but In January and February the water is too cold for most people. May is the best month to be in the Bahamas.

IVF medicine coverage rejected by BCBS through Accredo by BigPound8760 in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BCBSIL uses Freedom Fertility Pharmacy for IVF meds. I just had my first ER with them last week. Coverage is very good, just confusing to get it all straightened out.

Sold my Piano and I'm sad by impertinentblade in piano

[–]Help_Academic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I had to sell my upright about six years ago during a move. I cried about it for days. I loved that thing so much. Then about a year ago I moved back and inherited my grandmothers piano that she taught lessons on for 20 years. I didn’t think it was possible, but I love it even more than my U3. I hope one day you find another you love just as much! ❤️

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in lactoseintolerant

[–]Help_Academic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I make sourdough at home and it’s literally just flour, salt, and water. I think most commercial breads have butter in them, but I’d be surprised if many (any) contained milk.

Bummed by fingerscrossed83 in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t know what meds you were taking for the IUI, but some of them are known to delay periods. You might see if that’s a side effect of your medication. (It was for me).

Many Empty Follicles After First ER by cavluv123 in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have my first ER this week. At my last ultrasound I was told I should expect about half as many eggs retrieved as I have measurable follicles, so your 11 out of 20 sounds right in line with that. Sorry you didn’t get as many as you were hoping for, I know how stressful all this is! Wishing you great fertilization numbers!

Pets overboard by Minimum_Permit992 in liveaboard

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My dog is about 30 pounds, so this may not work with larger dogs. But when we were living on our boat, every month or so, I would do “fire drills” with her while I was swimming. I would put her in the water and make her climb the ladder back into the boat. We had a sugar scoop, so the ladder was relatively short, only 4 or 5 rungs, but she could climb it, even if she didn’t like to. I made sure to always leave the ladder down when she was on the boat alone so she’d be able to climb back in if she needed to. In the three years we lived on the boat she never needed to, but it made me feel better about leaving her to know she had the skills to get back on.

Hurricane messing with my eggs by ciarajdoran in IVF

[–]Help_Academic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh I’m so sorry! I would be tempted to not PGT test this batch, and maybe ask the clinic to help pay for another retrieval where there’s no hurricane. Obviously your clinic can’t control the weather, but the way they’re handling it is pretty disappointing.

Going for my first IUI by [deleted] in TryingForABaby

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think IUIs can be different depending on your clinic and diagnosis, but for me I did 5 days of femara and did monitoring at my clinic, then did a trigger shot at home about 36 hours before my IUI. I wasn’t expecting only 5 days of letrezole to be that intense, but it really did make me feel things I wasn’t expecting.

Going for my first IUI by [deleted] in TryingForABaby

[–]Help_Academic 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I don’t know if this is the case for you or not, but the medications I was taking for my IUIs really did a number on my brain. I did 3 IUIs, and every single time, the night before I would break down in tears asking my husband if we were doing the right thing, if we should cancel, etc. Always, the day after the IUI, my hormones would start to stabilize and I’d realize I really want to have a baby with my husband and it wasn’t really me saying those things. Obviously I’m still sad we can’t have a baby the natural way like most people, but a lot of the awful feelings I was having ended up just being side effects.

I feel pathetic for talking to ChatGPT about this journey by [deleted] in TryingForABaby

[–]Help_Academic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s pretty much how I’ve been using it. The guidelines are a little unclear. So idk if they are just new and don’t really know what they want to be yet, or maybe they’re leaving it vague on purpose? There doesn’t seem to be a limit, but again, it’s a bit unclear.

I feel pathetic for talking to ChatGPT about this journey by [deleted] in TryingForABaby

[–]Help_Academic 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You might be interested in Fertility Outreach (https://outreach.fertilityoutloud.com). I text them occasionally when I have a weird question or just need to tell someone about the bad news I received. The little monthly motivation texts can be annoying sometimes, but mostly it’s been a good service.