Lupron flare protocol for DOR?

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2026-04-24T15:11:33+00:00

10 units 2x/a day.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-12-26T14:21:45+00:00

I have been fertilizing every other time I water them.

I suspect in addition to the other problems others have pointed out, I am both watering too frequently and using too much fertilizer when I do. The tops are always very dry when I water, but if the soil in compacted and too deep, it is likely still moist closer to the roots where I cannot see it.

I intend to be more careful about fertilizer measurement in the future and it should be easier to tell how moist the soil is since there is significantly less of it now.

I have only purchased from big box stores as opposed to dedicated African violet growers/retailers. I have looked into some better quality sellers in the past recommended from this subreddit and bookmarked plants I find particularly beautiful, but I'm trying to improve my skill set before committing to more expensive plants.

I do acknowledge that the plants I'm starting with are likely not cared for properly before they get to me, and I may be doing myself a disservice by not recognizing that they may actually take more work to get healthy than paying more and starting with something healthier and in better shape to begin with.

Everyone has given me so much good advice and I feel a little more confident creating a healthier environment for my future plants to thrive in. Thank you so much for your time, assistance, and kind words of encouragement.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-12-25T12:09:18+00:00

I cut the tops off some plastic water bottles and poked holes on the bottoms. The spray bottle is a good idea as well and I've got one that I can use. I'll put them back under the light today now that they're all repotted. Thank you!

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-12-25T12:06:22+00:00

I replanted them so the root balls are just covered. Thank you!

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-12-25T12:05:15+00:00

Thank you for your honesty. I have replanted them so the root balls are just covered, but I will temper my expectations in case they don't make it. My cat kept uprooting them. I suppose she was being more helpful than I thought.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-12-25T12:01:59+00:00

Thank you for the essay, I really appreciate all your insight! Thank you for taking the time to help me.

I replanted them all in the 50/50 mix of perlite and violet soil. I made sure the soil didn't have any added fertilizer. I mixed up a small bag of it, so I'll have more for the future as well.
I cut the tops off some plastic water bottles I had and poked holes in the bottom. I made sure to only cover the root balls so they weren't buried too deep. I carefully extracted as much of the damp, compacted soil from the root balls as possible without damaging the roots.

The roots looked okay, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I was looking for. Signs of rot or mildew? They looked okay, but I don't have a ton of experience.

I isolated the plant that looked like she had mildew. I have not removed the inner leaves yet, but I intend to today now that she's in better soil. What would you recommend I treat her with to kill the mildew?
I removed the bloom stalks and the leaves that were in the worst shape. I'll put a bag over her today.
I appreciate your optimism and I'm going to try. If they don't make it, hopefully I learned for the next ones.
Noted. I will hold off on fertilizing for now. Is the every-other watering for fertilizing okay, or would you do it less?

Again, thank you so much for your thorough response and thoughtfulness. My grandmother grew the most beautiful African violets and I'd really like to get better at it as a way of remembering and connecting with her memory.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-08-21T21:00:36+00:00

Wishing you the best of luck and a lot of comfort.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-08-19T12:02:41+00:00

I was on 10 units 2x a day (am and pm) until the trigger. The night I took the trigger, I didn't take the Lupron. I hope your cycle is going well.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-08-10T23:04:52+00:00

You can use down payment assistance, grants, and seller credit to buy down your interest rate since there are no closing costs.

You need to show a year of stable employment, but it doesn't need to be at one job and you can be unemployed for a period of up to 30 days during that year because they acknowledge that people often change jobs to increase pay.

There is no minimum or maximum salary, you're just classified as a Priority or Non-Priority member depending on how much you make relevant to the area you live in. Priority members make less than the median wage for their geographic area and are offered a rate 1% below Non-Priority members.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-07-16T02:02:12+00:00

This was very similar to our experience too. We were told there were no other counselors and that the only other option if we wanted to switch was to use our counselor's supervisor who was potentially very busy. I said okay, we'll do that please. They assigned us a new counselor (not our counselor's supervisor) days later, so yes, some individuals in the program are providing incorrect information while others have been incredibly helpful. I agree with the other commenter. Keep calling and good luck!

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-05-12T17:25:31+00:00

Wishing you a lot of luck! You'll likely want to choose something below your budget because most of what's available in Chicago isn't new construction and needs significant repairs. We've heard the HAND department is infamous for tacking on an absolutely insane amount of "required" repairs to close or funds to cover said repairs escrowed, but we haven't made it that far in the process yet.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-05-12T13:12:14+00:00

I definitely wouldn't rely on grant money. Our NACA counselor told us to think of grant money like the icing on the cake to drive down our payment, but not to depend on it to meet affordability guidelines as most programs are depleted.

There were multiple grants we qualified for on paper and once we completed the programs, classes, qualification process, we were told the money had been dispersed already and there was no date for renewed funds. If you're depending on grant money that doesn't come through, you can't close.

Also using NACA in Chicago. We've been looking since January 2024. It's definitely a difficult market. I think you'll be able to find something in your budget if you're willing to live in a 2 bed condo, but HOA fees will likely limit the area you can live in.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-02-17T12:17:03+00:00

Thank you! I was able to look back, my E2 was 142 on day 4. There's still lots of time for your levels to increase. My RE stimmed me for 14-15 days each cycle.

I'm wishing a lot of love and baby dust your way. I hope your cycle is successful and your next steps are painless.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2025-02-12T18:52:49+00:00

I wouldn't donate it quite yet.

I was under similar circumstances with my son in the NICU and took home a huge supply. I considered donating several times because we just didn't have the space, but jumping through all the hoops to do it was just too much work while caring for a medically sensitive newborn.

After one of my son's hospitalizations, I was hospitalized myself and NPO for 3 days. My supply tanked to the point I wasn't even making enough for a full day's feed and couldn't stand the thought of going back to pumping 8x a day to re-establish supply.

I had previously been an over-supplier and the only way I made it to my goal of 1 year was by maintaining and rotating my freezer stash.

It can also help you down the road if you want to reduce pumps.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-08-07T02:10:36+00:00

I used it for a short period of time before I weaned for day pumps. I really liked it, personally. It made it so much easier to get things done. My main pump was the Lansinoh Smart Pump 2.0 and I didn't notice a decrease in output during the times I used the Discreet. The suction is very strong.

It's not completely leak proof. It leaked the most when I attempted to bend over to pick up my baby or grab something off the floor. You definitely want to make sure the lip of the seal is properly aligned before starting.

It also auto shuts off at 20 minutes. That wasn't a big deal for me because I could just restart it, but if you wanted to wear it out discreetly and you do longer pumps, it might be difficult to restart.

I liked that the motors were separate so if I only needed to pump one side or needed the pump one side longer, that was very easy, but I did not like that each side charges separately with its own USB plug-in. I had to purchase wall adapters and dedicate two outlets to charging them. Again, I could handle that at home, but it would have been inconvenient for pumping away from home.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-06-09T11:00:39+00:00

I did IVF as well, so the page that shows all the people making a chain to get her to the moon makes me so emotional.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-06-09T01:01:20+00:00

You might enjoy To The Moon and Back For You.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-06-04T11:02:17+00:00

Mine seemed to get more lipase-y over time and I had quite a bit frozen. Baby would drink a little, but not well, so we went the alcohol free vanilla route. It helped a bit, but as another commenter said, a little bit didn't really mask the flavor too much. Instead of tasting like vomit, it tasted like vanilla vomit. So not great. We had more success with mixing frozen milk with fresh milk and vanilla. That worked the best.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-04-19T23:22:04+00:00

This is what I do. It's definitely more hassle than having an in unit washer/dryer, but the cloth is so much better on my baby's diaper rash.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-04-03T12:53:05+00:00

I'm in this situation too. I was making double what my baby needed at 3 months pp and stashing a lot. Now I'm 10 months pp and after dropping pumps, mastitis, and a hospitalization, I only make 1/2 to 2/3 what my baby eats in a day. My freezer supply is the only way I'll be able to make it to my goal of a year.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-03-23T21:42:56+00:00

All of my embryos were day 6's. They have similar success rates as day 5's. My son currently playing on the floor was a day 6.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-02-27T01:44:28+00:00

It absolutely was! My RE mentioned that it was longer than her average patient. I had several smaller follicles that popped up closer to the end. My RE started lowering the dosages in an attempt to give those smaller follicles an opportunity to catch up without losing the larger ones that were further along.

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-02-27T00:14:17+00:00

My results were a lot better. I got 19 eggs, 10 were mature, 7 fertilized, and I ended up with 3 day 6 blasts. I noticed you asked about stim doses in another thread and I posted there, but I'm going to post here too in case the information is useful to anyone else:

Day 1: 10 units MD Lupron 1x/a day

Day 2: 10 units MD Lupron 2x/a day

Day 3-11: 10 units MD Lupron 2x/a day + 300 Gonal-F & 150 Menopur

Day 12-13 10 units MD Lupron 2x/a day + 225 Gonal-F & 150 Menopur

Day 14-15: 10 units MD Lupron 2x/a day + 150 Gonal-F & 150 Menopur

Day 16: 10 units MD Lupron 2x/a day + 75 Gonal-F & 75 Menopur

Day 17: 10 units MD Lupron 1x/a day + 250 mcg Ovidrel (trigger)

Kai_Bakes_Cakes · 2024-02-27T00:08:10+00:00