Good afternoon girls! I'm still riding high from the NKOTB concert last night. It was AWESOME! I don't think I've screamed like that since I was 14. LOL They were on stage for a full two hours. Everyone was on their feet the entire time. You could hear the audience singing along for all of their songs. They sang a good mix of old and new. I'm going to try to post some pictures, but I've never done that, so I don't know if it will work. My seats were awful too, but I'm going to see them again in a few weeks, with much better seats. I'm sooooo excited for it now!!!!

Mel~We've cut back on trips and eating out and all the extras for ART too. It's driving me crazy, but I keep telling myself it won't be forever and it will be worth it in the end.

Jen~I never had the hsg. I thought I was going to, but since I'm going right to ivf, they didn't need to look at my tubes, which was perfectly all right with me!!

Betsy~I'm glad to hear your friend with cancer is doing good.

MIssy~A cautious congratulations. Are things still looking ok?

Ok, hopefully some pictures from last night.

The beginning:


They came to the back of the arena for a few songs:


Somewhere near the end of the show:

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Sorry they're so big! How do I make them smaller?

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Well ladies, I think I come to you with good news! I went back on Friday in the morning. I had a total breakdown at my appointment and ended up going to work with red and swollen eyes - I just broke down because of all the ups and downs, and I kept telling the nurse how badly I wanted this, but it just seems like it is not supposed to be.

Anyway... I got my results Friday afternoon and my hcg went up from 13 to 33 from Wednesday afternoon to Friday morning (39 hours total). My progesterone went up from 10.2 to 20.8. (I was taking suppositories 2x's daily since two days after insemination, but she had me start taking it three times daily when my results were really low Thursday morning).

So now I go back tomorrow for a third test to see if the numbers keep going up. Still no more spotting and I haven't had any cramping. The nurse kept saying she couldn't figure out how my numbers went up so fast or why they were down so low in the first place...all I can think of is it is a miracle of God I think I am considered 4w, 1d right now.

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Jen~ I don't mean to scare you, but I want to be honest... No one told me that an HSG could be that painful before mine, and i felt unprepared for it. MANY people have easy painless HSGs, and hopefully you will be one of them!

JJ~ AWESOME! How fun!!

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Hi girls! AF came today...that ol hag...but now I'm on to IUI #2! Which gives me some hope and a bit of a better attitude. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Betsy- thanks!

JJ- cool pics...sounds like a lot of fun!!

Missy- hoping your little bean sticks!!

Mare/Mary- sorry you're feeling down....we have all been there....that's why this place is so wonderful...so many people who understand exactly how you're feeling. Hang in there. <<hugs>>

Jen- I fall into the uncomfortable category...my hsg was at first just like a pap and then some painful cramping for about a minute or two when the dye went through. Definitely take some ibuprofen before you go.

Hi everybody! Hope you all had a great weekend!

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JJ ~ OMG!!! You are going to 2 NKOTB concerts?????? Ahhhhhhhhh! Mine is next month and I CAN'T wait, it's going to be freakin' awesome!!! Love your pictures! Hopefully I can get some that good too! When I went to see them when I was 12, cameras were strictly forbidden, I'm glad to see times have changed and I can now scrapbook concert pics

Missy ~ Glad things are looking up!

Jen ~ Ditto what Lauren said. I think everyone that had written about the HSG didn't think it was too bad. I wish I had been forewarned about the other side of things and maybe I wouldn't have had such an experience. I hope your experience is not a bad or painless one.

Becky ~ Boo to AF! I hope IUI #2 is the one!

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I saw NKOTB in Cleveland Fri night they were awesome I'm trying to get tickets to the show in Pa even though it will be a 7 hr drive lol

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Jen - My HSG experience was horrid. I had some pretty nasty cramping for the remainder of the day, too. I don't know for sure, but it's possible that I may have had some blockage that caused the pain. I know we're all freaking you out now, but not everyone has these same experiences. I hope yours is easy.

Becky -

Missy - Awesome news! Be sure to update us today with the new results!!

Mare and Mary You're not feeling anything that we all have felt at some point or another.

Melissa - Wanna make a pit stop in Pittsburgh when you go to NYC??

My weekend was pretty good. I took 1/2 day Friday and went home to make cupcakes for a party on Saturday. My cousin and her husband live on a farm (but with no animals) and have this 'barn bash jamboree' every year. We had a really good time. They had fireworks and a band. Too bad it was really cold, though. Yesterday I went to the mall for a bit then my brother came over - with his girlfriend!! Now, understand that my brother is 28 years old and, to my knowledge, had never dated anyone. She's a really nice girl, very polite and has some ambition. She also has three kids, so my mom and dad are pretty worried. I keep telling them that he's a big boy and knows what not to do.

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http://rchiprean.abmp.com/index.html

JJ - I must of missed something, but how/why do you just get to go straight to the IVF?

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[center]Mary

Jen - my HSG was painless! It wasn't comfortable or anything, but I felt no pain whatsoever. I did spot a little afterwards, but could have easily gone back to work right after the procedure.

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Jen I was told take Ibuprofen one hour before my HSG and I did, I alot of pressure. It felt more like I had to go to the bathroom and was real uncomfortable until I could get to the bathroom. After that I was fine and back to work.

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Jen - My HSG was not pain free but the nurse was fabulous. I did cry through the pain. But it didn't last long. One side potentially had blockage or something going on...my dr. said that is what causes the pain...not sure what since I never had a lap done. I think feeling violated as Betsy said was the worst part of it. I was at the point of coming to reality of unexplained IF and felt very alone. This test was the first I had except blood tests. Take your DH if you can. Mine chickened out and waited in the lobby...the nurse was better anyway...she talked me through the whole procedure and what they were doing. I hope you are one without pain!! As the others said take some Advil just in case. Oh and my dr. had me take an antibiotic for a week to ward off any infection. GL to you!!

Hugs to everyone else! I read about you all often!! Hoping and praying for all of you!!

Dana

Missy- Sending you lots of *Sticky Vibes*

Mel~I ended up going to two concerts because the tickets to last Saturday's show went on sale before the other one was announced. I thought that Chicago would be my only chance to see them, so I got the tickets. But then they announced another one, closer to home, and it happens to be at a venue where someone I know works. As an employee, she can get tickets before they go on sale to the general public, so I knew the seats would be good. There was no way I was going to pass that up!! If I had known they were coming here, I probably never would have bought the Chicago tickets. I was going to sell those tickets, but I made very little effort in doing that . Now I'm glad I didn't. If it wasn't for ART, I probably would be buying tickets for their other Chicago show too!! As for cameras, they weren't even checking. I had it hidden in the bottom of my purse like I always do, covered by ummm...female products... (what male security guard is going to go digging in there! LOL), but they weren't even checking.

Renee~Did you get your tickets?

Mary~I was trying clomid with timed bd and then with iui, and it didn't work. The doctor thought we were wasting our money, so she recommended ivf. We got a second opinion and he felt the same way too. I think if I had insurance for it, they would have tried a few more iui's, but they felt that I should just save my money for ivf. It's funny, because I just thought a little clomid would work. I never dreamed that I'd be doing ivf.

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Well, the numbers quadrupled! I am hoping that is a good sign and that it doesn't mean an ectopic or anything. Now my hcg is 192! And my progesterone went down a little to 19.2, but she said that was still good. Does anybody know what a good progesterone level is?

So, next step is I go in on the 21st for an early ultrasound to see how baby(ies?) looks

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thought I was in the wrong thread again for a second.

Mare - I would vote on getting your prog level checked, just so you can have multiple months of comparison.

Mare/Mary - I think 99.5% of us (especially those of us who have been around 2 years +) have felt burnt out at some point or another. it's normal and it doesn't mean you want this any less. There is nothing wrong with taking a break and catching your breath before getting back on the roller coaster. Be sure to vent which you already do, and allow yourself to feel the way you do.

Mary - I understand the insurance frustrations. I used to be the president of the I hate insurance/doctors club. At this point just educate yourself on alternative methods that can help you feel proactive about your fertility.

JJ - And those pics are the perfect size, you leave them the way they are!

Rebecca- never met a gf of his?? like ever??? How long have they been together???

Today I took a mental health day from work, everything went wrong this morning and I haven't been sleeping well. I did pretty much nothing but talk to Em on line and watch my furbabies. Oddly an old gf showed up at my doorstep, completely unannounced and uninvited at like 4, coincidently i was home. I have not seen her since my first IUI, almost 2 years ago. She brought a bottle of wine and a birthday card (My BD was 2 months ago) She touched my stomach and told me her sister (who is a spiritual healer) who I also know had a dream with me last night. I did not tell Ellie about either of my losses cause we haven't talked & we have no mutual friends. Her sister told her that my baby from last year was ready now and would be coming back on the same day it left. Carlos got home about 2 hours later, I told him Ellie was here, and brought wine, he went to open it, and the bottle was hot. I remember taking it out of it's leather case and it was NOT hot. I told him what Ellie said, Carlos is very black & white and usually brushes that kind of stuff off. And he looked at me and said Thanksgiving right? Kinda of a hard date to not remember but still struck me by surprise he remembered. I thought as time went by it would get easier. Just seems those "moments" are less but more profound, if that makes sense.

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