What a nightmare. TTC after loss.

[Dan1g1r1]

Wow, what a journey this last year has been. After a chemical, then a 7 week loss, and now not being able to get pregnant. All husbands sorry tests are normal, sonohystogram normal. I have normal FSH, but low AMH. .876 to be exact. My antral count though is good my reproductive endocrinologist said. Said that she isn’t worried about my low AMH because my follicle count looks good. But now I’m thinking it’s because I have bad eggs. It has to be. My eggs are now having trouble even getting fertilized since we have been trying like crazy the last few months and nothing. I guess I won’t count the first month after d and c but the last two months we did everything perfect and nothing. Is it your understanding atomic that when all else is normal but low AMH and miscarriages that my eggs are of bad quality then? I just want a baby. I don’t care what gender anymore at this point.

[atomic sagebrush]

OH NO I'm so sorry to read this.

I am inclined to agree with the RE - with good FSH and good follicle count, the AMH is a lot less damning than if FSH was high and there were barely any follies there.

The way that eggs work is that your body naturally will develop quite a few eggs every month. (those are the follicles) and then every month that passes, only the best one or two will be released. Your body can "sense" that somehow and send more hormones to that egg and it also grows faster. So while obviously low AMH means you don't have tons of eggs left, when you're still making lots of follicles, you have more chances at having a good one, if that makes any sense.

So while low AMH does indicate worsening egg quality, many of the eggs left are still going to be good, and the more follicles you have, the better your chance of ovulating a good one. Just be in the position to catch that egg whatever it takes!! Be in with regular attempts before, during, and after ovulation (before and after in case you mistime O or it's delayed, and also because BD out of the fertile window may help to make you more fertile).

That having been said, when you say trying like crazy, can you describe that? It is possible to actually BD too much and end up with very few sperm by the time the fertile window opens so I want to be sure you're not "wasting" too many attempts too early and having nothing but dust by the time the fertile window opens.

Question - are you taking any herbs now?

[Dan1g1r1]

So I purchased a plan from you in September I believe. Been trying for a boy since summer. I had one chemical before that in April, then a seven week loss in September with a d and c the very last day of September. Been struggling with thin lining ( gets up to 6.7 mm ) thought it was due to d and c? Who knows. Never paid much attention to the thickness of it before my last miscarriage. My RE says she does transfers with this thickness and has seen women get pregnant with this thickness but I’m not so sure it’s ok for my body since nothing now will implant. Does AMH say a ton about quality? From what I have read it is a measure of what is left, not the quality and the only way to really know quality is when they try to fertilize them in ivf. But then I read that low AMH does have something to do with quality. I am 35 and so devastated.

By doing it like crazy, no, not too much. He is ejaculating every three to four days either in me or on his own outside the fertile window and during fertile window we do it the day of positive opk, then again the next morning if possible and the evening. Then once again the next night. That’s all he can do. We try to get three attempts in. I lay in bed for a while afterwards, legs up etc. pre seed too. It’s now been three months of no luck and this has never happened to us before. We thought this would be our month. We did everything perfect and nothing. So it’s either my lining or my eggs.
Only taking coq10, one a day vitamin, folate, fish oil, probiotic. I have taken guastafin and brewers yeast during my fertile window.
I am so so sad that this might be the end for me since my husband will not do Ivf for iui. Husbands sperm is all normal.

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, just because you haven't conceived doesn't mean it's a case of failed implantation. Even when everything is perfect people only get pregnant 20% of the time. It is NOT the wham, bam, thank you ma'am process we envision it being.

Yes, low AMH can be an indicator of quality too because ~usually~ when you have few eggs, you're also getting down to the end of the line fertility-wise. Additionally when you have fewer eggs left you often end up with very high FSH (which can basically "cook" your eggs, LOL)

BUT your age coupled with the fact you're making follicles and your normal FSH are good indicators this can still happen for you. I would not give up hope yet, you only need one egg (we call this "Goldie the Golden Egg" LOL) People with poor numbers get pregnant all the time, it just takes a little longer.

Have you ever tried red raspberry leaf tea?? I don't normally recommend it but it may help with lining. I'd have 2 cups a day in the FP, 1 cup in the LP, and at BFP wean off by continuing to space does further and further out.

ARe you having good EWCM aside from the Preseed?? Let's try dropping the Preseed unless you need it for lubrication. While it's meant to help (and is far better than any other product on the market) it's inferior to EWCM and may according to one study, slow down sperm a bit in comparison to EWCM.

Your supps are looking great to me, is hubby taking anything?

[Dan1g1r1]

Hubs is taking a men’s one a day over 50 plus 100 mg COQ10. My CM has usually been ok. But after my d and c it seems like during my fertile window, it is creamy not egg white. I don’t know why this is. If I have only egg white this month, I will skip the pre seed. Also my ovulation has been all over the place. One month I ovulated on day 10, the next day 13 etc. I am usually ovulating now on day 12. My cycles the last several months after d and c have been 25 days. I believe they used to be 27/28 days? Another sign I’m headed into early menopause I guess. It seems like it all changed after my d and c tho. Now this month, I am day 9 and I am still a low on my fertility monitor when I am usually high (not peak yet) on day 9 gearing up for the peak days. So odd. And I don’t feel my follicle growing yet (middleschmirtz) sp? When I usually do by now. So I am all over the place. Doing acupuncture now twice a month to help grow a healthy lining/ healthy eggs but i don’t know if it’s working. I am just so defeated. For all the pregnancies (good and ended in miscarriage) it only took a couple months to get pregnant. Now it’s been three already with doing the deed several times in my fertile window. I am also getting lining scans and follicle scans by my RE and she verified ovulation on day 12 last month.

[atomic sagebrush]

Even for fully fertile couples it takes an average of 3-6 months. I know it is hard when you've gotten pregnant sooner in the past but that is actually the norm.

25 days is still totally normal range so don't read anything into that. It is not at all uncommon for your cycle to go through variations over the course of your life and it is usually meaningless (and often goes back to "normal" again.)

Ok yes if you're having any egg white skip the Preseed, if not use it.

Some people report changes in their cycle with acupuncture towards the negative (irregular ovulation, shorter LP) so you may want to consider a correlation with that.

I suspect this will happen soon, just taking a bit longer than normal! Good luck and tons of sticky baby dust headed your way (preferably blue)

[Dan1g1r1]

Thank you atomic. You are so kind in your knowledge. I am now high fertility on my monitor , not sure when I will peak. I am day 13. My lining though is still only 5.9 cm. Some areas it’s a bit thicker etc. I still have a few days for it to grow, but I’m guessing it prob won’t grow much past 6.5 mm from here until I ovulate. My RE says that anything over 6 is good and that I need to stop obsessing because maybe that was just me my whole life. I guess I am needing some encouragement with linings my thickness with a successful pregnancy. I don’t have many good eggs left, so I need to have something postive

[atomic sagebrush]

That's what I think too - for all we know this is normal for you and I agree I've seen many a pregnancy with anything better than 6 (and youll surely be there by the time O rolls along)

Did you try the RRLT?? If not this month, you may want to give it a whirl next month if you're concerned about the lining still.

[Dan1g1r1]

Yes, I purchased some and have been drinking 16-32 oz of it each day since Tuesday. Also pomegranate juice. I will make sure it’s just one serving a day or 16 oz after I ovulate.

[Dan1g1r1]

Yes, I purchased some and have been drinking 16-32 oz of it each day since Tuesday. Also pomegranate juice. I will make sure it’s just one serving a day or 16 oz after I ovulate.

Edited to add that I checked out my lining yesterday, and it doesn’t look like it got much thicker or trilaminar. RE nurse said at the last scan that it was on it’s way, but I am peak as of this morning (day 15) and it still looks like it should of grown and didn’t. Is there anything like an injectable or any drug that you would recommend I ask my RE for to really improve my lining? I am just tired of not being successful each month due to lining possibly when I don’t have many eggs left.

[atomic sagebrush]

Some women are taking Viagra for lining - while as a general rule I trust the RE to suggest stuff like that if it's appropriate for you (meaning, they probably know about it already and don't think it's appropriate for you for some reason) it may be worth asking about.

Good luck and all my blue sticky dust headed your way!

[Dan1g1r1]

Thank you. I have a lining check again tomorrow so I will bring it up then. What is your opinion on Myo Inositol? I’ve read that people with DOR should try it. And regular folic acid it ok for me right since I have been ruled out for all MTHR things. Should I still take the one a day or should I get a prenatal with DHA and EPA?

[atomic sagebrush]

What is your weight?

I prefer for only people who have proven PCOS to take myoinositol. I have had several people show up taking it for DOR who did not get pregnant till they dropped it and as it is now I think that unless you have PCOS, it's not worth the chance.

Yes if you've been tested for clotting disorders and don't hve them folic acid is ok.

I prefer you take One a Day and the DHA separately.

[Dan1g1r1]

So I received my BFP at 13 dpo, and again at 14 dpo line didn’t get dark possibly quite as fast but eventually got there? I just am terrified of my hcg not doubling again like last time.
Should I continue with the one a day, 200 of coq10, and separate dha? Or just get one a day prenatal? I also take an extra folic acid.
Anything that I should or shouldn’t be doing during this sensitive time? Like no intercourse or no going out into the cold lol? I don’t want to turn into a person who acts like she should be in a bubble but I feel like anything I do can ruin this.

[atomic sagebrush]

Progression in lines is not really a thing. While we don't ever want to see a very dark test go to barely there, some variation in darkness is not unusual at all and really tells us very little about how things are going. The biggest variable is the concentration in your urine and that doesn't tell us what is happening in the blood.

Yes, I'd continue everything but start weaning off the coq10 now.

Keep doing the extra folic acid till the end of the first trimester then gradually wean off.

If you do want to switch to some other prenatal do it gradually over time, don't just switch from one to the other.

Things like having intercourse and going out in the cold really don't matter (if they did, the entire human race would have died out a long time ago.) I wouldn't go bungee jumping LOL but normal day to day activities are no big deal.

[tillytys]

Congratulations on your bfp! I hope it all goes smoothly :)

[Dan1g1r1]

Thank you so much. Going in for second blood draw this morning. Terrified it won’t double like last time. It was 572 on Monday morning at 4 weeks 1 day.

[Dan1g1r1]

My hcg was 572 on Monday, then 48 hours later was 965. 68% increase, not doubling. Doctor and nurse say it looks to be normal and didn’t seem scared about it. I think it would have doubled for sure in 72 hours but I had it drawn at 48. I wonder how often this happens to other women? The doubling time seems to be changed to 48-72 hours but idk.
About switching to a prenatal, how does one slowly make the change? You can’t really cut some prenatals in half, some you can. Should I cut a one a day in half and a prenatal in half etc unless one pill is a half daily dose kind of thing? Or one day take prenatal, then switch back to one a day the next , then back to prenatal for a few days? Also is vitamin e and a safe? It’s in the one a day and most prenatals but then you read that vitamin e is especially not recommended. I cut back from 200 to 100 coq10 for the last several days and planning on skipping today and taking tomorrow for every other day for a week? Is that safe? Or should I take 100 mg a little longer?

[atomic sagebrush]

It is normal and the doubling time is 72 hours because that's how long it takes to double! That's great news and I agree with the doc and nurse.

You switch back and forth, take one one day, one the other, gradually increasing the number of days you take the one you want to switch over to till you're no longer taking the other.

The "vitamin E" is higher doses of Vit E some women take because they heard it helps implantation or egg quality. Stick with the amount in the prenatal and it's believed to be fine, although they do need to do more research.

Vit A is safe in smaller doses and very few multivitamins have the harmful levels they once did. Just dont' take it separately

Yes thats fine how you've cut back on the Coq, I'd probably give it a wee bit longer spacing out the doses further than every other day till down to one per week, then drop

[Dan1g1r1]

Thank you atomic. I have another order for Friday to redraw, and I really don’t want to do it. Terrifies me.
And I will do just that with the switch if I do switch. But as long as everything in the one a day women’s is safe, I might just keep taking it. But confession, I was taking an extra vitamin e along with the one a day since I was trying to improve implantation etc. but I stopped as soon as I read that. I wish I would have known. Have I caused damage already? I was taking an extra 180 mg or 400IU, but only for about a month.

[atomic sagebrush]

Agh I'm more concerned that you dropped it suddenly. You need to wean off gradually even when it's less than optimal because your body gets used to it coming in at that level and it can affect your blood clotting.

I can't tell if it might have caused damage, please keep in mind that lots of people take that amount thinking it's beneficial and the number of babies with heart defects is very small. it's just something that we avoid because why not, if it may cause harm. We don't need it, it doesn't help anyway, possible harm, let's skip it. But please do at least give it a week or two to adjust.

[Dan1g1r1]

Oh shoot. I didn’t think of that. I will take another one as soon as I get home from work and do every other day , then keep adding another day in between. I hope I didn’t harm my baby:( I stopped taking it on Monday or Tuesday though already.

[atomic sagebrush]

It's unlikely you caused any harm. Just keep weaning off it.

[Dan1g1r1]

Thank you. I will. My hcg level in less than 48 hours (like 46) went up. It is now 2254 from 965 on Wednesday. Is this normal? Did it go up too much? I am 4 weeks 5 days. Does this high mean something like Down’s syndrome or a molar? Or is 1.5 day doubling time ok?
I guess molars have really high numbers, so hopefully I am not going to have quadrupled numbers. But I have read that higher numbers right away indicates a girl. My first draw was 572 and now I am way out of ballpark for 4 weeks. If this keeps happy I will be way out of normal for every single week.
You are a saint for dealing with my neurotic mind. Have you seen numbers like mine and it was a boy and all was ok? Or is it rare now.

[atomic sagebrush]

It will be glaringly obvious if it is molar. If it came to that there would be no doubt something was amiss and so please save your worries till they're warranted (I have had 3 people with molar pregnancies in 10 years' time, 2 of whom had them before they came to the site, so this is a very unlikely concern). Those numbers you report are in normal range and I would have no concerns whatsoever.

HCG numbers with gender are AVERAGES. The average girl pregnancy is higher than the average boy pregnancy but you CANNOT tell gender from those numbers. HCG levels are like height. They do not tell you a person's gender. If you have a person who is 6 ft. 3, you'd think "ok yes that's probably a man" but then then there's Gwendolyn Christie! And there are a LOT of women 6 ft. tall. Same with men - there are a lot of men 5-4,5,6, feet tall so you can't assume. And most people fall not on either extreme, but right smack dab in the middle.

I looked up "high" numbers for normal pregnancies for your stage of gestation and they're 16000-18000. Your number is only barely above the median and if you were only a couple days off with your O Day it would BE the median LOL. You have nothing to worry about, this is good news that the pregnancy is hopefully progressing normally.

[Dan1g1r1]

Well now of course I spoke stupidly about worrying about that. Now from Friday at 2254, my hcg is at 6063 on Wednesday. 120 hours later. I have read that once it gets past 1200, it is 72-96 hour doubling time. This was 84 hours. Ever seen this and it be normal? Nurse isn’t too concerned but I was expecting a higher number. Gestational sac and yolk sac seen on Tuesday.

Edited to add that if I put in my number from one week prior to my draw yesterday, at 965 (last week Wednesday)to 6063 (yesterday)in 168 hours, it says doubling time of 2.5 days and normal (69 percent 48 hour increase). But when I do 2054 (Friday) to 6063 it’s a doubling every 3.5 days with a 48 percent 48 hour increase.
Dear God I can’t have another loss because of hcg numbers. They look much better than last time but of course didn’t double.

[tillytys]

I dont know much about the numbers side of thing but if they have seen the sack and the yolk then that sounds right on track! Will you be getting any more scan before your 12-13 week one? :)

[Dan1g1r1]

Getting one on Monday and I should be 6 weeks, 1 day.

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes I've seen about everything under the sun. Please try not to worry about it, these numbers are increasing appropriately and it's normal for them to slow over time.

I just want to clarify if, G-d forbid, this pregnancy isn't working out, it's not because of HCG numbers. The HCG numbers would be lower because the pregnancy wasn't working out, it's not the other way around. I just wanted to be sure you understood that. People have normal HCG numbers and have pregnancies not work out and fluctuations in doubling time have pregnancies that DO work out. Both happen all the time so please don't read too much into this.

[Dan1g1r1]

Oh yes, I know that. I just hate hcg numbers. Thank you. But again, you have seen this rate of slow down before and it be ok?

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes. I've seen about every possible combo of HCG numbers at this point.

[Dan1g1r1]

Heart rate at 6 weeks 1 day was 95 bpm which was low but RE said it was ok since heart could have just started beating. At 6 weeks 4 days heart rate is 117. Is this ok to you? I’ve read that both are borderline as in less than 6.2 you should be over 100 and 6.3 to 7 you should be over 120.

Also it was 115-117 bpm today.( 6 weeks, 5 days) It didn’t go up the 3 beats per day like I have read it should.

[atomic sagebrush]

90-110 is normal for 6 weeks. 117 is higher than that. These numbers do not seem at all off to me.

When something is going wrong with a pregnancy it is not that the heart rate is just a beat or two off normal. The heartrate would be SIGNIFICANTLY lower, like 10-20 or even more beats lower. When people come to me with these concerns about a few BPM they are next-to-never issues. Things like 3 beats per day??? Throw that notion away, your heart rate is all right around the expected range and not dramatically lower. Is this a guarantee, no, of course not, but then again even with a perfect heart rate, that's STILL no guarantee. I feel you are putting yourself through a lot of stress for something that is not even out of normal parameters (and even if it was totaly normal, could not give you the guarantee we all want, anyway!)