I got a +HPT!!!!!

I have to catch you all up since I haven't posted in a few months.

Back in May I had a HSG test done......boy was that just about the most uncomfortable thing!!!! It's a quick procedure and after it was done I only had minor cramps & just a bit of spotting. But as that dye was shot into and moving through my tubes & uterus, I can't say exactly that it was painful just extremely uncomfortable. The doctor, an Endocrinologist, said that everything looked great, that there were no blockages in my tubes and my uterus was shaped fine. Knowing I should be happy that there's nothing wrong with me, it was and is frustrating to not have answers when I keep losing my babies.

I got the green light from my OB to start trying again when I was ready. After my D&C in March he had given me a 3 month perscription for birth control which I decided to finish out. I decided I needed to take care of me before I trying again. By working out & eating better, I ended up "The Biggest Loser" in our weight loss contest at work, losing 9lbs in 5 weeks!!!! During the rest of May, June and July I just watched what I ate and pretty much stayed on my workout regime, losing another 5lbs. Pat on my back!

July 10th is my CD1. Between CD12-15 I had spotted lightly (ovulation?). Mr. Hungrysaur and I BD on CDs 8, 10 and 15. On CD18 I had light bleeding when I wiped (implantation spotting?). My period should have started August 6th, that date had come and gone without event. So finally about a week and a half later I took a HPT and it came up positive!!!!

This next week I will go to the Dr to do a pregnancy test to make it all official so I can schedule my 1st doctor visit. I'll be 7 weeks tomorrow. I feel great!!!! I'm super tired and my tatas are sore but other than that I feel fabulous!!! I feel like I did when I carried my son so I'm crossing all my body parts that that's a good sign. The last 3 pregnancies when I miscarried it seemed like there was something wrong almost right from the beginning. Even one of my buddies told me the other day that I look healthier this time around than I did the other times. Hoping & praying.

Now that I've caught up I promise to keep in touch & give regular updates (even if things go bad.) Thanks everyone for staying with me. I know there are others like me out there who keep miscarrying when all the tests show we're "normal". Hang in there ladies. Hopefully we all get our happily ever afters soon.

Well that nightmare is over... almost

I am CD15 today and I believe I have officially O'd... I think. LOL! FF hasn't agreed yet, but I'm pretty sure.

I have taken my supplements. I have used Pre-seed. I have BD till I'm blue in the face.. and I plan on getting one round in tonight for good measure.

I have dipped a "few" sticks.. and gotten several positive including some smiley faces on digis...

Now I get to sit around and wait on FF to catch up with me and debate on when to test... I'm a POAS addict, so You can bet it won't be long LOL!

Hope

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I am scared to hope for a BFP. I'm afraid to jinx it. It is like if I really believe I could be pregnant, then I won't be. How superstitious is that?

I'm 11 DPO today and I just did an HPT. It was BFN. It could be too early still. I think I will try again on Sunday with FMU.

I go to the fertility specialist again on Monday morning. I will get my blood beta-HCG test done on Monday or Tuesday. I will know for sure then.

It was only our first cycle on Clomid. I didn't really feel much of a difference while I was taking the drug. Lately, I have had some twinges in my abdomen and sore nipples. I have noticed an odd metallic taste in my mouth for the last few days. These could be PMS, drug effects or pregnancy symptoms. Sigh, I will just have to wait to find out for sure.

No sign of AF yet which is good news.

I know that the chances are greater that I'm not pregnant.

But a part of me is still not ready to give up hope.


Hope is the thing with feathers,
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all.

- Emily Dickinson

I Have a Secret

I have a secret and I'm finally ready to share it w/ you all! After a year and a half of trying.... I'M PREGNANT! I am still very early (only 8 weeks today) but since we have made it past the dreaded week 7 (which in the past has been a not so lucky week for us), I feel I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and share my oh so exciting news!

I have known now for about 3 weeks but have been really hesitant to share considering my past experiences. When AF was late, I thought nothing of it because of my recent weight loss. After a week or two I started feeling really crumby and decided to bite the bullet and take an HPT which turned out to be positive. Even w/ that positive result, I still was a little nervous about getting too excited.

I called my Dr. right away and tried to make an appointment. The nurse that I spoke to felt since I was still so early that there was no point in making an appointment until I tested positive in the Dr.'s office, then we could go from there. (As you can imagine, I was a little annoyed w/ this response but decided to go ahead and do as she had advised and go in and take the urine test.)

I was scheduled to go in on a Friday and do the test. That morning, I spoke to one of my girlfriends and told her what was going on. She works in a doctor's office and gave me a bit of advice on what she thought I should do. I called the office right away that morning and asked to speak to a Dr. when I came in. I explained to the receptionist that I have had a few previous complications and would feel much more at ease if I was able to actually talk to someone that day. I was given an appointment w/ no questions asked, and blood work was done that day!

I went back on Monday morning to do another round of blood tests and everything came back looking good. My progesterone and estrogen levels were where they needed to be and my HCG was rising. I was then given an appointment to come back on Friday of this week (tomorrow). I am looking forward to my appointment, every chance that I get to see my Dr. gives me a little bit more confidence that this time we will go full-term.

This pregnancy has been a little different compared to my previous pregnancies. I have been really sick this time... when I'm not nauseous I have diarrhea! I'm not complaining though... the more sick I feel, the more tender my boobs are, the more I fall asleep on the couch, the better I feel about finally getting to be a Mommy again!

Are Your HPT's Laughing at You Too?!

When we first started TTC, I bought HPT's monthly and used them monthly! Every time was the same, another BFN followed by a visit from AF! The last time I used a test I vowed to not do it again until I felt I had a valid reason... only, my valid reasons always seem to get the best of me! So once again, I unwrapped the last of the stockpile in our medicine cabinet and prayed for two lines... and like every other failed attempt, got a BFN!

TwoWeekWait.com is a wonderful site full of good advice for those of us TTC. I stumbled across this earlier this morning and I swear whoever came up with it must have a camera in my bathroom! Follow these 15 easy steps and you too could look as hopeless as me when taking a HPT!


Step 1...Pee on the stick. (must be sure to hold it under urine stream for a heartbeat longer than recommended just to be sure).

Step 2...Stare at stick while you continue peeing. Feel heart jump when urine passes over the spot where the line would be and it hitches for a second, then gets a dark line...then keeps going, taking your dark line with it to the test window.

Step 3...Place on bathroom counter. Pretend not to stare at it. Let's try to give yourself busy work to keep from looking at it. In fact, your toilet now gets cleaned once per day.

Step 4...Tell yourself you are expecting a BFN. Then start to mist up when you see that it is, in fact, a BFN. Stare at the blank spot for a full minute before picking it up.

Step 5...First, go to window and check it under day light.

Step 6...Now, stand on toilet to be closer to light in ceiling. Check strip.

Step 7...Close one eye. Squint other eye.

Step 8...Turn on several lamps around house. Hold strip under lamp. Check strip.

Step 9...Hold strip OVER lamp. Check strip.

Step 10...Hold strip in front of lamp so light shines THROUGH strip, just in case.

Step 11...Pull stick apart. Hesitate for a heartbeat when you realize you are holding the still wet "wick" in one hand, then continue the destruction.

Step 12...Repeat Steps 5-9.

Step 13...Throw stick away.

Step 14...Pick stick back up out of trash.

Step 15...Repeat Steps 12 and 13 the rest of the day!

Lose the Weight, Gain a Baby

My story is really pretty simple! Girl meets boy, they fall in love, get married, have a baby, buy a house, move to the country... and spend over a year TTC a second child! I guess that last part is where things get complicated!

Our first pregnancy wasn't planned, infact, we were on BC at the time! I always thought that avoiding pregnancy would be more of an issue for us than TTC. Boy was I wrong! After our son was born we immediately got back on the pill and about a year later went off again. I have had some problems with blood clots and my Dr. thought it was in my best interest NOT to be on the pill anymore.

For the first year we explored other options of BC but when our son turned two we decided it was time to start trying for a second child... he will be four in October! We have had some "success", (I guess you could call it). Last January we discovered that we were expecting and two days later, we weren't expecting anymore! In March we decided to try again but again at seven weeks we were no longer pregnant!

In July I made an appointment to see my doctor. I decided at that point that maybe it would be a good idea to have some blood work done. Everything came back normal and we were told to start trying over the counter ovulation kits. We did this for awhile with no success so we stopped spending the extra money and started using an online ovulation calculator.

In January (of this year), I decided that instead of calling a specialist (like my friends had all suggested we do), I would go on a diet. I have been watching what I eat and working out for the past two months and have lost over 30 pounds. I truly believe that my weight has affected our chances at conceiving and I hope that with losing the weight, we'll gain a baby!

Impatiently waiting

I´ve had it with charting. Somehow waking up every morning and making love to the thermometer got old. So old that I haven´t charted a cycle in a few months...I still log onto FF and enter any symptoms or signs I might be having on that particular day. I faithfully enter our BD dates and CM, but no more temperatures. Besides, I think the dog might find the therm really yummy and want to try it out sometime...I´ve heard of it´s happening.

I´m not quite sure why I haven´t managed to get KU again since my last m/c now over a year ago. I really thought it would have happened again by now. I didn´t have any trouble getting KU the previous times....but something is different. And something made my last cycle way shorter than usual. I *think* I o´d on something like CD 9 or 10--way early for me. So this last cycle was the shortest cycle I´ve ever had at 24 days.

I´ve decided to take some action....So I´ve ordered the Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor! I´m very excited about this for some reason. Maybe it´s because I´m a pee-aholic and hated the guesswork involved with OPKs. I just hope it gets here in time for me to use this cycle. It needs to be here by CD6 for that to work. I´m crossing my fingers that it does, and I keep checking on its progress. It´s been turned over to international shipping so hopefully that means it´s on the continent now. I´m impatient to POAS and see those bars change from low to high to peak fertility! I´ll be keeping you posted on my new CBEFM adventure, so stay tuned!

Spot, Spot.... Who's there?

Could it be you, Aunt Flo?

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Today is CD47 and I've had a little bit of spotting. I am actually hoping that AF is finally on her way. My cycles have been all over the place since my miscarriage in July. Cycle 4 has been the longest one so far and I'm losing patience!

I saw my family doctor this past Monday to review the results of my physical in November. I'm glad I made the appointment to see her as the lab hadn't entered by blood work in the computer. My doctor called the lab right away and had them fax over the results. My hormone levels were normal then. The only concern was my iron was on the low side. I had stopped taking the prenatal vitamins for a while and just continued with folic acid supplements. I have since resumed taking the prenatal vitamins and I hope my iron level is back up.

My doctor ordered a blood beta-HCG test and gave me a prescription for Provera to start my period. Since my doctor was going away on Tuesday, she told me to see the doctor who was covering for her on Friday evening.

I must admit, I have taken a few HPTs this cycle to see if I could possibly be pregnant. They were all BFN so I was pretty sure that the blood test would be negative as well. I did see the doctor last night and the blood test was negative.

This doctor recommended waiting for 3 months without a period before taking the Provera. As we are actively TTC, she was concerned that if I conceived recently, the Provera would be harmful to the pregnancy. Mr. Pharmasaur and I were concerned about this too. The doctor recommended that I go to see a gynecologist soon as time is of the essence at our age. So, it is back to waiting for AF again.

Luckily, I do have an appointment with a gynecologist for February 9th. I have heard lots of positive feedback about her which I find encouraging. I hope she can help us too! I was out today with a friend for coffee whom I remembered had seen the same gynecologist a while back. I asked my friend about the doctor and it turns out she was very impressed by her. And she has an appointment with her on the same day that I do, one hour before mine! So, we are going to meet up for lunch and support each other after our appointments. Strange how some things just seem meant to be, isn't it?

I am hopeful that AF is really on her way and that we can start to TTC again soon. I am still waiting to use the new Clearblue Fertility Monitor that we got last month. I was hoping I would get a BFP this month so I haven't even opened the package yet. I thought it would be easier to sell a sealed unit! I will open it up and pore over the instruction booklet as soon as AF officially arrives.

I also think I will have to stop being so stubborn and start charting my BBT. I have heard so many women sharing about how helpful it is. I keep resisting the thought of setting my alarm for 5:45 a.m. on the weekends!

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But, sometimes the process of TTC involves making some tough decisions and sacrifices. The results will be worth it!

Cycle 4 - CD38 and counting....

My irregular periods are continuing this cycle. I am currently on CD38 and no AF yet. I did an HPT yesterday and got another BFN. I guess I didn't ovulate around CD9 or 10 like I originally thought. I have been having PMS symptoms that could have been pregnancy symptoms for about 2 weeks now. Sigh. Nothing to do but keep waiting for AF to arrive so we can get back to TTC.

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I have a doctor's appointment coming up this Monday. I am going to tell her about my very irregular cycles and see if there were any unusual hormone levels from my physical in November. I also have a gynecologist appointment booked for February. Perhaps she will be able to investigate further.

I am looking forward to 2010. I am not going to miss 2009 at all. It has been a tough year.

Happy New Year to everyone! Wishing you Happiness & Health in 2010.

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A Little Update on Me

I'm not even sure what to post...

I have not had a period since we started trying the first of October.
I have had negative results on about half a dozen home pregnancy tests.
I have had no symptoms of AF or pregnancy, except cramps and lots of them.
I have gotten kind of depressed because nothing is going on, which makes it hard to keep at it.
I have gained about 5lbs.
I have cut way back on workouts, down to like 2 a week.

The most frustrating part of all of this, is I was having regular periods before we started trying. All I can think of, is what if we missed our chance!??!

Still waiting...

I went to take another hpt last Friday, and for some reason, I couldn't pee! I had to go so bad, and couldn't muster up a good pee for my hpt.

I went back to sleep, and debated about taking another test. But chose not to.

I don't think I could take another negative...

We went away for the weekend and I left the hpt at home and brought the tampons.

Mr. Joggersaur has been in a funky mood, causing me to be in a funky mood.

We've gone through a lot of changes in the seven months we've been married and I think it finally all hit him. Not only that, but it's been raining for weeks here.

Being away did us some good. We got to talk about things a little more, we took in some fresh air, and we released some major adrenaline by going four wheeling.

And as of today, AF is 9 days late, which is odd, since I have had a very normal cycle for the last 10-12 months. And still no symptoms.

If she doesn't show up by the weekend, I will be making an appointment with my doctor.

Until then, I will be (trying) to eat healthy and exercise... but I would really like to take a nap instead. :)

Cycle #2 - Update 3

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No happy faces for me. I have done 11 digital ovulation predictor tests this cycle and they all have shown empty circles. It is pretty frustrating. So the possibilities are: I ovulated earlier than CD 8 or my ovulation surge is too low for the test to detect or my surge was too short for the test to detect or I didn't ovulate at all. I know as much as I did before doing these tests! Hmmph. Today is CD 18 and AF is due next Monday on CD 25.

I still have PMS symptoms and the metallic taste on and off every day. It appears that my PMS symptoms are now lasting for 2 weeks! I really hope my hormones settle down soon. I am assuming they are still out of whack from my miscarriage.

I got my package of 20 HPTs in the mail on Friday. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've already tried them out. BFN of course! It is too early to test.

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I need to keep myself busy with other projects. We have some new furniture to set up and a couple of paintings to hang so I'll be focusing on that for the next week or so.

Cycle #2 - Update 2

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I think I'm right about at the top of that loop now and I really hate being upside down. TTC is such a roller coaster of emotions. I seem to be experiencing extreme highs and lows all at the same time.

I have been using my digital ovulation predictor tests every day at about 5:30 p.m. I have done 6 of them now and they all are negative. No smiley face for me yet! It is really disappointing. Kind of like getting a BFN every day. I am on CD14 today so I guess I still have a possibility of getting a positive for my LH surge. Today I'll use my last test stick in the box. It is a good thing I bought two boxes! I am seriously considering getting the test strips available on the Internet for next cycle. Their sensitivity is 20mIU/mL which is considerably lower than the 40mIU/mL of the digital tests. It would be nice to see something, anything, on the test!

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I am still holding out some hope for the smiley face. Mr. Pharmasaur thinks that my LH surge may be below the digital test's sensitivity and that I have already ovulated. That is a possibility.

This brings me to some very confusing symptoms I've been getting over the past few days. Monday night I started getting a metallic taste in my mouth. It has been with me off and on ever since. Very strange. Yesterday and today I have noticed that my breasts have been swollen and sensitive. This doesn't normally happen for me on CD13 or 14. I had these symptoms before I got my BFP back in June. Logically, I think it is too soon for any pregnancy signs to show up. Maybe my mind and body are playing tricks with me? Well, only time will tell. I have told myself that I will not do a HPT until October 29th. I have 20 more tests coming in the mail soon. It is not going to be an easy 2 week wait!

Lesson 1

Lesson 1: A watched pot never boils, and a watched pee stick never turns pink

That shouldn´t be hard to remember should it? Oh, but it´s hard to resist the urge she says as she sits here typing and staring at the STARK WHITE pee stick. Yup, 12 dpo and another BFN.

Why did I test? Because my boobs hurt like heck, I have a zit the size of Mt. Fuji on my chin, I´m feeling super tired and bloated. Reason enough to tempt fate and POAS I thought. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

A line is a line

It's faint, but it's there. A second line.

Even though I'm 13dpo, it's pretty faint...do you see it? Poor Mr Bibliosaur kept squinting and anxiously asking me if it was OK that the line was so light. I explained that any line means a positive, and if I keep taking tests, the line will keep getting darker (my last positive was on 16dpo, so the second line was pretty dark by that point). I think he felt a bit better after that.

How about a closer look?

Closer again?

I'm feeling happy, but pretty nervous and a bit wary as well after how things turned out last time - I don't have a lot of symptoms (I'm a little tired and bloated, have been cramping for several days and my nips are a bit sensitive, but that's it), so I'm really hoping this isn't a chemical pregnancy...only time will tell, but I'm going to be peeing on sticks every day until I can get in to see my doctor.

So for now, I'm going to just keep looking at this:

Because a line is a line, and today is a good day.

POAS Police

I need this guy to come to my home right now:

Tip: need a good way to pass the 2WW? Photoshop, baby!

Because this morning...I peed on a stick. At only 9dpo. Oh yes, I went there!

Before you start scolding, let me explain: I'm not normally an early pee-er. I'm really not. But for some reason, I'm feeling restless this cycle. So after obsessing about it for HOURS last night, I decided to POAS this morning, knowing full well that the odds of actually getting a positive result if (emphasis on the "if"!) I'm knocked up are pretty much nil. It does sometimes happen this early, but it's uncommon. I did it solely to get the POAS fever out of my system - and it worked! Obviously it was a big fat negative, but I now feel much calmer.

My official testing date is Sunday, although we'll see if I actually get to that point; the one advantage to spotting before Aunt Flo shows up is that it saves you money on pee sticks - if I see as much as a single spot, I'm foregoing testing and writing this cycle off. I usually start spotting on 12dpo, but last time it started on 10dpo...so we'll see how the next couple of days go.

P.S. Thanks for everyone's support about finding a new doctor; I've looked in the Yellow Pages and have already picked one out to call the minute that Aunt Flo shows up - she specializes in treating women, so hopefully she will be able to help (and hopefully I'll be able to get in to see her). I love my doc, but I really don't think she's being proactive enough about the Mystery of the Disappearing Period.

Positive...I think

In my previous post I told you how I bought some pregnancy tests from Amazon. I used them to test at day 10 and 11 and wasn't getting the results that I wanted (yes, I know that was really early). I did a little reserach and found that First Response was shown to pick up the lowest amount of HCG. I ran out and bought a box of 2. I used the first test with my FMU on DPO 12. I dipped it and waited. There was something faint that showed up, but DH and I weren't certain that it wasn't an evaporation line. I used the second test the next morning. Again, the same faint line. Yesterday I ran out and picked up another box of First Response tests, a box of 3 this time. I tested again this morning (14 DPO) with my FMU and got the same faint line. Still unconvinced that the faint lines we were seeing were positives and not evaporation lines, DH and I did an experiment of our own (a la Bibliosaur). DH peed on one of the 2 remaining tests so that we could see if he got the "evaporation line" too. Guess what? No evaporation line, absolutely nothing, nada. I think that means they're positive. I still have one more test to use. If I can hold out I may wait a couple days to use it and see if I can get a darker line. What do you all think?

Be Prepared…That’s My Motto

I’ve always been the girl that’s prepared and well organized. It’s just one of my crazy quirks. I love lists and making sure that I have everything that I could possibly need for whatever it is that I’m doing. TTC has definitely not been an exception to this personality trait of mine. After Mr. Luckysaur and I decided that this would be the month that we would start TTC, I took it upon myself to gather and make appointments for all the things that I thought were necessary for the process.

Here’s what made the list:

Pre-conception OB-GYN appointment- Mr. Luckysaur and I went to this appointment together a few months ago. We needed some questions answered and wanted to get the information first hand rather than off of the internet. Some of the questions we wrote down and took with us to ask were:
When should I stop BCP- As soon as we were ready to start trying for a baby. You don't need to wash out of BCP's.
When should I start taking prenatal vitamins- As soon as I stop taking BCP's
What are the risks of having a baby after 35 (I'm only 32 right now, but we were thinking ahead.)- Risks for birth defects and infertility increases after age 35

Stop BCP- I stopped taking my BCP's on June 14th after I finished my last pack.

Buy Short Term Disability Insurance- This was offered through my work and since it was open enrollment time we went ahead and signed up for a policy through UNUM. I'm hoping to be able to take several months off of work for maternity leave when we have a baby. This will help supplement some of the pay that I will miss out on during that time.

Start taking prenatal vitamins- I chose Rainbow Light Prenatal One because I read that they were easy on the stomach. So far I haven't had any problems with these other than occasionally having a hard time swallowing them. They're HUGE!



Read (and re-read) What to Expect Before Your Expecting and Mayo Clinic Guide to Healthy Pregnancy- Let me just state for the record that I love the library. I picked up both of these books and have several more pregnancy books on reserve for me.



Buy Pre-seed lubricant- I read that regular lubricant is harmful to sperm. When I looked around, Pre-seed seemed to be highly recommend as a sperm-friendly replacement to regular lube. It's not quite as thick as the regular stuff, but it works well. Time will tell if it actually works in helping with TTC.



Buy Pregnancy test strips- I found these pregnancy tests pretty cheap on Amazon. I know it was a bit premature to buy pregnancy tests, but I was already on there buying the Pre-seed so I figured I'd get these at the same time (and get free shipping!).



Buy OPK's- I got these at Dollar Tree. Ok...I bought 10 of them, but can you blame me? They were only $1 each! I've read that people haven't had the greatest luck with reading the cheaper OPK's, but I didn't have a problem. I got a VERY dark test line 2 times.



Start charting- I started charting my temperature on Fertility Friend on day 7 of my cycle. It's been kind of interesting charting every day. I actually look forward to entering in my data and seeing if my chart is following some sort of pattern. So far it's been doing what it's supposed to be doing.



Thermometer- It’s one that I already had, so I’m not positive that it’s a BBT thermometer, but it seems to be working just fine so far.



What did you do to get ready TTC?

Another day, another BFN

Yup. Another one.

Yesterday, Mr Bibliosaur went to the store and bought me a pack of uber-sensitive HPTs (isn't he a sweetie?). These suckers detect down to 10mIU - to give you an idea of how low that is, the average "early" tests are normally around 25mIU. I took one yesterday afternoon after holding my pee for an agonizing 4.5 hours to simulate first morning urine, and nothing. Then took another one this morning and STILL nothing. Aunt Flo was due yesterday, and I still have no temp drop, no spotting, and no BFP.

All of this is making me wonder if perhaps my ovulation date is off. Looking at my chart, it's possible that I O'd on CD13 instead of CD10. Most of the signs do point to CD10: the biggest temp spike, the most fertile CM, the positive OPK. But there are some that could indicate CD13 as well: another temp spike (maybe the one on CD10 was a fluke, given the two low temps after it), a little more fertile CM, and theoretically I could have ovulated several days after the hormone surge that the OPK detected. This would explain all of the negative HPTs since it would mean today is only 12dpo and Aunt Flo is still two days away.

So all of you chart stalkers, I need your help. Please take a look at my chart, then vote in the poll below (btw - I've noticed that the polls don't always show up in Google Reader, so if you're reading this there and don't see the poll, I'm not crazy I swear - it really is there!).

Here's how it looks with CD10 as the ovulation date:

I tried discarding that high temp on CD10, just to see what Fertility Friend would do - it then said I O'd on CD11, which I really don't think is right!

And here's how it looks with CD13 as the O-day (note - I didn't change the coverline to a different temp because I have no idea what it should be):


Ugh. I really just want to know one way or the other now - this uncertainty is making me grouchy, haha!

poll by twiigs.com

Finally?

So after months and months of TTC, numerous OPKs, an IF diagnosis of anovulation, two rounds of fertility treatment, multiple dates with the "dildo cam," and dozens of HPTs, I finally saw a second line!!! I have to admit that I was impatient and tested early, even though I wasn't supposed to. You see, when you receive a trigger shot, the hCG slowly leaves your system in the urine. Because a HPT checks for hCG, this can cause false positives. The hCG leaves the body at an averag rate of 1,000 units per day. Most women receive 10,000 units, meaning an average of 10 days before the trigger is gone. My doctor instructed me not to test early to avoid false positives, and told me I could test with FMU 14 days after the trigger.

For those who habitually POAS and are too anxious to wait a full two weeks, you can "test out the trigger," meaning you can POAS daily until the positive line disappears, then continue to POAS until you (hopefully) see another positive pop up. Otherwise, if you POAS early you have no idea if it's a true positive or false positive. I have seen some women report that the trigger is out of their system as early as 3-4 days after the trigger, and others that found it didn't completely leave their body until 13 days later. Hence my doctor's recommendation to wait 14 days.

Of course I decided to be cheap and did not test out the trigger (even though you can get HPTs at the Dollar Tree that are among the most sensitive). If you recall, most women ovulate 24-36 hours after receiving the trigger shot. I thought I felt what might be ovulation 2 days after I received the injection, and then a thermal shift on my chart confirmed it. So when I POAS 10 days after the trigger, it was about 8DPO. That is really, really early to be testing - if you don't believe me, see the stats here. But, I just couldn't resist because during this cycle, I started to feel some mild cramping during the 2ww. I normally only get cramps after AF has showed up, not before, and was wishfully thinking that these cramps could be a sign of implantation. So I POAS at just 8DPO and lo behold, after a few minutes, I saw a line. It was a very very very faint line, so much so that I was squinting and holding it out at arm's length to figure out if it was really a line, or just my eyes fooling me. I've always heard that "a line is a line" and you're PG regardless of how light or dark the line is. There's really no such thing as "sort of" PG; either you're PG or you're not. At this point, I was kicking myself for not testing the trigger out. At 10 days post trigger, this very well could be the last bit of hCG injection leaving my system... or, it could be a sign of pregnancy!!! I had no way of knowing if it was simply wishful thinking or reality, so I put away the pee sticks for a few days and resolved not to test again until 12DPO, 14 days after the trigger, as my doctor had originally instructed me.

Those next 4 days were pure torture!!! I could not stop thinking about it, and almost POAS each subsequent morning. The only thing stopping me was the fact that I only had one HPT left. If I POAS and it was negative, I'd have to either go out and buy more, or wait for AF to show up. So I resolved to wait the full 4 days. That fourth morning I awoke and ran straight to the bathroom and POAS. This time, instead of it taking a few minutes to show up, the beautiful pink line showed up before the control line even popped up! There was no question about it now - I was PG! After countless HPTs, I finally got to see a BFP!!! It was one of the most exciting days of my life, and will probably only be trumped by the day the baby is born.

I called the doctor and came in to get my blood drawn for a beta and found that my beta was 237 at 12DPO and then 735 at 14DPO. Using this beta calculator, the doubling time was 1.22 days, meaning that although rare, my BFP at 8DPO was in fact real and not a false positive from the hCG injection (it was probably about 25 at 8DPO, just high enough to be picked up by most HPTs). Using another beta calculator, I was a bit curious to find out if we were having a singleton, or if we were having twins. Unlike most couples, we had the opportunity to see my follicles before ovulation so we knew I only have one mature follie - or at least one visible follie. Sometimes they can be elusive and missed on u/s, or the embryo could have split after conception, yielding identical twins. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to prove that higher betas correspond to multiples, but I still couldn't help but wonder...

I feel so fortunate that we were able to conceive after just two courses of treatment. When you are first diagnosed as infertile, it's hard not to wonder if you'll ever get PG... and if you do, how far you'll have to go with the treatments to get there. We feel so very blessed with this baby and although it wasn't an easy journey, we know that it will help us appreciate the baby that much more.

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