Fertility & Reproductive Health: Meet others and share your story

Hello! I’m Jenna. I’m bummed I missed most of the conference call; my phone didn’t remind me until an hour into it!
My husband, Carl, and I live in Duluth and have been TTC for about 5 1/2 years. We have had *about* every test imaginable done twice to see what is causing our infertility and we still have no answers. Years ago we did the IUI’s (4 medicated, 1 unmedicated), took a year or two off of doctors appointments and heartache and started IVF in July at the Mayo. I was so excited to start; so anxious and teary before every appointment. That didn’t last long! We just had our second failed cycle and it was a new low for us. I’m just so thankful this is going to be a community so close to home, since no one actually close to home “gets” it.

Hello!
I couldn't think of a fancy username, so hopefully "alphabet" will suffice. My husband and I live in SE MN and have been TTC for 2.5 years with a wonderful diagnosis of PCOS. My "resume" includes 6 cycles of letrozole and 3 IVF stims (including 1 canceled stim) which resulted in 1 fresh transfer and 3 frozen transfers - all BFNs. I also discovered that metformin and I are not best friends as it made me crazy sick for months. OHSS? I dabbled in that quite a bit too! I don't really know anyone else who has gone through this before so - like @minnesotamrsa i'm looking for a community of those who "get it".

Mentioning people who "get it" has anyone gone to the resolve midwest family building conference? The REI clinic had a postcard for it - It is this Saturday and I am wondering if anyone has any feedback!

Hello all! My name is Abby and I am new to Mayo as of 2019. As a young girl I suffered from EXTREMELY painful periods and was consistently turned away from emergency rooms being told I was suffering from bad cramps. It was not until I was a freshman in college that I had a large cyst burst, was taken into my OBGYN's office instead of the ER, and by ultrasound scans they decided they had reason to do a laparoscopy to confirm the presence of endometriosis. It was so invasive I was put on Lupron injections off and on for years in order to hold off on the growth. After another laparoscopy where they removed one of my ovaries it was discussed that I would benefit from seeing Dr. Kahn at Mayo who specializes in infertility and endometriosis. February of 2019 I underwent another laparoscopy with Dr. Kahn, healed and then began 4 cycles of IUI's. All of the IUI's were unsuccessful and we made the decision to move straight into the IVF journey. Everyone warns you that it is hard but I do not think I was fully prepared for not just the physical toll it would take but the emotional and mental toll it took as well.

This group is something I wish I had from the very beginning of my journey. I have been blessed with a very supportive group of family and friends but unless someone has actually gone thru the process it is very hard for them to understand. I look forward to finding support from others here and I hope that I am able to offer support to others!

Finding people who "get it" can be challenging when no one in your family or close circle of friends have "been there."
@minnesotamrsa the emotional roller coaster is tough. It's also hard to hear and accept comfort from well meaning family and friends. Do you find that hard to deal with? How do you care for yourself, soothe the sadness and disappointment, and keep going?

@abcdefghi, your alphabet username is quite fitting for this group. TTC, PCOS, IVF, BFN, OHSS, not to mention SE MN (LOL) - that's a lot of alphabet soup. Who knew that this life chapter would involve so many acronyms? I hope J & D will join the discussion as I believe that they have been to Resolve before and found it to be very informative.

In case anyone is wondering this is event:
Exploring Paths of Hope: 35th Annual Infertility, Adoption, & Family Building Summit
Saturday, November 9, 2019, 8:00AM – 5:30PM
More details here: https://resolve.org/get-involved/events/local-events/midwest-family-building-summit/

I was also not ready for the toll it took on me mentally. I felt badass during the injections, and then hormones happened! And I was crying even folding laundry.

Hi. I’m Sarah. My husband and I have done three rounds of IVF and got 4 frozen embryos. We have a transfer set for December 18. We turned to IVF because last year our four year old son was killed in a tragic accident. He was our only child and we were just fine with that. Both of us being 40 and desperately wanted more children, we turned to REI and they have been so wonderful to us. I was supposed to be on the conference call but my school went late. I hope to be able to support others on here and be supported in return.

Welcome @loren12 (Abby) and @paddingtonk

Loren12, I would be grateful is you would start a new discussion dedicate to the emotional mental toll. As you can see from @minnesotamrsa's reply, you're not the only one. Here's how to start a new discussion:
1. Go to the Fertility group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/fertility-reproduction-health
2. Click START A DISCUSSION
3. Enter a title. Be specific, for example: "How do you deal with the emotional toll of IVF?" or something in your own words.
4. Write your message.
5. Click CREATE DISCUSSION.

I'd be interested in knowing, has your experience as a young girl and having your medical issues dismissed made you into a stronger advocate for your health today?

Paddington, I cannot imaging the emotional journey you have been and still are on. How do you manage the time waiting to the next transfer? What are you studying at school?

Sarah, thank you for sharing that. I’m glad you are here and I hope your transfer goes smoothly! December will be here before we know it!

For me the injections started off okay but that is when I tended to have the most of my “I can’t take this anymore” moments. I was not prepared for just how sore and uncomfortable I would be as I continued the medications either.... did that happen to you?

My second round I was on double the amount I was the first round so the first time I had almost no symptoms (just some bloating right before retrieval). The second round none of my clothes fit, even sweatpants were too tight, and I wore my husbands clothes to bed. Constant discomfort, occasional nausea, everything was tender.
The injections the second round tested more me emotionally. I couldn’t help but think “I’m supposed to be 8 weeks pregnant and not doing this bullshit again.” I had a hard time dealing with the unfairness of it all. But I read online how unusual it is for IVF to “work” the first time and that gave me some validation and comfort. Still sucks though!