# Let's Introduce Ourselves........



## Pilchardcat

*Hello Everyone

Welcome to 2005 and Happy New Year and good luck wishes to all 

Thought we could start this year off with reintroducing ourselves to our members new & old, so come on tell us a little about yourself and say hello ............... I'll start *

Hello everyone, I'm Amanda and a member of the Fertility Friends Management Team. I've been a member on here for two years this month. I'm 36 this year....yikes !!

I live with my partner Ian and daughter Millie conceived through IVF in 2003 after trying for 10 years with various treatments.

We live in Southern England about 8miles from central London and I'm now a full time Mum, before that I worked in the mortgage industry for 14 years.

We're huge Disney World fans and have been to America numerous time, I also love shopping and Christmas is my favourite time of the year  We've got two cats, one is ours and the other one just turned up one day and stayed with us  One day we would love to get a dog but will wait a few years until we have a bigger garden, I would love a Westie.

I'm really proud to be a member of this site and it's great to meet new friends and continue the relationships with the people I have already met


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## Sue MJ

Hi all - great idea Amanda!

Happy New Year to you all and hoping it's a year full of magic, where dreams become reality!  Here's to 2005!

As you've gathered from my log in name - I'm Sue! and am mummy to my little boy, Iestyn Huw, who was born in November 2003, following 6 ICSI attempts over a course of 2 years. Our dx is primarily Male Factor, due to dh having Cystic Fibrosis - so we always knew we would not be able to conceive naturally.  In fact, right up until the early to mid 90's, men with CF were classed as totally infertile, as they had not yet discovered Surgical Sperm Retrievals and ICSI until then! 

I have been a member of this site since the early days, May 2002 and have enjoyed making so many friends, helping others where I've been able to and really appreciated the support through my own (many) troubled times.

I have just turned 35 (prefer to look at it that way, rather than say I'll be 36 this year - THANKS Amanda!) and am a full time mum, having been made redundant from my role as Pensions Manager, when I was 20 weeks pregnant...... wonderful timing, I was never going to go back anyway!

I live in Bristol, have done since 1986 and am married to Dion. We have a Cocker Spanial who is now 11 years old, called Dexter.  I do have a cat - Tigger, who will be 15 this year, but now resides with my mum and dad in Gloucester where he is thoroughly spoilt.

I still have many dreams, would love to be able to have a sibling for Iestyn, though will never ever take for granted how lucky I am to have him.

Looking forward to hearing from the rest of you.

Love,

Sue xxxxxxxx


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## sammy1

Hi everyone - what a brilliant idea!

Happy New Year!

My name is Sammy, I am 33 years old, I live in London and am PA to the Chief Executive of a charity.

We found out in September, after trying to conceive for a year, that we had some problems and will hopefully be having our first ICSI cycle in Feb/March.  We are both feeling excited but also a little bit scared, not quite sure what to expect - but very much looking forward to getting started.

I have been a member of this site for about 2 months.  The support from everyone has been fantastic it is great just to speak to others in the same boat.  I would also like to thank everyone on the management side that keeps this site going - you do a fab job.

I look forward to speaking to you all soon.
Love Sammy x


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## ♥Lisamarie♥

Hi everyone,fab idea,
I am Lisa I have been a member of this site for 2 years this month,and am mummy to Hannah Chelsi,who was conceived at Care Notts via Icsi,we where very lucky to egg share I had 19 eggs in total to share,and was very pleased to become pg 1st time.
I am married to Clive he is 47,me 34,Clive had a vas refersal in 1998 that was succsessful after 18 years,but sadly no pg after trying,we was dx with sperm antibodies,i had pcos in my teens that dissapeared in my 20's,i also have endo.
On examination at care was told the antibodies where not the actual factor,and was told theer is no reason by a pg could not have happened.
We live in Hopton ,Norfolk,in a rural holiday village next to the sea,and have a staffy called star who is 10,we did have rabbits and guinpigs and lots of reptiles but only a few reptiles remain.
Before I began tx i was working in the retail industry,but have taken time out to be with Hannah,and to retrain,I do a lot of voluntary work with Surestart and they have trained me as a breastfeeding support worker,i am studing towards doing my entry into nursing/midwifery,hopefully2005/6

This is a fantastic sit,been to 2 meetups and working on dh for the next.


speak to you soon 
love lisaxx


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## chick66

Hello to members old & new!

Just want to welcome any new members reading this to Fertility Friends and to say this is such a wonderful site and you will really find both the content and member extremly valuable.

I am Chick66 & I am one of the chat room mods of Fertility Friends, I can usually be found in the Chat Room on a Friday night!. I've been a member of FF since my first IVF, converted to IUI in November 2003.
I have a fabulous partner called Andrew, he's an estate agent & trainee surveyor.

My infertility 'experience' beagn when I was in my teens and diagnosed with pcos, knowing this affected fertility, when I became settled with my now ex-partner, we started ttc. Nothing happend, given 6 months of clomid, nothing happend still & I was refered to a wonderful gynae and proceedures commenced in 2002. I had a laparoscopy which, in a nutshell, showed that the left ovary and tube was useless, I was suffering from massive adhesions (scar tissue) blocked tubes & endo. I had the affected tube, ovary and adhesiuons removed in May 2003 at Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, where I have had my 2 attempts at treatment.

Before the op, I was added to the NHS IVF list. My appt came about in November 2003. During the period of injecxting the drugs, my ovary failed to responded, doses were upped but eventually on CD 18, the cycle was abandonned. My next cycle commenced that following Jan, again abandonned at CD16 due to poor response. 

The next step was more surgery...Ovarian Diathermy via Laparoscopy. The lap showed more damge to the remaining ovary, partially, this right ovary is 'dead', so my next steo is to have that and the blocked portion of tube removed. Whether we then go for more treatment after that is still uncertain. I've now moved hospitals as my gynae moved, I'm now being treated at Merthyr, Prince Charles Hospital, which, lukcily, also carries out NHS fertility treatment for which I am eligible for if we want it.

Outside of FF, I am a qualified dental nurse, I work as and when with an agency because of depression from the last year but hoping to go back full time soon. Spend a lot of time with my DP, Andrew & his parents. We like going out, love our food and generally we are making the most of glasses of wine and the occassional boozy night (the most recent one where I had to be carried home!). Andrew's also a brass band player, playing the Bb Tuba, I play but am on the other side of the musical fence & play flute, hopefully if we are blessed with children, they won't have a musical bone in their body, at least then we don't argue about whether they shouldl be Brass or Woodwind players!

We live just outside of Cardiff, shortly to be moving up to Pontypridd, at the moment, we're not supposed to be in the catchment area for Prince Charles Hospital, although our wonderful gynae has pulled some strings and got us there in the end! Love living in Wales as I am originally from near Bristol, as my Grandma says, I won't be going back, I've been kidnapped by a Welshman! We get married on Dec 3rd this year, really nervous but looking foward to it so much as well.

I have also applied to study Mental Health Nursing, and hope to commence that as soon as possible.

I love this site so much, I love the people here. I hope you find it as useful

Chick xx


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## kazy

hi    im karen im 36 from plymouth iv had an ectopic after tubal surgery then had ivf but it didnt work but im still smiling now iv been told that ivf is free for 1 time on teh nhs,    have a son hes 15  and my husbnad has been a brilliant father to him but we want one of our own so if this free ivf comes into line in april im goin to give it another go  thats all there is to know about me but i am here if anyone wants to talk then just leave me a message..... happy new year to all


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## Jayne

Great idea Amanda    

Hiya everyone, welcome to Fertility Friends and the year 2005!  I hope the coming year is incredibly kind to each and every one of you and that this is the year when all our dreams are realised.  

I'm Jayne and my dh and I have been married for 6 years in July, although we've been together now for just over 12 years.  We have both lived in Cardiff all our lives, and have had our treatment at the Cardiff Assisted Reproduction Unit.  

In Jan 2000 we had our second DIUI cycle (dh has azoospermia) and were eccstatic to discover I was pg with our son Jack.  Then in Jan 2003 we were about to embark on a 3rd DIUI cycle and I was looking for success rates, and info on the net when I discovered Fertility Friends.  I was addicted instantly, but didn't quite realise at the time what a special place FF would hold in my heart, along with all the people who post on here.  This place has been an invaluable place of support to me and I can honestly say it'd be like my right arm had been cut off if it no longer existed.  Scarey thought! 

Fertility Friends supported me through the incredible disappointment of a cancelled cycle in Jan 2003 and then through my cycle in Feb 2003, the horrendous 2ww, and the joy of discovering I was pg with our gorgous son Ben.  I continue to feel support to the present day.  

Although my main dreams have been realised, I will never take my boys for granted, and will never forget the pain of the 5 years of ttc we went through before being so blessed and I just want to provide as much support now to as many people as I am able who are suffering the cruelty and pain that infertility brings.  I also want to share their joy and celebration also as their dreams come to life.  

At the same time as this though, I still get an awful lot out of the site personally.  I made some good friends on the boards whilst going through treatment and pregnancy, and love hearing all of their news.  I will finally get to meet with most of those people at the big meet in April.  Really looking forward to that!    

I feel honoured to be part of Fertility Friends and am so thankful to Tony, Mel and Jessica for giving this support lifeline.  

As for me on a personal level, I work 3 days a week for a housing association, but mostly deal with supported accommodation for people who have mental illness like autism, etc. extra care housing for the elderly and sheltered accommodation for the elderly.  Am currently training in the area of protection of vulnerable adults.  This job is all a bit new to me really as it changed whilst I was on maternity leave.  I used to work within the development side of the association, which dealt with the purchase of land and development of housing for whatever need.  Actual housing management itself is all a bit new to me and therefore I'm finding myself on lots and LOTS of training courses.  Beats spending all day in the office though    

Oh, I'm really addicted to the Sims PC game at the moment too    As for hobbies in general, well my boys and FF are my main ones, and to be honest, there's not much time for anything else  

So, that's enough waffle about me    

Love 

Jayne x


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## snagglepat

This is definitely a good idea - Thanks Amanda for suggesting it.

I first stumbled across Fertility Friends in September 2004, and it has been a wonderful source of support for me. Our story is a little different to many in that my partner and I are both female, so when we started talking about starting a family a few years back, the first hurdle we had to overcome was where we were going to get the sperm!

We found our first donor in the summer of 2003 - one of our friends agreed to donate to us and we began by inseminating my partner. After five months of trying we lost our donor because he started a new relationship and his new partner was very uncomfortable with him donating to us. It took us four months to find our next donor, after a few false starts, and in the end we found ourselves going with a man we met online. Despite our initial concerns about using a virtual stranger as a donor, we've been very pleasantly suprised by this man. He's been amazing, going out of his way to travel to us whenever we've needed him often with minimal notice. He's also very fertile, having already got three children of his own and a number of successful donor arrangements too and is an all round nice bloke. We feel very lucky to have found him. We're self inseminating at home using the 'traditional lesbian method' of a plastic pot and a syringe and our donor will have no parental role at all, but will be contactable should the child desire it.

The other change was that when we began to inseminate with our new donor, we tried with me. This was partly due to how we felt it would fit for us after trying with DP, but also linked in with her job and promotion opportunities. I've been suprised at how similar the feelings have been regardless of which of us is being inseminated. Ultimately, we are to be the parents of the child we conceive, and the biological link seems irrelevant. 

I have endometrisosis and borderline PCOS, but we've managed to avoid having medical fertility treatment so far and I've found that reflexology and herbs have regulated my cycle enough for us to be able to manage our own insmeminations. I seem to be ovulating fine too. Clomid has been suggested as an option should I want it, but I intend to continue to try without it for a while first. We're lucky in that we both have wonderfully supportive families and a great GP and we've had no opposition to us trying for a family. With luck it will stay that way. I doubt we'll ever reach the stage where we try more complex fertility treatments such as IVF. We've both already had to come to terms with idea of parenting a child that has no biological relationship to one of us, so adoption will probably be the next step for us should our TTC efforts eventually be to no avail.

And the rest: We live in Birmingham, although we're thinking of moving back to Shropshire in 2005. We were both living there when we met and we miss the green open spaces. I'm 26 and work as a web/graphic design trainer in a HE college and DP is 36 and is a psychologist working with adults with learning disabilities. We're both into organic veggie growing and I'm training to be a naturopath and herbalist on the side, hoping to qualify in 2006/7.

I've been keeping a journal of our TTC journey which has also been an essential part of my survival over the last eighteen months. It's online and can be accessed through my profile info if anyone is interested in reading it.

Thank you to everyone I've met so far on these boards. You've all been wonderful. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the future.

Gina.


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## Pilchardcat

Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far 

Anyone else care to re-introduce themselves ??


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## Bels

Great Idea Amanda!  I'll continue then....

I am Belinda and I joined FF in August 2004 ... I have recently become a site moderator.

I am just 38 yrs old and my husband Acos (greek if you are wondering about the name   ) is 43 yrs old.

We started icsi tx in 2003 after 18mths of being messed about on the NHS with investigations - our problems are Male Factor and I have pcos, but so mild that I didn't know I had it until I was scanned.

It seems that despite needing icsi, maintaining a pregnancy is our possible latest issue, so I am currently deciding when I want to have immune tests and when we will start our 3rd icsi ... it will be in 2005 (as I am not getting any younger  ) but I am not mentally there yet!

On a personal note, we live in North London, have been married 14 years    and I run a Design and Marketing Company with Acos .. Acos is a graphic designer and I have been in media and marketing for 14 years before I decided to join Acos's company!

This site is truly wonderful ... I have made some great cyber friends and learnt loads!

Good Luck to everyone who joins and may all your dreams come true!

Belinda x


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## Candy

What a great idea, wishing all our old and new members a wonderful 2005, hoping all your dreams come true, well 1st stage anyway as what would be life if we didn't have dreams x

I have been a member for almost a year, when we started our first IUI, am 30 next month and have been married and ttc for 3 1/2 years, my husband has 2-5% normal forms which is why we were recommended to try IUI, after 3 failed attempts, we moved to IVF and got lucky with our 1st go, I know how amazingly lucky we are, there are so many inspirational stories on here, from people who have had many many goes at tx and I admire you all, I am not sure I would have been strong enough to have another go had this attempt failed, so just got to keep thanking our lucky stars.

Today is the first day I was brave enough to add my ticker so its a bit of a milestone Wednesday for me  

We live on the edge of Oxfordshire in a little village, but close enough to the M40 to not be too isolated, no pets as DH says I need to learn to look after him properly first   .... I am tad lazy and hate housework, work in IT hence why I can post lots.

I have made so many friends on here and have received so much support, thank you guys, love you all Candy x


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## kee888

Great Idea  

Hi everyone im Kee, Hubby is Pat (im just been corrected in March he says)! 

I started thinking we had problems starting our family when i had come of the pill in June 02, 3months before we got married and then the New year of 2003 realised i had not fallen pg! went to drs and am now at Jimmys (Leeds) awaiting ICSI. I have PCOS and non existant periods and dh has a very low sperm count with very low motility, howeveer fell pg naturally in Aug 04 but sadly suffered m/c after lots of problems it was established i had m/c one baby but was also having what they call a slow m/c too yep i was expecting twins!

One consolation is at least i know i can get pg! however it does not always ease the pain!

My goddaughter is my world at the moment along with my Hubby!

We have a cat Thomas who is four in April.

I feel honoured to be a part of this site and have met lots of friends who are there for you through tick and thin! Lets hope 2005 is your year too.

Love and kisses to you all and thank you

Kee & Pat

SEnding you all   and lots of   but be sure to do lots of   and who knows you may get your   and have a dream come true with a


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## Guest

Hello all

My name is Charlotte and I have been a member of ff since september I think.

I found out in september that I have pcos (which I think I have had since I first started having af's at 13 . My DH, Owen and I have been married for 4 years this October and have been ttc for about 2 years. DH has not had SA yet as he passes out in hospitals, so he is getting up the nerve to try and oversome his problem and hopefully we will be able to have it done. I still love him more every day and his problem with hospitals will never change how much I love him   . I had a h.s.g in November 04 and found out that I have 1 tube blocked, but since the h.s.g i have had i AF naturally (the one for hsg was induced). so i am hoping when i go and see Dr on 14th Jan he may put me on clomid  .

we live in Birmingham and have a son who will be 10 this march  . we have no pet's well apart from fish.

May i say thank you to all on this site. this place was a huge help to me when i was dx with pcos, i love you all   

Love Charlotte & Owen


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## sal24601

Hi Amanda, 

What a good idea, this site is a little daunting! I joined about 3 days ago so still learning my way around.

I'm Sal and DH is John. We have been ttc since I came off bcp in May 2003. 20 cycles now. Have had investigations and I appear to be working OK but DH has poor sperm count with low count, motility and morphology.

We have been told by NHS consultant that only realsitic way forward is ICSI and have just started to look into this. It is so expensive, scary!!

I am currently just totally gutted and cannot bear to think our life may be childfree, dh is alot more positive than me and still thinks it will happen on its own but is ok to go forward with ICSI.

On a more personal note, we live in sussex near the sea, have been married for 3.5 years and ride motorbikes in our spoare time!!! 

Will have to get a side car if this treatment works, lol.

Looking forward to getting to know you,

love sal


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## wonky

Hello there 

I'm Veronica and have been part of ff for about 6 months now, lots of viewing but not much posting.

My DH, Simon and I have been married for 7 years and ttc 5... have had a host of tests, and they are still not sure whether I have PCOS or not, everthing else seem fine... we were referred to Bart's in July, through the Norfolk fertility clinic.. and are now waiting more blood tests at my next cycle. I am also on a major weight loss campaign- before any further treatment... something I find really hard! 

We live in Norwich and have a dog  and 2 cats. I work full time, dh is disabled so not working.

all the best for 2005 everyone!


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## angel1888

Hello

Happy New Year!  My name is Angela and dh is Steve.  I am 27 and dh is 41.  DH had an unsuccessful vasectomy reversal in 1998 and we have been trying to conceive ever since.  We have had two shots at ICSI at Aberdeen Fertility Clinic in Aberdeen and the second one has been successful!  

I discovered this site in October when I was on the 2ww.  It has been an absolute lifeline in what has been both the most wonderful and stressful time of my life.

I work full time as a lawyer and dh works offshore.  We live in Aberdeen with my 4 dss and a very old cat (who I don't think is going to like the baby very much).

Currently just hoping and praying that everything goes well with the pregnancy - I can't believe that our dream is coming true.

Lots of love

Angela


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## Leni

My name is Leni, I am 35 and have been married to Andy, (31) for 8 years. We live in Runcorn, Cheshire. We both work from home and are both 'puter geeks! LOL Andy runs his own 'puter business and I used to be a primary school teacher but gave it up 7 years ago as we went backpacking around Indonesia and then Andy got a job in Canada, so we lived in Edmonton, Alberta for a couple of years. I now make soaps and bath bombs etc, which I sell online and at Craft Fairs. I also do a little web design work and private tutoring on the side. We have a cat Tallulah who is a real cutie, and is not too keen on children! When she sees them she runs away, especially from our 18 month old nephew!

We have been ttc for 6 years. No IF probs with Andy, it seems that I do not ovulate every month but other than that our diagnosis is unexplained. Over the past 2 years I've had 6 cycles of Clomid, 3 IUI's and 1 self funded IVF. We are about to embark on our 2nd cycle of self funded IVF, with possible increase in stim drugs. So fingers crossed this will be our year.

I joined this site in May 2003, it has been wonderful to find a place so full of support and good cyber friends. Have been to a couple of meet ups which have been great. I would be lost without this place, it is so good to know that you are not alone.

Much love and luck to all
Leni


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## Martha Moo

Hiya all fertility friends

My name is Emily, i am 32 and my dh is 36

I have been using the site for a year and i am a chat room moderator.

I can normally be found in chat on a tuesday and sunday evening, and hold a fortnightly chat session on endometriosis once a fortnight.

We have been ttc since 1992, we have been able to get pg but not stay that way long enough.

I also run the support group for Peterborough area fertility friends and hold a meeting about once a month.

Hoping that 2005 will be a good year for all us ff ladies and that lots of babydust is spread.

Lots of love to my fertility friends
Emilyxx


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## Suzie

Fab idea Amanda!!

Well im Suzie aka Olive!! and i have been a member of ff since Jan 03 ( i think?) which is a year i guess! and i am a chat room moderator.

Im 27 and have been married to Andrew for 7 years and i have pcos. We have been ttc for about 4 years.

I have had far too much clomid to mention and some ovulation induction cycles.
Im due to start some more ovulation induction cycles which may turn into iui any day now so fingers crossed 2005 will be the year!

FF is a fantastic community to belong to and i have made some friends for life , the support and love for each other is amazing and long may it continue!
I have been to one meet and am definately going to the next so bring on April!!

Love to all
suzie aka olive xx


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## Cherub75

What a great idea Amanda, thank you.

Hi there, my name is Emma and I'm 29.  I've been with my Fiancee, Trevor, since June 1993, and we've been engaged since 5th November 1995.  We started ttc in 1996 and was put on Clomid when tests showed I had PCO and was not ovulating.  We were started off on 25mg which done absolutely nothing so we were incresed to 50mg.  

I was due to have a lap and dye done when I found out the 50mg had worked and we were expecting Daniel (who will be 7 on the 20th Jan).  I think the nurse who performed the prgnancy test was more shocked than us, I'll never forget the look on her face when she came into our cubicle, pulled the curtain round and said "this has never happened to me before.  Your pregnant"  she was so thrilled for us and for the next week or so I walked around in a daze.  The pregnancy was not without complications and we went through everything from severe morning sickness to having an amnio as blood tests showed we had a high risk of having a downs baby (1 in 64).  We had the amnio, and all the paranoia and fears we were losing the baby afterwards.  Luckily aftera gruelling 3 week wait for the results all came back fine.  The rest of the pregnancy was filled with more morning sickness and bad heartburn.  Just when I thought things were settling down, the completion date of the house we were buying got delayed and I got pre-eclampsia with the panic and worry.  We completed the sale of the house on 9th January, moved in on 16th, was admitted to hospital on 19th and had him after an induced 2.5 hour labour.  He was born at 4.48pm weighing 5lb 1/2 oz and was gorgeous, I was totally in love, and forgot all the bad stuff I went through the previous 8 1/2 months.

We waited for 18months and then I came off the pill, sadly the pregnancy had not kicked started my hormones and I was in a worse position than before we had Daniel.  I started considering going back on Clomid and was researching the net when I came across FF.  I regsitered in March 2003 but didn't start posting until around Sept 2003 when I prepared to take Clomid.  After 4 failed cycles 2 @ 50mg an 2 @ 100mg the hospital refered us for IUI and was lucky that we could start almost immediately.  That was beginning of Nov 04, but unfortunately I failed to respond to those drugs as well.  I'm now awaiting a lap and diathermy next month, when hopfully my ovaries will be given a kick start and we can then get back on with the IUI.

This site has been an absolute god send, it has armed me with so much knnowledge and offered so much support that I'm sure I would not be where I am today without.  It is for that reason tht I was proud to be accepted as a site moderator last month, it means I can give somthing back.

Looking forward to hearing the stories of many more of you.

All my love

Emma xx


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## Han

Hello!

I'm Hannah and I've been a member of FF since Aug 03. I'm married to Chris (we've been married since March 2002) and we've been ttc since I came off the pill in July 02. We met and married whilst we were both living and working in Chester and then Chris got a job in Harrogate, North Yorkshire so we moved here in Aug 02. 

A year later, having not got pg, we had our first appointment with the GP who ran all the tests. Everything looked fine with me, but after two SA's with 'lower than average' results we were referred to the Assisted Conception Unit at Leeds General Infirmary. We had our first consultation appointment there in Jan 04 and after some more tests we were told in March that ICSI would be our only hope - DH has low count, low motility and high abnormality. So after many tears and a lot of saving we agreed in July to pay for one treatment whilst being on the NHS list for a free go - the waiting list is around 2yrs at the moment.

We started our first cycle of ICSI in October and to our great joy and surprise it worked! I tested positive two days early on 22nd November and I'm now 10 wks pg.

I haven't had an easy start to pregnancy as the day I tested positive was also the day that I was taken into hospital with OHSS. I stayed in for 6 days but everyone at the hospital has been fantastic. I cannot fault the treatment I had at LGI at all. Since I came out of hospital I have had weekly scans and the baby is doing really well. And I have nothing but praise for all the staff at Leeds - they've made our dreams come true. And everyone on this site is amazing - I don't think I would have got through it if it hadn't been for FF and all the support and friendship it offers. Just having other people to chat to who are going through the exact same thing is fantastic (thank you October Girlies!!!!).

Well, I seem to have waffled for a while!! Chris and I both work in the Theatre industry. He is a Lighting and Sound Theatre Electrician and I am a freelance Stage Manager - it sounds glamorous but it isn't really!! And we live in Harrogate at the moment but our jobs can take us pretty much anywhere (well anywhere there's a theatre!!!)

So that's about it from me. Good luck to everyone and may all your dreams come true.

Take care,
Lots of Love,
Hannah xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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## NattKatt

Hi Members!

I'm Natt, 25, married to Michael, 29, and ttc for over 5 years!  It's been a long road for us - after ttc naturally for a year, we had all the tests, and results came back 'unexplained' which was horrible because technically there was no reason we couldn't fall pg!  Saw a fertility specialist who put me on 6 months of clomid with no ovulation at all!  Then tried gonal-f, which assisted ovulation, and we had timed intercourse (I'm convinced this is the moment I lost my libido for spontaneity!!!!!), still no pg!  Had a lap and dye, doc basically told me I was diseased ARGH!!  He dared to say I had old scarring from chlamydia, and put me on antibiotics to treat this..... which was ALL a bunch of b.s. - I had a ruptured appendix at age 10, which caused alot of internal damage, AND scarring/adhesions on the outside of my uterus.  Sought a second opinion after that!

2nd Doc said I had PCOS and we began to try with iui... cycle got cancelled due to me developing a mega cyst!  This was back in December 2002.  Couldn't bare anymore emotional pain with treatment, so continued to try naturally with no success.

March last year we sought a 3rd opinion after moving interstate to Tasmania (We live in Australia).  This doc did a scan and said I didn't have PCOS and was in fact developing a follicle!  We were so excited - this could be our chance!!  I work as a mental health nurse, and one day at work I was checking someone's belongings and got stuck in the thumb with one of their razor blades that they had brought with them to hospital to self harm!!! MAN WAS I CRANKY!!  I couldn't believe it!  We had a chance, but couldn't take it - I had to do the routine blood tests for hiv, hep b & c, etc.... was heart breaking!

Decided to go for a 4th opinion in September - met our fantastic Dr!  He suggested ivf/icsi as iui has alot lower success rates.  So we began down regging in October, started stims early November, ec 24th, then et 26th.  We got our BFP 11dpt when I tested early, feeling 100% positive it was a negative & wanting to deal with the emotions!

So here we are, 8 weeks and 2 days pregnant! 

We are proud parents of 2 fur babies, Charlee our 15 month old cat, and Lina, our 8 month old doggy.  DH says Charlee has to migrate outside once the baby is born   But we're planning on buying a house in April, so Charlee will have his own kitty palace built in the backyard!  I don't want a squished kitty!! 

Wishing you all loads of luck and babydust!!

~Natt~


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## cathyjames

Hello All

My name is cathy, I am 30 and dh is 33.  We have been trying to conceive for 4 years

I am finding this site so useful, you are all so helpful and encouraging.  This is only my second post but I am looking forward to chatting lots.

We have been trying to conceive for almost 4 years now with no luck and we are due to start ICSI in 3 weeks and  are so excited however keeping feet on the ground


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## Allie K

Hi All!

My name is Allie and I have been married to Don since 1996.  I am 32, Don is 37. I became a member of FF at the end of April 2002 just before starting our first cycle of ICSI.  

DX was primarily MF although we later discovered that I had PCO and although I have some symptoms of PCOS, my hormone levels are OK and I do ovulate although cycles vary in length.  I did conceive naturally, however I had a miscarriage in September 2000 at 9 weeeks - blighted ovum.  Naturally, we were devastated at our loss but more pain was to come when after trying for another year we found that we were unlikely to conceive again without ICSI.

We began our first ICSI cycle in May 2002 and were fortunate to be successful on our first attempt. There were a few scares in pregnancy but Kirstie arrived safe and sound on 27 March 2003.

We were due to start ICSI again in January 2005 to try for another baby.  However, somehow we have conceived without treatment and at the time of writing I am 10 weeks and 3 days pregnant.  Again I am having a few scares along the way with bleeding but we are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping like mad that this little one will stay with us.

The site has been wonderful and so supportive and I am so grateful To Tony and Mel and all the moderators whose hard work makes it possible.  

Thank you all and best of luck to all members of FF and may we all achieve our dreams.

Love

Allie


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## piercingqueen

hi all!

i'm sharne and my partners name is kevin and we have been trying to get pg for nearly 2 years now, now i knew this wouldnt be easy as i have 2 children from my ex marriage and it took 2 and a half years to get pg with my first as i wasnt having periods but took pertestonge (sp??) and got pg stright away but number 2 was a big surprise, have just been confirmed as having pco although that is no surprise as i have'nt been ovulating and am getting more hairy by the day and spots galore so have now been on metformin for over a week now 850g twice a day and have days where i suffer side effects, also have kevins sperm count to deal with at first we are told it is very low and now after a second test we are told its not normal at all ( what ever that means) so now got to see the fertilty clinic every month first time on the 25th of jan and have been told to lose weight but have no idea what happens next if anything, have seen on some post that some of you have been put on clomid  but i suppose i will have to wait and see what happens.
I have great hopes for all of us in 2005
i'm not working at the moment as i am studying pyschology at college, kevin is in the ta and is looking for more work having just been laid off ( great xmas prezzie!!).
i have 3 furbabies 2 cats and a westie cross puppy a rabbit and loads of fish i also knit premmie items for local scbu units as my first was in speacial care for a while and i saw that they use alot of donated hats etc


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## Nicky1 ☺ ☺

Amanda ~ Great idea 

Im Nicky 25 married to John 35 (36 in a couple of weeks!). Weve been married and ttc since the end of April 2002. John has 2 sons who stay regulaly 8 & 13.
We live in the North East. - BUT WE ARE NOT GEORDIES!!!  

Been a memeber of this brilliant site since July last year!

We thought at first our problems may lie with john, due to a vesectomy reversal 3 years before, but his tests all came back ok! I was diagnosed in nov 2003 with PCOS, I guess i had most of the symptoms for it anyway, i just had never been to see a DR about it before! 
I have had clomid & metformin. Lap, dye and ovarian drilling in november showed my tubes are clear! Yippeee!

We have our next apointment with the gynea in june and if no pregnancy by then, its off to self funded IVF for us due to john having kids already! 

We have 2 cats, 10 year old Tiddles and 7 months old Diesel.

And 5 bengalese finches - we did start of with just 2, toot & flute - but you know the way things go... and now we have 5!

Well thats it i think! 

Wishing all FF members best wishes for 2005! May all our dreams come true.....

Love Nicky x x x

  ​


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## Purpleal

Hello,

My name is Adrienne and I am 27! Angus (36 and a half) and I have been together since September 1997 and got married in April 2002. We are South African and have been living in London for 6 years.

After trying for 10 years to prevent a pregnancy by using the pill, we decided in July 2002 that the time was right to try and have a baby. All of my friends had no problems falling pregnant and I assumed it would happen so easily to me too! In September 2002, I went home to Johannesburg to visit my dad who was in remission from cancer. Whilst there, I went to my gynae at his fertility clinic for a total check up in anticipation for the new life were hoping to bring into the world. That day was the start of our infertility journey. He told me I had very bad PCOS and 2 massive cysts on both my ovaries which needed to be removed as they were in danger of twisting my ovaries.

I returned to London and had a Laparoscopy & Mini-Laparotomy to remove the cysts, Unfortunately, I had a negative response to the anasthaetic and had to stay in hospital for 8 days - but luckily no long term problems. I then did not have a period for 5 months, so was prescribed Clomid. I did ovulate 4 times out of 9 cycles, but no pregnancy was achieved. I then had a lap and dye which showed my tubes were clear. Then, from having no period at all, I had non stop bleeding for a couple of months. This resulted in a Hysteroscopy and a D&C for the removal of Polyps. 

Our first IUI was abandoned as I did not respond to the drugs. I was told to forget about IUI and that realistically, IVF would be our best option. So, here we are, on cycle day 10 and if all goes to schedule EC / ET mid February!

I am so glad I found this site!

Purpleal (Adrienne)


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## Juli

Hello everyone..great idea Amanda..

Will fill you all in on our story.
We have been thrown into this tx stuff by an unusual twist of fates...
Me Julie (23) and Steve (25).(think we're amongst the youngest here)

Dh and I have known each other for about 6 years. Life was going well for us, we moved in together got 2 dogs and life was going swimmingly. 
We had planned to marry May 04 when in March 04 dh Steve was playing football, he was stamped in the groin we discovered that he had a massive blood clot and testicular cancer his cancer had spread and so we had some sperm banked before he began chemo..

Steve had 3 cycles of BEP chemo which made him loose his hair and he had bad sickness, he lost 2 stone but fought hard throughout. We decided to go ahead with our wedding in May as we were unsure of the spread of the cancer (vascular invasion means it has got into your bloodsteam and could regrow anywhere), and Steve managed to keep his hair until the day after the wedding (see our pic in the gallery)

He was treated  and in September last year we were told that his remaining tumour had shrunk to less than a millimeter and was unlikely to regrow.

After having had pains in my side a few weeks before we were married i had an emergency laparoscopy, it was discovered that i had endometriosis and we were advised to try for a family whilst we were young just in case. 

We have had 6 iui treatments through Pinehill hospital in Hitchin and Harley Street Clinic in London which have been unsuccessful and my ovaries are acting polycystic (producing lots of little follies).

I had a 2nd laparoscopy in November and we have decide due to complications to go for icsi (steves stored sperm are lasy due to anaesthetic from his op) 

We have been told that Steve's sperm may return but it could be years or it may not return at all so we are having our fertility treatment now whilst we are both still young to give us time to adopt if necessary.

We are both very positive people and we both battled against Steve's cancer with the support of our family and friends. They have supported us through the darkest days of our lives so far and for that we are truly grateful. 

The whole experience of Steve's cancer has been the hardest of our adult lives but we have made many new friends and met many fantastic professionals along the way.
We owe many thanks to so many people for helping us along this journey 

All of us have an amazing story to tell and all of us have been through hard times. Often i think why do we have to have the difficulty of coping with cancer and then infertility?? But then i think we are lucky in so many ways, Steve and i now have a long future ahead whether that be with or without children we will always have each other.

p.s. our piccies are posted in the  gallery..i'm not sick any more!!
        
p.p.s. steve has just started his new job working for a toy company..so if you have any toy questions you know where to come.(we had a fab christmas playing with all of there new products!!!)
Ju xx


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## saphy75

hi all

i'm pam (29) and i've been married to paul (31) for 6 years we started ttc on our wedding day   . i have been on clomid twice and had 2 ivfs now we have decided enough is enough and we are booked on a prep course for adoption (hopefully in march).

we have 2 dogs belle (5) & lady (2) and are currently renovating our bungalow (no kitchen for almost 2 years now)    thats it really not much else to tell  

pam xx


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## Catzy

Hi I'm Cathy aged 30 and dp is 32. We've been married since June 2002. 

We started trying for a baby before we married (oh the sin) at the end of 2000 we were lucky enough to conceive naturally. In July 2001 I suffered a ruptured uterus and lost our baby boy Toby at 19 weeks. I also lost a tube. They patched me back up and with one good tube we started trying again, despite my dp's reservations that it was too soon. To our amazement the first attempt worked and I am now the proud mother of our 2.5yrs old son George who was born in July 2002. 

In may 2003 we decided to try again and were not so lucky. After 2 natural pregnancies I didn't expect any problems. In Dec 2004 I was dx PCOS and am waiting to start Clomid on my next cycle - which was due on 19 Dec. No where to be seen.

We feel blessed to have our son but dream of that gift again, to have a brother or sister for him.

My dp is in forces so goes away regularly and I work 2 days a week in Insurance (boring). We live in Ipswich with:

Our son George
Springer Spaniel - Jerry
2 x cats Storm & Buttons
2 x Gerbils - Gordon & Guss

Latest addition to family is 

2 x Goldfish - Findus & Birdseye

This site is amazing and the support and friendliness of everyone on it is overwhelming. I hope you all get your dreams.

Catzy
xx


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## LouKIZ

Hi Everyone,
I'm Louise, only just registered today and this is my first post - not sure if I've started in the correct section! I have never joined anything like this before so any help would be appreciated.

Over the last few months I have read many of the messages posted on the boards and have found them very helpful. You all seem like really lovely people and I hope you are all successful in 2005. Also it really helps to know that your not alone.

I'm currently on day 13 of the stimulation phase of my first IVF. Egg retrieval will prob be Friday or Sat. My next trip to the clinic is weds for monitoring and hopefully they will confirm DDay.

We've been trying to conceive for 3 years with no success. I have a beautiful 8 year old son conceived naturally during my first marrage. My DH Ian, has poor morphology ( on average only 7% are normal) also he was diagnosed with Varicoceles which he had removed in May 2004. There was no improvement with the morphology so we decided to see a specialist in September and now we are on the IVF band wagon!! The specialist said that the problem may also be with me. I had an emergency C section in 1996 and this can sometimes cause blocked tubes (approx 1 in 5 women are affected following a CS) The specialist advised us not to bother having my tubes checked and that we go straight for IVF because of the length of time we have been trying. I never thought I would ever be doing this as I hate hospitals and I hate being messed about with, but it's amazing what your prepared to do when you face something like infertility.

Take care
Louise xx (LouKIZ)
P.S I live in Sutton Coldfield


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## Leanne

This is a lovely idea Amanda, i have enjoyed reading back.

My name is Leanne and i have been a member of ff for about a year now. I am a chat moderator and enjoy a good natter in the chat room   I live on the sunny isle of wight. My husband is a retail manager training to be an area manager and we have 3 lovely tabbie cats.

I am nearly 26 and been married to Rob for 18 months. We decided to start a family back in november 2002 and shortly after coming off the pill i developed cysts on my ovaries. I was lucky that my gp decided to do all the relevant tests early and discovered in december 2003 after a laparoscopy that both my fallopian tubes are blocked with adhesions.

We knew ivf was our only option but took some time to let things sink in and find out every bit of information we could. This site was invaluable at this time. I am a qualified nursery nurse and was a full time nanny when i found out i couldnt conceive naturally. I gave up my job as i found it too painful and became severely depressed. Again, this site helped me enormously at this very hard time.

We had our first cycle of ivf at the lister hospital in september 2004 where i egg shared and was very fortunate that it worked first time. I am currently 17 weeks pregnant with twins and we cannot wait to be parents.

Leanne xx


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## Marielou

This is great - I've had a lovely time reading all the posts!!

My name is Marie, and I'm a FF-aholic  
No, seriously, I joined the site in October 2003, and becamme a Chat Moderator a few months ago  - just confirmation that I never shut up!  
I live in Stoke-on-Trent   but come from Milton Keynes   and am hoping hubby will agree to move back there soon.  
My husband is a busy Head Chef (so he'd have us believe!) and cooks me some fab meals, but for some reason, I hate his scrambled eggs - he can't do them to save his life!  
We have 2 cats, Jack and Emma, who are my suorro-babies, and an Old English Sheepdog, Max, who is Mark's Surro-baby.  
I am 23, and Mark and I married nearly 4 years ago now.
We started trying for a baby in October 1999, and went for testing in early 2001, which showed that Mark had a seriously low sperm count - <0.1million.  This is because he was born 3 months early, with undescended testicles, and he did not have a corrective operation until he was 14.  
We were advised to go for DIUI, until I mentioned ICSI to our consultant (can you believe that?!!)  but in the end, we did decide to go for DIUI, for financial reasons.

We had our first DIUI on July 20th 2003, which resulted in a BFP on August 4th.  We were over the moon - in fact, my best memory is sitting on the loo, at 7am, staring at this positive test, and convincing myself it must be negative!    
Scans at 6 & 9 weeks showed a healthy 'viable' foetus, and we settled into expectant life.  At 11 weeks, a firther scan showed our precious baby had slipped away.  I opted to wait for a natural m/c, and at 14 weeks, we lost Charlie.  

I then joined this site, and gained some valuable support - espcially from Woppa, who really helped me at that time.    

In February 2004, we decided to look into egg-share ICSI.  We went to Midland Fertilty Services, and began a cycle in June.  I overstimulated, and I had egg collection after only 8 days of stims, and retrieved 30 eggs, but had my embies frozen on day 1, to help prevent OHSS.

Once I had recovered from the OHSS, we underwent a FET cycle in September 2004, which was negative.

We decided to go for one last ICSI - this time, injecting half the eggs with my husbands sperm, and mixing the other half of my eggs with an unknown donor sperm.      We got 5 good embryos, two are currently inside me, on day 5 of the 2ww, the other 3 are safely tucked up in the freezer , until we need them for hopefully a sibling.  

Hugs
Marie xx


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## Clare_S

Well I shall jump in and quickly reintroduce myself.

I am 30 as is DH and we live in South Warwickshire we have been married for 5 years.  We sadly both work in the IT industry though thankfully doing totally different things.  

We had our first baby Alexandra in November who was concieved via ICSI at the Wlasgrave CRM in Coventry.  We had been ttc since January 2000.  After a very slow start our diagnosis was very clear that I have multi cystic ovaries so don;t ovulate all the time and there also male factor issues.

I first joined FF in August 2003 when I was going through my first cycle of ICSI but drifted away after I got pg only to refind it after I had a m/c since then I have become an addict as I have met so many wonderful people on here.

Clare


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## Shaz1

Hi I am Sharon and I am fairly new to the site. I am 28 and my hubby is 38. We have been trying to concieve for nearly 5 years. I have got PCOS which took 3 years to diagnose,I had 3 scans and was told I didnt have it,I thought I was going mad because I was still getting the symptons but when I had my first IVF consultation I was told I had PCOS which although not good news I was relieved to finally know. My hubby also has low sperm count and motility.

We have just started our first ICSI cycle,we are on a satallite system where we have all of our monitoring at peterborough and EC and ET at care notts. We are currently on day13 of down regging and I have got my first scan on 21st Jan.

Hopefully I will get to know you all a bit more and I am looking forward to meeting some of the peterborough girls at one of the meet ups.

Good luck to you all

Love Shaz xx


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## Shellebell

Hiya All
I'm Michelle ( but all my mates call me Shell or Shelley, so all of you had better call me that too   ) and married to William ( Will, Bill, Billy, Bilbo ) for nearly 6 years. I've just turned 31 and he is almost 31.  

DX with PCOS and Hypothyroidism fairly recently in life, but have had signs/symptoms of both since I was in high school which Dr never picked up on   even though I was in surgery constantly ( well it seemed like it at the time   )
Changed Dr and diag Thyroid with blood test at 1st visit, and when still feeling 'not-all-well' after thyroxine levels sorted which took a yr, they diag PCOS. 

No TX for TTC at the mo.. I have been told to loose weight as 1st course of action.. I have 100 lb's ish to get to ideal weight, but any loss will be a bonus    Hoping it will bring on 'norm' cycles ( whatever they are  , I don't think I have ever had a 'norm' one yet   )

 and   to all, and I hope this will be the year of progress for all of us Xx


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## keemjay

hiya - only just seen this - great idea  

I am Kim and my dh is Mike, known eachother for 15 years  married in 1996. been a member for nearly a year, and can honestly say i would be lost without the support on here. last year was a horrible year for us and i wouldnt have got thru it with all my Fertility friends, esp the IUI girls where I mostly post. I have found myself increasingly isolated from many of my friends who are popping sprogs all over the place, but on this site I have made fantastic friends who, although i havent met any of them are my best friends in the world at the moment    

we have been ttc for 6 years, for 4 1/2 of those we were told there was nothing wrong with either of us. I had lap and dye, mike had SA - everything fine they said -  we were offered clomid but refused cos in my opinion if it aint broke, why try to fix it? we have been on a fascinating journey learning about diet/health and are now a whole lot healthier (and knowledgeable!) than we were, tho still not preg! so after trying all the lifestyle changes, vits & minerals etc etc, going travelling (to forget about it all), starting my own photography business ( couldnt cope with my nanny job anymore) starting to grow our own veggies, doing up our old VW camper, and generally keeping ourselves busy, we decided to go for a consultation at the woking nuffield purely for another opinion. it was here that they discovered mike had a high percentage of abnormal forms, tho his count is good. now, we are prob in the minority on this site, but we have always said we wouldnt make ttc the be all and end all of our lives - its never been a case of  doing absolutely anything in our power to get our dream - i have had quite a fatalistic approach to it all, like if we are not meant to have children then maybe that was our destiny. that prob sounds a bit defeatist, but to be honest although you hear of lots of people having txt and acheiving their dream, the odds are really not that great and for every success theres a failure. if you could do the txt and KNOW you'd get a baby from it, then maybe I would be more enthusiastic. also i dont believe we know all there is about what all the hormones do to our bodies, IVF is still a relatively new science and i do feel like sometimes we are being used as guinea pigs - sorry if this sounds a bit negative...
ANYWAY,after a lot of soul searching we decided to give IUI a shot, this being the least invasive type of txt. we did 2 cycles with menopur last Spring, both of which failed. we both found this quite a traumatic time, and because of some other stressful stuff going on in our lives we decided for a break from it all. since then i have been doing more research into what i believe isnt a normal part of my cycle and am now trying a natural progesterone cream. we are going back for more IUI next cycle but this time doing natural cycles as i dont want to use the menopur as i produce eggs and ovulate perfectly well by myself. we will do 3 cycles at the most and if we have no success then will prob look into adoption very seriously. i am already comitted to it but dh has yet to finish the adoption books! I have worked with children for all of my working life so kinda have a feel for it already.... 

I am extremely lucky to have the BEST dh in the whole wide world, he is unfailingly supportive and I love him to bits. Our relationship has been stretched, and I have been terrified that the strain could get too much, but i believe we have made all the right decisions along the way and that has helped us to remain strong.  

blimey have waffled rather  

love and   to all

kimj x


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## Andrea1974

I've had a very interesting read this afternoon, beats work anyway!!

Well here go's:

I'm Andrea (30) and I'm married to Steve (33).  We've been married for nearly 8 years and have been ttc for that long too!  We live in Derby.

We decided to start trying 6 months after we were married and after a year of totally nothing we went to our GP who told us to give it another 6 months.  After 6 months of nothing we were sent for "the tests".  Steve's tests came back with no problem at all. I then had a  laparoscopy which showed that I had blocked tubes and was told IVF was our only way forward.

We had our first cycle of IVF and got a positive which sadly ended in early miscarriage.  Our second cycle was FET and was negative.  Our third cycle was again positive but ended in miscarriage.  Our fourth cycle was again negative and then our fifth was FET and negative again.

After the miscarriages we had all of the tests done for miscarriage and not one came back with a problem.  The only thing that stood out was that I suffered with a Hydrosalpinx on both tubes with every cycle I did and they thought the fluid might have been leaking out and stopping implantation/growth of an embryo.

In January 2004 I had surgery to remove my right tube and the lovely consultant re-opened my left tube.  Since then no little miracles have happened but my tube is still clear from any Hydrosalpinx.

I am now 7dpt on our 6th attempt.

FF is a fab place to vent those emotions etc and the girls on here are brill.

I wish everyone on this "fighting infertility rollercoaster" lots of luck for the future.

Andrea xxx


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## cathyA

Hi all,

I'm Cathy (37), dh Nigel (40). Been married far too long to metion!  

ttc 5 years - had all the tests etc and just given go ahead for 1st IUI next month. For once the old   can't come soon enough!  

My job - I teach gardening to anyone who wants to listen - adults with learning disabilities, OAPs, evening classes and I still have time to get my hands dirty!

The love of my life (other than dh) is my beautiful blonde lurcher, Charlie. He's adorable!

LOL to all the other FFers - you're great!  

Cathy


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