Brief Overview

It occurred to me the other day that most of you probably haven't gone all the way through my old blog posts.

Many of you may be stopping by for the first time.

Some of you might not know us at all.

It also occurred to me that I take for granted understanding the lingo in the Trying to Conceive community and the average person probably has no idea what is being said.  I hope you are lucky enough to be one of those people who has no clue about this infertility world.

So, I thought a brief overview of what we've been through and a little infertility vernacular lesson may be a little helpful.

AF: Aunt Flow or Flo, also known as your period.
AI: Artificial Insemination.
ART: Assisted Reproductive Technology.
AWOL: A Woman on Lupron, referring to the mood swings that sometimes accompany this fertility drug.
BA: Baby Aspirin.
BBT: Body Basal Temperature Charting.
BCP: Birth Control Pills.
BD: Baby Dance, a reference to having sexual intercourse during on your most fertile days; OR, Baby Dust, a sort of good wishes or good luck phrase meant to hope you get pregnant.
Beta: A pregnancy test that measures the levels of hCG (pregnancy hormone) via blood work.
BFN: Big Fat Negative, refers to a negative pregnancy test.

BFP: Big Fat Positive, refers to a positive pregnancy test.

BMS: Baby Making Sex.
BOB: Baby on the Brain, or thinking about having a baby all the time.
BV: Baby Vibes, same thing as Baby Dust, something you "give" to someone in hopes they'll get pregnant.
B/W or BW: Blood Work.
CB: Cycle Buddy, someone who either started the cycle with you, ovulated around the same time as you, or is planning to take a pregnancy test at about the same time as you.
CD: Cycle Day, a reference to the days of a treatment cycle or any menstrual cycle when trying to conceive. CD 3 would be the third day after your period starts.
CM, or CF: Cervical Mucus or Cervical Fluid, a topic you may have never imagined talking about, but in a fertility forum, may find yourself chatting about with unexpected enthusiasm! In detail, no less!
DH: Darling Husband
DI: Donor Insemination, as you would have with IUI along with a sperm donor.
DTD: Doing the Deed, or Doing the Dance, a reference to sex.
DPO: Days Past Ovulation.
DPR: Days Past Retrieval, or the number of days since you've had the oocyte (egg) retrieval during IVF treatment.
DPT: Days Past Transfer, or the number of days after embryo transfer in an IVF treatment or embryo donation cycle.
DW: Darling Wife
E2: Estradiol, a hormone sometimes measured during fertility testing and treatment.
EDD: Estimated Due Date.
ET: Embryo Transfer, done during IVF.
ENDO: Endometriosis.
FE: Frozen Embryo.
FET: Frozen Embryo Transfer, referring to an IVF cycle using previously frozen embryos that have been thawed and then transferred.
FHR: Fetal Heart Rate.
FF: Fertility Friend, referring to the charting website FertilityFriend.com.
FMU: First Morning Urine.
FSH: Follicle Stimulating Hormone.
FTTA: Fertile Thoughts to All.
GS: Gestational Surrogate.
hCG: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin.
HPT: Home Pregnancy Test, like what you buy at the drug store.
HOM: High Order Multiples, a pregnancy with three or more babies.
HSG: Hysterosalpingogram.
ICSI: Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.
IF, or IFer: Infertility or a reference to someone with infertility.
IM: Intramuscular Injection.
IPS: Imaginary Pregnancy Symptoms, when you feel pregnant but you're not.
IUI: Intrauterine Insemination.
IVF: In Vitro Fertilization.
IVF-DE: IVF with Donor Eggs.
LAP: Laparoscopy.
LH: Luteinizing Hormone.
LMP: Last Menstrual Period.
LPD: Luteal Phase Defect.
LSC: Low Sperm Count.
M/C: Miscarriage.
MF: Male Factor Infertility.
MS: Morning Sickness.
O or OV: Ovulation.
OHSS: Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome.
OPK, or OPT: Ovulation Predictor Kit or Test.
PCT: Post-Coital Test.
PCO, PCOS, or PCOD: Polycystic Ovaries, or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome/Disease.
PG: Pregnant.
PI: Primary Infertility, or infertility without any previously born children.
PIO: Progesterone in Oil.
PNV: Prenatal Vitamin.
POC: Products of Conception.
POF, or POI: Premature Ovarian Failure, or Primary Ovarian Insufficiency.
POAS: Pee On A Stick, or take a pregnancy test at home.
PUPO: Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise.
RE: Reproductive Endocrinologist, a kind of fertility specialist.
RI: Reproductive Immunologist, another kind of fertility specialist.
RPL: Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.
SA: Semen Analysis.
SART: Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies.
SB: Stillborn.
SHG: Sonohysterogram, a fertility test.
SI: Secondary Infertility.
SM: Surrogate Mother.
STIMS: Stimulating Hormones, usually referring to injectable fertility drugs like gonadotropins.
SP: Sperm Count.
SOD: Sex on Demand, or sex on schedule or during fertility treatment.
SubQ, or SC: Subcutaneous Injection.
2WW: Two Week Wait.
TESE: Testicular Sperm Extraction.
TL: Tubal Ligation.
TMI: Too Much Information, something fertility forum goers don't seem to shy away from too often!
TTC: Trying to Conceive.
TS: Traditional Surrogate.

I left out some abbreviations that are more obscure or you won't see on this blog.

Now that you have the abbreviation list memorized, here's a little more in depth look at our TTC journey (in case you hadn't noticed the timeline over there ---------------->

Once upon a time, DH & I were newly weds with BOB.  I had never been on BP, never taken any BCP and we DTD almost daily.  I tracked my CD, my CM, & my BBT to no avail.  I went through OPK's like it was my job and POAS more times than I can count.

In early 2009, we finally met with an RE who recommended an SA for my DH, a HSG & PCT for me & B/W for the both of us.

We soon learned that my DH had MF thanks to a LSC and some other issues. We realized we would need ART to conceive.  That same year, we did 4 IUI's. I continued to track my LMP & DPO.

In 2010, we went all in for IVF with ICSI.  I did SubQ injections with a FSH, needed an IM hCG trigger shot and was most definitely AWOL.  I tracked my DPR & my DPT. We did an FET several months later, only to end in another BFN.

We're back into the swing of things with a new RE. I'm currently on PNV, E2, and PIO after just doing our 2nd and final FET. We have no more FE's left so if this doesn't work our next stop may be DI.  I'm still PUPO and trying hard not to IPS. I won't POAS-No HPT's for me this time around.  Hoping for a BFP and an awesome Beta when I go in for B/W.
It'd be lovely to calculate an EDD for once. 



Believe it or not, my brain really does think in those abbreviations. 
At least I didn't go incredibly crazy and make a video like this!