New to Follistim - questions!

wishiwaspreggo

Hello wonderful women of 3T... I just got back from my RE for my baseline ultrasound and discussed my upcoming protocol and I had a couple questions for those with Follistim experience.

1) My RE is putting me on 5 mg of letrozole for 5 days and then 100 iu of Follistim for 3 days.  That seems like... a lot.  Isn't Follistim pretty hardcore?  I sort of expected I'd start with 50 or 75 iu since I don't know how I'll react to it.  I'm nervous about over-stimming.

2) What's with the hormone draws?  Why do they do that for Follistim/IUI but not Clomid/IUI?  Shit's expensive.  $99 per test, and I had 3 tests taken (FSH, E2, and something else). 

Thank you for indulging my newb questions!!!  I'm happy to be in a new cycle, even if it's bleeding my bank account dry :P

MissEm15

I'm guessing they started you at 100iu of follistim bc of how you responded in previous cycles to the Clomid. I did Follistim my second IUI, after the first one w/ Clomid. They started me at 100iu as well and increased to 125iu for my last day to help my lining. The blood draws are probably to monitor your E2 in comparison to how many mature follicles you are showing. My RE only ever did one E2 draw on me, when I showed to have 4 almost mature follicles. I could be wrong on all this, but just wanted to share my input!  

Good luck w/ everything!!

wishiwaspreggo

Thank you!  Anyone know where I can find some scholarly research on the hormone levels?  That made me really curious.  When I do a Google search, though, I only see anecdotal evidence.  I'm kind of a nerd lol...

wishiwaspreggo

Yay!  Nerds unite!  Thanks, @NariaDreaming

Rachaeleigh

My RE actually started me on 150 of follistim, based on no previous experience with any other medications