First Time TTC- New to The Bump! Hello All! Any feed back welcome :)

BlissfulWifey

First off I want to say Hello to all and I look forward to getting some helpful feedback on my journey TTC:) . I am 28 years old and I went of BC in September 2014 (Almost 9 months ago) I have since only had 2-3 Periods. I recently visited an OB and had a internal Sonogram done after also having blood work and a sperm specimen test which came back normal.My OB has given me 2 weeks to start my period. At the end of 2 weeks if I have not started ,I am to take an HPT. If it is negative I am to call her and she is going to put me on Progesterone (to induce my period) once my period comes I am to start taking the ovulation drug on day 3 . on day 12 I am to come in for another sonogram to see if I am/have ovulated. She also said she will give me a "trigger" shot at the visit as well. I am just curious how many of you have been through this process. Should I expect to get pregnant on the first attempt? Second? third?  I am also curious how long it will take for me to get my period after taking the progesterone. I am also curious what the "Trigger" shot does? Any feed back is greatly appreciated .

tiffk10

I can't speak to the progesterone but I can for the ovulation drugs.

First, what's the name of the med your DR prescribed?

I took Femara last month 5mg days 3-7 of my cycle and had a scan on day 12. I had 1 follicle (where the egg is contained) at 25mm (mature) one at 15mm (not quite mature) and another at 8 (immature). I did not trigger this month because my hormones were where they needed to be to ovulate on my own. I did not end up pregnant from this cycle and am moving forward with another.

The trigger forces ovulation around 36 hours after you take it.

As far as how long it will take you to get pregnant that's anyone's guess. You have around a 20% chance every month to conceive.

ETA: are you working with an OB or a reproductive endocrinologist (RE). It sounds like you are being monitored, but an OB does not specialize in getting women pregnant like an RE does, so if you are not seeing an RE I would get a referral for one.

BlissfulWifey

I am waiting for my OB to return my phone call because i wanted to ask what the names of the drugs are before i start taking them this week. once i get the names i will be able to research more. thank you for your fee back on the Trigger shot .

jurba25

It can take me up to the two weeks after to get my period on the progesterone. But never after that I have been on it three times so far and each time has been about that long. Hope that helps

Aera11

Best of luck on your journey @blissfulwifey!  

BlissfulWifey

@tiffk10 the ovulation meds they are going to put me on is called Letrozole.

tiffk10

That's the generic for Femera which is what I am taking. I didn't notice many side effects from it. What is your dosage?

BlissfulWifey

They didn't know that information to tell me. I think she thought i was weird for asking what the names of the prescriptions were going to be lol. I take a pregnancy test in the morning and if it is negative i call and they will call in the progesterone and ovulation meds for me. @tiffk10

tiffk10

@BlissfulWifey Gotcha. 2.5mg is the lowest dose followed by 5mg and 7.5mg. I've seen it as high as 10mg, but that should absolutely not be where you start.

KLake42

It sounds like the regimen you're on will give you a good chance of (1) ovulating, and (2) knowing when the ovulation is happening, so you can maximize your chances of getting sperm to the right place at the right time.  Am I right in understanding that after the trigger shot, you will have carefully scheduled sex?

If the only thing you need is a nudge to make ovulation happen, then it may still take a few tries, so don't get discouraged if you don't get pregnant right away.  Your doctor will probably be able to tell you how many times you should try it with that method before they want to run more tests to see if some other obstacle is in play (like a blocked fallopian tube).

For me, the femara/letrozole made me feel kind of achey and tired (it doesn't affect everyone that way).  The trigger shot makes you ovulate, and in my experience, the needle is small and I barely felt it!  But it has the hormone that your body produces when you are pregnant, so if you use the shot, you shouldn't try to use any sort of early response pregnancy test.  You have to wait until the hormone is out of your system from the shot before you can tell whether you've started creating the hormone yourself.  And be prepared for some mild pregnancy symptoms for a few days, like nausea and sore boobs, for a day or two after the shot.

Oh, and the progesterone makes me cry about anything and everything.

Good luck!

tiffk10

KLake42 said:

It sounds like the regimen you're on will give you a good chance of (1) ovulating, and (2) knowing when the ovulation is happening, so you can maximize your chances of getting sperm to the right place at the right time.  Am I right in understanding that after the trigger shot, you will have carefully scheduled sex?

If the only thing you need is a nudge to make ovulation happen, then it may still take a few tries, so don't get discouraged if you don't get pregnant right away.  Your doctor will probably be able to tell you how many times you should try it with that method before they want to run more tests to see if some other obstacle is in play (like a blocked fallopian tube).

For me, the femara/letrozole made me feel kind of achey and tired (it doesn't affect everyone that way).  The trigger shot makes you ovulate, and in my experience, the needle is small and I barely felt it!  But it has the hormone that your body produces when you are pregnant, so if you use the shot, you shouldn't try to use any sort of early response pregnancy test.  You have to wait until the hormone is out of your system from the shot before you can tell whether you've started creating the hormone yourself.  And be prepared for some mild pregnancy symptoms for a few days, like nausea and sore boobs, for a day or two after the shot.

Oh, and the progesterone makes me cry about anything and everything.

Good luck!

This just made me remember - you should really have an HSG scheduled BEFORE starting the Letrozole. There really isn't any point to starting the meds if you have a blocked tube. Another reason why I suggest working with an RE instead of your OB.

KLake42

My RE has planned to try 3 IUIs before setting me up with an HSG.  Between the cost of it (which my insurance won't pay) and the expected discomfort, I'm good with that plan.  

I've never TTC before (I'm gay, so I'm relying on insemination), and I think she wanted to give it a few shots before stepping back and taking a look at the tubes.  I get that it's all wasted time and money if the tubes are blocked, but I have no reason to think the tubes might be blocked (yet).  

But I'm low reserve, based on blood work, so we went at my ovaries guns a'blazin.  With the OP's irregular periods, I can see why they might focus first on getting the ovaries chugging.  

Of course, different REs have different theories.  I think one of the other REs at my clinic goes to the HSG test faster than my doctor does.

BlissfulWifey

So the HSG is where they run a scope through your tubes right ? If so I have thought of this and this isn't something they wanted to do first nor did I because it's pricey and I hear it's uncomfortable to do if not needed so I will do it if it comes down to it .

BlissfulWifey

Also , I will be going to a Fertility specialist when I start the sonograms too see if I'm ovulating .the OB is just getting me started ...from here I think I'll be seeing the fS since is cheaper and that's what they specialize in

BlissfulWifey

@KLake42 thank you for the details

GoldenKeys

To be frank I wouldn't trust an RE who would prescribe drugs without full testing, including an HSG.   Believe it or not you can still get pregnant with a blocked tube...   I've seen enough women in treatment get ectopic pregnancies due to this phenomenon and also semi blocked tubes and went on to lose that tube altogether.

BlissfulWifey

I had an internal sonogram done. wouldnt that show anything to be worried about?

GoldenKeys

BlissfulWifey said:

I had an internal sonogram done. wouldnt that show anything to be worried about?

Unfortunately no.  The only way to check for blocked tubes would be to inject fluid through them... either through a saline sono or more commonly an HSG.