May IUI

megmac2010

@20baby17 my E2 started at 171, then hovered around 200 forever. Then they switched my meds and it went up to just below 600 yesterday, and this morning it was up to 913. I have an u/s tomorrow morning and I'm expecting to see one follicle at <18, and I'm hoping another has grown past 12. I started out on Gonal-F this cycle and just wasn't responding. I was recruiting a ton of follicles, but none of them grew until they switched me to Menopur. 

@JaeJayStark the HSG is uncomfortable, but not terrible. You'll do great! I'm surprised you haven't had one yet. My clinic required it before we could talk about any treatments, and I need to get one every two years to continue treatment!

baseballhoney

@moni2016 My doc had us pay after the baseline ultrasound just to make sure everything looked ok at that one. Then we would pay for the cycle then. 

MommaWalla

Hi *waves* This is my 1st IUI. I am on CD 5 on 75iu of follistim. Went in for bloodwork and u/s yesterday... all my follicles were under 10mm. Is that normal?
My E2 was 174, does tht mean I have several follicles growing?
 I wasn't told how many I had total or how large the largest one was, only that they were all under 10. We're dealing with MFI so the more follies the better.
 I go back in tomorrow for bloodwork and u/s, really hoping these follies are getting nice and plump. 
Good luck to everyone! 

moni2016

@funkykey

IUI number: 1
Date of planned IUI: TBD but follicle scan on May 8th 
Test date: TBD

I wanted to plant corn but I think I'm too late it's already going to be 100 degrees this weekend!!

megmac2010

Hi @MommaWalla welcome! I think at cd5 you sound right where you should! One or two will take the lead, size-wise, and your E2 should increase over the next week or so. 

Good luck!

megmac2010

So, apparently I surged. They want me to take a trigger tonight and do the IUI tomorrow afternoon. 15 hours between trigger and IUI seems awfully short to me. Any thoughts?

funkykey

@megmac2010 - I read that it takes a while for the sperm to swim up you, so I wouldn't be too worried. Sometimes I worry I will ovulate too soon and that the little guys won't make it up to my waiting egg. I'd much much rather have a few swimmers hanging out in my fallopian tube, waiting to pounce!

kristimh80

@megmac2010 I felt the same way last month. I triggered at 9am and IUI the next day was at 8:45am. But about 12 hours post IUI I ovulateed. Like @funkykey said...it's good for swimmers to already be hanging out ready for the egg to release  

JaeJayStark

@moni2016 Thank you for the info! Thanks for the breathing tips!That seems like a poor practice if they didn't take the time you needed to finish the procedure. I've never paid for anything upfront. It's all billed later. 

20baby17

@megmac2010 my specialist group has you trigger between 7 to 9pm and then the next morning come in for ICI and then IUI the next day so it is about 12 hours or less from trigger shot. It does work. My first IUI cycle I started to surge so we couldn't get in ICI and IUI, only IUI and it did work for me, I just lost the pregnancy at 6 weeks, so I wouldn't worry about it only being a 15 hour window! The sperm lives in there for a few days so it'll be there when ovulation does happen. Keep us posted!

megmac2010

@funkykey @kristimh80 @20baby17 I love you guys. Thank you for reassuring my crazy overthinking brain. Today my acupuncturist told me I needed to chill and out get a pedicure or something. Maybe I'll treat myself this weekend!

funkykey

@megmac2010 I just had my nails painted a cardinal red. Go for it girl 

How was the IUI?! FX! Let the wait begin!

Bababatty

Hi all, I'm officially joining you in May. 
IUI number: 5 (but really more like 2 because our first three were before DH started clomid and were a waste of time.  Now his count's normal and it's like we're starting over.)
Date of planned IUI: Sometime around the 17th, I'd think. 
Test date: Sometime around the 31st.

Good luck, all!

megmac2010

@funkykey done and done!! Hubby's numbers were good and now I'm off to relax for the rest of the day! On to the tww, I guess. 

On that note, does anyone do acupuncture during the tww? It's so expensive, but I think I want to continue during the tww. 

kristimh80

@megmac2010 Yay!! FX for you! 

JaeJayStark

Hi @Bababatty! 

kjeann

Hi! New to this board, this will be my second IUI. We are using letrozole. Previously did four rounds of TI with clomid. Actual IUI date will probably be 5/9, with test two weeks after that 5/23. Last time I made two big fatty follicles, and everything on my husband's end is perfect, but no luck.
I am a horrible gardener! But my husband made a built-in bench around our patio last fall with a big raised bed integrated into the back of it, so I have to go choose some plants to put in there this weekend. Feeling a lot of pressure to pick the right plants, since I have no idea what I am doing. I plan on pestering the nice nursery employees heavily. But I'm excited to be able to look out my back door and see flowers!
@moni2016 My RE makes you pay for EVERYTHING the day of service. Like, I get they want to be paid but it doesn't exactly lower your stress levels the day of the IUI when you are trying so hard to be chill and you have to see that cost and hand over your credit card. I just try not to look.

Bababatty

Yay, @megmac2010!  I hope this TWW goes by quickly for you.

Hi, @JaeJayStark!

@kjeann Welcome!  Sorry to hear your first IUI was a bust.  FX for success this time around!

20baby17

@megmac2010 i've been going to acupuncture regularly for a year but she will not do treatments after insemination nor during the first trimester of pregnancy. She says it's a mixed bag of whether acupuncture helps or hinders during those timeframes so she won't take the chance until second trimester of pregnancy or after the two week wait if you're not pregnant than she'll start up again. 

I'm waiting to hear back from my doc office.. they called earlier to say that two follicles have taken the lead, one is 20 and the other is 15 so since there is a 20 they want me to trigger tonight with HCG shot and do the ICI tomorrow and IUI saturday but I'm fighting them on it. My e2 is only 173 and LH is 2.9, so therefore i'm not surging yet so why we do have to rush to trigger with only MAYBE 1 mature follicle? Last cycle the e2 was 190 something and with only one big follicle and it was a big fat failure, so my feeling is why are we doing this again, why can't i stim for 1 or 2 more nights, what can it harm? 

I'm so tired of fighting these doctors every step of the way. I had given them this one more chance to do the medicine changes correctly and not cause me more aggravation and they failed. Even yesterday when I spoke to the doctor who is the one I like out of the group, she had no idea the medicine level the other doc had me on each day for the first cycle that did work, so that's why she was making different decisions this time around and look where we are at again!!! I made an appointment witha different group who I had originally gone to last summer but they seemed like too much of a factory and were alot more expensive and alot further away, but if this cycle fails it's time to change groups.

20baby17

@megmac2010 what were your follicle sizes and e2 number before triggering?

kristimh80

@20baby17 I had the same issue for my 1st cycle. I had 1 lead 20 and 2 14's and they were too pushy to make me trigger in the office without letting me have a day or two more to catch the others up. Unfortunately, it was a Saturday, so not with my normal doctor. They said they didn't want to lose the 1 20 follicle I had, but I always see many people with 24mm follicles, etc so always seemed fishy to me. Since you're the one one paying, I think they should listen to you. 

Irisheyes81

IUI #: 3
Date planned: May 19
Date testing: June 3

Im going to uproot a lot of old and ugly flowers and plant rose bushes  

I haven't had time to read everyone's entries but wanted to introduce myself again. Good luck to all

20baby17

@kristimh80 where are you in your IUI cycle?  The nurse called back and said the doctor says i can do the gonal f for one more night and go tomorrow morn for blood and u/s again and then trigger tomorrow night if I want. But her concern is that with the 20 follicle that i could surge at any moment and then we may miss ovulation or be cutting it way too close and only be able to do one insemination instead of two.

My first IUI I did surge and we only were able to do 1 insemination and I did get pregnant from it (m/c at 6 weeks) but I had 4 large follicles around 19, 24, 26 and 15, and my e2 was 700 something, so doing one insemination wasn't a big deal because the chances were already so much higher of success with that many large follicles and a high e2 number.

However, this time, with only 1 mature follicle, even if I did do one more night of gonal f before triggering tomorrow night, I still may not get a second follicle mature enough, and then to chance maybe only being able to do one insemination with really only 1 follicle, maybe 2 at that point... I feel like with 1 follicle we need all the sperm in there we can get so it's better to know we can definitely do 2 inseminations and not risk it to possibly be able to only do 1 insemination and possibly not even get a 2nd follicle in time. It's all such a crap shoot. I've been crying yet again half the day. 

As my husband said when I called him crying for the 4th time today about what we should do, "we're damned if we do and damned if we don't". 

What would you ladies have done in this situation? It's so hard to get advice from people who have never gone through all that we are.

To your point about others with follicles in the mid 20's range, that does happen, but most docs don't want it to. It happened to me the first time only because they weren't doing "close monitoring" so they were having me coming every 2nd or 3rd day with high dose of gonal f every night because I was slow to respond to the gonal f and they had no idea my body was going to skyrocket in a quick time frame and do what it did. I'm lucky they didn't cancel my cycle at that point.  They won't purposely let you go that long until the follicles get that big unless they are doing IVF ultimately I don't think because anything over 16 can be considered mature and may produce an egg and they sure as heck do not want to chance a multiples pregnancy. I feel like my group would rather a failed cycle than a multiples cycle, as awful as that is for the person going through it. Also, any follicle over 16 and especially over 18, can cause you to surge at any time and start ovulation and they don't want to chance missing it. That first cycle of mine that I referenced, my LH was 2.6 and 48 hours later it was 16.6, so I was already beyond surging and we almost missed ovulation. It can happen that fast. 

kristimh80

@20baby17 I agree with your husband...it really is the roll of the dice with these procedures. Last time, I was lucky and my own dr had me go home and stim for 2 more days then we did another follicle check then triggered, etc. 

I'm on 12dpo right now, I'll find out tomorrow if I'm officially in the May IUI group. A lot of my group from April IUI are now here, so I check in to keep up with everyones progress. 
 
Best of luck to you with what ever you decide to do. Do they charge you double for 2 IUI's? I see a lot of people doing them and has me wondering if we need to look into it. 

Ilky

@20baby17 on my first IUI, my doctor didn't want to wait as well. The bigger one was 21mm the smaller one was 14 on the day of trigger. By the time we did IUI the next morning, the bigger one was 22mm and small one 17. I ovulated from both that same night. It's not an easy decision. Good luck and know that whatever your gut feeling is telling you, is the right decision. 

Ilky

@kristimh80 yes, my doctor charges for the second IUI. Same price. 

20baby17

Question for all of you: What are your thoughts on zyrtec during trigger/inseminations/possible implantation timeframes? My allergies are severe so I take it daily and my doctors said if i need it then it's fine to take during pregnancy, but I do wonder if it dries me up too much to allow sperm to and egg to do what they need to do. What do you think?

Labluver2

Hi ive been hanging out in the TTC over 35 board but will be starting IUI so figured I would also post here.

I'm starting IUI #1 

Cycle day 4-8 I took Femera
Cycle day 12( which was yesterday 5/3) we did bw and ultrasound I had 2 good sized folicals 21 and 23. They told me to trigger last night and IUI is scheduled for tomorrow. 

I'm going to try and hold out and not test til they tell me to go in and draw blood which would be 5/19. 

I love bleeding hearts and black eyed susans. 

Ilky

@20baby17 I'm not taking any allergy medication but clomid made me super dry. That wasn't a concern for the doctor. And, I hear that's a side effect many people have and still get pregnant. 

@Labluver2 welcome! and GL!

kristimh80

@Labluver2 Best of luck to you!!! It's great you aren't going to test, I wish I had your willpower!  

20baby17

@Ilky how did you know you ovulated from both follicles?

20baby17

@Labluver2 welcome! i'm 35 and having my 3rd IUI tomorrow! good luck to you!!

@kristimh80 i decided to do what the doctor said and i'll do the trigger shot tonight... i feel like ovulation is going to happen soon so i thought better to just do what they said and not fight it this time.. i'm out of fight honestly.. drained in every way.

sooo exciting that you find out tomorrow!!!! please keep us posted! i've seen on so many boards that people don't come back and tell everyone how the results came out and that's a bummer!

kristimh80

@20baby17 Don't fret, I probably would have done the same thing myself! I'll definitely let everyone know tomorrow. If it's not good...at least I have friends already with the May IUI's So trying to be positive either way...it seems like a monthly cycle I've gotten use to. 

moni2016

@Labluver2 welcome!! I am 35 and about to have my first IUI too. I go for follicle scan on May 8th

megmac2010

@20baby17 I don't know what my E2 was yesterday. I had blood work on cd 13 and it was 913 and my LH was 4. Cd 14 my lead follicle was 21, and when the nurse called with my blood results she only told me my LH, which had jumped to 11. So at that point I had surged on my own. They still had me trigger last night and then we did IUI today, cd 15. 

I'm having serious cramps tonight, so hopefully they are swimming up there and fertilizing things!

20baby17

How far into your body do you put the trigger shot needle? That's the one thing they left off my instructions and I always forget to ask before we have to do it.

kristimh80

@megmac2010 Yay, that's exciting!! Sounds like you ovulated tonight so everything was timed well.

Ilky

@20baby17 they do an ultrasound on the day of trigger, and on both iiui s (I do back to back to back iui s). That way know the size on the day of trigger and on the day of iui, which is prior to ovulation. And, when they do the second iui that ultrasound shows whhich side I ovulated from and how many ovulated. 

MommaWalla

@megmac2010 Thank you! Looks like I have 3 dominant follicles. 9mm- 13mm. I go in tomorrow morning for bw and scan. Getting close! 

funkykey

@20baby17 - the nurse did my trigger for me, she grabbed a roll on my abdomen and tried to get it into my fat.