January WTO

zamoraspin

Just got back from my u/s appt. It is CD11 (and based on when I O'd last month after taking clomid, I am anticipating O'ing between CD12-14) and on the left ovary I had two measurable follies, one at 22 and one at 14. Righty was a slug and had zero of any appreciable size (righty is a constant underachiever as far as I'm concerned). My RE said she gives the 14 a 50/50 shot at getting big enough in time. Lining was looking great at 8.6mm (my periods are getting lighter so I was especially concerned about this). So overall it was promising that the clomid is doing what it is supposed to and not causing harm. 

tosh24

@Zamora_spin Are you using a trigger shot?

zamoraspin

@tosh24 Nope, gonna O on my body’s time. OPK still looking quite negative tonight so I’m hoping O doesn’t happen until Friday. 

tosh24

@zamora_spin Oh OK. The reason I asked is because my RE always had me trigger since he said the body will only ovulate eggs in follicles that are within a couple mm in size of each other.  If they are too far apart,  even if the follicles are of mature size, your body will only naturally ovulate the biggest one. You may already know all this,  just thought I'd flag it incase it was a question you wanted to run by your RE if you were unaware.

zamoraspin

@tosh24 I did not know that and my RE didn’t mention it, she just said it had about a 50% shot of releasing. 

vlagrl29

That's interesting @tosh24 so if you don't trigger will you always only release 1 egg?

tosh24

@vlagrl29 Not necessarily.  If you have 3 follicles say between 18-20 mm, your body will likely ovulate all of those. But if you have multiple  follicles which differ greatly in size,  maybe one 22mm and one 15 mm for instance,  your body may only release the largest one on its own.  If you trigger, it forces your body to release all of them,  regardless of size difference. 

@zamora_spin This is just what my RE told me,  but I have seen other ladies on TB who were told the same thing by their REs. But again, I have also seen great differences in opinions between the info REs give the ladies on TB as well,  so I guess it's best to check with your own RE because maybe that's not her opinion/experience. 

zamoraspin

@tosh24 I appreciate the heads up on it for sure.

tosh24

@Zamora_spin One more thing - having multiple follicles and not triggering (and subsequently not releasing all eggs on your own) can cause the unruptured follicles to turn into cysts which can delay your next cycle until they resolve. This I know for sure. I overstimulated on an IUI cycle and even though I was forced to cancel my IUI and abstain from sex, my RE still had me trigger so that I did not develop cysts that would delay me from starting my next cycle. It's not 100% that you will develop cysts, but it is a possibility (cysts are especially more common with Clomid) so just an FYI since I have seen so many women on TB being delayed by cysts while on Clomid. Obviously, you need to do whatever you and your RE are comfortable with and there's no "wrong" or "right" way as long as you're being monitored, so if not triggering is the way you want to go, that's totally OK! I just wanted to share what I know from my own experience IRL and from being on these boards for way too long

vlagrl29

You are full of knowledge! @tosh24 I had no idea about the triggering either. Have you done clomid and femara? Which did you prefer?

good luck @zamora_spin Are you taking clomid to help you ovulate or to just get a stronger ovulation?

dpjennifer

zamora_spin  Yay for seemingly optimistic Clomid experience! And tosh24 my OB said that I would need a trigger shot if I did Clomid. Not sure if this is because I usually O later (around CD 20/21) and they want to make sure I O when I 'should' based on when I take the Clomid or not... but yeah.

pumpkinpancake

That’s interesting stuff about the triggering vs releasing eggs on your own. Something I’ll keep in mind if we make it past 2 cycles and start taking something to help. 

AFM, CD 18 and still WTO. Still nothing close to a positive OPK, but CM seems to be pointing to O soon, so hopefully?? We’ve been BD on and off all week, so I just really hope I O by Saturday or on Saturday at the latest before DH goes away for a few days. 

zamoraspin

@vlagrl29 I O on my own and so far have not had a lot of difficulty getting ku (I just never stay that way). Our RE really doesn't think there's much to be done about my RPL except see if we have better luck on our own or try IVF with PGS to reduce risk of loss. I asked her if clomid could help either by making my eggs stronger or increasing the chance of multiple eggs/multiple chances of one good one, and she said it was worth a try to see if I could hyperovulate. I tried it last cycle and wasn't monitored and didn't get ku. I did experience right sided O pain and for the first time ever a little pain on the left, so it's possible I had two follicles going, but I have never gotten ku from my right ovary. Upon advice of others I asked if I could have a u/s this cycle to see if the clomid is doing anything. I think it's doing something but it may not be doing enough for what we were hoping. I think I probably won't take it again if I don't get ku this cycle and we are not planning to do trigger with it. I may "save" the last clomid cycle I have (she offered me three months of clomid) and do it with trigger if I can't get ku on my own by April. 

vlagrl29

@zamora_spin - I've done way too much research on clomid vs femara and I've read that if you don't respond well or get pg with clomid maybe you should try femara cause it's worked really well for those that got nothing on clomid.  I wish you luck this cycle!

tosh24

@vlagrl29 Yes, I've used both Clomid and Femara. I preferred femara by a long shot. Way less side effects and when I didn't get pg and AF showed up, my AF on Clomid was way more painful while femara was totally normal. Also, femara is usually the drug of choice for women who already ovulate on their own and comes with less risk of thin uterine lining, cysts, and multiples.

@dpjennifer yeah without a trigger your follicle(s) can just keep growing and not release or take really long to release (late ovulation) diminishing their quality, so that's prob why your RE is using a trigger  (most REs do, some don't and OBs don't).

vlagrl29

@tosh24 - that was the drug I was leaning towards before I met with RE.  She suggested clomid and also a estrogen vag insert to support uterine lining.  If I ever do femara I would choose to use it every other month because it can cause birth defects on babies if taken accidentally while preg.  The doc requires a pg test before using the drug.  I'm still kinda torn which way I should go.  Hoping the nurse I left a message with yesterday will call me back today.

Mack2342

I go here now.  AF arrived today.  First one after MC and it showed up 2 weeks exactly after O so hoping it’s kind of normal   Will contact RE to get meds going 

vlagrl29

sorry @mack2342 - GL with everything this cycle.

Mack2342

Thanks @vlagrl29

Kath525

Sorry @Mack2342 FX this is your last AF for a long time!

Mack2342

@Kath525 that would be nice

pumpkinpancake

Ugh I’m on CD 19 today, and I feel like I’m never going to ovulate. OPKs are not even anywhere close to positive, and my temps have been all over the place. I only have one more opk strip, not to mention DH is leaving tomorrow for a work trip for 4 days, so I’m basically feeling pretty out this month already. Ugh. 

Mack2342

@pumpkinpancake I hope you O soon.  Body still trying to get back to normal? 

pumpkinpancake

@Mack2342 this is only my 2nd cycle after my 2nd loss, so probably. Though ever since my first loss I’ve been ovulating late, it seems, so my RE isn’t sure if there’s something else causing it. 

Mack2342

@pumpkinpancake Gotcha.  This my first cycle after 3rd loss.  I’m going today to RE for ultrasound and will likely start meds in two days.  

pumpkinpancake

@Mack2342 how did your RE appt go the other day? 

Im still here WTO at CD 22. DH has been gone since Saturday, so I’m feeling pretty down and out this month. No clue when or even if I’m going to ovulate now at this point. I ran out of OPKs on Saturday, not that it matters now since DH is away on his trip. I’m temping as well but still nothing. Ugh why can’t our bodies just be normal?? 

Mack2342

@pumpkinpancake RE went well. Started meds Sunday.  Sometimes stress can cause us to O later   I hope that is your case and that you O when DH returns.  Any chance you Od super early? Our bodies can be so off after loss 

pumpkinpancake

@Mack2342 idk, it’s possible, but I doubt it. I’ve been temping since CD 7 and doing OPKs since CD 11, and neither indicated an early O. Temps are still low and all over the place, and I also still had fertile CM over the past week. I’m just starting to feel like my body is never going to get back to “normal” on its own, so I wish I could just skip ahead the two cycles that my RE said we should try naturally and go ahead with a medicated cycle. 

Mack2342

@pumpkinpancake maybe you should call RE and see if they would reconsider and start meds with next cycle since this one is so off

cassafrass15

Hello ladies - this is a quiet board! I go here now as AF arrived riiiight on time today after 6 days of mind-boggling spotting. How’s everyone else holding up?

Mack2342

I’m still here hanging out.  I have US on Monday to determine when to schedule IUI

pumpkinpancake

I’m still here too! CD 25 and still waiting, though I think I may have ovulated on Tuesday or yesterday? Waiting for temps to confirm it before I move over to TWW. If I put a high temp in FF for tomorrow, it gives me crosshairs, so I’m hoping that’s the case so I can move on with this cycle. DH was gone from Saturday till Tuesday night though, so we only BD on Friday and then yesterday. No real chance of getting pregnant if I did O on Tuesday, so we’ll see what happens. 

cassafrass15

@Mack2342 Hope things are looking good when you go for your ultrasound! I think we’ll do another IUI this month, as well. 

@pumpkinpancake Hoping your O coincided with your BD timing! My temps were all over this place this last cycle, and I did a medicated cycle with trigger and IUI. Even with the trigger my temps didn’t rise until 48hrs after O. It was odd.

pumpkinpancake

@cassafrass15 my temps have been so rocky this cycle, so it’s hard to see any pattern in my chart so far. Assuming I don’t get pregnant this cycle, the next one will be my first medicated cycle, so I’m hopeful that it will help me get back to a more “normal” cycle. So do you still temp even on a medicated cycle with trigger? I had kind of thought it wouldn’t be necessary and was going to give myself a break from temping once I start, but don’t know if there’s a reason to keep it up? 

vlagrl29

@pumpkinpancake - I'm very anti temping and only have done it 1 cycle during this entire TTC process.  It's not necessary with medicated cycles.  OPKs aren't even necessary with trigger.

Mack2342

@pumpkinpancake I didn’t take OPKs or temp the first couple of medicated IUI cycles but then I thought is this really working like they say so I added temping back in.  I don’t take the OPKs but will temp just so I know I im fact Od and then to watch for a drop to know AF is coming or hopefully stays increased so I know I’m KU. However it is not necessary 

cassafrass15

@pumpkinpancake I used to have super irregular cycles, but my cycles have been almost textbook 28 days, with O around CD13-15, since starting medicated cycles. FX yours become more regular on the meds!

Temping certainly isn’t necessary, but I like it because (as @Mack2342 said) I like to know if I actually do O, and if O coincides with my RE’s predictions, and in order to prepare myself for AF when I see the temp drop. 

pumpkinpancake

@cassafrass15 @Mack2342 that makes sense about temping. I probably still might want to give myself the time off just as a mental break, but who knows if I’ll change my mind. Definitely won’t waste my time, effort or money doing OPKs though. Won’t miss that part! 

vlagrl29

I'm leaning towards triggering @pumpkinpancake

offtoneverland

I go here now as AF started today. I'm not too beat up about it though since I now I get to start some testing with the RE. I scheduled my baseline u/s and blood work for Monday and my HSG for Friday. 
@pumpkinpancake Did your temp stay up today so you could move over to TWW?