February 2018 IUI

cheerfulboots23

@scully127 I'm sorry for the cycle. Worry about your health first, it'll be okay. Take one step at a time. Everything else will fall into place!!!!! Keep us updated.

kistra

@tinjp78 - sorry for your cancelled cycle...


@wishing-and-hoping Nope, neither clinic has given me their success rate. I sort of don't want to know since it is so low in all the published studies I assume it would be low overall for a clinic.

@FutureMrsMerati I usually test on day 10post iui even though I know it is early and would only have a squinty line. I get impatient and I know my trigger is gone before then...

Speaking of being impatient and bad at waiting I am watching every day for any sign of AF so hopefully we can move on with an IUI. After so many years of TTC it is very strange to want to see AF.

wishing-and-hoping

@kistra I had that same weird desire for AF after my hysteroscopy.  First time I've been happy to see her in a LONG time.  And about the success rate, I know, I was kind of afraid to ask.

RVAmom315

@kistra and @wishing-and-hoping I know what you mean, sometimes you just want AF to show up so you can move on!

@wishing-and-hoping I don't ask about IUI success rates because it's depressing! You'd think IUIs would be more successful - I mean, you have an egg (sometimes 2 or 3), the best sperm, good timing and it gets right in the cervix. 

AFM update:
My left ovary got its s*** together and I have a 17 and 18. I am triggering tonight and will do the IUI Sunday morning at 9am

suzycupcake

Ladies, have any of your REs said not to have sex in the interim after the trigger and before IUI? We thought that rule strange so I figured you might know something about it. 

RVAmom315

@suzycupcake They recommend not having sex less than 2 days before the IUI because they want a good sample from your husband. Although if there’s no MFI it may not be an issue, but they usually want no more than 5, no less than 2, days abstinence 

scully127

Good luck with everyone’s IUIs! Hope you are all successful. 

@tinjp78 sorry to hear your cycle got cancelled too. If this month doesn’t work, we will at least be in it together for March! Fingers crossed you won’t have to join me though. 

I think every clinic gives different answers on when to BD. Mine tells me to do it every two days leading up to ovulation, as well as the night before IUI, and the night after IUI (so essentially the husband has to perform three times in a 24 hour period). By my husband has really good numbers so that may be why (my numbers are a different story, though). 

Btw, I went this past week to an infertility support groups offered through my health care provider. It was really useful! There were only five of us, at very different stages of treatment. But the moderator was fantastic and it was nice being able to share things and have others understand what you are going through. 

wishing-and-hoping

@suzycupcake Yeah, I would say no sex between trigger and IUI is common.  My RE ideally wants BD 2 days prior to IUI, night of IUI, and again the next morning.  The timing (esp the 2 days prior thing) is so hard because sometimes you don't predict the day of the IUI in time and also my husband goes to work at 6am and 5am sex is just NOT sexy  

@scully127 that's so cool (the support group).  I wish my clinic offered something like that.

suzycupcake

Thanks ladies. We don’t have MFI. Last treatment cycle, we did it anyway and still got 28M sample. I only asked to make sure it isn’t because of some hindrance to my ability to do something if we didn’t listen because we already have enough of that going around. 

kistra

@suzycupcake - My RE has same recommendations as above, between 2 and 5 days of abstinence prior to IUI and then as much as possible in 24 hours after. Basically to get as many sperm as possible for the IUI to get inserted directly in the uterus.

@scully127 - My RE also has a support group but it is the one night I go to an exercise group... I have been thinking I should go anyways because I just feel so in my head about everything.

ginny_203

@suzycupcake my RE does say to do it 2 days before IUI (typically same day as the trigger) and nothing again until IUI.

@RVAmom315 that's exciting about the mature follicles! Excited for you.

Ugh, I hit a wall yesterday. Progesterone check was fine on Friday.  Saturday we attended a huge family party in another state with all of my closest family members in attendance. I didn't realize how much being around children would effect me, and tried to keep my chin up during the party since I love them all so much. Cut to yesterday when we got into the car to go home, I broke down and could hardly contain myself. This is such an emotional roller coaster, and I hate feeling jealous/bad when I see my family members and all of their beautiful children

To top it off, I'm now feeling like this is going to be a BFN for me. Despite being on the Crinone which can cause pregnancy symptoms, I don't have the sore breasts like I did last month with the BFP/MC and I also am not having crazy dreams like I did last month. I did feel strange cramping again on Sunday - not period related, but could be a side effect of the Crinone. I did read the packet that came with it and saw that under very common side effects, it listed "feelings of severe sadness and unworthiness and feeling emotional". At least I know it's likely the Crinone and not me just losing it. My poor husband  

ginny_203

Oh and @mybabylove2018, how did your progesterone check go on Friday?

RVAmom315

@futuremrsmerati ((hugs)) I'm sorry that you had a breakdown. I really hope that this cycle is your cycle. 

Chartleib

Hello everyone! AF made her grand appearance on Friday. I had my ultrasound this morning and my ovaries look perfect (Praise Jesus), so I'm starting letrozole today, 2xday for five days. Another ultrasound to see where my follicles are at next Monday and then if we're g2g we'll start with injectibles.

rmartin_ttc

Hi Everyone, I'm new to the community and wanted to reach out and introduce myself and offer my support to all of you. I read the rules for posting and wasn't sure if I was supposed to make my own seperate introductory post, or if it was okay to just jump in and say hi?? I just decided to jump in and say hi because it seemed simpler. We are in the middle of our 5th iui cycle this month. Our eleven day scan is on Friday, the 16th. I'm married, my wife is actually going to be carrying, and we have been on this journey since April of 2017 and started doing IUI cycles in September of 2017. We had a cp in November and had to take December off. We have tried clomid all of the four other times, but this time we are trying femara. We only ever seem to get one follicle every time so far. We went up to as much as 200 of clomid a day last cycle, and we end up with 3 or 4 on the eleven day scan, and then by the time we get to the 14 day scan the day before we do the iui, there is always only one dominant follicle that tales over. Also my wife has PCOS and is 22, I'm turning 25 next month. Everyone always tells us we have plenty of time, but we really want to start our family now. I think those are the basics, I'm really excited to support you all in your journeys. It's really nice to know that there are people out there that understand what you're going through and are there. Thanks for listening. Baby dust to all ♥️

ginny_203

Thanks @RVAmom315, how did it go for you on Sunday? 

@rmartin_ttc Welcome! So sorry to hear about your fertility struggle. I have a similar problem to your wife, I have been taking 100mg of Clomid for three IUI cycles and only ever have 1-2 mature follicles before trigger. When I asked about increasing the dosage, my RE mentioned that for people who don't respond well to Clomid, increasing the dosage does little more than intensifying the side effects. Has your RE ever mentioned trying a different approach (i.e. different medication other than Clomid?) I'm seeing another RE for a second opinion on Saturday and will let you know if he decides to take a dramatically different route. 

@Chartleib Glad to hear your scan went well, looking forward to hearing about your cycle! 

RVAmom315

@futuremrsmerati It went OK. I'm conflicted though because I had some O pain on Saturday night, so I'm concerned that I may have O'd early. I don't know. And MH's sample was OK, but not as good as last IUI (which didn't work obvs) So I'm as hopeful as I can be, which isn't very. Thank you for asking!

@Chartleib Great news about the positive U/S! Hopefully this cycle will move along perfectly for you

@rmartin_ttc Welcome! Is there a chance that your RE can try a different protocol (ie injectables) to see if YW has different results/more follicles?

ginny_203

@RVAmom315 Trust me, I've been there! Last month when we had our BFP followed by the MC, my husband's count was 7.5M, only slightly above the 5M minimum to do an IUI. We thought it would never work, but it was the first BFP we've had in over a year of trying. It can happen!!

scully127

@FutureMrsMerati very sorry to hear about the rough time you are going through. I wish I could give advice for getting through those times but I haven’t figured it out either. They seem to strike without warning, and take you by surprise. I just hope that this is the last time you have to go through this. 

@rmartin_ttc welcome!

RVAmom315

@futuremrsmerati Thank you I know "it only takes one" but man when you have millions and millions and millions and they're still not hitting the mark you're like, what is going on in there fellas?!

ginny_203

@RVAmom315 It's soooo true! We both were in disbelief when his lowest count ever produced our only BFP ever! Men... as if they weren't mysterious enough already  

rmartin_ttc

@FutureMrsMerati
we are trying letrazole/femara this cycle to see if it makes a difference. MW said that she is having more pain in her ovary areas this cycle than before with the clomid, so I'm really hoping that we get at least 2 or 3 good sized follicles this round. Won't know until Friday, but keeping our fingers crossed. By the way, what is crinone? And also, when does your tww end? I hope you and everyone else gets good news this cycle. I struggle with jealousy a lot when I go on Facebook and see a bunch of pregnancy announcement posts, but when you see people post BFPs on here it's so different because you know they have struggled too. Not that anyone else is less worthy, it just somehow stings less, if that makes sense.

@RVAmom315 we are trying letrozole this round instead of clomid, he hasn't mentioned injectibles yet, but I'm not sure if we could afford them, we are paying everything out of pocket bc our insurance doesn't cover a lot, and I have heard they are super expensive. I have also felt confused about sperm counts and stuff, only because we use donor sperm that has super high washed counts (obviously, that's what you pay for) and I just am left scratching my head when we had four round of no success, like almost in disbelief that this primo sperm was shot into my wife's uterus and a waiting egg and somehow couldn't get the job  done. I know that's not really how it worked but it's still confusing and frustrating lol. We actually ran out of the original donor sperm we were using and had to buy a different donors for this cycle, so who knows, maybe that will make a difference too

suzycupcake

@RVAmom315 I had a frank discussion with my eggs this morning that they better start taking one for the team given that I've been spreading my legs for a long time now, going through the pain of treatment, etc. The least those b*!tches could do is let their guard down for a few hours.

scully127

Does anyone else get super bloated after Clomid? I stopped taking it two weeks ago, but my stomach is ginormous. I don’t know if my dozen or more follicles grew and became cysts but it was hard getting into my jeans today. It hurt even to bend down and take my jeans off!  

@suzycupcake you are funny!

suzycupcake

@scully127 Yes I had that experience. Switched to Femara after two cycles of that because my body kept over responding to even the half dose of Clomid. It gave me multiple cysts each time and big ones. I got no cysts on Femara. Ask your doctor to do a u/s to check. You had 12 follicles grow? Holy popsicles!

Chartleib

Day two of letrozole and for some reason I haven't been hungry since dinner yesterday. Anyone have that kind of side effect as well? 

ginny_203

@rmartin_ttc excited for you ladies and your new approach! Please let me know how it goes. I've got my fingers crossed for you that the change makes a difference! Regarding your question, Crinone is a progesterone supplement. They often put people on it if their progesterone is low or if they are prone to miscarriage. We had a miscarriage last month, so I'm taking it as a precaution although my progesterone levels are fine. Regarding your Facebook statement, the weekend we had the miscarriage I was browsing Facebook and saw two friends announcing pregnancies. I deleted the app then and there and I haven't been on since. I still have my Instagram because I don't have a lot of my personal friends on there and mostly follow interior design and travel inspiration that makes me feel good. I honestly feel so much better!

ginny_203

@rmartin_ttc oh, I forgot to mention... my husband and I have affectionately started calling the Crinone gel "the devil's juice". It's really no fun 

rmartin_ttc

@FutureMrsMerati that does not sound like fun stuff from what your husband calls it lol! I'm hoping everything works out for you as well and then you won't have to take it anymore my wife had a cp in November and was put on progesterone when we got our first beta number and progesterone number bc they were both low (37 and 10 on 13 dpiui). Those were not that fun at the time. We asked our RE if we needed to do it the last iui we did, starting with insemination, but he said in our case he thinks it was just a fluke and the embryo wasn't viable. It does freak me out a little bc I don't want to ever go through it again though, feeling super elated and then five days later so miserable. Thanks for the info, and the laugh. I too have considered deleting Facebook, but I'm a little bit addicted. 

@Chartleib my wife hasn't reported anything like that, just more "ovarian action" as she likes to say. 

mybabylove2018

Hi all. Haven't posted for a while. Hugs to all.. I know it's a tough time. @FutureMrsMerati I didn't have a progesterone check as they have given me progesterone cream to use internally as I normally have a very short luthal stage, this way I always reach at least a 14 dpiui. Was wondering if any of you have had Gonal F in the 1st phase of ttc? It is basically the FSH you need to produce follicles and I had no side effects. I am on 12dpiui but my OTD is not till Saturday so that's early day 15.. guess they want to make sure either way. I have had a few twinges but you know what it's like, most of them I would never have noticed if I wasn't looking out for it. This 2ww is harder than the last one.. I am trying to be positive but it's been so long trying I almost can't imagine it. Baby dust to all

tinjp78

I also haven't posted here in a while but I read the updates regularly. Welcome @rmartin_ttc. I hope for a successful cycle for you and YW.

AFM, I'm benched this cycle because of an early ovulation but DH and I BD'd during that suspected O so I'm on a TWW. It just feels strange because I have O symptoms again but my bbt isn't confirming it, it is consistent with my last cycle's temp. Something that obviously changed in me recently is my appetite, I'm hungry all the time. I want to exercise a bit so as to burn some calories but sad to say, I had a minor accident 2weeks ago and injured a rib cartilage and was in so much pain. I'm getting better now. So, for Valentine's Day, this going to my DH card for this year 

kistra

@Chartleib - exciting to get to move forward!

@rmartin_ttc - Welcome, I hope you and your wife have success soon.

Hopefully AF shows up any day now for me. 

suzycupcake

@Chartleib I did not experience this that I remember. A week was so long ago! But, I did find online that it is a less common side effect of Femara. Less common but still a side effect.

rooonilwaazlib

Happy post-V-Day! We did a cycle of clomid CD 3-8 this month and I had my CD 10 bloodwork & sono today, I already have one follicle at 20mm on my left side! They think there's another follie hiding behind the big one, and all my follies on right side were 10 and below.  Waiting for bloodwork to come back and confirm levels. But wow!

This is our 3rd cycle and is the first time I've had a follie this big, this early! Anyone else ever have this happen?  This means I will probably be IUIing sometime this weekend instead of next Tues or Wed, as I originally predicted.  The body is weird!

ginny_203

@rooonilwaazlib so exciting! Bodies are so strange.

Would anyone be opposed if I started a "get to know you" discussion? I feel like we're all in this together and would love to know a little about people besides just when they are ovulating  If you all know each other well already and I'm just the newbie, please let me know and I'll abstain!

wishing-and-hoping

@rooonilwaazlib so interesting.  i have not had a dominant follicle that early.  Were all your meds the same?  Our bodies are weird and unpredictable but I hope it is a good sign for you!  Whenever something new happens I always think MAYBE this will be the thing!! fx

@tinjp78 have you been hungrier through your whole cycle?  I know that rising progesterone in TWW can cause increased appetite so maybe thats whats going on?  Hope it is a positive sign for you.

@mybabylove2018 those twinges and symptoms are pesky when you're on progesterone too... so many mimicking symptoms which is SO frustrating to me.  you are almost to your test day though, fx for you!!!

RVAmom315

@rooonilwaazlib WHOA! That's incredible! Nope, I've never had a follie that big so early (or ever maybe) Sounds like IUI is right around the corner. Did they give you an idea? I know 20mm is close to eruption. Will you do a trigger?

@FutureMrsMerati Yes! Definitely do a GTKY that'd be great

Chartleib

@rooonilwaazlib Huzzah!! Congrats on the big follies!!! Prayers and good vibes things continue to move brilliantly for you! 

@FutureMrsMerati I would totally be down for that

Chartleib

Also, the headaches are real on this letrozole. Ugh. 

rooonilwaazlib

@FutureMrsMerati I'd def do a GTKY discussion! 

@RVAmom315 I hope so too!  I know what you mean, it's so hard to have control over anything so we overthink so much! I hope this IS it for this month though.  She thinks I might be going for IUI by the weekend.  I just got blood results back.  Estrogen was climbing but not surging yet. Going for more blood/sono tomorrow AM. Fun times with the probe! I have been doing trigger shot for the past two months, so I think I will? But I don't know what will happen if my body decides to ovulate on its own.  Luckily the doctors have science things to help avoid that, i guess!

Thanks @Chartleib!

@mybabylove2018 I agree it can be so hard,  I think the past 3 months my "symptoms" have mainly been gas and other fun side effects of the progesterone. Hang in there! One way or another, you'll know soon.