March 2018 IUI

tinjp78

Hello! I'm hopefully doing my IUI #2 this month. Today, I had my CD9 u/s and there are 15,15,9,8 follies so I was given 150 iu Ferring HMG. If I get an LH surge on Sat morning, I'd have my IUI then, but if not, it'll be on Monday.

If you are doing IUI this month, you are welcome to join. I'm praying that we'll see many BFPs here. Oh March... be please be kind!!!

scikap

HI all,
Joining a couple of you on TWW. I had my second IUI two days ago on Feb 27!

I did FSH injections (50 Puregon) from cd 6-13. On cd14, tested negative for LH surge at home, then went in for U/S and bloodwork - 2 follicles, 1.9 and 1.5. Got a call that afternoon that LH surge showed in my bw (so... I guess it started in the 2 hours since I tested at home). Scheduled IUI for next morning. Also told to do an ovidrel shot immediately - I guess to help along a good O? I've also heard the hcg boost from the trigger shot helps maintain the luteal phase after O. I had to run back to the clinic in the afternoon to get the shot. Such a pain, and I had to quickly invent an excuse at work. 

We did IUI on the morning of cd15 at 8:30. Felt strong O cramping on right side later that day (5-6 pm). I really hope we got the timing right. I've heard that washed sperm only live for 4-6 hours. Have also heard that they can live for up to 24! I'm not sure anyone really knows. In any case, hubby's sperm counts post wash were great (43 million and 97% motile) so I'm hopeful!! The drawback is that he has 3-4% morphology so high count numbers are always welcome!

I go in for beta on March 11 (12 dpIUI). 

Fx for everyone waiting now...

Chartleib

Moving from the Feb. IUI thread, I'm in the TWW. Had IUI #6 on Feb. 26. I test on March 12. Currently on Estrace 3x daily (thankfully the oral ones!). Did Ovidrel two days before my IUI and was on Lestrozole beforehand. This is my first IUI using meds. FX for everyone to get BFPs this month!!!! 

rooonilwaazlib

Moving from the Feb thread too...had our 3rd IUI on 2/19 and we test on 3/5 -- It seems so far away!! 

I took a HPT tonight and had a negative result.  We have been using the First Response Early Results - not digital.  BUT I feel like I purposely set myself up for failure here.  I just got back from the gym at around 9pm. drank a huge cup of water, peed, and then tested an hour later with a little bit of pee. I thought I saw the faintest of faint lines on the test, but it wasn't visible all the time - only when I tilted the test back and forth. It was probably the evap line, or the line that is *supposed* to show if you're prego, but it was just wet from my non-prego urine and decided to mock me! We triggered with Ovidrel 12 days ago, so at least the silver lining is I know that's about out of my system, unless the line was the remnants of that! 

Anyway, going to try not to give too much brain/heart energy to it.  We might buy another box of tests and try it on Sat PM or Sunday AM.  Sunday is the day I'd be expecting to get AF if I wasn't getting shot in the tush with progesterone each night.  AF has arrived 2-3 days after stopping progesterone in the past.  

UGH this is so frustrating!  I hope all is well with y'all too.  Sorry for basically complaining my way through this post -- I mean I know you all understand but it still feels pointless to overthink and complain.  Yet here I am doing it anyway!  It's comforting to know so many other people are in this same situation and get my frustration.  Lots of love to you all on this journey, and I'm glad to have you all by my virtual side!

suzycupcake

@rooonilwaazlib I definitely relate to overthink and complain. Complain away. Lord knows this ttgp w/I business is hard enough. We need other women to talk to about it. Fx that this is your cycle! 

Questions for you. Is this your second time taking Progesterone? I was curious to know if af arrives in the same 2-3 day window for everyone. Also, why Progesterone injections?

tinjp78

@scikap Your beta day is just around the corner, fx for a positive result! It was nice that your clinic could catch your LH surge considering there was a negative just 2 hours before and that they could schedule you for your IUI the following day. I'm almost on the same spot right now. I checked my morning pee today and the line is a bit darker than yesterday's one but still not enough to tell if I'd O tomorrow so my IUI schedule is still tentative. Have a happy TWW!

@Chartleib GL on your TWW too! I hope you get lots of fun distractions!

@rooonilwaazlib  Hugs to you friend! All this is so hard and we're here to support each other. This board had been a great help for me since I joined and I am truly thankful for those lending me their ears when I had no one to tell my feelings to and giving me the push I need when I'm feeling down and hopeless. 

@suzycupcake First of all, I love your handle, especially now that I'm having the craziest appetite ever! I'm just torn because I can't just freely buy me any cakes or pastries because lots of bakeries here use margarine and I don't prefer that. About your progesterone question, AF also started for me around 3 days after I stopped taking it during my last IVF/FET cycle. That I time, I took my progesterone tabs vaginaly. On this IUI cycle, I took Premarin from CD2-4 and on CD9 I had a 150iu Ferrin HMG shot.

suzycupcake

@tinjp78 It makes me hungry too lol I don't like to use margarine either. We are pretty much a cold pressed olive oil only household. 

Thank you for sharing your experience with P. It is my hope that af will come that quickly for me also. You are switching back and forth between IVF and IUI? 

TW********My RE told me that the rate of pregnancy is high after a m/c. That's what I just had. Low P was found at 7dpiui but unfortunately, the doctor wasn't informed until 10dpiui. She ordered P right away but she doesn't think I took it long enough to have been able to sustain the pregnancy. I could punch the face of the Nurse Practitioner who fought with me about ordering the P test in the first place. She said they don't typically order that unless a woman has a history of m/c.*****end TW

My RE said she wants me to start taking the P early for the 4th IUI (right after the procedure) especially after that happened. That she recommends that we move on to IVF if this cycle doesn't work. I asked her what about injectables. She said she doesn't recommend it since I have polycystic ovaries with the risk of multiples being so high. I asked her how many cycles of IUI I can do without injectables. She said 6. It was also explained to me that it makes more sense financially to just do IVF if this cycle doesn't work because by the time we get to the 6th time, if we do, we would've already paid for IVF.

I'm not sure what the right decision is. What has been your experience with making this decision? Personally, I'm not comfortable at all with being put under for an egg retrieval unless I absolutely have to be for some medical emergency. 

tinjp78

@suzycupcake I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I hope that you won't need to have another transaction with that Nurse Practitioner. 

DH and I have been TTC seriously since 2016, I was found to have a chocolate cyst on my right ovary and was told that it might resolve itself if I got pregnant. But Oct came and my cyst reached 7cm, so I was scheduled for a laparoscopy. It was removed Jan 2017. From then, Dr advised us that we go straight to IVF due to my chocolate cyst history, my age and DH's low sperm count.

*TW* I had my first IVF/FET cycle from Aug-Nov 2017 which ended in a BFN *endTW*. Immediately after, DH and I moved to a new clinic and our new Dr recommended that we do 3 IUIs and if they still won't work then we go back to IVF.

I have low AMH (0.56) and low testosterone levels, so I was prescribed DHEA. Also, During my first scan, new Dr saw a new chocolate cyst on my left ovary. 

I was also hesitant about the IUI plan which our new Dr had laid out for us, I hoped to continue to another IVF because I'm turning 40 this September, but the reason why we have chosen this new clinic is because of their adherence to new research and techniques. So far, I'm comfortable with our new Dr's decisions.

I really hope for success on your next IUI so you won't have to deal with IVF.

ginny_203

@suzycupcake I had a CP on my 2nd IUI. On my third IUI (last time) they put me on Crinone vaginal suppositories. I got my AF 3-4 days after stopping those.

@scikap fingers crossed for a good result on your beta testing day!

AFM, it's miserable here today in the northeast, but I'm having an exciting day. After switching REs, he recommended we switch up the protocol for this IUI which is what I'd been waiting to hear. My former doctor had mentioned thinking I had an ovulatory issue since I only developed 1-2 mature follicles with taking Clomid. This doctor said he thought I just needed a different protocol, and said that different bodies responded to medicines differently. This month, I did 5 days of Fermara followed by 3 days of Follistim injections. I was nervous about coming into the appointment today and seeing only one follicle, but low and behold everything looked great and I had not 1 - not 2 - but 4 mature follicles at 17, 15x2 and 14. I'm over the moon that this RE was right to second guess that I had an ovulatory issue, and the fact that I went from only developing 1-2 mature follicles to possibly having 4. I have to go back tomorrow AM for what they think will be the final monitoring appointment, and then probably come in Sunday and Monday for IUI. This does throw a bit of a monkey wrench into our weekend plans, but a happy one at that   

scully127

I’m out this month too. I have had cancelled cycles the past four months. Apparently I had cysts AGAIN this month (about six of them, the biggest about 5 cm). I started going to the RE in September and despite trying to move this along as fast as possible, I have only been able to do one IUI all this time. At this rate, it will probably take me three years to do six IUIs. So you all may not hear from me much. (I’m less likely to feel down the more I try to forget about infertility.) Hopefully next cycle is a go? 

wishiwaspreggo

Hey everyone. Mind if I join you? I'm currently WFAF to start IUI this month. Stupid ute is taking its sweet time to bleed though. I expected AF on Wednesday but here I am, mildly cramping, pissed off about everything, exercising painful restraint around cheese and carbs, aching breasts, bloated stomach, and 5 pounds heavier than I should be. So fun.

Anyway, the plan is to start Gonal-F on CD 3 and then go in for a scan 6 days later. When the eggs are ready to pop I'm gonna give myself a shot of Ovidrel and then IUI 36 hours later. Endometrin for progesterone support. Then the 2WW crazy train! I have some treats in my Amazon cart I'm going to order to treat myself as I cycle so I'm excited about that. I also have a fertility massage tomorrow so that's nice. Maybe she'll have some magic techniques that will get my blood flowing - literally.

@suzycupcake First, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I was rooting for you as I read your posts about your HCG. I really hope progesterone makes all the difference in your next cycle. Any chance you can get a new nurse? I would be furious if I'd advocated for myself and she didn't listen. That's just awful.

To add my experience... I have PCOS, too. I've done a couple injectable cycles and haven't had any problems. Granted the doctor needs to exercise more caution to avoid over-stimulating but the other times I did it I only had 2 follicles mature. They kept the doses pretty low for me (100 iu per night). If your next cycle isn't successful, perhaps they can try an FSH IUI before IVF?

 

suzycupcake

@scully127 Hugs girl and I’m sorry. Im not sure which med you’re using, but when I was on Clomid, I got multiple big cysts every time and it was awful. My RE switched me to Femara and I had no reaction to it. Not one cyst. I hope that they resolve for you quickly. A lot of taking it easy is best. Hang in there. 

@FutureMrsMerati and @tinjp78 Thank you for sharing with me ladies and for your support

@wishiwaspreggo Thankfully, I won't have to ever see her face again because my RE also practices out of USC fertility clinic so we are going to go there next. Thanks for also sharing some of your story with me and for your support. I think that my RE's other qualm with the injectables is that it not only increases the chance of twins by 40% but also increases the chance of other multiples by 40%. I think her logic is that with pcos, that's quite a gamble. She did say that we could try it if I want to and that maybe we could get the combo right quickly. We are going to talk about all of the different options at my next appointment. I'm just very happy with the femara not causing a bad reaction so I hope it will work again

wishiwaspreggo

@suzycupcake 40%?? My RE said I had an 18% chance of getting pregnant at all with FSH + IUI, and then of that chance of getting pregnant there's a 20% chance it would be twins, and then a 4% chance of HOM. I mean, the risk of twins is greater than I like but the HOM risk is low enough that it doesn't bother me. My eggs would have to be super to get twins or greater. I'm not completely confident in my egg quality due to my age.

It sucks how everyone seems to have different stats depending on who you talk to well, obviously you have to do what makes you comfortable based on what you've been told. At least Femara is going easy on your body. FX it doesn't come down to needing to move on to injects, in any case.

suzycupcake

Maybe I didn't understand her haha @wishiwaspreggo sorry to freak you out!

This is interesting from one study done (clomid plus injectables): https://www.advancedfertility.com/revmultiplescoh.htm

---

Follicle number

In HMG and clomiphene + HMG cycles for patients less than 35 years of age, the incidence of three or more implantations per cycle (but not of twin implantations) was tripled, while pregnancy rates were not significantly increased, when E2 was over 1000 pg/mL, when six or more follicles were > or = 12mm, and when four or more follicles were > or = 15mm."

As far as multiples in general, this article is interesting. Holy crap!!! Maybe this is where my RE got her info from: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/12/04/248795369/fertility-drugs-not-ivf-are-top-cause-of-multiple-births

Pay attention to this one caveat at the end of that article "IVF births are tracked in a national registry, but there's no registry for births from fertility drugs alone. So the researchers did some math, taking the number of multiple births, subtracting IVF births, and then adjusting for the fact that women are having babies when they're older."

tinjp78

@FutureMrsMerati We are going to be IUI buddies! I went in for my US today and the sizes of my follies are not big enough yet so we scheduled it on Monday. It's so nice to hear that your new RE had a plan and a good one at that. Congrats on the big follies!!!

tinjp78

scully127 said:

I’m out this month too. I have had cancelled cycles the past four months. Apparently I had cysts AGAIN this month (about six of them, the biggest about 5 cm). I started going to the RE in September and despite trying to move this along as fast as possible, I have only been able to do one IUI all this time. At this rate, it will probably take me three years to do six IUIs. So you all may not hear from me much. (I’m less likely to feel down the more I try to forget about infertility.) Hopefully next cycle is a go? 

Oh no! I'm sorry this is happening! When you said you had cysts again, did you mean they were removed/resolved by themselves and new ones appeared? I'm sorry for my ignorance, it's just my chocolate cyst don't go away, it's been there since Dec 2017. I really hope that they all clear up so you can move to a new cycle. 

@wishiwaspreggo Welcome to the March group! Your mention of your Amazon cart treats seem fascinating. I think I should start thinking about this too for my TWW (my IUI is on Monday). All I have now is my grad school work, house work and my work, sure they'd give me good distractions...but they are not so fun. I'm also thinking of acupuncture. I know my blood flow is no good, I'd be looking into a good fertility acupuncturist in my area from now.

@suzycupcake Thanks for sharing the article! I'm still pretty new to the IF world so I welcome all the research materials on this field. 

linz36

Hi everyone...I’m doing a drive by bump (I’m actually camping lol). I’m currently in the 2ww. I had an IUI on 2/27 and 2/28 with two bigger follicles (25, 19) and three smaller ones (16,15,14). I did clomid on cd3-7, gonal -f on cd 10 and trigger on cd12 with IUI on cd13&14. This is my first IUI and first medicated cycle...but I have DOR and my husband has a low sperm count so we kind of have to go full throttle according the my RE. I go in for a progesterone on 3/9 and will do a hcg 3/13 (but doubt I can wait that long lol). Luckily because of camping and my crazy work schedule next week I’ll be distracted for most of the TWW! @tinjp78 those follicles look good!!!! @scikap and @Chartleib we are on the same timeline...hopefully this will be our month!!!! @suzycupcake and @wishiwaspreggo...my RE said that my chances of conceiving are about 12% with IUI and the chances on having multiple with a medicated cycle are 8% so for me every IUI cycle the changes of conceiving multiples is 1%.

tinjp78

@linz36 I'm glad you could join us here. Congrats on a good IUI and GL on the brutal TWW but I think your clinic had already made a schedule to keep you busy. In my case after the procedure, my clinic would just see me if I get AF or a week after a missed AF. I hope this is the month for all of us!!!

linz36

@tinjp78 I’ve got my fingers crossed for all of us!

manders85-2

Hi Everyone, I'm jumping over from the February IUI board as we POAS on March 10th from our 3rd IUI.

Can I ask a random question: it's 7 dpiui today and last night I started having tenderness down near my sacrum/tailbone area. Now, 1 day later it's even more intense and it's hard to sit on it. My acupuncturist thinks I may have pulled something, but I have no recollection of that happening. Of course googling it reveals some threads of women who said it was their first pregnancy symptom around the time of implantation... Has anyone heard of this or am I just hunting for symptoms relating to a positive. My other symptoms are super sore nipples, acne, fatigue and bloating. I was on clomid days 4-10 and am taking estrace but no progesterone. 

tinjp78

@manders85-2 I'm sorry you are experiencing this pain but I've also heard this type of symptom/s happened to other women who got PG. I'm sending lots of positive vibes your way and hope to hear good results when you POAS.

Chartleib

@linz36 I'm jealous you're camping! I wish I had a good distraction. Lol. We're wlomst at the one week left mark! I hope the TWW continues to go by quickly for you!

@manders85-2 I've read that it's a PG symptom too. FX you get good news!

suzycupcake

@linz36 They should be checking your progesterone at 7dpiui, not 9. Please request that it be earlier. Some other IF women taught me this and I'm so glad that I de@manders85-2

@chartleib My fingers are crossed for you! When is your beta? 

@manders85-2 Welcome It could be that you are having symptoms from the progesterone that your body already makes in the tww. It's a hormone that is necessary to prepare the body for pregnancy. At 7dpiui, it's too early to tell since implantation takes place anywhere from day 6 to day 12. As for your tailbone area, it might help you to sit on a heating pad for 30 minutes. I've had that before and it's uncomfortable. I hope that this cycle is it for you fx fx fx for you!  

@wishiwaspreggo I'm re-reading your earlier comment to me with a fresh pair of eyes. It seems much of it was a blur to me before. Anyway, I see now that you were saying the dose can be adjusted. I would think my RE would be able to do that for me since she knows how the large and small dose of Clomid, when I was on it, caused a bunch of cysts for me. Maybe since the femara didn't give me any cysts at all, they can do femara and a very small dose of the injectables. When we did femara, we might have only gotten one mature follicle.

I'd have to look back through my post history, but I think there was another follicle that may or may not have gotten mature enough by the Monday morning IUI. So injectables in a small dose may be enough to push another one along if that should happen again. Hmm. Perhaps we should just try the injectables and if it's too much, we can sit out that cycle and readjust. I think it's worth waiting for.

@tinjp78 You're welcome. I was just thinking right now that I wonder how much of those percentages are due to women going to OBGYNs rather than specialists. Hmm. That could make a huge difference. If a doctor doesn't know what they are doing, they would be blasting open multiple follicles and not monitoring like a specialist would be doing. I mean, IVF multiples rates have gone down and it makes sense since it is such a controlled thing, however, when I look at all of my IUI cycles, I can see how it is definitely controlled also. The only difference is that IVF is fertilizing the egg, but they place it in the uterus exactly the same way as IUI. 

There is so much to learn in the IF world. I've been doing it for many years.

TW****** if you wanna read it.

Last Sunday, when I got pregnant for the first time, I was pacing around my house trying to think of what people do when they are pregnant. It was a quick procession of eating a meal, taking pnv, hydrating, etc. because I realize I had not done those things that morning. I was panicking because I spent so many years trying to figure out how to get pregnant that I knew almost nothing about being pregnant. It's highly likely when/if I finally do get pregnant again, that I will be trying to find other women to work together with to try and implement fertility education at schools and fight to get my state to treat fertility as a right rather than a privilege. There is something wrong in our country when abortion is a right, but fertility isn't.

ginny_203

@tinjp78 yay! My IUI got pushed to Monday and Tuesday, so I'll be right there with you! Beta is scheduled for 3/20. Baby dust to you!! 

@suzycupcake I love that TW and felt the same way when I was pregnant for a brief time in January! After I told him, my husband and I spent the rest of the evening googling "what to do when you're pregnant"

suzycupcake

Lol @FutureMrsMerati We did the same thing! It took me 3 hours to tell MH because I was so busy focusing on what I'm supposed to do until finally, my head was screaming omg! You need to tell your husband! I'm so sorry that you had the same thing happen. Someone else on another board said it's especially cruel after IF and it truly is. Hugs.

So you are doing back to back IUI? What made you decide to do that? Fx for you!

ginny_203

Yes, doing back to back IUI. Our new RE recommended it after they looked into it with our insurance and found that our policy doesn't differentiate between one IUI and back to back. It's a first for me, but open to anything that might increase our chances of success!

ginny_203

Oh, and I soooo agree with that statement you referenced. Having a CP/miscarriage after IF struggles is so, so painful. When you want something so badly, have invested so much into it, and finally have that glimmer of hope, you get so beyond excited. To have such a disappointment just a few days later is so unfair. I don't know if I'll be "over it" until we get our BFP.

tinjp78

Yoohoo... LH peaked at 6pm yesterday and now I'm preparing to get my IUI #2 and so hopeful to finally get KU!

Chartleib

@suzycupcake I test on Monday the 12th. When did you test?

suzycupcake

Yayyyyyyyy @tinjp78 I'm so excited for you! When will you test?

@Chartleib When I did test last cycle, it was 13dpiui. I see your siggy mentions something I went through last cycle. Hugs to you dear I personally will probably never poas again after that haha I told my RE that I don't even want to know what my beta says unless it's good to go. 

rmartin_ttc

@suzycupcake sorry to hear about your cp, my wife and I dealt with that in November. 

@FutureMrsMerati I agree with you that it's difficult to get over until you get a positive. They tell you that it's good bc it means you can get pregnant but it still sucks

I'm wishing everyone in the TWW baby dust and sticky babies!! I'm praying for you ladies and sending all the good vibes I can.

My wife and I took three tests today, 12dpiui, and they were whiter than white. We don't do a beta at our clinic unless we poas and get a positive or her period is missing. We will try again tomorrow morning and the day after but I really think we are out. I think if it didn't show up by now it is probably not a thing. We used the first response early response and did it at 6am after 8 hours of sleep. It was ideal conditions, so I just really think we are out this month. Will probably be doing an iui on my birthday if her period comes on the 6th of this month like it's supposed to, my birthday is the 20th so maybe that will bring us some good luck. Was fairly bitter and sad this morning but trying to just pick myself up and be positive for another round. Hopefully sixth try is the charm.

suzycupcake

@rmartin_ttc Thank you and I'm very sorry you guys have experienced it too. It's the worst. I tried to be all positive about it for a few days after I sulked for a couple of days, but yanno, that just didn't work out in my favor. After losing my best friend in April of last year, my father in December, it just seems like a lot of loss in such a short time. But I'm trying to rest in the fact that this is life and there are going to be a lot of things that are out of my control. People keep telling me to just feel the loss rather than suppressing it, but I don't really know what that means or how to. I'm still learning. 

Huge hugs to you guys. How does your wife feel after today's test? You know that you aren't out until the witch shows, but if you are, I hope you will get a fantastic birthday surprise for next cycle. Happy early birthday by the way because it might slip my mind when the 20th comes around. I remember seeing your posts from when you first starting come here. I think it's amazing that your wife has someone so wonderfully supportive to come online and post about yours and her journey. My hats off to you!

rmartin_ttc

@suzycupcake Thank you so much. We know it's not over until the period shows, I guess we just try to be realistic bc we didn't get out positive with our cp until cd 13 and it was super faint and we were so excited and then found out it was a cp. so I guess we kind of try to tell ourselves that if there isn't anything yet, it's probably just not going to happen. I woukd
lovr to be proven wrong though, don't get me wrong. My wife is a little sad, but we had some fun things planned for today, we did a mini road trip with our best friend to a winery to pick up some wine he ordered and stopped and had lunch and window shopped, just things to take the mind off of it and to try and enjoy the day. This TWW was a lot better than the other ones we had, we would test every day starting at like 9dpiui and very negative was just really sad, so this time we didn't test until 12 and it was nice to have that hope a little longer, I don't know if I could wait any longer than that though to test, it's so hard! I'm so sorry to hear about your recent losses, that is a lot all at once, I don't know if I could deal with all of that and the journey that we are on, it is a roller coaster ride and I commend you on your strength and perseverance. Thank you for the birthday wishes, wishing that we both get a good strong BFP soon. 

Chartleib

@suzycupcake Oh hun, I totally forgot. I'm so very sorry. And I'm gonna get my blood drawn. *******TW: When I had my miscarriage, my hpt was a negative. Didn't even know I was going through one until my "period" lasted over a week.*******END TW. FX for you this cycle!!!!

suzycupcake

@rmartin_ttc I understand what you are saying. It's just hard not to hold onto hope for someone else. 13 days last time, but you checked at day 12. That's the last day that implantation to take place so maybe give it a couple of days anyway. It's good to be realistic, but I also think it's okay to wait and test again just to be sure.

Ah, a road trip to a winery. That sounds amazing! MH and I love road trips though we haven't done one for quite awhile. And that's so great you that you guys found a better system this cycle for testing and relaxing about it a little more. We did that too and I think it was a really great thing. 

Thank you for hoping for us. I hope the same for you guys!! Hey what #iui are you guys on? I forget what you guys are doing. And would your wife want to join the forum or do you guys read it together? I know that me and MH do. 

@Chartleib No don't worry about it hun! There are a lot of stories on here to keep up with. Lol!

Thank you for your sympathy. I'm sorry you've been through it too. It's crazy how many women have been through the same thing. I realize that it seems to be super common. Good on ya for waiting for beta. I think it's just better considering. Fx for you as well! Reach out to me anytime. My inbox is always open  

tinjp78

It's nice to see your update here on the march group @rmartin_ttc and I'm sorry your HPTs are making you and your wife feel down, but I'm still keeping my hopes up for you that you just have a late implanter on your hands.

AFM, We just got back home from the clinic and my overall assessment of today's procedure is 'it DIDNT go so well'. DH got his sperm sample here at home. Just by the look on his face, I knew that he didn't get a good sample. He kept the sample in the cup provided by the clinic, and carried it under his coat so as to keep it warm, but the temperature in the city today is -1 deg Celsius! And it's a 40 minute commute by subway to the clinic. As expected, he was asked to take another sample in the clinic and it took him some time to get our guys. The IUI procedure itself was a breeze though. I didn't feel as uncomfortable as iui#1. I was a bit giggling over some crazy thoughts as I was lying there for my 3-minute rest. The whole procedure just took 5 minutes i think. During our consult, dr said that my dominant follie has not ovulated yet and it grew to 21mm. And since DH's SA was terrible today, she suggested we do another IUI tomorrow. With that said, I'll have a back to back IUI too, like you @FutureMrsMerati The difference with us is prob we are OOP. Sending you lots of good vibes!

DH really tested my patience this morning. He acted like a jerk and I was so annoyed with him. I wanted to put it behind me because I didn't want to get stressed out and wanted my procedure to be a success, but how was I supposed to do it? we were together and I had no escape. Then it hit me, he was prob acting like that bc he was frustrated by his SA. Then I just felt sorry for him.

Chartleib

@tinjp78 My husband had a similar "meltdown" during our first two IUIs. He's a very private person and when they wanted the sample at the clinic, it took HOURS. He was so frustrated and no matter what, he just couldn't give a sample. He started talking out of anger, about how the process was "stupid" and what not and I got so mad because I took it as he thought us trying to have a baby was stupid. Once the IUI was done (they let us go home and he was able to give a better sample) I told him how I felt and he apologized and said what he meant was that it was stupid he couldn't just give the sample. He was frustrated with himself. We talked about it and ever since he's been much better (emotionally) about giving the sample. It's definitely hard to deal with a man's ego sometimes, but I know for my husband personally that success at everything (and I mean everything lol) is kind of important to him. So for him to struggle with basically jerking off into a cup, it's a low blow for him. As hard as it is, patience and communication is key in this crazy journey.  

Chartleib

Question for those on Estrace (Estradoil). I know it says that sore breasts (and let me tell ya, they friggin' hurt) is one of the most common side effects, but I've also been having period-like cramps since late last week. It says that stomach cramps could be a side effect, but the cramps I'm having are more in my pelvic region, not my stomach. 

ginny_203

@tinjp78 I'm so sorry to hear the report that your IUI didn't go as well as hoped. I agree that the reason your husband was moody was likely because he was bummed/embarrassed/disappointed about his SA. It's such a personal thing for them. At our last IUI, my husband stayed with me in the waiting room but didn't want to go in the procedure room with me when I was called in because he confided he'd be embarrassed and disappointed if the results weren't good, and didn't want to be around strangers feeling that way. I felt sorry for him that it's so anxiety-inducing, although I wonder how they would function if they know how stressful it is for us to deal with this every day...

AFM, we had a similar issue this morning. My husband has had a total of 5 SA done previously, 3 for each of our previous IUIs and two diagnostics prior to us being treated for IF. Each of the first two were 10-12M each, and the IUIs were 13, 7.5 and 18M each (washed). Today I went in and was shocked to see his total count less than 3M, and his washed sperm was around 1M. We do have a back to back IUI but I am in the same situation as you, I don't think I can break it to him until after our 2nd tomorrow. I feel like he will have performance anxiety tomorrow if he hears how badly things went today, and might not even be able to produce at all so this whole cycle may be a wash. This is the first time having the SA done at our new RE office, so I'm thinking about emailing the doctor and asking him how things could have gotten this bad in just four weeks considering all the work he's been doing taking vitamins and getting acupuncture. Not in an accusatory tone, just having difficulty reconciling the results knowing his history. His lowest count ever, 7.5M, was when he literally had the flu in December and was before he started the vitamin and acupuncture regimen he's been doing so diligently. I can't understand how he could have only had 1M after we had a great weekend and he's feeling fine. I'm so sad after we'd been so excited producing my 4 mature follicles, and now I'm feeling like there's hardly any hope  

wishiwaspreggo

@rmartin_ttc - hey, another same-sex couple! You're moving on to your 6th IUI now? What was the previous protocol? Are you changing anything next cycle?

@suzycupcake - maybe you shouldn't switch up your protocol if Femara was working for you. I failed to consider that not everyone with PCOS is also overweight. See, for me, I don't respond as well to stims because I'm heavy. I think lighter women respond well enough to oral medications but I didn't. Hopefully your issue was just a progesterone problem which will be resolved by adding suppositories. FX!! When do you start taking your Femara? Are you starting today (CD 3)? I'm still waiting for my RE to call in my script...

linz36

@rmartin_ttc sorry for the BFN...keeping my fingers crossed that AF won’t show

@suzycupcake I was testing that late because of my schedule but I came back from camping today (early because of cold weather) so I’m going to get a progesterone level this afternoon, which is 7 days post IUI. Thanks for the heads up!

@tinjp78 and @futuremrsmeratiI'm sorry your IUIs didn't go as planned :-(.

@manders85-2 Sorry about the pain, that’s super annoying.

AFM...I’m testing out my trigger currently and it’s still faintly positive (I’m 8 days post trigger). I’m glad I decided to test it out because I love to POAS and if I did it too early I would have likely read today’s test as positive even though it’s way too early lol.