IF testing & treatment w/o 2.15

acleverusername

This is a place for those of us who have already started TTC, but have started infertility testing and/or treatments. You can express your thoughts, feelings, and frustrations on infertility. TTC can be a long journey naturally, then add in the difficulties associated with infertility, and it becomes a whole new ball game. The road to infertility can be lonely, frustrating, and complicated, so let's make this a place where we can vent, ask questions, and support one another. Feel free to resurrect this thread at any point in the week if you have something to say. Treat this as an ongoing conversation. 


(Actually found a cool gif; we have a few on here for whom this is coming up / just happened, so I thought it was appropriate.)

Diagnosis (if you've been): 

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA):

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): 

How are things going?: 

Any questions?:

GTKY: Share you favorite joke with us! 

laura-kay

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?):  IUI + Gonal F + Ganarelix + Ovidrel

How are things going?: Ok I think.  Ganarelix hurts, but I’m hoping it will do the trick of preventing another cancellation.  

Right now I’m on what they call the “daily protocol”.  Every day I’ve been going to the office for another ultrasound and blood tests. I started Ganarelix yesterday in addition to the Gonal F.  Honestly, that injection hurts!  I have localized redness and inflammation at the injection site, as well as pain.  Not fun.  

Today’s results were pretty good I think.  My estradiol is at 550 and my endometrial lining is 11mm. I have two leading follicles (both left - one at 16.5 and the other at 14) and two smaller follicles on the right (11.5 and 10.5).  They are hoping that the two left ones will be able to grow enough for a mature egg.  We will see how it is tomorrow morning.   They think I may be triggering tomorrow or the day after.

Any questions?: Have any of you used Ganarelix?  Was it red, painful and inflamed for you as well?  It makes Gonal F seem like a pin prick!

GTKY: Share you favorite joke with us! Not really sure - I don’t really have a specific joke I like.

acleverusername

I guess I'll get us started off this week! 

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained/AMA/Slight MFI for now, but getting more tests to see if we can narrow it down.

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): WTO

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): natural cycle while doing more testing ordered by TEW: chromosome analysis for MH and I; Sema4 testing for both of us; repeat TSH and TPO antibodies for me; anti-sperm antibodies for MH; repeat SA for MH; testosterone & Factor V Leiden testing for me. Hopefully all this testing gives us some answers! 

How are things going?: Much better than the past few weeks. Taking time off and doing a natural cycle was absolutely the right call. I'm feeling so relaxed and I'm also kind of enjoying rediscovering my body's natural ovulations signs. I've been getting up close and personal with my cervix and actually using the secondary signs field in FF to note the position, texture, and openness(?). I'm wondering how soon I'll ovulate since before starting medicated cycles, the earliest I O'ed was CD16. Oh, and I asked TEW about doing micro-dose hCG for luteal phase support (instead of progesterone) so she's gonna let me do that. It means that I won't be able to take an early HPT, but I'm OK with that. I just want to try something that doesn't give me the side effects I get on progesterone. 

Any questions?: Has anyone ever had taken liquid COQ10? I picked up some at Costco since it promises "superior absorption" but at 600mg, it seems like it's an expensive alternative and apparently my dose should remain the same. 

GTKY: Share you favorite joke with us! I'm not a father but I love telling dad-jokes. I guess that makes me a "faux pa." (You're welcome. 😎)

acleverusername

@laura-kay hah! I had a sneaky suspicion that I might be cross-posting with someone else. Regarding Ganerelix, I used Cetrotide as the antagonist when I did my egg retrieval (both meds do the same thing) and I found that one itchy / uncomfortable as well. To tell you the truth, Gonal-F is the best one of all those shots; everything else sucks (i.e. Menopur stings when injecting). Hopefully your 2 left follicles are ready tomorrow! How your mental health this cycle? 

laura-kay

Well, I’m waiting now for the doctor at the monitoring appointment, so I will know more soon.  Mental health is better than the previous treatment cycle though it has certainly been a busy and “different” time due to family situations (aftermath of the issues from the last two weeks).  I hope we can take a vacation sometime soon - it’d be wonderful to have some time away together!  I’m just not sure how with all the COVID things going on

bumblebee0210

@acleverusername. I'm so glad your natural cycle + TEW consult has eased your anxiety. After your update I fell down the TEW rabbit hole and even submitted a question (though I don't have instagram, so I'll have to wait for it to come out on youtube...)

@laura-kay I'm sorry you have to do painful shots on top of everything else but fx they work for you!

Diagnosis (if you've been): RPL, suspected DOR

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?):  Meeting with the RE thursday

How are things going?: Ok. I have been seeing my results trickle in, and just got the news that although my AFC/FSH/Estradiol were normal-ish, my AMH is *really* low. I had sort of suspected this might be my issue, as my mom went through menopause young. I am hoping that the RE will tell me that because I had an ok AFC (10), we are just in time to do some serious egg retrieval and embryo banking, but the thought of multiple egg retrievals is... daunting. And I'm also in the TWW, and I have the fear that if I am pregnant, that there won't be much they can do for me later if I want more. So I don't know, I am probably (definitely) overthinking everything before I even talk to the RE this week, but it's jus been a lot to process. 

Any questions?: Is it common to have really discordant DOR results? I had AFC 10, FSH 9.2, Estradiol 25, AMH 0.42. (I'm 34). I found a study showing that AFC is a better indicator of IVF success than AMH, but I may be grasping at straws...

*tw in spoiler*

Also does anyone know if these can be affected by recent losses/pregnancies? I am ~5 months out from a 12-week miscarriage. I would think levels would be back to normal by now, but my body is often slow with these things. 

GTKY: Share you favorite joke with us! Yikes I am bad at these. I will try to think of one!

Lisa3379

Diagnosis (if you've been): Unexplained/I'm old

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): Waiting to transfer

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Starting progesterone tomorrow to keep my cycle stalled until we can transfer hopefully in the next few weeks

How are things going?:  I'm in a holding pattern. Waiting for maybe one more week at the most for genetic testing results to see if we need to do PGT-M on the embryos, and those results will take about 10 days to get. Had the option to start progesterone now until we know which embryos are good to go, and so since my estimate (hopefully) is maybe just 2-3 weeks until we can start whatever medications needed to do a transfer, I decided to do that instead of wait for my next cycle (I'm on day 2 and my cycles are anywhere from 30-35 days). 

Any questions?: none at the moment

GTKY: Share you favorite joke with us! My mind is seriously drawing a blank, lol

acleverusername

@bumblebee0210 TEW referred me to (probably) the same study showing that AFC is the better predictor of success in IVF (cause my AMH and AFC are very discordant but in the opposite way, which she said occurs in 1/5 women). https://rbej.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12958-019-0497-4 So I don’t think you’re grasping at all. Also, what supplements are you taking? TEW will likely recommend DHEA, and also her usual things: COQ10 (high dose), pterostilbene, etc. I hope you get your question answered soon!

@Lisa3379 Hopefully you'll get your PGT results soon! I'm getting very excited that your transfer is coming up so soon! Hopefully you can find something to keep your mind occupied while you wait. 

inthewoods23

@Lisa3379 can you elaborate what you mean by going on progesterone to stall your cycle? I guarantee you I'm not the only one here that doesn't understand what you're talking about as progesterone has never been used to stall or control a cycle. Do you mean birth control? Frankly I'm a little concerned your doctor doesn't know what they're doing and you're just going along with it without question!

Lisa3379

@inthewoods23 I'm pretty sure he just used the word "progesterone pill" in lieu of "birth control pills". Haven't other people here talked about using birth control to keep their cycle on hold, while waiting to start the process for transfer? 

bumblebee0210

@acleverusername. Yes! That is the study i saw and I am solidly in group B, who did ok. Like I said-- my personal not-a-doctor diagnosis is "still ok but maybe approaching a cliff", but I want to see what she thinks. But I have to say, in a weird way it is somewhat satisfying after being told my losses were just "bad luck" that there might truly be an underlying cause, even if that cause is a bummer. 

inthewoods23

@Lisa3379 ok no, that's good. Straight progesterone is definitely not used for that purpose but you're talking about the pill and that's totally normal. I was picturing you on the suppositories or PIO injections like uhh no that's not what those are used for lol. I don't think BCP is ever referred to as progesterone. I do know there are progesterone only type BCP though so that must be what you'll be on.

laura-kay

So, I just triggered tonight.   I have 2 mature follicles (20.5 and 16.5) and one on the edge (15).  I have two that are too small to be mature.   My estradiol is at 711 and my progesterone thankfully was only at .69 - so we it looks like the Ganarelix did the trick.  

Thursday morning is IUI day!  They are happy with the cycle so far and fingers crossed that the best happens!

Lisa3379

@laura-kay Exciting! Sending all the happy thoughts I can, good luck! 

acleverusername

@laura-kay that's great! With E2 numbers like that, the 15mm one might have a mature egg in it so hopefully you have 3 in play. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

quiltandknit

@laura-kay yay for a bunch of good follicles and a trigger!  Good luck with your IUI!!

@bumblebee0210 Results are so hard to interpret on your own.  There's so much to consider to get a picture of what's going on.  Write down all the questions, I always forget stuff when I go to an appointment!

@Lisa3379 I think BCPs to stall your cycle sounds like a good plan.  Hoping your embryo results come back soon!

Diagnosis (if you've been):  unexplained

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): TWW

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?):  Clomid + IUI

How are things going?:  Today was a great day!  We did the IUI, I had one good 20mm follicle, my lining was 13mm, and DH's counts and motility were awesome!  I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but it seems like it went well.  Now we wait.  I'm feeling relieved that I don't have to do anything for the next two weeks!  The testing and scheduling has been stressing me out.  I'm planning lots of distractions and really trying to hold off POAS testing as long as I possibly can because I think that is better for my mental health.  

Any questions?:  No questions

GTKY:  I'm terrible at telling jokes, I start laughing in the middle!

Lisa3379

@quiltandknit Awesome report! Keeping my fingers crossed for you! 

acleverusername

@quiltandknit that's a great update! Woot! I'm jealous of your lining. Hopefully the TWW will be over before you know it and you'll have good news at the end of it. 

laura-kay

Since the GTKY is about jokes....

Lisa3379

FINALLY! Genetic test showed we aren't carriers for anything so they can do the PGT-A test now. 

acleverusername

@Lisa3379 'grats! Although I'm surprised your RE didn't have you do that genetic screen earlier in the process. MH and I had to do that as one of the first things when we started seeing an RE. 

Lisa3379

@acleverusername Well, we had already told him during our initial consult that we had been through the testing twice before, so we all figured that was fine and moved on with the conversation. Then right before we started the cycle he mentioned that the test had been updated to include a ton more possible disorders, and we figure since we're spending so much money doing this to begin with, we might as well do it as completely as we can. It would've been nice if he mentioned the test had improved in the past few years, but we also could've done our homework better with that, too. Oh well. 

laura-kay

So, we had the IUI today!  I’m thankful they still let us have it - we had an awful day snow wise and all in person visits at the clinic were canceled.  We ended up staying at a hotel nearby so that we could get there in the bad snow.  I’m really glad this round is over - and hoping for all to work out!

laura-kay

@Lisa3379 Great news!

@quiltandknit Great update!  Glad the IUI went well.

bumblebee0210

Great updates all around! 

AFM: I met with the RE today who basically said I have borderline DOR, and that it’s really up to us whether we want to do IVF or keep trying naturally. Given that we would like to have more than one more kid, it seems like a bigger risk to keep trying naturally and maybe run out of eggs in a few years than to go through IVF and hopefully bank some embryos. It’s CD1 today so we basically start as soon as insurance gives the ok...

Lisa3379

@laura-kay I'm glad you were able to have your IUI today, despite the challenges. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

@bumblebee0210 How are you feeling about that, starting IVF? If I remember correctly, you were a little apprehensive about it? I'll say this - I went into the process really overwhelmed and a little stressed that we were actually going through it, but I'm so glad we did. I would probably make the same call - if you want to have multiple, doing IVF seems like the best shot to make that happen. Same kinda goes for us. I went into this process only wanted one baby, but if we're lucky enough to have that happen, it kinda feels reassuring to know that (hopefully, still waiting on testing!) we'll have a couple more to leave that door open for the future. 

bumblebee0210

@lisa3379 I am feeling ok, a little overwhelmed (especially at the time commitment, honestly). I have always felt such impatience and urgency with TTC, and now I’m like committing to something that will not get me pregnant for at least 4-6 months. That part feels like the biggest leap, honestly. But I do want more kids, and I don’t want to regret not having done this when I had the chance. I feel ok about the hormones and procedures, but I haven’t started yet! It would be *so* great if I could get as many embryos as you did on the first try, but she told me to expect 1-2 genetically normal per cycle, so we will likely go for 3 retrievals. 

bumblebee0210

Question for the board: did you guys have any books or other resources that were helpful in learning about the process? I have been looking on Amazon, and other than “It Starts with the Egg”, it seems like a lot of them are more like “my journey with IVF”-type memoirs, and I am more of a facts-and-science kind of girl...

acleverusername

@laura-kay Congrats on what sounds like was a successful IUI! I'm keeping all of my fingers and toes crossed that this is it for you! 🤞🏻

@bumblebee0210 if you're science and facts types of person, I would recommend FertilityIQs IVF course (it's $249 but might be recoupable from and HSA/FSA; I did their IUI course and found it to be very insightful & facts based). Alternatively, Dr. Aimee does an IVF course every month where she basically goes over what to expect and from that it's basically an AMA. It's much cheaper than a consult with her. 

chichiphin

**deep lurk** @bumblebee0210 ask your clinic if they have resources you can access as a patient. Some clinics give you access to a variety of videos/tutorials etc. Might be worth the ask.