I've done, f**k I dunno, 12 cycles of Femara now? I respond great and they haven't moved mine up (one follie every month). Yet. I've had poly-cystic ovaries in the past (and did the last u/s a few months ago) but they've never actually said "you have PCOS" and I'm not sure why. My blood work has always come back normal, so I guess that's why.
I don't think it sounds all that aggressive, honestly. My SIL got moved up to 5mg from 2.5 pretty early on in the game and she has PCOS too. PCOS makes it pretty difficult to get pg, so it really doesn't sound too off base. It's fast, but it didn't work the first time, ya know? And the sperm could also play a part.
I did 2-3 cycles at 2.5mg of femara and was bumped up to 5mg on the last, and successful round. I was also taking 1500mg of metformin. MH doesn't have any issues on his end so it was all me. Both the doc and NP said femara has a lower rate of multiples than clomid, which made me feel much better:)
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ETA: I always had a couple of good contenders, albeit they were veeeery slow to mature even on the meds. I think I was good to go on CD21 or something. But I could prob go a year without AF if I didn't take meds. Good times.
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For what it's worth, I was monitored (on a femara + injectable cycle), and they saw that I had released one mature egg, and by golly, I wound up with a beautiful, healthy set of fraternal twins. Apparently the second follicle was hiding.
If femara worked this cycle, there's a good chance it'll work again, although there's certainly the possibility that a patient might develop some resistance to it. From my RE experience (um, as a patient, not as a doctor), my sense is that either: 1) they want to up the dose because of her husband's count, 2) her egg quality might be iffy, or 3) she's pushing them to up the dose because she wants to get pregnant sooner, rather than later. Is your sister over 35?
They say the chances of conceiving in an IUI cycle are something like 20%. Increasing the number of eggs released will up that number, so releasing two eggs only ups the chances to 40%. Even some IVF cycles implant 2-3 eggs and get no sticky ones. All that said, I conceived three babies in two IUI cycles (and miscarried one). So my level of success was higher than the stated average. It remains to be seen whether your sister's is.
I used Femara for 4 IUi cycles and my dose was always 5mg. I had two cycles with multiple follicles, but just one the other times, and none of the IUis were successful. I don't have ovulation issues and have always been pretty regular, but my OB wanted to make sure we gave ourselves the best chances if we were going to do treatments, and I was always closely monitored.
august8080
member
Re: appreciate the feedback
I've done, f**k I dunno, 12 cycles of Femara now? I respond great and they haven't moved mine up (one follie every month). Yet. I've had poly-cystic ovaries in the past (and did the last u/s a few months ago) but they've never actually said "you have PCOS" and I'm not sure why. My blood work has always come back normal, so I guess that's why.
I don't think it sounds all that aggressive, honestly. My SIL got moved up to 5mg from 2.5 pretty early on in the game and she has PCOS too. PCOS makes it pretty difficult to get pg, so it really doesn't sound too off base. It's fast, but it didn't work the first time, ya know? And the sperm could also play a part.
For what it's worth, I was monitored (on a femara + injectable cycle), and they saw that I had released one mature egg, and by golly, I wound up with a beautiful, healthy set of fraternal twins. Apparently the second follicle was hiding.
If femara worked this cycle, there's a good chance it'll work again, although there's certainly the possibility that a patient might develop some resistance to it. From my RE experience (um, as a patient, not as a doctor), my sense is that either: 1) they want to up the dose because of her husband's count, 2) her egg quality might be iffy, or 3) she's pushing them to up the dose because she wants to get pregnant sooner, rather than later. Is your sister over 35?
They say the chances of conceiving in an IUI cycle are something like 20%. Increasing the number of eggs released will up that number, so releasing two eggs only ups the chances to 40%. Even some IVF cycles implant 2-3 eggs and get no sticky ones. All that said, I conceived three babies in two IUI cycles (and miscarried one). So my level of success was higher than the stated average. It remains to be seen whether your sister's is.