Femara Failure

ewpauley

I guess I should preface this by saying that I don?t get my period without medication. Upon meeting with my OB-GYN in January and expressing our interest to try for a baby, my OB prescribed Femara at 2.5 mg. I went back on day 21 for testing and my progesterone was at 0.3. I just finished up month 2 of Femara (this time at 5.0 mg) and my progesterone was still hovering right where it had been last month- at 0.3. I?m going to be taking one last bout of Femara at 7.5 mg and my question is this-

 

Has anyone had luck with the medicine just miraculously working? Or should we begin mentally prepping to see an infertility specialist? What would our next step be in terms of infertility? Are we looking at IVF?

 

Thanks for any snippets of advice!

AngnShaun

Did they do any monitoring? to see if you had any follies? CD21 test is only relevant if you Ovulated on CD14... Just because you took Femara doesnt mean thats when you Ovulated, or even if you ovulated at all. 

kelnyc

*sig warning/butting in*

Were you not being monitored by ultrasound to see if you were even growing any follicles? Doing a progesterone blood draw on CD21 is completely inaccurate and assumes that you will O by day 14, which not everyone does... by a long shot. I think you need to see a fertility specialist now and stop letting your OB prescribe meds without doing the leg work.

You are absolutely not looking at IVF! There are other meds (injectables, etc.) that may work to get you ovulating, but have you done a complete CD3 workup? HSG? Has your husband had a semen analysis? Again, a Reproductive Endocrinologist is better equipped to deal with these necessary steps and will help you figure things out and exhaust all possibilities.

ewpauley

Hey- thanks so much for the reply! No, I'm not currently being monitored by US. I did take an ovulation test on day 18 and it came back (what I thought was) positive- could this be the reason my progesterone test was so off?

I've called my OB back and will request some more info from her. I don't want to start taking the prevera to induce my period if there is ANY way I could be pregnant.

Thanks again for the advice.

kelnyc

ewpauley:

Hey- thanks so much for the reply! No, I'm not currently being monitored by US. I did take an ovulation test on day 18 and it came back (what I thought was) positive- could this be the reason my progesterone test was so off?

I've called my OB back and will request some more info from her. I don't want to start taking the prevera to induce my period if there is ANY way I could be pregnant.

Thanks again for the advice.

If the test line on your OPK was as dark as or darker than to control line, then it was positive. That would certainly be the reason why your CD21 progesterone was low (because you may have just been ovulating) and a good reason to not jump into taking provera right away. You should wait at least 2 weeks from the day after the positive OPK (so CD19 in your case), test, and if it's negative and you don't get your period within a few days, then consider the provera to start a new cycle. I strongly suggest you switch to the specialist now since you are not getting the whole picture from your OB. The truth is, OB's are trained to work with women who are already pregnant, and not with those who are having trouble trying to get pregnant.

Seagull2012

i would second this advice to switch to an RE the minute you start thinking there might be an issue. From what i've learned on these boards too many women spend too much time at the OB  with inaccurate or ineffective protocols.

Unfortunately, RE's cost more $$ and if you are OOP you may be hesitant to jump in to a clinic. But, in hindsight, i think i would have felt better paying out the $200+ consult fee (at least) for peace of mind and some real answers/testing rather than doing some guessing on my own/with ob-gyn.

 

CarrieK22

Hi!

I am in the same boat as you. I don't get a period without taking medication. I am on my 2nd round of Femara along with a medication call Metformin. I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) which is why I don't ovulate on my own.

 After my first round of Femara I got a period without having to take prevera. I was being monitored with US and looked like I was going to ovulate. My OB thinks that I did ovulate due to the fact that I got my period without the help of prevera. I wouldn't worry about using the prevera once you are sure you're not pregnant it can kinda help get things jump started. 

Don't worry about IVF right now you have many more options before you get to that. I will keep you updated if this all works for me! 

brooklynesque

Just want to third or fourth the advice to see a reproductive endocrinologist -- sooner rather than later (i.e., before doing more Femara with your OB).  It sounds like you're not receiving the monitoring you need to (1) see if the medication is doing its job and (2) help diagnose what your issues are.  Have a consult with an RE; he or she will have a good idea of what to try next.  It might well be a third cycle of Femara, appropriately monitored and with a trigger shot (that will help time your ovulation and possibly help you release more than one egg) and possibly an IUI as well.  Good luck.