Intro/New here and adventures with Follistim

SymphonyGirl

Hello, there!  I am a mom of two, a four year old boy and a two year old girl, and we are trying for our third (and last) child now.  I had trouble conceiving my son, but a couple of rounds of Clomid did the trick for us then.  My daughter was a happy surprise - we were grateful to have her without the fertility meds.  I got pregnant again naturally and then miscarried at the end of Feb 2011.  We started trying again after two months and I haven't been able to get pregnant again despite many rounds of Clomid.  

Right now, I'm on my first cycle of Femara plus Follistim and I am feeling a little overwhelmed and anxious about it, which is what made me want to reach out to some women like you who get what it's like and maybe have some words of wisdom to share.  

I had a follicle monitoring u/s on Tuesday (CD11) and they saw 13 follicles at 10mm+, which they said is way too many.  The doctor said that they were worried about ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and told me we'd likely have to cancel the cycle, then take a month off to let my ovaries calm down.   I went back yesterday for another u/s, and saw a different RE (my RE's office is at a university hospital and they just rotate you through whoever's available and you don't really have a specific doctor).  He thought it was all no big deal and he wanted to go ahead with a trigger shot in another few days after an u/s on Saturday. I don't know what to think.  It seems like I went from a conservative/cautious doctor to a really aggressive one and I am more inclined to go with cautious since I already have two kids and don't want multiples if we can help it. Who knows what advice I'll get on Saturday, likely seeing someone totally different.  

Anybody else had lots of follicles?  Did you end up going forward or canceling the cycle? 

AprilDrew04

 Welcome to the board!

 Just remember that you are in control of what happens and have the final say.  When you go in Saturday, ask the RE how many follicles there are and how many they think will mature and be viable.  Then decide for yourself if you want to go ahead or not.

WorkinWeezel

AprilDrew04:

 Welcome to the board!

 Just remember that you are in control of what happens and have the final say.  When you go in Saturday, ask the RE how many follicles there are and how many they think will mature and be viable.  Then decide for yourself if you want to go ahead or not.

Perfect advice.  In the end, it's your life and your body, and you have control over what happens.  Especially with a trigger shot, it's a huge risk that you could have multiples.

Welcome to the board!  It is pretty slow over here, but you'll find sound advice and lots of support.  I absolutely love these ladies and definitely trust them when it comes to my journey with 2IF!!  Best of luck to you.

beachy6

I'm doing the same med protocol as you are doing. My RE is fairly conservative and started me out on a daily dose of 50iu of Follistim (below the recommended dose). I had one follie that cycle. They have me doing 75iu this month which is the recommended low dose. However, I've been told that they'll cancel with 6+ follies. They aim to get 2-4 mature each cycle. It is completely up to you what you decide to do, but I thought you'd be interested in how another RE handles these situations. The femara is supposed to keep the number of mature follies down and the follistim should make the quality better. So with that many, personally, I'd be a little nervous going forward. If you cancelled this cycle, they could play with your meds next cycle and maybe lower the dose? I know it would be a huge pain canceling because I know how expensive these darn meds are! Maybe your u/s tomorrow will show that only a few matured! G/L!!

wklj875

beachy6:

I'm doing the same med protocol as you are doing. My RE is fairly conservative and started me out on a daily dose of 50iu of Follistim (below the recommended dose). I had one follie that cycle. They have me doing 75iu this month which is the recommended low dose. However, I've been told that they'll cancel with 6+ follies. They aim to get 2-4 mature each cycle. It is completely up to you what you decide to do, but I thought you'd be interested in how another RE handles these situations. The femara is supposed to keep the number of mature follies down and the follistim should make the quality better. So with that many, personally, I'd be a little nervous going forward. If you cancelled this cycle, they could play with your meds next cycle and maybe lower the dose? I know it would be a huge pain canceling because I know how expensive these darn meds are! Maybe your u/s tomorrow will show that only a few matured! G/L!!

 

This exactly, I started this cycle with 75iu and have moved up to 100iu. My RE would cancel this cycle if I had any more then 4 mature. If you don't want multiples, I would ask to speak to the conservative RE and let him/ her know how you feel, and talk to your husband about it. Good luck hon.