Infertility treatment question

bethleean · June 2013

So DH and I have been TTC for almost 2 years now with no success. We finally decided to consult our doctor for answers. Good news: DH produces a little more than the average number of healthy sperm! Bad news: my eggs don't fully mature prior to being released for ovulation, thus they are unable to receive DH's abundant little swimmers. Doc has started me on the following regimen to help correct the problem: starting on CD3 I will take Clomid orally for 5 days. On CD9 I will give myself an injection of Gonalf. On CD12 Doc will evaluate my folli growth. Once they are "ripe" I'll be given an injection of Ovidrel prior to IUI. I'm wondering if anyone else has had any experience good or bad with this regimen of fertility treatment, and how well this therapy has/hasn't worked for you?

GermanGirl2007 · June 2013

I have not done Gonalf, but have done the Clomid + Ovridrel combo w/IUI. The Clomid should help produce multiple follies, the Gonalf should help make sure they are the right size, and the Ovridrel should help time things right, so sounds like a good plan for me! That said, it's really hard to say how effective it may be. My understanding is that IUI success rates are more based on your diagnosis and age than they are on any particular treatment regimen, but someone please correct me if I am wrong. As I understand it, best case scenario, IUI will give you about a 15-20% chance of success on any given cycle, but depending on age, Dx, and what # IUI it is, the odds can go down from there.

I hate dwelling on statistics though - it's easy to get discouraged. People beat the odds all the time, and I truly hope you are one of them! This can be a hard journey, so I hope your treatment plan is a successful one! Best of luck.

bethleean · June 2013

Thanks for the info. It never hurts to have the stats! ; This will be my first cycle of treatment, we are keeping our fingers crossed but trying not to get our hopes up in case it doesn't take.

vpine · June 2013

Haven't had that specific regimen but good luck !

mfarmer0811 · June 2013

Have you had an HSG?

kggMom · June 2013

May I ask how they found out the issue? Was it through blood work?

bethleean · June 2013

I had several panels of blood work done, where they took about 14 vials of blood each time, they did an HSG test to check my fallopian tubes and the position of my uterus, and ultrasounds to visually look at my eggs and uterus throughout my cycle to see the progression of my eggs. On their own, they've never reached the appropriate size, and combined with lack of certain levels of hormones in my blood work, they deduced that my eggs don't reach full maturity before ovulation. Im really anxious to see what my Docs regimen does to correct that issue. Im excited that they found the problem and have come up with a solution, we are trying not to get our hopes up in case it still doesn't work out, but its hard not to...keeping our fingers crossed!

bethleean · June 2013

Germangirl, Have you had any success with the clomid and ovidrel therapy?

Karamel_bp · June 2013

vpine:
Haven't had that specific regimen but good luck !

This!!

katib77 · June 2013

bethleean:
Germangirl, Have you had any success with the clomid and ovidrel therapy?

Hon, if you're looking for success stories you need to go to the pregnant after IF page because all of us here are still struggling. We have a small handful of women that are TTC#2 that might have done IF treatments for their first child but that's very few women.

I did two clomid/Ovidrel IUIs, one clomid/Gonal F/Ovidrel IUI and two IUIs using full injects of Follistim. Only once did I see two lines on a pregnancy test - and that ended in a miscarriage a few days later. With every story of success you'll hear on PAIF, you'll also hear them say it was their second or third try and there will also be a handful of us over here where that hasn't worked and we're moving on to IVF.

The road of treatment can be quick for some, and long for others. Just know this might be your first of a few treatment cycles before you hit the jackpot.

hope2bmom83 · June 2013

I have had the same therapy except Folistim instead of Gonalf. What my RE said was they typically start the doses low to see how you react to the meds. He said they are afraid if they start to high you will react too well and end up with multiples. I would have to imagine this is a standard philosophy. We just finished our first cycle, and the meds did work somewhat, but we did not get a success this month. I think you have the right attitude, be hopeful but realistic.

Good Luck!

bethleean · June 2013

hope2bmom83:
I have had the same therapy except Folistim instead of Gonalf.nbsp; What my RE said was they typically start the doses low to see how you react to the meds.nbsp; He said they are afraid if they start to high you will react too well and end up with multiples.nbsp; I would have to imagine this is a standard philosophy.nbsp; We just finished our first cycle, and the meds did work somewhat, but we did not get a success this month.nbsp; I think you have the rightwing attitude, be hopeful but realistic.nbsp; Good Luck!

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Just so its clear, im not just looking for success stories, I wanna hear the good the bad and the ugly! I want to realistically know, or at least have a better idea of what im looking at here. Weather it be success, failed attempts, side effects, etc. I wanna hear it all.

bethleean · June 2013

katib77:
bethleean:
Germangirl, Have you had any success with the clomid and ovidrel therapy?
Hon, if you're looking for success stories you need to go to the pregnant after IF page because all of us here are still struggling.  We have a small handful of women that are TTC#2 that might have done IF treatments for their first child but that's very few women. 
I did two clomid/Ovidrel IUIs, one clomid/Gonal F/Ovidrel IUI and two IUIs using full injects of Follistim.  Only once did I see two lines on a pregnancy test - and that ended in a miscarriage a few days later.  With every story of success you'll hear on PAIF, you'll also hear them say it was their second or third try and there will also be a handful of us over here where that hasn't worked and we're moving on to IVF.  
The road of treatment can be quick for some, and long for others.  Just know this might be your first of a few treatment cycles before you hit the jackpot. 

Well I never thought I'd "hit the jackpot" on the first try! This is obviously my first cycle of treatment, and I just want to know, from women with experience on these treatments, all the ups and downs of them. If I wanted only success stories id only post on the success after IF boards. Im a bit scared of how the treatment will go, and although ive been told most of the sever side effects are few and far between, the possibility that it could happen worries me. But after two years of trying on our own to conceive, DH and I will do anything at this point to add a bundle of joy to our lives and start a family!

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