New Here (Introduction) - Possible TMI for an Intro??

AutumnSkye10 · March 2015

Hello everyone! My name is Jen and I'm 27. My DH is 26 and we have been married for almost 2 years and TTC since Jan 2014. I guess that makes us one of the "newer" TTC couples. In Aug 2014 I was diagnosed with PCOS as my reason for non-ovulation and immediately referred to a FS. After completing a recommended genetic test I was diagnosed with homozygous (2 copies) of MTHFR C677T. After discussing options and prices we continued to TTC on our own (and alter to better a better diet for MTHFR) up until Feb 2015. During that whole year AF visited twice and we decided that it was time to start treatments.

We are currently in the TWW of our first Clomid cycle (100mg) and from how the Dr talks, I didn't respond well to it. At my 2nd US there were only 2 follicles at 16 and my lining was a 4. He said we could go ahead a trigger a few days later and I started on progesterone gel yesterday. The day after my trigger I felt achy all over, but after that I've felt perfectly normal other than a few cramps, which makes me a little worried that maybe the trigger didn't work and the follicles are still just sitting there. I'll go in for my BETA on the 28th. If this doesn't work they want to move to injections and I'm really confused at how those work and if you have to have extra US or not with them.

I'm mostly here looking for support and tips as most of the people I know have no trouble and keep telling me to download various ovulation calendar apps which don't work with my PCOS. Baby dust to all those here!

GoldenKeys · March 2015

Welcome! Stick around as this is the right place to both receive and to give support.

First: 2 follies is exactly what you want at your age. If you got more than that, they would likely cancel you because of the risk of all of them getting fertilized and implanting. Addtionally, Clomid is a two edged sword: it can help you mature your eggs but it also can severely thin your lining, making implantation impossible. Femara and injects do not do this.

Hopefully, yuor progesterone gel will thicken your lining and put you more in the running for success this cycle. If you move onto injections, you will definitely have regular ultrasounds to check the status of your follies every 2 or 3 days. Not to scare you but it's common for PCOS patients to be converted to IVF for over responding to injects -- they are much stronger than Clomid.

P.S. The trigger works 99.9% of the time, so I would not worry about not ovulating after the Ovidrel shot.

Good luck!

AutumnSkye10 · March 2015

Thanks GoldenKeys. Does anyone have any idea why they would skip Femara and go straight to injectibles? Are the injectibles done for 5 days just like the Clomid was? I know that many people here are paying TONS more for IVF etc, but we just aren't in a place financially that I can drop $12k out of pocket to be "converted to IVF" I feel like just because I got a medical loan that's enough to pay for 3 Clomid cycles they're wanting to just jump to a more expensive option. I'll have to talk to them when I go in for my BETA on the 28th (Then again I'm only seeing the lab assistant not the actual doctor). I kind of wish I had another option for a FS in my area because they only explain about what THEY want to do not about what you think another option could be...

GoldenKeys · March 2015

No problem! I was on injects from CD2 to CD12, an average of 9 or 10 days on all of my medicated cycles. I don't know why they would want to skip Femara, but I would definitely ask them about it! If you responded to the Clomid I don't see any reason to jump to injects, Femara makes more sense. In fact if you aren't doing IVF, as a PCOS patient the last thing you want to try are injects, you can very likely end up with a ton of follies for all of your trouble!

P.S. Are you in the USA? Is this an OBGYN or an RE?

Knottie4978096 · March 2015

2 follicles sounds completely normal on clomid. I don't have PCOS, but I had 2 follicles on Femara (Femara was given instead of clomid due to my advanced age). Be advised that nearly 1/2 the cost for IVF are those injectable medications. They run in the thousands, no joke. In my opinion, it's a waste to go on injectables with timed intercourse - at least do an IUI with them. Also, my RE told me 3 rounds of IUI with injectables coasts the same as 1 round of IVF. It may make more financial sense to jump to the IVF, especially if you can get extra embryos to freeze.

AutumnSkye10 · March 2015

@goldenkeys I am def asking about Femara when I go in. The main reason they want to switch off of Clomid is because my lining was thin and they said the injectables won't thin the lining like clomid. How does Femara work with the lining compared to Clomid? But from what it sounds like, follicle wise I responded just fine to Clomid. Maybe slightly slow since, they said they would have liked to see them measuring 18-19 at my US where they were only 16.

This is not through my OBGYN but a fertility clinic. Not sure what the difference between a FS and and RE is (actually not sure what RE is abbreviated for...)

@Knottie4978096 Right now my Clomid cycles are running about $1000 a month (add another $700-800 for IUI if we go that route). So I can get at least 6 rounds in for the price of a IVF. They said that injectable are "a little more expensive", but this sounds insane! I'd love to jump right to IVF since it has the highest success rate, but because my insurance doesn't cover it they was "payment in full when the service is performed" So basically I'd have to have $12 grand in cash available because they "Don't do payment plans". When I inquired about payment plans for Clomid they suggested I get a medical loan (which I did) for the cost of 2-3 cycles. I can afford the payments on a loan for $3000 but I don't even think I'd qualify for a $30,000 loan plus those payments would be way too much for my budget at the current time. So we're sticking with the cheaper cycles and hoping we don't have to do enough of them to get that much debt.

KidShrink · March 2015

Femara does seem like it'd be a good option for you. Many who don't respond as well to Clomid respond better to Femara. Also, it doesn't thin the lining. It's hasn't been miraculous in regards to the lining on my end, but Ovidrel and Prometrium can help.

AutumnSkye10 · March 2015

Thanks. I go in again at the end of this week so I will talk to them about it then.

daniandbri · April 2015

best of luck to you- I have PCOS and 2 copies of MTHFR C677T.

I took Clomid for 6months, and resulted in one pregnancy with an early loss.

My best success for getting pregnant was lifestyle change. Had a surprise pregnancy which I lost at about 9 weeks, have since discovered the MTHFR and another surprise pregnancy (about 6.5 weeks currently).

Not sure how active you are, but for me excercise and eating right worked better than the medications for conception.

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