Newbie with some questions on treatments

Knottie1451423403 · January 2016

Hello everyone. First and foremost, I my heart truly goes out to everyone going through this struggle. I am 38 years old and have been TTC for 8 months now. I have a son who is 19 years old, that I had when I was 19 - I had no idea I had fertility issues. But I went to the doctor to make sure everything was okay - made them test AMH my level came back 0.68 at first. Then after being told to go to a fertility clinic - my level came back even lower at .23 for AMH and a FSH of 16! which was only a few months later. It was like being punched in the throat. My fiancé is 31 and this will be his first child. We ultimately want 2 children. After gong through the testing at the fertility clinic, they recommended IVF immediately. However insurance will make me do 3 rounds of IVF first before agreeing to cover IVF treatments. Which is bananas. I don't understand how its okay to force hormones and treatments the doctor doesn't recommend - but anyhow - even the IVF is scary to me. I am much more of a natural person - taking herbs and supplements, I work out 5 days a week, I take good care of myself. I recently (a month ago) quit smoking...I started going to acupuncture 3 weeks ago and have been feeling AMAZING after my treatments. She told me that my blood was weak - which the blood test confirmed that she didn't even know about. She told me to start drinking bone marrow broth for breakfast. Stop overdoing it in the gym, and stop stressing and she believes she would be able to get me to a place where I would get my BFP in a few months. I am trying to refrain from getting overly worked up - I am a high strung person by nature. But I have been incorporating meditation practices, acupuncture, long hot baths and chill time into my routines to try to balance this all out. (Which is also needed greatly since I quit smoking!) But I was wondering - have any of you had success with Acupuncture? I also started taking Royal Jelly, Maca Root, 25 mg of DHEA twice a day, and of course prenatal vitamins. I put myself on these supplements after reading so many success stories of people taking them who had low AMH high FSH issues like myself. Thoughts ladies???

Knottie1451423403 · January 2016

Oh and I am also taking CoQ10 60 mg once a day.

twomommiestobe · January 2016

Hi! Sorry you have to be here.
Did you do other testing beside bloodwork? Did they do a hsg to see if your tubes were blocked or a shg to see if there were fibroids or other reasons an egg won't implant? If for some reason your tubes are blocked, iui or trying naturally with acupuncture and meds will never work.
Also, has YH had a SA to see if there are male fertility issues? If he has certain issues, you will need iui or even straight to ivf bc it will never happen naturally or with iui.
If your insurance pays for 3 rounds of iui before ivf, you are very lucky. A lot of people here, including myself, have to pay for everything out of pocket. Personally, I never take medicine. Not even simple pain killers for a headache. The thought of all the meds has scared me, but I would GLADLY do the IUIs to save $18,000 on ivf! Lol Just my personal opinions, so others might have other viewpoints.

Just trying to get more of an idea of what all testing you have done, so we can help answer some questions.

BrightenMySky · January 2016

Have you talked through with your doctor why IUI is not an option for you? As mentioned above, if there is a sperm issue or a blockage, IUI may never work for you, and perhaps your doctor could help with showing insurance that it would be a waste for you to go through it (no experience with this, just a thought).

Three IUIs to get IVF covered is not terrible, though--assuming your DX does not mean IUI could never work. A lot of people have 0 coverage; we have partial coverage for IVF after 6 IUIs that are partially covered. You can talk to your RE about what drugs are right for you and what you will do if you respond poorly or do not tolerate them well--I find it helpful to have that kind of plan in place. I have not done IVF, but my understanding is it's a whole lot more drugs than IUI can be, so if there's a chance IUI could work, seems like you would want to start there.

/bfp warning/
I was seeing an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility treatments and does treatments to complement meds & procedures during my second and third IUI cycles (and got a BFP from the third one). Part of the focus of acupuncture during the cycle is to reduce side effects from meds (Clomid in my case). I don't know what role the acupuncture played, but I did really enjoy having that time and hope to start back up with treatments soon, as my provider does first tri work.

Knottie1451423403 · January 2016

Yes, they did the HSG and that came back fine. As well as the ultrasound. No issues with either one. The results from my blood work were the issue. Low AMH and high FSH. My partner was also tested and he is more than okay..so its me. Which is another slap in the face. I am the same as you - if I have a headache...I just push through or use aromatherapy to get over it. I am willing to do whatever I need to - but I am terrified of what all these hormones will do to my body in the long run. And if they IVF will even work. Right now my insurance isn't covering much and I've already spent over $1000 in the testing alone. I'm sorry to hear of all the hardship with the financial aspect. I am getting married soon and his insurance is great...and I will be switching to his insurance so more is covered. It just kind of terrified me that they would push for three IUI's before even attempting the IVF.

Knottie1451423403 · January 2016

The doctor at Shady Grove Fertility clinic said that she wanted to go forward with IVF to be as aggressive as possible to get the result we want. I think the quality and quantity of my eggs were the reason why she wanted to go in and cherry pick the best ones and go the IVF route. But that does give me something to think about for sure. Thank you so much for your input. Congrats on your BFP!!! What's bananas is this I feel like in my heart I KNOW I am going to get pregnant soon. Things just feel different. There have been some really tough times through this whole ordeal but I am willing to go the distance and jump through any and all hoops to start our family.

mskeenan · January 2016

Hey there! I'm so sorry you have to be here! My insurance would only cover IVF after I completed 6 IUI rounds (even though they didn't explicitly state that in my policy). My husband and I even with great coverage of meds and coverage of most procedures still spent a lot of money doing 2 IUIs, 2 other medicated TI cycles and testing. My husband and I just made the decision to do IVF out of pocket because I didn't want to put my body through anything more if I didn't have a high chance at success. Honestly, 3 IUIs isn't TERRIBLE... but it's not fun. It could be nice to do one to see how your body responds to the medications. Honestly, I look at my IUIs as my practice rounds to see how my body responded to medications. It could go either way in terms of your decision. Follow your gut!! I wish you the best of luck! Either way you decide we are all here for you!!

BrightenMySky · January 2016

It sounds like you like your providers, which is great, but since it sounds like we're in the same area, I can PM you the names of my doc and acupuncturist (both have offices in DC and NoVa) if that might be helpful.

2015dee · January 2016

Hi there. I am so sorry to hear about your struggles. I agree with the others that 3 rounds of IUI isn't a terrible option to get IVF covered, but I can understand your dr's perspective and the rush with your AMH & FSH levels. I don't understand the insurance companies either, but I think it is great that they offer any IF coverage. We are completely OOP. Our insurance (which is excellent in all other ways) does not cover IF. If finances were of zero concerns, I'd personally move to IVF if I were you, but I know how expensive this all is.

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