IF Testing & Treatment week of 7/9

KristoKekerooni · July 2018

@nitnat007 , by chance are they testing DNA frag on your h? It typically presents with more sever sperm issues, but the number one "outside" indication is morph. Might be worth checking into.

suzycupcake · July 2018

@nitnat007 ygpm

nitnat007 · July 2018

@KristoKekerooni I don't recall them mentioning that at all, but I will have to ask. Thank you for the insight and suggestion.

sheepshepherdess · July 2018

Thanks all for help with what it means to test the trigger, had no idea and I think I'm going to start because I have my suspicions.

I'm married to a woman so it makes it complicated to try for this month

We didn't re-up the contract w/our known donor that we used last year, plus my RE doesn't like us using him b/c he hasn't had all the same health screening as my wife. So still WFAF (next Monday it looks like) before trying again.

@50Wife congrats on the upcoming transfer, how exciting!!

@lulu1180I had the exact same reaction, thought the dye would be blue! I got a surprise when I didn't see anything blue on me when I got up.

@thrgirlwhowaited My RE wouldn't let us try the month of the HSG because she said there were "too many unknowns" in the content of the dye. If I had any other options I'd consider switching REs after all these other folks said they were allowed to try.

@purplg8r I understand about having to see family afterwards and act "normal." Nobody knows we're even TTC so we have to lie about appointments and it makes me feel horrible. I do hope you get some good news when you go in.

@nitnat007 glad the appointment went well. And how lucky that the Dr mentioned quitting smoking!

Had a question I forgot about until now. Anyone doing IUIs worry about which ovary is getting stimulated and trying out left vs right?

AlohaKumu · July 2018

@rallykat14 I'm thinking of you today

@nitnat007 Sounds like your doc gave you lots of great info during your appointment. I don't have any info about the SHG, but it sounds like you have a great plan. I hope your DH listens to the doc about the smoking, too!

@jrm_14 That's great that your doc listened to you after hearing your list of reasons for upping your meds and that they are having a positive impact.

@Avrilmai I'm glad everything has seemed fast for you during this part of the , since I know things seem to take forever in the IF world!

@sheepshepherdess Aw, bummer! That's so frustrating when the medications make our bodies act in ways that our docs hadn't anticipated. Hopefully the next cycle is better. I'm also totally weirded out by the facial recognition and all the privacy implications.

@50Wife Buzzfeed posted the sounds where you could test to see what you can hear. I can hear all of them and the higher tones pierce right into my brain.

@KristoKekerooni It is absolutely normal to feel all of those emotions and thoughts. It's so hard to be in the "pattern" of IF and suddenly stop. It took so long to stop feeling like I needed to pee on a stick or worrying about my shots or thinking of the mountain of pills to take. Not only are you dealing with the habits of what we have to go through, but this loss and grief just crushes us with their weight. You are right; there's not even a morsel of fairness in all of this. None of this makes sense for any of us and it's okay to have some tough moments while processing where to go from here.

@lulu1180 Yes, it is always strange to be excited for AF to come, but when it means moving forward, I'm happy to welcome her back.

@emmasemm I hope you are feeling much better today and you get a great report tomorrow!

@suzycupcake The IUI vs. IVF plans are always tough to figure out. I hope you can decide what will work best for you.

@purplg8r Hugs for you, again. I'm so sorry you are in this awful waiting position after everything you've been through. I hope you do get good news when the results come back.

thegirlwhowaited_ · July 2018

@sheepshepherdess I'm going to ask the office when I call to schedule the appointment just to be sure what my RE would prefer, but everything I've seen says it should be fine if it's done earlier enough before O.

Avrilmai · July 2018

@sheepshepherdess I don't know how you would "try out left vs right" the follies grow as they grow. I've done 3 IUIs and had one cancelled cycle and each time it was my left ovary that had the lead follie.(in a medicated cycle with out IUI I had a bunch of follies grow on my right side/become cysts/rupture, so the right did grow for me) I get what you're saying, but I don't know that the science is at the point of getting one side to grow over the other. typically follies start growing and one takes the lead and they don't necessarily alternate ovary month to month.

@thrgirlwhowaited we were allowed to try naturally the cycle of my HSG. there is some anecdotal evidence (I use the word evidence very loosely) that people get some HSG magic and actually get KU that cycle. The thought is that the hsg "clears" out some things if there was some slight blockage. Again, not necessarily evidenced-based research, but you could probably use the search feature here and find some posts about HSG magic.

@AlohaKumu thank you for that perspective. you're right so much of this is waiting; moving forward quickly is not something that usually happens when it comes to IF.

purplg8r · July 2018

@nitnat007 I’m glad the dr had a lot of info for you and next steps. And I hope your H listens & stops smoking!

@AlohaKumu I’m officially old. I couldn’t hear the last two. My dog could hear them all though lol.

lulu1180 · July 2018

I messaged my REs office earlier today to ask some questions and I was quite surprised. They don't do monitoring for an IUI; you just do OPKs and call when you get a positive. They also don't do betas, you just take a HPT and call if it's positive. They also don't do a baseline u/s nor do they do a trigger shot. So I guess it's a pretty bare bones process. The one good thing is that the cost is significantly less without having to do ultrasounds and we could probably swing the money to do 2 more IUIs if the first isn't successful.

Avrilmai · July 2018

@lulu1180 mine didn't do betas either, but I will say I am surprised they don't do any monitoring. How do you feel about it?

sheepshepherdess · July 2018

@lulu1180 my RE also doesn't do betas, and they only do monitoring if they have to put you on FSHs.

jrm_14 · July 2018

@lulu1180 My current RE did 3 u/s for my clomid only cycle. 1 was afterwards to ensure follicles ruptures. He does not do betas unless you have a +hpt. Previous RE did 2 betas & 2 u/s.

I feel like there should be some sort of monitoring to see how many follicles develop (will you be using clomid or letrozole?) & how they progress.

lulu1180 · July 2018

@Avrilmai I’m not quite sure how I feel, I’m just surprised.

@jrm_14 It will be a clomid cycle. I asked about letrozole and I was told that it hasn’t been approved by the FDA for use of infertility even though it is sometimes used

kaldora · July 2018

Diagnosis (if you've been): No official diagnosis, but after a couple of cycles monitoring bloods it appears I have insufficient hormone levels (estrogen especially) and a luteal phase defect.

Status (WTO/TWW/TTA): Waiting for AF. Currently CD 34 of my usual 26-28 day cycles.

What are you doing this cycle? (Testing? Treatment?): Nothing this current cycle, I am waiting for AF, then next cycle will hopefully be go time, on CD 2 commencing letrozole and then having an IUI if my hormone levels are good enough.

In the meantime I have been doing acupuncture, taking prenatal, coq10 (even though AMH is good just trying everything), vitex, vitamin c and l'arginine.

How are things going?: Mentally I am doing much better. After my chemical I was a bit of a mess and it took me a good 6-8 weeks to start feeling like myself again. I was able to look to the future again, and after saving money for the next IUI was ready to go. This cycle has thrown me for a 6 though, I don't know what is going on with my body. I had positive ovulation tests at around CD16-17 with EWCM, everything looked normal for me, thought i was going to get AF on time at CD 26-28, then by CD 31 no AF and started having watery CM then CD 32-33 EWCM again and a positive ovulation test. I honestly dont know what is going on. I am so confused.
I guess I will just wait 2 weeks now and if still no AF ill mention it to my FS.

Any questions?: Is ovulating twice in one cycle two weeks apart even a thing?

GTKY: If you could abolish one piece of modern technology, what would it be and why?
Facebook. Eh. I am using it less and less for communicating with people I actually know. All the posts are either the same, babies, food, or sharing a MLM.
I do enjoy FB groups though, its been especially good for linking up with other solo mother's by choice.

jrm_14 · July 2018

@lulu1180 Overall, how confident are you in your RE? Would it be settling to go for a 2nd opinion?

rallykat14 · July 2018

Thanks for all the thoughts and positive vibes. Beta was negative, progesterone dropped significantly from the first bloodwork. So one donor embryo wasted on another failed cycle. I don't know what to do. This was the best chance I've had and all I got was a whole lot of nothing. This week's grad thread was supposed to be mine. It should have been me. Now what? Do it again? We have 4 embryos. Do I transfer 2 and 2 and just get this over with in the next two months? I'm so bitter, I'm so hurt. I feel completely lost.

jrm_14 · July 2018

@rallykat14 Scream all the curse words & cry all the tears. There is no right answer or crystal ball. And that f*ing sucks. Again, as with each heartbreaker, I wish there were words that would soothe your aching soul or better could change the outcome

lulu1180 · July 2018

Well fuck @rallykat14. I'm so sorry, I was really hopeful for you this cycle. I hope that your RE can put together a plan that will lead to your take home baby. In the meantime, like @jrm_14, scream all the curse words, cry all the tears. Your feelings are valid and you are allowed to be angry. If there's anything we can do, let us know. We'll be here for you in whatever capacity you need

lulu1180 · July 2018

@jrm_14 The last time I met with her (last August actually), I left the appointment feeling really good overall and for the most part I do like her; even though she must not have read the notes on my file when I told her last year that IVF is outside of our budget (she suggested moving to IVF yesterday if I wanted to be more aggressive due to my low AMH).

I prefer to stay with the Cleveland Clinic though - that's where I go for everything else and therefore where all my records are; I'd rather not pay for testing I've already had done. Also, they're a lot more convenient since they have multiple locations and are generally closer to my house than the other options we have around here. TBH I'm not even sure where any independent REs may be. Plus, I don't want to delay treatment any further; I just kind of want to get it over with.

nitnat007 · July 2018

@rallykat14 That just fucking bites. It just isn't fair and I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I was so hopeful for you. All your feelings of frustration and upset are so valid. Feel them all and be kind to yourself right now. We are here if you need anything.

madspunk · July 2018

@AlohaKumu I'm glad to hear you are doing well and enjoying working out and having energy. It's such a great feeling!

@lulu1180 I see you aren't going to be doing the trigger after all but if you ever did, this is just my experience: The first IUI I did, I tested out the trigger because I thought it would be cool to see that dark positive line even though I wasn't pregnant. It was cool for days 1 and 2. Then I got bored with it and stopped testing for several days then started testing again. That was a big mistake. I was still getting a faint line from the trigger and it messed with my head not knowing if it was real or not, even though I knew it was almost certainly the trigger. After that, I never tested out the trigger again. I find it to be really helpful because it holds me off testing, or even thinking about testing, until AF/beta is close any way.
That is strange your RE isn't doing any kind of monitoring. I know there have been a couple people come through who have had similar experiences. If it were me, I would probably push for at least 1 U/S. I didn't respond to letrozole and they knew through U/S so they were able to increase my meds.

@AvrilMai The timeline from IUI to IVF can be so crazy! I was in a similar boat where we went right from IUI to IVF. I liked that it was fast-paced though because it made IVF feel like less of a big deal.

@KristoKekerooni I'm so sorry. I think the sitting and waiting is the hardest part. When you want something so badly and you feel like your'e not actively doing anything to get it, it's such a terrible feeling. But you are doing something. You're taking the time you need, you're waiting for the results, and I hope you are doing lots of self-care. It sucks you aren't taking pills or injections, or going to dr's appointments, or really able to figure out next treatment plans right now, but you're doing the hardest work you could possibly be doing in the TTC realm right now. And I'm sorry you have to.

I still grapple with the faith stuff, and I'm trying to think of some coherent response I can give you before I go to work, but I'm coming up short.

@emmasemm How are your 2 embryos doing?

@suzycupcake I took awhile to decide to do IVF as well. Prior to IVF, I went through 10 various treatment cycles. **TW** I also had a MC the first medicated cycle we did with TI, and I know that was a big component of what held me back from IVF for so long. Because I was also thinking that if it happened one time, it would happen again. For some people it does! And I wanted to make sure I'd exhausted our efforts of trying less invasive procedures before moving to IVF. **end TW**
Now that I have done IVF, I will say it was less scary than I thought it would be and I am so glad that I did it. In the end, we spent more on IUIs then we did on IVF. Possibly much more, but I haven't calculated it. And about 10x the time on other treatment cycles altogether then we did on IVF. Do I wish I had skipped and went to IVF sooner? I can't say I do wish that. Rather, I wish that we had been at a point emotionally where we were ready to accept IVF sooner so we didn't have to do all those other treatments. I think it's a balance of not pushing yourself to do something you're not ready for, and working on accepting something that might happen. And you can always decide that IVF is not for you. If you ever want to talk through anything, feel free to PM me or ask those questions in this thread. I have spent many months going through all the questions related to "to IVF or not to IVF?"

@rallykat14 I'm so sorry. I really had my heart set on this cycle being the one for you too. Did they give you any reason it might not have worked, or suggest any changes to meds or anything? Were the embryos PGS tested? I haven't researched this that much yet, but if it were me, I would probably go through at least 2 more single-embryo transfers. I think I've read that pregnancy rate is not that much greater when transferring 2 than 1. I totally understand wanting to get this done as quickly as possible though.

50Wife · July 2018

@lulu1180 wow I'm surprised and how little is involved there.
Now, is that all just cost related? Could you do the monitoring and trigger if you wanted to? Or is that just how the office does IUIs?

@rallykat14 I am so fucking sorry and upset for you. I know we were all rooting for you and hoping this was it.
Will you have a meeting with your doctor to decide next steps or are you going to wait a bit before making a decision?

lulu1180 · July 2018

@50Wife (and anyone else who might be wondering) Here are the questions I asked and the responses I got. It sounds like that's just how they do IUIs.

1. When my next cycle starts, do I call or message your office? If calling, is there a specific person I should speak with? YOU DO NOT NEED TO CALL. IF YOU DO HAVE QUESTIONS THOUGH YOU WOULD CALL

2. Previously, it was mentioned that we would be doing an IUI with Clomid; why was this chosen over the other option of Femara? What dosage would you likely put me on? WE TYPICALLY START WITH CLOMID. FEMARA IS NOT FDA APPROVED FOR FERTILITY, BUT IS OFTEN USED FOR THIS. WE WOULD GIVE YOU 50MG.

3. Will there be a baseline ultrasound done on cycle day 3? Are there any other tests that would be/need to be run prior to starting the cycle? NO WE DO NOT DO ROUTINE BASELINE ULTRASOUNDS OR OTHER TESTING. THE ONLY REASON TO DO A BASELINE IS IF YOU ARE HAVING PAINFUL CYCLES OR PAIN AFTER OVULATION.

4. On what cycle day would monitoring ultrasounds start and how often would they be after the initial one? YOU DO NOT NEED ULTRASOUND TO MONITOR TO DO THE IUI UNLESS YOU DO NOT GET POSITIVES ON YOUR OVULATION. WE TYPICALLY USE THE OVULATION KITS TO TIME THEM. WE HAVE YOU COME IN THE DAY AFTER YOU GET A POSITIVE OVULATION KIT. IF YOU ARE NOT GETTING POSITIVES THEN WE DO ULTRASOUND TO TIME THEM. IT DOES NOT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF PREGNANCY IF YOU DO GET POSITIVES ON YOUR KIT.

5. Will there be a trigger shot done to induce ovulation? What kind of medication will it be or will I have a choice which to use? NO YOU WILL NOT NEED THIS UNLESS YOU NEED ULTRASOUNDS TO TIME THEM.

6. How many follicles will you be hoping to see? 1-2 IF AN ULTRASOUND WAS DONE.

7. Is there anything that would cause you to cancel the IUI? If so, what? NO

8. Will you schedule a blood test to confirm if the IUI was successful or will I just call you if I get a positive test at home?YOU WOULD TAKE A HOME PREGNANCY IF YOU DO NOT GET YOUR PERIOD BY 17 DAYS AFTER THE IUI. YOU WOULD CALL US WITH THIS INFO.

jrm_14 · July 2018

@lulu1180 Sounds like you asked some great questions! How will they know if you over/under responded or the clomid needs increased? My concern would be if you’re not responding & you do as many IUIs as you can afford & clomid hasn’t produced any follicles.

Avrilmai · July 2018

@rallykat14 shit, I'm so sad for you and so sorry that you have to ask these questions. Take your time. You don't have to make a decision today.

rallykat14 · July 2018

@50Wife I actually emailed the head Dr. Dr Kiltz and he emailed back that he would be calling me in the next few days. We will see what he suggests.

lulu1180 · July 2018

@jrm_14 I'm pretty confident/hopeful that the clomid will produce something. I haven't replied yet, but will likely ask if they do an u/s day of just to confirm; I would think they have to do at least one. I don't think I'll over-respond since I have low AMH but crazier things have happened!

KristoKekerooni · July 2018

@rallykat14 , I didn't realize you were with CNY. Me too. I hope Dr. K can give you some valid and advice. I'm in a few facebook groups and people seem to really get ish done after talking to him. I have only talked to him once after I had an issue with a staff member.

I'm so effing sorry to hear the shitty news. I'm not the best person to give advice or comfort, because all I want to say is it's not effing fair. Like. This was supposed to work for you. And I am SO pissed that it hasn't. I wish I could give you advice or words of comfort. but all I know to say is fuck this. You are awesome and brave and this is just shitty, period.

rallykat14 · July 2018

@KristoKekerooni yup, so far I've liked them but I feel like I'm running out of time and options and I just gave it a whirl and emailed him. Time to pull out the big guns.

purplg8r · July 2018

@lulu1180 my RE didn’t do betas either but I’m not sure I’d be ok without monitoring. There’s so many things that could be happening

@rallykat14 damn. I’m so so sorry. My heart is breaking for you. I really hope your RE has a plan—it’s not fair!

AlohaKumu · July 2018

@rallykat14 I wanted this month to be your time so badly. You have been through so much to get here and it's just completely unfair. I hope the "big guns" can give you more solid info as you move forward. FWIW, we have decided to transfer our last two on the next FET and our doc is totally on board with that. I want us all to be able to get the heck out of TTGP in the coming months.

LadyMillil · July 2018

I'm so sorry @rallykat14

@lulu1180 my RE did a monitoring ultrasound my first clomid IUI cycle to see my response. After that she didn't do monitoring ultrasounds unless you changed meds unless requested. Everything else about the IUI plan is the same as what my clinic did

rallykat14 · July 2018

Ok ladies now I'm in need of some help...I talked to Dr Kiltz and here are some things he suggested. I'm not exactly sure on spellings of things so forgive me.
IVIG
Plaqinol
Nupagin
Sub q?
Hysteroscopy with scratch @lulu1180 he suggested!
LIT therapy which apparently is done in Toronto???
Humara plaq something...I couldn't really understand

purplg8r · July 2018

@rallykat14 I’ve only heard of one of those things—the scratch. I know my RE likes to do them because she said that sometimes it can help with implantation

AFM We just got our results back—and both embryos are normal!!! I’m so freaking relieved!!!

lulu1180 · July 2018

I'm so happy they both came back normal @purplg8r! Will you do the FET at the start of your next cycle?

zamoraspin · July 2018

@purplg8r Yay!!!! What great news!

jrm_14 · July 2018

@rallykat14 I’m thinking a few of the things are the oral medication Plaquenil and the sub-q injection (like in the belly) of Humira. They are both utilized for autoimmune issues. Humira blocks a specific thing called TNF-alpha, which when blocked prevents certain other immune responses. Plaquenil is an anti-malarial medication used to decrease inflammation. The discussions I have had with my RE re: these medications (I have an autoimmune disease & am already on Plaquenil + other meds) was more focused on their use in preventing miscarriages.

I hope you’re able to find some some more information & move forward.

suzycupcake · July 2018

@rallykat14 I'm so sorry to hear of this news. I had my hopes up for you as well. Sending good thoughts and vibes your way as you navigate through the information and I hope peace and calm for you as you figure out the next steps to do what's best for you.

@madspunk Thank you for your comments for me. I will leave the floor open for rallykat and utilize pm when I have questions for you. Thanks for the invitation

rallykat14 · July 2018

@suzycupcake don't feel like you have to go to PM for your questions! Ask away! I'm also here if you need to ask anything IVF. I'm a little different in that by the time we saw a RE we needed to move to IVF. I've done some clomid cycles but never IUI. I was terrified of the needles and the process of it all and said if I have to do it I needed to go with the best % of success. Little did I know my success rate was going to be slim to none with my eggs....

50Wife · July 2018

@suzycupcake Do you have any IVF coverage if it does get to that point or is it all out of pocket? I will say this - thinking about doing IVF seems like a beast! Like you'd never in a million years be able to do it. But once you're in it - the day to day is not horrible. Yes, the needles and medications pile up...but you take 5 minutes out of your day to do injections. I'd be doing dishes after dinner and my alarm would go off, we'd set up, mix meds, inject, and I'd be back to doing my dishes a few minutes later. Is it shitty that anyone has to do this? Yes. But it's do-able! I promise. My mom has joked that out of her children, I've always been the one with the biggest fear of needles and here I am...
Any IVF questions - I saw throw them out there (like @rallykat14 said)...plenty of us have been through it and can help! We've all had different experiences so we should cover all of the bases for ya!

Also - I've been thinking. All of the ladies here (past, present, future) are the biggest group of badass women I've ever "met" and I 1,000% mean that with everything in me.
We get hit, we get back up (yes, sometimes after many tears and drinks and chocolate...). Stronger and ready to fight harder. Medicines, procedures, needles, money, more meds, more needles. There aren't a lot of people that I know in life that have this much drive and push for something this hard. But we're all here and we're all doing it and that my friends...is fucking bad ass. So if no one has said it to you recently...I'm telling you how amazing all of you are for going through this shit.

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