August 2021 IUI

LJMoon6 · July 2021

It’s been a long time since anyone has posted an IUI month thread. Anyone out there?

Introduction/DX:

IUI number:

IUI protocol:

R/R (rant/rave):

LJMoon6 · July 2021

I realize that it’s still July… but it’s basically already August… so I’m going with it lol.

Introduction/DX: MH and I are TTC #2. While trying for our first we were diagnosed with unexplained IF. We ended up doing multiple treatment cycles, but our 2nd IUI worked. I’m hoping we can repeat that process.

IUI number: 1

IUI protocol: 5mg letrozole (upping my dose from last time since I only produced 1 egg on 2.5mg), plus trigger.

R/R (rant/rave): I’m getting super nervous. I just want everything to be perfect. AF is lighter than normal this month. I should be thankful since last month it was hell. But now I’m sitting here worried that it’s not normal and my lining wont be the best for the IUI. Ugh. I’m also super worried about timing. Every single time I take letrozole I O on my own on CD13. That would be a Sunday this cycle. And my clinic wont do IUIs on the weekend. Even though we’re doing a trigger shot, I’m just worried about the clinic trying to push me to Monday (CD14) and I end up missing it. Ugh, of course everything will probably be perfectly fine and I just need to chill.

Anyone else out there getting ready to do an IUI? My baseline is tomorrow, eek!

romeoandjuliet146 · July 2021

@LJMoon6 Hi. I am not doing an IUI, but an FET, but wanted to comment anyway. One woman on youtube had a sucessful IUI and mentioned that she continued taking her ovulation tests, and ended up getting a peak before she took the trigger shot, so she called the clinic and they moved up her IUI.

LJMoon6 · July 2021

@romeoandjuliet146 Very good point! I was planning on taking opks leading up to trigger, so I guess if I call they should be able to get me in, right? But then it's not as controlled. How do they know when I should come in if I'm surging on my own?

LJMoon6 · July 2021

Update from my baseline this morning (I hope some more people join me soon!).

Lining looked good (4.4). I had 7-10 follicles on each ovary. Starting letrozole tonight. And I talked to the nurse about my concerns over timing and she reassured me that yes, in fact, they will do an IUI on the weekend if that’s when the best timing will be. And because I have had success before, they will try their best to mimic that cycle. So that’s a huge weight off my shoulders! I don’t know why the other person I talked to said they wouldn’t do them on the weekend. That caused unnecessary stress. Oh well. Powering on. I’m not sure if I’m also supposed to add in a baby aspirin. I took one last time but there was no mention of it this time. I sent in a message to the clinic. Just waiting to hear back from them.

lylf · August 2021

Hi,

It’s for the wrong month but I can’t find July. So after 2 years of infertility, 6 timed intercourse (thanks COVID) a dozenish IUI’s, all BFN’s, failed IVF (couldn’t even do PGT-A or ICSI), surgery for DH, and 1 practice IUI, we finally have our BFP as of yesterday!!!! I get my second blood test on Monday to see if hcg doubled.

Is there a forum for those that have struggled with infertility but are finally pregnant? I’ve been going through ups and downs and I’m trying to enjoy it and push away the fears. But I don’t know for how long I can. The closer I get to Monday the more I’m worried.

tinjp78 · August 2021

*lurking*

@lylf Congratulations!!! There’s a forum called PAIF (Pregnancy After IF). It is a dream for me to be crossing over to that forum. Sometimes I lurk there and check on some friends who have graduated here and I feel it’s fun there and the support is great as well like here. GL.

courtneyh7138 · August 2021

I am going to be doing a round of IUI once my cycle resets. We are waiting to do a round of donor egg IVF, but want to try IUI while we wait since our insurance covers most of it!

I have done two rounds in the past - 1st round failed and 2nd round was cancelled because we had 4 mature follicles and the doctor was worried about the risk of multiples. Now that we've had two failed IVF's, he wishes he didn't cancel that cycle, but there was just no way to know that we'd be dealing with egg quality issues at the time.

I will follow the same protocol - clomid and then the IUI.

LJMoon6 · August 2021

@lylf Congratulations!!!! That’s so exciting. I know the fear after IF can be so real. Along with with PAIF board also check out your birth month board. Those are usually pretty active and you can find some people who have been through IF on there too.

@courtneyh713 I’m glad to have someone doing an IUI with me! When will your donor egg IVF start? What dose of clomid are you on for your IUI and how many eggs do you hope to get?

courtneyh7138 · August 2021

@LJMoon6 We haven't started yet, but I believe we will do the same protocol we used with our previous IUI's. I was on 50mg of clomid for 5 days I believe, not 100% on the number of days since it was so long ago. In our last cycle, I had 4 equally mature follicles and really hope for the same or better results! How about you?

LJMoon6 · August 2021

@courtneyh713 FX you can get 4+ mature follicles! I remember a grad back in the day triggered with 5 or 6. It was an insane number but she had been doing IUIs for a while and knew the chances of high order multiples were slim. 1 ended up sticking and she had a healthy LO! FX for the same for you!

I’m hoping for only 1 or 2 mature follicles. I know my RE is shooting for 2. I only produced 1 on the low dose of letrozole (and had success), but she bumped me up a little bit so that I will hopefully produce 2 mature follicles. I’m terrified of multiples though. We’ll be fine if that’s what ends up happening but still a fear of mine.

Do you have an idea of when your cycles going to start back up?

courtneyh7138 · August 2021

@LJMoon6 When are you cycling? FX for you as well! I have never been on letrozole, only clomid. I know different doctors prefer different brands, but I think they essentially do the same thing. I'm also on a ton of supplements that I wasn't on before and I'm hoping some of them help!

My CD 1 should be around 8/15 or so.

LJMoon6 · August 2021

@courtneyh713 I go back in tomorrow, CD10, for a scan. I’m getting nervous about it! I’m more nervous about there being too many and we have to cancel.

I have done some cycles with clomid but it was thinning out my lining too much (a common side effect). I advocated to switch to letrozole. They use slightly different mechanisms to trick the ovaries into growing more eggs, but the outcome is the same. I think clomid is the default choice for most doctors. There have been some recent studies that show letrozole might have higher success. Probably because of the lining issue. But who knows. Most infertility studies have to be taken with a grain of salt since no one really wants to be in a blind trial, potentially getting a placebo instead of actual treatment. But that’s a different topic for a different day.

I hope CD1 comes soon for you so you can start your IUI!

LJMoon6 · August 2021

Pretty sure this IUI is F**ed. I’m just pissed about it all. Why can’t this be easy.

Backstory: For our successful IUI we used letrozole, but only 2.5mg. By CD10 I had 1 follicle at 19 already, and my lining was over 7. So we triggered the day after and had our IUI on CD13. This time around we tried a couple cycles with the same dose of letrozole and timed intercourse. I always O-ed on my own at CD13.

Well, when we decided to move on to the IUI this time the RE upped my dose to 5mg in the hopes of getting 1 or 2 more follicles (4 max). I figured we’d be ready to trigger around the same timing. Today, at CD10, my lining is only 4.9. I have 3 follicles at 12 and 2 at 11.5. What is my body doing!? If all of them keep growing they will cancel my cycle. The nurse said I will be triggering on Sunday without a follow up scan… I’m just sitting here thinking, are you sure?! I know they still have to run the plan past my RE but yikes. What are the odds that all of them will keep growing?! Should we push off the trigger till Monday so we can do a follow up scan in the morning? If follicles grow about 2 every day, that would make them around 18 by Sunday and 21 by Monday. Is that too late?! Ugh. And what about my lining? Clearly my follicles aren't ready, so it makes sense that my lining isn't quite there yet, but how much does that usually grow every day? So many questions!

LJMoon6 · August 2021

I guess I’ll do an update. I hope someone joins me here soon!

We ended up going ahead with the IUI as they had planned. I did my trigger shot on Sunday and the IUI on Tuesday (18 mil sperm post wash, woot!). I had ended up calling them to see about pushing the trigger shot off so that we could do another scan but they said no. They wanted to do the shot early enough so that hopefully the other 2 smaller ones won’t be mature. If we had waited an extra day then they likely would have been. And of course they don’t do scans on the weekend… so I had to do it blindly. I got a little pissed off with the nurse I talked to. She was incredibly condescending and contradicted herself over and over again. When I told her I didn’t want to have 5 babies at once (being a bit dramatic here since I doubt all 5 of them would end up being mature) her response was “well, that’s the risk you take when you’re doing an IUI.” Ugh, I wanted to smack her.

But anyways. The IUI itself went great. I didn’t have any major cramping this time and the nurse was super gentle and calming. And I talked to my mom and she agreed to quit her job and move in with us to be our live-in nanny if we end up with 5 babies lol (I have to use humor here or I will start having panic attacks lol). Now the dreaded TWW has started.

tinjp78 · August 2021

*lurking*

@LJMoon6 Congrats! You did great! The first nurse you mentioned was just so lovely wasn’t she? I admire how you could hold yourself back from giving her what she deserves. These types of medical practitioners aren’t suppose to be near our clinics. Anyway, glad all that is behind you now and you’ve got your TWW, I hope it would go out fast and smoothly for you. GL!

em_ryan · August 2021

@LJMoon6 thanks for starting a new conversation that’s recent…everything i can find is from years back! i’m 10dpiui today. this is my 3rd iui in total, 1st in a few years…my 2nd iui resulted in pregnancy but ended up being an ectopic, and it took me and DH a very long time to heal (physically, emotionally, mentally). we tried again naturally for the past few years but finally decided to give iui a last go as i’m AMA so this is our last chance with assistance.

same protocol as iui 2 — 2.5 letrizole + trigger + progesterone as my luteal phase is short. i O on my own monthly, cd17-22. i only produced 2 follies this cycle and they were growing slower than last time — scan 1 cd11 5mm+6mm. cd14 1 follie left at 9mm. so that was discouraging growth was only 1mm/day i/o 2mm. they checked my fsh levels to consider whether to give me more letrizole. went back for scan 3 cd18 and follie measured 16.5mm lining 9.5. so they scheduled trigger for 2 days later, iui 2 days after that.

however, that night i got a peak on OPK and again in the morning. so they moved everything up to that day! i took the trigger at 9am and iui at 2:45pm. they said the trigger would just act as a booster (?) i was surprised they still had me take it. dr said timing was perfect as cervix was dialated and cm present. but i was discouraged there wasn’t time for further follicle growth.

sharing this as it sounds like your iui cycle also didn’t go as planned timing-wise as well. it’s hard to stay calm and positive on this roller coaster, sending you posi vibes during your tww!

piper2424 · August 2021

I took Clomid for 5 days starting on 8/2 and then 300 of Follistim for a few nights. I went in today and had three follicles, at 12 mm, 17 and 18. My doctor called tonight and said to do another 300 of Follistim ASAP, then a trigger shot tonight. Going in on Sunday for the IUI. It's our second round and I'm praying it works this time.

marca10 · August 2021

Hello. I am 11 dpt. I did Ovidrel, trigger, and IUI this cycle. I had two mature follicles and possibly three more. They wanted to let the others grow, but I started surging, so moved up the trigger and IUI. So, that makes me a little nervous that not everything was perfect. But they were still pretty optimistic. I've been testing out the trigger, and declared it gone yesterday, but this AM it was faint, faint, faint. I think mostly likely this is a normal fluctuation from what's left of the trigger (i.e. possibly yesterday was more dilute).

I think I've read every "testing out the trigger" post on the internet. My experience seems to line up with BFN stories. Haven't really had any symptoms other than cramping. At 7/8 dpo, I had sharp localized twinges (and thought, yay, implantation). But those transitioned to af type cramps x 3 days now. I do get cramps before af, not usually this early, but who knows what's up with my cycle this time. Other than that, no symptoms besides those I can attribute to progesterone pills (that started 1 dpo and haven't changed). Probably out this month. Need to decide whether to try this again or start IVF...

piper2424 · August 2021

Literally laying on the table, waiting out the 15 minutepost IUI. Husband had 134 million sperm. Literally need just one guy to get through. Positive thoughts please!!

em_ryan · August 2021

@piper2424 - amazing, 134 million! sending good thoughts!

em_ryan · August 2021

@marca10 your timing this cycle sounds like mine, as well as the tiggering out but faint faint line again a day later. i’m 12dpiui with no symptoms / similar cramping symptoms i thought was implantation. curious how many iui cycles you have had since you are contemplating moving on to ivf now…

marca10 · August 2021

@em_ryan This was my first injectables+IUI cycle. I did clomid+IUI before. TTC x 2 years, and throughout that time maybe 5-6 medicated cycles one way or another. My RE is pushing me toward IVF since I seem to respond well to stimulation, just no success.

marca10 · August 2021

** TW **

Well, I think this IUI cycle is ending in a chemical. I've never ever gotten pregnant before, so I sort of see this as step in the right direction? I was leaning toward IVF if this cycle didn't work at all, but now I'm wondering if I should do more IUIs first...

LJMoon6 · August 2021

Yay! I love that more people have joined! Sorry I took a little break during the TWW since I didn’t think anyone was joining me. I’m happy I’m wrong.

@tinjp78 Thank you for the kind words!

@em_ryan Omg. I hate when absolutely nothing goes as planned. But that seems to be a common theme around here. I should just expect it, instead of being surprised every time. Ugh. I’m assuming you’ve gotten your results by now. How are you doing?

@piper2424 134 million sperm!? Prewash? Or Postwash? Cause that’s a crazy high number! How are you doing? Have you gotten your results yet?

@maeca10 I’m so sorry about your chemical. Take the time you need to process your feelings. And treat yourself. I had a chemical a couple months ago, and while it was hard, it did also give me hope as well. So I definitely know how you’re feeling.

Well, I’m out this month. I still need to go in for official blood work tomorrow morning, but all 100 million at-home tests have been negative. I contacted my RE’s office about lowering my letrozole dose since I was so uncomfortable with how many follicles I created and they agreed. This way we can let the 1 or 2 grow a little bigger and hopefully have success like we did last time. If they would have said no then I would have switched clinics. I’m so fed up with them. I can’t wait to never have to go back there again. Blah!

bumphi · September 2021

LJMoon6 said:

Yay! I love that more people have joined! Sorry I took a little break during the TWW since I didn’t think anyone was joining me.

So many! I can't even imagine

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