I'm 13dpiui today, bfn. Guessing tomorrow will hold the same, so thinking ahead to next cycle.
We have an appt. scheduled with our RE to discuss what's next for the last IUI but he couldn't see us until end of April which means next cycle would be off. I was ok with this theory before, but now it has me feeling all panicked and sad.
I suggested to my wife that we do another cycle while we wait to see him as the cost of IUIs are pretty minimal to us (except the sperm). She's hesitant to do yet a third cycle just the same, why would we expect anything different really? I get it... I go, but I'm seeing the end of our trying coming so quickly that I feel like even if there's a sliver of chance that an addition cycle could give us while we wait I want to do it.
What would you do? Do a third cycle with the same protocol while you wait or take the month off and wait to see the RE?
Other thought- is there anything else I can suggest to my nurse to see if the RE will add to the cycle of we do the extra wait cycle? I'm on Femara 7.5mg & trigger. Guessing injectables is next, but I doubt he would do that without meeting with us... Should I ask to try clomid? Something else? Any ideas or feedback welcome!
I'm only making one huge follicle each time, I thought the drugs were supposed to help with getting a few more...
First off I'd be really annoyed that your RE can't meet with you and that makes you miss a cycle. Did I miss a detail about that? Cuz that sucks big time. I'm sorry.
I haven't been on femara or clomid, but I have read around these parts that people respond differently to different drugs, so I would think if you aren't getting more follies, switching might be a good option.
Are there other docs in the practice who might be open? Can you do a phone consult at least? It seems so weird to me.
I'm going to answer your question with more questions.
What are you hoping to do with the RE; are you looking to do another IVF cycle or do you want to step it up to the max without doing IVF again, like injectables?
If you have money to spend then I may do a clomid cycle in the meantime. I do know of 2 people who didn't respond to Femara but did to Clomid. So maybe that could be an option while you wait for your RE.
Yes Stringy, I'm super irritated I couldn't get in for TWO weeks, just ridiculous! I know he's busy, but I'm surprised there aren't appointment slots left open for people like me. I know I'm not the only one who gets bfn and want's to chat with a new plan.
karlamo, I am hoping to basically step up whatever we can for the last IUI to whatever the 'max' is, guessing injectables. We aren't doing another IVF, we can't afford it, and I want the last IUI to feel like we did everything we could.
I pretty much am having anxiety about the fact that we said we would do three IUI's and then that was the end of trying. Having two failed on the books, I'm in full on panic and just want to cry because I see the end as a real possibility now, not just a ways out...
RM80, In that case I would almost wait to talk to the RE about injectables before doing another IUI with Clomid. I know injectables can be expensive and require so much more monitoring. Also it may be nice to have your system "clean" without having any drugs in it before shooting up with some pretty high powerful injectables.
I just wanted to add, are the 3 IUI's set in stone?
I know when we were TTC R we started off naive as many of us do, thinking and it would't take long and these are the things we would and wouldn't do. Well as the BFN's started piling up that line in the sand was pushed further and further back.
You and your wife will know what's best for you, just offering my experience. This road is not for the faint of heart that's for sure.
We initially agreed to go right to IVF to skip all the IUI's (and just cut out that cost) and naively assumed we would have a basket of frozen embryos to work with. Well, that was a complete bust and reluctantly I got my DW to agree to 3 IUI's as that's usually the 'recommended' number for success. So the three was set in stone...
I think I've convinced her to let me try again this month while we wait for the RE consult, primarily because it gets me one more try. (so 4 IUI's then total...) and you never know, it could work...
So I think yes, the 3/4 is a firm number. All of this is also partially driven by the fact we're probably moving back to Alaska in July and there are no RE's there, so continuing treatment just won't be an option unless we fly out of state.
I heard from my nurse and my only option this month is to do the same protocol we've been doing, they can't/won't change anything unless we meet.- UGH. The unavailability of my RE to even talk makes me want to consider switching clinics with my month off! But I know that's just the spiteful part of me talking, not the practical side.
We don't have any real advice to offer but can totally sympathize. It's always surprising how fast the process starts over once you get that BFN and your period starts.
I think our treatment has been similar. Once difference is we've also been using progesterone starting the day after the IUI. For what it's worth, we have an email in to our coordinator at our RE's office with a bunch of questions. If she shares anything that may be helpful to you, we'll share.
CET & CAR - both 30, married Aug, 2013, together 12+ yrs.
TTC #1: CAR carrying IUI #1 & 2 - Clomid, trigger = BFN IUI #3 - Switched to Gonal 150iu. Overstim led to 'surprise' IVF. Retrieved 21, 14 mature, 13 fertilized, all 13 made it to day 5, 9 PGS normal. Transferred 1 AA hatched blast 5/1/15 Baby Girl M born 1-21-16
Thanks cetcar- I've been on progesterone too. I had to request it and my nurse is humoring me, said it couldn't hurt.
I've seen some people get blood work AND u/s while doing IUI... I wonder if I should request blood work monitoring too not just u/s follie checks....
Forgive me as I have trouble keeping up with everyone's different protocols....but yes, I'd go with blood work. Right now my RE is relying on that more than the u/s (though I did have one of those too).
I don't have as much experience with this as others. I will say with our daughter it took 5 IUI cycles. The last was medicated with letrazol. At the time if we had more money we may have tried IVF after the 3 or 4th cycles. I just don't know.
I remember I had to sit out a cycle because there was a snow storm and the sperm wasn't delivered in time and I was pissed. I felt like the whole month was wasted even though we ended up only losing some money on shipping. So I can relate to not wanting to wait until you meet with the RE. But if you know you don't want to buy more vials maybe it would be worth waiting and switching meds. Idk. It's a hard decision.
I'm sorry you are having a difficult time. Hugs to you. I hope you guys come to a decision you feel good about.
I am so very sorry that you are dealing with this, and so very sorry that it looks like this cycle is going to be a BFN. It totally sucks and is unfair.
With that being said, my experience and what I have heard from others regarding IUI is really that it is a numbers and timing game. Because the chance of success of each individual IUI is somewhere in the 10-15% range (I think), the odds of success after 3 attempts is really in the 30-50% range. We did 5 IUIs that were all BFN. I had no known fertility issues, and the 6th IUI might have worked or maybe we could have had 10 IUIs that were BFN... it really is a little bit of a crap shoot unfortunately. In terms of "doing something differently" or being more aggressive, it sounds like what you are doing is close to "all you can do" for IUI. You could increase your dosage of femara or you could try injectibles... if you are only getting 1 large follicle with 7.5mg of femara, then you probably won't get another follicle with say 10mg of femara (which would be the next dose)... femara really helps with egg quality and maturity, but usually doesn't give you a ton of follicles. Injectibles would likely make you produce more follicles, so you would have an increased number of targets, but the obviously that would increase your chance of multiples (something to consider).
All of this totally sucks, and I guess my point is that limiting yourself to either 3 or 4 IUIs is kind of a gamble. IUIs are a gamble in my opinion. A financial and emotional gamble. That is precisely why we moved to IVF when we did.
If it is more about time, and getting in as many tries as you can before July, then I say go ahead and do an IUI with the same protocol this month, as long as your wife agrees to a 4th IUI the following month if IUI #3 isn't successful. At least then you will know that you are giving it the most number of attempts for it to work that you possibly can. Sometimes that is all you need - time!
The other thing to consider is that you have been pregnant before. You know that your body can get pregnant. Your last pregnancy was not a fluke. Just remember that. It can happen for you. That is no guarantee that it will happen again, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
I also want to note that I hope you don't think I am being too flip or honest with any of this. You have been through a lot on this journey, and I know how hard it is, and I am so sorry that you are sitting where you are right now staring down this decision. You will be in my thoughts as you navigate next steps. HUGS!
Thanks cetcar- I've been on progesterone too. I had to request it and my nurse is humoring me, said it couldn't hurt.
I've seen some people get blood work AND u/s while doing IUI... I wonder if I should request blood work monitoring too not just u/s follie checks....
Forgive me as I have trouble keeping up with everyone's different protocols....but yes, I'd go with blood work. Right now my RE is relying on that more than the u/s (though I did have one of those too).
RM80 - First of all, I'm so sorry that it looks like a BFN this month, I really want this for you.
It sucks that your RE can't meet with you sooner; I feel like they really should hold times for things like this. I would definitely ask for bloodwork monitoring too, I think that the more information you have the better!
As somebody who recently skipped a cycle I can tell you that for the first week it was great and it had moments of awesome but for much of it I felt like I was missing out. For this cycle, we wanted to regroup with our RE beforehand and only ended up being able to do so because of a cancellation. I was in a really negative TTC place (just super bummed) and the new plan has me feeling really positive and like I really have my head in the game. If we had not been able to meet with our RE we decided that we would do another cycle prior to meeting with her because I knew that I wouldn't be okay not trying for 2 months in a row and because we were able to secure another vial....if we weren't able to we would have waited until we had the new plan in place or had discussed with our RE.
(Ugh! I'm reading back on this and realizing that I'm jut rambling....sorry....I'll wrap it up)
It's a tough decision but meeting with our RE and looking at our previous cycles did identify something that might be impacting our results; so if you only plan to give it one more try than I would love for you to have the opportunity to meet with your RE and take another look too.
I agree with others that this process can completely take over your life. It actually took us 8 IUIs before we got pregnant. The very first was a chemical pregnancy. DW had vision changes with Clomid so we switched to Femara.
If the next IUI is truly going to be your last attempt for whatever reason (moving, $ or that is your line in the sand), my opinion is to maybe wait and give it one last shot after talking to the RE. Maybe even switching clinics if you feel like you aren't getting what you need where you are. If I were in your shoes, I would want to make sure I gave it everything I could before calling it quits.
Whatever you decide, I hope that you have peace with your decision.
Post by PiradicalMaid on Apr 10, 2015 21:00:50 GMT -5
I don't have advice to offer based on experience, but I wanted to come in to say that I'm sorry about the BFN.
I would be annoyed the RE wasn't available. These appointments are time sensitive!
If it were me, I would do another cycle in the meantime. Like other posters are saying, sometimes it does just time/tries, so even if you don't do anything differently, that doesn't mean you're necessarily doing anything wrong. But you'd want to think through if you have other hesitations or reasons you think an extra cycle might not work for you.
((Hugs)) and best of luck to you on your next step.
I'm sorry about your BFN! . And I know I'm late to the game on this. But I did want to reiterate what some others have said about femara vs clomid. Many people produce one follicle on femara and two on clomid and so many REs do a cycle or two with femara before switching to clomid (to reduce twin risk if the person is going to get pregnant easily). My guess is that if you were going to do 4-6 cycles, your RE would have your next one or two be clomid and then switch to injectables. And since clomid is way cheaper than injectables, it's a reasonable next move. But if your only options (for yourselves) are a cycle now and then one more after meeting with the RE or just a cycle after meeting with the RE, then I advocate for trying again this cycle with the same protocol and then doing an injectable cycle with the RE. If there is the option of doing a cycle next month after meeting with the RE and then another after that (so still 4 cycles but with this month off), then I would suggest considering a clomid cycle followed by an injectable cycle.
I do think blood work is worth doing. In addition to making sure you don't ovulate before the trigger takes effect (which would mean your sperm got in too late), the blood work can help to confirm that you're ovulating a mature egg (your estrogen levels will indicate that).
And this may not be helpful but in case it is-- while a large percentage of people who while get pregnant from IUI will do so in three cycles, an RE that we met with said that she would consider 6 cycles giving it a full go. Granted we were in a different circumstance at that point (with IVF in front of us and not behind us) but if you need some help convincing your partner to do 4, that might help. Like kh826 said though, that's one of the kickers of infertility-- we can always tell ourselves that maybe we just need one more try. At some point we do all have to decide when enough is enough and that's different for all of us.
****loss and living child discussed***** We're queer. I'm 34, have severe stage 4 endo, and both fallopian tubes are gone. My love ("Manada" 33) was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve. We did Partner IVF (my eggs, her uterus). We lost our twins Tav.in and Ca.sey at 21 weeks gestation.
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