LT Trying to Conceive with IUI #5

[babysteps]

Hi everyone,
I'm back after a 5-6 weeks break since my last cycle. I've had a lot going on in that time, I spent most of that time overseas on a holiday which was a great, well-deserved break.
Now I'm home and I've made a Day 21 appointment for Weds 25th March to see my FS about my next cycle. I've had 2 unsuccessful IUI cycles so far, and I remember he mentioned wanting to move me to IVF if my 2nd IUI didn't work. I'm still undecided about doing more IUI's or going straight to IVF - it's a tough decision but I think I'll wait until I have talked to him further next week.

Best wishes to everyone else in their cycles at this time.

[Mummawannabe]

Thanks Loops12.....but no luck with cycle 1.....off to cycle 2 i guess....

[Loops12]

Babysteps - welcome back and all the best with getting back on the horse.

Mummawannabe - Hang in there and all the best for cycle 2 - we will be doing it together probably.

to everyone else in here. 2009 will be our year.

[Lullaby]

hi everyone

I have been TTC for almost 2yrs now...and i have recently begun my first ever OI-IUI cycle.

I am so confused and new to this (though not new to TTC)

On Day 4 of cycle, i started on 75iu of Puregon. I am hoping is anyone can help me

1st Blood Test : CD8 (5th Day of Injections) my levels were 177.
2nd Blood Test : CD11 (8th Day of Inejections) my level were 246
3rd Blood Test : CD13 (10th Day of Injections) - this is today. Waiting to hear back

The nurses told me i am not responding well. They will monitor me up to 14days of injections and then will up the dosage.

How long will they ask me to inject until they cancel the cycle? Is there a cut off time?

Thanks for listening.

[Loops12]

Hi Lullaby and welcome
I am reasonably new to IUI myself and am finding that a lot of specialists are different in their methods etc.
I have had one round of IUI with Puregon and Pregnyl which was a BFN but I was never asked to get blood tests done to check levels so I don't understand that. But I was on 75iu Puregon as well and this time they have up'd my dosage to 100iu.
All they did with me was I took about 5 injections with the Puregon pen, i went in and had the ultrasound to check follicles, went home had an injection of Pregnyl then after a few days went back in to have the insemination, then 2 booster Pregnyl injections on day 4 and 8 after that. I think was how it went. Sounds a bit different to you - interesting!
I wouldnt stress over it too much if you can - just hope for the best. You will get there.

I'm about to start round 2.
Fingers crossed for the both of us. Best of luck.

[Lullaby]

Hi Loops12

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes,its definately different from clinic to clinic from the sounds of it. I havent been offered an ultrasound yet.

They are apparently doing blood tests to find what my estrogen levels are. For the life of me, i dont know what they mean lol

Was the Pregnyl shot given to you by the docs or did you take it home and give it yourself (like the Puregon pen?)

Also, did they only do 1 insemination for you? i have heard of others having 1 insem at 12hours after trigger and then 36 hours after trigger..not sure

[Loops12]

Hi Lullaby

No worries - thanks for sharing your experience.
Makes sense a little about the BT's. I suppose I had that earlier on before even heading into IUI. So just a little different.
I did the Pregnyl at home - its similar to the Puregon pen although really just like a normal needle, only a little bit more painful because there is more liquid and a slightly bigger needle than the Puregon. I was a little nervous the first time but it wasnt too bad - im pretty good with pain though.
We only had the one insemination and then we were just told to go home and DTD as much as possible
This time we may have two because they have asked us to get two samples from DH.

[Loops12]

Hi all

I am starting my Puregon injections tonight - I'm excited to be trying again and I really hope this time it works because if not we may be having to fork out money for IVF.

I just became a Platinum member too - so I have a avatar now - i like it.

Hoping everyone is going well

[OriginalP]

Hey Loops - thanks for that! We certainly were surprised.

One thing I would suggest - to everyone - is to get an Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA) for your DH if you're using his guys. It actually looks at the DNA carried in sperm and gives you a fertility rating of low, medium or high. You can have low numbers, and pooor motility and morphology, but still score a rating of high on the SCSA (which is how my DH faired). This means if you go for IVF+ICSI some time, achieving a viable pregnancy is possible.

There's some more information about SCSA here:
Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA) and DNA Fragmentation;
Sorry I couldn't find the actual diagram that's produced - it's called the red green test and actually shows which guys have great DNA and which don't...

Another point - the SCSA test usually costs $100 but is covered by Medicare. If done in a hospital (like the SEALS lab at RHW) it costs nothing.

Cheers,
OP.

[OriginalP]

Hi Lullaby and welcome!

My experience with both IVF and IUI is that internal ultrasound is an essential monitoring tool in ovulation induction. It's used to monitor the growth of follicles (along with the BTs which are looking for eostrogen as well as an hCG surge to release an egg). Without the ultrasound, your team is flying blind. My DH has seen so many US, he thinks he could do them himself.

Basically you're looking for follicles to grow about 2mm per day from about day 9-11. When they get to 18mm your clinic may ask you to take a trigger injection. Loops used Pregnyl, my clinic used Ovidrel. Both are synthetic forms of hCG. Pregnyl is also used in luteal support - in my case, I had an injection three times a week starting the day of IUI.

Re: double IUI in the same cycle, I don't believe it's necessary unless your clinic isn't timing ovulation properly. You take your trigger injection, 24 hours later the egg is released. It lives for 12 hours as it makes its way down the fallopian tubes. The sperm, on the other hand, live for 48hours. So if you have your IUI 24 hours after trigger, then the guys have got 12 hours to meet up with the egg.

Is that clear as mud??

Re: the Puregon, my 1st IUI cycle was also with 75iu, and I also had a poor ovulation. It never happened again, so don't worry - I think your body just needs a little time to get used to what's going on. We upped my Puregon dose to 100iu from the next cycle, and consistently saw two and three follicles every cycle there after.

OP.

[maccas]

Hello. im sorry but im a reader and not really a writer, so nearly everyday i read what everyone is up to. OP a while ago you had a list of extra things, minerals and supplements that you took, would you please list those again. Thankyou

[OriginalP]

Okay, lets see if I can remember the whole list:

1. Bioceutcials InNatal - two caps a day. This is the pre-pregnancy supplement.
2. Bioceuticals Zinc Sustain - one tab a day.
3. Blackmores CoQ10 - three caps in the morning and another three at night.
4. Herron EPA DHA Fish Oil - 3 x 1000mg caps in the morning and another three at night.
5. FGF Iron & Folate supplement (little white bottle with orange lid) - 1 tab morning, 1 tab night.
6. Cenovis 1000mg Vitamin C - one tab morning.
7. Nourishing Flora Probiotic - one cap morning, one cap night.
8. Bioceuticals Lipoec Acid - 1 cap morning, 1 cap night.
9. Bioceuticals Inflameze - 3 morning, 3 night if you suffer from arthritis
10. Blackmores B6 - 1 tab morning, 1 tab night
11. Selenosol Drops - 10 drops in glass of water each morning.
12. Thompson's Kelp - 1 tab in the morning.

I also took two different herbal tonics prepared by my Naturopath. One of them contained liquid Vitex. For anyone suffering PCOS or an irregular cycle (ie short luteal phase or a whacky 40 day cycle), I'd recommend Blackmores Vitex tablets, but stop taking them as soon as you've had your IUI or IVF transfer.

In addition, I took a few supplements for anxiety attacks and infertility induces depression. If anybody wants that list, let me know.

Finally - I ate a high protein diet: protein in 3 meals a day. Plus loooaaaaads of green veggies. No spuds, carrots, sweet potato - any veg with carbohydrate in it.

Big cheers!
OP.

[Loops12]

Hi all
Have done 4 injections now and another 3 to go before appointment and ultrasound on Monday then hopefully I'll be in TWW from Wed or Thurs.

Hope you are all going well
And thanks OriginalP for all your knowledge.

[Mummawannabe]

I have been doing the whole naturpath thing since July last year and feel much healthier for it too! Although i know once we are off to IVF i can't take a lot of the supplements anymore. (By that stage though i think i would have given them a good chance, and they obviously won't have worked for me)

Loops12:i think we are so synced (don't think i spelt that right) this cycle! My insemination is probably DAY 13 which is next Thursday - good to know il have close buddy!

Good luck everyone...........

[Lullaby]

Thanks so much Loops & Original P. I felt better after reading your posts. i guess as its my first time with OI-IUI and not knowing anyone else in real life to ask questions is a bit hard. Thank heavens for Belly Belly and you guys

Ok. here is my update.

Apparently i am a slow responder. I have been on Puregon for 16 days (today). My Levels started of slow, but in the last 3 days, it went from 424 to 568 to 766.

Today they asked me to come in for an ultrasound. Found one follicle at 20mm of left ovary. Not sure if there were more smaller ones, nurse only talked about my 1 follie and she was excited lol

She triggered me with Pregnyl today, and i have my 1st IUI tomorrw!

I wasnt expecting that

For days, i would get the call from the nurses after each Blood test..telling me to keep at my meds, i am responding too slowly..or my levels are too low..then suddenly, they shot up

Is there a chance that the Pregnyl wont work? and wont make me ovulate?

Thanks for listening

How is everyone else going?

[OriginalP]

Hi Lullaby - there's not chance the Pregnyl won't work, and even if it did, with a follicle at 20mm, it will pop on its own within 24 hours. Here's hoping your clinic has their timing right.

Many of us have discussed at length on this forum taking an active interest in all results, understanding what they mean, and always questioning your clinic's methodology and approach - then asking for something else if you don't believe they're on the right track. It's your treatment, your body and your money - ask questions, questions, questions - knowledge is power.

And good luck for your IUI today! Same goes to Loops and anyone else IUIing this week!

:-)
P.

[kittycat27]

hi everyone,

i am hoping of of you lovely ladies will have some knowledge on the iui homefront!
i have taken a new drug called letrozole/femarra this month.
i have done 8 months of clomid in 2007 and it didnt work that well, even on 2 tabs a day.
i had ascan on friday, day 10, and had 3 follicles. 1 x 12.5 1 x 15 1 x 18cm.
i am then told to do LH ovulation tests over the weekend to detect a surge.
i did the test first thing yesterday and got a very strong poistive.

do you think it is too late to have an IUI tomorrow?
i know i will be asked to come straight in to have a scan, but i can't remember the times between the Lh surge and the IUI?

also, i had a blood test last month on day 21 and had prgesterone of 23. i know this is low, but does anyone think i need to have prog support after a transfer or IUI?????
my FS doesn't think i do!!
thanks for any help!!

[Lullaby]

Hi Lullaby - there's not chance the Pregnyl won't work, and even if it did, with a follicle at 20mm, it will pop on its own within 24 hours. Here's hoping your clinic has their timing right.

Many of us have discussed at length on this forum taking an active interest in all results, understanding what they mean, and always questioning your clinic's methodology and approach - then asking for something else if you don't believe they're on the right track. It's your treatment, your body and your money - ask questions, questions, questions - knowledge is power.

And good luck for your IUI today! Same goes to Loops and anyone else IUIing this week!

:-)
P.

Thanks Original P. I guess its all about the waiting game. Well i had my 1st IUI today, it was a bit uncomfy,but nothing as bad as that HyCoSy (Tubal test) yikes, that was a shock to my system lol

One thing i dont get it, The nurse that did my U/S told me i have 1 20mm follie in my Left ovary, with nothing in my right. I only produced 1 follie. Is this normall under Puregon treatment? I always thought the drugs would stimulate more.

Then todays nurse told me it was a follie in my Right Ovary..strange.

Thanks for your help, i am trying to read up on all the threads, so i can follow others journeys on Belly Belly