July IUIs - Page 4

[biomama]

kiki, you have to take your temps in the morning, first thing. Before you get up, just grab the basal body temp thermometer off your bedside table and stick it in your mouth. I would recommend using fertility friend or some other online charting software. FF has a great online tutorial that explains a lot of it. If you really want to get into it, you can read Taking Charge of Your Fertility, a great book by Toni Weschler. A lot of girls in the TTC forum can help you. I consider myself a relatively expert charter, so I'll try to help too! You can ask me anytime!

The HSG this a.m. was fine! It wasn't too bad, only minor cramping, the worst part was when he put in the speculum. I'm used to my awesome RE who does it without me feeling much of anything. And my tubes looked clear, so that was awesome. He said there was some resistance and that they may have been a little plugged up with mucus, so maybe this will do the trick! I definitely needed a pad afterwards from all the dye coming back out.

[DLT]

biomama - I'm so glad to hear your HSG went well and was almost pain-free! You must be so relieved it's over. And to know that your tubes are open and that there are no problems is just fantastic news! :

angi - Def sending sticky vibes to your friend Nancy! Maybe she can send them back to all of us

dandelionsrflowers - how are you holding up?

Me - I'm just carrying on as usual. Injections at night and waiting for Thursday for blood test, and then back to injections...

[LiamsMommy31905]

Hey girls!

Bio - SO glad your HSG went well! Did your RE give you the anti-spasmotic injection in your cervix? It totally helped me with the cramping and I had no idea he even gave it to me...totally slipped one past the goalie! PS - My temps are usually higher than typical when I'm on Clomid...I have wicked hot flashes in the midle of the night which tend to raise my temps. Like you said, once you stop the Clomid, the temps recover.

Angi - What an awesome combo. My DH has blue eyes & brown hair (started off blonde, though) and I have green eyes and auburn hair. We ended up with a pretty stinkin' cute blonde little boy with brilliant blue/green eyes.

dandelions & kiki - GL with your 2WW! How exciting!

DLT - Go girl with the injections! I think I'm headed down that route if this cycle doesn't work out for us. I'm gonna have to pick your brain on injection technique.

Eastbay - I'm totally stalking your chart. It looks awesome!

blue - how was your progesterone number?

Update on me:
Went for a follicle scan this morning...I had seven. No joke. This is on 50 mg of Clomid.

However, one follicle was clearly the frontrunner at 17.8 mm so they are planning to trigger me tomorrow (CD 11) so that the other 14 mm follicles don't have time to mature. IUI scheduled for Wednesday. EEEK! :

Strange fact:
DS was conceived July 9th, 2004 (4 years to the day of this IUI.) Will have the same due date if this work out this cycle.

[poetgirl]

Biomama, Yeah for a positive and finished HSG. I was keeping quiet about it because mine hurt like holy hell and I wasn't sure you needed to know that going in. So, May this cycle do the trick! p.s. Yes. Clomid totally made my charts irrelevant w/ high temps and hot flashes BTW.

Leah, Thank Goddess you do not have to forfeit this cycle!!! So glad they monitor you so well. GL on Wed. and wow about the timing. :

Angi, I have brown hair and blue eyes and I must say it's a lovely combo Good Luck!

DLT, I'm glad to hear you can still have a go at this cycle and for rockin on those injections!

K, Dandelion, Kiki~ Fingers crossed for you!

Snowbell, Did you have your IUI yet? I'll have to stalk your chart because I am going in tomorrow...would be crazy if we were on the same day (we know each other in real life and go to the same clinic!)

So....I got my today, day 9 (no meds this time). IUI tomorrow.
My hopelessly short cycle. My RE thinks it's been esp. short because it takes me about 4 days off the progesterone to get AF, about 18 dpo, and he thinks that's shortening the FP. Nothin' I can do about it though because I can't get preg. w/out the P. Short cycles also runs in my family though and my oldest sis has 3 kids, so I am not going to freak out about it. I had a dream I gave birth last night and (pardon the description), it came out in one easy painless push that felt like a relief. Everyone was shocked and I said, "I'm terrible at getting pregnant but I'm incredible at giving birth!" Maybe that's the story with this dreaded IF business, maybe down the road, some things get to be really easy and beautiful. Let's hope. I have been doing a two week liver cleanse to try to flush the clomid out of my system and be more balanced. I feel like I have a sensitive system and it really did a number on me. Tonight I am having something done at a Japanese spa called "herbal renewal." It's my present to myself...every time someone new has to poke, prod or do some other unfun western thing, I'm doing something that feels really good before it. This is acupressure, herbal poultices and oil massage. So, hopefully I'll be really relaxed tomorrow.
And, thanks for reading my novel.

[blueyezz4]

EastbayK- Enjoy your vacation!!!

While she is gone maybe someone can answer this... she said that means "implantation is usually days 6-10 or so" so that 6-10 days after you have an IUI, right???

dandelionsrflowers- Don't worry, I can be "Ms. negativity" too sometimes. I think it is part of this TTC journey when it has gone on for so long. There are times I wonder how anyone gets prego on their own??!!! I'm just pissed that I spent all that money on BCP to prevent years ago. Wish I could get my $$ back and put it towards my IUI expenses coming up. Keep your chin up and we will all keep our fingers crossed for AF to stay away this week!!! :

biomama- Glad to hear that your HSG went well!!! So did you end up driving yourself home afterwards?? So now are you having an IUI this month also? I also use the CBEFM...so are you using it in the morning when you first wake up and then again in the afternoon on the same day?? So then you POS in the morning and in the afternoon? Doesn't that mess up the cycle days?? I guess it wouldn't matter, right? Great idea. Thanks for sharing it.

Angi- Yeah for Nancy!!!!:: I will definitely keep her in my thoughts. Hopefully her good luck will rub off on you too!!!

kiki99-temping might help you pass the time, but I have found it can also be kind of a pain especially if you are really trying to keep track everyday and you want to sleep in. WARNING: once you start it is hard to stop (well, i guess you can, but I know I am hooked). It is very interesting to see how closely the changes in your temp correlate with the changes in your cycle. Mine is like clock work, especially the day AF is coming my temp usually plummets then I know she is going to show up that day or the next.

DLT- aka: injection girl!!! Hang in there!!!

LiamsMommy31905- good luck with your trigger tomorrow and on Wed for the BIG day!!! : for you too!!!! What # IUI is this for you on clomid? Have you been on 50mg the whole time? Sorry, there are so many of us that I have forgotten. Sometimes I feel like i need to start a little notebook to keep better track.

Poetgirl- Good luck tomorrow with your IUI!!! Loved your dream!! You are right, we all do deserve something to come a little easy after all we go through with this IF crap!!!

My update:
I picked up my Clomid today, so it is official. Now I just need to hope/pray for a BFP next week so I don't have to take it!!! : Got my progesterone level back and she said it was 11.4 so I guess that is okay. I don't know what the norm is so I don't have much to go by. She just said it was 11.4 and that I did O this month. So that is all I know. After reading LiamsMommy's post I realized how much of a "IUI virgin" I really am...... when she said she had 7 follicles on 50mg of clomid I first thought "oh that sounds good" but then I saw her angry icon after and thought "oh maybe that isn't good". So could someone help me out and tell me what the ideal would be in the perfect world (we all know we don't live in that world, if we did we all wouldn't be here!!) so I can get this under my belt before I have to go through it in several weeks. How many follicles do you want/how much is too much, how big do you want them and anything else I need to know about that step. TIA!! Sorry to be such a pain!!!!

Forgot to ask if anyone knows how much the Ovidrel 250 micro syringe cost out of pocket?? This is my next purchase.

[DLT]

LiamsMommy31905 - GL for your IUI tomorrow. I thought 7 follies is a LOT too My RE said I'm only allowed 1-2 large one and preferably one leading one. Wouldn't that be great to have the same due date for #2. Hopefully this is a sign...

poetgirl - You have short cycles and I have extra long ones. Can we combine them and balance them out GL for your IUI tomorrow too. Hope this is it. Your dream sounds interesting. I hope for all of us that once we all get BFP's, the rest of the time is cruisy, easy and fun. Oh, and I enjoy reading your novel

blueyezz4 - I hope the rest of your 2WW goes by quickly. I remember re-packing the kitchen cupboards and both our wardrobes to try and pass the time at night. Hope you find something to distract you.

[dandelionsrflowers]

blue, kiki - how you holding up on the 2ww???

i'm fighting the urge to test.

poet girl - good luck on your iui!

[Angi]

Originally Posted by LiamsMommy31905

Hey girls!

Angi - What an awesome combo. My DH has blue eyes & brown hair (started off blonde, though) and I have green eyes and auburn hair. We ended up with a pretty stinkin' cute blonde little boy with brilliant blue/green eyes.

*****

Forgot to ask if anyone knows how much the Ovidrel 250 micro syringe cost out of pocket?? This is my next purchase.

Thanks for the confidence on the combo. I was born strawberry blonde (more brown / red now) and have hazel/gray/green eyes (depends on my mood), and there is no one with blue eyes in the family as far as anyone can remember, so this is going to be interesting.

As for the price of Ovidrel, I too will be making that purchase next week. I called my pharmacy and it will cost around $78. That is an "ballpark, out-of-pocket" figure.

[kiki99]

blueyezz4 - Yes, Kim told you right. I was also told implantation happens around 6-10 days AFTER a well time IUI or intercourse.

It seems I'm about 4 days behind you in this 2WW thing. I have my progesterone test on Thursday. I'm officially tired of waiting btw...haha. From what I understand 11.4 is good, so GL! My doctors office only calls if it's low so I never really know the number unless it's bad (I had a 7 last month). They have put me on progesterone suppositories in the past. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen again.

As for the how many follicles, how big etc...well, i think it varies depending on what type of medication your on, what your infertility issues are and I guess your doctor. I can tell you from my experience Clomid did not have the effect it had on LiamsMommy on me. 50mg did nothing my body doesn't normally do. 100mg produced 2 mature follicles, but made my lining thin. When they say "mature" they mean anything between 16-17mm generally, but again it depends on the type of medication you're on. On Clomid my RE waited until the two follicles were over 20, i believe actually 22 and 24 in hopes that my lining would thicken. I'm currently doing my first round of injectables and with this medication my body produced 9 follicles. This apparently is too many and freaked my doctor out. The idea my RE said is to have at least 2 mature, dominant follicles, but then I think that's because they don't like the idea of triplets or more being born. The day they triggered I had 2 follicles at 16.5 and two at 15.5. The other 5 ranged from 13-14.5. Apparently the smaller 5 would most likely never mature and the 2 15.5 might have gotten to at least 16 by the time I triggered. (They checked initially in the morning and I gave myself the HSG shot at night) As far as quantity goes I think it really depends on your RE. I've heard of other people's doctors saying that they want 4 mature follicles when doing an IUI because it increases your chances of at least 1 or 2 taking hold. My RE's office prides themselves on their very very low triplet rate and I think that's why they are so conservative about how many follicles mature. Not that I want to have a liter mind you, but after a year of trying, I just want to pad my chances as much as possible with every cycle. Again, this is my experience and I'm not sure if your RE will do things differently but I hope I was able to shed a little light on this whole process.

[biomama]

x-post on the IF one thread

well, my good news couldn't last... my saline sono-histo-whatever-gram showed a polyp in my uterus. It's not super huge, I guess, but it's there... And I just read that prolonged spotting after your period can be a sign of a polyp, and guess what! I have that. I mentioned it to my RE a long time ago and he said it didn't mean anything...

he didn't say for sure if it would need to be removed. It is lower down, kind of next to my cervix. But it's possible it's blocking sperm entry, and we don't need any more hurdles for poor DH's sperm! and the first worry I had wasn't about the procedure to remove it or anything, but about the cost! I don't know if it would be covered by ins. I think I should stop worrying about money but it's been so tight lately, and we have many hundreds of dollars a month in RE costs already! Sigh.

I also only had 9 antral follicles, which is really low for my age. My FSH was at 7, and my estradiol was >200 (is that because of the clomid?). My BW was on CD7, and I started clomid on CD3.

I'm going to re-read all your posts and respond again later on. I think I have to go and cry a bit now... :

[blueyezz4]

Biomama- I don't have time right now to post more, but wanted to send a your way.

[snowbell]

hi biomama, i'm glad your hsg turned out well but i am sorry about the polyp. big hugs to you. i didn't have a great day either. i'm on cd16 and i only have one dominant follicle (which i could do on my own). i thought the 150mg of clomid would do more for me than that. : i will be triggering tomorrow night and an iui on friday. then i will be starting progesterone for the first time.

[poetgirl]

Originally Posted by biomama

well, my good news couldn't last... my saline sono-histo-whatever-gram showed a polyp in my uterus. It's not super huge, I guess, but it's there... And I just read that prolonged spotting after your period can be a sign of a polyp, and guess what! I have that. I mentioned it to my RE a long time ago and he said it didn't mean anything...

he didn't say for sure if it would need to be removed. It is lower down, kind of next to my cervix. But it's possible it's blocking sperm entry, and we don't need any more hurdles for poor DH's sperm! and the first worry I had wasn't about the procedure to remove it or anything, but about the cost! I don't know if it would be covered by ins. I think I should stop worrying about money but it's been so tight lately, and we have many hundreds of dollars a month in RE costs already! Sigh.

I also only had 9 antral follicles, which is really low for my age. My FSH was at 7, and my estradiol was >200 (is that because of the clomid?). My BW was on CD7, and I started clomid on CD3.

I'm going to re-read all your posts and respond again later on. I think I have to go and cry a bit now... :

Biomama, I have been exactly where you are. My HSG revealed a pencil eraser sized dome-shaped polyp near my cervix as well back in Nov. My RE ultimately couldn't be sure whether it was a hurdle in getting preg. but given that we were going down a very expensive OOP road, he wanted to get rid of it. It can upset hormone levels sometimes or perhaps interfere w/ implantation. Some women on the TTC 12+ thread got preg. pretty soon after getting them removed. They tried to take it out during a hysteroscopy but the shape was wrong for that. So I had a full-on surgery, but my darn cervix wouldn't dilate. So I had a second surgery w/ a "dilating stick" and it worked. It was a long road, but I haven't heard anyone else have such strife removing theirs, more of a one-shot deal. It was a hard time for me and I can only send hugs. Any roadblock, even a removable one at this point is .

Oh Snowbell, and hopes that one follicle is a rockin' one and gets big in the next day or so.

Seems this is the day of bad news for this board. My IUI was not good. My DH doesn't have any m/f issues at all, great counts (128 mil) and over 75% morph/mot. Today it was 5 mil and less than 50% mot. We were flabbergasted. He's had an infection and it might be from the antibiotics that were not supposed to interfere. It means our counts for the next three months could be low.
This rightly sucks for 2 reasons: 1.) We were going to start inject./IUI this fall AND 2.) We are currently trying to move and sell our house right now and it's not selling. DH is doing a PhD fellowship and needs to be in Mich. in Aug., which means I have to stay here and try to sell the house and pay for it, etc. I was going to bank his sperm and cont. IUIs since his count is so great, but I don't think I can bank anything that low.

I just want One good cycle. :

[poetgirl]

If I can just get one more vent in, my office raised their OOP prices for fert. w/out telling me and IUIs went from $326 to $489, a visit is up to $500 and a u/s $400. In terrible irony, the HSG I paid $1000 for in Nov. is now $300. Seriously, y'all. Throw me a bone. : Thanks for listening.

[LiamsMommy31905]

Bio - so sorry to hear about the polyp. Hopefully your RE can suggest a good course of action and it will result in a pregnancy. Big

Poet - My goodness, when it rains, it pours. I am so sorry to hear about the IUI situation. Those office prices are outrageous! When we were paying OOP, our IUI cost breakdown was as follows:

ultrasound (2) @ $240 each
medication (50 mg Clomid) $20 (or if the pharmacist is in a good mood, he'll charge me $1 a pill...I live in a VERY small town where the pharmacist knows everyone!)
trigger shot: $50
sperm wash: $200
IUI: $200

Infertility sucks on so many levels. Big to you as well.

snow - One fabulous follicle is all you need! I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

kiki - I am on progesterone suppositories as well for a LPD. They aren't as bad as a lot of people make them out to be...especially if they do their job!

Dandelions - TEST! You could see something at this point! Any symptoms?

DLT & blue - Hi!

Okay, so I had my follow-up appointment this morning. Yesterday I had 1 follicle that measured about 18 mm and a few that measured 14, 12, and 10. Today the frontrunner measured 21 mm (and another at about 16.5) so my RE triggered me. I was totally tense about the needle, but the nurse was awesome and just jabbed it in like a dart. I felt absolutely nothing...but I have some soreness at the injection site at present. I am feeling myself ovulate as I type this. I'm feeling it from both sides, so I'm wondering if I am releasing both of the big ones.

One thing that made me a bit nervous: my RE remarked that my lining was a bit thin. It was 5.5 (I guess it's a problem if it's 5 or less.) Hopefully the progesterone supplementation will take care of that.

So - IUI tomorrow at 11 am. RE said my blood results look great and it's great timing (and the fact that we conceived DS 4 years to the day is just amazing!)

GL to everyone...will update tomorrow after the IUI.

[dandelionsrflowers]

leah - good luck tomorrow, i'll be thinkin of you and sending good vibes your way as i head off to work.

poet - big

: lots of love and luck for everyone else!

[dandelionsrflowers]

ohhhh yeah... leah
i'll prob test in the morning. but this is my normal pattern. i finally break down and test, i get a neg and then later that day the ol hag shows up... bleah. i think my chart looks super good though! wish me luck!!!

[DLT]

biomama - Firstly, big to you. Great news that your tubes are clear but sorry to hear about the friggin polyp. What did RE say about removing it? Do they need to do more tests? How long will this set you back?

snowbell - Don't give up just yet. My RE will only do IUI with one (MAX 2) large follies. That's all it takes, so here's hoping for you. Good luck for your IUI on Friday.

poetgirl - Sorry to hear about DH's low count. Did RE confirm that they wouldn't be able to bank any sperm for you? I know it must feel like the world is caving in, but know that we are all here to support you and you can vent as much as you like here. Maybe when you move, the other clinics prices will be more reasonable?

LiamsMommy31905 - Glad to hear your trigger went well. Yeah, with me, the area where I give the shot feels bruised for 2 days after, but it's nothing terrible. GL for your IUI tomorrow Sounds like everything is heading in the right direction for you!!

dandelionsrflowers - Good luck with testing. Here's hoping you're our first July BFP.

Me - I'm going in tomorrow morning for blood test - and that's my excitement for the day

[poetgirl]

Catching up here...Thank you all for your cont'd support, as always. Seriously, what would I do if not come here?

DLT~Yes, let's merge our cycles to create ONE perfect cycle for us both. I'm in for sure! Maybe we should pair up Leah and Snowbell for the same reason while we're at it. I'm not sure what the RE would say about banking but our NP today didn't think too positively about it. What would be frozen would be a fraction of what we have now. We'll see. Day by day, as ever. We're kind of in shock and not warming up to both of us having fert. problems for any length of time. GL on your blood test tomorrow!

Leah~ GL for your IUI tomorrow and yeah for trigger success and confirmed O. Good baby vibes for your 4 yr date! I'm excited for you.
Yeah, it's sure pouring crap over here. I feel like everything's been in this state of falling apart for a while now (thank god dh and i are strong). Eventually, it just HAS to come back together. Hey, I grew up in CT BTW. Tolland. My family is still there. Can I come visit and use your prices?

Dandi~GL testing! Thinking of you and hoping you're pos!

Blue~Anything over 10 for progest. on a natural cycle is . For med. cycle, my RE still says over 10 but you mostly hear over 15.

Time to put this day to sleep. I'm so glad I did that amazing massage thing Mon. night. I sure needed to draw from it today.

[LiamsMommy31905]

hey girls!

Just a quick update...IUI went SO well. My RE rules.

DH had great numbers (87 million/90% motility) so we are very hopeful.

The hCG trigger shot is really kicking my butt...not only is the injection site really sore, but I am feeling exhausted, totally irritable, and I have to pee every 15 minutes. That shot is a cruel joke. :

BBL for personals when I'm not so cranky!