Post by changedname on Dec 13, 2012 10:40:24 GMT -5
Do any of you have a blog where I can read your experiences/can you share them here? I have a regroup meeting tomorrow with my RE to see whether we move to IVF next cycle or do one more of IUI w injects and I'm torn. Would appreciate your thoughts on moving to IVF/what the actual process was like.
I am currently in the 2ww of IUI #3 but the first with injectables. I responded well (4 mature follies). I feel like IVF is the final step and am wary to admit that is what we need.
Post by electricmayhem on Dec 13, 2012 10:51:18 GMT -5
I don't have a blog, but we did IVF in the fall of 2011 after ~2 years of trying, either on our own or with help (monitored Clomid / TI & IUI w/ injectables). It worked.
We moved on b/c: 1. Time was not on our side due to age 2. IUI cycle was successful in that I responded very well to the meds, but DH's end was very poor, which was a huge shock (his regular samples had been normal). It was very stressful for both of us (cycle was BFN). 3. We were fortunate to have some insurance coverage, but it had a dollar limit and after the IUI failure, we didn't think it was wise to continue to use the money for something that had a relatively poor chance of success.
I did not find IVF to be physically stressful. The shots were more frequent, but otherwise no different from my IUI cycle. DH gave 2 samples (1 which was frozen) so his end was more fail-safe. My only issue is that I believe I was overstimmed, due to the number of eggs retrieved and how sore I was following that procedure. However, we had more than enough embryos to choose from on Day 5, and a large number that were frozen. We've done 2 FET's since then, one BFN and one c/p.
My overriding concern throughout the whole process was honestly financial--I was scared that continual failure would mean running out of money to cycle, whether we exhausted our insurance or hit an OOP limit.
Post by changedname on Dec 13, 2012 10:56:08 GMT -5
Thanks so far guys. It is a hard decision especially financially. My insurance covers meds only so while IUI is only costing us $350 a pop, IVF will run us about $8000 I think. I am covered for 12 cycles in my lifetime so i have enough if I want to do a few more injects cycles.
I had no issues with the gonal F for this IUI except I could barely walk from CD 7 -14 due to backache, bloating and general agony. I could not wear any of my pants or skirts. My RE said that is normal for 4 follies but it kind of scared me for IVF and having even more follies.
I'm gonna PM here you in a minute but here are my thoughts. I think with that price difference I may try another IUI with injects. I actually think my IVF cycle went much better than my one inject IUI cycle med wise because I had this whole huge overresponse with the latter and I was scared/unsure about the whole thing. I don't remember your diagnosis but since we had sperm issues in addition to ovulation issues I'm glad we were able to do IVF when we did but we were pretty lucky to have most of it covered.
I drank a crapton of Gatorade during both of those cycles so maybe that helped. I got bloated as hell but the bloat went away during my TWW. My ovaries are still enlarged today but not really so bad.
Anyway check your PM in a sec and feel free to ask any questions.
Also, my age was a factor in deciding to move forward with ivf. I was 33 and we wanted the possibility of a second child a few years after a possible first child. I hoped for frozen embryos for later in case ttc at 37 or 38 didn't work out without intervention
This exactly. I'm 33, 34 in March. Clock is ticking. I'm reading your blog, thanks!
I'm gonna PM here you in a minute but here are my thoughts. I think with that price difference I may try another IUI with injects. I actually think my IVF cycle went much better than my one inject IUI cycle med wise because I had this whole huge overresponse with the latter and I was scared/unsure about the whole thing. I don't remember your diagnosis but since we had sperm issues in addition to ovulation issues I'm glad we were able to do IVF when we did but we were pretty lucky to have most of it covered.
I drank a crapton of Gatorade during both of those cycles so maybe that helped. I got bloated as hell but the bloat went away during my TWW. My ovaries are still enlarged today but not really so bad.
Anyway check your PM in a sec and feel free to ask any questions.
I should have drunk gatorade, I will know for next time. I was in so much pain. My diagnosis is the wonderful "unexplained" so we have no idea why the damn sperm won't meet the egg and just make a baby already! My Obgyn referred me at 9 months because of my age.
I pmed you back but not sure if I did it right. thank you!
I'm gonna PM here you in a minute but here are my thoughts. I think with that price difference I may try another IUI with injects. I actually think my IVF cycle went much better than my one inject IUI cycle med wise because I had this whole huge overresponse with the latter and I was scared/unsure about the whole thing. I don't remember your diagnosis but since we had sperm issues in addition to ovulation issues I'm glad we were able to do IVF when we did but we were pretty lucky to have most of it covered.
I drank a crapton of Gatorade during both of those cycles so maybe that helped. I got bloated as hell but the bloat went away during my TWW. My ovaries are still enlarged today but not really so bad.
Anyway check your PM in a sec and feel free to ask any questions.
I should have drunk gatorade, I will know for next time. I was in so much pain. My diagnosis is the wonderful "unexplained" so we have no idea why the damn sperm won't meet the egg and just make a baby already! My Obgyn referred me at 9 months because of my age.
I pmed you back but not sure if I did it right. thank you!
I got it, you're welcome!
The one thing that gave me solace during my IVF cycle was that the odds were SO much better than the IUIs. I think we were supposed to have a 10% chance with IUIs (and I think that's with 10 million motile sperm but the most we ever had was 6). In contrast we had almost a 40% chance with IVF. And we were hoping to get frosties and we got a couple so that is reassuring too.
I should have drunk gatorade, I will know for next time. I was in so much pain. My diagnosis is the wonderful "unexplained" so we have no idea why the damn sperm won't meet the egg and just make a baby already! My Obgyn referred me at 9 months because of my age.
I pmed you back but not sure if I did it right. thank you!
I got it, you're welcome!
The one thing that gave me solace during my IVF cycle was that the odds were SO much better than the IUIs. I think we were supposed to have a 10% chance with IUIs (and I think that's with 10 million motile sperm but the most we ever had was 6). In contrast we had almost a 40% chance with IVF. And we were hoping to get frosties and we got a couple so that is reassuring too.
That is exactly why DH is pushing to move to IVF. He really thought this month (and the last two IUIs) were "it" and was all excited. I brought him down to earth with the 8-12% chance of it working. He was floored and couldn't believe we had even done it once. He wants to move to IVF with a 50% chance of success and the chances of frosties if it doesn't work.
Post by UnderProtest on Dec 13, 2012 11:45:05 GMT -5
IVF lady checking in. We had a slightly different situation, it was pretty much male factor and we were advised iui would do little to no good so we completely skipped from testing to IVF. I was 30 when we started the process and after four cycles we ended up with twins. IVF was a lot harder than I expected. Some of the meds made me feel like crap physically and it was a total mind fuck too. Truthfully if you don't have any male issues, I would stick out one more iui cycle. IVF was tough and expensive and was at best a 50/50 chance. It's also a long process. Feel free to ask me any questions or pm me. I'm pretty much an open book about it around here.
IVF lady checking in. We had a slightly different situation, it was pretty much male factor and we were advised iui would do little to no good so we completely skipped from testing to IVF. I was 30 when we started the process and after four cycles we ended up with twins. IVF was a lot harder than I expected. Some of the meds made me feel like crap physically and it was a total mind fuck too. Truthfully if you don't have any male issues, I would stick out one more iui cycle. IVF was tough and expensive and was at best a 50/50 chance. It's also a long process. Feel free to ask me any questions or pm me. I'm pretty much an open book about it around here.
Thanks for your input. I really appreciate everyone chiming in, I trust you guys, if you know what I mean.
We don't have male factor at all. This IUI we had 123m pre wash/ 43 m post wash with 90% morph.
On Femara I only got 1 follie each cycle and my RE was very disappointed as she wanted 2/3. That is why she moved me to Gonal F. She was thrilled with 4 follies although the nurse did ask me if I was sure I wanted to go ahead when I got the trigger. (RE didn't even mention multiples or seem concerned which I found strange).
IVF lady checking in. We had a slightly different situation, it was pretty much male factor and we were advised iui would do little to no good so we completely skipped from testing to IVF. I was 30 when we started the process and after four cycles we ended up with twins. IVF was a lot harder than I expected. Some of the meds made me feel like crap physically and it was a total mind fuck too. Truthfully if you don't have any male issues, I would stick out one more iui cycle. IVF was tough and expensive and was at best a 50/50 chance. It's also a long process. Feel free to ask me any questions or pm me. I'm pretty much an open book about it around here.
Thanks for your input. I really appreciate everyone chiming in, I trust you guys, if you know what I mean.
We don't have male factor at all. This IUI we had 123m pre wash/ 43 m post wash with 90% morph.
On Femara I only got 1 follie each cycle and my RE was very disappointed as she wanted 2/3. That is why she moved me to Gonal F. She was thrilled with 4 follies although the nurse did ask me if I was sure I wanted to go ahead when I got the trigger. (RE didn't even mention multiples or seem concerned which I found strange).
I find the last part of your statement to be a bit concerning. During our first go round with fertility treatments, they mentioned the chance of multiples at every appt, especially when it came to moving to inejctables, which have a higher rate of multiples than clomid and femara. My RE said she'd be very nervous if I had 3 or more follies and probably wouldn't let me proceed to IUI. We also were unexplained with no male issues. There is no way she'd be thrilled with it. That's what makes me nervous about your RE.
After we had the twins, when we went back to the RE to try for #3, we told them we wanted to be even more cautious to avoid multiples, and she let me proceed with 2 follies (and maybe a third that was near maturity) but that was only b/c it was the third IUI after the previous two failed, and it was our last hope for a while b/c we were out of money. That was also a BFN, and then miraculously, I got pregnant on my own 2 months later.
Thanks for your input. I really appreciate everyone chiming in, I trust you guys, if you know what I mean.
We don't have male factor at all. This IUI we had 123m pre wash/ 43 m post wash with 90% morph.
On Femara I only got 1 follie each cycle and my RE was very disappointed as she wanted 2/3. That is why she moved me to Gonal F. She was thrilled with 4 follies although the nurse did ask me if I was sure I wanted to go ahead when I got the trigger. (RE didn't even mention multiples or seem concerned which I found strange).
I find the last part of your statement to be a bit concerning. During our first go round with fertility treatments, they mentioned the chance of multiples at every appt, especially when it came to moving to inejctables, which have a higher rate of multiples than clomid and femara. My RE said she'd be very nervous if I had 3 or more follies and probably wouldn't let me proceed to IUI. We also were unexplained with no male issues. There is no way she'd be thrilled with it. That's what makes me nervous about your RE.
After we had the twins, when we went back to the RE to try for #3, we told them we wanted to be even more cautious to avoid multiples, and she let me proceed with 2 follies (and maybe a third that was near maturity) but that was only b/c it was the third IUI after the previous two failed, and it was our last hope for a while b/c we were out of money. That was also a BFN, and then miraculously, I got pregnant on my own 2 months later.
Me too. Kate Gosselin had three mature follicles.
My RE rarely does IUI because even with only one mature follicle you can easily get triplets. They cancel people for any more than two mature follicles. The health risks with twins are just too high.
Just because your doctor's a doctor doesn't mean they're trustworthy. It was an RE who transferred six embryos for Nadya Suleman, after all.
We had MFI so after testing (and varicocele surgery) we skipped straight to IVF.
I felt normal physically during my cycle. Mentally it was tough giving myself all those shots, and the stress of not knowing if it would work was bad. I had 16 follicles, but they were mostly empty and only produced 3 eggs, and only 1 was mature enough to fertilize with ICSI.
The progesterone shots were the worst for me, after the ET and during the next 9 weeks (it worked, yay, but that means more shots). I got bruises and lumps on my butt, but once I figured out a system to prevent that from happening it was fine.
Now I am 35 weeks pregnant with fingers crossed for a healthy delivery.
Underprotest, did you find IUI less of a mindfuck than IVF, though? I mean, you're injecting and being monitored and stressing anyway, why not do it for a decent shot, and less odds of HOM? And at least in an IVF 2ww you know what the state of the embryos was at transfer. With an IUI you don't even know if the trigger worked, let alone if anything fertilised.
I didn't blog. We had severe MFI and found out I had DOR after getting my AMH back and it was like 0.36 after all my other tests (FSH, etc had come back normal). We did one IUI then moved straight to IVF. I didn't think the IVF was too bad at all-just lots of waiting and appointments. I think the anticipation is the most stressful part.
The shots and everything were pretty easy for me to tolerate, progesterone shots do hurt like others have said. Retrieval was fairly painless..I just got sick from the twilight anesthesia or whatever it is they give you. They got 8 eggs from me and by day 5 (my RE only does 5DT) we had 3 left so we took a chance and transferred all 3. My RE said only 5% chance for triplets and they were not sure if they would be able to freeze that third one the next day. Plus they were all Grade II quality. I didn't think I would get pg with one much less three but I don't regret it at all! I had a relatively easy pg until the end when I developed pre e/HELLP.
IUIs with more than 3 mature follies really scare me. I think I've seen more triplet and quads mom get pg through IUI/injectibles than IVF and I'm surprised that their REs still did the IUI. I hope you get your BFP this round and won't have to do IVF but if you do it sounds like we have lots of experts on MMM!!
I'm not IVF or anything, but I hope you're not freaking out reading this, noel. I hope you get your bfp and a successful cycle!
Sorry I haven't posted in a few hours - been catching up on The Bump's multiples board. :-| ;D
Yeah, I guess after so many bfns with 1 follicle, I feel like even those 4 won't work. Negative but there it is. I would be astounded if I got pg let alone with multiples but you all make really good points and I will ask my RE tomorrow at the meeting. thanks guys.
Underprotest, did you find IUI less of a mindfuck than IVF, though? I mean, you're injecting and being monitored and stressing anyway, why not do it for a decent shot, and less odds of HOM? And at least in an IVF 2ww you know what the state of the embryos was at transfer. With an IUI you don't even know if the trigger worked, let alone if anything fertilised.
I actually never did IUI due to somewhat severe male factor infertility. They said the chances of it working were very low and we would pretty much be wasting our time and money/insurance benefits. This was told to us by both the urologist and the RE. But it is all a mind fuck.
But since Noel had a good response to injectables, there isn't a male factor issue and the cost and time is so much greater for IVF, I would think it wouldn't hurt to try IUI again. Although I would be slightly concerned about the number of follicles.
I don't typically post on this board, but saw the topic in the "new threads" section and thought I'd chime in.
I didn't do IUI, because our Dx was azoospermia. Technically my husband has some sperm, but literally with a five day abstience we get 35ish sperm to work with, so IVF with ICSI was our only option for a biological child.
For my fresh cycle I did a BCP, Lupron, Gonal-F and Menopur protocol. I had 22 follicles, each which had an egg. 21 were mature. For me, stimming became quiet uncomfortable and I was very sore for 2-3 after ER. My RE said that was typical, because the more follicles they're draining, the more you're going to hurt (because they have to move around to drain all of them). I started on PIO for my fresh cycle and then switched to suppositories around 7 weeks. I did an eSET and got pregnant, and we had two frosties. RE said that having 3 embryos to work with was good seeing we had sperm quality issues.
Unfortunately I had a m/c at 8w5d with my fresh cycle.
I attempted a FET in February, but cancelled when I ovulated during suppression. I had some issues with cysts and high estrogen level, so wasn't able to start a second attempt at a transfer until May/June. I did a BCP/Lupron/Delestrogen/PIO protocol for my FET and it was succesful. RE offered that I could switch to suppositories again but I HATED them with a passion and made the conscious decision to stay on PIO until 11 weeks.
Wishing you lots of luck as you go through the decision making process.
But since Noel had a good response to injectables, there isn't a male factor issue and the cost and time is so much greater for IVF, I would think it wouldn't hurt to try IUI again. Although I would be slightly concerned about the number of follicles.
Me either, but it does seem to fuck with peoples' heads just as much.
My POV on the risk of multiples was permanently skewed by papers I read when I was in the thick of it showing that it's pretty much all or nothing - if you were going to get pregnant, you're likely to get pregnant with everything, ie that you'll either not get pregnant at all or a majority of what you transferred would stick. There wasn't a per embryo rate of pregnancy that was cumulative, more like you had receptive or non-receptive cycles, and most embryos had pretty reasonable odds of implanting in a receptive lining.
I can't even begin to think where to look for the article (prob in Human Reproduction), which should be outdated by now anyway.
Here's a recent one which looks from the abstract as if it says the same thing. I don't have the time these days to go to the uni library and read the full text
But since Noel had a good response to injectables, there isn't a male factor issue and the cost and time is so much greater for IVF, I would think it wouldn't hurt to try IUI again. Although I would be slightly concerned about the number of follicles.
Me either, but it does seem to fuck with peoples' heads just as much.
My POV on the risk of multiples was permanently skewed by papers I read when I was in the thick of it showing that it's pretty much all or nothing - if you were going to get pregnant, you're likely to get pregnant with everything, ie that you'll either not get pregnant at all or a majority of what you transferred would stick. There wasn't a per embryo rate of pregnancy that was cumulative, more like you had receptive or non-receptive cycles, and most embryos had pretty reasonable odds of implanting in a receptive lining.
I can't even begin to think where to look for the article (prob in Human Reproduction), which should be outdated by now anyway.
Here's a recent one which looks from the abstract as if it says the same thing. I don't have the time these days to go to the uni library and read the full text
We haven't started IVF yet (still saving $ and trying to decide how to proceed), but it was the only option we were given to have a biological child.
I do have a few blogs in my reader (they are mostly people from TB). Beware though, they cover the good, bad, and the ugly. I can't read them too frequently, because it is too emotional:
Both, really. The research is IVF, because that's where the data are, but it's hard not to see the parallels in IUI. I have not done as much research about IUI because I didn't need to makes any decisions (my clinic didn't do it often).
Post by UnderProtest on Dec 13, 2012 23:35:05 GMT -5
Gotcha knitty. It does explain my situation. Nothing for the first three cycles and then both took on the last cycle. Good thing I didn't transfer three.
Sorry, Noel for hijacking your thread, but obviously there are way too many of us that know way too much about this. Please feel free to ask any questions or vent anytime.
Gotcha knitty. It does explain my situation. Nothing for the first three cycles and then both took on the last cycle. Good thing I didn't transfer three.
Sorry, Noel for hijacking your thread, but obviously there are way too many of us that know way too much about this. Please feel free to ask any questions or vent anytime.
If only knowing a lot about it could get you pregnant. :-(
Post by changedname on Dec 14, 2012 12:43:40 GMT -5
Thanks ladies. I had my regroup with the RE today. Will be doing at least one more IUI w gonal before moving to IVF. She is pretty confident I will get pg on the injectables but who knows?
I asked her about the follies. It turns out that although I had 4 (2.0,2.0,1.8 and 1.6) the post O ultrasound only showed that 3 had ovulated. I asked her how many is too many and she again said "any more than 4 is worrying, up to 4 is ok). Not sure why she is a follie pusher. I think I will watch out next cycle and say something if it is getting out of hand. I googled both that Quints mom on TB and the Perkin's mom that NQB mentioned. :-|
Question - if you have triplets or more - how can you go for a walk with your kids without your DH? Like, are there triplet strollers?
Question - if you have triplets or more - how can you go for a walk with your kids without your DH? Like, are there triplet strollers?
I don't have triplets, but my best friend does. (She had a Gonal-F cycle that was canceled because she had 5 follicles, then had sex anyway against her doctor's advice and got pregnant with the trips). She had a triple snap n' go when they were little, but she often ended up putting one in the Bjorn and then putting the other two in a double stroller because it was so much easier to push and manuever than the triple. She also had a lot of help when they were little, so she was actually not alone with all three of them all that often in the early months. I think she did a lot of waiting until her DH was home, a friend could join her, or the nanny was there to get out.