IUI#3 was today

I am back from IUI #3. We had 20 mil post wash; which is much lower than our previous IUIs, but I am really not that worried. The nurse has told me on several dates, that 10 mil is ideal for IUI. So, we have twice that amount.

I think the count might have something to do with the fact that he was drinking over the weekend and (TMI AHEAD) the fact that he did not um,,,,, clean the pipes on trigger day. Trust me, we tried and tried and tried.....another reason why TI does not work for us. I told him it was fine and hoped for the best for today. So, I think it is possible that the count was low because we might have had a lot of dead old ones.

Whatever the reason - it is more than enough for the IUI.

I am really bloated - as I guess can be expected. My beta is scheduled for Friday - 9/19.

It is kind of funny - each and every one of my IUIs were on a Thursday. So, the schedule after IUI has always been the same. Kind of weird.

I am officially in the 2WW!

Injectable IUI Schedule (Timeline) so far

I have googled "IUI injectable schedule" a bunch of times before we decided to to do them because I was curious about the timeline - and I would not get a lot of hits.

I figured since my blog is searchable, I would add my own timeline.

CD3 - B/W and U/S - 100 units of follistim for CD3 & CD4
CD5 - B/W only - increased follistim to 125 units
CD8 - B/W and U/S to check follies - follistim still at 125
CD10 - B/W and U/S to check follies - follistim still at 125, injection of Cetrotide
CD11 - B/W and U/S to check follies

Today is CD11 so I will update after I hear from the doctor later today.

So - here is how today's visit went:

I have 8 FOLLIES - all are over 13mm - holy crap!!!!!

Here is the full count:

Right - 15, 16, 13
Left - 13, 13, 13, 13, 14

The doctor said that we might trigger tonight for an IUI either tomorrow or Thursday. And he also said that at this point I have about a 35% chance of twins and about a 20% chance of 3 or MORE!.

I don't want to end up like J.on & K.ate plus 8 - that is for damn sure. So, now I just have to wait for the doc to call to advise. He also said that he really can not let me go much further because he can not have that many follies grow to be mature.

Wow - it is a lot to comprehend right now.

______________________________
UPDATE:
Heard from the doctor. It is his personal and professional opinion that I should trigger tonight. This will lessen the chance that the smaller ones will release a mature egg. At this point I still have a chance of a multiple pregnancy.

If I wait - even without any stims - then the chance is HIGH that I could get pregnant with High Order Multiples - which is NOT something we want.

So - I will trigger tonight and do IUI on Thursday.

Update to schedule

i went in for b/w today. While I was there I asked about this weekend. I knew they had Sun hours and also knew that Labor day would have reduced hours.

they initially said to come in on Friday for a scan and then they would decide from there. Originally they said that Sunday would probably be the next visit. kind of sucks because we are having a BBQ on Sunday so that would kind of throw a wrench into the mix. But, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Well, they called this afternoon to increase my Follistim and said that I can stim for 3 days and then come in for a scan. This puts me on Sat instead of Friday and then I guess it will be Tuesday.

I am sure they were thinking about the fact that the weekend is coming and a long weekend at that. This works better for me anyway.

Just stinks that I have to drive about an hour to go to the doctors - lucky for me it will be a Sat and hopefully will not hit a lot of traffic.

They increased my Follistim to 125 units each night until the scan.

Started Injectables

Last night was the first night of injectables. Piece of Cake!

I am starting on 100 units of Follistim, and will add Cetrotide later after stimming for a few days.

Here is my schedule so far (subject to change based on progress)

CD3 - b/w and u/s: Done (Monday)
CD5 - b/w only (Wed)
CD7 - b/w and u/s to check any follie growth (Friday)

After that I really have no idea. CD9 is a Sunday and CD10 is Labor Day, so if I need to be seen on either of those days, then I need to travel the almost hour ride to the main office. Since it is the only office that is open on Sunday and Labor Day, I am sure it will be packed. The office I go to is a smaller office, and is not open on weekends.

So, we will see how that pans out. I know the cetrotide prevents premature ovulation, so I am really not too worried about possibly not going back in for monitoring until CD11. I know injectables are different, but I triggered on CD11 for my last IUI.

Here is everything I am taking (or will take) for this cycle:

Follistim - injectable medication: Started with 100 units on CD3. This med works directly with the ovaries and should not produce the same side effects as clomid (YAY!)

Cetrotide - injectable medication: Will start based on blood work this week. This med prevents premature ovulation

Ovidrel - injectable medication: This med triggers ovulation and will be given once my follies are nice a big.

Folgard - oral medication: I was recently Dx with MTHFR, which is a gene mutation that prevent the proper absorbsion of folic acid. This could possibly be the reason for my recurrent pregnancy loss. The research on the link between MTHFR and m/c is up for debate though. I take 2 pills once a day. This is in addition to the normal pre-natal vitamins that I am taking.

Prometrium - vaginal medication: In the past, I have had low progesterone. This medication increases progesterone and although it is a pill, it is inserted vaginally.

Wow, that is a lot of meds just to get and stay pregnant. I know on IVF cycles, the med list is even longer!

Today is CD1

Today is 5 weeks 4 days post D&C and I am happy to say that today is CD1. I will still holding out hope that this would be a break BFP cycle - but I guess I am not that lucky.

I guess all you have to do to get your period, is buy a 2 pack of expensive pregnancy tests. Obvioulsly I could use them in the future, but I really wanted to be able to use this this time around.

But - setting aside the fact that I did get my period, I just figured out that it is GREAT that I got it when I did. If I got it next week, then this cycle would more than likely be put on hold. My husband is going away Sept 10, 11, 12. So, if I got it any later, there would be a good chance that he would be away during the "prime" time.

I don't think timing will be an issue at all because CD14 would be 5th, a whole 5 days before he has to leave. I have never ovualated that late on a medicated cycle. In fact, my IUI have actually been on CD12 or CD13, so I am PRAYING that timing is not an issue.

We are doing injectables this cycle - plus Flogard (meds for MTHFR), I just hope that injectables do not mean late ovulation.

From what I have read, most do not ovualte later. I will go to the RE on monday for CD3 monitoring and also to talk about the effects of the MTHFR.

It is weird, when I was there last week (Thrus) to give them my new insurance info, I joked "I hope I see you soon" I was hoping it was going to be for beta, but I will still see them soon, but for a new cycle.

I am just excited to get this cycle started YAY!

Cycle update

The update is that there is no update. I am still waiting on my post D&C period. I seriously thought it was coming on Monday - I guess my uterus had other plans. So, now here I am 30 days after the D&C so what do I do - yup you guessed it, I took a pregnancy test. Just a cheapie. I only had one cheap one left anyway.

The results? Well, I am assuming that since I did not write "I am pregnant" as a post tile you can figure out the results.

I just really hope it is not 6+ weeks post D&C that I get my period - like the last time. I really thought that since my levels dropped so fast that I had a shot of getting sooner rather than later.

I quess we will wait and see. Once I get my period, we will be moving forward with IUI with injectables. IUIs have worked well for me, so I am hoping that my pregnancy luck will continue. I just pray that my m/c luck does not

I think we might do injectables

Talked with RE today, he does not think we should jump right to IVF. He thinks we might have better success if we try IUI with Injectables. He said my issue might be the meds I am taking, not the IUI. After all, the IUI is getting me pregnant.

I might be starting injectables with the next cycle. I just have to wait for my post D&C period and need to have all my other bloodwork come back ok.

I am Ok with not going to IVF - it is a big step from IUI. Even if the injectable cycle does not work for me, at least it will be a "practice" for IVF.

The doc will call me this afternoon with what I hope is my last beta. If the beta is zero then I can go in and do the rest of the RPL panel. He said that the results only take a few days. We have already done the tests that take a long time.

I might ask him to Rx the injectables for me now, so that I have them no matter when I get my period. I have to mail-order them. I would hate to not have them in time.

Oh - also - the genetic tests from the D&C were "normal" However, they can not tell if the tissues were from an embryo or from me. If the tissues were from me, of course they would be normal. Even though the results were normal, it is still possible that there was a genetic defect with the embryo.

So - we move foward from here.

UPDATE: RE Called, beta is down to zero. I will go in this week for the rest of the RPL panel.

IUI #2 Done!

I just got home from IUI#2 - it went great.

My husbands post wash count was 55 million!!! Can't complain about that :)

The nurse even said - it was one of the highest she had seen (post wash).

The cycle that we got pregnant, we had 34 million and I was thrilled with that. So, I hope this just makes our chances even better.

I go back on Tues for progesterone check and then my beta is scheduled for Sat, June 28. But, my clinic is a smaller clinic that has several offices. My office is not open on the weekends - only another office that is about 45 -60 minutes away from my house.

The nurse said it would be fine to come in the day early at my regular office and do the beta. At that point I would be 15 dpiui, so not really early.

I have a good feeling about this cycle Yay!

Follie Scan

Had my follie scan today - I have nothing on the left and 3 on the right. I have a 20, 15, &, 11.

I am thrilled with the 20. when we did IUI the last time (and got pregnant) I had a 20 and a 14 - so I think I am in good shape.

I will trigger tonight and do the IUI on Thursday.

My husband and I had a LONG chat last night about the IUI. You see, I lost my job yesterday. We were not sure if doing the IUI would be the best thing - even if I get a job right away (and get pregnant), there is a small possibility that in 9 months I would not qualify for maternity leave.

Even looking for a job, I would not say that either I am TTC or pregnant.

We decided that we are still going to do the IUI on Thursday - like someone said, things have a way of working themselves out. We don't want to sit this cycle out.

So, the job thing - I was looking for a new job anyway. I really was VERY unhappy at my job. I felt I was getting fired. There is just a lot to explain. But, I was totally shocked HOW and WHEN it happened.

Some say that it is a blessing in disguise - now I HAVE to find job - maybe one that I love - as opposed to one that I really don't like, but stay anyway.

I am really upset about the whole thing - I am looking for something closer to home. Gas prices are killing me - especially with an hour commute.

So, wish me luck with the IUI and with the job hunt.

Cycle update

First I have to say "Sorry" for anyone that reads my blog over the weekends. I hardly ever post on the weekend. I guess I am just not in the "mode".

Anyway - I have a cycle update.

I am on CD3. I got my period late in the day on Sat. Which means that I got my period 2 1/2 days after stopping the progesterone. Which I think is pretty good.

I asked my doctor if Sat would be CD1 as I did not get my period until about 5-6 pm. The nurse said as long as it was full red flow, then it would be CD1. Um, yeah - FULL red flow.

So, I went in today for CD3 b/w and u/s. I do have a very small cyst on my right side. The doc said it was really small and looks like it was going away on it's own. He said that if it was bigger then I would have to sit this cycle out. So.....thank God for small favors.

So, I decided to just suck up and deal with the Clomid side effects. I am doing this for a couple of reasons -

1) My body actually responds to Clomid. I have done 4 cycles already. On the 2 cycles that I have been monitored, I produced at least 2 follies. And the last time I got 4. Mind you the 4 were not all big, but I did have one big one in the lead.

2) I did get pregnant while using Clomid/IUI - so why change it?

3) My Doc wants to do injectables next after Clomid. I am not sure if I am ready for that.

So - I will start Clomid 100mg tonight and then go back on CD11 to check out my progress. If we use the same timeline as last month, then I will probably trigger on CD11 and have IUI on CD13.

Follie Check tomorrow

So, tomorrow is CD11. I will go in for a follie check and to see if I am going to trigger tomorrow. I am almost hoping for a late (cd17) ovualtion beacuse I think my chances will be better.

If I trigger tomorrow night, I have to jump my husband tomorrow. Which of course in the perfect world would not be a problem. But, I am staying at my mom's house tomorrow night because I have an early flight the next day. So, it will really be just "doing the deed" - which sometime my husband has issues with.

I can't stay home tomorrow night because my flight is at 6:45 am on Wednesday and I live about 1 1/2 hours from the airport. My mom, on the other hand, lives 20 minutes.

I will also be talking to my RE about the clomid Side Effects. If this cycle does not work, then I will ask for something else. It is the visual side effects that bother me the most.

So, I am hoping that I am totally NOT ready tomorrow and maybe I can make it until CD 17. If I make it that late, then I will have an IUI on the day that I get back.

But, you be honest, I think there is a good chance that I might be ready tomorrow....I kind of have that feeling - like my ovaries are full.

This cycle is a go!

So, I finally got my first period after the d&c. It only took 6 weeks and 1 day - lucky me. Today is CD3. So, I am off to the RE for u/s and b/w.

But - here is the kicker - I will be on a business trip from CD12 - CD16. But, I DO NOT want to sit this cycle out.

For the cycle I got pregnant I took clomid on CD5-9 and had an IUI on CD15. So, under standard assumptions, I guess if I did clomid the same time again I could expect the same results, right.

But, in the past - when I did clomid, I did not ovulate until CD18. So, there is a possibility that I can still squeeze in an iui.

And trust me, if I can't do the IUI, I will be jumping my husband as soon as I get home.

UPDATE
Spoke to the doctor. He basically said that there is no way to predict when you will ovulate with the clomid (knew that).

But, he said that I can start the clomid today (CD3) and that it is possible that by CD11 I might be ready to do a trigger.

If that is the case, I will trigger on CD11 and jump my husband before I leave for my trip. I have to go down to my mom's that night because she is driving me to the airport for my 7am flight on CD12.

So, we will just hope for the best and hope that:
1) my husband can produce on command;
2) that his super sperm are waiting around for my eggs; and
3) that I have measurable follies on CD11

If I am not ready to trigger on CD 11, then I will take OPKs when I am on my trip. When I get a positive, I will trigger.

But, I will only trigger if it is a positive on or after Friday.

So, this cycle is just the luck of the draw. So, we will just have to wait and see.

IUI today

I had my IUI this morning. Frank's post wash was 34 million! It was funny - the nurse says to Frank, "nice job, Frank, those are some good numbers" I was laughing so hard - it was so funny.

So, let's hope that those sperm can meet up with my one or maybe two eggs.

Frank was allowed in the room the entire time - which was kind of nice. It was weird, in the "laying down" stage after the IUI, we just talked about stupic stuff - as if we were sitting at the kitchen table. We talked about an estimate that we have tonight, what we are having for dinner, our tax appointment on Sat, etc.

It was just so casual that it made me feel less nervous.

The IUI was kind of uncomfortable for me. When the doc inserted the speculum, he was moving it around and around and around- apparently my cervix was not cooperating. So, he had to use a different speculum. Once he got the right spot, it was over in less than a minute.

I have slight cramping now, but not too bad. So.....swim, swim, swim!!!!

Day 13 Scan and Bloodwork

Went in today for U/S and B/W. Today is cd13.

I have 2 measurable follicles.

Left - 14 mm (seems pretty small to me)
Right - 20 mm (big enough - I have no idea)

So, I was given my "collection cup" and the doctor will call this afternoon when my bloodwork comes back. The Doc will let me know when to trigger with the Ovidrel. So, I guess depending on my LH level, my IUI could be as early as tomorrow or anytime until Thursday. So, we will have to wait and see.

I googled "mature follicle size" and it seems like you need at least 18mm - but 20 still seems small to me. And the 14 is really small. So, hopefully both will grow nice and big so when I trigger I have at least 1 really good one.

Concerned about IUI timing

I went in for CD3 stuff today. Everthing looks good.

I was originally going to do clomid 3-7, then go in on CD11 for u/s and bloodwork and then probably do trigger on cd 12 (evening) and IUI on CD14 (this is assuming that everything goes according to "plan"

So, my office is actually a satelite office of many offices - which is not a problem.

But, today the doc said the I have to do clomid on CD 5-9 and then go back to the office on CD13 for u/s and bloodwork. - this is mainly because my office is not open on the weekends.

If I trigger on the evening of CD13, there is a possibility that I could ovulate on my own with just the clomid on CD14 - right?. So if I have the IUI 36 hrs after trigger then that would be CD15, and I could have missed my window.

The nurse did not seemed worried, so I am not sure if I should be worried.

If you take clomid 5-9, instead of 3-7, maybe you ovualte later than CD14? I hope so. I would really hate to mess up my first IUI because of a timing problem.

I asked if I should bring the trigger with me on CD13. I guess if I am ready to trigger on CD13 at the appointment, then I would do so and then still have the IUI on CD14 (24 hours after trigger)

I know the RE knows what he is talking about - and I don't want to question his authority, the timing just makes me nervous.

IUI # 1 is a go

Today is CD 1. I knew this cycle was a bust. Now, I am not sure if I am upset because I got my period, or happy that I did.

Let me explain. Of course I am disappointed that I am not pregnant - so this is where I would be upset for my period. But, I DID get my period.

Why I am happy I got my period:

1 - Ovulating in itself is a great thing for me.
2 - Getting my period means I do not need meds to force a period
3 - This is my second period with a 31/32 day cycle - which is SOOOO much better than 110 days
4 - My Luteal Phase (LP) was the normal range (13 days)
5 - I am now moving on with a plan.

So, as you can see, getting my period is not the end of the world. I will go on with my plan and try to stay positive.

So, here is my plan for this cycle:

Today = CD1
Friday = CD3; bloodwork and U/S & CD3-CD7 = Clomid 100 mg
Feb 1st = CD 10; HSG (not happy about this timing because it means no sex until then)
Feb 2nd = CD 11; bloodwork and U/S to check lining and follies (I hope there is enough)
Feb 3rd or Feb 4th = CD 12/13; possible trigger with Ovidrel
Feb 5th??? = CD14; possible IUI

Now, since in the past I did not do well with the Clomid, I am hoping that since now my cycles seem to be a little more in check I will respond better this time.

I do not want too many follies because I would hate to cancel the IUI. So, for now, the trigger and IUI dates are just tenative.

Of course, I will keep this blog posted with updates