IUI day

Well, I had my IUI today, 36 hours post trigger. My husband's sample was his best ever. In our previous IUIs, total motile sperm was 7-8 million, for this cycle it was 63 million! Either he really improved with the multivitamin he started taking or its a lab error. Now the dreaded 2 ww. Oh, and I found out my E2 from the day of trigger (it was 523 and the lining was 8 mm).

Oh hope. I was down about this cycle because i only stimmed for 5 days, and now my husband has his best sperm sample. Now i have an inking of hope. Which makes a negative beta that much worse.

On another note, my clinic does not endorse the use of supplemental progesterone after a follistim/iui cycle. They say you don't need it, since the follicles have not been removed and are producing enough estrogen. but i've read on some sites that most MDs do recommend progesterone in gonadotropin cycles because the elevated estrogen can interfere with endometrial development. What gives? I do have some leftover crinone from a previous cycle, maybe i could use that. but the crinone is so messy and expensive, i think i'll follow my MD's orders.

oh no, typical pcos problems

Well, I had bloodwork only on 2/9/06 (CD6), my E2 was 283, so they told me to come into the office today (CD8). When I got there, I had a 20 mm follicle on the right ovary, left ovary had a 12, 14.8 and 16 mm follicle. Lining was triple striped, but they did not tell me the thickness. Well, my nurse told me I am triggering tonight. I guess I should be happy, but I know that stimming for only 5 days is not good, especially for PCOS patients. I asked the nurse if i could trigger later and wait for the smaller follicles on my left to catch up, but she said no, because by waiting i could stimulate a LH surge and lose all the follicles on the left. She said that at her clinic, anything over 14 is potentially mature. i am almost to my wit's end. it's like i already know the cycle is failed. I need to talk to my RE about this and see what he thinks for my next cycle. maybe i should go down to 25 units/day rather than 37.5. Actually, i was taking 41.6 units, since the follistim pen does not have 37.5 on the dial. i wonder if that could have anything to do with it. Oh, this is soo frustrating, i feel like 2000 is down the toilet. Shirley

Intros

Well, a little about me. I am a 29 yo woman with PCOS. I have had irregular cycles for a very long time. When my husband and I started trying to conceive, I was not ovulating, thus I went to my OB/Gyn. Well, she prescribed clomid for 2 cyces, which my body basically yawned at. I then went to see an RE and the workup took over two months because i had to start testing at the beginning of my cycle (and waiting for a cycle is a long wait if you have PCOS). Well my tubes were clear and my FSH was 5.1 and E2 50 on Day 3. My DH's sperm count was fine except for a strict morphology of 1%. The RE recommended that we go straight to IVF. Well, I saw two different (and more well respected) RE's who thought that was drastic and recommended Metformin and injectables.

Woh, injectables were a scare. I started off on 75 units Follistim for 5 day, then 37.5 for 3 days, and I made 20 follicles >10 mm. So of course I was cancelled. Which really sucks because you do not get your money back. So then I tried two Clomid cycles with metformin which really messed my lining up, though I did have a chemical pregnancy with one. Due to the lining issues, and the fact that i ovulate really late on clomid, my new RE is recommending follistim IUI.

I am nervous about IUI given morphology issues, but from what i have researched, sperm morphology is very subjective. However, if we had the funds, I would go straight to IVF. But at my RE's office (one of the best in the country), a cycle can cost almost 20,000 once you count meds, cryo, icsi, etc. So I am hoping my body cooperates with me with a new RE on this Follistim IUI protocol. I just got back from my Day 3 scan which showed 21 antral follicles on the right and 22 on the left. My RE wants me to start on 37.5 units follistim, and will do u/s and blood work on Day 4 of meds.

I am starting this blog because I find it hard to talk to people about my infertility. I have not told family members, because I am nervous if they will make me even more stressed out by asking me about each cycle. And I cannot tell anyone at my job, since I am in a profession where pregnancy is basically taboo. So I will be blogging here about my cycles. Welcome