IUI #3 with Femara (Round #5) is officially in the books. Part of the reason we turned this "break from IVF" cycle into an IUI cycle is that it worked for us once before. Exactly one year ago, we became pregnant with Femara + IUI + Prometrium. Also kind of strange....we've actually become pregnant the last two Novembers in a row (2011 & 2012), even though neither pregnancy lasted. Please Lord, let November 2013 be the charm, and if it does happen let it be for keeps!
Initially, I thought maybe if we just copied our exact same BD & IUI schedule as last time, we'd have a good shot. Hold your laughter please. I know there is no rhyme or reason to how things unfold in any given cycle, but the thought did cross my mind to try to mimic our last successful cycle. I gave up pretty early on though, due to the fact that I don't have a working crystal ball and couldn't realistically pinpoint ovulation in advance.
There are two main issues when trying to plan specific BD dates around an IUI. A) You typically can't predict exactly if/when you'll get a +OPK. There is no way to know when the IUI will be until less than 24-36 hours before it takes place...unless you have an extremely predictable and reliable response to all medications, in which case, I hate you. Just kidding! B) You aren't supposed to have sex too close to the time of the IUI either, so as to encourage a minimal sperm count at time of IUI. There are a few moving pieces here.
At one point, I thought my body was going to totally rebel and not ovulate at all, washing the entire cycle. The day after my last ultrasound (CD13), the test line on my OPK disappeared completely, which made me want to pull my hair out... It was supposed to be getting darker, not going away! Sometimes OPK's can give a pretty good indication of when ovulation is coming (because the test line grows progressively darker as LH rises), but sometimes the second line just does crazy things, like disappearing, reappearing, etc. LH is just wonky sometimes. I test twice per day and use two different brands (regular & digital) just to cover all bases, but clearly my LH levels were running amok. I STILL hadn't gotten a +OPK by Friday at 5 pm (CD16) so we went in for a second ultrasound.
Thankfully, the ultrasound revealed I was still on track to ovulate soon...
Left ovary: 23 mm (up from 16.5 mm)
13 mm (down from 16.5 mm)
Right ovary: 18 mm (barely up from 15 mm)
Lining: 8.4 mm (up from 7.4 mm)
I was slightly bummed that the second follicle on the left had actually shrunk down; Looks like the smaller one was being overtaken by it's counterpart, which seemed to take off. The right follicle was growing sloooow as molasses, but at least it hadn't shrunk and was still somewhat in contention.
Since we had at least one follicle @ 22mm+ and lining was good to go, we got the green light to do an Ovidrel trigger shot...which we purchased at a local pharmacy literally an hour before they closed on Friday night. Remember, hubby had a flight out on Sunday, so we had to do the trigger that night in order to make this IUI happen!
I went to bed without any dinner, because I literally jumped from subbing all day, then to the RE, the pharmacy, home to BD, and finally triggered at 9 pm.No rest for the weary and not even time to eat. Making a baby is work people! I can't help but think of the well-intentioned advice from others who've never experienced fertility treatments, "Just have a lot of sex." OR "Just use an online calculator to input the date of your last period and have sex the days it tells you." hahaha! So funny. :) Yeah, it turns out it's a little more work for some people.
Looks nothing like our last (successful) Femara/IUI cycle, but here is so far...
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The other thing different this cycle is the daily Lovenox shots (blood thinners) beginning on CD6... a little something extra for increased blood flow (since I have +APA's/blood clotting factors). I take baby aspirin in the AM and Lovenox in the PM. I'm happy to report that Lovenox has become easier over time. I still detest this dreaded shot, but the bruising has lessened, and I've found a couple trusty spots that are less painful. If there's any chance it could help and zero chance it can hurt, I'm willing to just suck it up and do it. I will begin taking Prometrium (progesterone) at bedtime on Wednesday (3 dpo) for luteal phase support as well.
We weren't able to BD the night of the IUI (as is normally recommended), because hubby flew out to Amsterdam right afterwards. However, he contributed a whopping 57 million "moving" swimmers day of IUI, along with many million additional in the days leading up to it, so every possible base within our power has been covered. All we need is ONE clean cut and well dressed little guy to show up with flowers and a nice bottle of wine for one super lucky egg.
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Initially, I thought maybe if we just copied our exact same BD & IUI schedule as last time, we'd have a good shot. Hold your laughter please. I know there is no rhyme or reason to how things unfold in any given cycle, but the thought did cross my mind to try to mimic our last successful cycle. I gave up pretty early on though, due to the fact that I don't have a working crystal ball and couldn't realistically pinpoint ovulation in advance.
There are two main issues when trying to plan specific BD dates around an IUI. A) You typically can't predict exactly if/when you'll get a +OPK. There is no way to know when the IUI will be until less than 24-36 hours before it takes place...unless you have an extremely predictable and reliable response to all medications, in which case, I hate you. Just kidding! B) You aren't supposed to have sex too close to the time of the IUI either, so as to encourage a minimal sperm count at time of IUI. There are a few moving pieces here.
At one point, I thought my body was going to totally rebel and not ovulate at all, washing the entire cycle. The day after my last ultrasound (CD13), the test line on my OPK disappeared completely, which made me want to pull my hair out... It was supposed to be getting darker, not going away! Sometimes OPK's can give a pretty good indication of when ovulation is coming (because the test line grows progressively darker as LH rises), but sometimes the second line just does crazy things, like disappearing, reappearing, etc. LH is just wonky sometimes. I test twice per day and use two different brands (regular & digital) just to cover all bases, but clearly my LH levels were running amok. I STILL hadn't gotten a +OPK by Friday at 5 pm (CD16) so we went in for a second ultrasound.
Thankfully, the ultrasound revealed I was still on track to ovulate soon...
Left ovary: 23 mm (up from 16.5 mm)
13 mm (down from 16.5 mm)
Right ovary: 18 mm (barely up from 15 mm)
Lining: 8.4 mm (up from 7.4 mm)
I was slightly bummed that the second follicle on the left had actually shrunk down; Looks like the smaller one was being overtaken by it's counterpart, which seemed to take off. The right follicle was growing sloooow as molasses, but at least it hadn't shrunk and was still somewhat in contention.
Since we had at least one follicle @ 22mm+ and lining was good to go, we got the green light to do an Ovidrel trigger shot...which we purchased at a local pharmacy literally an hour before they closed on Friday night. Remember, hubby had a flight out on Sunday, so we had to do the trigger that night in order to make this IUI happen!
I went to bed without any dinner, because I literally jumped from subbing all day, then to the RE, the pharmacy, home to BD, and finally triggered at 9 pm.No rest for the weary and not even time to eat. Making a baby is work people! I can't help but think of the well-intentioned advice from others who've never experienced fertility treatments, "Just have a lot of sex." OR "Just use an online calculator to input the date of your last period and have sex the days it tells you." hahaha! So funny. :) Yeah, it turns out it's a little more work for some people.
Looks nothing like our last (successful) Femara/IUI cycle, but here is so far...
We weren't able to BD the night of the IUI (as is normally recommended), because hubby flew out to Amsterdam right afterwards. However, he contributed a whopping 57 million "moving" swimmers day of IUI, along with many million additional in the days leading up to it, so every possible base within our power has been covered. All we need is ONE clean cut and well dressed little guy to show up with flowers and a nice bottle of wine for one super lucky egg.
