# Anyone on Femara?



## ondjima

Hi ladies currently I am on CD15 waiting to O after five days on 5gr Femara. Anyone else on the same boat?


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## samj

I am CD 15 on 2.5mg femara. Had trigger shot on 12th so ovulated on 13th. Started progesterone today also for thin lining.


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## ksweet82

This may be a silly question but whats the benefit of femara over clomid or the other way around? I saw that you have been on both and I was just wondering why a dr would choose one over the other.


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## wantanerd

I had tons of side effects with clomid and I took 50-200mg of it. I was a mess and ended up with cysts on my ovaries. With femara, I had literally no side effects except for slight dizziness for a few minutes on day two of taking it. My doc also monitored me closely while I was on femara. I also took the hcg shot with the femara.


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## wishingforjoy

Good luck taking Femara. My first round of Femara brought me a :bfp:


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## twinxxsmom

Hi,I am new here but had to respond.I took 5 mg 0f Femara in 06 after doing Clomid years prior and was able to get pregnant with my 18 yr old,but was unsuccessful until I went to a new doctor and was prescribed the drug.I ended up getting pregnant with the first run it and got my frat.twin girls.I do have PCOS and had lost 100 lbs. prior to conceiving.


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## HuskyMomWI

I am on CD5 of my 4th round of Femara+IUI. Holy hot flashes today! Gotta love this stuff.


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## PCOSMomToTwo

31andTrying said:


> I am on CD5 of my 4th round of Femara+IUI. Holy hot flashes today! Gotta love this stuff.

WOW ... you are on a super high dose!!! I couldn't imagine!!


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## wantanerd

Will probably be starting my second dose of femara tomorrow combined with the HCG shot.


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## samj

I just found out I am pregnant after first round of femara. Hoping its going to stick and have been put back on duphaston to help with the lining.


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## CRC25

I go to the doc. today for my cd3 scan and was thinking about asking for Femera... we are currently taking 50mg of clomid and i did and IUI and got a BFN... so dh wants a new game plan... after reading success stories that makes me feel better :) congrats on your BFP's!!! :)


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## wantanerd

Tomorrow starts my second round of ultrasounds to see my follicles are growing. Heres hoping round two grows follicles and they stick!


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## wantanerd

Well my right ovary seems to be growing follicles but none are over 10mm and I am at day 11 so my right ovary is not working too well and it looks like I will have to wait until next month with my left ovary. I will know for sure on saturday if my right side is growing anymore.


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## chellebelle12

Hi ladies, 2 weeks ago just finished up my 5th round of Femara currently up to 10mg cd 1-5. Had an early mc in April and now hoping that this is my month. My dr chose femara last year for me because there was a deal to where I could get it for a $10 copay. It would have been more difficult for me to get clomid because of my insurance. But so far I am happy with the femara, I have made lots of progress over the months considering I wasn't ovulating at all before I started it.


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## hopeful64

I got a BFP 2 days ago on my first cycle of Femara. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to confirm and the wait is killing me!


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## AStellarmom

I finished my second cycle of Femara 7.5mg on Saturday. I did several rounds of Clomid, but never got any follies at all. I had one follie last cycle that was a little over 18, so I got a trigger injection, but BFN. I go on Wednesday to see what my follies look like...hopefully we have growth! I didn't get to 18 last cycle until around day 20-22 so I am thinking day 12 is going to be too early. We shall see. Good luck to all!


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## wantanerd

Today is cd 18 for me. Last check of follicles was cd 15 and I had one at 15mm. So we shall see today if I get my trigger shot today or in two days. My right ovary has been growing my follicles much slower than my left ovary. Last time on cd 17, I had two follicles over 20mm in my left ovary.


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## AStellarmom

Well it's a bust for me. Having laproscopic surgery before starting injections. If only I could find a fairy to pay for my meds!!


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## wantanerd

Got triggered today! two weeks away from my pregnancy test!


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## gueyilla1985

Hello im just waiting for my :witch: so that i can start on my first cycle of femara!!!YAY me!!


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## wantanerd

I am about to finish my third round of femara


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## Am_ready

1st round of fermara/letrozole plus iui. Am dpo 2 today. Other than lower back pain no other effects. Did Clomid and iui for three cycles by the last cycle cm was pretty much gone. Now it's back this cycle.


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## gueyilla1985

I stll havent even started on my femara. AF needs to show up now!!!


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## ondjima

I was just lurking and noticed all the replies to this post. I ended up getting pregnant on that Femara cycle. Our RE had us use OPK's and then have sex for 7 days after the first positive. It worked. We could not believe it. 
I hope and pray that all of you get your BFPs soon!


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## gueyilla1985

Well I still havent had my af show up yet!!


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## Cupcake12

Hi all, I am new to this... hope I can get some support from others who are going thru the same thing as me. I just finished first cycle of femara and trigger shot with monitoring and got a BFN beta yesterday :( I had high hopes but somewhat skeptical as I was already ovulating (dr. prescribed it to give me a healthier ovulation).

So will be starting second cycle of femara on day 3. Does any one know what the success rate is for femara? 

If second round fails, most likely we will move onto to IUI, hopefully that will catch the egg (I think my CM is not what it use to be and could be affecting our chances and IUI CM won't matter). Anybody have a similar experience?


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## gueyilla1985

Im still waiting for my af so that I can start my first cycle of femara.


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## wilsons228

Im also on the 5mg of femara and the trigger shot, first IUI today at 11am. and holy hot flashes is right! but besided that no other side effects really.. This is the only forum ive heard of people using femara instead of Clomid. Glad to know its not just me!


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## gueyilla1985

Well I got my :bfp: without having to start the femara. Lol


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## Chiles

hopeful64 said:


> I got a BFP 2 days ago on my first cycle of Femara. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to confirm and the wait is killing me!

what dose were u on.


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## BabyMaybe917

Just realized today that there is forum area for assisted conception! I've been posting in the TTC section with questions and not getting much of a response so hopefully I get some more here!!!

Just curious if anyone out there had a few cycles of Femara where they didn't even ovulate? I didn't O last month on Femara (cycle 1 with it), this is CD18 of cycle 2 and still no positive OPK's. I'm doing them 3 times a day. Last month my progesterone was 0.8 so I'm also on Prometrium for the first time this month.


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## BabyMaybe917

Anyone have any comments about Femara?


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## Cridge

Hi Babymaybe! I just finished my 2nd round of femara. The first round was 2.5mg and I ended up ovulating on cd32 _after _taking natural progesterone cream to bring on af. It was the weirdest thing I had ever heard of. BFN though. Femara cycle #2 was 5mg and I didn't ovulate at all - started NPC on day 32 and af came after 5 days. Today is cd1 - I plan to take 7.5mg this cycle. 

I'm starting to worry that femara isn't for me, although I know that 7.5mg is a much better dose than the smaller dosages. I always ovulated on clomid, although never got a bfp with clomid.

What dose have you been on?


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## BabyMaybe917

Cridge said:


> Hi Babymaybe! I just finished my 2nd round of femara. The first round was 2.5mg and I ended up ovulating on cd32 _after _taking natural progesterone cream to bring on af. It was the weirdest thing I had ever heard of. BFN though. Femara cycle #2 was 5mg and I didn't ovulate at all - started NPC on day 32 and af came after 5 days. Today is cd1 - I plan to take 7.5mg this cycle.
> 
> I'm starting to worry that femara isn't for me, although I know that 7.5mg is a much better dose than the smaller dosages. I always ovulated on clomid, although never got a bfp with clomid.
> 
> What dose have you been on?

Thanks for responding!!! I'm on 5mg my doctor says research shows that it's the most effective dose. I've read the same. :shrug: I take it CD 3-7 but have recently read some studies that with Clomid CD 1-5 showed higher rates of ovulation and pregnancy and am beginning to wonder if the same would be true of Femara.

Cycle 1 with Femara I took Provera CD 28 after a CD 21 Progesterone of 0.8 so I quit doing OPK's after CD 24 I think it was. 

This Cycle I'm CD 19 still no positive OPK's as of today and doing them 3x day! I'm really thinking Femara is not going to work for me at this point. It's been a very rough day and I'm honestly wondering if I'm ever going to ovulate. This last week I have been incredibly emotional. Everytime I get a negative OPK it feels like a slap in the face. :cry: I'm also doing Prometrium CD 17-28 this cycle. (Forgive me if any of this is a repeat I've posted different stuff on different threads! :dohh:)

Just curious but how do you track ovulation and have you had any other fertility tests done?

DH's SA showed awesome results so he's definetely not the problem. My HSG in August was also clear so far just a diagnosis of PCOS.


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## Cridge

I've been on the PCOS/infertility/ttc road for 14 years now. I have classic PCOS. Dh hasn't been tested for maybe 12 years now, but knowing that I'm the major stumbling block and he was just fine when tested, we haven't bothered to test him again. But, yes, I've been through all the testing. I had OD (ovarian drilling) done in June and have started Femara since then. I do have a 9 year old son, thanks to gonal-f.

There is a great thread on femara stats on another website: https://www.soulcysters.net/showthread.php?323920-Femara-Stats-for-PCOSers

It looks like 5mg is the most popular dosage and definitely has good ovulation stats. I have read, though, of many women that need to take higher dosages. I'm not sure if that's because they weren't responding at all to lower doses or if they just weren't responding as well as hoped. It's discouraging, for sure.

Have you tried clomid in the past? I'm starting to think that for those that respond well to clomid, femara isn't going to work as well. I was always told that femara worked better than clomid, but I always ovulated on clomid, so not ovulating 2 months on femara (I guess I did ovulate the first month, but it was some freaky coincidence, I think), I'm wondering if I should just stick with clomid.

Will the prometrium bring on AF once you stop taking it?

As far as tracking ovulation, I'm a temp-er and have always been able to rely on that. I also watch cf, and pretty much every time I ovulate, I get sore nipples, so that's a definite sign. I am doing OPK's while using Femara just for that added assurance, but I have yet to see a positive. And as you know, seeing negatives over and over and over is just maddening. I ordered 50 tests and was hoping that would get me through 5 cycles, but I'm going into my 3rd cycle with only 10 tests left. Once they're gone, they're gone. I can't rely on them and they drive me nuts. ;)

Will your doc up your dosage? When I originally was researching, I found that 7.5mg seemed to be the most effective dose - in fact, my acupuncturist just told me the same thing the other day - but looking at the stats today, it does look like 5mg is great for a lot of women. I'm crossing my fingers that I'm one of those women that respond to higher doses, but I'm starting to lose hope.

I know it's so hard, but try to stay positive. Maybe skip the opt's and just keep an eye out for that ewcm. Are you temping at all?


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## Cridge

I've been on the PCOS/infertility/ttc road for 14 years now. I have classic PCOS. Dh hasn't been tested for maybe 12 years now, but knowing that I'm the major stumbling block and he was just fine when tested, we haven't bothered to test him again. But, yes, I've been through all the testing. I had OD (ovarian drilling) done in June and have started Femara since then. I do have a 9 year old son, thanks to gonal-f.

There is a great thread on femara stats on another website: https://www.soulcysters.net/showthread.php?323920-Femara-Stats-for-PCOSers

It looks like 5mg is the most popular dosage and definitely has good ovulation stats. I have read, though, of many women that need to take higher dosages. I'm not sure if that's because they weren't responding at all to lower doses or if they just weren't responding as well as hoped. It's discouraging, for sure.

Have you tried clomid in the past? I'm starting to think that for those that respond well to clomid, femara isn't going to work as well. I was always told that femara worked better than clomid, but I always ovulated on clomid, so not ovulating 2 months on femara (I guess I did ovulate the first month, but it was some freaky coincidence, I think), I'm wondering if I should just stick with clomid.

Will the prometrium bring on AF once you stop taking it?

As far as tracking ovulation, I'm a temp-er and have always been able to rely on that. I also watch cf, and pretty much every time I ovulate, I get sore nipples, so that's a definite sign. I am doing OPK's while using Femara just for that added assurance, but I have yet to see a positive. And as you know, seeing negatives over and over and over is just maddening. I ordered 50 tests and was hoping that would get me through 5 cycles, but I'm going into my 3rd cycle with only 10 tests left. Once they're gone, they're gone. I can't rely on them and they drive me nuts. ;)

Will your doc up your dosage? When I originally was researching, I found that 7.5mg seemed to be the most effective dose - in fact, my acupuncturist just told me the same thing the other day - but looking at the stats today, it does look like 5mg is great for a lot of women. I'm crossing my fingers that I'm one of those women that respond to higher doses, but I'm starting to lose hope.

I know it's so hard, but try to stay positive. Maybe skip the opt's and just keep an eye out for that ewcm. Are you temping at all?


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## Cridge

sorry - I don't know why that posted twice. I'm trying to figure out how to delete the 2nd one, but I can't figure it out. sorry!


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## BabyMaybe917

I've just started temping but my doctor didn't think it would be as accurate as OPK's. She told me from the beginning that most of her patients come to her pregnant and that she doesn't know much about infertility. She didn't even know about Femara until I asked for it. I really like her as a person but not so much as my doctor now. She said I should get a second opinion and more information from another doctor in her office that she has been consulting with about me. I was hoping I would at least ovulate on my first couple of cycles and then had planned to wait until after 3 :bfn:'s but I'm going to call and make the appointment with the new doctor. I'll ask her what she suggests for meds, doses, and tracking. :shrug:

I should start AF about 3-4 days after stopping Prometrium. That's how it worked with the Provera which is just a synthetic progesterone so Prometrium should work the same from what I understand. Could be wrong though. 

I haven't tried Clomid. Femara is covered by my insurance with a copay of $13 a month and Clomid is not covered at all so we tried Femara first. 

Thank you for the other website I'll have to check it out! I'm just at the point where I want to be aggressive with my treatment, I want to know as much as possible, and I want a baby! I've never been a patient person. I've always stressed over everything and this is certainly not any different! 

Oh by the way your OPK use is nothing! I just calculated and for the last two cycles I've used 86 OPK's... maybe a bit excessive but I started doing them from CD 8 both cycles and I don't want to miss my surge.


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## Chiles

I am on my 1st cycle as well. My opk lines does seem to be getting darker today. Still no positive. I will be sure to keep u posted. I have my day 21 bloods next week.


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## Cridge

babymaybe - where in missouri are you? I used to live in St. Louis and saw a great doctor there (specialist... I'd have to look up her name though). It definitely sounds like you need to find a new doctor. It's taken me 14 years to find one that I'm really, really happy with but you need to find one that at least knows what you're dealing with and has dealt with it before.

chiles, you're on 5mg? Keep us posted if you ovulate! GL!


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## Chiles

Thanks Cridge! I definitely will, you ladies keep me posted as well. 
There's not a lot of women on this forum that has posted about femara so it would be great if we kept it updated. Lol. Good luck to you both, and tons of baby dust!

Until then my fingers are crossed!


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## BabyMaybe917

Cridge said:


> babymaybe - where in missouri are you? I used to live in St. Louis and saw a great doctor there (specialist... I'd have to look up her name though). It definitely sounds like you need to find a new doctor. It's taken me 14 years to find one that I'm really, really happy with but you need to find one that at least knows what you're dealing with and has dealt with it before.
> 
> chiles, you're on 5mg? Keep us posted if you ovulate! GL!

I'm an hour north of Kansas City. I googled IVF centers and one in KC came up rated #3 in the country with their success rate! If I have to go to a FS that's where I'll go!!! It's not covered by insurance so why not pick a good one right? I'm calling the doctor tomorrow to have her schedule my 2nd opinion with the other lady in her office. Hopefully she has something else up her sleeve. :shrug:

I'm also considering the ovacue. The OPK's are emotionally draining and I just don't know how much more of them I can take and it's only been two months of them! I'm a very emotional, stress over everything person naturally so TTC and this Prometrium is killing me! Poor DH. :blush:

Anyways, anyone heard anything about the ovacue. It looks good and I would get both the oral and vaginal sensor to improve accuracy. I'm just concerned if it will work with fertility meds and PCOS.


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## BabyMaybe917

Edit: Double post


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## Cridge

I've never heard of ovacue.... is it like OPK's? I pretty much steer clear of all of that stuff, but it might be worth looking into. Let me know what you find out!


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## BabyMaybe917

Cridge said:


> I've never heard of ovacue.... is it like OPK's? I pretty much steer clear of all of that stuff, but it might be worth looking into. Let me know what you find out!

The Ovacue is more accurate than OPK's. OPK's work by detecting a specific amount of LH in our urine. The Ovacue works by two ways. 1. the oral sensor takes readings of your saliva and electrolytes and watches the changes (not a specific level, but changes). 2. The vaginal sensor takes readings of your CM for changes in electrolytes caused by hormone changes. 

The vaginal sensor also helps confirm ovulation did occur, something else the OPK's can't do!

_(Disclaimer: I may not have this 100% correct, I'm not an expert but rather I researched it for a couple of days! So, hopefully I explained it correctly!)_

And as I said before I'm an impatient person so mine is being shipped out today. :blush:

Oh I also talked with the company that makes it, they have excellent customer service from what I've read. I explained what meds I'm on now and what I may be on later and there's an option to enter the meds into the system. So it works with fertility meds. Also, works with irregular cycles so long as they aren't longer than 99 days. :)


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## Cridge

Hmm - I like the sound of that. How much is it and where do you get it? You'll have to keep me posted on how it goes!


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## BabyMaybe917

Cridge said:


> Hmm - I like the sound of that. How much is it and where do you get it? You'll have to keep me posted on how it goes!

They're pretty expensive but you don't have to buy any sticks or anything like you do with other fertility monitors. It's your one time cost...

www.ovacue.com is the website. They have the ovacue with just the oral sensor for $249 or with the vaginal sensor too for $329

Mine should arrive Friday so I'm pretty excited to play with it before my next cycle starts. :happydance:


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## Cridge

I can't wait to read your review! :)


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## giidaog

I saw that you have been on both and I was just wondering why a dr would choose one over the other.


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## Cridge

giidaog - usually, if someone doesn't respond well to clomid, the next step is to try femara. Most that don't respond to clomid respond very well to Femara. Femara has some great aspects compared to clomid, so my opinion would be to try femara first if your doctor will allow you to.

I've talked to an acupuncturist about the difference between clomid and femara and she had some really interesting things to say from a chinese medicine point of view. She said that those that are more "yin" respond better to clomid and those that are more "yang" respond better to femara. They obviously have their way of determining which one you are, but in general, yin's are "cool water" - more mellow, easy going, not very social, like to stay home; yang's are "hot fire" - very active, very passionate, energetic, etc. When you're somewhere in between (I'm more yin, but really just somewhere in between), both meds may work for you. I've seen this to be true with me. Clomid seems to have worked better for me, but I have seen some benefits with Femara and hope that I'll respond well to higher doses.

Some doctors just have a preference. Clomid has been used for a very long time and femara is fairly new for use as in infertility drug. Some doctors really like the results they've seen with femara so they're prescribing it more and more. Other doctors like to stick with what's worked for so many years.


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## Chiles

giidaog said:


> I saw that you have been on both and I was just wondering why a dr would choose one over the other.

My RE office have seen better success with femara with women that have PCOS. Its an treatment and they choose what they think works better for you. Remember its medical practice, and they are wrong at times.


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## BabyMaybe917

Cridge said:


> giidaog - usually, if someone doesn't respond well to clomid, the next step is to try femara. Most that don't respond to clomid respond very well to Femara. Femara has some great aspects compared to clomid, so my opinion would be to try femara first if your doctor will allow you to.
> 
> I've talked to an acupuncturist about the difference between clomid and femara and she had some really interesting things to say from a chinese medicine point of view. She said that those that are more "yin" respond better to clomid and those that are more "yang" respond better to femara. They obviously have their way of determining which one you are, but in general, yin's are "cool water" - more mellow, easy going, not very social, like to stay home; yang's are "hot fire" - very active, very passionate, energetic, etc. When you're somewhere in between (I'm more yin, but really just somewhere in between), both meds may work for you. I've seen this to be true with me. Clomid seems to have worked better for me, but I have seen some benefits with Femara and hope that I'll respond well to higher doses.
> 
> Some doctors just have a preference. Clomid has been used for a very long time and femara is fairly new for use as in infertility drug. Some doctors really like the results they've seen with femara so they're prescribing it more and more. Other doctors like to stick with what's worked for so many years.

^^^This is interesting. I'm on month 2 of Femara and haven't ovulated either time. I would definetely be yin! Maybe this is my problem. :shrug: Whatever it is I hope the Femara works in the next couple of months or that the Clomid works if I try it! I just want to ovulate!!!:wacko:


I have only been on Femara... this was my choice not my doctor's. In all honesty my doctor hadn't even heard of Femara for ovulation. However, after my research and finding out the insurance covers it and not Clomid that's what we decided to try first.


Ovacue was supposed to be delivered today but wasn't! If it isn't in the mail tomorrow I'll be making some calls. :growlmad: They included a tracking number but it hasn't bee updated since yesterday!


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## Cridge

BabyMaybe917 said:


> Cridge said:
> 
> 
> giidaog - usually, if someone doesn't respond well to clomid, the next step is to try femara. Most that don't respond to clomid respond very well to Femara. Femara has some great aspects compared to clomid, so my opinion would be to try femara first if your doctor will allow you to.
> 
> I've talked to an acupuncturist about the difference between clomid and femara and she had some really interesting things to say from a chinese medicine point of view. She said that those that are more "yin" respond better to clomid and those that are more "yang" respond better to femara. They obviously have their way of determining which one you are, but in general, yin's are "cool water" - more mellow, easy going, not very social, like to stay home; yang's are "hot fire" - very active, very passionate, energetic, etc. When you're somewhere in between (I'm more yin, but really just somewhere in between), both meds may work for you. I've seen this to be true with me. Clomid seems to have worked better for me, but I have seen some benefits with Femara and hope that I'll respond well to higher doses.
> 
> Some doctors just have a preference. Clomid has been used for a very long time and femara is fairly new for use as in infertility drug. Some doctors really like the results they've seen with femara so they're prescribing it more and more. Other doctors like to stick with what's worked for so many years.
> 
> ^^^This is interesting. I'm on month 2 of Femara and haven't ovulated either time. I would definetely be yin! Maybe this is my problem. :shrug: Whatever it is I hope the Femara works in the next couple of months or that the Clomid works if I try it! I just want to ovulate!!!:wacko:
> 
> 
> I have only been on Femara... this was my choice not my doctor's. In all honesty my doctor hadn't even heard of Femara for ovulation. However, after my research and finding out the insurance covers it and not Clomid that's what we decided to try first.Click to expand...

Isn't it interesting?! That's interesting that you haven't ovulated on Femara and you're yin. I'd LOVE to see how you respond to clomid. Any chance you'll try it even though your insurance doesn't cover it?


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## BabyMaybe917

I do plan on trying the Clomid if the Femara doesn't work. I have an appointment after Christmas (I think the 28th...:shrug:) with a reproductive endocrinologist. If I still haven't ovulated by then with the Femara I will definetely give the Clomid a try. 

My insurance should cover the initial consultation with the RE but no guarantees. It depends how they code it when they send it in. They covered my HSG 100% though and they covered DH's SA 100% so hopefully they cover the RE visit. DH and I have already decided that even if we have to try IVF then so be it! Of course there are a lot of steps in between now and IVF... 

I just realized two days ago that Clomid is now under WalMart's cheap prescriptions. I'm pretty sure I checked into this before so I don't know if I missed it or it's new? It's not a $4 rather it's a $9 for 5 50mg tablets or $24 for 15 50mg tablets. Definetely worth the try now! With it being on that least it's cheaper than Femara by $3. :dohh:


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## Cridge

I think if Femara doesn't work, clomid is worth a try. I agree with your conclusion - based on research online, it appears that Femara is the go to drug, but with the experience I've had with it - and now after talking to my acupuncturist about it, I'm thinking maybe it's just wonderful for some and clomid is the better drug for others. I'll be really interested to see how you respond.....that is if you don't get your bfp with femara!! :) I'm just looking at your chart... did you ovulate already?! Your temps are way low, but it looks like you've had a shift.

I spoke with my nurse this morning and got scheduled for a follicle ultrasound on cd17 if I don't get a surge before then. Today is cd10... not really planning on much action for at least another week.


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## BabyMaybe917

Cridge said:


> I think if Femara doesn't work, clomid is worth a try. I agree with your conclusion - based on research online, it appears that Femara is the go to drug, but with the experience I've had with it - and now after talking to my acupuncturist about it, I'm thinking maybe it's just wonderful for some and clomid is the better drug for others. I'll be really interested to see how you respond.....that is if you don't get your bfp with femara!! :) I'm just looking at your chart... did you ovulate already?! Your temps are way low, but it looks like you've had a shift.
> 
> I spoke with my nurse this morning and got scheduled for a follicle ultrasound on cd17 if I don't get a surge before then. Today is cd10... not really planning on much action for at least another week.

I don't think I've ovulated. I take progesterone cd 17-28 and I don't think you can o on it. :shrug: I could be wrong please correct me if I am. I stopped doing OPK's on CD 20 as I ran out. AF should start Sunday so we'll see! I'm new to temping.... what makes you think I o'd and when? CD 21 and 23 I moved around in bed before I took it because I couldn't find the thermometer that's why I left those as discarded. then the 24th I completely slept through my alarm!


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## BabyMaybe917

Forgot to add... I hope you get your surge... and your :bfp:!!! :dust:


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## Cridge

I didn't notice that you were taking progesterone - which could bring your temps up a little bit. BUT, on my first cycle of femara (2.5mg), I didn't ovulate by day 20(something), so I started using natural progesterone cream. AF starts 100% of the time that I've taken the cream in the past, and this time it didn't. I ended up ovulating after about 9 days of the NPC. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen or heard of!! So - I wouldn't discount ovulating while taking progesterone completely. 

Based on your chart, I would say that you had ovulated on cd19 or 20. BUT, although your temps jumped a little bit, they're still pretty low, so it's a total guess. Definitely the progesterone could have created that low jump (sometimes it does for me, other times it doesn't).

Sometimes all we can do is just wait around and see. ](*,)

My opt was reaaally close to pos yesterday, which is weird because I was cd10. I would LOVE to actually get a positive in the normal time frame!! My cf was pretty close to ewcm too, so I'm hopeful, but at the same time, my body likes to disappoint me, so we'll see.

Have a good day!


----------



## BabyMaybe917

Cridge said:


> I didn't notice that you were taking progesterone - which could bring your temps up a little bit. BUT, on my first cycle of femara (2.5mg), I didn't ovulate by day 20(something), so I started using natural progesterone cream. AF starts 100% of the time that I've taken the cream in the past, and this time it didn't. I ended up ovulating after about 9 days of the NPC. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen or heard of!! So - I wouldn't discount ovulating while taking progesterone completely.
> 
> Based on your chart, I would say that you had ovulated on cd19 or 20. BUT, although your temps jumped a little bit, they're still pretty low, so it's a total guess. Definitely the progesterone could have created that low jump (sometimes it does for me, other times it doesn't).
> 
> Sometimes all we can do is just wait around and see. ](*,)
> 
> My opt was reaaally close to pos yesterday, which is weird because I was cd10. I would LOVE to actually get a positive in the normal time frame!! My cf was pretty close to ewcm too, so I'm hopeful, but at the same time, my body likes to disappoint me, so we'll see.
> 
> Have a good day!

Thanks for the reply. I'm so new to charting temps! I put the EWCM on there because I've honestly never had anything *TMI* stretchable before. And this time it was stretching between my fingers. Only by about an inch, and it was thin stretch, but I was still pretty darn excited about it! :shrug:

AF should arrive on Sunday I'm guessing. I hope it was O and not the progesterone! I think next cycle I'm going to try CD 1-5 instead of 3-7. I've read a study that showed Clomid 1-5 actually had a higher % success rate for ovulation and pregnancy than days 3-7 so I'm wondering if the same will be true of Femara. :shrug: I suppose it can't hurt to try right?


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## Cridge

I'm anxious to see how it works days 1-5. My acupuncturist actually asked me why I was taking femara on days 3-7 instead of 5-10. She said that everyone else she sees that is on it takes it 5-10. :shrug: So far 3-7 hasn't been much good for me, so if anything, I'd take it earlier, not later. So frustrating.

remind me what dose you were on this cycle... I have a hard time keeping track of everything. :)


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## BabyMaybe917

I'm curious to see days 1-5 too. I assumed since days 5-10 give you a good strong egg that would result in more ovulation and pregnancies, also what the researchers thought. But, it was not the case. Days 1-5 allows for multiple follicles and results in more ovulation and pregnancies. So hopefully 1-5 does it!!! I'm on 5mg. My current doctor won't up it because she read a study that showed it's not like Clomid where you up it until it works that 5mg is the most effective dose. :shrug:


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## Cridge

I also read that 5mg seems to be the most effective dose. My dr. thinks that starting low and upping is the way to go, but I'm worried that is just causing me to be resistant since I did eventually ovulate on 2.5mg, but not at all on 5mg. Now with 7.5mg I feel like there's something going on and my opt's are getting darker, but that doesn't mean anything since I think my body tends to gear up to ovulate and then nothing.

So your dr. won't up your dose at all? This is your 2nd cycle on femara, right? Sorry - can't remember. But you didn't ovulate on the 1st cycle, right? So your doc just wants you to keep doing 5mg to see if eventually you'll ovulate??


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## Charisse28

I am starting 5mg Femara today, 3-7 wit u/s on day12 and Ovidrel hopefully. AF is unusually heavy this go round too. I hope I am not still bleeding when it is time for my u/s.


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## Cridge

Hi Charisse! :hi:

I hope everything goes well this cycle for you! I'm excited to see your response to femara!


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## BabyMaybe917

Yes my doctor just wants to keep me on the 5mg. My first cycle I didn't ovulate and my second cycle I didn't think I did but I had discarded two temps on my FF. I started a thread asking for advice regarding my cycle and it was suggested that since I didn't actually get up out of bed before temping that I should be fine to keep those temps in. I added the temps back in and I got crosshairs for CD 20!!! So I'm 11 dpo right now. I don't really feel any different other than I didn't get the usual pre-af cramps this month. AF should be here tomorrow based on when I stopped my Prometrium so we'll see!


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## Chiles

update: waiting on my day 21 bloods results.....Opks are coming up with two lines same in color ( pcos factor maybe)/ UGGGGHHHH, will update tomorrow with progesterone results hopefully!


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## Cridge

chiles - how long did your opt's come up with 2 lines the same color? I've had positive opt's for 4 days in a row in the past. BUT, if you're not seeing any negatives, then yes, it's probably pcos factor. :(

babymaybe - I would agree with your temps that you discarded. It's hard to say when you haven't been testing very long though, but I've been temping for so long that I know my temp doesn't fluctuate much with time taken or movement other than getting up within a few minutes of taking it. I can get up to pee 2 hours before I temp and it won't affect the temp (as long as I get right back in bed and go to sleep). So - yay!! I'm glad you got crosshairs! Did the :witch: find you yesterday? hopefully not! :)


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## BabyMaybe917

My crosshairs are dotted which I believe is because of the negative OPK's. Took them out and they were solid crosshairs. Anyways, the 19th I tested twice and they weren't positive but I didn't hold my pee for 4 hrs. The 20th I only tested once without holding for too long either then I ran out of OPK's... so I don't know as though they can be accurate. :shrug: I think I'd trust the temping and my first stretchy EWCM over the OPK's. 

Still no AF. If the Prometrium is the same for me as Provera AF should have been full swing yesterday and she's yet to show her face today. I'm only 13 dpo but FRER was :bfn: this morning.


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## Charisse28

Today will be my third dose of Femara and so far not one side effect! I am however feeling little pains in my right ovary and AF is almost gone! I have very high hopes for this cycle and I am starting to think maybe I shouldn't get too excited because if I don't get pregnant the let down will be much harder. IDK, I just really want it to work this cycle. I got pregnant with my first with 50mg Clomid 1500 metformin and its been 6 years since I've had a medicated cycle. I think my ovaries have been asleep for the last few years and I hope Femara wakes them up!!


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## Chiles

BabyMaybe917 said:


> Just realized today that there is forum area for assisted conception! I've been posting in the TTC section with questions and not getting much of a response so hopefully I get some more here!!!
> 
> Just curious if anyone out there had a few cycles of Femara where they didn't even ovulate? I didn't O last month on Femara (cycle 1 with it), this is CD18 of cycle 2 and still no positive OPK's. I'm doing them 3 times a day. Last month my progesterone was 0.8 so I'm also on Prometrium for the first time this month.

So I got my cd 21 bloods back and my levels were .8 as well. I have to go see me RE after my cycle starts nurse say he may change protocal and I may start injectables this cycle. I am definetly going to be monitored. I never got a positive OPK either. 

Are u taking provera to jump start you with AF


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## BabyMaybe917

I took Provera in July, August, and September to jump start AF but then they tested and found the low progesterone so my doctor started me on Prometrium CD17-28 instead. Prometrium is a natural progesterone whereas Provera is synthetic. Prometrium is safe during pregnancy and in my case will be continued through week 12 if I am pregnant. Prometrium works the same way as Provera in starting a period though. The withdrawl of Prometrium should allow for AF to start... but mine hasn't so far. I don't know if it's because of the Prometrium or a baby! :dohh: I certainly hope it's a baby but I just don't feel pregnant so we'll see!

For all I know my FF chart could be wrong too. My rise could be from the Prometrium and not actual ovulation. :growlmad: It's such a frustrating process.


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## Cridge

Babymaybe - I see you had a dip in your temp this morning. Did the :witch: find you? Hopefully not!

Chiles - I used gonal-f injections when I got pregnant with my son (10 years ago). They worked like a charm first round. I would do that again now, but dh doesn't want to go there.

charisse - that's why I love femara over clomid! no side effects. I have had very minor headaches, as is common, but nothing like the side effects you get with clomid. I do think I respond better to clomid though - but no side effects is great!


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## Chiles

Thanks cridge! I dunno what they are going to do. Maybe a higher dose of femara, and monitoring. I think I just ovulated late...-idk? Lol


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## Cridge

chiles - it is possible your prog. was low because you ovulated closer to cd21. Do you temp chart at all? Doesn't .8 mean no ovulation? I can't remember what the number had to be. But Babymaybe said she didn't ovulate when she had .8, right? It's so hard to figure out what's going on. That's good that you're going to be monitored next month!

I go in tomorrow for an ultrasound and to chat with my dr. I'll be cd17. I feel a lot of "stuff" going on in there, but it will be nice to SEE what's going on. I'm going to chat with my dr. about doing clomid next cycle. I always ovulated on clomid and I feel like femara has made me produce more cysts and I've had mountain range temps meaning my hormones are going up and down. My opt's and cf confirms that theory too, so I'm just thinking femara might not be for me. It's still early in the cycle for me (I usually ovulate after cd18), but I'm starting to get really frustrated.


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## Chiles

i WAS THINKING THAT AS WELL , SO MAYBE I OVULATED LATE?!? i USED OPKS THE PAST 3 OR 4 DAYS AND THE LINE GOT DARK AS THE CONTROL LINE AND NOW ITS BACK LIGHT. i THINK i AM GOING TO CALL THE RE AND SEE IF I CAN DO ANOTHER PROG TEST THIS WEEK. iM KINDA AFRAID TO START PROVERA BECAUSE WHAT IF I AM PREGNANT OR SOMETHING?IDK. WELL IT IS WHAT IT IS I GUESS?


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## BabyMaybe917

No AF yet. Not sure what's going on :shrug: It's getting frustrating! I'm going to wait until Friday before I call the doctor but I don't want to start Provera until I know for sure I'm not pregnant! 

I just don't get how the Provera worked exactly the same each time but the Prometrium is different? We'll see what tomorrow brings! I hope that you o this month and that it's just too early!


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## BabyMaybe917

Fertilityfriend moved my crosshairs :shrug: It changed O from CD 20 to CD 22. I had NO EWCM CD 22 or anything. Just based on my temp (which could be affected by the Prometrium). I don't know what to think now. I'm getting more and more confused!


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## BabyMaybe917

I posted this on another thread but thought I'd update you too. FF took my crosshairs away completely. I played with it a bit and if my temp had been 96.9 it would have given me solid crosshairs on CD22 but instead my temp was 96.8 and it took them away all together. So now I really don't know what to think...


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## Cridge

I don't always trust FF. I can usually dissect charts easily, but I have to admit, yours has me confused as well. Especially with the prometrium intake. Is that just like Natural Progesterone cream? I use NPC and it works 100% of the time for me, but when I told my current dr. that, she seemed surprised that it worked that well. So maybe the cream doesn't work as well for most people - or maybe it's the difference of the creams. I get mine off the internet and it's based on Dr. Lee's specifications (he's kinda the leader in that field). 

With your 2 low temps the last couple of days I would typically tell you that it looks like AF is about to hit.... but she hasn't, so I'm wondering if you didn't ovulate and it was just the prometrium that raised your temps...?? Were it ME, I would say wait it out 3 or 4 more days and if still no AF, use the NPC to bring her on.... but if prometrium is basically NPC, then I'm stumped. Maybe you'll need to use provera again.

Sorry - I'm totally no help. Your chart has me stumped. But definitely your last 2 temps make me think that maybe you didn't ovulate after all.... that or AF is right around the corner. :hugs: I know you're going crazy with uncertainty right now - I hate that!! What do you think your dr. will tell you to do? Maybe it's worth getting a beta hcg test?


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## cooch

I'll be joining you all back on the Femara soon. Just a week and a few days until AF is due after my lap. I wasn't on any drugs my lap cycle so. See you all soon x


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## BabyMaybe917

I'm 99% sure I didn't ovulate and that it was indeed just the Prometrium causing the temp elevation. The Prometrium is progesterone so since I've already taken it AF should have arrived when I stopped taking it. That's not the case though, she should have been here Sunday and still no signs! I'm going to call my dr on Friday if AF hasn't come just to ask her if I should go ahead with the Provera. That will add another 14 days to this cycle which sucks!!! Also, I'm going to ask her about the Prometrium because I don't think I should have set days to take it but rather I should take it after I confirm ovulation otherwise it could supress it (I believe). 

My dr doesn't want to treat me for infertility anymore either... so I'm not sure how much she will help me unfortunately. However, she is pretty good about answering my questions. I can usually say this is what I want or this doesn't make sense and she'll get back to me right away. She just really doesn't deal with infertility much so she's not big on treatment for it. She always has to consult with the other doctors when I call and ask her questions! :dohh: I have an appointment with a fertility specialist in December. I could have made it sooner but I wanted to give the Femara some sort of chance to work before going to a specialist.


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## Cridge

babymaybe - how has your temp been the last couple of days? I think you're right that you probably haven't ovulated. It's very strange that the prometrium hasn't worked for you though...?? The ONE time that NPC didn't bring on af right away was my 2.5mg femara cycle and I ended up ovulating after stopping the NPC. It was way weird!! So maybe you'll end up ovulating...??? 

I agree that you shouldn't start taking the prometrium until you've confirmed ovulation. Unless your cycle starts getting seriously long. I've been starting NPC somewhere between cd 23-35 if I don't ovulate because I want to get a move on with the next cycle. I figure I've given my body enough of a chance by then.

I'm sorry your dr. doesn't want to treat you anymore!! That sucks. It's always so hard to switch doctors, but maybe a new doctor will be a good thing. It sounds like 5mg of femara isn't enough for you so I would be frustrated with your doctor if I had her. I'm glad you have an appointment with a specialist coming up!

So - I had my u/s on Wednesday (I've been super busy and haven't had time to post since then). It was cd17 and there was nothing going on in my ovaries. The tech was like "nada, nothing..." haha. But my left ovary was way high up for some reason and she had a hard time even seeing it at first. She checked a couple times and the second time she checked it we saw a larger follicle. She said that it looked like one started trying to grow. She didn't measure it, which I'm a little ticked about - I should have asked her to, but didn't have my brain with me at the time. I can't imagine it was any less than 8-10mm (or is it cm?). It looked quite large to me. I think she had already decided that nothing was going on and so it wasn't worth bothering with that one follicle. She was having a hard time seeing it anyway because my ovary was being so tricky. SO, I'm thinking I might still have a chance at ovulating this cycle if that follicle will get to work. I'm giving it a week and will start NPC next Wednesday.

Have you heard or read anything about myo-inositol? I've been reading a ton on it the last week and I've decided to start taking it. It's in the B vitamin family, although technically not a vitamin. So many women are reporting immediate results with it so I thought I'd give it a chance. Within 24 hours my cf went from almost completely dry to copious amounts of stretchy (not quite ewcm, which is good considering my u/s) cf. My temp was way low this morning, which tells me I'm producing a lot of estrogen, which is exactly what I want!! So that's one more reason why I'm giving this follicle a week - because of starting the inositol. 

If nothing happens in a week, I'll get a new cycle started and start 10mg of femara. I asked my doc if I could go back to clomid because I always ovulated on clomid, even if it wasn't very good. She wanted me to humor her for one more round of femara and then we'll go back to clomid after that. I also asked her if I could come in and get an u/s whenever I wanted, and she was game, so that's exciting. I'll probably start getting u/s starting on cd12 next cycle.

Sorry for the long post - that was a lot to report. :)


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## BabyMaybe917

I'm excited about your follicle! I really hope your EWCM is a good sign. I'll have to read more about this myo-inositol. That's great that your dr will let you switch back to Clomid but hopefully it won't be necessary. Also great that you can get an ultrasound whenever you want too. My dr is pretty great, it's her nurse for the most part that I don't like. I called the other day and she informed me taking Prometrium and then stopping it wouldn't cause a period. Then called me back later to inform me that "the dr said the withdrawal of Prometrium should start a period" oh really... I didn't JUST tell you that lady!!! :growlmad: The dr is great and said she would be my dr after I get pregnant she just really doesn't know much about infertility. Most of her patients are already pregnant when they come to see her. She told me from day one she was no expert but she'd give it a try and consult other dr's as necessary. But it's to the point that she doesn't know what else to do and doesn't want to waste my time or money when a specialist will be more likely to help. I can appreciate that!!!

*TMI alert. Well I have had more EWCMish stuff this cycle than ever before. I've never had it actually stretch between my fingers before. That happened for the first time on CD 20. Then yesterday CD 37 I went to the bathroom and it as on my toilet paper. Also NEVER happened before. I missed my temp on CD 36. But take a look at my chart and see what you think... I have no idea what it should look like or what anything means! I just wait for the crosshairs. :dohh: 

I think I'm going to give my temps a few more days to see what's going on and if I have a rise over the next couple of days then I'll wonder if I ovulated yesterday perhaps... :shrug: If no temp changes in the next few days I'll probably start the Provera. What do you think? 

Oh the nurse said that I need to take the Prometrium CD17-28 and not wait until ovulation. She said that it wouldn't affect ovulation what so ever. But, she did not confirm this with the dr. :growlmad: From research I've found I think she's wrong! I contacted the ovacue support line and they said the vaginal sensor will confirm ovulation the day of. So I'm going to wait until that day to start taking the Prometrium for next cycle. That way if I don't ovulate I'm not taking it for nothing since apparently it doesn't work for AF either. Plus, the day of ovulation should still be early enough to help support a pregnancy I would think. Considering she was going to have me take it roughly 3 days after! 

_*Another long post. _


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## Cridge

Yeah - your nurse sounds like a doofus. I always felt like I knew more than my nurses until I came to this dr. So frustrating! I totally think taking progesterone in any form will interfere with ovulating if you're about to. It's one of those "duh" things, in my opinion. 

I think that's a good plan you have... if you're seeing ewcm, wait a fews days and see if you ovulate. If you dry up and your temps are still low, I'd start the provera. I know some people say that it could take 10 days after stopping provera to bring on af, so maybe the prometrium is the same way. You're just at 10 days, right? So I would go with your plan... if no af, and no O, and no more ewcm, start the provera and move on to a new cycle!


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## Charisse28

Hello All,


Cridge, I hope it turns out to be a good follie! All it takes is 1!:)

AFM, i am really anxious about my follie scan on Monday.Starting to worry that 5mg of Femara may not be enough. The twinges in my ovaries pretty much stopped the day after I stopped taking Femara. I can't wait until Monday, I need to know what my body is doing. I ordered some OPK's to test until my appt. but the still haven't gotten here yet. I think I better go pick up some today but it may be no point in doing that. UGGHH! The waiting is getting to me!


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## Chiles

Well ladies I am on my 2nd going on 3rd day of provera. 7 more to go....about to begin cycle 2. Idk if my doc is going to change his protocol or add the injectables with the femara or what. I was told to call the office on cd 1 and make appointment. :) very excited to be monitored this cycle. Depending on how many follicles we get we may go head with IUI. We are going to be very aggressive this cycle. Well I am planning on it!


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## Charisse28

Chiles said:


> Well ladies I am on my 2nd going on 3rd day of provera. 7 more to go....about to begin cycle 2. Idk if my doc is going to change his protocol or add the injectables with the femara or what. I was told to call the office on cd 1 and make appointment. :) very excited to be monitored this cycle. Depending on how many follicles we get we may go head with IUI. We are going to be very aggressive this cycle. Well I am planning on it!

Hi Chiles,

You might respond much better if your Dr. adds injectables and trigger and IUI. I hope next cycle is your cycle and you get your sticky BFP:)

AFM-The opk's I ordered came today and I took one and the test line is about half as dark as the control line. It's not positive but it makes me think that I may surge on my own. Still have my u/s Monday to check follies. FX'd that I have at least one good sized one.

~BABY DUST TO ALL!~


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## BabyMaybe917

Well my temp went up today, higher than it had been while I was on the Prometrium. Only by .1 but still! I'm so confused about this cycle!


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## Chiles

Charisse28 said:


> Chiles said:
> 
> 
> Well ladies I am on my 2nd going on 3rd day of provera. 7 more to go....about to begin cycle 2. Idk if my doc is going to change his protocol or add the injectables with the femara or what. I was told to call the office on cd 1 and make appointment. :) very excited to be monitored this cycle. Depending on how many follicles we get we may go head with IUI. We are going to be very aggressive this cycle. Well I am planning on it!
> 
> Hi Chiles,
> 
> You might respond much better if your Dr. adds injectables and trigger and IUI. I hope next cycle is your cycle and you get your sticky BFP:)
> 
> AFM-The opk's I ordered came today and I took one and the test line is about half as dark as the control line. It's not positive but it makes me think that I may surge on my own. Still have my u/s Monday to check follies. FX'd that I have at least one good sized one.
> 
> ~BABY DUST TO ALL!~Click to expand...

Thanks, I am like put me on whatever. lol!!!! same to you.


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## Cridge

chiles - good luck with the provera. It's always a bummer to end a cycle without a bfp, but then by day 2 or 3 you start to get excited about a new cycle again. That's great that you get to be monitored next cycle. 

Charisse - good luck on Monday with your u/s! It's so exciting to be able to see what's going on in there! fx'd for a nice follie!

babymaybe - :shrug: It's true - your cycle has me stumped. But honestly, it's starting to look like one of my annovulatory cycles. Let's see what your temp does in the next couple of days. If it goes back down, I'd start the provera if I were you.

Ladies - I've been doing a ton of research the last week on myo-inositol and I think it's definitely worth checking out!! I'm on day 5 and I've already noticed a huge difference with my cf. Check it out. I think it's at least worth a try because you can get it so cheaply and easily and it can't hurt to take it. It also comes in powder form, which I love because I'm so tired of taking so many pills every day.


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## BabyMaybe917

Just curious if you ever used soy isoflavones?


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## Cridge

No - I've tried to stay away from soy because I've never determined for sure if it would help me or make things worse. Have you taken it?


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## Charisse28

I tried soy last year. I used 80mg, 120mg and 160mgand never ovulated on either of them.


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## BabyMaybe917

I added it to my current cycle and was wondering the same thing... It obvioulsy didn't help so could it have made it worse. :shrug: I'll skip it this next cycle.


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## Charisse28

US update:

Multiple small follicles all less than 1cm, Lining 6.2. So no response to Femara 5mg CD 3-7:(


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## Chiles

Charisse28 said:


> US update:
> 
> Multiple small follicles all less than 1cm, Lining 6.2. So no response to Femara 5mg CD 3-7:(

Sorry to hear that:( I can totally relate to the disappointment of femara not working the 1st round. Least you know where u stand at with that dose of femara and now we know that we will need some more meds to help us out. GL next cycle lady, but its not to late so don't give ur hopes up just yet. You never know. ;)


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## Chiles

BabyMaybe917 said:


> Just curious if you ever used soy isoflavones?

I have not but, I have ran across mixed threads about it. Sorry I am no help!


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## Cridge

So sorry Charisse!! :hugs: What's the game plan? Will your doc up you to 7.5mg? Maybe you're just responding slowly since there IS some action going on in there - do you have another u/s scheduled?


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## cooch

Femara ladies- are you taking any trigger shots as well??

I have to take 10,000 HCG (Pregnyl) day 12. Then Peak+3,5,7 and 9 I take a further 0.5 of it. It makes sure the developed follicles burst properly to let your egg out. Think its the IVF drug that make you go a little crazy- well that's my excuse anyway. I'm not doing IVF though, just Napro. xx


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## Cridge

cooch - no, I'm not triggering.... haven't had anything to trigger to this point anyway. ;)

Why are you starting your trigger on day 12? Do you have an u/s to make sure your follies are good and ready by then? Your protocol is one I've never seen before.

I have been triggered in the past with HCG and it wasn't a big deal - I didn't feel any side effects. I'm not sure it's Pregnyl, but I assume it was very similar if not. It was just a one-time deal though - trigger when follie is good and ready and call it good.


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## cooch

Hi, I'm doing Napro. I did follicle tracking one month to check how I was responding to the Femara. I was usually just doing one trigger, but it didn't have a massive impact so next cycle I'm doing 4 small ones also. I think I need help growing the follies but also releasing them.

It's day 12 as my peak day (prob ovulation) is day 13, so to give to a kick I've to inject day 12. I can't wait for this month as it'll be my first trying after the lap.x


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## Cridge

cooch - what dosage of femara are you on? I've been wondering if I respond to the femara really early but then don't ovulate so the follies get reabsorbed...???

afm - I just booked another u/s for tomorrow morning to see if my one little follie has grown any. If it hasn't, I'm going to bring on af with NPC. If it has, then I'll be singing praises to inositol!


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## Charisse28

Hi Cridge, my Dr. won't go over 5mg but she told me to start Provera and call on CD1 to schedule another day 12 u/s. She wants me to add Glumetza even after I told her I ended up in the hospital with lactic acidosis last year only taking 1000mg of it. (I was dehydrated and didn't know it) I'm not taking that stuff again. I was thinking that my follies may just be slow growers especially since AF lasted until CD8. I'm going to wait it out and do OPKs and see what happens in the next couple of weeks before starting my NPC.


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## Chiles

Are you ladies on metformin as well? I take 2000 mg a day. This is like my 2nd month going on month 3. I am also adding 45 minute work out this cycle. ( i'm 5'3 and weight 163) I am very hopeful this cycle. Meanwhile I am looking at having IVF done at a Military facility in North Carolina to see if we can get on a list or something. I just want my baby :) everyday I am thinking about him or her or them. And the holidays are the worst. Next Christmas I hope we all have a baby in our arms! GL Ladies, Lord bring us some :bfp: for thanksgiving or christmas!!!!


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## Cridge

Hi Chiles - I'm on 2500mg of metformin. I've been on it for about 18 months and I don't really think it's helped me much. I have lost some weight while I've been on it, which was nearly impossible before. But it's been very slow. I lost about 8 pounds in the first 10 months and I've lost another 2 since upping to 2500 (from 2000mg) in the last 5 months. So not much, but definitely something! I have another 20 pounds to lose.

I hope you get your bfp soon so you can have a baby next Christmas!! The holidays are always the worst!


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## Chiles

How is this cycle coming along ladies????I took my last provera pill today so expecting AF next week I hope. I am very hopeful for this cycle!!!!! We may do IUI if I have some beautiful follies. I am just so anxious. I just got off jin jin blog on youtube and she got her BFP!!!! 1st round femara 7.5mg, TI and IUI. Lately everyone been asking me when are me and my dh are going to have kids. And I have been answering IDK (no one knows we have been ttc) I am ready to hear some update ladies while I wait :(


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## BabyMaybe917

Chiles: we haven't told our family we are TTC either. We get the question all the time! We've been married just over 5 years and it started pretty much our wedding day! We decided it would be better to just surprise them with it then have the stress of them saying "any news yet?" all the time. We just tell them I'm still in school so not yet. I'm glad we decided not to tell though because I just don't want to deal with the pressure and I haven't ovulated yet either!!!

AFM: AF should arrive Monday the 28th for me. Leaving me with this one cycle before I meet with the specialist in December. At this point I think I'd be happy if I were just ovulating. My HSG came back great, DH's SA was great... I just don't ovulate. 

I decided to start the Femara CD 1-5 this time instead of 3-7. I found some research with Clomid that showed CD1-5 to be more effective with ovulation and pregnancy than CD3-7. So in hopes that Femara is the same I'm going to switch it up and see. :)

:dust: :dust: 

I've decided to learn to sew to preoccupy my time. I'm thinking of making some burp cloths, reusable wipes, blankets, things like that. If nothing else I'll give them out as gifts when people I know get pregnant! :dohh:


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## cooch

Ladies what is you prescribed Femara amount and which days do you take it?? I'm just about at AF and can't wait to start my cycle- 1st after my lap.

I'm on 10mg of Femara CD3.


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## Charisse28

Nothing new for me, I've been doing OPK's and still have a light line just not positive yet. I'm trying to give it some time to see if I'll just O late and if I don't get a positive I will start NPC probably on Thanksgiving Day.


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## Chiles

I was on 5mg days 3-7....I had low response. So I am sure I will be on a higher dosage this time around. Or something else. I am waiting on af right now. GL ladies.


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## Cridge

babymaybe - are you taking something else to bring on af? I've been wondering about taking it cd1-5 instead as well, but I always took clomid starting on day 5 so I already feel like 3-7 is early. My acupuncturist wondered why I wasn't taking it on cd1 as well. So maybe I'll join you on days 1-5 this cycle. :)

cooch - I've taken 2.5, 5 and 7.5 mg all cd3-7 and haven't' ovulated on any of them (well, I ovulated after I took the 2.5, but it was freaky weird and I don't attribute it much to the femara). This upcoming cycle I'll be taking 10mg - supposed to take it cd3-7, but considering taking it 1-5. If 10mg doesn't do anything for me, I'll be on clomid next cycle as I always ovulated on clomid. What day are you on right now? Are you responding to 10mg? Have you taken smaller doses before?

I've been taking NPC for the last 5 days and I think af is right around the corner. Started having the very slight spotting last night, so I didn't use the cream this morning and I'm hoping af will be here in full force tomorrow. I'm a little bummed that I'll be dealing with the :witch: over Thanksgiving while we're out of town, but I didn't want to hold off on starting a new cycle so I figure it's worth it.


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## cooch

Hey Cridge,

I'm 10mg day 3 only. Its a Napro doc who prescribes it and I'm wondering if there's anything in the fact that its taken all at once rather than over a couple of days? As because I take it cd3, its wham bam attack on ovulation possibly having more impact than taking 2.5 over 4 days- if you see what I mean?

Why did they move you to Femara if you were good on Clomid? I would also maybe ask for HCG shots to help x


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## BabyMaybe917

Cridge I had to start the Provera. 10 days of it then 4 days after stopping AF should show. I'm just ready to move on this cycle! CD 47 and counting. :dohh:


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## Cridge

babymaybe - so you did start the provera. I actually read that sometimes prometrium doesn't work to bring on af for some women...??? bummer.

cooch - interesting protocol! Well, hopefully my ovaries will do something if I'm getting 5x the dose you are! I'll believe it when I see it. ;) I've taken clomid many, many times and I always ovulated late and my lp was shorter than it should be, plus I never got pregnant on it, so this current doc wanted to try femara to see if I'd do better on it. I was willing and anxious, but after 3 failed rounds, I'm ready to move on to something else. My doc wanted me to "humor her" with one more round of femara before going back to clomid. I'm not sure if I should be excited for this upcoming cycle or anxious to move past it. ](*,)


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## cooch

You never know Cridge as my charting (Napro) teacher says- our bodies can surprise us!!! xx


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## Chiles

AF is finally here!!! Called my doc office, he was out of office...nurse said that he will be in tomorrow and give me a call...ready to find out what we are doing this cycle :)


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## Chiles

Update: i will be taking 7.5mg femara cd 5-9 , injectables and trigger. Very excited!!!! start femara sunday!!! If i get a good respose we may do iui.


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## Cridge

chiles - we are cycle buddies! I started 10mg femara today (cd3). I like your protocol! I'm just doing the femara and getting my first u/s on cd13 (monday, the 5th). 

GL this cycle! Your plan looks great. :)


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## Chiles

We sure are cycle buddies!!! :) yay!!! I was kind nervous about starting on cd 5, and I have the injection class on monday. I don't know what type of injections or how much I will be taking yet. GL !!!!! And tons of baby dust to us all!!!!!


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## Chiles

Keeep me updated ladies!!!!


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## Chiles

How is everything going ladies? I found I will be taking gonal f this cycle.I have the class tomorrow. An i will be having an u/s cd 13.

Give me an update ladies :)


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## BabyMaybe917

Chiles I'm excited for you! I hope this is your month!!! :dust: Keep us updated on how the class goes.

Cridge did you end up starting the Femara CD 1? 

AFM - AF started full swing today after some light spotting last night. Apparently the Prometrium just doesn't work for me and I'll still need the Provera. This cycle I'm going to start Femara CD 2 and see what that does. I looked at some fertility friend charts and several women started Femara on CD 2 and got their :bfp:'s so we'll see. :shrug: I figured it up and if I ovulate on CD 14 I would test Christmas day. I want to have hope that this is it for us (also 3 days before my fertility specialist appointment) but I haven't ovulated yet so I'm trying not to get my hopes up. 

I've been super busy with class. The semester is almost ending!!! I have two weeks of class and a week of finals. We have 11 exams over 3 weeks time starting today. I'll try and keep up us much as I can!


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## Chiles

BabyMaybe917 said:


> Chiles I'm excited for you! I hope this is your month!!! :dust: Keep us updated on how the class goes.
> 
> Cridge did you end up starting the Femara CD 1?
> 
> AFM - AF started full swing today after some light spotting last night. Apparently the Prometrium just doesn't work for me and I'll still need the Provera. This cycle I'm going to start Femara CD 2 and see what that does. I looked at some fertility friend charts and several women started Femara on CD 2 and got their :bfp:'s so we'll see. :shrug: I figured it up and if I ovulate on CD 14 I would test Christmas day. I want to have hope that this is it for us (also 3 days before my fertility specialist appointment) but I haven't ovulated yet so I'm trying not to get my hopes up.
> 
> I've been super busy with class. The semester is almost ending!!! I have two weeks of class and a week of finals. We have 11 exams over 3 weeks time starting today. I'll try and keep up us much as I can!


Thanks!!! And I will keep you all updated. 

I am happy that the witch finally decided to show her ugly face so you can start your new cycle...GL to us all and I hope we all get our BFP next month!!!!

And Good Luck on all those exams!!!! Keep us updated after you ace them all. Don't worry about us here we will still send you tons of baby dust!!!


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## Chiles

The class was creepy lol. Just kidding it was great. We got the chance to inject oranges with alll different types od injectables, They show you all the injections and how to's in one class in case you ever need them. I will be taking gonal f 75iu days 7, 8, 9, 10 the 300 iu pen was $278 luckily I only have to pay $12 CO pay. Well I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow...Nervous! lol


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## Cridge

Chiles - i got pregnant on gonal-f (10 years ago)! I'm hopeful this is your month. The injections aren't that bad. I actually had to mix my own but I've heard they're much easier now (the pens?). Good luck!

babymaybe - I had a really weird af this cycle. It was very light the entire time (or maybe what most people would consider "normal"). I counted my heaviest spotting day as day 1, but to me, it was still just spotting. I never had a really heavy bleed like I usually do, but what I counted as day 2 and 3 were probably my heaviest bleed (although they weren't even much past what I consider spotting). SO, depending on what you would consider day 1, I started the 10mg of femara somewhere between day 1 and 3. 

I've been super sleepy since starting the femara. I heard that was a side effect, but I never dealt with it before. I couldn't stay awake yesterday (which was my last day taking it) but didn't realize until last night it was probably due to the femara. On my last cycles of femara, I've felt ovary twinges even while taking it, but so far I haven't felt much. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad. 

I scheduled an u/s for next monday, which will be cd13, so I'm hoping to see something then!


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## Chiles

Thanks Cridge. I hope its all our time this cycle. I had the very light spotting last cycle and it lasted 3 0r 4 days. It was light enough were a panty liners would do fine day 3 and 4. This cycle it was a more normal flow and lasted 6, 7 days. How much of gonal f did you take when your DS was conceived? and was it on gonal f alone?

I also have an u/s appointment monday. Grow Follies Grow!!! :happydance: The femara makes me sleepy as well. Especially If I am being still. Keep me updated!!


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## Cridge

chiles - I used 1amp/day - I didn't write it down, but I assume 75iU. I was also on metformin at the time, not sure how much... probably between 1500mg and 2000mg. I started the injections on day 3 and took them at least through day 10. I may have taken them through day 13, but I didn't write it down. No IUI or trigger shot - just the injections and metformin.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that has weird af's every once in a while. I needed a little more than a panty liner at least on days 2 & 3, but not sure how much more. I just used a tampon but I got away with using only 1 or 2 a day. I usually go through them every 1-3 hours. It was strange. I wasn't complaining too much though because I was out of town the whole time. It was a nice change of pace from my super heavy af's I usually experience.

We can think of each other during our cd13 u/s!


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## cooch

Wow Cridge I didn't realise sleepiness was a symptom of the Femara. I have been so tired. 

I'm ovulating this weekend and then I will be starting with all my HCG injections. Have only been doing 1 on day 12, I will now be doing a further 4 per cycle. So it had better work! Good luck girls xx


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## Chiles

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

I been very emotional all day. I went in for my u/s today and I had a poor response to the protocol. I did have small follies. But they were small. :cry:
I'm not even sure the sizes. And my lining was thin as well. My next choice is to move on to lap & dye,SOIUI aka mini ivf (super ovulation, iui) which is going to costs between $3000-5000 up front and our insurance can reimburst back the covered procedures...doubt it. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I just don't know if I want to continue on this emotional roller coaster anymore....I feel like giving up. The nurse said that she doubt that the follies get to a big enough size to ovulate. If my insurance decides to cover the meds I will do the SOIUI cycle, If not I will be going on a break and start saving up for IVF. :cry:


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## shimonevans

Chiles said:


> :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
> 
> I been very emotional all day. I went in for my u/s today and I had a poor response to the protocol. I did have small follies. But they were small. :cry:
> I'm not even sure the sizes. And my lining was thin as well. My next choice is to move on to lap & dye,SOIUI aka mini ivf (super ovulation, iui) which is going to costs between $3000-5000 up front and our insurance can reimburst back the covered procedures...doubt it. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I just don't know if I want to continue on this emotional roller coaster anymore....I feel like giving up. The nurse said that she doubt that the follies get to a big enough size to ovulate. If my insurance decides to cover the meds I will do the SOIUI cycle, If not I will be going on a break and start saving up for IVF. :cry:


omg am so sorry dnt give up ,am goin true the same thing hear i felt like giving up to, but you have come this far dnt give up naw, dnt lose hope have faith.wow i no how u feel am really scard my a,s is wednesday and am not to happy about it but it have to be done. i just hope for good results .i will update also ,hang in there ::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs:


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## Chiles

shimonevans said:


> Chiles said:
> 
> 
> :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
> 
> I been very emotional all day. I went in for my u/s today and I had a poor response to the protocol. I did have small follies. But they were small. :cry:
> I'm not even sure the sizes. And my lining was thin as well. My next choice is to move on to lap & dye,SOIUI aka mini ivf (super ovulation, iui) which is going to costs between $3000-5000 up front and our insurance can reimburst back the covered procedures...doubt it. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I just don't know if I want to continue on this emotional roller coaster anymore....I feel like giving up. The nurse said that she doubt that the follies get to a big enough size to ovulate. If my insurance decides to cover the meds I will do the SOIUI cycle, If not I will be going on a break and start saving up for IVF. :cry:
> 
> 
> omg am so sorry dnt give up ,am goin true the same thing hear i felt like giving up to, but you have come this far dnt give up naw, dnt lose hope have faith.wow i no how u feel am really scard my a,s is wednesday and am not to happy about it but it have to be done. i just hope for good results .i will update also ,hang in there ::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs::hugs:Click to expand...

My fingers are crossed that the femara works for you. GL!!!!! Keep me updated!


----------



## Charisse28

Chiles said:


> :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
> 
> I been very emotional all day. I went in for my u/s today and I had a poor response to the protocol. I did have small follies. But they were small. :cry:
> I'm not even sure the sizes. And my lining was thin as well. My next choice is to move on to lap & dye,SOIUI aka mini ivf (super ovulation, iui) which is going to costs between $3000-5000 up front and our insurance can reimburst back the covered procedures...doubt it. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I just don't know if I want to continue on this emotional roller coaster anymore....I feel like giving up. The nurse said that she doubt that the follies get to a big enough size to ovulate. If my insurance decides to cover the meds I will do the SOIUI cycle, If not I will be going on a break and start saving up for IVF. :cry:

Oh hun, im so sorry. Please don't give up, there's a precious rainbow baby waiting for you at the end of all this ttc madness. I know its hard sometimes and each cycle that it doesn't happen you get discouraged and want to give up because it hurts so bad. But when you do get your sticky BFP all of the struggles and roadblocks you are experiencing now will be all worth it. Stay strong and stay positive and please don't give up.:hugs:


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## Chiles

Charisse28 said:


> Chiles said:
> 
> 
> :cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
> 
> I been very emotional all day. I went in for my u/s today and I had a poor response to the protocol. I did have small follies. But they were small. :cry:
> I'm not even sure the sizes. And my lining was thin as well. My next choice is to move on to lap & dye,SOIUI aka mini ivf (super ovulation, iui) which is going to costs between $3000-5000 up front and our insurance can reimburst back the covered procedures...doubt it. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I just don't know if I want to continue on this emotional roller coaster anymore....I feel like giving up. The nurse said that she doubt that the follies get to a big enough size to ovulate. If my insurance decides to cover the meds I will do the SOIUI cycle, If not I will be going on a break and start saving up for IVF. :cry:
> 
> Oh hun, im so sorry. Please don't give up, there's a precious rainbow baby waiting for you at the end of all this ttc madness. I know its hard sometimes and each cycle that it doesn't happen you get discouraged and want to give up because it hurts so bad. But when you do get your sticky BFP all of the struggles and roadblocks you are experiencing now will be all worth it. Stay strong and stay positive and please don't give up.:hugs:Click to expand...


Thank You, I am over my tantrum and on to ttc cycle #3 soon, Thank you ladies for understanding.


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## cooch

Hi Chiles- that's a shame about the size of your follicles. Have you tried Clomid? The only reason I asked is a lot of ladies who Clomid hasn't worked for- Femara has and vice versa. There was a thread not that long ago about it. 

Don't give up, can they up your dose? xx


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## Chiles

Thanks cooch, 
I have never tried clomid...my RE just went straight to femara. 

He wants to do a SOIUI which is super ovulation. Which they do for IVF patients. But instead do iui. I may give injectables with a higher dose another chance. And then do the SOIUI cycle. I may start provera tomorrow.


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## Cridge

oh chiles - I'm so sorry! :hugs: I agree with cooch - I firmly believe that it's either clomid or femara that works for women - not both. See if your doc will let you give clomid a try before you move on to more invasive protocols. You were supposed to do injectables as well this cycle, weren't you? Are you giving up on that and just moving on to the next cycle? As far as I know, super ovulation is when someone is already ovulating but they take drugs like clomid or femara to "enhance" ovulation. Since you're not ovulating, your protocol doesn't make sense to me - do you know how they intend to "super ovulate"?

Where's babymaybe? How are you doing?

I hate to give my update since my cycle bud chiles got such bad news... :( I had a really good u/s on Monday and will be going back today for another u/s and possibly trigger shot. Chiles - I started taking Inositol just before this cycle and I KNOW that it made a huge difference in how I responded to the femara this time. I would highly suggest you dig in researching Inositol and see if you can start taking it. It's easy to take and doesn't do any harm, but may help you. It's worth a shot, imo. :hug:


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## shimonevans

a lil update ladies went in for my a,s today, my follies on the left side i had 7.5 to 8.5 follies, on the right was some 7's and the biggest was a 9, will my doctor wanted to see a better response to it but he told me to come bk on next monday for a next a,s to see if they have grown bigger ,he wanted to see them grow maybe to 19cm or 20 cm will hopefully when i go back on monday they would have growm bigger .
this is my first round of femara 2.5 so am still giving it some time but he told he if my follies dnt grow big enough i might have to start HCG injections along with the famara next cycle


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## Chiles

Cridge said:


> oh chiles - I'm so sorry! :hugs: I agree with cooch - I firmly believe that it's either clomid or femara that works for women - not both. See if your doc will let you give clomid a try before you move on to more invasive protocols. You were supposed to do injectables as well this cycle, weren't you? Are you giving up on that and just moving on to the next cycle? As far as I know, super ovulation is when someone is already ovulating but they take drugs like clomid or femara to "enhance" ovulation. Since you're not ovulating, your protocol doesn't make sense to me - do you know how they intend to "super ovulate"?
> 
> Where's babymaybe? How are you doing?
> 
> I hate to give my update since my cycle bud chiles got such bad news... :( I had a really good u/s on Monday and will be going back today for another u/s and possibly trigger shot. Chiles - I started taking Inositol just before this cycle and I KNOW that it made a huge difference in how I responded to the femara this time. I would highly suggest you dig in researching Inositol and see if you can start taking it. It's easy to take and doesn't do any harm, but may help you. It's worth a shot, imo. :hug:

Hey cridge!!! That's great news!!! What size were your follies ? I hope this is it for you!!!

Baby maybe is finishing up on exams etc...

I did do injectables with the femara. I used gonal f 75iu for 4 days. I did grow follies but they were not big enough. With super ovulation I will be stimming like the do ivf patients...I will be using gona f again, and idk what else yet. They plan on having me produce multiple follies and iui. I have a high chance with twin or multiples. They are hoping to produce 4 great follies and very close monitoring. I will just stim until I am ready for trigger. I was told to start provera on the 22nd after a negative pregnancy test.


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## Cridge

Thanks chiles! I hope they can figure it out for you! You were on 7.5mg of femara, right? fyi - I didn't respond to 7.5mg, but I responded beautifully with 10mg (however, I really do believe inositol had a lot to do with my response).

On cd13, I had 2 on my right side at 9 and 11mm, and a beauty on my left at 22mm. My lining was 12mm, but it didn't have the bright 3 layers that they like to see. I assume my lining was so thick because of my wimpy af this cycle. 

I just had another u/s this afternoon which has me in total confusion. I had a corpus luteum on my left ovary showing that I have indeed ovulated, and my lining had the bright 3 layers (didn't ask what the thickness was). Yay! BUT, the tech saw a "fluid filled cystic sac with a small membrane" in my uterus. She was totally bamboozled and asked if there was a chance I could already be pregnant. How could that be possible?! She's never seen anything like that that wasn't a pregnancy. Even my doc was totally confused and ordered a beta hcg test. I'm not getting my hopes up because it's SO abnormal (which is what my body likes to be). I'm trying to stay calm, but at least I know I'm officially in the 2ww!!! I can't believe it!! The other crazy thing that happened is that I got a + opt an hour before I had my ultrasound (which showed I already ovulated, so...).

Yep - my body likes to keep me guessing!


----------



## Chiles

shimonevans said:


> a lil update ladies went in for my a,s today, my follies on the left side i had 7.5 to 8.5 follies, on the right was some 7's and the biggest was a 9, will my doctor wanted to see a better response to it but he told me to come bk on next monday for a next a,s to see if they have grown bigger ,he wanted to see them grow maybe to 19cm or 20 cm will hopefully when i go back on monday they would have growm bigger .
> this is my first round of femara 2.5 so am still giving it some time but he told he if my follies dnt grow big enough i might have to start HCG injections along with the famara next cycle

Those were similar to my response. But least you did a respond. On a very low dose. . Still fx for you.


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## BabyMaybe917

Hi ladies! :wave: I've been so busy this week and am just now getting a chance to stop in and say hi. I have another exam tomorrow in my OB class and the finals next week then a month off. Much needed I might add...

Cridge: I'm hoping for a :bfp: for you!!! Have you taken a test at home? Your ultrasound sounds promising. So glad you responded and ovulated!!! :dust:

Chiles: So sorry to hear you didn't respond. Don't give up hope yet there are still plenty of options. I agree with trying Clomid. Perhaps the Femara just isn't it for you. I believe that may be the case for me as well. I haven't responded to Femara yet so maybe Clomid would work. :shrug: :dust: and don't give up hope!!!

Shimonevans: I hope your follies grow like they're supposed to! Even if they don't get to the 19 or 20 at least you've responded on a low dose and hopefully an increase dose will help in the future!!! :dust:

As for me: Today is CD 10 and I'm just waiting to see what's going to happen. I've been trying to keep my chart updated. I have the fertility friend one and then also one for the OvaCue. I really hope I ovulate this month. CD 28 is Christmas day... it's really messing with me. Part of me thinks wow maybe it's something to be hopeful for.... a :bfp: on Christmas! Then the other part of me says "you dummy it hasn't worked yet!" :dohh: I already have an appointment for the 28th with a specialist if this cycle doesn't work. I'm hopeful that I will get pregnant this month but if not I am looking forward to the appointment. Hopefully it will bring some answers. 

Out of curiousity if any of you are willing to share... do you know how much the ultrasounds to monitor your follies cost? I don't think my insurance will cover it and I'm curious to know. :)

On another note... for those of you in here with PCOS do you have the thin hair that accompanies it sometimes? I absolutely hate how thin my hair has gotten this last year or so. I read that the hormone's in birth control can help with it and I stopped those in February so I'm wondering if it's correlated in some way. I feel like I'm always having to "fluff" my hair up so that you don't see my scalp. :( That's really gotten to me the last few weeks...


----------



## Chiles

BabyMaybe917 said:


> Hi ladies! :wave: I've been so busy this week and am just now getting a chance to stop in and say hi. I have another exam tomorrow in my OB class and the finals next week then a month off. Much needed I might add...
> 
> Cridge: I'm hoping for a :bfp: for you!!! Have you taken a test at home? Your ultrasound sounds promising. So glad you responded and ovulated!!! :dust:
> 
> Chiles: So sorry to hear you didn't respond. Don't give up hope yet there are still plenty of options. I agree with trying Clomid. Perhaps the Femara just isn't it for you. I believe that may be the case for me as well. I haven't responded to Femara yet so maybe Clomid would work. :shrug: :dust: and don't give up hope!!!
> 
> Shimonevans: I hope your follies grow like they're supposed to! Even if they don't get to the 19 or 20 at least you've responded on a low dose and hopefully an increase dose will help in the future!!! :dust:
> 
> As for me: Today is CD 10 and I'm just waiting to see what's going to happen. I've been trying to keep my chart updated. I have the fertility friend one and then also one for the OvaCue. I really hope I ovulate this month. CD 28 is Christmas day... it's really messing with me. Part of me thinks wow maybe it's something to be hopeful for.... a :bfp: on Christmas! Then the other part of me says "you dummy it hasn't worked yet!" :dohh: I already have an appointment for the 28th with a specialist if this cycle doesn't work. I'm hopeful that I will get pregnant this month but if not I am looking forward to the appointment. Hopefully it will bring some answers.
> 
> Out of curiousity if any of you are willing to share... do you know how much the ultrasounds to monitor your follies cost? I don't think my insurance will cover it and I'm curious to know. :)
> 
> On another note... for those of you in here with PCOS do you have the thin hair that accompanies it sometimes? I absolutely hate how thin my hair has gotten this last year or so. I read that the hormone's in birth control can help with it and I stopped those in February so I'm wondering if it's correlated in some way. I feel like I'm always having to "fluff" my hair up so that you don't see my scalp. :( That's really gotten to me the last few weeks...

Thanks I am looking forward to the next cycle, GL with your exam tomorrow. 
I am not experience then thin hair issue. Sorry about that. 

The u/s cost between $340-385 i forgot the exact cost. But my insurance cover it.


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## Cridge

Hi Babymaybe! I have PCOS and major hair loss. It's gotten worse lately, but i'm not sure why. I'm wondering if the femara has made it worse...??? I've been reading lately about vitamin D deficiency with PCOSers and have just started taking a D supplement (3 days ago). So I'll let you know if I notice anything with that. it's so frustrating and I'm about ready to just shave my head and get a wig.


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## shimonevans

BabyMaybe917 said:


> Hi ladies! :wave: I've been so busy this week and am just now getting a chance to stop in and say hi. I have another exam tomorrow in my OB class and the finals next week then a month off. Much needed I might add...
> 
> Cridge: I'm hoping for a :bfp: for you!!! Have you taken a test at home? Your ultrasound sounds promising. So glad you responded and ovulated!!! :dust:
> 
> Chiles: So sorry to hear you didn't respond. Don't give up hope yet there are still plenty of options. I agree with trying Clomid. Perhaps the Femara just isn't it for you. I believe that may be the case for me as well. I haven't responded to Femara yet so maybe Clomid would work. :shrug: :dust: and don't give up hope!!!
> 
> Shimonevans: I hope your follies grow like they're supposed to! Even if they don't get to the 19 or 20 at least you've responded on a low dose and hopefully an increase dose will help in the future!!! :dust:
> 
> As for me: Today is CD 10 and I'm just waiting to see what's going to happen. I've been trying to keep my chart updated. I have the fertility friend one and then also one for the OvaCue. I really hope I ovulate this month. CD 28 is Christmas day... it's really messing with me. Part of me thinks wow maybe it's something to be hopeful for.... a :bfp: on Christmas! Then the other part of me says "you dummy it hasn't worked yet!" :dohh: I already have an appointment for the 28th with a specialist if this cycle doesn't work. I'm hopeful that I will get pregnant this month but if not I am looking forward to the appointment. Hopefully it will bring some answers.
> 
> Out of curiousity if any of you are willing to share... do you know how much the ultrasounds to monitor your follies cost? I don't think my insurance will cover it and I'm curious to know. :)
> 
> On another note... for those of you in here with PCOS do you have the thin hair that accompanies it sometimes? I absolutely hate how thin my hair has gotten this last year or so. I read that the hormone's in birth control can help with it and I stopped those in February so I'm wondering if it's correlated in some way. I feel like I'm always having to "fluff" my hair up so that you don't see my scalp. :( That's really gotten to me the last few weeks...


thanks alot i will update on monday


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## Chiles

Okay ladies I talked to the nurse today, I had 15 follies one each ovary (darn pcos) so total of 30 follies all under 10mm. The biggest was 3: 10 mm. OMG!!!! She said I am good with producing them. Its the maturing part that we are having the issues with. So stimming will do me good. Looking forward to next cycle :) WOW 30 freaking follicles ! Um shocked! I'm now afraid to ask for clomid now.


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## BabyMaybe917

Cridge said:


> Hi Babymaybe! I have PCOS and major hair loss. It's gotten worse lately, but i'm not sure why. I'm wondering if the femara has made it worse...??? I've been reading lately about vitamin D deficiency with PCOSers and have just started taking a D supplement (3 days ago). So I'll let you know if I notice anything with that. it's so frustrating and I'm about ready to just shave my head and get a wig.

I've checked into Vitamin D3 and Calcium and Inositol and it looks promising. How much of each are you taking and have you talked to your doctor about it at all or just doing it based on your own research? I'm so scared of trying new stuff because I worry it will impair ovulation rather than help it! Vitamins can be tricky sometimes!

I have my next doctor appointment on the 16th with my old doctor and then the 28th for the fertility specialist. I feel pretty relaxed about this cycle right now and really don't know what to think of my chances. My temp has been kind of all over so far and it's only CD 11. :shrug:


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## Cridge

Babymaybe - I asked my dr. about inositol and she didn't know much about it as far as how it might help pcos (she's heard of it, that's about all she knew). I have to tell you though - if you do nothing else, I would take the inositol!!! I read about it years ago and I'm kicking myself that I didn't take it then. Last cycle my temps were all over the place - rocky mountains - I'm not kidding when I say as soon as I started taking the inositol, they evened out. I'll try to link my chart so you can see. I believe 100% that the success I've seen with this current cycle is due to the inositol. I felt like femara was messing me up more than it was helping me and I was really nervous to up the dosage because I felt like I was getting more and more messed up the more I took every cycle. I feel like I just had a picture perfect follicular phase and I've NEVER had that. Ever. I plan on talking to my dr. about the inositol when the time is right because I feel like she should be telling all her pcos patients to get on it. It's worth a shot if nothing else. I use the powdered kind (make sure it's pure - no fillers) and I take 1/2 tsp. 3 times a day, which equals out to be about 3300mg/day. I originally started taking it with choline because that's supposed to work with it, but I started retaining some serious water and once I cut out the choline, I lost the water weight (gained 3-4 lbs. in like 2 days).

As far as the D3, I didn't talk to her about that either - I just started taking it. I'm taking 5000iU a day. The only thing I've noticed so far (granted, it's only been 4 days that I've been taking it) is that my face seems to be breaking out. That could very well be from anything else, but after my ovarian drilling, my face has been pretty clear. The only reason I started taking it was because of the link between PCOS and it seems to help with hair loss, which has been really bad for me since I started femara. So, if I don't see any kind of improvement in a couple of months (or maybe less), then I'm not too keen on continuing. 

Let me know if this link doesn't work - I've never tried to link it before. I only marked the first few days I took the inositol, but I've been taking it consistently since Nov. 10. My Ovulation Chart


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## Cridge

chiles - I'm surprised they counted all those follies! Do you typically have the "string of pearls" pcos ovaries? I always have a ton of little guys in there, but they've actually been diminishing since I started the inositol. amazing!

so are you already on provera or something to start a new cycle?


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## Chiles

Cridge said:


> chiles - I'm surprised they counted all those follies! Do you typically have the "string of pearls" pcos ovaries? I always have a ton of little guys in there, but they've actually been diminishing since I started the inositol. amazing!
> 
> so are you already on provera or something to start a new cycle?

No she wants me to wait until the 22nd to start provera due to all the holidays etc. And that sounded great to me. Lol. 

Yes, I do. I may try the inositol this time around.


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## Cridge

babymaybe - I forgot to mention that I also started taking a B complex for my hair. My mom has been trying to get me to take one for years but I've been lazy about it. Now that my hair is practically gone, I'm desperate and trying whatever I can. Her doctor told her the complex needs at least B6, B12 and folic acid. I'm taking a prenatal that has the folic acid, but I figured more doesn't hurt. A nurse friend told me to take the B complex every other day because your body takes time to absorb and taking it every day is just a waste cause you'll just pee it out. So, that's what I do. My mom and her doctor swear that the B complex is great for growing new hair and keeping what you've got healthy. We'll see.

chiles - I can't say enough how much I recommend the inositol. I would love to see how others react to it so I hope you give it a try! Sounds like a good plan to wait until the holidays are almost over to bring on a new cycle. Enjoy the next couple of weeks! Will you still be monitored or are you done for this cycle?


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## Chiles

So I was reading online about the inositol and it basically does the same thing metformin does. Are you taking both of those together?


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## Cridge

Yes - I'm on 2500mg of metformin and have been taking it consistently for almost 2 years. I read that inositol has similar effects to metformin as well and that worried me a little, but I haven't noticed anything but good side effects since I started taking the inositol. Many PCOS women are deficient in inositol... metformin doesn't fix that deficiency. Honestly, metformin has done very little for me - I just keep taking it because I've never stuck with it in the past and my doc wants me on it.


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## Chiles

Okay. I am taking 2000mg. I am def trying inositol this coming cycle. :)


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## Chiles

Oh yea they will be monitoring closely so I won't OHSS. I warming up to a new cycle and trying to get excited again.


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## Charisse28

Cridge said:


> Yes - I'm on 2500mg of metformin and have been taking it consistently for almost 2 years. I read that inositol has similar effects to metformin as well and that worried me a little, but I haven't noticed anything but good side effects since I started taking the inositol. Many PCOS women are deficient in inositol... metformin doesn't fix that deficiency. Honestly, metformin has done very little for me - I just keep taking it because I've never stuck with it in the past and my doc wants me on it.

What brand Inositol are you taking and where did you purchase it from? I have some that I purchased a few months ago but I stopped taking it. TIA


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## Cridge

I'm taking Country Life Inositol Powder. I found it at Vitamin Shoppe over by the B vitamins.

charisse - why did you stop taking it? Did you notice any improvements while you were taking it?


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## Chiles

is it powder or pill?


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## Charisse28

Cridge said:


> I'm taking Country Life Inositol Powder. I found it at Vitamin Shoppe over by the B vitamins.
> 
> charisse - why did you stop taking it? Did you notice any improvements while you were taking it?

I was taking a bunch of different herbs at the time, Vitex/b6, Inositol, Cinnamon, and some Red Raspberry leaf, and Royal Jelly and I was having heart palps so I stopped everything. I'm still taking Cinnamon capsules but I scatched everything else. Didn't notice anything else different.


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## Cridge

chiles - it's a powder. I either mix it with water and drink it or just pop it in my mouth and chase it with a bunch of water. You can get pills though if you prefer that. I just feel like I take too many pills and so I wanted the powder. Besides that, the powder is totally pure. With the pills, you at least have the capsule you've got to digest.


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## Charisse28

@Cridge, what was your protocol for this cycle? Femara how many mgs on what days?
I may start back taking the inositol and I'm also doing self fertility massage this cycle. Took my first dose of 7.5mg Femara last night and so far no side effects except the fact that I feel like I need a nap after sleeping in until 9:30am this Saturday morning. Did you have any side effects with the Femara? Sorry if you've shared all this already in a post.


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## Cridge

charisse - I started the inositol just under 2 weeks before the start of my current cycle. I took 10mg femara on days 3-7 (I've tried 2.5, 5, 7.5 and had no response on any of those cycles). 

In previous femara cycles, I've had a minor headache one or two of the days I was actually taking the drug. This cycle, I didn't have any headaches, but I was super sleepy. Especially the very last day I took it. I couldn't stay awake for the life of me and I didn't realize until the next day that it was probably the femara. But I felt fine after that one day.

Also, on previous femara cycles, I was producing cysts and my ovaries ached throughout the cycle. This cycle I didn't feel a THING in the ovary region so I was really worried that I'd have no response again. 

I had an ultrasound on CD13 which showed 2 follicles on my right side at 9 and 11mm, and one nice follie on my left at 22mm. My lining was over 12mm thick. I had a second u/s on CD15 which showed I had ovulated (left follie was collapsed). I figured I had ovulated on CD14 because my temp was slightly up on CD15 and my nipples were slightly sore on the morning of CD15 as well (which is typical for me). 

There were 2 things out of the ordinary this cycle. #1: I didn't get a + opt until the morning of CD15 (after I had ovulated), and #2: my ultrasound on CD15 showed a fluid-filled sac, which both the tech and dr. thought was an early pregnancy...??? We did a beta hcg test, which I haven't seen the results from yet, but I can't imagine how that could be possible. So I'm just ignoring that and hoping it doesn't get in the way of anything implanting. Fx'd! Other than that, everything was absolutely perfect this cycle and I definitely credit the inositol!


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## cooch

ooo that sounds interesting Cridge.Keep updating x


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## Tiffany231

Cooch, I just read in an earlier post that you are doing Napro. Is this the Creighton Model? If it is, then I am really excited because I am doing the same thing! You will also taking all of your Femara on the same day (CD 3) and I haven't heard of anyone else's doctor doing this approach so maybe it is a Creighton thing??? I started tracking my cycles in May and I have a CM deficiency, so predicting my Peak days are VERY difficult. I am taking B-6, Mucinex, amoxicillan (prob spelled that wrong), and pre-seed for the CM and it is definitely helping. My Creighton doctor is in Sydney, Ohio and I am doing long distance. Where is yours? I am just really excited that we can compare if you are indeed using a Creighton doctor :) :) :). Keeping you in my prayers!!


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## Cridge

Tiffany - try taking Inositol for your cm - it did AMAZING things for mine!!


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## cooch

Tiffany231 said:


> Cooch, I just read in an earlier post that you are doing Napro. Is this the Creighton Model? If it is, then I am really excited because I am doing the same thing! You will also taking all of your Femara on the same day (CD 3) and I haven't heard of anyone else's doctor doing this approach so maybe it is a Creighton thing??? I started tracking my cycles in May and I have a CM deficiency, so predicting my Peak days are VERY difficult. I am taking B-6, Mucinex, amoxicillan (prob spelled that wrong), and pre-seed for the CM and it is definitely helping. My Creighton doctor is in Sydney, Ohio and I am doing long distance. Where is yours? I am just really excited that we can compare if you are indeed using a Creighton doctor :) :) :). Keeping you in my prayers!!

Hi Tiffany. Napro uses the Creighton Model, so yeah we are prob doing the same thing. I am also with a doc long distance. I am mainland UK and he is based in Dublin, Ireland. I'm on Femara day3 and HCG triggers as well as a drug called LDN. Which is nprob more readily prescribed in US. 2 of the drugs I am on are not licensed in UK for fertility so I am constantly warned by the pharmacist about what I'm taking,lol. xx


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## Chiles

Hey ladies
 



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## Chiles

I think I got a positive opk today and I am on cd 20. I don't want to accept it because I thought this cycle was over with. I am going to call the doc and see if I can go in for u/s tomorrow? Idk um lost.


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## cooch

Are you testing OPK to see if its a BFP or for ovulation? I'm a bit confused with this?x


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## siblingwishes

Hi Ladies,

I am starting Femara 5 mg tomorrow, which for me is CD3. I am booked for a scan on Dec. 21st.


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## siblingwishes

Chiles said:


> Hey ladies

Is this for ovulation? Or are you using the OPK's as an HPT?


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## Chiles

I was using it for ovulation purpose. I thought I would ovulate late. I am on cd 20.


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## Cridge

chiles - you had me freaked out for a second thinking you had your bfp! that opt definitely looks +. I didn't think you should have written this cycle off yet - I'm so glad things progressed!! I would definitely get in for a scan, if you can, to see what's going on. Congrats!

siblingwishes - welcome! Is this your first cycle on femara? Have you ever been on clomid? If so, how did you respond?


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## Chiles

Sorry for confusing you ladies!!! I wish it was my bfp!!!! 
@cridge, I guess I threw the towel in too early. I am calling the doc in the a.m. Since I am off work to see if I can go in for an u/s .I am just afraid of being disappointed. So I am trying not to get my hopes up just yet. 

Sibingwishes- Welcome!!!! And GL with your cycle!!! Chime on in with us. :)
.


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## Charisse28

Chiles said:


> Hey ladies


OOHHHH! I hope you are getting ready to O!! Eeekk! Lots of women O late on Femara (CD19+) And get BFPs! Another board I am on we have a woman on our thread that O'ed on CD19 her second month on Femara 7.5mg (first month was CD23 I think) and got her bfp and she is 7 weeks now. FX'd for a late O and BFP!!!!!:happydance:


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## Chiles

Charisse28 said:


> Chiles said:
> 
> 
> Hey ladies
> 
> 
> OOHHHH! I hope you are getting ready to O!! Eeekk! Lots of women O late on Femara (CD19+) And get BFPs! Another board I am on we have a woman on our thread that O'ed on CD19 her second month on Femara 7.5mg (first month was CD23 I think) and got her bfp and she is 7 weeks now. FX'd for a late O and BFP!!!!!:happydance:Click to expand...

Thanks, and I sure hope soooo. I am feeking twinges like my cycle is about to start. Wow maybe I will be like the woman on that board. I hope so.


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## cooch

Femara made me ovulate earlier, but then I had a 26-28 days cycle to begin with xx


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## siblingwishes

Cridge said:


> chiles - you had me freaked out for a second thinking you had your bfp! that opt definitely looks +. I didn't think you should have written this cycle off yet - I'm so glad things progressed!! I would definitely get in for a scan, if you can, to see what's going on. Congrats!
> 
> siblingwishes - welcome! Is this your first cycle on femara? Have you ever been on clomid? If so, how did you respond?

This is my first cycle! I have never been on clomid. My RE started me off with 5mg of Femara for CD3-7, I also am taking Metformin (just started so am still at 500 mg, supposed to increase to 1000 mg next week) as well as a tone of supplements!


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## Cridge

siblingwishes - good luck with this cycle. Metformin is nasty in the beginning. It's like morning sickness without the pregnancy. Stick with it though and you'll get through it (or maybe you'll be a lucky one that doesn't get sick on it!).

Are you being monitored by u/s this cycle as well?

How is everyone else doing? I'm at 9dpo. Was stupid and tested today...bfn. I'm not giving up completely though - I know it was way early to test!


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## Tiffany231

Cridge said:


> Tiffany - try taking Inositol for your cm - it did AMAZING things for mine!!

Hey Cridge...thanks for the tip! I tried googling Inositol and it looks like it's one of the B-vitamins. Is this correct? How much do you take? My doc has me on 500mg B-6, 2400mg Mucinex, and Amoxicillin to increase CM. I'm seeing an increase but not as much as I'd like. Before I started taking meds, I had ZERO CM....dry dry dry..everyday :(...it's like the Sahara desert


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## Cridge

tiffanny - inositol is in the "B vitamin family", although it's technically not a vitamin...??? But you'll find it over by the B vitamins. I take 1100mg of the powder 3 times a day for a daily total of 3300mg. I have PCOS and supposedly, pcos girls are deficient in inositol, but within 24 hours of starting to take it, my cf increased dramatically. That was towards the end of a cycle though. My next cycle (current), I responded well to the femara (I hadn't responded at all before) and my cf was amazingly abundant. So I think it's worth a try. With it being a "vitamin-type", it can't do any harm. Especially since the toxicity level is really high (did I say that right?... you have to take A LOT for it to be toxic), so I figure trying it was worth a shot.

I take the powder form because I couldn't handle taking one more pill - and the powder form is absorbed more readily. You can take the pill form though - just make sure you get it pure - without any fillers.


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## cooch

I'm due in 5 days. I have been getting dull pains above pubic bone and pains inside of hip bone. I had endo removed at the start of Nov, so this is my first month post lap. I also have tasted metal quite a few times however it was always when eating soup (so probably the spoon). I have been incredibly moody and emotional which I'm sure is PMT.


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## siblingwishes

Cridge - the Metformin is not going too badly, but I just started at 500 mg and have not bumped up to 1000 mg yet - I will next week.


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## Cridge

cooch - when are you planning to test? I never trust any symptoms pre-af, but sometimes a symptom here or there will make you wonder. fx'd for you!

siblingwishes - It definitely gets worse the higher the dosage, but hopefully you won't have to be bothered with the yuckiness at all!


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## cooch

Cridge said:


> cooch - when are you planning to test? I never trust any symptoms pre-af, but sometimes a symptom here or there will make you wonder. fx'd for you!
> 
> siblingwishes - It definitely gets worse the higher the dosage, but hopefully you won't have to be bothered with the yuckiness at all!

I'm not going to test until I'm late. But then I'm also wondering whether or not the HCG will extend my cycle. If it's late then I will definitely test. I just soo want it. xx


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## siblingwishes

Ladies, with Femara, did any of you start using OPK's to make sure you didn't ovulate early - and if so, starting when? I am wondering if I should start after my last femara dose which is tomorrow - so like CD 8. Thoughts? My scan isn't until CD 11 and I would be devastated if I already O'd! I normally O on my own at CD 14 or so...


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## Cridge

siblingwishes - I thought I needed to start using them early, but I just paid close attention to my cf. Once I started seeing an increase (by CD10), then I started testing. I ovulated on CD14 and didn't get a +opt until CD15 (ovulation confirmed by u/s). My body likes to play tricks on me.


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## Chiles

My RE instructed me to start on cd 10, so in your situation I guess it wouldn't make a juge difference
.


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## Chiles

Hey ladies? how is everyone?!

I would like to wish everyone happy holidays :}


Here is my update, if no bfp on the 22nd then I will start provera but I think af is going to show up on her own :) My back is aching usually like it does when she is on the way. Wow I will be starting my Assisted Conception cycle 3. I am not sure what is my protocol but I know is is some sort of injectables. Super Ovulation cycle I am excited! I always wanted twins (my dream come true) but I will be happy with just 1. We are also doing a lap and dye, and iui. If this fails then we will be on a break saving up for IVF. I informed my doc that if I get a bfp I would take anything to help my baby stick. Well ladies thats all for now.


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## Cridge

Hi chiles - it sounds like you have a great attitude! I hope things go well this next cycle! Have you been testing at all yet or are you waiting until the 22nd?

I've been testing since 9dpo just for the fun of it. I'm usually a huge anti-tester. :) I'm still getting bfn's now on 13dpo, so I'm pretty sure I'm out this cycle. My temp dipped this morning too, which is 2-3 days early, so I'm not sure what to think. I hope af doesn't find me early. As much as I'd love to get this cycle over with, I already have a cd12 scan scheduled as long as af comes on Friday like she's supposed to.

Here's hoping for a better cycle next month! As my dh puts it, it's going to be a red Christmas this year. :haha:


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## cooch

AF has arrived! However, my first month using Femara with the 5 different shots of HCG has got my bloods to great levels and they are now in range (according to Napro). So not all bad news x

P 64.3
E 673 UK levels


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## Cridge

congrats cooch (on the blood levels, not af ;) ) What's the plan for this next cycle?


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## cooch

Femara and my HCG shots, Pregnacare and my expensive Omega capsules. Trying to fit in some acupuncture too. Hopefully this is me now in the right direction. Yippee! I have never had a BFP so hopefully when I do it sticks x


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## BabyMaybe917

Hi ladies! I'm finally done with finals and can hopefully keep up on here now!!!

I've not ovulated again this cycle. Femara apparently just doesn't work for me. I have an appointment on the 28th with a fertility specialist and I was excited at first but now I'm scared. I know our insurance won't cover anything (meds, tests, scans, visits, nothing) after the first visit... IF they even cover that. The dr visit itself is $350 then who knows how much after the initial consultation. DH says he's not worried about the money part of it at all. A baby is definetely worth it but I'm just concerned how fast our savings is going to drain with me not working. I have a semester left of school and won't graduate until May and won't start working until June or July most likely. Also, with class and clinicals this semester I don't know if I'll even be able to do monitored cycles at all because the clostest specialist is an hour to an hour and a half away (haven't made the drive yet so not 100%sure). 

I'm also worried that since I haven't been TTC for a year that they won't want to help. My previous doctor was great and diagnosed me with PCOS and said there's no sense in trying when I don't ovulate but who knows what the new doctor will say. I'm also worried about my weight. I have quite a bit to lose before I'm at a healthy BMI. I've lost 55 lbs so far but is the doctor just going to say lose weight then come back...

I guess I'm really just freaking out at this point and am scared to death that my dreams of becoming a mommy will be crushed. Sorry to have turned this into such a venting session.


I'm excited about all the great news you ladies have been posting! It really sounds like things are moving along for you. :dust: :dust: :dust:


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## Cridge

HI Babymaybe! :hi: Glad to see you back! I'm so sorry you're having such a hard time right now. :hugs: Trust me, I understand. Remind me what dosage of Femara you were on this cycle. I didn't respond at all until 10mg - which I know is more than some docs will even prescribe. But I honestly believe that I responded so well to 10mg only because I had started taking Inositol. If you have pcos, please look into that. I know that not everything works for everyone, but it's the only thing that I've seen help me in 14 years of dealing with PCOS. I spent days doing research on it and decided it was a cheap and easily available option to try. I noticed changes immediately.... within 24 hours. Many PCOS women are deficient in Inositol and until you fix that deficiency, your ovaries won't work right. Sometimes when Inositol doesn't work, D-chiro-inositol (which is what inositol converts into) is what some women use to see changes. 

I'm not saying it will work as well for others as it has for me, but I can't stress enough that after completely failing to respond to 2.5, 5, and 7.5mg of Femera (and actually feeling like I came out of the cycles WORSE off than I was before), I don't think I would have responded as well as I did to 10mg without the Inositol. I had a picture perfect cycle on 10mg - ovulated on CD14 with tons of ewcm, and a nice thick lining.

That being said, I also strongly believe that Femara isn't for everyone. I feel like pcos women either respond to Femara or Clomid - not both. I ovulated on every dose of clomid but because I never got pregnant, my doctor wanted me to "humor her" and keep trying femara. So maybe you should give clomid a try. Even though clomid worked better for me, I still "like" Femara more because of the lack of s/e and troubles it gives to your cf and lining, but if Femara doesn't work, it doesn't work.

THAT being said ;), my favorite is injectables (gonal-f). I think that gives your body just what it needs instead of tricking it like Femara and Clomid do. So if you can get a doc to help you through injections, I would say that would be the way to go.

So, those are my suggestions for you. :) I know it's really hard right now - every time we get disappointed it's just a kick in the stomach. I've learned that when those times come, I either need to take a little break so I don't lose my mind, or gather up the courage to continue on and look forward to the next cycle. It's so hard when you don't ovulate so you can't even "try", but we just keep moving forward trying to get our bodies where they need to be. I strongly believe that if you want a child, you will find a way to have one eventually as long as you don't give up.

:hug:


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## BabyMaybe917

Thank you so much Cridge! I don't know what I would do without the support of bnb friends. :) I don't see how you've made it through so many years when I am struggling to get trough a few short months! I really appreciate all of your input and support. I was really having a tough time last night. 

My only concern about the injectables is the cost. I've read that some cost thousands a cycle and my insurance won't cover a penny of them. If it were only a couple hundred I could do that now but if they cost thousands... well I'd have to start working again to cover it! Do you mind if I ask how much the Gonal-f are and if you do 1 a cycle or more than that?

As for the Inositol I couldn't find it at the store the other day so I may have to order it online. I was trying to hold off to see what the doctor wanted to do next. If they're going to switch me to Clomid or keep me on Femara. I really have no idea what to expect. I was also thinking of doing a Vitamin D3 and Calcium. Do you have any experience with that? Oh for the Inositol do you take it every day or specific cycle days? And how much do you take/ have you read is recommended?

Thanks again!!! :dust:


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## BabyMaybe917

Oh also, I was wondering if you had any tips on what to talk to the fertility specialist about. Questions to ask etc. I've started a list but since you ladies have experience I would love your input!


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## Cridge

babymaybe - what store did you look for the Inositol at? I found it at Vitamin Shoppe - and I assume it would be at most vitamin stores like that. It's over by the B vitamins. I take the powdered form (make sure it doesn't have any fillers or other ingredients) and I take 1100mg (1/2 tsp) 3 times a day for a total of 3300mg a day. I take it every day. This is the first full cycle I've taken it through and I have to admit I've been a little lax about taking the full dosage since I ovulated, but I make sure to get in at least 2 doses a day. You can't really take too much, but I've heard that sometimes you get the same results with taking less. I figure that since 3300mg has worked well for me, I'll just keep at that. I started it about 2 weeks before the start of this cycle and I think it did amazing things for this cycle.

Also, I wouldn't hold off on starting the inositol, if you can. I thought the same thing and waited until I saw my doc and then I asked her about it. She didn't know anything about how that can help PCOS patients, so I just decided to start it without her "consent" - or knowing. I'm SO glad I did. It's basically like adding another little something to your daily multi-vitamin, so it's not going to do any harm.

As far as vitamin D and calcium - it can't hurt. I started taking vitamin D a few weeks ago and I haven't noticed any difference, but I figure I'll keep taking it. I have read that a lot of pcos girls have a deficiency in D, so I thought I might as well take it.

I did gonal-f over 10 years ago, but I believe it's still about $3000 a cycle. Sucks - I know. I took one shot a day for about 10 days. Usually you'll have a trigger shot when doing injections as well. If I were you, I'd give clomid a shot (or a higher dose of Femara) before moving on to injections because of the expense. 

As far as tips on what to talk to the specialist about.... my only tip is to know your body and know what you want before going in. Don't ever take no for an answer if it's something you feel strongly about. Make sure your specialist is someone that will work with you and keep you well informed. I've been through sooooo many doctors over the years and I pretty much hated them all until I found my current doctor. She's not a specialist per se, but she is very willing to learn from her patients and try new and different things. I pretty much tell her what I want to do and she'll do it. She'll always give me her opinion on what she thinks we should do, but if I disagree, she doesn't make me feel like I'm an idiot and she doesn't get that "but I'm the doctor" attitude. I think it's very important to find a doctor that you can talk to and trust and you need to work together to do what you feel is best for you. If something doesn't feel right, don't let the specialist bully you into doing it just because they think they know everything.

And don't worry about feeling the way you do. I remember very well the first month we tried to get pregnant and it didn't work. I strongly believe that when you're trying to get pregnant 3 weeks is "too long" to wait. So I have sympathy for anyone that has tried and failed for even a couple months. Believe me, I've struggled to get through some of the last 14 years. But I've gone through a personality transformation over the years and although I continue to fight my situation, I've had to become a stronger person for dealing with what I have for so long. It's changed me, and while every year gets harder in its own way, it also gets easier (cause it's just more of the same, ya know?). I'm SO blessed to have a little boy already and believe me, if it weren't for him, I'd be in the loony bin by now. ;)


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## Cridge

So Babymaybe (and anyone else not already over there..), there is a thread in the LTTTC forum of women on Femara. I think most of the other girls on this thread are over there - do you want to head over there and we can chat on that thread instead? The thread is a lot more active. I don't mind sticking it out on this thread if you're more comfortable with it, but it seems most the other girls chat there more than here.

I didn't copy the link before leaving... but it's called "FIRST CYCLE on femara/letrozole" (or something like that... let me know if you can't find it).

:)


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## Chiles

I am hanging on both threads!!! LOL, I have became attached to everyone on this one and not so much on the other one :) so even of you do go on the other one keep me updated lol!!! I have rarely been on BNB because I have not been doing much this cycle. starting provera tomorrow if no BFP


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## Cridge

chiles - tell more! how many dpo are you? you're testing tomorrow then? :)


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## Chiles

10dpo according to my opk, but according to the chart I am 14 dpo...I am just ready to start my new cycle.


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## Cridge

I know what you mean. I just want to know either way and get going on a new cycle if that's what's going to happen.

BTW - I'm totally cool with chatting on this thread instead of the other one. I just thought it was silly that so many women were chatting on both when they're basically the same. But if you're more comfortable staying here, I certainly won't leave you lonely! :)

Keep us posted on your test tomorrow! 11dpo is still a bit early though...??


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## BabyMaybe917

Fx'd for Chiles! :dust:

I'll have to check out the other thread but I'll hang around here too!


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## siblingwishes

Chiles - you are still in the game for sure!

As for the other thread...concensus was to make a new one, called *Femara Friends*, since we are all at different cycles now...it really is a great group of ladies and the chatter is constant, which is nice! Hope you all join us over there!


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## siblingwishes

siblingwishes said:


> Chiles - you are still in the game for sure!
> 
> As for the other thread...concensus was to make a new one, called *Femara Friends*, since we are all at different cycles now...it really is a great group of ladies and the chatter is constant, which is nice! Hope you all join us over there!

Oh and the new thread is under Long Term Trying To Conceive...:flower:


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## BabyMaybe917

I haven't been TTC for a year yet so no LTTC for me... I'll stick with this one. :) Of course I'll probably be of Femara before too long too! I'm hoping to try Clomid next since the Femara doesn't seem to be doing the trick.


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## Cridge

I think you'd be just as welcome on the other thread, but I understand if you're more comfortable over here. I'm happy to stick around over here with you! I want to keep hearing how you're doing. Did you make a decision with the inositol?

Remind me what your plan is now... are you going to take provera to bring on af? And then are you hoping to try clomid next cycle, or will you up the femara dose? I honestly didn't want to take the 10mg femara because I felt like I was getting worse every cycle with a higher dose. I was totally freaked out. But I feel like the inositol really made a huge difference, and now that I've had such a perfect cycle, I'm all for continuing on with the femara and inositol because I think overall, femara is the better drug, if you can get it to work for you. So maybe you just need to keep trying a higher dose...???

That being said, if you can't get femara to work for you, I think clomid is the way to go. I just hate clomid in general, but I do think it works better for some than others.


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## siblingwishes

BabyMaybe917 said:


> I haven't been TTC for a year yet so no LTTC for me... I'll stick with this one. :) Of course I'll probably be of Femara before too long too! I'm hoping to try Clomid next since the Femara doesn't seem to be doing the trick.

Babymaybe - it is totally up to you, but you are most welcome to join us in Femara Friends...we won't even kick you out if you switch to Clomid!!!:winkwink:


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## BabyMaybe917

Hi ladies! I have an update for you...

I had an appointment with the fertility specialist this morning. I updated the full story in my journal but long story short we will be taking a laid back approach to TTC while getting healthier over the next 6 months. At the end of 6 months I will go back to the doctor and start aggressive (meds, injectables, monitoring cycles, etc.) TTC at that point.

The doctor found tons of cysts (he called them follies but they are cysts right?). Both ovaries were completely covered in them. Just curious for those of you that are familiar with ultrasound monitoring do the multiple cysts prevent ovulation or is ovulation still possible? Also, how have they gotten rid of them? My doctor upped my metformin. But the rest is in my journal... :)


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## Chiles

they are small follicles that can develope into cysts. 

Birth control can clear up the small follicles/or cysts. They become cysts when they continue to grow and you do not ovulate. Ovulation can still occur if you have mature follicles.


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## BabyMaybe917

Anything other than birth control? I'm really against using it again. And he called it "zillions of follies" so I guess not cysts yet... :shrug:


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## Chiles

um not sure


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## Cridge

they're the typical pcos cysts....which are little tiny follies that never mature. Yes, you can still ovulate. I've had them forever and until I started taking inositol, they never diminished at all. Last month when I had 2 u/s after starting the inositol, they were more diminished each u/s. I'm anxious to see what my ovaries will look like next week.

So on that note, did you ever order the inositol?! :) I'll check out your journal in a bit, but are you planning on doing femara again?


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## BabyMaybe917

I didn't end up ordering the Inositol because they can't ship it to my address. Not sure why and neither was the company. But there is a local store and they are sending me a $15 off coupon so I'm waiting until it comes in the mail. I wasn't sure if it would be helfpul at all. I have enough Femara that I could get it refilled and try a few more cycles but I think I want to wait and see if AF will come on her own. I think I would have a better chance. What do you think?


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## Cridge

If you didn't ovulate, then you could be waiting a very long time for af to come on her own. Besides, it's good to get some progesterone in you - helps with the follicle development in the next cycle. Do you have any natural progesterone cream? I order mine online and it works 100% of the time. I use that instead of provera. It works better, it's more natural (100% natural) and it helps with future cycles. So if it were me, I'd be starting the NPC. I can go find where I order mine if you don't have any. It lasts me a very long time so I don't know off the top of my head.

that's really weird they can't ship the inositol! I just bought my 2nd bottle yesterday... not quite done with the first, but I was at the store and it was on sale, so I figured I'd stock up.

It's up to you with the femara. Maybe get a refill just to have on hand...?? I honestly felt like it was making things worse for me until I added inositol to the mix. Your RX is for 5mg, right? Maybe wait until you can get 2 full refills (refill one now and one in a month) and then up your dose to 7.5 and see if that works any better for you...?? Kinda playing doctor, but I'm comfortable with doing that to myself after all these years. :haha:


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## BabyMaybe917

Updated my journal with the latest cycle news... If AF is here that throws a spin on my TTC plans so we'll see what the next few days bring!


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## Chiles

Going to read it, I may need to start one lol


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## Cridge

I found your journal Babymaybe! :) I posted a very obnoxious post there. :haha:


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## BabyMaybe917

I think you ladies need to get journals so I can be updated!!! :)


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## Chiles

I said I was going to start one. I have not yet. But here is my update: I am not pregnant yet lol. I think I will start one next week. 

I am currently on CD 6, I have alot of meds this cycle. My CD 3 bloods indicated that my testoserone is a little high. And that my linning is a little bit on the thin side. 

My protocol:
Prenatals, and extra folic acid
Metformin 2000 mg daily
Flutamide-cd 3-13 (anti androgen to lower testosterone)
Prednisone cd 3- until (steriod, helps implantation) 
Femara 5mg cd 4-8 (supposed to been cd 5-9)
Gonal F 75 iu cd 8-12, maybe longer. 
HCG trigger
Well I am about to go to a babyshower. Hope it brings some luck my way :)


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## Cridge

CHiles - what was your testosterone level? Mine has always been on the high end. OD is what finally brought it down but I just got it rechecked to make sure it has stayed down. fx'd it has.

babymaybe - I've thought about starting a journal recently, but honestly what's kept me from doing it is having to type everything out all over again. haha! I should probably look into that though. 

how are things going for you? what's new?


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## BabyMaybe917

Thanks for the updates! I love baby showers hopefully you can catch some :dust:! 

I'm still waiting for AF to figure out what it's trying to do. I've had days of spotting one time when I use the rest room to a couple of full flow days mixed in. I think my body is confused! :dohh: I don't want to take anything at the moment because I would like for it to try and figure it out on it's own if possible. This is my first sign of AF naturally in over a year so I'd prefer not to take anything and throw it off again. I'll wait it out a while and see I suppose. :shrug:

I'm still waiting on my test results. It's so frustrating! The dr's office has the results but won't answer the phone. It always goes to a machine, you have to leave a message, then wait to be called back. :growlmad: The place that did the tests won't release my results over the phone, but will release them to an app on my phone. How stupid is that? I'm waiting on them (since the day of the tests) to approve my results be sent to my phone! I just want to know!!!


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## Chiles

Cridge I don't have the numbers, I will ask when I go in for my u/s this week, saturday I believe. I may have OD done next cycle if I don't get an BFP. 

BabyMaybe-I think you are doing the right thing to see of your body will do what it need to do and try to figure it out. I have to leave a voicemail but they usually call back within an hour or two at the most. If I were you I would go up there and get them, I know its alot of trouble but hopefully they will get back to you before then. Keep us updated and let us know what the witch decides


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## Cridge

chiles - I think OD is really great for pcos gals. There's a very large thread of us and it has helped every single one of us in one way or another. Lots of girls start ovulating on their own immediately after the surgery and some got their bfp a month or two afterwards. I believe I've waited longest for my bfp (although there are a couple girls that got OD right around the same time I did)... and it's only been 6+ months since my surgery. So those are pretty good odds.

babymaybe - I know I've taken things in the past that have brought on af right away, but I can't remember exactly what they were. If you look into it though, some herbs can bring her on naturally pretty fast if your body is headed that way anyway.


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## Chiles

Thanks Cridge, I have anothe question, Did it help with weight are anything as well since it lowers the testosterone levels?


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## BabyMaybe917

I'd go get my results but the doctor is an hour and fifteen minutes away. They didn't call me back today so I guess I'll call again tomorrow. It's so frustrating!!!


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## Cridge

babymaybe - keep us posted!!

chiles - no... it hasn't helped with weight. Nothing seems to. I have been able to lose about 10 pounds over the last 2 years. I think the high dose of metformin has been what's helped that. Still have at least 20 pounds to go and they don't seem to budge. However, I've been really bad about my exercising in the last few months. It's possible that if I get back into my running that I might lose a bit more... but I wouldn't bet on it.


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## BabyMaybe917

Finally got my results and posted them in my journal. :)


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## BabyMaybe917

Any updates from you ladies? Hope all is going well! :dust:


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## Chiles

I had my 1st IUI :) I have a journal now...its in my signnneeee. 

I go get my P4 test tomorrow. About to head to church though. xoxo!!!!!


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## Cridge

I'm cd1 today, as expected. I have an appointment on Tuesday to get started on my gonal-f cycle.

Chiles - I'm going to go check out your journal. I've been thinking I'd like to start one very soon so I'll keep you gals posted!

:)


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