3 failed IUIs. How do you cope?

[CCClomidQueen]

Thank you so...much Sunshine! reading your post are extremely helpful and I hope you continue posting through your pregnancy too! I am in a very similar situation. I'm 32 and RE just doesn't have any answers so she really wants to do this Lap after seeing my appendix scar. the surgery was done when I was 14, so back then it was an open procedure, but sounds like scarring could occur in anyone with or without having a previous surgery. the only other thing my RE found was I have a thyroid antibody, but Im on meds now and IUI's still failed. Infertility is so... exhausting. Im having my Lap on a Thursday, with your experience do you think I'll be good for work on Monday. how much pain did you have?

 

[CCClomidQueen]

CC-- I just noticed you are in Rochester--who is your doctor there? I have a friend there that had great success with a doctor in Rochester.

Dr. Hayes she is with Dr. Mroueh Rochester Fertility Care. I'v heard they are excellent and so far my visits have been really great and they seem to care so much.

 

[Sunshine24]

Thank you so...much Sunshine! reading your post are extremely helpful and I hope you continue posting through your pregnancy too! I am in a very similar situation. I'm 32 and RE just doesn't have any answers so she really wants to do this Lap after seeing my appendix scar. the surgery was done when I was 14, so back then it was an open procedure, but sounds like scarring could occur in anyone with or without having a previous surgery. the only other thing my RE found was I have a thyroid antibody, but Im on meds now and IUI's still failed. Infertility is so... exhausting. Im having my Lap on a Thursday, with your experience do you think I'll be good for work on Monday. how much pain did you have?

Hey CC! Glad I can help! It's nice to have others to go through these things with.

My lap was on a Monday and I took the whole week off. My doctor said if I HAD to go back I could have on Thursday, but --like you said-- infertility so SO exhausting--I felt I deserved a week of "me" time to just take it easy. I watched a ton of tv, read, ate whatever I wanted---it was glorious.

If I HAD to go back though I honestly could have done it that Wednesday!! The pain wasn't so bad, but you will definitely need the day of and the day after to rest up. Everyone is different though, but my experience with this seems to be similar to others I have heard. Also I should add--if your job requires heavy lifting or you're an exercise teacher or something you probably need a whole week!

I think if you have the surgery on Thursday, you'll be okay to go back on Monday--but if you want to milk it one or two more days, I think that's fine toO! Sometimes we have to give ourselves a rest through this whole crazy process, ya know?

The pain was not really the bad. The air that is trapped in your body is actually the worst part--they pump you with gas to get into your abdomen and when they sew you back up the gas stays in your body and travels to your shoulders and back--making them sore. BUT if you make sure to move around enough after surgery ( every hour I would get up and just walk to the bathroom or kitchen and rotate my shoulders around ) it quickly gets rid of the air. It really wasnt so bad.

Also-- TMI-- make sure to drink a LOT of water afterwards, the anestestia and the whole process will leave you a little, ahem, constipated....so try to overcome that with lots of H2o!!!

I was so relieved they "found" something during the surgery I actually was SO happy during recovery--it was all very odd! Hahaha

 

[CCClomidQueen]

LOL that's perfect helpful info! I will be sure to walk and drink lots of water. I'm almost hoping they find something, but scared because I can't afford to go the IVF route. I mean I suppose I would have to if I want a family, but the thought scares me.

Thank you so...much Sunshine! reading your post are extremely helpful and I hope you continue posting through your pregnancy too! I am in a very similar situation. I'm 32 and RE just doesn't have any answers so she really wants to do this Lap after seeing my appendix scar. the surgery was done when I was 14, so back then it was an open procedure, but sounds like scarring could occur in anyone with or without having a previous surgery. the only other thing my RE found was I have a thyroid antibody, but Im on meds now and IUI's still failed. Infertility is so... exhausting. Im having my Lap on a Thursday, with your experience do you think I'll be good for work on Monday. how much pain did you have?

Hey CC! Glad I can help! It's nice to have others to go through these things with.

My lap was on a Monday and I took the whole week off. My doctor said if I HAD to go back I could have on Thursday, but --like you said-- infertility so SO exhausting--I felt I deserved a week of "me" time to just take it easy. I watched a ton of tv, read, ate whatever I wanted---it was glorious.

If I HAD to go back though I honestly could have done it that Wednesday!! The pain wasn't so bad, but you will definitely need the day of and the day after to rest up. Everyone is different though, but my experience with this seems to be similar to others I have heard. Also I should add--if your job requires heavy lifting or you're an exercise teacher or something you probably need a whole week!

I think if you have the surgery on Thursday, you'll be okay to go back on Monday--but if you want to milk it one or two more days, I think that's fine toO! Sometimes we have to give ourselves a rest through this whole crazy process, ya know?

The pain was not really the bad. The air that is trapped in your body is actually the worst part--they pump you with gas to get into your abdomen and when they sew you back up the gas stays in your body and travels to your shoulders and back--making them sore. BUT if you make sure to move around enough after surgery ( every hour I would get up and just walk to the bathroom or kitchen and rotate my shoulders around ) it quickly gets rid of the air. It really wasnt so bad.

Also-- TMI-- make sure to drink a LOT of water afterwards, the anestestia and the whole process will leave you a little, ahem, constipated....so try to overcome that with lots of H2o!!!

I was so relieved they "found" something during the surgery I actually was SO happy during recovery--it was all very odd! Hahaha

 

[Bma11]

Ccclomidqueen- the lap is super easy. I remember feeling so scared too especially about the pain. I had an angel for a pre op nurse and she told me to make sure I got up and walk around a few laps everytime I got up to use the restroom. She also told me the importance of pain management . Take the meds as directed and I took ibuprofen with the pain meds. I took colace (stool softener) because the anesthesia will block you up for a few days!!! When you feel the gas pain have your DH cup his hands and beat your back. I will answer any questions as well. Oh?!! My anesthesiologist put something in the stuff for nausea I also got a pill for nausea from the pre op nurse before hand.

 

[Jlh1980]

Just had the second IUI, still had 3 follicles and the hubby had 23 million which is more than last time. We are scheduled to go back on Friday for the second IUI.......so sick of going to the clinic 3 days a week before work but whatever it takes! On a good note we found out that IVF is reasonably priced at our clinic and our insurance covers the injectable fertility drugs so that was good news for us, I can't help jumping a step ahead.

Sunshine how are you doing with the waiting game, I really hope you get your BFP!


Unexplained infertility
Me 32 DH 34, TTC for almost 1 year
Jan 2013 Femara 5mg, timed intercourse BFN
Feb 2013 Femara 7.5mg, IUI BFN
March 2013 Femara 7.5 mg, will do 2 back to back IUI's (first one today, second one friday)

 

[Bma11]

3 follicles is really good!! WHOO hoo! Good luck. I know what you mean about having to go in before work, I had to do that also. And my clinic is an hour a way but right by my job.
Awesome news about the clinic you go to and your insurance coverage! That makes things so much easier to think about in a good light!

 

[CCClomidQueen]

Thank you Bma11- I just can't wait for the day to get here so I can stop worrying. After your Lap did your RE automatically tell you IVF is your only option? I'm seeing this a lot and I'm so afraid IVF will be our only option, any idea how much IVF cost? I'v heard my insurance covers the meds but hadn't checked on the procedure.yikes! lol

Ccclomidqueen- the lap is super easy. I remember feeling so scared too especially about the pain. I had an angel for a pre op nurse and she told me to make sure I got up and walk around a few laps everytime I got up to use the restroom. She also told me the importance of pain management . Take the meds as directed and I took ibuprofen with the pain meds. I took colace (stool softener) because the anesthesia will block you up for a few days!!! When you feel the gas pain have your DH cup his hands and beat your back. I will answer any questions as well. Oh?!! My anesthesiologist put something in the stuff for nausea I also got a pill for nausea from the pre op nurse before hand.

 

[Bma11]

I had stage 2-3 severe endometreosis . It was all over my ovaries, tubes, and uterus and other places. So, he said my chances are low with naturally and IUI. He told me the endo would be back in 6 months so I could try naturally for that long but then we needed to do something and that's IVF. I didn't want to waste any more time on IUI. So I've been trying naturally and due to my personal situation we are going to do IVF This next cycle if I'm not pregnant.

At my clinic it is 11,850 for the first IVF, if it fails they take off about 6,000. To me it's reasonable. There are a few other clinics around that are cheaper and are good, but I've invested all my time in this one place and I want to stay there.

 

[Sunshine24]

Good luck to you JLH! Your stats sound very promising! Keep us posted

CC- My doctor didn't say after the lap that we HAD to go right to IVF, he just said that would be the quickest route---especially since when they remove endo he said there could still be microscopic particles remaining that they couldnt see to remove. Since we are lucky enough to have insurance coverage for 3 IVFs ( and were BEYOND sick of waiting ) we just went for it.

My 3 IUIs were with injectables, the same ones you use for IVF, so the nurse told me an IVF cycle wouldnt be all too different from an IUI one ( the stimming anwyay ) she was pretty much right. If I hadnt had experience with injectables before I probably would have been more hesitant to move to IVF, but I knew I could handle it.

If they remove something from the lap you may not need IVF at all though. My friend had a lap, they removed endo, then had an IUI, and now has beautiful twins! Another person I know had a lap, and then got pregnant on her own in 3 months time. So it's always your choice after the operation what direction you want to go....

I didn't know we had coverage for IVF and my clinic actually looked into it for me. You may be able to call yoru clinic and have them figure it out for you? Also, if you do IVF once, you may end up with frozen embryos leftover that you could use for other attempts which SIGNIFICANTLY lowers the cost ( Frozen transfer at my place is $1500 )

Hope this helps!

 

[ttcbaby117]

My sister has endo and they removed it and she got pregnant with no problem, the first month she tried. So it is possible to do it without IVF.

My clinic the first shot is around 12k. They do not give you a discount if you need to do another fresh unless you buy a pkg which is about 15k. I negotiated with them because I am out of he country and I pay everything on my own and we agreed to 7700 for the first shot. That is of course without meds. So I figure with meds I will be spending about 10k plus my cost of travel. This is all very expensive but I do hope it brings me my lil one.

 

[CCClomidQueen]

Oh Wow, Sunshine and Bma! the price isn't as bad as I thought it might be. I will ask my clinic to look into my coverage. I know my employer has extra fertility coverage and so far they've covered everything visits,clomid,trigger shots, u/s's ect. I could try to call them too, when I last spoke with them to order my trigger shot the woman on the other line said to me your really lucky if you need IVF your insurance pays 100% of the meds, I should have had her transfer me to the fertility coverage center to find out if they cover any part of IVF. the last I spoke with my RE she said we'll do the lap then injectables. I meet with her today, so I have a lot of questions for her now.

 

[Bma11]

Sunshine- how are you feeling? I can not wait until Monday!!!!

Ttcbaby- that is awesome that you got them to bring the price down.

Cclomidqueen- how did you respond on the clomid? I only ever got 1 good follicle. But with injectables I got three! I was so happy! when you do injectables you will also be doing the trigger shot, right?? thats a gaurantee that you will ovulate! My insurance covers a lot of the meds too, for my iui's with clomid the meds were $45, and with the injectables it was $100, and my quote for everything ill need for ivf is $271. To me, that's amazing and helps me a great deal wrapping my head around the thought of how much this is costing!!

 

[Sunshine24]

Hey BMA, thanks for asking.

I am feeling hopeful and anxious. Physically I don't "FEEL" pregnant or anything, but how would I know anyway? I've never even been pregnant! Hahaha.

I had a ton of cramping and shooting pains on Tuesday, but I'm fairly certain it was just the progesterone side effects --as I had similar side effects on my 4th IUI and thought it was implantation, but ended up BFN. So I'm trying not to symptom spot too much.

Waiting is the WORST though, as you all know!!!

I'm already trying to plan our next step if this doesnt work ( because if it fails and I dont have a plan I will probably lose it! ) but I also dont want to plan a next step because I want to be positive and focus on the present. It's really so hard.

We transferred one VERY high quality embryo, day 5, age 31, no previous failed IVF's, and endo removed with lap the month before. It seems my odds would be so high??? BUt AHHHHH who knows.....

Wow, rant over!!! Thanks for letting me vent.

xoxo

 

[SashimiMimi]

Hey Sunshine this really is the toughest part, isn't it? I was convinced my IVF had failed... I had no pregnancy symptoms and just felt relatively normal. I did the HPT to prepare myself for mega disappointment and was shocked it was positive.

Well unfortunately all you can do now is wait. It's totally out of your hands. The odds seem very much in your favor and I personally feel very positive for you. Don't think too much right now about what ifs... You know you have some eggs frozen and you know you also have two more funded IVFs... But I really don't think you are going to need them, at least not right now anyway unless you want to think about #2!!

When is your beta test? I seem to feel you said it was Monday? How are any of us going to function all weekend waiting!?!? I wish you could skype us all in for the results!!!

 

[Bma11]

It's always good to have a plan, so on the rare chance it doesn't work, maybe you won't be as devastated... Maybe.
BUT!!!! It's going to work. I swear I'm so anxious to hear the results!

 

[Sunshine24]

Thanks Sash and BMA!!!

My test is Monday morning, I should know by noon or so....

I am holding off on a HPT at this point because I'm totally off coffee and wine ( two of my most fave things! ) and I feel if I got a negative one I'd be tempted to have some wine....and what IF I was preggo but the test didnt show it yet, ya know? So Im just going to wait....

Luckily I have a really busy weekend! Looking forward to Monday though ( who can ever say that?! ) I have acupuncture last night too and that was AWESOME.

Having failed SO many times before, it's hard to even imagine getting a good result, but I'm trying to stay positive!

 

[SashimiMimi]

I'm going to be on the edge of my seat all weekend and checking this board like crazy on Monday. I'm sending positive prayers your way!!!

 

[Bma11]

Sashimi- I'm so glad I'm not the only one. Right now with my head all about TTC and saving for ivf I rely on this site!!! And I'm so in to everyone's journey!! Lol

 

[PinkPeony]

Thanks Sash and BMA!!!

My test is Monday morning, I should know by noon or so....

I am holding off on a HPT at this point because I'm totally off coffee and wine ( two of my most fave things! ) and I feel if I got a negative one I'd be tempted to have some wine....and what IF I was preggo but the test didnt show it yet, ya know? So Im just going to wait....

Luckily I have a really busy weekend! Looking forward to Monday though ( who can ever say that?! ) I have acupuncture last night too and that was AWESOME.

Having failed SO many times before, it's hard to even imagine getting a good result, but I'm trying to stay positive!

That's just it. After getting nothing but negative results we're conditioned to expect negative. But with IVF you have a wayyyyyy better chance than with anything you've done before. You have so many things going your way. So keep that positive energy as much as you can and enjoy your weekend.