3 failed IUIs. How do you cope?

[PinkPeony]

Hi ladies!

Thanks for sharing that about your meds Mav - I'm going to be super careful with mine now. I could totally see doing that.

welcome baby.wish! What you said about patience is so true. Rarely in our regular life experiences are we tested the way we are when going through infertility. Things seem to never go in that story book way as much as we try to force it. But when we look back on all this later we'll see that it may not have been the perfect fairy tale but it's our story.

 

[StayHopeful]

Baby.wish, I don't mind you asking at all. I'm 27 and DH is 29.

I agree wholeheartedly with what Maverick said about taking the time to be upset. I know with every bfn or setback, I've had to allow myself time to be upset. It frustrates me sometimes because even some of my closest friends don't understand that need to feel that way, but I think Maverick said it really well about it being a kind of grieving. Every month, you grieve for what might have been.

Maverick, what did the bloodwork say? Super excited for you to start stimming!!! :happdance:

 

[Maverick007]

Thanks Stay! My bloodwork came back OK so I'm good to go.

I start stimming Saturday night (I'm a PM only 1x/day) so right now potential ER is around Thursday, August 1. We are getting excited, it definitely moves so quickly once you get started. My pre-op appt. is on Monday and my first scan is on Wednesday of next week.

How are you feeling?

 

[StayHopeful]

Woohoo, things are moving quickly for you! That's so exciting! I only did 1x/day in the evenings too. It was tough planning my evenings so I would be home at exactly the right time every night, but I made it work.

I'm feeling pretty good. I was glad to be off bed rest yesterday, but I ended up back on the couch for most of the day anyway. I ran about 30min worth of errands in the morning and got coffee with a friend in the afternoon for an hour, that was enough to completely exhaust me. Other than that though, I fell okay. I had some minor cramping and a backache yesterday. I'm trying not to analyze every single ache and twinge, but that's easier said than done! I had a little bit of a rough day emotionally too yesterday, a good friend had her baby yesterday morning. I'm super happy for her, but it's hard too. Some days I just feel like I'll never hold my own LO.

 

[Strawberry13]

Maverick yayyy stims tomorrow! Well I know you're probably not feeling "yay" about it but you know what I mean. Good luck tomorrow! Are you used to the injections yet? Have you been doing lurpon?

Stay I'm sorry you're feeling down, I'm sure all the meds Don't help with the emotions. But you're so close! Try to take it easy this next week, you deserve to let your body recover from what it's been through and prepare for your LO to invade it for the next 9 months!

I just got my sono, 2 mature follies, I trigger tomorrow night and go in Monday morning. Also got to talk to my dr for a bit, he agreed after this it's probably time to move to ivf. So i feel like everything is pointing that direction now, all you veterans will help me get through it!

 

[Maverick007]

I know you will hold your LO someday! I have complete faith it will happen. We are doing everything humanly possible to make this happen and we can only have faith in the doctors and a higher power at this point.

It has to be next to impossible to not analyze every little feeling. It's great though that you have the summer off to relax and do what you need to do to feel rested as much as you can be.

I am hoping that my job cools it down on the stress over the next couple of weeks. Seems every few days there is some crisis that needs solving so I need to learn to distance myself from getting into panic mode along with everyone else during this time.

 

[Maverick007]

Thanks Strawberry! The only injections I've done are Ovidrel for all of my last 3 IUIs but I haven't done any Lupron. So I am really not sure what to expect but hoping for the best!

I'm so hopeful for this last IUI for you. I will be praying for a miracle!! Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Strawberry13]

Thanks so you are going straight from bcp to stims? No other injections in between? I'm just curious how it all works, I need to get myself used to all if this so I don't freak out once I'm there

 

[Maverick007]

I think only a smaller percentage of people do Lupron and it has something to do with the protocol they are on (I don't understand it well myself). At my injection class, there were 5 or 6 women and only one of them was going to be on Lupron vs. just doing a standard Ovidrel trigger.

For me, there is a 2 day lag between BCPs and stims, and unlike StayHopeful's RE, my RE does not say you have to get AF before you can start stims so I guess everyone does things a little differently. They told me I may get it or it may start shortly after, or it might just be a little bit of spotting and not a real normal period. But regardless, I can start my injections no matter what.

Editing to add a helpful website I found explaining the different protocols: https://www.advancedfertility.com/ivfstim.htm

So it's going to be different depending on your unique situation potentially...

 

[Maverick007]

You got me curious so here's a great explanation of the difference between Lupron vs. the other drugs (I will be on Ganirelix at the end of the stim process).

Ganirelix and Cetrotide - as well as Lupron - prevent the woman from having an LH surge. However, Ganirelix and Cetrotide are antagonists instead of agonists. Ganirelix works by competing with native GnRH molecules at their binding sites in the pituitary - while Lupron works by "down regulating" the pituitary's ability to produce the LH surge. This distinction is not important to understand. The bottom line is that both kinds of drugs, antagonists and agonists, prevent LH surges (in different ways).

 

[Strawberry13]

Oh good to know! Thanks for the info!

 

[StayHopeful]

Every re is definitely different! For mine, I did bcp, then a cetrotide injection the day after I stopped BC. Assuming I got AF (which I did), I started gonal f 3 days later and then added cetrotide back in when my follicles got a little bigger. I also did a micro-dose of hcg every time I did gonal f.

 

[Strawberry13]

Maverick how did the first of the stims go?

Stay hope you're still feeling good and getting rest. When do you test again?

 

[Maverick007]

It went pretty good! I did have a moment of freak out when I did the menopur and pulled the needle out. A few drops of the meds mixed with blood came out of the needle hole. I asked StayHopeful her opinion and she said the same thing happened to her and I found other people through a google search saying the same thing so I felt a little better. It was a bit of an oh my god moment though. So anyway, I'm a little more nervous for tonight's injections but now I have a few things I'm going to try a little differently.

How are you?? Did you already have your IUI or is it tomorrow?

 

[Strawberry13]

Ohh yeah I could imagine that would be a little scary but glad u got it sorted out. When do you have your first sono?

Yes my iui is today heading over there in an hour.

Hows everyone else? How was everyone's weekend?

 

[Maverick007]

Praying for your IUI this a.m.!!

My first sono is on Wednesday morning.

 

[Sunshine24]

Good luck to everyone stimming and to your IUI this AM Strawberry! I think about you guys a lot!!! Stay strong!

 

[StayHopeful]

Good luck this morning, Strawberry!

I'm doing ok. My blood test is a week from today, not sure if I'll be able to use an hpt before that because I did an hcg booster shot on Wed. Yesterday and today I've just been having a really hard time staying positive. My body doesn't really feel any different, the cramps have passed and my boobs aren't sore or bigger anymore. I'm tired and moody, but that's it. I just want so badly for this to work and now I'm afraid it hasn't. I did a painting class yesterday (one of those classes where everyone brings wine and snacks and you all paint the same picture, though I didn't have any wine). I'm a terrible artist, but normally I have fun and can just laugh about how bad my painting is. But this time I was so upset I cried the whole way home, then took a nap.

 

[Maverick007]

Thanks Sunshine!! I appreciate you checking in on us!

StayHopeful I know it's been said a dozen times but just keep reminding yourself that you probably won't feel much in the way of pg symptoms for the first couple weeks even if you are pg. I know it is not easy but stay as positive as you can and go easy on yourself! We are all pulling for you.

 

[PinkPeony]

Good luck this morning, Strawberry!

I'm doing ok. My blood test is a week from today, not sure if I'll be able to use an hpt before that because I did an hcg booster shot on Wed. Yesterday and today I've just been having a really hard time staying positive. My body doesn't really feel any different, the cramps have passed and my boobs aren't sore or bigger anymore. I'm tired and moody, but that's it. I just want so badly for this to work and now I'm afraid it hasn't. I did a painting class yesterday (one of those classes where everyone brings wine and snacks and you all paint the same picture, though I didn't have any wine). I'm a terrible artist, but normally I have fun and can just laugh about how bad my painting is. But this time I was so upset I cried the whole way home, then took a nap.

Everyone says this is the worst part. There's no reason to say this hasn't worked. Stay strong girl.