Dr. Horowitz,
I'm not even sure if this is the right email address for you. I'm just guessing based on Lisa's email address. But, you said to email you anytime with questions... So, here I am trying!
I'm assuming (at this point) that our 1st IUI failed. My betas today at 14dpiui was <1, and it seems unlikely for that to change by Wednesday. If I'm being honest, I'm not entirely convinced that the timing was correct. I feel I would have benefited from a bit more monitoring. Looking at my chart, it seems unlikely (at best) that ovulation occurred when it was supposed to. It looks much more like it occurred BEFORE it was supposed to or not at all. I know you have faith in charting, so I'm attaching a screenshot of my chart. I have ovulation manually marked on the day of the IUI, but it looks very "off" to me. If I leave it up to the software, it doesn't detect ovulation at all.
I would have liked more than 1 ultrasound to assure me that either I hadn't ovulated too early or that my follicles had reached the appropriate size at the time of my trigger shot. I know that they "generally" grow 2-3mm per day, but we both know that not everyone will fall into that general rule. I also would like to see 7dpo P4 results. Despite you not believing in progesterone deficiency or LP defect, it would have given me some reassurance that things were as they should have been. Perhaps I'm being nit-picky... or even demanding. But they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and I've learned that no one will campaign for you if you don't campaign for yourself. So, I'm here now... campaigning to get what I feel I need.
All that being said, I do trust in your 30 years experience, and I'm certain you're very good at your job. In that light, I would like an opinion regarding whether its worth even trying IUI again or if we should skip directly to IVF. Both procedures are covered by our insurance, so cost isn't really a determining factor. I will tell you specifically what I hope for, and perhaps you can best advise from there. I would like to see clinical success (as specified by a heartbeat seen via ultrasound) prior to this Christmas.
I've put in a lot of years and a lot more tears... and I'm really done with the hurting. There is only so much I can take. I have a large investment into the process... and I don't mean monetary. Emotionally, I am all but drained. After seeing 3 days of faint but positive home pregnancy tests (I had multiple people verify that I wasn't imagining things), I was shocked to hear that my betas were as negative as humanly possible. I refuse to do home urine tests anymore at this point. I don't know what caused the results I got... but I will NOT put myself through that again. So, I will require betas each cycle as the sole determining factor of success or failure. I sincerely hope you can understand that.
I feel like I'm rambling, but after a day of crying myself to sleep and waking up only to repeat the process... I sit here begging you for answers. What do I do next? I know there is more money in 2 more failed IUI cycles prior to going into IVF... but I hope you won't answer with that factor in mind.
I shall close for now and hope I've not sent this off into the abyss of misdirected email. Thank you in advance for whatever response you see fit to send me!
Sincerely,
Megan Eli
And honestly, I don't see how 10,15,20 lbs can really affect cycles that much? I understand if it were 50 lbs. But I'm not a doctor. *sigh* I guess I'll just lose the weight and hope it's a magic cycle cure. (As I type this I'm eating cheesecake lol)
what kind of cheesecake??? I LOVE cheesecake!!! 
I need to a journal so I can go all me, me, me when I'm feeling like this.
