follicles not growing? is ivf still possible?

[vkj73]

hello,
so we're doing a mini-ivi (just means "minimal" medication).
i finished my round of clomid. did a scan monday, another today (cd11)
follicles have not grown. i got a blood test and now waiting results.

my guess is that ivf won't be happening this time, or doctor mentioned after scan that they may up my medication.

as i sit and wait for the doctor to call with the blood results, i'm wondering if anyone else has experience with this?

i'm very frustrated

 

[slg76]

Unfortunately I do have experience with this. I haven't done IVF (mini or otherwise) but have taken the same medications they use for IVF in hopes of having multiple follicles for IUI. I took the max dose of stim meds (gonal f) and I only made one lonely follicle. That cycle was bfn.

To do any sort of IVF or IUI you have to grow a follicle. There is no way to get to your eggs unless your body matures an egg and grows a follicle around it. At that point the Dr. can go in and retrieve the egg for fertilization. It sounds like at this point you will have to wait for your next cycle and try more or different medication to see if you can get a follicle to develop.

Good luck!!

 

[vkj73]

thanks sig76! i'm sorry to hear that you've had negative experiences with trying to grow follicles.

i'm hoping there might still be a chance with this cycle.

good luck with your journey

 

[slg76]

You could possibly continue with this cycle if your Dr. continues you on medication to give the follicles more time to grow. You may try lose doses of injectable medications. But, it may be better to start fresh with a new cycle. Figuring out what will work best for your body is trial and error and often takes several tries.

My body just refuses to cooperate. I'm a special case though and have other problems influencing my fertility.

I hope you have a nice, healthy follicle soon that turns into an adorable baby

 

[vkj73]

thank you for your thoughtful words.

i'm a teacher, so i still have 3 weeks where i don't have to worry about getting to appointments. so i was hoping this would be the time.

trying ivf was such a leap for us, and i'm wondering if this is a sign that our time may be up.

hopefully the doctor will be calling in the next few hours...

 

[slg76]

I do understand. I've also been ttc #2 for two years. It's a long time to deal with hopes and disappointment and so many pills and appointments. I wish things were easier for both of us!

Why did you do mini IVF instead of traditional? Sounds like you only used clomid this cycle? If that's the case I think you still have many options left.

My little sister has 3 boys and is a teacher. They were all planned to be delivered during her summer break

 

[vkj73]

so...i didn't have to wait long for the doctor. after i sent my last post, he called.

the deal is, he says it's still possible with this cycle. i asked him if he's seen this before and if it's worked...he said yes (that was a big relief).

the plan is, 8-10 days of fsh injections. a big part of why we chose mini vs. traditional, is because i didn't want so much medication (i.e. injections).

he said we should go for it.

i'm ok with moving forward with injections. we've come this far, so i'm ready to see this cycle through.

slg76, i hope we can stay connected during this journey. seems like we have a lot in common (ttc#2 for two years, DDs who are 4yo)

good luck to you
may we both look back one day with a new little one in our arms, worrying about the next feeding, vs. the next injection

 

[slg76]

I would love to keep in touch and hear how this goes for you.

What dose of injections did he suggest for you? I'm glad he is willing to continue this cycle for you. My doctor has done this with other patients and has had it work too.

I did 300 units of gonal-f, which is a high dose. I was fine during the injections but had a bought of depression before/during/after my period that was unsettling. I'm back to normal now (a month later). My doctor wants to up my dose to 450 next cycle and add an estrogen prime at the beginning. More medication than I would like but a last ditch effort for us.

Can I ask....do you ever think about how long you want to ttc? Hubby and I are at the point where we feel we need a time line and a stopping point. The age gap between kids is getting bigger than we ever planned on. Plus, I am currently off some medication for cancer recurrence so I can ttc. At some point I need to call it quits to get back on my medication. I'm almost 38 and hubby is 43 by the way. And my name is Sara

 

[slg76]

I also have used lots of acupuncture in my fertility journey. I swear by it!!! Obviously it can't fix everything but I know it has gotten me much closer to my goal. This month I added in DHEA.

 

[vkj73]

hey,
so, i will be taking 75iu of follistim starting tonight. i will take it over the next three nights, then go in for a scan on sunday to see how things are going. i am a little worried about side effects (i.e. emotional), but i also know it's temporary.

as far as how long will we keep trying, most likely we are coming to the end. i thought may would be it, after our last iui, but something was pulling me to move forward. more than a year ago, i wasn't even sure about taking clomid. and now, here i am, after tons of iuis, and trying for a mini-ivf. my biggest concern is my age and complications with the baby. i thought all these "no's" were a sign to stop, but we decided to keep going, and give it another shot with the mini, which is our comfort level. at this point, i will be sad if the ivf doesn't work, but i do feel like i will be at peace, knowing we tried everything within our comfort level. we have our beautiful dd, and for that i am truly grateful. i think i would be ready to move on if it doesn't happen, and enjoy our dd (maybe even get to travel).

i'm ok with the age difference. seems like there could actually be a lot of pros with 5 years difference.

i do have a follistim question. when i left walgreens, i had it in a little cooler for about 3 hours. i'm hoping that's ok. i know it's supposed to be refrigerated. when i took it out, the box did feel cool.

thanks again for reading/listening/responding.

i look forward to hearing about your journey.

 

[slg76]

Your follistim should be fine. For long term storage it should be cold but for a couple days room temp is fine.

I feel very much the same as you about continuing to ttc. We have decided we will try until the end of this year. By then I will have tried everything reasonable to have another baby. I've really started to think about the pros of having only one child: getting to travel, less financial strain, more time to focus on her. I think I will be ok if we end up with only one child.

I have 5 siblings and my favorite is actually a sister who is 10 years younger than me so I suppose I shouldn't worry about age gap.

I'm looking forward to hearing how your follicles resound to the follistim. Good luck!! I hope you have a nice big follicle on your next scan

 

[vkj73]

Thanks. I really hope bw the follestim and acupuncture, that things get rolling.
Good to hear about the medication storage. I figured a couple of hours in a cooler would be ok (althoight not the coldest of coolers).

You may have said, but where are you in your cycle/journey?

I'll keep you posted on Sunday's results!

 

[slg76]

Right now I'm about 5 DPO on a natural cycle. I've done lots of acupuncture and herbs, three rounds of Femara, one round of gonal-f. I'm not a candidate for IVF because I never produce more than one follicle. My insurance doesn't cover infertility and I can't afford to pay for mini IVF, especially with the low success rates. I'm going to try a couple more months of natural cycles hoping that the DHEA will help. Then one more round of injectables with an insemination.

Good luck growing your follicle!!!

 

[vkj73]

good news! i've got 3-4 follicles that look like they're in the running.
today was my 3rd scan in this cycle. needless to say, it's been a little nerve-wracking, as each time he's said, "come back in 4 days and we'll see." well today he said the retrieval will most likely be sunday or monday.

my bloodwork showed that my estrogen level is going up, which is a good thing.

i see my acupuncturist tomorrow.

in the meantime, i'm continuing 75iu of follestim each night, then friday i'll go for another scan to make sure everything is ok.

slg76, how are you doing?

i'm sending you buckets full of for this cycle.

 

[slg76]

Yay! What great news! Fingers crossed that all those follicles have nice healthy eggs in them. I can't wait to hear about retrieval. It's great that they are still growing this close to retrieval!

I'm 10 DPO on my natural cycle. Just waiting for AF really. Hubby was out of town and I'm not sure if we caught this ovulation or not.

 

[vkj73]

I'm sorry to hear your dh was out town. My dh works late some nights and I get up very early for work. Not a great combo when ttc.

Ugh, the timing of it all gets so frustrating

Hang in there!

 

[nimbec]

Hi Ladies - do you mind if i join you? I am interested to hear how things go - I have done a clomid round (well one of many but this is the first monitored round) and they have found that my follies are not growing. I had a scan monday and they where 11,12 & 15 and then wednesday they where 11,12&16 so they said i have to come back friday and see what happens but then i will see the consultant again and prob have to do injectibles BUT they seemed to think this cycle was bust Apparently they are meant to grow between 1&2mm a day.

Hope both you ladies are ok and wishing you lots of luck!!!

 

[slg76]

:wave: hi nimbec. Sorry about your stubborn follicles! Mine grow fine but I only make one no matter what we do. I'm interested to see what yours do this week.

 

[nimbec]

Thanks sig76 ttc is so frustrating isn't it!! Good luck to you too, whereabouts in your natural cycle are you? Do you O without meds too FX for you!! x

 

[vkj73]

Nimbec!
Welcome to the thread

I hear you on the frustration for slow growers. I think I've had 4 scans this cycle. For whatever reason, my body didn't respond to clomid this cycle...so frustrating since this is our first ivf cycle and with all past iui cycles my body's responded.

Without medication, I've had very irregular cycles, so maybe this time around, I'm having a somewhat "natural" cycle. About 7 days ago (cd11)
My doctor had me start folliestim.

I go in tomorrow for the final green light, and seeing when the retrieval will be (either Sunday or Monday).

I hope you get to keep moving forward...there is hope.

I have to say, acupuncture (and prayer) has helped greatly with stress and staying calm.

Good luck. Keep us posted!