Gonal Girls

[mizuno]

Mizuno - I've never taken any of those. Are the needles bigger than the gonal-f ones? Where do you inject? Maybe your technique is wrong - you could ask a nurse.

the needles are bigger than gonal-f (27 gauge instead of 29 for gonal) and I think my technique is right - I've also used menopur that was a needle and syringe, not a pen like gonal and had no problems with it. Now that I did a bit of research on the web it seems like other people have had issues with the needle being a bit dull and it being a painful shot. i guess I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it this month
I'll try icing the spot before and see if that helps.

 

[Jellz]

Hello GGs,

So here is a quick update… I went in this morning and I have an 18.5 and a 15on my right and a 15 on my left with a lot of smaller ones.
I just received the call and the doctor wants me to take the Ovidrel tonight and we have an appointment on Saturday morning at 7:30am for an IUI. I will be doing one on Sunday as weel to increase our chances I am so excited .
I am praying that this is our cycle. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers ladies.
XOXO

 

[mizuno]

Good luck Jellz!
Keep us updated on how the IUI goes (I'm considering it - and dreading it - this month)!

fingers crossed an lots of baby dust!!!!!!!!

 

[alicatt]

Hello GGs,

So here is a quick update… I went in this morning and I have an 18.5 and a 15on my right and a 15 on my left with a lot of smaller ones.
I just received the call and the doctor wants me to take the Ovidrel tonight and we have an appointment on Saturday morning at 7:30am for an IUI. I will be doing one on Sunday as weel to increase our chances I am so excited .
I am praying that this is our cycle. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers ladies.
XOXO

GL Jellz!! I might be doing mine at the same time (2 as well). I won't know until I go in on Saturday for my scan.

 

[Chiles]

Turkey- a break is always a good stress reliever. Even though we want it right now. Its good to let our bodies rest. I think an all injectable cycle would be great. Don't take this the wrong way but I just couldn't get pass the low E2 numbers...and that could have contribute a lot to this cycle. I am wishing you the best on your break and hope to see you back soon. Either with a bfp, or here so we can cheer you on.


@Jellz- sounds great!!!! Tons of look forward to your an update.

 

[scerena]

Jellz- great news

 

[Turkey16]

Turkey- a break is always a good stress reliever. Even though we want it right now. Its good to let our bodies rest. I think an all injectable cycle would be great. Don't take this the wrong way but I just couldn't get pass the low E2 numbers...and that could have contribute a lot to this cycle. I am wishing you the best on your break and hope to see you back soon. Either with a bfp, or here so we can cheer you on.


@Jellz- sounds great!!!! Tons of look forward to your an update.

Thanks Chiles! Totally hear you on your "E2" comment, well not totally, but that's only because I'm not as well-versed as you when it comes to all the numbers/levels. Interestingly when I had the sit-down with my doctor, he said the only "red flag" throughout all 3 of my cycles was the inconsistent estrogen (or whichever of the "E"s). He said there was really no rhyme or reason to where the levels were during each of the three cycles. I guess I just wish they had mentioned that to me at some point. My levels were always "good" or "in the right range" and sometimes even "great". So frustrating! Anyhow, thanks for the advice...you think all injectables is the way to go?? Any particular reason you'd wait on the IVF??

 

[Turkey16]

Good Luck Jellz & Alicat!!! I am crossing my fingers for you both!!

 

[drsquid]

i wouldnt wait if you can afford ivf. injectibles increase your risk for multiples and cost a lot more. i tried one round and was going to do a second which i am incredibly grateful i didnt do (turns out my eggs were fine and my only problem was the bad sperm i was using.. if id done injections and usable sperm id likely have had quints) ivf is a lot more controlled, gives you an idea of your egg quality and you have a chance for frosties.

 

[Turkey16]

i wouldnt wait if you can afford ivf. injectibles increase your risk for multiples and cost a lot more. i tried one round and was going to do a second which i am incredibly grateful i didnt do (turns out my eggs were fine and my only problem was the bad sperm i was using.. if id done injections and usable sperm id likely have had quints) ivf is a lot more controlled, gives you an idea of your egg quality and you have a chance for frosties.

Thanks DrSquid! This is definitely the kind of feedback I'm hoping for. My husband has always supported me throughout this process, but more in a "whatever you want to do" kind of way, rather than a "let's sit down and look at all our options" way. After this last disappointment, when I actually entertained the idea of taking a break, I decided that DH needs to be more involved. He came to my consult, and when our RE gave us his 2 suggestions, I had to explain each of them to DH. I told him just what you said-all injectables has 17-20% higher chance of multiples. With IVF, we can hopefully get a good quality embryo. Considering my age, this definitely appeals to me. I just wonder about the invasiveness, the emotional toll. I don't know...part of me is like "let's cut to the chase here" and another part of me is scared s%!*less! Financially, my insurance covers 4 cycles of IVF, but zero injectables!! Kind of backward, but I'm not complaining!!! Anyway...thanks again for your advice. Can you give me any insight into how the whole IVF process was?

 

[drsquid]

i actually found ivf LESS stressful. no more worries about premature ovulation (it is crazy super rare). you were doing something EVERY day which made you feel like you were involved and not just waiting around. i didnt like lupron, felt like hell but the stims arent bad, and the same but higher doses than youd to for iui. the advantage to doing an iui round with shots first is that youd know how you respond but.. my doc put me on the "recommended dose' (i did lots of reading of research papers and literature on the meds). i had more bloating etc after i did shots and iui than post egg retrieval. i loved the drugs they gave me for egg retrieval and i was fine after, went out to lunch. after transfer i went straight onto public trans and to sit in court. i didnt take time off at all. (and both stuck).

 

[Turkey16]

i actually found ivf LESS stressful. no more worries about premature ovulation (it is crazy super rare). you were doing something EVERY day which made you feel like you were involved and not just waiting around. i didnt like lupron, felt like hell but the stims arent bad, and the same but higher doses than youd to for iui. the advantage to doing an iui round with shots first is that youd know how you respond but.. my doc put me on the "recommended dose' (i did lots of reading of research papers and literature on the meds). i had more bloating etc after i did shots and iui than post egg retrieval. i loved the drugs they gave me for egg retrieval and i was fine after, went out to lunch. after transfer i went straight onto public trans and to sit in court. i didnt take time off at all. (and both stuck).

Again...thanks DrSquid!! I am eating this stuff up!!! When you say doing something "every day", what exactly do you mean?? Shots? Ultrasounds?? And Lupron...what's that for? I did an IUI w/ 3 shots of 75 mg of Gonal-F, no noticeable side effects...do you think I'd do gonal-F again?? I guess there's no way to know. I'm guessing you decided to transfer 2 embryos?? Were you hoping for multiples?? My husband is VERY wary of having twins, so I think he is actually leaning toward IVF...would never have seen that coming!!!

Here's a question about the whole "quality of eggs" thing...do they do like genetic testing?? When I had my daughter at 36 I opted not to do any testing, but if I'm to get pregnant now (at 40) I'd have to give it some serious thought...does choosing IVF eliminate the need for any of that scary testing?? Sorry if this is a stupid question...this is just all TOTALLY new to me!! Thanks again!

 

[Chiles]

Turkey- I'm with drsquid. If your insurance covers it go right ahead. I wasn't that fortunate my insurance only. Covered inject cycles. However my new insurance would have covered ivf up to a $15000 max infertility treatment though, so I would double check with the company to see about how you would go about it. Some require pre-authorization. And some even have guidelines that you must do so many iui and such.

 

[Turkey16]

Turkey- I'm with drsquid. If your insurance covers it go right ahead. I wasn't that fortunate my insurance only. Covered inject cycles. However my new insurance would have covered ivf up to a $15000 max infertility treatment though, so I would double check with the company to see about how you would go about it. Some require pre-authorization. And some even have guidelines that you must do so many iui and such.

Great points Chiles! I never really even considered having to do IVF back when I was getting the "explanation of benefits" talk from one of my RE's nurses! I just remember thinking "wow...4 cycles of IVF! Not bad". I just never thought it would apply to me! I'm gonna try to relax for now and not think about it too much...I definitely need to de-stress, and try to work on my "whatever will be, will be" attitude. I have really let my age get the best of me, and while I know it's not ideal, my own mom had me when she was 42!!! Sooooo...for the time being I'm gonna try to relax and after a few months, we'll start to weigh out the options...thanks again for ALWAYS being so kind & helpful!! Can't remember if I told you already or not, but I love the girl names you picked out (especially Reagan...not sure if that's how you spelled it or not), so cute!!!

 

[Chiles]

Turkey- I try to be here for you ladies!!!! And Thanks..its hard to find a perfect name and we still don't know what the gender is....glad you like the names

You are so lucky to get 4 cycles!!! When my cycle was cancelled we were looking forward to doing ivf in october since I had just got a new job, etc...
Def take the time out to relax have a nice glass of whatever you like and just think about what are your future plans on ttc. Don't be gone to long...we will miss you too much! Just kidding take all the time you need...just please check in with us every once in a while. Whatever you decide we will be here to cheer you on!!!!!

 

[drsquid]

turkey- yeah by something everyday i mean shots,. sometimes blood work, sometimes us etc. lupron has 2 different uses.. it can be started during your luteal phase (ie pre period) to supress your ovaries thus giving you the best chance of all follicles starting out the same (as they start developing during the luteal phase). or it can be used as a flare for stimulation at the start of the cycle. i dont know what meds they would pick for you. when i did iui with injections i did gonal once a day. with ivf i did lupron and menopur in the am and gonal at night. i did NOT want multiples and should have known better than to put back two embryos.

 

[Jellz]

Hello GG's!
So I am now on day 2 of my 2WW and it sucks!!!
I'm trying not to think about it and stay busy but I can't help but think about it.
What have you ladies done to pass the time?? any suggestions?

 

[alicatt]

Hello GG's!
So I am now on day 2 of my 2WW and it sucks!!!
I'm trying not to think about it and stay busy but I can't help but think about it.
What have you ladies done to pass the time?? any suggestions?

I wish I had some ideas! We triggered this morning, and I had my first IUI too, the next one will be tomorrow afternoon. Here is to hoping that we both get BFPs!!!

How many follicles did you have? I had 1 big one at 22mm, and a few around 14-16mm. My FS is hopeful that one of the others will grow and release and we'll catch them with the IUI tomorrow. IDK. Seems like they are pretty small! Gonal F did not do much for me, I think if I were to do it again, we'd have to use more of it, the 100 iu was just not enough! Even with the additional Menopur at 75iu. Oh well, let's hope that the one nice one gets fertilized. Good luck Jellz!

 

[Jellz]

Hi Alicatt!
They told me I had two big ones and one right behind those. They didn't give the exact size and I didn't ask...guess i had to much going on in my head. We only did one IUI on Saturday and then she told us to have sex...FX for our BFP!!

 

[mizuno]

Hi girls, me again with some more questions.

It seems that the Gonal-F/orgalutran combo is doing something right. My lining is at 0.8 cm, which for me is amazing! I think they will want me to trigger tomorrow.

Now we have to decide whether to do IUI or timed BD. I'm really scared of IUI - I don't know why - I guess it's so invasive and I'm worried about infection and it seems so "unnatural". My DH, on the other hand, is scared that they will use the wrong sperm Haha!

Anyway, can someone who's been through it let me know what exactly happens during an IUI? how soon before the actual procedure do they need the sperm sample? Why do they need to wash it? Can I go back to work right after it?
thanks a lot !!!
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