IUI/IVF Aug/Sept/Oct/November

[Titi]

mm yes-reage brain is familiar one! That happened last year on Clomid. So far, hasn't happened yet, IDK if it hasn't fully kicked in or if it is all the maca I'm drinking. I found last year that the Clomid cycles seemed to get worse progressively. The first month seemed like no big deal but I was a crazy woman by my 3rd cycle on it~

 

[Round2]

mm yes-reage brain is familiar one! That happened last year on Clomid. So far, hasn't happened yet, IDK if it hasn't fully kicked in or if it is all the maca I'm drinking. I found last year that the Clomid cycles seemed to get worse progressively. The first month seemed like no big deal but I was a crazy woman by my 3rd cycle on it~

Ya me too. The first and second cycle I was fine. By the 3rd cycle, hubby was ready to lock me in the attic.

 

[SquirrelGirl]

Oh, I'd totally say mush-brain comes with the meds AND just having to wait. I've been very flighty at work. I'm sure it has a lot to do with being distracted, but I blame the hormones and the waiting without being able to do anything to help anymore equally.

 

[Titi]

yeah flighty is a great word. I've missed two deadlines in two days-something I NEVER do.......and when I'm at my computer, I can't concentrate.

 

[azlissie]

Congrats, astellarmom!! This thread seems to have some really positive vibes going on lately! Hope it sticks.

Now you guys have me worried - this will be my 3rd month of Clomid and it sounds like it's going to be worse than the first two! Oh well - it will all be worth it in the end.

Harvest, good luck Sunday!

 

[Titi]

yeah, azlissie, Clomid deffo gets worse the longer you are on it. Last year I noticed that I got a lot more bloated and gained more weight into the 2nd & 3rd cycles and also was a bit of a crazy person.

 

[Round2]

Yes, the side effects get worse with clomid....but they still weren't as bad as I was expecting.

Does anyone know if the side effects are worse with puregon/follistism? I'm wondering what they are like compared to clomid.

 

[SquirrelGirl]

Round... I actually think I had fewer symptoms as each cycle went by. I was very bloated and uncomfortable in my first cycle. This time around I had no issues. (but then it also didn't seem to work quite as well... soo..... )

As far as I have read, Clomid has worse symptoms than injectibles... but I imagine it's different for everyone. I've never taken Clomid so I can't compare.

 

[wanting2010]

Yes, the side effects get worse with clomid....but they still weren't as bad as I was expecting.

Does anyone know if the side effects are worse with puregon/follistism? I'm wondering what they are like compared to clomid.

I'm taking Bravelle instead of Follistim but I haven't had ANY side effects. I felt miserable all the time while I was on Clomid- constantly dizzy, headaches, extremely moody, depressed, bloated, lots of hot flashes. I also took Femara and that was a lot better than the Clomid, but I had some bad headaches with it. The worst part about the injections so far is that it stings for a couple of minutes, but that's it. So much better than oral meds.

 

[Round2]

Thanks ladies, nice to hear that the injections have less side effects. I hated clomid and was really dreading all the craziness that goes along with it.

Can I ask one more stupid question? Iv'e been looking around the internet, but can't seem to figure out the answer. When we do the sperm wash, will his count and motility go up or down? His counts are good but not great... 51 million/65% motility. I'm a little worried what it will be like after the washing.

 

[Titi]

The count goes down but motility will go up-, however since the total count includes a lot of dead or crappy sperm, washing it puts back all the best ones. Also it has to be washed (which takes out the sugars and all sorts of other things in the ejaculate besides sperm) because it can be dangerous to put straight ejaculate right into your uterus.

To give you an example-last week on Friday DH did a full SA and his count was 340 million with 40% motility. On Wed. when we did the IUI and he gave a new sample-post wash there was 164 million sperm but 100% motility-they only put 100% live progressive movers back in there. I'm imagining with your numbers you will probably see something like a count of 20-30 million with 80-100% motility. I am a little confused about how motility works......I see a lot of girls here with motility around 75-90+% post wash. When I asked my dr. what ours was he said 100. I asked if again to confirm since I don't see 100% motility around the boards much, and he said, "yes, we ONLY put motile ones back in". I don't get it, why wouldn't every dr. spin out bad ones???

Rest assured-those are pretty good numbers. People get bfps with IUI all the time with less than 10million sperm, and I was told best bets are when you have a count post wash of 20-30, and that anything above 30mil doesn't really help your chances more than 20-30.

 

[Round2]

Thanks Titi, that was a very good explanation. Wow, your hubby has a superstar count. I think I need to get hubby on some zinc to boost his numbers a bit. I'll take an extra 20-30% chance!

I'm anxious to hear how things work out for you! It all sounds very optimistic.

 

[Titi]

Thank you! It's really weird b/c the first SA we ever had done was just by our primary physician. He obviously is NOT trained in FS. He got the concentration mixed up with the count so told us DH had a 45 million count instead of 320 and said the reason we weren't getting pregnant was because DH had low motility (in the 40s). We've spent two years trying to cope with that and now find out DH is actually ABOVE normal! GRrr. Although is motility is only 40% our FS said that is still normal range and when dealing with 30% of 340 it's certainly not the problem.

DH took SPEMEN and fertilaid for men supplements but that was over a year ago-and he also quit smoking. Now he just takes a multi and He limits alcohol before the sample and eats a lot of beans! Other than that he is not very healthy!!!

One thing we wondered if it made a big difference, is that ever since we started ttc DH stopped wearing underwear completely.

 

[Mrs C P]

my DH had 14.5mil post wash with 96 motility on my first IUI, they said they look for anything above 5mil so we had a good one last cycle. I think they were stupid though as they must have ALL swam up the tube which DIDNT contain the egg.

I too had clomid for 7 months and thought i was going bonkers, its horrible stuff. on Gonal F for the IUI cycles and I feel normal in myself, externally, I'm just bloated but i can cope with that.

Just got back from the clinic and had my IUI - i darent go to the bathroom!!! what if they fall out ha ha
I feel soooooo much more positive about this one, sorry for my negative rant yesterday, although im sure the TWW will bring lots and lots of mixed emotions.

titi how are you feeling in the TWW? what day did you have your IUI?
round2, when do you start your meds and scanning?

 

[CRC]

Hi Girls,

Sorry I’ve been MIA for the last couple of days but work has been crazy – not a good excuse I know.

Welcome all the new girls and good luck with the IUI’s!

AStellarmom – congrats on the BFP that is brilliant. I can’t believe we’ve had 2 BFP’s this week, this is a really really good week!!!

Harvest – good luck this weekend, will be thinking of you and hope all goes well. Fingers and toes crossed….

Titi - how are you doing post IUI? I’ve been thinking about you and wondering how IUI day went and how you are feeling? Mushbrain is totally normal – it’s all the hormones in you and the stress. Plus remember how the trigger shot contains HCG which is the natural pregnancy hormone – hence the sore boobs and tiredness and mushbrain is one of the first pregnancy symptoms so I would image this is perhaps also from the trigger shot. I’m glad they did a scan before your IUI – it’s good for peace of mind and glad to hear the timing was perfect!

Azlissie – this is my third round of IUI with meds and reading back my diary it does seem to be worse than the previous two – I’ve been incredibly hormone and very mean to my husband and just all over the place. I think perhaps it’s just our natural frustration – ie are we really going through this a third time, it’s not easy – at least we have each other to talk to. Good luck!

Round2 – I’m on Puregon and from what I know from other peoples stories I feel the same as people on Clomid. I haven’t looked into the medical differences but I can tell you I’m very hormonal/bloated/sore boobs etch – but I never know whether it’s the Puregon or the trigger shot (Pregnyl) as I usually don’t feel really bad until after the trigger shot, so perhaps it is that. It’s hard to tell.

As for me, my hormones have calmed down a lot. If this round hasn’t worked I will get my period tomorrow. I can’t tell how I feel, I really can’t imagine that its worked which is a little bit sad – I need to be more positive. We can’t test until Wednesday next week but my cycles are so short I will know before then. so we’ll see tomorrow…I know if it hasn’t worked I’m going to get very very drunk at a party tomorrow night!

Have a good weekend everyone and positive vibes to everyone especially Harvest!
x

 

[Titi]

Yay Mrs CP!!!!! super hopeful for this cycle for you!!!! I was extra nervous about everything too-ha ha I actually sneezed and was like "oh no!!" Please don't be sorry about rant-I am pretty sure every one of us have had those exact feelings over our ttc hell.

I'm feeling really good so far-but only 2dpiui- I don't know if the progesterone or meds haven't kicked all in b/c I have more energy than a normal cycle, so far no mood swings really.....just a little bloated. I've been eating very well and taking lots of maca and I wonder if that's making a difference. We'll see. I feel very detached from the whole process today so that's good. I did test my trigger today at 4 dp ovidrel shot and got a pretty decent + so probably won't test it out again until Sun or Monday. I'm going to test straight through-it will save my sanity more.

 

[Titi]

yeah-mushbrain, lack of concentration is the only real problem having right now. No sore bbs or anything-but then again, after years and years of getting incredibly sore bbs as SOON as I've ov'd, last 3 or 4 cycles I have virtually NO soreness at all.

CRC-if I was due for AF tomorrow I don't think there is anyway I could wait until Wed to test!!! You have some patience!!! I am sooooooooooooooooooo crossing fingers for no AF!!!

Would love just an all out BFP explosion in here!

 

[Mrs C P]

great to hear you are feeling good today, thats great! yes, eating well has got to be good as i usually feel great if i stick to a good diet for a few days. I'll be feeling a bit sluggish later as we're having pizza as a treat for having to have my legs open today!! back on a good diet tomorrow.

Oooh i didnt test out last IUI, i dont think im going to this time either, i have to pay for the IUI will have to pay for the IVF next cycle if we go that far so have to save all my money for that now. We have private health care in UK but it doesnt cover fertility treatment which is crap.

Hi CRC, i have short cycles like you, last IUI, i started spotting 7 days after IUI and then AF came on day 10, you still have another day to go and I've read SOOOO many posts from ladies who had no symptoms at all on the cycle they got their BFP, so FX for you!!

 

[CRC]

I'm out girls, seems my body couldn't even give me until tomorrow. AF just appeared along with a blinding headache and tears at my desk... I'm leaving work and going to have a large glass of wine in the sun. I wish everyone else better luck x

 

[Round2]

CRC, I'm so sorry. Have two glasses of wine. I know it won't take the pain away, but it will help.

Mrs CP, I start my injections tomorrow. Seems to mixed reactions as to side effects. I guess I'll see soon!!