Letrozole (Femara) question (Success stories too if possible)

[felecia]

I just had a follicle study yesterday at CD 17 to see if I had ovulated. It looked like I had via my chart, but when he did the vaginal u/s it showed two very small cysts on my left ovary and nothing on my right; he said I did not ovulate and it might have been due to me starting to bleed on my own and it was going to be an anovulatory cycle. I have PCOS and I bleed all the time (I bled 15 days just this last time). He is giving me 5 mg of Letrozole (Femara) again. My question is has anyone not ovulated on 5 mg, but then the next month ovulated on the same dosage they had not ovulated on previously? I did not respond to Clomid and I really want this to work; also the 2 small cysts could they have been gearing up to ovulate but just didn't release? He acted optimistic and I just don't want to read too much into anything.

 

[Sciencegal]

Unfortunately, I don't respond to clomid or femara. My cycles still aren't regular. My progesterone went up from 9 to 13 (but it should have been above 15 on a medicated cycle). I went through the same thing 4 yrs ago with my daughter and finally conceived on my first round of injectables. Since then I moved and am seeing a different RE. He wanted to try clomid/femara and over a year later nothing. Again, conceived on first round of injectables! I personally wish I didn't waste so much time on femara. I would give it a few tries, though. The next step (injectables) is much more expensive, but seems to be the only thing that works for me. Best of luck!

 

[BABYFLOWER3]

Hi,

Don't worry! I've been through the same thing. I had annovulatory cycles and i did bleed for even 30 days straight sometimes. Then we were referred to REI and got started on clomid. Clomid (50mg-no reponse, 100mg-responded once, no response second time) did not work for me either. Then we switched to femera and femera 2.5 (din't work), femera 5mg(din't work) then we tried femera 7.5 mg and i started responding very well on that. I used to get good mature follicles with that. We did HCG injection (which will help release the follicle) and iui with femera 7.5mg and we are pregnant. Yes, it took a while. It takes time to find out the right dose (the right recipe ) that will work for you. It was our 4th iui cycle we got pregnant.
So hang in there. It will work out.
Take care and GL

 

[Terangela]

I have 3 femara babies (2005-3rd cycle on 5mg; 2007-3rd cycle on 5mg, 2011-2nd cycle 5mg) I just hyper stimulated on clomid and only had small follicles that never released. I am pg now with out meds... I was on 2.5mg first and then moved up to 5mg when I finally Oed for the first time ever. I used to go for internal u/s on cd11 and cd14. It showed I Oed early on cd11. So I had to be making sure to BD earlier.

 

[felecia]

I have 3 femara babies (2005-3rd cycle on 5mg; 2007-3rd cycle on 5mg, 2011-2nd cycle 5mg) I just hyper stimulated on clomid and only had small follicles that never released. I am pg now with out meds... I was on 2.5mg first and then moved up to 5mg when I finally Oed for the first time ever. I used to go for internal u/s on cd11 and cd14. It showed I Oed early on cd11. So I had to be making sure to BD earlier.

Thanks for your response! Did you 'o' on 5 my every time you took that dose? I didn't 'o' on 5 mg this was my first time. He's having me take it again so I figured if he didn't think I would 'o' on this dose then there would be no reason to try again. I'm hoping those 2 small cysts showed him I was close but they just didn't release.

 

[felecia]

Unfortunately, I don't respond to clomid or femara. My cycles still aren't regular. My progesterone went up from 9 to 13 (but it should have been above 15 on a medicated cycle). I went through the same thing 4 yrs ago with my daughter and finally conceived on my first round of injectables. Since then I moved and am seeing a different RE. He wanted to try clomid/femara and over a year later nothing. Again, conceived on first round of injectables! I personally wish I didn't waste so much time on femara. I would give it a few tries, though. The next step (injectables) is much more expensive, but seems to be the only thing that works for me. Best of luck!

I'm sorry the mess didnt help you, glad the injectibles did! I just don't have the finances up front for injectibles because I will have no medical coverage for infertility. These meds are kinda my last resort at this point for awhile.

 

[felecia]

Hi,

Don't worry! I've been through the same thing. I had annovulatory cycles and i did bleed for even 30 days straight sometimes. Then we were referred to REI and got started on clomid. Clomid (50mg-no reponse, 100mg-responded once, no response second time) did not work for me either. Then we switched to femera and femera 2.5 (din't work), femera 5mg(din't work) then we tried femera 7.5 mg and i started responding very well on that. I used to get good mature follicles with that. We did HCG injection (which will help release the follicle) and iui with femera 7.5mg and we are pregnant. Yes, it took a while. It takes time to find out the right dose (the right recipe ) that will work for you. It was our 4th iui cycle we got pregnant.
So hang in there. It will work out.
Take care and GL

I'm so sorry everything you've had to go through but it's a relief to hear that someone has gone through the same thing! Do you have PCOS? Is IUI and HCG considered injectibles? Right now injectibles is something we can't do due to financials

 

[jcorinne]

So I took 5 rounds of clomid first and only ovulated 1 time (got preg. but ended in MC). I took 150mg of clomid 2 months in a row and only ovulated the 2nd time so I say it is possible for you to ovulate using the same dosage. After the MC I took 200mg of clomid and did not even come close to ovulating..lol. 1 round of femara 7.5mg and I am 6 weeks preggo....GL. Fx'd for you.

 

[BABYFLOWER3]

Hi,

Don't worry! I've been through the same thing. I had annovulatory cycles and i did bleed for even 30 days straight sometimes. Then we were referred to REI and got started on clomid. Clomid (50mg-no reponse, 100mg-responded once, no response second time) did not work for me either. Then we switched to femera and femera 2.5 (din't work), femera 5mg(din't work) then we tried femera 7.5 mg and i started responding very well on that. I used to get good mature follicles with that. We did HCG injection (which will help release the follicle) and iui with femera 7.5mg and we are pregnant. Yes, it took a while. It takes time to find out the right dose (the right recipe ) that will work for you. It was our 4th iui cycle we got pregnant.
So hang in there. It will work out.
Take care and GL

I'm so sorry everything you've had to go through but it's a relief to hear that someone has gone through the same thing! Do you have PCOS? Is IUI and HCG considered injectibles? Right now injectibles is something we can't do due to financials

Yes i have mild case of PCOS. But the main problem was annovulation. I am not sure if HCG injections are considered to be injectables. You should ask your specialist and find out. May be you will have better results with a higher dose. And i heard that people who do not respond well with clomid always get better results with femara.

 

[felecia]

So I took 5 rounds of clomid first and only ovulated 1 time (got preg. but ended in MC). I took 150mg of clomid 2 months in a row and only ovulated the 2nd time so I say it is possible for you to ovulate using the same dosage. After the MC I took 200mg of clomid and did not even come close to ovulating..lol. 1 round of femara 7.5mg and I am 6 weeks preggo....GL. Fx'd for you.

Thanks for the inspiration! I really hope this dose at least helps me ovulate becaus the next step is 200 mg of clomid and a steroid (dexisthrone I think it is). I know how 150 mg of clomid made me feel I can imagine those 2 combined will make me feel! So sorry about your m/c hope you have a healthy 9 mths with this pregnancy!

 

[Sciencegal]

Unfortunately, I don't respond to clomid or femara. My cycles still aren't regular. My progesterone went up from 9 to 13 (but it should have been above 15 on a medicated cycle). I went through the same thing 4 yrs ago with my daughter and finally conceived on my first round of injectables. Since then I moved and am seeing a different RE. He wanted to try clomid/femara and over a year later nothing. Again, conceived on first round of injectables! I personally wish I didn't waste so much time on femara. I would give it a few tries, though. The next step (injectables) is much more expensive, but seems to be the only thing that works for me. Best of luck!

I'm sorry the mess didnt help you, glad the injectibles did! I just don't have the finances up front for injectibles because I will have no medical coverage for infertility. These meds are kinda my last resort at this point for awhile.

I know how you feel. The first time we were in MA and they covered everything infertility related! It was great. TN insurance stinks and I paid out of pocket. Luckily, there are discounts for self-pay folk. One round only cost $900. They say it should work within 3 or it probably won't work at all. It sounds like a lot of money, but after years of ttc it is well worth it! It was the only thing that helped me ovulate plus have decent hormone levels. Best of luck. I hope this cycle works for you. If you never respond, check out infertility assistance with injectables - might be cheaper than you thought.

 

[jcorinne]

So I took 5 rounds of clomid first and only ovulated 1 time (got preg. but ended in MC). I took 150mg of clomid 2 months in a row and only ovulated the 2nd time so I say it is possible for you to ovulate using the same dosage. After the MC I took 200mg of clomid and did not even come close to ovulating..lol. 1 round of femara 7.5mg and I am 6 weeks preggo....GL. Fx'd for you.

Thanks for the inspiration! I really hope this dose at least helps me ovulate becaus the next step is 200 mg of clomid and a steroid (dexisthrone I think it is). I know how 150 mg of clomid made me feel I can imagine those 2 combined will make me feel! So sorry about your m/c hope you have a healthy 9 mths with this pregnancy!

Thanks. I hope this dose helps you to ovulate. Clomid is kind of evil...lol. I know how the clomid made me feel too and it only got worse as the dose got higher. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you

 

[Kimmie2012]

Hi everyone. Reading through all of these posts and I decided to tell my story (so far). I will try to keep it fairly quick. My husband had a vasectomy after his last daughter was born 9 years ago. We went to get a reversal in February 11' After a semen analysis, the results came back moderate, avereage, etc. We were excited. So we tried until about september 11' and no luck. Turns out I was not ovulating on my own. Clomid 50 mg, nothing. Clomid 100 mg for 4 months O everytime. No results. Husband did another analysis, came back low. very sad. Went to a fertility clinic for help. He has 9 mil, 33% motility, this is with unwashed sperm. Not sure what it is with it. Anyway, they put me on femara last month, I got a positive OPK on cd14. Went in for ultrasound and they said my follicle was too big and was most likely NOT O. It was 33mm. I still had high hopes because of the +OPK. Day 21 progesterone check results came back I DID O. HA! Forget to let you all know, we are planning IUI when they can predict my O and know it will happen. This month just like last (2 pills daily cd3-7). Start OPK days 12, (last month got a + on 14) iT IS NOW DAY 15 NO +, I know I shouldnt really worry, but it is a little frustrating. Called Doc, I am going in for U/S at 2:00. Hopefully it will have good results and we cna get this IUI going EVENTUALLY! My husband turned 40 this year, and he is ready to get this going. Prayers are appreciated. And any advice you have for me. I will let you know what U.S shows today. Thanks

 

[Sciencegal]

Good luck, kimmie2012! I know the roller coaster of infertility all too well... I'll be thinking about you. Did they give you progesterone levels? When I was on Femara I ovulated, but my levels were still really low. Injectables were the only thing to work for me. Don't get too disappointed. They told me that with the drugs it basically makes you "normal" which puts you at a 20% chance each cycle. It usually takes a couple of cycles to get the bfp. At least you are now ovulating, which is a great sign! It is probably just a waiting game at this point... Which I know is dreadful. Good luck!

 

[Kimmie2012]

Thank you for the well wishes. When I took Clomid the first time around I was in the 20s i believe. and with femara I was at 11 last time. Today she told me it looked like I already ovulated and missed it...the OPK did not show me a positive. SO that was irritating to hear. She wants me to go in Sunday to check progesterone to be 100% sure I ovulated. She saw fluid in both tubes today, which makes her believe I did. Frustrated that I missed it. Next month they want to do an US earlier in cycle so they dont miss it. :/

 

[Sciencegal]

Thank you for the well wishes. When I took Clomid the first time around I was in the 20s i believe. and with femara I was at 11 last time. Today she told me it looked like I already ovulated and missed it...the OPK did not show me a positive. SO that was irritating to hear. She wants me to go in Sunday to check progesterone to be 100% sure I ovulated. She saw fluid in both tubes today, which makes her believe I did. Frustrated that I missed it. Next month they want to do an US earlier in cycle so they dont miss it. :/

How irritating!! How I hate this game - I am so sorry... Are you on the us or european scale? If you are in the states, I would talk to your dr about progesterone. It should be over 15 on a medicated cycle. That was my big problem, I would ovulate (levels between 9 & 13), but never got pregnant. Same thing with a friend. It is supposed to be over 15 to sustain pregnancy. I've known quite a few people (including myself) that needed progesterone supplements to get their numbers high enough for a bfp. I don't enjoy the side effects of the supplements, but they brought my numbers to the 30's.

 

[felecia]

Hi everyone. Reading through all of these posts and I decided to tell my story (so far). I will try to keep it fairly quick. My husband had a vasectomy after his last daughter was born 9 years ago. We went to get a reversal in February 11' After a semen analysis, the results came back moderate, avereage, etc. We were excited. So we tried until about september 11' and no luck. Turns out I was not ovulating on my own. Clomid 50 mg, nothing. Clomid 100 mg for 4 months O everytime. No results. Husband did another analysis, came back low. very sad. Went to a fertility clinic for help. He has 9 mil, 33% motility, this is with unwashed sperm. Not sure what it is with it. Anyway, they put me on femara last month, I got a positive OPK on cd14. Went in for ultrasound and they said my follicle was too big and was most likely NOT O. It was 33mm. I still had high hopes because of the +OPK. Day 21 progesterone check results came back I DID O. HA! Forget to let you all know, we are planning IUI when they can predict my O and know it will happen. This month just like last (2 pills daily cd3-7). Start OPK days 12, (last month got a + on 14) iT IS NOW DAY 15 NO +, I know I shouldnt really worry, but it is a little frustrating. Called Doc, I am going in for U/S at 2:00. Hopefully it will have good results and we cna get this IUI going EVENTUALLY! My husband turned 40 this year, and he is ready to get this going. Prayers are appreciated. And any advice you have for me. I will let you know what U.S shows today. Thanks

It's great that you are ovulating though; I'd kill to ovulate I hope that you get the results that you want, and that his sperm starts to increase Praying for you; remember ovulation is half the battle and sometimes people ovulate late, so you are not out yet!

 

[Kimmie2012]

Thanks for the prayers Felicia! The US showed today that there was fluid in both tubes, and she saw no matured follicles, which she says tells her I already ovulated, possibly yesterday or the day before, considering the fluid in my tubes. She cant say for sure until CD21 which is sunday when i go get my progesterone checked. Last time it was 11 (femara) first month last month. When I took clomid last year though my numbers were in the 20's, the nurse said numbers vary by the meds. Also, I never got a +opk like i did last month. Confused, but I will never give up hope. I believe we will get through this. As long as I have God on my side. Plus, we are just kind of getting started trying to find my O in time to do IUI. Feel like I wasted this month, but ya know... Before I started with the meds, My cycles were SO irregular, even to go as far as 100 days....I thought FOR sure it was a pregnancy....nope. The meds totally regulate me, thank goodness. this last cycle was 30 days, my cycles on clomid were 32. So now I have a two week waiting game until I can start my next round of femara. bleh.

 

[felecia]

Thanks for the prayers Felicia! The US showed today that there was fluid in both tubes, and she saw no matured follicles, which she says tells her I already ovulated, possibly yesterday or the day before, considering the fluid in my tubes. She cant say for sure until CD21 which is sunday when i go get my progesterone checked. Last time it was 11 (femara) first month last month. When I took clomid last year though my numbers were in the 20's, the nurse said numbers vary by the meds. Also, I never got a +opk like i did last month. Confused, but I will never give up hope. I believe we will get through this. As long as I have God on my side. Plus, we are just kind of getting started trying to find my O in time to do IUI. Feel like I wasted this month, but ya know... Before I started with the meds, My cycles were SO irregular, even to go as far as 100 days....I thought FOR sure it was a pregnancy....nope. The meds totally regulate me, thank goodness. this last cycle was 30 days, my cycles on clomid were 32. So now I have a two week waiting game until I can start my next round of femara. bleh.

Have you started your Femara yet?