LTTTC #1 w/pcos - Buddies?

[karenh]

Thank you all for being so supportive! I do really hope that the IUI today finally works and we don't have do figure out what to do next.

 

[karenh]

AFM: I was talking to a friend of mine who was in to see her ObGyn yesterday - her family dr thought she may have cysts on her ovaries since she was experiencing lots of pain, turns out she is cyst free... just has a bunch of eggs - and she had been asking the ObGyn a bunch of questions, some with me in mind. She told me that he had said there should be ultrasounds done to check the ovaries, just to see if they are producing eggs, blood work should be done to check levels... especially when being put on new meds to monitor and make sure the meds are working right. I have been going to my ObGyn for 2 years... I had initial blood work, and blood work to see if I was preggo because my cycle was over 3 months long. The only procedure she did was an HCG to make sure my tubes were clear. Thank God they were. So I was left thinking... is it worth it for me to waste any more time going to this dr when each appointment remains the same. She asks if the meds worked, when I say No she just ups the dosage.

What do you ladies think? I could really use some advice right now.[/FONT]

If you aren't getting what you feel you need from your doc you need to be your own advicate. Either talk to her and tell her your concerns, or move to an RE who can be more agressive.

 

[pvsmith12]

If you aren't getting what you feel you need from your doc you need to be your own advicate. Either talk to her and tell her your concerns, or move to an RE who can be more agressive.

The thing is - I have asked her questions, and asked about different meds... she always just brushes me off with "Next time you're in..." When "next time" rolls around, I ask again and she just says that she will try me on another med/another combo of meds and we will "Go from there." I even had my momma come in with me for one appointment, and the ObGyn brushed her off as well. DH thinks I should go back to my Fam Dr and get referred to the ObGyn up in our town (I currently travel about 45mins - 1 hr to get to my ObGyn), I have heard really good things about him... and I know he does the bloods & u/s.

 

[pinksprinkles]

karenh- How did the IUI go today?

pvsmith12- Oh hunny, you SHOULD NOT take all your Metformin pills at once! That is dangerous. I am surprised your OB/Gyn did not tell you! I had to sign a special consent form to even be able to get a prescription from my RE. You have to take them at three separate times spaced apart. You have a much higher chance of getting side effects by taking then all at once, plus you could damage your kidneys, liver, and potentially heart if you take all three at one time because they all enter your bloodstream together at a much high dose than is healthy. The other problem with it is that once the Metformin is gone, you're left without anything to balance your insulin/hormones for the rest of the day, causing even MORE fluctuations in your body. All that change in your insulin levels could potentially make things much, much worse, not better. (Could potentially lead to diabetes.) You really ought to get yourself to an RE. They'll be able to more fully explain your meds to you and really follow what is happening with your cycles. From my experience, OB/Gyn's just don't cut it. I tried 3 OB/Gyn's before switching to my RE. It's only now that I'm finally getting the level of treatment necessary. Though it is definitely pricier (well, my insurance doesn't cover it, I think some people are a bit luckier with that), but if you can afford it, the better care is, imo, very, very worth it.

On a side note- I'm glad to hear that the Met does work as an appetite suppressant. Maybe I will finally lose this weight!

 

[pvsmith12]

pvsmith12- Oh hunny, you SHOULD NOT take all your Metformin pills at once! That is dangerous. I am surprised your OB/Gyn did not tell you! I had to sign a special consent form to even be able to get a prescription from my RE. You have to take them at three separate times spaced apart. You have a much higher chance of getting side effects by taking then all at once, plus you could damage your kidneys, liver, and potentially heart if you take all three at one time because they all enter your bloodstream together at a much high dose than is healthy. The other problem with it is that once the Metformin is gone, you're left without anything to balance your insulin/hormones for the rest of the day, causing even MORE fluctuations in your body. All that change in your insulin levels could potentially make things much, much worse, not better. (Could potentially lead to diabetes.) You really ought to get yourself to an RE. They'll be able to more fully explain your meds to you and really follow what is happening with your cycles. From my experience, OB/Gyn's just don't cut it. I tried 3 OB/Gyn's before switching to my RE. It's only now that I'm finally getting the level of treatment necessary. Though it is definitely pricier (well, my insurance doesn't cover it, I think some people are a bit luckier with that), but if you can afford it, the better care is, imo, very, very worth it.

Ok, officially convinced that my ObGyn is useless. Thank you, so so SOOO much for enlightening me Pinksprinkles. No one EVER told me that I absolutely should not take all of my Met pills at once. Not the Dr, or the pharmacist... You were definitely placed in my path for a reason. Luckily it hasn't even been a week since I started taking them all in one shot... so today is going to be the LAST day I do that. I am definitely going to get referred to a ObGyn up here, and if he can't help me, I am going to push to be sent to the city to see an RE.

 

[pinksprinkles]

pvsmith12- Hey lady! I'm am so glad that I had the info you needed and that now you know when to take your meds. I think switching doctors is a very good idea. You don't want to be seeing someone who might be putting you in a worse place than before. I'm just going to type up the main points from my Met take-home packet my RE gave me so you know the main things you should be doing:

What you're supposed to do is take one at each meal. You want to take a few bites of food, then take your Met pill, then finish your meal. You also want to make sure you're getting your full 8 glasses of water a day and that you drink at least a cup of water with each pill.

If you are going to be staying on Met long term, you're supposed to have blood work done once a year to check your blood count and B12 levels. For now, you need to make sure you're taking your prenatal vitamin every day, especially since Met can potentially lead to B12 malabsorption.

Also, you're not supposed to drink alcohol on Met. If you choose to drink, my instruction packet says to only drink small amounts of alcohol and you must drink it with a meal. Because your body is being told not to process/produce as much glucose, it starts focusing on the alcohol instead. This can lead to hypoglycemia, as well as some of the more serious side effects.

Lastly (and this is super important): If you are going in for any kind of surgery or procedure that involves using contrast dye (like HSG), you MUST stop taking your Met 48 hours prior to the procedure and then after the procedure is done, you need to wait three more days and then get BW drawn to confirm it is safe to start on Met again. Apparently, the contrast dye can be hard on your kidneys and Met will exaggerate these effects. You definitely don't want your kidneys to be injured.

PS: You may want to look up what all the side effects and risk factors are for Met. There is way more info. What I've typed here is the main day-to-day stuff that is in the packet they sent me home with.

 

[pvsmith12]

Once again, thank you, I knew the bit about booze... but I was just told I couldn't drink it. At all. I tend to take Met with food at lunch and supper since I was told it helps with the nausea, but I rarely eat breakfast (I know, super bad habit... I have tried to break it several times but I just end up not eating til lunch). As for the water - I don't drink nearly enough, I think I may need to pick up some more Mio. I can get down maybe 4 -ish glasses (some times more) on a good day, but generally drink OJ with the morning pill, then whatever I am drinking with my meal is what washes it down then.

It just seems like every time I turn around lately there is something that points out to how she is seriously lacking in her duties. I do take a pre-natal daily, so at least I am up on that. . Luckily I had stopped the met a few months before my tube dye test... she never even asked/told me I had to be off the drug. I think I will definitely be looking into Met on my own now... I obviously cannot depend on my Dr to give me any kind of useful info.

I called and booked an appointment for Jan 8th with my fam Dr to get my file transferred to a new ObGyn. Not putting up with that anymore!!!

How about you PinkSprinkles? How are things going for you?

Karenh? Sugarpi24? Mrs. Monty?

 

[karenh]

Lastly (and this is super important): If you are going in for any kind of surgery or procedure that involves using contrast dye (like HSG), you MUST stop taking your Met 48 hours prior to the procedure and then after the procedure is done, you need to wait three more days and then get BW drawn to confirm it is safe to start on Met again. Apparently, the contrast dye can be hard on your kidneys and Met will exaggerate these effects. You definitely don't want your kidneys to be injured.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! UGH! I had and HSG last week and no one told be I need to be off my met for it! Now what damage has been done?!? This is really frustrating!

 

[karenh]

My IUI went well. Sorry I haven't been on since. Here is a snipit of what I typed in my journal. If it doesn't make sence or you have questions just ask.

"We headed right to my IUI appointment after lunch. We were early, but they took us back right away anyway. I really appreciated that. Alexa did the IUI. I knew Dr. Hesla wouldn’t be the one doing it, so I was really glad that the nurse I got was Alexa. I really like her. The IUI was a little more painful than normal, but not too bad. The weird part is I didn’t have hardly any cramping or pain yesterday like I usually do. While I was laying for the required 10 minutes Alexa came back in and said she found the info about my HSG on the top of my file. She said that the lady had to move the dye around because it wasn’t moving freely in my uterus. Dr. Hesla hadn’t looked at the pictures yet. He may want to run more test, or he may just be satisfied with the results from the radiologist.
When we finally made it home and I went up to take a nap I got a call from Alexa. She said Dr. Hesla said there are some abnormalities with my uterus but it shouldn’t affect the results of the IUI. He thinks I have a really good chance of become pregnant this cycle. However, if we were to proceed to IVF it would probably be an issue. How could it be an issue for one and not the other, that doesn’t make sense to me AT ALL! So if this IUI doesn’t work he wants me to have a saline sonogram and maybe a tissue biopsy for my uterine lining next month. Yikes, that sounds like a lot of money! I really hope this IUI works and we don’t have to worry about it. Prayers Please!"

 

[pvsmith12]

Oh wow Karen! I would have been freaking out! You would figure that they would have checked the HSG results before moving forward with the IUI. I mean, the point of the HSG is to make sure things will work like they're supposed to. I will definitely be praying for you that this cycle works and that you guys won't have to worry about IVF and all of the testing that you will have to get done because of the wonky HSG results! Although I do agree with your question - How is it possible that you'd be fine with it like it is for IUI but would have to get it fixed for IVF? That doesn't quite make sense to me at all. Hopefully things start looking up for you!!

 

[karenh]

Oh wow Karen! I would have been freaking out! You would figure that they would have checked the HSG results before moving forward with the IUI. I mean, the point of the HSG is to make sure things will work like they're supposed to. I will definitely be praying for you that this cycle works and that you guys won't have to worry about IVF and all of the testing that you will have to get done because of the wonky HSG results! Although I do agree with your question - How is it possible that you'd be fine with it like it is for IUI but would have to get it fixed for IVF? That doesn't quite make sense to me at all. Hopefully things start looking up for you!!

Thank you! I am going to have a long talk with the doc and try and get this straight if this IUI doesn't work. However, right now I am really going to try and think possitive baby thoughts so I can hopefully finally get my positive.

 

[pvsmith12]

Thank you! I am going to have a long talk with the doc and try and get this straight if this IUI doesn't work. However, right now I am really going to try and think possitive baby thoughts so I can hopefully finally get my positive.

Yes! That is a good plan. Positive baby thoughts, and prayers!

 

[pinksprinkles]

karenh- Lots of positive thoughts and baby dust heading your way! I hope the IUI worked and you don't have to give one more thought to IVF. I think it's definitely a good idea to talk with your doc. You need real answers, I don't get the whole IUI/IVF thing... If you figure it out, let us know what's going on. You'd think they would have gone over the HSG as soon as you had it done.

As for me: CD15 u/s STILL showed no follicle development, so I'm back on Clomid again. This time 100mg/day. I'm on day 4 today, so tomorrow will be the last dose. Then back in again on Monday for another u/s. Nothing else new to report. Just wish this cycle would hurry up. I really thought this was going to be "the month", but at this point I'm afraid my eggs will have been cooking too long before they're ready to trigger so they'll not be as healthy. Probably just needless worrying, but then again, I seem to be good at that if nothing else.

 

[karenh]

karenh- Lots of positive thoughts and baby dust heading your way! I hope the IUI worked and you don't have to give one more thought to IVF. I think it's definitely a good idea to talk with your doc. You need real answers, I don't get the whole IUI/IVF thing... If you figure it out, let us know what's going on. You'd think they would have gone over the HSG as soon as you had it done.

As for me: CD15 u/s STILL showed no follicle development, so I'm back on Clomid again. This time 100mg/day. I'm on day 4 today, so tomorrow will be the last dose. Then back in again on Monday for another u/s. Nothing else new to report. Just wish this cycle would hurry up. I really thought this was going to be "the month", but at this point I'm afraid my eggs will have been cooking too long before they're ready to trigger so they'll not be as healthy. Probably just needless worrying, but then again, I seem to be good at that if nothing else.

My appointment isn't until the 14th but I will keep you update. If the Clomid isn't working I would suggest asking about Femara. The Clomid never did work for me.

 

[pvsmith12]

As for me: CD15 u/s STILL showed no follicle development, so I'm back on Clomid again. This time 100mg/day. I'm on day 4 today, so tomorrow will be the last dose. Then back in again on Monday for another u/s. Nothing else new to report. Just wish this cycle would hurry up. I really thought this was going to be "the month", but at this point I'm afraid my eggs will have been cooking too long before they're ready to trigger so they'll not be as healthy. Probably just needless worrying, but then again, I seem to be good at that if nothing else.

Oh boo on the u/s that showed no follicle development. I haven't had any u/s so I don't know if there is any follicle development... although I had a major temp dip and rise - hoping round 7 of clomid is going to actually work. Hopefully you aren't out htis month!! I will keep you in my prayers!

Just wanted to wish all of you lovely ladies a very Merry Christmas!

 

[karenh]

As for me: CD15 u/s STILL showed no follicle development, so I'm back on Clomid again. This time 100mg/day. I'm on day 4 today, so tomorrow will be the last dose. Then back in again on Monday for another u/s. Nothing else new to report. Just wish this cycle would hurry up. I really thought this was going to be "the month", but at this point I'm afraid my eggs will have been cooking too long before they're ready to trigger so they'll not be as healthy. Probably just needless worrying, but then again, I seem to be good at that if nothing else.

Oh boo on the u/s that showed no follicle development. I haven't had any u/s so I don't know if there is any follicle development... although I had a major temp dip and rise - hoping round 7 of clomid is going to actually work. Hopefully you aren't out htis month!! I will keep you in my prayers!

Just wanted to wish all of you lovely ladies a very Merry Christmas!

seven rounds of clomid?!? why haven't you started to try something else?

 

[pinksprinkles]

Hey ladies! Had another u/s yesterday and it looks like I'm finally getting some follies. They say at least four, and three of them are between 12-16mm, so we are getting close. RE has me coming back in on Thurs for an u/s and hopefully trigger shot. Weird though, I got an almost +OPK last night and then temp dip this morning, so I'm hoping that I'm not O'ing early. Really want to get this IUI done!

 

[sugarpi24]

Yayyy! That's awesome pinksprinkles!!

 

[karenh]

Hey ladies! Had another u/s yesterday and it looks like I'm finally getting some follies. They say at least four, and three of them are between 12-16mm, so we are getting close. RE has me coming back in on Thurs for an u/s and hopefully trigger shot. Weird though, I got an almost +OPK last night and then temp dip this morning, so I'm hoping that I'm not O'ing early. Really want to get this IUI done!

I am glad that your follicles are growing! Remeber PCOS can throw your temps off, and for the OPK to be positive the test line has to be as dark or darker than the control line. Digitals take the guess work out. My re won't let me use anything else. However just in case you are ovulating. get busy so you can catch the egg!

 

[sugarpi24]

I tested today and it was bfn I'm hoping I still have a chance ill keep testing til af shows