TTC #1 Hopeful and Obsessed! lol

[puma1986]

Thank you. I really appreciate it. I mean that. Do you think the femara and clomid are causing these cysts on us?

 

[BelleNuit]

Cysts are pretty common with any kind of stimulation med, so that's my guess! I probably got 1-2 cysts every femara cycle I had. They usually go away after a cycle or 2 though!

I hope the higher dose will work better for you! I think it's better to cancel the IUI then to go through all that effort when it's not going to give you the best odds. I ended up being glad they cancelled my IUI because I ended up not even ovulating that cycle. So an IUI would have been a total waste!

 

[puma1986]

Yes that would certainly make sense! I had a very bizarre thing happen this morning. Today is CD12 for me and I was sitting on the computer and I could feel the "frisky sensation" of an oncoming ovulation. I ended up having to go to the bathroom to pee shortly after and I saw a ton of cm but within the cm was a little bit of dark brown spotting. Now, I'm 30 and have had a period since I was 11. Never in the last 19 years have I ever spotted mid cycle. So I am really confused.

Perhaps I would think that it was due to ovulation, but all of my OPK's have been negative recently. There is NO WAY it could be implantation bleeding. I'm only CD12! I usually ovulate around CD16. What in the world do you think this could be? Have you experienced this before?

 

[puma1986]

It must have something to do with the Clomid because that is the only differing factor this month. :/

 

[BelleNuit]

I often got mid cycle spotting like that when I was on femara. I attributed it to ovulation. It seems that people aren't sure if its from a little bleeding when the follicle bursts or if it comes from the change in hormones that happens just before ovulation which results in a slight loosening of the endometrium.

Either way I would take that spotting and the ewcm as a sign that ovulation is coming for you!

I'm CD 15 today and I had a bit of ewcm this AM. I often get ewcm on 1 dpo so I'm thinking I maybe O'd yesterday? I didn't do anything to track O this cycle. We'll BD once more today just to make sure we're all covered!

 

[puma1986]

Awe we are almost cycle buddies! Hooray for potential ovulation! If you spotted while using femara then I am going to assume that - that is precisely what is going on with me too. I hope I do ovulate this month, even if it is only from my right ovary. I was taking a look at my RE's notes from the ultrasound and she indicated that she thinks I have a possible complex cyst:

Endometrium measures 6 mm
Right ovary measures 3.03 X 2.09 X 2.92 cm with follicles < 10 mm
Left ovary with 35 X 25 mm complex appearing cyst with 22 X 16 mm hemorrhagic area within


IMPRESSION follicular study as noted above.

(N83.202) Cyst of left ovary (primary encounter diagnosis)


I was looking up complex cysts and there is a chance of malignancy with them?! I really hope this cyst disappears by next month.

 

[BelleNuit]

That sounds like a really huge cyst. I had hemorrhagic cysts with my femara cycles but I don't think any were that size. I couldn't say how large the cyst I had was in August but it looked pretty massive on the ultrasound screen and it did disrupt my ovulation that cycle.

It might take a couple cycles for the cyst to resolve. Might be best to put off the IUI until the cyst is gone because it may disrupt hormone levels. If it doesn't go away on its own docs can go in and drain it.

 

[puma1986]

You're probably right although it's a tough pill to swallow. Sadly we are moving at the end of next month so delaying another IUI cycle may result in not being able to really try again for another six months or so. We'll be staying with my husband's family in Oregon for two months and then staying with my family in Washington for two months while we are looking at a potential home to purchase. Transfering doctors is going to be difficult and I doubt any RE's will want to just pick up where my RE left off. This TTC business is awful. Who would have thought that a year and a half later we would all still be ttc. At least we have eachother!

 

[BelleNuit]

Do you do a baseline CD 3 scan with your IUI cycles? You could try to do IUI next cycle, your doc should be able to let you know if the cyst will impact things for you! My IUI was cancelled on a day 3 scan, my RE said that the cyst would impact how the letrozole would work (I think stimulation meds can sometimes makes cysts larger).

I can understand feeling frustrated at having to wait though. We started working with a naturopath in August and it will take 6 months to get through her treatment plan before we start IUI again. I know 6 months can seem like a super long time, but when you've already been trying for nearly 2 years it doesn't seem so bad. At the end of the day I want to give us the best chance possible at having a pregnancy (and a healthy pregnancy at that).

If it helps at all, my naturopath put me on myo-inositol to reduce the occurrence of cysts. Maybe that is something that could help for you as well?

I'm sorry you have to look at transferring docs, that is a pain. I think actually given your history that most REs would be supportive of picking up again with IUI.

It is kind of incredible to me that we are all still ttc. This thread actually ended up with terrible statistics if you think about it lol. Only a few people from the beginning managed to conceive.

 

[greenarcher]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear you're both having problems with cysts. Did either of you know you'd experienced one without any stimulation? I'm wondering how common a side effect it is.

I ended up having almost a 40 day cycle with the lightest period I've had in a while (and mine are super light in the first place). I've decided I'm going to finally find a local gyno and get in for a fertility consult. Well see how that goes. How quickly did they recommend you guys have your oh checked out?

 

[BelleNuit]

Hey Green, I had my DH checked out at the same time that I had my fertility testing done. There was a 8 week long waitlist for the SA in my city, so I was glad to get an early start on it. I had only had one ultrasound done during a natural cycle and I had no cysts on that ultrasound, so I really do think its related to the stim meds for me.

I think its great that you've decided to get checked out. I know how scary that process can be in the beginning. But at least once its done you hopefully won't have to wonder whats going on!

 

[puma1986]

My RE wanted my DH tested a long time ago but we never did it because we thought the issue was me (having been diagnosed with Lupus and all). Supposedly male factor infertility is one of the easiest complications to fix.

I am absolutely confused. I know I am probably overthinking everything but my OPKS appear to be getting lighter!

I am going to lay out some information, and perhaps you ladies can help me figure out what the heck is going on.

*****Usually I ovulate on CD 14-16... never any later.
*****This cycle I was on Clomid CD 3-7

1. CD10 (Sept 22nd) ultrasound showed a possible 35mm cyst on left ovary and several follicles under 10mm on right ovary. Due to cyst, doc cancelled this months IUI and trigger shot.
2. CD11 (Sept 23rd) took an opk which had some color (see below) but was not positive.
3. CD12 (Sept 24th) brown spotting in the AM and cramping (never spotted ever mid-cycle before)
4. CD13 (Sept 25th) brown spotting with bright red tinge mixed in. OPK appears even lighter.

My question is this: Belle had mentioned that spotting can happen from the loosening of the endo or from when a follicle bursts. In either of this situations, I feel that my OPK definitely should have shown positive within the past three days, right? Especially given the bleeding? And why does it seem that my OPK's are getting lighter? I realize that my body is acting crazy because it's on a medication that it isn't used to but it is giving me conflicting information.

On one hand, it seems like my body is ramping up for a strong ovulation (given the bleeding the past two days) but on the other hand there is no evidence of an LH surge.

What the heck man.

P.s. and the other thing that confused me too, is that every website said you are supposed to ovulate within 5-7 days of your last pill. I'm sitting at 6 days now. :/

 

[BelleNuit]

Hey Puma, I hate to say it, but its also possible you are having an anovulatory cycle. When I had my large cyst in August I didn't end up ovulating. I started spotting on CD 12 and the spotting continued for 5 days until AF showed. I had an anovulatory cycle nearly 2 years ago and on that cycle I even had a positive OPK and still didn't ovulate. So it happens, it just sucks when it does!

I think in your case the cyst is just messing up all of your hormones this cycle (as mine did). I hope things will become more clear in the next few days!

 

[puma1986]

Yeah, considering the OPKs I think youre totally right about this. Stupid cyst. Go away! I also read right before I saw your response that sometimes larger cysts can cause spotting, too. I wasn't expecting to see a BFP this month anyways, especially after the IUI was cancelled but it is definitely baffling to experience such things when historically they haven't been common. Oh well. Ill keep chugging along as I always have!

 

[BelleNuit]

I definitely hear you on that! I don't think I've had trouble with cysts before and anovulatory cycles don't commonly happen to me either, and yet it did. Its super frustrating though! Like why can't my damn body just cooperate with me lol.

 

[greenarcher]

Hey Puma, did iui ever get rescheduled ?

Also, hey guys, I have my first infertility appointment ever tomorrow. It's also been about 18 months since I've seen my gyno last. What can I expect for my first visit? Im nervous and i don't really understand why.

 

[BelleNuit]

The first visit is a breeze! They will talk about what testing they would like you to complete before going on to treatment. After all of our testing we had a follow-up appointment where we decided what treatment plan to pursue. If you have any questions at all (any) the first appointment is a good time to ask! It's more just a meet and greet. Good luck! Let us know how it all goes. I get how much it sucks to be at this point but you are making progress!

 

[greenarcher]

Why am I nervous ? This is dumb...

In room, waiting for doc after nurse

 

[BelleNuit]

It's okay to be nervous. I was totally nervous my first appointment. I ended up crying in the docs office lol. It's okay, these docs have seen it all.

 

[greenarcher]

Very true. I really like the doc. He's going to order 3 months of progesterone testing and SA on top of my opks (ugh) and temping and we'll make sure I'm ovulating. After that, he suggests imaging. Is that close to y'alls experience ?

Also, today, I took time to imagine my husband and I with a kid. It's had always been vague in my mind, and I'd done more thinking about us kidless instead. Now I've seen it, and it's beautiful, and I want it so bad. Temping and opks are going to suck again, but we're getting our own place again in a week, so hiding my pee cup will me less awkward.