Follistim & Ganirelix, body not responding to oral meds.

I went through my first IUI May 4th and got a BFN. I was able to ovulate for that IUI due to taking Clomid but it gave me awful side effects. I had two follicles, good sized. I did have to take one Ovidrel shot in order to get everything to where it needed to be to proceed with the IUI. Due to the horrific hot flashes I was having with the Clomid this time around they gave me Femara, which made six small follicles appear but nothing big enough. They put me on four days of Tamoxifen, still nothing. They say that I'm right on the borderline to ovulate but my body is not responding as my PCOS is finally rearing it's ugly head in this whole undertaking. When my nurse called back today after getting the bloodwork and talking with the doctor she asked if I would be willing to try the Clomid one more time. I said yes. She told me to go ahead and call a pharmacy that she gave me the number for, which specializes in fertility meds. and she told me to ask if I have insurance coverage for two injectibles, follistim and ganirelix. My question is has anyone had a smiliar situation with problems getting your body to ovulate and has anyone ever been on either of these of these injectibles and with what results/side effects. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks so much in advance!!!

[Tanker Chic]

I took follistim... I was ovulating on my own but only on my right ovary and I don't have a tube on that side.. I took the follistim to stimulate extra follie development... it worked for me... I experienced a little bloating but nothing too bad..

My insurance covered it, but if you had to pay out of pocket it was very expensive..  

best of luck

[Nat256]

Thanks for your response. I really do appreciate it.

[Hopeful2BPreggy]

Hey Nat! I took both of those meds last IVF cycle. Other than the injection site pain/burning. I didn't have any side effects. I felt a little bloated and moody, but no hot flashes, nausea, or anything like that. And I'm sure my dose was a lot higher b/c I was using it for IVF stimulation. I produced 16 eggs and 14 were good enough to fertilize with that cycle. Of coarse you know the final outcome, but I don't think it had anything to do with the meds. They did their job. I'm sorry to hear your having so many problems. Those meds really aren't bad, I just didn't like all the injections. But the final outcome will be worth it when it works!! Good Luck!

[Nat256]

Thanks. Now I feel at least a little calmer about the injectibles. Needles really don't bother me... but I just usually am like the one in a billion person who gets that "rare" side effect so that was of concern. And its nice to see 14 eggs. I had like 2 with the first round of clomid and now there are six follicles waiting to go but they just aren't wanting to grow. I really hope I don't have to go to the injectibles (cost being a major factor, my insurance will only cover 50%) but if I have to , then at least it's nice knowing what I'm in for you know?

[rosale]

hi , i have pcos and . last year i went thru all the same things clomid did not work for me so we went with the follistim  for the rest of the year and i would ovulate but my eggs would not grow big enough well on the last try I had only one egg that finally grew big enough we set the appt for the insemanation  and as soon as i left the clinic had lunch went walking around felt great and i started bleeding very heavy call the doc and he said i lost my linning and we could not do anything cuz the egg would not stick .we did not hv insurance and after that i decided to take a brake for awhile and iam planning to start up agin so if any one can tell me of other meds to help ovulate please let  me kn my doc says clomid and follisim is the best and main one but they dont work for me i really think the only reason it worked for one egg the last time is bc i was so stressed i overdosed on follistim by not paying att   so any info would help . thanks

[Nat256]

I' m so sorry to hear that. I'm really in the dark about what happens next if the injectibles don't work and I think that my RE and nurse are trying to not tell me too much that far in advance for fear of getting me unncessarily worried and upset. So, I'm no good on advice here. I'm hoping that someone wll post who might know of what comes next. But, if you ever want someone to listen or need some support I'm here for you.

[Nat256]

Well it looks like my body only responds to Clomid. In more ways than one, unfortunately. Irony, irony, irony. Oh well. My progesterone level has risen from 51 to 251 but since the follicles are still on the small size they're going to have me come back  in on Monday to see how everything is. If I'm still not where I need to be for an IUI to be done then they're going to go to the injectibles! I'm hoping that I'll just be ready on Monday!!!! It's been OVER two weeks since the date they had originally planned to do my second IUI!!!

[rosale]

thank you well i hope everything goes well for u monday.that is a very good sign that ur body responds to clomid.