13 dpIUI and BFN this morning...Should I ask for injectables this next month? Do injectables work better? I need so advice PLEASE!

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

I am 13 dpIUI and I tested BFN this morning.  I am so bummed.  I almost don't want to do it again next month.  (This was my first month)  My reg. OB-GYN talked me into doing it twice.  ( I had went in for my regular visit and told him I was seeing an RE...when I told him we were going to try IUI once and take some time off, he highly suggested doing it twice.)  So I am gearing up for next month, and I have to say that I am not very ramped up about it right now.  It is so hard seeing BFN month after month.  I am so use to it now I don't know how to get over it.    

Here are my questions:

1)  My OB-GYN talked me into doing IUI twice at least...his wife had unexplained fertility like me and got pregnant on the second one with injectables. I was on 100 mg of Clomid this month and had 4 follices.  Do injectables make more follies?  What exactly do they do?  I feel the Clomid did the job it was suppose to do so I am unsure about moving on to something more evasive UNLESS they do more than make more follies...what do you think?

2)  My RE didn't do an u/s or bloodtest to make sure I O'd.  What if I am not O-ing?  I have a regualr 28 day cycle.  Sometimes 27, sometimes 29, but 95% of the time it is 28.  Just because I have a 28 day cycle doesn't mean I O does it?  Or does it?  This is something I am not 100% sure of.  I feel like they need to MAKE CERTAIN I ovulated!  I had nice big perfect (4) follies last month!

Ok, I know those are questions I should ask my RE...but you know how it is...you are in there and you forget everything you want to ask.  I think you guys are the best advices givers anyway   :)

If you guys could help me out here, please do!  And by the way, I know I am 13dpIUI and I could still have a BFP, right?  But be honest with me....how good of a chance do I have of ending up with a BFP this month?

Thanks so much girls...love you!  

Heather (First time I have written my name...lol)

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

Wow.  They aren't even doing an u/s to check?  Wow.  That sucks.  Yeah, everything came back fine for me too.  I have NO symptoms of endo...do you?  I think it is major cramping, etc....I have nothing like that.  But, I guess you could have it and not know or feel symptoms.  

You know what, come to think of it....I had my regular OB visit and yearly a couple weeks ago and my pap came back normal.  Basically they don't call you unless you have something they need to have you come back in and check, but you are more than welcome to call them.  Well, I did and they said everything was fine, but they saw some inflammation....but the doctor said he didn't need to see me until next year.  I think maybe I need to get that clarified.  Inflammation from what I wonder?  Cervix?  Do you think it could have been from the HSG I had had a few weeks before?  Or the Clomid?  Hmmmmmm, maybe I should look into that.  Surely he would have said something since he knew I was seeing an RE.

[nevaeh222]

I have done 6 IUI's with just clomid and still no BFP. Now before I go onto injectibles they want me to have a laparoscopy done to see if I have endo because my HSG and all other blood work came out fine. Great...should have done that months ago. I haven't been monitored at all as far as u/s. They just gave me a Rx for clomid and scheduled IUI when I got a positive OPK...doctors suck.

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

Thank you for the info.  I think that would be a good alternative for me since I can get away with the insurance paying for it.

I am still hoping I am not out for this month.....maybe I tested too early.  Who knows.  It aint over till it's over!

[ALT76]

Oh yes there is a website!  fertilityfriend.com - it's great.  It'll give you lessons on everything, and it does all the work for you.  For months I was just making the temp charts on my own, and guessing based on the instructions I found where to draw my coverline (which you'll learn about) but fertilityfriend draws the line for you and takes the guess work out of it.  It also helps you keep track of lots of other things.  I'd start there first and if you have questions, let me know.

Another option for you that I've heard women have success with who didn't have success with clomid is Femara.  It is actually a breast cancer drug, but many docs have been having great success using it instead of clomid.  I asked the women on this site, and a lot of them said even when their insurance didn't pay for treatments/injections or clomid, they paid for Femara.  Probably cuz they don't realize what it's being used for!  I take a diabetes drug for my PCOS, and I keep getting all this **** in the mail from our Rx insurance about "managing my diabetes" - it makes me laugh!  

The only thing is, my RE wouldn't give Femara because the FDA hasn't officially approved it for use with fertility yet - but plenty of ladies on this forum seem to have docs that were willing to give it to them.  So it may be a less pricy option, and people seem to have better success with it after being unsuccessful with clomid.

I know it's not gonna come to that though! :o)

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

Well, I am going to see what my RE says...Clomid seems to be working well as far as the follies go...but I am starting to wonder if the eggs aren't releasing or something!  So, I am praying I don't HAVE to go to injectables just because they are so expensive.  I don't have PCOS...I just wish I knew what the heck was going on!  You are so lucky you have insurance that covers!

I think I am going to start BBT.  I don't know how to do it...any suggestions?  Maybe there is a website I can go to so I can learn.  I wish it was something I had been doing all along just so I know where I stand!

Anyway, any thoughts would be awesome!

[scienceteacher79]

Ok - I am butting in if that is ok :) I love my injectibles!!!!! They worked the first time (we m/c - but it still worked!) I took about 5 months of clomid by itself and nothing. I didn't even O until 100mg (I have PCOS). And nothing happened. I also felt like C R A P on the clomid. So, my new RE (god bless that woman!) said she wanted to do clomid (50mg) and add Menopur injections and trigger shot. Worked the first month. This was WITHOUT IUI - we just charted and BD'ed like crazy people (hubby's sperm is really good). I told the RE I didn't want to do IUI until I was sure we had exhausted all efforts on our own. It saved me about $400 that month because we chose not to do the IUI.

Now - they are expensive, especially if you add the cost of the IUI onto it. I have insurance that pays 70% of all my fertility treatment up to $15,000 total for my lifetime. That being said, I paid about $250 for 6 vials of menopur, a trigger shot, clomid, and needles and stuff.... So, all of that probably ran about $800 (give or take) for one month of injectibles...Not cheap.

So, my suggestion, if you chart temps, have a fertility monitor (best invention ever!!!), use OPK's - any of those and hubby's sperm is good - try the injectibles and then see if you can BD instead of IUI. It will save a few 100 bucks...

And from my understanding, the injectibles help make more follicles but they are best at making MATURE, ready to go, follicles. The clomid makes a bunch and then the injections help make them ready to pop out. I only had one or two eggs when I did the injectibles and still got preggo with them. The months before on Clomid, I could have 3-4 eggs and nothing ever came of it. So, I am pretty sure that when I was Oing, they were just too immature to be fertilized...

Hope this helps... PM me if you ahve any more questions I could answer!

HUGS!! Good luck and don't give up yet, it ain't over til the b**** shows up!

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

Yeah, We are going to probably do the Clomid and IUI for one more cycle.  That was pretty much the treatment plan.  I like the fact I had four good follies on Clomid and I do well with it!

I have had an HSG....it was good.  I had my progesterone and prolactin checked...good.  I have done OPK's and I have done triggers the last two months adn will this month I am sure.  ( I think it is a waste without the trigger!)  And Lord knows I don't want to spend $5K on injectables.  Thank you for your advice!

[babyalive]

You should try Clomid with IUI for at least 3 if not 4 cycles before going to injectables.  4 Follies is really good, so it seems you're responding well to the Clomid.  It takes an average of 3 cycles for most women to get pg with Clomid and IUI's.  

Also, have you had an HSG?  Have you had your E2, Prog. and FSH levels checked?  Do you use OPK's?  Ar you using a trigger?  There are so many things to consider before moving onto injectables.  They are also very expensive.  My last cycle was around $5000.00.  That included injectables, u/s monitoring and b/w.  Be patient.  It'll happen.  

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

Thank you hun...I really appreciate the advice.

[Cheesecake7]

I know zilch about injectibles, I just wanted to let you know that I am sorry about the BFN. Maybe it is not over, but I know the feeling, I am like you, I start to give up around day 12-13. I would press them to be checking your progesterone, and like ALT said, try to get a trigger shot so that there is no doubt in your mind.

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

I am doing a trigger...and I am so with you that they should be monitoring the ovulation.  I am going to ask about that....so thank you for that advice.

I can't believe you had a doctor just prescribe you something and say "here!  Good luck!"  Wow...that isn't right.  I also thing it is a waste of time unless you do a trigger shot.  I have been doing great on Clomid.  No mood swings, hot flashes.  I feel so bad you had all that with Clomid!  It is so cheap it is a shame it wasn't better!  No side effects for me at all...unless I am moody and DH doesn't have the heart to tell me, which is so like him!  I love that man...Are the injectables expensive?  Like I said, I know Clomid is cheap.  Do you give them once a day for a certain amount of days?  Do you do the injections yourself?  

Thanks so much Amy...your the best...

Thank you for saying I still have a chance.  I have a little voice telling me that too...but I think it is just hope yelling at me.  

If anyone has anything to add, I need all the advice I can get!

[ALT76]

Heather,

I'm so sorry - but I STILL think it could be early and there's still hope!  Like I said, there's a chance you didn't implant until a day or two ago, so maybe the test isn't sensitive enough to pick it up.  Who knows?  

I think it sucks they aren't checking if you O'd on clomid.  I swear I want to help get a bill passed that docs aren't allowed to Rx it unless they do a MINIMUM of that test and a couple u/s's per cycle.  I did it for 5 months withOUT IUI, and after the first month, thanks to the lovely ladies on this forum, I discovered all this stuff they should be doing to monitor me!  They originally sent me packing with 3 different rx's and said "come back in three months if you're not pregnant" - that's a bunch of bull.  I had been doing all my monitoring, and the second month I begged them to do the progesterone test to check if I O'd.  All my monitoring said that I did, except I had SO CLOSE to a positive OPK that I just assumed I missed my surge.  Anyway, sure enough, I had NOT O'd that month (my second round) - so who knows if I did the first time!

However, I was NOT doing trigger shots.  Are you?  That would certainly help.  I was a little disturbed that my RE didn't check my progesterone this time, but they started me on the suppositories automatically (since I have PCOS) at 3 dpiui, so I think it may have given a false result regardless.  Plus, they gave me TWO trigger shots, so I hoped I was covered.

If you are not doing trigger shots, they should definitely be checking for you.  I personally have liked injectables much more than clomid, because I think clomid is a horrid, evil creation!  I responded much better to the injections, but I think it's also because I have a new doc and was taken care of SO MUCH better this time, that on clomid I was so f'ing stressed out trying to figure out what they were supposed to be doing for me and trying to force them to do it, that it only added to my misery.

I'm by no means an expert on the injections, cuz this is my first try and my first IUI (beta is Friday).  But I do like them better so far.  I think it's less stress (which also can hinder your success if you're stressed out), because they have to monitor you so closely and everything is so controlled that there is very little to worry about.  Plus, I didn't have the god-awful depression that I had with clomid.

My vote is go for in the injections - but maybe it won't come to that....there's still hope :o)

- Amy