FertilityFactor.com Home

Hi susan4988, I just had 2 IUIs done back to back this past Sunday and Monday. I'm 31 and dh is 29. I also have PCOS and need help to get af. DH has borderline normal sperm count and motility. Initially I had issues starting the Clomid because I developed cysts on the outside of my ovaries after taking Prometrium to force on af. Not sure if Prometrium caused the cysts or if it was just coincidence. I ended up starting 100mg Clomid on April 21st (cd3) and took it for 5 fives. I didn't really experience any of the side effects. Everyone is different and it also depends on the dosage. I've heard that the higher the dosage the more side effects you'll ezperience. My clinic here in Toronto Canada does not perscribe Clomid higher than 100mg. Sometimes women who have PCOS do not respond to the Clomid and will have to try something else, (ie. Femara/Letrozole) I should have started to ovulate around cd10 to cd14 and only ovulated on cd21. This is also another effect of Clomid. It can sometimes make your cycle long. On cd 20 I had to have a trigger shot (Ovidrel) to force ovulation as you don't want the follicles to get too big and I was already at 22mm and 17mm. I had the first IUI on cd21 (May 9) and felt myself ovulating that afternoon. I then had the second IUI on cd22 (May 10). By that time I had felt the second follicle being released. We timed everything perfectly and the washed sperm sample was fantastic. In total, I was injected with 54million of my dh sperm with 98% motility. The IUI doesn't really hurt at all. It's only slightly uncomfortable because they place a speculum in your vagina, but this happens when you go for a routine pap test. The second IUI was done in combination with an u's and I was able to see the catheter and the sperm being released (you don't actually see the sperm because they're too small but you see bubles which is the liquid that the sperm is in being released). With Clomid you may have some side effects. The most common are headaches and hot flashes but I recommend you take the Clomid at night. At least that way you're asleep through most of it. Again it all depens on how you react to it. As for Provera, I'm not sure if you should take that during your 2ww. At that point you don't want af, you want pregnancy. In my case, I'm using Progesterone suppositories during my 2ww and that is meant to thicken the lining to help implantation. If my pregnancy test is positive when I test on May 25th then I will have to continue them until I'm 10 weeks.
Try not to get stressed out in the process. When I started at the feritlity clinic March 4th, I automatically thought that it would happen right away because I was seeking help. It takes time, and now I'm more relaxed about the whole process. DH and I are going on our delayed honeymoon to Paris and Rome tomorrow, so I won't be thinking about the 2ww, which is a great thing. I'm sure if I was staying here I would be a basket case. Even though we're a month apart in our cycle, I can be your cycle buddy and guide you along. It's nice to have someone to talk to who is going through the same thing. Our families don't know that we are going through fertility treatment so I find this forum as a way to talk about it. I'm back from vacation on May 24th which is when you have your first u/s. If you've responded to the Clomid you should be ovulating at this point...and I'll be finding out if the IUI worked or not!!! I wish you all the best and hope to hear some good news when I get back. Baby dust to us both!!!

Reply

chorona, thanks for the reply. first all, have a wonderful delayed honeymoon! i am sure you will enjoy it tremendously! although i have not been to rome; paris is fabulous (or at least it was 20 years ago when i was there LOL). i have only selected to tell my mom and brother about my DH and i going thru the fertility treatments. they don't hound me much with questions. i have a very large family so, the less that know, the less ??? i get hounded with!! we have not even told my husbands children. they are 21 and 25. the 21 year old had 2 kids, and the 25 year old is due in november. honestly i am a little concerned about the side effects that i may encure. unfortunatley, i tend to attract side effects. it seems if it's possible, i have it. not to sound ignorant or such, but considering i do not ovulate, what do i expect when the clomid actually works? have you had any experience with the hcg shot? i was told by dr office they would use the hcg shot the day i went for the iui. this is just all so new, i don't know what to expect.

Reply

Hi susan4988, How was your u/s? Any side effects from the Clomid?
We had an amazing trip!!! The only exciting thing to come back to was to see if the iui worked. I tested on May 25th and it was positive but my beta level was too low at 44. When I re tested again on May 27th it dropped to 15. This means that I was pregnant but lost it really early on. I am so upset because I'm pregnant one day and then I'm told that it won't stick. They call it a chemical pregnancy because technically there was no implatation. Either way, I was pregnant. At least I know that I can get pregnant, so now it's just a matter of trying again. I'm re-testing on June 3rd to make sure that the beta has dropped completly and then we're meeting with our fertility specialist to see what we'll do next. I think that I'm going to try Femara this next round and back to back iuis again.
Where are you in your cycle? If the clomid works then you should expect to have at least 1 mature follicle ready to be released. Once your clinic knows when you'll ovulate (more or less) they'll do the iui and then you have to wait 2 weeks to see if it worked.
I'm not sure what the hcg shot is? Is that to force ovulation once you have a mature follicle? I had a shot of Ovidrel (not sure if it's the same thing). Keep me posted on your progress.
Baby dust to both of us!!!

Reply

hello chorona! glad to hear you had a wonderful vacation! i so need a vacation!! trying to put a trip together to the beach for a weekend this summer. not sure when though.

i am sorry to hear about your chemical pregnancy. i have not experienced that (yet), so i can only imagine how devestated you and your husband are. i hope i don't have to go thru that, but i know if a distinct possibility.

i am currently on CD20. i don't really know a whole lot more than i did before your vacation, but to bring you up to date . . . .

CD1 -- may 11
CD 5-10 -- clomid 100mg
CD14 (may 24) -- f/s, 1 follicle at 8mm, not big enough
CD14-18 -- clomid 150mg
CD22 (june 1) -- another f/s scheduled
CD23 (june 2) -- possible iui

HCG is s trigger shot to induce ovulation, same as the ovidrel. my RE's office said that if my insurance did not cover the HCG (it did) that there were going to give me the ovidrel because it is much more affordable to pay for out of pocket. so that is how i know they are the same thing, just different manufacturer's.

guess that about brings op to where i am at with things for now. i will know more on tuesday. thankfully my f/s is at 9am so i won't have to wait long. last week, i was so nervous. at least this time, i know what to expect.

i also found out a couple days ago (though i am not yet suppose to know) that my brother is about to become a daddy! his girlfriend told me friday. she said my brother did not want me to know yet, because he is afraid it will hurt my feelings. gee i wonder why? my brother and mother are the only family member's that know my DH and i are going thru fertility treatments. i just did not want to deal with a 1001 questions every month about whether or not are your pregnant yet? how are treatments going, etc. just did not want the headache.

well guess i had better run for now. i have to get around for work. have a great day!

Reply

Hi Susan,
Thanks for the update. I've never heard of taking 2 rounds of clomid in the same cycle, but hopefully it works for you. When I first took the clomid my follicles didn't grow right away either. Only on CD17 did we start to see any growth. It took awhile but once they started growing they didnt' stop. LOL Within 5 days they went from 13mm and 12mm to 23mm and 19mm and then I had the shot and the iuis. Please let me know what happens tomorrow on your u/s. Hopefully those follies are growing and you'll be able to have the iui. The worst part is waiting around for things to happen.
I got my af on Saturday and normally would be going to the clinic today to do bloodwork and u/s in order to start Clomid or Femara but because of the chemical pregnancy I have to wait to make sure that the hcg hormone is completely out of my system (to make sure that I don't have an ectopic pregnancy). So I go for that this Thursday (June 3) and then I have to meet with the doctor (still waiting for them to call me with the appointment date). This is the part that sucks. I'm so ready to start the medication again but I have to wait. I think the earliest that we'll do another iui is July because now I have to wait for my next af or be put on meds to get af and then start the Femara.
With regards to the chemical pregnancy, I've read that it's very common. About 60-70% of pregnancies end in miscarriage and then most women go on to have perfectly healthy second pregnancies. Most people that have a chemical pregnancy don't even know it unless they test. Obviously the only reason I tested was because of the treatment otherwise I wouldn't have and then wouldn't have ever known that I was pregnant. It's so sad and every once in a while I'll get emotional but at least I didn't lose it after 2 or 3 months of carrying it. That would've been horrible. At least I know that I can get pregnant. I know that it will happen eventually but it'll take some time.

Let me know what happens tomorrow!

Reply

Susan, you had asked in an earlier post what to expect when you ovulate (sorry I didn't answer that question). Everyone's different....when I had the Ovidrel shot (which doesn't hurt at all, and I have low tolerance for pain, so it's a lot for me to say that), anyway, I had the shot in the morning and by about 5pm the same day, I started to get some sharp pains on my left side (that's where the follies were). Some women feel themselves ovulate while others don't. You many not even feel it. By the time I went back to the clinic the next day to do the first iui the bigger follie was gone and they could only see the 19mm one. That afternoon I felt that second follie being released and by that time I had already done the 2 iuis.
Again everyone is different. I like that I can feel myself ovulate. It just makes me feel better about the whole thing because I know that the medication is working.

Reply

hello chorona! no news yet. went to the hospital to get my f/s done this morning at 9 and wouldn't ya know that the stinkin' hospital did have anyone that could do a f/s scan??? there was a 1 lady there, that had done 1 f/s 1 time in her career! needless to say, i said, let me call my re office. so here i am sitting in a hotel room 2 hours away from first hospital, waiting to go to appt at 1:15 at my re office. so at least i get the scan done. hopefully it will be good news!! time will tell! i'll drop you a line later tonight and let ya know! have a great day!

Reply

hello again. well, it appears i have already ovulated as there is not egg in either ovary! dr ordered b/w today to confirm. i have to call him in the morning after 9 to get the results and plan of action from there. so, we;ll see. maybe DH and i will get a BFP at the end of the week. who knows. i guess the good news is that i am in the 2ww 1 week already and didn't even know i was waiting! so i only have a tortuous week of waiting. i should be able to test towards the end of the week. if i ovulated when i think i did, i am 6dpo. so we'll see.

how are things going for you?

take care and chat soon!

susan

Reply

Hi Susan,
Hopefully you will get that BFP this month. Wouldn't it be great if that happened when you didn't even know you ovulated?!?!
Keep me posted on the next week.
As for me, my clinic was supposed to have called me by yesterday to schedule a follow up with my fertility specialist to discuss the chemical pregnancy and a plan of action for my next cycle....no one has called me yet and I'm pretty upset over it. I don't want to waist any time and if they say they're going to call then they should call. I was told that by today for sure. We'll see if that happens. I'm going in tomorrow to do a 3rd pregnancy test just to confirm that I am no longer pregnant. Once I know that then we can start treatment again. Other than, nothing else going on. AF came last Saturday and is done. So now it's more of the waiting game.
Talk to you soon! Good luck this next week!!!

Reply

Hi Susan, I thought I'd update you on what happened today. So as I suspected no one called yesteday to schedule the follow up. ARRGGHHHH!!!
Anyway, I went in today for a 3rd pregnancy test and the beta is now -2.39 which means that I am no longer pregnant. I finally got an appointment for a follow up for June 15th. If I don't get my period on my own by June 30th then I will go in to do a random cd3 u/s and b/w and then start treatment. At first I was upset at having to waste so much time but I talked to DH and maybe it's for the best that we take a break from the clinic this month and just try on our own. I purchased a 5 pack of ovulation kits today and will start testing on cd10 (Monday) to see if I'm ovulating on my own.
That's about it. I hope to have good news from you next week!!! :-)

Reply

hello chorona! so sorry about your pregnancy. i have not suffered that loss so i can only imagine. i will keep you in my prayers!

ok so i have to admit, i have taken 2 HPT already. 1 yesterday and 1 today. both have come up negative. although i keep hope alive in the fact that i might be testing to soon. who know's. i'll give it some more time and test again in a few days. i also haven't been feeling myself either. my stomach has been kind of icky. not really nauseated, but not ok either. not sure what it is . . .

well guess that;s all for now. take care and chat soon.

Reply

Hi Susan,
It's hard not to test when you know that you're in your 2ww. Thankfully we were on vacation during my 2ww so I didn't focus too much on it. You should wait at least 15 days afer you ovulate to test to get a better idea. It takes a fertilized egg anywhere from 6-12 days to implant. So you've been testing too soon. Hopefully when you test again you'll get that BFP. If not, don't get discouraged it will happen!! Good luck!!

Reply

hey there! i really kind of knew i was testing to early, but couldn't help myself. actually i think getting the negative's were good for me, because it has made me not so anxious to test again. if that make any sense at all.

can't remember if i told you or not, i am going to be an aunt. my brother and his girlfriend are expecting. not even sure of due date yet, other than end of the january first part of february sometime. i am happy for them but have been ready to ring his and my mother's necks. they have made such a big deal out of this, worried if it was going to hurt my feelings. of course it does, but i am still happy for them! my brothers girlfriend also has PCOS like i do. she has recently been on prometrium to regulate AF. guess it must have worked. she's only been on the premetrium since january. my mother is in seventh heaven. she is finally gonna be a real granma! not a granma to a furry 4 legged creature. she has my step-children, and my grandchildren, but it's not the same. my step-children are adults, and my grandchild, she doesn't get to see much.

anyways . . . got to run again. got to get dressed and headed out the door for work. have a great day! chat soon.

Reply

Hi Susan,

You had mentioned that you are going to be an aunt. Congratulations!!! My sister-in-law is also pregnant and expecting a baby boy in October. I'm really excited for them and it will be my husband's first nephew...but, I was also really upset when I heard the news. I'm like you. Obviously we are happy for our family members, but it's natural to get upset when it's so difficult for us to get pregnant.

I'm on CD 10 today and last night I did an OPK for the first time. Unfortunately when I opened the box there were no instructions so I'm not sure if they all work the same. Either way, I did it at 11pm (but I've heard that the best time to do it is between 10am and 8pm). To my surprise the result was positive! It's crazy because my cycles are usually 40 days which means that technically I should've only started testing on CD 17. I tested last night just for fun and was shocked at the outcome. I'm wondering if either the test is faulty (I'll still continue to test everyday) or if maybe after my round of Clomid, my cycle has regulates? I've heard that this is possible, so hopefully this is the case. Needless to say DH and I will be busy fo rht enxt few days. :-)

Have you ever done your own OPK? I'm not sure how much I trust them. Both lines were the same colour intensity and they weren't faint, so I can only assume that I am ovulating.

I'm going for my follow-up on the 15th so I'll ask the doc how accurate these things are.

Talk to you soon!!!

BTW, where are you located? I'm in Toronto, Canada.

Reply

hello chorona! good to hear from you. yes i am gonna be an aunt. she went for her set of b/w on thursday, and still has not heard back from dr office with results! i'd be calling and buggin them!

i am currently on CD28. not 100% sure when i ovulated, i think it was around the 25th of may, which would put me 13dpo. i suppose i could take a hpt now and rely on it to be accurate. but think i will wait a few more days just to be sure. i don't really feel that i am pregnant so i'm not really that anxious to test. once i know i am not pregnant, i have to call dr and get further instructions from him. i suspect i will start provera again for AF, then another round of clomid with closer monitoring, but not 100% sure, that just my guess, so we'll se how close i am.

Good luck and have fun with the babydancing!!


i have used opk's before, but since i don't ovulate on my own, i am like you, not really sure what i looked at last month (may) was right. like you, it was the same intensity in color, etc -- so i think that's when i ovulated!!

and finally, i am from a very small town in the northeast corner of pennsylvania. i live about about 8 miles south of the new york stateline.

chat soon. have a great day/night!!

Reply

Hi Susan,

I would wait to test again. You're only 14dpo so it doesn't necessarily mean that the test would be accurate. Wait until the weekend if you can. Trust me, all I wanted to do while on vacation was go buy a pregnancy test but thank God dh restrained me. lol

If this cycle doesn't work for you, you should ask your dr about letrozole (femara). It's like Clomid but a lot of women respond better to it. Apparently women with PCOS sometimes don't have success with Clomid and have more luck with letrozole. That's what I'll be doing next.

I did another OPK yesterday at 3pm and it was positive again. I did one more today at 1:45 (I wanted to wait until 3 but I had to go the bathroom so badly that I just thought "what the heck!"). There was a faint line this time, much, much lighter than the control line, which means it's negative. This leads me to believe that the last 2 tests were accurate. I was scared that this one would be positive as well and then I'd know for sure that there was something wrong. I doubt you're supposed to get more than 2 positive results, seeing as how ovulation only takes 24hrs max.
BUT...I'm still not convinved that I can trust this test. I had drank a lot of water during lunch so my urine would've been diluted which is not good for testing. I think I will test again when I get home from work.(yes, I'm so obssessed that I brought a test to work!) Plus the instructions say that if there was a recent pregnancy then it could affect the results. I'm not sure if LH would still be present after my chemical pregnancy.

Oh well, we'll continue to BD and see what happens.

Talk to you soon!!!

Reply