An early morning wanding, a veritable army of follicles, and a dilemma
Is there a better way to start off a dreary Wednesday than being wanded by two people simultaneously?! I guess it depends on who you ask :)
Last night I had some EWCM. On CD6. Weird, right? I thought so. I still had some this morning when I woke up, so I guess it wasn't a fluke. I also woke up feeling incredibly bloated. I chalked it up to my over-eating at Outback last night (although honestly, I really didn't eat that much. I just had some Bloomin' Onion, which is not in my typical daily diet plan!).
So back to my appointment. There is a new resident/trainee/doctor-to-be this month. She is friendly, smiles, and speaks to me. She also has yet to yawn at my lady bits. So far, she's a keeper! She actually did my ultrasound last week, and then again today. She never can get the proper angle that my RE wants, so he always has to help her. Hence the first sentence of this post.
I could tell immediately that I had lots of follie action. Here is a rundown:
Uterine lining thickness: 9mm
Right ovary follicles: 13.3, 12.6, 12.3, 10.5, 10, 9, 8, 7, 7
Left ovary follicles: 11.6, 10.5, 9, 7.7, 7, 6
So, a crapload of eggs. And I'm only on CD7! It just seems... early(?) to me to have this many decent-sized follicles. But I suppose that's what happens when you are on 150iu of FSH and 75iu of LH.
My RE told me to stop the Follistim, and just continue with the Menopur. I go back in on Friday for another ultrasound.
Here is my internal dilemma: 2 cycles ago, I was on Bravelle. I started out at 150iu, which is pretty similar to what I have been taking the past couple of days. I had a similar early u/s, with TONS of follicles. My RE cut my dose of Bravelle down by half, and I continued on with 75iu. I ended up with two mature follicles. Two is better than one, don't get me wrong. But I've been at this so long, and this is my 5th IUI. I told my doc I want 3-4 mature follicles, and he said that's why we were doing the Follistim+Menopur.
I'm just afraid that if I stop the Follistim altogether, I will end up in the same boat as 2 cycles ago: 2 mature follicles, followed by a BFN.
So...I'm considering continuing to take *some* Follistim. Not the full dose, but maybe 25 or 50iu. Or somewhere in between.
Has anyone ever done something like this? I know the risks. I know it could lead to a canceled IUI cycle, or even OHSS. But, like I stated earlier, I wouldn't be taking the full dosage. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Last night I had some EWCM. On CD6. Weird, right? I thought so. I still had some this morning when I woke up, so I guess it wasn't a fluke. I also woke up feeling incredibly bloated. I chalked it up to my over-eating at Outback last night (although honestly, I really didn't eat that much. I just had some Bloomin' Onion, which is not in my typical daily diet plan!).
So back to my appointment. There is a new resident/trainee/doctor-to-be this month. She is friendly, smiles, and speaks to me. She also has yet to yawn at my lady bits. So far, she's a keeper! She actually did my ultrasound last week, and then again today. She never can get the proper angle that my RE wants, so he always has to help her. Hence the first sentence of this post.
I could tell immediately that I had lots of follie action. Here is a rundown:
Uterine lining thickness: 9mm
Right ovary follicles: 13.3, 12.6, 12.3, 10.5, 10, 9, 8, 7, 7
Left ovary follicles: 11.6, 10.5, 9, 7.7, 7, 6
So, a crapload of eggs. And I'm only on CD7! It just seems... early(?) to me to have this many decent-sized follicles. But I suppose that's what happens when you are on 150iu of FSH and 75iu of LH.
My RE told me to stop the Follistim, and just continue with the Menopur. I go back in on Friday for another ultrasound.
Here is my internal dilemma: 2 cycles ago, I was on Bravelle. I started out at 150iu, which is pretty similar to what I have been taking the past couple of days. I had a similar early u/s, with TONS of follicles. My RE cut my dose of Bravelle down by half, and I continued on with 75iu. I ended up with two mature follicles. Two is better than one, don't get me wrong. But I've been at this so long, and this is my 5th IUI. I told my doc I want 3-4 mature follicles, and he said that's why we were doing the Follistim+Menopur.
I'm just afraid that if I stop the Follistim altogether, I will end up in the same boat as 2 cycles ago: 2 mature follicles, followed by a BFN.
So...I'm considering continuing to take *some* Follistim. Not the full dose, but maybe 25 or 50iu. Or somewhere in between.
Has anyone ever done something like this? I know the risks. I know it could lead to a canceled IUI cycle, or even OHSS. But, like I stated earlier, I wouldn't be taking the full dosage. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
I haven't been there, but if I were you, I am sure I would keep taking some Follistim. But think about what you would do if you ended up with a ton of mature eggs - would your RE even do an IUI or would you be satisfied BDing and hoping for something wonderful to come out of it?
ReplyDeleteWow thats a lotta follies!!! I LOLed at the double wanding...
ReplyDeleteI've never had injects, but I did do something similar with my Clomid. My RE said to take it CD4-8 the first time, but I read up and found out it may only give me one follie so I took it earlier (2-6) because I wanted alot more eggies regardless of the risk! Well that turned out to be a bust and CD4-8 ended up giving me my BFP.
In your case of proven lack of success with less meds, I'd say go for just a LITTLE bit every day :) We won't tell!!! I want you to have 5 or 6 big ones so you get that BFP for sure!!!! muhahahahaaaa
I am thinking taking just a little each day isn't bad, since you will be going back in two days. I doubt two days of lowered meds will cause OHSS, however, I am not a doctor.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and CONGRATS on all of those follies!!!!!!
That's a lot of follicles! You have to be careful, because if too many matured you could be in trouble. Honestly though, I've taken a little more meds before and since I was being monitored it wasn't a huge deal except for when it came to my medical records. I told my new RE about it when I came in though, for her own reference. But my old RE wouldn't listen, and it was going slow because they wouldn't up my dose. So it was a slightly different boat. I can't really say what I'd do in your shoes, because on one hand you want to make sure you have more follicles, but on the other you do not want to overstim... it's a tough decision. You will be going back in two days though.
ReplyDeleteAs for it being early, my last injects I triggered on CD10 (that gave me my last pregnancy)... so don't worry about that, it'd just when things are ready. Your lining is already nice and plump, so it's just when the follicles are ready.
Woooo-hoooo follies! I'm not sure what my advice would be on ignoring doctors orders. If you listen to the doc you may end up with only 2 follies and another BFN, but if you self perscribe you may turn into the next John and Kate plus 8... Clearly Kara and Buster plus 8 would be more fun to watch though!
ReplyDeletehollerrrr for the follies! I know that if I were in your shoes, I'd totally still take some amount of the Follistim! Good Luck in your decision!
ReplyDeleteNo idea what to do to be honest. I've been tempted to take more meds before, but since DH gives me my shots, and him being a pharmacist, he would never let me lol.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't think only taking a little bit of the follistim would hurt anything, but you never know too.
You have a lot of little follicles with potentially 4 that may mature, but it could also go like last time w/ just 1 or 2 maturing.
Go with what your gut is telling you to do.
Really hope that tomorrow's scan shows that there are at least 3 follicles growing :D
Maybe you could call the nurse and just ask her? Sometimes they are super helpful, and explain you just want to keep taking a little. Im not sure how your doctor is, but mine is pretty flexible on what i choose. Other then that, i *prob* wouldnt do it...although im not sure because im not in that position. Still great that you have so many potentials this month!!
ReplyDeleteOh I don't know. I rarely if ever do anything other than what the doc suggests. But I like the idea of talking with the nurse and asking their thoughts. Good luck!
ReplyDelete