Day 3 results-now what?

mysecret

My results for day 3 were an fsh of 8.2 and an ultrasound of less than 32. I begin taking chlomid on Wednesday. Question: how much if any will my fsh increase?

The nurse said that I had to wait until November 13th to discuss both test results with the Dr. However, my anxiety level would be greatly relieved if anyone could advise me as to what may occur next and how should i be interpreting the results?

allyphoe

Your FSH should be back down to normal by the time your second round of bloodwork is done.

Ultrasounds don't normally produce a number as a result - maybe your E2 was <32? The only numbers I've ever gotten from an ultrasound were follicle count and uterine lining thickness, and <32 seems unlikely for either. (<3.2 is within the realm of conceivable for uterine lining, I guess.)

The internet says that different labs use different assays for FSH, and the assay used determines the cutoff levels. Your level is low enough that it's likely to be "normal" regardless of the specific assay used.

mysecret

thank you allyphoe, i did misinterpret the results. the estradiol level was less than 32 for day 3.

My day 10 results revealed a 4.7 fsh. I again asked the nurse for more information on what happens next and she explained that I had to wait until 11/13 to see the Dr. However, Nervous Me would like to know as much information as possible now.

My story: I'm 44 divorced, without a boyfriend and wish to be a Single Mom so i will have to do donor sperm.

I've learned here about the website SMC but I would rather join an in person group in either Worcester MA or Cape Cod Mass. I want to be able to ask questions and receive information on what to expect in the donor process and Do i have a chance of getting pregnant since I am an older wanna be mom?

allyphoe

Honestly, with those numbers, I think you've got a decent chance of getting pregnant with your own eggs.

While statistics don't tell you anything meaningful about any given individual (as many people here are fond of pointing out), that doesn't mean they are without value. If your odds of winning the lottery were 1 in 369 million, you probably shouldn't make "at age 65, buy a lottery ticket" your sole retirement plan. "People do win" is a perfectly reasonable attitude if you have a backup plan (not parenting, adoption, donor egg, donor embryo, etc.) if you don't have the good fortune to be a winner.

If maximizing your odds of getting pregnant with your own eggs is your #1 goal, and you have the financial wherewithal, I'd go straight to IVF. Because of your age, you may not be able to find an IVF program that will work with you - and the ones that will work with you now might not once you turn 45. You've got the highest odds per cycle of take-home baby. Assuming you respond well, and have excess embryos, you can try multiple FET cycles without worrying about whether your eggs are aging, because they'll all be the same age they were on the first cycle.

If your #1 goal is anything other than "getting pregnant with your own eggs," I certainly think a couple rounds of lower-tech attempts are well worth it. Assuming (for the sake of argument) that you've got a 10% chance per cycle (which is statistically true of women in their early 40s with no known fertility issues), and assuming that your fertility doesn't decline during the time you're trying (iffy, but you have such good numbers I think you've got better odds than average there), you'd have about a 47% chance of pregnancy after 6 well-timed cycles.

mysecret

Allyphoe, thank you very much for time and patience. I feel relieved but now have a nervous excitement.

I budget my money and so I hope to be able to begin a program at Boston IVF if they accept me on 11/13. If my comprehension of this process is correct I want to first attempt IUI washed sperm with medication.

However, the idea of "6" well timed cycles vs. IVF makes IVF sound less emotional and I think almost the same price, right?

May I ask, what is your story? Do you have any recommendations.

allyphoe

Hmmm. My IUI cycles were cheap - maybe $600 each. IVF would have been about 20 times as much (and would have involved other non-financial costs due to living in a backwards state). So as a young person (I was 29 when I got pregnant) with no known fertility issues, I'd have done a huge number of IUIs before moving to IVF. We did 1 at-home unmedicated cycle with a known donor, 1 badly-timed unmedicated IUI with a CCB donor, 3 well-timed IUIs with 50mg Clomid and that same CCB donor, then a cycle with 100mg Clomid, an HSG (everything looked good!), and a new donor. So 4 well-timed cycles, and 6 total cycles.

If you've got the money, and a program that will take you, I'd go with the IVF. There is no way I'd recommend that you delay IVF unless you really really wanted to try IUIs or didn't have the money or couldn't get into an IVF program. And in any of those cases, I don't think that IUI would be throwing your money away. But I think IVF will give you the best chances of a take-home baby from your own eggs.

mysecret

WOW! that's a great price for IUI. Since I'm self pay, I would like to know what state you live in to receive such an affordable price.

I called and confirmed that IUI w/out medication for one cycle is 2-2,500.00 and meds will be an additional 1,500-3,000.00. IVF is $8,300.00 excluding medication which is an additional 3-5k.

Therefore, financially IVF seems less expensive. I have been referred to a loan program which assists fertility patients.

My plan if I choose IUI with a doctor is to: request an injectable medication and ultrasounds for two months which would identify the timing of conceivability and then have the IUI.

I also disagree with the statistics of older woman since they do not consider all ethnic backgrounds nor their or my family history.

However, since statistics do not exist for Latinos with a South American Indian and Puerto Rican origin. I will have to decide between today and tomorrow morning at 9am which route will determine my destiny.

allyphoe

Yowza! Where do you live that an IUI (which takes no more skill than doing a Pap smear) costs so much? (I suspect that if you called around to anywhere other than an IVF clinic, you'd get much more reasonable prices.)

We live in Oklahoma, where there is exactly 1 doctor who will work with other-than-straight-married women. (His office is 100+ miles from our house). We paid $212 for the IUI itself, and did our own arrangements to procure the sperm (but they'd store for free, so we didn't have to worry about scheduling shipping - just placing the order and paying). Plus $60 for a cd3 ultrasound on Clomid cycles, and the Clomid itself was like $18. This was in 2002, so prices are probably higher now.

That said, if you're on injectables and doing IUI, you'd expect significantly more monitoring (and the potential for a cycle being canceled or converted to IVF due to responding too well), which would explain why the doctor's fee is higher.

Good luck!

mysecret

I look for other clinics in massachusetts and will call for their prices tomorrow.

I'm having second thoughts of even going tomorrow. The cost is extremely high and there may be less expensive places. Also, I also viewed the clinics website and if my understanding is of the tomorrow's visit is correct, i will only be meeting with the Doctor to go over the test results and then he will decide which procedure I need and which tests should be ordered. So once again i am disappointed.

My first appointment was with a PA and we only went over the application she then referred me to the in house nurse. The nurse gave me paperwork and explained that i needed the chlomid challenge test and an ultrasound. When I asked both questions about the process, they both informed me that unless I passed "the test" , meaning the chlomid challenge test, nothing could be answered. But it was the manner in which it was said that shocked me, "there's no point on asking questions if we don't know that you can even get pregnant." The nurse even told me, "If I were you, I would use donor eggs." This is even PRIOR to the test.

So maybe my instinct is working for a change and it's saying, "Seek another opinion elsewhere". But it's also saying you've come this far. Since the first, and only visit, I have changed locations and the new location I hope is more sympathetic to an oldie but goodie like me, well at least I think I am. We shall see.

WHEW! I do feel better getting that out and I will take the evening to decide on if I should proceed with this clinic after the appointment.

Good night and I hope all 3 of you sleep well tonight.

mysecret

Hello,
My name is Debbie and I want to be a SMC. I'm confused and concerned about what has transpired so far. Here's my background:

Day 3, Day 10 of the chlomid challenge test were normal as was the ultrasound. I DO NOT have ANY fertility issues and I'm a divorced 44 y/o.

The Dr. reviewed the test results and stated that he would agree to UNmedicated IUI's but that IVF was not an option for me at his clinic. When I questioned why not IVF? He stated, "We'll try 6 IUI's and if that doesn't work that's it. IVF is not an option for you because eggs are eggs."

I then questioned, "Because of my age wouldn't it be better for me to have injections w/ diagnostic testing to increase my chances? He answered, "At your age you only have a 15% chance. Your only chance would be donor egg but that would be very expensive and you don't want to do that." I then explained that ARC fertility could assist with a loan program but he was adamant in his decision.

I was shaken and then he says, "We have all of our patients who want to receive either donor egg or sperm see a Social Worker. UGH!

Today I made an appointment for a second opinion for December 3 but guess what, they're affiliated with the other clinic. So instead of making appointment all over Massachusetts, I'm reaching out to you gals in hopes of finding emotional support and guidance.

Thank you

ryanhl

What is SMC...single mom? :) I am 36 & I'm trying my first IUI with donor sperm in December. The nurses tried to get me to see a therapist but I refused. I had talked to the doctor about how this isn't a decision that I went into lightly and have talked this decision out to many...many people. I've examined all aspects..financial, social, difficulty explaining no father, etc. I don't want to talk to anyone else. So they let me skip that part. Stand firm sister!!

allyphoe

Ah, that sucks. The reason he's willing to take your money for IUI (which has a lower success rate per cycle than IVF, but somehow doesn't constitute throwing your money away in his eyes, hmmm?) but not IVF is that IVF stats are published by clinic. He figures if you don't get pregnant, you'll drag his stats down.

I was going to suggest Boston IVF as being friendly towards older women, but I think from their website they likely cut off at your 43rd birthday. (They actually published a really good study in 2005 showing that it didn't make sense to go straight to donor egg for women over 40, but I suspect they're using that study's data to support a cutoff of 43. You can read the study here if you're a study reader: http://www.inviafertility.com/Over40.pdf)

Repoductive Science Center in Boston seems to cut off at 42 - but their affiliate in San Francisco (http://www.rscbayarea.com) publishes stats through 44.

Cape Fertility (in South Africa, but you've got price savings to offset airfare) goes up to 44: http://www.capefertilityclinic.co.za/faq.asp

We had to do a counseling session before using donor sperm. It was no big deal.

mysecret

Great News!!!

I went to my ob/gyn on Wednesday the 19th and AAAH …… I finally feel relieved and excited about being a SMC (Single Mother by Choice).

She explained that Doctors take an oath to Do No Harm. Unwarranted diagnostic testing could potentially place me in harm's way so it was an ethical and sound decision to not have me receive injections or have diagnostic testing.

She also stated that statistics do not consider all groups of people nor does one particular person have my biochemistry. (I thought this all along)

She also suggested to not believe everything I read on websites as information can be misconstrued or misinterpreted through my or others ignorance. She then said, "They’re not giving you the baby, so don't listen to them."

As for the social worker, her visit is educational and although I've read about being an SMC, one can never have too much education. That appointment is on Monday the 24th.

I made my decision to be an SMC on 9/23/08 and December will be my 1st IUI. This month I will be monitoring my cycle with Clear Blue Easy digital.

I came across a beautiful quote, which helped me emotionally with the barrage of negativity I encountered and enabled me to persevere. It’s from Women's Bodies Women's Wisdom:

"When we're willing to listen to our bodies and begin trusting ourselves as much as we trust outer authorities all the rules change. And so does our biology. Statistics no longer apply to us. We enter the realm of MIRACLES and undreamed possibilities."

As I look back on my journey I realize that I have made the best and happiest decision of my life and am looking forward to motherhood but for now it's MY SECRET.

danimoni70

My Secret,

You have already started your journey to motherhood and have learned some valuable lessons for all us mommies in waiting...first, listen to your heart, seek as much knowledge as possible and be positive and optimistic! I learned this weekend that my grandmother gave birth at 43 and my great, great, great grandmother way back in 1892 gave birth at 37. So this tells me that women have been having babies way past over 35 or 40 for sometime now.

We have to remember that doctors always give us the scienctific part of life but they can't explain the miracles of life, you know the he unknown aspects. I believe if being a mother has been planted in your heart, then it will bear fruit. Remember God honors the desires of our heart!

You're never too old to be a mom and it doesn't matter how a child comes into your life. So, here is wishing you continued joy as your journey unfolds. I can feel that 2009 promises nothing but new beginnings for you and your bundle of joy!

Please keep us posted when the baby arrives!

Best,
D