What next

twomommies

My partner and I have been through 3 failed IUI's and I have been taking 100mg of Clomid. After my last attempt failed my doctor wants to meet to discuss where we go from here and what our options are. I am really nervous that something is wrong. I am only 24 and have no known health problems and the sperm we chose looks good. Does anyone know what our other options are, aside from IVF? We just can't afford IVF right now so that is out of the question. Hopefully something else will work and soon.

ejgeschrei@yahoo.com

My partner and i are going to be using 11185. Would like to communicate with you. Could u email us at klinjer@yahoo.com?

allyphoe

Could be bad luck, could be bad timing, could be something more serious. There's no harm in doing some diagnostic testing - worst case scenario, it would keep you from wasting money doing something that won't work.

I knew from BBT charts that the "standard" day after positive OPK timing didn't work for me, because I ovulated the day of. So we only had one badly-timed IUI, and that was partially my fault for not insisting upfront that we do the IUIs same-day.

Then we had 3 bad-luck cycles. With a ~25% chance of conceiving per cycle (what you'd expect from a young healthy couple using intercourse), you've only got about a 58% chance of being pregnant after 3 well-timed cycles.

Fourth cycle worked. We also did an HSG that cycle, to rule out anything physically preventing pregnancy.

cr8yourself

Hi Twomommies!

Don't give up hope! My partner and I also went the Clomid route and when I didn't have any success, I started injections. I've only done the injections for one month and plan to start again in Oct.

Your next step could just be a change/increase in medications or possibly the start of injected hormones. There are steps between Clomid and IVF so don't feel like that HAS to be your next choice.

Another thought, if you're insurance will cover is having exploratory surgery just to make sure that there are no blockages or anything that can be corrected. I went through this in July and it took about an hour and the recovery was really minimal.

If you have questions, feel free to email me at cr8yourself@att.net.

twomommies

I don't like this new site it wouldn't post what I had written and then when it finally does it posts 3 times.

My doctor decided to switch my meds to Femara for one cycle and possibly do some further testing after that if it doesn't work. I try to be hopeful with every cycle.

allyphoe,
I know that I ovulate the day after because I can feel ovulation pains the next day. So that isn't the problem but I appreciate the thought.

ejgeschrei@yahoo.com,
I would love to talk with you. You are the first couple that I know of that is using that donor. My email is stacey_and_tonia@charter.net.

lway69@aol.com

You should try one more time!! My partner and I went through the exact same thing and the fourth time was the charm.
I had to convince my doctor to just let me try one more time before they made me change anything -- and it worked.
(I also stopped drinking any coffee including decaf which actually has a little caffine in it - maybe this helped too! And had my "tubes blown" too)

twomommies

I don't drink coffee and I stopped drinking soda altogether in January when we had our first consultation with the doctor. I started taking prenatals 6 months ago and have changed my diet completely. I normally eat a lot of sweets but starting in January I avoid the sweets and eat things with protein, folic acid, and calcium. I am taking every dietary precaution I can think of but maybe the fourth time is the charm. We did our fourth IUI today and the sperm count was 16.4 million which is amazing. If it doesn't work our doctor is forcing us to at least talk to him about other options. But with any luck we won't have to worry about it. Keep your fingers crossed!

crymel04

I just wanted to respond since I can hear the despiration in your voice. I was 23 when I got pregnant with our first daughter. It took me 5 months to get pregnant with her and 2 months of that was on 100mg of clomid, bloodwork, ultrasound, and HCG trigger shot. With our second daugther it took me 5 months again. I am currently 26 years old. I tried clomid again for 2 cycles, with all resulting in a BFN, I went to Bravelle injectable at 75IU for 2 cycles with BFN's and the last month my RE upped my dose to 150IU and resulted in a BFP. Remember even with correct timing there is only about a 10% chance every cycle that it will be positive. I know it gets frustrating, and I am glad that we are no longer on that rollercoaster. Don't give up, but when you are taking the clomid is there any monitoring going on? How are you responding to the medication? Just thought I would ask.
Crystal

kdavis147

My partner and I started with clomid, then switched to folistim for about 5 months of IUI and then decided to do a "shared risk" IVF. For 20k we had 6 chances to get pregnant and have a live birth. IVF worked on the second try. In the end we invested around 40k to get pregnant with our son. He is now 4 months old, adorable, and the best thing that could have happend to us. We are considering trying again. This time we will go directly to IVF. The statisical difference are 17% for IUI and 43% for IVF at the fertility center we use in MD. Also there is a RX company called Freedom that gives really good rates. Check into them. Good luck!

caearles

Hi twomommies,
My son is 9 years old and we used donor 2168 from CCB. We tried for 3 1/2 years from 24 to 27 years old for me. We did 4 ICI, 18 IUI and IVF once. My tubes were blocked with endometriosis. Have you had a hystostopingdagram (sp)? Or exploratory laperoscopy? If you ever want to talk, email me at cindiearles@yahoo.com. GOOD LUCK! By a stuffed turtle, turtles are a sign of fertility!!!!

Cindi

twomommies

Thanks so much for everyone's response. Our 4th IUI failed and now our doctor recommends further testing. We are skipping this cycle to do a biopsy. My doctor thinks I might be missing something that causes the embryo to attach to the uteran wall. I am not being monitored while on the meds because the doctor was so sure everything was fine. Unfortunately, we are not in a position financially to try IVF even though I know the success rates are much higher. Skipping a month is so hard when you are trying so hard to get pregnant. Hopefully try #5 in November will do the trick and I won't have any problems that aren't fixable. I appreciate everyone's support. Good luck to everyone!

tkurth19

I also wanted to add possibly trying a different donor. My doctor recommended that she usually gives a donor three chances and if unsuccessful look into a different donor (unless you are really set on your particualar donor). My partner and I were unsuccessful three times so we switched donors and got pregnant on the first try with the new donor. Our daughter is now two months old. I went through all sorts of testing initially and discovered the end of my left tube was blocked. I used clomid and the HSG trigger shot and then did the IUI 30-36 hours after the HSG shot. I then did progesterone suppositories twice a day starting on day four(I think - don't remember exactly what day after the IUI). I also had transvaginal ultrasounds about every two weeks. One was done before the HSG shot to make sure I had folicals large enough to proceed and (in my case) that they were on the right side since my left tube was blocked. I ended up having to miss one month because I had too many residual cysts and no folicals large enough. Missing a month is definitly hard, but hang in there. Last November was my lucky month, so hopefull this November will be successful for you too!