Fertile Femara?

My fertility doc started me on Femara 2.5mg for 5 days after not responding to my 150mg Clomid without waiting for AF induction (so technically it was cd20). Overall, Femara was almost a breeze for me compared to Clomid. While I didn't have as much difficulty with Clomid as others, I found Femara to be much easier on my body. And my skin thanks me too!

Day 1: Failed Clomid ultrasound and blood work. Lots of tiny follicles...

Days 1-4: I took the pill late at night before bed. I felt fine- a little bloated but nothing much more to note. My skin also began to clear up since the after Clomid effect. Lots of energy and in a good mood. Feel a little hot. This may also be coupled with my new order of Murad skin care products. 

Days 5-6: Felt a bit nauseous and run down, but taking several walks with my husband and watching Netflix in between helped. Day 6, I didn't have to take a pill but I was going through the effects of my evening pill. 

Day 10: Acupuncture- yay!! Feels so good! Lots of energy to begin with, very clear feeling and relaxed afterwards

Day 11: Still in a good mood. (This is definitely not CloMood!)

Day 12 ultrasound and blood work: Failed. Again. Follicle that was 8mm with 150mg of Clomid grew 2mm to a max of 10mm, with still lots of little follicles. Need to go back in a few days to check again and then we discuss next steps.

Kind of anxious to find out what's next. 1. Wait longer? 2. Start higher dose of Femara without AF induction? 3. Induce AF and start again with ...who knows...? 4. IVF? It's hard because I have all of these summer plans and being in town to do all of this monitoring will be more of a struggle. I'm getting really sick of this re-prioritizing and endless waiting game. If it will take several more months to find the magic, that's fine but I'd rather just know. Where's the crystal ball??

Good-bye Clomid, Hello Femara

 

Since I never responded to Clomid, my fertility doc moved me to Femara 2.5mg. On Day 20 of my Clomid cycle, I went in for an t/v ultrasound and blood work to confirm that I had not grown any follicles.  My husband and I also had to sign a release form to take Femara, which is commonly used as a breast cancer drug and is illegal in several countries. Again, I had lots of follicles and they were all too small, proving that Clomid and I were due for a break-up. 

I got a call later that day from my nurse instructing me to start my five days of Femara that evening, treating my actual day 20 as day 3 since my uterine lining was set to go. I was concerned that the dosage of Femara was so low that I wouldn't respond and wondered why I didn't start with what seems like the common 5.0 or 7.5 mg. They explained that it was due to me already being somewhat stimulated by the Clomid this cycle so they did not want to send me into hyper-stimulation which makes sense. Now, I just wait until my next t/v ultrasound and blood work to see if I can use that trigger shot that is just waiting for me in my fridge.

Several friends have announced their pregnancies in the past week or so. We're hoping that we are one step closer to our own gifted little one. 

Stay tuned for my play-by-play on my Femara experience.

Fertility Clinic- New Hope and Next Steps

I called fertility center with hopes that someone would cancel due to the snow. My hunch was right and my husband and I hopped in the car and were seen an hour later for our first appointment- over a month before previously scheduled!

After listening to our journey so far, he said that we have nothing to worry about and he feels confident I will be pregnant within 9-12 months. Yep, you read that correctly. Complete reversal here. I'll now be calling my fertility center doctor, Dr. Hope.

He sat with my husband and I in his office while he outlined a course of action for us. He outlined the success rates for each intervention and took us through the flow of what would come next if one step did not work.

After our consult, I met my amazing nurse who further explained the steps to us, gave us more information and filled out the paperwork with us. A technician drew a lot of my blood so they could run a bunch of blood tests again to check my hormone levels. I also gave blood for genetic testing.

When we finished with our nurse, we met with the financial councilor who gave us all of the pricing for each treatment. Because of the snow day, we had to wait to find out what our insurance covers. (Which is not too much, but surprisingly better than most!)  Everyone we encountered was so nice to both of us and the clinic had a quiet, peaceful and intellectual feel to it!

Once my initial blood work came back, they confirmed again that I did not O. I got the go ahead to take progesterone again for 10 days. After I get my period, I will go in for a baseline t/v ultrasound to check out my follicles on CD3. Then I will go on birth control and get an HSG test to see if I have any tubes blocked.

Once that comes back, Dr. Hope will take me off the b.c. and I will do another round of Clomid at a higher dose (150mg), an injection shot to spark ovulation and ultrasound monitoring all along the way. Because of all the monitoring, I don't need to temp or use OPKs, hurray! If that cycle does not work, then I will switch to a different drug called Femara.  

There is a new plan. There is renewed hope. :)

Our Fertility Journey

It's been a long one so far with a lot of highs and lows. We are still hoping and wishing for our own little one.

A little about myself: I am now 29 years old, happy and healthy but after about 100 days of amenorrhea (lack of period) following birth control last year, I was diagnosed with PCOS via ultrasound and was put on progesterone to start my period. I switched from my general women's health doctor to a specialized ob/gyn who also confirmed the PCOS through another transvaginal ultrasound. My husband's sperm was tested and he has no diagnosed issues. She started me on progesterone again after a long cycle and I tried one round of Clomid 50mg on which I did not ovulate. I began another round of progesterone and got my period after 50 days. I completed a second round of Clomid at 100mg but again, failed to respond and ovulate. Following the second round's failure, my doctor broke up with me and referred me to a fertility clinic.
 


Feb/March 2013- Preconception Meeting with women's health doctor, given the green light. Began taking prenatal vitamins

May 21, 2013- Take out last NuvaRing

May 24, 2013- NuvaRing induced period

July 29, 2013- Start officially tracking CM on fertility friend

August 17, 2013- CD 86, Start officially temping

August 26, 2013- CD 95 Start Metformin 1000mg, t/v Ultrasound. Blood work (PCOS diagnosis)

August 29, 2013- Metformin 1500mg

August 30, 2013- Bloodwork done

Sept 4, 2013 Horribly sick, stomach pains

Sept 5, 2013 Back down to 1000mg Met for a week, then back to 1500mg

Sept 26, 2013 Switched Drs to specialist, t/v ultrasound confirms pcos, prescribed Provera for 10 days to induce a period.

Oct 5, 2013 Last Provera pill CD 136

Oct 7, 2013 Provera Period #1! (Light, no major cramps or symptoms)

Oct 9- blood test, fsh, progesterone, wbc- not ovulating

Nov 2- Hubby SA- all clear! (rushed to get done because we thought I'd start provera/clomid but dr said to wait two more weeks to see if my period would come first...)

Nov 19- No luck, Provera round 2 (cd 44)

Dec 2- Provera Period #2! (after 56 days, more substantial and longer flow than p#1)

Dec 6- Begin Clomid Round 1 (cd 5-9)
Dec/Jan Test with OPKs and temping, did not detect ovulation. Blood work confirmed this.

Jan 21- Provera Period #3 began after 10 days of Provera round 3. (50 Days...)

Jan 25-29 Clomid increased to 100mg Round 2 (Taken days 5-9)

Feb 4- Begin Acupunture! :)

Feb- More bloodwork confirms that I did not respond to Clomid

March 7- Ob/Gyn breaks up with me, telling me I'm infertile and she can't help me any more, refers me to fertility center and asks if I have considered adoption... obviously devastated

March 17- Was scheduled for a 4/21 appt, but got a new patient appointment at fertility center because of a snow day cancellation and a lot of Irish luck! Dr. Hope says he feels confident he can help us get pregnant! Start Provera round 4!

March 26- Genetic testing is in- I'm a carrier for SMA.:(  DH needs to be tested to see if he's a carrier too. If so, it will reset our plan again. 2ww for results.

March/April ??-Provera Period #4
April 26- Start Clomid (days 3-7), plan to take trigger shot and progesterone if all goes well
May 4th- Day 11 ultrasound and blood work, one follicle at 7.4mm (too small), others tiny, no trigger shot necessary
May 8th- Another u/s and more blood work... failed again
May 13- Day 20, Another u/s and more blood work... failed again, no Clomid response, begin Femara 2.5mg
May 26- Femara failed, began Follistim at 50iu and continue Metformin/Acupunture (estrogen dropped to 25, yikes!)
June 6- Estrogen jumped  to 102 -6 larger follicles, largest at 14.5mm
June/July- Failed injection cycles
August- Successful with follistim and ovidril but ended in chemical pregnancy
September- Again successful, but same result 
October 2014- Started with follistim and converted to IVF
Oct 8- Egg Retrieval- 28 eggs, 22 mature, 18 fertilized!