tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post1036315334142716337..comments2023-10-28T10:15:45.901+01:00Comments on Reproductively Challenged: Thank youMs Heathenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06404067891155971103noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post-57427710315613840392008-01-19T18:12:00.000+00:002008-01-19T18:12:00.000+00:00thalia raises a good point about the menopur proto...thalia raises a good point about the menopur protocol. my RE prescribed a low dose of Repronex to go with the FSH/Follistim because it contains LH. it's one more needle, but it had the desired response. she had me on a higher dosage at first then gradually decreased both. good luck. ~lunalunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15455301696832647867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post-26104908899959215222008-01-19T13:11:00.000+00:002008-01-19T13:11:00.000+00:00I have had a similar experience. My first IVF wen...I have had a similar experience. My first IVF went so-so and it looked like they retrieved a little too early since there were some egg maturity issues. We did basically the same protocol a few months later and it TANKED. My E2 was constantly low, I was maxed out on Gonal-F and Menopur. I stimmed for over 12 or 14 days. We did convert to IUI, but mostly because insurance would cover it. RE told me that with the prolonged stim, my progesterone was rising, indicating my body was trying to enter the luteal phase despite no ovulation. This negatively impacts the egg quality and he gave us very low chance of success with IUI (my husband's swimmers are ok).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I thought we were finished (that was going to be our last try). But he helped us do another cycle. We did a low-dose lupron flare protocol, I took DHEA for 3-4 months before hand, and most of my stim I used Gonal-F (only a little Menopur the last 2 days). I did remarkably better, had 10-12 follicles, they had to decrease my meds. You can read the whole story on my blog.<BR/><BR/>The punchline is -- I'm turning 36 in 2 weeks, and I'm 8.5 weeks pregnant with twins. Don't give up if you're not ready.Waiting Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07487061896648183375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post-68005837785956110312008-01-19T09:28:00.000+00:002008-01-19T09:28:00.000+00:00IUI is always an option in this kind of situation,...IUI is always an option in this kind of situation, and should be much cheaper as the expensive part of ivf - retrieval - is skipped. Honestly, I'm not sure why they are being quite so negative. Yes, 5 follicles at this stage is not great, but I've stimmed for 16 days before retrieval due to over suppression, and got 6 good quality eggs, all of which fertilised. I hope you're going to get another scan before they cancel you, those follicles might yet surprise you.<BR/><BR/>Menopur is a very 'old fashioned' drug, the hypothesis used to be that it's better as it contains a small amount of LH as well as the purified FSH, given that it's purified from human urine. The recombinant drugs, puregon/gonal f/follistim - dont' have any LH. Docs used to think that having a bit of LH helped the eggs mature, but that's been shown to be untrue, so it may well be worth trying one of the recombinant drugs instead, not to mention a shorter protocol with less suppression. The bcps that many US clinics use are really just for scheduling purposes to get all the women lined up for the right dates, they don't do anything good for you and can lead to over suppression, so definitely ask about a different protocol.<BR/><BR/>Sorry you're having to deal with all of this.Thaliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12125639207843989848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post-38919589760563320692008-01-19T02:17:00.000+00:002008-01-19T02:17:00.000+00:00I don't have anything too helpful to add, just goo...I don't have anything too helpful to add, just good luck at your appointment tomorrow. Hope you get all your questions answeredMeghanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12825803955705904174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post-76564957862563671712008-01-18T19:43:00.000+00:002008-01-18T19:43:00.000+00:00P.S. My husband has a great count and good motilit...P.S. My husband has a great count and good motility, but over 98% abnormal forms, but our second IUI was successful. I wish nothing but the same for you!Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00680931702262048959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post-41164741036703252772008-01-18T19:42:00.000+00:002008-01-18T19:42:00.000+00:00I don't have much to add except that I also had a ...I don't have much to add except that I also had a crappy response to Menopur (on an IUI cycle). I'm sure that my dosage was much lower then yours (initially 75IU and then 150IU), but after 11 days of stims I only had one good follie and one that was 'eh'. Maybe it's a Menopur thing. We were blessed with a successful cycle, however. If we decide to go through all of this again, I'll be asking for a different protocol. It's just too much money to play around with if you're not getting good results.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00680931702262048959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post-90978379106631417302008-01-18T18:12:00.000+00:002008-01-18T18:12:00.000+00:00glad you have some good Qs for the doc. like you ...glad you have some good Qs for the doc. like you I managed to get pg once w/o med. asst. (though liost it later). my hub's morph was much worse (over 90%, wtf?), but his count was a bit higher which meant he still had some good swimmers. I don't know if we ever had the swim up test though... <BR/><BR/>you don't mention what the cost would be to convert to IUI to salvage the cycle (and not waste all those meds too). it's probably not too much but I imagine the doc is concerned about success if he thinks ICSI is necessary. also, fyi, for our IVF we did split ICSI and some of my eggs still fertilized w/o ICSI even with our bad morph. so there's always a chance, right?<BR/><BR/>good luck! ~lunalunahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15455301696832647867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416163271277237319.post-38658668811328284402008-01-18T16:31:00.000+00:002008-01-18T16:31:00.000+00:00Good thoughts and questions: and hey, what can I s...Good thoughts and questions: and hey, what can I say except providing encouragement and support is what (blog) friends are for...Lisa Rullsenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02020425273742237299noreply@blogger.com