Infertility Support Group

In vitro fertilization is one of the most common and utilized ways of treating conception problems. This support group is dedicated to those beginning their journey with IVF and needing support. Join the community and share your experiences, advice, and story with people going through similar challenges starting a family.

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MomHopes 08/21/2008

After reading about a lot of your experiences I feel like my doctor does not do as close of monitoring as many of you. I am currently in my 4th cycle doing IUIs. My RE's routine when I was on Femara was to check the follicles once during the cycle around cd12. Then he would tell me when to trigger then 2 days after trigger I do the IUI. Then when I started Follistim he checked my ovaries once before I started it then twice during it. My last appt was Tuesday I triggered tonight and my IUI is Saturday.

It sounds to me from reading other people's posts that other RE's check more often and after the trigger to make sure it worked. I'm worried maybe this trigger isn't working because my RE just assumes it does and never actually makes sure. Also, he just guesses at when I need to trigger, I mean what if they don't grow like he thinks they will. Anyway I'm starting to ramble now but I'm just curious if anyone else's RE's have the same routine as mine. Oh and also, when I just do Femara he doesn't check before I start so I would never know if I have cysts and need to take the cycle off. After reading other stories this sounds kind of dangerous...

deleted_user 08/21/2008

My RE does a day 2 ultrasound, then one on day 10 and every 2 days until the follicle is at a 20. My RE did not do an ultrasound after the trigger shot though. I wish they did but it is not something they do, the only thing they do is check my progesterone a week later and they said I ovulated. But what that doesn't tell me is whether I ovulated within the timeframe they were looking for. I am currently in my first 2ww and hoping that it worked. If it doesn't I will talk to them about doing an ultrasound after the trigger.

Good luck on Saturday.

deleted_user 08/21/2008

I am suprised that your IUI is on Sunday, that seems a little late to me.
Also I think it is really really important that they check for cysts at the start of your cycle,because I always have to take off a month. Like last month they told me that I
had tons of cysts, too many to count, and if they gave me meds that make the cysts stimulate they could burst.

Ohh sorry I have learned so much about this,
Also for me it really depends on the doctor. Someone told me if I really want to be serious about being pg then I should go to a specilist. That was the best thing I have
done so far.

MomHopes 08/21/2008

Thanks ladies, you confirmed what I was thinking. I don't understand why my RE does not monitor more, he is supposed to be the best in this area and people drive from hours away to see him. If this IUI does not work I think I'll ask about it.

Also, my IUI is on Saturday. On Tuesday my follicles were measuring at I think 12 and he said they needed a few more days...like I said I don't know for sure if they grew how he assumed they would...urggg it's so frustrating to be at the mercy of these doctors!

deleted_user 08/21/2008

I am doing Gonal F and Ovidrel. My RE does an u/s on day 3 to check before I start the meds. Then day 7 and 9 and then I trigger. Iwas nervous last time thinking, this is not enough. Interestingly, I got pregnant that round but it was not viable. So, I sometimes think they do know what they are doing. If you are not comfortable though, that is what is most important. Best of luck to you.

CarrieDawn 08/21/2008

I usually schedule my follicular dynamics u/s on CD 13 because I know my follicles will be at least 18 mm by then. If I go in too early and they're not big enough, I have to come in every 2 days until they are big enough and then get the hCG trigger. I asked once if I could just come in 2 days later and get the trigger, assuming my follicles would grow big enough by then, but was told no. They have to see that the follicles are big enough before they'll do it. I've had a couple of times where my follicles hardly grew over 2 days so I was glad they made me have another u/s. I haven't done IUI's yet, but I know at my clinic they are done 24 hours after the hCG trigger. If you're not sure that you're ovulating, you should probably have your progesterone checked after you think ovulation has taken place to confirm it. Best wishes and baby dust to you!

kimbochi 08/22/2008

While you are on Follistim does your RE also check your estriodol levels? I was told those are an important indicator along with follicle size to determine MATURE follicles. The higher the level the more mature they are.

As for the U/S after OV, my office does NOT do those either, they feel that they are not useful because it can be very hard to see empty follicles.

MomHopes 08/22/2008

My RE's plan sounds a lot like tgirl's. I had u/s on day 3, 7 and 10. They took blood on day 7 but I don't know what it was for. They tried to take it on day 10 too but the nurse messed up and didn't get enough and the RE said that's okay I didn't need it. I guess I need to just trust him but there is so much riding on his assumptions being right!

deleted_user 08/22/2008

With IUI and Femara, they only checked once since it doesn't do the crazy things to your body like injectables. With Follistim and IUI he only did a few ultrasounds, so I don't think your RE is that different from mine. IUI didn't work for me after 4 rounds, and I will say IVF is about double the amount of monitoring, so it sounds like your RE is okay!

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