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:D I had my first IUI this morning at 10AM. We used the HMG injections everynight and I had transvaginal ultrasounds coupled with hormone level draws every 3- 4 days for the past two weeks. I have stage 4 endometriosis and one ovary so my Fertility Guy went straight to the injections. He would prefer to start with IVF but my insurance doesn't cover it and I would like to at least give IUI a try. The injections burned but we found through trial and error that it is not the size of the needle but the amount of the injection. Try to mix the powder or ampule in less than a 1:1 ratio if you can. And if you have more than 1 or 2 cc of fluid to inject split it up and use two sites. You'll thank me. Also let your husband do them. The one time I tried to do it myself I had a huge bruise. Most of the time I had a small knot the next day even when he did it, so rotate the sites, outer thigh, lateral glut and deltoid.

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Thanks brittonbrunson for the info. I wish you the best of luck and hope this is the one for you!! Baby dust!

Shansy (Shannon)

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I have done injections with gonal-f. I was scared and intimidated by the whole process, but it really isn't too bad. Get hubby to do the injections, don't look, and its over before you know it. Just remember tell him to poke the needle in fast and pull it out fast, but not to inject the solution too fast (this can cause a burning senstation). The needles didn't hurt more than a bug bite.

As for side effects, I didn't have any except for mild to moderate pressure close to O and shortly after because of the swollen ovaries. I certainly didn't have any of the emotional side effects of Clomid.

Good luck!

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Hey Shansy.. what dosage of Gonal-F are you on? I did 2 rounds of 1050 Gonal... and I too was really worried at the beginning about giving myself needles.. and in the stomach! But it was surprisingly easy! I was so nervous the first time that I screwed up and gave myself a nasty bruise.. but from then on I just made sure I gave my injection when I wasn't rushed... and that I stayed calm.. had everything ready. I've had to give myself needles for B12 injections before.. so giving myself needles isn't new... but I did find the Gonal-F easy and painless.

Silli-Kittie is right too.. the time around ovulation.. you will get lots of cramping but other than that I had no side effects. Do you also have an Ovidrel injection for the end of your cycle? By the time you get to that needle.. you will be a pro!

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Hello!

I will be also starting my first IUI in November, with Gonal-F and Ovidrel. I´m really looking forward to it but at the same time, find it a bit stressful! and would like to share this time with you.

Looking forward to hearing from you! BTW, I am 29 years old and DH is 32. We have been TTC for three years now and finally decided to start with IUI.

Shannon, I would like to be your buddy this month :D and, if needed, the next too!!

Best,
Beth

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Hey Beth-

Thanks for responding. I am now debating if I should do the cycle in Nov. I took this past month off of meds/IUI's and wanted to see how my body would react. I just got AF yesterday on day 36- yes, my hopes were up that perhaps I was pregnant on a natural cycle...but oh well. If my Nov. cycle repeats this pattern, I won't be getting AF until the very end of Nov. or beginning of Dec. and then it puts the actual IUI in the middle of Dec.! That is not a good time for us as we are going to Florida for Christmas and I don't think I can handle having my 2ww during that time.

When is your IUI going to take place?? I wish you the best of luck and I will certainly be here to support you if you need it. :) Lots of luck and babydust to you!!!

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Hi Baby4Us-

I would be on 1050 of Gonal F and then an Ovidrel shot right before the IUI. I am thinking now that it will be in January that I will be doing this...seems so far away. :-[

Congrats to you and I hope all is going well!!

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Hey Shansy.. goo dluck with your IUI in January... and you deserve that vacation in FLA in December.. so enjoy it!

1050 Gonal-F.. that's what I was on... and I think the higher dosage was what helped me.. so I am hoping the same for you.. Baby Dust!

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Hello Shansy,

Thanks for the note. I just spoke with my RE yesterday and probably the IUI will be around November 12-15, it depends on the day when AF shows up this cycle. But I am sooo ready for it, I mean, I´ve never wished AF to show up as much as I do now. It all will start on that day.

About your hopes this month, I´m sorry to hear you didn´t get the good news...the same happened to me a couple of months ago and I was excited thinking I was already on day 31 but then, you know... the dissapointment. But don´t worry and keep your spirits high!!

Better think about your Christmas vacations! and January will be here before you notice. The Christmas Season is always soooo nice :)

Talk to you soon!
Beth

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Shannon - I never had to stimulate because I use donor eggs. I have to do the progesterone shots with the ivf and I ice my sites before giving myself the shots. Hubby is too nervous to give me them. The shots are painless then.

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I am a bit nervous - actually that might be putting it mildly. I start Gonal-F shots tomorrow. My husband already he said he'll do it but I'm still quite scared and I feel silly being scared about that part - it's a little needle right?

My IUI will be approx. 11/5 or 11/6, it will be my 4th IUI but first with inject. and not clomid. After lots of testing we're still diagnosed "unexplained infertility" I'm 26 and DH is 28.

This is all so stressful - good luck to everyone else going through this! Thank you Silli_Kitti for the tips I am giving them to my hubby!

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Dear All,
I will be doing iui at Nov. as well. I will do a baseline check tomorrow. My dosage of Gonal-f is 75 . My friend told me it is too low. Could you tell me what dosage is suitable. BTW , this is my first IUI. I had two cycles of Clomid and failed. The 2nd cycle of Clomid caused me didn't have period and my doctor proscribed me Provera to induce period. I got a light period yesterday. Do you have the same experience? Can I do the IUI at the same cycle that I use Provera to induce the period?
Thanks a lot!
Rena

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I've read and read and decided to become a new member today - I need the help through all of this! I do become worried that my DH thinks I'm crazy sometimes...

Rena - I am also starting at 75 this month and thought it was too low. We're "unexplained" and they've done tests showing I ovulate on my own so my Dr. said he wanted the first month kept low to see how my body reacts to the drug. He said if I ovulate too strong - 3 or 4 instead of 1 or 2 they might suggest skipping IUI to avoid multiples (I'd likely want to go for it anyway.) So anyway they said that starting low gives them a baseline and a strong ovulation with 1 or 2. If you don't mind me asking - what did they tell you if you asked about 75 being too low? Good luck!

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Dear Julie,
Thank you for your response. I am going to ask my doctor tomorrow about the dosage. My friend insisted that I should increase the dosage to 150. She had done iui with Gonal-f for three babies successfully. She started with 150. I am kind of afraid that my ovary will over stimulated and cause any problem. I am 42 years old. There is not time left for me to try and error. But I am very worried about the whole procedure.
Thanks!
Rena

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Welcome Julie... you will find you will be coming here everyday for support and to offer support... the ladies here are full or warmth and knowledge..so you came to the right place!

Good luck both Rena and Julie for your IUI's in November. There is most likely a reason why your doc/RE put you on 75 Gonal-F... it might be to monitor how you do on Gonal ... as mentioned... you could become overstimulated... chance of multiple birth etc.

So best to see how your body reacts to the 75 Gonal-F.. and if you are concerned.. to bring up your wish to perhaps move to a 105 Gonal-F... but def. wise to go ahead with your 75 for November.

Good luck both of you.. and good luck with the needles.. you will be a pro in no time!

Keep us posted.. Baby Dust!!!

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Hello Julie, Rena and all of you! :)

I am also doing my first IUI in November, I´m guessing somewhere around 11/12- 11/14. And I am also taking Gonal F 75. My RE said he wanted to see how my body reacted to the medicine, somehow the first IUI is a bit of a "test".

I am nervous but excited at the same time. I should start with Gonal in a couple of days and, although I don´t look forward to having all the needles, I guess I´m more excited about the whole IUI starting!!

Good luck to you and lets be optimistic!
Lots of baby dust!

Beth

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Julie-
Your RE probably put you on a low dose because of your age. Your youth means that you have a greater % good quality eggs, and its likely that all the eggs you ovulate will be good ones, and a multiple pregnancy is very high risk. My RE said the chance of taking home a baby after multiple pregnancy is far lower than that of a singleton pregnancy and it decreases exponentially with each "extra" baby. Our bodies are only meant to carry 1 baby at a time.

Rena-
Sounds to me like your dose is too low for your age, but it also depends on your dx and your FSH. I'm sorry the Clomid didn't work for you. I was on it for 3 cycles myself, all BFNs. Then I did a lot of research on it and found that it doesn't even work very will in older women and a lot of clinics don't even offer it to their older patients. I wish I had known that before!
My RE said for "mature" women (over 36 or so), only about 30% of our eggs are any good, so he likes to see his older patients ovulate at least 4-6 eggs to increase the chance that at least 1 of them will be good. So why he put me on Clomid in the beginning, where I only had 1 or 2 eggs is beyond me! Then I had two Femara/Gonal-f/IUI cycles and ovulated 6 and 8 eggs respectively. I responded much better to the injectables in terms of # follicles, lining thickness and blood level LH and E2.


Good luck and dumping bucketloads of baby dust on all you gals cycling this month!

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Hi Silli_Kiti,
Thank you very much for your reply. Sadly I had baseline done this morning and my u/s showed a large cyst on my left ovary. I am feeling very pain at my left side. The nurse said she will discuss with RE and call me this afternoon to tell me if I can do IUI this cycle or not.
She gave me some birth control pill to get rid off cyst.
Do you have the same situation as me? What cause the cyst? Does Clomid cause cause cyst? Can I do IUI with cyst or wait another cycle? Can the cyst go away if I don't take birth control pill?
Thanks!
Rena

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Thank you for all of the well wishes reading here is so helpful! I did just unfortunately find out we're skipping this month. My bloodwork for the genetic screening they do on everyone didn't come back in time for the "checklist" they complete before starting this so they've asked us to not take meds and wait until my next cycle. So frustrating. This month just be trying the old fashioned way - good luck to everyone who's on their way - please let me know about the shots! I'll keep reading and likely be starting next month. I now need to cancel all of the insurance pre-authorizations. Dealing with my insurance has become my part-time job. Lots and lots of babydust to all!

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Rena, yes they can continue your cycle with the presence of a cyst, but not always. I'm sorry, I don't know what the criteria is. If they gave you BC pills, I would think that means they're going to cancel the cycle, but I'm not sure - maybe they'll just delay it with the pill? Sorry, I don't know. I've heard of women getting prescribed the pill to get rid of cysts, and I've also read about women who are just asked to sit out a cycle as the cysts can go away on their own too. Luckily I've never had cysts, but yes, they can be caused by the Clomid - its another reason why this medicine just plain sucks. There are much better protocols out there. They usually start with Clomid because its CHEAP, but you get what you pay for! I'm so glad you are off that stuff. I only wish, for your sake and mine, that we had known how bad Clomid was before we wasted time with it. But that's water under the bridge.

You are on a much better protocol now, I hope this cycle is a go for you. I know how it feels to think time is a wasting because of doctors who want to take the same baby steps with older women as they do with their 25 year old patients.

Let us know how it goes. Baby dust to you!

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Hi, Silli_Kitti,
Thank you very much for your reply. My nurse called me yesterday to cancel iui this cycle. She asked me to take Yasmin(birth control pill) for 14 days and then come back to do u/s to see if the cyst is gone. If the cyst is gone I can start the injection 3 days later. Did you take Yasmin before? I never take any birth control pill before and I am scared . I didn't take it yet. I want to know if I don't take it will the cyst be gone next cycle? My cyst is 26 mm on my left ovary and it cause pain at my left side. I took motrin to get rid off the pain. My concern is if I dont' take the b/c pill can the cyst be gone by its own?
If I know more about Clomid I will not take it. My previous doctor priscribed this med for me without doing any monitoring. I asked for a monitor but he said it's not necessary. I don't know when this cyst existed. It might be there at the first cycle of Clomid. This cycle my period stop and I think it is because of this cyst. I used Provera to induce the period. Does anyone know if you don't take birth control pill will the cyst be gone for the next cycle? How effective the birth control pill will be for the cyst? Will the cyst continue to growth if I don't take birthe control pill?
Thanks a lot!
Rena

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Hi - The birth control will shrink the cyst quicker than on your own with your hormones acting upon it. I had a 3 cm. cyst after clomid and it took a couple of months to go away. It depends on your body. Take care.

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FortyFour,
Thank you very much for your reply. Do you take birth control pill to get rid off the cyst in 2 month? Do you have pain on the side? I have pain on my left ovary. I didn't take birth control pill since I am afread that my hormone will become imbalanced. I hope I can get rid off the cyst this cycle so I could start IUI next month. Will Gonal-F injection med cause cyst as Clomid did?
I am so worried about it.
Thank you very much!
Rena

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Hi - I had alot of aching on my left side where the cyst was but it was when I went to have sex and it hurt so bad I screamed that I knew I had something wrong. Sorry to say it took 5 months for it to go away. You could be totally different though. take care

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Dear FortyFour,
Thank you for your info. In your previous response you said that it took 2 month for the cyst to go away and in this response it took five month to go away. Were they are the same cyst? Did you take birth control pill to make the cyst go away? If I didn't take birth control pill will the cyst go away ? How long will it go away?
Thanks a lot!
Rena

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Sorry for the confusion - but it did take 5 months to go away. It was a stubborn one.

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Hi Rina,

I also was told I had a little cyst after being on Clomid...I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I had a really bad time with it...went into a funk. Fortunately, the cyst was so small the dr wasn't even concerned with it. They said it would disappear on it's own. Clomid didn't help me produce more follies either.

I am on Gonal-F for Nov. I'm hoping tomorrow for some good news (day 30). I already took HPT that is suppose to detect at 25 HCG but came back BFN. I did have great results with follies this month so I'm hoping for a BFP, but if not I'm going again for Dec...as long as Christmas travel will permit us. I"ve heard mix reviews on the early HPT. I have friends that they have worked for and others where they haven't and they are indeed pregnant.
Take care,

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Dear Souls,
Thank you very much for your info. I am wondering how many was your cyst? Did you wait for a cycle for it to go away to do IUI? I am still waiting and would not know when it will go away. My cyst is 26 mm. I would come in to check on it at the end of this month if my periid arrives. I didn't have period last month due to Clomid. I used Provera to bring the period. I don't know if my period will arrive this month. If not , I might have to use Provera again. I am so upset about my revious RE since he proscribed Clomid to me without any monitoring. I request to do u/s to monitor but he said not. I changed to another RE and he let me do Gonal-F and IUI but when he looked at u/s last month he found the cyst and I have to cancel IUI this month. It's been very bad experience with Clomid. I wasted a lot of precious time. My period usually very regular. Under Clomid I missed period the first time.
Do you have cyst using Gonal-F? I am so worry that if I us Gonal-F next month the cyst will come out again.
Keep positive. I will pray for your. I am sure you will success soon.
Later,
Rean

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BethMx- How did your IUI go? Just checking in to see how you are doing...you must be on your 2ww by now?

Baby4Us- I was wrong when I told you that I am going to do 1050 units of Gonal F. I just picked up my prescription and it is for 150 units- I'm wondering if this is too low? We are looking to start the injections in the beginning of January if all goes well...by the way, how are you feeling?? You must be so excited! I'm very happy for you and hoping we all get that joy sometime soon. :)

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Hello Shansy and all,

Just wanted to let share with you my 2ww!! It is awful..I never imagined I would feel so impacient!!
My IUI went well, although DHs sample wasn´t that perfect, our RE said it was okay to give it a try, as my body reacted very good to the inj.

So, it was last Wednesday and now we are waiting for Nov. 30 to do a beta. Hopefully! with good news....

I´m feeling okay, sometimes I think I´m a bit nauseous but I don´t really know if it is for real or if it is just me wanting to feel it.... you know what I mean? And I´m bloated and my breats feel funny....again...not really why.

DH and I are optimistic and the funny thing is we have been dreaming about a baby since Wednesday...really, I can see the baby in my dreams.

How are you doing? Hope everything is going well for you!!! Keep us posted.

Baby dust!
Beth

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Hi BethMX,

Glad to hear your IUI went smoothly... I know how hard it is to be patient and you're right- anything with your body that feels funny, you drive yourself crazy wondering...hang in there. I have taken these past couple of months off, my body was going bonkers on all of the meds, but I will be doing another IUI in Jan.
I was thinking I might get lucky and be pg naturally, my boobs are killing me right now, but I just saw some faint pink blood this morning so I am thinking that I will probably get AF soon... :(
Well, keep us posted! I'll be praying for you. :)

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