Category Archives: Stimming (Taking Ovarian Stimulation meds)

Something is better than nothing.

29 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in CCRM, Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR), IVF, Stimming (Taking Ovarian Stimulation meds)

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Gulp!Well, I said at the beginning of this that I would share everything, so I may as well share what I’m up to now. But first a disclaimer – I know you’re not supposed to take medicine that isn’t prescribed to you (even herbs). My RE specifically told me not to take certain medicines and herbs (In fact she said the people that did were “Desperate people grasping at straws”). I am, at this point, knowingly and willingly choosing to ignore all that advice. I am also (without a doubt) a desperate person. And so.

S and I have decided to change clinics.  We’re exploring the options but CCRM http://www.colocrm.com/ keeps rising to the top. After a little bit of searching I was able to unearth the “female cocktail” that Dr. Schoolcraft (from CCRM) prescribes to his DOR patients. I found a lady a year older then me with similar AMH and FSH numbers and I am going to follow her protocol – after all, the longer you’re on the herbs the better they’re supposed to work (to a point). So as of yesterday I’m taking…

2g Myo Inositol 2x/day, 200mg Co Enzyme 10 2x/day, 3mg Folic acid, 25mg DHEA 3x/day, 3g Melatonin at bedtime and Vitamin D every other day. This is in addition to the preNatal vitamins  and B-12 supplements I was already taking. *I got everything on Amazon but checked out what brands were best. Important to get MYO-inositol, and micronized DHEA (from what I’ve read, but I am not an authority).

Some of the journal articles about these meds are linked below.

Effect of the treatment with myo-inositol plus folic acid plus melatonin in comparison with a treatment with myo-inositol plus folic acid on oocyte quality and pregnancy outcome in IVF cycles. A prospective, clinical trialhttp://www.europeanreview.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/780.pdf

List of publications about MI, FA and Melatonin (and Inofolic, which is a premix combo of these things) http://www.inofolic.it/drupal/?q=en/node/45

From the folks who began using DHEA for infertility http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com/dhea.html

And some warnings http://journals.lww.com/co-obgyn/Abstract/2012/06000/Does_dehydroepiandrosterone_have_any_benefit_in.4.aspx  http://www.advancedfertility.com/blog/coenzyme-q10-and-fertility/

Maybe there’s something to it, maybe there’s not. But it’s better then doing nothing. And the Melatonin sure helps me sleep!

Catch up – failed cycle, scorpion shots

07 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by in Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR), IVF, Results, Stimming (Taking Ovarian Stimulation meds)

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Sorry I’ve been MIA for months and months.

My last cycle (the IUI) was unsuccessful, and then I left for my honeymoon which was a welcome break from high tech baby making and return to the regular old kind. But, to get caught up…

Upon return to the RE’s office we learned that I had a huge cyst on my left ovary so we waited for a cycle for it to go away.  Started on BCP and went in periodically to check on the progress of the cyst – ended up coasting on BCP for 3 weeks before it had shrunk enough to move forward.  Mind you, it was still 25+ mm we decided to go ahead and start the Lupron microdose flare protocol, but we thought it would shrink. It didn’t.  Anyway, the Lupron was terrible. It felt like a scorpion sting. And I had to do it to MYSELF, 2x every day, in the gut (in addition to the other shots). It also left big angry black and purple bruises with welts underneath – I was a total mess.

The bruise from my first microdose Lupron shot

In the middle of all this I went in to the RE’s for a follicle scan. While waiting for them to gel up the dildocam I asked if everyone had lots of problems with the Lupron, and they said “No.  No one every really says much about that one” at which point I revealed my bruised and battered abdomen. The doctor and the nurse exchanged a “look” and we got on with the dildocam. 2 follies. Only 2. After all that.  They weren’t sure if the cyst was causing problems or if I was over suppressed from the BCP but either way – 2. I was elated! Did this mean I could stop the scorpion shots?  Yes? Either they made it wrong (incorrect pH of the substrate) or I’m allergic (rare but it happens)?  Excellent! So what now Dr?

Says the doctor “Well, we’ve tried the antagonists protocal, and the Lupron microdose flare, why don’t we try the third?  The natural 3 day start”? So we did. I waited for AF, started shots on the 3rd day. This time things were better – 6 follies, all more or less the same size, growing together, no monster lead follie. We were thrilled! Plus, I only had to stim for 8 days! Which was a breeze compared to last time, and a walk in the park compared to the scorpion shots. Unfortunately, the one sad follie on my right ovary got let behind so as we got closer to the egg retrieval we were looking at 5, then 4 follies, which looked big enough to produce mature eggs. Here we go!

The road to motherhood is expensive and paved with needles.

07 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in IVF, Stimming (Taking Ovarian Stimulation meds)

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Let’s jump right in (for background info please see the “About Me” tab)-

By my count (in the last 3 weeks) I have given myself ~45 shots in the gut, had blood drawn 14 times, had 6 veins collapse, been jabbed 12 times with the

My tummy a few days after I started stimming

dildocam, and peed on 14 sticks.  And I’ve only cried 4 times.  Once when they told me my follicles were growing too slowly and were likely to be duds, once when we decided to convert my IVF an IUI, later that same night after researching the odds of a successful IUI, and once when I accidentally injected the Follistim into an abdominal muscle.  (Burns like hell – never thought lack of abdominal fat would be something to complain about but there you go.)

After all of that I have one monster follicle that gobbles up all my expensive medicine and houses a hard-boiled, unusable egg, 2 sad small little follicles trying to beg scraps from the monster, and 2 “slow and steady wins the race” follicles on the other side.  None appear to be excellent recruits.  And in this game what you want is eggs – lots of eggs.

Let’s break the IVF game down.  We want a baby which comes from an egg which grows in a follicle.  HOWEVER.  Not every follicle has an egg.  Not every egg is mature when collected. Not every mature egg is of a good quality.  Not every good quality egg fertilizes.  Not every fertilized egg grows into an embryo. Not every embryo is viable.  Not every viable embryo will implant in the uterus.  And not every implantation “sticks”.  So with only 2 or three possible eggs (at best) it seemed best to skip the expensive, invasive IVF egg retrieval and embryo transfer (assuming we would even get that far) and go for an IUI – less expensive, no surgery required, no work missed.  Make me ovulate (with a shot, of course), take his sperm and wash it off to get rid of the deadbeats, and inject that directly into my uterus skipping the whole messy (apparently confusing to sperm) vaginal and cervix bit of the process. We said yes, let’s do that.

I just took what I hope are the last night of the shots (add 3 more to the tally) and will go back to the RE in the morning.  Add 2 more peed on sticks, 1 more blood draw and one more date with the dildocam…  And probably one more cry.