unexplained too

[rusty123]

well i finally got to see a fertility dr and see told me and dh we are unexplained , so why aren't we gettin pregnant, i really would of liked it if she told me if something was wrong , she has offered to do iui threee times with taking femara and hcg shot , nayone here know the chances of conception with iui with unexplained infertility.

[ItzMe]

Hello. Welcome to the club. We have been ttc for 20 months and are unexplained. We will be doing our 3rd cycle of IUI on 2/15 & 2/16. I take 50 mg of Clomid & HCG and have responded very well to this drug (7 eggs first cycle, 5 second cycle). I read somewhere that 88% of people who will conceive via IUI will do so by the end of the 3rd cycle. 94% by 4th cycle. From everything I've seen, the medical research basically says it's not worth doing past 4 attempts. I was majorly depressed after our 1st failed IUI (and 2nd failure too). I was sure it would work the first time, after all, there was no good reason for it not to. I've seen stats that say the chances of getting getting pregnant doing an IUI each month range from 8% to 25% per month depending on your circumstance. I asked my RE if the chances get better each time you do it and he said it really is just a crap shoot. Unexplained totally sucks. Good luck.

[angela.dunn@opt]

Unexplained

Hi. I'm new here and would like to ask about hormone injections and Artificial insemination.
Does anyone out there have any words of encouragement/warnings? Am interested in other stories good or bad. Have been trying for almost 2 years, done a couple of months of clomid and curious about the next steps.

[Cat Mom]

Hi there!

I am currently on my 2nd cycle with injectible Follistem and HCG shots. Actually DH just gave me the HCG trigger shot tonight and I go in for IUI Monday and Tuesday morning. I like the injections a lot more than being on Clomid. Giving myself a shot is not as bad as I thought it would be, I guess you get use to it. I don't have the side effects I did with Clomid, so for me, I would much rather get stuck with a needle than have hot flashes and severe moodiness.

We did IUI's with Clomid too, but all three were BFN's.

My RE said with injectibles and IUI, DH and I have a 25-28% chance of conceiving because I am only 30 and DH has a good sperm count. However, he said we will only do this for 3-4 months because after that, it really doesn't work very often. Next step would be IVF.

My RE office goes through a drug company called IVP that mails my meds to my house. It is a lot cheaper than going to a drugstore and I was impressed with the service they gave. I have heard of a few other people using a company called Freedom Drug to get their meds.

Unexplained IF really sucks. I keep asking my RE about could it be this, or this, and I keep getting the answer no, everything is working as it should be. It is so frustrating!

Good luck to you!

[jcc]

angela.dunn@opt - I would encourage you to visit the IUI board on this site....those women are very much involved with the insemination process and could provide great info to you. I lurk on this board now and then because I myself have experienced unexplained infertility. It does sound like IUI would be your likely next step if you're unexplained (meaning you've all the tests and clomid cycles haven't worked).

DH had I have had all the numerous tests, all of which came out with great results...not even a hint of a potential problem. These tests included blood tests, clomid, post coital tests, HSG to check for tube blockage, egg production, DH with semen analysis, etc. We moved on to injectable drugs combined with insemination. I had great response to the meds and fairly easy IUI's but unfortunately, never got pg. After 3 rounds of this and with the recommendation of my RE, we decided insemination likely wasn't going to work for us. So - we pursued IVF. We fortunately found success with our first IVF and I'm now 16 weeks pg. with our first child. So - there is hope for unexplained patients, but unfortunately it may involve working through various protocols.

Are you working with an RE or infertility specialist rather than just an OB/GYN? I'd say that was my first mistake and one that many women regret - - spending too much time with a regular OB when a specialist opinion and battery of tests may be different. I would then work with the RE to discuss your options. IUI is likely the next step for you but some decide to go straight to IVF. While the cost of IVF is a lot more, chances of success are much greater as well. You'll have to determine what is right for you, your beliefs, how aggressive you're willing to seek treatment, and of course cost. I would simply caution that if you go with IUI, discuss # of attempts with your RE.....after 3 great cycles, we both just didn't think additional attempts would yield any better results.

I will say in closing the only major 'test' I did not have done was a lap to check for endomitriosis. My RE didn't think that was likely but you can't tell for sure without surgery. We discussed it and we decided to go IVF without the lap but there are many who believe that a lap should always be done to check for potential scar tissue around the tubes. It is very possible that I could have this and perhaps that is why even the IUI's didn't work. We'll never know, but will never regret our decision to go for IVF.

Good luck with your journey and whatever your next steps might be. I hope you find success just around the corner!

[angela.dunn@opt]

Thanks for words of encouragement. I have had surgery (endo) and they done the test for tubal blockage - all good. I will look into IUI, still not convinced I am ovulating. I was not even on the charts after a day 21 blood test, hence clomid. I am seeing a ob/gyn. So what's the difference between all these doctors. What's RE stand for?Sorry Im new to this and not sure of some of the abbreviations. Congratulations on your success, hope all goes well to the very end.


Me 27 DH 27
Trying for #1 almost 2 years
blood work, surgery, (endo,tubes not blocked) not ovulating,
clomid. Looking into IUI

[jcc]

RE is a reproductive endocronologist. Many specialists have this accredidation - - I would recommend that you seek an infertility specialist rather than a regular OB/GYN. I think the options are greater, experience, etc. Like I said....so many women feel like they wasted too much time with an OB and wish they had sought a specialist sooner. I know I did.

If you're not ovulating - - or suspect that, at least that's a problem to have addressed. IUI may help with that because you'll be on meds, be monitored and likely give yourself a trigger shot to invoke ovulation.

Anyway, good luck with your next steps. I know it is sooo hard and you have to do so much research and spend energy just to seek treatment let alone the emotional and physical stress of one cycle after another with no success. Hang in there! These boards are an abolute blessing to have a support group and endless sources of info and opinions. Also - there is an Acronyms link at the top of the FT pages - - that may help you with some of the abbreviations you'll find here.

Take Care!

[angela.dunn@opt]

Thank you so much for opening my eyes to the acronyms page, I usually don't find things easily unless I trip over them.LOL!!
I was not sure what AF meant, I had a feeling it was bad and had a little chuckle when I found out she was aunt flo!!! I'm not a big fan of hers!

Just an update to say I bought a OPK (saliva one). It's a little microscope and it's reusable so I don't have to keep forking out soo much money for all those strips. Apparently this has better accuracy than the sticks,only one way to find out I suppose.

Cheers to you,everyone else and have a fantastic day/night!!!

Angela