fertility meds question

Hi everyone. So tomorrow makes the next step in my TTC process. Tomorrow I go in for an ultrasound to make sure there aren't any blockages or any physical reason we haven't been conceiving. Then I see the Dr. right after that to discuss going on fertility meds. Being my normal obsessive compulsive self, I tend to research everything to death before i go into a situation so I know all of the options. So I have done some preliminary research, but I wanted to ask you alls opinion. What different medicine options are there? Are there those that are more aggressive than others? Others that are a more milder approach? Are there steps that Dr.s usually take, like for instance they generally start you off on this medicine then switch to this medicine if that doesnt work etc. A little background on myself. I am 30, thus far there is no physical reason why we shouldnt get pregnant, but it just hasn't happened. When I was really young i had a miscarriage, but the dr. didn't think there was anything physically that caused that, was just one of those things. We tried to conceive for about 2 years before my wls and have only been trying post op again since the dr gave me the go ahead in sept. I am 30 years old and have a history of infertility and miscarriage so the dr. is willing to take a more aggressive approach vs making me wait another year before putting me on meds. So umm yeah thats about it. ANY info you can give me, I'm a sponge I'd love to hear what you have to say. Thanks.

Here is my story with the fertility doctor. Just as a side note, I have always had regular periods. I had unexplained infertility.

First, he did an HSG (hysterosalpingogram) to check that my tubes were open. And he tested my hubby sperm. Everything was fine.

Our next step was to do IUI with just clomid, trigger shot, & progesterone. No pregnant.
2nd cycle was IUI with clomid, follistim injections, trigger shot & progesterone. Not pregnant
3rd cycle was the same as 2nd (except a slight increase in follistim)- pregnant
Miscarriage
Wait one cycle
4rd IUI with same as 3rd - not pregnant
wait one cycle (was traveling) pregnant on my own
Ectopic - methotrexate to take care of ectopic
HSG to check that tubes were clear
Waiting for next period to start to resume IUI and pregnant on own
Aiden is now 3 months old

Good luck!!

Traci

Thanks for telling your history. It lets me see that people who have been through more than me have received a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes it seems like this is just never going to happen - to see that it did happen for you makes me very happy

My husband and I just began fertility treatment at the end of October. We have been TTC since June with no luck. My periods are very erratic and I do not ovulate every month on my own. My Obgyn referred us to a Fertility Specialist. 

My husband had a semen analysis that determined low motility and high abnormal sperm. He was put on an antibiotic and re-tested 2 weeks later with much better results.

I was prescribed Prometrium to bring on my period and Clomid 50mg days 3-7. I finished the Clomid on Saturday and I should be ovulating by this weekend.

Depending on if we get pregnant this cycle or not, we will go forward with an IUI next month if need be. We want to try to conceive on our own first with just the Clomid.

Ask as many questions to the Dr. as you need to, call the office if you forget something after you've left, and keep on going. Amazing things happen and a lot of these ladies on this message board can attest to that. 

Good luck to you.

Thanks for telling me your history as well. I went to the dr today and she prescribed me Clomid to be taken days 5-9. The first time we did a semen analysis on my husband it was just 5 hours after we had sex. So his sperm count was normal but he had a very low sperm volume. The Dr says this could be abnormal due to the fact that we had sex so recently. However she wants to redo his sperm analysis and says that if it is his norm then she will refer me immediately to a fertility specialist and I should consider IUI pretty quickly. If the test was abnormal and the next test shows normal volume then she is going to leave me on Clomid for 3 months to try to conceive on my own before referring me elsewhere. According to my Dr. this far everything looks perfect so I really am hoping this medicine does the trick. I don't know, the way the Dr. was talking though she make it seem like there wasn't a huge chance of that happening. She said something like Clomid is mainly to make sure you ovulate and since I am very regular with my periods, and my ultrasound showed signs of a recent ovulation, then she wasn't sure how much help Clomid would be but we would try. Soooo ... I'm just kinda frustrated and feel like there isn't hope and I'm just beginning. Blah, I just need to think about something else.

Oh on a side note - I know it obviously depends but approx how much does a IUI cost? Our insurance pays for the diagnosis or infertility but not the treatment of. Knowing that an IUI is probably in my future I just want to know what sort of financial situation to prepare for. Thanks.

@ my fertility doctor's office, the cost of the IUI is $300.  This does not include the price of the ultrasound if your insurance doesn't cover it, or the fertility drugs.  It does include the procedure and the sperm washing.  Good Luck! 

Hi Candace,

I wanted to wish you good luck!!!   The best thing you can do is soak up as much information as you possibly can!!!

I'm about to start my 3rd round of IVF.  My Dr told me that she didn't think IUI would work for me and put me straight through to IVF.  5 years ago I had a bad miscarriage that serverly damaged my cervix.

Because with IVF the fertility meds are so important and expensive, my Dr has me take them all as a shot, instead of pills, just to make sure there isn't an absorbtion issue.

Hopefully you won't have to go down this road and the treatment you are doing will work for you! 

Renee*