I guess I’m not responding to the letrozole (that’s what I’m told anyway). I don’t understand why and haven’t asked yet, but I’ve got a whole slew of questions. I left a message with my IUI monitoring nurse asking about my next steps since it is day 17 and I still haven’t detected a surge. She reviewed my ultrasounds and left me a message back. Her recommendation is to add menopur in addition to the letrozole for my next cycle. Any experiences ladies? Especially if you have low AMH?
I’m afraid that I’m using up more of my few remaining eggs…. yes, I am paranoid. I guess that happens when you are given the diagnosis of “40-year-old ovaries” when you’re only 28. Now 29, and less than two months from 30, I’m wondering if it would be best to push beyond IUI’s and straight to IVF.
Menopur & Letrozole IUI
OR
talk to doc about IVF?
One Percent Chance 
Nov 15, 2012 @ 18:01:43
I think that if you can afford IVF, you should do it. For us, we could have done 30 IUI’s and it never would have worked. We discovered during our IVF that the cause of our infertility was fertilization. I’m so glad we didn’t spend any more money on IUI’s. I found IUI’s to be very stressful…monitoring the surge and hoping that the timing was OK. IVF kinda takes everything out of your hands. I much preferred that. Just my 2 cents.
Nov 15, 2012 @ 20:37:53
Thank you SO MUCH for your feedback. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’m feeling the same way right now…. I keep finding ways to blame myself for this cycle not working and I would just like to take all of the error-possibilities out of my hands.
Nov 16, 2012 @ 16:00:32
I felt the same way. The stress and not knowing when I’d need to leave work made iuis not worth it for me. IVF is more expensive but has a greater chance of success. Plus it’s not as scary as I thought it would be. Also if you’re adding injectables you might as well do IVF.
Nov 16, 2012 @ 18:29:50
Yeah, I’m wondering how much greater my chances with IUI are by adding the injectables…
And THANK YOU, too, for your feedback. It’s so comforting to have your opinion.
Nov 17, 2012 @ 11:27:29
We DOR ladies have to stick together!
Nov 28, 2012 @ 10:36:06
I have extremely low AMH – less than .02 – and am going through IVF now for the first time. I’m young too – only 34. I am stimulating with Menopur and Gonal F. It seems to be working because my follicles are growing quickly, although I don’t have as many as I would if I had normal ovarian reserve. The advantage, for me, of IVF is they can choose the highest quality eggs to implant and therefore maximize the chances of success. In our case, we are doing PGD as well to test for chromosomal abnormalities so that even if we only have one or two eggs, there will be a greater chance of viability. Hang in there. You have to keep reminding yourself that anything is possible.
Nov 28, 2012 @ 12:08:47
Hi Lucy! Thanks for the support.
I would love to hear what protocol they had you do (birth control for a month, how much menopur, gonal f, etc.). I have a feeing I am headed to IVF land (most likely with PGD, too, since we’re already miscarried – I want to do everything I can to avoid going through that again) and as long as I have a baby in the end, I am excited for it! I will keep you in my thoughts!
Nov 28, 2012 @ 12:36:34
I did not take birth control. I had estrogen priming for about 2 weeks (after LH surge), then 450 Gonal F and 150 Menopur every day beginning on cycle day 2. On cycle day 9 I started Ganirelix for supression of ovulation and today I am at cycle day 10. I have miscarried three times, which is why the PGD. We would like to have a few embryos make it to blastocyst stage so we can do PGD on more mature embryos (tells you a lot more), but not sure yet if that will happen. If it does, they freeze the embryos and don’t transfer until the next cycle. So for us, this is a three-cycle IVF – a little slow moving, but there you go. Not sure if you are paying out of pocket or you are insured, but insurance typically doesn’t cover PGD unless you are known to be a carrier of a particular chromosomal disorder. Just something to think about. Hope this helps!
Nov 28, 2012 @ 20:59:14
Oh, wow. Thank you for all the details. We are paying completely out of pocket. Slow and steady is a challenge for sure, but when win the race : ) I would love to know how it all goes for you! Will you let me know?
Nov 29, 2012 @ 07:16:46
I’ll let you know. Thanks.
Dec 30, 2012 @ 10:51:36
Hi, I am so sorry to hear that your IUI cycle was not successful. My IVF cycle was not successful either. To fill you in on the details, I was able to produce 10 eggs in my cycle, only 5 of which were mature (this is on the low side, but no surprise given low AMH) and of which, 3 were fertilized (this is average). We implanted all three embryos. One was a very low grade because it only had 5 cells (you want between 7-10 cells) and the other two were average grade (8 and 9 cells). We were worried about multiples, but surprisingly, none took. We are surprised because I have been pregnant three times before with one embryo, both from IUI and naturally. But it wasn’t to be. We will meet with my doc next week and figure out whether he thinks we should tweak my protocol (described above). I’ll let you know. Keep your head up. You are in my thoughts and good luck for the IVF cycle!
Dec 30, 2012 @ 10:57:25
Oh, Lucy! I’m so sorry to hear this. I’ll keep you in my thoughts, too. I’d definitely like to hear how they decide to tweak your protocol.
Aug 01, 2015 @ 21:34:48
Lucy, not sure if you are still active on this buy would love to hear how your ivf cycle went post your previous post. I also have an amh of your value and am in the process of starting ivf.
Thanks
Aug 04, 2015 @ 07:38:19
Hi cagedbirdthatsings85 – the power of these forums and their ability to bring people together always amazes me! I’d be happy to talk – why don’t you email me directly – lucyferg@gmail.com. I have twin one-and-a-half-year-old girls after two IVF attempts. I’d be happy to discuss in more detail. Hang in there!