I have just finished 2 rounds of IVF. The first resulted in a m/c at 8 weeks and got a BFN this past monday. I will be taking a month off to just relax and get back to normal but then back to the doctor in march. my husband was just laid off so we lost our insurance coverage that paid for IVF and so we are looking at other less expensive options now.
My RE said he wants to try Femara with IUI when I am ready. I did 6 months on clomid and 3 months with Clomid and IUI all negative. Anyone know much about the drug? I read a few articles but haven't found much info on its success rate and whatnot. Any real life accounts would be greatly appreciated!
I have been TTC for nearly 2 years and I am just so sick of this crap at this point. I am looking forward to the easy life of IUI again after 2 back to back rounds of IVF.
Have a great day and thanks for any advice/help you can give me.
Me 25, DH 27
10X clomid, 3 w/IUI
IVF 1- BFP, MC@9 wks
IVF 2- BFN
husband laid off- no infertility coverage
3X with femara, all BFN's but has regulated my cycle and FINALLY got positives on ovulation test
Currently on my 4th cycle with femara
My doctor used femara with my last 2 iui's. After using clomid with the first IUI we discovered that it thins out the lining of my uterus (a side effect that some women get) and a baby couldn't have implanted. So, we moved on to femara. It cost the same if I remember correctly and did the same thing as clomid, but didn't thin me out. I haven't heard much about it lately though. I took it in 2005.
Hope this helps, sorry about your BFN's. You are right- the infertility ride sucks! Hang in there.
Thanks Jenn. I am hoping this does the trick. I did clomid for so long but after reading a lot of blogs and articles, it seems as if Femara will have a better shot. I wish there were more available stats on its success though.
Me 25, DH 27
10X clomid, 3 w/IUI
IVF 1- BFP, MC@9 wks
IVF 2- BFN
husband laid off- no infertility coverage
3X with femara, all BFN's but has regulated my cycle and FINALLY got positives on ovulation test
Currently on my 4th cycle with femara
Waiting for 4, Wow your infertility history sounds sooo much like mine it is almost scary. I too have done 2 IVF's. The first was BFP however m/c at 6.5 weeks and the second failed. We have take a year and a half off and now after losing weight have decided to try femara with IUI. This month we did femara with scheduled intercourse and if this does not work we will start IUI's next month once I have medical coverage again.
I wish you so much luck in your journey and will let you know how the femara works for me.
Femara is letrozole, and has an effect much like clomid.
Letrozole is one of the aromatase inhibitors, so it blocks the production of estradiol. Clomid blocks the action of estradiol. Either way, less action of estradiol causes the pituitary to produce more FSH, hence causing more follicles to develop.
It's used by itself to develop a few follicles, perhaps for an IUI cycle, or in conjunction with injected FSH products for IVF cycles. It's claimed that you won't need to use as much (expensive) FSH if you use letrozole (Femara).
Waiting for 4, hey I did my HTP today and it is POSITIVE. I am in shock and quite honestly so is my doctor. We went into this knowing it was a last ditch effort and was pretty unlikely it would work but one cycle and it worked. I did a four day step up protocol with BBt charts, OV kits and scheduled intercourse. We did not trigger or IUI and it still worked. My insurance covered the cost of the med so really compared to my past fertility treatments this was not only easy but inexpensive as well!
Good luck!!
Jill: Congrats on your BFP. How many mature follicles did you have?
I am doing a Femara cycle now and am in the 2ww. I did IUI and a trigger shot. I was on the lowest dosage and got three follices (2 mature).
Regards,
Tammy
Me 46/DH 48 (12/05 & 3/06: IVF#1/#2: BFN)
6/06:Nat. Preg.-DS 2/07; 12/08 IVF#3 fet -BFN
5/09& 6/09 Femara#1/#2-BFN; 7/09 IUI with femara/GF BFN
[img]http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/2;10750;80/st/20070228/n/Andrew+James/k/c5ae/age.png[/img]
Tammy, hey good luck on your Femara cycle. I honestly don't know how many follicles I had. It was a weird situation. My health insurance at the time did not cover anything fertility related so while i was working on changing my insurance my doc prescribed the Femara since it is used for things other than fertility so my insurance would pay for it. Our original plan was to do BBT charts and OV kits with the Femara this month to get a baseline since my cycle had changed since losing weight. Then next month we were going to do the Femara with U/S and IUI since I would have new insurance then. Needless to say we didn't get that far. We got our BFP on the first try.
Keep me updated on how you are doing and I wish you soooo much luck in this cycle!!!
Jill: Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, my first Femara cycle was a bust, but I am on my 2nd Femara cycle as we speak. I go in on Tuesday for my ultrasound to see how many follies I have. I'm hoping for two mature ones just like last month. I'm not going to do the IUI this month. We will see what happens.
Regards,
Tammy
Me 46/DH 48 (12/05 & 3/06: IVF#1/#2: BFN)
6/06:Nat. Preg.-DS 2/07; 12/08 IVF#3 fet -BFN
5/09& 6/09 Femara#1/#2-BFN; 7/09 IUI with femara/GF BFN
[img]http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/2;10750;80/st/20070228/n/Andrew+James/k/c5ae/age.png[/img]
I am looking forward to the easy life of IUI again after 2 back to back rounds of IVF.