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I am due to have my private appointment with my consultant tomorrow and I was wondering if there were any questions I should be asking or any information I should be looking out for. I am equal parts excited and nervous to take this next step.
My uber-fertile sister told me yesterday that they will be trying for number two in February, so I will be on the look out for an announcement in May of a late Autumn baby. She sweetly said 'maybe we can be pregnant together'. I appreciate the sentiment but what I heard was 'I will be pregnant, join in if you can.' She, of course, will be pregnant, and I suspect there is a high chance she will be the only one. Hey ho. I appreciate the warning though, I now have time to get used to the idea of being lapped and can gird my loins for her pregnancy.
Anyhoo, back to my original point, any thoughts? I will appreciate any experience you have to offer.
I wrote how it was for me in this post :
ReplyDeletehttp://poppiesandicecream.blogspot.nl/2012/11/for-what-its-worth.html
If you are interested in the feelings that accompanied it, then read this:
http://poppiesandicecream.blogspot.nl/2012/10/jumping-into-unknown.html
I am crossing my fingers for you, hoping it will work for you quite fast. We are going through our 3rd cycle now, waiting phase now.
Maybe you can ask if the hormonal stimulation will / can affect your cycle lenght? My cycle is clockwork regular, comes every 25 days precisely. But, on both my IUI cycles I have been 3 to 5 days late. We had a "resting" cycle in the middle and my cycle went back to 25 days. I asked and the answer I got was that the medication could be the cause of the delay, but it could also not be it (sounds like a very Cheshire cat to Alice kind of conversation).
Otherwise just relax, it really is not that bad. In my case I did not get any side effects from the hormones (my major fear), the injections are not painful, and the IUI and prodding during the ecographies is weird but you get used to it (and it is not any weirder than a PAP smear, if you think about it, without the "pain" from taking the actual sample).
Good luck to you . I am lighting you a candle right now. (Yes, because candles are my magical solution to everything). No, but really, sending you all the love, and hope and energy.
Thank you so much Amanda, I will pop over and have a good read now. I will cross everything for you and be hoping for good news in the coming weeks.
ReplyDeleteIt feels like forever since my IUIs. Let's see if I can remember anything about them...
ReplyDeleteOne of the first things I'd check into is seeing how much they'll monitor you before the IUI. Will they just be doing ultrasounds, or will they also be checking your hormone levels? You might also want to ask what their minimum requirements are for follicle size and lining thickness before going ahead with an IUI. With my clinic, their thickness requirement was VERY low and I think may have had something to do with my failed cycles. (For example, they'd go ahead with the IUI, even though my lining was only 6 mm.) The only other thing I can think of is to see if they'll be checking your P4 levels after triggering to be sure that you did indeed ovulate and if your levels are high enough.
Good luck with the consult tomorrow!
I wrote about my first IUI experience as well: http://nonsequiturchica.blogspot.com/2012/04/first-iui.html.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any questions for you to ask....it's a relatively easy procedure and the questions that I had were more to do with the schedule, when I start OPK testing, when I call them, etc.
Hi Luna! I've been a terrible commenter lately due to the holidays...so stopping by to say a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and, I am finally caught up on your blog and excited to see that you get to move forward. I have no words of wisdome or advice for the IUI but to say that I'm sending tons of positive thoughts "across the pond" to you. Your necklace is lovely, and I loved also your post on how parents deal with parenting :)
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has covered everything if suggest. Wishing you so much luck and sending lots of love!!
ReplyDeleteGreat questions above!
ReplyDeleteWill they do Clomid and a trigger shot?
How long between the trigger shot and the IUI? Some clinics do 24 hours to 36 hours.
Or will they be checking your LH levels via bloodwork to see if you're ready to ovulate? As well as ultrasounds?
Do you need progesterone support during the TWW?
How long after the IUI will you need to wait to take a pregnancy test or will they do a beta for you automatically?
Good luck Luna :-) I have everything crossed for you! I'm very excited!!
Thank you girls, so helpful. I am planning to go in very well prepared!
ReplyDeleteWow, I don't have any advice here as I am just a few months into trying, but I just wanted to comment on the outpouring of support for you. Everyone is just so kind and warm. Good for you ladies!! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd Luna, best of luck with this. I hope you can move into it with a calm-ish mind and a sense of hope. Also, although I don't know anything about what to ask medically, one thing I would be sure to find out is the line of communication to the doctor or nurse during all of this. I would hate to feel cut off and not able to contact someone when I had questions.
Hi Luna, I wrote up some questions too:
ReplyDeletehttp://returntogobaby.com/2012/08/29/in-consideration-of-iui/
I hope they hear and respond to your questions and concerns!!
Oh, I thought you were going into the actual IUI tomorrow. Oops.
ReplyDeleteAs far as questions, one thing that really helped me was having an u/s prior to the actual IUI (the same day). Most REs know how this stuff is timed, but sometimes people react a bit differently. There was one cycle where they found that I had already ovulated and so we cancelled the IUI. If they hadn't done an u/s on my IUI day, they wouldn't have known and we would have spent the $800+ for no reason.
Oh! And ask if your husband can come in and press the plunger. Mine always refused (go figure) but it can help make your husband feel like he is more part of the process. :)
ReplyDeleteThe ladies have covered it!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would recommend (regardless of the appointment). Bring a pen and pad of paper with you to the appointment. Have all your questions written down ahead of time, that way you can make sure each and every one is covered. In addition, you'll be able to take notes AND write down any instructions.
Sometimes in the heat of conversation, it's easy to miss things or not fully process them. Having them written out helps correct this.
Good luck! My hope is that this IUI is all it takes.
They've got you covered, girl!
ReplyDeleteI like Tutti's suggestion too. They offered to let my husband press the plunger once and he declined, but I thought it was really cool!
Go, Luna, go!
I don't really have anything to add. For my IUI, I was pretty much on my own (meaning I wasn't monitored, either by u/s or bloodwork and used OPKs at home), but everyone here has given you some great advice/questions to ask. Just wanted to wish you the best of luck!
ReplyDeleteMy IUIs were boring, everything was fine and normal so I really don't have anything to add. The awesome part was the scientist coming in with James' 'sample' and saying, quite loudly, 'well done! 38 million!' And I was in jysterics thinking of her sitting there looking in her microscope counting 1... 2... 3...
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha! Brilliant.
DeleteGood luck hon! Not sure if you'll read this before your appointment and most everyone has covered this all already but just in case:
ReplyDelete- the progesterone support Q - my clinic never offered this but then when I went back for follow up they said 'are you still taking progesterone' ?? - obviously it doesn't seem like it did me any harm not to have had it but worth asking if there's any chance you might have a luteal phase defect
- the trigger timing - in our clinic it was about 24 hours after trigger although some people say there is some evidence for different timings (in some cases even doing the IUI before the trigger! I can't remember who linked to the article about this but I know it's someone who has already commented here). Again, obviously this timing worked out just fine for us and I think it's a pretty inexact science with IUIs anyhow.
- our clinic didn't offer a routine beta or repeat betas at 14 days pIUI, I had to insist after positive pee stick and it was a bit stressful, might want to ask at the outset.
- in the first 2 IUIs I listened to the clinic and just 'went about my business' after the procedure. the third time I insisted on lying down for 20 minutes and then had S drive me home (we took the train the other 2 times) so I could sit around. Probably made no difference at all but obviously #3 worked so I'll stick to the story!
Overall I agree with Amanda and others - I was totally freaked out about the needles and side effects and generally felt remarkably fine throughout - seemed much scarier at the outset than it was in reality.
Huge good luck and hugs to you! Give me a bell if you want to talk anything through after the appt.
Thanks hun, I may just be making that call.
DeleteThank you all so much. I love you guys. I will update as soon as I am home, at fiveish UK time x x x
ReplyDeletewishing you all the best! Sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice. Hopefully the doctor will give you lots of info. I agree with the pad and paper. You'll get lots of info and will probably have some questions. Write everything down and take a day to go over it. Then call with your questions....
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!
Hey! I'm guessing you've already had your appointment by now (sorry I'm late to this), but things I would suggest finding out regardless:
ReplyDelete- Their policy on doing betas. Some clinics just say to do a home pregnancy test instead of a blood draw, but it's SO important to confirm it with bloodwork because that's how you detect chemical pregnancies and ectopics (which can come up negative on pee sticks).
- Not sure if you're doing medicated cycles or not, but if they try to stick you on Clomid, I would highly recommend pushing for Femara (Letrozole) instead... fewer risks with breast cancer and a lot less side effects, too.
- And lastly, yes, make sure they're testing your Estrogen, Progesterone and LH levels at least every other day (if not every single day) leading up to the IUI.
That's it! Can't wait for this cycle of yours to begin...