My Wife & I are on our second cycle of IUI, but may have to abandon again...

[AJS1987]

Hi all,

I wondered if anyone can share their experiences or offer any advice.

My Wife and I are going through our 2nd cycle of IUI. We had to abandon our first cycle due to my Wife's follicles only reaching 11mm by CD21.

My wife has PCOS and has had both cycles injecting Gonal F. We are now CD14 and after our scan today we were told there are 2 dominant follicles 1 at 12mm and 1 at 10mm. We have been told that when we attend our next scan in 2 days time, the 12mm follicles needs to have reached at least 14mm in order for us to continue with this cycle and if this cycle is abandon we will need to move onto IVF (we are paying for the fertility treatment ourselves).

We are both feeling completely stressed out and deflated. Reading up online it appears that some people have reached CD25 before being ready for their iui, yet it feels like we have so much pressure to be ready way before that.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with slow growing follicles? I feel awful for my Wife, she was so hoping to reach the iui stage. Any advice would be hugely appreciated

[Solly-44]

Oh that sounds so stressful, and a lot of pressure.

I haven’t had IUI but I did have a really slow response to my clomid cycles. I was having cycle tracking so regular scans, and I ended up ovulating about 10 days later than they’d first estimated so CD24ish.

I was told it didn’t matter that it took so long, but tbh I’ve always wondered if they were ‘over cooked’ if you see what I mean.

They can catch up surprisingly quickly though - 2mm a day so fingers crossed you’ll be good to go at the next scan. Good luck xx

[AJS1987 in reply to Solly-44]

Thank you for your message Sally

I know what you mean in regards to them being over-cooked, I don't know if there's a cut off point or not, but maybe we just need to be upfront and ask our fertility Dr why we have a set time to get to the 18mm. We are keeping everything crossed for some impressive growth!

We are really only at the start of our fertility journey, but wow what an eye opener it is!!

Thank you again!! x

[Solly-44 in reply to AJS1987]

Ah all the luck! Keep us updated xx

[Noah1981]

Hey Ive just had a second iui and it failed with 3 follicles one at 18 one at 17 and one at 14 but with the medicated cycles I was told 15 mm was acceptable and unmedicated they like them to be at 18 mm I’d definitely question if there controlling the release of the eggs with a trigger shot why your wife isn’t injecting for long to get them bigger ? We are also self funding and I’ve another iui before we financially batter ourselves going for ivf.Its such a head screw this whole journey but please ask those questions and hope you get answers I’m awaiting my review to ask all my whys I need answering good luck lovelies xx

[AJS1987 in reply to Noah1981]

That’s interesting to know! We have always been told 18mm minimum. I think I’m going to go prepared to the next appointment with questions if they decide the iui needs to be abandoned. It seems odd as our Dr at the fertility satellite clinic close to where we live seems to be quite negative and always setting goals and deadlines, whereas when we had to visit the central clinic on one occasion the Dr there seemed to be more easy going and put the decision in our hands.

I definitely know what you mean by the financial situation, funding IVF is going to be hell, but we will do it if necessary!

Thank you for your message and well wishes, hope it all works out for you in the end xx

[altiz]

Hello, firstly, well done to you and your wife for getting the assistance and getting closer to the "golden" follicle size.

I've always been told around 17 or 18 mm is when they would feel confident.

I have also been told that if they do get up over 10mm that's a good sign that they will continue to grow.

Yes, your wife may need a few more days and allowing a few more days will give you the confirmation you need either way.

I feel at the mercy of the fertility clinic at times but like all medical situations, it's good to get a second opinion. Push back and ask for a few more days or more explanation from them as to why not.

They may arrange a call with the doctor in London if you let them know you'd like another opinion or chat with them.

If you do abandon the cycle and start again, ask if there are there other stimulants or a combination that might be worth a try?

We've had 2 failed ovulation induction attempts with gonal f and in the next round we will be trying another drug (although I've forgotten the name now! Typical!)

Good luck! Do things to keep blood flowing to the uterus / ovaries and try not to stress by doing things that make you both happy. Xx