My ultrasound monitoring appointment was yesterday to see how I was responding to 7.5mg Letrozole. The short answer is - I'm not.
The Dr called me later in the afternoon and spent a lot of time discussing options, which I really appreciated. In fact, my first thought when hanging up wasn't "WTF Ovaries?!?!" but rather "I really am glad I switched Drs. I really like him." Even now, I feel content knowing that I do actually have several options, that I'm being cared for by someone who knows his shit, and that he trusts me and C to have a say in my medical decision making.
Option A: Give my body a little more time and come in for another monitoring appointment on Friday to be absolutely sure. He said he wouldn't put money on this, although unfortunately we actually would be putting money on it in the form of more hospital bills.
Option B: Wait until Friday anyway to give my body a minute to adjust, take medicine to induce my period, and then begin a round of injectibles. The big risk we talked a lot about is a very high risk of multiples, especially given that I have a whole bunch of tiny follicles that could potentially develop, or also hyper stimulation syndrome.
Option C: I am actually a "great candidate" for IVF because I have so many damn follicles and am relatively young. This would also help to protect again multiples because they'd have more control of how many embryos were implanted. Too bad the insurance or the bank account don't see it this way.
C and I had a good talk this evening and decided that Option B is the right choice for us now. We've officially jumped into the higher cost, increased monitoring/appointments, and much more invasive world of infertility treatments. This isn't about taking a pill for 5 days anymore. This is serious.
Perhaps you've answered this in a previous post (I'm a new follower), but I'm curious why they only had you take 7.5mg. At my fertility clinic the max dose is 12.5mg, which I didn't respond to, so it was injectables for us, but I know several people who needed more than 7.5, but were successful at doses higher than 7.5.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting, I've never heard of going that high. I actually consulted with two different REs and neither mentioned anything above 7.5mg. I wonder if it's just regional differences. Personally, as much as I love the cost and convenience of oral meds, I am also glad to not be spending too much time on this. I have previously spent 8 months doing 6 rounds of Clomid and each increasing dose that failed got harder and harder to digest. Having not ovulated in over a year (probably longer), I'm anxious to get to something that works! It is fascinating though to consider the wide variety of protocols that different Drs with do - sort of disconcerting.
DeleteNow that I'm thinking back, it is strange because I had a friend at one fertility clinic and they would only go as high as 7.5. She switched to my fertility clinic, when on 12.5, conceived and brought home twins. So, maybe it's more what the Dr. feels comfortable doing? Which is very disconcerting.
DeleteI know what you mean Katie- I spent 14 months with the wrong doctor- she never wanted to increase my Clomid or try anything else. I finally went to see a specialist- I've been on their protocol for one month, and just got my BFP yesterday!! I have high hopes for you!!
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