How clomid IUIs are like shots in the dark. You miss. The window is so small and unforgiving.
My previous post described another IUI cycle sabotaged by ovulation predictor kits, or myself, stress and geography. After returning home from the overnight IUI trip, I took another test (two, actually). My off brand was positive, which I was expecting. The digital test was negative, which I was dreading. Cd 15, 1dpiui, I ran out of off brand tests, took a digital test: negative again. I was hoping that I missed the surge with the digital but my BBT had not spiked yet. Cd 16, 2dpiui, another digital test, this time positive. You may ovulate between cd 16 and cd 18. Skip a day. Cd 18, 4dpiui, no spike in temperature and the last digital test. Positive. You may ovulate between cd 16 and cd 20.
I could call the clinic and try to schedule another IUI, another overnight trip. F says No Way. I didn't want to anyway. Let's scrap this month, rely on sex + clomid and see what happens. Next IUI, April, and I am waiting for a strong + on the opk.
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There is no way to know what is really going on without monitoring. I ovulate on cd 18 without clomid. Is this significant? Ovulation should happen 5-10 days after the last dose of clomid. If I ovulated this weekend it falls within that range. But should I be getting 4-5 days of positive opks? Oh Wise Infertiles, any thoughts?
7 comments:
Okay, granted my cycles are totally wonky, and I'd probably throw out my Clomid Cycle #1 stats b/c I was coming off an awful long anovulatory cycle, but still... below is how long it took me to ovulate after taking my last CD9 Clomid pill.
44 days / 13 days / 21 days / 10 days
Weird, right? I think "most" ppl ovulate between 5-10 days after...but not all. Ask your doc if that's okay I guess.
Also, 4-5 days of positive OPKs makes no sense unless your body is TRYING to ovulate and the egg is having troubles releasing (LH didn't surge high enough for long enough or whatever). I would say the LAST positive OPK you get is the time you finally DID ovulate... so definitely rely on sex to at least give you a chance this cycle. Sorry the IUI has been so confusing for you - i'm definitely worried that we'll have the same issue. :(
Oh this sucks! I think I would have driven myself crazy with this guessing game. I skipped right to IUI's with injectibles, which involved serious monitoring, so I never guessed the timing. Fingers crossed for sex doing the trick!
oh ugh! i hate that IUIs are so hard to time. i usually see a dip in my bbt about 2-3 days before i ovulate.. so that helps me. but that's from a year of charting before had, so ... mostly i relied on my instinct. i was definitely at the RE for a few double IUIs... ugh. sorry i can't offer more help.
It's so frustrating to rely on those silly predictors. I typically ovulate on day 18 on my own. I had 3 Clomid IUIs. The first one was monitored, and they triggered me for a day 16 (I think, can't find my records) IUI. My second two were unmonitored, on my own, and I ovulated on day 18 both times. Who the heck knows. Good luck!
This is so frustrating!! I'm so sorry. I hate the stress this adds. I really hope that the added sex does it for you.
I have very regular cycle on my own, but I ovulated all over the place when I was on the coockoo pills ('mid, Femara and then the injects). Their effect was not easily predictible. It was even frustrating with the monitoring. Blech(((
Sorry about the confusion, but it sounds BD will cover you well. Fingers crossed for your cycle!!!
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And thank you so much for your visit!:)
Hi there, I visted your blog when I saw the word "unexplained"!
We have been TTC for 1.5 yrs with diagnosis of unexplained.
I am currently in TWW of my second IUI. Both IUI 1 and 2 were unmedicated. I don't see much hope for this cycle either, so we may move on to clomid with IUI for next cycle.
I have always had a harrowing time wih OPKs (walgreens brand ugh). I never seemed to get a good strong positive - just a few days of "maybe positive".
For the IUI, the nurse recommended using clearblue digital. I also use OPKs from early-pregnancy-tests.com to confirm the results. If you are looking for a good brand of cheap OPKs, I would recommend it, I've had the most luck with these.
Here's what I do - I hold my pee for 4 hrs, pee in a cup around 12 noon (since opk surges between 10-3 p.m - i am sure you know that already). Then I dip the cheap OPK and digital. Past two cycles, I have had luck that when the cheap OPK was almost dark as control or darker, the digital did give a positive. I stop testing after that, cause I know OPKs can be positive for a few days in a row. Also, when I did multiple OPKs in the same day, my noon one was always darker that FMU or evening pee.
What I am getting at is, I never had luck with OPKs before, but using both the early preg cheapies and digital has really helped me. So I recommend sticking to the digital being positive and scheduling the IUI accordingly - so there is no ambiguity.(That being said, my "plan" has never given me a BFP, so I dont know if its the best plan).
I feel your pain about the "what ifs". Also, wish I had some idea y we cant get pregnant, so I can at least blame that reason!
Will be following ur blog. Good luck.
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