If you’ve gone through an IVF cycle and didn’t get pregnant, this is what you should know.

First of all, it’s not your fault. The fact that you didn’t get pregnant in an IVF cycle doesn’t mean that you weren’t meant to be a mother. It doesn’t mean that your uterus is a “hostile” environment. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t compatible with your partner. The truth is that much of what goes into whether you get pregnant or not from any given fertility treatment cycle, especially IVF, has to do with probability and chance.  Depending on your age or situation, you may have a fifty percent chance of getting pregnant. This means that fifty percent of patients won’t get pregnant. This doesn’t mean you should stop trying.

Paying for fertility treatments is not easy. There are some states that require employers to pay for up to 6 IVF cycles. You really get IVF for free in some States. Patients are more likely to do several cycles before getting pregnant when they have IVF coverage compared to those who don’t because patients with coverage don’t feel the financial strain on top of the emotional strain when they hear negative results. Now take California Read the rest of this entry »

You just had your first visit with your infertility doc to talk about a plan.

She rattles off the following:

“you can either do OI or COH and it’s up to you if you want to do an IUI. But I would do an HSG in this cycle before your ART treatment. During the treatment, we will do scans to make sure your ovaries are responding the way we want them to and after we trigger you with HCG we will do your IUI. Then check a UPT 14 days after your IUI. And no need to do BBT or OPK during treatment but some women do. We can also move right to IVF with ICSI. But given your story – don’t recommend PGS for you.”
Got that?
Well if you didn’t, I’m going to break it down for you.

When you do infertility treatments you can do anything from take pills to shots just below your skin. In the “old days” the shots were given in the muscle and very painful. Not so anymore. Sub-q is how we refer to the location where the shots are given now – just below the skin.

Let’s define some terms that you may hear in the infertility clinic:

1. OI = ovulation induction. Usually done with pills such as Clomid or Clomiphene citrate. You may see: “CC” on your paperwork. It all means the same thing. Some docs use Femara which is in a family of medications called aromatase inhibitors. You may see “AI” on your paperwork.

2. COH= controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. This usually refers to taking injectable medications such as the hormones FSH in combination with LH or alone. Read the rest of this entry »