Hello and welcome to the Fairfax Cryobank Family Forum!
The forum has a new look and the Fairfax Team is so excited to create the best experience for our users.
To Note:
Private Donor Groups and Private Sibling Connection Groups are now located under the category "Groups". Search the donor number in the search box and you should find exactly what you're looking for!
Questions about your forum access? Email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
Follow these steps to join a private donor group:
1) Press "Join" at the right of the group
2) Once prompted to confirm your request please list this information so we can verify your information:
Name (under which the vial was purchased)
Email
Clinic Name
Donor number
Child Date of Birth
*If you are looking to start a private group for a PRS donor please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com with the above information and that you are looking for a PRS group*
If you have any questions about the verification process please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
The forum has a new look and the Fairfax Team is so excited to create the best experience for our users.
To Note:
Private Donor Groups and Private Sibling Connection Groups are now located under the category "Groups". Search the donor number in the search box and you should find exactly what you're looking for!
Questions about your forum access? Email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
Follow these steps to join a private donor group:
1) Press "Join" at the right of the group
2) Once prompted to confirm your request please list this information so we can verify your information:
Name (under which the vial was purchased)
Clinic Name
Donor number
Child Date of Birth
*If you are looking to start a private group for a PRS donor please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com with the above information and that you are looking for a PRS group*
If you have any questions about the verification process please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
My Success Story w/ Donor 4285
Willow
Junior Member Junior Member
So thrilled to finally post here!! Wanted to give some background to fill in my story first. We have MF infertility and we went to an RE/fertility clinic to help us with IUIs and donor sperm. After the usual testing was done, the dr told me that we could try without clomid and the shot, but that she recommended that we use the medications, as she felt it would give us a better shot to get pregnant.
After the 1st failed attempt, I noticed right away that my period was about half the length of my normal period but I didn't think anything of it. After the 2nd failed attempt, I got on this forum to read about other women's stories (success stories were so encouraging!) and discovered that clomid in particular can have a really harsh effect on your uterine lining, particularly after repeated uses. I tried baby aspirin and vitamin E to try to boost it. For the 3rd IUI, I asked the sonographer what my lining was (I didn't know I could do that before then!). I was really worried to hear it was 6.7. She said it was okay, but I didn't believe her. That attempt failed too. We took one month off to try to rest my body and then for the 4th try, I drank raspberry leaf tea, took the baby aspirin and Vitamin E still, and L'arginine. I also started acupuncture, as I had read studies showing it improved your chances. Still, my lining number was 6.6 this time. We went through with the IUI and it failed too.
The Dr had us come in to see her since we had 4 failed attempts. She wanted to put me on Femara and the shot. I asked her about the lining issue and she sort of brushed it off saying that people still get pregnant at low numbers like that. To her credit, she listened to me and didn't try to make me feel dumb or anything for asking which I really appreciated. We asked her to allow us a few times with no meds at all and then if those didn't work, we would try the Femara. She agreed to that.
I was going to skip this month again, as I really felt like I could use some more time to get everything back to normal after the meds, but DH said he wanted to try anyway; our chances were higher than 0 if we tried vs. not trying! I still used the raspberry leaf tea, baby aspirin, L'arginine and vitamin E during this time. Well, after 4 no-gos, I was ready for this one to not work too.. but.. it did work!! I can still barely believe it. It might be total coincidence that it was the first try with no medications but I really do believe that clomid can have a negative effect on your ability to get pregnant for some women. Femara apparently doesn't have the same harsh effect on your lining, but it's more expensive and less tested so my Dr says they use Clomid as the "Gold Standard". Alright, sorry for this giant book of a response, but I wanted to say it all to be able to summarize this: if you don't feel like you are getting the right treatment for your body/situation or if you feel like something is off, make sure to speak up. Doctors are just people too and they are not always right. They are also just busy and probably over-generalize sometimes and don't give you the individual treatment you really need.
1. How many IUIs did you do before getting your BFP cycle? 5 IUIs! 4 with meds (all failed) and 1 with no meds!
2. How many mature follicles did you have? Sizes at trigger? We just did LH tracking at home, so I don't know.
3. What were your sperm counts & motility post-wash? 15 million (donor sperm)
4. How many inseminations did you do for the BFP cycle? just one
5. What were the timing (hours after trigger or surge) of those IUI's for your BFP cycle? I got a positive ovulation indicator on Wednesday afternoon around 3 pm and we went in by 10 am the next morning for the IUI.
6. What medications were you using & dosage, if any? None.
7. What day past trigger (for consistency) did you get your BFP? 10 dpiui we got a very faint positive on a Wondfo strip and a more significant positive on a FR Early Detection
8. Did you have implantation spotting? No
9. First Beta number(s)? 1257 at 18dpiui, 4258 at 21 dpiui
10. If you know yet, how many babies? Don't know yet!
11. Any other advice during the 2WW or symptoms that helped you know this was "the" cycle? This time I made a concerted effort to pretend that nothing unusual was happening and just live my life like normal. It's not easy, I know. But the more relaxed you are, the better. I recommend trying acupuncture with a practitioner who has had some experience with fertility issues. As far as symptoms, by about 10 dpiui, I noticed having to pee like my bladder was going to explode. That was new! I did have cramps on and off (and still do) that feel a lot like period cramps. they're actually more significant than period cramps to me, as my periods are generally very nice to me. Also, DH swears he noticed my boobs being bigger by 8 dpiui, lol. He was more accurate than a pee test.
I wish so much luck to all of you. I know how hard this is.. sweet baby wishes to all.
After the 1st failed attempt, I noticed right away that my period was about half the length of my normal period but I didn't think anything of it. After the 2nd failed attempt, I got on this forum to read about other women's stories (success stories were so encouraging!) and discovered that clomid in particular can have a really harsh effect on your uterine lining, particularly after repeated uses. I tried baby aspirin and vitamin E to try to boost it. For the 3rd IUI, I asked the sonographer what my lining was (I didn't know I could do that before then!). I was really worried to hear it was 6.7. She said it was okay, but I didn't believe her. That attempt failed too. We took one month off to try to rest my body and then for the 4th try, I drank raspberry leaf tea, took the baby aspirin and Vitamin E still, and L'arginine. I also started acupuncture, as I had read studies showing it improved your chances. Still, my lining number was 6.6 this time. We went through with the IUI and it failed too.
The Dr had us come in to see her since we had 4 failed attempts. She wanted to put me on Femara and the shot. I asked her about the lining issue and she sort of brushed it off saying that people still get pregnant at low numbers like that. To her credit, she listened to me and didn't try to make me feel dumb or anything for asking which I really appreciated. We asked her to allow us a few times with no meds at all and then if those didn't work, we would try the Femara. She agreed to that.
I was going to skip this month again, as I really felt like I could use some more time to get everything back to normal after the meds, but DH said he wanted to try anyway; our chances were higher than 0 if we tried vs. not trying! I still used the raspberry leaf tea, baby aspirin, L'arginine and vitamin E during this time. Well, after 4 no-gos, I was ready for this one to not work too.. but.. it did work!! I can still barely believe it. It might be total coincidence that it was the first try with no medications but I really do believe that clomid can have a negative effect on your ability to get pregnant for some women. Femara apparently doesn't have the same harsh effect on your lining, but it's more expensive and less tested so my Dr says they use Clomid as the "Gold Standard". Alright, sorry for this giant book of a response, but I wanted to say it all to be able to summarize this: if you don't feel like you are getting the right treatment for your body/situation or if you feel like something is off, make sure to speak up. Doctors are just people too and they are not always right. They are also just busy and probably over-generalize sometimes and don't give you the individual treatment you really need.
1. How many IUIs did you do before getting your BFP cycle? 5 IUIs! 4 with meds (all failed) and 1 with no meds!
2. How many mature follicles did you have? Sizes at trigger? We just did LH tracking at home, so I don't know.
3. What were your sperm counts & motility post-wash? 15 million (donor sperm)
4. How many inseminations did you do for the BFP cycle? just one
5. What were the timing (hours after trigger or surge) of those IUI's for your BFP cycle? I got a positive ovulation indicator on Wednesday afternoon around 3 pm and we went in by 10 am the next morning for the IUI.
6. What medications were you using & dosage, if any? None.
7. What day past trigger (for consistency) did you get your BFP? 10 dpiui we got a very faint positive on a Wondfo strip and a more significant positive on a FR Early Detection
8. Did you have implantation spotting? No
9. First Beta number(s)? 1257 at 18dpiui, 4258 at 21 dpiui
10. If you know yet, how many babies? Don't know yet!
11. Any other advice during the 2WW or symptoms that helped you know this was "the" cycle? This time I made a concerted effort to pretend that nothing unusual was happening and just live my life like normal. It's not easy, I know. But the more relaxed you are, the better. I recommend trying acupuncture with a practitioner who has had some experience with fertility issues. As far as symptoms, by about 10 dpiui, I noticed having to pee like my bladder was going to explode. That was new! I did have cramps on and off (and still do) that feel a lot like period cramps. they're actually more significant than period cramps to me, as my periods are generally very nice to me. Also, DH swears he noticed my boobs being bigger by 8 dpiui, lol. He was more accurate than a pee test.
I wish so much luck to all of you. I know how hard this is.. sweet baby wishes to all.
Comments
I have a success story/baby girl from this donor born January 26 2016. This donor was our first choice in 2014 and all units were sold. Finally, after failed attempts from 3 other donor choices, this donor's units were available and we jumped on the opportunity! Success! Yay!