Let's Be Honest...

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

I completely understand the impulse to do this (five unsuccessful IUIs and 1 successful IVF under my belt) but I would be very careful with this. There was a study that came out recently that suggested that unmonitored use of Clomid was linked to a higher chance of birth defects, though the risk was small:

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/05/news/la-heb-fertility-treatment-birth-defects-20120505

This study also found a higher link to birth defects in couples that used ICSI, and i used ICSI in my cycle. And I know that many of us have used Clomid under a doctor's care so we pretty much know what they want us to do and when. So I'm not saying not to do it, only to proceed with caution. I think I might be a little worried to do it after only one IUI under my belt -- many of the cases of higher order multiples we hear about have to do with unmonitored use of fertility meds. But, if you're willing to slectively reduce should you need to, maybe it's not a big deal. Just think through as many possibilities as you can. And good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please be honest here. I am considering doing this and I'm sure I'm not alone.

Have you ever tried fertility meds without monitoring, on your own, in the hopes of getting pregnant and saving some money?

For example... have you had a failed IUI and had refills available on prescriptions? Have you refilled your Clomid and taken it on your own and use timed intercourse? Assuming you're charting your cycles and using OPK's. If so, what was the outcome? If you got pregnant, did you just tell your RE you did it on your own? Did you tell your RE that you took the meds without being monitored? I'm interested in what others have done.

I don't know how many times I can throw out $1600 to keep trying IUI's.

Girl Im totally with you on this !!!! My next cycle I will be monitoring myself . I have a pharma connection that i can get fertility's medication from for a fraction instead of 1500 for one drug Im totally over it . My insurance doesnt cover anything so everythings been out of pocket . Id rather spend 400-600 on the drugs than 800-1500 just on one alone not including the IUI and monitoring itself, its not cheap and its outrages . Getting gonal ,clomid and ovidrel cheap gives me hope I can keep going. I have a high school friend who is a Dr. who have me some advice on how to do my timing and doage . so Im hopeful and confident this will work as we are hoping for twins . good luck and baby dust to all .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:20:47 Wow. Do you mind sharing your clinic name? I can't believe that after a meeting with your RE he/she wasn't willing to let you try the protocol you had researched OR that the clinic didn't find it strange when you had 3 follicles on a natural cycle.

What you did is essentially call the shots on your medication doses using the office for monitoring and appropriate timing of your trigger. This is very different than what the OP is suggesting. If you had developed 6 follicles you would have been able to make an informed decision about cancelling the IUI.

20:47 here, I didn't see that part in OP original post about the no monitoring. So what I did was different. I don't want to list the clinic's name, let's just say that their may be considered the 2nd best clinic in the area.

They probably would have used the protocol I researched, they just wanted to charge me another $2500 to do so, and I wasn't down for that--not after I had done all the research. Not sure why they didn't find it strange regarding the 3 follicles--I'm a cynic, I think it was about the money. I think because I was doing a little old $250 natural cycle, they just weren't fully engaged. I know that's sad to say, but that's just how I feel. I think for the patients who are not spending the big bucks (for IVF) you don' get as much attention.

But back to OP's original topic, I definitely would use Clomid or Femara un-monitored. Especially if you have been on it before. In my above scenario I upped my dose to 150mg day 3-7 (instead of 5-9) because that's what the RE who specialized in infertility for big mama's recommended.

Good luck to all.

P.S. Although Google is not a replacement for being under supervised medical care, there is a wealth of information out there regarding infertility (some good, some bad). Do yourselves and your bank account a favor and research. I knew/know that I needed to loose weight before getting pregnant. I knew that weight could be a factor in not getting pregnant, but I don't think my RE put in the time to research what protocol changes needed to be made based on my weight, which cost me money. Which circles back to OP's reason for wanting to try something without supervision--wanting to save money.

Im currently doing the same although my circumstances are different my insurance doesn't cover anything !! and ive done a ton of research . i have a medical professional that's advised me so i can monitor myself I'm grateful to have a pharma connection to have access to fertility drugs for cheaper than insurance . so if i can help anyone on this forum let me know i know it sucks putting out all this money only to have failed cycles . Baby dust to all .

[Anonymous]

We stopped treatment two years ago, but did 5 stim cycles and I’m a poor responder. I do a random unmonitored Clomid cycle (100mg) every now and then. I got pregnant once the cycle after the Clomid cycle, but that resulted in my fourth miscarriage. Clomid seems fine (OBs do hand it out like candy), but I wouldn’t do injectibles. After all the cycles I did, I know things can go wrong without you really being able to sense it outside of monitoring.

[Anonymous]

yes, i did this many times. it was a few years ago and over many months. i used both injectables and clomid on my own, also triggers and progesterone later when I got pregnant. I got pregnant several times and gave birth at 45 (this was my third child).

I was an IVF veteran (for my second, and also third) and the basic lesson I learned is that doctors don't pay enough attention to timing. certainly they know much more than I do, but they don't pay as much attention to the details of my case. I believe that at least 50% of trials were wasted due to bad timing. for this reason I took matters in my own hands, studied my own cycle carefully. I did some monitored cycles (where I pretended they were unmedicated) and also many unmonitored IUIs, including back to back IUIs. honestly, I lost count but it was a lot. like most months over 3 years span, spanning at least two clinics. I also deceived my obgyn that it was a natural pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

I was very supervised on my IUI and ended up with twins. They're great and everything is wonderful, despite a lot of worry and really hard work in the early years. But I'd imagine that it's a much bigger possibility if unsupervised, so take that into account.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I has clomid left over that my RE adamantly said would be a waste of time (i have DOR and had been blasted by high dose stims to no avail). Took the clomid days 3-7 and happened to get an appt with a new RE for calendar day 11. I didn’t mention i took clomid. The new RE saw two 11mm follicles and was like - lets go for it! We did an ultra mini stim (50 of follistim a night ( mind you i was usually on 450) and I ended up retrieving 7 (which for me was unheard of) and am currently 11 weeks along. Even if this doesnt work out I would do it all over again.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if this applies, but I did intentionally disregard what I was told not to do. One IUI cycle was a bust because of too many mature follicles/eggs and I was told not to have sex. We did anyway. And I monitored/confirmed ovulation. And nothing came of it. Outside of that, I've not done anything further because we went to IVF. Closest to any deception would be telling my OB my second pregnancy was a natural pregnancy.

DX, unexplained