No follicles?

[Anonymous]

Just started working with an RE. I was diagnosed with DOR (high FSH and low AMH and am 36). This was supposed to be my first medicated IUI cycle and I was on 5mg of Femara from day 3-7. I just had an ultrasound on CD 10 (I almost always O on CD11 or 12) and the RE said he saw no follicles at all on either ovary and my lining was very thin. WTH? He said maybe the Femara is lengthening my cycle and something will start developing soon. Has that happened to others? But doesn't it take like 10 days for something to develop? It's hard to believe I will O on like day 20, but who knows. My cycle is usually only 22 days.

Or can Femara backfire in DOR patients and make you not grow any follicles at all even though I do typically O on my own.

They took blood and said hopefully my numbers will reveal what's going on. If I do have something growing they just couldn't see they said they will have me do another round of Femara at a higher dose to see if that can stimulate something. Has anyone done that?

So frustrated!

[Anonymous]

Letrozole pushed back my O by like 2-3 days

[Anonymous]

Thanks, but they should have at least seen something, even if it wasn't mature enough, right?

[Anonymous]

so, femara works by inhibiting aromatase thereby suppressing estrogen production. Unfortunately, follicles need *some* estrogen to be encouraged to develop. This is why DOR IVF protocols can involve an estrogen priming protocol to help recruit more follicles.

If your estrogen is already too low, femara may actively work against you.

[Anonymous]

Can we please spell out "ovulate" because "O" already means something else that is quite distracting to have thrown into a post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, but they should have at least seen something, even if it wasn't mature enough, right?

Yes. When I did cycle monitoring they were able to count my follicles at cd 3.