WWYD?

I will try to be brief and give only the pertinent info.

Quick background: Been trying for 21 cycles. Taking a non-traditional approach to treating my infertility by going to the Gianna Center (no IUI or IVF).

This past month, for the first time, I took Femara. I was monitored by going for estrogen level checks. I didn't have ANY fertile cervical mucus (a very, very big indicator and part of the approach I am taking) which was odd (esp since I always, always have it, and Femara is NOT supposed to interfere with that). Finally found out that my estrogen level kept rising and rising and rising up to the point of 2,200 (way too high). Had a sonogram on Wed that confirmed my doctor's suspicion that I hyerstimulated. I had 5 follicles (cysts?) on my left ovary, 1 on the right. One on the left is/was the size of a walnut.

Doc told me to abstain from intercourse and any high impact activity (not hard for a lazy a$$ like myself). I have to wait till these desolve and then have another sono to see that they're gone before trying again next month.

OK - so here comes my question - today (CD 21) I FINALLY see some fertile CM! I didn't expect to see any this cycle. Does this mean I *am* going to ovulate afterall? Would you BD anyway, even though the doc said not to?

My doc did mention that it wouldn't be good to get pg this cycle with the hyperstim - but I really don't know why. I realize the answer to my question is probably no, I shouldn't BD -- but, I just wanted to hear what others have to say.

I JUST WANT TO BE FREAKIN' PREGNANT ALREADY.

Thanks for taking the time to read, if you got this far!

Re: WWYD?

Oh my. If you have 5 follies and are, in fact ovulating, you could have quintuplets!

I'd follow your doc's advice and abstain. I think it's for the best.

Edited to explain: follicles contain eggs. Depending on the size (and I'm assuming they're big enough because the doc told you about them), the follicles will release their eggs when you get a surge of the hormone LH. So if you're surging now (and if you have lots of CM you probably are) the follies are "told" that it's time to go, and will release those eggs like they're supposed to. Normally, you only get one, maybe two or three if you're on meds. 5? Could be dangerous if you conceived.

Message edited 12/3/2010 7:01:23 PM.

Re: WWYD?

ok the reason they dont want you to BD is because if you have 6 mature follies (you didnt mention if they are mature but if your e2 is 2200 im sure most are) you could easily get pregnant with multiples. also, since you are technically hyperstimulated, you could end up with a bad case of OHSS which will get worse if you get a BFP. that being said here is my opinion...

my first cycle on meds i hyperstimmed, i had 10+ follies. we were told not to BD and we didnt. i really wanted to. the reason you have EWCM is because you will no doubt ovulate those eggs on your own. so it is by all means possible to get pregnant with multiples. if you are willing to consider selective reduction in the event that you get pregnant with several babies, then i would say you can take your chances and BD. if, however, you would NEVER consider that, its not worth the risk of BDing this cycle. that all being said there are plenty of ladies on here (PennyCat in particular) who have had IUIs done with 4+ mature follies and didn't get pregnant at all. so basically its a question of whether the risk is worth it to you. RE's will do IUIs with 4-6 mature follies. my DH and I didnt do IUIs, we did timed intercourse cycles only before IVF, and we did trigger and have intercourse in cycles that i had about 5 known mature follies. and we didn't get a BFP those cycles, let alone get pregnant with multiples. but we were always cautioned about selective reduction if we did, cause pregnancies with multiples are SIGNIFICANTLY more risky for the mother AND babies. so def weigh the risks and your own morales before making the final decision.

as far as hyperstimulating goes, during my IVF cycle I got MILD OHSS and it was a nightmare. i cant imagine what full blown OHSS would have done to me. with a mild case i gained 10lbs of fluid in 2 days after my BFP. i looked, not even kidding around, 8 months pregnant. it was hard to breathe and move. i had to take off of work to recover. and that was a borderline case of OHSS. i think it was worse because i originally got pregnant with twins (the more HCG the worse the OHSS can be), although one baby never made it past the gestational sac, so i am pregnant now with one.

my final piece of advise is DON'T make the decision out of haste because you just want to be pregnant already. in all actuality, if you want nothing more than to just be pregnant already, you can be more aggressive with your treatment (barring religious beliefs). during my 18 months of infertility, i too wanted everything to be as natural as possible. we never did an IUI and we moved on to IVF because the doctor said it was a safer option for me because I easily hyperstimulate and (like your situation) with timed intercourse or IUI you are at risk of having to cancel the cycle every time you hyperstimulate. mentally, it was hard giving up the idea that NOTHING was going to be nautral. but i am 10 weeks pregnant now from IVF and to be honest, DH and I could care less how we got here, even though prior to the cycle it seemed like such a big deal. in the end if you want a baby that bad, and you want it now, how you get there WILL NOT MATTER in the end!!

sorry this is so long winded. good luck with whatever you decide and whatever path you take!! feel free to FM if you want to chat!!

Message edited 12/3/2010 8:11:29 PM.