I thought I'd share our experiences with cycle 4 and 5. Cycle 4 was another natural at home IUI with the donor who gave us the CP in cycle 3. We timed ovulation with cervical fluid and cervical checks and OPKS then confirmed ovulation with basal body temping. Yet again we had another issue with the OPKs. There was a huge gap of time between the peak reading of the Clear Blue Advanced Digital and the extra wide Wondfos. For those of you who didn't know the technical side of an OPKs you are supposed to get a positive or peak when your Lutenizing Hormone reaches the threshold of the test. Wondfo and most other internet cheapies are positive at LH > 25 mIU/mL. Clear blue advanced digital is a little different because it tracks estrogen plus LH. Estrogen peaks first then falls as LH peaks. The Clear Blue advanced digitals are supposed to switch from high (flashing smiley) to peak (solid smiley) at LH > 40 mIU/mL. Twice now I had an issue where I got a peak on the CBAD but my wondfo with the same urine was still negative. That should NOT happen. I can only conclude that the peak reading happens when your estrogen level falls even if the LH hasn't really surged yet, or the LH threshold is more sensitive than the manufacturer thinks and advertises. We timed the IUI #4 for 38 hours after the first positive wondfo which ended up being like 48 hours from the peak CBAD this time. I got my temp rise around the time we inseminated. IUI #4 did not take and I got my period.
We took 2 cycles off to recover our finances a bit and also close and move into our new house. I am so glad that we were not TTC while moving into the house. It was a super stressful period of time with a lot of physical exertion and extreme fatigue. We barely had time to eat and often didn't. We were in survival mode. And between painting and moving furniture and getting the house ready for us to move in it would have just been too much. It was a very difficult decision to make at the time but in retrospect it was 100% the right decision for us.
We also started working with a Reproductive Endocrinologist because we decided that our finances would be better spent doing 1-2 medicated IUIs while we saved up in case we needed to resort to IVF. We worked with Boston IVF at their Albany clinic because they're subsidized from NY state and they frequently do remote monitoring for people who don't live locally. Their IUIS are $250 and their IVF is $4,500 plus medication and in cycle monitoring.
I took this time to go extra hard on my diet and also complete all of the testing that our RE ordered. I lost an additional 20 pounds by eating 1,200-1,300 calories a day. It was hard.
We did 2 ultrasounds (the HSG we'd already done with my OBGYN) so we had to do the SHG/SIS, and tons and tons of blood work including genetic testing mostly to make sure that I don't carry Cystic Fibrosis. That was an unpleasant $900 bill for blood work. Thankfully everything came back completely normal and our insurance (Aetna) covered all of it. I ended up testing CMV negative however our doctor did allow us to use a CMV positive (not an active infection) donor. I reasoned that the risk was miniscule and if IUI is good enough to use for an HIV+ partner then CMV shouldn't be an issue either. Plus we had already inseminated with him twice at that point and I still tested negative. My OBGYN also agreed that CMV status wasn't a big deal unless the infection was active and you/they currently had symptoms.
Once all of the testing was done they offered to let us do an IUI cycle either naturally or medicated. We asked for drugs and I got my period the very next day. I went for a CD 3 ultrasound and blood work and then they prescribed me clomid 50 mg for cycle days 4-8 since we had a test result timing issue and I couldn't start it on CD 3. The clomid was cheap at $19 and we picked it up from our usual CVS pharmacy. Then on CD 12 we had another ultrasound and blood work and this time we traveled the 90 minute drive to the clinic and paid the $575 monitoring fee to avoid another timing issue. I had a 24.4mm dominant follicle, two 14ish mm follicles, a 13mm follicle, and a few other tiny ones. We got the clear to trigger that night. I tested with OPKS to make sure I hadn't ovulated yet and I hadn't. For the trigger shot we used Ovidrel which was $53 from a mail order company who delivered it to our house. I have a latex allergy which causes a rash at the contact site and at first the mail order pharmacists didn't want to prescribe it to me because there's latex inside of the pre filled syringe however once I told him that I just get a minor rash with prolonged contact and I'm a nurse and I would take a benadryl at the first sign of redness or itching at the injection site he relented and agreed it should be fine. I didn't develop any problems. We triggered that night then went to the RE for the IUI 38 hours later.
The actual insemination at the RE's office was pretty disappointing. My wife sat in a chair in the corner while the nurse inseminated me. It was a very cold and clinical experience. She was nice enough but not chatty or friendly and it didn't feel like a special moment. I also forgot to ask for our vial so that ended up in the trash I'm sure. We were clearly a task to be accomplished in their very busy clinic. Even my wife felt a bit disappointed afterwards. I laid on the table for 15 minutes and tilted my hips down on the side with the big follicle. I put my pants back on and we paid our $250 and we went home.
The next day I started to test out my trigger shot with the wondfos. By day 8 you couldn't see a distinct line and even the FRER was negative. I kept testing and the next day we got our first very faint positive on our FRER. I've been testing the progression daily with FRERs since then and my lines are darkening okay although I am still waiting on our dye stealer and the Wondfos are super slow to change. On 17 dpIUI our first beta was 167.3 and my progesterone was 64.6. I go for another beta in the morning to see if it's doubling correctly.
I had zero pregnancy symptoms before the BFP. In fact I was so sure that it would just be another CP for the first two days because I had absolutely zero symptoms. I was actually planning for cycle 6 in my head and getting ready to cry when the FRER turned positive again and the line was darker.
Now that I'm 4w+4 pregnant I have symptoms. There's queasiness that comes and goes sometimes for hours or a half a day at a time. I haven't had much food aversion although sometimes I can't tolerate drinking anything carbonated. I'm frequently tired and I'm taking naps which is rare for me. Everything sappy or sad makes me get teary eyed and I have to work to not cry. My boobs alternate between sore and itchy. My temperature is still solidly above 98F. My uterus cramps sometimes and in the first few days I had a lot of sharp pinching feelings and then one really good pulling sensation like someone has stabbed a crochet hook through my right side and was trying to pull my uterus out through the side. I can also only eat small meals because eating too muhh makes me feel gross. For a few of the early days I felt vaguely UTI-ish with a dull full ache and frequent trips to pee however I never had any burning or pain and peeing did make it feel better. Now I'm having bowel issues. I've never had so much heart burn and gas and minor constipation. It's embrassing! I also did not expect all of this mucus discharge. I have a near constant wet feeling and keep having to go to the bathroom to check for blood because it constantly feels like how you feel right before your period starts. Thankfully I haven't had any spotting or bleeding. We have our first OB appointment booked for January 9th.
Here are the charts and BFP progression pics!
https://imgur.com/a/tap2U5i