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Infertility

Our Infertility Support forum is a space to connect with others in the same position, discuss causes, treatment and IVF, and share infertility stories of hope and success.

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Original poster

Starting Gonal-F

21 replies

StoneBaby · 21/01/2014 20:00

I'm 35 and got a 4yo DS.
I've been diagnosed with secondary infertility and we've been ttc for 20 months. I'm anovulated and after using clomid without success, I'm not due to see another gyneacologist to start gonal-f injections.
Unfortunately due to admin mistake, I won't be seen before the end of Feb meaning it's 2 cycles away...
What are oyu experience with gonal? I've got no clue what I'm signing for

OP posts:

Shellster52 · 21/01/2014 20:30

To answer your specific question:

I used Gonal during my IVF cycles. No side effects, it's just getting used to jabbing yourself in the gut. Doesn't hurt at all but still daunting the first time. Unfortunately I am not pregnant as a result. At 34, I was found to have a very low AMH, meaning I only have 3-4 baby follicles at the start of each cycle so I can't produce many eggs during IVF. Also my hubby has 100% abnormal sperm which is why we can't get pregnant naturally. However, seeing this is not your problem and your problem is that you are not ovulating in the first place, hopefully it will solve this problem for you.

Did your follicles grow with Clomid but then not rupture? I know a friend who used Clomid and still didn't ovulate. Then they gave her a HCG injection once the follicle was mature to make it rupture, and she got pregnant that month.

j200 · 21/01/2014 20:35

Watching with interest as I think this is what is going to happen to me, my follicles grow on clomid but don't rupture and my dr doesn't want to give me an HCG shot as believes it should happen naturally. Think my next step is gonal f so let me know how you get on.

Am so fed up of clomid side effects and all for nothing, I don't think anything could be worse!

Good luck x

Shellster52 · 21/01/2014 20:52

I feel you are in with a good chance stonebaby and j200. My DH and I have had 4 IVF cycles without success and I ovulate every month so in total really it is 32 cycles without success. If there are no other issues with you guys, hopefully once they work out what medicine works for you to get you ovulating, it will be all systems go. Although I can certainly understand it is still frustrating for you now. Interesting j209 that your dr doesn't just give you the HCG while you have gone to all the effort of a Clomid cycle

j200 · 21/01/2014 21:02

Thanks Shellster, I really feel for you and hope it happens for you, I have found the last year hard enough so can't imagine what you must be going through, have everything crossed it works out for you x

sharond101 · 21/01/2014 21:38

I didn't ovulate with clomid and was then given Gonal-F alongside clomid with an HCG shot when large enough follicles were seen on a scan all as part of IUI. I conceived on my first cycle and now DS is 20mo. Now on the waiting list for a second try although my hormone levels and AMH levels have dropped so the odds aren't as good this time round.

Shellster52 · 21/01/2014 23:45

Thanks for your words of support j200. And now sharond101 is another woman to back up what I thought. With ovulation as the only issue, she got pregnant no problems once they got the right medication to get her ovulating. Hope this works for you too! Yeah, I remember being at my witts end after a year of struggling... I can't even describe the frustration now at 32 cycles. Doing IVF in two cycles time and I want to write 'hopefully this will put an end to my misery' but I am too scared to say or think anything positive so just one step at a time.

Original poster

StoneBaby · 22/01/2014 16:33

I don't know what goes on. I only had blood test showing my progesterone are too low.

I guess I'm afraid by the big IVF as by reading it looks like gonal-f is used for it.

Thanks for sharing your experiences

OP posts:

MillyONaire · 22/01/2014 16:41

I had secondary infertility (low progesterone) - was ttc for 4 years in total. Clomid didn't work and I had side effects from it. The awful doctor I was seeing just kept increasing the dose. Anyway Gonal-F sounds familiar but I can't remember the name of what I had to inject - I had to mix one drug into another and then inject it and then have an injection at ovulation. I did two months of that but did not get pregnant. I didn't have side effects though. Then I took a month off as I was going on hols and well that's when I got pregnant (DS now 5). I credit it to the drugs even though I wasn't using anything that month. Good luck - hope yours is a success.

Original poster

StoneBaby · 22/01/2014 16:48

My diabetes doctor when I asked him if the fact I have diabetes may be the reason for my anovulation told me it was my age!!!!!

OP posts:

Shellster52 · 24/01/2014 00:12

Gee Milly, everyone says to me 'when you forget about it, the it will happen' but I can't forget and so then that stresses me more. I tell myself that they are wrong anyway because we have a diagnosed medical reason why it won't happen, but then I keep hearing stories like yours where you take a month off, have a holiday, forget and you get pregnant!

Were you still actively TTC while on holidays or did you just happen to DTD at the right time?

Original poster

StoneBaby · 24/01/2014 06:25

shell I can't switch off forget neither. Also even if my DH results are fine he needs some assistance for TTC so there's always some planning involved.

OP posts:

naty1 · 24/01/2014 11:25

If it was the months after treatment then that probably had the affect I saw another person who said that. Suppose all the meds can mess with you in a good or bad way
It's probably more likely the unexplained people will get pregnant naturally. Though sometimes the problem found May not be the real reason I.e I have pcos but that is not the reason it is oh sperm.
Always worth a try though drs don't know everything

MillyONaire · 24/01/2014 13:30

Gee Milly, everyone says to me 'when you forget about it, the it will happen' but I can't forget and so then that stresses me more. I tell myself that they are wrong anyway because we have a diagnosed medical reason why it won't happen, but then I keep hearing stories like yours where you take a month off, have a holiday, forget and you get pregnant!
I used to have a violent response when people said that to me - no matter that it may well be true!! SO frustrating. I was using OPK (ovulation predictors) which were never positive (I taped each one to a sheet of paper with how I felt, symptoms, etc - obsessed doesn't even begin to describe it!) anyway, yes, I had taken that month off and DH was so tired of dtd on command that he too was relieved. A day or two before going on holiday (without dh) I had a pain in my side (which I now know is ovulation pain as I get it every month these days) and after googling it thought maybe this is ovulation (I was having up to 39 day cycles), did an OPK - my first positive in over 60 of them - hauled dh up the stairs and bingo! conceived a boy.
Ironically now that I do not want more children I ovulate like clockwork on day 14 of a 28/30 day cycle giving further weight to the theory that if you stop focusing on something it'll happen. But how is it possible to stop wanting something? We had decided we would stop trying after three rounds of that treatment as we felt that the stress of trying plus the cost was having an effect on family life and on our then 5 year old. I don't know how I would have managed that.
Good luck Stone

Original poster

StoneBaby · 25/01/2014 19:13

milly thanks.
Ds was quiet 'easy' to conceive as soon ad I understood my cycle so I did not expect this 2nd one to be so hard/long!!
This month was without any assistance but DH did not raise to the challenge. So I guess we need a routine in our dtd

OP posts:

Shellster52 · 26/01/2014 20:04

I guess it puts the pressure on our hubbies to have to rise to the challenge. I only had sex once this cycle before ovulation so not much chance for us naturally this cycle either. But I just try and woo him in the bedroom dept without mentioning baby making. I figure if I tell him 'Right I'm ovulating, go to the bedroom, strip down, get some sperm in me' it's really going to take the enjoyment out of it for him.

Can I ask StoneBaby, did you cycle change after having your first? Just curious as you say you conceived easily but now are diagnosed as not ovulating. Is your cycle normal length without ovulating?

Original poster

StoneBaby · 27/01/2014 20:42

shell pre DS my cycles were 35 days long. Since stopping the pills this time around, my cycles have been between 32 and 45 days. While on Clomid it was 29 days. The irregularity of my cycles (normally 32 to 35 days) make the ov guessing difficult too.

OP posts:

j200 · 28/01/2014 20:27

Hi Stonebaby, I am going to be starting FSH injections too but have to wait to see if I can get them funded on the NHS- did you have to apply for funding?

I have got to have a HSG too-not looking forward to that!!

Shellster52 · 28/01/2014 23:50

So I am guessing you think you are ovulating most months StoneBaby to be trying to calculate ovulation with your irregular cycles, but just in that one month you got tested, you didn't ovulate? Makes it very frustrating trying if you don't know when and if you are going to ovulate. I used to be happy my cycles were short because it would get the misery over sooner and I could try again sooner, but I then read that our cycles shorten as we age and this is bad for fertility. I have since tried to work on this and my last two cycles have been 27 days. How far away is your Gonal F cycle now?

Original poster

StoneBaby · 29/01/2014 10:55

shell I had blood tests over 3 months so def no ovulating.

j200 good luck with the HSG

OP posts:

Original poster

StoneBaby · 29/01/2014 10:56

I still have 4 weeks until my fertity appointment!!!

OP posts:

Shellster52 · 31/01/2014 04:39

Okay, sorry for confusion Stony. When you wrote above 'The irregularity of my cycles make the ov guessing difficult', I thought that implied that you think you are ovulating some times.

So a 4 week wait now. I am in Australia so not sure how your NHS system works but is sounds so slow and frustrating. All going well, I am due to start IVF in about 6 weeks time so maybe we will be doing treatment at the same time.

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