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Good call stillfun.....always safer to be sure than to guess with medications......especially when its such a big deal.
afm.....I took soy iso this cycle (2-7). Having quite a few cramps last 2 days. i hope i hatch multiple eggs this cycle but not tooo early! And Greg's testosterone level is 378....( range 300-1000). so technically in normal range. i guess that's good news in that he won't need replacement therapy . He is going back to Germany next month right around AF time. at least we won't miss any fertile windows. Got one estimate from one of the 2 fertility doctors in the state....IUI goes for about $2000 per cycle. that's way too much for me to imagine spending and it not work!
Ok, got an appt scheduled for mar 3 for a consultation with a fertility doc. . if nothing else he maybe can tell us if it is worth trying at all

Hoping I know its easy to say for me cause I have other options and I know ,IUI does work but its not a great percentage and most Australian clinic will only do it on same sex couples or donor sperm, they say its not worth doing for couples that can TTC on there own as it only increases there chances slightly, and if $2000 is too much for a slight chance like it was for me I wouldn't do it, I def encourage getting all the necessary testing done, it really can't hurt! It may give you some insight as to what's going on, and I wouldn't be going off your at home SA because once they have been inside you its not worth doing, once they are ejaculated there are on a mission, and most should be out of the semen after 15/20 min, I would hope after 5 min that they have started there journey, it can't be accurate, unless he does it in a cup away from any contamination ( saliva, your stuff or lube) it can't be accurate. I really hope you get some answers, oh and I forgot to say that my meds cost $550 which I was unaware of! I hate when you get hit with extra shit they don't tell you about.

Stillfun, oh, so smart of you to call to check about the meds! That would have been so awful if you had to cancel the cycle because of that! $550 for the meds sucks, but it could be worse right? Some of the meds get super expensive. Here the cost of the meds can be nearly as much as the cost of the IVF procedure - which is totally insane. If I go back to the fertility clinic, they want me to switch to an injectable and I'm worried it's going to be super expensive. At least I have some coverage for meds it seems (so far).

Hoping, I totally agree with stillfun about getting a SA done by a lab. They will be able to tell you so much more than your home tests. It could come down to something as simple as differences in your vaginal pH causing differences in the number of live sperm you see. When you get it done, make sure that they give you results for count, motility and morphology - all important.

AFM, today I am getting ovary pain on the left side (the side I ovulated from) and my breasts have started hurting and my lower back aching. I'm only 7 DPO. Not sure if this means anything or not, but I'm recording it anyhow. One of the benefits of getting acupuncture is that I bring my BBT chart to each visit and go over it and my symptoms with her. It's like I have my own personal fertility coach.

We are doing the SA first so we will have the results before the appt

That's great hoping! Fingers crossed!

Does the $2000 quote include the meds? Can you get any of the med costs refunded through any extended health care plan you have? For us, I have to pay the cost of the procedure but the drugs are covered by my plan (maybe not the trigger, but the estrace was). From what I understand, even though they don't cover infertility treatments, they cover drugs like that because they are also used for other medical conditions. If you haven't checked already, it could be worth looking into, if you have a plan that covers some prescriptions.

I'm sure the insurance person in the office will figure that out. But if his SA is really bad, we won't go any further. Cost of actual IVF is out of the question. I would hope the $2000 included the whole procedure. But that was a different doc office.

hoping: fingers crossed with the SA I hope he has lots of good swimmers in there. wow $2000 for just a basic IUI cycle? That is crazy! Can you just get an IUI or do they require you do all the monitoring. My clinics were $300 for just the IUI but if you wanted monitoring and everything the total was $1200. You could always do your IUIs at home. I have a booklet I can send you that a bunch of the ladies put together on another forum I'm on. Might be worth a try.

Northern: Loving the symptoms!!! Are you going to try to wait the full 2 weeks before you test?

Stillfun: Glad you were able to get things worked out with the meds. That would've been horrible. They def. should make sure to have clear instructions with meds.

Anastasia: That is so exciting!!! How are you feeling?? Any changes?? EEkk I'm so so so excited for you!!!

AFM: AF made her visit today and I start my patches and suppositories Thursday. The injections are going well and I leave to go up to Sacramento in about 2 weeks. Bought my plane ticket yesterday and I'm so excited!!! I know that it's my first try and I'm trying not to get my heart too set on this round but this will be the closest I've come to actually being pregnant so it's pretty amazing. :)

I know that a lab SA is of course much more accurate. i just like to know what's swimming around more often. I can't tell you what a count is by anymeans. But what I can see is that when i first started looking, is I searched a whole slide, i may have found 5 or 6 swimming sperm. Last night with a sample right out of me (tmi) there were many more than I could count (like ants on an ant hill ) and a few were still alive this morning. I am feeling actually cautiously optimistic that we can conceive naturally at this rate. Going to try to drop off the sample Monday and get that out of the way.

Mel, i have looked into the ONLY IUI option but I will ask the doc when we go. I wouldn't mind doing it at home either if it wasn't too expensive and the sperm wouldn't die before i go home with them.

Now ya'll have all been to the doc. I have the option of an ultrasound at the consult, but I am not sure it would be much purpose at that point of my cycle. I should be 3-5 dpo on that date depending on when I O. Is there anything he can really tell then other than lining thickness? I am regular, have no problems with heavy periods or anything, no miscarriages and no unusual bleeding.

Usually if I get a scan after O its 7dpo and its to check for cysts fibroids etc. They call it a baseline, its good to just check. I couldn't makemy CD21 for my fet but did a CD1.
Drugs are starting to make me uncomfortable, Mel are you on pesseries or suppositories? Supositiories are up the bum in Australia and pesseries are vaginal. I had to do laxatives before my EC but that's the only time ove done suppositories.

Hoping, your microscope results are certainly way better! Keep that guy on the vitamins! About the ultrasound, I can't really remember what they looked at when during my initial testing. It can't hurt for sure to have confirmation that everything looks as it should. The other thing they may want you to do is have an HSG done to make sure that your fallopian tubes are not blocked. The procedure itself is known to improve your chances the next cycle too, which is a bonus. I have to say at this point, after all the testing I've done, I really have no qualms about getting ultrasounds done but I remember dreading them at first and feeling very awkward and uncomfortable.

Stilllfun, yuck! Suppositories sound really nasty. I've only done pessaries. Sorry the drugs are affecting you. Hang in there.

Mel, glad the injections are going well! It is so exciting - just to know that you have an embryo inside you would be amazing!

AFM, I am gong a bit nutty with the wait. I'm getting nausea and upset stomach today, and feel stuffed up, oh and getting acne. The nausea started last night, and has been coming and going. I even dreamt that I was throwing up, among other vivid dreams. I'm trying to just take note of symptoms and write them down but I can't help but obsess over them a bit. I also have two house plants that have just randomly started flowering and I can't help but feel that this is some kind of omen, lol. See, I told you I'm going nutty over here! Trying to hold off on testing until 14DPO if AF doesn't show.