Starting again!

01/09/2025

This summer, I started working with a fertility clinic. I decided to pursue pregnancy via IUI (intrauterine insemination), so they had me complete several routine fertility tests before we began the process.

This fall, one week before our first insemination attempt, I got cold feet and decided I needed more time to think.

During the week before Christmas and New Years, I decided I’d move forward and try again. So I’m back with the same fertility clinic, working toward pregnancy through IUI.

On Monday (1/6/25), I had my baseline ultrasound. The clinic found four follicles, but one was much larger than the others. They weren’t sure if it was a follicle or a harmless cyst, so they drew blood to investigate further. The next day, the bloodwork confirmed it was a cyst. This was good news because if it had been an overdeveloped follicle, we wouldn’t have been able to inseminate this month.

(Baseline ultrasounds are typically done between days 1–4 of a woman’s cycle, shortly after her period starts. At that point, follicles should be small. If one is significantly larger, it usually indicates that ovulation is imminent, meaning we would have missed our chance to inseminate this cycle. Thankfully, it turned out to be just a cyst. Cysts are quite common, and our bodies often absorb them without any negative impact.)

I’m relieved and excited that we can move forward this month!

Now I’m taking Letrozole, a fertility medication that helps my body develop more than one follicle to increase the chances of pregnancy. I’ll take the medication for five nights, then return to the clinic for another ultrasound to see if it worked.

This isn’t my first experience with Letrozole. I tried it for one month last fall, but it didn’t stimulate my follicles enough, so we couldn’t proceed with insemination. I was really disappointed. This time, I’m on a higher dose and hoping it makes a difference.

When Letrozole didn’t work last fall, my clinic switched me to another medication called Clomid the following month. Clomid worked—it helped my follicles grow—but the side effects were unbearable. I felt irritable, cried at the smallest things, and experienced insomnia, brain fog, chest pressure, and what felt like a racing heart. That week was so challenging, and I couldn’t wait for the side effects to subside. Even though Clomid was effective, my doctor doesn’t want to prescribe it again due to how poorly I tolerated it.

While Letrozole has fewer side effects, I’m still experiencing some discomfort this time around. I’ve had mild chest pain, occasional hot flashes and temperature dysregulation. Thankfully, the side effects are manageable so far, and I’m hopeful that the increased dose will work.

At my next ultrasound, if multiple follicles have developed and I’m close to ovulating, the clinic will schedule my first-ever IUI. Fingers crossed!