Dexamethasone?

amdg · 03-07-2008, 02:18 PM

My RE said he's had lots of luck with dexamethasone. I'm supposed to start it on the first day of my next period. I'm also taking Femara. He says it will make me more receptive to the Femara. Thoughts?

Anyone else taking this?

Any successes? (oh, it would be so,so great to hear about some....!)

refrain02 · 03-07-2008, 02:26 PM

Sorry no successes from my end. Dexamethasone had some harsh side effects on me. Sorry for the lack of good news but every body is different. To my body it
1. Broke my face out
2. Made me so hungry I would crave food 10 minutes after eating a full meal
3. Made my hands break out in weird little brown spots
4. Made me extrememly irritable

I hope it works for you though...good luck!

Tummy · 03-07-2008, 09:43 PM

My last ob talked about putting me on it but I switched to an RE and she didn't mention it. My sister was on it midcycle to help with thin endometrial lining, and she didn't have any bad side effects, but I've also heard of similar s/e's as Refrain... hope if works for you! You'll have to give us an update.

relka · 03-12-2008, 11:05 AM

i am interested in dex too. my endo, not my RE, gave me a script for it. he thought it would help with clomid resistance. however, i was unable to start clomid at teh time b/c i was waiting on SA. anyway, i tried while i was taking licorice root and i didn't have any s/e. i only took it from Cd1 to ovulation though. i think i would try it with clomid since i had no s/e. i alo have elevated testosterone levels so it may make a difference. it probably isn't worth taking if your testosterone levels are below 50, even though 70 is clinically normal. i was told it need to be below 50 for normal O'ing.

amdg · 03-13-2008, 10:14 AM

relka -
your profile sounds a lot like mine. my testoserone is 73, so that's why my RE said dex might help make me more receptive to (in my case) femara. I also am slightly hypothyroid (the endo said she think it's hashimoto's) so i have been on synthroid for the past month (no s/e's, pretty happy wit it). I am waiting for my period before I can start the the dex/ femara extravaganza. :-) My RE wanted to use dex instead of metformin because he said he had many successes with it. let me know if this is too much nosey, but what is your body type like? I am pretty muscular - low body fat pecentage - which I am trying to work on a little bit (trying to eat more full-fat dairy, chill out on the running/ weight training). Sometimes I fear that my high-ish testosterone is related to my body composition...

in any case... let me know how things go for you. I will send you good vibes!

relka · 03-15-2008, 08:56 PM

amdg- very interesting. our stories do sound very similar. i have a slightly athletic build, more dancer-like than athletic. i used to be much thinner like 115lbs and really was more muscle than fat until about a year ago, but now i weigh about 128-130 and i have a bit more fat. i think this is a good TTC weight. i think pcos contributed to my build b/c it really is my natural body type and not the result of any extreme working out. i'm doing my 1st medicated cycle and am taking dexamethasone through ovulation. it makes sense to me that it should work.

amdg · 03-16-2008, 11:54 AM

relka - i used to be a lot thinner too - I'm 5'8" and was 118lbs - in retrospect, pretty unhealthy. I'm now around 130, which I think much more appropriate - my body-fat percentage is still on the low end of normal, though. I've always been relatively thin, but as soon as I start running, lifting, or doing rigorous yoga my body seems to build muscle fast - a good thing, I guess, until I started TTC! This whole process has been frustrating to me because I've always been active, strong, a mindful, healthy eater, etc. In other words, my body has usually done what I've wanted it to do, and this PCOS dx makes me feel like I've lost control. *Sigh*!

Anyway...

The good news is that I got my period yesterday (was nervous about it coming at all because it has been highly irreular for the past 6 months), so I started the dexamethasone last night, and will start femara tomorrow. I'll get my u/s to check for big, juicy follicles on day 10 - let's hope they're there. :-) I've got a really good feeling about the dexa. My RE's explanation of how/why it works (especially for women with our body type) made a lot of sense.

best of luck to you - I am sending you good energy!

relka · 03-16-2008, 04:38 PM

amdg- i noticed you are from NY. i'm in brooklyn. who is your RE? my Re is at NYU fertility ctr, Dr. Licciardi. i'm hoping that the dex does the trick and will keep you in the loop. i'm curious, what did your RE say about the dex?

i'm 5'5" so i'm a little shorter than you but we have the same body type. it is very easy for me to tone and build muscle when i work out. i also totally understand about the feeling out of control thing. i just want my body to cooperate and give me a big juicy follie or two.

amdg · 03-16-2008, 09:27 PM

relka- i'm actually upstate, in buffalo (though i lived in astoria for many years before i was married!) i'm seeing dr. sperrazza in the buffalo infertility associates group. he told me that he started using dex a few years ago and the other REs in his practice thought he was crazy, but he's had so much success that his once-skeptical colleagues prescribe often now too. i'll keep you posted on any s/e's, but so far so good on CD2! :-)

Jenn-Loves-Chris · 03-16-2008, 09:46 PM

I take Dex but I am a fluffy cyster. I am pretty sure its the Dex that is giving me horrible leg cramps at night. I am hoping this cycle does the trick because if not, I may have to look into an alternative or something else to add for the leg cramps.

vayers · 06-11-2008, 04:06 PM

SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND!!! Dx with PCOS when I was 20 and am now 26. I have been TTC for a year now. I have pretty high DHEA levels and am currently taking 0.5mg of Dexamethasone for it. Along with this I am also taking 2000mg of Metphormin per day and just finished my first round of Femera 2.5mg. I have been trying to reach out to other women on this site about this combination of drugs but have had no responses. I wish someone would reply with some good news or advice or something. I am supposed to take my first test on Friday to see if I ovulated and I am praying that the Femera will do the trick....although I haven't really noticed a difference in my body or anything that would indicate that I am about to ovulate. It still might be too early to tell as I just finished my last does of the Femera last night.

ilovebailey · 06-12-2008, 01:23 PM

I don't have any advice but they are testing me for Adrenal hyperplasia and dex is the med I would be put on to treat it. Still waiting for test results. And in the 2ww...so much waiting...

splashsmama · 06-12-2008, 01:41 PM

vayers,
I too have just been diagnosed with slightly elevated DHEAS levels. My dr is recommending Dex with Clomid. I've tried Metformin and I couldn't get past 1500mg without getting sick, so my dr has abandoned using Metformin on me.
I'm Clomid resistant, so the dr is hoping the Dex will help with that. If not, they want to put me on Femara.
I'm not hopping in just yet with this line of meds because I'm trying the Insulite system. I'm sorry I'm not of more help. Please keep me informed of your progress because if Insulite doesn't work out for me, then I'll go along with Dex/Clomid or Dex/Femara.

relka · 06-12-2008, 02:31 PM

vayres- my endo recommended a similar combo of dex(.25mg), metformin(as high as i as i could get which was 1000mg) and clomid (not as good as femara). i didn't respond to clomid but i have heard that femara is good. if you don't respond you may just need a higher dose of the femara. my endo swear by this protocol for cysters with high testosterone. most RE's just use the fertility drugs with or w/o metformin. it is a pretty low dose of dex so it is worth trying. best of luck to you!

vayers · 06-13-2008, 12:16 PM

I really appreciate the responses I got from posting this ~ I take my first at home ovulation test today at noon to see if the femera did it's job. The RE said that if I haven't ovulated by CD18, I would need to come back in to the office for more test and for a possible increase in my med. Everyone please say a little prayer for me today that the med. works. I will keep you all posted.