So I guess I should probably give you a little summary of the fertility treatments we have been through since we started TTC (trying to conceive)...I'll try to make it short and sweet, but as you can probably already tell from my first post, I am quite wordy. "I get it from my Mama!" ;)
-Oct 2009: I married my best friend; the man God intended to love, protect, and put up with me for the rest of our lives...what a lucky guy! Haha!
-Sept 2010: I stopped my BC pills. I thought it would happen right away...man, was I in for a rude awakening!
-Sept 2010-Sept 2011: I only would have a period if I was given Provera to start it (and my GYN would only give me this every 3 months), so I only had 4 "cycles" in this 12 month period. But I was reading that it is quite common for couples not to conceive right away, and that you should give it a year trying naturally before starting to worry.
-Sept 2011: We hit the year mark. I started to question my GYN about fertility concerns...she acted surprised, like she didn't know we had already been trying for a solid year. I had labs drawn, exams and ultrasounds done. My husband had a SA done. Out of all this testing, the only thing my MD could diagnose me with was PCOS (which would explain why I never had a period if I wasn't taking BC pills or Provera). I was started on Clomid 50mg to make my follicles grow and had frequent ultrasounds to monitor their activity. I produced one 20mm follicle, and took 250IU of hcg (the pregnancy hormone) to induce ovulation...but my doctor never had me come back for a scan to make sure I ovulated. Needless to say, I did not get pregnant that month.
-Oct 2011: My husband and I went on our 2nd anniversary trip. I took Clomid 100mg this time, but because I wasn't going to be in town for monitoring, I couldn't take the hcg shot. I don't even know if I had any mature follies. Once again, BFN (big fat negative). Bummer.
-Nov 2011: After a 56 day cycle, I started Provera again to get things moving. Started Clomid 150mg at the end of the month, so that takes us into Dec.
-Dec 2011: Grew one 19mm and two 17mm follies. Yay! Took the hcg shot again, but (once again) didn't go back for a follow-up scan. And, once again, BFN. (Starting to notice a trend, yet??)
*At this point, I decided maybe we needed a little more assistance in the matter...so I googled "Reproductive Endocrinologists" in our area, and there was only ONE. If we didn't like him we would have to drive 2 hours away to a bigger city to find a specialist, so I figured we should give him a shot.
-Jan 2012: Met with the RE, Dr T. He is probably the sweetest little doctor, and really loves what he does! So glad we decided to give him a shot, and I was starting to see how God was leading me towards the path He had for me! Dr T said I had borderline hypothyroidism, and started me on low-dose Synthroid. He also did an ultrasound and said I had several Nabotheian cysts in my uterus partially blocking my cervix, which could prevent sperm from reaching my eggies. (But he chose not to do anything about these right now, because that would mean surgery.) I had a HSG to check the patency of my tubes...this came out a-okay. However, while looking at my husband's SA from Sept, he noticed his morphology was low (1%, where 4% is "borderline normal"). Since the test wasn't done there, he recommended having another SA done, since morphology less than 4%= NOT GOOD. (Isn't it odd how all these tests were done at my GYN's office, but everything was considered "normal"?? But I digress.) Due to my husband's schedule, he wouldn't be able to do another SA for awhile, so we just went along as planned with my cycle...but I didn't start my cycle on my own this month either, so I was given Prometrium 400mg. Still didn't start until February.
-Feb 2012: Started Femara 2.5mg (didn't make me feel as bad as I did with Clomid--praise the Lord!). Had 24mm, 20m, and 19mm follies grow (whoop whoop!) and took the hcg shot. We elected to have an IUI (intrauterine insemination) done to ensure the little guys got up to my eggies! Had a follow-up scan done a few days later and found that I had released TWO eggs! I was super excited at the thought of twins!
*Now, during this month, my husband's stepfather was diagnosed with cancer. Three weeks later, he passed away in the hospital. Days before he passed away, we told him that we were trying to have a baby, but that we were having trouble so we were getting treatment...I think he was pretty excited. :) I kept having this verse pop into my head in the days before and after his death: "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away...blessed be the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:21) I honestly believed that God was going to help us through this devastating time by blessing us with a baby...but God said, "Not yet. All in My timing". So, the day of my father-in-law's funeral, we got another BFN. And so the next cycle began.
-March 2012: We decided to stay on the same protocol because I had such good response the last cycle. This time, though, I only grew one mature (20mm) follicle, but it did release, so I was grateful. After IUI #2, we still weren't pregnant. I started to get restless, but kept remembering Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I AM GOD." My husband finally was able to do another SA, but we had to wait 7 days for the results, so we decided to go ahead with the new cycle in the meantime.
-April 2012: Started the same protocol once again, thinking maybe stress was a factor in my poor response last month. But this time I only had one follie get to 12mm and then stop growing. I was thinking "Is it something I'm doing wrong?? Should I not be exercising? Should I cut out caffeine all together??" But in the end, it didn't matter whether they finished growing this month or not. My husband's morphology came back at 3%, which Dr T said was not very likely to fertilize eggs since the 97% abnormal sperm would be surrounding the egg and not let the normal guys in. He said the best thing to do would be to pick out the good sperm and make sure they have a chance to do their job...so that began our talk of IVF.
-Today: We are planning to go down this path that God is leading us...this path to IVF. I start my BC pills (to help suppress my ovaries) this Saturday. That will last for 3 weeks. Then, starting the week of May 20th, we will begin injections to kick my ovaries into high gear. I am nervous, yes, but at the same time, I am sooo excited to see what God is going to do! He has placed this obstacle in our lives for a reason, and I know he is going to do BIG things--after all, He is God! And like the guest speaker said at church this Sunday: "NOTHING is impossible with God! If you're not sure, write it down and see what He does!" So this is where I start my daily blogs (as time allows, anyway)...I plan to keep you updated on what's happening with the IVF process, other little tidbits to help the time pass, and (most importantly) how God is moving!
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