Making a baby is sexy!

So if you read my previous post...you guessed right. We decided to go ahead and do the IUI despite the increased risk of multiples. I am SOOOO glad we decided to now because we found out that DH's counts are down quite a bit from the last time.

All in all, the whole processes wasn't bad at all. We arrived at the clinic at 9am. DH did his thing. They brought both of us back to an exam room just after 10:30. Two nurses were in the room with us. They went over the sperm counts. I was really down over them...in hindsight I shouldn't have shown my poor husband that I was upset...I know it was just a blow to his manhood...no pun intended. There were 0% type A and only 4.4 million total. I asked her if it was even possible to get pregnant with no type As and she said it happens all the time. It was relieving to hear that.

So I assumed the position. The nurse put the speculum in and then the catheter. It was a totally differnet experience that my first IUI...not painful at all. The cath slipped right into my cervix and she put the baby batter in there. Didn't even cause cramping. The set an alarm for 15 minutes. When the time was up, I got dressed and we were out of there.

I have realized throughout this cycle that the next time I hear someone who is pregnant complain about how much morning sickness sucks...or how swollen their feet are...i might just deck them. People have no idea how unmagical the journey to conceive a baby is when you are an infertility patient! I just don't want to hear it! I will without a doubt relish every bout of morning sickness and every kick to my bladder when I get pregnant!

First Cycle of Injectibles

Well after 3 failed rounds of Clomid, we have moved on to injectibles. I started this cycle with a hysterosalpinogram (HSG)....umm....really not fun. It was not quite as bad as I thought it would be, but it was like an extremely intense pain that lasted for maybe 2 minutes when the dye spilled into the uterus. Thank God...it's all clear!! Yay.

Now to use the injectible meds, they made me take an FSH class at our fertility clinic to learn all about the different types of drugs and how to stick myself with a needle. Not terribly enlightening for $100.

I decided, naturally, to go with the most expensive option-the Follistim pen. It seemed only logical since this was the only option that did not require mixing of drugs and had a safety mechanism built in which would prevent me from dumping $1000 of medication on to the floor.

I ordered my first pen through Metro drugs. It came out to be the cheapest-$900 for the 900IU pen and a shot of Ovidrel.

I started the shots on CD3at 75IU. Given that I have PCOS, they didn't want to hyperstim me...which give how much OHSS sounds like it sucks, I was ok with that. Here are the results of the subsequent E2's and Ultrasounds:

CD3 [baseline]- E2=39
Follicles=none
Dosage=75IU

CD8- E2=165
Follicles=nothing over 10mm on either side
Dosage=100IU

CD11-E2 187
Follicles=7mm on left
Dosage=150IU

CD14-E2=1314
Follicles= Right-10mm, 10mm, 12mm
Left-14mm
Dosage=112.5IU

CD15-E2=2788
Follicles=Right-17mm, 14mm, 10mm, 10mm
Left-14mm, 10mm

On CD 15 the clinic called with news from my doctor. She said she is very concerend that we may conceive multiples with this cycle. They gave us the option of cancelling the cycle or triggereing that night and proceeding with the IUI tomorrow (Thrusday). You'll never guess what we decided............

How the hell did I get here?

Hey everyone. I've never blogged before...but given how much the journey into fertility has sucked...I thought it might be a nice outlet!

Let's see...I am 24 years old (that's right...24....and infertile). I never imagined in a million years (ok...well 24 years) that I would be one of those women that so desperately wants a baby that I would do anything to my body or spend vast amounts of money to get it. But alas…here I am. My hubby is 30 years old. We are your typical working stiffs. Get up, go to work, go the gym, eat dinner, pass out 30 minutes later, wash, rinse, repeat. I work at a major university in Nashville in research ethics. It’s pretty much a fancy title for getting to tell MDs and PhDs that they did something wrong. I kind of like it. I also go to school part time…working on my Masters degree as a Nurse practitioner in psychiatric medicine. Ironic given how crazy this fertility stuff has made me. The hubby works for a record label…putting music in movies and commercials, etc. Lots of extra hours at the office and more travel than I’d like…. But he’s the sugar daddy…so I won’t complain.

We’ve been married for 2 years (this May). Time sure flies. We have been trying to get pregnant for about a year now. It’s funny to think about how many years we dated and focused on not getting pregnant. Seems a little silly to have spent all of that money on contraception! Hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Last year I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). To sum it up PCOS is an endocrine disorder that affects approximately 5% of all women and is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, and is a leading cause of infertility. The principal features are weight problems, lack of regular ovulation and/or menstruation, and excessive amounts or effects of androgenic (masculinizing) hormones. The symptoms and severity of the syndrome vary greatly among women. While the causes are unknown, insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity are all strongly correlated with PCOS.
Yay…so not only am I infertile…but I will also have the joy of battling my weight and hormones all my life and likely die of some type of cardiac problem. Can’t lie….finding out I had PCOS was a little bit of a relief. I always wondered why all of the dieting in the world wouldn’t make me thin. Now I know.
On top of the PCOS, we found out DH has some motility problems. He sucked it up and went to a urologist (after many months of TTC) and found out he had prostatitis. Doc sent him home with some antibiotics….hopefully that’ll do the tricks.
Ok….so to date…..we’ve been seeing a fertility specialist for about 6 months. 3 failed rounds of Clomid, 3 large cysts after each and every Clomid cycle, one trip to the emergency room for a severe allergic reaction to progesterone, and about $4,000 later we are now moving on to the big league drugs.
I am starting my first round of injectible drugs as soon as AF shows up. My doc prescribed Follistim 900IU pen. The thought of actually sinking that needle into my stomach every night makes me a little queasy….or maybe it’s the price tag of this cycle (~$2300 to $3000). Getting knocked up is not for the poor!
Thus far insurance hasn’t covered shit. So nice to know that I pay into it every month and get squat out of it.
So now I am just sitting and waiting for AF to arrive so I can get this show on the road. I just finished up a 10 prescription of Prometrium to induce AF. So far nothing. As soon as I start I have to go in for a baseline U/S and hormone level check. The doc also wants me to have an HSG done…..not looking forward to that at all.
So that’s my shitty journey thus far! I am really looking forward to meeting others who have shared this experience….and hate it as much as I do!