Wednesday, April 1, 2009

MISS ME?!?!? I'm back with BIG NEWS.......

I'M PREGNANT!!! Bobby and I could not be more excited, overwhelmed, anxious, and flat out scared to death.

So now I can honestly say THAT is the reason why I had to take a break from my blog for awhile. From the moment I saw the 2 pink lines on the stick, I have had pregnancy on the brain. That is all I can think about...all day long. It drives me crazy, and I admit to be even a little embarrassed about that fact. WTH did I think about BEFORE those 2 pink lines!?!? Even my friends have noticed a huge change in me. They miss the "fun" me, and so do I!!!
Now that we have finally reached the first big mile marker: End of the 1st Trimester, and we can go public with our life changing event...I am hoping that us being able to talk freely about it, will lead to getting the "fun" me back. At the very least, maybe I can think of anything else besides being pregnant....and morning sickness. :-(

So now that our news is out there, I can talk or blog about it all I want to. :-)
I have been keeping track of our complete journey up to this point. So I am going to share (parts) of our journey here for your reading enjoyment. And here goes.....

Our Journey...

It started 14 months ago...at my yearly gyno appointment in February 2008. My doctor asked me if we were planning to have a family and I said yes. Her next question was "What are you waiting on?" I answered confidently "My husband graduates in May, then we want to have a year to travel and just be together before we have kids. She told me that at my age (32) I should already be starting the process because every 6 months I wait will make it that much harder to conceive.
At that moment, I could have been knocked over with a feather. I had always heard that 35 was the age you should start worrying about it, but apparently I was a little off...35 is the age you basically fall of the cliff (there are exceptions to every rule of course).
So obviously I left the appointment somewhat freaked out. That night I told Bobby about the conversation I had with my doctor. He was not thrilled that the doctor had given it to me that way. He was probably just projecting his anger towards the doctor because that ignited the baby talk when he wasn't ready for it....and I am sure he needed to be working on some big school project that night rather than dealing with sensitive me.

Eventually Bobby & I agreed that we would move the time frame up a little...I took my last pill on or very near our 1 year anniversary April 28, and Bobby graduated about 1 week later. The doctor told me I should be off the pill for 2 months, but I was off for about 3 before we gave up the condoms. (What a great night that was!)

We had been "trying" about 1 month when we met some couple friends for dinner. This couple had been through everything in regard to trying to get pregnant. They tried for 4 years before they had a little girl through IVF. Then tried for another 4 years before having a set of twins, again through IVF (a few miscarriages later). So during our night out with them we told them that we were just starting to try. She asked me about my doctor and I told her about my last visit with her, and that she was fine although I didn't just "love" her. She told me that I had to go see her doctor....that I must absolutely LOVE the doctor that I am going to go through all that stuff with. She raved on & on about her doctor and his staff, so I agreed I would make an appointment. She also suggested that I tell the doctor we had been trying for 6 months...just to speed up the "process" since we are both a little older.
Two weeks later I was in with her doctor's nurse practitioner....telling her we had been trying for 6 months. We went through both mine & Bobby's and both our family's entire medical history. She told me that 6 months of trying is pretty average, but that at 6 months we can move onto some initial testing.

Here are the initial tests we went through:
Test #1 - 10/2/2008 Blood Test: Progesterone Level
Test #2 - 10/10/2008 Seman Analysis
Test #3, #4, #5 - 10/10/2008 Blood Test: ABO, Rubella, FSH3**
Test #6 - 10/14/2008 HSG (Hysterosalpingogram)

**FSH3: Follicle Stimulating Hormone Test - I first learned about this test when reading a book recommended to me by a friend: What Every Woman Should Know About Fertility And Her Biological Clock Then a couple of girlfriends who were both trying to get pregnant in their 30s told me I should do the FSH test.*Anyone who is thinking about having children can have this test done. It can help you monitor your own biological clock, no matter what age you are."FSH is just one of a number of hormones that is secreted by your brain. Inside your brain, located just at the base of your neck, there is a tiny region called the pituitary gland. This gland is responsible for releasing a variety of different hormones, including FSH. FSH hormone is used to help encourage the growth of eggs in women and sperm in men. Without FSH, neither males nor females would be able to procreate. Measurements of FSH can be determined through a simple blood test. Levels of this hormone directly correlate to the number of eggs "on reserve" in the ovaries. By measuring the amount of FSH, the doctor can suggest specific treatments that could help to conceive. He can also predict how well someone may respond to these treatments." -- http://www.sharedjourney.com/define/fsh.html

The morning after the HSG Nurse Kathy from my Doctor's office called to talk to me about the results. She said that with the tests I have taken we have determined that:
A. I am ovulating
B. Husband has good swimmers
C. I have plenty of eggs in reserve
D. My tubes are open and clear
All positive things. The next step is to try naturally for the next 3 months. Since my tubes are now "flushed out" that is sometimes enough for women to get pregnant. If after 3 months I am still not pregnant, they will put me on ovulation enhancing medications.

3 Months
Oct: Nope
Nov: Nope
Dec: Nope

January 13, 2009 - Doctor Appointment to discuss medication options.
"Ovulation Enhancing Medication"
When my doctor first came in and looked at my chart, he got excited and said it was a lucky day since it was my cycle day 13. We did a sonogram to look at my ovaries and uterus. It was extremely interesting in that he showed us on a diagram what phase of my cycle I should be in, and then showed how I was exactly where I needed to be on the sonogram monitor. He said everything looks perfect, and suggested that we have sex that night, and for the next 2 nights....
The doctor said that I am now fully documented to be an ovulater....with unexplained infertility.
If I don't get pregnant this month, the next step the doctor suggested is to start an ovulation enhancer Femara or Clomid. ALONG WITH an IUI.
My husband immediately asked about doing both together since we had always heard of just doing the pills for a few cycles first. The Dr told us they do that when they haven't confirmed someone has been ovulating, or they have irregular cycles. But since I am well documented, they will jump to the IUI + meds. Next cycle or the next....whenever we are ready....
(Differences between Clomid & Femara: Femera has a higher rate of pregnancy, lower side effects, lower chance of multiples.)

A friend explained the Clomid thing to me as a step everyone dealing with infertility has to go through....a means to an end. Every doctor even the specialist will make you do it before they break out the "big guns".

That friend went through the infertility thing several months before me, and gave me the best piece of advice so far.........
(her words)
Ok, EVERYONE will tell you not to "stress" and just "relax" and blah blah blah. Just have the feelings as they come and don't
a) get down on yourself for having them, and
b) don't listen to other people who have no idea what they are talking about.
Relaxing doesn't make babies! And neither does having negative thoughts prevent pregnancy. People who aren't trying to have a baby without success don't understand how all-consuming it can feel! My only words of wisdom is to know that once you do get pregnant, this time will feel like a blur! The pain/frustration will melt away, I swear!

She is so right, at this point I am already hearing the "Relax" "Don't Stress" stuff. It is annoying because I don't feel that I am stressing. These emotions are different than stress, but I don't know how to best describe it all. I just feel like it will all work out and happen how its supposed to. I'm a little anxious, but definitely not stressed. I've had a few times of frustration as well. I don't feel bad about having these feelings, they must be natural. And if I wasn't having roller coaster emotions, well...that is what would seem strange to me.

After learning the prices of Clomid, Femera, and IUI treatments, Bobby & I decided we would do a round of just Meds for the 1st month (February 2009). In March we would add the IUI treatments. Our reasoning for that was because our health insurance does not cover infertility procedures, but we maxed out our Flex plan that we can use toward medical procedures such as this. The 2009 Flex plan started March 1st.

We choose to start off with Clomid because there is an increased chance of having twins. The drawbacks to Clomid are the side effects such as hot flashes, mood swings, nausea.... But we decided to chance it anyway.

FYI...
$50 - Price for 1 month supply of Clomid, 5 pills (not covered by health insurance)
Instructions for CLOMID:
Cycle Day 1: Call Nurse to let her know.
Cycle Days 5-9: Take 1 Clomid pill a day

$500 (approx) - Price for 1 month IUI procedure (not covered by health insurance)
Instructions for Clomid + IUI:
Cycle Day 1: Call to set up a Doctor Appointment for a Follicle Study on cycle day 12 or 13.
Cycle Days 5-9: Take 1 Clomid pill a day
Cycle Day 12 or 13: Appointment for Follicle Study & Shot
Cycle Day 13 or 14: Take swimmers with me for IUI procedure.

~~~

1 comment:

Kris10 said...

She's back...loved reading your blog, now I can really understand what your journey was like, thanks for sharing! Love you and so happy for y'all!