Facts about Fertility Treatments

I will preface this by telling you that you are about to enter a zone of TMI. I'm not even embarrassed though, because I think it's interesting. It's  problem that needs fixed. HOWEVER, NO ONE tells newly married women or teenagers or young girls going through puberty about infertility struggles when you're older. It's more common than you think. Andrew and I were very proactive about this. I read up and researched anything and everything I could about the subject and I am certain that is why we were able to get started on treatments faster than a lot of people. Typically, when women "think they are having troubles", doctors have them wait 9 months to a year before moving on to medical help. We only waited 3 months before medical help. I am so thankful for that.

Here are the notes I kept about what happened each month. I wrote these between September 2014 and the beginning of 2014. But first, look at this picture of my ovaries and eggs…enjoy.

(Here you have my left and right ovaries. The small black "circles" on the left are what they consider PCOS. Those egg follicles are polycystic. An egg doesn't reach maturation in one of those. On the right side you see two RIPE follicles. Eggs were growing up in there. This was October 2013.)

- Appointments, 2013
The process of infertility treatments is exhausting. You're upset mentally because you can't get what you want so badly, and on top of that you are constantly scheduling and timing and charting things! Everyone tells me "this will happen when you stop stressing over it." To those people, I want to say SHUT UP! Even when I'm not thinking about it, something will come up (did you know that every commercial or tv show or post on social media has something to do with babies...I'm serious) and it gets me going again. 

When I start my period, that is day 1 of a new cycle. I have to call the doctor to let them know, they call in my prescription. I start taking meds on day 3-7. When I call on day 1, the nurse also schedules my ultrasound appointment for day 11 or 12. If egg follicles are ready (measuring at one dimension at least 22mm) at that appointment, I get an hcg shot and then Andrew and I have to have alone time 24 hours, 36 hours, and 48 hours after that. Anytime after that is "for fun" according to the doctors. Bahahahaha....no.

August (round 1):
- saw OBGYN around day 44 of a cycle. She called in my first round of clomid, 50mg. I started taking it on 8/21 and she said to consider the first pill day 3 of a new cycle (even though I never had a period). I went for an ultrasound with dr. H on 8/28 (day 10). I had one large follicle in the left ovary and 2 smaller ones on the right. None of them were quite big enough for injection. I went back on 8/30 with dr. T (day 12). All three were "ready". I got the injection. We did our duty...while in Oregon...with my family... Period started 9/17 (day 29).

September (round 2):
9/20 I stared clomid. Ultrasound with dr. G on 9/27 (day 10). Dr. G is the doc I don't care for. He and his nurse were the ones who didn't seem to care that I wasn't having a period back in August. At this appointment he told me to not stress (shut up) and drink a bottle of wine and make love to my husband and we would get pregnant. Wrongo-bongo. On 9/27 I had no follicles ready. Reschedule for 9/29 (day 12) with dr. T. **note: this was a weekend appointment. They are MUCH more expensive!** Still no egg follicles ready. This was not my month.  We were told to use ovulation predictor kits this month. Those are difficult if you use the ones with lines. There are always 2 lines on the test, but you are looking for one line to be darker...do you realize how long I stared at a stick that I just peed on to figure this out! I think I maybe had a positive OPK on 10/4 and 10/5. On day 35 of this cycle (10/21) I still hadn't started my period so I had to go in for blood work. That was negative and I ended up starting that night. 

October (round 3):
Started clomid on 10/24. Ultrasound appointment with dr. S on 11/1 (day 12). 1 follicle growing on right side but not ready, left is PCOS. Uterine lining is thin -1mm. 11/4 return for ultrasound (day 15). The one on the right side is ready. Lining still thin. Hcg injection. 11/21 started period (day 31) which was very light because of thin lining. I was very upset this month.
*Dr. S was awesome. She personally took clomid for 7 months, so she knew what I was going through. Also, she didn't charge us for the 2nd ultrasound.*

November (round 4):
Start 100mg of clomid on 11/23. Start estrogen on 11/28 to help with uterine lining. Ultrasound with dr. H on 12/2 (day 12). 2 follicles ready on the right, left is PCOS. Lining was 2mm. Hcg injection from Heather Carter in the Harps bathroom. Started period on 12/20 (day 30).

December (round 5):
Start 100 mg of Femara (to help with uterine lining) on 12/22. Ultrasound with dr. P on 12/30 (day 12). I had one on the right side that was 15x20mm and the left wasn't PCOS, but the follicle was only around 10x10. The right follicle wasn't quite big enough, but dr. P was confident enough that it would be the next day that she set me up with the hcg shot and told me to get it from home. (It was so nice to not have to go back for another ultrasound!) My lining was up to 7mm!! The Femara worked, so I will use that again for the next month! (This was a great month for "small victories"!) Heather Carter gave me the shot on 12/31. Dr. P said "a thick uterine lining can make all the difference, so I hope to see some changes this month! Femara can cause later ovulation, so we were instructed to do our "part" every other day for a week rather than the "wham bam thank you ma'am" method. My cycle lasted over 35 days. No period. No positive test. More devastation.

Now I struggle with deciding weather or not to call the doc to take medicine that will make me start my period, or let it be until March. No matter what I choose, we are NOT taking fertility meds this month (February).

 - So far, 2014 sucks (1/25-2/13)

January (continued round 5)
According to my other cycles I was supposed to start a period on Jan. 20th. I didn't. I tested. It was negative. Tested on day 36. Negative (I tried going to a baby shower on this day...just no.) Called parkhill and they wanted me to start Provera, a medicine to start my period. I wasn't ready thinking I maybe just ovulated a little later (a symptom of Femara). I just waned to wait and see. {insert "don't get your hopes up"} On Feb. 3rd, day 46, I decided to test again. Negative. I'd had enough. After every negative test I still kept thinking "miracles happen". Not for me they don't...

I called Parkhill and they ordered the Provera for me. I asked to come give a blood sample because I wanted to be 100% positive that I wasn't having a miracle baby {see, hopes up}. I gave my sample around 2:00 Monday afternoon and waited to get results until Tuesday morning. I waited, I expected a miracle. Of course, parkhill never called me (that's a whole other issue). I called them around 10:00 on Tuesday to hear that I was indeed NOT pregnant. I quickly said "thank you" and got off the phone. I went to pick up my meds and am patiently awaiting my monthly gift. I have to take this medicine every day for 10 days and I'm really hoping that I start. I'm ready to move on.

I tried to promise Andrew that I wouldn't worry about the baby process during his last month of studying, but I feel like starting a period will help keep me from stressing. We will not do any Femara this month and I will not chart my ovulation. From now until after the bar, we won't talk about medicine or baby making.

*notes about this month: All the BS about being "stress free" will help you get pregnant is W. R. O. N. G. We just had a completely stress free month because I didn't have to go to school (lots of snow days). Every person that posted about fall 2014 babies because of all the snow days might get punched by me. If you are one of the women that is now pregnant because of all the snow days...just go ahead and de-friend me from all social media. I'll be happier for you if I just don't know about it.

** I started my period on day 8 of provera, making this cycle 53 days.**