Here's a post that might sound like I'm whining, but bare with me. It might also prepare someone going through this because I wasn't prepared. We had the two classes, but I didn't think it was going to be like it is.
So I've started the Progesterone shots to help my body be the best it can trying to hold on to those embryos. I get one shot every night, but the kicker is I have to keep getting the shot for about 4 to 6 weeks. Oh my goodness!! This is going to be crazy...
My poor butt is bruised and so sore. I feel like I had someone take a bat to my lower back and beat a few times. For anyone going through this once or multiple times - I have so much respect for you. These shots leave your butt soooooo sore and bruised. In addition, it gets kind of alien like from the oil. Since the medication is in oil, it leaves a goose egg at the injection site and you have to rub the oil into the muscle. Keep in mind that I have to rub this oil bump on top of other injections and bruising.
This is kind of gross, but I just want to do what I can to prepare others for it and give a little advice. I just got a heating pad today, and I'm hoping that it will relieve some of the pain after the shot. I also try to ice the injection area before the shot to see if that will help, but it hasn't worked so well so far.
One of the worst things is if the injection hit a bad spot and Chris has to re-insert the needle. Ugh....I feel so bad because I'm in pain and Chris doesn't want to hurt me. It's a double whammy. But we're getting through it.
So here's to my bruised and sore butt!!
Take care everyone! Sticky thoughts...
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Transfer Day - May 26th
This has been quite the ride so far. I can't believe it was already time for the Transfer!!
On Sunday, the day after retrieval, we were told we would get a call from the lab telling us how well the little eggs and swimmers were doing. I could barely sleep on Saturday night because I was scared to receive bad news. What if none of them matured?? I was going to be devasted. We got good news. The call came at about 8 am, and the embryologist said of the 7 eggs:
On Sunday, the day after retrieval, we were told we would get a call from the lab telling us how well the little eggs and swimmers were doing. I could barely sleep on Saturday night because I was scared to receive bad news. What if none of them matured?? I was going to be devasted. We got good news. The call came at about 8 am, and the embryologist said of the 7 eggs:
- 5 matured
- Only 2 progressed and were viable.
ONLY 2!! I know that is really great news, but also means that there wouldn't be any eggs to freeze for another try if we could ever afford to do this again down the road. I know I sound kind of negative, but this was a free IVF cycle for us. It is an incredible and best prize we could ever have, and we had mentally prepared ourselves before we won the prize that we wouldn't be able to afford to have biological children. Since IVF is not supported by health insurance in Minnesota, and it is incredibly costly. Friends of ours spent $80,000 on IVF cycles. Crazy!! and leaves me speechless. So please if I have any negativity coming through on this blog it's because it was and is a very scary process for me, but I'm always very thankful to be going through it.
So now we waited until Tuesday, May 26th for the transfer. A comforting feeling during the wait was that we had 2 fertilized emryos (our babies) hanging out in a petri dish waiting for me. So emotional!! Can you believe technology??
In the meantime, I had to start taking Progesterone shots on Sunday night. Progesterone is within oil and injected in the butt :) Time for the butt shots!! Bring on the big needles. Now these needles are at about 2 inches long, or somewhat (you get the picture - they are long). My sister gets faint when she looks at them :) Plus I've already filled up a needle disposal so now we've moved onto the Tide bottle. Lots of needles.
Now this first night with shots was kind of crazy. Chris was prepping the needle, but this was more difficult than the other shots. The oil is harder to pull back into the needle. So if it's hard to get into the needle, just think about how hard it is to inject into the butt muscle....just to prepare you. For these shots, they are injected in my butt about 4 inches from the top of my butt crack. So the upper butt area. Here it goes...we were as ready as we would ever be. Kinda laughing to calm ourselves down. So in the needle went - awesome step 1 done - and now Chris had to pull back and check for blood before injecting - awesome step 2 done - and now time to inject. This was painful because it was so hard to inject and Chris has to push so hard. But he did very well. Step 3 done :) Time to remove the needle. Step 4 done!! But not done yet :)....All of a sudden I started spurting blood and Chris was catching it and trying to give it back to me. It was kind of humorous, but I was getting weezy. I looked back and all I saw was blood. Oh boy...they didn't warn us about this during injection training :)
Chris right away called the emergency line. The doctor on call said he probably went through a vein on entry and when he removed the needle let the blood pour out. So we were good...
I'll chat more about these shots...more posts to come :)
Okay, now on to the good stuff = Transfer.
This was a crazy day! I was kind of ridiculous and decided to work at home on Monday night, and went to work Tuesday morning for a breif hour to try and get some stuff done before I was to be on bed rest. What a mistake!!! I had no idea how stressful that was going to be! I left there shaking and mad at myself for even trying to do a favor that backfired in my face. Now my nerves were extremely high and I was terrified for the transfer. I wanted everything to work perfectly. Well I got out of the office late and was rushing home. Chris calmed me down and I was better. I made it home just in time to take my valium and head to the hospital . This was my first time taking valium :) It definitely helped me relax. I got to the hospital and I was feeling very relaxed, but it wore off way too quickly. It was completely gone before the Transfer actually took place, but the doctor was running behind by about 20 minutes. At least I was calmer than I was earlier.
1:00 pm
Chris and I met the embryologists and our embryos!! This was so awesome. The lab was small but such a great experience. Chris and I were able to look at our embryos under the microscope. Just amazing amazing amazing!! I can't say that enough.
Next, we got ready for the transfer. The lab is connected to the room the transfer takes place. So I got ready in the "chair". Remember the chair?? :) The nurses and doctors entered the room and went through the procedure. Please keep in mind that I have a full bladder during this!!
- First, the doctor inserts the speculum. (Never comfortable - especially with a full bladder)
- Next, the nurse has an ultrasound right over my bladder and uterus applying a lot of pressure so the doctor can insert the catheter.
- The doctor has to try various catheters to see which works best with my uterus and length of my uterus. (I still have a full bladder and the nurse is now pushing harder)
- Chris looked at my face and could tell I was uncomfortable, but I said I was fine fine fine. (I really wanted to tell him to focus on the screen!!)
- When the doctor was ready, he notified the lab and the sliding door opened. Now my legs are wide open to the lab just saying hello :) Kinda funny moment...
- The embryologist gave the doctor the petri dish (our babies :) ) and inserted them through the catheter and into my uterus. Chris was able to see them go into my uterus on the ultrasound. That was really cool!
- Next the embryologist had to examine the catheter to make sure the embryos didn't stick to it. We were good to go he said and the sliding door closed.
The transfer was accomplished and I didn't pee! I thought I might have because there was some liquid dripping...I'll stop there. Everyone left the room, and we had to chill out in the room for about 15 minutes thinking sticky thoughts. Then, we were ready to go home. Now, it was time for bed rest for a couple days. Voila!! Isn't that a crazy process :)
Time to wait!! Thinking sticky thoughts :)
Retrieval Day - May 23rd
It's finally the day! Time to get those eggs :) Here's our play by play:
6:00 am
Wake up and walk the dogs. Daily routine, but super anxious, nervous, and scared! I think I was more scared than I thought I would be.
7:30 am
We arrived at the doctor's office. Time for the anesthesia and a visit with the doctor. Chris and I had some fun taking pictures while we were getting ready for the retrieval. Those hospital gowns and lights are so flattering. I'll be sure to post some pictures. We had a different anesthetist than before, and she was awesome. Our doctor stopped by for a quick visit. It was kind of sad to hear that we didn't have an average amount of follicles. I kind of felt like a failure - but I'm sure again that my mind wasn't stable. I like to be an overachiever and at that moment I felt like I had underachieved. If only I could've been thinking like a sane person and been happy to have follicles. IVF is such an intense process and I was so scared of anything going wrong.
8:30 am
Time for the retrieval. Thank goodness I would be taking a super nap because I was so scared. We entered the room and I sat in the funky chair (this chair is like a crazy lazy boy). The chair end at my mid-butt and has the large padded thigh rests that strap your legs in. It's totally funky. I got the oxygen in my nose and the drugs started. I was out within seconds. So the rest of the retrieval is through my husband's eyes.
During the classes we got to see pictures of the instruments that would be used. It was crazy. So basically the doctor has to insert the ultrasound probe and the ovary egg sucker (at least that's what I'm going to call it) and there might have been more... It's crazy how much stuff they can stuff up there and still get the job done :) The ovary egg sucker is a large needle that goes through the vaginal wall to the ovary. The needle pokes the follical and sucks out the egg(s) that are within that follicle. Who thinks of these things??
Have you ever seen lipo suction on TV? Well...My husband's jaw fell and his face was kind of stunned when they started the process. The doctor went to town on my ovaries I guess. It looked like he was just jamming on my ovaries and Chris was expecting the process to be delicate. Crazy! Another moment that it would've been interesting to be a fly on the wall. But this makes sense on why I felt like I did after the procedure.
10:00
I started waking up. I was so happy to see Chris and the nurse, but I was in so much pain. The doctor asked me what pain I was in from 1 to 10 (10 being the worst). I guess I told them about 5 to 6 right away, but I don't remember that. I wanted to ask them "What do you want me to say?" I was hurting like someone was squeezing everything they could out of my ovaries. So I was modest and said a 7 when they asked again. Now it was time for Chris's duty - time to get the swimmers. He had to leave me, which made me feel sad because I didn't want to be alone. I had just heard the results of the retrieval. The doctor said they got 7 eggs. 7 EGGS!!! I should be happy, but I wasn't. Before the procedure, the doctor said that they like to have at least 12 eggs on average. Again I felt like a failure! Bring on the tears...
So now I was in a room by myself just thinking like I did something wrong and I was scared and in pain. But when Chris was on his way out he made us all laugh. I told him Good luck and I would see him in a little bit. Chris responded and said "Don't worry hunny, you know me, I'll only be a minute". He had all the nurses laughing and even the doctor. I guess the doctor doesn't laugh like that very often so it was a good moment and helped cheer me up.
Occasionaly, someone would come in the room to check my status and the tears would start again and they would stay by my side to help assure me that everything was going to be okay. They've had less eggs and everything turn out successful. Chris was back and helped calm me down as well. That was great and exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, the pain wasn't getting better, but it was time to go home.
It's time for another suggestion for anyone going through this: The nurse gave me the choice of a thin or thick pad as we were getting ready to go home. I chose the thin pad because my last procedure I didn't bleed that much. Oh was I way wrong this time. Suggestion to any ladies that have to go through this - CHOOSE THE LARGE PAD. By the time I got to the elevator, I felt like a coffee mug of blood had just been poured right out of me. Luckily I had black sweat pants on... ISHDA!!
So we made it home and I went right to bed waiting for the pain to go away. My parents came down as well and that was great to have so much support. I was pretty sore for the rest of the day and kind of laid around. I was able to go out dinner, but that was about it. By Sunday afternoon, I was able to walk around and go to the dog park with my girls. My mom and sister came with to chase after the dogs if need be since I could basically only be at a stroll pace :)
Now that it was Sunday, time to start another round of shots!! SHOTS!!!! I'll talk about these again in my post about Progesterone :)
Take care everyone!!
6:00 am
Wake up and walk the dogs. Daily routine, but super anxious, nervous, and scared! I think I was more scared than I thought I would be.
7:30 am
We arrived at the doctor's office. Time for the anesthesia and a visit with the doctor. Chris and I had some fun taking pictures while we were getting ready for the retrieval. Those hospital gowns and lights are so flattering. I'll be sure to post some pictures. We had a different anesthetist than before, and she was awesome. Our doctor stopped by for a quick visit. It was kind of sad to hear that we didn't have an average amount of follicles. I kind of felt like a failure - but I'm sure again that my mind wasn't stable. I like to be an overachiever and at that moment I felt like I had underachieved. If only I could've been thinking like a sane person and been happy to have follicles. IVF is such an intense process and I was so scared of anything going wrong.
8:30 am
Time for the retrieval. Thank goodness I would be taking a super nap because I was so scared. We entered the room and I sat in the funky chair (this chair is like a crazy lazy boy). The chair end at my mid-butt and has the large padded thigh rests that strap your legs in. It's totally funky. I got the oxygen in my nose and the drugs started. I was out within seconds. So the rest of the retrieval is through my husband's eyes.
During the classes we got to see pictures of the instruments that would be used. It was crazy. So basically the doctor has to insert the ultrasound probe and the ovary egg sucker (at least that's what I'm going to call it) and there might have been more... It's crazy how much stuff they can stuff up there and still get the job done :) The ovary egg sucker is a large needle that goes through the vaginal wall to the ovary. The needle pokes the follical and sucks out the egg(s) that are within that follicle. Who thinks of these things??
Have you ever seen lipo suction on TV? Well...My husband's jaw fell and his face was kind of stunned when they started the process. The doctor went to town on my ovaries I guess. It looked like he was just jamming on my ovaries and Chris was expecting the process to be delicate. Crazy! Another moment that it would've been interesting to be a fly on the wall. But this makes sense on why I felt like I did after the procedure.
10:00
I started waking up. I was so happy to see Chris and the nurse, but I was in so much pain. The doctor asked me what pain I was in from 1 to 10 (10 being the worst). I guess I told them about 5 to 6 right away, but I don't remember that. I wanted to ask them "What do you want me to say?" I was hurting like someone was squeezing everything they could out of my ovaries. So I was modest and said a 7 when they asked again. Now it was time for Chris's duty - time to get the swimmers. He had to leave me, which made me feel sad because I didn't want to be alone. I had just heard the results of the retrieval. The doctor said they got 7 eggs. 7 EGGS!!! I should be happy, but I wasn't. Before the procedure, the doctor said that they like to have at least 12 eggs on average. Again I felt like a failure! Bring on the tears...
So now I was in a room by myself just thinking like I did something wrong and I was scared and in pain. But when Chris was on his way out he made us all laugh. I told him Good luck and I would see him in a little bit. Chris responded and said "Don't worry hunny, you know me, I'll only be a minute". He had all the nurses laughing and even the doctor. I guess the doctor doesn't laugh like that very often so it was a good moment and helped cheer me up.
Occasionaly, someone would come in the room to check my status and the tears would start again and they would stay by my side to help assure me that everything was going to be okay. They've had less eggs and everything turn out successful. Chris was back and helped calm me down as well. That was great and exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, the pain wasn't getting better, but it was time to go home.
It's time for another suggestion for anyone going through this: The nurse gave me the choice of a thin or thick pad as we were getting ready to go home. I chose the thin pad because my last procedure I didn't bleed that much. Oh was I way wrong this time. Suggestion to any ladies that have to go through this - CHOOSE THE LARGE PAD. By the time I got to the elevator, I felt like a coffee mug of blood had just been poured right out of me. Luckily I had black sweat pants on... ISHDA!!
So we made it home and I went right to bed waiting for the pain to go away. My parents came down as well and that was great to have so much support. I was pretty sore for the rest of the day and kind of laid around. I was able to go out dinner, but that was about it. By Sunday afternoon, I was able to walk around and go to the dog park with my girls. My mom and sister came with to chase after the dogs if need be since I could basically only be at a stroll pace :)
Now that it was Sunday, time to start another round of shots!! SHOTS!!!! I'll talk about these again in my post about Progesterone :)
Take care everyone!!
Doctor Visits and more Doctor Visits...
Hi again,
Let's chat about doctor visits during IVF.
IVF is a very fragile and timely process so I totally understand the importance of the doctor visits. I guess I just wasn't ready for the number of visits we had. With school and work weighing really heavily on me in May, the doctor appointments just added that much more. At the beginning the visits were great because they were pretty interesting, but the more and more we had them I guess I was getting nervous things weren't going according to plan. But my mind wasn't completely stable either.
Each doctor's appointment starts with a vaginal ultrasound (I've been probed so many times I think I've lost track :) ) to check on the harvesting progress - ovaries and endometrium lining. This was really cool! At the beginning we had a doctor visit about twice to three times a week. So it was fun to look on the monitor and see how many follicles were developing and how big they were getting from week to week. After the ultrasound, there was also a blood test to check my estradiol levels. So my arm was pricked pretty good, but the doctors were great. I only started to bruise at the end of the process so I didn't have to look like a druggie for too long :) The blood tests were crucial to check my hormone levels.
After the first couple weeks, things seemed to be going well. They thought I might have about 15 follicles on each ovary. We were still on progress for our tentative retrieval date. But after that it didn't seem to be going as well as they would've hoped. Not all of the follicles developed, and some were overpowering the rest. Our retrieval date was being pushed back after each visit and we had to see the doctor more often. For some reason, which could've been just random, my estradiol levels were lower than wanted and my follicles weren't growing as fast as wanted. So my nerves tended to take over and I was thinking I did something wrong from time to time. The doctor visits turned into every other day (including Sunday mornings :). I thought a Sunday at the doctor's office was kind of funny.
Even though the doctor visits were so frequent, it helped me relax because the doctors and nurses were so awesome. Despite the way things were progressing they made Chris and I feel like we were doing everything perfect and everything will be just fine. That was so awesome and we can't thank them enough for being so supportive. I still feel like I'm walking into Cheers when I get to there because everyone has gotten to know us and they are all so supportive. Plus we tended to make everyone chuckle at least a little bit when we visited.
When it came to the week of the retrieval I was definitely feeling my ovaries. My tummy was hurting as those follicles were growing - which was also awesome! We went to a movie the night before the retrieval and I could barely make it through. Crazy!
Our retrieval date was on May 23rd! Bring on the eggs :)
Let's chat about doctor visits during IVF.
IVF is a very fragile and timely process so I totally understand the importance of the doctor visits. I guess I just wasn't ready for the number of visits we had. With school and work weighing really heavily on me in May, the doctor appointments just added that much more. At the beginning the visits were great because they were pretty interesting, but the more and more we had them I guess I was getting nervous things weren't going according to plan. But my mind wasn't completely stable either.
Each doctor's appointment starts with a vaginal ultrasound (I've been probed so many times I think I've lost track :) ) to check on the harvesting progress - ovaries and endometrium lining. This was really cool! At the beginning we had a doctor visit about twice to three times a week. So it was fun to look on the monitor and see how many follicles were developing and how big they were getting from week to week. After the ultrasound, there was also a blood test to check my estradiol levels. So my arm was pricked pretty good, but the doctors were great. I only started to bruise at the end of the process so I didn't have to look like a druggie for too long :) The blood tests were crucial to check my hormone levels.
After the first couple weeks, things seemed to be going well. They thought I might have about 15 follicles on each ovary. We were still on progress for our tentative retrieval date. But after that it didn't seem to be going as well as they would've hoped. Not all of the follicles developed, and some were overpowering the rest. Our retrieval date was being pushed back after each visit and we had to see the doctor more often. For some reason, which could've been just random, my estradiol levels were lower than wanted and my follicles weren't growing as fast as wanted. So my nerves tended to take over and I was thinking I did something wrong from time to time. The doctor visits turned into every other day (including Sunday mornings :). I thought a Sunday at the doctor's office was kind of funny.
Even though the doctor visits were so frequent, it helped me relax because the doctors and nurses were so awesome. Despite the way things were progressing they made Chris and I feel like we were doing everything perfect and everything will be just fine. That was so awesome and we can't thank them enough for being so supportive. I still feel like I'm walking into Cheers when I get to there because everyone has gotten to know us and they are all so supportive. Plus we tended to make everyone chuckle at least a little bit when we visited.
When it came to the week of the retrieval I was definitely feeling my ovaries. My tummy was hurting as those follicles were growing - which was also awesome! We went to a movie the night before the retrieval and I could barely make it through. Crazy!
Our retrieval date was on May 23rd! Bring on the eggs :)
Shots without a Hangover!
April 29th was the BIG day!! Time to start Harvesting :)
On April 29th I started my injections into my tummy (just a couple inches from my belly button). First, I just want to share the medications I used for IVF:
On April 29th I started my injections into my tummy (just a couple inches from my belly button). First, I just want to share the medications I used for IVF:
- Bravelle
- Menopur
- Lupron
- HCG
- Progesterone
- Doxycycline
- Valium
- Birth Control
It is kind of a hassle and lots of calling in order to get the medications ordered and through insurance. Since most health insurances do not cover anything with infertility we weren't sure exactly how much of the medications would be covered. So that was kind of nerve racking to not know what kind of bill we would have. In the end after ordering refills, we spent just over $1000 for medications that usually cost between $3000 and $4000. Oh and trying to decide who to order through was another headache. There are so many sources out there, but we just stayed with Caremark through my insurance. They were easy and friendly to deal with.
So we got everything ordered and it was delivered within a day. It arrived in 2 boxes. One of the boxes was 2feet by 3 feet :) Crazy!! The other box had my temperature controlled HCG shot. One shot needed a 1 foot by 1 foot box. Too funny :) So now our spare bedroom looked like a drug room. Needles, Needles, Needles :) I felt official now having a needle disposal container.
On April 29th I gave myself my first injection of Lupron and I continued taking the pill until May 3rd. The morning of the 29th was kind of crazy. Chris and I had some nerves trying to make everything go well and still make it to work on time. So we've had the injection training and thought it was all good. The dogs were kind of anxious too trying to figure out what was going on! The daily routine had been interrupted and it was pretty funny if I was a fly on the wall watching us get the shots taken care of and getting the dogs on their potty walk.
Chris, bless his heart, mixed my drugs and prepared my needles for me every morning! EVERY MORNING!! That was so fantastic. Then, all I had to do was inject myself. The needles for my tummy were about an inch long. So on that first day I got a little squeemish...injected myself and suddenly felt faint. I rushed to the bedroom and made it to the bed before collapsing. Uffduh...I wasn't expecting that. But from there on out, it was a piece of cake.
I started the menopur mixed with bravelle shots 5 days later. So now Chris had to prepare 2 needles every morning. Again bless his heart!! I never once had to mix the drugs, and he was good at it too. So much work! Now taking 2 shots in my tummy :) My tummy did start having some bruising. There were black and blue circles on both sides of my belly button. Not attractive at all, but I know it's for a good cause.
By the middle of May I could start feeling my ovaries getting bigger, but I didn't feel like my mood was getting wacky. Probably because I was way too stressed with school and work to let myself get crazy. Ovaries are usually about the size of almonds, and during harvesting they could grow to be the size of a small apple. So there was some discomfort there. I wasn't able to continue exercising after May 8th. I could still go on walks, but that was about it. It was very important to keep it easy to prevent any damage to my ovaries and tubes. There is a chance that my tubes could twist, and that would require surgery to fix or possibly have permanent damage. So I definitely listened and that meant no more golf or running until at least August :(. I was sad but understood it was for a good cause. I kind of felt like a blob, but as the time went on it became more painful to sometimes sit up or walk.
Since the shots were important to regulate my hormones and follicle production, it was also important to have doctor appointments to monitor the harvesting and blood levels. My next post will describe all the doctor appointments and the time leading up to the retrieval.
Shots and No hangover :)
What is Prescreening?
Hi Everyone!
I'm back and trying to catch up on my blogs. This will probably be an overload :)
I would like to share more about what exactly what is involved in the Prescreening process. I'm just going to start at the beginning again - then I won't lose track.
When Chris and I started trying to have a baby, we learned that doctors really don't want to research your infertility issues until you have been trying for at least a year. Sure, if we were so concerned (or I should say we were really depressed going month to month and being unsuccessful) we could have lied and said we had tried for a year. But that just didn't feel right at all and we are terrible liars. So we rolled with the punches and did our wait and then scheduled the appointment with my OB. In the meantime, let me tell you how handy it is to have a Flexible Spending Account!! Those ovulation tests and pregnancy tests are soooooo expensive over a 12 month period plus, and at least we got them tax free!
Chris and I were trying to be positive through all this and just think that we were doing something wrong. But, it was always in the back of our mind that something was wrong because I had never been on birth control and we never had a pregnancy scare. So now that we had our appointment we started the process. I'm just going to skip ahead to where the journey going through IVF begins. Please see some of my other posts to read about how we got from discover to IVF.
So we got our awesome news in January at the Infertility Conference. I think that has been our best investment to date. I think it should be our little Mastercard commercial.
I'm back and trying to catch up on my blogs. This will probably be an overload :)
I would like to share more about what exactly what is involved in the Prescreening process. I'm just going to start at the beginning again - then I won't lose track.
When Chris and I started trying to have a baby, we learned that doctors really don't want to research your infertility issues until you have been trying for at least a year. Sure, if we were so concerned (or I should say we were really depressed going month to month and being unsuccessful) we could have lied and said we had tried for a year. But that just didn't feel right at all and we are terrible liars. So we rolled with the punches and did our wait and then scheduled the appointment with my OB. In the meantime, let me tell you how handy it is to have a Flexible Spending Account!! Those ovulation tests and pregnancy tests are soooooo expensive over a 12 month period plus, and at least we got them tax free!
Chris and I were trying to be positive through all this and just think that we were doing something wrong. But, it was always in the back of our mind that something was wrong because I had never been on birth control and we never had a pregnancy scare. So now that we had our appointment we started the process. I'm just going to skip ahead to where the journey going through IVF begins. Please see some of my other posts to read about how we got from discover to IVF.
So we got our awesome news in January at the Infertility Conference. I think that has been our best investment to date. I think it should be our little Mastercard commercial.
- $400 Ovulation and Pregnancy Tests
- $X Doctor Visits to Discover the Truth
- $150 To share stories, learn alternative treatments, and receive support at the RESOLVE Infertility Conference
- Winning a Free IVF Cycle from our clinic at the Conference = PRICELESS!!
I'm probably forgetting some other crucial events, but it's my commercial and I'm constantly editing :)
Okay, moving on...We ended some of the alternative treatments we were in the midst of trying in January and started the IVF process. Prescreening (da ta ta daaaa):
- Physician Orientation
- Doctor Consultation (2 hours class)
- Evaluation (Male and Female Blood Tests to make sure we don't have HIV or STDs (this is kind of weird when you've been with the same person for 13 years, and we had to update our shots)
- Day 3 Labs (This freaked me out at first, but now not so much)
- Begin taking Birth Control Pills
- Nurses Orientation (2 hour class)
- Psychologist Appointment
- Injection Training
- Sonohyterogram
- Consent Signing and Payment
So that is what Prescreening is :) Uffduh!! Now that I write it all down it reminded me of all those visits. But wait until I get into the actual IVF process (now that was a lot of visits).
The two classes were great, but a lot of information to remember and read. There are 2 classes so that we could have both the Doctor and Nurses perspective - which was awesome. The Day 3 labs are bloodwork and a vaginal ultrasound on day 3 of your period. Sounds gross, but there are so many vaginal ultrasounds I had to have during my period going through this that it's no big deal now. Like I said before that I had never taking birth control pills, so I was so nervous to start. I don't know what it is about the pill, but it just freaked me out. So I started the pill, and that might seem weird. Well, actually studies have shown higher IVF success rates having women use the pill to regulate and rest their ovaries during the IVF process. So while I was the pill I would skip the sugar pills and continue taking the pill to stall my period. This put my ovaries in a resting state before I started the drug treatments to start harvesting. Crazy...huh??
Finally, the injection training and sonohysterogram and consent signing. Since I've already discussed the later 2 I'll tell you a little about the injection training. A nurse works with both Chris and I to teach us how to inject me. I would be giving myself 2 shots a day up to day of transfer and Chris would be giving 1 shot a day after the transfer. We were both kind of scared, but got through it. I think watching the videos got us all worked up, but the nurses and doctors helped us through the whole process. So basically, I'm a human pin cushion and my husband is my drug dealer. :)
So I hope this blog helps describe the prescreening process. Please, as always, let me know if you have questions.
Friday, April 24, 2009
PreScreening Completed
Hi Everyone!
I'm sorry it's been since March I've blogged. I'll blame it both on being lazy and busy. Today, well I should say as of Tuesday, our prescreening is completed. The prescreening involved a lot of testing. I will be sure to blog about that later when I have the information in front of me. For us, it's been about 10 months of various of tests. Which is great - I'm not trying to complain at all!! It's good to know anything and everything about our bodies so that we healthy are prepared for IVF. IVF is like an investment, so we are on board in every aspect. Heck, IVF costs as much as a car. CRAZY!!
Well, our final stage of prescreening involved a sonohysterogram and consent signing. Let me chat about the consent signing just a bit because I'll explain everything more in detail when I describe the prescreening process. Consent signing is what it sounds like, a lot of signing. I felt like we were buying a house, Initial here/sign here/date here, etc... Well it also asked some deep questions. For example, we had answer questions based on certain possible situations. What if I died, or if Chris died, or if we both died, or I could no longer carry a child, or we got divorced. We needed answer questions regarding our cryopreserved embros for each of these situations and more. It was a little uncomfortable because it's never pleasant to have to think about. But it was for a good cause and we made it through just fine.
The other tough part about consent signing, I wanted to just briefly chat about, was the medical aspect. How many embryos and what are the possible complications with IVF...Wow,these were big questions!!! I'm going to leave part of that question private for now, but you know me, I'll eventually chat about it all. :) But Complications??? What??? But it's all good, again very rare something goes wrong. I tend to try to ooze positivity, so bare with me.
Now onto the sonohysterogram (SHG). Only two words: OUCH!! GROSS!! This is like a very messy and painful pap smear. I've been used to the speculum by now with all the prescreening, so I though no big deal this time. Oh my goodness. It wasn't like gut wrenching pain, but it wasn't pleasant. Sorry to be graphic, but I'll try to add some humor. After the doctor inserted the speculum he mentioned by the way it's larger than normal speculums. In my mind I was saying, "Yep, I can tell"....Another Funny note. The nurse who was assisting mentioned I looked tan while my legs were spread ealge. That was funny!! Basically checking out my vajayjay, but I knew what she meant. It just came at a funny time.
The purpose of the SHG is to discover any abnormalities in the uterus that may affect IVF. For IVF we want the lady region perfect :) First, the uterus and vagina are cleaned with betadine, and then the speculum is inserted. Next, a catheter is inserted to measure your uterus and to fill the uterus with saline. After the uterus is full, the speculum is removed and the ultrasound probe is inserted. The doctor can then look for polyps and what not. In the meantime, saline and betadine are dripping all out of me. GROSS!! Right?? Just thought I would share. It makes me chuckle. I got busy on Tuesday at the clinic!!
What happened next? Well, the doctor saw that my ovaries were great, but found a polyp on my uterine lining. We needed this removed ASAP! We were told we'd have a days notice of an opening based on the anesthetist's availability. We were able to get in today, Friday. That was awesome! So I got to the clinic at 7:30, and I was done by 10:30 this morning. I've never had anesthesia, so I was kinda nervous about that. But I knew it would be fine. The anesthetist was so awesome! He was laughing along with all our jokes, and just really could tell he wanted me to be as comfortable as possible. AWESOME!! As a side: I totally love the entire clinic. Very friendly and always answering our questions with so much information.
So I got into the procedure room all IV'd up, and ready for some drugs. Let me tell you about this chair I had to be in. Ladies, you'll understand or appreciate this, but this chair was 100% better than those tables with stirrups. It was comfortably reclined like a lazy boy and had these thigh rests. They were kinda wobbly, but cooshy!! And they strapped my legs in. Even better, now I can just relax. The drugs were administered and the oxygen put in my nose, and I don't remember a thing after that. This was the best nap ever!!
After I woke up, I guess I managed to get myself to my room and on the bed. It's nuts I don't remember. Chris and the nurses/doctors were sweethearts because I just kept repeating the same jokes and phrases. I was like 10 second guy on 50 first dates!! Here are some of my lines of the day:
Now we are ready for the big show! Woo Woo!!
Love you all and have a great weekend!
I'm sorry it's been since March I've blogged. I'll blame it both on being lazy and busy. Today, well I should say as of Tuesday, our prescreening is completed. The prescreening involved a lot of testing. I will be sure to blog about that later when I have the information in front of me. For us, it's been about 10 months of various of tests. Which is great - I'm not trying to complain at all!! It's good to know anything and everything about our bodies so that we healthy are prepared for IVF. IVF is like an investment, so we are on board in every aspect. Heck, IVF costs as much as a car. CRAZY!!
Well, our final stage of prescreening involved a sonohysterogram and consent signing. Let me chat about the consent signing just a bit because I'll explain everything more in detail when I describe the prescreening process. Consent signing is what it sounds like, a lot of signing. I felt like we were buying a house, Initial here/sign here/date here, etc... Well it also asked some deep questions. For example, we had answer questions based on certain possible situations. What if I died, or if Chris died, or if we both died, or I could no longer carry a child, or we got divorced. We needed answer questions regarding our cryopreserved embros for each of these situations and more. It was a little uncomfortable because it's never pleasant to have to think about. But it was for a good cause and we made it through just fine.
The other tough part about consent signing, I wanted to just briefly chat about, was the medical aspect. How many embryos and what are the possible complications with IVF...Wow,these were big questions!!! I'm going to leave part of that question private for now, but you know me, I'll eventually chat about it all. :) But Complications??? What??? But it's all good, again very rare something goes wrong. I tend to try to ooze positivity, so bare with me.
Now onto the sonohysterogram (SHG). Only two words: OUCH!! GROSS!! This is like a very messy and painful pap smear. I've been used to the speculum by now with all the prescreening, so I though no big deal this time. Oh my goodness. It wasn't like gut wrenching pain, but it wasn't pleasant. Sorry to be graphic, but I'll try to add some humor. After the doctor inserted the speculum he mentioned by the way it's larger than normal speculums. In my mind I was saying, "Yep, I can tell"....Another Funny note. The nurse who was assisting mentioned I looked tan while my legs were spread ealge. That was funny!! Basically checking out my vajayjay, but I knew what she meant. It just came at a funny time.
The purpose of the SHG is to discover any abnormalities in the uterus that may affect IVF. For IVF we want the lady region perfect :) First, the uterus and vagina are cleaned with betadine, and then the speculum is inserted. Next, a catheter is inserted to measure your uterus and to fill the uterus with saline. After the uterus is full, the speculum is removed and the ultrasound probe is inserted. The doctor can then look for polyps and what not. In the meantime, saline and betadine are dripping all out of me. GROSS!! Right?? Just thought I would share. It makes me chuckle. I got busy on Tuesday at the clinic!!
What happened next? Well, the doctor saw that my ovaries were great, but found a polyp on my uterine lining. We needed this removed ASAP! We were told we'd have a days notice of an opening based on the anesthetist's availability. We were able to get in today, Friday. That was awesome! So I got to the clinic at 7:30, and I was done by 10:30 this morning. I've never had anesthesia, so I was kinda nervous about that. But I knew it would be fine. The anesthetist was so awesome! He was laughing along with all our jokes, and just really could tell he wanted me to be as comfortable as possible. AWESOME!! As a side: I totally love the entire clinic. Very friendly and always answering our questions with so much information.
So I got into the procedure room all IV'd up, and ready for some drugs. Let me tell you about this chair I had to be in. Ladies, you'll understand or appreciate this, but this chair was 100% better than those tables with stirrups. It was comfortably reclined like a lazy boy and had these thigh rests. They were kinda wobbly, but cooshy!! And they strapped my legs in. Even better, now I can just relax. The drugs were administered and the oxygen put in my nose, and I don't remember a thing after that. This was the best nap ever!!
After I woke up, I guess I managed to get myself to my room and on the bed. It's nuts I don't remember. Chris and the nurses/doctors were sweethearts because I just kept repeating the same jokes and phrases. I was like 10 second guy on 50 first dates!! Here are some of my lines of the day:
- I hope I wasn't drooling. Was I drooling? I think I was drooling. (I proceeded to feel my mouth looking all drugged up).
- Chris, look limp wrist. (My oxygen meter on my finger was going off so I thought if I flexed my wrist it would turn the alarm off. I thought it was funny at least.)
- I love it here. It's like Cheers because everybody knows my name and it's so friendly!
- Oh man, that chair was so comfy. (The nurse thought I was nuts. She said that was a first anyone said that. I was shocked. It was so much better than stirrups and a platform)
Now we are ready for the big show! Woo Woo!!
Love you all and have a great weekend!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Keeping Emotions in Check
What?! Keeping your emotions in check while going through infertility issues? Is that even possible?
So this post might not provide any amazing insight or revelation on how to keep your emotions in check, but I'll do my best to figure something out. Maybe I'll teach myself one or two things :)
Yes, as many of you know, I do let my emotions take over. Sometimes too often, but I'm a crier and that's okay. Emotions might be the hardest thing to deal with throughout this process, maybe even harder than knowing we have infertility issues. Again, that's okay because who would we be without our emotions :) Chris has been a trooper dealing with my ups and downs and more to come. And it has been great to be together through this process helping each other get through it one step at a time. We're still married, and that's amazing. Having scheduled sex for almost two years now has been great for the marriage :) Who wouldn't love that, right? (I hope you are seeing the sarcasm written all over this)
I wish I had words of encouragement or the answer to keeping the marriage intact, but I don't. Chris and I are extremely stubborn, and it's been a bumpy ride. But I wouldn't change a thing. Through all the fights, tears and laughs I think it's only helped that we just lay it all out on the table. We can definitely tell when each of us are in a funk, and going through this together has helped us both better know what makes each other happy. Bring it on because after the dust has settled, we seem to get better after each fight. For all the couples out there going through this, it is okay. Fighting is okay (well don't beat anyone up of course) - arguing is healthy and I truly believe you will learn something new about each other after each struggle. Don't think it's the end because of the arguments.
I'm going to try and come up with my top three ways to get through this crap:
1. Talk, Talk, and TALK some more.
Talk to whoever will listen or even not listen. I would probably have been admitted to a psch ward if I did not talk to my friends and family about our issues. There was no way we could've kept this to ourselves. Also, by talking to others, we have learned so so so so much about infertility and to better handle our situation. Tell your friends and family how you feel. It feels much better afterwards! And double bonus is that they better understand how you are doing.
2. Internet
Okay, my husband doesn't agree with this one I'm sure, but in moderation it's great. It is possible to stop googling about every weird feeling in your stomach or crazy thing happening in your lady region. I didn't think it was, but it is. It's a phase, and I'm hear to tell you that you will make it through the crazed google everything about pregnancy on the internet. This is what helped me: Chris (having someone there to make you stop), and find one site. One site is all you need. I've talked about it before, and I love Resolve. It has so much info all in one spot and appeals to me. If you are going to google anything, it would be to find that one site. One site!!
3. Laugh
Oh my goodness - try and make every crappy thing you are going through into a joke. Seriously - get gross! Make people laugh. We have infertility issues - so, I'm not a different person because of it. Kinda feels like it, but that's okay. There has been many months where I've had more ultrasounds via the lady region with the prong stuck up my hoo hoo than I've had sex. Awesome, right?! Oh and if you are going to do ovulation tests - go ahead and spend too much money on the digital one with the smily face. It's awesome. Sometimes the highlight of the week is waiting for that smily face looking at us telling us it's time to make some whoopy!! It lightens the mood, and makes waiting for ovulation a little bit more fun.
Okay - another long post. But I hope you had fun. Remember to keep those emotions in check! NOT!!!
Love you all!
So this post might not provide any amazing insight or revelation on how to keep your emotions in check, but I'll do my best to figure something out. Maybe I'll teach myself one or two things :)
Yes, as many of you know, I do let my emotions take over. Sometimes too often, but I'm a crier and that's okay. Emotions might be the hardest thing to deal with throughout this process, maybe even harder than knowing we have infertility issues. Again, that's okay because who would we be without our emotions :) Chris has been a trooper dealing with my ups and downs and more to come. And it has been great to be together through this process helping each other get through it one step at a time. We're still married, and that's amazing. Having scheduled sex for almost two years now has been great for the marriage :) Who wouldn't love that, right? (I hope you are seeing the sarcasm written all over this)
I wish I had words of encouragement or the answer to keeping the marriage intact, but I don't. Chris and I are extremely stubborn, and it's been a bumpy ride. But I wouldn't change a thing. Through all the fights, tears and laughs I think it's only helped that we just lay it all out on the table. We can definitely tell when each of us are in a funk, and going through this together has helped us both better know what makes each other happy. Bring it on because after the dust has settled, we seem to get better after each fight. For all the couples out there going through this, it is okay. Fighting is okay (well don't beat anyone up of course) - arguing is healthy and I truly believe you will learn something new about each other after each struggle. Don't think it's the end because of the arguments.
I'm going to try and come up with my top three ways to get through this crap:
1. Talk, Talk, and TALK some more.
Talk to whoever will listen or even not listen. I would probably have been admitted to a psch ward if I did not talk to my friends and family about our issues. There was no way we could've kept this to ourselves. Also, by talking to others, we have learned so so so so much about infertility and to better handle our situation. Tell your friends and family how you feel. It feels much better afterwards! And double bonus is that they better understand how you are doing.
2. Internet
Okay, my husband doesn't agree with this one I'm sure, but in moderation it's great. It is possible to stop googling about every weird feeling in your stomach or crazy thing happening in your lady region. I didn't think it was, but it is. It's a phase, and I'm hear to tell you that you will make it through the crazed google everything about pregnancy on the internet. This is what helped me: Chris (having someone there to make you stop), and find one site. One site is all you need. I've talked about it before, and I love Resolve. It has so much info all in one spot and appeals to me. If you are going to google anything, it would be to find that one site. One site!!
3. Laugh
Oh my goodness - try and make every crappy thing you are going through into a joke. Seriously - get gross! Make people laugh. We have infertility issues - so, I'm not a different person because of it. Kinda feels like it, but that's okay. There has been many months where I've had more ultrasounds via the lady region with the prong stuck up my hoo hoo than I've had sex. Awesome, right?! Oh and if you are going to do ovulation tests - go ahead and spend too much money on the digital one with the smily face. It's awesome. Sometimes the highlight of the week is waiting for that smily face looking at us telling us it's time to make some whoopy!! It lightens the mood, and makes waiting for ovulation a little bit more fun.
Okay - another long post. But I hope you had fun. Remember to keep those emotions in check! NOT!!!
Love you all!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Starting Drug Treatments
Hi again,
Our story continues :)
When Chris and I decided to go to RMC, there was more testing to be done there as well. So we started the process there in about September 2008. I won't get into the testing details, but if you are interested, please feel free to send me an email. I love sharing, but I'm not sure what everyone is interested in reading.
After talking to both the doctors and nurses, Chris and I were told that In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) would be the procedure we would need to have in order to become pregnant using our own sperm and eggs. That was sad and scary, but also very good to know that there was an option. Chris and I seem to learn more and more each day about infertility - just crazy. The worst thing about IVF we learned is that it is very expensive, and of course there is a possibility it won't work. Evaluating the costs and options was very overwhelming.
Infertility health care (including IVF procedures) is usually not covered by health insurance. In fact, only 7 states have passed laws either mandating coverage or mandating the offer to cover. This is kind of confusing, but what's important to know is that Minnesota is not one of the seven states that mandate coverage. Another bummer...In fact our health insurance doesn't cover any percentage of the IVF treatment or any percentage of inferitiliy treatments beyond blood work and regular routine check ups. I'll write another chapter to our story in the future to explain ways you can help advocate better health coverage for infertility treatments.
Since IVF is out of our price range, we asked the doctor what our next step(s) should be. The doctor thought it wouldn't hurt to try some drug treatments along with artificial insemination (AI) cycles. AI is much cheaper compared to IVF costs. We were told that they would most likely be unsuccessful, but we thought it would weigh on our minds if we never tried. In January 2009, Chris and I started taking medication to do a variety of things to our bodies. Here's a little more health details: I was put on Letrozole (ovulation regulating drug to also stimulate the number of follicles produced), and Chris started taking Prednisone (steroid to weaken the immune system). Since Prednisone weakens the immune system, there may be a small chance that the sperm antibodies would also decrease. Unfortunately, Chris' antibody levels were very high, but it was still worth a try.
During the drug treatments, I visited Resolve's website. Resolve is a group that advocates for Infertility at both Federal and State legislatures and provides tremendous support to those suffering from Infertility. Please check out their website for more information: www.resolve.org. It can also help you better understand infertility. The Resolve website was great for answers, support, and various other info. In adddition, we saw that the Midwest Area for Resolve's Infertility Conference was being held in Minneapolis. Bonus!! Chris and I signed up, and best part was the prize giveaways for those that attended. Of the 6 infertility clinics in the twin cities, ours was giving away the grand prize for a free, yes I said FREE, IVF cycle. Again, BONUS!!!
The conference was at the end of January 2009, and it was superb!! Michelle Tafoya (sports reporter) was the keynote speaker, and she was fabulous and motivating while sharing her infertility story. The day was full of laughing, understanding, and crying. Very emotional. But Chris and I learned so much. Our goal was to end the day with more information and possibly a Plan a through g. We went to various seminars including: adoption, donor sperm, donor egg, IVF costs, how to deal with infertility, etc.... Overall, wonderful. We thought that the seminar on Donor sperm was fabulous, and would be great in our situation. I'll have to write more about that in updcoming blogs.
The best part of the day came at the end. At the end of the conference is when they read the raffle winners. There was about 200 people there. Well....yes, we won the FREE IVF cycle. After they read our ticket number, we gasped and started crying. We just won the baby lottery - We couldn't believe it!! It was a flood of emotion following a very emotional day as some of you know from our phone calls after the conference. My messages and calls were pretty hard to understand due to my hyperventilating cyring :) But that's my style, right??
So now the story gets even more interesting :) More blogs to come :)
Our story continues :)
When Chris and I decided to go to RMC, there was more testing to be done there as well. So we started the process there in about September 2008. I won't get into the testing details, but if you are interested, please feel free to send me an email. I love sharing, but I'm not sure what everyone is interested in reading.
After talking to both the doctors and nurses, Chris and I were told that In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) would be the procedure we would need to have in order to become pregnant using our own sperm and eggs. That was sad and scary, but also very good to know that there was an option. Chris and I seem to learn more and more each day about infertility - just crazy. The worst thing about IVF we learned is that it is very expensive, and of course there is a possibility it won't work. Evaluating the costs and options was very overwhelming.
Infertility health care (including IVF procedures) is usually not covered by health insurance. In fact, only 7 states have passed laws either mandating coverage or mandating the offer to cover. This is kind of confusing, but what's important to know is that Minnesota is not one of the seven states that mandate coverage. Another bummer...In fact our health insurance doesn't cover any percentage of the IVF treatment or any percentage of inferitiliy treatments beyond blood work and regular routine check ups. I'll write another chapter to our story in the future to explain ways you can help advocate better health coverage for infertility treatments.
Since IVF is out of our price range, we asked the doctor what our next step(s) should be. The doctor thought it wouldn't hurt to try some drug treatments along with artificial insemination (AI) cycles. AI is much cheaper compared to IVF costs. We were told that they would most likely be unsuccessful, but we thought it would weigh on our minds if we never tried. In January 2009, Chris and I started taking medication to do a variety of things to our bodies. Here's a little more health details: I was put on Letrozole (ovulation regulating drug to also stimulate the number of follicles produced), and Chris started taking Prednisone (steroid to weaken the immune system). Since Prednisone weakens the immune system, there may be a small chance that the sperm antibodies would also decrease. Unfortunately, Chris' antibody levels were very high, but it was still worth a try.
During the drug treatments, I visited Resolve's website. Resolve is a group that advocates for Infertility at both Federal and State legislatures and provides tremendous support to those suffering from Infertility. Please check out their website for more information: www.resolve.org. It can also help you better understand infertility. The Resolve website was great for answers, support, and various other info. In adddition, we saw that the Midwest Area for Resolve's Infertility Conference was being held in Minneapolis. Bonus!! Chris and I signed up, and best part was the prize giveaways for those that attended. Of the 6 infertility clinics in the twin cities, ours was giving away the grand prize for a free, yes I said FREE, IVF cycle. Again, BONUS!!!
The conference was at the end of January 2009, and it was superb!! Michelle Tafoya (sports reporter) was the keynote speaker, and she was fabulous and motivating while sharing her infertility story. The day was full of laughing, understanding, and crying. Very emotional. But Chris and I learned so much. Our goal was to end the day with more information and possibly a Plan a through g. We went to various seminars including: adoption, donor sperm, donor egg, IVF costs, how to deal with infertility, etc.... Overall, wonderful. We thought that the seminar on Donor sperm was fabulous, and would be great in our situation. I'll have to write more about that in updcoming blogs.
The best part of the day came at the end. At the end of the conference is when they read the raffle winners. There was about 200 people there. Well....yes, we won the FREE IVF cycle.
So now the story gets even more interesting :) More blogs to come :)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Once upon a time...
Hi Everyone!! Welcome to our blog.
I've wondered for awhile if I should share our infertility story over the web, and it just took a little nudging to convince me to just jump in and start blogging. I think blogging is so intimidating, but I thought what the heck :) As my the title of the blog suggests, I'm going to try and tell our infertility story and journey, and maybe help someone else going through the same things we are. Here it goes...the story of the The Swimmer and the Egg.
Once upon a time, my husband and I learned in health class that you can get pregnant having sex. Even having sex one time can get you pregnant...As a teenager, I was convinced this could happen. When my husband and I decided we were ready to have kids, we were so excited for this one time to be awesome. Oh we were so naive, but that's okay because we were just super thrilled to start making babies. As our story goes, we didn't get pregnant having sex - not even once ;). Who would've thought - What the heck???!!!! Bummer...
After about a year of trying, we were able to meet with our doctor. We got bad news in July 2008, and discovered, in a nutshell, that the little swimmers were held back by ugly sperm antibodies, and they could not find their way to the egg. Here's a little bit of science: Chris' swimmers are surrounded by sperm antibodies preventing normal motility functions. The antibodies most likely were the result of a trauma to his"special" region. We were bummed, but also glad to have some answers.
Now, the next chapter of our story can begin. Chris and I went through many tests to make sure there wasn't any other surprises or obstacles to overcome. In addition to the test, we had to find an infertility clinic. We decided to go to Reproductive Medicine Center at the University of Minnesota. www.twincitiesbabies.com Our doctor is wonderful. He even wears bow ties everyday. I love it.
There is so much more to the story, but I don't want to give it all away at the beginning :)
I've wondered for awhile if I should share our infertility story over the web, and it just took a little nudging to convince me to just jump in and start blogging. I think blogging is so intimidating, but I thought what the heck :) As my the title of the blog suggests, I'm going to try and tell our infertility story and journey, and maybe help someone else going through the same things we are. Here it goes...the story of the The Swimmer and the Egg.
Once upon a time, my husband and I learned in health class that you can get pregnant having sex. Even having sex one time can get you pregnant...As a teenager, I was convinced this could happen. When my husband and I decided we were ready to have kids, we were so excited for this one time to be awesome. Oh we were so naive, but that's okay because we were just super thrilled to start making babies. As our story goes, we didn't get pregnant having sex - not even once ;). Who would've thought - What the heck???!!!! Bummer...
After about a year of trying, we were able to meet with our doctor. We got bad news in July 2008, and discovered, in a nutshell, that the little swimmers were held back by ugly sperm antibodies, and they could not find their way to the egg. Here's a little bit of science: Chris' swimmers are surrounded by sperm antibodies preventing normal motility functions. The antibodies most likely were the result of a trauma to his"special" region. We were bummed, but also glad to have some answers.
Now, the next chapter of our story can begin. Chris and I went through many tests to make sure there wasn't any other surprises or obstacles to overcome. In addition to the test, we had to find an infertility clinic. We decided to go to Reproductive Medicine Center at the University of Minnesota. www.twincitiesbabies.com Our doctor is wonderful. He even wears bow ties everyday. I love it.
There is so much more to the story, but I don't want to give it all away at the beginning :)
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