Tuesday, April 14, 2009

We're getting there!

Ok. Where to start? Last Friday sound good? Great.


Friday
We met with our new RE, who is amazing (Dr. Gantt if you are in the Charleston area). He looked at my charts (and was thrilled that I have been charting for as long as I have-Go Me!) After going over a quick TTC history chit chat asking/answering a bazillion questions, we talked about our "plan".

He definitely wanted to repeat Ben's SA. He had already had 2 done, one that was terrible, the other one that was okay, not great but better than the previous one had been. He also let us know that some lab techs don't really know what they are looking for when they do a SA which could be part of the reason our results were so skewed both times. So he gave us the paperwork to take down to their IUI/IVF lab where they have techs that are there only to process SA's and know exactly what they are looking for.

He also wants me on Progesterone supplements. Now, go back in time with me. Almost two months to the day ago (here), I called my prior OB and asked them to run a Progesterone screening because I felt like I had LPD. Long story short, they said "No way, Jose!" and I got a second opinion. We (the RE, his partner and Ben and I) talked about our miscarriage and LPD is why he believes I miscarried. Basically, my body didn't produce enough Progesterone to support the pregnancy. When I went in for my final blood draw the day before my D&C my beta's were in the 50,000's but my Progesterone was 2. We will never know 100% if that was the reason, but he and his partner seemed to be pretty sure that is what the issue was. This is an easy fix (Progesterone supplements) and had my original OB been monitoring my beta's and progesterone like my new OB does, it probably could have been fixed and I would be 39 weeks pregnant right now. Such as life through, right? (<-That subject is enough to send me into a fit of rage filled with profanity and tears, so I'll leave it for later.) They also pointed out on my chart where they are fairly certain I had a chemical pregnancy in November. I wasn't testing at the time, so I knew nothing about it. No need being upset about it now though. We are moving forward.

Saturday/Sunday/Monday
We sat around and waited for our next appt Tuesday.

Tuesday
We started off the day with my RE calling (did I mention he has a really thick New Orleans-esque accent. I have a crush on his voice, haha!). He told us to come right up to his office after we dropped the sample off and he would go over it with us himself (Awesome!). So Ben did his thing and we raced off to the hospital with the "specimen" tucked safely in my bra (only other IF girls will probably find the humor in that-only because they have been there and done it themselves, lol). We went straight up to the RE's office and went straight back and saw the Dr. Ben's test looked awesome. Count is high, morphology is great, motility is "better than great" and he has no concerns with Ben's swimmers.

On to me then, lol. He laid out several options, the main three being:
(1.) Keep trying on our own (which in his opinion is not working).
(2.) Finish this cycle on our own and start Clomid, CD 5-9, next month. Try the Clomid for three monitored cycles (meaning I go in for an US ~every 7 days or so to make sure my ovaries and uterine lining are reacting well to the Clomid) and see what happens.
(3.) IUI with fertility drugs (Clomid and a few others).

We chose Door #2. It's the least invasive and offers the best success rates for where we are right now.

So, YAY! I am honestly a mess of emotions right now. Since Friday I have felt so great. I can not remember a time when I felt this optimistic and hopeful regarding TTC. After a while it drains you completely and you almost don't even care any more. I feel like we are moving in the right direction and and getting answers and plans and positivity and support (things I feel, now looking back, we did not get at our original OB-but again, that is a different post for a different day).

But there is another part of me that can't believe we are moving onto fertility drugs. There are women out there who think Clomid is no big deal, you take it and you get pregnant. It's not that easy. It's a drug that, in a way, forces your body to do something it doesn't want to do. It comes with side effects. But, we want a baby. This is the route we have to take to get there. So Clomid it is. We are so lucky that we do not have MFI issues and really, we don't have major issues on my end. They are easily treated and have a high success rate of producing healthy, full term babies.


And here's the part where I drag out my soapbox, dust it off and step up (and is mainly aimed at those of you who know me IRL). Please keep the "TWINS!" comments, the "Are you pregnant?" questions and other nonsense to yourself. I really don't think you understand how that can go right through the heart when you say it to one of us. We are breaking our backs to have one healthy baby, so we don't need the added pressure. Keep the "Just relax.", "Don't stress." bull sh*t to yourself too. And for the one who said "I'm glad they figured out what is wrong with you." (you know who you are and I love you dearly), be warned that you almost got throat punched on that one. We are really trying to stay positive. Hearing you blab for 20 minutes about what is wrong with me, even though pretty much everything you said was untrue and proved that you hadn't listened to a thing I said/wrote, was excruciating on this end and required more self control than I am used to using in an effort not to choke the life out of you. There is nothing wrong, just some things that need fine tuned, that's all.

My very dear friend, Rachel, posted this article the other day and I feel that there are a handful of you who could benefit from reading it, even though I have posted similar entries here and here and here and several other places through out this blog. So, please think about what you say before you say it. Even joking comments stab at our hearts sometimes. We may joke about IF and our issues, but that is how we deal with it. And yes, I am saying "It's okay for us to do it, but it's not okay for you to." Contradicting yourself is one of the privileges that comes along with IF. I'm not mad at anyone or singling any one specific person out, there are several offenders running a muck right now, lol. Just think before you speak? Okay?


So, long story short:
-I still have PCOS
-I also have LPD
-We have no concerns regarding MFI or Ben
-We are moving to Clomid unless we get pg this cycle
-If we are unsuccessful with Clomid, we will move to IUI ~August
-I feel great
-Please think before you speak
-I love Rachel

And now you are up to speed on my baby factory, Ben's swimmers and our plan of action. What more could you ask for?



Hug&Kisses

7 comments:

Kim said...

I am so happy for you! I can only imagine what you must be feeling after the roller coaster you have been on and continue to be on.

I hope everything continues to be as successful as your last couple of appointments and you can have that "glow" soon!

*Amy Leigh* said...

Very good news! I am so happy for you! I can't wait to hear about your experience with clomid...my mom also had PCOS and had to take clomid to get pregnant with my sister, she thought she would always have trouble but ACCIDENTALLY got pregnant with my brother 8 months after my sister was born...then pregnant with me after my dad had testicular cancer and was told he was sterile!!! So, hopefully one round of clomid will do the trick! Good luck!!

momqat said...

Fingers crossed for more great news! BTW: I was kidding about the twins!

Cate said...

LOL! I wasn't talking about you! I was talking about Baby Gap (Chris knows who I am talking about!)

Mrs.G said...

::kisses::

Chatham said...

Oh, hunny. Talk about bitter sweet. I am glad to hear that you are with some good dr.'s now!

Amanda Hoyt said...

Hi Cate,
So happy that things are going well and I'm praying for you each day.
Hugs,
Amanda