Yesterday I got my period unexpectedly early. Since I was on Provera, I wasn't expecting it for a few more days but I am totally fine with it coming early! So I called and set up my baseline ultrasound and had it today. Everything went well! I still have a bunch of cysts on both ovaries but there's one on my right side that is at a 6 and she said that should be the one that progresses with Clomid. I also get to start the Clomid tomorrow on CD3 which I've been begging doctors to do since my second cycle on it years ago. And I didn't even have to ask! She just told me start it tomorrow. And I also just got the call that I will be in the stair-step group of the study so if I don't respond to the Clomid, they just up my dosage instead of canceling my cycle. Super happy and super excited to get things going! My first follicle check is on the 17th and if all goes well, the IUI will be a few days after. :)
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
CD2!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Step 1
Got the results from my blood work back today. I did not ovulate! (Who ever thought I'd ever be excited to say that). So I started Provera today and in about 2 weeks when it's cycle day 1, I call to set up my baseline ultrasound and we get this IUI show on the road!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Progress!
Oh. My. God. I love my new RE!!! She is super nice, her nurses are super nice, and she asked me what *I* want to do! Even the internal ultrasound was painless which is awesome since they always were fairly painful with my other doc. And best of all, I get to participate in a study on PCOS and Clomid! And with it comes a discount on IUI! I even asked her if I wasn't close to ovulation if I could start Provera to get things rolling and she said yup! I just have to wait on blood test results to make sure I haven't ovulated (since the ultrasound showed tons of follicles but no dominant one) and I can start Provera. And as soon as I get my period I go in for a baseline ultrasound and sign the consent for the study and start the Clomid! Oh my gosh I'm so excited I don't know what to do with myself!
I can't believe this is really finally happening!!!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Well Lookie There
It appears I have ovulated on my own again. Don't really know what day exactly since I wasn't temping most of the cycle but I have narrowed it down to between CD19 and CD 23. I'm leaning more towards CD22 based on temp trends but who knows, I could be wrong. Either way, I've got the usual post-O symptoms. Tender/sore ta-tas, some nausea, some heartburn, some serious irritability etc. I tested once, but if I'm right on my recalculated O day, I was actually only on something like 7DPO so obviously it was negative. I don't plan on testing anymore this cycle though. I'm just going to wait for the inevitable start of my period.
:sigh:
I was really trying to stay optimistic and try the positive thinking and visualization thing, but it's just so hard for me. For almost 6 years combined we've been TTC and I've gotten pregnant 5 times and have just 1 child. Not to mention the years of natural failure (when I FINALLY ovulated 39679576 days into my cycle), and the months of Clomid failures, I just can't stay optimistic anymore. I wouldn't say I'm exactly pessimistic, but when the odds are clearly against you, it's hard to have that little voice that whispers "it's possible it worked" come through.
Only time will tell. My temps aren't looking too out of the ordinary so I'm already pretty sure we're going to be going to our RE appointment on the 26th but it sure would be nice if we didn't have to.
:sigh:
I was really trying to stay optimistic and try the positive thinking and visualization thing, but it's just so hard for me. For almost 6 years combined we've been TTC and I've gotten pregnant 5 times and have just 1 child. Not to mention the years of natural failure (when I FINALLY ovulated 39679576 days into my cycle), and the months of Clomid failures, I just can't stay optimistic anymore. I wouldn't say I'm exactly pessimistic, but when the odds are clearly against you, it's hard to have that little voice that whispers "it's possible it worked" come through.
Only time will tell. My temps aren't looking too out of the ordinary so I'm already pretty sure we're going to be going to our RE appointment on the 26th but it sure would be nice if we didn't have to.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Low Blood Iron And Infertility
I'm constantly on a search for a reason as to why I can't conceive. I know I have PCOS, I know I have hostile cervical fluid, and until recently, I knew my weight was an issue.
However, I got to thinking about low iron. When I was younger I had an iron deficiency issue and I had to take pills to correct it. I know I don't get anywhere near enough iron out of my diet cuz my calorie app tells me so. I think the highest I've ever gotten in 1 week is 44% out of 100%. Not to mention I have all but maybe 1 of the symptoms of low iron.
That's not so good.
So I thought to myself, I wonder if there is a link between infertility and low iron. Turns out, there is.
This article talks about how low iron can cause you to be anovulatory. And it makes total sense. If you already have low iron, your body doesn't want to make it lower by getting your period. So it stops you from ovulating so you don't get your period regularly. Plus it goes on to say that even if by chance you do ovulate, the pregnancy will be hard to sustain because you don't have the sufficient amount of iron to support it so you end up miscarrying.
It makes me wonder for sure. I'm torn between doing nothing different and having my new RE check my iron levels or starting a my pre-natal vitamin (I know, I know. I should be on it anyway).
I'm leaning towards the vitamin. This way I can build everything up in my system before we do IUI so we have better chances.
But I'll still have her check my iron levels. I really want this IUI to work and I want to make sure I am healthy enough to sustain a pregnancy.
However, I got to thinking about low iron. When I was younger I had an iron deficiency issue and I had to take pills to correct it. I know I don't get anywhere near enough iron out of my diet cuz my calorie app tells me so. I think the highest I've ever gotten in 1 week is 44% out of 100%. Not to mention I have all but maybe 1 of the symptoms of low iron.
That's not so good.
So I thought to myself, I wonder if there is a link between infertility and low iron. Turns out, there is.
This article talks about how low iron can cause you to be anovulatory. And it makes total sense. If you already have low iron, your body doesn't want to make it lower by getting your period. So it stops you from ovulating so you don't get your period regularly. Plus it goes on to say that even if by chance you do ovulate, the pregnancy will be hard to sustain because you don't have the sufficient amount of iron to support it so you end up miscarrying.
It makes me wonder for sure. I'm torn between doing nothing different and having my new RE check my iron levels or starting a my pre-natal vitamin (I know, I know. I should be on it anyway).
I'm leaning towards the vitamin. This way I can build everything up in my system before we do IUI so we have better chances.
But I'll still have her check my iron levels. I really want this IUI to work and I want to make sure I am healthy enough to sustain a pregnancy.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Well So Much For That Idea...
I've been reading up a lot on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). I'm not really into taking medicines and stuff like that (which is funny since I'm on Phentermine, Metformin, and take a generic sleep aid) but with infertility, it's not really something you can avoid. Kind of.
I would love to say "to hell with all these fertility meds" and just go the natural route. However, insurance doesn't cover "natural" and it sure isn't cheap.
I called to see if an acupuncturist in my area does fertility acupuncture. Well, as it turns out, they do. But, (there's always a but) it will cost me $70 the first session and $50 for every session after that with them wanting to do at least 10 sessions. Which in the end would cost between $520-$570 depending on if they count the first session into the 10 sessions or not. Yeah, I have the money to do it, but that is money we already have set aside for an IUI. Right now, we have enough money to do 2 IUIs so we can do 2 consecutive cycles in a row to help increase our chances (if the first IUI doesn't work). I just don't think I want to sacrifice an IUI for acupuncture. Ok, I really do, but I'm just not sure if I should.
It's a hard decision.
Many people swear by TCM, but there are also some pretty darn good statistics with IUI too. I'm spending roughly the same amount of money either way but I just don't know if I should chance wasting my money on something that could work vs something that does work (for most that do it).
See my dilemma?
I suppose I could go ahead with the acupuncture and spend the next couple months before we even do our first IUI saving up the money for a second IUI, but it's risky. Whenever you need to save money is when something comes up where you end up needing to spend money you had planned on saving and I just don't want to take that chance.
Although I do have the security deposit coming back from our old place...
I would love to say "to hell with all these fertility meds" and just go the natural route. However, insurance doesn't cover "natural" and it sure isn't cheap.
I called to see if an acupuncturist in my area does fertility acupuncture. Well, as it turns out, they do. But, (there's always a but) it will cost me $70 the first session and $50 for every session after that with them wanting to do at least 10 sessions. Which in the end would cost between $520-$570 depending on if they count the first session into the 10 sessions or not. Yeah, I have the money to do it, but that is money we already have set aside for an IUI. Right now, we have enough money to do 2 IUIs so we can do 2 consecutive cycles in a row to help increase our chances (if the first IUI doesn't work). I just don't think I want to sacrifice an IUI for acupuncture. Ok, I really do, but I'm just not sure if I should.
It's a hard decision.
 |
| I Wish Someone Had Warned Me |
Many people swear by TCM, but there are also some pretty darn good statistics with IUI too. I'm spending roughly the same amount of money either way but I just don't know if I should chance wasting my money on something that could work vs something that does work (for most that do it).
See my dilemma?
I suppose I could go ahead with the acupuncture and spend the next couple months before we even do our first IUI saving up the money for a second IUI, but it's risky. Whenever you need to save money is when something comes up where you end up needing to spend money you had planned on saving and I just don't want to take that chance.
Although I do have the security deposit coming back from our old place...
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Long Overdue Update
So a friend of mine recently started blogging. I then realized I haven't blogged in quite a while. Mostly it's because we are stuck not trying for now, but we also recently moved so much of my time has been consumed by that.
So let's see. What has happened since my last post...
We moved. Thank goodness! We finally got a house on post and best of all, it's a brand new house, I mean brand.new. No one has lived in it since it was built so it was nice to come in and have to do generally deep cleaning rather than clean up previous tenant's mess deep cleaning.
We bought a new car! Well, an SUV crossover really. It's a 2013 Dodge Journey. It was a pain in the butt to get it due to the first dealership we went to trying to royally screw us over by only offering us $500 for my 2009 Cobalt sedan (among other things they tried to screw us over with) which is in perfect running condition and has general wear and tear for a 4 year old car that has traveled from Alaska to Louisiana to Buffalo (and back and forth between the 2 over 2 years) to Disney World to Oklahoma to Ft. Benning back to Oklahoma and back and forth to Buffalo a couple times. It had 80,000 miles on it. You get the picture lol. We ended up going to a different dealer who was MUCH more cooperative and instantly gave us $6500 for our trade in and a helluva better deal (no money down and still cheaper than the other guys where we were gonna put $2,000 down) We also got to save on taxes since hubby is still a resident of Alaska. Woot!
I've lost weight! At this point I'm 1.5 months-ish deep into weight loss pills. I have officially, as of today, lost 16.3 pounds. I'm hoping to squeeze out at the very least 5 more pounds. Initially my goal weight was 120 with my ultimate goal weight being 115. I only have to lose 1.7lbs to get to my original goal weight so I think that one is pretty doable. I'm fairly confident I can make it to 115 too.
And last, but certainly not least, we have an appointment set for our new RE!!! We go on April 26th for our first appointment. I've been researching her like crazy and I really like what I'm reading. She so far seems very accomplished, intelligent, and progressive. And every patient review I've read says she is very nice, will take the time to answer questions you may have (and not make you feel rushed) and more than 1 said she didn't make you feel like a statistic. I still worry about the 3 IUI limit before moving to IVF, but I really think just 1 IUI is all we will need. (I hope)
So that is what is going on with me right now. Some more waiting but at least this time we know an IUI is most certainly in our future. The money is there and waiting and so are the meds. Just gotta see if they are gonna have me do a month of birth control first (which I assume they will since I haven't had my period since 1/18).
Shit just got real.
So let's see. What has happened since my last post...
We moved. Thank goodness! We finally got a house on post and best of all, it's a brand new house, I mean brand.new. No one has lived in it since it was built so it was nice to come in and have to do generally deep cleaning rather than clean up previous tenant's mess deep cleaning.
We bought a new car! Well, an SUV crossover really. It's a 2013 Dodge Journey. It was a pain in the butt to get it due to the first dealership we went to trying to royally screw us over by only offering us $500 for my 2009 Cobalt sedan (among other things they tried to screw us over with) which is in perfect running condition and has general wear and tear for a 4 year old car that has traveled from Alaska to Louisiana to Buffalo (and back and forth between the 2 over 2 years) to Disney World to Oklahoma to Ft. Benning back to Oklahoma and back and forth to Buffalo a couple times. It had 80,000 miles on it. You get the picture lol. We ended up going to a different dealer who was MUCH more cooperative and instantly gave us $6500 for our trade in and a helluva better deal (no money down and still cheaper than the other guys where we were gonna put $2,000 down) We also got to save on taxes since hubby is still a resident of Alaska. Woot!
I've lost weight! At this point I'm 1.5 months-ish deep into weight loss pills. I have officially, as of today, lost 16.3 pounds. I'm hoping to squeeze out at the very least 5 more pounds. Initially my goal weight was 120 with my ultimate goal weight being 115. I only have to lose 1.7lbs to get to my original goal weight so I think that one is pretty doable. I'm fairly confident I can make it to 115 too.
And last, but certainly not least, we have an appointment set for our new RE!!! We go on April 26th for our first appointment. I've been researching her like crazy and I really like what I'm reading. She so far seems very accomplished, intelligent, and progressive. And every patient review I've read says she is very nice, will take the time to answer questions you may have (and not make you feel rushed) and more than 1 said she didn't make you feel like a statistic. I still worry about the 3 IUI limit before moving to IVF, but I really think just 1 IUI is all we will need. (I hope)
So that is what is going on with me right now. Some more waiting but at least this time we know an IUI is most certainly in our future. The money is there and waiting and so are the meds. Just gotta see if they are gonna have me do a month of birth control first (which I assume they will since I haven't had my period since 1/18).
Shit just got real.
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