Our TTC Journey

I met the man that would become the love of my life in October 2005. We were introduced by a mutual friend who just knew we were perfect for each other. (I guess she was right!) We dated for the next 14 months, got engaged on New Year's Eve '06, and married on 07/07/07. Being a bit older than most newlyweds in our area (I was 27, he was 34), we decided rather quickly that we were ready to add children to our little family. So, when my samples of BCP that my OB/GYN gave me in May ran out, I stopped taking the pill. (In case you didn't follow that clearly--as sometimes things make more sense in my head than they do when I've actually said them--I quit taking the pill after 3 total months. I never even filled my prescription.) So, we counted ourselves officially "trying" in September '07.

Over the course of the next few months, I read everything I could about TTC--articles, message boards, the whole nine yards. If it sounded like it might even pretend to help me, I read it. Having never had regular, "typical" cycles, I wasn't quite sure how to feel that first time I was "late," which happened to be in October. Like many others, my brain convinced me that I had every pregnancy symptom in the books. But the 10 pregnancy tests I took between October 1 and November 18 kept showing up negative for some reason. By that point, I was just glad SOMETHING was happening. I wasn't too discouraged yet, but I secretly diagnosed myself with PCOS after reading so much about it online. (I'd imagine doctors hate it when patients self-diagnose.)

In May 2008, I was forced to switch to a new OB/GYN because my old one relocated to another state. I love my new doctor, and he expressed some concern on my very first appointment about our unsuccessful efforts to conceive. I hadn't even considered talking to him about these issues yet, since it hadn't even been a year since we started trying (or gotten married, for that matter). He ordered a battery of tests, prescribed Pro.ver.a to jumpstart my AF, and offered to try me on Clo.mi.d to see if that would help.

It was during the 5 months I took Clomid that I discovered that my body does not like to be poked and prodded. I was never one to get sick too often before, so I hadn't had blood drawn but a couple of times in my lifetime. Now, I was having it drawn every single month just to see if I was ovulating. I responded well to the meds, but I was incredibly hard to stick, and often left the lab with bruises. Plus, AF continued to find me each month. In October 2008, the doctor switched me to Fem.ara. I took this drug for 3 months, took a month off to have an HSG (all clear, but complicated--long story in itself) while DH had his first SA (not so great), then did one more month before the doctor decided we should stop treatment for a while.

In May 2009, at my yearly exam, Dr. G. decided to try me on Met.for.min to see if that would help regulate my cycles. It has, but it made my very sick to my stomach for the first several months. (More than once did I abandon my grocery cart to make a mad dash to the restroom...and got there too late. So embarrassing.) Meanwhile, DH saw a urologist, repeated the SA (better results, but still not great), and he decided to see his general practitioner to see if there was something else wrong that could be causing our problems. He discovered that he had a slight thyroid issue, but other than being overweight, he was perfectly healthy. So, in June 2009, we made some MAJOR lifestyle changes. There hasn't been one single food fried in this house since he went to the doctor (June 10, 2009). We are on a 1500 calorie/day diet, walk at least 2 miles daily (missing very rarely), and do 20-30 minutes of cardio workouts 3-4 days a week. He's lost around 125 pounds and I've lost about 40.

DH got tested again before my OB/GYN appointment on June 1, 2010, just to see if all we've done has made a difference. We were hoping that, with better results, we might be candidates for IUI or even a new round of Fe.mara.  No such luck.  While the motility and morphology were greatly improved, the count was still low.  Dr. G told us that our best chance for having a child was through IVF with ICSI.  Not good news.  I did NOT take it well.  J was ready to get started as soon as we got home that afternoon, but I took a bit longer to be convinced that this was a good choice for us.  I stalled, and we didn't proceed until AF showed up in August. 

So, we bit the bullet on August 15, 2010 and filled out the new patient forms to set up housekeeping at the RE's office. *grin* All five forms. Plus the "survey of medical and genetic disorders in your family" form (each of us), AND the release of medical records form so my OB/GYN can send a copy of all the stuff I've already had done. I figured I might hear from them in about a week. Nope. I was wrong. When I got in the car the very next  afternoon and turned on my cell phone (they're a no-no, you know, at school), I heard the familiar *ding* that lets me know I have a message.  And the person on the other end of the call sounded like we were old friends. "Hi, Angie! This is N-- from NFC. Holler at me when you have a chance. I'm at (insert phone number), option 2. Have a great afternoon!" I returned the call as soon as I got home, but got her voicemail. Well, after playing phone tag for three days, I finally got in touch with Naomi at NFC. (I know, I know...short amount of time in the grand scheme of things.) She told me that it was nice to finally get to talk to me. :-) It appears that they had received all of my paperwork, and they'd already received my medical records as well. (I guess it doesn't hurt any that J works at the medical clinic where my records came from.)

Then came time to schedule the first appointment. I was expecting October...September if I'm lucky. We have a day off in September for professional development, but our schools never host anything, so I was really kind of crossing my fingers for that. So, imagine my surprise when she says, "I've got a few slots for next week. Or did you want to push it further out?" What?!?! Next week? Trying to hide my astonishment, I quickly respond with, "No, next week is probably okay. What do you have open?" So we went for an initial consult Wednesday, August 25, 2010. Wow.

When we first started trying, I knew very little about IVF. That was something other people did. Something I would never do. It just wouldn't get that far. I could never do it--not because I felt it was wrong, but because it cost a lot of money, etc. Now, that is my reality. I can't believe this might actually happen for us. I'm trying not to put the cart before the horse. This doesn't mean anything, I know. It just means I'm trying everything I can. And that's what it's all about.

When we met with Dr. W., she had already received our records, but she asked just a few additional questions. She mentioned that we may want to try a couple of IUIs if further testing shows J’s count up any at all and if the motility was still improved, but ultimately we could decide if we wanted to try that or jump straight to IVF. We told her that we were prepared for IVF and our OB/GYN had told us that IVF w/ICSI was going to be our best option for a biological child. She said she would agree with that, but she wanted to be sure we knew there were other things we could try that we had not yet. She ordered some more bloodwork for J, and asked if she could examine me. So, off we went to another room…the one with the ultrasound machine. Thus, my first date with wandy. I emptied my bladder and was told to undress from the waist down, covering myself with the paper sheet. (Note to clinic: my Ob/GYN uses real sheets. They’re warmer. Just so you know.) I found the whole process just a tad uncomfortable, but not too bad. She had some trouble finding my left ovary, so she tried several different angles and positions, with and without pressing on my abdomen. That was the most uncomfortable part. After re-dressing, we went back to the conference room to go over the u/s pics. She said that my uterus looked great (whew!), but she had a hard time seeing my ovaries. Having been diagnosed with PCOS, she thought they would have been larger, but she also said that it being CD 18 and post-ovulatory, it wasn’t the best time of the cycle to get good pics of the ovaries. Since she wasn’t able to gather all the information she was hoping for, she requested one more test for me (besides a few prerequisite blood tests). We opted for the Clom.id Challenge test. After this, some bloodwork, and attending an IVF orientation class, we were on our way.

We completed all of the prerequisite bloodwork (9 vials...new personal record), and we attended the IVF class on September 22, 2010.  We were all set to begin our IVF cycle in October.  I never thought I'd wish for AF!

***Update***
AF arrived on Monday, October 4.  I called the nurse to report it, and everything has been set up.  We are a go!  J and I started an antibiotic on 10/6, the same day I began BCP.  Suppression check is scheduled for 10/28 at 9:00.

***Update***
Adequately "suppressed," we began stims on 10/30 with 150 IU of Foll.istim in the morning and evening.  Began Ganirelix on 11/5, reducing Follistim to 225 IU each day (all at one time) for 4 more days.  Trigger on 11/9, retrieval 11/11.  27 eggs retrieved; 21 mature; 15 fertilized via ICSI.  On day 2, 13 embryos still looking great at a grade B or better.

We went in on Tuesday, 11/16 for transfer.  The doctor said that because things looked so good, he was recommending only transferring one embryo.  His reasoning: transferring 2 really doesn't increase your odds of becoming pregnant too much, and it greatly increases the risk of higher-order multiples.  Plus, he said it was looking like we'd have several to freeze.  So, we agreed and transferred one grade A blastocyst, and ended up with 9 great embryos to freeze.    We got our first ever BFP and were elated! 

Sadly, it ended a few days later.  On the day of our 3rd beta, I started spotting and cramping, so I knew things wouldn't be good.  Our numbers decreased.  They've classified our loss as a bio-chemical pregnancy.  At our follow-up appointment, our RE expressed her deepest sorrow that this did not work out for us.  We later found out that she wrote up a disounted FET cycle for us in our chart.  She's knocking off 40% of both the clinic's fee and the lab fee. 

FET #1: February 24, 2011 -- AF arrives (3rd one since the m/c) a couple of days earlier than expected, throwing us into the FET cycle just slightly ahead of schedule.  We decided to do a natural cycle--no drugs needed except progesterone.  After 2 monitoring appointments, they gave me an HcG trigger shot to administer on 3/8/11.  I started taking 200mg of Pro.metrium twice daily on 3/10/11 and went in to have a stitch placed in my cervix to aide in the transfer on 3/11/11.  (My cervix is difficult to get to.)  We transferred two grade B embryos on 3/15/11 and are now awaiting the results.  Beta #1 is scheduled for Friday, 3/25/11. 

3/25/11--Beta #1: BFP!  HcG level 178
3/28/11--Beta #2: 483.9
3/30/11--Beta #3: 1010  We are definitely pregnant!

1st Ultrasound 4/15/11 (Looking good!  Measured at 6w4d)
2nd u/s on 4/21/11  (Right on target!  Measured at 7w3d)
3rd u/s on 4/29/11 (No heartbeat; measured 8w4d...had to have stopped sometime today)
D&C scheduled for 5/6/11

Post-m/c bloodwork (16 vials...shattered old personal record) confirms protein S and C deficiencies a well as lupus anticoagulant antibodies.  That's 3 different clotting disorders if you're trying to keep up.  Plan for next time: Begin Loven.ox injections (blood thiner) ASAP after BFP.  Also, resume baby aspirin immediately.

AF FINALLY returns 7/8/11.  Hydrosnogram (requested by NFC) and thyroid check 7/14.  All clear to begin FET #2 whenever we're ready.

FET #2: September 4, 2011 AF arrives.  CD 4 u/s shows all is good.  We decided to do another natural cycle--no drugs needed except progesterone. After 2 additional monitoring appointments, they gave me a prescription for an HcG trigger shot to administer on 9/16/11. I started taking 200mg of Pro.metrium twice daily on 9/18/11 and went in to have a stitch placed in my cervix to aide in the transfer on 9/21/11.  We transferred two "great" embryos (one grade A, one grade B) on 9/23/11. Beta #1 was scheduled for Monday, 10/03/11.   AF showed up on Friday, 9/30.  Beta confirmed BFN. 

Taking a deep breath and trying to regroup for FET #3.  We have (at best) 2 more shots at this before it is all over. 

FET #3: AF arrives 10/26.  Different approach this time--we're doing BCPs (beginning 10/28), Lupron (beginning 11/10), estradiol valerate (beginning 11/17), and PIO (beginning 12/2); add Lovenox 12/5 before trasfer (2 embabies) 12/7.  Come on, Lucky #7!

Positive HPT 7dp5dt (12/14)
12/19/11--Beta #1: 438
12/21/11--Beta #2: 1047
12/23/11--Beta #3: