From Infertility to Pregnancy Conference. Also, Contest.

I encourage everyone to access and watch this conference being broadcast via internet. It's starting on April 21 and going through May 4. The conference will feature lots of expert speakers who will discuss many different areas of infertility. Just register on the site (it's free!) and check out the schedule to make sure you don't miss the talks you are interested in.

From Infertility to Pregnancy Virtual Conference

I also came across this amazing opportunity to win a free IVF cycle from the Northern California Fertility Medical Center. Entering is simple, and must be done by April 28. Even if you don't live close, wouldn't it be worth travel costs to win a free IVF cycle?! I entered and hope I have a chance!

When Should I See a Specialist?

This is a question that everyone starts to ask themselves when it starts taking longer to get pregnant than expected. I remember starting to have this question pop up in my mind once I hit the three/four month mark. And while this is actually a very normal amount of time to conceive, I think a lot of couples can be impatient and start feeling like it's taking too long. It doesn't help that stories fly around about how often accidents happen, or how teenage girls get pregnant all the time. There is a myth that floats around that it's easy to get pregnant.

So what is a normal time to expect to get pregnant? The American Society for Reproductive Medicine says that if a woman is under the age of 35 to start seeking help after unprotected intercourse for one year, and for women over 35, six months. So if it's taking longer than you expected, so say, more than two or three months, you are still doing okay. Sometimes it takes a little longer for some to conceive, and there isn't a problem. It's just up to luck. But once the six month/year mark comes up, it's time to start seeking some help.

However, sometimes one can suspect something is wrong without needing to try for that long. RESOLVE.org posted that if you answer yes to any of the following to visit with your doctor.

• I have painful periods.
• I have irregular periods.
• I can not pinpoint when I ovulate.
• My partner/I have a history of STDs.
• I have an unhealthy Body Mass Index (BMI). (underweight or overweight)
• I have had more than one miscarriage. 

As for who to go see, that's a personal decision. I initally started treatment with an OB/GYN because my insurance covered it. They are able to run the simple, initial tests like a semen analysis and do ultrasounds, prescribe medications like Clomid/Femara and progesterone, and order imaging tests like a hysterosalpingogram. Some OB/GYNs are comfortable starting infertility treatment, and some aren't.

The best bet is to go directly to a specialist, a reproductive endocrinologist. They are the most skilled in this area, can help diagnose problems quicker, and get you set on the course of treatment that you need. It's worth it to go directly to a specialist. My only regret is that I wasted time "doctor hopping" instead of going immediately to the person who could have helped me best. 

The IUI

At my ultrasound yesterday we saw one beautiful follicle ready to go. A second did not mature in time, but we are really okay with that. It only takes one, right? So I was given my hCG trigger there at the office, meaning that ovulation will occur 24-48 hours after the shot. So it will be sometime this afternoon or evening. I haven't decided if I will test out my trigger this time. It seemed to add a lot of stress before. I may just do a test or two here and there just to see what it's doing.

We went back today for the collection and insemination. John described the collection as the "most awkward moment of my life." And I will stop there. We handed it over to the lab there, and they prepared the sample. What happens is they wash it to get rid of any dead or imperfect sperm, take the healthy ones, and place them in a liquid that helps them to "swim" better.

While we waited, we walked around the mall that is just down the street. And not that it matters, but I got some really cute new sandals! Anyway, when we went back, they put us in a normal exam room, and when the APN came in to do the procedure, she announced very excitedly that we had an amazing sample! Sperm count, post wash, is considered normal at 15-18 million (Average is between 18 and 40 million). In the 20s is excellent. And we had 36 million! We were really excited to hear that. Once again, the prayers helped!

The procedure itself went really fast. It started out similarly to a pap smear, with all of that funness. Then she inserted a catheter in the cervix, injected the sperm sample, and that was it. Really simple. After, she left and had me lay down for about 15 minutes. She turned off the lights for some reason, which we thought was funny. Nap time!

I will have a blood pregnancy test done on April 26th. I am not sure if I will post about the results, positive or negative, because we don't know when we would tell people once we know I'm pregnant. We still have to come to an agreement about that. I don't often do this because I have always been so open, but I would really appreciate no questions about my results. Just so we're able to keep things private if we want. Thank you!

Secondary Infertility

While I don't personally suffer from secondary infertility, I have a lot of friends who do. Secondary infertility is "the inability to become pregnant, or to carry a pregnancy to term, following the birth of one or more biological children. The birth of the first child does not involve any assisted reproductive technologies or fertility medications" (Resolve.org, "Secondary Infertility"). This is an extremely sensitive issue, and not just from comments and misunderstanding from the "Fertile Myrtles."

I decided to write a little about this for a few reasons. The first is to encourage me to try to understand secondary infertility better. The second reason is because I saw the following question posted on RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association's Facebook page:

"One of our Facebook Community members wrote: 'I am upset with people sometimes. I just started IVF for secondary infertility. We are lucky to have one child. My last baby was a still birth. I can't stand it when people repeatedly tell me to be thankful for my only living child. My dream was to have two children. I don't know how to tell them off without hurting their feelings. Any advice? Really, I am getting close to blowing up at people.' Please leave your comment for her below:"

The comments that followed were all over the place, from telling the woman that "You really should be thankful for your child. Stop being so angry and enjoy the one you have," to some really good words of support. The surprising thing is that all of the comments, insensitive ones included, came from members of the infertility community. 

I can understand both sides of the issue. For those going through primary infertility (like me) who haven't been able to have even one child, it's so easy to feel like the women going through secondary are being ungrateful for the child that they do have. When we would do anything to have even just one child, it's hard to see someone complain, "I can't get pregnant!" when they already have one. It's easy to think, "I would do anything for just one! Appreciate and love the one you have! At least you have one." 

On the other side, I can understand that it's still extremely heartbreaking to experience infertility, no matter how many children one has. I think of the pain month after month, the disappointment when seeing failed cycle after failed cycle. That could not possibly be easy for anyone. John and I had always imagined having three or four children. True, we will be happy if we are blessed with just one, but there will still be a sense of loss for the other children we feel should be in our family. I'm sure those couples going through secondary infertility must feel something similar. It must be truly saddening and frustrating to begin your family, and then not be able to feel completed. I have also heard a lot of sorrow coming from, "not being able to give my child a sibling." 

Those men and women with secondary infertility need and deserve just as much support and love as those with primary. It's harder to know who they are, and sometimes you may not even know the people in your life afflicted with it. It's easy to look at someone with children and think that they are not struggling. I guess the main point here is that you can never judge someone. Never just assume that they don't have problems, and don't assume they aren't grateful for their children. All of the friends I have talked to love and adore their children completely, but simply yearn for more. Not one has ever taken their child for granted. They understand what it really means to appreciate the gift that they were given. 

Three Cheers for the Right!

I had my ultrasound today to check on my follicles and see if I was ready for the IUI. And while everything wasn't quite ready yet, we are so so so happy to report that all of my activity is happening on my right ovary! I had one dominant follicle measure 12 mm, with a few smaller ones. A mature follicle needs to measure at least 18 mm. I will be going back for another ultrasound on Thursday to see if everything is ready, and plan to do the IUI on Friday. The APN was nice and gave me a shot of follicle stimulating hormone, which will encourage the follicles to mature. And the best part is a drug rep just stopped by their office and left a sample of the FSH shot, which she just gave to me at no charge! It is usually about $120, so that was a very generous gift! She gave me a double dose of it to try to increase the number of follicles that will mature. We're hoping that a second will mature in addition to the dominant one.

Thank you everyone, because I feel that your prayers worked! We had great news, and hope that the trend continues. If everything works out, I'd be due on January 1st, 2014. We're hoping for New Years twins!

Moving to the Next Step- IUI

At my appointment yesterday, since we have done five rounds of Clomid with intercourse to no success, we decided it was time for us to move on to the next step. So treatment this cycle will be a little bit different. We've decided to try intrauterine insemination, or as some people call it, artificial insemination.

This cycle will be very similar in that I am still taking 100 mg of Clomid to stimulate follicle growth. I've had success with a good number of follicles on that dose, so we are keeping it the same for now. I'll still track the days after Clomid with an OPK to see if I get an LH surge and ovulate on my own. If I don't get a surge, I'll still have to use the hCG trigger.

The only difference is that when I do ovulate, instead of relying on just intercourse, the doctor will inject the sperm directly into the uterus, bypassing the cervix altogether, and placing the sperm as close as we can to the egg. The nurse practitioner told us that this practice will double our odds of conception. This is a good 2 minute video about how this is done.

We are going to be traveling, and really hope that, if I do have a surge and ovulate on my own again, that we will be back home so we can do the procedure. If my body decides to be a superhero and ovulate really early this time while we're traveling, we'll have to cancel the IUI and try with just intercourse again. 

Please, send us lots and lots of prayers! This month, so far, will be the best chance we've ever had. We may just get our January 1st baby!

Nothing... again.

Everything I was feeling was just the progesterone, I suppose. Here we go again. Can't it just be my turn already??