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Monday, June 30, 2008

What is my body doing to me????

So today was the u/s to check my follie growth. I truely expected to see at least 3.......there was 1 on the left side (21.3) *shocked* OK we can handle one....that's all it take to make a baby right. Lining was 10.13

So I guess you could say I am in the 2ww (two week wait) Progesterone level test (P4) on 7/7/08 and a Blood Pregnancy Test (BETA) on 7/14/08. Let the worrying, wondering and speculating begin....LOL

Something else I found out today....although one mature follies is fantastic, because I was on medication (Gonal-F 225 iu/day) I should have had more. My RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) believes I may beginning diminished ovarian reserves (DOR) (Thanks you ladies of CO for setting me strait....man I feel like an ASS).

We won't know for sure until next cycle, (if we don't get pregnant this cycle) when they will do a Clomid Challenge and test the hormone levels in my blood and that will tell them!

I truely am hoping and praying that this follie contains the 'golden' egg and I won't have to worry about DOR unless we decide we want more then 2 children. Just another curve ball thrown my way......come on I can take it!!!!!!


"What is diminished ovarian reserve, and why does it make it hard to conceive on your own?

As a woman ages, her fertility decreases. This decrease occurs slowly up until about 35 years of age, when fertility falls even faster. This drop in fertility is seen even in women who have perfectly normal, regular menstrual cycles. In fact for some women, fertility may no longer be possible five to 10 years before menopause. Diminished fertility, also called diminished ovarian reserve, is thought to reflect both a decreased number of eggs and a decrease in egg quality.
To test for diminished ovarian reserve, doctors use the clomiphene challenge test and day 3 FSH testing. This involves measuring your levels of the hormones FSH and estradiol on the third day of your cycle. Then, from day 5 through day 9, you take 100mg clomiphene (two tablets) each day. A day or two later, FSH level is measured again. If the FSH value is high, that indicates your fertility potential is diminished due to age. Values of FSH above 10 indicate that you may have difficulty conceiving or carrying a pregnancy. Values over 14-15 indicate that your chance of success would probably be nil without egg donation and in vitro fertilization (IVF)."

Saturday, June 28, 2008

More and More Bloodwork....

So after 3 nights (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) of medication, I went today for bloodwork to find out my E2 levels.......245.8 YAY!!!!

So tonight and tomorrow night, again with the medication and on Monday (6/30) I get to go for an u/s (more like a dildo cam....Thanks ladies of CO) to see how my follies are maturing! I will know more then!!!!!!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Cycle 19 of TTC #2 ~ June 2008

So today I went in for an u/s to make sure there were no cysts so I could take my hormone injections! NO CYSTS!!!!! So I start today with my nightly injections of Gonal-F with bloodwork on Saturday to check my E2 levels.

I am excited about this cycle and hoping that the last 4 months of non medicated cycles will have my ovaries reacting very well to the medication this month.

In the last 19 cycles we have gone about as far as you can go before choosing IVF. Clomid, Gonal-F and IUI's. With a month here or there off because of the damn cyst that the mediction gave me. 4 months ago was a non-medicated cycle because of a stupid cyst and then the last 3 cycle we decided to see what my body would do on it's own and low and behold, EVERYTHING!!!!!

On the non-medicated cycles, I thought for a small moment that I might be 'normal'! My body was working and it was great! unfortunatly still no pregnancy, so we decided that after a break, picking up the medication again would be a good idea. So here we are!

Finally! 2005

So after five month with our specialist (RE) and no luck with pregnancy, she decided it was time to take the next step and takes some medication. I had been on the Metformin and Prenatal Vitamins since our first visit.

So the first month on clomid was ok. Experienced the usual side effects (s/e) but nothing I couldn't handle. The RE decided that she wasnted to run a postcoital test on me towards the end of my cycle. "A postcoital test checks a woman's cervical mucus after sex to see whether sperm are present and moving normally. This test may be used if a woman is not able to become pregnant (infertility) and other tests have not found a cause" The prefer to not do this test on pregnant women, but it can be done. So they gave me a pregnancy test (urine) in the Dr.'s office and it came back a BFN. In my head I knew that the results were wrong, but I allowed the RE to go ahead with the test because I knew that if God meant for it to be, it would still be. The results of the test came back normal and when asked about coming back for a blood pregnancy test (BETA) and was told a week.

So the next week I still hadn't had a visit from my lovely monthly visitor (AF) so I went into the office. I knew in the back of my mind that I was in fact pregnant, but I didn't have ANY symptoms other then not being able to stomach the thought (look, smell or taste) of a Bacon Cheeseburger....LOL

I remember the exact time I received the phone call from the Dr. I was sitting at my desk at work, it was about 1:45 PM on Wednesday, March 15, 2005. I answered the phone and she asked for me and knoew right away it was good news. The previous 5 months, the RE's nurse would call me with the results and on that day it was the actual RE!!!!! Sure enough I WAS PREGNANT!!!!!!! I sat at my desk and cried, the wonderful ladies that I worked with all knew what I had been through and thought it was another BFN. So when I got off the phone and told them, they cried right along with me!!!!!

I called my Husband (DH) and my mother! I went back in for another BETA to make sure it was doubling and scheduled an u/s. My numbers were so high that they thought it was twins. At my u/s we saw and heard the heartbeat and found out that it was only one!

My Estimated Due Date (EDD) was 12/4/2005. and my beautiful Daughter, Jocelynn Noelle, arrived on 12/12/2005 at 1:58am after 82 (eighty two) hours of labor!

It was a beautiful experience and I thank my midwife and family (My dad, Mom and Sister-in-law were in the delivery room!) for making it so!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

TTC #1, The Beginning.....2004-2005

INFERTILITY. Who knew one word could mean so much or hurt so much. For 2 long years after we were married, we had no success, my cycles would throw me a 'symptom' or be late but never did it result in a positive pregnancy test. I was beginning to tire of it all and emotionally I had hit a wall! So in July of 2004, John and I dicussed with my OB/GYN and Primary Care Physician (PCP) what could possibly be wrong. My OB/GYN said we were having difficulties because I was overweight....GAAH....that is always the answer for everything and little did I know just how wrong she was. Luckily my PCP was a little more concerned and suggested I find and new OB/GYN and suggested Garrison Woman 's Health (GWH)! Later I would realize that that suggestion would be my lifesaver!

So I called GWH and made an appointment with one of the Dr. to begin the steps. This was August of 2004, and during my appointment she asked ALOT of questions, and began the information I pumped her full of my life history and my families! She found out I hadn't been on Birth Control Pills (BCP) for almost 3 years and that we were actively trying to conceive (TTC) for 2 years. She suggested since we had been TTC for so long that we see the Fertility Specialist in the office, Jane.

I took the suggestion home to John and we discussed it, and although neither of us thought there was an issue (man were we wrong) we decided that it couldn't hurt to ask an expert a few questions and find out what she thought.

I made an appointment for October of 2004, She did the initial bloodwork (b/w) and test. All in all it wasn't as bad as I thought it could be and we discussed what the issues may be, and of course my weight came up but she said she didn't want to make any definate diagnoses until she had all my b/w and test results back. So she had us make an appointment for 2 weeks and we would discuss her findings!

the 2 weeks flew by, and we were sitting in her office again. PCOS or PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrom! What, what the hell is that? Check out to get the full information on PCOS http://www.projectpcos.org/ .

"Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormonal problem in women. It is also a metabolic disorder that affects several body systems and can cause significant long-term health consequences. PCOS is often characterized by enlarged ovaries, with multiple small painless cysts or follicles that form in the ovary. Two other key features of PCOS are production of excess androgens (male sex hormones) and anovulation (the failure to ovulate properly), which makes PCOS the leading cause of infertility."

SO a battery of test were ordered, including a Semen Annalysis (s/a) for John which he was not too happy about, but he agreed to do after he realized what I would be going through. And it BEGAN!

Monday, June 23, 2008

The Beginning

I have decided that I will try this. I am fairly new to this blog idea and have only ever put a few things down on my myspace page.

So where to begin? My husband (John) and I have been together since January 1, 2000. Before that we were friends for 7 years. The first 6 months of our relationship was long distance (I lived in Maine and he lived in Delaware), it was tough to say the least but we made it through! In June of 2000 I move to Delaware to be with this man who I new was my soul mate and the love of my life!

We took our very first vacation together in July of 2000 to Myrtle Beach, SC. that is where he proposed to me!!!! Of course the answer was YES!!!!!! I was the happiest girl in the entire world!

We spent our first christmas together as a couple and it was wonderful but I began to miss my family. So in March of 2001 John and I made the decision to move back to Maine. He had family up here as well as all my family was here. We have never looked back and all though we miss his parents and best friend most of the time, John and I have no regrets. This is where we belong and where we wanted to raise our children!

So the wedding planning began and the time flew by. On June 8, 2002 my dreams came true! We said our I Do's and officially became man and wife!!!!!!! Our day was beautiful and exactly how I pictured it. My Mother was wonderful and worked extremely hard for us, making the 3 bridemaids dresses, the flower girl dress, the wedding cake and my dress! What would I have ever done without her? We spent the night in our new apartment and the weekend with family and friends, most of whom had traveled from out of state for John and I's special day. The following Monday (6/10) we left for our honeymoon. Going to Washington DC and spending even more time with his friends and family in Delaware. I would change it for the world!

So life began, we had a cute (small) apartment but it was ours! We knew that we wanted to be parents and that we wanted to be young parents so we started trying to conceive our family immediatly, I had gone off the pill the previous september, and although we weren't actively trying we weren't preventing either. Little did we know the struggles that some couple face to make their dream of being parents a reality!

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