Thank you to everyone who has wished me luck and expressed excitement regarding the upcoming artificial insemination.
So an update on everything. This is mostly for me to keep a journal of sorts of the proceedure so that I can remember what happened later, but also acts as an update to keep people up to date on what is going on with me.
This morning I went in to the doctor, they took blood and did an internal ultrasound. They did tests on my blood for estrogen levels and based on those levels gave me a call just a little while ago to tell me that I can begin to take my Clomid medication. This medication will tell my brain that there is not enough estrogen in my body, which will make my body create more estrogen, this will encourage my body to release more eggs this time. Next Monday is my next appointment, they will be taking blood and do another internal ultrasound. Based off what that shows them they will probably have me come back again three days later.
Next update will be next Monday.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
My Most Anticipated Period
So Saturday I started my period, one of the most anticipated ones I have ever had. What this means is that in 17 days give or take a few I will be artificially inseminated. I am excited!!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Artificial Insemination or IVF?
Today we met with the doctor to discuss where we go from here. She initially started talking about artificial insemination and using six vials to do so. We have 12 vials so this would use half of them on three attempts. Kevin got concerned at this point and so we talked about other options. We discussed IVF (In Vetro Fertilization) and what our options were with that. We went round and round with it and then settled on a decision. We are going to start me on Clomid which will increase my fertility, we will do one attempt at Artificial Insemination and then if that does not work we will start me on the process for IVF in May. I guess the clinic does IVF in groups of women and so they do it during different months so the earliest she could get me into was March, but she didn’t feel comfortable in rushing it so instead we are going to try for May.
This effectively gives us a plan A and a plan B. If I get pregnant from the Artificial Insemination then we will not do the IVF in May, if I don’t get pregnant then we will. I am thinking that if we do get pregnant through AI then maybe after we have the baby I will go through the process of harvesting the eggs next year just so that we have them saved for future children attempts. That way we have the eggs from when I am still young and fertile.
Hopefully by next year I not be working and the harvesting process will not be as much of an interference in my life as it is now. We shall see.
If plan A works then we could be pregnant late February to early March, if plan B works then we could be pregnant late May early June. Hopefully the sooner the better, but we will see how it goes.
This effectively gives us a plan A and a plan B. If I get pregnant from the Artificial Insemination then we will not do the IVF in May, if I don’t get pregnant then we will. I am thinking that if we do get pregnant through AI then maybe after we have the baby I will go through the process of harvesting the eggs next year just so that we have them saved for future children attempts. That way we have the eggs from when I am still young and fertile.
Hopefully by next year I not be working and the harvesting process will not be as much of an interference in my life as it is now. We shall see.
If plan A works then we could be pregnant late February to early March, if plan B works then we could be pregnant late May early June. Hopefully the sooner the better, but we will see how it goes.
Tests and the Fertility Clinic
In September of 2009 we finally got the tests and paperwork together so that I could schedule an appointment with a fertility clinic. The clinic had to be approved by my insurance so we only had a choice between two. One of the two clinics was run by all female doctors and the other was run by all male doctors. I am not so thrilled about the idea of some random guy sticking his hands down there so I went with the female clinic.
After about a month of working with my OBGYN's office and the fertility clinic we finally sent them all the paperwork and test results that they needed. They would not schedule an appointment with me until they had all of these. The tests included a HGC (I think that is the acronym for it) and a semen test for my husband. Finally I got an appointment for October of 2009.
I went in and filled out even more paperwork, then finally was taken back to meet the doctor. She explained that we needed to have my husband's sperm tested again, and they needed to check my tubes to make sure the flow was good again (this was the HGC). In the meantime I should work with one of the nurses from the clinic to facilitate the shipment of Kevin's semen vials from Utah to the clinic in Illinois. Once the tests were done and the vials were shipped we would be ready to make some attempts at getting pregnant. The doctor said that it could happen as soon as the end of October.
The semen test took two visits to get done, and though I felt sorry for my husband and his privacy I didn't feel that bad considering what I had to have done.
**Warning, this is about to get graphic with medical procedures**
The HGC is a test where they inject dye into your uterus to check the flow of your tubes. To do this you lie on a table with your feet in stirrups and your legs spread, while you lie there the doctor inserts a catheter into your vagina and up into your uterus through your cervix, this creates the most uncomfortable cramping. The doctor then uses the catheter to inject the dye into your uterus, then using either x-ray or ultrasound the doctor looks at your uterus to make sure that your fallopian tubes are open and flowing. If they are then everything is good.
The first time I had this procedure done it was done by a male doctor, and the x-ray tech was male and the only female in the room was a nurse that they sent in to comfort me. Not fun!
The second time I had it done it was at the fertility clinic. They used ultrasound and both the doctor and the ultrasound tech were female. I had much less cramping and they used water instead of dye. Much more preferable than the other method. While we were getting the tests taken care of the shipping of the vials was giving us difficulties. Once the tests were over I was able to focus on getting the shipment to happen.
After about a month of working with my OBGYN's office and the fertility clinic we finally sent them all the paperwork and test results that they needed. They would not schedule an appointment with me until they had all of these. The tests included a HGC (I think that is the acronym for it) and a semen test for my husband. Finally I got an appointment for October of 2009.
I went in and filled out even more paperwork, then finally was taken back to meet the doctor. She explained that we needed to have my husband's sperm tested again, and they needed to check my tubes to make sure the flow was good again (this was the HGC). In the meantime I should work with one of the nurses from the clinic to facilitate the shipment of Kevin's semen vials from Utah to the clinic in Illinois. Once the tests were done and the vials were shipped we would be ready to make some attempts at getting pregnant. The doctor said that it could happen as soon as the end of October.
The semen test took two visits to get done, and though I felt sorry for my husband and his privacy I didn't feel that bad considering what I had to have done.
**Warning, this is about to get graphic with medical procedures**
The HGC is a test where they inject dye into your uterus to check the flow of your tubes. To do this you lie on a table with your feet in stirrups and your legs spread, while you lie there the doctor inserts a catheter into your vagina and up into your uterus through your cervix, this creates the most uncomfortable cramping. The doctor then uses the catheter to inject the dye into your uterus, then using either x-ray or ultrasound the doctor looks at your uterus to make sure that your fallopian tubes are open and flowing. If they are then everything is good.
The first time I had this procedure done it was done by a male doctor, and the x-ray tech was male and the only female in the room was a nurse that they sent in to comfort me. Not fun!
The second time I had it done it was at the fertility clinic. They used ultrasound and both the doctor and the ultrasound tech were female. I had much less cramping and they used water instead of dye. Much more preferable than the other method. While we were getting the tests taken care of the shipping of the vials was giving us difficulties. Once the tests were over I was able to focus on getting the shipment to happen.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The beginning of our story
In July of 2000 I married my husband Kevin. We were a normal newlywed couple and as we were not quite ready for children at that point we were on birth control. In November of 2000 I took myself off of the birth control because I was going crazy from it. I decided that if we ended up getting pregnant then so be it. Weeks and then months passed and nothing happened. I had heard that sometimes it can take up to a year for the effects of the birth control to leave your body. I figured we had time.
In July of 2001, Kevin went in for a check up appointment with his oncologist. He had been diagnosed and treated for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma three years before we got married and still had follow up appointments to make sure that everything was still ok. A few days before our first year anniversary the oncologist called him up and asked him to come in on our anniversary to discuss something to do with the check up, Kevin told him that we would come in the day after, as it was our anniversary.
So the day after we celebrated our first year of being married we went in to the oncologist and sat down. He broke the news to us telling us that a mass the size of a salt shaker had been found in Kevin’s chest. They would have to do some tests and a biopsy but there was a chance that the previous bout of cancer had come back. If this was the case then they would have to take a more aggressive approach to treating it than they had before.
This was terrible news for both of us, but we pressed on. Kevin was tested, and biopsied and it was found that it was indeed the same cancer come back. And so Kevin was treated for it. He was given chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant. Before all this happened though the doctor took Kevin aside and suggested that he bank some sperm, because with a bone marrow transplant sterilization risks were at 90%.
So Kevin went down to andrology lab and banked 12 vials of semen. We were sat down and told about our options for the future, told the rates for having our semen vials stored there, and told good luck with everything.
A year later Kevin had made it through all his treatments, and was doing fine. I was no longer on birth control, and we were trying for babies. We knew that the chance that Kevin was sterilized were good, but we hoped beyond hope that the cheap and easy way might still work for us. At the time we were still in college and the rates for in vetro fertilization were way out of our price range.
Eight years later found us still childless, but now living in a different state where Kevin was working for a company that provided excellent health insurance options. Finally, after so many years of waiting we could finally afford to have a child, we could finally afford the cost to get pregnant.
In 2009 I began taking the first steps toward trying for a pregnancy. This is my story of our journey in the pursuit of having children and starting a family. We have wanted children our entire marriage and despite all odds we will work to have them.
In July of 2001, Kevin went in for a check up appointment with his oncologist. He had been diagnosed and treated for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma three years before we got married and still had follow up appointments to make sure that everything was still ok. A few days before our first year anniversary the oncologist called him up and asked him to come in on our anniversary to discuss something to do with the check up, Kevin told him that we would come in the day after, as it was our anniversary.
So the day after we celebrated our first year of being married we went in to the oncologist and sat down. He broke the news to us telling us that a mass the size of a salt shaker had been found in Kevin’s chest. They would have to do some tests and a biopsy but there was a chance that the previous bout of cancer had come back. If this was the case then they would have to take a more aggressive approach to treating it than they had before.
This was terrible news for both of us, but we pressed on. Kevin was tested, and biopsied and it was found that it was indeed the same cancer come back. And so Kevin was treated for it. He was given chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant. Before all this happened though the doctor took Kevin aside and suggested that he bank some sperm, because with a bone marrow transplant sterilization risks were at 90%.
So Kevin went down to andrology lab and banked 12 vials of semen. We were sat down and told about our options for the future, told the rates for having our semen vials stored there, and told good luck with everything.
A year later Kevin had made it through all his treatments, and was doing fine. I was no longer on birth control, and we were trying for babies. We knew that the chance that Kevin was sterilized were good, but we hoped beyond hope that the cheap and easy way might still work for us. At the time we were still in college and the rates for in vetro fertilization were way out of our price range.
Eight years later found us still childless, but now living in a different state where Kevin was working for a company that provided excellent health insurance options. Finally, after so many years of waiting we could finally afford to have a child, we could finally afford the cost to get pregnant.
In 2009 I began taking the first steps toward trying for a pregnancy. This is my story of our journey in the pursuit of having children and starting a family. We have wanted children our entire marriage and despite all odds we will work to have them.
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