Finally heard from Dr. H . . . and she seems to think I need to be shuffled off to the fertility clinic. I haven't seen the actual results of the SA, but she says that they were "on the low side". I made her read them to me over the phone, but she was reading them off really fast and I became sick of asking her to repeat herself. Basically, there is normally 2 -5 mL of "sample", we only had 1mL. However, normal range for number of swimmers per mL is 20 million, and we had 40 million. And they were all great shape - but they weren't swimming as well because its thicker than normal. I don't know how "off" it is exactly, but listening to the numbers, it didn't sound that far below normal. Some numbers were better than normal.
Dr. H seems to think its time to try IVF. Like, she actually said, "There's things they can do, like invitro fertilization to make sure that you get a fertilized egg in there." It was at this point in our phone conversation that I saw stars.
Let's review, shall we?
Mrs. Joe: Not really charting, but definitely not ovulating, as today is CD98 (NINETY EIGHT FRIENDS) and I have peed on every last thing I could to determine my KU status. Additionally, I may or may not have a family history of fertility "issues", depending on who you ask. I am clearly not functioning properly, yet I have been given no medication thus far to correct these issues.
Mr. Joe: Has swimmers - lots of them, they can swim straight, but some can't make it through. Also, he hates the invasiveness of this "infertility" garbage (where as I, Queen of TMI, do not).
Don't you think we could just try Clomid ONE TIME before calling in the fertility big guns? I realize I do not have a medical degree. What I do have a degree in though, is internet research. And by 'internet research", I mean TTC blog stalking. If you have a TTC blog, specifically an IF/TTC blog, I most likely have read it, analyzed it, and googled the things I didn't understand (oh the abbreviations! They're like a secret language!!). The usual course of action is:
Clomid and charting for a cycle or 4
IUI and then . . .
IVF
I realize I may be overreacting here, but I have never really charted or used a fertility monitor, or ANYTHING like that in the past. I just wasn't getting my period. I feel like we didn't really get a chance to conceive without a whole big song and dance. The RE's office called me this morning and I have an appointment next Wednesday, but I don't know if I'm going to go through with it yet. It don't want to be laughed out of there. I guess we shall see.
*ETA: I started spotting today. Secretly, I was hoping to get to CD100 because I'm a weirdo like that and it's a nice round number. Maybe I will chart tomorrow and O on my own this cycle!
Showing posts with label SA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SA. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
TTC news of the day
In TTC news:
I was supposed to hear back from Dr. H on Saturday to discuss the results of the SA. I waited and waited and waited allll day. We were working on our kitchen remodel and I obsessively checked my phone every 5 minutes to see if I was getting a call. As is the case whenever I am waiting for Dr. H to call, I left my phone in the car by accident and before I could run out and retrieve it, she called. She called at 4:55 on a Saturday. Who does that? Of course, she doesn't leave any info in her voicemail and just says that she'll call back on Monday. I was already freaking out because my mother and I had an interesting discussion at WalMart earlier in the day, so this just threw me over the edge. I was a Nervous Nancy the rest of the night.
That earlier discussion we had was about my mothers TTC woes.
For background:I have four siblings. Two of them are 20 years older than me and are from my father's previous marriage to a crazy lady. Yes, I know it's not nice to refer to my brother's mother as a crazy lady, but trust me friends - she has more than a touch of the Crazy. The other 2, my sister and brother, are from my mother and father. My parents are in their 60s. My youngest sibling is 20. We always joke that he was an accident, because who is able to just have a baby at 42?
So, that being said, my mother and I were strolling through WalMart on Saturday, stalling for time because we were sick of watching my father and Mr. Joe hang cabinets. back in the day, I used to love going through the baby section, and look at all of the cute baby things that they have. I would always drag my mother through, because she is more willing to look with me than Mr. Joe is. Nowadays, I'm so impatient that it just frustrates me to wander through. I haven't really told anyone about our hangups yet, so when my mom started heading in that direction I followed after her biting my tongue the whole way.
"You know," she started, "I really want you to have a girl first. You should start having babies soon if you want them to be spoiled before I retire. Maybe you should just have twins to get it over with in one shot!" I cringed - at the rate we're going, I'm going to be retired before we have kids. Enough was enough. I "outed" myself (what is with all this drama? I outed myself? I am such a queen lol).
Turns out friends, IT TOOK FOUR YEARS TO CONCEIVE ME. My mother was on clomid 4EVA to get to me, and my sister was a product of clomid + injections!!!
Oh, hello, pertinent information, nice to see you here. You're a little late.
"Mom!" I asked, "Why did you not TELL me this?? Why did you not share this important information in my formative early years??"
"I thought I was just old and that's why I couldn't get knocked up."
She was 31 people. I am 27. Do you think 4 years is a big difference? Tell me that I am overreacting here and there's no need to freak out. I may or may not be freaking out a little right now. EEEEEEEk!
Hold on now, you may be saying. What about your 20 year old brother? Surely he must have been an IVF baby if there was work put into you and your sister? I said the same thing, friends! Apparently, not though. At 43, my mother was able to conceive naturally, without so much as an OPK to predict when to try. Weird huh?
I was supposed to hear back from Dr. H on Saturday to discuss the results of the SA. I waited and waited and waited allll day. We were working on our kitchen remodel and I obsessively checked my phone every 5 minutes to see if I was getting a call. As is the case whenever I am waiting for Dr. H to call, I left my phone in the car by accident and before I could run out and retrieve it, she called. She called at 4:55 on a Saturday. Who does that? Of course, she doesn't leave any info in her voicemail and just says that she'll call back on Monday. I was already freaking out because my mother and I had an interesting discussion at WalMart earlier in the day, so this just threw me over the edge. I was a Nervous Nancy the rest of the night.
That earlier discussion we had was about my mothers TTC woes.
For background:I have four siblings. Two of them are 20 years older than me and are from my father's previous marriage to a crazy lady. Yes, I know it's not nice to refer to my brother's mother as a crazy lady, but trust me friends - she has more than a touch of the Crazy. The other 2, my sister and brother, are from my mother and father. My parents are in their 60s. My youngest sibling is 20. We always joke that he was an accident, because who is able to just have a baby at 42?
So, that being said, my mother and I were strolling through WalMart on Saturday, stalling for time because we were sick of watching my father and Mr. Joe hang cabinets. back in the day, I used to love going through the baby section, and look at all of the cute baby things that they have. I would always drag my mother through, because she is more willing to look with me than Mr. Joe is. Nowadays, I'm so impatient that it just frustrates me to wander through. I haven't really told anyone about our hangups yet, so when my mom started heading in that direction I followed after her biting my tongue the whole way.
"You know," she started, "I really want you to have a girl first. You should start having babies soon if you want them to be spoiled before I retire. Maybe you should just have twins to get it over with in one shot!" I cringed - at the rate we're going, I'm going to be retired before we have kids. Enough was enough. I "outed" myself (what is with all this drama? I outed myself? I am such a queen lol).
Turns out friends, IT TOOK FOUR YEARS TO CONCEIVE ME. My mother was on clomid 4EVA to get to me, and my sister was a product of clomid + injections!!!
Oh, hello, pertinent information, nice to see you here. You're a little late.
"Mom!" I asked, "Why did you not TELL me this?? Why did you not share this important information in my formative early years??"
"I thought I was just old and that's why I couldn't get knocked up."
She was 31 people. I am 27. Do you think 4 years is a big difference? Tell me that I am overreacting here and there's no need to freak out. I may or may not be freaking out a little right now. EEEEEEEk!
Hold on now, you may be saying. What about your 20 year old brother? Surely he must have been an IVF baby if there was work put into you and your sister? I said the same thing, friends! Apparently, not though. At 43, my mother was able to conceive naturally, without so much as an OPK to predict when to try. Weird huh?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Add "SA" to the list of things I never want to again
Step one: Check!
Thankfully, I did not get into a car accident on the way to the clinic this morning - which is miraculous in itself because believe me folks, there was AMPLE opportunity. AMPLE.
Do you ever type something and then it looks really weird, but you don't change it because your brain is screaming at you that THAT IS THE WORD YOU WERE LOOKING FOR!!??
Anyway - AMPLE opportunity. It is very snowy in my neck o' the woods and the taxes I am paying must be going to something other than snow removal. I personally hope that "something" is bringing a Sonic to these parts, but that's just me.
It was definitely a hectic morning, what with collecting "the goods", and then discovering that the paper bag I had to transport "the goods" in had been eaten by my dog (thanks a lot Harry), and then having to figure out a way of keeping "the goods" warm using "body heat only" while not getting into a car accident. I was already feeling frazzled because you only have 60 minutes to get there before they deem "the goods" expired, so I grabbed the closest thing I could find transport it - I ended up wrapping the container in aluminum foil and shoving it in between my boobs to keep it warm.
Hey! You know what's really itchy?? Answer: carrying something wrapped in foil between your boobs.
I finally made it to the hospital with "the goods", all hot and itchy, hiding in my boobs. Of course, I couldn't find the place I was looking for, so the kind people at the info desk handed me a huge white card with DIRECTIONS TO THE INFERTILITY CLINIC written on both sides in big letters. You know, just in case anyone at the hospital was curious about why I was there. And why I looked so itchy.
Secretly, I was pretty impressed with my hide - the - goods - in - my - boobs idea. I'm pretty well endowed and I was happy that I could put that to good use. It would have looked even more weird if I had to hide it in my pants. I'm sure people would have been even MORE curious about why I was visiting the IF clinic in that case. I thought hiding it there was a great idea - until the andrologist asked me where "the goods" were and I realized where I would have to reach into my coat to produce it. Awkward! Luckily, she also thought it was a genius idea, and I didn't die of embarrassment.
I have never felt such relief. I'm really glad this part is over! Now we will just wait for the results to come back as normal (because I'm the problem here people) and then we will move on to step two: inviting AF over after her 80 day hiatus.
Stay tuned friends (hey 5 followers!) - I'm sure it gets even more rivoting from here!
Thankfully, I did not get into a car accident on the way to the clinic this morning - which is miraculous in itself because believe me folks, there was AMPLE opportunity. AMPLE.
Do you ever type something and then it looks really weird, but you don't change it because your brain is screaming at you that THAT IS THE WORD YOU WERE LOOKING FOR!!??
Anyway - AMPLE opportunity. It is very snowy in my neck o' the woods and the taxes I am paying must be going to something other than snow removal. I personally hope that "something" is bringing a Sonic to these parts, but that's just me.
It was definitely a hectic morning, what with collecting "the goods", and then discovering that the paper bag I had to transport "the goods" in had been eaten by my dog (thanks a lot Harry), and then having to figure out a way of keeping "the goods" warm using "body heat only" while not getting into a car accident. I was already feeling frazzled because you only have 60 minutes to get there before they deem "the goods" expired, so I grabbed the closest thing I could find transport it - I ended up wrapping the container in aluminum foil and shoving it in between my boobs to keep it warm.
Hey! You know what's really itchy?? Answer: carrying something wrapped in foil between your boobs.
I finally made it to the hospital with "the goods", all hot and itchy, hiding in my boobs. Of course, I couldn't find the place I was looking for, so the kind people at the info desk handed me a huge white card with DIRECTIONS TO THE INFERTILITY CLINIC written on both sides in big letters. You know, just in case anyone at the hospital was curious about why I was there. And why I looked so itchy.
Secretly, I was pretty impressed with my hide - the - goods - in - my - boobs idea. I'm pretty well endowed and I was happy that I could put that to good use. It would have looked even more weird if I had to hide it in my pants. I'm sure people would have been even MORE curious about why I was visiting the IF clinic in that case. I thought hiding it there was a great idea - until the andrologist asked me where "the goods" were and I realized where I would have to reach into my coat to produce it. Awkward! Luckily, she also thought it was a genius idea, and I didn't die of embarrassment.
I have never felt such relief. I'm really glad this part is over! Now we will just wait for the results to come back as normal (because I'm the problem here people) and then we will move on to step two: inviting AF over after her 80 day hiatus.
Stay tuned friends (hey 5 followers!) - I'm sure it gets even more rivoting from here!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Still on step one. . .
The SA didn't happen today. Our power went out and we woke up way too late to even think about doing anything but get ready and get to work. This whole thing annoys me because it pushes us back a week now.
What's another week right? I took another test last night, just to see if maybe I was KU and we wouldn't have to go through with it after all. Of course, BFN.
I don't have anything else to write about other than how sorry I feel for myself right now, and I don't feel like being Debbie Downer. I want to be positive and upbeat. I'm not even that far down this road and already I'm whining! Hopefully this weekend something happy or exciting will happen and I will be all rainbows and sunshine for you!
What's another week right? I took another test last night, just to see if maybe I was KU and we wouldn't have to go through with it after all. Of course, BFN.
I don't have anything else to write about other than how sorry I feel for myself right now, and I don't feel like being Debbie Downer. I want to be positive and upbeat. I'm not even that far down this road and already I'm whining! Hopefully this weekend something happy or exciting will happen and I will be all rainbows and sunshine for you!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Step one and a plan
I called the clinic for the SA today and scheduled a drop off for next Friday at 8AM. I am not very pleased with the time and date, but the only way to drop off "the goods" in the time allotted and at the proper body temp, we would have to do it in the morning, and the only morning appointment I could do would be next Friday. Far away, but gives me time to plan how I will manage to pull this off without freaking out. I am pretty convinced that I will trip and fall or get into a car accident and have to explain why I have "the goods" on my person. Awkward . . .
Onto the plan we have decided on:
We will wait for the SA results to come back in, and once we make sure that Mr. Joe is fine (which he is) I will start the progesterone, assuming I don't get AF before then (which I won't). I'll take that for 10 days, then wait for AF and start Clomid. . .
Magically, I will ovulate and Mr. Joe and I will get it on at the right time for once. I will be a patient girl and not test obsessively until it is time, at which point I will discover that I am knocked up. There will be some kind of clever way that I will tell Mr. Joe, and he will have an amazing reaction which will reaffirm the reason I am in love with him. I will make an adorable pregnant lady, the kind that is all baby, and no extra flub anywhere. In fact, all of my body fat will migrate to the baby, thus creating the cutest tubbiest baby ever. I will be envied by skinny Kari at work and will finally know what its like to walk without my thighs rubbing together. Mr. Joe and I will annoy everyone by withholding Baby Joe's sex and name until after he is born. After 9 peaceful and glorious months, I will go into labor and have the quickest and most painless natural child birth ever. Baby Joe, being the chubbiest, most beautiful baby on earth, will be hailed as a picture of perfect health. Mr. Joe and I will win some kind of baby-making award for spawning Baby Joe. The prize will be one million dollars. I won't have to go back to being a phone monkey in the call center anymore!
. . . At least that's the plan I have in my head. If we follow this, we should be ready to be knocked up in March. I'm okay with that I think. We might have a baby by Christmas! At least that's our hope, but we know how screwy I am so I'll be crossing my fingers!
Onto the plan we have decided on:
We will wait for the SA results to come back in, and once we make sure that Mr. Joe is fine (which he is) I will start the progesterone, assuming I don't get AF before then (which I won't). I'll take that for 10 days, then wait for AF and start Clomid. . .
Magically, I will ovulate and Mr. Joe and I will get it on at the right time for once. I will be a patient girl and not test obsessively until it is time, at which point I will discover that I am knocked up. There will be some kind of clever way that I will tell Mr. Joe, and he will have an amazing reaction which will reaffirm the reason I am in love with him. I will make an adorable pregnant lady, the kind that is all baby, and no extra flub anywhere. In fact, all of my body fat will migrate to the baby, thus creating the cutest tubbiest baby ever. I will be envied by skinny Kari at work and will finally know what its like to walk without my thighs rubbing together. Mr. Joe and I will annoy everyone by withholding Baby Joe's sex and name until after he is born. After 9 peaceful and glorious months, I will go into labor and have the quickest and most painless natural child birth ever. Baby Joe, being the chubbiest, most beautiful baby on earth, will be hailed as a picture of perfect health. Mr. Joe and I will win some kind of baby-making award for spawning Baby Joe. The prize will be one million dollars. I won't have to go back to being a phone monkey in the call center anymore!
. . . At least that's the plan I have in my head. If we follow this, we should be ready to be knocked up in March. I'm okay with that I think. We might have a baby by Christmas! At least that's our hope, but we know how screwy I am so I'll be crossing my fingers!
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