I had an initial consult and exam appointment with my doctor in August of 2009. He confirmed my PCOS diagnosis, but was encouraging and told me that he saw no reason why I wouldn't be able to conceive and carry a healthy baby full term. I believed him and trusted him immediately. A close friend of mine became pregnant with this doctor's help and she recommended that I begin our journey by seeing him. I was glad I took her advice! As I have mentioned before, the doctors and staff at that clinic have been wonderful - in all aspects. After my appointment that day, he told me that when I was ready to begin treatment, to call the clinic and we would get started. I wasn't quite ready to take that leap, so a few months passed.
Then, after a lot of discussion with Chad and thinking about "actively trying" for a baby, I called the clinic in January of 2010 and told the receptionist I was ready to begin treatment. That day was the beginning. Chad and I went into this chapter of our lives with the mindset of: "We'll just let things happen the way they will. After all, it may take a year to conceive with PCOS. But, starting now will give us enough time to have our first baby before my thirtieth birthday." Little did we know we would see my 30th birthday come and go in 2011 and still be childless. At the time, we had no clue that once beginning the medicine, we would absolutely expect to conceive and want it more and more with each month that passed. Our "let things happen when they will" idea flew like a rocket out the window by February!!
From January 2010 through May 2010, I took Clomid for five consecutive days starting on the second or third day of my cycle. Then around day fourteen, I would go in for a vaginal ultrasound. This ultrasound would let the doctor know how many follicles were preparing to ovulate. They would draw blood on this visit, also, to check my progesterone and estrogen levels, which helped the staff narrow down to a day or two when they expected me to ovulate. They would tell me when Chad and I should have intercourse and we followed their instructions. Then, usually the evening of that appointment or the day after, they would tell me the exact time to take my HcG shot (this hormone helped the egg to release from the follicle - ovulation). Then, around day thirty, I would buy pregnancy tests from the store and hope for the plus sign!
We did this process over and over again for five straight months with no results. In June of 2010, Chad and I left for Hawaii to get away from medical school, from fertility treatments, from Oklahoma! We were instructed to have intercourse on our vacation, as I would be ovulating later that week. But, the day or two after we got home from our trip, I underwent a new procedure called Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). The procedure felt no different than a pap smear, except for the fact that I had to have a full bladder during the procedure (which stirred a fear inside me that it was a possible reality that I could actually pee on another person. God forbid!!) The full bladder helped to push the uterus out so the ultrasound could better display the position of the catheter that would release the sperm into my uterus. Before the sperm was placed in my uterus, it went through a process called, "washing." The procedure removes any dead sperm cells, the semen, all slow or immobile sperm and leaves only the strong and fast-swimming. And, since they are released inside my uterus and are given the luxury of bypassing the cervix, how could anyone NOT get pregnant this way??!!! Right?! Well, I didn't.
Back-up a few weeks . . . Earlier in May, my doctor did a couple things to rule out other infertility issues. 1.) I went through a procedure call an hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test. Again, in the position they require to do a pap smear, they placed a large metal box over my lower abdomen and it hovered there, not touching me, just hanging over me, blocking my view from the doctor who was in a huge metal suit to protect him from the radiation of the x-ray machine. Then, the doctor injected a dye into my uterus and he then rapidly took several x-ray images of my uterus and fallopian tubes. This test was done to rule out any obstruction or clogs in my fallopian tubes. And, although I was warned that this test was "uncomfortable" for some women, the pain I felt once the dye was shot into my uterus was excruciating, but only for an instant. The way in which the pain so quickly arrived, consumed my body, then was gone was almost too much to handle. I would hate to think what it would have been like had I not taken the nurse's advice and swallowed a couple ibuprofen thirty minutes before the procedure. The scariest part was at the end when it was over and I sat up. Red liquid began gushing out my me. Thinking it was blood, I began to freak out . . . I guess the look on my face let the nurse know that moment was the perfect time to let me know the liquid was not blood - just the dye - the dye was red! For some reason, I thought it was going to be blue. Couldn't they have let me know this small detail before I almost passed out from fright? The good news was, my tubes were normally shaped, unclogged and my uterus nor my tubes showed any sign of scarring or endometriosis. I love getting good news, even if I did have red liquid running down my legs and was told to wear a sanitary napkin the size of my arm for an hour after the procedure! Yes, I waddled out of the hospital that day. 2.) The second test the doctor used to rule out other complications was the sperm count/quality/analysis test. In a nutshell, Chad's troops are strong, healthy, and in good quantity. No problem there. So, since I had been responding well to the Clomid and had ovulated every month since January - sometimes two or three eggs at a time - we were bound to be pregnant very soon.
But, as I mentioned earlier, after our return from Hawaii and the IUI had not succeeded in June, we decided it was time for us to take a vacation from fertility treatments. There was a possibility that I would continue to ovulate and have regular cycles for a month or two, but this wasn't guaranteed as every woman responds differently to Clomid and its after-effects. We proceeded into July with carefree spirits - abandoning the stress and worry of trying for a baby. And, it proved fruitful. We conceived!
Back-up a few weeks . . . Earlier in May, my doctor did a couple things to rule out other infertility issues. 1.) I went through a procedure call an hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test. Again, in the position they require to do a pap smear, they placed a large metal box over my lower abdomen and it hovered there, not touching me, just hanging over me, blocking my view from the doctor who was in a huge metal suit to protect him from the radiation of the x-ray machine. Then, the doctor injected a dye into my uterus and he then rapidly took several x-ray images of my uterus and fallopian tubes. This test was done to rule out any obstruction or clogs in my fallopian tubes. And, although I was warned that this test was "uncomfortable" for some women, the pain I felt once the dye was shot into my uterus was excruciating, but only for an instant. The way in which the pain so quickly arrived, consumed my body, then was gone was almost too much to handle. I would hate to think what it would have been like had I not taken the nurse's advice and swallowed a couple ibuprofen thirty minutes before the procedure. The scariest part was at the end when it was over and I sat up. Red liquid began gushing out my me. Thinking it was blood, I began to freak out . . . I guess the look on my face let the nurse know that moment was the perfect time to let me know the liquid was not blood - just the dye - the dye was red! For some reason, I thought it was going to be blue. Couldn't they have let me know this small detail before I almost passed out from fright? The good news was, my tubes were normally shaped, unclogged and my uterus nor my tubes showed any sign of scarring or endometriosis. I love getting good news, even if I did have red liquid running down my legs and was told to wear a sanitary napkin the size of my arm for an hour after the procedure! Yes, I waddled out of the hospital that day. 2.) The second test the doctor used to rule out other complications was the sperm count/quality/analysis test. In a nutshell, Chad's troops are strong, healthy, and in good quantity. No problem there. So, since I had been responding well to the Clomid and had ovulated every month since January - sometimes two or three eggs at a time - we were bound to be pregnant very soon.
But, as I mentioned earlier, after our return from Hawaii and the IUI had not succeeded in June, we decided it was time for us to take a vacation from fertility treatments. There was a possibility that I would continue to ovulate and have regular cycles for a month or two, but this wasn't guaranteed as every woman responds differently to Clomid and its after-effects. We proceeded into July with carefree spirits - abandoning the stress and worry of trying for a baby. And, it proved fruitful. We conceived!
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