Hi Luvs!
For those of you who may not know this week is National
Infertility Awareness Week, and although I celebrate my blessing (Baby O) with you all daily I am
aware that there are some couples who’d love to be blessed with a child of
their own. This is why I reached out to a former co-peep/friend to see if she’d
be willing to honor this week by sharing her battle with infertility. She
graciously agreed so today and tomorrow I’ll be sharing her testimony, which I
truly hope will be source of encouragement for some and educate others.
Her Testimony
Hi! My name is Amanda E and I
can normally be found blogging about vegetarian food over at DancingVeggies. Many moons ago I worked
with Sheena and during that time I started opening up with her about the
struggle my husband and I had been having conceiving. In talking to
Sheena, and a number of other awesome ladies, I started becoming more comfortable
talking about our journey. This past week I have been
sharing various infertility factoids on Facebook in honor of National
Infertility Awareness Week which is why I quickly agreed to write this guest post when Sheena
asked. Below is my story...
Pre-Infertility
My husband and I were wed in April
of 2012 and we knew pre-wedding that we wanted kids - the sooner the better!
We did the "not trying, not preventing" thing for a bit while I
investigated the best "methods" to get pregnant. Luckily I was
working with a number of moms and one of them told me all about temping and
tracking. The best part was that this method was free, and didn't involve
any strange fruits! All I needed to do was download one of the many
fertility tracking apps, I went with Fertility Friend, and take my temperature
immediately upon waking. This temperature is known as a person's basal
body temperature (bbt) and in women it varies based on where you are in your
cycle. In finding out where in the month I had an ovulation dip, we were
better able to pinpoint exactly which days were the MUST HAVE SEX days.
In my case this was around the 20th day of my cycle, marked by a very
clear dip in temperature and followed by a fast rise. Two cycles later,
in October of 2012, I was pregnant! However within two days I started
bleeding and experienced what I learned was called a chemical pregnancy (CP).
We took time to collect ourselves but resolved to keep going, knowing
that 20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. In late January of 2013 I
had a very unusual period and after a blood test learned that I had experienced
another chemical pregnancy. At this time we had only been trying for 6
months but my OB/GYN realized that my husband and I needed help and sent us
over to a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE), something that normally happens
after a year of trying for people under the age of 34. For folks 35+ a RE
is normally recommended after 6 months of trying, while couples over 40 are
told to go in ASAP. So we went for our consultation and officially began
our Infertility Journey on April 21, 2013 - the day before our 1st Anniversary.
The Beginning
Our first meeting
easily ranks among the scariest most nerve wracking moments of my adult life.
We had no idea what to expect, and most importantly had no idea if they
could help us. After all, we had no problem getting pregnant; it was just
staying that way. To say that first meeting was eye-opening doesn't begin
to cover it. We learned that 1 in 6 couples suffer from infertility and
that there is no one type of infertility. We discussed all the types of
treatment available, the (terrifying) costs associated with each, and the
general timeline we were looking at. From our first appointment it was
made clear that as there is no one type of infertility, there is also no one
treatment for infertility and that even if all known treatments were used there
was still a chance that biological children wouldn't happen. Eager to
begin, we went from the consultation room to the lab where I had my first blood
draw. The first step was to figure out what was causing our infertility,
in the hopes that it would be an "easy" fix. My blood was sent
off for kerotyping, to insure that I was chromosomally normal, and a full
battery of genetic testing. The first sigh of relief came when my tests
came back normal, outside of a known clotting issue, which doubled when my
husband's blood test also came back clean.
Getting Personal
Once the "easy" tests were
done it was time to move on to the more intimate tests. For my husband
that meant a sperm analysis (SA), where his swimmers would be investigated to
insure that they were the right quality and quantity. We were beyond
thrilled to learn that his swimmers were in the Michael Phelps category, acing
the tests in quantity, mobility, and morphology. I was up next, facing a
test that I had read multiple horror stories about: the hysterosalpingogram
(HSG). I was sick to my stomach the morning of my apt, and instead of
working up until my apt time, I was in the bathroom dry heaving with fear.
While most other tests are relatively painless to perform, the HSG test
involves inserting dye in to the uterus and Fallopian tubes by threading a
catheter up through the cervix. There is no sedative, and unlike annual
checkups there are generally no stirrups to help keep things were they should
be - just a nurse (or two). Even during my long drive to the apt I was
debating cancelling it, or in the very least finding an open bar within walking
distance of the clinic. In the end I sucked it up, knowing that this test
could eliminate/diagnosis a number of infertility issues including: misshapen
uterus, blocked tubes, or endometriosis. Since I had already had 2 CPs,
though only the second one was officially counted by the RE as there was no
clinical proof of the first one, it was suspected that my issue could be a
poorly designed uterus. In the end this test was like all the others - my
reproductive system was practically perfect in every way. At this point we knew
what it wasn't but still had no idea what it was, which is when we became part
of the 20% of infertile couples that suffer from unexplained infertility.
The primary testing had ended, it was time for treatment.
TI Time
After a much needed
vacation, and some hardcore budgeting talks, we decided to start infertility
treatments in early June of 2013. Since we had no infertility coverage we
elected to start with a medicated monitored Timed Intercourse (TI) protocol.
This treatment option meant we only had to pay out of pocket for the medications
as the monitoring appointments were included under my standard ob/gyn coverage.
On days 3-9 of my cycle I took Clomid, going in for monitoring on days 3
and 7. The side effects began on day 4, and it was at this point that I
had to start opening up about what was going on. From around the clock
hot flashes to intense mood swings, it became apparent to those closest to me
that something was up. The slightest thing could set me off, including
some idiot who didn't understand the concept of a maiden name. Thankfully
the mood swings stopped with the Clomid and the (self-administered) trigger
shot on cycle day (CD) 10 was a walk in the park. Since we were doing TI,
there were no restrictions on being intimate - in fact it was HIGHLY
encouraged! I started taking progesterone supplements around CD 15 and
quickly had to adjust my wardrobe to account for the water weight and breast
growth. We found out via a blood test (BETA) that our TI protocol did not
work.
We were devastated but
after a few days of discussing our options, and further budget analysis, we
decided to bite the bullet and try an Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) cycle.
Yup! We finally accepted that we were going to need some form of medical
intervention – and was praying that it would worth be the financial and
emotional cost.
Thanks for reading and don't forget to come back tomorrow to
find out if IUI worked for Amanda
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