Health History: Part 2

December 9, 2014:  Seriously uterus?!  Still nothing?  You know, as sucky as periods are, they're kind of necessary to "reset" the cycle, the cycle that is so necessary for the creation of human life!  So, back to the lab for another pregnancy test (negative) and Progesterone challenge.

December 24, 2014: Merry Christmas, and welcome back Aunt Flo!  Fabulous timing, but at least we can get back on track with the baby-making!

I started using OPKs (ovulation predictor kits) sometime in this in-between time.  Little test strips you put in a cup of pee to tell you if you're ovulating.  Bought a big batch from Amazon, I didn't really want the publicity of buying baby-making supplies in public.  Believe me, I got over that pretty quickly too.  The frustrating part was that in these three months, the strips only really showed a positive once, which led me to believe I wasn't ovulating regularly.

April 10, 2015:  Well, they said if we weren't pregnant by now to report back.  I called and set up the appointment, and we were sent a big packet of questionnaires to each fill out.  If you're shy about your body or your sex-life, pray you're not infertile, because you have to be willing to lay it all on the table (literally and figuratively).  So, paperwork in hand we reported to the clinic.  Our (NP) Nurse Practitioner was amazing!  I was worried that she wouldn't take us seriously since we're young, healthy, and really had only been actively trying for slightly under a year, but she was so warm and caring.  She went through the different tracks we would potentially be pursuing, costs, tests, etc.  The entire meeting was a bit overwhelming (especially the financial part), and then went down to the lab, for more blood work for me.

So, tests and results: 

Blood Type: O negative

Rubella: Positive (meaning I have the anti-bodies, good for potential future babies)

Anti-mullerian Hormone:  1.7 (this test shows ovarian reserve, 1.5-4 is considered normal, 1-1.5 is considered "low-normal")

TSH: 2.00!  That's right, my TSH levels went down on their own, which is great, but at the same time means this isn't the cause of our lack of womb occupancy.  Which means no real answers.

I was instructed to continue my OPKs, and report for an ultrasound when I get a positive test, or by cycle day 16 to confirm ovulation.

April 16, 2015:  Oops, I kind of forgot about the "by cycle day 16 at the latest" part.  BUT I got a positive OPK today (cycle day 17), so off to the clinic I go!  Now, maybe this was naive of me, but when I think of ultrasounds, I think of goo on the belly and a scanner similar to a grocery store cashiers.  Nope, this was to be a trans-vaginal ultrasound.  Basically, a phallic looking wand that gets lubed up and stuck up.  Remember when I said shyness and infertility don't work?  So, I'm laying there and the NP is waving her wand around taking pictures of my ovaries.  Righty looks great, healthy sized follicle, perfect shape, she says I'll probably ovulate that night or the next morning.  A wave to the left and..."Hmmm.  Well that's...I wonder what that is.  Hmmm.  Have you had any pain or pressure on this side?"  No...(internally panicking while simultaneously telling myself to relax).  NP points to a gray blob on the screen that, to me, is no different than the rest of the gray blobs, and tells me that she's not sure what exactly it is, and she'd be asking the doctor to take a look.  Most likely a cyst, but she wants to make sure.

April 17, 2015:  I get the call, apparently it's likely a hemorrhagic cyst.  When a follicle releases the egg, sometimes it bleeds and creates this kind of cyst.  Good news was they usually heal naturally within 2 cycles.  Bad news was that if I didn't ovulate in the next cycle and we wanted to try Clomid (medicine that encourages ovulation), I couldn't go on if the cyst was still there, since the medicine would likely encourage the cyst to grow, not heal.  So, follicles don't seem the be the problem.  Let's just hope for a missed period and positive pregnancy test, then we don't have to worry about it!

April 23, 2015:  Blood-work confirms it, I ovulated!  Progesterone: 15.63.  Usually they want to see 10 or higher for an unmedicated cycle, so this was promising!

April 30, 2015:  Sup Aunt Flo.  How's it hanging?  A day early too!  We'd hate to give me even a day of false hope.  Actually, that is better than a day late.  Moving on, I guess I'll get that HSG scheduled.  Did I not mention that before?  That's the next test in line.  And it gets a whole post all its own.  So, to be continued...

Deep Breath...

I've tried to start this post a few times now, and it's funny because I'm never at a loss for words.  Seriously, ask my husband! Or my parents.  Or my sisters or my friends.  They'll all tell you that if I've got anything, it's words.  And yet here I sit, unsure how to start this story, this journey, this confession of sorts.  I suppose the best way is to start with a warning.  This blog will contain personal information about myself, my husband, our health, and our journey in trying to expand our family.  Due to the personal nature of the main topic here (fertility and baby making), some topics might make readers (friends, family) uncomfortable.  Please know that Kory will have the chance to look over every post before it's made public, and I am open to answering any and all questions!

That being said, the first couple of posts will contain our fertility journey up to this point.  If you want to join us, read on!

Health History: Part 1

September 28, 2013: Kory and I got married!  We knew we both wanted kids, preferably sooner rather than later.  We both wanted to be young parents and knew we wanted multiple children, but we also wanted some time to just be married!  We decided to postpone the baby-making for a while.  (Disclaimer - while we weren't actively trying to conceive, our birth control methods were less than stellar, and my older sister commented multiple times on her shock that we hadn't had a "surprise" miracle).

December 2013: Well that lasted long.  How fun would an anniversary baby be?  Plus it takes most healthy couples 3-12 months to conceive, and considering our lack of surprises, maybe it will take a bit longer for us?  Maybe we should just stop "preventing" and see what happens!

May 2014: I downloaded Glow, an app that tracks your cycle, fertility, provides tips for conceiving, and has a community function that allows you to ask questions, make polls, and get support from other app users.  "This should help, at least with the timing."

Please note, while our parents are incredibly loving and supportive, and we are extremely grateful for all they've done for us, we chose not to inform them of our decision to start trying.  They all thought we were still quite young and needed to be more stable in our careers before thinking about a child.  We, on the other hand, were in the mindset of "there's never a perfect time to have a baby, but people make it work with much less than we have".

September 2014: Well, obviously no anniversary baby for us.  But a trip to Chicago was a wonderful anniversary treat for us.  Just keep trying...

November 2014:  Hmmm, that's weird.  I haven't gotten my period since September 9th.  I didn't get my period at all in October.  And negative pregnancy tests ruled that option out.  And now it's mid-November, still no period.  That's it, I'm calling in the professionals!

November 26, 2014:  Dr's appointment summary: Blood-work drawn to run a pregnancy test (negative), Prolactin check, and TSH check.  Prolactin and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) both come from the pituitary gland and are important for fertility.  Prolactin check was normal, but my TSH level was 2.69.  For a normal healthy person, TSH should be 0.4 - 4.0, but for someone trying to conceive they want it to be below 2.5, so mine was slightly elevated.  Lack of a period (amenorrhea) is a concern if it's been three months, so I'm instructed to report back for another blood pregnancy test and a Progesterone challenge if dear Aunt Flo doesn't show by December 9th.  The Progesterone challenge just means I'd take some high doses of Progesterone to kick start my period.  I'm also told that due to my slightly higher TSH, if we don't conceive in 3-4 months, I can come back to have it checked again and potentially start further testing for the scary "I" word (infertility).

Normally Dr's won't refer young, healthy couples to a fertility clinic unless you've been trying to conceive for over a year, but due to my uncooperative uterus we get to jump-start the process!  Yay?

Did I mention I HATE having my blood drawn?  So this was fun.  Little did I know it was only the beginning.  To be continued...