.parlodel.

hey girls..
i told you i'd update you all...
i had my prolactin re-drawn and it went up to 29.7
my dr put me on parlodel (bromocriptine) and we'll
check levels next week. i had my first ultrasound to
check follicle development. i had none on my L side
but i had 4 on my R. they were all decent size, with
the biggest one measuring 15 .. is this good???

I am not usually one that will tell married couples what to do, but I want every married couple that reads this blog to rent or go out and buy this movie. It is amazing. The acting is not the greatest but the message in this movie is incredible... It touched me, made me want to work even harder on my marriage. My marriage is great, but there is always room for improvement, like any marriage.
This movie showed me what love truly means. I need to love my husband as much as the Savior loves me. That is the true definition of love.
I hope you will take my advise and take a minute out of your busy lives, sit down with you spouse and watch this film. I know it will impact you as much as it has impacted me. You don't need to be having a rough patch in your marriage to want to watch it, but it will make you want to improve.

Happy Progress

Hi all! Well, it looks like things are marching along swimmingly for our IVF. Woohoo! Finally some good news, right?

Today we had our Lupron class, where a nurse taught us all about the different injections I get to have over the next few weeks. All I can say about that is that if I have a problem with needles, I'm going to have to get over it quickly! The Lupron looks easy enough, and even the Follistim or Gonal-F didn't look too bad. The Repronex scared me a bit because the nurse admitted that it's usually the most painful. I'm not worried about the hCG because I've had it before. The biggest bummer was the progesterone--turns out if we're lucky enough for this to work, I'll have to have it daily up to at least 8 weeks of pregnancy and possibly 10. Yikes! But, of course, totally worth it. I was reading the other day how almost any woman would say theoretically that she'd do anything for her child, but we women who are experiencing infertility are already doing practically anything and everything! Look at all the stuff we're doing just to get a baby here!

We also had a trial transfer, where our doctor simulated the transfer of embryos to check the depth of my uterus and make sure there weren't any problems getting a catheter fed through to the top of my uterus. It was just like an IUI (relatively painless), and went smoothly.

Oh, and we found out I'm immune to Rubella, am not a carrier of Cystic Fibrosis, have normal TSH (thyroid) levels, and O+ blood (which I already knew, but I guess it had to be documented by a lab), meaning no Rh factor issues.

I start the injections on Sunday. I'm a little nervous about my ability to inject myself (hopefully I'm not a wimp). But I am so so so excited to get this process going!

Educating Others

Here are a few awesome tidbits from conversations we've had with people unfamiliar with infertility and its treatment. It's my hope that by talking about infertility with other people, it will seem less weird and taboo, and even those who aren't dealing with it will be better educated about it.

Conversation #1:

Person: "So, you're doing in vitro?"
Me: "Yep, we start next Sunday."
Person: "I just don't know how I feel about that stuff. I guess if it were me I'd just want a normal pregnancy."
Me: "I want that too. Fortunately, if it works, that's exactly what we'll have."
Person: "Wait, you mean after the procedure it's a real, normal pregnancy?"
Me: "Well, yes. What did you think? Nine months from now the techs will remove our baby from the test tube and we'll pick him or her up from the lab?"

Conversation #2:

Person (who doesn't know we are doing in vitro): "So, you guys want to have a baby?"
Me: "Yes, we have for quite a while now."
Person: "Well, let me know when you're pregnant. I can recommend an awesome midwife. She's a big believer in all-natural pregnancy and childbirth. She'd never accept a patient who did freakish, totally unnatural stuff like that crazy California lady who had 8 kids. I mean, what has happened to society that we let doctors play God and create artificial life? If the Lord wants someone to have a baby, He'll let her get pregnant. We shouldn't be interfering."
Me: "Um, well, Brian and I are actually beginning in vitro next week. So I guess I won't be needing that referral."
Person (obviously uncomfortable): "Uh, no, I guess not. I mean, she's all about natural...and you guys are going about as far away from that as possible!"
Me: "Yep, and we're THRILLED! Wish us luck!"

Quick Update

So after a LOT of calculations, prayer, deliberation, aggravation, frustration, and worry, we have decided to go ahead with in vitro this month! Wahoo!

We have our Lupron class on Thursday, then we begin injections next Sunday. I am so excited! Isn't it funny how you can pour your heart out in prayer, begging for an answer, and worrying that you haven't received one yet...until all of a sudden you do? We really couldn't decide if it was smart to do it this month. With the bills for my surgery rolling in, plus our insurance deductible increasing to $8,000, on top of the $13,000 IVF with ICSI will cost, we were worried that we just couldn't swing it. Plus Brian has been worried about the security of his job given that his employer is a general contractor, and the construction industry is pretty crappy right now. Is it smart to spend all this money if he's going to be out of a job in a few months?

I have been so frustrated, often resorting to thoughts that idiotic 16-year-old girls don't have to spend thousand of dollars to get pregnant, so why do I? Isn't wanting a family a righteous desire?

I have no idea how we did it, but last month, without really trying, we saved $3,000 more than we normally do. Then Brian spoke to his boss, who reassured him that the company is doing fine, and even if it was struggling, Brian would be one of the last people they'd ever think of laying off. That was what we needed! Our prayers were finally answered. For me, it reaffirmed my testimony that the Lord really knows our hearts individually and will help us find a way to overcome our trials and accomplish our goals. I know we're still far from our goal of a family, but this was a critical step. Now, onward...

.prolactin.

hey everyone..
i had my CD 3 blood work done yesterday and everything is normal except my prolactin level was 28.4. i believe the normal range for this hormone is less than 26.

i am going back this week to get it re-drawn just to make sure it's accurately high.

anyone had experience with elevated prolactin??

ash

Here We Go (Probably, Maybe, Hopefully)

So I went in today for my post-op follow-up appointment. I just thought our doctor would check out my nicely healing incisions and send me on my merry way. But apparently things looked good enough that he sent me to the nurses to set up our in vitro schedule.

Wait a minute, I thought. We were supposed to wait until June or even July! But I guess the combination of my quick healing, the long (6+ weeks) process of in vitro, and the medicine I've been on since a week before the surgery that allows us to transition straight to in vitro without wretched birth control pills, means we can actually get started the week after Easter. That's less than 3 weeks away!

I know it seems crazy, but I had just resigned myself to waiting until summer. Now all of a sudden it's here again. It seems so fast! We're not 100% sure we're going to start in April (surgery bills + huge deductible + crazy expensive non-insurance-covered IVF=hemorrhaging money), but the possibility is there. I am really excited, scared, nervous, and almost afraid to hope--afraid to hope that we'll actually get to to do it, that the process will go smoothly, and that I'll actually get pregnant. Infertility is such a dang rollercoaster, but at least I might have the chance to get off it!

The end of the beginning

So I'm hoping that I'm safe posting again after my hiatus (due to the fracas with people linking through my blog), because I need to share.

We went in two months ago to start up clomid and IUIs again, and at the 14 day point, the RE checked my lining and follicles and didn't like what he saw.  So we scrapped that cycle and decided to try a different drug, Femara.  Long story short, we did the Femara, I had one good follicle and we did an HCG trigger shot along with an IUI.

Today was the big pregnancy test day and so, naturally I spent all of yesterday worrying about it.  Can I just say how much I hate taking pregnancy tests?  Nothing, and I mean NOTHING can get me more worked up than having to go and buy these stupid pee sticks, only to worry about whether it's going to be positive or negative and then thinking about all the worries or the relief I'll feel about either result.  UGH!  I swear my head would just start spinning and fly right off my shoulders if it could!

So after having nightmares about positive results and negative results, I just dragged my butt out of bed and took the test.  And the result?

We are now officially $700 poorer with nothing but information to show for it.

*Sigh*

I know the success rate peaks out at six months of drug therapy + IUIs, but I'm not sure my head (or my heart) can take 5 more months of pre-test freak-outs.

.questions.

hey girls.

i just had my first appt with my re and i'm very happy with how things went. we have a game plan and that's exactly what we need. he feels that my cycles are a little irregular (short luteal phase) even though i ovulate every month. i will be going in to have my CD 3 labs drawn because my OB/GYN never did those. We also may do the Kruger's strict morphology for my hubby if my labs are normal.

i just have a few questions about costs.

first, how much are all the labs and how much is the krugers test? i'm sure the costs are minimal, but just want to be aware before we go in. any help would be appreciated.

ash

Hilarious

Ok, I thought this was way too funny not to share:

Info for the Uninsured

This information has been shared on a website I visit so I just wanted to pass it along for those who are also out of pocket for IVF.

Fertility Lifelines has a specific program called “Compassionate Care”. This program is through the Serono drug company (makers of Gonal-F, Ovidrel etc). If you qualify for their program you can get a portion of your IVF cycle drugs for one cycle for free. Before applying for this program you will want to make sure that your RE would be willing to put you on a protocoll with their meds.

When you call ask for their compassionate care program and they will do a pre-screening before they send you an application. You will have to send them your tax 1040’s, the last 2 pay stubs from your household, and have your insurance card handy because they will call to verify that you have no insurance coverage. If you are accepted into their program they will send the drugs directly to your RE.

(I’ve heard through the grapevine that they accept about 75% of those that apply. There is an income cutoff which they don’t advertise. I’ve asked around if anyone knew what it was and was told they can't say specifically because it's different for everyone depending on where you live. Someone mentioned an adjusted gross income less than 100K but I can't verify the truth of that.)

the number is:
1-866-538-7879
(1-866-LETS-TRY)

I’ll be sending in an application as soon as we get our taxes done this year. A couple of ladies on another board I visit have been able to get free med’s for a cycle, which has been a big help. I don't know if we'll qualify or not, but it's worth a try. I'm crossing my fingers :)

Who is this guy?

Thought you would like this inspirational story that will be shared on "Music and The Spoken Word" this weekend. 

"Henry J. Kaiser was a PROBLEM SOLVER. Born to a German shoemaker in upstate New York, he eventually became the father of American shipbuilding. Along the way, he learned to see a problem not as a roadblock but as a chance to learn something or to create a new way of doing things.

"PROBLEMS," he said, "ARE ONLY OPPORTUNITIES IN WORK CLOTHES."

Henry Kaiser had an opportunity to demonstrate the truth of this saying early in his career when the construction company he was working for unexpectedly went out of business. Where other would see only a problem, Henry saw an opportunity-he decided to take on one of his former company's unfulfilled contracts himself. He finished the project ahead of schedule, and before long the Henry J. Kaiser Company was born.

From there he created companies that paved roads, manufactured steel, and built houses. Throughout these many ventures, Henry J. Kaiser continued to see in every challenge a chance to move forward and find a better way.

LIFE IS FULL OF PROBLEMS. Opposition is not only unavoidable, it is essential. Without opposition, without problems, big and small to test or resolve and stimulate our thinking, we would accomplish very little. Muscles do not grow without resistance, and neither do people.

Men and women often do their best when faced with what seems at first to be an overwhelming problem. So much good, so many great discoveries and new ideas have come from efforts to overcome problems that stood in the way of worthy goals.

No one likes a problem, but the day may come when we can recognize it as a blessing in disguise. No matter how frightening it seems, if we strip away the mask of trouble, we will find the smiling face of opportunity."

To read the rest of the story visit: http://musicandthespokenword.com/messages/

Hello

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking a little bit and thought I would finally post. My name is Greta, and my husband and I have been married for 4 years. After about a year of trying, we found out that it was impossible for us to have children the natural way. In a way, in the world of infertility, it could be seen as a good thing, because at least we know for certain that there are no feritility treatments that will ever be able to help us. In other way, it's devastating, because there will never be any hope of it. I wish there was a treatment we could try. But, at the same time, there are no treatments we can try--so it definitely narrows it down!

We started the adoption process last fall, and we are looking and waiting for our child. The process to come to the decision to adopt was a long one. I thought I would post because I still feel worried about it sometimes and have feelings of doubt. Sometimes I wonder if we were really meant to have children. But, then, sometimes I can't imagine a life without providing a loving home for a child. I think all of those feelings are natural. I think everyone haves them, even if they don't have any trouble having kids. It's so hard to know what to do when you are faced with infertility, and it compounds those uncertain feelings, I think. But, I try not to worry too much, and to know that the Lord will guide us, and He will let us know if there is something we should or shouldn't do. But, it's really hard sometimes. These decisions certainly aren't easy.

Well, anyway, I would be interested to hear about any adoption experiences! It's been nice to read your posts.

Introduction

Hi ladies! Thanks for letting me join the blog. I 'll start by introducing myself. I am Katy and I am 25. We live in Southeast Idaho. I have been married 6 years and we have a wonderful four year old daughter. We had no trouble getting pregnant with our daughter and we also got pregnant with a second after only 6 months of trying. Unfortunately that pregnancy ended in miscarriage at the beginning of our 2nd trimester. We have now been trying 3 years, we have our adoption papers in and are trying different fertility treatments. The doctors say everything is working and we should be getting pregnant but I am guessing the Lord has other plans. We recently tried a natural IUI cycle and it didn't work. We are going in for more blood tests and discuss our options next week. I get so tired of this emotional roller coaster. I have a really hard time watching my daughter grow up with no siblings. I also get tired of all the well meaning comments or advice. It just discourages me. I have a question to all those that have adopted or considered adoption... Did you ever go back and forth on your decision?
Sometimes I feel strongly that we are supposed to adopt and then I get scared and then I am not sure that that is what we are supposed to do. Then I will get strong feelings towards trying different fertility treatments and I just get confused when they don't work. I don't know if this is making any sense but if any of you have any insight I would sure appreciate it!

Anyway that is me!

Cautious

Have any of you started down the infertility path but been unwilling to tell family members or friends about it?  When we did treatments seven years ago we told most of our families and friends what we were doing and got tired of the constant "well-meaning" comments (i.e., "I know this will work" or "Are you pregnant yet?" or worst of all "I don't know what you're worried about" right before we found out that our baby had died.)

Well, some people close to us know that we've been to the RE, but I found out recently that some friends I'd rather leave in the dark actually read this blog (by linking through my blog - which I've now changed) so now I am hesitant to post ANYTHING for fear we'll start getting those well-meaning comments all over again.

Am I being silly, or have any of you felt like this?