Monday, April 30, 2012

T is for trigger

So in spite of a few brief meltdowns over the weekend and wishing I had never signed up for IUI in the first place, we have quickly reached trigger day after 9 days on Puregon Stims. It's a good thing too because I am definitely feeling bloated. Last night I literally could feel my ovaries.

At my ultrasound yesterday there were 3 follicles still in the race with the smallest being at 14.5mm but likely to catch up in time for the IUI (on  Wednesday).

In the middle of all of this craziness, my husband and I are in the process of putting our house on the market because our new home is conditonal on the sale of the current one. So this weekend we spent every waking second getting our house ready to list this week.

It's an awful thing to think but I almost feel like this cycle is already a bust. We have had lowered counts and I am stressed beyond belief. There was a temptation to cancel the cycle but after buying approximately $1000 worth of fertility drugs I figured we may as well proceed.

Who knows maybe we will even find some luck amidst the chaos.


Friday, April 20, 2012

Boarding the crazy train for a 2nd time

I kind of can't believe how fast time goes and already we are back at the clinic trying for baby #2.
Since our last RE moved to Alberta we have been assigned a new doctor who ran a series of  ultrasounds , bloodwork and of course sperm tests to see if we are still *infertile*.

Of course we are! So I can discredit the theory that once we have a baby through IVf we will just fall pregnant. Uh no. But wouldn't that be nice?

So anyhow the tests came back and indicated that my FSH levels are elevated yet i have a normal antral follicle count. Basically FSH (or follicle stimulating hormone) indicates that my brain is having to tell my ovaries to work harder and produce eggs because they are not doing their best job. Nope -not putting in their best effort. My ovaries are lazy.

There is nothing they can do to treat this and they didn't seem overly concerned with the results but it does indicate that as I age, it may be more difficult to stimulate me though IVF drugs.

My TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was also elevated which can creates all sorts of problems but now that has been easily regulated with a daily pill of Eltroxin. Me and my crazy BFF, Google, totally suspected I had an issue with my thyroid back in the fall. I suddenly developed excema when i have no history of it whatsoever and I'm talking needing to use medicated nasty coal tar shampoo daily just to get the itch under control. I had break outs on my back and just generally felt disgusting. I also had extremely heavy and prolonged  periods. Ever since starting on the thyroid drugs I have had no issues.

As for my husband, his sperm counts improved slightly to 14mill/ml and we were now in IUI (intrauterine insemination) territory AKA cost savings for us!

 











A second test would be required to confirm this awesomeness and much to our disappointment and frustration, the second count came back at 7mill/ml.

at this point, the doctor gave us a 10% chance of conceiving with Super Ovulation and IUI. This probability is lower than the clinic average but still higher than trying on our own.

We decided to give it a shot and if we feel that this is not a giood option for us then we will switch to IVF again. At the moment it's actually Day 2 of my cycle and I start the good old puregon injections tomorrow.

Everything feels different this time around though. I feel like because it has worked for us once, we can make it work again. Because we have Charlotte, I still make time to obsess online but not time to make it the focus of my life. Because we have a child now, I realise how lucky I already am compared to so many and that in the end, if it's just the 3 of us  I will be ok.