I hope you all know how grateful I am for this community. When I set out to see what the infertility blog world was all about my sole reasoning was to have someone to talk to who truly understood what we were going through. But the more women I met, the more involved I got, I began to realize there's so many benefits that I didn't expect. Most recently this community has given me the confidence to be my own advocate. When I got my diagnosis I immediately began researching, which is what actually led me to the blog world. While I recognized I would never be an expert I wanted to at least understand what all of these tests and procedures were about, what the drugs I was injecting into myself did, and what the potential risks and outcomes were. I quickly got up to speed on my diagnosis, my options, and the procedures and drugs. However even equipped with all of this knowledge I still lacked the confidence to even ask some of my questions to my doctor. There's been times throughout this journey that I questioned a choice he made or wondered if another option might be better. But for the most part I just conceded to the fact that he was the one with the initials after his name, the years of experience, and the expertise. But thanks to you guys for the first time I felt strong enough to speak my mind.
The re-test of my TSH level came back at 2.9. My doctor was comfortable with that level and opted not to treat me. However, after researching and some great advice from many of you, I got the courage to challenge her about this decision. A lot of the studies I have been reading suggest the optimal TSH level for a woman trying to get and stay pregnant is between 1 and 2. At 2.9 I was BARELY under what my Dr. was comfortable with. I couldn't find any information that discussed your level could be too low. But what I did find was a lot of studies that linked chemical pregnancies and early miscarriages to elevated TSH levels. Now, while mine is clearly not "elevated", it is above what they were calling the optimal range. So after stewing on it for the weekend I composed an email this morning to my doctor. I included some of the more powerful articles I had read, and reminded her of both my early miscarriage and my chemical. I explained that I didn't want to challenge her, I only wanted to give this transfer the best possible chance we could. In what was surprisingly a quick response she agreed to put me on 25mcg of thyroid replacement and to re-check my levels in 3 weeks.
I feel good about the fact that I pleaded my case and even better about the fact that we are going to try and get it down to the optimal level. Most importantly I'm so glad that I can move forward confident that I've down everything I can to make this cycle a success. Meds start tomorrow - 4 weeks from transfer. Let's do this.
Infertility
Monday, February 9, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
The Shades of Gray
Okay get your mind out of the gutter. This is NOT a post about 50 Shades of Gray. (although I'll admit to reading the books and could probably write a pretty entertaining post about them!) It's about the shades of gray that lie between black and white. And opinions that vary between experts.
I think I mentioned to all of you that my clinic has a new doctor. I'm excited about this for a couple reasons. #1 - she's a woman. I like this. #2 - she provides a fresh perspective to my case. As most of you know we had a phone consult with CCRM and if the outcome of this next FET (with our last 2 frozen embryos) is not successful we will be packing our bags for Colorado. However, since we still have the 2 embryos we opted to see them through first, before moving on to a new clinic.
That being said, it was great timing when Dr. Emmi joined our clinic. I had a bad moment when Nurse Jenny informed me that I needed to re-do ALL of my initial testing since it has been 18 months since I started at the clinic. That was hard to hear. Obviously I fully envisioned at least graduating from the clinic by this point, if not holding our baby in my arms. (oh how naive I was!). But since that's obviously not the case we went ahead and took the 8 tubes of blood for all of the consultation tests. When we did this the first time the only number I was informed of was my FSH since it was elevated. They told me that the rest of my levels came back within the normal range and I never pressed for the exact numbers. This time I got the call that my thyroid level was a little high and they wanted to re-test it to determine if Dr. Emmi would treat me for that during cycle. I did some research and came up with mixed results (shocking I know). Basically you aren't considered to have hypothyroidism (under active) unless your TSH levels are over 5.5. However there is an ongoing controversy among RE's and more and more of the experts are proclaiming that the normal range needs to be revised to .3 to 3.0. After reading all of this information I was anxious to get retested if only so I could find out how "high" my level was. I went in this morning for the blood draw and Nurse Jenny told me that my TSH from last week came back at 3.2. She confirmed that Dr. H just wanted to see levels under 4, but Dr. Emmi wanted to see them under 3. Interesting.
Now we wait to see what the re-test comes back as. Jenny seemed to think if it was under 3.0 she won't treat me but if it's over that, even in slightest, she will most likely put me on meds. Either way it's refreshing to have that new perspective and feel as if someone is really examining my case.
I start suppression meds next week and then we'll really get this party started. I'm so looking forward to crossing off the days until transfer. No I don't ENJOY giving myself shots but at least it feels like we are doing something more than waiting. Our last transfer (which resulted in a chemical) was in Aug. In some ways that feels SO long ago and in others I'm shocked that it's been 5 months. Now that the wait is almost over I'm glad that we did the procedures and the Lupron Depot. I'm hopeful that my body will be in the best condition for this transfer. And I'm praying that 9 months from now I'll be holding one (or both!) of those little embryos in my arms.
I think I mentioned to all of you that my clinic has a new doctor. I'm excited about this for a couple reasons. #1 - she's a woman. I like this. #2 - she provides a fresh perspective to my case. As most of you know we had a phone consult with CCRM and if the outcome of this next FET (with our last 2 frozen embryos) is not successful we will be packing our bags for Colorado. However, since we still have the 2 embryos we opted to see them through first, before moving on to a new clinic.
That being said, it was great timing when Dr. Emmi joined our clinic. I had a bad moment when Nurse Jenny informed me that I needed to re-do ALL of my initial testing since it has been 18 months since I started at the clinic. That was hard to hear. Obviously I fully envisioned at least graduating from the clinic by this point, if not holding our baby in my arms. (oh how naive I was!). But since that's obviously not the case we went ahead and took the 8 tubes of blood for all of the consultation tests. When we did this the first time the only number I was informed of was my FSH since it was elevated. They told me that the rest of my levels came back within the normal range and I never pressed for the exact numbers. This time I got the call that my thyroid level was a little high and they wanted to re-test it to determine if Dr. Emmi would treat me for that during cycle. I did some research and came up with mixed results (shocking I know). Basically you aren't considered to have hypothyroidism (under active) unless your TSH levels are over 5.5. However there is an ongoing controversy among RE's and more and more of the experts are proclaiming that the normal range needs to be revised to .3 to 3.0. After reading all of this information I was anxious to get retested if only so I could find out how "high" my level was. I went in this morning for the blood draw and Nurse Jenny told me that my TSH from last week came back at 3.2. She confirmed that Dr. H just wanted to see levels under 4, but Dr. Emmi wanted to see them under 3. Interesting.
Now we wait to see what the re-test comes back as. Jenny seemed to think if it was under 3.0 she won't treat me but if it's over that, even in slightest, she will most likely put me on meds. Either way it's refreshing to have that new perspective and feel as if someone is really examining my case.
I start suppression meds next week and then we'll really get this party started. I'm so looking forward to crossing off the days until transfer. No I don't ENJOY giving myself shots but at least it feels like we are doing something more than waiting. Our last transfer (which resulted in a chemical) was in Aug. In some ways that feels SO long ago and in others I'm shocked that it's been 5 months. Now that the wait is almost over I'm glad that we did the procedures and the Lupron Depot. I'm hopeful that my body will be in the best condition for this transfer. And I'm praying that 9 months from now I'll be holding one (or both!) of those little embryos in my arms.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Messy
Life is messy. People are messy. Relationships are messy. This week has reminded me of that. Since being thrown onto this cobbled road of infertility the way I look at situations and my feelings about life as a whole have been greatly altered. Things I once thought were important became irrelevant. Words or actions that would have caused me to get worked up into a frenzy are now ignored, laughed at, or just disregarded. And while I try to keep my stress level (and the drama) in my life low, inevitably a situation will arise that must be dealt with. Like I said people are messy. Emotions are messy. Feelings get hurt, people say things they shouldn't, words and actions are taken the wrong way.
No one is perfect and no life is perfect. And I know without a doubt D and I are far from perfect. But as I undergo tests, blood draws, ultrasounds, battles with our insurance companies, and general hormone meltdowns I couldn't be more thankful for my imperfect partner. Yes, life is messy and mine is far from perfect. But I'm happy, I'm loved and supported, I feel valued and respected. And I wouldnt trade it for anything.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Protecting my Heart
As we inch closer and closer to March I'm slowly allowing myself to start focusing on TTC again. For the last few months I've done a decent job of avoiding it. I'm sure you all know that the thoughts/fear/worries/sadness is always there, in the back of your mind. But since we've been on a holding pattern as we waited to see if the Lupron Depot would do it's job I've been trying semi-successfully to put it on the back burner. I've been focusing on work, the holidays, our mini-vacation, family and friends. Anything so I didn't have to think about the fact that another year of trying was passing. That March is my last chance to get pregnant and have a baby in this brand new year. That every day it seems like someone else I know is announcing they are expecting. That people who started trying more than a year AFTER us are holding their babies today.
But lately I've started to open up just a little bit more. It's small things - like talking to D about a new potential baby name that I heard and liked. Or a conversation about how I hope our child will have his eyes. It's not that we don't talk about our struggle. But over the past few months we've made a conscious effort not to focus on what we don't have. And to try and not let the sadness consume us. Which means we've tried to talk about other things than babies.
As we've had several baby conversations over the last week or so the inner struggle begins. While I want to be positive and hopeful, I also feel a need to protect my heart. I don't think it's being negative to think about the fact that this upcoming transfer might not work. I think after all we've been through and learned it's realistic. And while I'm comforted with having a back up plan (CCRM) it still won't take away the pain from another failed cycle. Another set of our babies gone before they even had a chance. So as fun and exciting as it is to talk about baby names, nursery ideas, and what it will be like/feel like to finally be parents, there's still a wariness that I can't shake. I know it's fear of my heart being broken again. But I also know that having a positive mindset going into this transfer will only help our chances of success. So I guess the question I have for my veteran girls today is....
Where is the line between positivity and realism? How did you or do you protect your heart when the outcome is unknown?
But lately I've started to open up just a little bit more. It's small things - like talking to D about a new potential baby name that I heard and liked. Or a conversation about how I hope our child will have his eyes. It's not that we don't talk about our struggle. But over the past few months we've made a conscious effort not to focus on what we don't have. And to try and not let the sadness consume us. Which means we've tried to talk about other things than babies.
As we've had several baby conversations over the last week or so the inner struggle begins. While I want to be positive and hopeful, I also feel a need to protect my heart. I don't think it's being negative to think about the fact that this upcoming transfer might not work. I think after all we've been through and learned it's realistic. And while I'm comforted with having a back up plan (CCRM) it still won't take away the pain from another failed cycle. Another set of our babies gone before they even had a chance. So as fun and exciting as it is to talk about baby names, nursery ideas, and what it will be like/feel like to finally be parents, there's still a wariness that I can't shake. I know it's fear of my heart being broken again. But I also know that having a positive mindset going into this transfer will only help our chances of success. So I guess the question I have for my veteran girls today is....
Where is the line between positivity and realism? How did you or do you protect your heart when the outcome is unknown?
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Baby Mama
Last night as I was flipping through the channels (and avoiding The Bachelor because D and I watch it together and he had a school board meeting) I stumbled upon the movie Baby Mama. You know this one - Tiny Fey tries to have a baby on her own only to find out she has a T shaped uterus so she opts to go the surrogacy route. Amy Poehler becomes her surrogate which leads into a funny story line about a not so bright woman who is in it for the money and doesn't understand that you have to wait 2 weeks to test. She tests immediately and it's negative. She then sets out to pull a fast one on Tina Fey pretending she's pregnant so she can get the cash. But then halfway through she finds out she really is pregnant and it might be Tina's or it may be her common law husband's. Long story short the baby ends up NOT being Tina Fey's but she miraculous becomes pregnant on her own even though her RE gave her a 1 in a million odds.
This is a movie I would have found hilarious 2 years ago. Honestly even after all I've been through the past year and a half I still found it funny. Which I guess is a tribute to how far I've come. I think 6-9 months ago I would have burst into tears and completely lost my shit over this. Today though I could appreciate the fact that the movie IS generating awareness of infertility and some of the struggles Tina was going through in the beginning of the movie before the surrogate entered the picture were pretty accurate. However the one part that did bother me was her miraculous pregnancy. This is only fueling the fire for those (uneducated) people out there who say all of those terrible things that make us want to poke our eyes out (just relax, take a vacation, maybe you should adopt then you'll get pregnant!). Because in real life it just doesn't work that way. Okay, once in a great while maybe. And I'm all about the power of prayer and I do believe that God works miracles. I know He does. But with so many of us struggling to conceive we can't ALL be the one who miraculously gets pregnant. Our miracles come in the forms of IUI, IVF, donor eggs and embryos, surrogates, and adoption matches. There is no cure to infertility. Nothing we can do that immediately equals our bodies healing themselves and poof - baby on board. I know that some of us have been fighting this battle for YEARS. And it's through blood, sweat, tears, pain, and heartache that we build our families. And in a funny way even though I couldn't be closer to having a baby of my own I'm proud of the battles scars. One day (I have to believe there WILL be a one day) I'll be a better parent. One day I will teach my child about the extremes we went through to get him or her. One day I will raise a person who won't be the one to ever make those comments that make us want to claw our eyes out. I can't wait until that day.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
A positive sign
No, not THE positive sign (as in a positive pregnancy test) but a step in right direction. I had my follow up appointment today from my second month of the Lupron Depo shot. I think I mentioned that we recently got a new RE at my clinic. I met her just briefly during my followup hysteroscopy after the 1 month of Lupron Depo and it was her call to have me go another month. So it wasn't exactly a great first impression. However this time it went much better. We only did an ultrasound but she explained to me on the screen what they were looking for. She said the inflammation would cause shading or darkening which she wasn't seeing any. My lining was at a 6 which she said was good for being suppressed (I believe it was at a 9 last time). There were some other things she pointed out that kind of went over my head but her exact words were "You uterus actually looks really good!". I will take that. She put me right back on birth control pills to keep me suppressed until I start my FET protocol which will be in Feb. We are looking at a transfer the second week in March.
I feel so relieved that the injections did their job and we can move forward. My friend told me the other day that from our conversations she felt like I'd already written off the March transfer. After some reflection she may have been right. I think I was just trying to prepare myself for another delay or even worse news. And while I do have CCRM all squared away and we are ready to move forward with them if this transfer doesn't work, I am beginning to have some hope for this last shot. I have two pretty highly graded day 5 embryos left. I also got the okay to transfer both. My former RE was not on board with transferring more than one since we did have genetic testing done and that supposedly increased our chance of success significantly. Well, after talking with Dr. Schoolcraft at CCRM and learning that the genetic testing we did has the potential to damage the embryos I feel strongly about transferring both. Even if by some miracle both implant D and I feel fully ready to happily take on a twin pregnancy. I've talked to several of you who have experienced them and feel prepared. It just feels like the right decision. If this transfer doesn't work out then I am emotionally, financially, and physically ready to move on to CCRM. (Please God let that not be necessary).
So that's a quick update. On a random side note I'm not sure I've shared here that my nurse at the clinic completed her first cycle of IVF in Oct. She's currently 14 weeks pregnant. Her husband actually had a blockage so their issue was with him. They were able to go in and extract the sperm for the embryos and she got pregnant on the first cycle. I'll be honest when I found out I was a little bitter. One and done - can you imagine? But once I had a few minutes to think about it my bitterness went away. I was still sad for US but happy for her. No matter what your fertility treatment or how quickly you find success this is a hardship I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I asked her how it was going breaking the news to her other patients and she said not well at all. I would imagine it to be a very difficult conversation to have but considering she's already started showing (she was very thin before) not really something she can ignore.
Anyway just wanted to send out a happy update! It feels like a long time since I've had any personal good news to share.
I feel so relieved that the injections did their job and we can move forward. My friend told me the other day that from our conversations she felt like I'd already written off the March transfer. After some reflection she may have been right. I think I was just trying to prepare myself for another delay or even worse news. And while I do have CCRM all squared away and we are ready to move forward with them if this transfer doesn't work, I am beginning to have some hope for this last shot. I have two pretty highly graded day 5 embryos left. I also got the okay to transfer both. My former RE was not on board with transferring more than one since we did have genetic testing done and that supposedly increased our chance of success significantly. Well, after talking with Dr. Schoolcraft at CCRM and learning that the genetic testing we did has the potential to damage the embryos I feel strongly about transferring both. Even if by some miracle both implant D and I feel fully ready to happily take on a twin pregnancy. I've talked to several of you who have experienced them and feel prepared. It just feels like the right decision. If this transfer doesn't work out then I am emotionally, financially, and physically ready to move on to CCRM. (Please God let that not be necessary).
So that's a quick update. On a random side note I'm not sure I've shared here that my nurse at the clinic completed her first cycle of IVF in Oct. She's currently 14 weeks pregnant. Her husband actually had a blockage so their issue was with him. They were able to go in and extract the sperm for the embryos and she got pregnant on the first cycle. I'll be honest when I found out I was a little bitter. One and done - can you imagine? But once I had a few minutes to think about it my bitterness went away. I was still sad for US but happy for her. No matter what your fertility treatment or how quickly you find success this is a hardship I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I asked her how it was going breaking the news to her other patients and she said not well at all. I would imagine it to be a very difficult conversation to have but considering she's already started showing (she was very thin before) not really something she can ignore.
Anyway just wanted to send out a happy update! It feels like a long time since I've had any personal good news to share.
Monday, January 5, 2015
We are Courageous
A friend of mine shared this beautiful blog post on Facebook today and I couldn't wait to post it on my own blog. The friend that shared it is a fellow infertile who has recently adopted a gorgeous baby boy. She has experienced both sides of this struggle. However, what truly amazed me was how much the author "gets" all of the emotions associated with infertility. Fear, pain, disappointment, hurt, shame. She really nailed it. And her prayer brought me to tears. A great read for those of us in the trenches and our fertile friends who want to support us. Sending all of you who are fighting this battle so much love each and every day.
I could have a baby, but she could not
I could have a baby, but she could not
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