Friday the 13th. I am not superstitious person but I may just become one...today's appointment was not my favorite.
I finished work for the day and I headed to UFC to meet my sweet husband at the clinic. I arrived at UFC first and relieved my bladder. Before I could go back out to the lobby to get my husband the nurse whisked me back to a scary looking room. I asked her if she would like me to go get Dallin and she let me know that he would not be able to come back because they don't have enough vests for him to wear during the procedure. I was devestated! I had not been nervous until that moment and there I was sitting on the table with huge medical equipment all around me unsure of what was about to take place. Mind you, everyone tells you that the HSG test is NOT cool and hurts in exuberant measures! So, I wasn't excited for this in the first place...but then adding these other factors nearly broke me. As I was waiting I was texting Dallin and he was not happy either.
I sat...and I sat...and I sat...feeling nervous, frustrated, anxious, scared and ready to have this over with.
Soon enough Dr. Conway walked in with the nurse following. I was SO happy to see a familiar face (it had felt like I hadn't seen her forever!) She let me know that it would be quick, I would feel some cramping but it isn't as bad as people say it is.
I get situated in the stirrups and it is like any other appointment/ultrasound I have had thus far. Not too bad. Then the procedure begins and it HURT! The dye they push in my uterus and Fallopian tubes doesn't hurt...but getting it all in the right place. DANG!! I cried. I cried because it hurt. I cried because I was without my husband. I cried because I couldn't believe this was my reality...living a life of infertility.
The procedure finished and I had never been so grateful. Dr. Conway began talking and the nurse went to get Dallin. When he walked in the room I was so glad he was finally there. The Dr continued. "You're tubes look great, they are open and there is no blockages. Your uterus is a nice triangle shape and then we have this white part. I'm thinking that it is a polyp." I immediately think the worse. I had heard of them before but again...this was my new reality. My body is not "normal" and this could hinder our chance of getting pregnant even more.
Dr. Conway let us know that there were now some choices we needed to make. We could do a saline ultrasound right then in the office to make sure that it wasn't just an air bubble that couldn't get out during the procedure or if it truly is a polyp. The other choice is that we could just immediately schedule surgery to have the polyp removed. I was so confused. I couldn't believe it. Dallin and I decided that we would do the ultrasound to make sure the polyp was truly a polyp. Results in=confirmed.
More choices available...stop the medication that I had been taking for 3 days and schedule surgery or continue the medication and try to conceive with out the insemination. We wanted Dr. Conway's input. We trust her and know that she has our best interest in mind. She decided to check out my ovaries while she was at it. First the right side, a follicle is growing. 11 mm to be exact. Great news! I am responding to the meds. She looks at the left...ANOTHER follicle is growing. Also 11 mm. Are you kidding me??? Are you kidding? Dallin and I look at each other in disbelief. After all this "bad news" we find out that I have TWO eggs growing. I was sad that insemination was out of the question this round but Dr. Conway let us know that she thinks I should finish the medicine and try to conceive on our own even though I have the polyp and we don't know what Dallin's sperm will do. I had to ask...because you just never know...will both of these follicles ovulate? She assured me that they will. HOLY SMOKES! Think twins people...2 for 1? Sure!
It truly is in the hand's of God at this time. We are unsure what this cycle will bring for us but we are hopeful in the long run. If nothing happens this time I will have surgery in a couple of weeks and then we will try again with the whole process. Let the games begin!
Some tender mercies that we have experienced:
-The medication is working!
-We may not have to spend the money on the insemination if it does work.
-Finding UFC and working with Dr Conway
-Michelle Day-a true blessing!
-Reading blogs and watching youtube full of success stories
-Family fast-my parents don't usually fast due to health concerns and they were able to complete a fast for us!
-Everyone's prayers that are deeply felt...thank you! thank you! thank you!
-Being in the temple and feeling a deep love of our Heavenly Father.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Utah Fertility Center-Consultation appointment 6/5/14
Sorry for the delay of this post...I have been working on it for a while but trying to find the courage to post it to the world is a whole different hurdle to face. Thank you for your sensitivity to this post and trial of ours and especially for your continued faith, prayer and support in our behalf.
Our journey with the Utah Fertility Center (UFC) began just 3 weeks ago today. We had been to a seminar about infertility before with a different clinic but we found out about UFC and after some research we decided to schedule an appointment since it would be so close to our home. After we scheduled I liked them on Facebook and began looking at their website frequently and there I found out they would be having a seminar as well. We decided that we should go to see the clinic and have the chance to possibly meet our doctor. Well, fortunately, we were able to meet her. She was warm and friendly at first meeting and she really seemed interested in us as individuals and us as a couple. Our meeting with Dr. Conway today was no different. She was so easy to talk to and she seemed genuine and caring. We have fallen in love with her! We feel grateful that we get to work with her in our journey of bringing our family to earth and are thankful for modern day medicine and technology that will help make this possible.
So the story...
After getting our history of the fertility treatments we have already tried she asked me if anyone else had ever talked to me about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). My reply? That no one had ever previously mentioned it but I have deep down wondered if that is part of the problem. She nodded her head as if to agree and she let me know that she would like to have a blood sample to test if it is in fact part of the problem. I had an ultrasound during our consultation as well and she was very thorough and told us what we were looking at. I also seem to have an ovulatory problem...aka...I don't ovulate often. Weird because I do have my period on a regular basis. She was happy to know that when I took Clomid last fall my body was responding and I did ovulate. Ok, so there are a couple of things as to why we aren't getting pregnant.
Now...onto Dallin. When we were going through treatment with my OB clinic last fall Dallin had a Semen Analysis done at the hospital. The OB had let me know that we could do it at the hospital or UFC. Hospital=less money and less information. UFC=more money with more information/better quality of test. We were sure that things were fine with Dallin and so pridefully we took the test to the hospital. We were devastated to find out last fall that Dallin has low sperm count and "abnormal" sperm.
We had let Dr. Conway know about the test results when we talked with her at the seminar. They waste no time at this place and that same evening they had our insurance information, they gave us a kit and the next morning I received a phone call to schedule the analysis so we would have results in time for our consultation. Dallin and I were amazed at how quick it all happened.
During the initial consultation our Dr looked at the results and was pleased. Dallin's sperm count is not low at all. They want at least 20 million and thankfully he had 25 million. So...that was the first sign that we should have gotten the analysis done at UFC in the beginning. Oh well, you live and learn. Right? Then she spoke about the motility (movement) and the morphology (shape). Motility=great. Morphology=not as great. We will need to "wash" the sperm to get all the best ones out and then we can have better chances of getting pregnant.
So...end results=I will be taking Femara to help with ovulation and then we will do Intrauterine Insemination aka Turkey Baster method.
We are deeply grateful for everyone's thoughts and prayer's in our behalf. It has been a whirlwind and roller coaster along this journey and we are so thankful for the support of our family and friends and could not continue without everyone's support. We love you all!
Our journey with the Utah Fertility Center (UFC) began just 3 weeks ago today. We had been to a seminar about infertility before with a different clinic but we found out about UFC and after some research we decided to schedule an appointment since it would be so close to our home. After we scheduled I liked them on Facebook and began looking at their website frequently and there I found out they would be having a seminar as well. We decided that we should go to see the clinic and have the chance to possibly meet our doctor. Well, fortunately, we were able to meet her. She was warm and friendly at first meeting and she really seemed interested in us as individuals and us as a couple. Our meeting with Dr. Conway today was no different. She was so easy to talk to and she seemed genuine and caring. We have fallen in love with her! We feel grateful that we get to work with her in our journey of bringing our family to earth and are thankful for modern day medicine and technology that will help make this possible.
So the story...
After getting our history of the fertility treatments we have already tried she asked me if anyone else had ever talked to me about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). My reply? That no one had ever previously mentioned it but I have deep down wondered if that is part of the problem. She nodded her head as if to agree and she let me know that she would like to have a blood sample to test if it is in fact part of the problem. I had an ultrasound during our consultation as well and she was very thorough and told us what we were looking at. I also seem to have an ovulatory problem...aka...I don't ovulate often. Weird because I do have my period on a regular basis. She was happy to know that when I took Clomid last fall my body was responding and I did ovulate. Ok, so there are a couple of things as to why we aren't getting pregnant.
Now...onto Dallin. When we were going through treatment with my OB clinic last fall Dallin had a Semen Analysis done at the hospital. The OB had let me know that we could do it at the hospital or UFC. Hospital=less money and less information. UFC=more money with more information/better quality of test. We were sure that things were fine with Dallin and so pridefully we took the test to the hospital. We were devastated to find out last fall that Dallin has low sperm count and "abnormal" sperm.
We had let Dr. Conway know about the test results when we talked with her at the seminar. They waste no time at this place and that same evening they had our insurance information, they gave us a kit and the next morning I received a phone call to schedule the analysis so we would have results in time for our consultation. Dallin and I were amazed at how quick it all happened.
During the initial consultation our Dr looked at the results and was pleased. Dallin's sperm count is not low at all. They want at least 20 million and thankfully he had 25 million. So...that was the first sign that we should have gotten the analysis done at UFC in the beginning. Oh well, you live and learn. Right? Then she spoke about the motility (movement) and the morphology (shape). Motility=great. Morphology=not as great. We will need to "wash" the sperm to get all the best ones out and then we can have better chances of getting pregnant.
So...end results=I will be taking Femara to help with ovulation and then we will do Intrauterine Insemination aka Turkey Baster method.
We are deeply grateful for everyone's thoughts and prayer's in our behalf. It has been a whirlwind and roller coaster along this journey and we are so thankful for the support of our family and friends and could not continue without everyone's support. We love you all!
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)