Clomid, RE, SIS and 2nd HSG
We were still struggling with TTC (trying to conceive). At this point, it had been 16 months and not once had gotten pregnant. If you've been trying for at least 12 months, it is considered primary infertility.
Talking with my OB/GYN, she had me get a blood test on CD (cycle day) 21. This was supposed to be one week after typical ovulation.
I was not charting or temping or using OPKs (ovulation predictor kits). My OB/GYN said that my blood test came back that my progesterone was 7.8. It should've been at least 10 on a non-medicated cycle. Anything over 3 means you did ovulate though. She thought perhaps I was sending out weak or immature eggs.
I tried 2 cycles on Clomid pills. It is used to induce ovulation (egg production) in women who do not produce ova (eggs) but wish to become pregnant. My P4 (progesterone) did go up to 12.5 and then 19.8. Those aren't super awesome numbers, but higher. Progesterone is needed in pregnancy. Here is a good website that explains what it does: Progesterone website
I started temping in July with the Fertility Friend app. If you are TTCing, it will get you obsessed. Taking your BBT (basal body temp) every morning is annoying, but it is so accurate in predicting when you ovulate or when your period will start. When you take your BBT, you must take it before you speak or get out of bed. Your alarm goes off at the EXACT same time every morning and you shove that thermometer in your mouth. The BBT thermometers go to the hundredth and are more accurate than a normal thermometer.
When your temp goes down at the end of your cycle, it signifies your period is coming. However, if you are at 14 plus days past your ovulation with high temps, it will be more likely you are pregnant. Your temps will stay high if you are pregnant. If not, they plummet like the stock market.
Every woman wants a chart like the example up top. It has ovulation marked and it's triphasic which is a good indicator of a 3rd temp shift which is more likely to be a pregnancy chart.
I also started using Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs). They are like a pregnancy test strip that you can use during the middle of your cycle to determine if you're ovulating. If you get a positive you should be ovulating within the next 24-48 hours. Wondfro brand from Amazon.com is the way to do for the bulk kind. LOL If you're infertile, you buy in bulk. Plus, they are accurate and cheap. You gotta be a 'pee in a cup' person as opposed to 'Pee on a stick', since the Wonfro ones are sticks to dip. I usually follow my calendar on FF and then start the OPKs around CD12-17. I will take them in the morning as well as after work. If you get a positive...get busy GIRL! lol
Talking with my OB/GYN, she had me get a blood test on CD (cycle day) 21. This was supposed to be one week after typical ovulation.
I was not charting or temping or using OPKs (ovulation predictor kits). My OB/GYN said that my blood test came back that my progesterone was 7.8. It should've been at least 10 on a non-medicated cycle. Anything over 3 means you did ovulate though. She thought perhaps I was sending out weak or immature eggs.
I tried 2 cycles on Clomid pills. It is used to induce ovulation (egg production) in women who do not produce ova (eggs) but wish to become pregnant. My P4 (progesterone) did go up to 12.5 and then 19.8. Those aren't super awesome numbers, but higher. Progesterone is needed in pregnancy. Here is a good website that explains what it does: Progesterone website
I started temping in July with the Fertility Friend app. If you are TTCing, it will get you obsessed. Taking your BBT (basal body temp) every morning is annoying, but it is so accurate in predicting when you ovulate or when your period will start. When you take your BBT, you must take it before you speak or get out of bed. Your alarm goes off at the EXACT same time every morning and you shove that thermometer in your mouth. The BBT thermometers go to the hundredth and are more accurate than a normal thermometer.
When your temp goes down at the end of your cycle, it signifies your period is coming. However, if you are at 14 plus days past your ovulation with high temps, it will be more likely you are pregnant. Your temps will stay high if you are pregnant. If not, they plummet like the stock market.
Every woman wants a chart like the example up top. It has ovulation marked and it's triphasic which is a good indicator of a 3rd temp shift which is more likely to be a pregnancy chart.
I also started using Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs). They are like a pregnancy test strip that you can use during the middle of your cycle to determine if you're ovulating. If you get a positive you should be ovulating within the next 24-48 hours. Wondfro brand from Amazon.com is the way to do for the bulk kind. LOL If you're infertile, you buy in bulk. Plus, they are accurate and cheap. You gotta be a 'pee in a cup' person as opposed to 'Pee on a stick', since the Wonfro ones are sticks to dip. I usually follow my calendar on FF and then start the OPKs around CD12-17. I will take them in the morning as well as after work. If you get a positive...get busy GIRL! lol
Pills and tests
After the 2nd month of Clomid, my next CD1 (cycle day 1 'period day 1') was TERRIBLE! My husband suggested I go to the ER. I'm very lucky he was home during this because I'm sure I couldn't have driven! I actually went to the ER because I thought I had a cyst that burst. The cramping and nausea was awful. They didn't find any cysts luckily, but they did said I had menorrhagia which is a heavy period.
Clomid didn't make me that moody. I would say it kind of made me irritable. But not that badly. I'm in the minority though...many women say it makes them HIGHLY irritable.
My OB/GYN suggested we go to a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE). Although I already had an HSG test, he wanted to do another one since it had been 2 years since the last one. He said my P4 wasn't a big deal and after I have an SIS (saline-infusion sonogram) to check for fibroids and polyps, we could try an IUI.
I had my SIS first and then the HSG 2 days later. The SIS wasn't painful at all luckily and there were no fibroids. It was just like a regular trans-vaginal ultrasound but they put saline into your uterus with a catheter before. The saline solution acts as a contrast to the internal structure and they can see fibroids if they are there.
It didn't hurt. Yay!!!
Clomid didn't make me that moody. I would say it kind of made me irritable. But not that badly. I'm in the minority though...many women say it makes them HIGHLY irritable.
My OB/GYN suggested we go to a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE). Although I already had an HSG test, he wanted to do another one since it had been 2 years since the last one. He said my P4 wasn't a big deal and after I have an SIS (saline-infusion sonogram) to check for fibroids and polyps, we could try an IUI.
I had my SIS first and then the HSG 2 days later. The SIS wasn't painful at all luckily and there were no fibroids. It was just like a regular trans-vaginal ultrasound but they put saline into your uterus with a catheter before. The saline solution acts as a contrast to the internal structure and they can see fibroids if they are there.
It didn't hurt. Yay!!!
The HSG test was a different story. I was awake for it which was different than the last time I got it during my laparotomy and laparoscopy.
I had been growing increasingly irritable with this infertility. It was eating away at me. Besides that my hips were a problem, I was very bitter about not getting pregnant. It seemed to be so easy for most women!
The RE was 45 minutes late to my HSG. I had been in my gown at the hospital from over 1 hour waiting. It was terrible. When he came in, I laid on top of the x-ray table.
He couldn't get the catheter in. He did it 2 days ago for the SIS, but today it wasn't going in. He told me to watch because he was going to try again and I might cramp. O...M...G! The cramps were so bad, I let out a yell and started to cry. He asked if he should stop and I said no. It needed to be done. I laid there and cried from the pain and embarrassment of being in this position in the first place. You are surrounded by 2 doctors and a nurse and you're laying on a metal table...pantless, infertile, and broken.
After 5 minutes, he got it in. I could look up on the TV screen to see my tubes. This reminded me of the MRA I had with my hips.
Another doctor came in to read the screen while my RE, nurse, and I looked at the screen. One tube started to fill up with dye easily while the other one was not. I started to panic.
"Why isn't the other one filling up? It is blocked? Can you tell me if it's blocked or not?"
No one answered me. I waited there for 15 more seconds until I saw the dye go through.
I asked them if that was normal or abnormal. Perhaps there was a tiny blockage of scar tissue from my surgery, but the RE and doctor said it was normal to have one go slow.
I was happy to have no blockages, but now onto the bigger picture of what is going on with my fertility.
I had been growing increasingly irritable with this infertility. It was eating away at me. Besides that my hips were a problem, I was very bitter about not getting pregnant. It seemed to be so easy for most women!
The RE was 45 minutes late to my HSG. I had been in my gown at the hospital from over 1 hour waiting. It was terrible. When he came in, I laid on top of the x-ray table.
He couldn't get the catheter in. He did it 2 days ago for the SIS, but today it wasn't going in. He told me to watch because he was going to try again and I might cramp. O...M...G! The cramps were so bad, I let out a yell and started to cry. He asked if he should stop and I said no. It needed to be done. I laid there and cried from the pain and embarrassment of being in this position in the first place. You are surrounded by 2 doctors and a nurse and you're laying on a metal table...pantless, infertile, and broken.
After 5 minutes, he got it in. I could look up on the TV screen to see my tubes. This reminded me of the MRA I had with my hips.
Another doctor came in to read the screen while my RE, nurse, and I looked at the screen. One tube started to fill up with dye easily while the other one was not. I started to panic.
"Why isn't the other one filling up? It is blocked? Can you tell me if it's blocked or not?"
No one answered me. I waited there for 15 more seconds until I saw the dye go through.
I asked them if that was normal or abnormal. Perhaps there was a tiny blockage of scar tissue from my surgery, but the RE and doctor said it was normal to have one go slow.
I was happy to have no blockages, but now onto the bigger picture of what is going on with my fertility.
So....
With all the results back good, the RE suggests we try an IUI. He said he doesn't think we'd need IVF with our numbers.
The IUI is $1,200. You would pay upfront and then start Clomid. There would also be a shot of Novarel around ovulation. There would also be a follicle check sonogram to make sure they are there growing. The RE would then place the washed sperm into a catheter then into my uterus. The timing and effort is critical in this situation.
My left hip is still hurting even after surgery in June. I don't think I want to try an A.R.T. (artificial reproductive technology) cycle until this hips are figured out.
I don't know what to do. I feel like my clock is ticking.
The IUI is $1,200. You would pay upfront and then start Clomid. There would also be a shot of Novarel around ovulation. There would also be a follicle check sonogram to make sure they are there growing. The RE would then place the washed sperm into a catheter then into my uterus. The timing and effort is critical in this situation.
My left hip is still hurting even after surgery in June. I don't think I want to try an A.R.T. (artificial reproductive technology) cycle until this hips are figured out.
I don't know what to do. I feel like my clock is ticking.