Ahhh needles

Well, we're in full swing of treatment. I've decided that rather than rushing to finish my mini-series, I'm going to just put it on hold until we hit our next waiting period in a few weeks. Not ideal because it breaks up the flow of topics, but I would rather do that than get behind on what is happening currently. Hope that's ok with everyone. :)

The latest and greatest is that I have successfully given myself my first couple FSH (Follicle stimulating hormone) injections. woohoo! We actually recorded our first shot at it (buh dum bum. lol), so you can see for yourself if you so desire. :)

My memory card filled up before I was able to tell Ryan how I felt. :) Aside from a little sting because I was injecting too fast at first, it wasn't bad at all. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it went. I haven't felt the full weight of side effects yet, but I'm sure I will this week. Clomid has affected me a little more than last time even though it's a lesser dosage. Kinda weird. I've had several headaches, fatigue, achy ovaries, and of course, the return of my ever faithful companion - Madame Hot Flash. Fun times. :)

I am going to see Dr. Q this week to see how I'm responding, and talk about our next steps. :)

Odds of conceiving twins

What are the odds that I could conceive twins? (good question Rachel!) While researching a bit this morning, I found that the odds of conceiving twins naturally is 3%.  However, the number of multiples has dramatically increased with the rise of infertility treatment over the last few decades. As a result of Clomid, I'm releasing two eggs this cycle (as far as I can tell). This ups my chances from 3% to 7-12%. Actually, one of the statistics that I came across was that 1 in 5 women on Clomid may have twins. Not sure how accurate that is, but it's an interesting tid bit to consider. According to this page, I'm less likely to because I'm hispanic. Interesting huh? 

So my take away from this brief research is that, yes it is in fact possible that both of my eggs become babies. My odds are higher than that of a woman conceiving without fertility meds. But it is still not likely. I might not even be able to conceive one, let alone TWO.

...

Wouldn't it be a total riot if I did though??? I feel like just saying that it's not likely, is going to jinx me somehow. hahaha. ;) 



::High fives all around::

I HAVE TWO FOLLIES!! : D Both are measuring at 23mm. 18 is mature and healthy, so we're in good shape! yay! I'm so happy and relieved!



Thank you all so much for your prayers. Aside from the hot flashes, I had less side effects than I anticipated, and I can only contribute that to prayer. It is such a huge comfort to know that when I feel like I'm out of words and I'm not sure what to pray for any more, there are others that will come before the Lord on my behalf. : ) So now we wait for ovulation, and then wait some more to see if we successfully preggo-d those eggos. ; )

Another One Bites The Dust

Well folks, my first medicated cycle didn't work. Dr. Q felt comfortable prescribing Clomid when he did because I hadn't ovulated yet, but I'm not sure how much good it did since it was pretty late in my cycle when I started taking it. For those of you who don't know, ovaries grow follicles, and the dominant follicle releases an egg. My monitoring appointment a couple weeks ago showed that the dominant follicle grew and looked nice and healthy after taking Clomid. But that could just as easily be contributed to normal growth while approaching ovulation, as it could to the Clomid. So it'll be interesting to compare the results at my next monitoring appointment. I'm hoping to see more than one hefty follie this time around. More follicles = more eggs. The tricky thing is that we want more than one to grow so that it ups our odds, but not too many because we can't run the risk of having a crazy amount of multiples. If I have more than four follies...we'd have to skip trying this cycle. Obviously, that's the last thing I want to do, so we're hoping for two or three! That'd be optimal. :)

I'm actually doing pretty well right now. Yes, it's another unsuccessful cycle, and that always kinda sucks. But I'm thankful that we are getting help from a doctor, and that we have steps to take over the next couple weeks to keep me busy. I need to get bloodwork done and have my first monitoring appointment to make sure that I did not develop cysts on my ovaries. Assuming that I'm all clear, I'll fill my prescription and start another round of Clomid. On to cycle 15!

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

“hmmm…Denay, I think it might be your ovaries.”

I figured that the tests I took yesterday would come back normal, just like the other tests that we’ve done thus far. I didn’t expect that the doctor would actually find anything unusual. But he did. I’m getting ahead of myself though, let’s back up. :)

My mom drove out to Glendale with me, to be a carpool buddy and supporter. Ryan would have come, but knowing that the HSG procedure would only take about 15 minutes, we decided that we’d rather save his time off for more important occasions. Like ultrasounds one day (hopefully). Anyway, mom and I made the trip out, talking the whole way, which was awesome cause we had a good time and I was totally distracted up until I got my legs up in the air. Haha. The procedure itself was…a little more painful than I expected. Lots of intense cramping as they were putting the catheter in, and then I got a really painful and light headed sensation as they were putting the fluid through. But that part was very short, it only took about a minute, so it was tolerable. My tubes looked great! So we moved on to an internal ultrasound to check out my ovaries. And this is when Dr. Q made the previously mentioned statement- “hmm. Denay, I think it might be your ovaries.” ::insert my stunned face here:: Basically, he said that my ovaries don’t look like the ovaries of a 25 year old, they look more like ovaries of a 35 year old. Still working and producing eggs, but they’re just not as “hearty” and healthy looking as they would be for someone my age. He assured me that everything else looks good, and that I will be able to get pregnant. It’s just a matter of time, and how aggressive we want to go with our treatment options.

While I was expecting everything to be fine and normal, it was nice to hear that there may be an actual reason behind why this is taking us longer than we thought it would. Now Ryan and I have more information to make some decisions with. If my ovaries are 35 now, how will they look in a few years? If we want to have biological children, now is the time to try. We’re going to pause our thoughts on adoption for the moment, while we pursue the next couple stages of fertility treatment. I filled a prescription last night for Clomid, which will stimulate follicle development in my ovaries. It’s the easiest, cheapest route, and since it’s too late in my cycle for the other options, we figured we had nothing to lose by just giving it a go this cycle. It actually doesn’t raise our odds very much, so depending on how I respond to it (I’ll be monitored to see the effects), we might do it again next cycle, or just jump to the next stage of aggression.