In June of 2002, Michael & I were married. I was a youthful 22 years old, and he was 28. Blinded by our newlywed bliss, we decided one day after about 5 minutes that we wanted to have a baby...
One year after we began trying, I saw a doctor about it. She ran a few blood tests and put me on a drug called Clomid which causes you to ovulate several eggs at once. I was on that for the next year with no results. The only thing I noticed was how much it hurt to ovulate. It always felt like someone had run head on into my side with a bat for about a week out of every month!
When that didn't work, my doctor upped the dose and took our treatments to the next level: Inter-uterine insemination (or IUI). This is where the fun finally began for my husband. Rushing last minute semen samples to the lab on the day of my ovulation, then having to carry the vial of washed sperm up to the doctor's office where we would have to awkwardly sit in the waiting room with it between our knees, trying to keep it warm until it was our turn to go in. Then our doctor would simply inject it into me via IUI and I would lay there for about 20 minutes before we could go home and relax. We did that three times before we finally ran out of options, and ran out of money. Our next step would be to see a fertility specialist, which we knew would be completely impossible for us, given the fact that we were already broke. Medical insurance does not cover the cost of fertility treatments. This we'll save for another post. Not knowing what else to do, we went back to trying naturally again, this time adding more natural approaches like herbal supplements, but again with no results.
In 2006, we went back to the doctor. We had moved and finally became better financially secure. We decided to give it another try. Maybe this new doctor could find the actual cause of our infertility--something my previous doctor couldn't. He put me on Clomid again, and we started all over. I did that about 3 more cycles on that before we decided enough was enough. It wasn't working. My doctor suspected I had Endometriosis, and that I should get surgery to determine it. I didn't want surgery, and there really wasn't anything else my OBGYN could really do for me except recommend that we either see a fertility specialist or look into adoption. But we still didn't have the money.
A year later, my husband brought a book home from the library that was written by a doctor. A fertility specialist who runs a fertility center in northern California. What it was, was several stories of patients this doctor had treated for infertility, all compiled into a book. A very inspiring book. I told Mike we needed a doctor like him, and a few months later, we were sitting in his office. He took a look at all my medical records and examined me via internal ultrasound. It took him about 2 minutes to determine with certainty that I had PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome). Later, when I read all the information about PCOS that he had given me, I knew he was right.
Back home, I returned to my regular OBGYN, per suggestion of my new fertility specialist, and opted to have the recommended surgery. In July 2008, I had laparoscopic surgery in which my doctor was able to quickly diagnose that I indeed have Endometriosis. He then lasered it out of me as much as he could in the hope that I would be free of the pain the disease causes for at least a little while--because Endometriosis grows back.
Since puberty, I had very painful and irregular cycles, but I thought that was normal. By the time I was 21, I knew something was wrong with me. I started experiencing pains in my abdomen even when I wasn't on my period. Absolutely debilitating pains that would leave me curled up on the floor in agony for several minutes at a time. Mike took me to the emergency room once, and I remember the doctor took one look at me, pressed around on my stomach for a minute, determined I was probably stressed out and $80 later, sent me home. I never did figure out what caused those pains, but I kept having them off and on throughout the years. I still do, but the difference is at least I know what they are now.
It took us about 2 years to complete our pre-cycle lab work and preparations for IVF, all due to money constraints, of course, but we are finally almost there. It's just around the corner. I'm now 30 years old, and Mike is 35. We are more than ready to be parents.
One year after we began trying, I saw a doctor about it. She ran a few blood tests and put me on a drug called Clomid which causes you to ovulate several eggs at once. I was on that for the next year with no results. The only thing I noticed was how much it hurt to ovulate. It always felt like someone had run head on into my side with a bat for about a week out of every month!
When that didn't work, my doctor upped the dose and took our treatments to the next level: Inter-uterine insemination (or IUI). This is where the fun finally began for my husband. Rushing last minute semen samples to the lab on the day of my ovulation, then having to carry the vial of washed sperm up to the doctor's office where we would have to awkwardly sit in the waiting room with it between our knees, trying to keep it warm until it was our turn to go in. Then our doctor would simply inject it into me via IUI and I would lay there for about 20 minutes before we could go home and relax. We did that three times before we finally ran out of options, and ran out of money. Our next step would be to see a fertility specialist, which we knew would be completely impossible for us, given the fact that we were already broke. Medical insurance does not cover the cost of fertility treatments. This we'll save for another post. Not knowing what else to do, we went back to trying naturally again, this time adding more natural approaches like herbal supplements, but again with no results.
In 2006, we went back to the doctor. We had moved and finally became better financially secure. We decided to give it another try. Maybe this new doctor could find the actual cause of our infertility--something my previous doctor couldn't. He put me on Clomid again, and we started all over. I did that about 3 more cycles on that before we decided enough was enough. It wasn't working. My doctor suspected I had Endometriosis, and that I should get surgery to determine it. I didn't want surgery, and there really wasn't anything else my OBGYN could really do for me except recommend that we either see a fertility specialist or look into adoption. But we still didn't have the money.
A year later, my husband brought a book home from the library that was written by a doctor. A fertility specialist who runs a fertility center in northern California. What it was, was several stories of patients this doctor had treated for infertility, all compiled into a book. A very inspiring book. I told Mike we needed a doctor like him, and a few months later, we were sitting in his office. He took a look at all my medical records and examined me via internal ultrasound. It took him about 2 minutes to determine with certainty that I had PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome). Later, when I read all the information about PCOS that he had given me, I knew he was right.
Back home, I returned to my regular OBGYN, per suggestion of my new fertility specialist, and opted to have the recommended surgery. In July 2008, I had laparoscopic surgery in which my doctor was able to quickly diagnose that I indeed have Endometriosis. He then lasered it out of me as much as he could in the hope that I would be free of the pain the disease causes for at least a little while--because Endometriosis grows back.
Since puberty, I had very painful and irregular cycles, but I thought that was normal. By the time I was 21, I knew something was wrong with me. I started experiencing pains in my abdomen even when I wasn't on my period. Absolutely debilitating pains that would leave me curled up on the floor in agony for several minutes at a time. Mike took me to the emergency room once, and I remember the doctor took one look at me, pressed around on my stomach for a minute, determined I was probably stressed out and $80 later, sent me home. I never did figure out what caused those pains, but I kept having them off and on throughout the years. I still do, but the difference is at least I know what they are now.
It took us about 2 years to complete our pre-cycle lab work and preparations for IVF, all due to money constraints, of course, but we are finally almost there. It's just around the corner. I'm now 30 years old, and Mike is 35. We are more than ready to be parents.
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