I went yesterday morning for the progesterone test. Called the doctor's office today to see if they had the results. Nope. Another day to wait.

I'm pretty confident that it will be positive for ovulation. The real test is still another week away. I'm not so sure about that one.

I've been bad about keeping up with things... meant to blog this weekend and didn't, so here's two updates in one.

I went to Dr. Richards on Friday for my Day 12 ultrasound to measure the follicle (if there was one!). I had one (and only one!), and it was about 14mm. We want it to be 18mm, so I got sent home with instructions to do Ovulation Predictor Kit (OPK) tests. If it turned positive, call and schedule the IUI. If not, come back on Tuesday (Day 15) for another ultrasound.

Well, nothing happened over the weekend (that I could tell), so I went in today for the ultrasound. You're not going to believe this.... It was GONE!! He couldn't find the follicle. I mean, a 14mm follicle doesn't just disappear! He said it's possible that I could have ovulated and missed it (in which case I will be seriously PISSED).

So I'm supposed to keep doing the OPK for a few days in case HE just missed it on the ultrasound, and if no positive, then I'll go in early next week for blood work to see if I have an elevated Progesterone level. If it's elevated then I ovulated and missed it. If not, then the Clomid didn't make me ovulate this month. But I just find it very strange that a good size follicle, almost fully matured, would just vanish!

Call Sherlock! It's the case of the missing follicle!!

So I have the all clear from the doctor, and I'm starting Prometrium this week to re-start my cycle. I'll take it for 12 days, then start my period within a few days, then do Clomid on days 3-7. I'll go in for a sonogram on Day 12, and then we'll see where we go from there.

Jack went to the urologist. Turns out he has low testosterone. He re-did his semen analysis on Saturday, and we'll find out those test results this week. Once the test results are back he'll meet with the Urologist to decide how to treat the low testosterone. Any suggestions?? lol

Other than that, we're just plugging away!

Well, it's been a few months since I posted. I go back and forth between wanting to be public with what we're doing and keeping it a more personal journey. But ultimately I think this is a good forum for expressing myself. And maybe if I say it here, Jack won't get so tired of hearing about it at home! lol

So my last post basically said that we were investigating adoption. After that we decided to try the Clomid one more time. Well, I did Clomid that month, and OMG.... it worked! Not worked like I got pregnant worked, but I actually ovulated! Holy cow! I was using the ClearPlan Fertility Monitor just to see if I ever got an elevated or peak signal and I did! I was SOOOO excited that morning! lol Jack truly thought I had lost it!

So in June we did Clomid, I ovulated, and no pregnant.
In July we did Clomid, I ovulated, and no pregnant.

During this time I was charting my temps and watching my cervical mucus (as per the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility). I never did experience the egg white cervical mucus that is described, or anything close to it.

Also during this time, I had been seeing my regular gynocologist. He had an interest in infertility, but wasn't exactly a specialist. And his nurse... geez. I love her to death, she is so sweet, but she knew nothing about what I was looking for from an infertility standpoint.

So with all of this, I made a decision. Well WE made a decision, Jack and me. We decided to go back to where we started.... Dr. Richards. He's not a Reproductive Endocrinologist, but he is a fertility specialist.

I saw Dr. Richards in August, and even though I was a little bit past the standard Clomid window (cycle days 3-7 or 5-9), we went ahead with the prescription and Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). I took the Clomid for five days, then went in for a sonogram five days after the last pill. The sonogram showed one good follicle on my left ovary, which was great! Enough stimulation, but not too much!! It was still a little small, so he wanted to let it grow some more over the weekend (the sonogram was on a Friday), and then I was to go in Monday for a follow up sonogram and then the HSG shot to induce ovulation. The plan was that I would then have the IUI procedure on that Tuesday.

Well of course my body can't cooperate! lol I felt discomfort on my left side that Sunday, indicating that I was ovulating. I took an Ovulation Predictor Kit test and sure enough, it was positive! Monday morning I called Dr. Richards' office to inform them of the change of plans... I'd be needing the IUI a day early! Dr. Richards was actually out that day, but one of his partners, Dr. Bertrand would do the procedure.

I was at work waiting for a call back to tell me when and where to go. The nurse finally called back and told me to go to the ARTS lab at Presbyterian Hospital, that I had an appointment at 10:45 AM. Well it was 10:00 when she called! I called Jack (who had been put on alert!), and he came to pick me up from the office and we headed to the hospital. Thankfully downtown wasn't congested and we got there at 10:50! Jack went in and provided the deposit and we went to have lunch and hang out at Borders until the sample was ready.

We went back at 1:30 PM to pick up the sample.... "the boys!" lol Then headed across the street to see Dr. Bertrand. After a few, um, mishaps (the air conditioning wasn't on in the exam room, the motor on the table wouldn't work, some tools were missing, etc. lol) the boys were safely and successfully deposited! Yay!

Fast forward a week.... I had bloodwork done and my progesterone was 10.2, which is the highest it's ever been! Before I started the metformin, my progesterone would be less than 1.0, which means I did NOT ovulate, so the Clomid wasn't working. June was the first month of Clomid and Metformin, and my progesterone was 8.1, which confirmed that I did actually ovulate. July my progesterone was 5.3, so I ovulated but not really good. In reality, had I gotten pregnant either of those times I most likely would have miscarried because they want it to be over 10 to be able to sustain a pregnancy. So this was good news... it was the highest it had ever been, and was definitely high enough to avoid a miscarriage. Yay!

Fast forward another week.... cramping... not yay.... bleeding... really not yay. So in a nutshell.... all that and it didn't work. Bummer.

So I went in yesterday to see Dr. Richards, for a follow up sonogram before starting another round of Clomid, just to make sure there were no lingering cysts or follicles. Guess what, I still had a follicle hanging around. So we're going to give it a couple of weeks to see if it will go away on it's own.

At the same time, we have a new challenge.... the lab did a report on the quality and quantity of Jack's sperm. When this test/report was done three years ago, before Jack's accident, he had 156 million sperm! Which is awesome! However last month, his sperm count was only 3 million. Quite a drop! So Jack is going to go see a Urologist next week to see if they can figure out why it dropped so considerably.

So that's it! If you're still reading this.... thanks! lol I know it's a lot, but I really do want to chronicle this time and part of our lives, so I had some catching up to do! I won't wait so long for the next one! :o)

~Heather

Just popping in for a (hopefully) quick update.

Talked to the nurse at Dr. Richards' office today. Jack's swimmers are just fine. No problems there. They are waiting for my HSG tests to come back... should be later this week... but the radiologist told me everything looked great there.

So here came my next question.... now what?

Well, I go see the endocrinologist. Which sucks. Totally. Because my endocrinologist appointment isn't until after Thanksgiving. UGH!! I am SOOO not patient. I mean, that's like SIX weeks away!!! I think I might call them and see if they've had any cancellations. Supposedly I'm on the cancellation list, but I just want to make sure.

My big burning question (that I didn't ask!) is do I have eggs that just aren't being released? I know that I'm not releasing eggs because I don't have a period. But are there any there at all? Are they just sitting there not getting the signal to be released? If so, then there's a shot that will trigger them to release. But again... I don' t know if that's an option.

Maybe I'll call Dr. Richard's nurse tomorrow and ask. The radiologist said she can't tell that on her X-ray thing, that they have to do a sonogram to tell if there are any follicles, eggs, and sizes/stages. Maybe we can do that in the next six weeks. Who knows.

Today's been a rough day. I don't know why, but all of this stuff has just really been on my mind today. I've been so busy with work, but my mind keeps going back over and over again thinking about our situation. Wondering if it will ever happen for us (see, I told you I'm not a patient person!). It's a very, very frustrating place to be. Ok, stopping there... don't want to start crying again.

So much for quick! lol
~Heather

I have to say, I was really nervous about getting this HSG thing done, but the radiologist and her assistant were AWESOME!!

So my appointment was at 2:30 pm, so I got there about 2:00 pm. They told me to get there 15 minutes early for paperwork stuff, and I'm so glad I was earlier than that. First off, they are renovating the Women's Diagnostic Center, so the front desk and admissions area was in the lobby, but it was so cool, I checked in at the front desk and they gave me this little pager thing like you get at restaurants! When it buzzed, they were ready for me... that was cool! (Yes, I'm easily amused!)

So I go to the admissions area and they're putting all of my info in... well they're also upgrading to a new computer system... major problems there! In fact, funny story, they put in my address, and it pulled up the name of the lady who USED to live in this house!!

I FINALLY get through admissions and head back to the secondary waiting room, before I sit down the assistant was there to get me. We go back to this room with a long table (pillow and sheet laid out on it) and a big machine behind it. So I change into a hospital gown with my butt exposed (sorry mom!), and hop up on the table. I talk to the assistant for a while, she goes and gets the radiologist, and then we're ready to start. I laid down, she put this catheter thing in and blows up the balloon.... OUCH!! It hurt just for a second and then all I felt was some pressure. I could see the video screen thing from where I was laying and she took 5 or 6 photos. It was weird seeing my insides! lol But they looked just like they should. I saw my uterus and two ovaries and the dye flowing through my fallopian tubes! So everything is good. I'm ok... at least in that sense.

It'll take a week or so for my doctor to get the results back and then we will decide where to go from there.

As a side note, the radiologist said that the lubricant in the dye actually HELPS people get pregnant.... hmmm.... where's Jack?????? :o)
~Heather

I've been reading this book every night - well not the WHOLE book every night, just a few pages each night - it's written by one of my doctor's colleagues, Dr. Jeffrey Thurston and it's called 1000 Questions About Your Pregnancy. There is a lot of good information in there! I've definitely learned a lot!! Jack and I have had some interesting conversations!! :o) I highly recommend it to anyone who is expecting or is planning on expecting.

Next up, What to Expect When You're Expecting. Either that or a fertility book. Who knows. :o)

Quick Update - Jack did his test on Wednesday morning. Not sure if the doc will call with the results, or wait until after my HSG. I'm still on for Monday afternoon. We'll see what happens!

Ugh, I don't think I've ever had a period this heavy!! At least I don't have bad cramps! Yes, that's my silver lining!! lol

I have my HSG thingy on Monday afternoon. I should know right away if everything is ok since it's a "live" X-ray. I've got to pick up an antibiotic to take the day before, day of and day after the procedure.

Jack has his appointment in the morning. Not sure how long those results take.

Other than that, we're just waiting. Can you tell I'm a bit impatient?!?! lol
~Heather

Called today and set my appointment for an HSG (that's what the nurse called it and it sounds better than "hystero-something" like I called it!). I'll be having that done on Monday, October 10th. It just makes sure that my fallopian tubes are open and there aren't any blockages.

Jack has his "deposit" appointment set for Wednesday morning. He's thrilled, let me tell you! lol (NOT!!)
~Heather

Well, the Prometrium worked. I started my period today (yes, I know you REALLY wanted to know that! lol). So tomorrow (Monday) I call the doctor's office, report the news, and schedule my hystero-whatever-gram x-ray thingy.

Feeling good... feeling optomistic. A good friend called this weekend to tell me that she's pregnant. I'm so thrilled for her! She and I have known each other all of our lives, so it's a great thing thinking that our children might be able to grow up together as well.
~Heather

For the pills at least. Today is my last day to take the Prometrium. Hopefully that means I'll be PMSing for the next week (pray for Jack!) and then I'll go in for the hystero-something-gram.

Jack still hasn't gone in for his part. Hopefully he can do that next week. We're not in a complete rush because my part right now is taking some time.

Yesterday was Jack's birthday. He's the big three-five! We went out for a nice dinner at BD's Mongolian Barbeque, which was interrupted once by the power going out in the restaurant, and then dessert at Capistrano's. I really do think that Chocolate Bag will help our efforts to start a family... chocolate usually does, right? :o)

On Thursday, September 15 we had our first meeting with Dr. James Richards with Walnut Hill OBGYN Associates. There are about six OBGYN in their practice and all of them are also fertility specialists. I really feel comfortable with Dr. Richards. He delivers at Presbyterian Hospital, which is right across the street from his office.

So we started talking about our options and what to try, etc. We are starting with all of the tests, upon tests, upon tests... ok not really, but that's what it feels like. Here's the rundown of tests:

• I had bloodwork done that day
• Jack has his "job" to do at the lab
• I have a prescription for Prometrium that I'm supposed to take for 12 days (started that on Sunday, September 18).
• Once I finish the 12 days of Prometrium, I should start a period that will "clean out" my uterus.
• On the first day of that period I have to call the office and schedule a Hysterosalpingogram for after the period is over
• When the period is over, I'll have the Hyesterosalpingogram where they inject dye into my uterus and watch it flow through my fallopian tubes. This will tell if there are any blockages that we need to be concerned about

I also have an appointment with an endocrinologist, Dr. Bressler, in November - that was the first available appointment for new patients. Dr. Richards referred me to him to check me out for PCOS and insulin resistance. I know that I've had cysts on my ovaries in the past, and that is a cause of infertility, so we're going to get that checked out. Plus I have a family history of diabetes, and have had some borderline glucose results in bloodwork. Also, Dr. Richards thinks that it would be beneficial for me to get on Glucophage. Glucophage helps with glucose levels, but also has side effects of weight loss and increased fertility.

Our next steps after we know that the testing is ok, and see if the Glucophage helps, then we'll look at other options such as Clomid, etc. So just pray that the Glucophage will work! Insurance will cover Glucophage if it's prescribed by the Endocrinologist, but not from the OBGYN. Oh yeah, that's the other thing... Insurance will cover any testing, but not any treatment. So that's why we're trying to do all of the testing first, so we don't pay for any treatments that aren't necessary.

So that's the synopsis of where we are and what we know. I'll update once we know more... which will probably be next week sometime.

~Heather