The Shirkey Scoop

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Round 1

Well today begins round 1 of clomid treatment. I started taking the medication today and will continue through Thursday (which are days 3-7 of the cycle). Then I will test the LH in my urine beginning on day 10. (this is ovulation testing). Once I get a positive LH surge I will go into Dr. B's office for an ultrasound. This will help monitor the developing follicle in the ovary leading up to ovulation. We will then just have to wait and see next cycle what happens... With fingers crossed! ;)
My HSG is scheduled for this Friday afternoon. I am pretty excited, but nervous too, of course. Hopefully everything will turn out fine and be "opened up."
I will keep you updated with our progress.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Fertility Appointment

Well... today was the day I have been waiting for for quite some time! It finally got here! I went this morning at 10am for my first fertility doctor's appointment. Unfortunately, I had to go alone. Eric was unable to come because of work. (We have had a lot going on in our lives the last few weeks and he has had to miss work for a couple of days and so he wasn't able to miss today, which was fine). Today's appointment was more of a consultation, but we did get the ball rolling- FINALLY! I LOVED the new doctor in the group (we will call him Dr. B) He was very personal and seemed to care a lot. First things first- he explained the whole female reproductive system and how an egg is fertilized with a sperm. He assumed I knew all this, being a L&D nurse, but a "re-fresher" is always good. :) He went over with me why I may have mis-carried last pregnancy, but still we will never know. Since I am still so "normal" at this point, and I am an ovulating woman, he doesn't really think fertility drugs alone are going to get me pregnant. He didn't say they wouldn't, but the chances alone are about an additional 10% chance from what I already have on my own. He suggested Clomid treatment and possible IUI (intra-uterine insemination). These would be in conjunction with one another.This is where Eric's sperm would be injected into my uterus. With IUI, there in an increase in the number of sperm at the site of fertilization because there is such a high concentration deposited at the top of the uterus. This will clearly be timed with my ovulation. So I will have to be monitoring that to determine insemination day. It can begin to be quite costly (not anything like IVF, but is still an expense in which we will have to use savings money over the months...) Dr. B asked me what I thought and I decided I would first just try clomid alone for about 3 months or so. He said that was completely fine and we could take this however Eric and I decided. He drew about 7 tubes of blood to test additional things (thyroid panel, prenatal panel...) so we will see how all that comes back. We are still going to do the HSG test (the tube test I had referred to in another post). We will do that on my next cycle (around day 7-10) and then Dr. B said he would call me in the clomid Rx when I started my period. I have heard that many times after the HSG test alone, women have an increase chance in getting pregnant. Some people say it just "opens things up." This along with clomid treatment may do it for us- that would be fantastic! But, we also know God has a plan for our future family and his time is best. We are still just working on the patience thing. It is still a daily struggle dealing emotionally with unexplained infertility, but I try to stay as strong as I can. I will keep you updated on our progress as time goes by...

Friday, September 14, 2012

Yesterday was Day 3

Well, yesterday was day 3 of my new cycle (and my birthday! :) Happy Birthday to me, right? Ha! I went on into the office yesterday morning and had my blood drawn again for my FSH level. We got report that Eric's sperm analysis came back and all was normal. We also got results from my day 21 level (the progesterone), and it showed that I had ovulated, which I completely suspected. So... now we wait for this FSH level to come back and then wait for our fertility doctor appointment in a few weeks or move forward with anything else Dr. M may want to order or perscribe... it's a waiting game and it's no fun! BUT- I know that God has a plan for my life and for Eric and my future. I have read a book called 'Baby Hunger: Biblical encouragement for those struggling with infertility' and it has been SUCH an encouragement and inspiration. There are so many stories throughout the Bible (some you may have heard and others maybe not) about women who so desperately wanted a child, they would do anything... and they did. I can't imagine that, but I know sometimes God's answer to our plea is WAIT. As I wait, I struggle daily, moment by moment, with patience, questioning why and having faith that God will and does provide on HIS time table. So... here we wait....

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Day 21

Well, today was day 21 of my cycle. I made it to the doctor's office to have my blood drawn. This is for the progesterone level. I wasn't able to go in for the day 3 level because we were at the beach, but I figured I'd go ahead and get this one done and see what it says. I should get some results either late this afternoon or tomorrow. I also had the office fax my records to the fertility doctor's office. Speaking of... Eric is going there Friday for his test. We are going together and hopefully everything is ok with him and we will know those results soon after, I am hoping. I made my appointment with the fertility doctor (Dr. B)- and it's scheduled for a month from today- October 4! I can't wait! I am so ready to get things going and tests/procedures started! I finally feel like things are beginning to look up, maybe...

Destin 2012

We packed up and were beach bound the middle of August! Not only were we packed up, but we were crammed packed! We took my jeep down to Florida- not just us, but my sister and her boyfriend too- my jeep grand cherokee! Wowzers!! That was some packing! And thank heavens for my friend, Lauren's parents... they let us borrow one of those carriers for the top of the car. Otherwise, there would have been no way we could've made it! Our friends Chris and Kelly came with us too- they drove their own car though! :) We left early, early and arrived around 1pm. The fresh smell of salt, sand and seafood was just what I needed for a week away! Here are some of our pics! Enjoy!

These a just a tiny HANDFUL of all this pics I took, but I don't have the time to upload all. We had a wonderful trip, despite a few mishaps with the condo- where we will NEVER stay again, but all in all, it was great! And we miss the beach already and can't wait for next trip! :)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Our First Doctor's Appointment

Well, the first scheduled appointment to move forward on our journey to becomming parents was July 19th. (first official appointment- we have been trying to conceive since last July- became pregnant in October and miscarried soon after- read my post from earlier- 'June 23, 2010'). It was really nothing special, to me, but a step forward I guess. I was really hoping for more aggressive treatment to begin with, but I know my doctor (Dr. M) was looking out for us finacially the most- which is nice. Since I am such a "normal" woman, I ovulate regularly (same day each month) and I don't seem to have any other problems, and the fact that I have gotten pregnant in the past, my docotor didn't want to put me on any kind of fertility meds at this time. Fertility drugs can increase your risk for multiples as well as losing a pregnancy too. Dr. M basicially at this time, wants me to come in and have some blood work drawn on my next cycle (which has been a bit of a hassle, considering it's been on a weekend and then my vacation week since we've been to see her.) The blood work she is testing is a Day 3 FSH level- which is the follicle stimulating hormone. The FSH helps control the cycle and the production of the eggs. The amount varies throughout a woman's cycle, but is at it's highest right before release of the egg (ovulation.) This level can help in finding infertility cause. Then she also wants a Day 21 Progesterone level. This test will show if I have enough progesterone in my body- which is produced during the release of an egg. It helps prepare the lining of the uterus to recieve the egg and become fertilized. This level will help assess infertility, whether ovulation is occuring (which I get positive OPK tests every single month, and the risk of miscarriage, should I become pregnant.) (I am sure once I do, I will have progesterone levels monitored for a while at the beginning of the pregnancy- I am thinking this could have been what caused my last loss- but who knows... it's just my guess.) Dr. M also wants Eric to go in for a semen analysis, which is the first medical step in male infertility. I know, not fun! He really doesn't want to do this, nor do I want him to, but we both know it's for the best in finding out what the cause is for me not getting pregnant again. If all these come back "normal", I think the next step will be a hysterosalpingogram (HSG), which is a X-Ray test that looks inside the uterus and fallopian tubes with a contrast dye to be sure there are no blockages and that the tubes are open. It will show that the uterus is of normal shape and there is no kind of blockages (adhesions, polyps, fibroids) that could prevent someone from becomming pregnant as well as losing a pregnancy. As I write this, it has now been a month since we've seen Dr. M. Still nothing has been done in taking steps forawrd since our appointment. (because of my crazy periods wanting to come on a weekend and my vacation, while away, therefore, I can't go to the doctor's office.) So, today, I am calling to make my first appointment with Fertility Associates of Memphis (the one and only fertility specialist in Memphis.) I am a little nervous about doing so, but I have many friends who have made the step already and are "getting the ball moving a lot faster" this way. This will be the docotor's office Eric goes to as well for his testing, which we will be scheduling soon (working around his work schedule to get in). Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel this road of becoming parents. We both appreciate it more than you know. And I will keep you updated as things progress. If all this comes back "normal"

Lake Trip 2012

Well, our annual Lake of the Ozarks trip came at the beginning of July. We traveled up on a Sunday morning and stayed an entire week, and came home on the following Saturday. We even made a pass through MO town to see Eric's parents for a few hours. Bella made the trip with us too, as usual- she LOVED the water this year! We had such a great week- Matt and Stephanie even came with us this year! It was so fun to have them there too! The week was HOTT and HOTTER! It was hard to even stay out of the water- 100's ALL week long! We spent most of our time on the lake, in the water... we went shopping one afternoon to the outlet malls, Matt and Eric went and played golf this day, somehow, I don't know- it was way too hot! We had some yummy out to eat foods as well as home cooked meals too! We spent our 4th of July holiday at the lake too! It was neat to spend this holiday at the lake- lots of pretty fireworks were shared! Enjoy a few of my pics!

First night at the lake- at Coconut's for dinner

Eric found a Mizzou chair! We so wanted to buy it, but it was $350! Wow, no thanks!

The family staying next to our house bought this huge trampoline float thing for the water- the kids loved it! Eric and I even played on it too for a bit! :)