BIG DAY!!

Today was the big day! I had an IUI done (Intra Uterine Insemination). For those of you who aren't well versed on what that means, I'll explain the process and why we needed to have it done.

First of all, some of you know that my husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for a number of years. It hasn't happened. We did have a + hpt (home pregnancy test) way back in 2008, but I miscarried shortly afterwards. We've seen several different doctors, ran the gamut of tests, tried clomid, metformin, and every position known to man. Still nothing. We had all but given up hope. Until one day...

I was sitting in the waiting area of my daughter's dance studio and over heard some of the other mom's talking about a Dr who specializes in fertility issues in Duluth. Duluth is an hour from us. I had researched fertility specialists and the closest ones I had found were down in the cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) and all charged an arm and a leg for an appointment. While we have decent medical insurance, we have zero fertility coverage.

I googled this doctor and found his practice that he built from nothing. It's now a huge success with several other OB/GYN's, PA's, tech's and nurses. I figured, what the heck? I'll give them a call. So, I called and scheduled an appointment to see him. I was due for my annual exam and figured I might as well get that out of the way.

During the appointment, the dr informed me that my cervix was almost completely closed due to scar tissue. I had had a LEEP procedure back in the late 90's to remove some cancerous cells. I vaguely remember being told that the procedure could cause problems if I ever wanted to get pregnant. So, immediately he said we should try to do an IUI. He also did an ultrasound of my ovaries to see what was going on there. He was able to see that I had not ovulated that month and certainly should have by that time. So now two strikes against me. 1) Closed cervix  and 2) Not ovulating properly.   Great.

He immediately put me on Letrozole (aka Femara). Letrozole is a commonly used medication to assist women who are not ovulating on their own. It is like Clomid, but has a better rate of conception success and causes fewer multiple births because it tends to only cause one egg to drop rather than multiple eggs. He also scheduled me for another ultrasound and what is called a post-coital test to be conducted about halfway through my cycle. This would help us to know if my body was responding to the Letrozole and also see if my cervical mucous is causing problems.

During the ultrasound, we saw that my right ovary had one nice sized egg that was almost ready to go! The post coital test showed that my cervical mucous was hostile toward my husband's sperm. Apparently, my cervix has a couple light sabers and has adopted "Off with their tails" as her battle cry. So, that's the third strike against me. Jeez. No wonder we're not pregnant! This test just solidified that we definitely need to move forward with the IUI procedure.

What is an IUI? Well, my husband gave a semen sample in a cup. They did what's called a "wash & spin" on the fluid. This breaks down the seminal fluid to just the swimmers and nothing more. Then, they insert a catheter through my cervix and push millions of sperm into my uterus, bypassing the hostile environment.

The dr said that ordinarily roughly 200,000 sperm make it through the cervix into the uterus. Of those, less than 500 generally make it to the egg. Imagine our delight when just this morning, the dr introduced 112,000,000 swimmers into my uterus! There are certainly no guarantees, but boy do we have a much better chance of getting pregnant right now than we ever did before!

I need to start taking prometrium, which is a progesterone supplement, in a few days. This will help me sustain a pregnancy. Our hopes are up! We're praying that this is going to work for us and God will grant us a blessing!

Joke's on You!

You thought I would post more often, didn't you?

HA! Fooled you.

Recent Happenings...

Busy and stressed. Stressed and busy. That's what I've been lately. Almost a year ago I got promoted to a manager position at work. I love my job. I truly do. It's stressful at times, but also rewarding for me. In fact, it's the perfect job for me. I get to go around telling everyone what they're doing incorrectly. I'm not just a boss, but I get to be a bossy boss. Score! (Due to signing an agreement with my employer, I cannot disclose where I work or my specific title. You'll just have to guess.)

Just yesterday I got to spend $320 to file for a Harassment Order of Protection because the guy who used to have my job (also my previous boss) won't leave me alone. He's a creep. A real, live jerk in every sense of the word. He finds great enjoyment in trying to intimidate, humiliate, and otherwise harass me. I had finally had enough of his crap, which has been piling up for over a year, and called the police. They, of course, suggested I file the paperwork. I collected a few statements from some coworkers who have seen the creep in action. I was worried the judge would not sign the order since it had been ongoing and I had sought no legal relief. I turned in the paperwork with my lengthy statement, and the statements of three other individuals at about 2:30 in the afternoon. At 4:50pm, I received a phone call from a deputy at the sheriff's office stating the order had been signed from the judge, and the creep had been served. Hot dog! Now maybe he will leave me alone. Jeez.

2 years later...

Who completely forgets about a blog for 2 whole years and then suddenly goes 'HEY! I have a blog!' and begins posting again. Yep, you guessed it. Moi.

You're welcome. ;)