So it has been 2 years and 6 months since I had my IUI. If you’ve read my previous post you’d know it wasn’t successful. Hubby and I have since moved to Iloilo because of work, and to be in a new environment, hopefully have a more stressful life and finally get pregnant here. Moving here was actually a bit counterproductive. There’s only one fertility specialist here in Iloilo, and it’s difficult to find an economical and reliable place to have my follicle monitoring. I only realised that a few months into our stay here. I only had one consult with an RE here, but because of my busy schedule, I never did any follow through.
We weren’t thinking about it anymore. We’ve even started talking about going through adoption already... we’ve been seriously talkingn about it even before moving to Iloilo. We’ve already attended an adoption forum, but we’re facing the obstacle of residency since we’re not originally from here and DSWD is strict with that, which we understand.
Jay and I were doing well with our careers and it’s basically what we’ve just been busy about. But we realised that we still want to have a baby. I personally want to still get pregnant even though I’ve already thought about adoption. When I told my manager about my plan to go on leave for 2 months the reason I gave her was that this will be my last hurrah before we go into the next step of our adoption process. So here we are, a few weeks shy of our 2nd year anniversary of moving to Iloilo and we’re still trying to get pregnant.
I had an unproductive cycle last month and I’m hoping against all hopes that this motth will be different. It’s been 2 weeks already since I last went to work and I’m just totally focused now on our baby bee project and trying to get healthy. Last cycle I was put on clomiphene for 100mg and had my scan at CD 13 and the result was a bit disappointing because my follicles were not growing that much. I drank lots of milk because I read in a forum that it will help thre follies grow. I was also taking opk tests and I’ve only been getting negatives, until day 21 when I finally got a smiley. :) I thought I was out of the game already because my OB said my follies were small but I should still try because who knows, they might grow big at the last minute. On the day that I tested, I felt something like an ovulation pain so I thought it won’t hurt if I test, and voila! I got a positive! Jay and I did our homework, but on what was supposed to be my 8dpo, my af came. :( The meds I took that time were just clomiphene to help with ovulation and duphaston to help regulate my cycle. AF came 3 days after my last tablet, so it’s either we missed the egg, or ot didn’t implant. Who knows?
So now we’re in the middle of our 2nd cycle and this time my OB put me on 150mg of clomiphene. The hot flashes are insane!!! But anything to have a baby bee! Aside from clomiphene, I’ve also been taking myo inositol and d-chiro inositol and evening primrose oil. I’ve also started doing a castor oil pack and fertility massage, and I’m also on my 5th day of doing intermittent fasting. But I have yet to see any real results because earlier today I had my follicle monitoring and the same as last time the follies are still small. I only have follie that has potential but the rest are too small. :( What’s worse is that my lining is too thin!!! :( and my OB said that’s because of the high dosage for clomiphene. So he prescribed Proginova (estrogen replacement therapy) to help thicken my lining and I hope that it helps. At this stage I’m just willing to do almost anything to get pregnant except any superstitious beliefs. So yeah, I’ll also be enrolling at a gym tomorrow and I’ve also bought some flax seed to help with my nutrition.
Hay... the things I’ll do to have a baby, but in the end I know it’s still in God’s hands. I can only do so much, but God can do more than I can ever ask or imagine. I’m glad God is sovereign.
Showing posts with label infertility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infertility. Show all posts
Friday, July 27, 2018
Monday, February 8, 2016
Our IUI Story (Part 2)
Okay, so let's get down to business.
After our failed cycle where I had some stims (medications taken to stimulate ovulation) and timed intercourse, I went back to my OB and told her straight that we want to try IUI. So I asked her the usual questions, like how does it work (even if I already know how, thanks to Youtube and Google), and how much it would cost because we need to prepare our finances. She told me that I should budget not just the finances but also my time, because it's very time consuming.
Now when I met with her before we started the IUI cycle, I haven't had my period yet, and I haven't had it for about 82 days. And no, I wasn't pregnant. So she put me on meds to induce my period and advised me to get a TVS (transvaginal ultrasound) to get a baseline for my follicle monitoring, and also to check if there are any left over follicles from the previous cycle. Everything should be timed accordingly.
Now, let me share some tips that will help you prepare for an IUI. Again, I'm not an expert, just somebody who's "been there, done that". It's still best to follow your OB/RE's advice.
Tip #1: Time Your Consultation with Your OB/RE
-If your period is irregular and you haven't had it in a loooong time, you can go straight to your OB so she can give you some medicine to jumpstart your period. Otherwise, you can just go on or before your first day of period because the first day will be the baseline of when you will be taking your ovulation meds and your follicle monitoring.
Tip #2: Check Your Schedule
-When trying to conceive, timing is everything. There was a time when I thought of taking a leave of absence because I know how the whole process is going to affect my time at work. Thank God I have amazing co-workers who understood my situation and I just think it's God's providence that during the week that I'll be having most of my check-ups, my shift started at 11am, so instead of going half-day, I only had to be late for a couple of hours. But I had to be absent on the day of the procedure. However, my husband's rest day is Thursday-Friday, and the procedure fell on a Friday! That means he didn't have to be absent. So yeah, you also have to take into consideration both you and your hubby's schedule. If both of you are working, it's best to give your manager, supervisor, or immediate boss a heads up that you will be undergoing a procedure and that there may be days that you'll be absent or late. In some companies, your have to file your leaves a month in advance, and the tricky thing about timing your leaves is almost everything about IUI will be based on your first day of period. So if you know a month in advance when your period will be, then you can start filing your leaves now. Or just bite the bullet and say goodbye to your attendance incentives (if you have any).
Tip #3: Be Brave
-I have just unlocked a level of bravery because of the shots I had to take to ovulate. I'm no stranger to needles, but I haven't done any self-injection until I started the IUI process. It was exciting and frightening all at the same time. I was actually more concerned about how to prepare the injection than the actual insertion of the needle. Of course my OB gave a demo by doing the first shot. The 2nd shot was done by my officemate who's a registered nurse. That was during the previous cycle. For this cycle, I took home the shots and administered both myself. The needle is very small, similar to what's used for insulin shots. So whether or not you'll be self-injecting or going back to the OB for your shots (which I found to be impractical that's why I took mine home), now's the time to face your fears because it will all be worth it in the end. :)
Tip #4: Set Aside a Budget for it
-TTC is expensive. Even if you don't go through IUI or even IVF, it's still going to be expensive. The medicines you have to take are expensive. Ultrasounds are expensive. Consultation with a specialist is expensive. That's why we timed our IUI after Christmas because that's when we have extra money. But we also tried to save more by cutting down our expenses. Thank God I married a budget-conscious husband.
Tip #5: Prayer Works
-Just pray. Have faith and believe that whatever the result may be, God is still in control. We can only do so much. Science can only do so much. Everything will still be up to God and His perfect timing. We are in our waiting period right now and I can't help but be anxious sometimes. So we always pray for God to give us peace of mind. Keep on trusting.
Now let me share with you my time line for my IUI. It all started with day 71 of my previous cycle.
January 4 - CD71. consultation with the doctor, told her we've decided to do the IUI. OB gave me prescription for Duphaston that I have to take for 10 days to jumpstart my period. She also told me to schedule an ultrasound anytime between day 3-5 of my period. Took my first tablet of Duphaston on this day too.
January 16 - CD1. First day of period. 2 Days after my last Duphaston tablet.
January 20 - CD5. Baseline scan for follicle monitoring.
There you have it. Our TTC is a very long journey, and we don't know yet when it will end. But we'll continue to pray, believe and have faith, not only for us to have a baby, but for our (including yours) deepest desires to be met by our loving Father.
I'll continue with the financial side of IUI in my next post. See yah!
After our failed cycle where I had some stims (medications taken to stimulate ovulation) and timed intercourse, I went back to my OB and told her straight that we want to try IUI. So I asked her the usual questions, like how does it work (even if I already know how, thanks to Youtube and Google), and how much it would cost because we need to prepare our finances. She told me that I should budget not just the finances but also my time, because it's very time consuming.
Now when I met with her before we started the IUI cycle, I haven't had my period yet, and I haven't had it for about 82 days. And no, I wasn't pregnant. So she put me on meds to induce my period and advised me to get a TVS (transvaginal ultrasound) to get a baseline for my follicle monitoring, and also to check if there are any left over follicles from the previous cycle. Everything should be timed accordingly.
Now, let me share some tips that will help you prepare for an IUI. Again, I'm not an expert, just somebody who's "been there, done that". It's still best to follow your OB/RE's advice.
Tip #1: Time Your Consultation with Your OB/RE
-If your period is irregular and you haven't had it in a loooong time, you can go straight to your OB so she can give you some medicine to jumpstart your period. Otherwise, you can just go on or before your first day of period because the first day will be the baseline of when you will be taking your ovulation meds and your follicle monitoring.
Tip #2: Check Your Schedule
-When trying to conceive, timing is everything. There was a time when I thought of taking a leave of absence because I know how the whole process is going to affect my time at work. Thank God I have amazing co-workers who understood my situation and I just think it's God's providence that during the week that I'll be having most of my check-ups, my shift started at 11am, so instead of going half-day, I only had to be late for a couple of hours. But I had to be absent on the day of the procedure. However, my husband's rest day is Thursday-Friday, and the procedure fell on a Friday! That means he didn't have to be absent. So yeah, you also have to take into consideration both you and your hubby's schedule. If both of you are working, it's best to give your manager, supervisor, or immediate boss a heads up that you will be undergoing a procedure and that there may be days that you'll be absent or late. In some companies, your have to file your leaves a month in advance, and the tricky thing about timing your leaves is almost everything about IUI will be based on your first day of period. So if you know a month in advance when your period will be, then you can start filing your leaves now. Or just bite the bullet and say goodbye to your attendance incentives (if you have any).
Tip #3: Be Brave
-I have just unlocked a level of bravery because of the shots I had to take to ovulate. I'm no stranger to needles, but I haven't done any self-injection until I started the IUI process. It was exciting and frightening all at the same time. I was actually more concerned about how to prepare the injection than the actual insertion of the needle. Of course my OB gave a demo by doing the first shot. The 2nd shot was done by my officemate who's a registered nurse. That was during the previous cycle. For this cycle, I took home the shots and administered both myself. The needle is very small, similar to what's used for insulin shots. So whether or not you'll be self-injecting or going back to the OB for your shots (which I found to be impractical that's why I took mine home), now's the time to face your fears because it will all be worth it in the end. :)
 |
| It's a baby needle! No need to be scared. |
 |
| Family Picture! |
 |
| Don't be intimidated by this bad boy! It's only used to get the medicine from the bottle. |
Tip #4: Set Aside a Budget for it
-TTC is expensive. Even if you don't go through IUI or even IVF, it's still going to be expensive. The medicines you have to take are expensive. Ultrasounds are expensive. Consultation with a specialist is expensive. That's why we timed our IUI after Christmas because that's when we have extra money. But we also tried to save more by cutting down our expenses. Thank God I married a budget-conscious husband.
Tip #5: Prayer Works
-Just pray. Have faith and believe that whatever the result may be, God is still in control. We can only do so much. Science can only do so much. Everything will still be up to God and His perfect timing. We are in our waiting period right now and I can't help but be anxious sometimes. So we always pray for God to give us peace of mind. Keep on trusting.
Now let me share with you my time line for my IUI. It all started with day 71 of my previous cycle.
January 4 - CD71. consultation with the doctor, told her we've decided to do the IUI. OB gave me prescription for Duphaston that I have to take for 10 days to jumpstart my period. She also told me to schedule an ultrasound anytime between day 3-5 of my period. Took my first tablet of Duphaston on this day too.
January 16 - CD1. First day of period. 2 Days after my last Duphaston tablet.
January 20 - CD5. Baseline scan for follicle monitoring.
- Endometrium thickness: 0.38cm
- One developing follicle on each ovary
- Was prescribed to take Clomiphene, 2x a day for 5 days. Took first tablet on the same day.
January 25 - CD10. First day of Gonal-F. Self-injected.
January 26 - CD11. Second day of Gonal-F. My OB initially prescribed 2 shots of Gonal-F because my body responded to it pretty well during the first cycle.
January 27 - CD12. Follicle monitoring. Showed results to my OB. I have 2 follicle-candidates and one even grew to 2.0cm but doc said it still needs to grow bigger. She gave me another shot of Gonal-F. Follies in my left ovary were very lazy.
January 28 - CD13. Follow up follicle monitoring. Took Jay with me this time. The 2 follicles both grew bigger! Yey! The bigger one was about 2.2cm. Doc gave me my HCG shot to make my follicle pop and release the golden egg. IUI was scheduled for the next day.
January 29 - CD14. IUI day. We arrived at around 12nn at the hospital. Jay's sperm was collected first then washed. The nurse said it will take around 2 hours to prepare the sperm so we had lunch first. When we got back to the hospital, we waited for 30 minutes or so, then I was asked to go to the procedure room and wait for my OB. The procedure was painless. It's like getting a pap smear. Best thing about it was Jay was there the entire time. He even wanted to watch the procedure but I convinced him to stay beside me. After the procedure, doc prescribed some medicine (Utrogestan) to help thicken my lining for implantation, and to help the baby stick if it results to pregnancy. I then had to lay still for almost an hour. I just played solitaire on my phone.
There you have it. Our TTC is a very long journey, and we don't know yet when it will end. But we'll continue to pray, believe and have faith, not only for us to have a baby, but for our (including yours) deepest desires to be met by our loving Father.
I'll continue with the financial side of IUI in my next post. See yah!
Sunday, January 31, 2016
I'm Back!
So it's been a looooong time since I last posted something here, and a lot of things had happened since then.
We're still on our journey to becoming parents and just yesterday we had our first (and hopefully the last) IUI (intrauterine insemination). I think I've overs shared it on Facebook, so I decided to just write a post about it so I can talk about it more without people hiding me from their timelines. Jay and I tend to over share when we're excited about something.
The last post I made I think was about my hormones and how they are all over the place. So we stopped seeing our previous doctor and decided to rest for a while. We didn't proactively try having a baby again until late last year. And Jay and I thought that will be taking it more seriously. So we went to a new OB/GYN who is also an infertility specialist. She put me on the some meds, same as the ones I've been taking during my previous treatments, and the only difference is that I was also given some shots of Gonal-F to help me ovulate. I also had more follicle monitoring this time, and my OB insisted that I go to an OB Sonologist, not just a regular radiologist who does ultrasound. That meant I have to pay more and I didn't even know that there was a difference. My deciding factor was always the cost in choosing where to have my ultrasound done because I have to do it many times!
Anyway, so we had to monitor my follicles to know when I would ovulate. Because that's the thing with having PCOS. I just don't know when I'll lay the golden egg! So aside from stimulating my ovaries with all the medicines, we also have to check if my follicles are growing so we can time our, ehem, baby dance(BD). It's a legit term, guys! Hahaha. I've read that in other TTC (trying to conceive) blogs, forums and websites.
Sadly, our first round which started on October 26, 2015, failed. :( I'm not even sure if I ovulated. But my follicle grew to 34mm, which is not a good size because it got too big and the ideal number is around 20mm or so. We were ready and pumped up when my follicle matured to 22mm that when I showed my ultrasound result to my OB, she advised us to get it on that night. She said that my follicle will burst anytime soon and I should have another scan to check if I had ovulated. But it just grew and I didn't show my OB the 2nd result because I knew it was a failed cycle.
I stopped going to the doctor because December was fast approaching. I was sure I wouldn't be able to commit 100% because of the holidays and I just wanted to enjoy the Christmas season. And I'm pretty sure my OB would be hard to find because December is always a busy month.
So Jay and I decided that for the next round we'd be pushing through with our IUI. We had the savings from our 13th month pay to spend for the procedure and we were just waiting for my period to start. Yep, from the last cycle I had, my period didn't come for like 82 days! If I didn't know better I would've thought I was pregnant! I actually thought I was and that caused the "Christmas of 2015 meltdown". And that deserves a post on its own.
The year 2015 didn't end too well for us in terms of overcoming our infertility challenge. But we're facing 2016 with renewed hope. It's scary and exciting at the same time. We try to lean more towards being excited and expectant about it. But we also proceed with caution, so we don't get too disappointed when the outcome is not favourable.
I'll be writing a separate blog about our IUI experience hoping it would help someone who's going through the same struggles we're facing.
#StayPositive
FAST FACT:
Follicle: A fluid-filled sac that contains an immature egg. They are found in the ovaries. During ovulation, a mature egg is released from the follicle so it can be fertilised by a sperm. While several follicles grow at the same time during each cycle, normally, only one will release an egg then turn into a corpus luteum afterwards .
P.S.
So if you didn't receive anything from us this Christmas, rest assured that the money went to a good cause. :)
We're still on our journey to becoming parents and just yesterday we had our first (and hopefully the last) IUI (intrauterine insemination). I think I've overs shared it on Facebook, so I decided to just write a post about it so I can talk about it more without people hiding me from their timelines. Jay and I tend to over share when we're excited about something.
The last post I made I think was about my hormones and how they are all over the place. So we stopped seeing our previous doctor and decided to rest for a while. We didn't proactively try having a baby again until late last year. And Jay and I thought that will be taking it more seriously. So we went to a new OB/GYN who is also an infertility specialist. She put me on the some meds, same as the ones I've been taking during my previous treatments, and the only difference is that I was also given some shots of Gonal-F to help me ovulate. I also had more follicle monitoring this time, and my OB insisted that I go to an OB Sonologist, not just a regular radiologist who does ultrasound. That meant I have to pay more and I didn't even know that there was a difference. My deciding factor was always the cost in choosing where to have my ultrasound done because I have to do it many times!
Anyway, so we had to monitor my follicles to know when I would ovulate. Because that's the thing with having PCOS. I just don't know when I'll lay the golden egg! So aside from stimulating my ovaries with all the medicines, we also have to check if my follicles are growing so we can time our, ehem, baby dance(BD). It's a legit term, guys! Hahaha. I've read that in other TTC (trying to conceive) blogs, forums and websites.
Sadly, our first round which started on October 26, 2015, failed. :( I'm not even sure if I ovulated. But my follicle grew to 34mm, which is not a good size because it got too big and the ideal number is around 20mm or so. We were ready and pumped up when my follicle matured to 22mm that when I showed my ultrasound result to my OB, she advised us to get it on that night. She said that my follicle will burst anytime soon and I should have another scan to check if I had ovulated. But it just grew and I didn't show my OB the 2nd result because I knew it was a failed cycle.
I stopped going to the doctor because December was fast approaching. I was sure I wouldn't be able to commit 100% because of the holidays and I just wanted to enjoy the Christmas season. And I'm pretty sure my OB would be hard to find because December is always a busy month.
So Jay and I decided that for the next round we'd be pushing through with our IUI. We had the savings from our 13th month pay to spend for the procedure and we were just waiting for my period to start. Yep, from the last cycle I had, my period didn't come for like 82 days! If I didn't know better I would've thought I was pregnant! I actually thought I was and that caused the "Christmas of 2015 meltdown". And that deserves a post on its own.
The year 2015 didn't end too well for us in terms of overcoming our infertility challenge. But we're facing 2016 with renewed hope. It's scary and exciting at the same time. We try to lean more towards being excited and expectant about it. But we also proceed with caution, so we don't get too disappointed when the outcome is not favourable.
I'll be writing a separate blog about our IUI experience hoping it would help someone who's going through the same struggles we're facing.
#StayPositive
FAST FACT:
Follicle: A fluid-filled sac that contains an immature egg. They are found in the ovaries. During ovulation, a mature egg is released from the follicle so it can be fertilised by a sperm. While several follicles grow at the same time during each cycle, normally, only one will release an egg then turn into a corpus luteum afterwards .
P.S.
So if you didn't receive anything from us this Christmas, rest assured that the money went to a good cause. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)