I have been thinking about trying IUI this next cycle. While weighing the pros and cons it seemed to make sense to go for it. Afterall, the doctor already did the ultrasound that I would need to have before an IUI cycle so that means we are already saving $127. It is just way too good of a deal to pass up.
I will be starting a new cycle in the next few days. I will have to take clomid starting day 3 of my cycle and I'm hoping I won't have too many side effects from it. Someone told me that it helps to reduce the side effects if you take it at night so I'm going to try that. I also ordered some clearblue easy digital OPKs off Amazon. They had the lowest price and if you subscribe to them you save another $5. You can set your subscribtion where you receive them every month, every other month, etc so it seems like a pretty good deal. Hopefully I won't need them anymore after this month and I can cancel my subscription. ;)
After a few conversations with Soren he agreed to do the IUI. I think he is just nervous about actually having a kid. He would like us to be completely out of debt before we have kids. At this point that wouldn't be for 5-10 years because of our student loans. Money is tight is some ways, but we aren't doing that bad financially. We agreed that we are going to try this cycle and that if it doesn't work we will take a break for a while. Cross your fingers for me that by some miracle this cycle will work.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
I love my RE
Yesterday was our first appointment with the RE. I was really nervous about the vaginal ultrasound and about how the appointment would go in general. Well, I had nothing to worry about. Our RE put me completely at ease.
He came in and felt my thyroid, felt up my boobs supposedly as some way to get an idea of what my hormones are doing and then did the ultrasound. He counted how many follicles I had on my ovaries and then showed me where he could tell I had ovulated. He also told me my lining was at a 7. Is that good for 3 DPO? After that I got dressed and we went into his office to talk.
So here is what we now know: Everything looks normal with me so far and Soren's sperm count is much lower than they would like to see. The RE is thinking he may have a varicocele (varicose vein in his scrotum) and is having him see a urologist. They also had him do a bunch of lab work yesterday to make sure that his testosterone, FSH, LH, prolactin, and thyroid levels are normal. They also want Soren to check his blood sugar with my blood sugar monitor. All his hormones are in the normal range except for testosterone. That came back low, which would account for his low sperm count. We'll have to see what they suggest to increase his testosterone levels. I'm also eager to see what the urologist says.
At this point the RE is suggesting IUI. I kind of want to wait to see what the issue is with Soren. I feel like it has already been over 3 years so I can wait another month or so. I have been prescribed some clomid to take if we decide to do an IUI this next cycle. If IUI doesn't work then he said we could possibly do the kind of IVF where they actually place one sperm in each egg before implanting them in me. I don't think we will ever do IVF because of the expense, but it's good to know our options. We could also go with donor sperm if we want. I just hope that we can increase Soren's sperm count and get pregnant naturally or off of an IUI. I did find out that an IUI would cost $160 per cycle, which was a lot lower than I expected.
On the drive back Soren kept asking me if I really wanted to have a baby. He kept saying that you can't put that Genie back in the bottle once it is out. I just had to laugh. Why would I put all this effort into finding out what is wrong if I didn't want a baby. He also kept telling me that he didn't want to do all this testing they are making him do. I assured him that I appreciate that he is willing to do it anyway.
Oh, another thing I found out is that our fertility clinic majorly has our back. Our insurance covers 50% of infertility testing and treatment (excluding IVF), so we should have been paying for all of the lab work and other tests. We haven't had to pay for any lab work because they coded it as other things so it would be covered 100%. I also didn't have to pay for my HSG. Even yesterday the doctor erased from the records that he performed an ultrasound so that we wouldn't charged. Our visit yesterday only cost $38 and that is the only thing we have paid for so far. I'm so grateful to them bacause we should have paid several hundreds of dollars at this point.
So, now that we have some answers we have to wait for more and then make some decisions. We still have almost a month to decide if we want to do IUI my next cycle. I think I am starting to convince myslef to do the IUI this next cycle. We'll see if I can get Soren on board.
He came in and felt my thyroid, felt up my boobs supposedly as some way to get an idea of what my hormones are doing and then did the ultrasound. He counted how many follicles I had on my ovaries and then showed me where he could tell I had ovulated. He also told me my lining was at a 7. Is that good for 3 DPO? After that I got dressed and we went into his office to talk.
So here is what we now know: Everything looks normal with me so far and Soren's sperm count is much lower than they would like to see. The RE is thinking he may have a varicocele (varicose vein in his scrotum) and is having him see a urologist. They also had him do a bunch of lab work yesterday to make sure that his testosterone, FSH, LH, prolactin, and thyroid levels are normal. They also want Soren to check his blood sugar with my blood sugar monitor. All his hormones are in the normal range except for testosterone. That came back low, which would account for his low sperm count. We'll have to see what they suggest to increase his testosterone levels. I'm also eager to see what the urologist says.
At this point the RE is suggesting IUI. I kind of want to wait to see what the issue is with Soren. I feel like it has already been over 3 years so I can wait another month or so. I have been prescribed some clomid to take if we decide to do an IUI this next cycle. If IUI doesn't work then he said we could possibly do the kind of IVF where they actually place one sperm in each egg before implanting them in me. I don't think we will ever do IVF because of the expense, but it's good to know our options. We could also go with donor sperm if we want. I just hope that we can increase Soren's sperm count and get pregnant naturally or off of an IUI. I did find out that an IUI would cost $160 per cycle, which was a lot lower than I expected.
On the drive back Soren kept asking me if I really wanted to have a baby. He kept saying that you can't put that Genie back in the bottle once it is out. I just had to laugh. Why would I put all this effort into finding out what is wrong if I didn't want a baby. He also kept telling me that he didn't want to do all this testing they are making him do. I assured him that I appreciate that he is willing to do it anyway.
Oh, another thing I found out is that our fertility clinic majorly has our back. Our insurance covers 50% of infertility testing and treatment (excluding IVF), so we should have been paying for all of the lab work and other tests. We haven't had to pay for any lab work because they coded it as other things so it would be covered 100%. I also didn't have to pay for my HSG. Even yesterday the doctor erased from the records that he performed an ultrasound so that we wouldn't charged. Our visit yesterday only cost $38 and that is the only thing we have paid for so far. I'm so grateful to them bacause we should have paid several hundreds of dollars at this point.
So, now that we have some answers we have to wait for more and then make some decisions. We still have almost a month to decide if we want to do IUI my next cycle. I think I am starting to convince myslef to do the IUI this next cycle. We'll see if I can get Soren on board.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
I hate my birthday
I haven't really enjoyed my birthday for about the last 15 years. I know that is a long time to hate your birthday, but I do because it always sucks. I think it all started with my family going through some financial hardship when I was a teenager and so we couldn't afford to have a party for me. That was fine because I don't really need a bunch a presents anyway. However, I told my dad during this time that I didn't want to celebrate my birthday because I was trying to make sure that he didn't feel bad. Somehow this stuck and so nothing is ever done for my birthday.
I would like a day where I'm treated special and I don't have to make sure that dinner is cooked. I was kind of upset this morning about having another sucky birthday and I guess it was showing so my husband asked me what was wrong. When I told him the truth he started to be all defensive. I told him that it wasn't his fault bacause he can't read my mind and know that I would like to celebrate when I claim I don't. The thing is that I mentioned to him a few days ago that I would like to have people over for a bbq on my birthday and he totally shot that idea down because our house isn't really set up to have people over right now. I thought that would at least give him a hint that I would like to do something even if we can't have people over. I guess that wasn't obvious enough for him though.
I'm going to try to have a better attitude about my birthday and hopefully it won't suck too much.
I would like a day where I'm treated special and I don't have to make sure that dinner is cooked. I was kind of upset this morning about having another sucky birthday and I guess it was showing so my husband asked me what was wrong. When I told him the truth he started to be all defensive. I told him that it wasn't his fault bacause he can't read my mind and know that I would like to celebrate when I claim I don't. The thing is that I mentioned to him a few days ago that I would like to have people over for a bbq on my birthday and he totally shot that idea down because our house isn't really set up to have people over right now. I thought that would at least give him a hint that I would like to do something even if we can't have people over. I guess that wasn't obvious enough for him though.
I'm going to try to have a better attitude about my birthday and hopefully it won't suck too much.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Getting Back to Normal
I think Soren was probably right about me feeling depressed and that causing me to feel so crappy. At his suggestion I stayed busy when I got home from work yesterday in the hopes that the activity would help my body produce some happy hormones.
After getting home from work yesterday I didn't let myself be lazy like I had the previous couple of nights. I started on dinner right away. Then after dinner I cleaned my car. It looks so clean and shiny. Now all I have to do is wax it and it will look amazing. After washing the car I was determined to keep up my productivity so I took the dog on a walk. After that I made some shortbread for a bake sale that I'm donating to.
It felt so good to finally go to sleep and I was able to get a good nights rest. Today I still feel a little tired, but am feeling so much better than I have been. I'm not feeling utterly exhausted and weak like I was. I guess my body was telling me that I wasn't being good to it and it was shutting down.
I'm determined to be better to myself so that this doesn't happen again!
After getting home from work yesterday I didn't let myself be lazy like I had the previous couple of nights. I started on dinner right away. Then after dinner I cleaned my car. It looks so clean and shiny. Now all I have to do is wax it and it will look amazing. After washing the car I was determined to keep up my productivity so I took the dog on a walk. After that I made some shortbread for a bake sale that I'm donating to.
It felt so good to finally go to sleep and I was able to get a good nights rest. Today I still feel a little tired, but am feeling so much better than I have been. I'm not feeling utterly exhausted and weak like I was. I guess my body was telling me that I wasn't being good to it and it was shutting down.
I'm determined to be better to myself so that this doesn't happen again!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
No Energy
I'm not sure what is going on with my body the last several days. I feel like I have no energy and that what energy I do have is literally being sucked from my body. My whole body feels weak. If I could imagine what Superman feels like when someone exposes him to kryptonyte this is how I can best describe how I feel. I barely made it through the things I have had to do the last few days and it seems like no amount of sleep seems to help.
At first I thought it was just my body recovering from my allergy attack. However, it has been over a week so I would think I would be back to normal by now.
I took a pregancy test this morning on the off chance that I could be fatiqued because of pregnancy. Of course that isn't what is going on.
I'm also considering depression because my husband told me last night that he thinks that is what is wrong with me. Maybe I am suffering from some depression, but I don't think that is the problem.
I also looked up some information on anemia. I feel like I used to feel when I would donate blood. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I think I am going to email my doctor and see what she thinks I should do.
Any thoughts?
At first I thought it was just my body recovering from my allergy attack. However, it has been over a week so I would think I would be back to normal by now.
I took a pregancy test this morning on the off chance that I could be fatiqued because of pregnancy. Of course that isn't what is going on.
I'm also considering depression because my husband told me last night that he thinks that is what is wrong with me. Maybe I am suffering from some depression, but I don't think that is the problem.
I also looked up some information on anemia. I feel like I used to feel when I would donate blood. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I think I am going to email my doctor and see what she thinks I should do.
Any thoughts?
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Better Results
Soren did another sperm analysis and this time the results were much better. There are one or two things that they may still need to check into like them finding white blood cells in the sample. They will probably have to make sure he doesn't have some type of infection. Overall, things look good though.
So, now we just have to wait a little over a week to see the RE. We are so close to actually being able to start some type of treatment!
So, now we just have to wait a little over a week to see the RE. We are so close to actually being able to start some type of treatment!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Food Allergy
Today was a very interesting day. I started out feeling great and ready to take on the day. I was so excited to get to work (weird huh) and see my co-workers (I really love them). One of my coworkers brought in some fruit to share. I was so excited because I LOVE fruit. She had a mixture of cut up cantaloupe and mango. I had never had mango before so I decided to try it. Let me tell you it was soooo ripe and delicious.
I was sitting there for about 30 seconds thinking that I'd been missing out all these years and that I would definitely have to get me some mango from the store. That was until my throat started to close. I tried not to panic as it started to become hard to breath and told my co-workers as calmly as possible that I thought I was having an allergic reaction to the mango. They were all so wonderful. One person ran to get me some benedryl while another got some water so I could take the medicine. They all dropped what they were doing to help me out.
After taking the benedryl it seemed like it didn't get any harder to breath, but it wasn't easier either. At work they insisted that I take it easy and tell them if I was feeling any worse. The assistant manager of the office found out what was going on and wanted me to go to the emergency room. I really didn't think it was that big of a deal so I at least agreed to call an advice nurse. I was thinking she would tell me that I just needed to wait for the benedryl to kick in. Not so, she told me that I needed to go to the emergency room as soon as I got off the phone with her and suggested I have a co-worker take me. I told this to my supervisor and he said I would have to call someone to take me (what a jerk). Luckily it is my hubby's day off so I was able to call him. He got there so quickly that I'm sure he broke several laws ;).
Once at the emergency room I figured that they would have me waiting forever since I wasn't actively dying. By this point I was having a really hard time swallowing though so I guess they took me seriously. I was only waiting about 10-15 minutes before they took me back.
They put an IV in and started to pumped benedryl into me along with some type of steroid. That made me feel so light headed that I had to lay down. The whole room was spinning and so I just tried to focus on breathing. The medicine made me so high that Soren started to make fun of me. I'm not sure what I even said during that time, but hopefully it wasn't too ridiculous. At one point I sat there for what seemed like forever thinking that maybe I needed to go to the bathroom. I was so tired, but felt so weird that I couldn't go to sleep. I finally asked Soren if he would find out if it was okay for me to get up and go to the bathroom. I slowly got over to the bathroom and had Soren come in with me because I wasn't sure that I wouldn't pass out. Let me say it was very hard to go to the bathroom when I'm right handed and they put the IV in my right arm. I couldn't use my right hand to pull down my pants, get toilet paper, or even wipe. It was interesting to try to use my left hand because I refused to let Soren help me wipe.
After my potty trip I was finally able to get some sleep. They decided to keep me there for a few hours of observation so I told Soren he could go out and do a few things while I slept. After I think about 2 hours they said my vitals looked good and that I could leave. After a quick trip to the pharmacy to pick up some medication that I have to take over the next few days we went home where I went straight to bed.
My 30 seconds of enjoying mango cost me about $120 for the emergency room and prescriptions. I now know to avoid mango and have my first food allergy. Hopefully it will be my only food allergy.
I was sitting there for about 30 seconds thinking that I'd been missing out all these years and that I would definitely have to get me some mango from the store. That was until my throat started to close. I tried not to panic as it started to become hard to breath and told my co-workers as calmly as possible that I thought I was having an allergic reaction to the mango. They were all so wonderful. One person ran to get me some benedryl while another got some water so I could take the medicine. They all dropped what they were doing to help me out.
After taking the benedryl it seemed like it didn't get any harder to breath, but it wasn't easier either. At work they insisted that I take it easy and tell them if I was feeling any worse. The assistant manager of the office found out what was going on and wanted me to go to the emergency room. I really didn't think it was that big of a deal so I at least agreed to call an advice nurse. I was thinking she would tell me that I just needed to wait for the benedryl to kick in. Not so, she told me that I needed to go to the emergency room as soon as I got off the phone with her and suggested I have a co-worker take me. I told this to my supervisor and he said I would have to call someone to take me (what a jerk). Luckily it is my hubby's day off so I was able to call him. He got there so quickly that I'm sure he broke several laws ;).
Once at the emergency room I figured that they would have me waiting forever since I wasn't actively dying. By this point I was having a really hard time swallowing though so I guess they took me seriously. I was only waiting about 10-15 minutes before they took me back.
They put an IV in and started to pumped benedryl into me along with some type of steroid. That made me feel so light headed that I had to lay down. The whole room was spinning and so I just tried to focus on breathing. The medicine made me so high that Soren started to make fun of me. I'm not sure what I even said during that time, but hopefully it wasn't too ridiculous. At one point I sat there for what seemed like forever thinking that maybe I needed to go to the bathroom. I was so tired, but felt so weird that I couldn't go to sleep. I finally asked Soren if he would find out if it was okay for me to get up and go to the bathroom. I slowly got over to the bathroom and had Soren come in with me because I wasn't sure that I wouldn't pass out. Let me say it was very hard to go to the bathroom when I'm right handed and they put the IV in my right arm. I couldn't use my right hand to pull down my pants, get toilet paper, or even wipe. It was interesting to try to use my left hand because I refused to let Soren help me wipe.
After my potty trip I was finally able to get some sleep. They decided to keep me there for a few hours of observation so I told Soren he could go out and do a few things while I slept. After I think about 2 hours they said my vitals looked good and that I could leave. After a quick trip to the pharmacy to pick up some medication that I have to take over the next few days we went home where I went straight to bed.
My 30 seconds of enjoying mango cost me about $120 for the emergency room and prescriptions. I now know to avoid mango and have my first food allergy. Hopefully it will be my only food allergy.
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