Day 11

Yesterday was day ten of my cycle. My doctor ordered an HSG test this month to ensure my tubes are not obstructed. There is a lot of information on the net about the test some accurate, some not. I will attempt to report my experience in the most accurate way I know how. The test is a special type of x-ray whereby the radiologist injects a special type of dye directly into the opening of the cervix and the liquid flows backwards into the tubes and spills out into the cavity. The liquid is supposed to be harmless and is either absorbed by your body or exits though the vaginal opening. I was asked to wear a sanitary napkin after the test and did experience some leakage. The amount of liquid used in the procedure is small and did not present a problem for me. The test was short in duration, about five to ten minutes from start to finish. The test begins with the radiologist inserting the speculum in to the vaginal opening. He then began to clean my cervix with iodine to prevent infection. This was done a total of three times - the standard. he then inserted a small - think size of a ball point pen head - catheter into the opening of my cervix which he then inflated to form a seal. He then injected the liquid into my cervix all the while I was under the x-ray machine. the liquid flowed through both of my tubes, he removed the equipment, and the test was over. The catheter was painful and the inflation of the balloon was even more painful but it was extremely short lived - a few seconds of pain and three to five minutes for the test. My doctor prescribed doxycycline for three days to prevent any infection. I got nauseous that morning from the doxycycline because I did not eat with the medication. All in all, I am glad I did the test. My tubes are open and that is great news. They are smaller than I has imagined. The test was put on disk and I brought it to my fertility specialist that afternoon. I will have an ultrasound and maybe a shot on Sunday and we will see if this round nets results.

Day Four

My last treatment was unsuccessful. I began a new cycle around noon of the 31st day. I am now on day 2 of femara and have a HSG scheduled for day 10 of my cycle. I am very nervous as the test is reportedly painful and fallopian tubes are quite delicate. My doctor has decreased my dosage of femara to 2.5 mg due to the fact my uterine lining is becoming thin - a noted side effect of femara. Even though my test is scheduled for this cycle, I will continue on my treatment path and make an attpemt at conception this month. I am praying this is the month.

Day 29 or 13 Days Past Ovulatoin

I am on day 29 of my cycle which is also 13 days past ovulation. Last evening, I felt twinges in my cervical area. I also have had very sore breasts and nipples and felt a little pudgy in the stomach area. Although I ahve not been overly excited, I have been hopeful this go around. I took a test this morning and it was negative. Not even a faint line. I will test again in a few days.

Day 25 or Day 9 past ovulation

After my last post, my doctor prescribed 2 mg of estrogen by patch to be changed every 72 hours. The estogen patch is referred to as a "dot" but is more patch-like than anything. I have been on the estrogen patch for 10 days. I place them on my body in the evening and change them every three days. The first few days, I went to bed at 9:30 or so and woke up at 3:30. I was not able to go back to sleep. I have since noticed that my sleep is better but not great. I have trouble sleeping anyway so I am not sure this is entirely estrogen patch related.

The past week was Thanksgiving week. I was super busy. I left work at 3:30 on Wednesday, ran errands, arrived home, cleaned (a lot), and began preparing our Thanksgiving meal. I got up around 7:45 Thanksgiving morning and finished the cooking. We ate around 2:30 then played board games. I went to bed around 9:00. We woke up at 4:30 the following morning to participate in the annual Black Friday shopping tradition. We finished shopping and were at my parents by 10:30 a.m. We ate around 1:00 and by 2:30, I was wiped. My husband and I made it home around 3:30. I slept from then until about 6:00. I got up the following morning, got ready for the day, laid down on the couch around 10:00 and napped most of that day. Sunday, I rejoined the world and did some light grocery shopping. I am back to work today and feel about the same. My energy levels have not been great in years so it is difficult to tell what type of effect the treatment is having on my overall energy level. I suspect that my PCOS has impacted my general ability to sleep and feel rested but I am not certain as to what extent.

I have noticed some breast tenderness and my nipples are tender. They seem to be slightly peeling as if they were swollen and the swelling has gone down. Other than the noted conditions, I have not noticed any other changes. I do not feel particulary pregnant but I remain hopeful that this treatment worked.

Day 15 Ultrasound and HGC Shot

This morning was my day 15 ultrasound. It was good. I had one follicle that measured 19 mm, one measuring 13 mm, and one measuring 12 mm. The 19 mm is great news. This is the one most likely to mature and release. This is a 3 mm increase over last month on the same day. Because the largest of the follicles was in the desired range, the nurse gave me my shot in the office. She also remarked that my ovaries are looking less polycystic. This gives me hope that the drug/diet/no smoking combo seems to be working. Since I am not sure which is the red herring and which is actually producing results, I will continue my current course and pray for the best.

It is also worth noting that my lining was what they refer to as a three stripe. While the nurse remarked that it looked thin, she stated the three stripe was desirable. They will call later to let me know if the Doctor wants to put me on estrogen to thicken it.

Day 14

I am on day fourteen of my cycle and I am nervous. I have been very good about my diet. On day nine, I had a few friends over and had a half a glass of wine and one and a half beers. This was over several hours. Other than that, I have had no alcohol, no soda, no caffeine, and severely restricted sweets. I never realized how difficult it is to cut out sugar. It is in everything! I have a cup of yogurt everyday to ward off yeast infections from the treatments. It is loaded with sugar. I switched to fat free, light yogurt and it still has 14 grams of sugar. My Lean Cuisine pizza had 52 carbs and 6 grams of sugar. Carbs will turn to sugar. It is a real struggle to eat healthy. I have always considered myself to be a healthy eater. I don't eat fast food. I don't eat meat. I don't go overboard on sweets. Since I have been tyring to be a more conscious eater on this fertility program, I have noticed there is not much out there that is healthy. I have resolved to do the best I can without causing myself too much stress, which is also counterproductive to the fertility process.

I go to the doctor at 7:30 in the morning for my ultrasound. I am hopeful that we will get good news. If my folicle is more than 18 mm, I will get an HCG shot. Last month it was 16mm and I took my shot at home the following night. The difference is so slight, but the difference between our concieving and not.

I am prayerful this treatment round will work. I want more than anything to be a mother and I pray that this is the cycle that will bring our baby to us.

Day Four

Today is day four of my second treatment cycle on Femara. I am continuing to take Actos and am on 5mg of Femara on days three through seven followed by an hcg shot on day 15. I took my first dose of femara last night before I went to bed. This morning I went to the restroom as normal when I wake and it was uncomfortable. It felt like I had a urinary tract infection. In other words, it burned. I remember feeling this last cycle but assumed it was a side effect of the zpack I was taking for the sinus infection. I now think it is the Femara. While I don't think I have a urinary tract infection, I do think the Femara causes an inbalance which could lead to a urinary tract infection or just plain irritation. I am lightly spotting and have stuck to liners. It is also worth noting that I have had a headache for the past two days. The day I started this cycle, I felt much less aggitated and much less hormonal. I went from wanting to cry and feeling angry to almost feeling normal. It was a wide swing. Today, I feel mostly normal. I am a little distracted but have a lot going on with work. This distracted feels more like I have a lot going on than I am overly hormonal. To maintain urinary tract health, my doctor suggests yogurt. I had some this morning. I had a coffee Saturday and a beer and two cookies last night. As I started my medicine, I am back off sweets, caffiene, alcohol, and anything else which is not healthy.

Day One

My treatment did not work this last round so I am back to the beginning. I am on day one of my cycle. We were quite disappointed but have to move forward. Last month prior to treatment, I had become ill after our trip and was on a zpack for a week before my shot. I am unsure if this affected my treatment but I worried that I was on medicine during the time of the follicle formation - ultimately, the egg formation. For whatever reason, last month's treatment did not work. I noticed light spotting last night and had full confirmation this morning that I was, in fact, on day one of a new cycle.

I spoke with my treatment nurse this morning and advised her of my updated status. She was very sweet and first asked how I was doing. I am sad and disappointed but am hopeful this round will be the one that works. I lit a candle today and prayed for God to cleanse my body of any thing which could affect my ability to become pregnant and maintain a pregnancy. I prayed for my body to be the perfect vessel to bring our child into this world. I am turning my focus to preparing my body and beginning my new treatment cycle. I will begin on Sunday with 5mg of femara to be taken once a day on days 3 through 7. I will follow that with an HCG shot on day 15.

Tonight, we made plans with friends I have been too tired to see and will treat myself to a glass of wine and maybe a sweetie. I may even have a latte in the morning. After that, I am back on a strict diet and will pray for God to work his miracle in my body.

Day 29

My cycle is not at all typical, so I will write that historically, I run on a cycle that is longer than 28 days. I am now on day 29. I still have no visible signs of bleeding but believe that I would run on about a 32 day cycle this month. I base this on the fact that I took the shot on day 16, likely ovulated around day 17 or 18, and the phase after ovulation should be around 14 days. Adding that all up, I get a 32 day cycle. I am still refraining from alcohol, soda, refined sugar, caffeine, second hand smoke, and simple carbs - they turn into sugar. I am attempting to keep my stress levels at a minimum but it is easier written than accomplished. Yesterday, my 20 morning commute turned into an hour due to an accident (thanfully, not mine), I had a particularly unpleasant meeting, then, my husband discovered our utility closet had been burglarized. I am a religious woman, so I keep repeating to myself, God is preparing us for a big blessing. I hope that includes my husband getting a job and me getting a better job. Above all, I hope God is getting us ready for a child. My doctor is encouraging me to take a test tomorrow. I will pray for good results and prepare for the fact that it is still early and it may be negative. I bought two so if it is not positive, I can retest in a few more days.

I think I Ovulated!

I just got the results of my day 21 progesterone and they were good. My level tested at 16 and my doctor likes something above a 10. When I tried with chlomid, my day 21 was a .6. Yes, there is a point in front of that last number. It was basically nothing. From .6 to 16 is real progress for me! I am so hopeful but am trying to refocus to bring down my stress levels.

Day Seven after HCG Shot

This morning I went to the doctor at 7:30 for bloodwork. I am waiting for the results. This is my day 21 progesterone. Since my cycle was off by a few days, I am technically on day 23. I am seven days post shot. I have had a stressful morning at work and am trying very hard to manage my stress levels. I can feel the stress in my stomach and worry it will affect our chances of conceiving. I have noticed an increase in cervical mucus today. I have not had much before now. I went to the bathroom and simply noticed it. I will ask my doctor if there is a possibilty that I ovulated very late or if it could be a sign of something else. We had "activity" starting on day one of the shot and continuing for the following three days for a total of four days. After that, we quit. I have been so tired and cranky that I just wasn't feeling it. I will be very disappointed if we somehow missed the window.

Day Five After HCG Shot

The weekend was mostly uneventful. I am watching my diet and getting plenty of rest. I don't feel any different other than being very tired. I felt slightly crampy at times throughout the weekend and was not sure if it was gas from the strict diet or if is is some kind of cramping associated with the treatment. My breasts are extremely sore and slightly swollen. I have read this is a side effect from the shot and will likely subside over the next couple of weeks. I feel quiet and introspective. I haven't felt like talking much to my regular circle of friends. I just want to keep quiet until I know if my treatment was successful.

Day three after shot

Last night I got home around 5:45. I am eating oysters for three days after my shot as I read they are supposed to enhance fertility. I know its likely a wives tale but I am willing to try anything. I also am taking robotussin as I read it will help to make the cervical mucus more inviting. So, I get home and eat the oysters and take the robotussin and basically pass out. I have been so tired lately. I know its not the robotussin because I am only taking one dose at night to help with the process. Also, I was super tired before I took the robotussin. I have wondered, is it common to be this tired during this process. I am not an overly energetic person anyway, so giving up my morning latte has been rough. We tried for the second night in a row and I stayed in bed and went to sleep. This was around 7:30. I fell asleep around 8:45. I woke up around 11:45 and felt like I had been asleep for much longer. I went back to bed and finally woke up around 5:15 for good. I typically have sleep problems and need to try to force myself to stay awake until at least 9:30 so I don't get into a bad pattern.

This morning I noticed some cramping while getting ready. It wasn't heavy and I don't really know what to think. I am slightly bloated and my breasts are slightly swollen and tender. I read that the HGC shot will have this effect. I started letting my mind wonder and decided it was best to not read too much into my symptoms. This is likely an effect of the shot since it is too soon for it to be anything else.

First post

Today is my first post. My husband and I have been on the conception roller coaster for about a year as I begin this blog. I am writing this because I hope it will help me through the process and maybe be a resource for others.

My husband and I have been married for a year and a half. We were both in our mid-thirties and decided to prepare for children prior to getting married. I had been on depoprovera for almost eight years and had switched to yasmine, then yaz. I had begun to have cycles again on the pills and had decided it was time to remove myself from any artificial hormones before we got married to give them time to work out of my system.

Fast forward almost a year. My cycles had not returned on their own and I knew something was amiss. I visited my obgyn and was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome. This is a condition which causes anovulation. It has been explained to me as a chicken and egg situation. My hormone and insulin levels are out of balance which causes my ovaries to not properly function. The proposed remedy was metformin. I tried metformin and nothing really changed. Certain doses caused me to feel off and have stomach issues, other doses seemed fine but produced no results. Overall, none of the dosage levels worked. I didn't ovulate on my own.

My doctor upped the anty and decided we could try a combination of Metformin and chlomid. I have to write, I was very hopeful on this combo since I had known a few women who had successfully conceived on chlomid. As you may guess, I was not one of them. The treatment had almost no effect. I doubled my dose of chlomid and saw no noticeable difference although I'm certain my husband would disagree.

After a couple of rounds over a few months, I decided to give it a break. My mind and body had had enough. At the time, I was also going through some personal issues and felt I had too much on my plate and focusing on my infertility just seemed too much.

When I felt ready again, I called a fertility specialist. I am fortunate that a wonderful doctor who specializes in my condition has a practice less than a mile from my house. This doctor is also one of two fertility specialists in the city and is also on my insurance. Double victory!

Since treating with my specialist, I have been on Actos and my cycles returned on their own. I went from 117 pounds to 135 pounds. My cycles are not at all regular, ranging from 17 days to 56, and I don't ovulate. It can be a real roller coaster. We tried one round of chlomid while on Actos and it didn't work. My husband was then laid off his job and we took another break. Although hubby is not back to work, we have decided having a child is just not something either of us want to wait for any longer. We are moving forward and it is our first priority. I must admit, I was a smoker. I smoked ultra lights and less than a pack a day. I have been smoke free for two solid months. This week, I gave up caffeine. I am now off sweets, sodas, all alcohol, and anything else that could harm this process.

As I write this, we have just finished a round of femara. We went to the doctor and my follicle was 16mm on day 15. It should be at least 18mm to be viable. Hubby gave me an ovidrel (hcg) injection last night to help this along. I am nervous and hopeful. We have treated before, but never this aggressively. I am afraid it won't work and if it does, the rate of miscarriage is high. I am trying to reduce stress and stay positive. As I started to get serious about my treatment, I turned to the Internet for success stories and for information from other women who have made this journey. No one's story looked exactly like mine so I decided to write it myself. I hope this post and the ones to follow will offer some help to others and maybe inspire you to share your story and prayers with me.

Thank you for reading.