Thursday 30 August 2012
Cycle Day 3 Monitoring Appointment
Today I had to get up earlier than usual because I had my day 3 cycle monitoring. Every 6 months they make you do a full bladder ultrasound, so I had to drink a litre of water within an hour, and boy did I ever have to pee lol. Like usual, the very first thing I do is get my blood taken. I also had an AMH blood test as well as the regular day 3 tests. They only call me to tell me my results if there is something wrong, otherwise, I have to wait until cycle day 10 to find out my blood results. I guess I could call them and ask, but I don't like calling them. My AMH test won't be back for another 2-3 weeks :( My ultrasound was fine. I had no cysts. I was expecting my AFC to be very low, but it wasn't too bad. I had 8 follicles on the right and 4 follicles on the left. I have never had more than 6 follicles on one side, so I was happy about that. I'm taking 7.5 mg of Femara this month with timed intercourse. Hopefully, it works. I'm getting sick and tired of not getting pregnant.
Wednesday 29 August 2012
My Fertility Specialist Appointment
Yesterday we finally went to see our fertility specialist, Dr. Ewok. It feels so great to be back there again because I felt like I was accomplishing nothing by only having sex during ovulation. Not only that, but I feel the need to know everything there is to know about my body. We paid for a full year of cycle monitoring, so I'm glad to be continuing it again. I must know what my numbers are. I'm very weird.
I have a kind of funny story. At my clinic there are at least 8 doctors who work there, so when you go in for monitoring the doctor of the day goes over the results with you. About 8 months I asked the doctor of the day if the clinic tested AMH, and he said no because there's not enough research to prove that it means anything. I was sad about this because I am super worried about my egg quality. I am only 29 and my FSH is 10 and my lowest AFC was a 6. Dr. Ewok (my own doctor) has told me that those numbers are just fine and I have nothing to worry about, but it does worry me because I read different things online that scare the crap out of me. Anyways, yesterday I told him again about how worried I was, and I asked him if there was any possibility that I could have an AMH test done. His response was, "sure, of course I will order that test for you." WHAT????? You mean to tell me that for 8 months I was under the impression that the clinic doesn't test AMH, so I never asked my own doctor? I could have had this test done, and maybe I wouldn't be so worried like I am now because just maybe they will come back normal. I don't like that the different doctors there have different opinions. One of them told me that I didn't need progesterone, and a luteal phase of 9 days is just fine. My doctor tested my progesterone and it came back at a 2. I'm so happy that I have the doctor that I do because any other doctor might not have cared that much, and not do anything to help me. I am so excited to be finally having this AMH test. It isn't covered, so it will cost $85 :(, but I don't care because I want some reassurance. I'm going to get the test this Thursday along with all of my other blood tests.
I have seen that a lot of women with short luteal phases have high prolactin. I asked Dr. Ewok if he has ever checked my prolactin numbers. I think he said he checked it 3 times. It was 44, 30, and 22. It should be under 30. He said that it fluctuates, and because it was only high once he wasn't that concerned. I'm going to make sure they keep an eye on it because if it continues to stay high I want medication. It have seen 2 ladies take a prolactin medicine and then get pregnant 2 months later. It really does suck that all of my numbers are always borderline, so doctors just wave them off as nothing. I also asked him about my high platelets, and he said that it was high, so he's testing it again. I have started taking baby aspirin again, so I'm not sure if I should stop until he does the test or not. When I asked him about my high testosterone he said that it's usually high at the begininning of your cycle, but then gets lower as your cycle goes on. Maybe he was saying that mine is high at first, but gets normal? I don't know, but I have read that high testosterone causes your eggs to be bad.
Dr. Ewok said that DH's sperm counts needed to be higher. He ordered him a special SA, it's called a DNA fragmentation. I don't know much about the test because I haven't looked it up yet, but all he has to do is produce a sample on September 10. I have some great news though, DH has quit smoking. He has been smoke free for 13 days now, and I am very proud of him. I'm sure this will help his numbers. He has also been taking Zinc every day. We are also going to do another SA soon.
This cycle I will be doing cycle monitoring, 7.5 mg of Femara, and 400 mg of Progesterone after ovulation. Dr. Ewok told us to make another appointment in a month to discuss what we will do next cycle. Hopefully, my next cycle will be in 10 months!
Blogging really helps me because I can get things off of my chest, so I think I will do it more often. I have been so depressed lately that I need to do something about it.
I have a kind of funny story. At my clinic there are at least 8 doctors who work there, so when you go in for monitoring the doctor of the day goes over the results with you. About 8 months I asked the doctor of the day if the clinic tested AMH, and he said no because there's not enough research to prove that it means anything. I was sad about this because I am super worried about my egg quality. I am only 29 and my FSH is 10 and my lowest AFC was a 6. Dr. Ewok (my own doctor) has told me that those numbers are just fine and I have nothing to worry about, but it does worry me because I read different things online that scare the crap out of me. Anyways, yesterday I told him again about how worried I was, and I asked him if there was any possibility that I could have an AMH test done. His response was, "sure, of course I will order that test for you." WHAT????? You mean to tell me that for 8 months I was under the impression that the clinic doesn't test AMH, so I never asked my own doctor? I could have had this test done, and maybe I wouldn't be so worried like I am now because just maybe they will come back normal. I don't like that the different doctors there have different opinions. One of them told me that I didn't need progesterone, and a luteal phase of 9 days is just fine. My doctor tested my progesterone and it came back at a 2. I'm so happy that I have the doctor that I do because any other doctor might not have cared that much, and not do anything to help me. I am so excited to be finally having this AMH test. It isn't covered, so it will cost $85 :(, but I don't care because I want some reassurance. I'm going to get the test this Thursday along with all of my other blood tests.
I have seen that a lot of women with short luteal phases have high prolactin. I asked Dr. Ewok if he has ever checked my prolactin numbers. I think he said he checked it 3 times. It was 44, 30, and 22. It should be under 30. He said that it fluctuates, and because it was only high once he wasn't that concerned. I'm going to make sure they keep an eye on it because if it continues to stay high I want medication. It have seen 2 ladies take a prolactin medicine and then get pregnant 2 months later. It really does suck that all of my numbers are always borderline, so doctors just wave them off as nothing. I also asked him about my high platelets, and he said that it was high, so he's testing it again. I have started taking baby aspirin again, so I'm not sure if I should stop until he does the test or not. When I asked him about my high testosterone he said that it's usually high at the begininning of your cycle, but then gets lower as your cycle goes on. Maybe he was saying that mine is high at first, but gets normal? I don't know, but I have read that high testosterone causes your eggs to be bad.
Dr. Ewok said that DH's sperm counts needed to be higher. He ordered him a special SA, it's called a DNA fragmentation. I don't know much about the test because I haven't looked it up yet, but all he has to do is produce a sample on September 10. I have some great news though, DH has quit smoking. He has been smoke free for 13 days now, and I am very proud of him. I'm sure this will help his numbers. He has also been taking Zinc every day. We are also going to do another SA soon.
This cycle I will be doing cycle monitoring, 7.5 mg of Femara, and 400 mg of Progesterone after ovulation. Dr. Ewok told us to make another appointment in a month to discuss what we will do next cycle. Hopefully, my next cycle will be in 10 months!
Blogging really helps me because I can get things off of my chest, so I think I will do it more often. I have been so depressed lately that I need to do something about it.
Wednesday 15 August 2012
My Positive HSG Experience. It felt like a period cramp.
Well, I haven't been posting for a long time, but that's because I have been too depressed. I don't want to do anything.
I was terrified of the HSG test because I had read stories on the internet that freaked me out. A lot of people have had horrible experiences, so I thought for sure I would have one too. Fortunately for me, the test was easy. The worst part was the anticipation. For the actual procedure the worst part was when they put the metal thing in and it feels like they are turning it inside of you. That particular part felt like a pap smear, and I HATE pap smears. They are painless, but so uncomfortable. As soon as the doctor put the dye inside of me I felt severe period cramps that only lasted for 1 second. As soon as the test was over the cramps were gone. Let's put it this way, I have had worse period cramps than that test. The dye part felt exactly like a period coming and ending immediately. I guess the only thing that made it different was the pressure. I don't get that pressure with periods.
The good news, besides the fact that the test was a piece of cake, is that my tubes are open. Radiology is reviewing the results to get a better look and I have an appointment with my RE on August 28 to go over the results with him and to see what he thinks we should do next. I'm assuming IVF, but we will see. I would like to do at least two more IUI's before we head down that route. I hope he's okay with it.
I was terrified of the HSG test because I had read stories on the internet that freaked me out. A lot of people have had horrible experiences, so I thought for sure I would have one too. Fortunately for me, the test was easy. The worst part was the anticipation. For the actual procedure the worst part was when they put the metal thing in and it feels like they are turning it inside of you. That particular part felt like a pap smear, and I HATE pap smears. They are painless, but so uncomfortable. As soon as the doctor put the dye inside of me I felt severe period cramps that only lasted for 1 second. As soon as the test was over the cramps were gone. Let's put it this way, I have had worse period cramps than that test. The dye part felt exactly like a period coming and ending immediately. I guess the only thing that made it different was the pressure. I don't get that pressure with periods.
The good news, besides the fact that the test was a piece of cake, is that my tubes are open. Radiology is reviewing the results to get a better look and I have an appointment with my RE on August 28 to go over the results with him and to see what he thinks we should do next. I'm assuming IVF, but we will see. I would like to do at least two more IUI's before we head down that route. I hope he's okay with it.
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