How to Proceed

JDD, my husband, and I saw Dr. EDL on March 13.  Two appointments with him, both on Friday the 13th. Hopefully a good omen. ;-)  Based on all the tests, both his and hers, my advanced maternal age, and the fact that I hadn't been on the pill for eight years, he recommended we Go. Straight. To IVF. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

To be honest, I wasn't surprised.  I had two weeks to research, read blogs, and countless message board threads, to realize that our chances for Baby D would be optimized with IVF.  Even though I wasn't surprised at the outcome of IVF, I was still a little surprised at the diagnosis, a combination of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and unknown factor.

I thought that when I wanted to have a baby, I just would.  JDD has a 19 year old daughter.  My sister has never had trouble getting pregnant and my cousin has three little boys.  But I am older than they are and I have had crazy thyroid problems for almost 12 years.  Looks like we need help from science and a cute doctor. ;-)

I'll be doing the microdose lupron flare protocol.  This will be proceeded by ~ two weeks of birth control pills to "quiet my ovaries" and also help to get rid of the cyst that I likely have.  After that, I'll start the stims.  If all works according to my calendar, I'll do the BCP from April 15-29, the injections May 1-15, ER May 18 and implantation May 23.  If that works I'd be over the moon because May 23 would have been my grandfather's 90th birthday.  Hop and I were besties, partners in crime and soulmates, and if he were still alive I know he'd be the one family member I'd confide in about all of this.

Next week JDD and I have our injection class on Monday and then I'm meeting with our RE on Tuesday for a follow up.  I have a lot of questions after completing the IVF course they wanted us to take and also from reading so much about this.

More after those two meetings...

The Journey Begins

I've spent over half my life trying not to get pregnant. Now that I've been married for 10 years and am staring 40 in the face, I've finally gotten that "ache" to have a baby. Sadly, nature has not be kind so my husband and I found ourselves meeting with a reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. EDL on February 13.

I knew my age would be a factor.  And I've read that Hashimoto's, which I've had for over a decade, would probably contribute to pregnancy difficulties.  But after I got the call with my CD3 (the first set of diagnostic tests you have on the third day of your period) results, I didn't realize how dire my situation was. There were four measurements taken that day - antral follicle count (AFC) and levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) luteinizing hormone (LH), and estradiol (E2).  My fantastic nurse, MH, went through the numbers with me and my mood sank lower and lower as she moved through the four data points.  Of course I was panicking since I had previously researched what are the "good" numbers.  

AFC: 6 total b/t both ovaries

FSH: 3.79

AMH: 0.618
E2: 191

My AMH was abysmal (1.0 is what doctors consider low-normal).  My FSH, while a very good test number, is probably artificially low.  Dr. EDL said the low FSH level is likely the result of an ovarian cyst, which is also why my E2 number is high (normal is <50).  And to complete the superfecta (hey, I'm from a horse racing family so betting terms are part of my vernacular) of fertility bad news was the AFC of only six (10 is what doctors like to see).

About a week after these tests, I had the pleasant truly agonizing experience of an HSG on February 28.  The procedure wasn't bad but about four hours later I had a terrible stomach ache.  Not cramping pains, like I had been punched in the lower abdomen about a thousand times. It wasn't any better the next day (Sunday) so I ended going back to SGF for blood work and an ultrasound to see what was going on.  And for the trifecta of transvaginal ultrasounds, Dr. EDL had me come back the day after that, Monday, March 2, for one that he could personally see.  It ended up that I had an allergic reaction to the dye which caused severe inflammation and an infection.  

With that out of the way, it was time for our own version of the two week wait before our follow up with Dr. EDL...