2 women trying to make a baby

Monday, September 29, 2008

Next steps

I talked with my RE today. He was super warm and wonderful, and now I am feeling encouraged again. He agreed with me that this round was just bad luck statistically. (It's easy to forget that IVF just does not work 50% of the time.) He said that he sees no reason I cannot get pregnant but thinks that I have some "ovary issues"....hmmm, I have lazy ovaries. Is this a character failing or simply poor habit energy? Perhaps they are depressed or confused that they live in a lesbian??

Things my RE would like to be different next cycle:
  1. use no BCP since these quieted my ovaries too much.
  2. increase my estradiol from 1400 to around 2000 through the use of stims (Menopure).
  3. Increase my stims from 3 to 4 ampules per day.
  4. chart cycles from now until next attempt.

Things we will continue:

  1. Lupron starting on CD21.
  2. Metformin x3 daily.
  3. Manage stress (am I really do that?).

Things I want to add to next cycle: (darn internet makes us all think we are MDs)

  1. use low dose asprin again.
  2. take a broad spectrum antibiotic at the start of the cycle.
  3. lose 10 pounds-- dr just said to eat low carb and exercise.

So it looks like our next try at having a baby will be in the end of January.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

2 women and 1 large wish for a child

Hello, I'm not 100% sure where to begin.... I guess mine is just an old fashioned love story. Girl meets girl on the internet and they exchange rings within 2 months. 6 months later they set up housekeeping. They get a multitude of dogs, move to another state, and buy a house. Move 5 years into the future. Now that the classic lesbian American dream has been reached, the next step is clearly to have a real live human family. (I am being a bit cavalier but this truly is something we both deeply long for.)

Sooo last year we began seeing a reproductive endocrinologist. We expected that he would say "everything's great. Let's schedule an IUI immediately! .... Why, you'll be pregnant within a month!" But instead he said, "You have old eggs and fertility issues." He then said the dreaded words....in vitro fertilization. HJ (partner) and I were in shock! We couldn't fathom that things weren't 'normal' in my ovaries and such and we were terrified at the cost of IVF. But we persevered. We did IVF #1 and I got pregnant. "Yippee!! This is more like it!" We told everyone we knew, including my parents (but THAT is another story) then I miscarried at 9 1/2 weeks. booo!

So we took some time to grieve and recover. We got a second and a third opinion then we went to a new RE. Love, love, love RE #2 and we were pumped for IVF #2. However IVF #2 did not create any discernible outcome aside from our diminished bank account and my new ability to cry at the drop of a hat. I'm serious: I don't discriminate. I'll cry over anything: commercials, songs or even Adam Sandler movies!! So now HJ and I are in the portion of our journey when we see pregnant women EVERYWHERE and we try to decide how to get there for ourselves.

Clearly some days are better than others.