January 12, 2015.
That was the day Andrew, my husband, and I made the decision to embark
on a new journey. We’ve both always
wanted a house full of kids, but conception has not come easily for us. In June of 2011, I underwent exploratory
laparoscopy after months (maybe years) of unexplained pain and bleeding. My OB/GYN at the time found moderate to
severe endometriosis. My heart sank, but
Andrew and I were still able to conceive naturally after that procedure. We sadly lost our first pregnancy at 10 weeks,
but were soon blessed with our miracle baby, Chase.
Five months after Chase was born, we decided to start trying
to conceive again. After six months of
trying, we started seeing a reproductive endocrinologist (RE) for help. I underwent blood work and tests, which found
that I have fewer eggs than normal and the quality of those eggs is less than
average. I also had a
hysterosalpingogram (HSG), which indicated that both of my fallopian tubes were
completely blocked. Andrew had a semen analysis, which found that he has "super sperm." Seriously, he topped the charts in every category tested. It was at least nice to know that the problem is only one sided. My RE discussed options with us, and we decided to try a second
exploratory laparoscopy to remove scar tissue and adhesions caused by
endometriosis, which would also open the fallopian tubes again. That took place in August of 2014. While my RE also found that I have a uterine
window (C-section opening did not fuse back together) during this procedure,
she noted that the procedure was successful and she had high hopes that we
would get pregnant within six months.
Sadly, that has not happened. So,
after trying for a total of 15 months, we have decided to start the IVF
process.
The biggest shock about IVF wasn’t the price tag. We knew it would be expensive—we’re talking
tens of thousands of dollars once all is said and done… for one cycle, that
is. So, the biggest shock was the length
of the process. We had our first IVF
consult on January 15th. We
learned that I will undergo hormone therapy, both orally and by injection. I have already started on DHEA and Ubiquinol
in hopes of improving my ovarian reserve.
I have also started acupuncture to improve my reproductive health. The Fertility Diet was also recommended,
which eliminates processed and fried foods as well as empty calories. Today, February 5th, I had blood
work done again to test AMH levels, which will help my RE determine my current
ovarian reserve. The results should be
in by next week, and by then, I will be starting the next steps in the process. In
all, the process for us will take at least four to five months, from the time
of our first consult to our first pregnancy test.
We have learned that because I have moderate to severe
endometriosis, there is a chance that my eggs will be covered with
endometriosis. When the RE harvests the
eggs from my ovaries, the outer cells will have to be stripped from the egg to
remove any potential endometriosis. This
process removes the binding agent that the sperm uses to attach to and
fertilize the egg. Therefore, they will
have to manually insert the sperm into the egg in the lab, and we will have to
cross our fingers that the magic will happen.
Based on my current reproductive health, my RE predicts that
she will be able to harvest 10 eggs from my ovaries (although, at least 15
would be ideal). Statistically, 70% of
those eggs will be good, which brings us down to seven. Of those seven eggs that will get fertilized,
she predicts that only three to four (50%) will be viable embryos. Most likely, only two of those embryos will
be transferred into my uterus. Any
others will be frozen, by our choice. Statistics
say that I have a 40-50% chance that one of those embryos will “take” and only a
10-15% chance that both will “take.”
written on February 5, 2015
The best of luck to you both! You know that twins run on the Menk side of the family
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