2 week history part 1

I have done so many searches on conception, pregnancy, infertility, early pregnancy signs and multiple births. I am desperately looking for the one thing that will make it all work for my husband and I. In these searches, I kept running across abbreviations and I had no idea what they meant! I will try not to do that to you :-)

Background: We started trying in November of 2008. I was hoping to become pregnant before my 40th b-day in June. Well, that did not happen. Anyway, my cycle is very regular and I read enough to notice the signs of ovulation. I was ovulating at mid cycle so all seemed well. We would have sex every other day for 2 weeks just to make sure we would hit the ovulation.

In July, after ovulation, I had decided that if I got my period, I was going to call a specialist so we could have basic testing to make sure that there was nothing wrong with my husband or myself. On July 31 it came. I was at work and I picked up the phone. I already had a specialist picked out. He is my friend’s doctor. She went through IVF (in vitro fertilization) with him and is pregnant with twins! Sounds like a good recommendation to me!

I called and made an appointment for that Monday, August 3. Because I was only in day 4 of my cycle, he was able to get right to work! On that visit, I had my first internal ultrasound to check my uterus and ovaries for any cyst or other visible problems. He noted that both my ovaries had 5 follicles each...normal. So far so good.

It seemed I was now on the fast track to fertility! He prescribed 100mg of Clomid for the Clomid Challenge. Clomid is a very cost effective drug that you take cycle day 5-10. It stimulates ovulation, if your body is capable. He also prescribed an HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) trigger shot, sent me for blood work, scheduled me for my second sonogram, made an appointment for my husband to deposit some sperm for testing and ordered an HSG (Hysterosalpingogram - preformed by a radiologist, they inject dye into your cervix and through your fallopian tubes. It is to check for any blockages. A good result is that the dye flows out of your fallopian tubes freely and into your stomach cavity).

I was excited and terrified all at once!

I started my Clomid on Tuesday, August 4 (took it for 5 days) and an antibiotic on Wednesday in preparation for the HSG. I had the HSG on Friday. It was not bad at all. I had no pain or cramping from it although others say they have mild to severe cramping. I rarely have cramping during my period so that may be why.

On August 10, I had another round of blood work to check all my levels after being on Clomid for 5 days. That same morning, my husband made his deposit for testing ;-)

On August 12, I went for my second sonogram. This time, they were looking to see if my ovaries had any mature follicles. A mature follicle is one that is at least 18-22mm. On my right side, there was one that was 16mm and my left was at 20mm. He also saw a small polyp in my uterus.

I was told to give myself the trigger shot the next morning, Thursday, August 13 to give the right side time to mature. You read right…give MYSELF a shot! Ok, what the heck am I doing?

Then he asked what I wanted to do next…two options: 1) give myself the shot and have sex for the next 2 days with my husband, knowing that we are ovulating and have 2 waiting eggs. Or 2) Have an IUI followed with 2 days of sex with my husband.

An IUI -- intrauterine insemination -- is performed by threading a very thin flexible catheter through the cervix and injecting washed sperm directly into the uterus.

There are several factors in our favor: we know we have 2 mature eggs; we know what day we will ovulate; and the frequency of pregnancy after an HSG is higher. This procedure is also pretty low cost…it was $260, a far cry from IVF!

My thought was we have come this far, might as well drop the boys off at the door! So I told him "let’s do it!" My instruction were to go home and have sex…OK, then on Thursday, give myself the trigger shot at 8:30am and NO sex on Thursday. My husband and I both had appointments for Friday, August 14…HERE WE GO!