Friday, April 4, 2008

Better Late Than Never...

So I left work early on Wednesday and Rob was going to meet me downtown to go to our much anticipated RE appointment. It was the first appointment he's ever gone to with me, and other than his sperm analysis last summer he had to go in for, it is his first infertility related appointment. Here is how it went...

I got downtown half an hour early, I think it was the excitement and the nerves that made it just impossible for me to sit at work for any longer than humanly necessary that day. I parked and walked into the building where the offices were, but I didn't want to go in all by myself. How ridiculous is that? I've been to a million appointments by myself, and this one I just couldn't go in. Instead sat on the bench by the elevator and called Rob for the millionth time that day. The first 999,999 times I was asking him if he knew how to get there, when he was going to leave, again " Are you SURE you remember how to get here?"

After I had confirmed that, yes, he did in fact know how to get there since I had told him a couple times earlier that day I sat and waited for him on the bench. As I waited quite a few couples came in and out of the office. I tried not to stare but they intrigued me. I kept thinking "Wow, all of these people are in the same boat as us." It is pretty funny, even after talking to hundreds of women having trouble trying to get pregnant on message boards and reading the IF blogs, infertility is still a really insular thing. For some strange reason it surprised me the amount of couples that went in and out of this office. Really young, not so young and some that were downright old. I swear, one man and wife looked like they just may be senior citizens. I do realize that we're really not the only infertiles in the Portland-Metro area, but it just caught me off guard.

It turns out that Rob did know how to get there. He arrived 5 minutes after my last nagging phone call instructing him exactly how to get into the parking garage. I was so glad to see him, even though he was covered head to toe in mud since he had come straight from work.

Once checked in and in the waiting room we didn't wait long at all until we were called back by Dr. H himself, which sort of threw me off. I'm so used to being called back to a waiting room by a nurse and waiting even longer for a doctor. I've never actually seen a doctor walk into a waiting room to get a patient. We went back to his office and I immediately felt comfortable with him. We sat and talked about how long we'd been trying and went over all of our records that were sent to him. He said we had things that have some really positive things about us and also some things that were negative. Positive, we're young and healthy with no diagnosed problems. Negative, we've been off of birth control for four years and actively trying for two. Not so good.

Dr. H totally shocked Rob by telling us that a couple just starting out TTC at our age only has a 25% chance of conceiving every month, (I sat there smug, I totally knew that YEARS ago...HA). Then he shocked me by saying that after how long we've been trying, statistically, we have less than a 3% chance of conceiving naturally every month. That I did not know! We went over our options, IUI with Clomid, IUI with injectables, or IVF. Our chances with Clomid/IUI are 15%... which doesn't sound great compared to the 60% chance with IVF, but then again I don't have a spare $10,000 lying around. Too bad.

Dr. H was concerned about my hemorrhagic cyst that I had in November. He was worried that if it was misdiagnosed and the cyst was still there it might indicate endometriosis. He suggested we do an U/S since I was at the perfect time in my cycle,CD3, to confirm it was gone. Rob actually sat in on the ultrasound and let me tell you, his eyes went about as big as saucers when he saw the size of the wand. He was like "He's going to put that WHERE?" Yes, now you see what I go through Rob. Welcome to my world. It was nice to have him there, being a part of it and actually seeing that I'm not just skipping over to a doctor's office and having a friendly chat, in actuality that I'm being violated by a wand the size of a those clubs you put on your steering wheel to keep it from being stolen. Not so fun, especially when you're bleeding like a stuck pig on CD 3 and have cramps. The good news, the doctor found 5 and 6 follies on either side but no cyst! Yay!

We went back to his office after the U/S ,(I was really impressed with the amount of time he had set aside for just us), and went over Rob's SA from last year. We had never been given the actual numbers by my GYN, she had just said that "Everything looks good", which was always seemed kind of vague to me. And good indeed, his numbers were all well above what they like to see. Rob got all puffed up and proud of himself, and I had to make a concerted effort not to laugh. Guys and their sperm... so funny.

Dr. H told us that he would recommend starting with Clomid + IUI and see how it goes for the first cycle. I started Clomid on April 3rd, will start OPKs on the 11th and hopefully go in for my IUI around the 14th or 15th if my body behaves and doesn't pull an early ovulation on me. I really feel like this was such a good decision to finally get out of this rut we've been in.
Thank you for all the good wishes! Keep them coming for lucky IUI Cycle #1!
**** I was just about to end this blog when Rob walked in with a dozen roses and a card for me, just because. He is the best husband a girl could ask for. Instead of a quote I'll share what he wrote to me in the card...****


"Thank you for everything that you do honey. I love you so much. Don't worry about anything. We'll be OK, after all you're stuck with me forever. I love you!"

-Rob

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just watched the movie Juno and I was glad to come home to a positive and uplifting blog from you. I am glad it went well and you have a supportive husband. they make all the difference. Good luck with this cycle! Enjoy your beautiful flowers. Carol

JustaKidAtHeart said...

AWwwww see see the angel and the necklace are going to work. This has to be it because it is all so perfect. HUGS you know I am pulling for you because you are the best TTTC sister a girl could have.

Joy said...

Good luck! Congrats on a plan.. and a sweet, sweet husband!

Queenie. . . said...

Oh, he IS sweet! It sounds like you had a really positive visit.

I agree, it's really an eyeopener for the men to see the big wand in use. My husband was holding my hand so tight that I thought he was going to break it. He's normally a big tough guy, but he was pratically in tears, watching what I was going through. I actually had to tell him that while it was no picnic, it wasn't as bad as he was imagining.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you this cycle!

Harmony said...

i am glad to hear you had such a good appointment!

you have one supportive and sweet husband! good luck on your plan! i am excited to hear more updates! :0)

Wifezzilla said...

I was really glad to hear that this appointment had such a positive outcome! I am also hoping thatthe IUI is successful (of course), and that this spring brings nothing but good news to you and your husband!

Anonymous said...

First, you and Rob are so lucky to have each other. So congratulations on having what seems to be an equaly supportive relationship. Second, I wish you all the luck with your new treatment, its great to have at least some more progress in this long journey.
Shanny
(Ssweets04 from the Nest)

Anonymous said...

First, you and Rob are very lucky to have each other, so congratulations on having what seems an equally supportive relationship. Second, I wish you all the luck with this new treatment. It's good to have some progress in this long journey. I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you.
Shanny
Ssweets04 from the Nest.

Anonymous said...

What a sweet guy your husband is! I've been stalking your blog waiting for your update, and I'm so happy to hear that you have a plan! Remember to stay positive. And take heart - even if you have to go the IVF route, there are financing options out there, and I've even heard that there are IVF studies where you can have the procedure done for free, so maybe you can find one of those! I'll be praying for you.

Amy (TheGiggleWorm) said...

Great post. I really hope this cycle works for you.

Good Luck!!!

Anonymous said...

woohoo! GL!

Are you taking FSH this round or might that be a step in the future? Just curious!

Bree said...

I loved our RE too. It looks like your in good hands. Hope everything goes well. I've been a lurker (is that the right term) of your blog for a while. I used to read your posts on BOTB on the nest and made your blog part of my favorites.
Good luck with everything. Your baby will be the luckiest kid in the whole wide world. When it gets older you can show them these blogs and tell them how people you've never met cared to learn how your child came into the world.

Jackie said...

I wish you the best of luck! Love the card your husband left; very thoughtful. =)

Tabitha said...

Yay!! It's always nice to have a plan...I have been folowing your blog for EVER, and although it's only been 15 months of TTC for the DH and I, we seem to be following the same path. We even had our HSG's during the same week, with the same "beautiful" results! =) My next step is a LAP, just to officially rule out ENDO even though I don't have any of the sypmtoms except the spotting starting on 10 DPO, again, just like you! I wonder why they aren't doing a LAP for you, just to make sure? I know they put "THE WAND" in you, but i though the only way to really see whats going on in there is a LAP...but I may be wrong. Good Luck to you!! Your in my prayers!

shirleytemple said...

Okay I had tears in my eyes by the end of this blog! He is so sweet! Things are really starting to look good, aren't they?

You're in my thoughts...

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