singa06
22-08-2009, 09:12
My bubhub TTC diary is quite long, so while I was TTC I wrote this:
My husband and I started trying to conceive in March 2007. I actually fell pregnant naturally July (2007), but sadly that ended in a miscarriage at only 4-5 weeks. After only 5 months of trying I went to see my gyno as I was concerned about my irregular cycles. He suggested that I try Clomid to help regulate them. The first month nothing happened, but it did shorten my cycle and according to ovulation test strips, I did ovulate. The second month I did a pregnancy test the day my period was due and I could see a faint second line, I was so excited! But sadly my period arrived the next day. I think that it may have been a chemical pregnancy, but no doctor could confirm that. The third month nothing happened, but on the forth month I had another chemical pregnancy (this time I had a blood test the day after my period was due and my HCG level was only 8). Nothing could explain what happened and it was so frustrating, why couldn’t I ‘hold’ a pregnancy?
The fifth and six months were also failures and I was a little fed up with my gyno as I didn’t feel he was really doing enough to monitor and help me.
When I was leaving his clinic before beginning my sixth cycle he said to me “If this doesn’t work, just take the Clomid again”. I knew I wasn’t going to take them again and I knew I wasn’t going to go back to see him.
I found a fertility specialist through a friend. He ran all the tests and luckily my husband’s sperm analysis came back normal. I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and the doctor suggested we try IO (induced ovulation) with IUI (intrauterine insemination) using medication that I had to inject myself. I was very excited and nervous. Finally we began our first IUI cycle. I knew the chances of success were only a slight jump up from normal intercourse, but I was very hopeful that this was our lucky break.
At the end of the painful two-week-wait, my nurse rang to tell me that a very low level of HCG was found in my blood test (only 14). It was hard to wait another week for a second blood test. The good news was that my levels had risen (to around 300) but the bad news was I began to bleed. The bleeding slowed down with the help of some progesterone, but unfortunately my third blood test showed that my levels were slowly dropping.
But my bad luck didn’t end there. One week later my forth blood test showed that my levels had risen again and my nurse suggested that I may have an ectopic pregnancy and sent me for an Ultra sound. She was right; there it was in my left tube.
One week later I had laparoscopic surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy and part of my left tube.
No words can explain the heart break of miscarrying again, loosing a tube and knowing that many weeks will have to pass before we can try again. Tears flow, and life seems to go on as normal around you, others easily fall pregnant and try to understand your pain and bad luck. I don’t know how I would have coped without the support of my husband. When I saw my doctor for a 6 weeks check up after surgery, he said that I will have to wait one more cycle before we can try IUI again. I remember crying all the way home and I found it so hard to get through most days. I tried to think positively “I can fall pregnant, I am still relatively young and I have a supportive family…” In total it was a 3 month wait between the surgery and our next IUI cycle. I will never complain about the two week wait again!
I responded well to my second IUI cycle. I was nervous leading up to the scan as I didn’t know which side the dominate follicle was going to be on as I can’t use my left tube due to the ectopic pregnancy. Luckily for me I had a follicle on each side (15mm). Unfortunately I didn’t fall pregnant that month. My third IUI cycle was cancelled as I only had one mature follicle on my left side and it was pointless triggering it for IUI as without my left tube connected I couldn’t fall pregnant.
So IVF was the next path I wanted to take. I knew eventually IUI would work, but how long could I cope with injecting myself for around 12 days to find that the follicle was on my left again? It is stressful and heartbreaking.
I made an appointment with my fertility specialist to discuss future treatment and we decided that IVF was the best next step. So I began the pill, then spray and finally injections, each step was bringing us closer to our little miracle. I wasn’t as nervous for my first Ultra sound as I knew it didn’t matter what side my follicles were on. I have to admit that the whole ‘IVF cycle’ went extremely well, I had 12 eggs collected, 7 fertilised, 6 turned to embryos and 5 made it to blasto stage. I had one blasto embryo transferred and 4 frozen.
I cheated and did a home pregnancy test as early as 11 days past ovulation / EPU and was very excited to see those two lines. Fearing that it was still the Pregnyl in my system I did another test at 12 and 13 dpo and to my excitement they were getting darker!
The day of my official blood test, I thought to myself “How could I be pregnant? I don’t have any signs or symptoms at all!”
Anyway my nurse rang and I heard those words “You are pregnant!” My HCG level had reached 459 at 16dpo!
The next couple of weeks were scary as I obviously feared the worst two things and they were the fear of seeing no heartbeat at the 7 week scan or miscarrying again.
Our 7 week scan showed a perfect heartbeat and my pregnancy progressed to be the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced.
Thank you for reading my story and I hope that I have inspired those on a tough TTC journey to remain strong and positive and talk to those close to you about what you are going through.
And cry, scream, yell, it is ok to let out all those emotions!
My husband and I started trying to conceive in March 2007. I actually fell pregnant naturally July (2007), but sadly that ended in a miscarriage at only 4-5 weeks. After only 5 months of trying I went to see my gyno as I was concerned about my irregular cycles. He suggested that I try Clomid to help regulate them. The first month nothing happened, but it did shorten my cycle and according to ovulation test strips, I did ovulate. The second month I did a pregnancy test the day my period was due and I could see a faint second line, I was so excited! But sadly my period arrived the next day. I think that it may have been a chemical pregnancy, but no doctor could confirm that. The third month nothing happened, but on the forth month I had another chemical pregnancy (this time I had a blood test the day after my period was due and my HCG level was only 8). Nothing could explain what happened and it was so frustrating, why couldn’t I ‘hold’ a pregnancy?
The fifth and six months were also failures and I was a little fed up with my gyno as I didn’t feel he was really doing enough to monitor and help me.
When I was leaving his clinic before beginning my sixth cycle he said to me “If this doesn’t work, just take the Clomid again”. I knew I wasn’t going to take them again and I knew I wasn’t going to go back to see him.
I found a fertility specialist through a friend. He ran all the tests and luckily my husband’s sperm analysis came back normal. I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and the doctor suggested we try IO (induced ovulation) with IUI (intrauterine insemination) using medication that I had to inject myself. I was very excited and nervous. Finally we began our first IUI cycle. I knew the chances of success were only a slight jump up from normal intercourse, but I was very hopeful that this was our lucky break.
At the end of the painful two-week-wait, my nurse rang to tell me that a very low level of HCG was found in my blood test (only 14). It was hard to wait another week for a second blood test. The good news was that my levels had risen (to around 300) but the bad news was I began to bleed. The bleeding slowed down with the help of some progesterone, but unfortunately my third blood test showed that my levels were slowly dropping.
But my bad luck didn’t end there. One week later my forth blood test showed that my levels had risen again and my nurse suggested that I may have an ectopic pregnancy and sent me for an Ultra sound. She was right; there it was in my left tube.
One week later I had laparoscopic surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy and part of my left tube.
No words can explain the heart break of miscarrying again, loosing a tube and knowing that many weeks will have to pass before we can try again. Tears flow, and life seems to go on as normal around you, others easily fall pregnant and try to understand your pain and bad luck. I don’t know how I would have coped without the support of my husband. When I saw my doctor for a 6 weeks check up after surgery, he said that I will have to wait one more cycle before we can try IUI again. I remember crying all the way home and I found it so hard to get through most days. I tried to think positively “I can fall pregnant, I am still relatively young and I have a supportive family…” In total it was a 3 month wait between the surgery and our next IUI cycle. I will never complain about the two week wait again!
I responded well to my second IUI cycle. I was nervous leading up to the scan as I didn’t know which side the dominate follicle was going to be on as I can’t use my left tube due to the ectopic pregnancy. Luckily for me I had a follicle on each side (15mm). Unfortunately I didn’t fall pregnant that month. My third IUI cycle was cancelled as I only had one mature follicle on my left side and it was pointless triggering it for IUI as without my left tube connected I couldn’t fall pregnant.
So IVF was the next path I wanted to take. I knew eventually IUI would work, but how long could I cope with injecting myself for around 12 days to find that the follicle was on my left again? It is stressful and heartbreaking.
I made an appointment with my fertility specialist to discuss future treatment and we decided that IVF was the best next step. So I began the pill, then spray and finally injections, each step was bringing us closer to our little miracle. I wasn’t as nervous for my first Ultra sound as I knew it didn’t matter what side my follicles were on. I have to admit that the whole ‘IVF cycle’ went extremely well, I had 12 eggs collected, 7 fertilised, 6 turned to embryos and 5 made it to blasto stage. I had one blasto embryo transferred and 4 frozen.
I cheated and did a home pregnancy test as early as 11 days past ovulation / EPU and was very excited to see those two lines. Fearing that it was still the Pregnyl in my system I did another test at 12 and 13 dpo and to my excitement they were getting darker!
The day of my official blood test, I thought to myself “How could I be pregnant? I don’t have any signs or symptoms at all!”
Anyway my nurse rang and I heard those words “You are pregnant!” My HCG level had reached 459 at 16dpo!
The next couple of weeks were scary as I obviously feared the worst two things and they were the fear of seeing no heartbeat at the 7 week scan or miscarrying again.
Our 7 week scan showed a perfect heartbeat and my pregnancy progressed to be the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced.
Thank you for reading my story and I hope that I have inspired those on a tough TTC journey to remain strong and positive and talk to those close to you about what you are going through.
And cry, scream, yell, it is ok to let out all those emotions!