Our TTC Overview

Welcome to the ICLW folks stopping by!

I thought it might be good to introduce myself, and give a snapshot of our almost 3 year TTC journey:

July 2008: I marry my "Babycakes" (BC) in Austin, TX
April 2009: We decide to start officially trying for a family
April 2010: My regular OB/GYN gives me the 'unexplained infertility' label
Fall 2010 I begin seeing a fertility specialist
December 2010: 50mg Clomid (produces 3 follicles!) = BFN
January 2011: 50mg Femara (just 1 follicle)= BFN
February 2011: Back to 50 mg Clomid (1 follicle) + IUI = BFN
BREAK
June 2011: Laparoscopic surgery revealed (and cleared) Stage III endometriosis.
June 2011: IUI = BFN
July 2011: 50 mg Clomid (1 follicle) + IUI = BFN
September 2011: IUI= BFN
October 2011: IUI= BFN (are you seeing a theme here?)
November 2011: move into my first injectables cycle with Gonal-F + 2 IUI's (3 follicles released)
December 2011: Holy S***- first every BFP!! Sadly, ended in a chemical pregnancy days later
BREAK due to ovarian cyst
February 2012: 2nd Injectables cycle w. Gonal F and 2 IUI's= BFN (only 1 follicle released)
March 2012: With cysts on both ovaries, my doc told me this month was out for interventions. On March 20th- testing on a whim, I got a surprise, natural BFP!!! In total shock.

We are now a bit over 8 weeks along on our journey, and praying daily that this little one becomes our take home baby at the end of November.

I'd love to learn a bit about each of you as well! A few questions:

*Where are you from? 
(I am from small town Wisconsin- went to Madison for college then moved to Austin on a total whim in 1999)
*What is your all time favorite movie?
(I LOVE Annie Hall)
*If you could take a dream vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?
(This is a toss up between another European tour- hitting Paris, Barcelona, Budapest, Vienna, etc- or heading out to New Zealand)

Happy ICLW week! I look forward to getting to know you all.

Still Learning

Over the past 2 years, I've done SO much research in the TTC realm that I really thought I knew it all. I knew that part of the laparoscopic procedure was to determine if endometriosis was a culprit with ones' fertility, and that often a woman won't have any signs of its existence until the surgery is done.  I've always had pretty painful periods (the first 24 hours are brutal)- but other than that and our "unexplained infertility", there weren't any other definitive signs.

From my previous research, I directly associated endometriosis' affect on fertility with scar tissue and with fusing different organs together. So when I had my follow up call with Dr. Vaughn post surgery, I got schooled again. Yes, I had moderate (considerate) amounts of endometriosis. But no, it hadn't affected fertility with scar tissue or by adhering anything together; rather, he said that the very presence of endo can alter one's hormones, and the effectiveness of how the tubes & uterus work in conception. I found this super fascinating, and of course had to research it further.

This article has a great description on the different ways endo can affect fertility, including hormonally. After having read it, I have even more hope that now my system is back to firing on all cylinders.

Go tubes! Go uterus! We're all cleaned out and squeaky clean, and we've got some work to do.

Recovery

Yesterday was my laparoscopic surgery. Babycakes and I were to arrive to the surgery center by 6am for the 7am procedure. My overwhelming feeling going into it was one of curiosity (and of course I also prepped BC that in the event I didn't make it, he could have all the money in my accounts and must promise to take excellent care of my our kitties.To which he smirked and asked  'how much money are we talking about?')

Sexy pre-op self portrait

After getting through the IV (the most dreaded part for me-I loathe needles!) things moved pretty quickly. I vaguely remember being wheeled into the surgery room and shifted to the operating table. The next thing I knew I heard a woman's voice saying 'you're all done' and sounds started filtering in around me like I was tuning into a shortwave radio. I tried to urge my eyes open while drifting in and out of consciousness. I slowly started to become aware of my body again, and felt some intense abdominal cramping. The nurse asked if I needed more pain relief and within moments of nodding yes the sensations were thankfully fading away.

Babycakes was fetched from the waiting room- at last reunited with his hot wife who had oxygen tubes clamped to her nose. He came bearing the doctor's updates: they'd found 'moderate' amounts of endometriosis (somewhere between mild & severe), were able to clear it all out, believing that was likely the reason we hadn't conceived yet. They also gave it only a 30% chance of possible recurrence. !!!!!!!!!!! Not sure if it was the massive amounts of drugs in my body, but I was soaring on cloud nine! Seriously, the best results we possibly could have hoped for. I had this energetic tickle inside similar to the magic I'd felt when we first started trying for babies two years ago.

Then recovery set in.

The nurse said I had to go to the bathroom before they'd dispatch me home. No problem! I hobbled into the restroom with her & Babycakes, and quickly realized I was suffering from pee paralysis. I kicked everyone out & proceeded to sit there for 15 minutes trying to coax my bladder to loosen up. The nurse came back in, and another awesome surprise gripped me: extreme nausea. She gave me some alcohol pads to sniff and left me to keep trying to do my business. It was probably one of the most frustrating 30 odd some minutes I've had in a long time- I just wanted to go home.

The rest of the day was a sleepy, nauseous blur. The kitties were thrilled and thought we were having a party- all shacked up together in bed. Surprisingly I didn't need any more pain meds- the incision sites were sore but totally bearable. My tummy was very stiff & bloated, causing me to resemble Frankenstein as I lurched to and from the bathroom.

             "This is awesome! Can you have laparoscopic surgery everyday?"


I took 2 doses of anti nausea meds- and WHOA- those things were intense! I'd feel a tingly burning in my arms & a sudden pulsing in my hands, followed by some trippy visuals before the nausea would finally cease. Discovered today that I was actually taking them wrong (hey- I was in no shape to be reading directions!) -the tabs are supposed to be completely dissolved on one's tongue, not popped like candy. Oh well. I lived, and it made for some interesting entertainment.

Today my appetite is finally coming back, coupled with a pretty intense headache. I've been anxious to speak to my doctor directly- wanting to find out more details about exactly where the endo was found, etc, but wasn't able to get through today. Hoping for more updates tomorrow.

All in all, I am SOOOO grateful we decided to have this procedure. Even the most talented acupuncturists, chiropractors, spiritualists, yogis, etc can't cure endometriosis. It's been quite the journey over the past 2 years, and I am ever so relieved to finally have answers, and to finally be moving forward.