Our Infertility Story - Part 3

Read Our Infertility Story - Part 1 here

Read Our Infertility Story - Part 2 here

After Clomid had failed in June and our option was specialist or Metformin, I began realizing that we were nearing the end of our options with Dr. R.  I knew this was pretty much our last chance of conceiving without major intervention, and while I kept hoping and praying this was “it,” I also began researching our options. 

As I mentioned before, we have an amazing group of close friends who have journeyed this path before us and were able to give us much wisdom and guidance about the next-step options.  Of course, living in Waco, there are no fertility specialists close by.  {Side note: I recently heard there are now 2 who are starting a practice in Temple, but that was not an option at the time.}

I spent much time on the internet looking at our options in both Dallas and Austin, since they are each only 90 miles away.  After I had pretty much made my mind up on where I would want to go, I showed M the options.  He too agreed that one of the clinics in Austin sounded the best to him. 

Fast forward to the middle of September when our final appointment with Dr. R confirmed that I was Clomid Resistant, and we would need to see a specialist.  I told Dr. R about the clinic we planned to use, and he agreed that was an excellent choice, and that he had referred many patients to them.  As Dr. R was leaving the room, he patted me on the knee and said that he knew I would be able to get pregnant, and that it was not time to lose hope or give up yet.    Even though his words were encouraging, I was still anxious and worried since we were about to enter a whole new level of trying to conceive, and because I knew that this was the point our insurance stopped covering anything we tried medically. 

I waited a day or two after my last appointment with Dr. R to call the clinic in Austin – mostly because I was nervous and had no idea what to expect.  In my mind, seeing a fertility specialist (RE) opened up a whole new can of worms.  I had heard a lot about fertility treatments both from media/celebrities and from our own friends who had been there.  Obviously the media likes to portray the crazy results of fertility treatment, so that definitely skews your perspective. 

I called the clinic and visited with a medical assistant about everything we had just completed, and the reason we wanted to set up an appointment, as well as the doctor we thought we wanted to see.  She was very nice, and said that this doctor (the head of the practice) took longer to get in to, but they had a new doctor on their staff who actually specialized in PCOS.  She told me about this doctor’s experience, and it sounded like she would be a good fit for us, and she even had openings to see us the next day since she was building her clientele.  That was a little fast for me though, so we scheduled our consultation with Dr. M for Friday, September 24^th. 

M and I made the trek down to Austin that Friday afternoon, and had a good meeting with Dr. M that also included another ultrasound.  She confirmed that I had classic signs of PCOS, but then she said something that really changed my perspective on our infertility issues.  She said, “I can tell you are really fertile, we just have to get you to ovulate.”  Now, for someone who had been through almost 2 years of trying to conceive at this point, I definitely did not consider myself fertile.  I almost had to laugh since we were standing in an INFERTILITY clinic office.  But deep inside of me a little bit of hope sparked to life again. 

Dr. M wanted to run a few different diagnostic tests and blood panels on both M and me to make sure that the PCOS was our only “issue.”  I had to have a procedure called an HSG to see if my fallopian tubes were blocked or if there were any other abnormalities in my uterus.  M had to have an analysis as well to make sure everything looked good on his end.  We both had to have blood work done too. These took most of the month of October to complete since several of them were time sensitive.  In the end though, everything came back clear, and we were approved to begin treatment. 

At our consultation, Dr. M believed that trying injectible FSH medication along with intrauterine insemination (IUI) would be a good starting place for us.  FSH is the hormone a female’s body produces that causes egg-containing follicles to grow in the ovaries.  Once the follicle(s) reach the appropriate size, one or more then burst to release an egg that can be inseminated.  Clomid tries to trick your brain into making FSH, but that did not work for me.  The injectible medication IS actual FSH, so as the levels increase from continued injections, follicles start to grow.  Dr. M told us that this is all many PCOS patients need to get pregnant, and she really didn’t see anything that caused her to think differently for me, but you never know.  She said we would try up to 3 cycles of injectibles, and if those did not work, IVF would be our only option. 

M has a fear of needles, so I knew doing injections would be up to me.  I figured since it was important, I’d be able to buck up and do it, but I wanted to have a back up person as well.  At the end of October, my mom and I went down to Austin to learn how to give injections.  {Side note: My parents had just moved to Waco about 7 months prior after waiting for their house to sell for 18+ months.  Again, I believe this was God’s perfect timing.} Definitely not something I ever thought my mom and I would learn how to do together – especially not when the patient was going to be me!  But we both learned how to do it, and once I got home, I made arrangements for my first round of medication to be shipped while we waited for my next cycle to start.

I previously posted this picture to document our journey, but thought I should include it again as part of the full story.  This is just part of the eventual pharmacy that took over my fridge and kitchen counter.  But you'll hear more about that tomorrow.



Come back to hear the end of the story - part 4 - tomorrow!