New to the journey

swazey2018

Hey ya'll. 

First post here. My husband and I recently got married in July 2018 and only tried for two months on our own before we went to our doctor and asked for a referral to a fertility clinic. My husband was married for 8 years prior and was unable to have children with his ex so we already knew going into our marriage that having children would be difficult. It seemed like forever until we could get our referral as I am sure our doctor initially blew us off thinking we hadn't tried long enough. Needless to say after many phone calls and a referral we will be getting a different doctor. 

My husband under went multiple tests and was told that his count was less than 90k instead of the millions they usually see. He's only 32, and I am 29. We believe it has to do with an undescended teste that wasn't fixed in a timely matter when he was a child. He knew there wasn't going to be good news and it hit him hard. Since those tests he's apologized for being "broken". I've tried to reassure him but he carries the blame. 

We did our research and initially went into the clinic wanting to do IVF. My husband was dead set on having a biological child. We started appointments for bloodwork and ultrasounds and did monthly ultrasounds to watch my lining as I had just removed a IUD after 10 years. I still don't get my periods so I have had to induce them since starting the treatments. After they were pleased with my lining situation they counted my follicles. I had 52. Naturally they were worried about overstimulation and the effects of IVF medication and multiples. We took a break from the clinic to talk about our options. 

A friend of mine came to me about her situation and gave me information about using donor sperm. I brought it up with my husband and he cried. He wanted nothing to do with it - again he was adamant about having a biological child. I told him I understand and I support you. I told him I was ready to do IVF no matter the cost and at the end of the day I just wanted to have a family with him. I told him it was going to be his decision on what steps we took going forward in regards to the treatments. About two weeks later my husband came to me and said he wanted to talk about the option of using a donor. We sat on our couch and talked all night about the pros and cons, his concerns on loving the child differently. Ultimately he came to the realization that blood does not mean family and he wanted to have a family with me regardless.   

At this point my husband became so involved with selecting the donor, he even went and got his family history books to narrow down different traits. I picked my top 5 favorites using the information my husband gave me and gave him the deciding factor. When it came down to purchasing the sample he grabbed my hand and we both hit "complete order" together.  

We went back to the fertility clinic and I started my medication rounds. 5 days of letrozole 2xdaily 2.5 mg starting on my 3rd day of my cycle, which had been induced. I went for an ultrasound and had 1 follicle at 8mm, and 2 at 10 mm.  I left with a prescription for 7 days of letrozole 2x daily 2.5mg and came back to the clinic at the end of that round of medication for another ultrasound. 1 follicle on my left at 8mm and 2 on my right at 16m and 14mm. They had me take letrozole for 3 more days, at 2.5mg and scheduled another ultrasound. At this point they also had me start doing opk's and to call if I got a positive. They said once a day should be fine.

Well I did the opks...but I did them in the morning and evening. On the 18th in the evening I got a non-flashing smile face on my clearblue opk and my heart wouldn't stop pounding I was so excited. I made my husband go out and buy more (a cheaper, more confusing version) because I couldn't believe it. I called the clinic on their after hours call line and scheduled a call back on Saturday. They called at 7am to schedule my IUI with frozen donor at 1030 that same day. I didn't get a wink of sleep. 

Saturday came and I was in and out within 2 hours, with some cramping and spotting. The day after the IUI I had some lower belly cramping. 
I am currently in my two week wait with a test date of February 2nd. 

I can't help but worry that we missed our window. So far that's been my only concern. I have only ever had irregular periods before I got the IUD. My clinic only did blood work in the beginning. I don't know if I ovulate regularly or if I have a short or long surge time frame.  If I have to do another round do you ladies have any suggestions or tips regarding finding your window?

I am excited for this journey, and I can't wait to see all the success stories from you lovely ladies.   

suzycupcake

@swazey2018 Phew girl that was long! Welcome. It seems extreme to be on Letrozole for that long and then to assume you will ovulate literally the next morning from the time you got a non-flashing smile face on an opk test. That just doesn't seem right and imo, you're correct to wonder about the timing. It's possible that your body just doesn't respond well to the Letrozole. Can you try Clomid instead and do a trigger shot so that you'll be able to control when you O? Not knowing if you ovulate regularly is kind of a big deal. Unfortunately, an LH surge as indicated by a positive OPK doesn't guarantee ovulation. Did they do an u/s or blood test to confirm that you did ovulate this time? Because if not, I'd ask for that next time. 

ACAC25

Wow sounds like a crazy journey. Fingers crossed everything is going well. Baby dust!

swazey2018

@suzycupcake - Sorry for the novel. I kind of just sat down and went to town! As I kind of expected this round I got a BFN. They didn't do any blood tests or anything to confirm O. I will ask about the Clomid...they already ordered Letrozole again for this Friday and raised it to 7.5mg for 10 days, and told me to do OPKS starting the 16th. I am starting to think about switching clinics.


@ACAC25 thank you on to the next round 

suzycupcake

Yea that doesn't sound right in my experience, but I guess there could be some ladies that do fertility meds for that many days. From what I've seen, it's usually just 5 days at the most. If your body doesn't respond really at all, they switch meds. We aren't taking Tylenol here. The only time they really increase is if your body responded, but they want it to respond more. To me, it sounds like they are wasting your time and money. It's a big deal if they aren't confirming O and just relying on OPKs after a history of irregular cycles. Yea, I'd find a better clinic. 

Now I'm curious what blood work they did prior to IUI and on which days of your cycle, as well as what tests did they do (saline sonogram or an HSG). @swazey2018