First Appointment with an RE

Our first appointment with the Reproductive Endocrinologist was in January. I had my list of questions and all of my documented cycles charted out and ready to go. I was determined that I had a Hyperactive thyroid issue. I went in thinking we could test that and get this show on the road! After all, my family has a history of thyroid problems and according to Dr. Google, I have a few of the symptoms.

The initial visit was basically like a "getting to know you" type of visit. The doctor looked through the files that had been sent over from my OB/GYNs. They took a look at my husband's sperm analysis. Everything seemed perfect. At that first visit, she declared that I was diagnosed with "Unexplained Infertility." At first, it sounds great! Unexplained means that it will eventually work because everything is perfect and normal. There's nothing stopping us! But, then, it gets annoying. I WISH I had a diagnosis so that we would know how to attack it. Having a reason for all of this madness would make me feel better about the lack of outcomes we've had.

Our RE was amazing! She drew diagrams to help us understand what she was explaining. She went through the steps we would need to take in order to begin treatment and even explained how all of the millions of tests could tell us what was going wrong. I had my blood drawn that day to check for thyroid issues. Trust me, I wasn't leaving the office without it. My husband and I spent the next couple of weeks having various tests done (genetic testing, STD testing, semen analysis, and other unheard of blood testing).

This was our plan:
1) Wait for all of the test results.
2) Do three IUIs (intrauterine insemination) hoping that one would work.
3) If those don't work, move to IVF.

All of our blood work came back great. No genetic issues, no STDs, my thyroid was functioning perfectly, the SA came back normal, and so on. So, we moved forward with our first IUI.

Intrauterine Insemination

Our first IUI was on Sunday, February 21st. In preparation for this cycle, the RE prescribed Letrozole, which is very similar to Clomid but has less side effects. They monitor your cycle with ultrasounds and blood work to make sure everything is going as planned. They're also checking to see how many follicles your ovaries have produced to reduce the risk of a multiples pregnancy. Guess what my lovely ovaries produced? ONE! One measly follicle. They could have done that on their own, without the Letrozole. I started testing for ovulation around Cycle Day 9 and called the office when I got a positive ovulation test. They scheduled us to come in 24 hours later.

My husband had to go in at 7:30 AM to do his business in a cup. Then, the clinic washed the sperm and got it ready for me. I went in around 9:30 AM. It was pretty odd having a nurse show me a test tube filled with my husband's sperm. But, I'm glad I was able to verify. (Can't be having other people's babies)!

Once they verified that they had the right test tube, they put it in a long catheter. I laid back with my feet in the stirrups while they put the catheter through my cervix and squeezed all of the sperm out. It was quick and painless. They let me lay there for about 5 minutes before leaving. Having to pay the $400+ bill on the way out reminded me just  how shitty this whole situation is. Insurance doesn't cover anything infertility related and here I am paying half a thousand dollars to have someone squirt cum in my vagina (sorry for the vulgarity). But, at this point, I was still pretty naive and thought this would work! I even said something to my husband about how exciting it was to think that we could have a baby by Christmas.

Sometime during the two week wait, my hope diminished. Maybe it was because I had googled the success rate of IUIs, which is less than 10%. Maybe it was because I wasn't having any symptoms. Or, maybe it was because I just had some intuition that it didn't work. Sure enough, my period came. But, I knew we were going to try again so I didn't let it get me down. I was geared up for IUI #2.

Our 2nd IUI was on March 20th. This time I had 3 follicles! I was so proud of my ovaries for responding appropriately. During this cycle, we met back with the RE to go over some test results. This is when we got the bad news...

It's My Ovaries' Fault
The doctor told us that my AMH and FSH had come back out of range.

AMH- Anti-Mullerian Hormone. is tested to get an idea of the remaining egg supply/ovarian reserve. A low number could indicate that there aren't a lot of eggs left.
FSH- Follicle Stimulating Hormone. This is tested to get an idea of how normal the ovarian reserve is. The harder your body has to work to produce eggs, the higher your FSH. Having a high/abnormal FSH could mean that you don't have many eggs left or that the eggs are not good quality. As women age and get closer to menopause, the FSH increases.

My results: 
AMH- .74 (They like it to be between 1.5-4)
FSH- 12.4 (They like it to be less than or equal to 10-12)

At this point, she requested that we move straight to IVF. She explained that my ovaries seem to be aging a little faster than me and that I didn't have a lot of time. The reason she recommended IVF was because she thought we'd be able to get the eggs out while they're still there and freeze embryos for future siblings. Needless to say, the second IUI failed also and we were officially on the IVF train... ready to throw all of our savings and money out the windows, in the hopes of making a baby.


PS: DON'T Google high FSH if this is your diagnosis. Everything will tell you that IVF won't work and that you won't ever be able to have babies. Which caused me to have my first panic attack EVER. I've never cried so hard in my life. This is the absolute worst diagnosis in the world.