Onto the next step...IUI#1

Roll up and that's an invitation
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
Roll up to make a reservation
Roll up for the Mystery Tour
The Magical Mystery Tour is waiting to take you away
Waiting to take you away.

Well, that mean Aunt Flow showed up right on time. (Big Surprise, huh?) So, we're onto our first IUI cycle. To make it official, I stopped by the doctor's office and grabbed the lovely sterile plastic cup that hubby will need in order to make his contribution to the process.

Hubby spoke to his boss about the situation since we aren't sure exactly when he will need to take off from work for this procedure. His boss was really understanding as some of her friends have gone through the same thing. It definitely helps to have her willing to work with hubby's schedule.

We have decided not to tell anyone in the family what we are planning to do. We just don't want everyone to have their hopes up. If it works, we'll be thrilled. But, if it doesn't we don't want to bum everyone for Christmas.

The doctor is having me do an unmedicated cycle this month as he is pleased with my ovulation at this time. So, basically, when I get a positive ovulation test, I call the office and they schedule me for an iui.

I am praying hard that all goes as planned. Hopefully I ovulate normally, DH has enough sperm that day, we can get into the doctor easily, etc.) We're both a bit nervous about it as we haven't been through this before.

I bought special socks for my IUI. I know its silly, but since my part of the procedure is basically hanging out half naked, I decided to get myself something to help make me feel happy during the IUI. Hubby told me he is going to wear his lucky SA underwear. I know its silly to do these things, but I guess we are desperate!

Doubtful me

I guess I could technically start to test now. I am 9dpo. Honestly, I don't even have the urge to take a HPT. I guess I just really don't think I am pregnant. I have the usual symptoms of PMS...swollen breasts, fatigue. But honestly, nothing out of the ordinary except for a few light cramps last night before going to bed. I think they were caused by acupuncture. He tried a few new points.

This week has wiped me out. I have been doing the workload of 2 different people and quite frankly, it has worn me out. I cannot wait to go to bed tonight. At least I have the whole weekend off. I am working a 14 hour day tomorrow but then I have all weekend off!

Just another day in Trying-To-Conceive Land

I haven't posted recently because honestly there isn't much to post. Hubby's butt is starting to feel less sore. And (until this morning) he was also feeling better. This morning he vomited but it may be a stomach bug that is going around. Overall, we think his body is getting used to the medication.

I called the doctor's office to find out how much an IUI would cost us. The lady didn't have the exact numbers in front of her, but she said that it was approximately $100 for the IUI and something less than $100 for the sperm wash.

We tried on our own (again) this month, so hopefully, we won't have to do an IUI. But with our track record, we're planning on an IUI next month. We're still not sure how the whole procedure will work, but at least we know it won't break the bank to try it.

I am once again in the 2 week wait. I guess because I know the chances of my being pregnant are so low, I haven't been paying too much attention to any twinges I may or may not be feeling. I think this cycle is another bust, but I suppose that miracles do happen every day!

My HSG experience

I was totally nervous about the HSG. I will admit that freely. I was afraid of both the results and the actual procedure. So, when my mom and I left for the hospital, I popped the advil that the doctor advised, and sat quietly in my seat.

We arrived at the hospital, got checked in, and then went to Radiology. The technician had me get changed into a gown and then I waited around for my doctor to arrive. The technician told me that waiting for the doctor is usually the longest part of this procedure.

My doctor arrived. He told me not to worry and that once we got all set up, the test itself would be over fast. He inserted the speculum, got the dye and syringe all ready, inserted the tube into my cervix. All the while the doctor did this, he was talking to me. He told me everything he was doing and after each step he asked me how I was doing. At that point, other than the slight discomfort any pelvic exam gives, I was feeling pretty good. He pointed out the monitor where I would be able to see the dye and my ovaries so I could watch with them. The doctor then asked if the x-ray technician was ready. The technician nodded and told him yes. Then he started pushing in the dye. He told me, it's going to cramp, it'll be over soon. The moment he started to push in the dye I felt an incredible amount of pressure and a bad menstrual cramp that never let up. It was like getting kicked in the stomach, the wind was literally knocked out of me and all I could do was groan a bit when he asked me how I was doing. The doctor told me to hang in there...that they saw the first tube spilling and were just waiting for the second one...it would just be a tiny bit longer. I saw the first spilling, but then I had to close my eyes and just concentrate on breathing. I heard the x-ray technician yell out, I see the second one spilling. The doctor said "I see it, too" and it was over. And the intense cramp let up to a much more mild cramp that I could deal with easily.

The doctor told me that I did great. He said both tubes are clear so next month we can go ahead and do an IUI. The IUI is an in-office procedure, so I won't have to go to the hospital. He told me to take my time getting up and if I need anything at all, to please give him a call.

Overall, while the test itself gave a terribly painful menstrual cramp that didn't let up, it was over fast, so it was totally doable. While I wouldn't ask to do it again, if I had to, I know I'd be okay. Especially with the doctor there to talk me through things.

My mom asked how it went and I told her everything was clear. She was happy that I got good results. I am glad she came with me. While I didn't have her in there with me during the test, having her there before helped to keep me calm. She told me if I need her to, she can drive me to an IUI or any other procedure which is sweet. I don't think we're going to tell anyone about when we are doing an IUI (if I can help it). We don't want everyone to get too excited and think I am getting a BFP just to get a BFN. I keep telling everyone that an IUI is just giving us a chance of getting pregnant...no guarantee!

And we're going forward...

First of all, my hubby is the most dedicated dad...before we've even conceived. His poor little glutes are SO sore from these shots. I have told him that if at any time he wants to stop, he certainly can. I will NOT hold it against him. And he keeps saying, "give me the next shot...my body will adjust...I want my testosterone to be normal and I want a baby." You are a dedicated daddy. Thank you, honey, for all that you are doing for our future baby.

Oddly, the right glute seems to hurt more after an injection than the left glute. It's not the actual injection that seems to hurt him...he hardly feels that at all. It's the muscular pain from the injection. We're doing the injection in the correct place at both. I guess that is normal?

I went to see my Dr. today. Dr. S told me with hubby's numbers we can go ahead with an IUI. So, the next step is for me to get an HSG. He looked at his calendar and said "I'm going to get the nurse to schedule you for tomorrow. I'm doing them then and I want to personally do yours." The plan, if my HSG goes well tomorrow, is to then do an IUI the following cycle. I have to find out how much the IUI will cost me, but I think we can manage one this year.

I am so nervous for the HSG tomorrow. I have heard how sometimes they hurt and I don't handle pain well. I am also scared that I won't get good results. I am going to pray hard that it will go okay. My mom is taking me, so I will have someone's hand to hold.

Number Two down...only god know how many more injections

Last night after work, I gave hubby his second injection. We iced the spot down for a few minutes before giving the injection. He said that he barely felt the stick. We also massaged the muscle a bit and hubby walked around for about 15 minutes after wards and then put heat on it. I think the muscle is a bit sore today, but not as bad as the first injection. It's a process of trial and error until we find what works to help with the muscle soreness from the injections.

Hubby is also feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous today. It happened after the first injection as well and with coming on and off of all the various testosterone medications.

I am feeling very down today...mostly due to work. It's just a frustrating time here right now...I am up against a deadline that just isn't going to happen with all the delays that keep happening. I am filling in for other people's jobs, and I am just plain exhausted. I just want to sleep.

Nursing 101

Ring my friend, I said you call Doctor Robert
Day or night he'll be there any time at all, Doctor Robert


It was a whirlwind day in Philadelphia on Friday. We left early in the morning and caught a train to University of Pennsylvania Hospital for hubby's appointment with the male hormone endocrinologist specialist, Dr. H. The last time we saw Dr. H he thought hubby may have a mild form of hypogonadism. Hubby's body essentially doesn't make enough testosterone on its own. So, he had hubby go off of all forms of testosterone replacement therapy, and we did blood tests once a month for 2 months. Additionally, we did another SA (which I have already told you showed improvement.)

So, we went into see Dr. H at the appointed time. We LOVE Dr. H. I believe he and his wife went through infertility, so he is especially kind and sensitive with the subject. First things first...hubby definitely has a mild form of hypogonadism. His testosterone levels plummeted when he went off the testosterone replacement therapy. So, he needs to be on something to keep his testosterone levels up...namely hcG which I will talk about a in a bit. Secondly, his SA showed that his count is coming back (23 million sperm, 57% motility), but he was a little low on morphology...only abour 23% were normally shaped and normal is about 30%. So, we'll have to see if it is enough for an IUI yet.

So, the doctor explained that DH will be doing hcg shots 3x week into a muscle. He got us a script and told us most pharmacies don't just carry it on the shelf, so they will special order it if we just go to a regular pharmacy. The nurse came up with a list of specialty pharmacies that may carry the drug on the shelf. One was in Trenton. So, we hopped on the train and gave the pharmacy a call. They had the drug in stock, so we gave the nurse a call to see if we could come back for our injection class. We paid for the Novarel (which isn't covered by insurance)and luckily got a call from the nurse. She said I can help you at 4 so, we took the train back down to U of P Hospital.

The nurses taught me how to reconstitute the medication which comes as a powder. They also taught me how to draw up the needle and finally where and how to inject hubby. Unfortunately, this is a medication that must be injected into a muscle. So, at this point, we're switching off butt cheeks. After class we ran and grabbed the train back home. And then we went to the minor league hockey game that we had tickets for!

I don't think sitting on the train for 1-1/2 or the stadium seats was good for the injection because hubby was SO sore. To add to the injury, we had signed up to do a scavenger hunt in New Hope on Saturday night...yup, all that walking with an already sore bum meant that hubby was very sore yesterday! We decided to take it easy, and we settled in with a movie and dinner at home!

So, what do we do from here?

-Hubby gets injections 3x week. I give injection #2 tonight. I feel TERRIBLE that he is so sore. I got some tips from a few other people who do this regularly. Hopefully that will help. I don't have any problems with the injection itself, but I feel terrible about the pain he is in. I wish I could take the injections for him!

-In 2 months, hubby goes for another blood test. We then call the doctor to see if we need to change the dosage.

-In 4 months we get another blood test and another SA. We call for the results and to see if there is any change in dosage and to see if SA has improved.

-In 6 months, we see the doctor again!

And hopefully, by that point, we'll have a bambino growing inside me.

I see my doctor on Thursday to go over the results of the SA and see if we can proceed with IUI yet. I think we might be just a bit shy of what we need, but we can talk about it at least.