A Pothole In This Rocky Road

So as you can see, its been a while since I've last updated everyone. Its time to "Unclog the Blog" as my Aunt says. This one's gonna be a long one. SORRY =/

I last left off with was my first visit to the fertility specialist. Well it ended up being my ONLY visit to the fertility specialist. So far at least. After my last post, we were about to have the water sonogram done. Well, in order to do this procedure, you must wait until your "menses" is over. Can I just tell you, Aunt Flo moved in, in October, and she still ain't left! Yup, you heard correctly. This is where you all say "Awe, poor Martin!" Believe me, I'm saying it too. Heck, I'm saying poor Martin AND poor me. I'm the one that has to deal with her! Anyways, yes, this is a true story. I started having not just my normal cycle but some other issues, you could say. Some that caused great concern for me and my mom. She kept asking me, "Is there anyway you could have gotten pregnant and maybe this is kind of like a miscarriage?" I thought it was about time to go back to the doctor. I know, I know. WHY DID YOU WAIT THIS LONG? Everyone says. I guess I'm a little like Martin when it comes to, Don't ask-Don't tell or What I don't know won't hurt me kind of a thing. Well in this case, It might have hurt me.


I made the appointment to go in, and saw my lovely nurse practitioner Kayla, who I love. She basically said the same thing everyone else said. She gave me two options. We can either try a birth control pill to see if that regulates it at all or... just go for the jugular and knock Aunt Flo to her knees and just do a D&C.

LESSON TIME:

D&C (Dilation & Curettage) is a procedure in which the cervix of the uterus is expanded (dilated) so that the uterine lining (endometrium) can be removed with a spoon-shaped instrument called a ceret or currette. The procedure is performed for a variety of reasons. Most commonly, the reason I had to have it, is to help determine the cause of abnormal uterine bleeding. It can also be done to help determine the degree of abnormality of the endometrium in cases of cancer or pre-cancerous cells that are detected by the biopsy.
End of Lesson for now, back to the story.

So, I, who lives my the idea of go big or go home, decided the D&C is the way to go. Plus she said it was a surgery, which I've never had and actually was kind of excited about. I know, I'm a weirdo. My mom tells me all the time. LOL. What can I say, up until this point, I've been blessed with good heath and strong bones and have never really needed major medical attention. I seem to have conquered my fear of needles so I said, what the heck. Lets do this!

I arrive to the hospital the day of my surgery. 2 hours early mind you. By the way, can I just ask, why on earth you need to be there 2 hours prior to your surgery? Its not like I need to be checked for weapons of mass destruction. I'm getting an operation for cryin out loud. An out patient one at that. Why tell me my surgery is at 9am so be here at 7am. Why not just say your surgery is at 7am. Makes no sense to me but I guess that's why they get paid the big peanuts.

So I show up at my 2 hour early appointment. First thing, get checked in. Check. Second thing, get my type and screen blood work done. Check. Third, get naked and lay on this gurney. Hahaha. Just kidding. But it kinda is like that. Here is your gown. get undressed, put all of your belongings in this plastic bag and I'll come back and get you all wired up. So they get my IV going. Big pat on my back for not crying this time. First time I had and IV (when I had my wisdom teeth removed) I cried like a baby! So, IV's in. They bring Martin and my mom back to sit and wait with me until the doctor is ready for me. For those of you who are avid General Hospital fans or maybe not full timers like my grandmother, mother and now myself. But if you've ever caught a show you might have stumbled on a conversation about OR3 and how its cursed. Well, I tell my mom before I get wheeled away, I just hope I don't get OR3! She laughs as I get wheeled out. I'm layin there all comfy cozy on my gurney, getting wheeled down this long hallway. OR1......OR2......here's our stop she says. CRAP! OR3! I say another quick little prayer, laugh to myself and in my head say, if only Dr. Drake were here. LOL

I had to transfer myself over to the actual OR table and the anaesthesiologist says, where do you want to go? I'm gonna take you on a trip. Lets go to Hawaii! I said OK. Closed my eyes for just a second while the nurse and everyone was setting out the utensils and things. Woke up with a mask on my face, people watching in the recovery room. Sweet! That was a breeze. I was a little drunk for a little while there. But it wore off quickly after I woke up. They wheeled me back down to the room where I waited initially. Shortly after getting wheeled in, My hubby walks in. =) Yes babe, I made it. I'm alive. (He hates hospitals) So the nurse comes in, helps me stand up and get my pants on. I finished dressing, mom walks in and the nurse tells her to pull the car up. I got handed a sacked lunch (thanks Corona Regional, that was very sweet) and was wheeled out to my car. Now, I did some research on this surgery before I went in. Got a few personal opinions from some friends and family members who have had it done. I'm not feeling any pain here. Did they not do it right? I think my high pain tolerance kicks in again. Or I was just lucky. I only had to take one of my pain pills she gave me, and that was an hour after I got home and only precautionary per my doctors request.

Other then that. the hardest part of this whole thing was the "taking it easy" for 4 days. That was miserable. I wasn't allowed to lift anything so every time I wanted to pick up Hunter, Id get yelled at. My butt got sore from laying on the couch for 4 days. But other then that, I was stoked it went so well.
Until....

A few days after my surgery, I got a call from my doctors office saying "Your pathology report came back on the tissue we had tested, and I noticed you didn't schedule your follow up appointment". The doctor told me to wait two weeks for my follow up appointment. Its only been a week.
Somethings wrong, I could feel it.
She said to come in Tuesday, and the doctor will go over your results with you. I instantly felt the urge to pray. Which I did, practically every spare moment, until today came.
I get a call around 11:10 this morning from the doctors office asking if I could go in early? "The doctor is here and we have no patients waiting so the doctor can see you earlier". I then thought to myself, Great! Its so bad, that they don't want to tell me in front of other people for fear I may get hysterical. So I jumped in my car. Practically flew there. Yes Mother, I drove fast because I was nervous. You would have too.
So I get in there, and she opens my chart and goes Oh... OK. Reaches for one of those flip books with the disgusting illustrations sitting in the basket covered in dust because she rarely needs to use them. My heart sank.
She turned to a page showing what an uterus looks like that has been effected by Endometrial Hyperplasia.

LESSON TWO:

Endometrial Hyperplasia is a medical condition that, if unaddressed, will in 30% of cases develop into Cancer of the Uterus. Endormetrial hyperplasia is an above normal thickening of the lining of the uterus. The overgrowth of cells predisposes the women to abnormal tissue changes in the uterus which may become cancerous. The reason for the hyperplasia is generally due to a dominance of the hormone estrogen and a deficiency of the hormone progesterone.
So. There it is. My current fate. Whats the next step I'm sure you're asking. Well, My doctor is going to give me a Depo shot for three months to try to regulate the cycle somewhat. Then another D&C and biopsy of the tissue. Hopefully, God willing, this will work and we caught it in time. In the meantime, I need prayers. Big, long, strong prayers. I've always thought to myself, God is not Allowing me to get pregnant as some form of punishment. I know now, after some perfectly timed (by God mind you) bible study, I've realized, God isn't punishing me. He's just not ready yet. He will make me a mother when He is ready. Its all on God's time. Not mine. This is all in His hands. Whether He heals me of this condition or helps get me through cancer later down the road, I know whatever my path is, It will be the Path that was made for me. So here I am Lord. Ready and willing to do whatever it is I need to do. Let Your will be done.

1st Appointment, & A Human Reproduction Lesson All Rolled Into One!

It's Thursday morning, the day of my first appointment. I wake up, nerves, so far in tact. I get showered, dressed and ready to go. The Pacific Reproductive Center is located less then a mile from Martin's office, so I was going to pick him up so we could drive to the appointment together. They requested both "participating parties" (ha ha) be present for questioning. When I say questioning, this consultation, was nothing short of an interrogation. But I'll get to that a little later.
We arrived to our 10:00am appointment a few minutes early. Just in case they needed any additional paperwork filled out. Other then the rather large packet of forms and questionnaires they sent me to fill out prior to our appointment. They took my insurance information and showed us to the two chairs in the doctors office. This was weird to me. First off, I felt like I had gotten in trouble and had been sent to the principles office. Secondly, there were no paper covered exam tables, and no awkward stir-ups to fill. Just Martin and I staring awkwardly at the 3D modules of the female reproductive organs. Nothing like getting up-close and personal with a uterus first thing in the morning!
So we're sitting in the room, Martin has his boat magazine in hand. Trying everything he can from turning red from all the diagrams on the desk. About 10 minutes pass, still no sight of the doctor. The receptionist comes in about 5 minutes later, and says the doctor is running late, but will be here soon. No problem, we've waited this long to find out whats wrong with us, why not hang out for a little while longer while our doctor calms his coffee craving at the local Starbucks. If I come late, you make me reschedule and still charge me, if you come late, I wait longer? That's bogus!
Anyhoo, the doctor finally arrives, walks in and to my surprise, Dr. Salem was a women. She didn't look anything like the man in the newspaper article they sent me in my welcome packet. Oh but wait...he walks in right behind her. Also, Dr. Salem. Maybe a father/daughter team? Hey, double doctors means double duty and that means sooner results if you ask me. So they go on with that interrogation I mentioned early. How long have you been having unprotected sex? Have you ever fathered any other children? (that one was for Martin obviously) Had I ever been pregnant before? Pretty much everything I answered in writing on the forms that were sitting in front of them. But hey, double check my answers, Quality Control is never frowned upon.
They looked over Martin's semen analysis and said his sample was acceptable.
LESSON TIME: A semen analysis measures the amount of semen a man produces and determines the number and quality of sperm in the semen sample. A semen analysis is usually one of the first tests done to help determine whether a man has a problem fathering a child. A problem with the semen or sperm affects more than one-third of the couples who are unable to have children. The main things they look for are:

1. Volume- This is a measure of how much semen is present in one ejaculation


2. Sperm count- This is a count of the number of sperm present per milliliter (ML) of semen in one ejaculation.


3. Morphology- This is a measure of the percentage of sperm that have a normal shape.


4. Sperm motility- This is a measure of the percentage of sperm that can move forward normally.

There are a few more things they check for such as the pH, white blood cell count, and the fructose levels but the items listed above are the main factors. So they're determined that Martin is not the issue at the moment. So yea, its been me all along. So much for blaming Martin's moms' drug problem.

With the answers to the questions they asked me, they were able to come to general diagnosis. We will be running tests to confirm that I in fact have what they call Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Polycystic ovaries are where follicles have matured in the ovaries but are never released due to abnormal hormone balance. I could go on for days about what this is, what causes it, and how or if you can get rid of it. Believe me, I've googled till my fingers fell off. But I won't, not now. This is what they are assuming I have because I have many symptoms of this disease.

I, however, only care about what the next step is. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of PCOS is Insulin Resistance. Basically, type two diabetes. The next step is going back on Metformin. I was on this once before as prescribed by my obgyn. But after no luck after 6 months I gave up. Guess I shouldn't have done that. I went in for my blood panel today to ensure my body can handle the types of medication they will be prescribing. The Metformin will lower the insulin in my body, therefore helping my body ovulate properly. Next I go in for a Saline Infusion Sonogram (SIS) or water sonogram. This I've been told, not so fun. This procedure is to make sure that the endometrial cavity (inside of the uterus) appears normal. Sterile salt-water solution (saline) flows through a catheter into the uterine cavity. This extends the endometrial cavity and allows the doctor to see the entire cavity on the ultrasound monitor. The purpose of this procedure is to detect any abnormalities
of the fallopian tubes, uterus and uterine cavity.

Right now we are at a stand still. I've had the blood panel done. Just waiting for them to schedule me for the water sonogram. After all these test have been completed, it will be time for me to start the Clomid Cycle. Clomid is the fertility drug that we will be trying first. A friend of mine who was having the same issues, got pregnant with all three of her children on Clomid. So I'm crossing my fingers. Three would be nice...just not all at once please! More on Clomid in the next post.

To Be Continued...

Introducing the 'I' Word

This whole escapade started because my husband Martin and I started to feel a little left out when most, or should we say ALL our friends started having babies. Not kidding it was the Baby Boomers era TAKE 2. But really, we love all of our friends children as if they were our own. But that's just it. They're not our own. Sure, we can pick them up and take them out to do fun stuff and have pool days and give them lots of yummy candy and ice cream before we send them home to mom and dad. But that's just it. We had to send them home. We don't get to have family dinners, fun bath times, tuck them in at night and teach them to say their prayers. Its a huge void in our marriage. I feel it, and I know he does too.
Now, We're creeping up on 30 here. We don't have much time. We really need to get this whole parenting thing going before we are buying two packs of diapers at the store. One for baby, and one for us. Don't get me wrong, I understand that thirty is not that old. (I say that now. Ask me when I was 9 and being thirty meant you must have been birthed by a Tyrannosaurus Rex.) But having a child at thirty, means you're close to fifty when they graduate high school. Fifty five to sixty when they finish college and settle down to start a families of their own. (I know, wishful thinking in today's society huh-Sad.) That means though, that when I get to experience being a grandmother, the kids will practically have to pry my butt off the rocking chair.
I don't know why I've always dreamt of being a young grandma. Maybe because I see my mom doing fun stuff with Hunter, whom by the way you'll be hearing a lot about throughout this blog. Also, my best friend Candice's mom, Connie. She's in her, lets just be nice and say early forty's *wink-wink* and she has a blast with her grandchildren. She's young at heart and a little accident prone for the most part. But even when the kids step on her screws or leave bruises on her legs from climbing the human jungle gym known as Gramma Connie, she smiles, laughs and absolutely loves it.
That's what I want.

So the time is now.
I've met with my doctors many times over the last year and so far, none of the simple "try this, then that" stuff has worked. Time to bring out the big guns. I finally got my referral to the Infertility doctor. Uh Oh! Yup, I said it. Infertility. The big 'I' word. I know, scary huh? Wake up people! Infertility affects 6.1 million people in the United States. It breaks down to 1 in 10 couples in which the woman is of reproductive age. This number demonstrates that infertility affects a large percentage of our population. We can't be scared of it. There have been major advances in this area to help men and women all over this nation, to have the families they have always dreamed of. With God on my side and a little help from Dr. Salem and his team at the Pacific Reproductive Center, I can definitely see babies in our future.

Every Happily Ever After Has A Once Upon A Time

Hello. My name is Cathy and I'm a Baby-A-Holic.
Whew! I feel better already. I guess this blogging thing really does work, huh.
Well, alright, lets get started.
I've decided to blog about my presumably difficult Journey to Gestation for two reasons. One, unless I rein act, with monologue, every moment of each and every phone call or doctors appointment, My mom and a certain duo of friends will never be satisfied with the tidbits of info they get over text messages. Secondly, I honestly think that this could end up being very therapeutic. I mean, if you need some incite into the wonderful world of infertility or maybe just a laugh...log in and read this blog. Oh...you thought I meant therapeutic for me? How cute! I don't need therapy! Therapy is for people who moan and groan over life's everyday challenges. Like gas prices, Sitting in traffic for 70% of your life, Attempting to buy a house in this economy. Or how about trying to get pregnant after hundreds, no wait THOUSANDS of attempts. OK wait! Litttttle to far there. (And it was a total joke mom if your reading this.)
Man oh man. I think I just described my life, in a nut shell. Money goes as quick as it comes. I feel like I should be writing my rent checks to the 91 freeway. Buying a house even when you make decent money is stressful enough to give you aneurysm. But besides all of that, the whole getting pregnant thing. Its not as easy as these little hoodlums in High School make it look.
This Blog is to share with you, my family and friends, the sometime graphic, but always informative and hopefully funny details of how I plan to get pregnant.
So sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a FAITH filled trip!