The big day

IUI DAY

Cycle day 14 Jordan and I made the drive to Fontana again we had to be there super early.

Jordan needed to bet there at 8:30 to do his part because we live too far away he has to give his sample there.  Dr. Park said Jordan’s sample was the best she had seen all day. He was happy.

Jordan took some picture of the room for you guys. There were also some playboy's from 1991. 

VHS TAPES after some googling I found this movie was filmed in 2001. 

Yes this is a slide of "there was an old woman who lived in a shoe"

When Jordan was done we went to breakfast since we had a few hours to kill before the insemination. Parking at Fontana Kaiser is horrible so we walked across the street to a breakfast place. It was pretty good!

We got called back around 11:30. The procedure took about 5 minutes, the insert a catheter and then they use a long syringe like tool to inject the semen. It felt like a pap smear uncomfortable but not horrible. I had to lie on the table for 10 minutes after the procedure.

All done! 

At check out I was given MORE INSTRUCTIONS, making a baby is so complicated.

On cycle day 17 I  was told to start Endometrin  a form of  progesterone that is a vaginal suppository. (Wait, excuse me?) research shows that it both helps and does nothing so Kaiser has decided to prescribe it to everyone. If I get a negative pregnancy test I am supposed to stop the endometrin and if I get a positive test I will have to continue it for 10 weeks. this stuff is expensive, it was $130 for 42 capsules which is only 3 weeks of medication. 

Now we wait....... someone has asked me how much we have spent as of this day our grand total was $1,313.00. 

Follicle Scan and HCG trigger shot

Cycle day 12 I went in for a follicle scan.  I was so excited to see what the clomid did. I had one follicle. ONE REALLY? Okay one is way better than none. The PA did comment on my uterine lining, hey I'll take my compliments where I can get them. 

This appointment was super quick so not too much to report.

I was told to give myself the HCG trigger shot at 10pm that night and to come back on CD 14 for the insemination.

This video is long but I made a video of the HCG injection. *warning its long, you get to see my fat, and I didn't know if it was recording in the beginning.* 

My experience with Clomid

My experience with clomid was rather mild.  I chose to take the medication at night thinking that any side effects I had I would experience at night., turns out the half-life of the medication is long so the medication builds up in your system.

On a daily basis I did not have many side effects.  I was mostly exhausted and anxious.  Come cycle day 8 24 hours after I stopped the medication my anxiety was through the roof.

We were at a party with some friends and we were playing “One night ultimate werewolf” I could not handle the yelling lying and accusations involved in this game.  I ended up playing two rounds and watching another five. 

I mindlessly chewed the inside of my mouth good.

By the time we left I was so done I just passed out in the car on the way home.

This feeling continued for another 24 hours, by sunday cycle day 10 I was feeling much better. 

I had very few hot flashes and no mood swings however I was a little more emotional than normal.

Jordan was at work most of the time I was on this medication so he can't really comment on my state of mind. ;)

Here goes nothing....

This will be our first medicated cycle. How are we feeling? Nervous excited, and hopeful.

Day one was a Friday, this made cycle day 3 (aka baseline ultrasound day) a Sunday. On the weekends the infertility department is open on a first come first serve basis and only for a few hours. I had to be in Fontana at 7:30 am! 

This time I saw the same Dr. I saw for the horrible HSG test. She remembered me! She said everything looked great for day 3 of a cycle and I should start my clomid the same day and end on day 7.

Wow! I was not expecting to start the same day! I thought I had a couple more days to be synthetic hormone free. 

I was given specific instructions to return on cycle day 12 for a follicle scan and to bring with me my hcg trigger shot.

Once again hurry up and wait. 

Helpful terms

CD- cycle day

DPO-days past ovulation

Clomid- This medication is used to treat infertility in women. It works by stimulating an increase in the amount of hormones that support the growth and release of a mature egg (ovulation). Here is some more information about clomid. 

Follicle-An ovarian follicle is the basic unit of female reproductive biology and is composed of roughly spherical aggregations of cells. It contains a single oocyte aka egg. 

HCG trigger shot- assists the follicles in maturing, but it also triggers mature eggs so they release from the follicles. 

Oligo-ovulation- (ol-I-go-ov-u-LA-shun) is a disorder in which ovulation doesn't occur on a regular basis, and your menstrual cycle may be longer than the normal cycle of 21 to 35 days. This is what my official diagnosis is. 

2ww- two week wait the time after ovulation before your period is due or you can test. 

While We Wait

While we wait I thought I would share a few projects we have done to our new house.

Our house was built in 1988 and we are the second owners. The house was previously a rental and had no updates to the house. We have 4 bedrooms and 3 baths.  We have a lot of big dreams for this house. Were thankful for gift card rewards and gifts for our birthdays and christmas. 

We replaced the light in our dining room with the help of my dad. Who knew that there would be three sets of wires and we would need wire cutters?

Jordan also replaced the outside light. This only took a few minutes and looks so much nicer.

This project led to the removal of the security door.  We didn’t measure and the door just slammed into the light.

Also whoever painted the house last didn’t remove the light before they painted the house. Luckily we have some paint in the garage that is labeled house outside. It just needs a touch up.  We also hope to buy a fancy new front door and install a retractable screen door. We get such a nice breeze in the afternoons the screen would be beneficial.

Positive news at today’s appointment

9 am appointment we drove to the “shadow realms” as Jordan calls it. It took us an hour and a half to get to our appointment.

 We met again today with Dr. Park. She is very happy with my hormone levels. Everything came back great. My Anti-Mullerian Hormone came back right in the middle of the normal range she was especially happy with this as it reflects my ovarian reserve. My estrodial level came back higher because we had forced my cycle and my body was more at the ovulation phase.

Dr. Park was a little concerned that my “fibroid” was gone and or not seen in the ultra sound. This will remain under observation. Dr. Park also explained to me that my left tube may still be blocked because they could not see the spillage of dye where it went completely through my fallopian tube.

 So, I am good to go. I have all 3 things needed to make a baby uterus, tubes, and ovaries. 

Down side, my cycle is just abnormal making it hard to conceive and if in a few months the clomid and IUIs do not seem to be working I will have to repeat the HSG dye test.

Jordan also got his test results today. The main thing Dr. Park was looking for was motility. Normal is anything over 40 million. Jordan has 315 million. No that is not a typo. Jordan has super sperm.

As a result of forcing my period by taking the provera last month I may have another cycle soon. If I do not have a cycle I will start the provera again. I hope this is not the case as it made me feel crappy.

 At the time my cycle starts I have to call the office and schedule a baseline ultra sound. At this appointment I would find out what my dosage of Clomid will be and when to comeback for another ultra sound. At the second ultrasound if there are less than four follicles maturing we will go ahead with the IUI.

 Some people might be wondering why we are going to do an IUI.  We get six cycles to try the clomid with or with out the IUI. We are sticking with the might as well do as much as we can for six months before we have to move on.

So we are back to hurry up and wait!