IUI # 2

I had my second IUI yesterday and the procedure itself went well. We got 4 million swimmers again post-wash, but I feel that this IUI was timed better since I feel as though I ovulated yesterday afternoon after the IUI. Dr. McKeeby, the only RE in SG's Annapolis office that I had not yet met, performed the IUI. I liked him. He seemed nice enough and explained that they like to have 5 or 6 million swimmers, but didn't seem overly concerned with just having 4 million ones. He was also very quick and gentle - I could barely feel a thing during the IUI and it took less time than a sonogram takes. Although I only produced one follicle this time, I feel much more relaxed and more hopeful about this cycle. I will try to be as patient as possible in waiting for my BFP - whether that's after this 2WW period, after the next one, or several years down the road. While a child will probably enrich our lives, life truly is good right now and I should cherish the moments we share as a couple without children.

I return to SG on May 12th for my Beta. However, I will take a HPT on the 11th. :)

CD8 Bloodwork and Ultrasound

I had my CD8 monitoring appointment yesterday. My lone follie had grown to 19.7 and my e2 was 280. So, they had me trigger last night and scheduled my IUI for Tuesday at 11:00 am. I got a peak reading on my fertility monitor this morning, so let's hope that I don't actually ovulate until tomorrow so we have a chance with this IUI this cycle. If this one doesn't work, we're going to have to seriously consider IVF - at least I'll feel better about the timing issues. I'll also feel better knowing that my eggs actually can get fertilized. I'm not overly concerned about the embabies implanting - apparently my lining is really, really good each time. I'm just worried that my insurance won't cover IVF. I got a bit of a scare the other day when I read that I may have to be trying to conceive for FIVE years instead of the two that I had previously thought. And I don't think that male factor would waive that requirement, either! Ugh! I hope this IUI works so I don't have to worry about any of that.

IUI # 1 - CD7 Bloodwork and Ultrasound

I had my CD7 follow-up this morning. I had one folly on my left measuring at 17.9. My e2 is 240 and my lining is 11.3. However, my RE's office doesn't want me to trigger tonight. I have to go back tomorrow for more b/w and another U/S and continue on the Follistim for another night. I have a feeling that they're going to miss my O.....again. I bet I O on Monday and they give me the IUI on Tuesday. Sigh. My fertility monitor kicked into high this morning, so I'm expecting a peak tomorrow if it follows my last natural cycle (and two cycles ago when I had my IUI, but I thought the peak the next day was b/c of the trigger shot). Some good news is that I had a good amount of fertile CM today!! I didn't have that for my last IUI cycle, so if DH and I BD tomorrow, we may still have a chance! Never give up hope, right?!

IUI # 2 - CD5 Bloodwork and Ultrasound

I had my CD5 follow-up today. It didn't go as well as my first follow-up for my previous IUI, though. I have a little bit of fluid somewhere that the tech thinks will just be reabsorbed by my body. I have one unmeasurable folly on my right and one size 10 folly on my left. I will find out my e2 later this afternoon and see if I need to make any changes to my Follistim. Next appointment is scheduled for Saturday morning. I'm hoping that more follies will pop out between now and then!

IUI # 2 - CD2

I had my baseline appointment today and it went well. My U/S showed no cysts this time! I had two antral follicles on my right ovary and one on my left ovary and my lining looked "good." So, I start my 300 IUs of Follistim tonight and return for a check-up on Thursday.

Consultation with Dr. Mottla

I had my consultation with Dr. Mottla today. I didn't go into all of the questions I had listed in my previous post. I just asked him how he thought I responded to my first IUI protocol and how he expects me to respond in the future. He told me that I responded better than he thought I was going to considering my first round of testing results. He seemed optimistic about our chances and doesn't think we may need to go the donor egg route in the future. He does think that we will have a better shot w/ IVF, though, and thinks we could get a decent number of eggs for IVF (between three and six). However, due to insurance reasons, I would have to wait until April 2010 to get coverage for that and he doesn't think we should wait that long. However, DH may have a "male factor" issue - if that is the case, then the insurance companies will waive the two-year waiting requirement. Why they won't waive it if a girl has high FSH or a low antral follicle count is beyond me. Dr. Mottla also told me that once I get pregnant, there is a good chance that I could carry it to term because my tubes, uterus, and lining all look good (provided that I get a good quality egg, that is).

Oh, I also asked him if I stimmed too quickly and if that could be the reason for not getting pregnant. He said that for girls that stim quickly, their follies start to grow earlier than girls who stim more slowly. My follies could have even started to grow even before AF started. So, just because my follies grew quickly, it doesn't mean that they weren't mature at the time of the IUI. He also didn't seem to be concerned that the IUI was timed too late based on my E2 and LH levels prior to triggering. So, I guess I will try to stop worrying about all of these technical things and just let things run their course.

Thus, our next step is to proceed with the next IUI (I expect AF to arrive on Saturday), but we will also get DH tested again to confirm that he does have male factor. If he does (and if IUI # 2 doesn't work), then we will move to IVF w/ ICSI and AH.

Baby Qwest Chronicles

So I'm on CD 9 today and noticed that my temperature rose by almost 1/2 a degree from yesterday. I thought that was a bit odd because I didn't think I was due to O anytime soon, but my fertility monitor confirmed that I'm surging, as evidenced by a little egg that showed up this morning! So, the good news is is that it looks like I will be able to start cycling again in a little over two weeks, as opposed to the three I was originally thinking it would be.

Carrier? No Carrier?

So, I got a call from the genetic counselor yesterday asking if DH and I still wanted to come in to talk with her about my SMA results. She had received my results and saw that I was actually not a carrier of the SMN1 gene. My nurse told me that my results indicated that I had one copy of the SMN1 gene, which was linked to a "reduced carrier risk." However, the counselor told me that I actually had two copies of the SMN1 gene; she just couldn't definitely say if the copies were on the same chromosome or on different ones. I suppose that's why they aren't able to rule out definitely that I am a carrier; but considering that no one else in my family of which I'm aware has SMA, chances are good that I am not a carrier. Therefore, DH does not have to go in and have the test done. If it turns out that he is not a carrier, there is a 1 in 180,000 chance that we will have a baby with SMA. Even if he is a carrier, there is a 1 in 2,000 chance that we could have a baby with SMA. I asked the counselor if she thought it would be a good idea for us to get the CVS testing after I did get pregnant to see if our baby was affected by SMA. She said that it wasn't necessary because chances were higher for us to receive a false positive result than they are that we will have a baby with SMA. So, that was some good news for once!

If anyone is interested in learning more about SMA, the counselor referred me to a helpful link:

http://www.clairealtmanheinefoundation.org/