My appointment

I had my appointment with Dr. McMahon. I really liked him for the most part. My appointment lasted well over an hour which was amazing--every doctor I've ever seen has worked super hard to rush me out the door! My only complaint would be that he talked a lot, which was fine, the problem was just that I couldn't get a word in myself!

He thinks I don't ovulate regularly (which I know) and that Clomid would probably help. He ordered a semen analysis for Hazen and a HSG for me. The HSG is where they shoot dye through my cervix and it circulates through my uterus and my tubes. They take X-rays while the dye is flowing to see if I have a regularly shaped uterus, uterine scarring, or blocked tubes. It's supposed to be pretty uncomfortable...the sacrifices we will make for a baby!

We are, in the medical community, officially considered "infertile" now. That kind of sucks...the term is used when a couple has been trying over a year.

If the SA and HSG both come back normal, I will be put on Clomid. The SA can be done any time, and the HSG will be done between days 7 and 10 of my next cycle. Clomid will hopefully be started in August. Unfortunately, I am 17 days into this current cycle and haven't stopped spotting. I'm expecting another anovulatory cycle, which is disappointing. I had hoped for one more untreated cycle to try, and I also hoped for a short cycle if that didn't work. My anovulatory cycles tend to range from 36-80+ days...I won't go to 80+ this time because around 35 or so I'll probably call and beg for Provera (a medication that brings on the next cycle). It's just disappointing to feel like the cycle is already a bust when it's barely even started.

Another update on Baby#2

My period came. Of course. I had the worst 2WW (2 week wait--waiting to test) EVER. I had 3 false positives on these nasty, horrible blue line Equates. I didn't realize I'd grabbed blue dye instead of pink...huge mistake. I know better than to go anywhere near blue dye tests, and after research I've found that "false positives" are pretty common on these particular ones. I can be sure that they were false and not that I had a chemical pregnancy (very early miscarriage) because I used two other brands at the same time, two of the most sensitive brands, and they were both negative. It was horrible. :( I talked to my NP and based on my progesterone results and when my period came, she referred me to a doctor. I will see him on Wednesday and find out where to go from here and whether he will do more testing. Oy.

Heard from my doc

And there is no news to tell. The results weren't great, apparently, but since the test was done on the text book cycle day 21 rather than 7 days past ovulation, I have to call her when my next period starts and she can then count backwards and determine where I was in my cycle at the time of the test (although I told her I was pretty sure I was three days past o!). She will then know more about whether my results were normal or not. Maybe there will be no period to call about, but I know better than to get my hopes up!

Update on the making of baby #2

We’ve been keeping all of this pretty quiet, but I don’t believe I have many readers that don’t already know that we’re trying to get pregnant. If you’re squeamish about baby making, you probably don’t want to read any further. ;)

So, yes, we have been actively trying for #2 since October (about 8 months now). We have been inactively trying since June-ish (about a year). My cycles have been very irregular, ranging from 27-37 days in length. That’s not too much of a concern, but what is a concern is that I am either not ovulating at all or else ovulating between day 15 and 24, and my luteal phase (the part of the cycle from ovulation to period; from period to ovulation is the follicular phase) is ranging between 10 and 14 days. The luteal phase (LP) should be pretty consistent, with only a day or so variance from cycle to cycle, if anything. Ovulation can be sporadic, but having a 10 day window where it may or may not happen makes timing difficult. We have very consistently been timing things very well (the “best” days are the three days before ovulation and the day of; we generally get three days in that window), and still pregnancy has not been achieved. I had my annual exam in April and mentioned that we weren’t getting pregnant. I might have fluffed it a bit and said we’d been trying for a year. ;) I got the okay to call an RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) whenever I wanted, but Hazen and I decided to give it another cycle.

Unfortunately, during my April/May cycle I ended up spotting for 10 days in the middle. I had to go back to the doctor and had my thyroid tested. I was tested Thursday afternoon, and called Friday for the results—the doctor was out. I had to call again on Monday afternoon and was finally given my results—my thyroid is fine. It’s a 2.03 or something (the number should be between .5 and 3). I ended up not ovulating that cycle, but was told that when my next cycle started I should call and set up a 21 day progesterone check.

Fast forward to this cycle. First, I needed to use some ovulation tests (OPKs) in addition to my temping (you can check out http://www.fertilityfriend.com/ if you’d like more information on that) to pinpoint my ovulation day. Since my o date is so sporadic, I didn’t bother to take any tests until day 14—it was positive. I was shocked. The next 5 days continued to be more and more positive. This is odd for me since I normally have two days of positives—the day before and the day of ovulation. So right there my cycle was weird and unpredictable and I had no idea when to expect ovulation.

I did have my 21 day progesterone check earlier this week. I went in at 8:45 Wednesday morning and had my blood drawn. I was told they would call with the results. I didn’t hear back on Thursday, but decided to wait until Friday morning so I wouldn’t be seen as pushy. Guess what? Doctor wasn’t in. Supposedly I’ll get a phone call on Monday with my results, which sucks. Oh well. The weekend should pass quickly—it always does. The next step is that if I’m not pregnant this cycle (I’ll be testing next Fridayish, 12dpo—days past ovulation), I will call and speak to an RE and figure out what the next step is. From the research I’ve done, that will include a sperm analysis, a complete bloods workup, an ultrasound, and possibly an HSG (this is an x-ray of the uterus and fallopian tubes; a dye is injected that will appear on the screen and shows if there is any blockage in the tubes or abnormalities in the uterus). Hopefully we don’t have to go that route.