Our journey so far

Aug 2008: Meet Mr. M. Fall in love. Fast.

Apr 2010: Get engaged.

Jan 2011: Start learning sympto-thermal NFP.

May 2011: Become Mr. & Mrs. M in the Sacrament of Marriage. Best day of my life. Honeymoon in Rome and receive the newlyweds blessing.

July 2011: Actively start trying to get pregnant.

Late July 2011: I think I'm pregnant - that was easy! Except I'm not, and it wasn't. First taste of the hope-disappointment cycle that becomes all too familiar.

Dec 2011: Disappointed that our first Christmas does not include some special "news" to share with our family.

March 2012: Really getting concerned now. Schedule first appointment with local pro-life obgyn that also has Napro docs on staff.

April 2012: Start learning Creighton. Take a good look at my cycle history. Everything looks perfect...except consistent mid-cycle, pre-peak spotting.

May 2012: Hormone test on P+6. Numbers a wee bit low but doc says it's okay since it was P+6.

July 2012: Diagnostic work. HSG and ultrasound show tubes open and endometrial polyp, which doc says was the cause of the weird bleeding.

Sept 2012: Hysteroscopy removes the polyp, which was inconveniently semi-blocking my left fallopian tube. Now I'm sure to get pregnant, right?

Oct 2012: Irregular bleeding gone! Hooray!

Nov 2012: Irregular bleeding back.

Dec 2012: Another Christmas without "news." Looking into 2013, I really want some answers! Trying to stay hopeful but feeling weary.

March 2013: Start a series of blood tests (testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone) to see if any hormonal problems are to blame for the irregular bleeding.

April 2013: Bloodwork shows "good" hormones (not "great"). Dr. recommends sonohyserotogram or tamoxifen or both.

July 2013: Finally get around to trying tamoxifen. Plan to give it a few months and see if my cycles or hormone numbers are positively affected. I tried it 3 cycles and never got around to checking my hormones. The tamoxifen majorly dries up my CM. Dislike.

Sept 2013: Sonohysterogram shows more endometrial polyps. Major dislike.

Oct 2013: Meet with a new Napro doctor, Dr. S. Her office is closer to our home and she has other magazines in her waiting room than pregnancy/parenting ones (big pluses!). She recommends: 1) semen analysis, which we still haven't done, 2) ovulation ultrasound series, and 3) pelviscopy (which I gather is basically the same as a laparoscopy?) #1 must be done first. Dr. S doesn't think the polyps should be a problem, and thinks removing them again could cause scarring (not helpful).

Jan 2014: This is the year of the dissertation (Mr. M - time to get 'er done!) and the year of trying to stay hopeful and sane while moving at a snail's pace toward motherhood (me).

Feb 2014: Finally complete the S.A. and pass. Huge sigh of relief.

March 2014: Start B6 500 mg sustained release + FertileCM to try and improve cervical mucus. Also, hormone test on Day 3 (progesterone, estradiol, prolactin, testosterone, thyroid, etc.) comes back normal.

April 2014: Ultrasound series during Holy Week and the Triduum shows normal ovulation.

June 2014: Laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and selective HSG shows no endometriosis or scarring, open tubes, and nothing out of the ordinary.

July 2014: At a post-surgery appointment, my doctor tells me, "Sorry, you truly have unexplained infertility." She prescribes letrozole (femara) in case it can improve ovulation.

Post-July 2014: Working on coping with the unexplained infertility "diagnosis," taking letrozole for six months, and preparing to begin the adoption process in Spring 2015.

No comments:

Post a Comment