Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Negative
Well, I'm not pregnant. It's okay. After eight years of trying, that's ninety-six times that I've gotten a negative. That doesn't make it any easier. It still hurts just the same, but it makes you resilient. You bounce back faster and keep on truckin'.
I really am fine. You don't have to console me or feel sorry for me. And whatever you do, please don't give me advice. Now is not the time to tell me that I just need to relax or go on vacation or drink a glass of wine. I have heard every single piece of advice possible and have tried numerous things to get pregnant. Infertility is a medical condition. If you broke your foot, I wouldn't tell you to just relax and not stress. I'd tell you to get your butt to a doctor. I know people mean well, but you must think before you speak. All I want you to do is pray for me.
We have 2 1/2 weeks until school starts, so that gives me enough time to get another round in. Hopefully, that one will work. If it doesn't, then we will take a month off and start back after I get settled into the new school year. No matter what, we will keep on trying.
I don't understand why this keeps happening, but I know God sees the big picture. He knows the perfect time for us to get pregnant, and we will. I don't know a lot of things, but I know that nothing is impossible with God. And I know, without a doubt, that we will be parents. We have a peace about it.
Please continue to pray for all the things you prayed for last time. I responded very well to this medicine. It was one of the best responses I've had, so it's just a matter of time. My doctor doesn't want to change anything. Thanks for your prayers and support.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Sunday Morning Appointments
Woke up bright and early this morning with a smile on my face and peace in my heart. We had an 8:15 doctor's appointment in Birmingham. Yes, fertility doctors are open seven days a week. I'm not making this stuff up. I hate missing church, but you do what you have to do. The good thing about these appointments is that there is no traffic and plenty of parking.
While everyone else was in church, we sat in a cold waiting room surrounded by very young couples nervously waiting. I play this game when I sit in the waiting room. I read everyone's body language and figure out what his/her stories are. We were definitely the oldest ones there today and the only veterans at this fertility stuff. The room was filled with kids in their early to mid-twenties. They were nervous and fidgety and unsure. They didn't know where to sign in or what to do. They were new to this, probably their first procedures. I wanted to look at them and tell them it would all be okay. They are so young and have plenty of time, but, of course, I didn't say a word. You know you're a veteran when the staff can pronounce your name correctly. That may not be the case for you, but with the name Shatisa, that says a lot.
Let me rewind a little and get you caught up. Everything I asked you to pray for in my last blog was answered. My estrogen level was perfect, my period was late, my CMV test was normal, I didn't have to buy anymore medicine, and I responded perfectly. As I told you before, I tried a less expensive round of drugs this time. We went in today to measure my follicles and make sure I responded. When you take fertility drugs, they cause you to produce more follicles. Follicles produce eggs. Some women produce lots of follicles and can produce lots of eggs. This can result in multiples, and you hear about that a lot. I'm not trying to produce massive amounts of follicles or eggs, and at my age, that's probably not going to happen anyway. Give me one good egg, and I'm set.
A mature follicle has to measure 1.8 mm. They say that the smaller ones can produce an egg, but normally your mature ones will be in the 1.8-2.0mm range. I had three follicles today, which is fine. I had two smaller follicles on one side, but I had a good mature follicle on the right side that measured 1.9 mm. I didn't produce as many follicles this time because I took a different drug. I had several follicles last year, but I still never had more than one or two mature ones. Anyway, I asked the nurse if she wanted me to finish up my remaining medicine, but she said no. She said I responded and had a mature follicle and was ready to go. All you need is one egg. Normal ovulating women produce one egg every month. I have to take my trigger shot tonight. It will cause me to ovulate in 36 hours. I will go back Tuesday morning for my IUI.
There are a few things I need you to specifically pray for. They checked my progesterone today. You want it to be around 200 for every mature follicle, so pray that I have good numbers. Pray that my IUI works Tuesday and I'm pregnant. On the 23rd they will do blood work again and check my progesterone after the IUI. Anything over 10 means that you ovulated, but they like for it to be higher on a medicated cycle. Pray for good numbers. I will go back for my pregnancy test on the 30th. My anniversary is the 31st, so that would be a great anniversary gift. Just pray, pray, pray, but most importantly, thank him and praise him for all he's done for us.
God is so good to me. He has answered all of my prayers and continues to bless me. I don't know what people do without him. I'm ready to be a mom. Call me crazy, but I know that I know that I know I am having a baby. This is my month. Nothing is impossible with God.
While everyone else was in church, we sat in a cold waiting room surrounded by very young couples nervously waiting. I play this game when I sit in the waiting room. I read everyone's body language and figure out what his/her stories are. We were definitely the oldest ones there today and the only veterans at this fertility stuff. The room was filled with kids in their early to mid-twenties. They were nervous and fidgety and unsure. They didn't know where to sign in or what to do. They were new to this, probably their first procedures. I wanted to look at them and tell them it would all be okay. They are so young and have plenty of time, but, of course, I didn't say a word. You know you're a veteran when the staff can pronounce your name correctly. That may not be the case for you, but with the name Shatisa, that says a lot.
Let me rewind a little and get you caught up. Everything I asked you to pray for in my last blog was answered. My estrogen level was perfect, my period was late, my CMV test was normal, I didn't have to buy anymore medicine, and I responded perfectly. As I told you before, I tried a less expensive round of drugs this time. We went in today to measure my follicles and make sure I responded. When you take fertility drugs, they cause you to produce more follicles. Follicles produce eggs. Some women produce lots of follicles and can produce lots of eggs. This can result in multiples, and you hear about that a lot. I'm not trying to produce massive amounts of follicles or eggs, and at my age, that's probably not going to happen anyway. Give me one good egg, and I'm set.
A mature follicle has to measure 1.8 mm. They say that the smaller ones can produce an egg, but normally your mature ones will be in the 1.8-2.0mm range. I had three follicles today, which is fine. I had two smaller follicles on one side, but I had a good mature follicle on the right side that measured 1.9 mm. I didn't produce as many follicles this time because I took a different drug. I had several follicles last year, but I still never had more than one or two mature ones. Anyway, I asked the nurse if she wanted me to finish up my remaining medicine, but she said no. She said I responded and had a mature follicle and was ready to go. All you need is one egg. Normal ovulating women produce one egg every month. I have to take my trigger shot tonight. It will cause me to ovulate in 36 hours. I will go back Tuesday morning for my IUI.
There are a few things I need you to specifically pray for. They checked my progesterone today. You want it to be around 200 for every mature follicle, so pray that I have good numbers. Pray that my IUI works Tuesday and I'm pregnant. On the 23rd they will do blood work again and check my progesterone after the IUI. Anything over 10 means that you ovulated, but they like for it to be higher on a medicated cycle. Pray for good numbers. I will go back for my pregnancy test on the 30th. My anniversary is the 31st, so that would be a great anniversary gift. Just pray, pray, pray, but most importantly, thank him and praise him for all he's done for us.
God is so good to me. He has answered all of my prayers and continues to bless me. I don't know what people do without him. I'm ready to be a mom. Call me crazy, but I know that I know that I know I am having a baby. This is my month. Nothing is impossible with God.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Answered Prayers
Warning!!! If you get grossed out by the female reproductive system, you might not want to read this.
Just in case you didn't know, I want you to know that God answers prayers. In my last blog I asked people to pray about my CMV test results and to pray that my period would be a few days late. Well, my test results came back, and I am negative. That means we are clear to proceed, and my period was late, to the point that the doctor had to write me a prescription for something to make me start. I thought that was funny. In fact, I didn't start my period until after my test results were back. It was all perfect timing. Never think that your prayer request is too insignificant. God cares about you, and if it isn't insignificant to you, then it isn't insignificant to him.
I will start taking my medication today. I will take it for most of the next week, and then I will begin taking shots. I hate giving myself shots, but it goes with the territory. I've gotten used to it by now. Today is day three of my cycle, so days three through eleven I will be on medication. I will go back to the doctor Sunday the 14th for an ultrasound. That is part of taking these drugs. You have to be monitored constantly to make sure your ovaries aren't hyperstimulated. I will have to have my follicles measured and checked pretty regularly. This is when they will determine if I need more medication or an increased dosage.
I do have a few prayer requests for this week. First, I had blood work done Monday and Friday. My estrogen was too high Monday, so they tested it again Friday. Please pray that my estrogen is where it needs to be. Second, pray that this new medicine works really well and I won't have to increase my dosage and order more medicine. If they need to do that, I would love it if they would just give me some samples. They've done that before. It saves money. Also, please pray that the procedure works. I'm ready to have a baby. I get tired of doing these procedures, and I don't want to have to do IVF if I can help it.
For those of you who have contributed money or helped with our fundraising, I want you to know where your money has gone. So far, we've spent $1500 on this procedure. That isn't counting the other copays that we will pay or any extra medicine we may have to order. I am thankful that we didn't have to do IVF. That would've been even more money, but the fact is that ALL procedures are expensive. We are still fundraising and will continue to do so. We have one week to go on our Avon fundraiser, and we are doing another fundraiser this next week.
Thanks for your prayers and words of encouragement. I will continue to keep you posted. As always, here is the link to our fundraising site: http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/our-journey-to-parenthood/50742.
Just in case you didn't know, I want you to know that God answers prayers. In my last blog I asked people to pray about my CMV test results and to pray that my period would be a few days late. Well, my test results came back, and I am negative. That means we are clear to proceed, and my period was late, to the point that the doctor had to write me a prescription for something to make me start. I thought that was funny. In fact, I didn't start my period until after my test results were back. It was all perfect timing. Never think that your prayer request is too insignificant. God cares about you, and if it isn't insignificant to you, then it isn't insignificant to him.
I will start taking my medication today. I will take it for most of the next week, and then I will begin taking shots. I hate giving myself shots, but it goes with the territory. I've gotten used to it by now. Today is day three of my cycle, so days three through eleven I will be on medication. I will go back to the doctor Sunday the 14th for an ultrasound. That is part of taking these drugs. You have to be monitored constantly to make sure your ovaries aren't hyperstimulated. I will have to have my follicles measured and checked pretty regularly. This is when they will determine if I need more medication or an increased dosage.
I do have a few prayer requests for this week. First, I had blood work done Monday and Friday. My estrogen was too high Monday, so they tested it again Friday. Please pray that my estrogen is where it needs to be. Second, pray that this new medicine works really well and I won't have to increase my dosage and order more medicine. If they need to do that, I would love it if they would just give me some samples. They've done that before. It saves money. Also, please pray that the procedure works. I'm ready to have a baby. I get tired of doing these procedures, and I don't want to have to do IVF if I can help it.
For those of you who have contributed money or helped with our fundraising, I want you to know where your money has gone. So far, we've spent $1500 on this procedure. That isn't counting the other copays that we will pay or any extra medicine we may have to order. I am thankful that we didn't have to do IVF. That would've been even more money, but the fact is that ALL procedures are expensive. We are still fundraising and will continue to do so. We have one week to go on our Avon fundraiser, and we are doing another fundraiser this next week.
Thanks for your prayers and words of encouragement. I will continue to keep you posted. As always, here is the link to our fundraising site: http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/our-journey-to-parenthood/50742.
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