My Infertility Experience
*I want to disclose that what may have worked for me, may not work for you. All women, cycles, hormones, follicles, sperm, embryos and bodies are different from case to case. Your miracle(s) will come in one way or another. I simply want to share my story so you can know where I’m coming from.*
In 2005, after 8 months of unsuccessful trying and irregular cycles, I finally went to my OB. After some initial tests, she recommended that my husband get tested too. Then, we found out he had issues with his count and he was referred to an urologist. After some more tests (now on his side), we were later referred to a Reproductive Endocronologist.
In February ‘06 were told we had to do IVF to have our best chance at having a baby. And, we started on that path right away. And suddenly I felt tossed into a strange world filled with weird abbreviations, scary propositions, and painful tests that left my husband and I feeling vulnerable and completely overwhelmed. We were determined though to go through whatever it took to have a baby even if it came with no gaurantees.
Our first IVF cycle (April ‘06) was so stressful! It was a lot to digest all at once. The drugs, the shots, the bloodwork, and the growing of all those follicles was a LOT to handle. We got 13 eggs total and 12 of those were mature. Out of those, 7 fertilized and only 2 embryos were of “good” quality. We transferred both on day 3 and sadly, it didn’t work. But we had 2 to freeze.
The next cycle we did was a frozen one (June ‘06), transferring the two we had left from the last cycle. It was a LOT less stressful and there was less time involved. We transferred both (although they weren’t the best quality) and 1 almost made it. My pregnancy test was only slightly positive and then 2 days later it was negative. I had my first chemical pregnancy.
Our very next cycle was a fresh IVF (July ‘06). I knew what to expect and so, knowledge was my best weapon this time around. Also, I tried acupuncture, supplements, and a mostly organic diet. I am a teacher, so the time off in the summer made it much easier…but my mom was also very ill at the time and passed on just as I was stimming my ovaries. We went ahead with the cycle, despite my intense grief. We got 24 follicles, 21 were mature and only 7 fertilized once again. But, this time, they were of much better quality and we went to day 5! Only 2 made it to “blast” and 1 was a pre-blast. We transferred both and found out that the pre-blast never made it to freeze. And then we found out that the cycle worked! We were pregnant! I was ecstatic! Our baby girl was born in April of 2007 and it was one of the happiest days of my life. She is now nearly 3 years old and is the light of my life!
When we wanted to try for our next baby, we tried naturally first. We falsely hoped that our first pregnancy would help make it possible to get pregnant again without help. It didn’t happen. So, after about 6 months, we resorted to IVF again (July ‘08). I was doing acupuncture all along and thought we’d get pregnant right away since it had worked last time.We got 19 eggs, 11 fertilized and we put in the 2 that were the best quality. We had 9 left to freeze. When we found out that we were pregnant, I was elated. But then, my numbers never doubled. I had my 2nd chemical pregnancy. We were devastated.
We did a frozen cycle (Sept. ‘08) and transferred 3 this time, hoping to increase our chances. I believed whole-heartedly that at least one would take and none of them did. We had our 2nd failed cycle.
We decided to take a break and enjoy the holidays with our daughter. All of 2008 was consumed with trying for another baby and I was mentally exhausted.
We tried again with another frozen cycle (Jan. ‘09) and transferred 3 again. My numbers were so high on the first test, I knew it was multiples. We actually had 3 sacs on the first and 2nd sonogram but one stopped growing and we became pregnant with twins! They are now 8 months old and we couldn’t be happier.
All in all, I did 6 IVF cycles (3 fresh, 3 frozen). We transferred a total 14 embryos, had 2 negative cycles, 2 chemical pregnancies and 2 positive cycles that gave us our 3 miracles!
If you’d like to know more about my family and our day to day life of craziness, go to My Ordinary Miracles.
If you have any questions for me or want more information on any of my cycles, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me @ sfinfertility (at) optimum (dot) net. I would love to help in any way that I can.
