creative outlets

  Today’s Success story is from Heather who blogs at Journey Through Infertility and TTC. She went through over 2 years of infertility and is now 22 weeks pregnant with her first baby ~ a girl! Read on for her incredible story!

1. How long did you struggle through infertility?
My husband and I struggled through infertility for a total of 2 years and 3 months.

2. What did you go through (as far as treatments, different doctors, etc.) ?
*In August 2007, I went off bcp. My OBGYN knew I had PCOS but told me just to use OPKs. Yeah…uh huh…those don’t work for me.
*AF was regular and cyclical for over a year, so I wasn’t worried about infertility.
*In October 2008, AF came and didn’t leave.
*In November 2008, AF got so bad that I thought I would need blood transfusions. Started Provera for 10 days.
*At the end of November 2008, withdrawal bleed from Provera didn’t stop.
*In December 2008, I took a 21-day round of Provera.
*My OBGYN concluded that I must not have been ovulating. Although I was having a regular AF for over a year, he felt that there were no eggs being released in the process.
*In January 2009, I monitored Basal Body Temperature for a month. No ovulation. Just as my OBGYN suspected.
*In February 2009,I took Provera again to induce AF and started Clomid, 50mg. I had zero response. No ovulation, no nothing.
*In Mid-March 2009, I took another round of Provera and then did 100mg of Clomid. YAY! Ovulation! BFN.
*In April 2009, Hubby had a Semen Analysis done. Everything was normal. My OBGYN put it this way. “The only downfall to the little swimmers is that they are speed challenged. They are not Michael Phelps and wouldn’t be winning a gold medal in speed swimming.”
*In Mid-April 2009, I did another cycle of Clomid at 100mg. I ovulated again, but another BFN was in store.
*In Mid-May 2009, I did a third cycle of 100mg of Clomid. No ovulation.
*Also in Mid-May 2009, I had an HSG done. Everything was all clear.
*At the end of that cycle (Mid-June), my OBGYN gave me another round of Provera and referred me to a fertility specialist. I was devastated and yet relieved at the same time.
*In Mid-June 2009, Hubby and I had our first consult with our Reproductive Endocrinologist. I started another Clomid cycle right away at 100mg, this time with ultrasound monitoring and Ovidrel trigger. BFN.
*In July 2009, I again did 100mg of Clomid with Ovidrel. This time, Hubby and I added IUI. Still a BFN.
*In August 2009, I had my dosage upped to 150mg of Clomid still with Ovidrel and ultrasound monitoring for IUI. Another BFN.
*In September 2009, I did my 8th Clomid cycle. I did 150mg with Ovidrel and IUI. Another BFN. Time to move on.
*In October 2009, I was slated to start injectables. I had my Follistim in the fridge ready to go. My baseline bloodwork was NOT good. I had a lovely cyst and as it turns out, Clomid was no good for me. I had/have high FSH levels (should be around 5, over 10 is reason for concern, mine is 13.5). This means that I basically have a diminished ovarian reserve and could possibly be in preovarian failure. So not only do I struggle with PCOS, but now I struggle with this? I was devastated.
*Mid-October 2009, I consulted with my RE who assured me that I could do an injectables cycle and it would work. He was sure I wouldn’t need IVF but wanted to put me on an IVF protocol with injectables.
*In early November 2009, I went in again for baseline blood-work and ultrasound and much to my delight, I already had 4 follicles around 10mm each. I stimmed with 75iu of Menopur and 75iu of Follistim for two nights. Then, I stimmed with 150iu of Menopur, 75iu of Follistim, and Ganirelix for two nights. I triggered after 4 nights of using injectables and had an IUI two days later. I started Endometrin suppositories 3DPO.
*On Thanksgiving 2009, I had to POAS at the request of my RE, since that was 15DPO. 6am…BFP! Beta the following day was 98.
*Fast Forward to April 2010, I’m 22 weeks pregnant with my first baby, a girl!

3. How did you handle disappointments through your cycles (natural and otherwise)?
I spent a lot of time in prayer about my fertility struggle. I started blogging when I started seeing the RE. But it was certainly a hard battle. I spent many cycles in tears, disappointed that I again wasn’t pregnant. The biggest disappointment and scare was in October 2009 when they told me that I had high FSH and explained to me that this was an indication of having less eggs, poorer quality, and a diminishing ovarian reserve. I sobbed. But I found encouragement from women who had been in my shoes and had children who were healthy and beautiful. I had to believe that if it happened for them, it would happen for me.

4. What were the ‘stress-free’ techniques that you tried that helped you get through the cycle (yoga, meditation, acupuncture, support through family, friends & on-line, etc.)  ?
Blogging became my outlet. But I wrote some poems, cried with my Hubby, and spent many nights in prayer over it. I asked my Bible study group to pray over it. My family and Hubby’s family also started praying about it. I continued to live life regardless of my fertility issues. I still went country line dancing with my girlfriends and didn’t choose to obsess with the whole process. I kept stress-free by not using pregnancy tests all the time. I only bought them if AF was late. Why add more stress?

5. If you could give advice for couples going through infertility now, what would it be?
My advice would be that everyone’s journey is unique. But having someone who has been on a similar road makes dealing withit easier. I would also say that couples need to make sure to keep the romance in the relationship. With fertility treatments and IUIs, it can get very routine. Keep the fun in the relationship, keep things spicy and exciting where it matters most. Infertility does not have to be the victor in the relationship.

Thank you so much Heather! We wish you lots of luck!

If you want to follow Heather’s continued journey “crossing over” into motherhood, don’t forget to check out her blog: Journey Through Infertility and TTC.