Update on my Journey

I was really gutted when I got my period.  I was hopeful but it dwindled.  I had a good cry and a lot of wine that night.

I have an appointment with Shady Grove Fertility for August 21st.  This will just be an assessment to determine my next steps.  The good news is that I might not have to go straight to IVF with Shady Grove - I might just do a different drug protocol and have more monitoring.  So that is good.  And my insurance will be covering 70% of the treatements.

Because I have a full cycle before I go to Shady Grove I am going to go one more round with my doctor.  Whoa what?!?!?!?  Yeah.  I won't have to deal with the evil one just the great two doctors that I know and love.  (I asked and she will be on vacation that week :))

I am doing the same drug clomid that I have done in the past. 

For those of you who read up on this stuff you know its not good to take so much clomid.  I know this too.  But the studies that say it's not great for you (causing cancer later in life) aren't conclusive.  Women who are already prone to cancer find themselves having to take the drug.  The other complication is that it could thin my uterine lining.  I did ask my doctor about this - there is not medical indicators that I have a thinning uterine lining and there is no medical reason to think that is what caused the miscarriage.  Because there were three methods to my miscarriage it probably wasn't a thin uterine lining.

And the big thing is I can't ovulate without assistance and know when it will happen.  This makes it very hard when I have to drive 32 miles to get the sperm and have one shot to get it in me correctly.

I did think about taking a break for one cycle but I do want to try one more time.  I've been doing this for over a year.

The reasons are:
1. I did get pregnant on this protocol
2. No medical indicators to show a thin uterine lining
3. I trust my doctor.  And he wouldn't put me on any medication that I didn't need to be on.
4. I am getting a period.  This is a strong indicator that the clomid isn't causing cysts on my ovaries.
5. If there is any uterine lining issues - they can be corrected medically by Shady Grove
6. There are no other medical protocols my doctor can do - he is the low-tech version of all of this :)
7. The research that says "clomid bad" is only on women who don't have poly-cystic ovaries (PCOS) like I do.
8. If I do nothing this cycle I'm waiting until October or maybe even November before my next try.

I am shifting one thng.  I am doing a double insemination (a double dose if you will).  I will do an insemination on the normal day and then do another the next day.  Frozen sperm doens't live as long as fresh so this ups the chance.

And lucky me the sperm cost went up by $180 since I last bought sperm in February.  This is a big payment.  But worth it.

I am being as dairy and gluten free as possible.  I've lost 5 lbs in two weeks from that.   I'm sleeping well and medidating pretty regularly.

I know some of you know more than others about the medications and protocols.  Please keep your opinions about my course of treatment to yourself.  It wasn't an easy decision and there isn't one right answer. 

I'm ready for Bingo!