Continuing from part two …
Just before Christmas 2018, my doctor (via her nurse) messaged me to see how things were going. On a last-ditch effort before moving on to the RE, I asked about testing all the things aside from PCOS itself to see if something else (separate or in addition to the pesky PCOS) was causing my fertility woes.
She was game — and so we tested my progesterone levels on the 21st day of that cycle. My schedule didn’t allow for me to go to a different office for an ultrasound to check the endometrial lining that day (my preferred technician was out that day), so the doctor agreed to do so the next cycle if needed. My progesterone was lower than she preferred that cycle, but by the time results were sent to me three days later, dear ol’ Flo had arrived.
The first full cycle of 2019 I ramped up taking all the supplements and eating all the things that were supposed to help progesterone and lining thickness. It paid off, progesterone was in the range the doctor wanted … but, based on research I had come across, my lining wasn’t as thick as it probably needed to be.
Meanwhile, my doctor was willing to order an HSG [hysterosalpingogram] test to see if my fallopian tubes were part of the problem. However, they did not offer that test at their practice … which meant a referral to the next stage in the infertility *journey* – the Reproductive Endochronologist.
After a bit of a wait, we met with the RE. We were days away from when I was due to ovulate that cycle, so he gave us two options — ‘throw away’ the cycle in terms of our TTC in order to run all the tests OR wait until the next cycle to do the testing. He recommended that with being over 35 and the PCOS, it was better to go ahead and test now rather than wait in the event that ovarian reserve issues were a factor (and one I hadn’t considered).
So, that’s what we did.
I left his office and went to the lab to let the vampires take all my blood. 10 vials in all — the most I’ve had to give up in all of my blood work testing to date (six was my record prior to that). Then I returned to work for the rest of the day.
Three days later I headed to another one of his office locations for the sonohysterography. The following Tuesday I headed back to the office local to us finish the trifecta of testing — the much anticipated HSG test.
Long story short, that one hurt — thanks dear right tube (lefty was cooperative and just felt some discomfort). Needless to say, that clog (or whatever it was) should be clear now …
[I should note, every month, when I ovulate, guess which side the ovulation pain has been on 90% of the time? The RIGHT.]
Obviously.
Meanwhile, Davis got to do his one solo test. His was easy upside my trifecta — granted, my parts are a bit more integral to this process than his are in the long run 😉
And then we waited a few weeks …
We met with the RE again to find out what our options were based on all the test results and the likelihood of success with each route. The numbers were all in our favor on our test results; Davis was good, everything was (or now is) looking good on me, and ovarian reserve wasn’t a worry we needed to face, thank goodness. However, the odds he gave us with our three options — let’s just say that in a court of law, none would get a conviction and only one might get an indictment.
… and this is where our story remains to be continued for now.
As of when this post went live, we aren’t sure what path we plan to take at this point based on the information given to us. We were hit with percentages we weren’t expecting, for one. We clearly want to let a couple of cycles play themselves out as well in the hopes that the HSG might lead to a positive pregnancy test as it has for many others.
We also want time to decide how deep financially we wanted to pursue either IUI (much more affordable) or IVF (think a brand new car loan amount for one round of the protocol that the RE has in mind for my situation) and if we would be capable of giving me the shots necessary for either treatment route. I have always hated needles and have to work hard to focus on anything but what’s going on to avoid hyperventilating when being stabbed with one … periodic blood work I’ve managed well in recent years, but shots at the frequency they would happen with fertility treatment, I’m not so sure if I would be able to handle.
I’ve heard many use the words journey and roller coaster to describe this process. While both are good word choices to describe what it is like going through infertility, it is a part of our life story – together and individually. For me, it’s almost like returning to my track and field days — as a hurdler — just trying to get to the finish line without taking myself and a hurdle out in the process.
And — while the last decade of knowing about PCOS and the last fifteen months of infertility has been full of ups and downs — it will not end when we arrive at the destination of my getting pregnant on my own and successfully giving birth, seeing success with IUI and/or IVF, or us unsuccessfully going through rounds of IUI and/or IVF, conceding defeat, and proceeding towards the adoption route.
At the end of the day, I remind myself that only He knows what He has planned for us — and it will happen (naturally or medically) or it won’t. And, if it doesn’t, then we will take that next step — deciding which adoption route we want to take. We have talked about adoption since I told Davis about the fertility aspect of my PCOS diagnosis — we’re just on the fence on which route we will follow should that be the path our story takes.
