Now that I have kind of jumped ahead to vent some of my worries, I think I should take a step back and give a little background information on my wonderful little infertility journey thus far. I guess it all started in January 2014 when I stopped taking my birth control and did not get my period. I decided to wait a bit and see if it would eventually come and after about 4-5 months and still nothing I called up my gynecologist to see what she thought. She prescribed me some clomid but when that did not work she referred me to a local infertility doctor. I have to admit all of this was really kind of scary...how could this be happening? All of my friends are popping out kids like crazy! Anyhow, I met with the infertility doctor and she diagnosed me with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea which was really not that much of surprise given my long history with an eating disorder, low body weight, relatively restricted diet, and compulsive need to exercise. Before I could start any type of treatment both my husband and I had to go through a bunch of tests to make sure that we did not have any other fertility issues. After all of the tests came back negative my doctor informed me of my treatment protocol: Menopur injections and IUI (intrauterine insemination). I agreed to begin the treatment protocol and called my insurance company's pharmacy to schedule the delivery of medication (this was probably around November in 2014) and when the insurance company informed me that I had a lifetime maximum of $10,000 for infertility treatments (which was down to about $8,000 after all of the preliminary infertility tests) would be down to $7,000 after my first round of prescriptions which in addition to 10 vials of menopur also included crinone and estrodial which I would use after the menopur induced ovulation. I am not sure why but upon hearing this information about the extreme cost of the meds and coming to grips with the reality of having to inject myself I kind of had a panic attack and cancelled the delivery. I called my doctor and informed her that before I decided to start the treatment protocol I wanted to meet with a nutritionist and see if gaining a few pounds may help me to start ovulating naturally before starting the meds. She was completely supportive of my decision and let me know that we could start the meds and protocol if I changed me mind. I met with the nutritionist and was able to gain some weight but alas I did not start ovulating so I called my doctor and began my treatment cycle in May. The whole idea of injecting myself still REALLY freaked me out so I handed over the responsibility to my husband (who has been incredibly supportive throughout this entire ordeal which is absolutely no surprise to anyone who has ever met him because he is the most giving and kind person you can imagine.)
So now I am now in the routine that anyone undergoing infertility treatments is all too familiar with (injections every night and then ultrasounds and blood work every three days) and well with my I would go to my doctor every three days and upon noticing no real change in my estrogen levels my menopur dosage would be increased. I started off with 1/2 a vial, then 1 vial, then 1.5 vials, and the 2 vials. With the 2 vials we did begin to see the lining of my uterus thickening (a good sign) but the doctor also noticed two growths in my uterus (NOT a good sign) and upon noticing these two growths I was instructed to stop my injections so that we could figure out what was going on. A saline sonogram revealed that there were in fact two growths in my uterus (likely polyps) that should really be removed before we resume my cycle in order to make sure that they do not interfere with a possible pregnancy down the road. I scheduled my surgery for ASAP so that I could get this taken care of and resume my injections with wasting any more time than necessary. The surgery was nothing bad at all, I was knocked out before the ever wheeled me into the operating room and I had minimal to no discomfort following the surgery; in fact, I was able to go for a walk with my husband and dog later that day (speaking of which, daily walks have really been a saving grace for me and have helped clear my head and get some vitamin D and serotonin which both help in keeping my depression to a minimum but I can talk more about that later). As for the polyps, it turns out that they were fibroids and not polyps but regardless of what they were, they were now gone and I was given the green light to begin a new cycle. Yes you read the correctly, not resume my cycle but start ALL over again. I have to say this was REALLY frustrating, after 2-3 weeks of injecting myself (at $80 a vial) I had to start the entire process all over again at 1/2 a vial and then steadily increasing. This now brings us to where I currently am in this cycle, I am now taking 2.5 vials a day and while my estrogen levels are still quiet low I do have a follicle in each of my ovaries that is looking a little larger than the others (I will report back with the exact size after my ultrasound tomorrow morning).
That is a quick overview of my infertility treatments thus far and my next entry will likely be on the topic that causes me the most stress and sleepless nights : finances.
Happy Fourth of July!
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