The Baby Ruth Blog

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Grow eggies grow!!

This is gonna be quick--gotta get to work! Dr. B was back and saw 9 big eggs via ultrasound. He kind of ignored the rest since he said they aren't growing. I like to think there were some hiding since the nurse practitioner spotted so many the other day. I asked him if HE thought I was doing well and it took him a little longer than I expected to answer. Finally, he said "I think you're doing GREAT for YOU". He said this protocol seems to be right for me. They were thinking I might cut back on medicine, but when I got a call later in the day (after the blood results) they said to keep using all of it. I will go in again Friday and possibly do the trigger shot over the weekend. My retrieval will likely be Monday or Tuesday. I'm praying for Monday since it's my day off! That would just make life so much easier. I am grateful that Bryan will be off work for Spring Break, which wasn't even planned! God has this thing under control. Thanks for all your support and prayers! My Mom and Dad are heading for Istanbul and then the Holy Land today, so please pray for their safe journey as well. Thanks! JR

Monday, March 28, 2011

Progress

This morning I had another positive appointment. I had the nurse practitioner again and she counted 7 large follicles and 7 smaller ones. My estrogen is rising nicely too. I'll be continuing on the same protocol and praying that my body keeps responding well. My next visit is coming up Wednesday,so I will be updating again then!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

3rd Time's A Charm

Well, today I went in for my 3rd suppression check, and the 3rd time was truly a charm.

First off, I ran into one of my very dear friends, Raquel, who was in there for an appointment. Just seeing her made me feel so blessed.

Dr.B was out of the office, so I had a nurse practitioner who was also extremely nice. She did an ultrasound and I had NO cyst this time!! Also, I had 5 small resting follicles on the right and 6 on the left, which were very good numbers for me. I also had blood work and everything came back normal.

Starting tomorrow, I'll begin my shots again: Follistim, Menopur, and Omnitrope growth hormone this time. They know I'm a poor responder, so they have me on the strongest protocol possible. I'll go back in on Monday for an appointment and see how it's going. Please pray for my body to do better this time!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Kiddo Rooms

Hey everyone, I have no updates yet. I'll probably have something in the next day or two. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some design concepts I put together for some very cute little girls recently.

Click on links below the collages if you'd like to see where all the goodies came from.

Emily by Jennymruth on Polyvore.com

Evelyn by Jennymruth on Polyvore.com

Monday, February 28, 2011

The Waiting Game

Phewww! Just catching my breath today. I've been working at a home show booth the last few days and it really wears me out. It's been good to be busy though and not think about infertility too much. I haven't updated in a while because frankly, I've been dreading this blog entry. It's just so blah!! I went to the doctor for my second suppression check Friday, February 18th. I was all excited to move forward with the process since I had to wait a couple of weeks and see if my body was doing better. They did an ultrasound and everything looked great on the right, then they moved to the left and there was a cyst. It was about
1 1/2" in diameter (big for being so new). The doctor said that moving forward would not be a good thing at this time. It's not an optimal environment because the cyst could be giving off hormones. He said we should wait a month and see if it goes away on its own. 2 out of 3 women get them and they just go away. I had blood work done and my hormones looked normal, so hopefully that's a good sign. My next appointment will be around March 18th, so I'll find out if it's gone and I'm ready to move forward. I've heard from several people who are reading this and praying for us. I so appreciate your love and support. I realize there's a lot more pain and heartache in the world that is more important. Thanks for following along on this little journey!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Quickie Update

Just a quick update... for those of you who are medically minded, the docs are going to be adding in a growth hormone called Omnitrope in two weeks when I start stimming again. Also, they'll be replacing Lupron with Gonarelex (sp?) which will help me not to ovulate before they want me to, but it won't suppress me as much as before. For now, I'm just waiting, waiting, waiting. I put all my medicine away so I can get my mind off of it. I probably won't blog again till I'm up and running. Have a great two weeks!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Banzai

So I went in for my blood/ ultrasound today hoping for really great news. I've been poking myself like a maniac and I'm on the highest protocol the clinic offers. Unfortunately, my body has not responded as hoped. My follicle count was really low--2 on the right and 4 on the left. (A normal response would be a least double or triple this amount). Dr. B suggested that we stop right now and start over again next month after I get a cycle in hopes that maybe I could produce more follicles. This could be a bad month. He said if I don't get more, we would just press on and hope for the best. When there are so few eggs, it just doesn't give them a lot to work with. The term for my status is "diminished ovarian reserve" which seems to be more and more common. I actually know three other women experiencing something similar.

Breaking news...just got a phone call from the nurse with my estrodial, which was 134. Also, they have discussed my case and come up with something a little different. They want me to take the Menopur (one of the stims) for 2 more days so my eggs keep growing, then do a trigger shot on Feb.5th. This will give them more control over when I ovulate so they know when to start me out on medicine next month.

While all of this is super frustrating, all I can do is try to trust the Lord in His perfect timing. I don't put a lot of stock in numbers because it only takes one good egg. It's just the waiting that kills me sometimes. I hope this is building LOTS of character in me. I think of myself as a banzai tree getting clipped into an interesting little shape right now. When you're getting pruned, it is no fun being the tree, but it's worth it in the end! Here's the passage that comes to mind...

John 15:
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Our Infertility Journey

Like many young couples, we thought that we would decide it was time to have a baby and it would just magically happen. We were the "perfect" ages..in our mid twenties, and we had been married for 3 years. It's embarrasing to admit, but I was so excited, I even bought some miniature Baby Ruth candy bars to hand out for when we would make our big announcement to friends and family! (Cute, huh?)

Well, after a year or so we began to worry. We were both tested and the doctors could find nothing wrong with either of us. I had a history of bad mentrual cramps, so I requested a laparoscopy to search for endometriosis, and nothing was found. We went through a couple years of the unsettling diagnosis of unexplained infertility, were treated with Clomid and underwent five unsuccessful IUI’s.

In the Fall of ‘07, we began to see a reproductive endocrinologist. After making sure that Bryan was tested more thoroughly and finding that he was very healthy indeed, our doctor performed another laparoscopy on me, and he found stage-two endometriosis. Because the clinic was outside of our medical insurance network, we had to pay for the procedure out of pocket. The specialist felt that after the laser procedure, we should have a good chance of conceiving naturally, so we knew that we were making an important investment. Unfortunately, many months of trying to conceive passed and nothing happened.

In May of ’08 I followed my dream of starting a support group for women who were going through a similar journey. It had been a long, hard, lonely five years as a barren woman! Through the support of our church, I was able to find eight other women who desperately needed someone to talk to. It has been a miraculous, life changing experience to have this group to laugh and cry with. We have come a long ways emotionally and spiritually together and have become great friends.

With the encouragement of the support group, we started to consider IVF. Our specialist felt that this was a very logical next step as well. After months of praying and discussing the financial side, we scheduled our IVF for October 2008. We decided that we would take out a loan from our home equity to cover some of the expenses. The doctor was able to harvest ten eggs, five of which fertilized. In the end, he transferred two six-day blastocyst embryos, and we all felt very confident! Despite so many things going for us, the babies did not implant and our dreams of becoming parents were crushed once again.

Just recently, in the Spring of 2010, we began seeing a new specialist and had some more tests done. Thankfully, an ultrasound helped the doctor discover a tiny polyp on my uterus that needed to be removed. After surgery, the biopsy revealed endometrial hyperplasia, a condition when left untreated can result in cancer of the uterus. We are so thankful that it was caught before it could cause trouble. To treat this condition, I was prescribed with a three-months of progesterone. With one month down and two to go, we are certainly looking forward to the next step in our journey.

I hope that by sharing this, we can connect with our friends and family on a deeper level. I know that many have been concerned, but not known how to show their love and support for us. It's a difficult subject, but if there's anything I've learned, it is to be open and honest, not ashamed. When we share our hearts, we can reach out and encourage others. If you have read this and struggle with infertility, or another battle, don't be afraid to talk to someone about it. Life is a roller coaster ride, but we're all on it together, so buckle up and let's go!