Update and Moving Ahead!!!

Hey Readers, remember me? You know, the girl who sort of blogged before and then disappeared off the face of the earth. I am back and it looks like 2016 could be our year! There have been lots of updates, vents, and stuff happening over the last couple of months so come along for the ride!

 

So the last chapter of this story took place right after we suffered a loss in September. Jeff and I decided to regroup, take some time away from trying to get pregnant, and heal. I threw myself into my work; I social worked the heck out of every case possible. I thought about the cases even when at home and never really let my brain “turn off work” because then it had to deal with the pain and I just wasn’t able to do that.

 

It didn’t help that we had a completely terrible doctor during the loss who was super insensitive and is now referred to as Dr. Jerk. When he called to tell us the next steps, he said he “never expected the pregnancy to work because the numbers were so low and this didn’t surprise him”. He also told us we were out of options and then only thing that would work would be IVF and he would no longer treat us until we were ready to go there. We were no longer ready for IVF just yet because this course of treatment did work, it just was not meant to be. Don’t take away baby bean’s existence!   

 

That led to a downward spiral for me into what I can only describe as a loss of purpose in life and depression. I spent way too many “happy hours” at the local “establishment” (also known as the bar), dealing with the sadness in an unproductive way but at least surrounded by friends. I was not sure where to go or how and so I just felt hopeless and stuck. And really really alone even in a crowd of people. It was probably one of the darkest times in my life and a time when I felt abandoned, even by God. I knew life would go on, I just didn't know how and I wasn't sure I wanted it too. I also knew there must be a plan or bigger purpose and so after a few weeks (which felt like years), I picked myself up (well lets be honest-my amazing friends lifted me up) and I decided this would not be the end of this journey. I allowed God into my life again and we figured out our next steps. 

Fast forward to November and we decided to see a different RE (fertility doctor). We made an appointment and decided to see if the opinions would change. And they did! This doctor had a whole different feel. He spent over an hour with us (more time than the other one did in the whole year we were with him) and he told us he thought there was hope and a lot of it. He also told us that he didn’t believe the blocked tube was blocked or at least he thought it could be potentially unblocked. So we chose to pursue a laparoscopic surgery to see what was what. The day before thanksgiving, I had surgery. No turkey for me on Thanksgiving, just vicodin, fluids, and sleep!  This surgery had the potential to

 And it did!

During the surgery it was determined that both of my tubes were basically useless. One tube was blocked (as we had thought it may be) and one was stuck with adhesions. Both of these issues were caused from scar tissue from a botched appendix surgery performed when I was serving in Iraq. The army is just full of gifts that keep on giving.

Are you wondering what these findings mean? Don’t worry-I got you and refer to the picture above if you are a visual learner. Basic anatomy lesson-most women have two fallopian tubes that just kind of float and hang out in space. When an egg is released each month from the ovaries, the tube from that side floats over to the egg, sucks it in (think vacuum hose) and the egg floats down the tube. If sperm are swimming up the tube at the same time-they could met and boom-baby. If not, the egg just floats down and 24 hours after it is released it dies. But my tubes each had an issue. Lefty was stuck-no free floating for that tube. So the egg just kind of dropped into oblivion except the .000001% chance it fell off into the tube (how we got baby bean). Righty was blocked-no ability for egg to meet sperm-no chance for a baby.

 

Long story short-NO WORKING TUBES SO BASICALLY NO CHANCE TO GET PREGNANT IN THE LAST 2+ YEARS!!!! Another great thing Dr. Jerk missed. But our new Doctor was able to fix the problem!!! I now have two shiny and clean tubes!!! So now we have a new treatment plan and a new chance to get pregnant. There is still a potential that after 6 or 9 months, the tube could re-block but we will at least always have one working tube for future babies! Life holds new potentials and new possibilities and we are ready to take 2016 by storm. Hopefully this 26 month and counting journey to get pregnant will end soon with a successful pregnancy and our

 

 

 

 

Sometimes Things Just Don't Work Out

A couple of weeks ago we experienced the best and worst week I feel like I've ever experienced in my life. In mid-September, Jeff and I got to experience what it was like to take a pregnancy test and see two lines pop up for the first time in our lives. After 23 months of trying-I was pregnant! We got to celebrate being parents, dream about the future, and share our excitement with a couple of close friends. We started planning how we would tell our family and what the future would look like. 

Unfortunately this little bean was not meant to be long on this earth. I went in for a blood test and the numbers were low. The nurse told me that it could work out, but I know how to work Google, and I started preparing myself for the worst. To take our minds off of the limbo we were in and the uncertainty, we chose to go back home to MN for the weekend. That way our little bean would be surrounded by family and friends for as long as he or she was on this earth. 

The following Monday, I went for another blood test. We received the news that the numbers were going down and we would lose this bean. To say we were devastated would be an understatement. It felt like the slowest, worst day of my life. My heart was broken into a million pieces. I have never love something more and I would not even get to meet him or her. 

I'm not sure how other people cope with sadness and loss, but I cope by writing and working. I threw myself into my job and worked harder than I think I ever have over these last few weeks. I worked long hours to avoid going home and to try and occupy my mind.  I also sat down to write this blog. Honestly, I was not sure I would ever even share this. Writing for me is healing, but I wasn't sure if this part of the journey we wanted to share with everybody. But after long talks with Jeff, we decided that this too is part of our journey to a family and we wanted to share this as well.

It may sound weird to people who don't believe in God, but Jeff and I are grateful to God even in this dark time. We believe that life starts a conception and that this bean is someone. I really hope this doesn't stir up to a debate about when life begins, when a person gets a soul, or what constitutes a person. To us, this was a child, a dream, and 100% a person. 

God has allowed us to be a mom and a dad. Unfortunately, we just don't get to know this little bean until we get to heaven. But we will forever be someone's mom and dad. It's extremely difficult to think that there will always be a child waiting for us in heaven, one who we love with our entire hearts, and yet have never met. We are truly grateful that we got to know the joy of pregnancy, even if it was only for a short time. 

That being said, we are also struggling with being angry and bitter at the universe. It's amazing how many things can happen that just seem like the world is against you when you're already down. I don't want to dwell on all the things that have seem to hit us lately, we just ask that people can pray for us to walk with Grace and to be able to remember the good part of this time. We ask that people could pray for healing, anger to leave, and bitterness to not consume. Neither of us want to be overcome with anger, bitterness, and grief, and so we are reaching out to family and friends for prayer.

At this point, we're not sure what the future holds. We will probably start trying again in the future, I just don't know when. I also don't know exactly what it will look like. We need to decide if we will use the treatments we've been trying or go straight to IVF. For now we're just going to heal our hearts and work on being two people who are still madly in love and forever an angel baby's mom and dad. 

I took the time to write our little bean a message while he or she was still with us. I want to share the message here, because it is also a part of our journey. So with that I will end with my short little message to my sweet little bean.

 

Dear Baby Bean, I know I only get to hold you in my tummy for a a very short time, but I want you to know how very much you are loved. You have been prayed for by so many people and loved by more than most can dream of. You will forever be our baby bean and know that mom and dad are waiting for the day we get to meet you.  I want you to know that there are people in heaven who are waiting for you. There are family members and loved ones who will take care of you. You have a heavenly father whose arms are wide open. Even though I am hurting and struggling because I never get to see your face here at Earth, I look forward to the day I see it in heaven. We love you baby bean and we will see your sweet face someday.  Love you to the moon and to the back little bean.  Love always,  Your mom

Surrounded by Love

Hey hey hey! Three weeks (or so) and three posts, crazy! When I first started blogging, I had the grand idea to blog once a week. But we all know that not much happens month to month. But this last month has been crazy! I bet you're wondering what could possibly be going wrong in my life now?!?!?!?!? Well quite the opposite! I know most of you read the post from last week to the haters. I have just been so incredibly blessed this week that I had to write about it, because if haters get a post, supporters should get a million of them. But you would probably grow very very bored very very quickly if I wrote a think you post to each and every single person that has supported us this last week. Just know, I would love to write each of you a blog post and thank you for your love and encouragement. 

Over the last week, I have received so much love, support, and encouragement that I feel like my happiness bucket is overflowing. It has been so amazing to be surrounded by such love that I don't even have the words to describe it. I have heard from long-lost friends, family, current friends, people I only know through an amazing internet forum and I've never actually met in person, and so many others!!!! I can't believe how many people are following our journey and are cheering us on. I just can't put into words how I am feeling. Words like elated, awestruck, overjoyed, and joyful don't seem to do it justice. If there was ever a person who felt more loved than I do after this week, I don't know how. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You all have made me realize, for every 1 hater out there, there are 100 supporters. And all I need is to be around the good guys! It reminded me that while some people may disagree with our plans, so many more love and support us. 

We received some harsh news this week, but not even that could fully bring down my mood. We were told by our doctor, that if our next treatment cycle is a bust, there truly is nothing else for us but IVF. It involves some more testing next cycle and then an appointment with our doctor to start planning meds and dates of treatment. Oh yeah, and talking about prices and money. This life just got real. We knew we were heading this way, we had even started planning for it, and as you all know talking to our family about this potential. We have been getting our hearts ready for this to happen. But when you hear those words, "there's no other chance to have a biological baby", it just kind of hits hard, no matter how "prepared" you felt.

With that being said, my sister has been amazing and has helped me set up a Gofund me page to help us raise some of the money needed to fulfill our dream of having a family. When people have asked us how they can support us, we have always asked for prayers and encouragement. Recently, so many people have asked us how they can help us financially and so we set up this page. We're still asking for all the prayers, love, and encouragement you can spare, and if you want to help donate to our dream, here is the way you can do it. Check out our Go Fund Me page for more details. 

 I want to say a big thank you to everybody who has already donated to our dream, I honestly didn't think anybody would want to. We are so incredibly blessed to have so many caring people in our life. From the bottom of my heart I want to thank each and every person who has lifted up prayers, sent a word of encouragement, given a financial donation to our dream, and been a shoulder to cry on. I am truly in awe of how much love we are surrounded with.

Dear Haters

So I'm sure you're wondering what the heck could possibly be going on, she can barely come up with enough stuff to blog about more than once a month and now she's doing two in one week?!?! Well, let's just say, Life has been difficult this week. I created a blog to share not only what's going on but also the good and bad that happen along the way. This is one of the tough times. 

I knew that being public about our struggle and allowing people into our lives could create problems. I knew that some people may not agree with our decisions or may not understand them. You might ask why I would blog about our problems in the first place if I knew it would be met with people who didn't understand or criticize our life? I blog for many reasons. I blog to raise awareness of just how common infertility is. I blog so that people know how much this baby is loved, prayed for, wanted, planned for, and did I say loved… Yes so very loved. I blog for people who are misinformed and for people just starting this journey. I want people to have the truth, make wise decisions, and know that there are many options out there.

But really my main reason for blogging, is for the other women out there who struggle with infertility. Infertility is such a lonely and difficult world. So many women are unable to talk about their struggles without feeling shame or guilt or sadness. Many of these women cannot share with family and friends what is going on in their lives. They feel like no one will understand or people will see them as lesser. I blog for those women. On a weekly basis I hear from people around the country and really now around the world who have read my blog and have thanked me, because at least they know they're not alone. I blog for each and every one of those women. Nobody should feel alone, not when they are suffering pain and hardship. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. 

I also knew that there may not be people who agree with what we choose to do. And I have always been the kind of person who says that everybody is entitled to their own opinions, and as long as they are informed, respectful, and polite, I will discuss any differing opinions with people. But this week we had family members in our immediate family tell us that not only do they not agree with our decision of using science to help us get pregnant, but they have gone as far as to say they CANNOT LOVE OUR FUTURE CHILD if the BABY is not conceived "naturally". Specifically these people stated it was against "Their God". This was a blow that I was not ready for. 

I have always been a strong person, and I thought I was ready for anything. But sometimes strong people have their own doubts. If you all remember, last week I even wrote how I was struggling with my faith at the moment anyways, a blog I know these people read. This does not help me gain faith back in God and really turns me off of people who evangelize in all the wrong ways. I was not ready to hear this. Everybody is entitled to their own opinions, but to say that you can't love a tiny innocent baby because of how it was conceived goes too far. These people have also gone as far as to say that we are acting against God and that our child won't be a real person. You have got to be kidding me right? Below are two babies-one "natural" and one IVF-can you tell them apart? I can't. 

I spent a lot of time this week thinking, and I even contemplated not blogging anymore and lying to the world about our journey. But I refuse to let these haters take me down. My child will be conceived with love, want, and probably science. And we're OK with that and that's all that matters. So instead of taking down my blog and letting the haters win, I want to write a letter to the haters. So to all my haters:  

First off, I pray that you never know the pain and sadness that comes from infertility. I pray that if you choose to have a family, you are able to have the family in the way that you hope for. I pray that you never know how lonely, sad, and hard this journey is. And with that being said, I pray that if you do you suffer from infertility in the future, you never have to meet somebody like yourself. Somebody who thinks they know everything and makes judgments they don't understand. Someone who is ignorant. 

Jeff and I have had to make a lot of hard decisions over the last couple of years. We had no indication that we would have trouble and thought that our family would just grow like everybody else's. We had no idea that it would be such a long hard journey. We also made the decision to share our journey with others for various reasons. But it wasn't so you could hate our child. It also wasn't so that you could look at our child and say that he or she wasn't a real child or that you couldn't love them. 

I have no idea where you get the right to decide how we should help our family grow. You are not us, you don't know the long agonizing discussions we've had, and you don't know how many nights we have sat up crying. Basically you really don't know us on a deep personal level. Your words have not only caused me pain but have also caused my husband pain and isolation and for that, it is unforgivable. And if that wasn't bad enough, to watch my husband suffer because of your ignorance, you state that you cannot love my child. That is OK, my child will have lots of love and support from other people and does not need to be around someone who can't love them anyways. 

And in regards to what you are saying about this being against "your" God. I have nothing to say. I was under the impression that we believed in the same God, but I guess I was wrong. My God is a God of love, who loves everybody from the moment they were conceived. My God is a God who believes humans were created in his image, not that some humans were created in his image and some weren't. He does not pick and choose who he loves and who he calls to him. My God is a God that loves each and every person, every person.  

My God is a God that teaches that everybody is special, everybody has a story, and everybody deserves to be loved. My God is also a God who gave us science. He has allowed us the ability to conceive outside the womb, and within a couple of days, place the baby in the womb and grow a baby. FYI, in case you didn't know, babies are not conceived in you womb, they are actually conceived in your Fallopian tube. So no baby is conceived in the womb… Just saying. 

I know why certain churches/denominations have been against IVF, do you? I also know you have not asked us specific questions to know if we are going against the church's teachings or not. Maybe you should have had a conversation before you spit hatred out. Maybe you should have done some research before jumping on the hatred wagon. Maybe you should have formed your thoughts from information and not just passed judgement. 

It does not matter anymore for you hater. My child(ren), my family, and myself will no longer have anything to do with haters. 

Sincerely,  

A very hurt person who wants nothing more than to become a mom

Thank you for letting me vent. And go ahead haters-you just hate. I am going to be ok without you. 

Another Twist in the Plot

Well this was a fun and exciting month. I went in for my typical baseline ultrasound at the beginning of the month and was told that I have a gigantic cyst! LOL at the fact 
that the doctor said it so casually. Apparently it is "only the size of a golf ball"- so no big deal!?!?!?!? While he's over there saying no big deal I'm over here going holy crap I have something the size of a golf ball me and I had no idea! This is why I preach about having monitored cycles. 6 cycles with no cysts and nothing different about this one and BOOM, cyst. Want to see what it looks like? Here you go-

I've heard many people talk about how their doctor just prescribed Clomid or other medications and never get monitored. What's the big deal you ask? Well being on those medications can cause a cyst to grow and potentially rupture and then not only will you be in tremendous pain and in the emergency room, you could end up losing your entire Fallopian tube. No big deal right… Just kidding! So anybody out there thinking about just getting an unmonitored cycle to see how it works, to save money, or because your doc said it is ok-caution caution caution. Not only caution but running the other direction, because you really want to risk your fertility completely? 

So since I decided that I would like to keep my tube in the semi OK condition that it is, I'm on the bench for the month. No treatments, no chance at getting pregnant, nothing. Just sitting here keeping the bench warm. I feel like the little kid who just kicks the dirt while the other kids go play. 

One would think that this is no big deal, what is another month when you have already been doing this for 20 months, except one doesn't understand infertility. There are many things that I had planned to do this month and canceled due to when treatments would've been. These included going to an amazing conference for my coaching business, going home to visit family and friends, and going out with Jeff for a weekend away. We cancelled all of these events due to how the treatment cycle should have progressed. And welcome to infertility, you cancel your life and then you end up with the cycle cancelled. Sometimes it's just so frustrating. 

This is just one really good example about how ladies who suffer from infertility live their lives. It's always month-to-month, cycle to cycle, treatment to treatment. You try and plan your entire life around cycles and monitoring days. And at the end of the day you are reminded that you have very little control over the situation and life isn't fair. It is at times like this where I start to think that infertility is synonymous with life isn't fair.I have to remind myself: 

I will admit, I am starting to lose some faith that this will ever happen. Anyone who knows me knows that I am an upbeat person who usually sees the glass as half full. But it gets harder and harder to trust and have faith. Some days are dark and dreary. Some days just suck. I have a very strong faith and trust in God's plan, but sometimes that faith is hard to maintain. So for today, I am going to put this here, so that even though I am feeling shaky-I can be reminded of his promises  until they come true. If any one can spare some extra prayers, I would be very happy to accept them. 

 

So that's the update, nothing. But I promise you I will try to update more often so I'm trying to fulfill my end of the deal. Check back in a week or two and I'll let you know where we sit on the situation.

Decisions Decisions Decisions

So I am probably the worst blogger ever. The main problem is that not a whole lot new happens when you have infertility. It feels like you're living life on repeat, constantly counting days, taking medication, giving yourself (or trusting your husband to give you) a shot, testing, and then starting it all over again when that month fails. I feel like my blog would sound something like this: 

  so this month was another bust, more money out of pocket, and 

          I hate insurance again. But on the bright side I'm getting to know the nurses and Dr. on a first name basis and they don't even need my chart anymore to know who I am. 

So you probably wouldn't want to read my blog anyways because you would be bored to tears. I'm sure by now you're asking yourself, if she's got nothing to write about, then why is she making a new post.

Will you see that is a great question to ask! We have been asked by a lot of people what is going on and we are to the point where we have some decisions we have to start making. Let me just give you a quick synopsis of our trying to Cutie Pie Humphrey so far in case you are just joining! (Or skip down to the part that says "So now what" to find out what this post is really about!) 

-12 months of perfectly timed trying to conceive
-visit the RE and start 2 months of testing
-get diagnosed with PCOS, a block right tube, and hypothyroidism-full story Here
-Treatment starts! 

Here is the shortest summary of each month! 

-January-I take Letrozole plus a bunch of other things to grow pretty eggs and see if it works. It works somewhat, but I have super lazy ovaries. After a brief argument discussion and demanding to up my dose but stay on this med we move on to Month 2. (Want more details-read about it HERE)

-February-Upped dose of Letrozole which works, sort of. Ovaries are still lazy but getting closer. Move on to Month 3

At this point we decided we were ready to move on to trying meds plus IUI. What is IUI? Google or read about it Here

-March-All the meds, plus some and I insist on early monitoring to see when the egg is ready so we can add a trigger shot. So now I order a shot each month that I trust Jeff to give me each month. The plan works, I have a perfect cycle with a beautiful egg released on the good side. Still not pregnant. Look at my month in pills:

April-Repeat April's plan but then we see the egg is on the blocked side and so that month is cancelled. No IUI, no miracle pregnancy and on to month 5. 

May-Repeat March's protocol again. Everything goes 100% perfect. All numbers are great and everything looks awesome. Still not pregnant. On to Month 6.

See, told you-boring updates would have been all you got in this blog before now. 

So now what????

Now we as a couple have decided to start looking into IVF. But that is not covered at all by insurance (well none of it has been by them) and the VA won't pay for it at all ether. We are grateful that the VA has paid for our testing and most of the costs of the IUI, which has been a huge blessing.  But now it seems dumb. They will keep paying $2000 a month for something that is not working and has like a 5% success rate at this point but refuse to pay for something with a 60% success rate. Way to be cost effective VA.

What does that mean? We will continue to do this same treatment route with IUIs (and hope that maybe just maybe it will work) as we save up for IVF since the VA will keep covering it for a while. But that also means we are now saving up for IVF. We are looking at 2 or 3 different clinics and have to make a decision which we want to go for. The price does not change that much regardless of where we choose, but different sites have different protocols, packages, and requirements. Big picture, we are now working to save around $25,000. Yep those zeros are correct. You read that right. So yeah, trips back home to MN are now going to be few and far between. Vacations are no more and our budget just got real tight. But in the end we know it is the right choice and we will make it in a heart beat to have our dream of a family. 

So that is where we are. Budgeting, saving, and waiting. As we go forward with this process I will update more, promise, for real this time. 

Check back soon-or subscribe and it will tell you when to check back! ;)  

And the verdict is...

Well another month is come and gone and all that can be said is our first medicated cycle was a bust. We were hoping for ovulation to occur around day 14 and I apparently have super lazy ovaries. They didn't get their act together till around day 24, which is too late because the lining gets too thick and you can't get pregnant anyways. So I called to set up my next round of monitoring appointments and the medical assistant called me back and says that since the medication didn't work we have two options, injectables or IVF. To say this threw me for a loop was putting it mildly.  I told her that I would call her back after I talked over with my husband but really I just needed to get off the phone before I started crying. I composed myself, talked it over with Jeff, and called the doctor back and told him that wasn't a plan for us. Here is the deal, injectables can cost anywhere from a grand or more per month and we just don't have that kind of money. IVF is like a last resort and each cycle at our clinic is about $12,000, if we didn't have a grand we certainly don't have 12. So to hear that these were only two options was kind of like saying you have no options.

I knew this couldn't be the truth. Why do you ask? Because I'm part of the fantastic group of women who are going through some of the same treatments and have been where I am. The online community I found has become more than just a support group, they are some of my best friends at all ever have! These ladies not only hold me up when life get hard but make me laugh and are some of the greatest women ever!  And from them I've learned that 5 mg is not the highest dose, I can do 7.5 and there's also a trigger shot to potentially help my ovaries get their act together and this would move up my O date. So armed with all my knowledge and refusing to take the answer the nurse gave me I called back and set up an appointment to speak with the doctor.

I went in for my monitoring appointment and I told him that I didn't want to do injectables or IVF, that I wanted to try a higher dose and a trigger if needed. He seemed surprised at first that I was even talking about injectables and when I told him what the nurse said, he said that she was wrong and she had misspoke. He felt that a higher dosage would be exactly what I would need and that we could go forward with that plan. I told him I sure hope he talks to talk to that nurse.

So now we are onto month two of the medicated cycle and fingers crossed that my ovaries get their act together. Otherwise we may be out of options and looking at super expensive treatments. 

Any prayer warriors-I could use your to prayers! Thanks in advance! 

Treatment starting!

So I have been working on a blog post all about PCOS. It's taking longer than I had that because I wanted to research and give more than just my experience, since I was just diagnosed and I don't really know whole lot about it. The problem with PCOS is the fact that it's such a varied disorder and everybody experiences a different reaction to it that it's hard to find a lot of concrete facts. And now my heart feels like I want to share more about what's happening in our journey right now. So look for the PCOS blog in the near future, maybe next time. I just want that want to be really good. 

So what's going on with us? That's the question we get a lot of the time and the problem is it's usually, waiting. Well we are moving into our first TREATMENT CYCLE!!!! 

So here's what's happening… You ready for this? To understand what treatments do, you have to understand some basics about cycles in general. Some people may know this, but most people have no idea!!! The things they leave out in basic health class. 

Everything in fertility has to do with the woman's cycle, seems reasonable right! So the basics are this. You have phases of your cycle. The cycle starts when a women gets her period, called cycle day 1 (CD 1). This is the menstrual phase and the phase everyone knows about. After starts the beginning of the follicular phase. Follicles grow eggs until one is matured and released (average is CD 14, but could range from CD 8-CD 50 and beyond). This is the main indicator of how long a woman's cycle will be. The day the egg is released, called ovulation day, is the beginning of the next phase. This phase is the luteal phase. This phase typically lasts 10-16 days with the average being 14 (14+14=28-why they say the average cycle is 28 days....but rarely is it actually). During this phase the lining of the uterus continues to thicken and prepare for the potential of implantation should sperm meet egg. If a woman gets pregnant, no CD 1, if not she will shed the lining and CD 1 comes and the whole thing starts over. 

Confused? Here is a pic :) 

Take Aways:

1. You can only get pregnant if you ovulate (no egg no baby)

2. You are only fertile for about 4 days a cycle(Sperm live 4 days, egg lives 1)

3. Cycles can be monitored and charted with science

4. Your period is never late. If your cycle is going long and if you are not pregnant, you ovulated later that month

How does a gal know where she is in the cycle and if there is a problem? By temping. Every morning, for the last 16 months, I take my temp when I wake up. Well actually I set an alarm for 5:15, everyday of the week (weekends included) and temp. This is called your basal body temp. By charting this temp I can see when a jump occurs (which happens and is sustained after) the day after O. Here is a typical chart from a great site called fertility friend. This site is fantastic if you are thinking about trying to conceive or just want to learn how your body works!!! I tell you, there are so many things I was clueless about in my own body! 

As you can see, in the follicular phase temps are pretty low, then a jump and starts the Luteal phase (LP). A drop at the end of LP signals impending CD 1. The nice thing, once I get those red cross hairs-I know to the day when my cycle would start. Never surprised! 

Well, just when you think you know your body and you know your cycles and everything, your body switches it up. Bodies can be jerks like that… Especially mine it seems (Thanks PCOS). So we went through all of our testing and we made our game plan, I talked about that in the previous blog that you can find here. The plan is to take a medication called Letrozole which is a generic form of femera. The way this drug works is you take it for five days (CD 3-7, 4-8, or 5-9).  Letrozole lowers estrogen which causes the brain to raise FSH and thus stimulates the ovaries to do their job (hopefully). So I was just waiting for my cycle, call in this prescription, and then start this next cycle with a renewed sense of hope. 

Here is an easy to see way of how it works: 

Well sometimes a cycle doesn't end, ever. So I had to call in to my doctor and get a prescription for medication called for Provera. This mimics the luteal phase and tricks your body into thinking it ovulated.  Well my body didn't ovulate so we had to make it think it did. I took the Provera, this isn't the first cycle so I kind of figured I knew it was going to happen. Last time I took it for 10 days and the next day was CD 1. Boom!  So I start the Provera and I thought my cycle and start the next day just like the last time. Once again bodies are jerks. I had to wait two solid weeks for that cycle CD 1 to show up! When you're trying to get pregnant the last thing you want to hope for CD 1 because that is the one sure fire way you know you're not pregnant. When you have IF and are trying to get pregnant, it seems you are forever waiting on CD 1 to get something started! 

So two weeks later, my cycle started. So now it is on to letrozole. I'll be taking this drug on days 3-7 with the hopes that it causes my follicles on my ovaries to grow, ovulation to happen around day 14, and at least one or two eggs to be released (we would be just fine with twins :) ). Keep watching for more updates to see how the story unfolds. One can only hope that my body will decide to get it back on track and do what it supposed to do!