Post 15: Babies Everywhere!

The hardest part of infertility, in my opinion, is having to congratulate people on their pregnancy or birth. My dance studio must be the most fertile group of women I've ever met. Out of 65 students, 16 parents have announced pregnancy or have given birth during this dance year. I've actually had 7 babies born to studio moms this month alone! When your greatest desire is to become a mother, and it's not happening, it's so difficult to hide your depression when congratulating parents on a weekly basis. 

Post 14: Clomid...Round 2

My first round of clomid didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Yes, I ovulated according to my progesterone test, but I did that on my own without clomid. Also, I didn't end up pregnant. 

When I started spotting, I contacted David to see what was next. I knew that most women taking clomid needed more than one cycle of drugs for them to work, so with the Easter holiday close by, I wanted to make sure I had my prescription ready to go. David told me to let him know when my period started, and at that point he would call in my prescription. Two days later, I did just that - I called. However, I didn't get a response. So the next day, I called again. Finally, I got a message that the prescription would be called in for me. So the next day, I stopped by my pharmacy, and, surprise, no prescription! At this point, I'm in a panic. It's a day before Easter, the pharmacy was closing later that day, and I was supposed to start clomid on Easter! About an hour later, the pharmacy called, and my nerves were restored. I stopped by, picked up my drugs, and, luckily, didn't have to have a consultation! 

My prescription came with new directions, stating that I was to start the medicine on day 5 of my cycle instead of day 3. From what I've read, taking clomid on day 3 produces more eggs, where as day 5 produces better quality eggs. So I followed the directions, crossed my fingers, and started my second round of drugs.

Post 13: Clomid...Round 1

My first round of clomid was quite interesting. I don't generally take medicine, and when I do, it's usually a child's dose. Therefore, I was quite nervous to start clomid. I'd read all of the horrible side effects that could happen, and I was strapped in and ready to go. When I took the first pill, I was sure that I would feel different. I expected uncontrollable emotions, agitation, and irritability. However, each day that I took a pill, I felt nothing new! I had conquered clomid, and my body didn't have any side effects! And then, a few days later, they hit me like a truck. 

The first side effect was insomnia. I would fall asleep quickly, as normal, then every hour on the hour, I'd wake up. At some point during the night, I'd have an hour where I would pet the cats, count sheep, read a book, or simply twiddle my thumbs until, hopefully, I would fall back to sleep. The insomnia was an almost nightly occurrence from the day after I finished the five pill prescription, until my period started. 

The second side effect was hot flashes. I have had a glimpse at menopause, and I am glad that it's still a long way away! When people talked about hot flashes, I thought they just got a little warm occasionally - no big deal. What I learned is that when you have hot flashes, you wake up from sleep (or insomnia) to find you need to change your sheets because you've sweat so much, there is a body print! Hot flashes are the worst side effect of any medication I've ever taken!

Eventually, I did find myself being extremely irritable, and my assistant at work said she noticed I talked a lot more than normal, but was impressed that I hadn't snapped at anyone. 

Each round of clomid is followed up with a day 21 progesterone test. On the day of the test for my first round of clomid, Shaun took me for blood work. I was extremely agitated at him for no aparent reason, and was almost in tears over the decision of fries or tater tots! Needless to day, it was a long day.

Post 12: Confidentiality...what's that?

About a week later, it was time to fill my prescription. I dropped off the script at our local walmart pharmacy, and after waiting 30 minutes, decided I would pick it up later that day. When I returned to the pharmacy, the pharmacy technician said that I had to have a consultation with the pharmacist before she could give me my prescription. I'm not sure if your familiar with walmart pharmacy's consultation area, but it's a window where the pharmacist loudly tells you about your medicine. When you live in a small town, the consultation goes as follows:

Pharmacist: "You're a Hudson aren't you?"

Me: "Yes, I was a Hudson until I got married."

Pharmacist: "You're not old enough to be married."

Me: "I'm 26."

Pharmacist: "Oh! How long have you been married."

Me: "Almost 4 years."

Pharmacist: "And you're trying to have a baby!"

Me: "That's the plan."

Pharmacist: "Well, I want to make sure that you understand the prescription I'm about to give you. You take one pill a day, starting on day 3 of your cycle. Day 3 of your cycle means that it's the third day of your period. You'll take one pill from day 3-7, then on day 21 of your cycle, you need to have blood work to check your progesterone levels."

Me: "Yep. My doctor explained the steps really well."

Pharmacist: "Ok, Mrs. Noonan, here's your prescription for clomid, good luck with making a baby!"

I paid my $4 for the prescription, and walked away slyly, trying to see if anyone was around. Luckily, it wasn't a busy day at the pharmacy, so no one was there to start the small town rumor mill! Crisis averted!

Post 11: Becoming a Druggie

After my period started, I was devastated. We had tried everything in the book to conceive naturally, and it wasn't happening, so we decided it was time for the next steps. In early March, we visited David again to discuss our options. I was hoping for intrauterine insemination (turkey baster method) or IUI for short, David had other plans. He decided that I should start clomid. Even though I ovulate on my own, clomid had the ability to produce more eggs, and better quality eggs, based on which days it is taken. 

I left David's office with a prescription for 50 mg of clomid on days 3-7, with my second day 21 progesterone test. Again, Shaun was told he had "homework" to do, and that we should get busy! Somehow, men always get the easier job. We get poked, prodded, scoped, and drugged, and they get sex. It's not quite a fair trade in my opinion. 

Post 10: Vacation

Per our doctors orders, and my dad's retirement, Shaun and I, and my entire family, went on a cruise to the Virgin Islands in January 2014. I skipped my OPKs, and other than charting the days of my period, I went a month without tracking! Was I more relaxed? No! Did I do my best to destress? Yes! Mornings were spent reading, food was a 24 hour companion, and each night I took my almost two year old niece dancing! 

Sex was fun, and unplanned! If we decided to get frisky during the day, then so be it! We were on vacation, and a lot of babies are made on vacation! Even my niece was conceived on our last family vacation, which also happened to be a cruise! 

When we returned from vacation, it was back to life as normal. I completed the rest of the month's cycle without tracking or charting, and then my period started. Vacation and relaxation were not the keys to getting pregnant. 

Post 9: Bactrim - Back Again

Just when I thought I was through with the drama, bactrim came back to bite me in the butt! I finished taking the 10 day antibiotic, and even though it had made me pretty sick, I didn't think anything of it. I'm not someone who regularly takes medication, and I knew it was really strong, so I just brushed off the sickness as a side effect. However, two days after finishing the prescription, I woke up covered in a head-to-toe rash! 

Shaun called the nurse line that is included as part of our insurance, and for the next 30 minutes, I became a patient, and Shaun was the doctor. The actual nurse instructed Shaun to do everything from pinching and poking my rash, to putting my arm under hot water, and then holding an ice cube against the rash! We had stumped the nurse line, so we headed to urgent care. 

As soon as the doctor saw me, she said she knew exactly what was wrong. I am officially allergic to bactrim, and all sulfa drugs! So, after 10 days of bactrim, I got to start a 5 day does of steroids. I also got a very large shot in the butt to kick start the steroids! The bad part about steroids is that they caused me to have insomnia; the good part was that my house was spotless! 

Post 8: My Not So Swollen Ovary

While in the ER, the physician who treated me for the kidney stone informed me that my left ovary was enlarged, and that I should see my OBGYN to have it examined. So after getting through the bactrim drama, and talking with David, he decided to have me come in for a check-up. I picked up my x-rays showing the swollen ovary, and headed to the hospital. At my appointment, David was confused by the ER doctors diagnosis. He said that my ovary was well within normal range, and that it was not enlarged at all! 

Since we had already made the trip to see David, Shaun and I took the time to discuss our next steps. David's recommendation was to take a month off of charting and testing, and to just have fun, and to try to relax. Then when we were ready, to visit him again to discuss the next steps. Since we had a vacation planned a week later, we decided to take his advice.