A series of very fortunate events

So today was my first IUI procedure. Brandon and I traveled together to SRM in Tacoma. He went into a private room to produce his sperm sample and we were told to come back in an hour so they could wash it. The washing process involved separating sperm from semen because the semen cannot enter the uterus. So we spent a little time shopping across the street at Target and PetSmart. Then it was time for the IUI. I was so nervous about the results of his sperm count but I was quickly put at ease. Brandon's count was 64 million post-wash with a 59% motility. That means that his total motile count (the number that really matters) was 18.9 million. I was elated!! That means our chance of success is now between 10-20%. I'm not sure if it was the acupuncture or the vitamins but something worked for him. To me, that means we can avoid the IVF route (at least for now). Doctors usually do 5-6 IUI treatments before moving on to IVF.

The IUI procedure itself was a bit painful. The nurse inserted a catheter into my uterus and injected the washed sample inside. Then the nurse said she was going to put an air bubble in the catheter to make sure all the little soldiers got out of the tube. I think the air bubble must have gone into my uterus because I had some terrible cramping afterward and had to remain on the table for about 10 minutes after the procedure. After that it was still difficult to walk. Brandon drove home and I laid the seat back and took a nap. This afternoon was spent laying around and sleeping. The pain is starting to go away but it hurts to button up my jeans. I just feel so bloated. I hope the pain goes away but I keep reminding myself that it's worth it. So now I am officially in what fertility patients refer to as the "2 week wait" (2ww). I will take a home pregnancy test in 2 weeks and hope that the results are positive. Until then I'm going to be doing alot of relaxing and I will continue with my acupuncture.

One Beautiful Follie

This morning I had a second ultrasound. The doctor saw that the follicle on my right ovary grew to 21mm. The follicle on my left didn't grow at all. So I have one perfect follie and my IUI is scheduled for tomorrow. The nurse gave me an hcg shot to trigger ovulation. I'm very excited but also very nervous. I hope Brandon's sperm count has improved since his last SA which were 8 million and 2 million after the washing process. For the best chance of success doctors recommend at least 10 million for an IUI procedure. He has been taking vitamins and started acupuncture with me so I'm optimistic. Still, our chance of success with IUI will probably be less than 10%. I hope that we can beat the odds and avoid the IVF route altogether. I will be praying very hard tonight!

A little bit about me

This is my first blogging attempt ever so I'm curious to see how my blog will evolve as I get better at all this. The infertility world uses quite a lot of abbreviations so I will spell them out the first time I use them.

A little bit about me: My name is Christa and my husband's name is Brandon. We currently live in Silverdale, WA where Brandon is stationed in the Navy. We have two pets, a cat named Jasmine and a dog named Oso.

I have been trying to conceive (TTC) with my current husband since our marriage in October 2007. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in 2002 with my ex husband and we immediately started fertility treatments. I became pregnant but miscarried at 6 weeks. After that the treatments simply stopped working. We tried the fertility drugs off and on over the period of our marriage and even briefly became foster parents before we split up.

Fast forward to my current marriage. So far I have taken 3 months of fertility medications (Clomid). One cycle worked but we did not get pregnant. A sperm analysis (SA) showed that Brandon had a very low sperm count. Our local naval hospital said there was nothing more they could do and referred us to a Military Treatment Facility (MTF) an hour away (Madigan Army Medical Center). The doctor at Madigan told me that the only recommended route for us would be in-vitro fertilization (IVF). This normally costs $12-14K in the civilian world but through the military we can do it at a discounted price of about $8K. We were devastated. We had hoped to do the less expensive intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment. This is where they place a catheter inside the uterus and inject the sperm directly into the uterus (also known as the "turkey baster" method). The doctor said we could try some IUI treatments but he didn't recommend it and the chances of success were minimal. Still, I wanted to give it a try so the doctor gave us the medications to get my cycle going.

Fast forward to today. I am currently on cycle day (cd) 11. I had an ultrasound (u/s) yesterday which showed 2 promising follicles, one at 12mm on my right and one at 10mm on my left. A mature follicle is at least 18mm and ovulation can be triggered naturally or with a hormone injection. Since this is a holiday weekend I cannot have my next u/s until Tuesday which would be cd15 for me. The follicles normally grow 1-3mm a day so I hope I do not ovulate over the weekend. If so, I will go to Seattle Reproductive Medicine (SRM) for my IUI treatment. That is the fertility clinic that Madigan contracts with and where I will have all procedures done. So the next few days will be a waiting game for me. I am hopeful about this IUI but not overly optimistic. We're still saving up for IVF.