Patience

For those of you that don't know, Travis and I have been trying to have a baby for about two years now... After charting my basal body temperature every morning for a year to track ovulation, and no luck getting pregnant, my doctor started infertility testing. He started with doing blood work first to check my Estrogen and Progesterone levels. When those came back normal, he then wanted to have an HSG dye test done on me and a Semen Analysis done on Travis. The HSG dye test is an xray in which dye is entered though a catheter into the uterus to see if there is a blockage in the fallopian tubes. This was the most painful thing I have ever felt in my life!!! The results of this test weren't good, and Travis's test results weren't that great either. The xrays showed that my tubes were blocked, and his analysis showed low sperm count and motility (how well they swim). So no wonder we weren't getting pregnant, right?


Unfortunately, the next step for me was surgery. My doctor had to figure out what was causing the blockage, and boy did he! What he found was very advanced stages of Endometriosis and scar tissue that had completely blocked one tube and then totally covered everything else. My uterus, my fallopian tubes, my ovaries, my bladder, and small intestines! It was nuts! But with Dr. Godat being the fabulous doctor he is, he got me all "cleaned up" in just a couple of hours. During this same time period, Travis was referred to a specialist where more testing was done on him. Another Semen Analysis, blood work, and even an ultrasound. When all was said and done, Dr. French confirmed that there was an issue of low sperm count and motility, but nothing came back to pinpoint why. His blood work and the ultrasound were fine. The doctor said that the sperm count and motility was on the very low end of normal, but was in his eyes technically capable of causing a pregnancy.


So with me being good to go and Travis all checked out, it was back to trying... but this time with the help of medication. Dr. Godat said that because of the aggressiveness of the Endometriosis, that we were on a time crunch to get me pregnant (otherwise I would have to have the surgery again in a year). I started a regimen of Clomid, Estrogen, and Progesterone two weeks after my surgery. After the first month on Clomid, Dr. Godat could tell by my temperature chart that it wasn't working right, so he doubled the dosage for the next month. But after six months of this regimen with no pregnancy, it was time to try something else.


And that brings us to Wednesday, February 9 and Friday, February 11. That week we had our first two Intra-Uterine Inseminations (IUI) done. IUI is where my doctor takes a sample of Travis's sperm, spins/washes it to separate all the good ones out, and then inserts the good ones into my uterus at the openings of my fallopian tubes through a catheter. With Travis's sperm having trouble getting to where they need to be, this procedure is supposed to increase our chances of conception since the sperm doesn't have to travel near as far (they are deposited right where they need to be). The only thing was, is that the analysis didn't look good when Dr. Godat was spinning/washing the sperm. Within the last nine months it appears that his sperm count and motility has decreased even more... so to say the least, it was a bitter sweet two days.


Now where does that leave us you ask? Well, waiting. We have to wait two weeks (until Friday, February 25) before we can take a pregnancy test. And man have the days drug on. I've tried really hard not to get too excited about the results, but it's SO HARD not to since we've wanted a baby for so long and it's our first real chance of conceiving. If it doesn't happen this month, we go back to the drawing board for more testing with Travis. But keep your fingers crossed!... maybe it worked! I know that if we don't get lucky this month that we will both be disappointed, but thankfully, we have so many people that are praying for us, love us, and will be there for us, that we will make it through the ups and downs of this adventure just fine. God has a plan for us, and I'm trying my best to be patient while waiting :) Until next time...