Our story...

Ok, I decided to start this blog because it is easier for my family to read without having to have a myspace (which Joey hates). This is a better compromise i guess!



Some of your know Joey and I have been trying to concieve (TTC) for some time - since January 2007 to be exact. About a month later I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). There are a lot of symptoms and problems that come with it (weight gain, hair loss, acne.. the list goes on), but the most devistating is infertility. Basically I don't ovulate on my own so that was the beginning of our problem.

We started on a drug called glucophage. It is a drug to help with the insulin resistance (IR) that come with PCOS. The theory - fix the IR and then the ovulation will just happen. Well the side effects of the glucophage are horrendous and in August I had to stop taking it. The next step was the clomid.

After months of testing I started the clomid (in January 08). So one cycle on the clomid and the verdict was... clomid didn't do a darn thing and it was just not going to work for me. All our hopes and dreams were depending on a little pill. Well we had a choice - go to a higher dose of clomid or start injectables. Now the problem is, once you are diagnosed with infertility, insurance will only cover one 100 mg round of clomid and then insurance stops completly. The clomid is less expensive, but less likely to work. After days of considering and praying about it. We decided to start the injectables.

So here's the deal... i am TERRIFIED of needles! I just can't handle them so this was a HUGE step for me, but at the end of the day it was all worth it to me. I'm still a big baby about it!

Month one... the regime... Day 1 and 2 I take 100 iu of Follistim, then on day 3-10 i drop to 75 iu. On day 6-10 I add Menopur and Cetrotide (the units I'm not sure of because I have one full vial for each). So that is 3 shots on the last 5 days. Then I take another shot called Ovidrel to make me ovulate within 36 hours. Within the 10 days I have to go in to have an ultrasound and bloodwork every 2 days to monitor me estogen levels and to see the growth of my follicles. Ok so that is the plan.

I go for my first ultrasound (u/s) so we can see if I have any large cysts before we start injections. I started my injections that night. I go in for my second u/s and i have 5 follicles that are 8-9mm on my right side and 4 that are 6-7 mm on my left! AWSOME right? So we continue (keep in mind we want them to be 24-28mm) and then I go in for my third u/s expecting large change in size. No change. The lower does of the follistim is not working. So we decided to cancel the whole cycle and try again the following month with larger dose. I cried the whole way home from the dr.

So now we are going to start again. I go in for my base line u/s tomorrow and then I start with my injections tomorrow night. I'm not sure the dosage of the Follistim, but the other meds will be the same. The scary part is that this is going to be our last try. Since insurance doesn't cover any of this, we really can't afford to pay for thousands of dollars of meds and bloodwork every month.

We are praying this will be our last time.

~keeping hope!~