http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/41755675#41755675
I love hearing about stories like this! It brought me a lot of hope today and has motivated me to join the RESOLVE infertility support group that meets monthly.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
IVF it is!
This week I emailed the urologist with a bunch of questions because there was some confusion about his recommendations after J's ultrasound. He wrote me back, pretty bluntly stating that IUI (intrauterine insemination) would not be an option for us and IVF is definitely recommended. So, there's no way to get around it. Unless some miracle happens and we conceive naturally, which is pretty unlikely, we'll be heading down the IVF route. I was pretty sure this would be the case, so I'm not really surprised. I guess I just had a little hope that he would say IUI would be possible because it's so much cheaper, less time consuming and less invasive on my body.
Last night J and I attended a seminar at Oregon Reproductive Medicine, which is one of the fertility clinics in Portland. Apparently they're one of the best in the country with one of the highest success rates (72.5%), so we definitely wanted to see what they were all about. Another option for us is to stick with OHSU, which is where J's been going for his urology stuff. We'll have to do more research about them though. One thing we're very sure of is that it's going to be EXPENSIVE. At the seminar they were saying about $17,000 per cycle! That's including everything (tests, ultrasounds, medications, etc.). We've already gotten a lot of the required tests done and I'm hoping insurance would be able to cover even a portion of the treatments, but most insurances in Oregon don't cover fertility treatments. I think the best part of the seminar was being in a room with other people that I knew were going through similar things as us. Infertility is such a taboo topic and most people feel uncomfortable talking openly about it. Hearing others share their struggles and asking questions about what their options are really put me at ease...because I didn't feel alone anymore.
So, I guess "the plan" is for J to get blood work done (to test for cystic fibrosis) and a biopsy so they can retrieve and freeze sperm. Meanwhile, we'll need to come up with a way to pay for this baby! We've saved quite a bit, but we joke about standing outside with signs that say "Need $$ for test tube baby!" Haha!! I wonder how many people would help?? Seriously, if people give to those that have signs that say "Why lie? I need a beer!" or "Ninjas kidnapped my parents. Need $$ for kung fu lessons." then why wouldn't they give to us?
Anyway, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but I have a tentative date of hopefully starting the treatment in July or August since my insurance doesn't kick back in until July 1st. Treatment takes about 10 weeks, so that would be great to be pregnant by mid September. That would mean a baby by June 2012!!
Egg being fertilized with a single sperm (ICSI procedure)
Last night J and I attended a seminar at Oregon Reproductive Medicine, which is one of the fertility clinics in Portland. Apparently they're one of the best in the country with one of the highest success rates (72.5%), so we definitely wanted to see what they were all about. Another option for us is to stick with OHSU, which is where J's been going for his urology stuff. We'll have to do more research about them though. One thing we're very sure of is that it's going to be EXPENSIVE. At the seminar they were saying about $17,000 per cycle! That's including everything (tests, ultrasounds, medications, etc.). We've already gotten a lot of the required tests done and I'm hoping insurance would be able to cover even a portion of the treatments, but most insurances in Oregon don't cover fertility treatments. I think the best part of the seminar was being in a room with other people that I knew were going through similar things as us. Infertility is such a taboo topic and most people feel uncomfortable talking openly about it. Hearing others share their struggles and asking questions about what their options are really put me at ease...because I didn't feel alone anymore.
So, I guess "the plan" is for J to get blood work done (to test for cystic fibrosis) and a biopsy so they can retrieve and freeze sperm. Meanwhile, we'll need to come up with a way to pay for this baby! We've saved quite a bit, but we joke about standing outside with signs that say "Need $$ for test tube baby!" Haha!! I wonder how many people would help?? Seriously, if people give to those that have signs that say "Why lie? I need a beer!" or "Ninjas kidnapped my parents. Need $$ for kung fu lessons." then why wouldn't they give to us?
Anyway, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but I have a tentative date of hopefully starting the treatment in July or August since my insurance doesn't kick back in until July 1st. Treatment takes about 10 weeks, so that would be great to be pregnant by mid September. That would mean a baby by June 2012!!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Feeling hopeful
Today I'm feeling hopeful and trying to make it last. A couple different reasons why: J and I have been doing a lot of talking lately and, despite being told by the urologist that we will likely not be able to conceive naturally, we're not going to just give up on it. "It takes just one." That's what J said last night. Also, after talking to a dear friend of my mine who was told the same thing and is now expecting a baby girl, who was conceived naturally, I'm seeing that it's real. I also go on fertility message boards and hear of women who have tried IVF or are about and conceive naturally. My attitude right now is let's keep trying hard to have this baby naturally, but if it comes down to it, we'll do whatever it takes to conceive - whether it's assisted reproduction or not. I've already told myself "This is my year to get pregnant!" In the meantime, I'm signing up to attend an infertility support group though RESOLVE (www.resolve.com) and a seminar at Oregon Reproductive Medicine (www.oregonreproductivemedicine.com) to get more information about our options. I'm also going to turn into a total "bug-a-boo" and call the doctor until I find out how I can get some answers out of him regarding the ultrasound results and his recommendations.
It's amazing that through this, J and I have gotten so much stronger and continue to remain connected because it really does take a toll on a couple. I remain understanding and non-blaming because this isn't his issue, it's OURS and we'll get through it together. Everyday we want this baby more and more and we're gonna make it happen.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Dealing with MFI...
So, I finally decided to start a blog about my journey to mommyhood! I guess the main reason is that I felt like I needed a way to get my thoughts out before I drive myself crazy. People struggling with infertility know that you can sometimes tell people close to you about what's going on, but they don't fully get it unless they've been there. You could probably say that about most circumstances. Another reason for doing this is that I felt the need to educate people about MFI (male factor infertility) based on what I've gone through because it seems that when a couple struggles to get pregnant, people automatically assume it's the women. Truth is, women and men have equal chances of infertility issues. I also am hoping to get some advice and support from others who have gone through fertility treatments themselves.
It would probably be helpful to give a little summary or timeline of my journey so far:
February 2009 - Married the love of my life and although we had decided to wait a few months to start trying for a family, we quickly changed our minds and started right away!
(2009 was a very stressful, intense year with us getting married, trying to conceive, almost losing my little brother in a car accident, stress at work, and then the death of my biological dad)
June 2010 - After 16 months of trying with no luck, I decided to get myself checked out (bloodwork, HSG, pap test all came back normal) and it was suggested that J get checked.
July 2010 - J's first semen analysis came back abnormally low and we were told "No normal sperm were detected". It was suggested that we see a urologist.
February 2011 - After several months of nagging, he finally went in for his 2nd analysis and results were similar to the 1st (less than 100,000 sperm detected). Suggested that he get hormonal blood work, which he did and it came back normal. Suggested that he get a prostate ultrasound.
March 2011 - Prostate ultrasound showed that his prostate was fine, but he was born without a left seminal vesicle, may be a carrier for cystic fibrosis and we would likely have to do IVF in order to have a baby of our own.
So, that's pretty much where we are now. The urologist has suggested that J get a blood test to check to see if he is a CF carrier and then they could do a biopsy of his testicle to see if sperm can be removed and frozen for IVF. We've been trying to get a hold of the medical assistant all week to schedule the blood test and I also have a bunch of questions (since I wasn't there for the ultrasound to ask). For now, I'm impatiently waiting...
It would probably be helpful to give a little summary or timeline of my journey so far:
February 2009 - Married the love of my life and although we had decided to wait a few months to start trying for a family, we quickly changed our minds and started right away!
(2009 was a very stressful, intense year with us getting married, trying to conceive, almost losing my little brother in a car accident, stress at work, and then the death of my biological dad)
June 2010 - After 16 months of trying with no luck, I decided to get myself checked out (bloodwork, HSG, pap test all came back normal) and it was suggested that J get checked.
July 2010 - J's first semen analysis came back abnormally low and we were told "No normal sperm were detected". It was suggested that we see a urologist.
February 2011 - After several months of nagging, he finally went in for his 2nd analysis and results were similar to the 1st (less than 100,000 sperm detected). Suggested that he get hormonal blood work, which he did and it came back normal. Suggested that he get a prostate ultrasound.
March 2011 - Prostate ultrasound showed that his prostate was fine, but he was born without a left seminal vesicle, may be a carrier for cystic fibrosis and we would likely have to do IVF in order to have a baby of our own.
So, that's pretty much where we are now. The urologist has suggested that J get a blood test to check to see if he is a CF carrier and then they could do a biopsy of his testicle to see if sperm can be removed and frozen for IVF. We've been trying to get a hold of the medical assistant all week to schedule the blood test and I also have a bunch of questions (since I wasn't there for the ultrasound to ask). For now, I'm impatiently waiting...
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