About Me
I'm so glad you stumbled on my website. I know what you're going through... I've been there too... it's a tough road, but there is hope! This blog is about our struggle to conceive, though I am grateful to be able to write that we DID eventually, and with twins after IVF. You are no doubt strong and smart, working hard to educate yourself on the road ahead. I encourage you to follow your heart, pray and trust that God will get you through this time in your life. For me, personally, it was a journey I wouldn't take back for anything. I learned so much about myself and what it means to "let go and let God". You always hear people say that, but until I experienced it for myself, I truly had no idea how much truth there was in that statement. It's hard. I won't lie, but stay strong and I know things will begin to look clearer for you before too long.
Lots of love,
Cathy
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For a list view of my treatment history, go here.
My husband and I, happy married for just a little over seven years at the time (April 2008), having finished completed our degrees, started our careers and moved into a more spacious home in a quiet neighborhood, were more than ready to start a family. As an Illinois transplant, we left most of our family and relocated to the suburbs of St. Louis nearly five years ago in the hopes that doing so would mean a better life for our children some day. As much as we planned, we never imagined on the economy to turn for the worse at the same time we were told that, most likely, the only way we would be able to conceive children of our own is to turn to the help of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), by way of In vitro Fertilization (IVF), in December of 2008.
At the young age of 12, I was rushed to the emergency room only to learn I had an unidentified mass in my abdomen that would need to be surgically removed via exploratory surgery. We would later learn that "mass" was an ovary that had twisted around my fallopian tube and formed a cyst the size of a grapefruit. For years I was told that I would be able to get pregnant "without a problem", but today I'm faced with quite the opposite. Following several months of visiting different OBGYN's, cycle after anovulatory cycle and failed attempts at clomid and metformin, we decided it was time to make an appointment with a specialist. Initial tests and blood work a few years ago revealed that I have PCOS, a condition where multiple cysts form on the ovary, causing a woman not to ovulate; new bloodwork done by my RE confirms this is still the case. My husband is also dealing with a mild male factor - low count and head abnormalities.
Most shocking of all, though, were the findings revealed through a sonohystogram. My reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Peter Ahlering of the SHER Institute for Reproductive Technologies who we LOVE, explained that my only remaining ovary has adhered to my uterus, most likely due to pelvic scarring caused by the surgery many years ago. This leads him to also believe that because of the severity of damage, the chances of my existing fallopian tube functioning properly is very slim and the chance of a tubal pregnancy, if an egg was picked up, is much higher. His ultimate recommendation: skip more mild forms of infertility treatment and move straight to IVF.
Given the fact that Missouri is not an infertility insurance mandated state, and that neither my husband nor I have infertility coverage through our employers health plan, we must find a way to pay for these treatments on our own. A single cycle of IVF, on average, is around $16,000 (with meds). Statistics show that you should prepare to undergo possibly 3-4 cyles before knowing if IVF will be successful, which means that we could be looking at an expense of over $45,000.
We are prepared to do what it takes to be able to see our family grow and feel like God is leading us in this direction. We have recently decided to do IVF in August of '09! These next few months will be a nice chance to prep for what lies ahead.
Thanks for reading :)
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