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I <3 kids --> It sure does seem like we're all alone on here, huh? Idk if Amanda has been on here in a while, but I have her as a Facebook friend and she's the cutest pregnant lady!! I think she only has about 8 weeks before she'll get to meet baby girl!! How are you feeling lately? How exciting that the IUI worked!!! I'll send a post about what's been going on with me recently with TTC in another post. We've had some really big changes! DH is going to Afghanistan this summer. Ugh.

"I have to be honest with you - your level of infertility is EXTREME."

Those were the RE's words yesterday verbatim. I just sat there; I didn't know what to say, but I thought for half a second that I was going to vomit right there. He went on to explain:

"You are O-ing on your own with no medications; your P4 level this cycle was a 16.8. Your husband's semen analysis is fine. Your HSG shows that both tubes are completely open. The transvaginal u/s showed that while your uterus is retroflexed, its shape and size are fine, and both ovaries look perfect; no evidence of PCOS. Your blood work has all come back perfectly normal. And yet despite all this, you've only had one pregnancy in the last 15 years; not just that you have only one child, but that you've indeed only been pregnant ONCE. You have extremely severe "Unexplained Fertility."

I always expected that I would break down in tears when I finally heard from an RE what I had known my whole adult life - I am broken. But I didn't. The closest I could come to describing what I felt at that moment would have to be "numbness." It was almost like I'd shut down emotionally. I started to grab for my purse, since he was obviously telling me that I'll never have another child, when I heard him say:

"But there's hope!"

First thing I thought of was, "Oh sure there's hope. It's called IUI/IVF and it comes with a humungous price tag that I can't afford." But since he's such a nice Dr, I decided to hear him out. After all, I got a sitter for this.

"I'm not going to lie, our options are pretty limited. The OBs you've seen before have thrown loads of Clomid, Femara, Progesterone and Metformin at you, and they've all been no help whatsoever. We've already established that you're O-ing on your own. We really only have 3 options available for us at this point. 1) IUI - $800 + meds per cycle, and is NOT covered by your insurance. 2) IVF - $9,000 + meds per round, and is NOT covered by your insurance. And 3) you can try injectable Follistim (FSH) and Ovidrel (hCG), and since you'd be using them with timed intercourse and NOT artificial incemination of any kind ... they ARE covered by your insurance!!!"

Guess which option I chose ...!!

And the best part is that he's perfectly OK with starting with this very next cycle!! As soon as AF shows (which should be tomorrow), I will send his office an email stating that AF has arrived. They will contact their supplier of Follistim (a place out of Pennsylvania, I think) and Ovidrel, and they will overnight them right to my door. I'll start using the Follistim every day with the little pen-type syringe thingy, and I'll be coming in every few days for u/s monitoring of my egg follicles to see how many I have maturing and how large they're getting. Once they've reached a mature size, the RE will give me the green light to give myself the Ovidrel trigger shot, which should force ovulate ALL mature follies. By forcing ovulation of multiple follies, we should have a MUCH higher chance that at least ONE of them puppies gets fertilized and does the trick!

I walked into the RE's office yesterday feeling down about the whole process, was hopelessly depressed by the middle of the appointment, and walked out feeling more hopeful than I have in years! Please keep your FX that this allows me to FINALLY carry, deliver, and hold another precious baby - or two!

WOW!!! That is great news!!! I am so glad that you found a dr that seems competent and listens! A rare combination. And you have plenty of time before your husband leaving. How long will he be there?

9 months at least. Now I just need AF to hurry up! 16 DPO and BFN yesterday. Ugh!

Do you always have long lH phases?

No, usually only 14-15 days. Sorry it took so long to reply. AF started the very next day! We're doing an injectable cycle this time and I O'd 6+ eggs!

Sounds promising!

Any news?

Nothing yet. I've tested out my trigger, and it's completely out of my system by now. So if I get any more + tests, they'll be real ones, not from the trigger. Any news your way??

My test from today. The top pic was within the 10 minute time frame, and the bottom one is how it dried. Thoughts?

Hopefully you will see it turn positive soon! I have no news, my first midwife appointment is tomorrow. I am so looking forward to it!!!