Road To Fertility

by Kathryn Catsman

When we decide to get pregnant at the age of 29 I never thought that we would have problems that would take us to IVF. I had irregular periods, but we tried to conceive for 6 months with no luck and no period. So we decided that it was time to go talk with a doctor. I thought that it would be an easy fix maybe with an ovulation stimulator such as Clomid.  I didn’t think that I would be diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome known as PCOS.  It is a hard syndrome to fix as it varies with every individual. We started out very hopeful and went in each month to see if ovulation was occurring. It was not!

We then moved on to the next type of treatment, which were Repronex injections. WOW, it is an intense treatment as it gets your hormones really going. We were able to get stimulation but too much. We could never find the right mix. It was either too low of a dose to get anything going or too much where all of my eggs were stimulated. The physical process is very daunting and becomes apart of your daily life. I still laugh when people would tell me that I was thinking about it too much and that was why I wasn’t getting pregnant. I laugh. I mean how could I not think about it when I was giving myself shots in the stomach two times a day.

Well looking back on a year of trying different treatments with no success it still seems physically easier then IVF. When our doctor referred us up to a doctor in Colorado Springs I knew that meant one thing. IVF. We had tried every combination of doses and new research ideas, but IVF seemed to be the next and last treatment for us. Our emotions were all over the place. We were excited to start something new, but also very rundown and not full of hope. Our hope had been shot down so many times during the last year that it was hard to be positive. I found myself having to look at life without my own children very seriously. At this point we both started talking about adoption as were uncertain of the future. We started our first round of IVF after 1-½ years of trying to conceive; I had read that once you go to IVF you are going for the big guns. I now know what that means. IVF is a strict time specific process that takes about 6 weeks all together. It is not only physically taxing, but also an emotional roller coaster; the drugs are so intense that you are in survival mode. Our first cycle of IVF ended in a cancellation, which is fairly rare! My body wasn’t responding well to the drugs and my hormones were off. We cancelled the cycle and I was sent home with a sheet explaining the possibility of ovarian hyper stimulation aka OHSS. I had been stimulated much more at one point and had not gotten OHSS so I felt like I would be fine. What I didn’t expected nor did the doctors was that my eggs were continuing to grow! With my eggs growing and the need to give the HCG interjections to induce ovulation I knew that my chances of OHSS were increased. Two days after the injection I stumbled into my doctor’s office white as ghost and a tummy that was getting bigger and bigger, OHSS involves an excess amount of water retention. Over the course of vomiting, ER visits, pain, and fever I weighed an extra 12 lbs of water by the end of three days. I was miserable! I did survive and knew that I had to give IVF another chance. I couldn’t give up on having kids without trying everything!

I gave my body two moths off and in the fall of 2008 we tried IVF again. We made it through the cycle of egg retrieval and transfer. We waited the LONG two-week to take our pregnancy test. We took a urine test in the morning and  it came out negative so we were preparing for the worst. We waited to hear our results from the blood test with much anxiety. We got the phone call from my beloved nurse and doctor who said…positive! I was pregnant and thrilled. I am now 7 months pregnant and know that  it was all worth it. I am full of so much love for this baby. I am so very grateful to have this opportunity to be pregnant! It is such a gift…I am honored to be here.. At one point I never knew if I was going to be able to have children so to be here now is such a gift that I will not take for granted. I hope that everyone out there rubs their tummy an extra time today, talks sweet nothings to their baby and loves their body for giving us the means to conceive.