Infertility, Part 1

Disclaimer: If the woman’s monthly cycle makes you uncomfortble, you might want to skip this series 🙂

2020 — oh what a year! It was the year that Charles and I had decided we were ready to have some adventure by adding a baby into our lives. It brought some beautiful moments, such as getting our cat, Neko, but it also brought some major curveballs, such as covid and infertility.

Anatomy & Physiology 101

My Infertility Journey

I had been tracking my cycle and ovulation through an App, PreMoM, for about 5 months and I noticed that I had a “short luteal phase.” At that time, I assumed this was why I wasn’t getting pregnant. In theory, a short luteal phase means that there isn’t enough time between ovulation and your period for the embryo to implant. The embryo would essentially not have enough time to make itself comfortable in the uterus before the lining sheds.

Typically, a diagnosis of intertility is 12 months of “trying” without successful pregnancy. But, I was concerned about my short luteal phase and went to my OBGYN for advice. She didn’t have any good explanation for why I had a short luteal phase, but decided to refer me to the RE (reproductive endocrinologist) for further workup.

Consultation & Workup

I was referred to an infertility clinic in Orlando and after waiting about 6 weeks, I went in for a consultation. At the time, the doctor was highly confident and told me I’d be pregnant by the end of the year! There was no obvious explaination for my short luteal phase, but he wasn’t concered at all. He ordered a workup, which included blood work, baseline ultrasound, and a test called an HSG.

The labs came back mostly normal. I had a an elevated AMH, which essentially tells you your egg count. A low egg count, or AMH, means that you have very few follicles that can produce an egg, a high AMH typically means Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which is classified by abnormal production of testosterone, an overabundance of follicles, and an unpredictable ovulation. While I have a high AMH, I don’t have classic PCOS because I ovulate every month and my hormone levels are normal, but I do have an overprouction of follicles.

The final test ordered was an HSG, or Hysterosalpingography. This test uses a dye to evaluate the fallopian tubes and uterus. I had read that it’s incredibly painful, so I was pretty nervous going into the procedure. I did take Tylenol beforehand to help with the pain. The intense pain lasted only about a minute and felt like bad period cramps. Fortunately, there wasn’t really any residual pain, and my results came back normal!

I was officially diagnosed with “unexplained” infertility.

IUI

After my workup and another consultation, my doctor recommended that we move forward with a medicted IUI. An IUI, or intrauterine insemination, is where medication is used to help mature the follicles and then the sperm is inserted via a small catheter directly where the egg is released. I used letrazole to help mature my follicles and then was given a medication to “trigger” ovulation. During this process, I was going to the office to get an ultrasound to monitor the progress. Then there was a 2 week wait, at which time you either had a positive pregnancy test or your period.

Unfortunately, this process was highly traumatic for me. The clinic was extremely busy and I often had over an hour wait, right in the middle of the day. It was also like a factory, just pushing women through without any compassion. I felt highly discouraged and at this point had 4 failed IUIs. In addition to this, my insurance through work offered absolutely NO infertility benefits, so we were paying for this all out of pocket.

Charles and I knew we needed a change. Stay tuned for the next part of the journey!

In the meantime, are you new here? Get to know me!