A quick update regarding our follow up appointment this morning... We were really hoping the fluid in my uterus would go away and we could focus on moving forward with the embryo transfer, but that's not the case. The fluid is still there and our Doctor would like to go ahead and start the progesterone on Thursday to prepare for the transfer next Tuesday, sometimes when progesterone is added the fluid will take care of itself. We are scheduled for a follow up with her on Monday morning to check on the fluid and if all looks good then we will transfer an embryo on Tuesday. If the fluid is still there then we will cancel for this month and start over next month.
I've convinced myself that we will probably not transfer this month, just to save my sanity. We want the BEST possible environment for our embryo and if we have to wait for perfection then I will gladly wait. We appreciate all the prayers and positive words from all of you, please keep them coming over the next few weeks. I began praying for patience and I truly feel like my prayers are being answered because I feel more at ease about all the waiting. Have a great week everyone!
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Monday, May 11, 2015
Friday, May 8, 2015
A Bump in the Road...
I decided to update today since I sort of already did via Facebook.... If you've been following you know that we were scheduled to transfer an embryo next Tuesday, but that has since changed. We had a follow up appointment on Wednesday to make sure the uterine lining was thick enough to transfer as well as blood work. During the ultrasound my doctor found that I had some fluid build up in my uterus and decided to have me come back today to see if it would go away on its own. Well, it didn't and now our transfer is on hold for now... We go back on Monday to see if it has resolved and if it hasn't I will go ahead and start a progesterone supplement to see if that will help and if it does then it's great we can schedule the transfer the following week. However, if the fluid is still present then we will cancel this cycle and more than likely I will need a hysteroscopy (exploratory surgery of the uterus) to figure out exactly what is going on.
I'm feeling extremely overwhelmed, disappointed, sad and a bit defeated.... I know we have so much to be thankful for and we have these 2 embryos that need the perfect home in my uterus. I know that we have to be cautious and wait for EVERYTHING to be perfect for the transfer to happen, but it's just disappointing. I am definitely having my patience put to the ultimate test. A friend of mine said to me, "just remember this is your bump." She's right, it's just a bump in the road and we have to keep moving forward. I have to trust my doctor and the process. They say "good things come to those who wait" and I believe its true.
Please pray that we have the strength and patience to get through these next few weeks, we appreciate all of the positive thoughts and prayers we have received.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
I'm feeling extremely overwhelmed, disappointed, sad and a bit defeated.... I know we have so much to be thankful for and we have these 2 embryos that need the perfect home in my uterus. I know that we have to be cautious and wait for EVERYTHING to be perfect for the transfer to happen, but it's just disappointing. I am definitely having my patience put to the ultimate test. A friend of mine said to me, "just remember this is your bump." She's right, it's just a bump in the road and we have to keep moving forward. I have to trust my doctor and the process. They say "good things come to those who wait" and I believe its true.
Please pray that we have the strength and patience to get through these next few weeks, we appreciate all of the positive thoughts and prayers we have received.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Update
Hi everyone! It's been about a month since my last update... It's been a rough couple of months emotionally and physically. The treatment required getting multiple injections in my abdomen every night for a couple weeks. I'm not a fan of needles, but Matt was very patient and by the end of the stimulation phase he was a PRO at giving shots. The side effects were not as terrible as I expected, I was extremely tired, emotional and gained weight, but nothing I couldn't handle.
Once we finished all the stimulation medications we had to go through the Egg Retrieval procedure. We were very nervous going in because my body didn't respond to the medication as well as we had hoped and I only produced 5 eggs which were retrieved during the surgery. Out of the 5 eggs, 4 fertilized and only 3 embryos were cultured for the chromosome testing. We decided to have the embryos tested to make sure we would be transferring a healthy embryo and increase our chances for success. We received the results today and we have TWO healthy embryos. We will only transfer one and the other will be frozen for later use. We are so thankful that our prayers were answered and we have these two healthy embryos.
I have started taking a daily estrogen supplement and will increase the dosage tomorrow. We have an appointment for an ultrasound and blood work scheduled for next Wednesday. If all looks good we will go in for the embryo transfer on May 12th. We would appreciate your prayers over the next few weeks. This process has been emotionally and physically draining on both Matt and I, but we would do it over and over again. I know I married the right man, he has been by my side through it all and I couldn't ask for a husband. As Matt always says, "we are one day closer."
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Once we finished all the stimulation medications we had to go through the Egg Retrieval procedure. We were very nervous going in because my body didn't respond to the medication as well as we had hoped and I only produced 5 eggs which were retrieved during the surgery. Out of the 5 eggs, 4 fertilized and only 3 embryos were cultured for the chromosome testing. We decided to have the embryos tested to make sure we would be transferring a healthy embryo and increase our chances for success. We received the results today and we have TWO healthy embryos. We will only transfer one and the other will be frozen for later use. We are so thankful that our prayers were answered and we have these two healthy embryos.
I have started taking a daily estrogen supplement and will increase the dosage tomorrow. We have an appointment for an ultrasound and blood work scheduled for next Wednesday. If all looks good we will go in for the embryo transfer on May 12th. We would appreciate your prayers over the next few weeks. This process has been emotionally and physically draining on both Matt and I, but we would do it over and over again. I know I married the right man, he has been by my side through it all and I couldn't ask for a husband. As Matt always says, "we are one day closer."
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Treatment Update...
Hi everyone! Most of you know that the IUI was not successful and we were disappointed. We had so much hope that the treatment would work and it when it didn't we took the news pretty hard. We just had no idea what to do next because we thought for sure it would work. I will admit that the emotions got the best of me and I found it hard to talk to my family and friends about my feelings. I felt a huge sense of failure and that won't make sense to most people because I had no control over the treatment, but in my own mind it felt like I had failed. Matt was so supportive and he held me when I needed to cry, tried hard to cheer me up and kept pushing me to think about what we were going to do next, because giving up was not an option. I love him so much for being my rock during all of this.
When we realized the treatment didn't work we scheduled an appointment the same day with our Doctor to discuss our options. She explained that the chances of IUI being successful were less than 25% and if we wanted to increase our odds we needed to think about IVF. We hadn't really thought about IVF and now we needed to make a decision based on the information she provided in 20 minutes regarding the procedure. Talk about information overload! I remember the doctor leaving the room so Matt and I could talk it out, I just cried. I couldn't believe we were sitting there talking about this, it hit me all over again as if she had just given me my diagnosis for the first time. It took Matt to tell me that we could do this together! He's right, we can do this and we are doing this!
We immediately got a plan from the doctor and she and her team have been phenomenal with all of the questions we have regarding the treatment. We started with bloodwork and then an IVF training class on how to do the injections correctly. I am working on mentally preparing myself for all of these injections, I have a phobia of needles and last month only needed TWO injections the entire month. I will be receiving TWO PER DAY this month so no time to be scared! I will also be taking oral medications along with the patches and of course the injections. I will take any amount of medications to have our baby. I have the best husband and family anyone could ask for so we will get through this!
Treatment will start on Monday and will take 2-3 cycles to complete so I will do my best to keep everyone posted on our progress. I appreciate all the phone calls and text messages we received this past week, it meant a lot to both of us. Prayers would be greatly appreciated as we continue our journey.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
When we realized the treatment didn't work we scheduled an appointment the same day with our Doctor to discuss our options. She explained that the chances of IUI being successful were less than 25% and if we wanted to increase our odds we needed to think about IVF. We hadn't really thought about IVF and now we needed to make a decision based on the information she provided in 20 minutes regarding the procedure. Talk about information overload! I remember the doctor leaving the room so Matt and I could talk it out, I just cried. I couldn't believe we were sitting there talking about this, it hit me all over again as if she had just given me my diagnosis for the first time. It took Matt to tell me that we could do this together! He's right, we can do this and we are doing this!
We immediately got a plan from the doctor and she and her team have been phenomenal with all of the questions we have regarding the treatment. We started with bloodwork and then an IVF training class on how to do the injections correctly. I am working on mentally preparing myself for all of these injections, I have a phobia of needles and last month only needed TWO injections the entire month. I will be receiving TWO PER DAY this month so no time to be scared! I will also be taking oral medications along with the patches and of course the injections. I will take any amount of medications to have our baby. I have the best husband and family anyone could ask for so we will get through this!
Treatment will start on Monday and will take 2-3 cycles to complete so I will do my best to keep everyone posted on our progress. I appreciate all the phone calls and text messages we received this past week, it meant a lot to both of us. Prayers would be greatly appreciated as we continue our journey.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Monday, March 16, 2015
The Results were Negative
Hi everyone... If you've been following our blog, you know that we had the blood pregnancy test performed this morning and the results were negative. We already knew because my cycle started yesterday so it was no surprise when we received the results. I'm emotionally overwhelmed and very sad that the treatment was not successful. We met with our fertility specialist this afternoon to discuss our options going forward. We have made our decision, but we are still emotionally overwhelmed. We have a lot to think about and will share our decision once we've had time to process everything ourselves.
Blogging has provided me with an outlet to express my feelings and share our journey, but right now I need time to think and deal with my emotions. I will post again when I feel ready. Thank you all for the prayers and kind words.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
"The pain you've been feeling, can't compare to the joy that's coming." Romans 8:18
Blogging has provided me with an outlet to express my feelings and share our journey, but right now I need time to think and deal with my emotions. I will post again when I feel ready. Thank you all for the prayers and kind words.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
"The pain you've been feeling, can't compare to the joy that's coming." Romans 8:18
Monday, March 9, 2015
Halfway through the TWW...
Hi everyone! Just a little update, we are officially halfway through the "two week wait!" One week from today we will find out if the IUI treatment was successful. We have been thinking positive thoughts and praying that it worked and both have a good feeling.
I started on a new drug last Wednesday to supplement the progesterone hormone that I must have been lacking. The side effects are not awful, I would explain them to be more like really intense PMS symptoms. I will take all the negative side effects in the world! I will stay on the progesterone until we complete the pregnancy testing next Monday. The time has really flown by and next Monday will be here before we know it. We have a busy week ahead with work and planning for Rylan's 7th Birthday Party on Saturday. We are so excited to have our families here to visit for the weekend so that will definitely keep us busy and make the time pass even faster.
I just wanted to update everyone and express my appreciation for all the prayers and kind words we've received over the last several weeks. The support we have received means the world to Matt and I. Please keep the prayers and good vibes coming. We will update the blog on Monday after we receive our results.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
I started on a new drug last Wednesday to supplement the progesterone hormone that I must have been lacking. The side effects are not awful, I would explain them to be more like really intense PMS symptoms. I will take all the negative side effects in the world! I will stay on the progesterone until we complete the pregnancy testing next Monday. The time has really flown by and next Monday will be here before we know it. We have a busy week ahead with work and planning for Rylan's 7th Birthday Party on Saturday. We are so excited to have our families here to visit for the weekend so that will definitely keep us busy and make the time pass even faster.
I just wanted to update everyone and express my appreciation for all the prayers and kind words we've received over the last several weeks. The support we have received means the world to Matt and I. Please keep the prayers and good vibes coming. We will update the blog on Monday after we receive our results.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Monday, March 2, 2015
Two Week Wait...
Hi everyone! Dr. Hudson said it "went beautifully!" The insemination took 2 minutes followed by laying still for 10 minutes before getting up and then we were done! It was pretty neat to be able to watch the sperm being pushed into my uterus on the ultrasound monitor. We left and I have been home relaxing for the day and catching up with a friend, just relaxing... We have a great feeling about everything and will continue thinking positive thoughts along with our daily prayers.
I will begin taking progesterone daily on Thursday until we go back to the doctor on March 16th for a blood/urine pregnancy test. It's going to be the longest 2 weeks of our lives, but we will stay busy to try and pass the time. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful support system of family and friends so I'm sure we will be fine. Please keep us in your prayers over the next couple weeks.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
I will begin taking progesterone daily on Thursday until we go back to the doctor on March 16th for a blood/urine pregnancy test. It's going to be the longest 2 weeks of our lives, but we will stay busy to try and pass the time. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful support system of family and friends so I'm sure we will be fine. Please keep us in your prayers over the next couple weeks.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Tomorrow is BABY DAY!
Hi everyone! Not much to update as far as our treatment goes, except for it took almost an HOUR for me to let Matt give me the "trigger shot!" I'm terrified of needles and I got a little freaked out, but it wasn't bad. I felt a little silly for getting so worked up over nothing, but i just let my fear get the best of me. Oh well, I'm just glad that part is over!
On a happier note, we are scheduled to inseminate tomorrow morning! We will be dropping off Matt's little swimmers at 8 am for preparation and off to breakfast we will go while we wait for the lab to prepare his semen for insemination. We should begin the procedure around 9 am and it only takes 20-30 minutes. To say we are excited is a huge understatement... We have been waiting patiently for tomorrow and it's finally here! So that's all I have for now, but tomorrow's post will be up as soon as I get a moment to sit down after the procedure. We appreciate all the prayers as we begin this beautiful journey tomorrow.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
On a happier note, we are scheduled to inseminate tomorrow morning! We will be dropping off Matt's little swimmers at 8 am for preparation and off to breakfast we will go while we wait for the lab to prepare his semen for insemination. We should begin the procedure around 9 am and it only takes 20-30 minutes. To say we are excited is a huge understatement... We have been waiting patiently for tomorrow and it's finally here! So that's all I have for now, but tomorrow's post will be up as soon as I get a moment to sit down after the procedure. We appreciate all the prayers as we begin this beautiful journey tomorrow.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Still growing....
Hi everyone! We have an update from our appointment this morning. The ultrasound showed 3 growing follicles, they are 14-16 mm in size and still need more time to grow. We are all set to do the "trigger shot" on Sunday and the IUI is scheduled for Monday morning. After the insemination I will be on progesterone for two weeks and to support implantation.
I think it's finally starting to feel "real" since we have a date set for insemination. We are full of excitement and can't wait for Monday. I promise to update our blog on Monday, get ready because I'm sure it will be lengthy.
On a different note, we are moved into our new home and we LOVE it here! It's so peaceful and we enjoy seeing the deer and turkey's roaming in the evenings. The change of scenery couldn't have come at a more perfect time! Please keep us in your prayers, we appreciate each and every one of you that take the time to give us your prayers and positive feedback!
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Monday, February 23, 2015
Getting closer...
Hi everyone! We are getting closer to insemination day. I just finished the first round of fertility medications on Saturday and I'm very glad to have made it through that phase of the treatment. I had a difficult time staying awake during the first several days and I'm glad the lethargic feeling has gone away. The injection wasn't too bad, not fun, but not terrible. Matt's mom ended up administering my injection, because Matt & I weren't feeling very confident in our nursing skills. I was pleasantly surprised that the side effects from the injection were extremely minimal as compared to the oral medications.
We had a follow up with the fertility specialist this morning and she performed an ultrasound so she could see how many follicles (eggs live in the follicles) have developed in my ovaries and their sizes. I had 3-4 follicles total in both ovaries and they were measuring between 12-13 mm in size. The doctor explained that in order to rupture and release an egg they needed to be 18-20 mm, so we just need a little more time for them to grow. We have an appointment set for Wednesday morning to measure the growth and if they have grown to a good size she will give us the go ahead to administer the trigger injection and schedule the insemination in the day or 2 days to follow. It should happen this week and we are so excited.
I will update the blog on Wednesday! Please keep us in your prayers this week. Thank you all for the continued support.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
We had a follow up with the fertility specialist this morning and she performed an ultrasound so she could see how many follicles (eggs live in the follicles) have developed in my ovaries and their sizes. I had 3-4 follicles total in both ovaries and they were measuring between 12-13 mm in size. The doctor explained that in order to rupture and release an egg they needed to be 18-20 mm, so we just need a little more time for them to grow. We have an appointment set for Wednesday morning to measure the growth and if they have grown to a good size she will give us the go ahead to administer the trigger injection and schedule the insemination in the day or 2 days to follow. It should happen this week and we are so excited.
I will update the blog on Wednesday! Please keep us in your prayers this week. Thank you all for the continued support.
Love,
Lauren & Matt
Friday, February 13, 2015
Let the fun begin... It's Day 1
It's cycle day one and we had an appointment with our specialist this morning. It went great, she performed an ultrasound and blood work to make sure everything looked good before we move forward... The nurse instructed us on how to administer the injections and when to take all the medications. We will be receiving the medications tomorrow via fedex and my first dose will be on Sunday.
Days 3-7 will consist of an oral medication called Letrozole, which will help with ovulation and maturation of egg follicles. Sounds pretty simple except for the side effects that I may or may not experience. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that it will be a breeze, if not it's only for 5 days. I've heard the mood swings can be pretty intense, but I've never been a very calm individual so I'm assuming not much will change :)
Day 8, this is fun part... Matt will get to administer the Menopur injection into my abdomen, let's all remember that my husband is not a educated in nursing. Hopefully he paid close attention today, because my brain is experiencing information overload. I can assure you that the blog will definitely be updated after the injection has been given.
After day 8 we will begin the ultrasound monitoring and wait for the doctor to tell us when the trigger shot will be given followed by insemination. We have a busy 10 days ahead and I can't wait! Did I mention we sold our house and will be moving in 12 days? Yes, we must be crazy, but it will actually give me something to focus on other than the treatments. I definitely need the distraction so it's actually a blessing. We appreciate all the positive feedback we received from our first post, this blog is our way of sharing with family, friends and perfect strangers that may be facing fertility struggles. Let the fertility fun begin! Thank you for reading.
~ Lauren
Day 8, this is fun part... Matt will get to administer the Menopur injection into my abdomen, let's all remember that my husband is not a educated in nursing. Hopefully he paid close attention today, because my brain is experiencing information overload. I can assure you that the blog will definitely be updated after the injection has been given.
After day 8 we will begin the ultrasound monitoring and wait for the doctor to tell us when the trigger shot will be given followed by insemination. We have a busy 10 days ahead and I can't wait! Did I mention we sold our house and will be moving in 12 days? Yes, we must be crazy, but it will actually give me something to focus on other than the treatments. I definitely need the distraction so it's actually a blessing. We appreciate all the positive feedback we received from our first post, this blog is our way of sharing with family, friends and perfect strangers that may be facing fertility struggles. Let the fertility fun begin! Thank you for reading.
~ Lauren
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Welcome to our blog! Most of you reading this had no clue that Matt
& I were getting ready to start this special journey, SURPRISE! I
know, we just got married in August and we never imagined we would be
talking about fertility treatments 6 months after our wedding, but here
we are…
I will start from the beginning… We had planned to start trying for a baby immediately after our wedding, but first I wanted to see an Ob/Gyn just to make sure we were doing everything we should be doing to conceive successfully after 6 years of birth control. Sounds pretty simple right? Well, we were in for a big surprise when the doctor advised us to see a specialist to confirm an abnormality she thought she saw on the ultrasound. Long story short, we were convinced she was wrong… I couldn’t have an abnormality, I have already had a child without any complications… We decided to keep trying for the next few months and if it didn’t happen we would consider investigating this diagnosis a little further.
Here we are, months later and no sign of pregnancy… We found a wonderful Fertility Doctor here in New Braunfels and she ordered a series of blood tests, semen analysis and an HSG (imaging of the uterus, ovaries and Fallopian tubes). We never gave the testing a second thought, because we just knew everything would come back normal… Then came the phone call, the nurse said I had a blockage in my right tube. Ok, not terrible news, but we still had to wait for the other test results.
The following week we saw the specialist to review the results and discuss treatment options. The doctor explained that the semen analysis was normal, but my blood test results showed that I have a “diminished ovarian reserve.” What does that mean? It’s the amount of eggs left in my ovaries. My number was not what she would expect for the average 27 year old, but reflected what she would typically see in 40 year old women. What? How is that possible? Women are born with all the eggs they will get and once they run out that’s it, no more are produced. I was born with a lower number and time is running out if we want to have a baby together.
Now what? She suggested that we start with Minimal Stimulation Intrauterine Insemination or IUI along with injections, oral medication and ultrasound monitoring of ovulation. She is optimistic that this treatment could work for us, but we have to move quickly because time is not on our side and I’m running out of eggs! If we haven’t conceived after 3 cycles the next step will be IVF.
The news took a few days to really sink in and the emotions I felt were unexplainable. I realized something over the last few days… Fertility is something most people don’t talk about and I never thought I would be facing this at age 27. I decided that I wanted to blog during the entire process, talking and writing are stress relievers for me. We have a huge support system of family and friends, but most don’t live near and I thought a blog would be the perfect way to share our experience. Our first treatment will begin at the start of my next cycle in less than 2 weeks so stay tuned and wish us luck & lots of baby dust!
~ Lauren & Matt
I will start from the beginning… We had planned to start trying for a baby immediately after our wedding, but first I wanted to see an Ob/Gyn just to make sure we were doing everything we should be doing to conceive successfully after 6 years of birth control. Sounds pretty simple right? Well, we were in for a big surprise when the doctor advised us to see a specialist to confirm an abnormality she thought she saw on the ultrasound. Long story short, we were convinced she was wrong… I couldn’t have an abnormality, I have already had a child without any complications… We decided to keep trying for the next few months and if it didn’t happen we would consider investigating this diagnosis a little further.
Here we are, months later and no sign of pregnancy… We found a wonderful Fertility Doctor here in New Braunfels and she ordered a series of blood tests, semen analysis and an HSG (imaging of the uterus, ovaries and Fallopian tubes). We never gave the testing a second thought, because we just knew everything would come back normal… Then came the phone call, the nurse said I had a blockage in my right tube. Ok, not terrible news, but we still had to wait for the other test results.
The following week we saw the specialist to review the results and discuss treatment options. The doctor explained that the semen analysis was normal, but my blood test results showed that I have a “diminished ovarian reserve.” What does that mean? It’s the amount of eggs left in my ovaries. My number was not what she would expect for the average 27 year old, but reflected what she would typically see in 40 year old women. What? How is that possible? Women are born with all the eggs they will get and once they run out that’s it, no more are produced. I was born with a lower number and time is running out if we want to have a baby together.
Now what? She suggested that we start with Minimal Stimulation Intrauterine Insemination or IUI along with injections, oral medication and ultrasound monitoring of ovulation. She is optimistic that this treatment could work for us, but we have to move quickly because time is not on our side and I’m running out of eggs! If we haven’t conceived after 3 cycles the next step will be IVF.
The news took a few days to really sink in and the emotions I felt were unexplainable. I realized something over the last few days… Fertility is something most people don’t talk about and I never thought I would be facing this at age 27. I decided that I wanted to blog during the entire process, talking and writing are stress relievers for me. We have a huge support system of family and friends, but most don’t live near and I thought a blog would be the perfect way to share our experience. Our first treatment will begin at the start of my next cycle in less than 2 weeks so stay tuned and wish us luck & lots of baby dust!
~ Lauren & Matt
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