Hello Readers,
I hope you are well.
I have finally decided to blog my infertility journey and will start by getting you up to speed from the start to where I am today. Later I will blog antidotal entries about the journey, feelings, funny things, annoying things etc.
Anyway as usual it all starts out like any couple would. Confident and ready to start a family, with no inkling at all that we could be that 1 in 7 infertile couples.
My journey started 3 years ago pretty soon after my Husband and I were married. We married in our 30s and I am now 36 years old. We started TTC soon after we were married because we were both concerned about the age factor (he is now 38). Still, friends around me were falling pregnant and 33 years old was not too bad, so we weren’t too concerned. One year passed without pregnancy, 18 months without so much as a scare – no we were concerned.
It was after 2 years of TTC we went down the IVF path. After numerous tests of both myself and my Husband and absolutely nothing wrong with us (or so we thought) we began a regular cycle of IVF with a Dr who was confident. Heck, we were confident to and pretty sure that this was going to be a success. Positive vibes all around. After two weeks of jabbing myself with hormones our Dr pulled out 8 mature eggs. Whoop whoop! My Husband and I were high-fiving each other on the way home. “We’ll ring you tomorrow to let you know how many fertilised” our Dr said as we walked (well I waddled) out the clinic door that day. My Husband went off to work the next morning and we were both excited at the prospect of our call and our fertilisations. Then I got the dreadful call and I went into shock “I’m sorry, we don’t have good news, there was no fertilisation” said the nurse (because this call was clearly below the Dr’s pay grade). Devastated, would be an understatement.
But ICSI was our answer, according to this Dr (who we later sacked off, his bedside manner was horrible), so hey all was not lost, we would make a success of ICSI. ICSI is when a sperm is inserted via needle it into the egg (rather than let them fertilise naturally, if you could call it that in a petri dish).
Round 2, with our lovely new Dr and we had 13 eggs mature eggs. Only 1 fertilised and was rushed back inside me as a 2 day embryo and it didn’t stick. We did however discover that my egg quality is poor. Out of the 13 mature eggs only 4 were viable eggs. Relief rushed over me at first, wow we finally know what the problem is, then grief struck, oh my god it is me, I’m the problem. (I will write about how these feelings in another entry).
Now we in round 3 IVF with ICSI again, but this time also with assisted hatching (usually reserved for women in their 40s). This time a different drug protocol was used and 17 eggs were taken out of this egg making system of mine. 6 fertilised – a result in itself (for us) and then on day 3 only 3 (grade c) were left. All of which were put back in and right now I am in my first week of my 2 week wait. Torture. I don’t feel confident and I am not sure if this is a woman’s intuition thing or just protecting myself from hurt.
Anyway I have began to blog as I find myself in need of expressing my emotions, I think this is better for my mental health which is suffering at the minute during this waiting time.
Not sure if anyone is reading but stay tuned!
Meantime – eat avocados!
eatavocado 