PCOS and IVF

So, last week I shared about our struggle with infertility (you can read about it here)   and I am so glad I did! Several other sweet bloggers commented & shared their stories and I just want to say thank you to all of you! It really helps knowing we are not alone :) I also shared that we are doing IVF! But let me back up a little to fill you in on what we are dealing with.

The past 5 years have been so frustrating for so many reasons..but especially when you do not know why you are not getting pregnant! We spent soo much money and did so many tests and blood work and ultrasounds but never had an answer. I know this is a common thing and not just something we have dealt with. We also knew that we did not want to go back to Nashville Fertility but let me just say something really fast!! I am not saying it is a bad place with bad doctors. I have a friend from church who works there and we also have friends who are currently going there and are happy with their doctor. WE just had a terrible experience and when you mix that with something that is a very sensitive subject, it can cause bad feelings! Anyway :)

I have been reading Julee Turner's blog for several years and I also follow her on IG. One day she posted on IG about how much she loved her fertility doctor. His name is Dr. Sherman Silber at St. Luke's Hospital in St. Louis. I started doing some research on him and found out that he is one of the top fertility specialists in the country! So when we were blessed financially to be able to even consider IVF, we knew we wanted to meet with him. We set up our consult and took off to St. Louis on January 29th. It is 4 1/2 from where we live but it was actually a really fun road trip! We were exhausted by the end of the day though because we did it all in one day and got home about midnight! They do ultrasounds there that can tell you where you are on your biological clock. Let me just tell you, I was nervous. I thought it was going to say my time is up.. After the ultrasound, we went over to meet with him so he could tell us the results....

He told me I was born with a disease - PCOS. He also said that I have a crazy abnormal amount of antral follicles (which are eggs) for my body size. You would think that having a ton of eggs would be a good thing BUT it is actually causing my body & hormones to not work properly and because of that: I never ovulate! That is why I have never gotten pregnant. That is why the clomid never worked. Another crazy thing he told me.... as I get older and my eggs die off, I will have the appropriate amount for my body size so I will probably start ovulating in my 40's! And that I more than likely will not go through menopause until my 70's! I was shocked. But I am so glad that I finally know WHY now! He said IVF is our best bet so that is what we are doing. We are so glad we found Dr. Silber! We love him and his staff and trust him 100%. I think that one of the most important things is trusting your doctor!

IVF is pretty long process! We had tonnnns of paperwork and had to get medical releases and blood work to check for diseases and so on...But I think the most overwhelming thing so far has been when the cooler full of meds were delivered to my front door! This is what all this cooler consisted of:

I let Josh go through it when he got home and it made sense to him since he is an EMT, thank goodness.
 The first step was to start on birth control for 2 weeks and I actually just took my last pill last night. The birth control pills decrease the chances of creating cysts that could interfere with the cycle & it also allows the doctor to control the timing of the cycle. I was on birth control when I was younger and it used to make me so sick so I was worried.. but I never got sick or nauseous or anything!

 Then came the shots.... I had to start doing Lupron injections last Thursday. Lupron suppresses the pituitary gland so that the ovaries will not be able to make an egg or ovulate without taking gonadotropins. Josh has done them every night except for tonight. He is working so I had to do it myself and it was so hard :( It took about 10 minutes for me to get the nerve to do it. I have never liked shots but honestly they have never been a big deal either. I will get them at the doctor's office- no problem. But this is different! We have mainly been doing them in my stomach but it seems to hurt more and more each time so last night we did it in my thigh. It didn't seem to hurt quite as bad. As far as side effects go: I can tell I am more tired during the day. And more emotional FOR SURE! And probably a little more irritable. But that is about it.

I will continue just doing the Lupron for another week and then cutting back the dosage and adding a couple of different shots. Not looking forward to it but it will be SO worth it one day :)