To say the last four months have been an emotional roller coaster is an understatement. Brittany and I jumped on this roller coaster in July. It was July 23, the day after our first anniversary, that marked the first intrauterine insemination (IUI). So when it comes to couples that have to use a fertility doctor to get pregnant, there is a bit of confusion on the process. I have realized many people think there is only one process for this is to take the eggs and fertilize them in a petri dish. This is not IUI. Intrauterine insemination takes place inside the body.
Let me take you through one IUI cycle. Brittany would call the clinic on the first day of full flow of her period. On the second or third day of her cycle she would go to the clinic for an ultra sound to evaluate her follicles and uterus lining. If all looked good then she would start the hormone regiment. Brittany would take Femara for three days. On days four and five, she would continue the Femara and add the Gonal injections. Then, on day six, she would go back to the clinic for another ultra sound to measure the growth of the follicles. Through this process, the hope is to have at least two or three mature follicles (at least 17 centimeters). If there are at least two mature after the first six days of hormones then Brittany would take what is called the trigger shot. This is an injection that tells the brain to release the mature eggs. If the follicles still needed to mature, then she would take another injection of Gonal and then went back in on the next day to measure the follicles again, and this goes on until there are two to three follicles mature. Usually it only takes seven to eight days to get the follicles to mature and to administer the trigger shot. After the trigger shot, it would be between 24 to 36 hours for the insemination to take place. Brittany would go into the office and the semen would be placed passed the cervix and into the uterus with something that looks like a catheter with a syringe attached to it. After the insemination, comes a two week waiting period. Brittany then went in to have blood drawn for the pregnancy test.
Now you understand the process, and let me explain the emotional roller coaster. At the beginning of this process, you are on the highest of highs. Brittany and I were so excited that we could potentially be pregnant after the three week process. The idea of growing our family and bringing a baby into this world made us so happy. After the insemination, you are still excited, but now you experience anxiety and worry because of the unknown. We continued to be up beat and positive, but every now and then doubt creeps in. During the two weeks before the pregnancy test, Brittany would experience morning nauseousness and would feel cramps. Both of these could be symptoms experienced when you are pregnant, so the excitement would build even more. Then it is the day of the blood test and you are excited and anxious. We both knew it takes couples an average of three tries, with IUI, to get pregnant, yet you are still hopeful that you are not average and it works. The first pregnancy came back negative. Even though we knew there was a good chance of this, Brittany and I went from being excited and hopeful to sad and frustration. We cried together and also struggled with the news individually. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.....emotional roller coaster!
We could not stay down for long, because the process starts all over again pretty quickly. Brittany would stop all her medications, wait for here cycle to start and the process was in motion. We have gone through the process a total of four times. Rounds three and four had an extra bump in the road because Brittany had developed cysts on her follicles after the second and third insemination. She had to go on birth control pills for about two weeks to eliminate the cyst before the process started.
Each round brought feelings of hope and excitement and frustration and sadness. After the third negative pregnancy test, we changed donors hoping this would make a difference. Brittany and I received the results of the fourth pregnancy test this past Thursday and it was also negative.
This last negative test was really hard for us. Complete frustration has set in. Once again, we cried and felt the lowest of lows. We both began to wonder if this was going to happen for us. There have also been conversations with our doctor that if this round did not work, then we might need to think about taking a different approach to getting pregnant. So on top of feeling sad and frustrated, you add a ton of worry about if we can afford to take a different approach.
Brittany and I now have an appointment with Dr. Crawford to discuss where we go from here.
