Starting where I left off in my last post about infertility, our infertility specialist wanted Brad and I to have tests done. Based on the tests that Brad and I took (blood work for both of us, HSG for me, and sperm test for Brad), we were labeled with unexplained infertility in January 2016. There wasn't a clear cause of our infertility, which left us with more questions than answers. Brad was into Ironman training at the time of our testing, so there was a possibility that the many hours on the bike saddle was not helping us get pregnant, but there was no way to know for sure. Our doctor said that we could try IUI or IVF. She said that we should go with IVF if we wanted a baby tomorrow or go with IUI if we were okay with being patient. Because of my journey of clean eating and being mindful of the things I was taking in, we decided to try a natural IUI. We also decided to try taking a regimen of vitamins that were specifically geared towards helping with fertility (a more holistic approach). Brad and I weren't in any rush to try out IVF. We wanted the most natural form of help we could get. In fact, Brad wasn't open to IVF at the time, and I wasn't 100% set on it. It went against everything I felt I stood for. I was and am so passionate about health. I rarely take medication, and always search for a holistic route first. IVF involves a ton of medication. We also felt torn about wether or not we were pushing for a child that maybe wasn't something that was meant for us. If it wasn't happening naturally, maybe it was a sign that we weren't meant to have children.
A couple months later, we tried our first natural IUI. A natural IUI involves no medication and no ultra sound monitoring upcoming ovulation. Couples are pretty much on their own. On the day of the scheduled IUI (which is determined by an at home ovulation kit), the couple brings in a sperm sample, the sperm is washed, and then a doctor injects the sperm into the female's uterus. This is supposed to cut off about six hours of travel time for the sperm, and increase the chances of getting pregnant. With insurance, a natural IUI is only a couple hundred dollars, as opposed to around $15,000 for IVF.
For our first IUI, I had to keep track of my ovulation using an at home ovulation kit, and call the Infertility Department the first day I got a happy face on one of the sticks. I am extremely regular as far as ovulation goes. There have been months, though, where I have stressed too much or taken an antibiotic (I rarely do that) which caused me to ovulate later than normal. Anyway, keeping track of my ovulation was more stressful than I thought it would be. There is room for human error. For example, I could have peed on the stick in the AM, not received a happy face saying that I was going to ovulate soon, and assumed that I was not going to ovulate until tomorrow. But there was always a chance that if I had peed on the stick an hour or so later that same day, that I would have received a happy face, which could have caused me to go in for an IUI on the wrong day. Needless to say, I peed on way more than one stick per day before that first scheduled IUI. After getting a happy face, I called and made an appointment for an IUI the next day.
I must add a side note about what calling the infertility department entails because it isn't a stress-free thing. First of all, the department is separate from any other department at Kaiser. Although it is on the OBGYN floor, I don't check in at one of the normal check-in counters to pay my co-pay. I have to walk past all the pregnant women and all the new babies until I get to the the infertility department's door. I have to knock on the door and pray that someone answers it. There isn't a receptionist at the front of the department. Now that I've explained that, I can talk about the calling them part. There aren't very many people working in the infertility department, and since they're a unique department, they have unique hours. Their calling hours are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Thursdays (I can literally hear that recording playing in my head as I type this - I've called them too many times to count). I've never been able to get ahold of them during lunch time, so they must be closed during that time, too. Anyway, if I were to get a happy face on my ovulation stick at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, I'd be out of luck to schedule an IUI for the following day because they close at 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays. I could potentially call that following day (Friday) at 8:30 a.m. and try and get an appointment for that day to have an IUI, but the chances of actually getting one would be slim. Furthermore, if I call on a Friday to schedule an IUI for the next day, which is a Saturday, I'd never be able to call the department if I needed to talk to them on a Saturday or Sunday (they don't answer the phones on the weekends), I'd only be able to go in for my appointment. They do schedule IUIs on Saturdays and Sundays. Here's another catch, if I were to get a happy face on Saturday, I couldn't call that day to schedule an IUI for the following day (a Sunday). All of these things gave me anxiety. I was constantly wondering when I'd ovulate, and then when I would, I'd be worried about actually getting ahold of someone in the department to make an appointment.
Okay, enough about that, I scheduled my first IUI and Brad and I went in. After the sperm was injected, I had to lay on the table for 10 minutes and then I was free to go. For the following two weeks, I thought positive thoughts, didn't do anything to physical, and ate well. Well I didn't get pregnant that time around. We did try another natural IUI and few months later, and that didn't work either. The stress of everything, all of the pieces, was getting to be too much.
Brad and I decided that we wanted to meet with our doctor and talk more about the IVF process. That'll be the topic of my next infertility post.
