First Fertility Appointment

I finally called my OB/GYN a couple of weeks ago to see what our next step should be. I think I expected her to try to talk me into waiting a bit more but she was in complete agreement that the time had come for us to see a specialist. She gave me the names of two different places in Atlanta - RBA and ACRM - and I spent a ton of time reading everything I could about them. I talked to Lewis's sister, Sara, about the experience she and her husband Tim have had at RBA and she had nothing but good things to say. (They will be pursuing in-vitro fertilization sometime this year.) Since I still couldn't decide between the two practices, I decided to just go with the one that could see me first and ACRM called me last Friday and said they could see me on January 27th!! Much sooner than we expected! I was nervous because Lewis couldn't go with me since he's a teacher and it was conference week. They said it would be fine for me to come alone since the first time was just a consultation and we could fill out all of our paperwork ahead of time. I was also nervous because I had pretty much decided to go with RBA after talking to Sara about their experience there. But, the fact was that ACRM could see me sooner and we didn't want to wait.

I worried for nothing because the appointment couldn't have gone better! I absolutely LOVED my doctor! Her name is Dr. Robin Fogle and she was awesome! She's in her late thirties and very sweet and she really impressed me with how well she knew her stuff. She was very encouraging and very positive and I felt an instant connection to her. She also knows my OB/GYN very well and has worked with her on other cases so that's a huge plus. She started by asking me about a million questions and reviewing all my fertility charts and other records. She thinks I am definitely ovulating which is good. In fact, she didn't see anything right off that concerned her as far as my health is concerned. However, she said she thinks it's important for Lewis to see another urologist for a second opinion. Even though all his tests came back fine in April, she said that there's a chance antibodies have begun to attach to his little swimmers which is causing them to have a harder time fertilizing my eggs. There is no known way to test for that - it's more just a process of elimination. So, she's having me go through all the normal IF tests - bloodwork, ultrasounds, tubes checked,etc. - just to make sure that all is well on my end. Lewis will also have more tests run to make sure his count is as still as high as it was last time. If all that comes back okay- and she thinks it will - she is recommending that we move forward with IUI with Clomid. IUI - Intrauterin Insemination -is a procedure where they "wash" the sperm and take the very best, very strongest ones and then insert them in the top of your uterus so that they don't have as far to swim and many more reach the egg. This is a good route to try for people with unexplained infertility that have normal sperm counts and normal ovulation. She is recommending that I take Clomid because even though I'm ovulating, it's possible that the ovualtion isn't as strong as it could be and Clomid will help me produce bigger, stronger - and more - eggs. There is a slight increased risk of twins with this procedure but it's still only about 8%. I've thought about having twins all my life since my dad is an identicle twin so I'm okay with that 8% risk factor - even if I do end up with a Ronald and Donald! I was very relieved to hear that this practice does not like for anyone to have over two babies at a time so we dont' have to worry about an Octomom situation! (Thank goodness!) IUI is about $1500-$1700 per cycle - and insurance will proabably cover the ultrasounds and bloodwork in the testing phase so it may be less than that. So, we've decided that instead of the projects we have planned for the house, we're going to focus our resources on a baby. ;)

So, now I just have to get a bunch of screening bloodwork done one morning this week. Then, after I ovulate this month (which should be soon) they'll schedule me for a progesterone check the following week. After that, we'll wait on my period and then go forward with more testing and I'll start Clomid to get ready for our first IUI cycle that same month if all tests turn out okay. So, WE COULD BE TRYING OUR FIRST IUI ATTEMPT AS EARLY AS A MONTH FROM NOW!!! Simply amazing!! Of course, it all depends on test results - if something else comes up, they may have to address that first and postpone the IUI to the following month.

We are super excited but also pretty nervous. They did say that they will try IUI 3 times and then they usually suggest moving on to IVF at that point. My doctor said she'd really be shocked if we had to go to IVF but there is that possibility. I guess we're just nervous about investing money into IUI when there's a chance we'll ultimately need IVF and that money could go for that. BUT, we are going to just believe for now that this will work for us! We both feel really good about it - in fact, for the first time since the miscarriage, I feel really excited about having a baby. I think I've been too scared to think about it too much since then. I left the appointment feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It feels so good to finally have someone as focused on getting us pregnant as we are. I love my OB/GYN but she just kept saying to keep trying since we've gotten pregnant before on our own. That would be fine if we hadn't already been trying so long before. Now, I feel like we've moved on to the next phase - the part where we finally get a baby!

As excited as I am, I'm also scared to let myself get too excited. I'm trying to stay positive without getting my hopes up too high because I'm scared of being disappointed. That's a hard balance to strike. However, Lewis's sister, Sara, made the prediction over the holidays that 2010 is going to be "The Year for Babies" in the LaRosa family and I have to say, I believe that she's absolutely right! Even though their situation is different from ours and they know that IVF is their only option, they are saving for it to happen this year and I know they are going to have good results when they try. And now I know we have a plan to make it happen for us soon, too! I have faith that God led me to this place and this path and that this is exactly what we're supposed to be doing. I'm just nervous. So please, please keep praying for us. I know we're about to embark on an amazing journey and we need prayers that all goes smoothly.