Ryan and I were lined up on a blind date in October 2005 by our mutual friends Jason and Ashlee. Neither one of us were looking for anything "serious". We had both just gotten out of relationships and were enjoying the dating scene. Well, after our first date and six years later we are still inseparable! We are each others best friends and have been presented with obstacles in our life that have brought us closer together as couple.
Also in October of 2005 I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is a problem in which a woman’s hormones are out of balance. It can cause problems with your periods and make it difficult to get pregnant. Most women with PCOS grow many small cysts on their ovaries. The cysts are not harmful but lead to hormone imbalances. The doctors placed me on several different types of birth control to try and regulate the hormones in my body until we were ready to start a family.
In June of 2010 I broke my foot and was forced to go off my birth control because of the high concerns of blood clotting. At this point Ryan and I made the decision to try and start a family. We tried to conceive for 13 months before seeking infertility treatment. My OBGYN placed me on Clomid for four months and I was having blood work done every month to check my hormone levels to see if my body was responding. We wanted my blood results (hormone levels) to come back with a number 15+. Well, month after month my levels were 1.7, 7.0, 1.5 and 1.2. After the four months of my body not responding my doctor decided to refer us to "the guys with the big guns" We were referred to The Utah Center of Reproductive Medicine (UCRM). We started working with Dr. Peterson, who we just love. We met with Dr. Peterson for a consultation to get a "game plan." Before starting more infertility medications I had a SIS done which is an out patient procedure to make sure the tubes are clean, clear and flowing in the hopes of becoming pregnant. That is one test I did pass! For two months I was placed on Provera, Clomid, Metformin and Dexamethsone. While taking the medication I was under close supervision with Dr. Peterson to see how my body was responding to the medications. I was having several blood tests done and ultrasounds. Sadly enough my body was simply not responding to the oral medication and was not producing a mature egg that could be released. My body is great at producing follicles, just not maturing them into eggs. After two months of those medications with no success my doctor switched my medications a little. I was only able to try the new medication for one month. I was placed on Provera, Letzeral, Metformin and Dexamethasone. I had another ultrasound to find out that my body still did not respond to the medications and our journey with oral medications had come to an end. We were at a turning point where we had to decide our next step. Our options were Injectibles, IVF (In Vitro- Fertilization) or Adoption. After a good talk with Dr. Peterson, Ryan and I decided that we would try the injectibles first. We want to exhaust every possible step so we won't look back and say, "What if?" We went through a mini session on how to give the injectibles at home. Oddly enough even though I am not afraid of needles, I could not give myself the injections. Lucky for me Ryan was able to do it. We did the first cycle of injectibles at 75ML. We started the Injectables right after taking the Letzeral, hoping that by having that in my system it would give my body a jump start. We did the injectables for four days and we went back in for another ultrasounds only to find out that it was another failed ultrasound. My body, once again, did not respond to the medications and failed to produce a mature egg. We tried another cycle of injectibles at 112.5ML for three days and went back in for another ultrasound, which we also failed. Our doctor had a good talk with us about the next step, IVF or adoption. My doctor said that we have to go back on Birth Control for 3-4 months to "clear" my system and give us a fresh start. In the mean time Ryan and I have a decision to make. After doing research on IVF and watch Youtube video on the process Ryan and I have made the decision that we are going to do IVF. We are going to have a consultation about IVF with our doctor (so he can go over all the scary stuff) within the in the next six months then we have up to a year to start the process. If we wait until over a year then we have to do the consultation over again. As of now we are hoping to start the process by the end of the year. Infertility has been such an emotional roller coster for us, but it has brought us closer together. We feel that we will conquer infertility one way or another! A few things that have helped us get through this is the unconditional love and support from our friends, family and others. We have some great friends who are struggling with infertility as well and they have really gotten us involved with the infertility community and support groups. They have also introduced us to several infertility books. This has helped a ton to know that we are not the only ones who have been placed on this road!
