Here again

Almost a year since my last post, and we are still in the same place. Well, we're not pregnant. After mucking around with a year of progesterone supplements and four IUIs (interuterine insemination) I was referred to a fertility clinic where I started feeling that right away I was in more directed hands.

In the last four weeks, I have had three ultrasounds, two stronger doses of Clomid, one (unsuccessful) IUI, and shelled out thousands of dollars for this expert care. COBRA should kick in soon so we can start getting reimbursed, but geez! I haven't been without medical insurance since that year after I graduated college, and it's expensive all right.

The initial consultation with the doctor was encouraging - my Day 2 ultrasound showed that I had 18 follicles being produced, which is apparently above-average for my age (37). This means that the problem is not that I'm running out of eggs. The problem is pretty clearly that I have a very short luteal phase without pharmaceutical help, too short to allow a fertilized egg to get where it needs to go and burrow in to make a home. One extremely helpful thing the doctor said is that there are lots of ways to manipulate the cycle, but the one thing they can't fix is low eggs, which is not my problem. She said she doesn't see any reason why I can't have two more kids (one at a time).

The new treatment plan is to treat this luteal phase defect on the front end of the cycle rather than supplementing with progesterone after ovulation. She doubled the amount of Clomid I was taking. An ultrasound mid-cycle revealed that I had four or five follicles still developing. When the two largest reached maturity, I gave myself an injection of Ovidrel to trigger ovulation, and we did an IUI. It didn't work this time, as I found out on 12/25 (Merry Christmas to you! You're not getting that one thing you really wanted for Christmas.)

So now I am in round 2. I had an ultrasound to check follicle size a few days ago, I take an Ovidrel shot tonight, and we have our IUI scheduled on Saturday.

In other news, Mini-Me #1 is doing just great, talks up a storm, looks like my father around the eyes, and transitioned into a Big Girl Bed last month. We are investigating preschools to start in the fall.

In other news with me, I finally committed to losing the baby weight, and lost 15 pounds in two months this spring. I am wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes again. I continue to climb every week and I am now climbing 11As and attempting 11Bs.