Where do we go from here?

This may be TMI for some people, but I am giving detail to let you know how we got to where we are now.  I was having very irregular periods for about 5 months and was over it, so I decided that I was going to ask my doctor for birth control when I went in for my yearly exam.  So March 30th, I asked for that and she agreed because of the period issues and thought maybe we should take a break for a bit.  Because of the irregular cycles they decided to do some bloodwork and then also schedule a pelvic sonogram for the next week.  My bloodwork came back normal and then my sonogram showed something on my uterus.  She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but thought that may be a factor to the irregular cycles.  So I was scheduled for a hysteroscopy at the hospital because she didn't have the proper equipment in the office, otherwise she would have done it there.  I went in April 25th for pre-op and had to answer about 3 pages worth of questions.  One question the nurse asked was if I had ever been hospitalized before, and I answered yes.  I was back in March 2003 with a rare condition called Rhabdomyolosis.  Crazy name, huh? 

• Rhabdomyolysis is the breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream. Some of these are harmful to the kidney and frequently result in kidney damage.

I promise there is a reason I just told you about that.  So, April 26th Ben takes me to the hospital at 5AM for my procedure.  They get me ready and wheel me into the surgery waiting area and the anesthsiologist came to ask me a few questions about the "rhabdo".  He let me know that there were certain types of anesthsia that could trigger the rhabdo, but he wasn't using any of those.  Which I thought, that is great, but make sure I am knocked out for this thing. :)  So they found a polyp on my uterus and removed that and also did a dilation and cutterage, better known as a D&C (dusting and cleaning as my dad likes to call it).  Ben took great care of me for the rest of the day.

The following week I was out in the yard raking and pulling weeds, and it was so stinking hot outside.  I went to the neighbor's to watch American Idol and drink wine.  About 2 hours later, I started getting tight again in my arms and back, just like what happened in 2003.  So the next morning I told Ben and he said I probably just pulled some muscles working in the yard, but I knew better.  He ended up taking me to the doctor that afternoon so they could check my CK levels, which I found out the next morning that they were elevated.  Now, when I was in Hawaii they were around 20,000, but this time it was only about 1,200.  The normal range I believe is between 40 and 500.  Needless to say, I had to take it easy for the rest of the weekend and the following week.  I also drank pedialyte, gatorade and lots of water trying to flush all of this out of my system.  I was so ready to be feeling better.  We still don't know if the anesthsia triggered it or not, but I hope I don't ever go through it again.

I went back for a check up to my OB to make sure everything looked good after the procedure and it did.  She suggested I go back to the fertility doctor to at least have him help me get my cycle regulated.  Ben and I made an appointment for May 17th, and little did I know that day would not be a good day.  I thought I was going into this appointment to talk about getting on some meds to help regulate me, instead we walked out of there talking about IVF.  I love my doctor, and he really is caring and understanding, but I didn't like it when he told me that there was a 2% chance of getting pregnant on my own due to the irregular cycles.  He said we could try to regulate it, but it would most likely not help once I came off the medications.  So we talked about another IUI as an option, but that was only about a 10% chance.  The last option he gave us was IVF, and that number was much better, a 60-70% chance.  Great news!  Bad news.....my insurance doesn't cover it and it is a VERY expensive procedure.  But all that kept running through my head was 2% so Ben and I talked about it and decided we would go with IVF.  They told us that if we decided on the IUI or the IVF to just call them whenever I started my period again and we would get the ball rolling.  So, I called them the following Monday and it all started.

We went in on May 26th for an ultrasound and a LOT of bloodwork.  They took 5 vials of my blood and only 2 of Ben's.  The next thing on the list was to start birth control pills for a few weeks and so that is what I have been doing the past few weeks.  They emailed me my calendar (my lifeline for the next few weeks) and that showed what my next month to month and a half would be like.  I went in on June 9th for a teaching class on how to administer ALL of my medications I will be taking.  Let me tell you, there are a LOT of needles and it all has to be done the same time of day each day.  Ben has lucked out on helping with any of that because of his work schedule, so I may have to call on some family or friends for help if I get to a point of not wanting to do it anymore.  At that appointment they also did an ultrasound to look at my ovaries, a hysteroscopy just to make sure everything still looked good, and then a mock transfer to make sure he knew where he needed to inject everything on the "transfer" day. 

So this is where we stand right now.  I start my first dose of injections this Saturday, so wish me luck.  The reason for the blog is so we have these memories down the road and also so we can share it with friends and family when we are ready to share our story.