My first confirmed pregnancy began in July of '09. I was euphoric. I couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear and obsessing over every cramp, bit of nausea, etc. I told everyone I was pregnant. I made my first OB appointment for a 6 week ultrasound. A few days before, I started spotting a little pink and brown. However, I'd read that spotting is common in early pregnancy and wasn't concerning unless accompanied by severe cramping, which I didn't have. So, we went to the appointment nervous, but hoping for the best.
True to my history, everything was *not* going smoothly. The baby was a little small, but worse, the chorionic sac around it was extremely small -- almost a full 2 weeks behind. My beta HCG levels were also on the low side. However, the baby did have a normal heartbeat! My OB said we had a 50/50 chance of the pregnancy continuing and sent us home to wait. As it turned out, we didn't have long: 2 weeks later I started bleeding again, this time with severe cramping. Pregnancy #1 was over.
* * *
I moped and grieved for a few months, and went back to charting my cycle so we could try again. I quickly realized that the miscarriage had changed my body, and my already short cycle of 25 days had dropped to 23 or 24 days. Worse, my luteal phase (the time between ovulation and my period) had dropped to only 6 or 7 days -- a real problem, since getting pregnant supposedly requires a LP of 10 days.
My OB advised me to see a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) and gave me a couple of names. We made an appointment at one of her recommended clinics in early November to get me checked out.
However, a few days before the appointment, we discovered that somehow, despite my too-short LP, I was pregnant again. This time we had wised up and only told our parents, siblings, and closest friends our news. We remained cautiously optimistic. Lightning wouldn't strike twice, right??
Wrong. Our new RE closely monitored my hormone levels, which turned out to be low and rising a little slower than normal. I started taking progesterone supplements. On the first ultrasound, we only saw a very tiny sac measuring -- you guessed it -- about 2 weeks behind. My RE advised us that the pregnancy wasn't viable, and scheduled a D & C. However, on the day before the surgery, she performed another ultrasound. This time there was a heartbeat, although both the baby and sac were still far too small. My RE said there was a slim chance of the pregnancy continuing, so we canceled the surgery.
Three weeks later, I started bleeding and cramping again. Pregnancy #2 was over.
* * *
After recovering from our second loss, we went back to our RE for a fertility workup. We learned that I had an elevated FSH level of 12.8, which meant my diagnosis was Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR) -- I didn't have alot of eggs left, and might not have good quality ones either. Our RE advised us to start infertility treatments, either IUI (intrauterine insemination, which my insurance covered), or IVF (in-vitro fertilization, which my insurance did not cover). We chose IUI.
On my next cycle, I gave myself shots of Follistim (medication to force my ovaries to produce multiple eggs at a time instead of just 1) twice a day for a little over a week. Only 4 follicles grew, which was a little scary since we weren't keen on having a litter. What if all 4 fertilized and implanted?!
10 days after the IUI, I took a HPT (home pregnancy test) and it was positive! However, my beta hcg number a few days later was very low, and my period started. I'd had a chemical pregnancy (or very early miscarriage). Miscarriage #3.
* * *
The second IUI was pretty much the same as the first. Miscarriage #4.
* * *
Both Chad and I were pretty drained emotionally by this point. It was now June of 2010 and we'd been through alot. Financially, while insurance paid for the actual IUI procedures, it hadn't covered any of the Follistim medication, which ran about $700 per attempt. Our RE was advising us to move on to IVF, and at over $9000 PLUS another $4 - $5k in medications, we were facing sticker shock.We decided to take the summer off to heal and to try again naturally (with just progesterone supplements to fix my short luteal phase).
* * *
By August I learned I was pregnant again. However, it quickly became apparent that this pregnancy wasn't normal, either. My beta HCG numbers rose very slowly and were nowhere close to the doubling over 48 hours that they should have. I had ultrasounds every week, but nothing every showed up. No sac, no baby. Yet my beta levels continued to slowly rise.
Finally, at 7 weeks, my RE advised I take a methotrexate injection to bring on the miscarriage. We still couldn't be certain if the pregnancy was in my uterus or if it was in my tube since it was still hiding from the ultrasound, but there was a real risk to my health if it was in my tube and it ruptured. I took the methotrexate. 1.5 weeks later, pregnancy #5 ended.
* * *
We decided it was time to try IVF.
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