September 2007- Married on September 29th, the Feast of the Archangels. I'm sure we'll be getting a positive pregnancy test in a few weeks, especially since we're headed to Rome for our honeymoon and will be receiving the Sposi Novelli blessing!
December 2007 - Starting to get a little worried. In fact, I had a little thought before we were ever married that it would just be my luck that my two unmarried sisters are totally able to have children, and I, the duly and lawfully married one, will have trouble. I buy a ClearBlue Easy fertility monitor, which tracks your ovulation for you. It detects ovulation every month, but still no baby month after month.
July 2008- I have an appointment with my ObGyn to discuss why I'm not getting pregnant and what the options are for figuring the problem out. We talk for about 30 minutes about doing an HSG and tracking my BBT. He decides to get check the urine test results (you know how they always make you pee in a cup when you go to the Ob) before he schedules the HSG, and he comes back and says "It's positive." I say, "did you check the right person's results?" I've been spotting for a week, as usual (for as long as I can remember, I have always had brown spotting for up to a week before the period finally comes, and 4-5 days of brown spotting at the end of every period) and I'm sure my period is coming. He double checks, and yes they are my test results. Yeah!
July-August 2008 - Several blood draws, as the progesterone was initially low, and he wanted to see that it was doubling. It was doubling. I assume things are ok, although I'm a little worried because I continue to spot. I have an ultrasound that shows a baby is definitely there, and there is a heartbeat, but the radiologist says it is the biggest yolk sac he has ever seen. He says there may be possible genetic defects. We try to ignore that and just focus on getting through the first trimester.
September 2008- On our anniversary, I have an appointment at 10 weeks pregnancy to check on my progress. The doctor cannot find a heartbeat, so he sends me to ultrasound. During the ultrasound, I can clearly see our little baby, bigger than the last time we saw him, and I can totally make out his hands and feet. However, the radiologist tells us that he is sorry, there is no heartbeat. Total devastation. We scrap our anniversary dinner plans and have pizza, and I spend the next week miscarrying at home. I feel like I will never be happy again. I have never felt so much sorrow in my life. Our anniversary will always bring a sad memory. Little Michael Benedict is buried.
March 2009- Undergo HSG, which shows tubes are totally open. I also have a post-coital analysis, which shows little swimmers doing circles. So, I assume everything is fine and we need to just pray harder.
August 2009 - It's been over a year since our first pregnancy, and with temperature charting and using the ClearBlue monitor, and trying Clomid for three cycles, and taking mucinex, nothing is happening. Everyone said when we had our miscarriage, we would get pregnant again right away. Not true. We go see the fertility center, where they try to talk us into IVF and ICSI. We're Catholic, so no way. All of the blood work and tests they run on me come back normal. DH has low motility, low count, and poor morphology. We decide that since I came back normal, we will have DH take a lot of vitamins and have him rechecked in a few months. We also have DH's metal teeth fillings removed and replaced with tooth-colored ones, as my mom suggests that maybe the mercury in his teeth is causing the problems.
January 2010- Go to ER thinking my appendix has ruptured, but it turns out it's an ovarian cyst. So, I have laprascopy at the fertility center to remove endometriosis and saran-wrap type adhesions that were totally covering both ovaries. I was surprised to learn I had endometriosis. I had an open myomectomy in May 2007, and the doctor at that time had me wide open and saw no endo.
February 2010- Pregnant! But, I'm spotting. I go and convince my OB to prescribe progesterone suppositories, although I can hear him on the phone with the fertility specialist basically saying it's not going to do any good. Two days after finding out that I'm pregnant, I miscarry little Mary Theresa.
September-October 2010- Go through a failed GIFT procedure. So angry. Never want to go through that again.
December 2010- I decide to give NaproTechnology a shot. I get in touch with an instructor and learn how to chart.
March 2011- Send charts off to the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha. Dr. H recommends a hormone series, ultrasound series, and laparoscopy. I have all my blood work drawn and sent to Omaha. I go up for my ultrasound series and laparoscopy, but am unable to do the ultrasound series because of the way my cycle ended up falling. Laparoscopy reveals endometriosis all over the place, stretchy adhesions everywhere, and weird yellow cysts hanging off my ovaries. He says we need to come back for a major surgery. Blood work also shows a low Reverse T3/RT3 ratio, and I am asked to chart my temps and pulses and fill out a thyroid system dysfunction questionnaire. To my surprise, the progesterone results are above average. What explains the brown spotting then?
May 2011- Go to Omaha for laparotomy. Surgery takes about five hours, but according Dr. H, is very successful. 10 days later, I have laparoscopy to remove the gore-tex, and Dr. H gives the surgery a 10. The cultures he took all came back negative for any kind of infection. Tubes are still open.
June 2011- I start taking T3 and have to take my temps and pulses four times a day. Husband starts taking proxeed (which is ridiculously expensive) and mucuna pruriens on the recommendation of Dr. H. We both start taking an antibiotic course recommended by Dr. H, but have to stop that antibiotic course when I go to my local doctor for a surgical site infection and he starts me on another antibiotic. I am also told to use progesterone suppositories on peak plus 3-12 and start taking 500 mg of sustained release B6 daily. Dr. H also has me use two different vaginal cream medications, which according to the informational insert, are used to treat infections. So tired of having to stick things "up there."
July 2011- We are given the go ahead to start trying again. First cycle is pretty good. No brown spotting the first time ever. Yeah! But, progesterone is making my cycle so long, like 36 days. So, he says I can drop it down to peak plus 3-9. However, I don't use the progesterone again because my second cycle of us being able to try, everything is out of whack. I have maybe a total of four days when there is no kind of bleeding, so I am not even sure I have detected my peak day, my boobs hurt the whole time (whereas they normally only hurt the week before my period), and I am anxious and weepy all month long.
August 2011 - Dr. H reduces my T3, orders Clomid 50 mg for cycle days 5-7, and HCG injections for P + 3, 5, 7 & 9. I switch to just taking Optivite vitamins instead of the conglomeration of all the other vitamins I have been taking.
