Hello, love! 💖
I hope you’re doing well and your day is as lovely as you are. Have you had any water today?
Me neither. 🤭 Let’s hydrate together!
*Instructions unclear*
*Grabbed a glass of wine*
Now then…
As you know from my previous post, Jason and I continued trying to get pregnant for almost a year after our miscarriage.
That pregnancy was surprisingly easy to achieve (and you can read all about that in this post if you haven’t yet).
When we left off, my OBGYN had sent a referral to a fertility specialist.
Yay us. 😒
Okay fine, I wasn’t entirely upset about seeing a specialist. Scheduling that initial consultation reignited our hope that we would have a baby soon.
The First Appointment
We started seeing the fertility doctor, who we’ll call Dr. Fertility (Dr. F for short), in January 2022.
Walking into that consult, I was feeling all the feelings. Nervousness. Anxiety. Excitement. You name it.
Dr. F started by asking us the usual questions.
How long have you guys been trying?
What medications, if any, have you been taking?
Family medical history?
Etc.
We answered all his questions and explained everything we had been through.
When I told him about my OBGYN doubling my dose of Clomid just a few months prior, he asked if I’d had any follow-up appointments to monitor how my body was taking to the medication.
I told him I hadn’t, and he seemed surprised by my response. He told us that when he prescribes a new medication to a patient, he monitors their reproductive organs as a precaution.
Hearing this made me question everything. But I brushed it off and thought I might just be overthinking it.
Fun fact, I’m really good at overthinking! 😏
Based on our history and the fact that we had been able to conceive naturally the first time, Dr. F suggested the next best step was to start with intrauterine insemination (IUI).
And if you don’t know what this is, it’s what I like to call ✨the turkey baster method✨.
Basically, they take homeboy’s best little swimmers and use a syringe with a long noodle straw at the end to shoot those suckers all up into homegirl’s coochie. In doing so, those good spermies have a better chance at reaching the egg and bada-bing bada-boom, BABY! 👶🏻
Back to the story at hand…
Adios Vaginal Privacy
Jason and I decided we were ready to move forward and we would start IUI as soon as possible.
To my surprise, that meant starting with an exam and bloodwork right then and there!
(Mind you, this isn’t just a primary care physician doing a physical. Nope. He was about to get real familiar with me. With Jason in the room! The audacity.)
We moved to an exam room where I was asked to undress from the waist down, lay a thin paper sheet over my lap, and wait for the doctor to return.
When Dr. F came back in, he did, in fact, get real familiar with me. With Jason in the corner looking as uncomfortable as I felt. Can you believe this guy? 🤣
Anyway, he did a vaginal ultrasound to make sure my ovaries looked good and healthy.
But guess what?
Things were not looking good and healthy.
He found three large cysts on my left ovary. Likely caused by the Clomid I’d been consistently taking every month for a year.
Was this the reason we had been having such a hard time getting pregnant?
Were these meds doing the opposite of what they were intended for?
Why would my doctor just double the dosage without considering what this could do to me?
Turns out, I wasn’t overthinking after all. I was so confused and upset about what we just learned. But I kept my cool and focused on what would happen moving forward.
We asked if this was something we should be concerned about, and if it would affect our chances in the future. Dr. F explained that this would likely resolve itself once I stopped taking the meds, and my innards would then be back to normal.
(The cysts did go away on their own and did not cause further known issues.)
Luckily, that was the only notable thing he found during the exam, and he gave us the okay to continue with treatments.
After that, Jason and I had our blood drawn for testing, and we were ready to check out.
Things Were Happening!
At the end of our consult, I was told the next step would be to call their office on the first day of my next period. That’s when the fun would really start.
But, I’m a tease (ask Jason) so I’m gonna make you wait for more! 😈
Make sure you follow my Insta (@Vees.Journey) so you know when my next post is ready for you!
If you find my journey helpful and insightful, or if it makes you laugh and cry with me, please drop a comment and share it with someone you know can relate.
We’re all in this together. 🎶 (High School Musical, anyone?)