Hi There! Please be patient with me as I build my blog! I’m documenting my journey as I deal with infertility. I’m hoping this blog will help other future mommy’s to be who are also struggling with infertility and don’t know where to start, and also anyone who just wants to know more! I will be keeping you guys updated as much as possible! Questions are welcome! Overall this is a very confusing time! I don’t know what’s going on until I get some testing done but I’ll be happy to have you all along with me for the ride! 💞
I’m sorry this took so long to write I’ve just been trying to process everything. I had my FET (frozen Embryo Transfer) on July 14th 2022. I got a phone call 2 weeks later that the transfer had been successful and that I had was pregnant! I felt so overjoyed and overwhelmed how was it possible I got so lucky the 1st try?!
I had my pregnancy ultrasound on August 9th 2022. My heart shattered when I was told that the embryo implanted into my left fallopian tube. Another ectopic pregnancy in the same tube. After speaking with the Drs. We both determined it would be best to remove both tubes. ( They should have been removed before even trying).
There was a heartbeat 🥺 I was so close. The next day August 10th 2022 I had both of my tubes removed and I can never try naturally again. This REALLY broke my heart.
But I’m not giving up on baby Ransom. On December 2nd I had my 2nd FET and on the 16th I was informed that my pregnancy test was negative. I’m sad 😭 I know this is part of my journey it’s just so hard my body is going through a lot with all of the hormones I’m taking, needles I need everyday (shout out to hubby for stabbing me everyday) losing weight is becoming so hard. I will be planning another cycle I have 6 more embryos left and alot of hope.
I’m sorry this is so short after being MIA for so long. This is all I can write right now without crying.
Give me some encouraging words please I’m going through it.
Y’all. I’m tired!! I know it’s worth it and I’m so grateful to have this expirience and to be able to afford it. I’m just tired of waiting! This will be an update of what I’ve went through for the past couple of months and what’s to happen in the future.
I started my IVF injections on May 6th 2022. These medications were to help stimulate my ovaries and encourage follicle growth for my egg retrieval. I did my trigger shot on May 17th. The injections weren’t too bad, I did have to give them to myself in the abdomen everyday which was interesting. My Egg retrieval was on May 18th. I had 60+ mature follicles WHICH IS AMAZING. AND HURT LIKE HELL.(my ovaries were swollen and touching!!)
My very swollen ovaries touching. The sacs you see are follicles. Follicles are small fluid filled sacs they carry developing eggs.
On the night before my egg retrieval I was not to eat or drink anything as I was to be put under for this procedure.
I got to RAD at 5:30 am to prep for the procedure. By 6 AM I was on the table and fast asleep! I woke to be told that 19 eggs were retrieved!!! Before the procedure my Dr. Asked how many I thought they were going to get I said “20” she informed me that those numbers are above average and we will see. I woke up to the Dr. telling me that they were able to get 19 (so basically I was right lol)
Out of the 19 eggs, 13 were fertilized, and 8 made it to the blastocyst stage needed to be able to freeze the embryos. Altogether we currently have 8 good quality embryos frozen! I’m so excited!
I started birth control the same day my period started to help regulate everything before the next step of embryo transfer. Now that I am off the birth control and had my baseline appointment to check that my lining was thin and my labs were good to go, I started taking Estrace. Estrace is essentially estrogen. It is used to help build the uterine lining for the embryo transfer. I am to do this every 8 hours.
My next appointment will be on the 6th of July to check that my uterine lining is getting thicker and that I have not ovulated from there we will be able to set our FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) date!!! We did not get the PGT testing done so knowing the sex of the baby will be a total surprise! Which is also very exciting!
2 weeks after the FET we will be taking a pregnancy test to see if the embryo has stuck! On July 9th I will start progesterone in oil injections these are given in the buttock region.
The needle on the left was light work a piece of cake even, those were the ones I had to inject in my abdomen. The entirety of the needle on the right is going to be administered in the muscle basically in my hip for 8-12 weeks. My husband will most definitely be giving me these.
This will be my last post until I feel comfortable announcing if Baby Ransom decided to stick around. Wish us lots of luck and baby dust everyone. ✨
To Baby Ransom Mommy and Daddy are anxious and patiently waiting for you to make yourself known we love you so much already! We feel like we’re so close yet so far away.🥺
Took me awhile to finally update this. Well here we go.. On March 1st (my husband’s birthday) I was given the ok for IVF!!! (best bday gift ever!!) I’m literally still in shock and disbelief at how fast things are going. I’ve had so many appointments lately that’s it’s been hard to keep up! I have my baseline appointment tomorrow (blood work and ultrasound) not to mention it’s my BIRTHDAY AS WELL!! 🥳
So many years of trying and I’m just nervous for the outcome. I start the meds (shots) on Friday (May 6th) and get evaluated from there. Postings here may be far and in-between going forward! I’m going to be so busy and tired!! Anyway here’s my calendar for those that want to see what’s going on.
If you read the last blog post you know that my last pregnancy ended up being an ectopic pregnancy in my left fallopian tube. The process to help resolve this issue was done at both Christiana Care and RAD.
At Christiana Care I was administered a dose of Methotrexate. Methotrexate is a Chemotherapy and Immunosuppressive drug. This was used to help dissolve the pregnancy so I wouldn’t need to get surgery (removal of fallopian tube). To be honest it made me feel sick and tired!!!
After the dose of Methotrexate I was monitored by blood work every week to make sure the pregnancy hormones were depleting at the expected levels. I did this for about a month until the test for HCG showed negative.
Now it feels as though we’re back at square 1.
I did have a very promising telemedicine appointment with Dr. McGuirk. She advised me that they’re scared I may have another ectopic pregnancy if I were to try to conceive naturally again. So we talked out our plan of action. I had 2 choices testing, then IVF OR Testing, Non Invasive surgery then IVF. I opted to try IVF without surgical intervention first.
IVF or In vitro fertilization is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a person’s ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova from their ovaries and letting sperm fertilize them in a culture medium in a laboratory. Once the eggs become fertilized we’ll wait to see how many embryos form and freeze them and move forward.
All in all I’m very nervous and excited about our strides being made towards Baby Ransom!❤
As I lay here in my hospital bed I write this out of a place of hurt,anguish and despair.
On July 28th I heard the happiest news yet again! Your pregnancy test is positive! My progesterone levels were a little low but the team of drs and I decided to put me on progesterone suppositories to see if they helped my levels. I made sure to tell my husband not to get excited for this very reason. For a whole two weeks we were in perfect bliss
About the impending bundle of joy we’ve worked so hard to get. FINALLY! we exclaimed, until tonight, I noticed I was spotting,then I got cramps REALLY BAD CRAMPS on my left side. So to play it safe I went to the ER to check on things. After sitting here for 5 hours I was pulled back into a room and given an ultrasound and saw an empty uterus. The Dr. Is now concerned because there is fluid on my left side and it looks as though the ectopic pregnancy has ruptured. Im scared, tired and very anxious. I came into the hospital pregnant and i’m leaving with no baby. I’m heartbroken.
I’ll make a more informative post in a couple of days (when i’m not so Crampy) about what my choices were to handle the ectopic pregnancy.
Every time we get 10 steps forward, we get hurled 1000 steps back. You guys, im just really sad right now. Your love and kind words would mean the world tome. 😭💔🖤
On October 19th I had a procedure called Sono HSG. “The Sono HSG is an imaging study that evaluates the inside of the uterus and determines whether the Fallopian tubes are open without any exposure to contrast dye or radiation. This technique is used in the diagnosis of infertility.”-Fertility Solutions NE.
So basically a saline solution was put into my uterine cavity to look for anything abnormal. As well as to see if bubbles were going through my tubes. Bubbles are a good thing! They mean that my tubes are open. My uterine cavity looked good. But, the tubes portion was inconclusive warranting a more in depth procedure to be done with dye and radiology.
Next Step Consult 11/17/2020
I had my next step consult with Dr Mcguirk. It was alot in such a short period of time.
First things first. I have to get a follow up mammogram at the breast surgeons office.
Next is the procedure with dye anr radiology next Wednesday 11/25/2020.
After both of these I have ALOT OF TESTING. Which include:
Hemoglobin
Insulin
Cholesterol
Thyroid (was a little high last check, nothing to be concerned about.)
Bloodsugar??
Vitamin D. (Now taking daily instead of once a week)
I also got some test results back. Egg and Sperm count were great! And all other tests done on blood were normal!!
Now…I’m gonna be honest, I gave up on my diet and gained double the weight. Dr. Mcguirk essentially wants me to go back on the diet and lose 50 pounds by the next next step consult.
Again diet consists of
No Dairy
No Sugar
No fruit
No Gluten
No Fun
This is where I’m at right now.
Dr. Mcguirk thinks I may have PCOS (not diagnosed)
WISH ME LUCK GUYS. I’m overwhelmed. But i’m also grateful! Fertility treatments are expensive! Alot of women can’t afford them so I won’t complain about being tired of getting poked and prodded at.
Welcome back! I know it’s been awhile. I’ve been processing the chemical pregnancy and making sure i’m okay, both physically and mentally. I’m good guys. I promise. There were a lot of tears and questions why. But I’m here and still trying.
I went to RAD today (October 12th) and had an AFC (Antral Follicle Count) ultrasound. The ultrasound was basically to measure my ovarian reserve (how many eggs I have left). The reserve reflects my fertility potential. Women are born with their entire lifetime supply of eggs in their ovaries. Much unlike men who are constantly producing sperm.
The results for the AFC ultra sound were great!!!! I was told that I have a really good number of follicles/ eggs!!(insert sigh of relief here).
I also had some hormonal blood work,my Vitamin D checked, and a Covid swab (for the procedure next week)
I’m still worried as to what my diagnosis could be….I’m anxious to know!!!
Me right now.
I have a procedure next week (October 19th) which I’ve been told by both Dr. and someone who’s been through it, that it’s going to make me uncomfortable. They also told me to load up on ibuprofen an hour before hand.(I will no need to tell me twice! 😫😂)
Sorry it’s been so long and all I have for you is this short update! I promise I’ll update again next week…
I went for my blood test today. I can’t say that I’m disappointed. I didn’t really expect anything.
I got my results maybe 2 hours after the test. They were:
“Your pregnancy test is positive but is very low (14.2). Your progesterone level is also very low (0.35). Unfortunately, this is a sign of an abnormal pregnancy. Most likely, it represents what we call a chemical pregnancy (a very early miscarriage). Sometimes a low number can also indicate an ectopic pregnancy (where the pregnancy is located in the wrong location such as the fallopian tube). This is less likely.
I want to repeat blood work in 2 days. We should see the hcg level decrease.”
So another blood test at 9 am. Wednesday.
Wish me all the luck and baby dust guys… I don’t know how to even react right now. Everything’s a process there is always still HOPE.
First things first! I went and had imaging done at Delaware Imaging Network ( probably won’t ever go there again ) for the breast lump I had found. 2 lumps were actually located, one smaller than the other. The lump that was first discussed by my Nurse Practitioner Cindy N. at the Breast Surgeon’s office in the Helen Graham Center, was the larger of the two. This lump was due to a bacterial infection.
The second smaller lump (which I didn’t even know was there) is a fibroadenoma ( benign tumor ). I’ll have to get this one checked out again in another 6 months or so. Thankfully the larger painful lump has subsided with the help of antibiotics.
Now, for some more information on my prenatal blood tests that were done at my first in person appointment. So, it turns out that I am insufficient in vitamin D. I’m truly not surprised! I’m a vampire 🧛🏿( I work at night so sunlight is a rarity ). The foods I eat also don’t have much vitamin D in them as well.( No meat just seafood,veggies, eggs, etc. ).
Here is the gist of my results.
Above 30ng/ml is currently considered normal.
My Vitamin D result was: <4 ng/ml.
Below 10 is considered critically low and requires supplementation and a referral to a specialist.
So, as of right now I’m being supplemented with Vitamin D2. One 50,000IU tablet by mouth once a week (prescription dose) for four doses. After my four doses are done I’ll be going in for a follow up blood test to see how the vitamin D2 is affecting me. I’m currently on the 2nd dose I take the 3rd later today.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST!
I’m late. Yep that kind of late. I’ve missed periods before, but my cycle has been “normal”?… “regular” ( that’s the word lol ) for the past year. My patient coordinator is super excited and wants me to come in for a blood test to see if I’m pregnant/check where I am in my cycle. I’m just not gonna get my hopes up. I’ve learned from previous experiences that pregnancy isn’t always the case.
First of all. This WAS going to be an informative post. But I just need to vent ok?.
It’s hard guys. It’s hard not to be jealous when friends get pregnant. It’s especially hard when you’ve been trying longer than they’ve even been together. It’s hard not to think.
Why isn’t it me?
When’s my turn?
Will it ever happen?
Why do I have to work so hard for this?
It’s never going to happen.
Why am I even trying?
I should just give up.
I KNOW. I KNOW.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for my friends I really am!!🙌🏿👐🏿🎉🎊. I feel Bad that I feel this way. IT’S JUST HARD. You guys I’m literally crying while typing this..I feel crazy right now. 😭😭😭 I wish it were as easy for me as everyone else. I JUST CAN’T TODAY.
Well, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. I’m gonna go crawl under the covers and overthink and cry now. 😭
I PROMISE the next post will be an update.
Me right now.
I just REALLY need a hug/ encouraging words right now guys. Byyyeeee.
Mission Impossible 