FIVE

"If you want something you've never had, then you've got to do something you've never done."

It is finally time for a MUCH needed update!  I apologize for the delay but these past two months have been rough on us.  I will not waste any time and get started!! 

On July 10th, our IVF process officially started.  That day started off with getting an ultrasound and some blood work done but then I also started the medication.  I started with two injections in the evening.  One was Follistim (follicle stimulating hormone that makes my ovaries grow) and the other was Menopur (makes my body produce more than one egg).  The purpose of these injections were to make my body grow as many eggs as possible.  Normally, your body only produces one egg every ovulation.  Mine was going to be producing much more!  I have given thousands and thousands of shots to people but there was something about giving myself a shot that I just could not do.  Let’s just say Ryan got over his fear of needles quickly!  He stepped up to the plate and he did absolutely amazing!!  The Follistim shot was no problem but the Menopur shot stung during and after! It was horrible.  We did these shots for about 7 days!  During this time I went in for multiple ultrasounds watching all my little eggs grow.  It was amazing to watch!!  The doctor told us that my body was reacting great to the medication.  We had a ton of follicles that were each producing an egg.  We were then set up with an "Egg Retrieval" date of July 24th.  On July 18th I started the Ganirelix injection (yes that means it went to 3 shots a day), the purpose of this shot was to keep my eggs from ovulating on their own.  I did the 3 shots a day for about 5 more days.  My poor tummy was so bruised and sore! I was so bloated and just felt full.  I was on "bed rest" for a couple days so that I would not damage any of the eggs.  I was never moody or cranky.  Trust me ask my husband! 

I had noticed on July 21st that I was starting to cramp a lot and have some fluid leaking down south (sorry TMI!).  So at my ultrasound on July 22nd they wanted to check it out.  It turns out that fluid had started to collect in my uterus.  We are not sure why.  At that time my doctor told us that my ovaries were starting to hyper-stimulate or they were reacting too well to the medication and the fluid was just a side effect of that.  The unfortunate part was that we would not be able to transfer our embryos right away after retrieval.  We were going to have to freeze our little embryos and wait another month.  As you can imagine I was NOT happy.  Not happy at all.  My doctor then told me that my body was not healthy enough right now to carry these embryos and if she were to put them in, they would just slide right out due to the fluid.  That evening we added our fourth and final injection which was HCG.  The purpose of this shot was to force my body to ovulate all these eggs in the next 36 hours!  Crazy! 

The HCG shot is what put me over the edge.  That shot made me feel so sick.  I was so nauseous and weak.  I just kept pushing through knowing that there was an end in sight.  I just needed to go one more day to that Thursday the 24th. 

July 24th, 2014 was the day of “Egg Retrieval”.  This is what we have been waiting for!  I requested all the prayers I could get and I honestly felt them all around me.  Ryan and I arrived at 6:00am for our procedure to start at 7:30am.  I went in to the office with lots of excitement, nerves and most importantly a positive attitude.  They had me sign all the papers and started my IV.  I then kissed my love goodbye and they walked me to the operating room.  Since going up into the ovaries was so painful I was put completely under even though the actual procedure last about 30 minutes.  Thank God!  While I was being put to sleep my amazing hubby was off doing his part!  When I got into the operating room I remember seeing a baby incubator.  I laughed and asked them if they had the right patient!  They laughed and told me that is where my "babies" would go to be fertilized!  Then I was out...

I woke up feeling great with my husband by my side!  I was super sleepy and in a bit of pain.  They wasted no time to get me up moving around and then packaged up to go home.  The doctor told us that they retrieved 25 eggs!  That is a huge amount!!  They said the normal average number was usually 10!  She also told us that they would be fertilized that day and that the embryologist would call us later to tell us how many actually got fertilized!  We were so excited!  The rest of the day I slept and took my pain medications. 

We got a call later that day to update us on our embryos.  It turns out they did retrieve 25 eggs.  Only 21 of those eggs were mature enough to fertilize.  They then took 11 of those eggs and individually injected a sperm into the egg with a needle.  The other 10 just got sperm dumped on them to see how many would fertilize.  They would then call the next day with another update.

It all went downhill from here...

The next day (Friday) I woke up feeling so sick.  I was on about 5 different medications that were to help with symptoms (bulls*it) and to help with the pain.  I was sleeping all the time, not eating or drinking and was not in the best of moods.  It just seemed each day I was getting worse and worse.  Ryan would call the "on-call" doctor and they kept saying everything was normal.  Normal.... really?  On a positive note, the embryologist called and said that we had 16 eggs that got fully fertilized out of the 21!

That Saturday I was still sick but then I started vomiting.  Ryan was worried that something serious was wrong.  He was so frustrated that there was nothing he could do to help me.  He was burnt out.  I was still not eating, drinking and now was throwing up.  So off to the ER we went.  My parents met us there and of course I started crying like a baby when they showed up.  The ER doctor was clueless on what IVF was or what it involved. They did blood-work and an ultrasound and nothing serious came back funky.  They kept pumping me full of fluids and anti-nausea medication but I was still puking in the ER. They gave me the option to admit me but I refused.  I didn't want to take up a bed in the hospital for someone who needs it more than me.  Ryan then packed me back in the car and took me home. 

I was still sick the rest of the weekend.  We met with the doctor on Monday who again told us my symptoms were normal.  Blah... blah.... blah!  I finally figured out that maybe the medications were playing a huge part in this so with my doctor's permission I started taking myself off the medications one by one.  I started feeling better and better... still super weak but better.  The medications were also making me constipated so once I treated that (I will spare you the details) I started to feel 100 times better!!  By Wednesday I was back to work!!  Whoo hoo!!  That day we also got a call from the embryologist that after 6 days of growing we had 5 full grown embryos that were ready to go in the freezer!  FIVE!!  That is amazing!!!  By the way, Ryan has pointed out that 5 is now our lucky number!  Not only is it his lucky/favorite number but I was also George Brett's baseball number (Ryan's idol) and it is also Ryan's fifth year of teaching 5th grade!!!  We love the number 5 now!  Haha!

Our next question now was where do we go from here?  First, they wanted me to have a cycle to clean everything out.  We would just wait until I started.  So we waited and waited. I got stronger and stronger every day. We even celebrated Ryan's birthday on July 31st!  This was another break that I believe was a blessing in disguise.  I needed to get myself healthy and strong for my embryos.  They need a strong mama!!! 

My cycle came and went.  Again, I will spare you the details but it was horrible!  Right away we starting preparing for our next milestone "Transfer Day"!!!  This is where they will transfer 2 of those cute, little embryos into to my uterus!  On day 3 of my cycle they started me on a medication called Estrace (estrogen) three times a day to start preparing my uterus for transfer!  I have now been taking that for 16 days.  I feel great!  I am still going in for ultrasounds to measure and blood work to make sure the medications are working.  I get to start 3 new medications today to prepare my body even more for transfer.

If all continues to go as planned, Wednesday August 27th will be our "Transfer Day"!!!  Yes... that will be in 5 days!!  I am so excited for this day to come but also very, very nervous.  After transfer the waiting game will begin!!  A blood test in a month or so will be the only way we know if we are truly pregnant or not!! 

Please pray for me.  Please pray for both of us.  Please pray for our little embryos! :)

We love you all, 

Spenser and Ryan

 Ryan and I on our way to our Egg Retrieval!!! 

Getting ready to head back to the operating room!

Breathe. Just Breathe.

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” - Thích Nhất Hạnh

Honestly, this quote sums it up. Ryan and I met with our Reproductive Endocrinologist at the beginning of May. We have decided that the IUIs were just too painful for us. They were too painful emotionally and physically for the both of us. With the help of our amazing doctor we decided that it was time to take the next step and try IVF. Whew! 

Boy, was that appointment intense!! They sat there and explained the whole IVF process. In a nut shell, with the help of medication they will grow multiple eggs in my ovaries rather than just the one. They will then "harvest" them and then fertilize them. The eggs will then grow in a petri dish for 3-5 days and then a couple eggs will be transferred back into me. Sounds easy huh? They drew out charts and pictures. They piled packets of papers and information in our arms. We literally walked out of there in shock. I am not exaggerating. They had me start birth control so that we could start "clearing the slate." They wanted all my hormones to start stabilizing until we started the process. They put every IVF patient on at least one month of birth control before the procedure. They sent us home with all this information and said "Now it is time for you to discuss and decide if you want to do this. If you do then you need to decide when you would like to start. We could start as early as June." Uhh ok. I am 100% sure that Ryan and I both looked like two deer caught in the headlights. 

After a long discussion and a couple strong, alcoholic beverages, Ryan and I overall decided that we needed a break. That is it. We needed a breath of fresh air! We needed some time think. We needed time to get rid of the stress in our life. Overall, we needed some time to live our lives. Oh boy, did another huge weight get lifted off our shoulders! 

The whole month of May and June (so far) have been absolutely amazing! Ryan graduated with his master's degree in education and he is off work for the summer!! I started a new job that I absolutely love! I am now working for a OB/GYN office that is 10min from home rather than 45min. I love what I do and the people I work with. Most importantly, I am not stressed at all! Seriously, not one bit!! I have felt so much better without all the stress that I had at KU! 

Ryan and I are spending a lot of time together. We are reconnecting as a couple. I am not saying we were in a bad place before but we were both so emotionally exhausted. It is so nice not having to worry about what cycle day it was, or what medication it was time to take. We felt like we were constantly on a schedule all to be let down. Now, we are just having fun! We are just so HAPPY! :) 

So what are the next steps....

Ryan and I will be starting IVF in July. The process is quite long and as my eggs are "growing", I will be restricted from doing a lot of things (exercise, drinking, jumping, running, etc). I will basically be driving Ryan nuts. :) I will be on a butt load of medications that will make me not feel well at all and will be taking them multiple times a day. I am a trooper. I will get through it. I will take my deep breaths and I will take one day, one doctor's appointment at a time. As my mom would say, "Time to put your big girl panties on!" I will do what ever it takes to bring us to closer to our miracle baby!!!

Please pray for us the next couple months. I will update as soon as I feel up to it. Thank you again for all your love and support!! It has certainly given me the strength to go through with this! We love you!

Love, 

Spenser and Ryan

 

It is IUI time!!

Just FYI I am including all the specific dates for a reason. Not that you care but eventually I would like to get this blog printed into a book. One day I would love for our miracle baby to read how hard his/her parents worked to get them. :)

So anyway like I said in the previous post... Ryan and I decided to try IUI (Intrauterine insemination)with some oral fertility meds first. Yes, it only gave us a 10-12% chance of conceiving and a 20% chance of twins but honestly we thought this is all it would take. We just had to get the timing right and take some fertility meds and boom we would be pregnant. I go in great detail (it is the nurse in me) so I apologize ahead of time!

IUI- Round One... Ding Ding!

We started the whole process in March 2014. On Day 3 (March 3, 2014) of my cycle, I got to start off with another lovely trans-vaginal ultrasound (not pleasant at all!). They saw some cysts and drew blood to see if they would be a problem or not. Blood work came back fine so we were ready to start with the first medication Letrozole (the sister medication to Clomid). I take this medication Day 3-Day 7 twice a day. This is to boost fertility. I felt fine taking the medication. No problems at all. It was way better than taking the Clomid which made me sick.

Next order of business was Day 12 (March 11th, 2014). On this day we would go in for another trans-vaginal ultrasound to evaluate the lining of my uterus and the follicles in the ovaries. They all have to be a certain measurement to go on with the process. Mine were all fine so they said that it was time to "trigger". To "trigger" means that if all my measurements were on point then I would give myself an injectable medication that would force my body to ovulate in the next 36 hours. Boy that is an expensive shot. I even had to go to a special pharmacy to get it! I know I am a nurse but I HATE shots with a passion. I can give them to other people but there is no way I would be able to give it to myself. We had to give it between the hours of 8pm-10pm on Day 12. Ryan started gagging when he saw the needle... so yeah he was no help. Thank God for my dad! He came to the rescue and gave me the shot. I might be a big baby but I am not going to lie.... it hurt. It was the smallest needle ever but it had a big punch.

After that was all done we were set up to have the procedure done 36 hours later. So that next Thursday morning March 13th, 2014, Ryan and I nervously walked into the doctor's office at 7:30am. Ryan would then give his sample. It would take an hour and a half to wash and clean his sample. They picked out all the slow or weak ones and left all the strong powerful ones. A couple hours later we came back to the office and it was time for my part. They basically injected all of the sample into my uterus. It was very uncomfortable. Any time something touches the inside of your uterus your body's natural reaction is to cramp. So that is what it did. It was like having horrible cramps. It is very painful. After the nurse injected the goods into me, I had to lay there and wait for 10-15 minutes for gravity to do its job. When that time was up, I was good to go about my day. I felt a little uncomfortable the rest of the day but otherwise normal. Three days after my procedure I would start a vaginal progesterone suppository twice a day. This would help the fertilized egg stick if there was one and would keep me from getting my period. It was not fun either. It made me feel like I peed my pants all day and night. Trust me I didn't pee. Horrible feeling. Then 12 days after I started the progesterone I would take a pregnancy test.

I made sure I did my research before getting this procedure done. I looked up things to do for better success. I looked up specific prayers to say to boost our chances. I was certain that we would only need to do this once. I ate a pineapple including the core for the next 5 days after the IUI because I read that it helps (it was horrible!). I went to church many times to be sure I got God on my side even though I knew he was already there. I said prayers multiple times a day begging God to let me get pregnant. I looked up infertility yoga to help with circulation in that area. I tried everything. Maybe not everything but it was a lot!

We had a little hiccup when our dog Tank ate my progesterone pills. Yes, he took the whole prescription bottle, chewed that up, got the lid off and ate every single one of them!! Just like they were candy. That jerk!! After a call to the vet and pharmacy everyone was fine and we moved on. I am sure we were the joke of both offices!!

Test Day came on March 28th. My birthday was the 26th so I knew I did not want to test that day. No bad news on my birthday, but I did keep thinking about how that would be a wonderful birthday present. I was not feeling different. I was the normal tired but other than that I did not feel any different. Ryan and I could not wait any longer so we tested the morning of March 27th. We were scared, excited, nervous, etc. I peed on the stick waited the 5 minutes and there we have it... Negative.

What? Really? We spent all this money... a lot of money and all we are left with is this stupid negative test. We were certain it was because we tested a day early... nope. We were in complete shock. We both went to work to try and have a normal day (bad idea). That evening is when it really sunk it. We both broke down. We went ahead and tested the next day too just to make sure... nope. Negative too. We were crushed.

It is hard not to feel a lot of guilt. I find myself apologizing to Ryan all the time. His numbers are fine and healthy but it is me with the problem. I cried a lot. I still cry thinking about it. We decided that we would try another round of IUI the next cycle.

IUI Round 2... Ding Ding!

This one is still a little raw so bear with me.

We started our second round of IUI on April 1st, 2014. This was Day 3 and I had the usual trans-vaginal ultrasound and everything came back fine. I had one large cyst in my left ovary but they said it looked old and like it was going to rupture at any time. We were given the green light to start the Letrozole fertility medication. Again we took it Day 3-7. No problems.

On April 9th, 2014 we had our Day 12 ultrasound. I started to get some "cramping" pain the day before that I was really nervous about. I also had some bleeding. I mentioned it to my nurse while I was getting my ultrasound and she said not to worry, it was normal. The ultrasound showed that still had that stubborn cyst in the left ovary but they were still not worried about it. They said that my follicles were measuring very big and active (which is a good thing) and that I was approved to "trigger" that evening between 8pm-10pm. My dad once again gave me my injection and it was not any better. Still sucked.

The next day I was still having some pain and bleeding. I decided to contact my doctor's nurse directly so that they were aware. I did not want it to effect the IUI procedure. I explained what had been going on and again she told me it was completely normal. My ultrasound was fine and my follicles looked very active. This and all my hormones could cause the pain and bleeding.

The next day April 11th, 2014 we went in for the procedure. This time I was trying to be more relaxed. I prayed but did not beg. I did not even do the pineapple (it was so gross). I made sure I was stress free and I went in there with a positive attitude. This time I took the whole day off work. I planned to just relax and let my body do its job. We walked into the office and got this process started. Ryan did his thing and we left. A couple hours later we came back for my part. This time it was a little more complicated. They had a hard time getting the catheter into my cervix. They said it was irritated which could be because of the hormones. They also found a polyup on my cervix which again could be hormone related. Stupid hormones! They figured this was the cause to my pain and bleeding. It felt like they were down there forever. It was so painful. Twenty times more painful than the first time. I about flew off the table multiple times. Of course I started crying. After the miserable poking and prodding was over, I got to lay there for the 10-15 minutes. We left the office and I told Ryan that I would never go through that again. I was super crampy and grumpy the rest of the day.

Three days later I started the progesterone vaginal suppositories. I made sure I kept them out of the dog's reach. I felt different this round. I was super nauseous and very tired. I found myself crying at the littlest and strangest things. I would have body aches. I just felt like complete crap. It didn't help that I got sick with sinus stuff during this either.

April 25th, 2014 would be test day. This time Ryan and I both took the day off together. A couple days before test day, I always find myself thinking of what it would be like to tell our families the good news. How excited and happy we would be. The actual day came and we made sure we both slept in. No waking up to an alarm! I was feeling calm until it was time. I was so scared. I wanted it to be good news so bad. I went and peed on the stick and waited the 5 minutes. I was so scared that I made Ryan go read it. Negative.

What?!? Are you serious? Why is this happening to us? We would make such good parents. I was in complete shock at first then I just broke down. We both broke down. Then the guilt sank in. I apologized to Ryan multiple times for not being able to make him a baby. He told me it was not my fault but the guilt was there. It is still there. He told me that we have each other and that is all that mattered. We both laid in that bed crying for over an hour but it seemed like days. Then my amazing husband picked me up out of that bed and got me moving. He said, "We are not laying here all day. We are getting out of this house." I thank God everyday for that man. We ran errands all day and we kept busy. If we stopped to think about it we would just cry.

I still cry every time I even sit and think about it. I am crying while writing this. I cry when I am sitting in my car. I feel like I cry all the time. But it also feels good to cry. It is still pretty raw but that is where we are now.

We have decided that it is time to suck it up and move on to the next step. We are not sure what that next step is but we have an appointment with the Reproductive Endocrinologist to find out. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the love and support you have given Ryan and I. Sharing our story has truly lifted a weight off our shoulders. We will do anything to get our miracle baby. :)

Finally some answers!

February 10th, 2014 was surgery day. I was so scared and nervous but also ready to get this over with. I was told that I would be off work for 2 weeks. After getting things sorted out at work I was ready for this.

Lets just say the prep for surgery sucked. It sucked for me, it sucked for Ryan. We, for sure, tested our marriage if you know what I mean!! The plan was to go in and shoot dye up my tubes to make sure they were clear. My OB said that she would do it laparoscopy and I would just have one small incision in my belly button. She would also rupture any cysts manually and clear out any disease. Boy was she in for it!!

Once she got in there she noticed that I was completely full of Endometriosis. It was everywhere. She described this as sticky chocolate syrup poured all over everything. My ovaries were tucked behind my uterus. They were "kissing". My OB said they were stuck together, stuck to the back of my uterus and they were all covered in the Endo. I had a huge cyst right between my ovaries that she touched ever so lightly and it ruptured everywhere. Pretty sick huh? She knows I am a nurse so she took lots of pictured for me! She pried everything apart and then tried to put everything back where it was suppose to be but there is a good chance it will go back. She cleaned as much of the Endo out as she could. She had to make 2 more incisions in my belly for more "tools" to be added. She shot the dye up my tubes and that all came back clear! Whew!

Recovery sucked. Plain and simple. I was so sore and miserable. Thank god for my amazing husband, family, friends and the Winter Olympics. They brought food over, got me get well gifts and even just came to sit with me. That means more to me than anything. The Olympics took place of that crummy day time television. The prayers were amazing too! Every day got a little better. The last day of my leave from work was the day we would meet with the KU Reproductive Endocrinologist.

February 24th, we met with one of the KU Reproductive Endocrinologists. She is absolutely amazing. I love her. She put it all out there. She is so kind and caring. Most of all she gave us some hope. She officially said that I have Stage 4 Endometriosis. The worst of them all. She confirmed that I DO NOT HAVE PCOS and me being on the medication was wrong. I do not have insulin issues therefore I did not need to ever be put on Metformin. Awesome. She then gave us the stats...

With me having such severe Endo she said first off that Ryan and I have a 1-2% chance of conceiving naturally. Wow. Really? We have a 3-4% chance of conceiving naturally with oral fertility meds. Awesome. Here is where we get into the big stuff. We have a 8-10% chance of getting pregnant with oral fertility meds + IUI (they take Ryan's stuff and inject it into me). Then there is Injectable Meds + IUI which gives us 12-14%. The IVF which gives us 65% chance of getting pregnant.

She said that I will have Endometriosis the rest of my life. There is nothing I can do about it. When I am done having kids, I will have a complete hysterectomy and my ovaries removed. In the meantime, I either need to get preggers ASAP or when I am not preggers or breastfeeding then I will be on medication to keep the Endo from getting worse.

So we decided to start with IUI with oral medications...

The beginning...

Let me start with telling you that I am very nervous about writing this for the whole world to see. We have kept it to ourselves for so long but now we feel that the more people that know our story... then we have more people praying for us. I would also like to use this to hopefully help people in our same situation. So bear with me, this will be a long post but it will get you caught up. :)

My husband, Ryan, and I have always been the type of people that plan things out. We saved up money before moving in together, saved up more money before getting married, and saved up even more money and lined up jobs before we bought a house. After we checked all that off our list we decided it was time to start trying for a baby.

This is probably TMI but I have always had painful periods. There was some talk when I was 16 that I had possible Endometriosis but that thought went away when I got on birth control. I had issues with different birth controls but I honestly thought it was just me. My OB/GYN at the time saw no issues. I stopped birth control all together May of 2012 to "get the medication out of my system" before we would start trying. Again, I never had any issues other than really painful periods but my OB just told me that is just how I was. Everything was fine and normal. The summer of 2013 my OB decided to retire so I was on the hunt for a new OB/GYN. I wanted to get pregnant fast and we have been trying naturally for the past year so it was time to get a new doctor with a fresh start.

I met with my new OB/GYN September 4th 2013. The appointment was like any other OB/GYN appointment. She did her exam and I expressed my concerns. She said that I had a small uterus... whatever that means. She said since my periods were so painful she wanted to get an ultrasound just to look at my ovaries. They happened to have an opening later that day and since I took the whole day off work, I took it. I went back at 2:00pm for my first of many ultrasounds of my ovaries. During the ultrasound the tech told me nothing. She quickly printed off the pictures and said she needed to go speak with the doctor. About 10 minutes later the tech came back in and escorted me back to my doctor's office. Yeah, her actual office with big leather chairs and everything. What the heck was going on? I was by myself because this was just suppose to be a normal pap exam. My doctor came into the room and sat right next to me. She was very kind and caring and started explaining to me that I have multiple cysts on my ovaries. She explained that these could rupture by themselves during my period or some are stubborn and need help being removed. She would like to watch them and have me come back in 6 weeks for another ultrasound and follow up doctor's appointment.

Here it is mid October. I go back to for my follow up doctor's appointment. This time I took Ryan with me. I was not doing this alone this time. We had the ultrasound first. My ovaries were completely clear! Whoo Hoo! We went in for my follow up appointment. My OB was very excited to report that I had a clear ultrasound. She stated that I did have Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and that it would be a good idea to start taking Metformin to help reduce cyst production and then to start some Clomid to boost fertility. We were all excited about that! That means we should have a baby soon!! I wanted to start the medication as soon as possible! I would then come in for ultrasounds every once in awhile to check on the cysts. She also suggested that Ryan get checked out to make sure the little swimmers were good. Everything came back fine! :)

Couple months went by... I was getting monthly ultrasounds and monthly blood work drawn to check progesterone levels. The medications made me so sick. I was not eating much, tired all the time and super emotional due to the medication. My blood work would come back better each month and we would get our hopes up that we were possibly pregnant then the test would come back negative. The ultrasounds showed more cysts. Some months there would be less than others. Such an emotional roller coaster. We were emotionally drained. My OB was still concerned with how big my cysts get.

January 2014. The weekend of 4th and 5th was horrible. We were throwing a 21st birthday party for Ryan's sister at our house and I happen to start my cycle. Boom! Another negative pregnancy. That evening I started to get my normal very painful cramps but it got worse and worse. So bad that I was up crying in the middle of the night with pain. I called my doctor on call that next morning. I told her the symptoms I was having and she wanted me to take a pregnancy test ASAP. Even though I started my period this could be a miscarriage or a tubal pregnancy. Thankfully, in some way, that came back negative and I did not need to go to the ER. The pain eventually subsided but I called my doctor on Monday the 6th just to keep them in the loop. My doctor said she wanted to see me that same day for another Ultrasound since was also due to start my 3rd round of Clomid that day. I had to get the ultrasound before she would prescribe the medication. I agreed and they got me in. I was at this appointment by myself because it was so short notice. The ultrasound was crazy. The tech once again told me that she needs to notify my OB and would come get me from the waiting room. I knew it was not good. My doctor pulled me into a room and explained that my ovaries were going absolutely nuts. I had 3 huge cysts in my right ovary and 2 large ones in my left with lots and lots of little ones everywhere. Some were simple (with just clear fluid) in them and some were complex (had fluid and tissue). At that time she said that she wanted me to go on a month of birth control to help "calm everything down" and she wanted to send me to KU Reproductive Fertility to be seen by a specialist there. I would not be able to see this doctor until the end of February. More waiting. In the meantime my OB wanted to see me after my month of birth control for another ultrasound. I informed her that I was stopping the Metformin due to it making me feel like complete crap and clearly it was not helping. She agreed.

February 6th 2014, was my next follow up appointment with my OB. Thank goodness Ryan went with me. We had the ultrasound first. We were so sure that we would get good news after me being on birth control for a month. We were wrong. Still more freakin cysts! Nothing was helping. We went back out into the waiting room and we did not say a word. We were downright pissed. Not at each other! Just at the whole situation. We then went back to speak with my OB and I went off. I had so many emotions built up that I just unloaded on the poor woman. She understood and thought that the best thing would be to have surgery the next Monday to clean everything out. Wow.... Ok... surgery in 4 days... sure...

To be continued.