Third Times a Charm? Wouldn't that be a hoot!

I was right (see last post). Thus begins Clomid round 3 same dosage as round 2. I start my 5 day pill series on Friday, I had my doctor call the prescription in today since I'm almost positive it will have to be special ordered again and so hopefully will be ready by Friday. I'm gonna give the pharmacy a call tomorrow though just to make sure everything's a-ok. I don't want any surprises on Friday when I pick it up. Weekends are not good time to have crap like that happen since doctor's offices and my pharmacy are both closed during the weekend. I think my pharmacy is closed anyway, guess I could check.

I am a little frightened that it feels like we only have 4 more chances to get this baby thing going. I mean, if I were to get pregnant, I could take Clomid again if necessary for subsequent pregnancies, but you're pretty much only allowed 6 rounds at a time. I don't know if we can afford much more than just prescriptions (the generic Clomid isn't too pricey) to help with the fertility.

Justin's mom asked him one day if we'd be ok if it turned out we couldn't have our own children. We talked about it and I'm sure we'd live on but it was sort of a reality check. Adoption is probably not an option since it's very expensive. If it was more accessible, we might have already pursued it.

Sometimes I get that stupid "why me?" thought in my head and it frustrates me. I need to stop thinking that. I've always thought I was in charge of my own destiny so I guess it's hard when something is out of my control.

Alright, alright. Enough poo-pooing around. No need to be a debbie downer. This journey ain't over yet.

If at first you don't succeed...

Took a home pregnancy test on Saturday (cycle day 29) and it was negative and I'm facing some pretty horrible cramps today so I'm guessing my visitor will show up today or tomorrow. That's about right, I calculated a 31 day cycle from when I ovulated and today is day 31.

I am so smart, S-M-R-T! (Simpsons reference).

Disappointed? Somewhat. But the outlook is now much better than before since we know the Clomid is working.

4 more rounds!

What Road Lies Ahead

My doctor's office called again today (my doctor's nurse, who is a different one that I usually speak with). Here's the deal, if I'm not pregnant this round, I can keep taking clomid at 100mg for 3-4 more cycles. I don't need to come in for any more progesterone tests unless the clomid doesn't work during a cycle for whatever reason. Goodbye $61, out-of-pocket blood test! I will just keep monitoring my basal body temperature and taking the OPKs.

If I'm still not pregnant after the 4 more cycles of clomid, I'm not sure what the next step is. I'm not sure if we can afford to do any different treatment after that since my insurance is sucky when it comes to infertility treatment.

I'm not sure how often I will be posting here (for a while) if I find I'm pregnant. Because of my miscarriage the first time, I'm very hesitant to tell anyone if I find out I'm pregnant. In fact, I have only a short list of people that I plan on letting know for the first 8-12 weeks. But hey, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's just see how the next week or two goes first.

The Overachieving Ovaries

Lab results for round two are in (drumroll please)...

20.74, excellent! Sure as hell beats my 0.67 last cycle.

Nurse said I definitely ovulted this cycle. Anything above 5 means you probably ovulated, but when you're on medication (like Clomid), they want to see numbers above 10. Well, I showed them all! From what I tracked, I ovulated on cycle day 17 so the progesterone test was at 4 days past ovulation (dpo).

So, what's next? Well, I will either get my period in about a week or a positive home pregnancy test. We'll just have to wait and see. If I get my period, they'll probably keep my clomid dosage the same and we'll just try again. My main goal was to establish ovulation so I'm ecstatic about that.

Poked!

Had my blood progesterone test this morning. I won't get the results until Monday because my doctor is out today (as usual). I'll probably have to call them again, even though they always promise to call you. I'm optimistic about the results because signs point to that direction. My temperature chart looks promising, I had a positive OPK...aaaaaand my boobs hurt, which to me says influx of hormones...becaaaause when I do happen to get my period on my own (rare), my boobs start to hurt about 2 weeks prior (after ovulation). BUT, only time will tell.

I believe we're looking for levels of at least 5 whatever measuring unit they use. Come on 5, Stephy needs some good news!

Deuces Wild

Ahhhh, got another positive OPK today. For some reason, being the cynical, realist (not pessimist, I fancy myself quite optimistic actually) that I am, I still have a hard time believing it. I'm not getting excited until I get those blood test results. The higher your hopes, the bigger the disappointment.

Maybe 100mg of clomid was just enough to bribe my ovaries to work harder.

Could it be?

Well, we (I) may have had a positive ovulation pee stick today. The test line was thinner than the reference line, but it was definitely as dark as the reference line. That's what you're going for, for those of you who haven't had the joy of using these tests. They are not like a home pregnancy test where if you get two lines, it's positive. No, it can't be that easy. You have to analyze the lines and see if they match up. I wish I wasn't such a cheap skate, then I could spring for those fancy ovulation tests that show a smiley face if it's positive. That would be so much easier. I sure hope they don't show a frowny face if they're negative. Well, only time will tell if I'm smart enough to read an OPK. Friday is the blood progesterone test.

Send good vibes to the lab.

Patience wearing thin

Starting to lose faith in modern medicine. Come on ovulation! We only have until Friday before our progesterone test!