Saturday, March 12, 2016

My IUI Experience

It's 2016 already, meaning I have been married for over 3 years now and still no baby. :( When I got my period in February, my husband and I decided to see my RE to seriously try again. I went in for a consult on Day 1 (first day of my period). I was given Letrozole 2 tabs a day for five days starting on Day 3 and was asked to come back on Day 10 for follicle monitoring. On Day 10, my follicles didn't grow much so I was injected with Gonal-F 150 iu and another shot on Day 12 with the same dosage. On Day 13, I was given another Gonal-F shot but with 75 iu this time and was given a trigger shot to be self-administered on Day 15 at 2am. IUI was scheduled on Day 16 at 12noon.

My husband and I stayed at an Airbnb accommodation which was near the hospital where our IUI will take place. It was a 15-minute walk away so it was very convenient for us. We came in at 10am for the semen collection and sperm washing. To my dismay, my hubby's count post wash was only 550,000. For higher chances of IUI success, we needed at least 5million. I was devastated. My doctor ordered a double IUI and my husband had to collect again at 2pm. This is when I experienced a miracle. After just 4 hours from his last collection, we were able to collect 10million post wash. I cried buckets. This time, I felt more hopeful. So we did the 2nd IUI at 3:15pm and my doctor told me that my uterus was more cooperative this time. I had to lie on my back for an hour after each IUI. The procedure was very quick but was also very uncomfortable and quite painful. A few days later, I saw on Youtube that there's this couple who did IUI and was successful with only 6million. I had 10,550,000 in total so more chances for me, right? :)

After the procedure, I went home. I was instructed to insert Crinone (vaginal gel) everyday for 15 days starting from 2 days after my IUI. I think this would help the baby stick to my womb or something. I was told to take a pregnancy test on Day 14 which is on March 18. Being the paranoid and impatient person most of us women trying to conceive are, I tested out my trigger shot (to see if the HCG trigger is out of my system) at 7 dpiui (days past iui). I tested again on 8&9 dpiui (yesterday and today), still negative. My friend tested positive on 10 dpiui but I am afraid to test tomorrow. I will try to wait until Day 14 because I don't want to expect a positive tomorrow and see a negative. I know it will break my heart, so let's just prolong the occurrence of my heartbreak for a bit.

I have been praying for a baby for over 2 years now. I keep telling God that I'm okay with whatever plans he has for me. If a baby isn't for me, then at least I have tried my best and showed Him how much I want it. A friend told me about the positive effects of visualizing your dreams and I have been doing that since last week. I am just so excited to find out if we're successful. But I'm also scared to know in case there is really nothing in here. I believe miracles can happen if I just believe. I know that God only has the best intentions for my life and I just have to trust Him. Whatever happens, I will be glad because it is what God wanted.

I hope I can come back to post another blog saying how happy I am for a BFP (big fat positive), but until then, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and continue to pray for our miracle. :)