November 8, 2012 – We Interrupt Your Regular Program…

My progesterone results are finally in for this month; 5.4.  You read that correctly.  If you have been following my blog for a while you will realize that for someone on Clomid this number is not good.  My normal progesterone draw is around 28 on Clomid.  It is however, a normal number for someone not on fertility drugs.  I didn’t ovulate until Day 18 or 19 this month, so testing on Day 21 may not have been accurate.  I am pretty sure this is the problem because this was the worst ovulation I have ever had.  It felt like a cartoon bomb had gone off in my abdomen.  There is normally some pain and swelling following ovulation, which my doctor explained was blood from the extra ovulation.  This month my entire abdomen was so swollen that it looked like I was sticking my stomach out as far as I could.  Seriously, push your stomach out as far as you possibly can and that is what I have looked like for the last 3 days.  It was so painful I would cry when I tried to pee!  I was getting muscle cramps in my sides and back from having my abdomen extended for such a long period of time.  There was so much pain I just didn’t think I could do this again. So, obviously there was more than 1 egg released this month. 

However, the low test result did earn me a call from my doctor.  This poor man.  He called last night and he sounded like he was miserable with a cold.  He barely even sounded like himself.  I really appreciate him calling me when I know he would have rather been in bed.  Things like that make me really like him, and make it easy to forgive rude nurses and delayed results. 

As usual we were right on the same page.  It is time to take a break.  We have been going at this for a while and we haven’t been successful, so he feels like it is time to take a break and get some additional tests run.  It was obvious that our lack of success was just as frustrating for him as it has been for us, which is nice.  It reminds me that we are a team.  He wants to check Doc’s sperm count, just because it can decrease with age and with ovulation occurring so late in the cycle it is possible that the count is lower anyway.  He also wants me to go in for a study to check and make sure my fallopian tubes are still open. 

I am nervous about the tests and am not thrilled that we have to go through them, but I am also ready for a break.  I just feel worn out.  I don’t know when I will write again.  I am not sure when the tests will be.  They may wait until after this cycle is completed before running any tests, or they could want to do them right away.  I won’t really know until I hear from the nurse to schedule them.  I will keep you updated about the tests, but as of today I am counting myself as on vacation from fertility treatments and the side effects of them.  It is time for some much needed rest and relaxation. 

UPDATE: The nurse called shortly after I wrote my blog.  They will run my test, which is an HSG, during my next cycle between Days 4-16.  Doc tried to explain it to me but honestly it sounds like some form of Cold War torture so I stopped listening.  I picked up Doc’s “kit” and he will make his appointment for later this month.  We should have some answers next month.  On the way into the office to pick up the kit I did run into a lab tech, who asked me if I was visiting them today, and a secretary for my Internal Med doc who stopped to chat.  You spend too much time at your doctor’s office when everyone knows you!  It was sweet of them both to chat with me.  I really love my doctors’ offices.