Getting Checked Out

October 2011 we decide it is in our best interest to get checked out...at this point we had been trying to conceive naturally for about one year. I started out seeing my primary family care doctor. He tells me how to chart my basal body temperature, which I then did for about 6 cycles and saw what I needed to see (rises and falls in temp indicating ovulation) he asks me if I have been using ovulation tests (which I had been using and had pretty much narrowed down my ovulation days), I tell him I had one miscarriage and we discuss options about referring me to the Women's Health Clinic. He orders some tests (blood work) that has to be done before I can actually be referred to Women's Health and I do those tests (I can't really remember what those tests were)....then I went to Women's health! 

Women's health: Basically I started more blood work! Hormone tests, some came back normal and some came back abnormal. My FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) was high, this is a blood test that had to be preformed on specific cycle days. At one point it was 14.2 the second test it was 13.3 for someone my age (27) it should be lower, levels of 11-15 indicate decreased egg reserve and a reduced chance of pregnancy. So we moved to the AMH anti-mullerian hormone another blood test that is thought to reflect the size of the remaining egg supply or ovarian reserve. My AMH tests came back at 0.5 and then 0.8 I had to laugh at these results because on paper these numbers state that I am post menopausal and that, I am not! But these numbers are not good for someone my age! So a little mental/emotional meltdown here, yes it happened...why is my body failing me I just want to have a baby! Something that is so simple and easy for some people is turning into a big issue/process for us! 

I remember very clearly when the Dr called me with one of my FSH results...I had a breakdown, he had told me that the result wasn't what they like to see in someone my age and that it could mean a poor egg quality which could mean harder for me to conceive and more chances of me to miscarry again! I remember it was cold, Cliff and I were having car trouble and borrowing a friends, he had taken me to get the friends car before he went to work, the doctor called me as soon as I got out of the car with Cliff so I drove to Cliff's work where I met him before he had to go in to tell him what the Dr said and I remember breaking down thinking/saying my body is acting like I am an older person 35-40 instead of 27, this shouldn't be happening to me, why do I have these numbers, are we going to keep having miscarriages....I cried and Cliff held me! I prayed, probably the whole way home! I find myself praying a lot in the car...I am in the car about an hour or more a day sometimes!

After we got the AMH test results the base Dr recommended he refer me to an off base infertility Dr because they had pretty much done all they could do for me. We discussed clomid and other medicines I could take but it seemed I was ovulating I just didn't have strong enough eggs to conceive or to implant! He also said that he didn't want to waste time doing something like Clomid, he just recommended we see an infertility specialist! So we prayed! We had started praying when tests were coming back with odd results for someone my age...we were getting the result of unexplained infertility which honestly, flat out sucks! 

In the meantime, Cliff had done his part...his results came back slightly below normal so he cut back on warm baths and caffeine. His next test came back in the normal range and his 3rd test even better, so he is good! Thank the Lord there are no fertility issues with  his body! And all of his blood work has come back normal! 

So my base Dr put in a referral for the off base infertility specialist! He ordered some more lab work and an HSG (hysterosalpingogram, an x-ray test that looks at the inside of the uterus, fallopian tubes and the surrounding area with dye) because he said usually the infertility doctors want this done before any treatments because they want to know if the tubes are open, if there is any blockage or what not. I have the HSG test preformed! That was interesting! First they insert the cervical clamp and catheter and then they want me to move up on the table put more towels under my butt so I am at more of an angle, then they pull the top of the machine over me and it won't lock in place so it is shaking the whole table including what is hanging/attached to my vagina then they are ready and the idiots behind the wall, I guess they turned the machine on, not sure what they were really there for but they needed to be ready for us to start so they played some roll, well they weren't ready they were too busy chatting...by this point I am beyond annoyed and almost yelled please get your stuff together and stop goofing off but I bit my tongue because what I almost let come out of my mouth would not have been that nice! Well that wasn't all, during the test the x-ray tech could hardly see the dye so the dr had to insert more contrast then they were having me roll from side to side and carefully lift each side (apparently this part is normal) I did get to see some of the x-ray, the guy showed me I had no blockage in by tubes and my uterus looked good, it all looked so small, I was amazed the tubes looked like pen lines were drawn on the screen and my uterus looked to be about the size of my pinkie finger (but even a little more narrow)!  Results to HSG-good. 

Basically everything was coming back to we have no idea why you aren't getting pregnant except your FSH being higher than normal and my AMH being low (for my age). The referral was in so we waited to hear from tricare saying the referral was approved....and we prayed, at this point I was at my wits end with asking why and wondering what was going on! I said ok God, this is all in your hands!