Infertility Struggles
Here is a record of our journey through the struggles of infertility. It was a long, tough four years. When we were living in Thunder Bay we decided that it was time to expand our family. I went off my birth control pills and when my period didn't come at the end of the month I eagerly took a pregnancy test, excited to see that positive symbol! But it was a big fat negative. My period never did come, so a couple weeks later I took another pregnancy test, still negative. Month after month this happened and after being period-free sans birth control for a year we knew there was a problem. By this time we had moved to Kenora, and without a family doctor I thought all hope was lost. I decided to drop in on one of the clinic days at the Sexual Health Clinic to see if I could at least speak to a doctor about getting a referral to Heartland Fertility Clinic in Winnipeg (the closest one to us). I printed out the referral form and prayed they would be willing to help. Everyone was so wonderful there and the doctor kindly filled out the form and order the proper tests for me. I was so happy! Below is our experience from then to now :)
December 2015: We are pleased to announce the arrival of our little miracle baby, Benjamin Micah English. Because of our past troubles we kept the pregnancy news pretty low key just in case I had another miscarriage (is it weird I didn't want to jinx the pregnancy by talking about it?) Every thing went smoothly and now we are parents! I know God heard and answered our prayers!
April 2015: Well the fourth cycle of letrozole did not work. We called Heartland to make a follow up appointment to talk about what to do next. While we were waiting for the appointment a wonderful surprise happened- I got pregnant! We weren't even taking any fertility medication. We are trying to stay positive and hoping for the best!
January 3 2015: Nothing came of the third cycle of letrozole so we are now trying our last refill. If this doesn't work I'm not sure if we will continue with this medication. Let's hope this new year starts off with some good news! :)
November 2014: Going to try our third round of letrozole this month.
October 15 2014: You can read more about in in our Journals (2014) or What's New (2014) sections but I had a miscarriage. There were two blighted ovum. We are very disappointed but knew that another miscarriage was possible.
September 7 2014: Well some very exciting news, the letrozole did work this time and I am 6 weeks pregnant! Yay! Trying not to get too excited (I had an early miscarriage last summer) but we are thankful our prayers have been answered and hope our friends and family can keep us in their prayers at this time!
July 27 2014: Second round of letrozole, let's hope it works this time :)
June 25 2014: Starting letrozole today!
May 23 2014: Last round of clomid didn't work, surprise surprise. Going to wait until the end of the summer to decide what to do next.
May 11 2014: So the doctor doesn't want to do a laparoscopy as he doesn't feel that family history of endometriosis and my MRI results warrant further investigation...
May 4 2014: We are on our last cycle of clomid this month. We are curious as to why the doctor hasn't ordered a laparoscopy to rule out endometriosis. We are going to contact the doctor if this cycle doesn't work and see what he thinks.
April 25 2014: Clomid refills almost up, not pregnant this month.
March 28 2014: This month we decided to use an ovulation predictor kit to help with the "timing". But alas, my birthday wish did not come true, not pregnant this month either.
February 26 2014: Second cycle of increased clomid failed this month too...
January 28 2014: Increased dose of clomid did not work this month. Trying to stay positive!
December 16 2013: Our appointment went well today- the doctor was very optimistic about the clomid since we did get pregnant for a short time on it already. He decided to increase the dose to hopefully give us better chances. He also found out that I have hypothyroidism so he put me on a low dose of Synthroid. Apparently low thyroid hormones can affect fertility so we are hoping the Synthroid will help!
November 28 2013: Last round of Clomid resulted in nothing again. We have an appointment with Dr.Elliott December 16 to discuss our options for what's next..
October 30 2013: So we learned a couple of things this month without the clomid- still can't get pregnant on my own, BUT my period did come back naturally... Don't know what that means but we are trying our last round of Clomid now.
September 23 2013: Fifth cycle of clomid failed. We haved decided to take a break from the Clomid and see how it goes without it. We have one refill left and since I'm sick with a bad cold we will save it for later :)
August 26 2013: Fourth cycle of clomid failed.
July 29 2013: Third cycle of clomid failed.
June 30 2013: The second round of clomid worked and we got a positive on a pregnancy test! However, a week later my period came, so they say I had an early miscarriage. We are hopeful that next time the pregnancy will go full term so we are trying clomid for the third time. Please say a prayer for us :)
May 25 2013: First round of clomid didn't result in pregnancy but bloodwork shows it made me ovulate. Here goes round 2...
April 15 2013: Results from MRI come back and all it shows is that I have an arcuate or concave shaped uterus- that doesn't affect fertility. Finally Dr. Elliott got the results (Kenora doctor forgot to send it...) We got the go ahead to start the Provera and Clomid. Doctor says hopefully I'll be pregnant in a month, if not, he will increase the dose. Let's pray it works :)
March 23 2013: Went for MRI. Says it takes about 10 days for the doctor to get the results. Hope they call us instead of having to wait another three months for an appointment!
December 2012: Got letter from St. Boniface Hospital MRI Clinic- appointment is in 3 months...
November 26 2012: Received a phone call from Heartland- do not start Clomid, results from ultrasound were "inconclusive", have to go for an MRI in Winnipeg
November 21 2012: Saw Dr. Elliott at Heartland. Got a prescription for Provera and Clomid
November 8 2012: Ultrasound at Lake of the Woods District Hospital
September 26 2012: Referred to Heartland Fertility Clinic in Winnipeg. Got bloodwork done and an appointment for ultrasound is set
April 2015: Well the fourth cycle of letrozole did not work. We called Heartland to make a follow up appointment to talk about what to do next. While we were waiting for the appointment a wonderful surprise happened- I got pregnant! We weren't even taking any fertility medication. We are trying to stay positive and hoping for the best!
January 3 2015: Nothing came of the third cycle of letrozole so we are now trying our last refill. If this doesn't work I'm not sure if we will continue with this medication. Let's hope this new year starts off with some good news! :)
November 2014: Going to try our third round of letrozole this month.
October 15 2014: You can read more about in in our Journals (2014) or What's New (2014) sections but I had a miscarriage. There were two blighted ovum. We are very disappointed but knew that another miscarriage was possible.
September 7 2014: Well some very exciting news, the letrozole did work this time and I am 6 weeks pregnant! Yay! Trying not to get too excited (I had an early miscarriage last summer) but we are thankful our prayers have been answered and hope our friends and family can keep us in their prayers at this time!
July 27 2014: Second round of letrozole, let's hope it works this time :)
June 25 2014: Starting letrozole today!
May 23 2014: Last round of clomid didn't work, surprise surprise. Going to wait until the end of the summer to decide what to do next.
May 11 2014: So the doctor doesn't want to do a laparoscopy as he doesn't feel that family history of endometriosis and my MRI results warrant further investigation...
May 4 2014: We are on our last cycle of clomid this month. We are curious as to why the doctor hasn't ordered a laparoscopy to rule out endometriosis. We are going to contact the doctor if this cycle doesn't work and see what he thinks.
April 25 2014: Clomid refills almost up, not pregnant this month.
March 28 2014: This month we decided to use an ovulation predictor kit to help with the "timing". But alas, my birthday wish did not come true, not pregnant this month either.
February 26 2014: Second cycle of increased clomid failed this month too...
January 28 2014: Increased dose of clomid did not work this month. Trying to stay positive!
December 16 2013: Our appointment went well today- the doctor was very optimistic about the clomid since we did get pregnant for a short time on it already. He decided to increase the dose to hopefully give us better chances. He also found out that I have hypothyroidism so he put me on a low dose of Synthroid. Apparently low thyroid hormones can affect fertility so we are hoping the Synthroid will help!
November 28 2013: Last round of Clomid resulted in nothing again. We have an appointment with Dr.Elliott December 16 to discuss our options for what's next..
October 30 2013: So we learned a couple of things this month without the clomid- still can't get pregnant on my own, BUT my period did come back naturally... Don't know what that means but we are trying our last round of Clomid now.
September 23 2013: Fifth cycle of clomid failed. We haved decided to take a break from the Clomid and see how it goes without it. We have one refill left and since I'm sick with a bad cold we will save it for later :)
August 26 2013: Fourth cycle of clomid failed.
July 29 2013: Third cycle of clomid failed.
June 30 2013: The second round of clomid worked and we got a positive on a pregnancy test! However, a week later my period came, so they say I had an early miscarriage. We are hopeful that next time the pregnancy will go full term so we are trying clomid for the third time. Please say a prayer for us :)
May 25 2013: First round of clomid didn't result in pregnancy but bloodwork shows it made me ovulate. Here goes round 2...
April 15 2013: Results from MRI come back and all it shows is that I have an arcuate or concave shaped uterus- that doesn't affect fertility. Finally Dr. Elliott got the results (Kenora doctor forgot to send it...) We got the go ahead to start the Provera and Clomid. Doctor says hopefully I'll be pregnant in a month, if not, he will increase the dose. Let's pray it works :)
March 23 2013: Went for MRI. Says it takes about 10 days for the doctor to get the results. Hope they call us instead of having to wait another three months for an appointment!
December 2012: Got letter from St. Boniface Hospital MRI Clinic- appointment is in 3 months...
November 26 2012: Received a phone call from Heartland- do not start Clomid, results from ultrasound were "inconclusive", have to go for an MRI in Winnipeg
November 21 2012: Saw Dr. Elliott at Heartland. Got a prescription for Provera and Clomid
November 8 2012: Ultrasound at Lake of the Woods District Hospital
September 26 2012: Referred to Heartland Fertility Clinic in Winnipeg. Got bloodwork done and an appointment for ultrasound is set