No longer unexplained

At our last visit with our RE he suggested that Patrick have a second analysis done with additional testing to just double check his theory that everything was basically ok. At our first visit he reviewed the most recent one and said that although there were areas that were low but basically he didn't see it as too much of a concern. The additional testing that was done was a 24hr test which tests everything at first and then again at 24hrs. After 24hrs morphology significantly low. Which is a huge factor in being able to get pregnant. There were three factors that were low: count, motility and morphology. Count and motility were only slightly low but morphology was at a 0% which basically means that 0% are shaped correctly after 24hrs. This is a huge factor in getting pregnant because most of the time one doesn't make it to an egg within 24hrs. Even if they did with the morphology at 0% it is unlikely that they would ever fertilize on its own.

Our RE had said at our last appointment that we would be a good candidate for IUI based on the what he saw as possible issues with me and that Patrick has a child so there were no expected issues there. This new information of course changes everything. An IUI would no longer be advised because Patrick's guys can't get with my eggs. Pretty much our only option is IVF and not just any IVF. It would need to be IVF with ICSI. Short of a miracle...this is likely our only option to have a biological child of our own.

A week ago we were trying to figure out how to afford a $2000 IUI...now were are trying to figure out how to afford a $25000+ IVF.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Spring Break and moving on to the next step...

This week off has been amazing. We got so much done! Our house is clean and organized (well 95% anyway) and I am currently taking a break from cleaning out our basement!!! It will be SO nice to know everything has a place. We'll see how long this last...

As for an update on our starting a family adventures... we met with our fertility specialist again today. As soon as we are ready to (so as soon as we figure out the financial part) we can try an IUI. Unfortunately, Tricare will not pay for this and it can be expensive. They also will not cover the second part of Patrick's diagnostic testing. Mainly because it is a "personal choice" to go beyond the basic testing. We could probably have Patrick's done at a military treatment facility and it would be covered but it would take a really long time to get it done. So we are going to pay out of pocket for the sake of convenience.

The IUI process itself will very time consuming and being that there isn't exactly a cause for our infertility there is a chance (likely a good chance) that it will not work the first time. Basically I will be put back on fertility meds, both pill and injectable and they will monitor me via ultrasounds until the egg(s) are ready and then I will receive a HCG shot to ensure that I will actually ovulate when they want me to. Then they will do two IUIs back to back. Somewhere in the middle of there they will also do routine blood work to monitor my hormone levels.

If after 3 to 4 cycles of trying IUI nothing happens then we will move to IVF but I hope we never get that far because I have no idea how we would afford it. So say a prayer, cross your fingers, wish us luck that either it just happens or IUI works.