Following our last appointment in September, we had a few options going forward.
1. Schedule an IVF consult with our current Reproductive Medicine doctor.
2. Schedule an IVF consult with the Reproductive Medicine doctor in Kansas City.
3. Do 1 or more rounds of Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).
4. Continue with Letrozole, trigger shot and complete process again, and as many times as we wanted.
5. Withdraw from every plan with Reproductive Medicine.
We had an IVF consult with our current Reproductive Medicine doctor on September 27, 2023 and we met with the financial representative in the office.
The doctor explained every part of the process very well, including we would need to decide if we would like to proceed with IVF by early November 2023 (within a couple of months) or sooner, because of the limited availability of openings and there are only two times during the year to transfer through this office. He did sound very confident when explaining he felt this could work for us, but some things just did not sit right with me. “We won’t know how many eggs you have until we get in there. We won’t know the quality until we see them. We can only give you more medication or higher dosing to help with ovulation if we do IVF. Higher dosing in Letrozole or with other meds when doing IUI or timed intercourse does not have the same effect.”
I don’t have a better way to describe how this felt other than it did not feel right.
And for me, I think that’s because I still did not know WHY I had to do this. Again, not that I was sure I would ever know. But, in whatever was next, we knew we needed to have a good feeling about it.
During this call, I discussed with him my family’s autoimmune history, close family history of Hashimoto’s, and my low AMH. I’ll never forget the look on his face. He perked up and said, “Really? That is very interesting because of the correlation. We’re talking about the same systems here and how they all work together. Although you have not been diagnosed yet, it would not surprise me if you are one day diagnosed with Hashimoto’s.”
I found this SO interesting. Okay, so he believes there’s a connection. I know there’s a lot of work in the world of autoimmune diagnoses, Hashimoto’s, gut health, etc. My wheels were turning…
We did schedule the appointment for an IVF consult with the doctor we found in Kansas City. I spoke with a couple of people who were patients of his and received good references. My first appointment opportunity passed with him because we were in the middle of an active plan with our doctor in Wichita. When IVF came up as “the best and possibly only option” we rescheduled. IF we proceeded with IVF, we would definitely have a second opinion. The appointment was approximately 4 months out, February 2024.
Although IUI could be an option in October or November, I wanted us to consult with Adrien’s Urologist first. He was monitoring his bloodwork, sperm counts and functions, and medication dosing, so I felt it was important for him to weigh in on this process before we did round after round, spending more money each time. We consulted with him, Adrien had new lab work resulted and his Urologist was confident if we wanted to proceed with IUI, we were okay to do so. However, we did not do a round of IUI…
In October, I took my last round of Letrozole and last trigger shot, completed the ultrasounds with no changes, and had another negative pregnancy test.
Around the timing of this cycle, I scheduled an appointment with an Acupuncturist. I did my research, spoke with others that had done acupuncture, and I could definitely see and understand the benefits. She taught me the processes and functions of acupuncture and how it can be helpful when trying to conceive. I only stopped because of our new next steps, but would definitely continue if I was advised to do so again.
While there are many doubts about social media, I can share a lot of good experiences I have had with connection and community. In October, one of my sorority sisters (we had not connected in years) shared a podcast on her Instagram story. Her caption read, “If you are struggling with infertility, you need to listen to this podcast.” I immediately clicked the link and I am so thankful she decided to share this link that day.
I linked it here. I truly believe anyone with any health interests can benefit from this podcast.
Finding Solutions For Hormonal Imbalance and Fertility Challenges with Dr. Natalie Underberg https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ancient-health-podcast/id1493717594?i=1000631590415
For now, we have withdrawn from every plan with Reproductive Medicine.
Talk soon!
xoxo- Kara
Our Waiting For Little Ouellette 