The OB Appointment |
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Let me just start by asking, how in the world does anyone get pregnant on ACCIDENT? Or, is my OB lying to me? When I went in for my appointment on Monday, she explained that there is a four day window during which we can get pregnant each month. That window includes the 72 hour life-span of the sperm, plus the 24 hour life-span of the egg. Then, she said, even if you have sex at the "right" time, there is only a 20% chance of conception. 20%!! As in, there is an 80% chance that if you time sex perfectly, you still won't conceive. And I'm all like, "But I know 87 women who have gotten pregnant when they weren't TTC, HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?" Moving on. I made an appointment with my OB because we've been trying for almost eight months, and my period is irregular (when she wants to be). I needed to discuss strategy, come up with a plan-of-action, and find out where I could get a glass of that water all my pregnant friends are drinking. Let me just explain something here. I'm one of those "Type A" personalities. I must have a plan, and when I set my mind to something, it WILL happen. I mean, I got a 4.0 in college. I don't say that to brag, honestly I don't. I'm just letting you know what kind of person I am, and I think my college GPA says a lot about me. I've only had one "B" in my life, and I will NEVER forgive my high school English teacher freshman year for the stain she left on my record. You can imagine how I feel about failing at this whole baby-making thing. Back to the appointment. My doctor explained that if she followed the textbook instructions, we would immediately perform a series of expensive tests to discern the cause of our infertility issues. She told us that there are two major categories of infertility: the "known" and the "unknown." You can then dissect the "known" category into male and female factor infertility. For males, it's generally how many are there and how fast can they swim (can I get a Michael Phelps, please?). For females, there are a number of different possibilities, including obstruction (in the fallopian tubes, for example), ovulation issues, hormonal issues, immunological factors (the female immune system can actually attack and kill sperm!), and a couple others that I can't remember now. Based on her knowledge and experience, my OB felt like my issue could be ovulation — that I'm not ovulating regularly, or at all. She thinks that my period goes missing because I haven't ovulated, which means 0% chance of conception. Rather than starting with all of the tests, my OB likes to try Clomid for a few months first, to stimulate ovulation. She really didn't need to tell me what it was or what it did. It could help me get pregnant? Where do I sign? I received an instruction sheet (WARNING: this medicine requires instructions) that explained exactly when I should take the medicine, when I should check for ovulation, and when we should have sex. Let's turn our sex life into a science experiment, why don't we? These are the instructions: -Cycle days 5 through 9, take Clomid -Days 11 through 16, test for ovulation (with pee-sticks) and have sex when you ovulate, OR have sex every other day (my husband has suggested the every other day option) -Day 21, return for blood work, to measure progesterone levels (AKA, find out if I ovulated) Now, if you've really been paying attention, you'll know that my period has been somewhat irregular. You also know that I started last Saturday, which means that this month my period decided to show up on time, and I was only on day 3 of my cycle when I received the prescription for Clomid. In other words, for once, I LOVED my period. She had actually timed her appearance quite perfectly, if she must appear at all. So, yesterday was day 5, and I took the first little pill. Here we go. |
