Care to Compare?

I have been trying to conceive since I was 30 years old. Eight years had quickly rolled by with no result before I finally decided to consult a reproductive endocrinologist and seek alternative methods. In the span of a year, I underwent four intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures. Two resulted in pregnancy, neither of which lasted. I am now in the process of attempting my first in vitro fertilization (IVF).

After each visit with my reproductive endocrinologist, I find myself glued to the Internet, eager to see how others respond to the same medications: Are they taking higher or lower doses? Do they have the same side effects? How many eggs were they able to produce? 

When I became pregnant, I read multiple articles discussing hCG levels and, later, fetal heartbeat. If something seemed out of the ordinary, I desperately hoped to find a forum post in which someone related a similar experience with a happy ending. 

Obviously, none of this helped me conceive and stay pregnant. It did, however, help me detect early warning signs that prepared me emotionally well in advance of the sad news that came with my 10-week blood test results: aneuploidy detected!  

In my future posts, I intend to revisit all my attempts to become pregnant with IUI and IVF, sharing the pertinent details and hoping others would compare their journeys with mine. I will also write about:

• being finally pregnant but knowing that something is wrong
• experiencing rare infertility drug side effects
• gaining too much weight too quickly
• trying to hide my pregnancy from my boss
• terminating a pregnancy in the second trimester

and many more topics, including

• trisomy 13 (and other chromosomal abnormalities)
• miscarriage
• multiple pregnancy
• mood swings

and, why not,

• chocolate.

Stay tuned!