We have decided to try to have a 2nd baby. I have been on board with this concept ever since Kellen was born. My husband however was not so eager... until a couple weeks ago. He told me that he had been thinking about it and he is on board with trying again. He asked me if I had a plan. HA!! Me??? A plan???? Why, yes! Yes, I had a plan! I know my hubby well. Fully anticipating his change-of-heart, I had been quietly stashing away money in our HSA account, saving spare money left over at the end of the month in to a savings account for whatever might come next - of which I hoped would be another go at IVF. So in response to his question regarding my plan, I casually said that it would be good if we tried again before the end of the year to maximize our insurance, use up our deductible, etc. He agreed and here we are!
I gave our old RE a call a couple days after and the office set up an appointment for a new semen analysis for hubby this coming weekend, infectious disease testing, and day 3 testing for me. I have already received my day 3 test results this past Monday. All is "normal". My FSH, E2, AMH, and LH numbers were drawn. Results were as follows:
FSH = 8.3 < 9 - good
E2 = 50 < 80 - good
LH = 2.0
AMH = 1.6 > 1.5 - normal
Back in 2013 my FSH was 6.4 - so I've had an increase since then, but it's still below the threshold so that's good. My E2 is also good. E2 is primarily drawn so that the doctor knows that my estradiol is not artificially suppressing my FSH number. If E2 is above 80, they start to worry about that happening and they might want the blood redrawn. They also drew LH. I don't think I had that drawn in 2013 - or at least I don't know what that result was. I don't know the thresholds on this one - from what I'm reading though it should be at roughly a 1:1 ratio with the FSH number. If LH is much higher than FSH, that could indicate PCOS. If it is much lower, that could indicate an ovarian reserve issue. Since my LH number is lower, I'm sort of concerned about that. My FSH:LH ratio is 4.15 - pretty high. So I don't know. I asked about it though and they said it wasn't a problem - so I guess I will trust them. My AMH number actually increased from 2013 which is really good. AMH is also an indicator of ovarian reserve. In 2013 it was 1.24 which was "low normal". Now it's just normal. Yay! So all in all, there is slight evidence that I'm getting older, as seen with the FSH number but my numbers are all still good and I do not have DOR (diminished ovarian reserve). My RE reviewed my numbers and since not much has changed, he is recommending the same protocol (antagonist with ganirelix) be used with a possible lupron trigger. Last time I did a dual HCG/lupron trigger. I don't know why - that's what they said to do so I did it:)
Similar to 2 years ago, I am vitamin D deficient so I have to take replesta for 3 weeks and then take a vitamin D3 supplement until my cycle. This is in addition to the OODLES of other supplements that my hubby and I are on. I will create a separate post about that because it is a long list. It was adopted from the supplement list that CCRM recommends. I'll leave it at that for now.
So remaining tests for me now will be to get an HSG done. I'm not looking forward to that. I'll be doing that at the end of this month. That is where they pump the uterus full of dye and look for uterine issues via ultrasound. The HSG was slightly less painful than the hysteroscopy though. The hysteroscopy is where they insert a telescope-like tool into the uterine cavity and pump saline to get a good picture of any issues. Basically the same thing as the HSG but the hysteroscopy is clearer whereas the HSG is looking at the cavity via ultrasound.
That's all for now! We are officially back in IVF-land though. Bittersweet. I really wish we could just be like everyone else and conceive naturally - but not so apparently. Oh well, as long as we don't dwell on that fact, we are alright. Spend too much time thinking about it though and those resentments start wreaking havoc and making a less-than-ideal situation oh so much worse! So for now, thankful that we CAN try for another child, thankful my levels are still good, thankful my hubby has finally jumped on board, mildly holding my breath for what my hubby's test might reveal, but getting effectively distracted by my 21 month old BUSY boy. More to come!
