Reader Question: What's Harder Trying to Conceive and Fertility Treatments OR Foster Care? (Part I)

Reader Question: 

What's Harder....

Trying to Conceive and Fertility Treatments

OR

Foster Care?

Well, that is a tough one to answer.

So let me open this up to my Readers... What are your thoughts, questions, answers?  And then I will share mine.

EXTRA! EXTRA!! Read All About It!!

INFERTILITY DEFINED AS A DISEASE
BY WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION!!

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Okay so this is a bit of "old" news.. not some late breaking story, but it should be broadcast as Headline News at any rate! I learned of this knowledge through a fellow infertile blogger & mummie (luv.. luv... luv.. the stuff she writes about by the way - lots of wonderful infoe.mation!)

Anywho, late last fall/early winter the ASRM published a press release citing that the WHO (hahaha I think about the rock band when I hear that - good music by the way) now define infertlity as a disease.

Wonderful!!We are diseased men and women because we are unable to bear children. Yup, you read that right.. a disease.. like something gross with puss and goo (oh my.. could you imagine if that is what the symptome was... okay... delete mental picture..delete.. delete!!) Good thing it isn't contagious, what would the world's population come to?

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Still on the same topic, but a more of a side note, there are a few somewhat recent cases and rulings that concern infertilty†.

Hall v. Nalco Company, No. 06-3684: Cheryl Hall was employed by Nalco. In 2003, and requested a leave of absence to undergo IVF (invtro-fertalization). Unfortunately her first attempt resulted in a BFN, but Hall tried again. However, Nalco terminated her employment. Hall then filed suit alleging that she was illegally fired in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). Her initial suit was dismissed on the grounds that "infertile women are not a protected class under the PDA because infertility is a gender-neutral condition." However, on appeal, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, reversed the dismissal. The appellate court held that infertility treatments are covered under federal law!And noted that "[t]he focus of any Title VII sex discrimination claim is ‘whether the employer treated the employee differently because of the employee’s sex.’" In this the court recognized that infertility affects both men and women. However, the court also noted that Hall claimed "that she was terminated for undergoing a medical procedure – a particular form of surgical impregnation – performed only on women on account of their childbearing capacity." The court then relied on the United States Supreme Court decision in City of L.A., Dep’t. of Water & Power v. Manhart, 435 U.S. 702, 711 (1978), the which held that "[b]ecause adverse employment action based on child-bearing capacity will always result in ‘treatment of a person in a manner which but for that person’s sex would be different,’ Hall’s allegations present a cognizable claim of sex discrimination under Title VII."

So with this decision there is a chance that for certain types of Infertility Treatment may be eligible for the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and as stated above the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)†.

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† This is not legal advice and should not be taken as such, please consult a qualified attorney in your area to confirm/verify/question the statements herein.

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When is it my turn?

i am so tired of medications, doctor's appointments, being jealous of other people, and staring at little kids wondering "why them and not me?" its frustrating and heartbreaking for both, myself and my husband. my cycles start out looking great, but never seem to create the desired result. sometimes i just want to quit... not have kids, focus on finishing school, going to law school and working crazy hours at a law firm and not having time to think about what my life would like as a mom. but, both of us know that if we don't follow through with the fertility treatments there will always be that nagging "what if" in the back of our minds.

Down to the wire.....

Well, considering that Sunday's (11dpo/iui) HPT was a BFN... I am not really sure what Thursday's blood test wil bring. My breasts aren't as sore as they have been.. the cramping is very minimal (it was intense last week.. to the point that if I didn't know better I would've thought AF was going to show ne minute)... and I am not
feeling nething like I did post HCG Trigger Shot. I would think that if a bean or beans had implanted I would feel like I did post trigger... hungry, tired, and really sore nipples... but nope. Hopefully it is just because my body adjusted to the hormone levels (like they did with the FSH stims) or that I haven't gotten to the same level of HCG to start the EPS. I should know more Thursday afternoon.... crossing everything in hopes that it worked!!! Thank you everyone for all your support!!

I DID IT....

i am actually pretty proud of myself.. i managed to give myself my first injection! i was soo much like a rock.. got the pen ready... poked myself.. pulled it out.. and then.. yes then i start shaking like a leaf!! go figure i wait till i am done to have a little bit of panic attack!! neway...it was 150mg of Gonal-F (FSH stim).. i have 4 more nites of this.. and then i have a follow-up on Sunday at 6:45am (looks like Saturday nite will be an early one). they'll do more BW and another U/S to check my lining and follie sizes. The follicles should be at least 15mm (hopefully there is more than one) and my lining should be at least 8mm (with it being 3mm on CD3 today i don't see why it wouldn't be thick enough on CD8). okay.. give me all the virtual belly rubs u can... and of course baby dust!!

Moving on...

Well, AF showed yesterday... I went from that wacky 35 day cycle to a normal 23 day cycle. So tomorrow I go in for my baseline testing (BW and U/S) and start the Gonal-F (FSH Injections) at 150mg for 5 days. Then on CD8 (Sunday the 18th) I'll go back in for more BW and another U/S.. depending on my lining and the follie amounts and sizes either either continue with the FSH at the same dosage, lower the dosage, or do the Ovidrel (HCG Trigger - woohoo! pregnancy symptoms without an actual BFP!) and have my IUI 36 hours after the Trigger shot. So my IUI will be sumtime between the 19th and 23rd! Then the wait... oh yah and the Progesterone Suppositories (I heard that those are a wonderful mess and the side effects are lovely!!)!! I should go in 16-17 post IUI for a bloodtest to check my beta levels.. i am SOOOO hoping this works.. but am cautiously optomistic about the chance of success on the first go round, but at least it is something new. so ladies.. hand over that extra baby dust!! i want it!!

not confused anymore...

i tested this morning.. BFN... so i updated FF and it bumped out my O till CD22 now its predicting AF's arrival around December 20th... so instead of 3 week cycle and a 2 week wait.. i have a 5 week cycle and bc i thought i O'd around the IUI i have a 4 week wait. ahhh.. the joys of TTC! but could u imagine how confused i'd be if i hadn't temped?!? and assuming AF is 2 weeks late...i think i'd be a total wreck!! i mean 3 days late last cycle and i was freaking out.

Still confused...

i am still confused.. as if the IUI and the crazy O size weren't enough.. now that i am back to the BBT thing.. i can't decipher my O date with ne certainty. i could've possibly O'd around the IUI or a week later. i have very clear thermal shift a week after the IUI but only a slight shift directly following the IUI. so while the blatantly clear shift could be a triphasic shift it could also be the original O shift..ughhh... neway i plan on testing this weekend - Saturday the 13th, and no matter the results getting a blood test on the monday the 15th at the RE's office (i have an appt on the 15th to discuss our next phase neway). the drama continues!!

Confused....

well yesterday i had my 3rd IUI.. and it was a horrible experience. the 1st two cycles were a breeze.. but yesterday they had trouble inserting the catheter.. they finally used a U/S to "see" where they were putting the catheter. needless to say it hurt and i was/am spotting like crazy bc of all of the poking. neway the worst part is that when i asked about the follicle size and ovary i found out that for the past 3 cycles i have been ovulating from my right ovary and each cycle the follicle size has been decreasing (september = 20mm; october = 15mm; & november = 12mm). neway i looked into it and found out two things... when Ovulation moves from one ovary to the other in two consecutive cycles it is called contralateral ovulation and when ovulation occurs from one ovary in two consecutive cycles it is called ipsilateral ovulation.. and that the egg tends to not be a strong and healthy in ipsilateral ovulation. oh i also read that right-sided ovulations tend to produce more pregnancies. just an interesting side note.

What is wrong with my body?!?

I am late for my period, I took an HPT on Sunday (at 13 or 14dpo) and it was negative, I had a blood test on Tuesday (15 or 16dpo) and it was negative.. but now here I am on Thursday (17 or 18dpo) and have no sign of even starting the next cycle. I called the RE's office yesterday and the nurses just said "well you should start your next cycle when you normally do, because you weren't taking any medications." I tried to explain to them that I am late and I am never late.. but they still didn't seem to "get it," so they told me to call my gyno. I called her and amazingly that office was concerned.. so now I have an appointment on Tuesday the 18th to have my cervix dilated (yet again this year) because it is possible that the scar tissue has gotten soo bad that I am completely closed. UGHHH!!

Waiting on Mother Nature...

I tested at 10dpo (Sunday 10/12) and again at 13dpo (Wednesday 10/15) and both tests were HUGE, DISAPPOINTING, BIG FAT NEGATIVES... so now I am just waiting on the arrival of my monthly visitor.. whom never fails to leave me alone. I normally have a 14 day LP.. so Friday (10/17) is the standard day for the witch to show up at my door step. I am definitely upset that the IUI didn't work on the first try, but the odds were definitely against us (natural IUI cycles have only a 6% result in pregnancies on the first attempt)... so here I am waiting for the next cycle to start so we can try again.

Hope, Faith, Prayer & Good Luck Charms

So.. I thought that I was due to O (ovulate) around Columbus Day...

ummm no... I got AF (aka Mother Nature, the Wicked Witch, my monthly visitor) about 5 days earlier than I had anticipated (must've O'd early last cycle.. and bc I wasn't tracking I didn't know.. ah, the life of a TTC'er if you don't actually track your cycle through charting and/or examing pee sticks or other bodily fluids you don't know exactly what is going on with your cycle and when to expect the next one). But I'll take earlier over later.. well for this cycle. If I had planned on wearing white then I'd go with later. Now my predicted O and fertile phase is about a full week earlier (somewhere between October 1st and October 5th)... and P. (my wonderfully amazing spouse.. who manages to deal with my stress as well as his own in this process) is going to be out of town!

AHHHH!!!!

Whatever is a girl going to do... I mean I can't do this alone... I need him!! Well, I need his "swimmers". So, the RE's (Reproductive Endocronologist)office is freezing his "specimen" just in case I get my surge while he is still away... but please, please, please pray for my body to hold off its LH surge till Saturday, October 4th so we can do IUI that day or Sunday the 5th when he is in town! I want fresh, vibrant, strong swimmers! Oh and on top of that.. please use any other good luck charms or superstitions to make this work for us!! xoxoxo

Columbus Day?!?!

Well, I got the results of my labs and DH's SA.... all is well, except that my prolactin levels are slightly high and DH's volume was still slightly low. I am having my levels tested again today.. to see if the elevated levels were a fluke or if I need medication. And then.... IUI around Columbus Day (that is when I estimate I should O next cycle)!! Oh I sooooo hope that we'll be able to announce good news by Christmas!! What a fabulous present for our families and ourselves.