TTC on hold for now......

Let me start off by apologizing for not blogging in the last little while. A lot has been going on and I've been putting off my blogging duties!

Mr. Pharmasaur and I saw the fertility specialist on March 25th. The doctor came up with a plan for us to start on my next cycle. Mr. Pharmasaur has a requisition for a sperm analysis which he can do anytime (apparently he will be doing that this coming Wednesday.) We both had the standard infectious disease blood tests required by the clinic. I had a progesterone blood level to see if I'd ovulated (it was CD27 and I had not ovulated at that point.) I highly doubt that I ovulated last cycle.

Then the plan was to wait until CD3, come back in for hormone blood levels and an ultrasound and then start Clomid 100 mg for 5 days. The clinic would have me come back in regularly for cycle monitoring and put us on a schedule of "timed intercourse" to help us conceive.

CD3 ended up being last Wednesday so I went to the clinic early in the morning for my blood work and ultrasound. It feels so strange, walking around the clinic, trying not to be embarrassed to be there. I feel like everyone there is trying not to look at each other - kind of a mixture of feeling uncomfortable and giving others their privacy.

I had the blood work and ultrasound done and I was told to wait for a phone call from the clinic before I took the Clomid. I had a small cyst on my left ovary and if it was estrogen dependent, it would be pointless the take the fertility drug as it could interfere with ovulation.

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The clinic did call later that day and told me not to take the Clomid. I was pretty disappointed as I was looking forward to getting some serious help with TTC. My estrogen level was fine at 99. My FSH was high at 32 and my LH (luteinizing hormone) was a bit high at19. They were a little concerned about those numbers. However, they were most concerned with my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which was 7.13. The high end of the normal range here in Canada is 5. So, I got another requisition to get my thyroid hormones tested again which I got done last Friday. I am still waiting for those results.

So, there will be no cycle monitoring this month. I also have another blood requisition to repeat my CD3 hormone levels in my next cycle. I have a feeling that my FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) may be too high to use fertility drugs. I may be heading into perimenopause.

Our biggest concern however, is the possibility of hypothyroidism. If this is indeed the case, I will need to be put on medication to bring my thyroid hormones back into balance. This usually takes blood work and several dose adjustments to achieve. If we go ahead and TTC with untreated hypothyroidism, it could put us at risk of miscarriage and birth defects if we can even conceive at all. At the age of 40, any delays like this can really have an impact on our future chances of conception.

Tomorrow, I am going back to the clinic for a sonohysterogram ultrasound which I am not really looking forward too. However, we are doing this to see if there are any physical problems with my reproductive organs that could be preventing conception. After the thyroid hormone surprise, I really hope that there are no more tomorrow!

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