We've not had a single positive pregnancy test in all this time.
For over 2 years I have thought that it must be something I am doing wrong. However, we have done everything by the book - Elevit daily, fish oil daily, Q10 daily (my hubby takes magnesium and a multi-vit supplement too), yoga weekly, lots of moderate exercise - both fit and healthy with healthy BMIs. We use organic paraben free bath products, eat organic food as much as possible (we even have our own veggie garden!) and I've even tried acupuncture weekly for 9 months at a huge cost to our bank balance. I have also been using the Circle and Bloom 'natural fertility' meditation series for the last month.
My laparoscopy result in April 2010 was all clear and my basic blood tests came back clear except for my AMH level which is slightly below par (11.5 and it should be 14+), but according to my FS (Dr. L), should not pose a huge problem.
In November 2011, 1 month short of our 2 year TTC milestone, we were advised that IVF would basically be our only option for falling pregnant - we were told we had idoipathic sub-fertility (unexplained infertility) and a less than 5% chance of conceiving naturally given the length of time we'd been trying without success.
We underwent our first full IVF drug cycle in January 2012. Everything went amazingly well - I responded extremely well to the low dose antagonist drug protocol, my hub was a dream giving me all the injections, the egg collection surgery went fabulously and they retrieved 9 mature eggs. 8 of the 9 eggs fertilised and we ended up with 3 beatiful and viable 5 day blastocysts. We transferred one and froze 2.
Sadly, I had what I can only describe as an early miscarriage at the end of January. I refused to do a home pregnancy test so I don't know whether the embryo had tried to implant or not, but I did feel like it was working in the week leading up to this. I was absolutely and utterly devastated.
My mind kept ticking over and I had a very strong gut feeling that perhaps our issue was with implantation and not fertilisation. After much research, I insisted on further blood tests with my doctor to test for 'immunolgic implantation disfunction'. I gave 10 vials of blood and they tested everything from my clotting profile to thyroid function to my x-chromosome make-up to my auto-immune profile.
In February this year, I was diagnosed with the Prothrombin G20210A Gene Mutation - a genetic mutation of my blood which puts me at a 3 times greater risk of experiencing deep vein thrombosis than other people my age. The doctor said I am high risk to fly and need to wear flight socks and take aspirin any time I fly (and make sure I walk around as much as possible throughout any flights I take). He said that he has seen many cases of young women flying and then simply dropping dead suddenly due to this condition.
It is also a very real possibility that this mutation in my blood, has been affecting our ability to conceive (as implantation relies on the smooth and 'clot free' flow of blood between the blood vessels of the developing embryo and the mother). Therefore our doctor will be able to treat me for this during our next frozen embryo cycle. The treatment will be a special type of aspirin called Astrix daily from embryo transfer until 12 weeks pregnancy.
My advice to anyone going through this the journey of infertility is: 1) Always trust your gut instinct 2) Always push your doctor for more answers and 3) never give up.
That all being said, other than these blips on our radar, we have had the most AMAZING 9 years together! We have lived in Cape Town, South Africa (my country of birth), London and now Melbourne (for the past 3 years). We have travelled extensively to places like Kenya, Sicily, Lanzarote, Portugal, Hong Kong, Fiji, Malawi, Switzerland, Slovakia, Thailand, New Zealand, Germany, France, Tanzania, Tenerife, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zanzibar and of course Australia, our new adopted country (which we ABSOLUTELY LOVE!).
We adore the outdoors and being in nature, and are regular campers and hikers in our beautiful state of Victoria. We have hiked on Fraser Island, in the Grampians, Wilson's Promontory and the Brisbane ranges and our camping trips take us to beautiful spots like the Alpine National Park, King Valley and Great Ocean Road.
We own our own home which we love and which is our little haven, with it's beautiful front and back garden, shiny wooden floors and large picture windows (close to the city but far enough away to be perfectly peaceful).
The love of our lives is our little cat Zuri (meaning 'beautiful one' in Swahili). She is a grey 'Russian Blue' kitten and we adopted her from the RSPCA when she was 5 months old. She is now 11 months old and, from being the most terrified little thing, who would cower and run away the moment we walked into the room, she has blossomed into the most loving, sweet, purring, gorgeous cat that we have ever had the pleasure of being parents to. She is our baby and we shower her with all the pent-up love that we have in our hearts to give!
We have spent the last 3 years 'living it up' like the D.I.N.Ks we are (double income no kids). Everyone (and I mean everyone) has said the classic old line "just relax and it will happen" or "just enjoy your time as a couple". Funny that - we have been on so many holidays to 'just relax', that even our FS commented on the number of holidays we've been on! Clearly this theory doesn't work for everyone.
I have started this blog as a way of getting all my thoughts and emotions out of my head and onto the page. I am hoping it will be a way that I can maintain a level of sanity in all this craziness. And maybe someday, by writing this blog, I will be able to help other women through their journeys too.
When I was a little girl, my parents used to take my sister and I to the seaside on holiday. We would leave home, embarking on our 10 hour drive down to the coast and the first thing I would say in an impatient voice was 'Mummy, are we there yet?'. Needless to say, I have had to learn INFINITE patience throughout the last 2 years but sometimes, I just want to know the answer to this question. I just want to know when this emotional roller coaster will end and when I will finally become a mum. I've never ever wanted anything more in my life.
When I was a little girl, my parents used to take my sister and I to the seaside on holiday. We would leave home, embarking on our 10 hour drive down to the coast and the first thing I would say in an impatient voice was 'Mummy, are we there yet?'. Needless to say, I have had to learn INFINITE patience throughout the last 2 years but sometimes, I just want to know the answer to this question. I just want to know when this emotional roller coaster will end and when I will finally become a mum. I've never ever wanted anything more in my life.
