Alan and I were married on November 6, 2010. It was at dinner on our first anniversary that we decided that we would officially start trying for a baby, or "pull the goalie" as Alan likes to phrase it. I don't know why, but even at that point, I had an inkling that this would be a journey for us. Fast forward to August of 2011. I had my annual exam and visited with my OBGYN about the fact that we had been trying to have a baby for almost a year at no avail. I had described my symptoms that came along with that time of the month, but she didn't really seem that concerned. However, she did suggest that Alan go ahead and get tested as it was much easier to diagnose male infertility than female. I pretty much sent Alan off to do his thing at the lab the next day. Those results came back and showed that Alan's counts were "low and slow." After a visit to the urologist in mid-October, everything checked out fine other than the fact that his counts were well below average. Alan was only a couple weeks away from his first Ironman, so I was convinced (or wanted to be convinced) that all of this could be chalked up to riding a bike too much and wearing too tight of shorts. Low and behold, the next day he had a dresser full of boxers, not boxer briefs. The urologist went ahead and referred us to a reproductive endocrinologist (RE) that we would meet with in December. Ironman Florida came and went with great success, but no baby. After 6 weeks of waiting for an appointment with the RE, we got a phone call a couple days before our appointment that the doctor had gone on medical leave and they didn't know when he would be back. And so began the beginning of so many long waits.
We had friends over for dinner some time shortly after that and they mentioned to us that they were working with the KU RE team. We went ahead and made our appointment at KU- another six week wait. Come the morning of the appointment, sometime in February 2013, I wake up at 4am to a text of a snow day. Now normally, snow days are heaven sent. But not this one. A huge blizzard was about to hit KC. I was still convinced that doctor's offices don't close for blizzards and Alan would be able to drive the 100 blocks south in the downpour snow to get me to this appointment. But no, around 7:30 I got a phone call that they clinic would be closed for the day and all appointments would be rescheduled. Another two week wait. So, the week before spring break 2013, we finally had our first meeting with our RE, Dr. Krieg at the KU Center for Reproductive Medicine. In the past 7 months that had past since I last talked with my OBGYN, I got really close with Dr. Google. I was convinced that I had endometriosis. After visiting with Dr. Krieg, she seemed to agree with me. So, surgery was scheduled another 6 weeks out for the end of April 2013. At that time, I had laparoscopy and hysteroscopy where they diagnosed me with stage 4 endometriosis found all over my reproductive and digestive tract. Fifteen years of many questions of stomach cramping, heavy periods/pains, and digestive issues were answered with this diagnosis. After my surgery and for about the next year, I had never felt better physically. All the awful symptoms of being a girl were pretty much relieved. I was then put on birth control for the next three months to help suppress the rest of the endo that they couldn't get to.
I will go ahead and stop there for the night. If you can gather anything from this infertility journey, I'm sure you've picked up on the fact that there is A LOT of waiting. And more waiting. Here we are almost a year into our story and nothing has even happened yet! We still have artificial inseminations, IVF, and cancer to get through in the coming blogs:)
For those of you who have known me for a long time know that I am a sucker for quotes. Pinterest has been a Godsend for this reason! I have a huge "Quotes" board on Pinterest. These keep me positive when the days are not. I've decided that I will end each blog sharing my favorites with you:)
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