No idea what that title means? That’s probably a good thing. I read something a couple months ago that if you can decipher a sentence mostly made up of these abbreviations you are probably on the verge of being obsessed with TTC (trying to conceive). Which also means you spend hours at a time researching fertility message boards even if they are 5-10 years old just looking for any ounce of similarity with your current BBT chart and a sign of hope for a BFP (see list below). I’ll let you skim the list below in case I use these abbreviations in the future and fail to explain their meaning. The blog will commence after the list.
2WW: Two week wait (before testing, not always 2 weeks)
AF: Aunt Flo, menstruation
BBT: Basal body temperaturBC/BCP: Birth Control Pill
BD: Baby dance. This means having sex for conceptive purposes, or any other form of insemination such as IUI or IVF. (The Ava community invented their own term for this. See entry for “GSD” below.)
BFN: Big Fat Negative (pregnancy test)
BFP: Big Fat Positive (pregnancy test)
CD: Cycle day
CM: Cervical mucus.
CP: Chemical pregnancy (a very early miscarriage)
DPO: Days past ovulation
EWCM: Egg white cervical mucus, the most fertile kind.
FSH: Follicle Stimulating Hormone
FMU: First Morning Urine
FP: Follicular Phase
FRER: First response early result pregnancy test
GSD: Get Shit Done, or do what you need to do to make a baby (sex, IUI, IVF…)
HPT: Home pregnancy test. Measures levels of the hormone hcG.
HSG: hysterosalpingogram, a test that looks inside the uterus and fallopian tubes.
HcG: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. Hormone detected by pregnancy tests.
IUI: Intra-uterine insemination
IVF: In-vitro fertilization
LH: Luteinizing Hormone
LMP: Last menstrual period. The first day of your last period.
LP: Luteal Phase
LPD: Luteal Phase Defect
MC: Miscarriage
MFI: Male Factor Infertility
NTNP: Not Trying, Not Preventing
O: Ovulation
OPK: Ovulation Prediction Kit. OPKs measure luteinizing hormone, which surges about one day before ovulation.
PCOS: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
POAS: Pee on a stick
RE: Reproductive Endocrinologist
SA: Semen analysis
SMEP: Sperm Meets Egg Plan
TCOYF: “Taking Charge of Your Fertility,” a book by Toni Weschler about how to monitor your body’s natural fertility signs.
TTC: Trying to Conceive
TWW: Two Week Wait, the roughly two week period between when you ovulate and when you’re supposed to get your period (and when you can take a pregnancy test)
So you can tell from my title that I am on CD 18, and currently have not had any positive ovulation test, and no sign whatsoever of egg white cervical mucus (the really good kind of mucus that helps sperm travel to the egg). If you are reading this blog then I hope you have figured out by now I tend to be an open book with things that are more than likely TMI. After you’ve had a baby though all modesty goes out the window…am I right? At least most of it.
We are on our fourth round of clomid. Typically my last several cycles I have gotten my first positive OPK on CD 17-18. It appears my body does not want to stay on that pattern this time around so who knows what is going on. There is a chance that my ovulation is currently delayed because of the terrible kidney infection and high fevers I had a couple weeks ago. Any major stress on the body can halt your reproductive system from working by communicating “You know, now is not really a good time to make a baby grow in here.”
I will have a day 21 progesterone test in 3 days and it will most likely show that I did not ovulate even if I do ovulate later because progesterone peaks around 7 DPO. Most practitioners use the 21 day progesterone test as a standard assuming most normal women ovulate on CD 14….which unfortunately is not actually all that common.
If clomid has not been successful after 6 cycles most practitioners will stop using it because increased use has an increased risk for health problems later, including certain types of cancer. Because I didn’t really respond well to clomid even when I got pregnant with Sara Grace I am considering asking my Dr. if she will prescribe femara this time around. It has less side effects, which means I possibly won’t have to deal with the irrational temper I do on clomid. (mouth breathers should steer clear of me when I’m on clomid, because seriously that noise is enough for me to want to stab you in the eye with a pencil….that’s how bad my temper can get)
Also, you can use femara longer without risk of cancers!
We had our urology appointment appointment last week. I mentioned in my last blog that our SA (see chart) came back much improved, so the Dr. confirmed the good news we already knew. His words verbatim “I would completely take IVF off the table with these numbers.” That doesn’t mean we won’t still need IUI as an option though, and he stated IUI is definitely doable with current sperm parameters. The clomid is making me have hostile cervical mucus which can inhibit sperm from ever reaching the egg, and IUI completely bypasses the cervix and puts the sperm right where they need to be.
That’s another benefit of the femara, you don’t have to deal with thick CM and the uterine lining doesn’t suffer. Before I got pregnant with Sara Grace we learned that I had a very thin uterine lining, around 1.4 mm. The uterine lining should be about 7-16 mm for successful implantation. Clomid can actually thin the uterine lining. How ironic considering it’s supposed to help achieve pregnancy. So what did I do? You guessed it…GOOGLE! I learned that many women undergoing IVF cycles were able to significantly improve their uterine lining by drinking red raspberry leaf tea. You better believe I started chugging that stuff. Within a week of drinking the tea my lining went from a 4 to an 8. I’ve seen it work for other friends dealing with the same issue. I am burnt out on drinking this stuff though y’all! I feel like I’ve been drinking it for 3 years! It’s also good during the last trimester to tone the uterus to prepare for labor, and also extremely good for postpartum to assist with bringing the uterus back down to normal size. Like I said, I feel like I’ve been drinking it for 3 years. My daily routine consists of drinking 3-4 cups a day. I’ve tried it hot. I’ve tried it cold. Sweetened. Unsweetened. Mixed with juices. I’m just tired of drinking it. I will persevere though!
October 24! It’s so close! That’s the day I meet with Dr. Saleh in Dallas. He is the reproductive endocrinologist who I pray will help us meet our next baby! Thank you for the prayers regarding our last SA and urology appointment. God answered huge with great news! I know he’s not done with our family yet. In the continued waiting I need only be still and know that He is God. He is in all the details.
The Lord is near to all those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.
Psalm 145:18
Making a Myers 