Aug 2008: Meet Mr. M. Fall in love. Fast.
Apr 2010: Get engaged.
Jan 2011: Start learning sympto-thermal NFP.
May 2011: Become Mr. & Mrs. M in the Sacrament of Marriage. Best day of my life. Honeymoon in Rome and receive the newlyweds blessing.
July 2011: Actively start trying to get pregnant.
Late July 2011: I think I'm pregnant - that was easy! Except I'm not, and it wasn't. First taste of the hope-disappointment cycle that becomes all too familiar.
Dec 2011: Disappointed that our first Christmas does not include some special "news" to share with our family.
March 2012: Really getting concerned now. Schedule first appointment with local pro-life obgyn that also has Napro docs on staff.
April 2012: Start learning Creighton. Take a good look at my cycle history. Everything looks perfect...except consistent mid-cycle, pre-peak spotting.
May 2012: Hormone test on P+6. Numbers a wee bit low but doc says it's okay since it was P+6.
July 2012: Diagnostic work. HSG and ultrasound show tubes open and endometrial polyp, which doc says was the cause of the weird bleeding.
Sept 2012: Hysteroscopy removes the polyp, which was inconveniently semi-blocking my left fallopian tube. Now I'm sure to get pregnant, right?
Oct 2012: Irregular bleeding gone! Hooray!
Nov 2012: Irregular bleeding back.
Dec 2012: Another Christmas without "news." Looking into 2013, I really want some answers! Trying to stay hopeful but feeling weary.
March 2013: Start a series of blood tests (testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone) to see if any hormonal problems are to blame for the irregular bleeding.
April 2013: Bloodwork shows "good" hormones (not "great"). Dr. recommends sonohyserotogram or tamoxifen or both.
July 2013: Finally get around to trying tamoxifen. Plan to give it a few months and see if my cycles or hormone numbers are positively affected. I tried it 3 cycles and never got around to checking my hormones. The tamoxifen majorly dries up my CM. Dislike.
Sept 2013: Sonohysterogram shows more endometrial polyps. Major dislike.
Oct 2013: Meet with a new Napro doctor, Dr. S. Her office is closer to our home and she has other magazines in her waiting room than pregnancy/parenting ones (big pluses!). She recommends: 1) semen analysis, which we still haven't done, 2) ovulation ultrasound series, and 3) pelviscopy (which I gather is basically the same as a laparoscopy?) #1 must be done first. Dr. S doesn't think the polyps should be a problem, and thinks removing them again could cause scarring (not helpful).
Jan 2014: This is the year of the dissertation (Mr. M - time to get 'er done!) and the year of trying to stay hopeful and sane while moving at a snail's pace toward motherhood (me).
Feb 2014: Finally complete the S.A. and pass. Huge sigh of relief.
March 2014: Start B6 500 mg sustained release + FertileCM to try and improve cervical mucus. Also, hormone test on Day 3 (progesterone, estradiol, prolactin, testosterone, thyroid, etc.) comes back normal.
April 2014: Ultrasound series during Holy Week and the Triduum shows normal ovulation.
June 2014: Laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and selective HSG shows no endometriosis or scarring, open tubes, and nothing out of the ordinary.
July 2014: At a post-surgery appointment, my doctor tells me, "Sorry, you truly have unexplained infertility." She prescribes letrozole (femara) in case it can improve ovulation.
Post-July 2014: Working on coping with the unexplained infertility "diagnosis," taking letrozole for six months, and preparing to begin the adoption process in Spring 2015.
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