Infertility

Warning:  long post and probably too much information for most people, but this one's for me.

As you probably know, or maybe don't... Jer and I both have infertility issues.  We're pretty dang lucky to have been able to get pregnant three times.  To get pregnant with Ada we had to have a $3000 surgery, Sammy was a little bit of a surprise, and I had to be on an insulin-resistance diet to get pregnant with Evelyn.  Now I'm not ovulating at all.  They think that they can make me ovulate with Clomid, but Jer's sperm count came back pretty low and just for the cherry on top... the sperm motility is pretty bad.  I've been trying to lose weight and mostly just control my insulin (which has never tested extra high, but does have a lot of ups and downs).  We're meeting with a fertility clinic to see what our options are.  But with all this going on I've been doing my infertility research again... feels weird what I've forgotten since I last started it 5 years ago... I'm going to write down a few that pertain to us just so I remember in the future.

Age - once you hit 30 your fertility drops (in women... men's is something more like 50, I can't remember)
Stress - extreme physical or emotional stress can stop ovulation
Medication - Advil, Ibuprofen, Motrin and Aleve can interfere with follicle development and implantation.
BMI - a BMI between 20-25 is recommended for someone trying to get pregnant (*my first thought was whoa!  Most people say to stay lower than that.  That would mean that someone my height should be about 140-150ish lbs... everyone "healthy" has said that I should be 120-125 or so, and just to go along with that... my mom is a labor and delivery nurse, she told me that most ladies that she sees with harsh pregnancy symptoms are usually the skinny ones... if they "have a few extra lbs on them" then the don't usually have the morning sickness, dizziness, whatever... the very heavy ones usually have problems with their blood pressure and their blood sugar levels... but it seems like the middle ground is that 20-25 BMI for feeling the best during pregnancy as well as getting pregnant in the first place.) "Before you get pregnant, strive to achieve a balance between normal body weight and optimal nutritional intake."
Activity - Avoid extremes... here's what the fertility clinic has to say about exercise: It’s no surprise that exercise is essential to a healthy lifestyle. However, too much exercise may interfere with your fertility. In fact, a 2009 study showed that intense exercise might impair sperm count, motility, and morphology. For this reason, experts recommend that men not exceed one hour of moderate exercise three times per week.
Dieting - Even women with a normal/healthy body weight may have problems conceiving if they are constantly on a weight loss diet.  Adding antioxidant-rich foods (avocados, pomegranates, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, etc...) can boost fertility in both men and women.
Smoking - no... of course not
Overheating - men, don't use hot tubs, saunas, wear tight clothing, sit for long periods of time, put laptops on your laps, etc...
Alcohol - no, don't do it.

and of course

Hormones - unless your hormones aren't too crazy you should be fine.  This is one of my biggest problems... my crazy hormones make my insulin crazy, which has made my BMI crazy, which is a source of stress... kind of ironic don't you think?  They do have some medications that I can take to help but I don't know what they're going to say when they get all of our medical records.  I've heard of people taking Metformin to help with the insulin part of it, but since I'm on that insulin diet my doctor didn't say that I needed it... (he said that "6" normal and I was a "7" which was still in a healthy range. I don't know what he's measuring it against, but there it is).  Sometimes the doctors put you on a type of birth control pill that regulates your cycle so that your body will start ovulating when you get off the pill... that scares me though.  I know a lot of people that have miscarried after taking birth control pills, that's a roller coaster all in itself.  My sister was on a hormone pill while I was pregnant with one of my babies to help control her PCOS... but it was really a strong one.  I couldn't touch anything around her or really be in the same area as she was for an hour or two after she took her pill because it might cause me to miscarry.  I don't see that that one would help us get pregnant.

Want to know something ironic though?  Because I'm on this "control my insulin diet", my insulin is better in control throughout the day but my blood pressure started going up it's usually about 106/70  but it's been 127/80, not too bad but high for me.  I figured it out though, I've been eating a lot more salt because I've been eating fewer sugar/carbs.  I have cut back on the salt but I haven't had my blood pressure taken since then.  We'll see what it is next time I go in.

So all in all - no sugar for me, less exercise for Jer, more veggies for both of us, no laptops on laps or trips to the hot tub for Jer, and though it doesn't specifically say it... more exercise for me.  (I do exercise but I'm trying to bring down my BMI more while we're trying to figure everything else out.)

And money?  Well, we won't have to do the $20,000 surgery... but here's what we've had so far and we're only starting down our way...
Rosanne doctor appointments - $30
Rosanne medication so far - $30
Sperm count - $175  (have to do a second one soon)
Jer's doctor appointments - $25
Initial consultation with Fertility clinic - $250

Then if we do what my OBGYN is thinking we're going to do it will be another $600-$800 per treatment and it may not take the first time.  He did say that most his patients that had it done usually were pregnant within 2-3 months... we'll see.  Luckily we have extremely good insurance though. 

Well, I have to say that it isn't as expensive as getting pregnant with Ada to begin with, but it sure is going a heck of a lot more places than the money went last time.  I don't feel like our family is complete yet, but it is what it is.  If we have more I will count our blessings over and over.  If we don't, I will count the three very specially cute blessing that we do have and be grateful for even that (but please let me mourn a little bit if that's the way it goes!).