A Little Back Story

My husband Justin and I were married on June 26, 2010. Before we had even become married he and I had discussed that we both wanted children in the near future, so we saw no reason in wasting time after we tied the knot. We never officially started "trying" to have a baby, but we certainly never practiced any prevention.

After several months of "trying-but-not-trying", I started to get a little anxious and restless when I had not yet become pregnant. Month after month I was disappointed that we were not expecting. After about 6 months, I began discussing the possibility of going to see a doctor regarding our inability to conceive with Justin. I had a very strong suspicion that something just wasn't right. Justin was not very open to the idea of seeking medical attention at this time and encouraged me to stop worrying and that we would continue trying for a little while longer "the old fashioned way".

 I became more and more frustrated as time went on and became angry, sad, depressed, and disappointed that so many people around me were getting pregnant so easily and I was still without a child. I began pressing Justin to go see a doctor about what was going on, and he agreed that we should seek help after about a year had passed. I quickly scheduled an appointment with my OB/GYN in Wichita Falls. He agreed that it was a problem that we had not conceived in a year's time-which is the definition of infertility for my age group (less than 35 years old). My suspicions were confirmed. I was devastated but also hopeful that he could lead us in the direction we needed to go.

This particular physician suggested that we have some blood work done on both Justin and myself. They tested my hormone levels and did a procedure called an HSG (hysterosalpingogram). An HSG is a procedure where the doctor injects dye through a catheter into your fallopian tubes to make sure there is no blockage. My blood work came back normal and so did my HSG. Justin also had lab work and a semen analysis performed which all came back normal. My doctor concluded that I must have a problem with ovulation and suggested that we begin a process called IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) with a drug called Clomid. Basically I would take Clomid to stimulate ovulation, Justin would provide a "specimen", and they would inject that specimen back into my uterus via a catheter when I got a positive ovulation test. We agreed to try the procedure the following month (May 2011).

To make a long story short, this physician we were using did not have what I would consider to be a proper facility to be doing this procedure in the first place because they did not even have a room for which a "specimen" could be produced for people who were driving from out of town. For those of you who know nothing about semen, (as I did not either until this whole process began) it must remain at body temperature or else the little guys die. In other words, if you are traveling to a doctor's office from out of town, the sample must be produced in the doctor's office, RIGHT!?!? I ended up calling that clinic's administrator after a nurse so kindly suggested that we produce the sample in a parking lot. Yes, you heard correctly. She asked us to produce a sample IN THE PARKING LOT. All that ran through my mind at that moment was, "Seriously! Is that even legal? Do you understand how incredibly inappropriate that is!?".  (Later I will be writing a blog that discusses other inappropriate comments that people tend to make to couples that are struggling with infertility, but on now with the back story.) Needless to say, our money was completely refunded, which was wise on their part. I was so offended by the comment that I contemplated turning them in. I could go on and on about how insensitive and unprofessional this particular physician and his staff were, but I will continue on to prevent myself from getting angry all over again.

I ended up getting a new OB/GYN shortly after this incident occurred because my old one was no longer credible. I chose Dr. Horth at the Women's Clinic. After evaluating my records, she immediately told me that my case was outside her area of expertise and referred us to a reproductive endocrinologist (a fertility specialist). I was so relieved that she was so honest with me about not knowing what was wrong with us. I respected that she referred me to a doctor that had extra study with infertility and was sending me to them rather than wasting our time and money.

 She suggested several physicians in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and I ended up choosing Dr. Kathleen Doody in Bedford, Texas. It is a husband/wife team at a center called CARE Fertility. The Doody's happened to be the specialists that my brother had to see when going through his battle with testicular cancer, so we felt very comfortable with the professionalism of this particular fertility center. We set up our first appointment for January 2012. Finally we were on the road to finding some answers to all of our unanswered questions.