Some background on our infertility journey

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Si and I's infertility journey up to this point, this post should bring you up to date! We started trying to have a baby right after we got married in July 2004. We were both young (and some would definitely argue we still are!), so we really weren't taken seriously when we told people we were having difficulty getting pregnant. Well here we are, over 5 years later, and still no baby! About a year and a half ago people started taking notice! Here's a quick rundown of what we've done and the subsequent outcome:
March 2008 - Visit with my OB regarding infertility
July 2008 - Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) - result: normal
September 2008 - Clomid - 100 mg - result : BFN
October 2008 - Clomid 50 mg - result: BFN
November 2008 - Clomid 50 mg - result: BFN
December 2008 - Clomid 50 mg - result: BFN
January 2009 - Clomid 50mg + IUI - result: BFN
February 2009 - Clomid 50 mg + IUI - result: BFN
March 2009 - Clomid 50 mg + IUI - result: BFN
Referred to RE: Maud Doherty in Omaha , NE
May 2009 - Consult with Maud - ordered more testing
June 2009 - Laparoscopic surgery - result: Stage IV Endometriosis! A reason for our infertility! FINALLY!!!
July 2009 - Follistim + IUI - Result - BFP!!! But. . . HCG levels increasing slowly, no sac seen on ultrasound at 5 weeks, but mass seen in left tube=(. Ectopic. Maud decided that since my HCG levels were low we could wait to see if my body reabsorbed the baby. Unfortunately my RIGHT tube tore at 7 weeks and I had to have emergency surgery. I lost my right tube. Hmmm. . .anyone thinking twins, both ectopic??? I am!
August 2009 - We were told that IVF was our best option for a healthy pregnancy
September/October 2009 - our first fresh IVF cycle - we transferred two beautiful 3 day embryos. Result: BFN. We were devastated! We knew it was possible that we wouldn't succeed, but we were young, had a ton of beautiful looking embryos - how could we NOT succeed??? Anyway, we had 10 frozen embryos left from the fresh cycle, so we didn't waste any time and in November we decided to try our luck again!
November 2009 - FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer) cycle - all 10 of the frozen embryos were thawed and were grown out to blastocyst stage. Only two survived to blast stage, and one 5 day and one 6 day blast were transferred on November 5, 2009. BFP 5 days later on HPT (Home Pregnancy Test)!!! It was AMAZING!! HCG numbers were much higher this time, so we were very excited! My OB checked me super early (4w4d) due to my previous ectopic, and he saw the sac! It was in the right spot! To our dismay however, the sac is all that ever developed. . .no yolk sac, no fetal pole, and consequently no heartbeat. Si and I were SO upset! It was diagnosed as a blighted ovum, and I had a D&C December 7th at 7.5 weeks.
After our D&C I asked the RE to run the recurrent miscarriage blood work panel (Leiden factor V, Protein C&S, APA, ANA, etc.) and she refused. So wouldn't you know, I asked my OB to run it. He was happy to! I got the results a couple of weeks ago. I am Compound Heterozygous for the MTHFR gene mutation - meaning I have one copy of each mutation - the 677C and the 1298A. This is an inherited clotting disorder, as well something that keeps my body from being able to appropriately metabolize folic acid! Problematic when trying to make babies I would say!!! People with the MTHFR mutation commonly can only metabolize about 1/3 of the folic acid they take, so they definitely need supplementation. Some reproductive immunologists will prescribe specific additional vitamins, recommend baby aspirin while ttc (trying to conceive), and progesterone suppositories after ovulation while ttc. My OB changed my prenatal vitamin to Neevo, and added a daily Baby Aspirin (81 mg) into my routine.
I faxed my blood work results from my OB to my RE and called my RE a couple days later to follow up and get her thoughts on the MTHFR mutation and provide any recommendations she may have for additional testing, and I got no response. ZERO. I called and talked to the nurse to set up my next IVF schedule, and I discussed my concerns with her about the RE not being responsive to me. She told me that she would make sure that she talked to the RE about the blood work and testing. . .well. . .I never heard back. Not a word. SO, I decided to get a second opinion from a wonderful RE in Colorado. He identified several potential issues with Si and I's case and suggested some additional testing. As we are already in the birth control portion of an IVF cycle and are set to start stimming in about a week and a half, we decided not to cancel this cycle. BUT, I may check with my OB and see if he can do the testing that the RE in Colorado suggested. I haven't decided if I am going to tell my current RE what the other RE suggested. . .she wouldn't do the extra testing anyway, so WHY bother?! I am so frustrated with her right now!
Anyway, that brings you up to our current status! We are set for a February IVF session! Wii hoo! We have 7 days of birth control left, then we go in for clearing blood work and ultrasound on February 2nd. If all is well, we can start Follistim the same day! For those of you unfamiliar with this whole IVF process, I will post some general information so you can follow along. It is very intensive, but it's also a very amazing process. I can't believe how far science has come!
Thanks for reading=).