13 days and counting....

HEY EVERYONE!!!! WE JUST THOUGHT WE WOULD GIVE A LITTLE UPDATE ON THE PREGNANCY. WE ARE BEGINNING TO BECOME VERY ANXIOUS BUT YET WE ARE SOOOO EXCITED . WE ONLY HAVE 13 MORE DAYS UNTIL WE FIND OUT IF WE ARE EXPECTING A LITTLE BOY OR GIRL!!!! WE CANT WAIT. WE HAVE IDEAS FOR THE NURSERY PICKED OUT BUT CANT DO ANYTHING UNTIL WE FIND OUT THE SEX. I AM CURRENTLY 19 WEEKS PREGNANT AND HAVE NOT FELT THE BABY MOVE YET, BUT THEY SAID IN THE NEXT WEEK OR 2 I SHOULD START FEELING THE BABY. I CANT WAIT!!! WELL KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MORE UPDATES.

12 WEEK DR VISIT

We went to see Dr. Conrad on 7/10/08. Everything is going good. The baby's heartbeat was 150bpm. Which is great. We go back at 16 weeks for another appointment. Only 8 weeks until we know what we are having. We are so excited. We are going tomorrow morning to start our registry at Babies R Us. After hearing a 2nd STRONG heartbeat Im confident enough to start a registry. I cant wait to meet our baby. This is a true blessing for us. I cant thank God enough for this miracle!!!!

Keep an eye out for updates to come!!!

11 weeks 5 days

Well today we are 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I still cant beleive this!!! The cravings are kicking in (OVERTIME). I am craving home made vegetable soup. My mother in law made it for me today. I wanted it so badly on Saturday I could smell and taste it. So im very excited to be eating at her house tonight. The only other things Im starting to crave is Chocolate Ice Cream and Chicken (not together LOL). Well anyway. That is just an update. Talk to everyone soon!!

1st Ultrasound

We had our 1st ultrasound today. We are 9 weeks 1 day pregnant and our due date is 1-21-2009. Our little one is doing absolutley wonderful. The baby's heartbeat was 171 bpm. To see photos and updates go to www.totsites.com and down on the right you will see search for totsite. Put in my name Amanda Francis and then the security code below and it will pull up our site.

Again THANK YOU for being such wonderful friends!!!

Pregnancy Update

I am approximately 6-8 weeks pregnant. If the IUI did successfully take (even though in a previous post my HCG was 12 then 4....they said it was too soon to tell) then I am 8 weeks. If we did it on our own I am 6 weeks. Either way we are THRILLED!!!! The morning sickness is starting. Thank God I have B-Natal Therapops (they are cherry flavored morning sickness lollipops).

I have been suffering with Bronchitis for the last 3 weeks. So that has been a fun ride. I finally got some meds I can take to knock it out.

We go to see Dr. Conrad on June 19th (only 8 more days) for our 1st ultrasound. We am counting down the days. My husband Tim is soooo excited. He is more ready to know what we are having so he can get started on the Nursery (that is his project). He has been really great so far. My feet have been hurting alot and he has been so kind to rub them every night. So I thank God for him. He is a wonderful husband.

Well that is all for today. I will update after the U/S!!!

Final Results

My hcg today is 2210. Dr. Conrad said that is a good number. Our first ultrasound is scheduled for June 19th @ 3:00 pm. We are sooooo excited. I cant beleive it is finally happening for us!!! Thank you all for your comments and prayers!!!!!

YOU ARE ALL TRUE FRIENDS AND I AM LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL SUPPORT GROUP!!!!!


AMANDA

PREGNANT!!!!!!!

Ok so here is the new scoop.....Friday I was feeling weird (breats were really sore and couldnt stop going pee) so I decided to take a hpt. It came back positive!!!!! So I called Dr Conrad's office as soon as they opened Friday morning and went in for bloodwork. My nurse put a rush on the bloodwork and my HCG level came back at 856!!!!! She gave me paperwork and told me on Sunday to go to Crestwoods ER at 9:00 AM and have another test done. She put a rush on that test as well. So by 10:30AM on Sunday I received a phone call from my nurse and she told me my HCG level had gone up to 1382!!!!! It only went up by 61.5%, they were hoping for 66%. But she said by my symptoms she believes everything is fine. Im sooooo excited right now. I am approximately 2 weeks pregnant. I just have to get through the next 10weeks (so Im out of the first trimester). I go back to the Dr on Tuesday 5/27 for another bloodtest just to make sure my levels are still rising. SO please keep me in your prayers. I will let you know the resulsts as soon as that test comes back!!!!!

Provera/Savings

Well on Sunday (Mother's Day) I had to take another pg test, which came back negative. So I called in my rx to Walgreens and started the Medroxyprogesterone (generic for Provera). I am on day 4 of the pills. I have 6 more days to go. I am excited for my cycle to start because we are starting the Repronex Injectables this month. Im kinda nervous because of the percentage bracket we are in for multiples but at the same time I am excited because if I end up with multiples it is because that was God's plan for Tim and I.



We have been saving loose change in a jar for a little while now for "if" and "when" we get pregnant. That will be the start of our childs/ren college fund. There isnt much in there right now (only about $16) but considering it is loose change it isnt expected to be very high. Hehe



So we are keeping our heads up high and staying positive that this month may be the month!! We have decided not to reveal any blood results about this cycle until the Doctor gives a definite Yes or No. So just keep checking back!!! And as always keep praying with us!!



God Bless All Of Our Friends!!

Final Results!!!

Well the final results are in!! My hcg dropped to 4. They said it could still be to early to tell and for me to test on day 28, which is Mother's Day. If it is a negative I will start the Provera on Monday to start my cycle then we will do Repronex injectables on days 3-7.

So I haven't decided to give up yet. I am going to keep trying. I have cried today but I have to stay positive. It has only been 8 days since the IUI. So it could still come out positive.

I know God hears prayers so I will just keep praying.

4 Positives

WOW!!! We had 4 positive pg tests this weekend. 2 on Saturday evening, 1 Sunday, 1 Monday. I had blood work done on Monday to check my progesterone level and to see where my HCG level was. The results for that day are as follows:

Progesterone level is 23.8 (normal is 15), they said that is GREAT (especially because I don't normally produce hardly any progesterone at all without the aide of meds) and my HCG level is 12. My HCG level has to go up 50-66% for it to be positive!!

I had more blood work done today and we will know the results on Thursday. I have put a lot of faith in God to see that my tests come back positive. I have prayed so much the past few days its not funny. We have waited for this day for soooo long. So I will continue to pray that my HCG level has gone up (because that means I'm pregnant).

Anyone reading this......please pray with me!!!

I will update when the final results are in!!!

IUI

So here goes for this week. I didnt see a surge over the weekend so I went to see Dr. Conrad on Monday April 28th. He did another u/s and my follicles had grown. The previous week there were 5 (7,7,10,12,13). On Monday there were 4 (15,16,16,22) so he gave me an HCG shot and on Tuesday the 29th we had our IUI!!! Today I am having cramps (kinda like period cramps) and THEY HURT!!! I called the dr. office to see if this is normal and I am currently waiting on a call back from them to see. I am patiently waiting out the 2 week wait. We will find out on May 16th if I am pregnant. ~~KEEPING FINGERS CROSSED~~ Will update then!!!

I HATE PCOS!!!

I took the clomid on days 3-7 and went to the Dr on Cd10 for my u/s. I had 5 follicles (7,7,10,12,13). The dr was not thrilled at all. He said for me to do OPK from Thursday until Monday and if I ovulate between then he will do the IUI over the weekend. But if I don't ovulate by Monday he is going to send me for a follicle study. I have taken 3 opk's so far and all have a faint blue line but it has to be dark double lines. I am so tired of trying to get pregnant. I am about ready to call it quits again. I guess we have to wait until Monday to see for sure what is going to happen. I will just keep praying. I am supposed to start the Repronex Injectables next month if I don't ovulate this month or have a successful IUI. So we will see what happens!!

SOOOOO FRUSTRATED!!!!!

Clomid AGAIN!!!

I started my cycle on April 14th and was THRILLED!!!! I called Dr. Conrad and he told me I needed to come in on cd3 for and ultrasound so we can get started on the Clomid again with the Metformin. I started the Clomid and took it on cd3-7. Today is cd8. I go on cd10 (wed 4-23 @ 8:45) for an ultrasound to see if the Clomid produced good sized follicules and depending on the outcome of the u/s we will do an IUI. I am trying my best not to get my hopes up but I want this so badly. The Clomid has made me real sick this time. I dont think I will be able to do another month of the Clomid. If it doesnt work this time we will have to go to the Injectables!!! So I will keep everyone posted!!!



Check back the end of the week for an UPDATE!!!

Awaiting My Cycle

Ok so I am supposed to start my period on Saturday April 5th. Im hoping it will start thursday so I can go to the doctor on Friday for an ultrasound or I hope it waits until Monday so I can go on Tuesday. I have to have an ultrasound done so I can start the Repronex injections. We are excited about starting to try to conceive again. I know the risk of mulitiples with the Repronex is extremely high (80% chance of 3+) but we have been trying for 2 years now and with the PCOS it is impossible to do it without the fertility drugs. I hope the repronex works on the first IUI so we dont have to go through more. I HATE needles. But anyway. I just needed to vent because I am sooo nervous. Thanks for reading!!!

My New "Cysters"

I want to say Hello to all my new friends from the Huntsville PCOS Meetup Group. Thank you for making me feel so welcomed and for sharing your experiences with me. I am looking forward to getting to know each of you better and to the years of friendship ahead for us. It is nice to know that I am not the only one out there struggling with PCOS.

Life with PCOS

Well lets see where to start. I am Amanda. I am 22 years old and I am battling PCOS. I was first diagnosed with it when I was 16 years old, although the doctor did not fully know what it was. My first response to him was " How can you diagnose me with something that you know nothing about?" He couldnt answer. At the age of 18 I had another doctore tell me I had PCOS. But I received the same answer from him as well "We are not fully aware of what it is!!" When I was 19 I married my husband Tim (February 5, 2005). We decided after being married for a year that we wanted to start having children. So I went to my ob/gyn. He told me that I had PCOS. I just looked at him and I said "I have been told by 2 doctors that I have this, but neither of them could explain to me what it is. Please tell me you know something about it." Dr. Conrad looked at me and began to tell me in detail that PCOS was a disease that causes infertility in women and without the aide of drugs I would not be able to conceive on my own. I was devistated. I have always wanted to be a mother. And it really hurt me to hear that my dream would not come true without the drugs. So in March of 2006. I started taking Clomid and 2000mg of Metformin. I did this treatment for 8 months with no results. I think 1 time I had a good month with the clomid. But the side effects of the Clomid almost ruined my marriage. I was always outraged when I took this pill. I would either be so mad at everyone or so upset I could not stop crying. So we talked to the doctor and he suggested I try Repronex. I did 1 round of the Repronex with an IUI. It did not work. My mother begged me to stop after the repronex because I was only causing more hurt for myself. So I stopped trying.

People ask me all the time, "when are you going to have a baby??" Little do they know I have been fighting so hard to accomplish this. And they just keep telling me "Lose some weight!! or Stop worrying about it, it will happen soon enough!" But they dont understand what it is like to live every day with PCOS and the struggle to wake up and think what their life would be like if they cant have a child. I am tired of people telling me to just stop worrying about it and to lose weight and that it will happen when God feels the time is right.

I have a loving husband who is always there for me. He goes to all the doctor visits and he holds me when I cry and sometimes he even cries too. He will be 30 this year and I am beginning to see how this is hurting him as much as it hurts me. I used to tell him "You dont understand what it is like to want something so badly and know that you may never get it!!" But he does understand. He does know how it feels to struggle and fight so hard every month to have a child. And I love him so much for that. I just wish that my prayers would come true and we will conceive this year.