1st Appointment, & A Human Reproduction Lesson All Rolled Into One!

It's Thursday morning, the day of my first appointment. I wake up, nerves, so far in tact. I get showered, dressed and ready to go. The Pacific Reproductive Center is located less then a mile from Martin's office, so I was going to pick him up so we could drive to the appointment together. They requested both "participating parties" (ha ha) be present for questioning. When I say questioning, this consultation, was nothing short of an interrogation. But I'll get to that a little later.
We arrived to our 10:00am appointment a few minutes early. Just in case they needed any additional paperwork filled out. Other then the rather large packet of forms and questionnaires they sent me to fill out prior to our appointment. They took my insurance information and showed us to the two chairs in the doctors office. This was weird to me. First off, I felt like I had gotten in trouble and had been sent to the principles office. Secondly, there were no paper covered exam tables, and no awkward stir-ups to fill. Just Martin and I staring awkwardly at the 3D modules of the female reproductive organs. Nothing like getting up-close and personal with a uterus first thing in the morning!
So we're sitting in the room, Martin has his boat magazine in hand. Trying everything he can from turning red from all the diagrams on the desk. About 10 minutes pass, still no sight of the doctor. The receptionist comes in about 5 minutes later, and says the doctor is running late, but will be here soon. No problem, we've waited this long to find out whats wrong with us, why not hang out for a little while longer while our doctor calms his coffee craving at the local Starbucks. If I come late, you make me reschedule and still charge me, if you come late, I wait longer? That's bogus!
Anyhoo, the doctor finally arrives, walks in and to my surprise, Dr. Salem was a women. She didn't look anything like the man in the newspaper article they sent me in my welcome packet. Oh but wait...he walks in right behind her. Also, Dr. Salem. Maybe a father/daughter team? Hey, double doctors means double duty and that means sooner results if you ask me. So they go on with that interrogation I mentioned early. How long have you been having unprotected sex? Have you ever fathered any other children? (that one was for Martin obviously) Had I ever been pregnant before? Pretty much everything I answered in writing on the forms that were sitting in front of them. But hey, double check my answers, Quality Control is never frowned upon.
They looked over Martin's semen analysis and said his sample was acceptable.
LESSON TIME: A semen analysis measures the amount of semen a man produces and determines the number and quality of sperm in the semen sample. A semen analysis is usually one of the first tests done to help determine whether a man has a problem fathering a child. A problem with the semen or sperm affects more than one-third of the couples who are unable to have children. The main things they look for are:

1. Volume- This is a measure of how much semen is present in one ejaculation


2. Sperm count- This is a count of the number of sperm present per milliliter (ML) of semen in one ejaculation.


3. Morphology- This is a measure of the percentage of sperm that have a normal shape.


4. Sperm motility- This is a measure of the percentage of sperm that can move forward normally.

There are a few more things they check for such as the pH, white blood cell count, and the fructose levels but the items listed above are the main factors. So they're determined that Martin is not the issue at the moment. So yea, its been me all along. So much for blaming Martin's moms' drug problem.

With the answers to the questions they asked me, they were able to come to general diagnosis. We will be running tests to confirm that I in fact have what they call Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Polycystic ovaries are where follicles have matured in the ovaries but are never released due to abnormal hormone balance. I could go on for days about what this is, what causes it, and how or if you can get rid of it. Believe me, I've googled till my fingers fell off. But I won't, not now. This is what they are assuming I have because I have many symptoms of this disease.

I, however, only care about what the next step is. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of PCOS is Insulin Resistance. Basically, type two diabetes. The next step is going back on Metformin. I was on this once before as prescribed by my obgyn. But after no luck after 6 months I gave up. Guess I shouldn't have done that. I went in for my blood panel today to ensure my body can handle the types of medication they will be prescribing. The Metformin will lower the insulin in my body, therefore helping my body ovulate properly. Next I go in for a Saline Infusion Sonogram (SIS) or water sonogram. This I've been told, not so fun. This procedure is to make sure that the endometrial cavity (inside of the uterus) appears normal. Sterile salt-water solution (saline) flows through a catheter into the uterine cavity. This extends the endometrial cavity and allows the doctor to see the entire cavity on the ultrasound monitor. The purpose of this procedure is to detect any abnormalities
of the fallopian tubes, uterus and uterine cavity.

Right now we are at a stand still. I've had the blood panel done. Just waiting for them to schedule me for the water sonogram. After all these test have been completed, it will be time for me to start the Clomid Cycle. Clomid is the fertility drug that we will be trying first. A friend of mine who was having the same issues, got pregnant with all three of her children on Clomid. So I'm crossing my fingers. Three would be nice...just not all at once please! More on Clomid in the next post.

To Be Continued...