The Sad Truth About Infertility

NOTE: This was written about a week ago. I took some time to process it before posting to avoid any knee jerk reaction type scenarios. Funny how things work. This particular friend actually face-timed me AS I was writing this. If you believe in energetic connections like I do, this was definitely one of those moments. I believe she just knew I was feeling upset, and related to her... subconsciously of course. Anyways, enough of that mumbo jumbo. Feel free to read my emotional rant below. Take it with a grain of salt knowing I was just having a really crummy day all around.

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I'm not entirely sure what compelled me to write this today. I could pinpoint a moment scrolling through Facebook perhaps, but it's more likely a culmination of things, a build up to this moment in time. So with that, I want to share some thoughts on the sad truth about infertility.

First though, I want to acknowledge it's not all bad. There are good days too. Infertility can be something that makes us stronger, that tests us to our very limits, and breaks us down to little pieces, forcing us to build ourselves back up. We become warriors, and fearless. We learn perspective and grace. But we also carry a lot that is less than pretty... ugly at times, in fact. 

The sad truth is, infertility makes us jealous. It makes us resentful. It can even turn us into anti-social and closed-off individuals if we let it. Facebook for instance, a place of social interaction, sharing of pictures and our life adventures, becomes a place to fear for us infertiles. It becomes a place to avoid. Why? Because it bears so many reminders of the life we so desperately desire, and our inability to achieve it. It depresses at a time when we so desperately need to be lifted up. The irony is we log on to escape boredom or to be lifted, but it can have the opposite effect. Sure we can be happy for our friends and their beautiful children, but those images that they share so freely feel like a dagger to our hearts with each and every post. We love seeing the smiles on your face, and love in your eyes, but it simultaneously makes us sad. We don't have beautiful maternity photos of ourselves. We have no beautiful memories with our children to share. We lack, or feel our lives lack. 

As our friends and family move forward with their lives, we feel like we are being excluded from a very precious and prestigious (although I'll acknowledge, seemingly tiring and challenging) club. We aren't ignorant. We know motherhood is no walk in the park. Those warrior mothers deserve to share their triumph. I don't suggest we take away from their glory. But, unfortunately, their glory can make us feel like even more of a failure. See, infertility is something you can't really understand until you experience it. You might think you know the pain, or can imagine it, but it overwhelms. Life is filled with constant reminders of our ineptitude. I can't conceive, therefore I am not worthy. I am not worthy of bearing a child. I am not worthy of a family. I am not worthy of your precious mommy's club. 

You can't commiserate with me on your lack of sleep, because you know I will likely feel little sympathy, either feigning it unconvincingly, or instead telling you to be grateful for the precious gift of experiencing motherhood. You tell me I say this now, that I don't know or understand what's in store, and that is exactly the point. I don't know. I don't KNOW if I'll ever know. But at the same time, I know so much. 

I know the pain of years and years of sleepless nights wondering if this treatment finally worked. 

I know the exhaustion of self-administering needle after needle with nothing to show for it.

I know the emotional turmoil of feeling like I've let my husband down.

I know the sadness of a heart that aches for something I don't know that I'll ever experience.

I know the heartbreak of wanting so fully, and working so hard for it, to come up empty handed, month after month... year after year. 

I know I don't KNOW. And that hurts. 

We are no longer part of the same world, you and me. We are no longer sharing in the same human experience. Mine differs drastically from yours, and yours from mine. And that's okay. But you see, I am forced to accept and be comfortable with your over-sharing of baby pictures, while a small mention of my infertility is off-putting. It's taboo. It makes you and everyone else uncomfortable. You don't know what to say. You think I am trying to make you feel bad for me, or guilty for being happy, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I want you to be happy, and am glad you are. I want to be happy too. Some days I am! Some days I'm filled with so much joy that I forget about my struggles temporarily. Some days are harder. Society doesn't know how to handle us. We're the outliers, or are led to believe we are. But we infertiles are millions. It's just that society doesn't like talking about it. 

The sad truth is that today I feel ugly inside. I feel jealous and resentful. I feel like I've been dealt a crap hand deal after deal with no option to trade in, while those around me are handed royal flushes. I am sad for myself. And I judge myself for that. As if being infertile and dealing with all of this isn't enough, I feel bad, for feeling bad. 

I feel like I should be grateful for my health. 

I feel like I should be grateful for a roof over my head, and a healthy meal to eat. 

I feel like I should be grateful to have found the love of my life, and even be working towards a family.

I feel like I should forget about the pain and suffering I am experiencing because it could be worse.

Well of course it could be. Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone experiences pain and heartbreak. If you look for someone who has it worse, you're undoubtedly going to find them. The world is full of pain and misery. Maybe you are scrolling Facebook and sick of seeing pictures of me and my husband adorably traveling the world side by side with smiles on our faces, and that causes you pain because your relationship isn't strong, or maybe you are doing this solo. I get it. I'm blessed with a beautiful relationship I believe is 1 in a million. I AM grateful. I DO feel blessed. But that doesn't mean the pain I feel surrounding my inability to start a family is any less valid. 

I have friends afraid to come crying or complaining to me about trying for 3 months. DO it. COMPLAIN! It's okay, I'm not going to bite your head off so long as you do it with empathy in your heart. I've been there. I remember the psycho mess I was back then. I'll help guide you. Don't face this pain alone because you think mine is worse. Accept mine, and I'll accept yours. We're in this together! When you do get pregnant, don't just post it on Facebook and avoid me, that only wedges our worlds further apart. Instead build a bridge of understanding between us. Text me your news very lightly and allow me time to absorb it on my own. Don't Facetime me and put me on the spot, in a position to put a smile on my face to make you feel good. I don't ever want to take away from your glory, but understand it will be hard for me, just as I did for you. Continue to reach out to me, ask me how I am, how I'm doing. Don't stop asking because I don't bring it up. Since you've had a kid, I feel like maybe you don't care anymore... and I feel very alone. 

I know my mommy friends feel this way. They feel afraid to share their lives with me. Just above I told you I wasn't going to feel bad for you when you complain about the pains of motherhood. Don't misunderstand... I will serve as a reminder to why you did it. I will serve as a reminder to be grateful. And if you don't like that, maybe complain to your other mommy friends, and instead let me enjoy your company without the conversation always being about you and baby. It may be hard for me, but the truth it I never want to stop being part of your life. You feeling awkward about it makes me feel like the kid that got invited to the party that no one is friends with... they're just there because people felt bad discluding them. Don't include me just for the sake of it. Include me because you want me to be part of your life, and because you want to continue to be part of mine... even if it no longer matches yours, or isn't always rosy rainbows and sunshine. Because I love you, and cherish our friendship, even if our lives have veered in different directions. Hopefully it's only temporarily. But be patient with me as I am unbearably impatient with myself and my own circumstances.

Right now I need a friend. I need the comfort of feeling my battalion at my side. But yet I feel very, very alone. 

Pap & Recombine Testing

So I had my pap done the other day. BOO. I hate paps, but I guess it's important or whatever ;) haha.
Anyways, it's never comfortable, but doc wanted to do an "extra thorough job" as he put it, and so it was a little extra painful. Boo again! But I'm glad he took it seriously and that we'll get that cleared and have no concerns (hopefully) moving forward.

Then I did a quick single vial of blood for recombine testing (a cake walk compared to the 10 vials I did recently). I'm not anticipating anything coming up, but I guess if it does it'll be good to know. Also if I come up as a carrier, Homme InFertile will have to go get tested too. If you're interested to know more this video is helpful. https://player.vimeo.com/video/130796319

Now onto the fun stuff...

So Homme InFertile lost his job. We know this. We've come to terms with this. But this left a big ole question mark in the baby making department. Do we continue with IVF? Do we hold off? Should we pay for Cobra to extend our coverage? Do we wait until we know what our future plans are and do it then?

Well we talked about it a lot and when push comes to shove, there's never a good time. Our coverage was extended, so we found out we can go ahead with treatment (phew), and all of our meds already arrived (phew again)... so we might as well just go for it right!?

That's what we decided anyway. So the plan as it stands right now is to just give it a shot with my next cycle. So that means starting stimms at the end of this month (March) Eek! When I say that, I get all butterflies and heart pounding. Crazy to be starting this journey again. I really am praying for a different outcome this time around, but the jaded side of me is hesitant to get so excited. The whole process is drumming up old emotions for sure.

Another thing I've been putting off... dun dun dunnnn... the dentist. Need to do that before our cycle. No fun, and I have a feeling I'm going to have to get a filling or two... When will all the poking and prodding end!? ...not anytime soon that's for sure!

Articles worth sharing...

I feel very strongly about this topic, as I've shown throughout my blog. I think it's time we stand together as women, and talk about these things. Change and challenge the societal "norms" and remove the taboo.

Enjoy!

http://www.refinery29.com/trying-to-get-pregnant

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Another incredibly interesting article, is a new law passed in the UK that allows for 3 person babies. Basically for mothers with egg quality issues!!! Amazing!!!

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31069173

Symptoms Shmymptoms

So as you probably saw in my last very brief post, my husband lost his job.
Our lives quickly got turned upside down from planning on starting IVF, to ensuring basic survival. After all, our lease was up for renewal (current lease is done Feb 28 and the signed paperwork is still sitting on our counter) and we didn't even know if we were going to be staying in New York!!! Still really don't I guess...

I promptly started applying for jobs. Of course, I can't work in the states unless I'm sponsored by a company, which is near impossible... so I was applying back in Canada as well as oversees (UK and Australia, both of which have agreements with Canada).

Homme InFertile on the other hand has not been looking for jobs, but people have been contacting him. Man, jealous! ...wouldn't that be nice... So he's got options. I can't go into any details, but many POTENTIAL opportunities here in NY, we'll see if any pan out. But then our question is are they lucrative enough to make sense for the high cost of living without me being able to work, and our plans to raise a family.

So we play a waiting game. He's off at an interview right now. Additional ones this week. And of course AF arrived for me today so I'm wallowing on the couch. Ok, let's stop and talk about THAT for a second. This month I actually believed I was pregnant. Yes. Me! Really! What the heck, I thought I was over and done with this madness of getting my hopes naively up. I'm not sad, there's no tears. I've been at this long enough that I've become immune to the disappointment. I know better. But it still sucks. Basically here's why I believed I was, and why you really don't have a f'ing clue until AF shows, or a test turns positive (and I refused to test until AF was at least 4 days to a week late, and we were only 1-2 days late yesterday).

Okay so breakdown of NON-pregnancy symptoms that had me convinced by rough DPO:

0 DPO - timing etc was all perfect.
5/6 DPO - weird spotting, like little light pink fleshy discharge. In 5 years of TTC never once have I had this. (I now attribute it maybe to the recent biopsy but still have no real clue).
6-8 DPO - cold, woke up every morning really stuffy, immune system just felt down
8-10 DPO - nausea in spells, but at same time really hungry (I do get this sometimes before AF)
10-13 DPO - very mild cramping, but different, like in ovaries, and pulling, and then not very bloated, and not much of a breakout... more lack of symptoms here had me confused.
12 DPO - napped in afternoon. Exhausted. Very very thirsty. Like drinking so so much water. Never had this issue before. This continued on into AF. Could be due to new pills?
13 DPO - napped mid-day. Exhausted. Darker/larger areolas with little bumps- weird !!? never noticed, but now curious if I always get this before AF. I'm going to start watching.... Could be stress related, or due to me having played volleyball for 4 hours straight yesterday, or all the new vitamins and acupuncture. Still never noticed this before so it was odd!!! LP for me is usually 12 days on the dot. I think FF miscalculated my O, but still after adjusting that makes a 13 LP this month (or 14 if no adjustment). I attribute this change to starting accupuncture again maybe.
spotting (I get this every month so not a sign but wanted to include)

So I've not a huge symptom spotter but the big things that were so different and noticed were:
1) weird discharge I thought was IB/IS at 5DPO
2) non-symptoms -ie. no breakout, no normal cramps, no bloat
3) darker/larger areolas
4) longer LP (even by a day was odd)
5) extreme thirst

So I'm now going to continue to watch and see if maybe acupuncture is to thank for a longer LP and lesser symptoms. FX that I can hope for this kind of cycle every cycle to be honest. Maybe LP will even stretch to 14... that'd be good!

This is as a warning to not count your chickens before they hatch. Even as a TTC veteran I was tricked by my body. I forgot that when you start doing things differently, and you're already so in tune with your body, you're bound to notice even some subtle differences and hope the changes you made mean a BFP.

So onwards and upwards I suppose. Since hubs numbers came back so good, and since I'm doing acupuncture and on my diet, I all of a sudden believe it's possible (although perhaps less likely) to get a bfp naturally. I'm planning on ordering pre-seed so we can continue to try until we figure out insurance and our plans to continue with IVF. The logical part of me knows we should sort our life out first, but the infertile me knows that you cannot time or plan these things, and it'll happen when it happens ready or not. So I'm not stopping just because of a bump in the road.

Forge onwards!

What goes up, must come down.

From a high to a low. 
My husband lost his job.
IVF was covered by insurance. 
Now we're on the street. 
Everything is up in the air.
Crap.

Cold & Flu Season

Ugh. WHyyyy!? All of a sudden temperatures in New York took a nose dive and it's frackin' freezing out. Don't let the beautiful sun and blue skies deceive you...

Anyway. I don't solely place blame on the weather. In reality, I know the reason why I'm down with a bad cold at the moment is due to being overworked during New York Fashion Week. Luckily for me, the three shows I was working on are done, and I can now rest up. I went to acupuncture on Friday hoping she could boost my immune system, but I think at this point my body needed to flush it out and regenerate after. In fact, the two points she did on my chest to help, one of them bruised, and the other spot a bump popped up (kind of like a little allergic reaction type bump). That tells me those points were definitely weaker than normal. So I'm trying to not be too pouty about the fact that I have a leaky faucet for a nose, and just trust that my body knows what it needs to do and rest and get lots of liquids.

Homme Infertile is doing a nice job of taking care of me even though he's been super stressed about his follow up appointment this afternoon. On that note... all good! Yay. My gut, intuition, whatever you wanna call it, had me feeling like he'd be fine, but I'm still glad to have it confirmed! Obviously we already know he has varicocele, but his sperm analysis and culture came back with fantastic results. In fact his morphology went up!!! How amazing is that!? So this appointment honestly could not have gone remotely better. Gives us a nice little positivity boost going into our cycle for sure!

Then, we went for bloodwork. They took 10, I repeat a whopping 10 vials of blood from me!!!
No lie. Here's proof!!! 

That whole basket of vials I had to fill. Needless to say I was a little lightheaded afterwards.

So now we wait on those results, but we're pretty certain that they will all be fine and dandy.
The other thing I have to do is a pap smear. Really? We couldn't have just gotten that over and done with during my uterine biopsy!? Seems completely redundant and frustrating to me, but such is life.
So I'll plan to get that done this week and then we can get a move on. Likely cycling in March. 

You know you're infertile when...

You know you're infertile when your text conversations with your hubby consist of medical lingo... Or lack there of.