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I think that I am having pre-menstrual cramps which is, as always, devastating. My doctor says that it is time to move on to insemination. I am glad to be proactively moving forward but sad that we cannot accomplish our task in a more natural manner. She added Metformin to my Clomid which is a drug given to help control Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and help increase my fertility. She confirmed that I only get 2 more cycles of Clomid. After that, it is onto more expensive shots in the stomach. I am currently debating between trying one full cycle of Clomid plus Metformin before insemination or just going for it next cycle. I have to decide soon because the ball starts rolling after day 1 of my cycle.

I forgot to mention in my last blog that at the beginning of July I went to a RESOLVE peer support group meeting. RESOLVE is the national infertility association whose mission is to provide support, education, and advocacy to the 7.3 million Americans who suffer with the disease of infertility. I met some really nice people. It was great having people who can relate to my problems. They are much further along in the infertility journey than I so they provided a lot of advice and support. It was nice to hear that I am not being selfish and illogical as I find myself increasingly annoyed with pregnant women. (This week I heard of two more people who got pregnant before they even started trying. Argh!) It was also very nice to see that infertility has made them all stronger as couples.

I also forgot to mention that I finally spoke with my mom about our fertility problems. She was awesome. I have absolutely no idea why I didn't confide in her sooner.

Long time, no blog

Apparently it has been a long time since I last posted. Sadly there have been no positive developments. Paul finally got in to see a Urologist who confirmed his teratozoospermia with another semen analysis but there is apparently nothing they can do to help. A fixable cause would be a varicocele which is a dilated blood vessel that is basically causing the little guys to be cooked to deformity but apparently he doesn't have that. He also has a normal testosterone level. So in the absence of these problems, there is nothing they can do to raise the percentage of normal sperm. He suggested intrauterine insemination which is another name for artificial insemination. They would give me drugs to stimulate ovulation (more powerful than my current Clomid) then when the time is right they would take his swimmers, wash and concentrate them, picking out only the normal ones, and place them in my uterus. My doctor has also suggested this as our next step if Clomid is unsuccessful for us. I have taken Clomid for the past 4 cycles with no success and the maximum amount of time they let you take it is 6 cycles. I see her in about an hour so I will see what she says...