About Me

Twin Falls, Idaho
I'm a stay at home mom with 3 kids. Two of which I got through IVF. The third one just a miracle! We're trying for a fourth with one miscarriage since our third. I've had 3 miscarriage and one ectopic pregnancy. Did 3 rounds of IUI's and then 2 rounds of IVF's. Been through a lot and wanted a place where we could all talk about it. Share you're stories with me, jldxango@hotmial.com.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

PCOS

My friend Laura just sent me this email........good to know! Thanks Laura!
I just found out about a new development in PCOS studies that I thought Fertility Stumpers followers might like to know. It's about the harmful effects of BPA especially to women with PCOS. A link to the article - from Baby Center is here.

Monday, March 22, 2010

much needed update

I can't believe it's been a year since I've posted to this
blog. I know there are a ton of stories out there that
haven't been shared of infertility so if you want to
start talking about it again, please email me your
story to jldxango@hotmail.com and I will post it on
here. There have been quite a few people previously
who posted that were connected with someone with
a similar situation that was able to help and I know
how nice it is to be able to talk with someone about
it.

Since my last post I have had another baby and he
is 10 months old already and I just wanted to say
that I had to do 4 rounds of AI and 2 rounds of IVF's
before I had my twins and then miraculously I got
pregnant on my own with Kaden. I did have 2
miscarriages in between and one was an ectopic
pregnancy, but I still think it gives hope out there
to some of you who wonder if it's possible.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Infertility Etiquette

Hey, I found this great link about Infertility Etiquette.
I learned a ton from it, and thought you may want to
post it to your blog for others to see. Thanks.

www.resolve.org

Thanks Peggy!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

update on Emily

Hi Jana! I thought I'd send a little update and question for Fertility Stumpers:

Hi everyone! I don't have any exciting news to report, but I thought I'd write a little update on myself anyway. We are still trying for baby #2 (took 4.5 years to get #1 and we've been trying for #2 for a little over 1 year).

A friend of mine has loaned me her Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor. She has loaned it out to about 10 friends in the last 2 years and they have all gotten pregnant (or so the story goes). So we're going to give it a try. The stats are encouraging, but we're good at not getting our hopes up by now. They do say it's "in the water" here in our new neighborhood, but that doesn't usually apply to us.

In the meantime, I love being a mama to my 2-year-old, Charlie. He's so much fun and such a blessing. It's kind of amazing to me that I feel like it's kind of okay if we never have any more kids because he has made our family complete. We HOPE to have more, a few more even, but if we don't we will be really happy with this little family.
Oh yeah... I thought I should mention that the Clearblue Easy Monitor says that it should only be used by one woman because the monitor "learns" one woman and it will take months to readjust to another woman's cycle. But I found instructions online to reset it (it doesn't come with these instructions), so if anyone else borrows one, google that or ask me and I'll share it with you. They're about $160, so it saves a lot to borrow one if you can.

And one more thing. I was talking to some girls last night about fertility stuff, and they said there is a women's clinic here (northern Utah) that will do IUI's for $100. That seems too good to be true, but I've never done that before, so I don't really know. How much does that usually cost? It also sounds like they do IUI's for whoever wants one (I haven't actually talked to the clinic, that's just the impression I got from the conversation). So I would love to hear from anyone who knows more about IUI.

That's all from me! Hope everyone is doing well.

-Emily

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Need advice on PCOS

My husband and I were married in April of 2003, and immediately started trying for a family. I had a feeling that it might take a while for us to conceive due to my irregular periods. But I was hopeful anyway. I saw a doctor after about 6 months of trying with no luck, and she wanted to just put me on birth control to regulate my cycle. I agreed, reluctantly. I had to do that for 3 months, then everything went back to the way it was before. We moved from California to Utah the following March, and thought that we might have more luck with Doctors in Utah. We just had to save up to see one. Both of our jobs did not offer health insurance, so we were on our own. In November that same year, I felt like I needed to buy a test. I was reluctant, because I hated seeing negative results. I had seen plenty of them already. I remember it like yesterday though. It was a Saturday morning. I woke up early and thought I would just get it over with. I sat in the bathroom trying not to look at the test, willing it to be positive. Finally after a few minutes I looked. I just about passed out. It was definately positive. I began to cry, not knowing what else to do. I called my doctor and was able to get in to see him that week. Because I had no idea how far along I was, due to my irregular periods, he requested an ultrasound. When I went to my appointment, they were unable to see anything. My doctor reassured me that it was just to early, and we would check again soon.A week later I began to spot. I freaked out... called my doctor, and he requested another ultrasound. Again, nothing was found. I was sure that I was miscarrying. Although, this time there was a small spot in my left tube. The ultrasound tech, and my doctor told me that it was probably nothing and that I shouldn't worry.The Monday after Thanksgiving my doctor called me to check and see how I was feeling. He kept telling me that he felt like something just wasn't right. He decided that I needed to see a specialist and sent me to Utah Valley Hospital. When I got there I was checked out by a doctor, and sent for yet another ultrasound. This time was different. A heartbeat was immediately detected. It was a strong heartbeat, and got my hopes up so high. Then the tech told me that it was ectopic, and my whole life changed.I went in for surgery the next morning, and ended up loosing my left tube. I was devastated. It took a long time for me to overcome the emotional aspects that came along with the surgery, and loss.We continued to try, and try, and try. Finally my doctor decided to try clomid. The first month it didn't work, we upped the dose. The second month, it didn't work... we upped the dose again. Like they all say, third times a charm. Well, the third month worked, and we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Our baby girl is now 20 months old and the center of our universe. While going through all of our trials of infertility, I felt so alone. I hated going to church, being around all of those babies, and kids. I was called to be a sunbeam teacher, and although it was so hard at first I think it ended up being therapy for me. I thought, and hoped that our infertility story would end there, but as we are trying for #2, our struggles are back. Although things have changed, we've been trying for just over a year again. My doctor suspects that I have PCOS and wants me to come in for testing after the new year. He's again put me on birth control, which has done one good thing, made my incredibly heavy periods go from 3-6 weeks long to just 1 week, but still just as heavy... I keep looking for information on PCOS, and trying to find anyone that has gone through it and knows what to expect. If anyone has any information... I would love to hear it. Thanks again... I know my story ended up being so long... But, I didn't know what to leave out...Carrie

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Yeah, I said it.

PezladyJana, remember when you emailed me about
your ectopic pregnancy and what happened 5 months
later. I was dying to say, ME TOO, but couldn't. Now
I can. No idea what I'm talking about? Go here.
Thanks to all of you for your support and love. It's
been quiet, any new stories out there? Or updates?

Monday, November 3, 2008

First ultrasound

Well, we had the ultrasound today and found out it's ONE
cute little baby! We saw the heartbeat and it's at 138 bpm
right now which the ultrasound tech said was really good.
Everything is on schedule right now, so we are really excited!
What is everyone else up to? We need to keep this board going
so if any of you are going through any treatments or struggles
or anything I would love to hear from you as I'm sure everyone
else would. This is a great place of support. :) Laura

Saturday, October 25, 2008

New story

Well I found your blog just linking from one of my friends
to one of her's. I have been going through fertility issues
the past year. I have identical twin girls who are almost
four and a little boy who is almost 2. I never thought that
fertility would be an issue for me. In the past year, I have
had 2 miscarriages and since the last one have been trying
for almost 7 months with no luck of anything. I got a really
bad infection at the hospital after my little boy was born.
When that happened I felt strongly that it would effect my
future, but though the doctors still don't know exactly what
I had, they still are trying to assure me that that is not why
we are having problems now. The miscarriages I have had
both occurred because the egg stops growing as soon as it
implants. Anyways. If anyone has gone through a similar
thing I would love to hear about it. What a great blog you
have. My family blog is emmettandashlee.blogspot.com
I also have a Mom blog beingamomma.blogspot.com
Thanks for the great blog. It is nice to hear stories and
talk to other's who know how you feel. Thanks, Ashlee

p.s. I hope it's okay I posted you're blogs here, if not let
me know a.s.a.p. and I'll remove them! Jana

Thursday, October 23, 2008

What's new?

It's been too long since anyone's posted. Sorry, I've been
a slacker. I don't have any new stories anyway, but we
should be talking about something don't you think? I was
on Laura's blog today so I've asked her to update us on her
pregnancy so stay tuned for that. There have been some
new comments posted on a couple of the stories recently
that I found interesting. One about the HCG test, go find
it and read it, it may clarify some things. Also, all my friends
out there who need to send in your stories, should I start
naming names?? You know who you are! I guess a good
question to ask to get some dialogue going would be: how
do you cope with having infertility?

Friday, October 10, 2008

Laura's results, finally!

I took a test yesterday and....we're gonna have a baby!
A blood test confirmed it today...I'm due June 20th! I
can hardly believe this is real. I've gone for so long
hearing, "The test came back negative", or seeing negatives
on home pregnancy tests. I can't believe it!!

Don't kill me!

For those of you dying to hear if Laura is pregnant,
like me........I'm going to Boise today! Don't panic I
will be home maybe around 9ish and believe me first
thing I will do is get her email and then pass on the
news. Everyone, keep your fingers crossed and we'll
all know soon!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

New blog

This blog is for all kinds of women out there who have
struggled with having kids. My heart breaks for all of
you. It's not fair plain and simple. I've met some amazing
women through this experience and I'm very grateful for
all of your friendships and for the support I feel through
all of your stories. Until you've experienced the pain of not
being able to have children and also the lonliness we feel
because of it, it's hard to comrehend; we bond in a way that
others can't. I want everyone to feel comfortable sharing and
asking questions because in the end we're all after the same
goal. I had a friend recently start a new adoption blog with the
same premise. Please share these blogs with those around
you in the hopes that they may be comforted in the
knowledge that they are not alone.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Awesome video

Thought I would share this music video with you ladies. It's called "I Would Die For That" by Kellie Coffey....it just perfectly expresses my deepest emotions about wanting to become a mom....I didn't know if you'd seen it before so I thought I'd share it. Only 4 more days till we get to find out if I'm pregnant! Oh, I'm hoping... Laura

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfGqOx2iDQ

Thursday, October 2, 2008

reply for salt lake doctor

Hi Jana...I enjoy your blog. I am a friend of Brandi
McMillen. IVF is our only option and we hope to do
it next year sometime. I read that someone wanted
a referral for the Salt Lake Area. My RE is Harry
Hatasaka at the University of Utah. Like I said, I
haven't gone through with IVF but we have met him
for the initial exams/ultrasounds. He is great. I have
one friend that has done IVF 2 times with him and they
loved him. Hope that helps someone out.

Chalet Schenk

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Please ask around.............

My husband and I tried for almost 5 years before
we conceived number one. Our boy is almost two
and we have been trying again for about a year.
We just moved to Ogden, Utah, and we are thinking
it will be time to look for a new fertility doctor pretty
soon. Does anyone have any recommendations in the
Ogden or Salt Lake areas?

Thanks,Emily

Sunday, September 28, 2008

What's an IUI?

You girls are great!! Thanks so much for being there
for me -- I know this sounds silly, but just knowing
there are others out there like me that are thinking
of me and praying for me really helps, especially in
these 'trying times'. Jana suggested I describe an IUI
for those that may not know about it. It stands for
Intrauterine insemination. In my first IUI (Cycle 3
-- I'm on #5 now), I did shots of Menopur (FSH or
follicle stimulating hormone) for about 5 days, I think
that was what the protocol was anyway. Then I had the
follicle check ultrasound on Day 9. They told me I had
one follicle that was big enough and that I was supposed
to use an ovulation predictor kit to check for ovulation.
If it didn't happen by a certain time that they told me,
I was supposed to do a 'trigger' shot with hCG. This
would trigger ovulation in about 36 hours, which is when
my appointment was. We drove up to Boise and then my
husband and I were directed into a room that reminded
me a lot of regular check-up rooms like are used for pap
smears. I undressed from the waist down and covered
with a cloth. Then the nurse came in with the sperm,
which had been washed, and told me the sperm count.
I can't remember exactly what it was but they said it
was pretty good. Anyway, it's in a syringe with a catheter
on the end. (See the picture for what it looks like)

The IUI was much like a pap smear -- they inserted
the speculum and threaded the syringe into the uterus.
Before I knew it, I was done. So I sat up! She told me
to lay back down and to just relax for about 15 minutes.
After that, I went home and had to wait a dreadful two
weeks until I could go to the hospital for a blood test
that would determine if I was pregnant or not. I tried
to do everything I could to remain calm and not stress
about it...yeah, that is probably the hardest part. :)
Anyway the blood test came and then I found out I
wasn't pregnant...which brings us to today! I had a
follicle reduction yesterday right before the IUI. They
gave me several pills and a shot to make me calm and
woozy, and they worked right away! Then they inserted
the speculum and put a needle through the vaginal wall
- it feels like a pinch, well a little more than a pinch, but
not too horrible. The doctor was only going to leave 2
follicles but I asked her to leave 3. Am I crazy??? She
said it wouldn't increase the chance of pregnancy, just
the chance of multiples. I told her that was fine. :) Then
she did the IUI and I was done. We were in and out of
the office in an hour. The drugs made me so tired I slept
all the way home. So now we're in our two week wait....
my blood test is October 10th to check for pregnancy!!
And to answer your question Amy, we are seeing Dr.
Slater and we love her too! The whole staff there is great
-- so many of them have gone WAY out of their way to
help us and comfort us and it is so great. I am glad you
had success with her -- it gives me lots of hope! Oh, and
one other thing -- I'm also trying acupuncture now. I've
heard it helps, and right now I'm so desperate I'll try
ALMOST anything. I would be interested to hear if anyone
has tried that. And anyone who hasn't sent in their story,
please do!! I would love to hear about your experiences.
Laura

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Laura update...........

I feel like I'm blog hogging....sorry. But here's an update
on the rest of today.... I got a call from my doctor's office
in Boise who was shocked. They said I had five mature
follicles and five that were pretty close....WAY more
than they expected! So I had three options: 1) Cancel
this cycle and go on BC pills for 3 weeks; 2) Do a follicle
reduction from 10 down to 3, or 3) Convert the cycle to
IVF. We decided to do the convert to IVF option. But
after we debated and stewed over it and had finally
made up our minds, the IVF coordinator called and said
I wouldn't have a very good chance...they'd still do it but
the chances weren't as good. It would be better to do
IVF from the very start and really work with the follicles
and get lots of eggs which it looks like my body would be
good at. So she recommended either of the first two
options. So I chose to do a follicle reduction instead of
completely cancelling the cycle because the meds are so
expensive (as you all know!) and I didn't want to waste
a cycle! So I have to do a trigger shot here in about 45
minutes, then we go in on Saturday morning for a follicle
reduction (they'll leave me with 3 follicles) and do an IUI.
Gosh, I've been through so many emotions today it's hard
to fathom all of this. Thanks for sticking with me through
this. And I'll try not to hog the blog so much. :)

UPDATE for Laura

Hi ladies, I had to share the good news! I am really
excited - I went in for my Day 9 Follicle Check
Ultrasound today and it looks like I have quite a few
follicles! I hope there aren't TOO many because I
definitely don't want to do a follicle reduction. But the
ultrasound tech was pretty encouraging and said,
"Hopefully we'll see you next time with a baby in there!"
And I was thinking, Yeah hopefully two babies! :) We've
got to get the most for our money. Ha ha Anyway, I'm
just so happy I had to share that -- I'll keep you updated
when we get to have the IUI or if I have to have a reduction.
Thanks for all your encouragement. I'm keeping all of you
who are trying in my thoughts and prayers -- we're in this
together girls! Laura

And thanks again Jana -- you are great!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Miscarriage and Ectopic Pregnancy

Time for another one, first of all thanks to you all
for sharing your stories. This will be a long one!

While going through all this "infertility" the doctors
pretty much told me I would never get pregnant on
my own. I always thought different, call it intuition.
Last October my period was late and I'm pretty regular.
I really didn't think too much about it, I just thought
I was late and then it was about 5 days late so I thought
I would take a test just to know. It turned out positive.
I told my husband "joe" and he said, "you better take
another one." (we were both in disbelief.) Plus I bought
one of the store "cheapies" so we thought maybe they
were defective in some way. I ran to the store and bought
a little more expensive one and took them. They all came
back positive and although we were still skeptical I was
beaming inside. About 10 days later I miscarried. I was
only 6 weeks along, but it was still a let down. Probably
not as much as some because my outlook was just
positive that I even became pregnant without help.
Then this last April I found out I was pregnant again.
I was really optimistic that this one would be fine. Then
I started bleeding again and bled for 5 days. I thought
I had a period so I took another pregnancy test and
it came back postive. I wasn't sure what was happening.
I made an appointment hoping they would just tell me
I was indeed pregnant and send me on my way. I got
there and they wanted to do an ultrasound. I wish I
would have told them no, but how do you say no to that.
I wanted to make sure everything was okay. They did
a vaginal ultrasound and didn't see anything. She told
me it was either because it was too early to detect it
or I could have an ectopic pregnancy. Of course that
night around 3:30 a.m. I awoke to the worst pain I've
ever felt in my whole life. I awoke out of a dream where
I saw 3 bodies who were all in excruciating pain going
from the bottom of my abdomin up to my chest and
then back down again. As I awoke they all merged to
one and it was my body they merged to. Very weird.
I drug myself to the bathroom (not sure why) instict
told me to go to the bathroom. At first I sat to go to the
bathroom which I did go, but the whole time I was
thinking get me off of here. As soon as Iwas done I hit
the floor into a fetal position crying out in agony. Joe
finally came in and I told him to go and research
ectopic pregnancy. I had heard they could be life
threatning, but I wasn't sure why or if that was even
true. Why hadn't I asked the nurse what to expect?
Meanwhile I'm on the bathroom floor moaning and groaning.
I finally managed to get myself back to my bed when Joe
came in and told me if I started feeling shoulder pain that
would mean internal bleeding. Long story short, I did have
an ectopic pregnancy. I started feeling the shoulder pain
about 3 hours after my initial pain and I went in to the
doctor at 9:00a.m. He kept me there and said I would need
surgery right away. It feels like gas bubbles up in your
shoulders; very hard to get comfortable. At around 12:30
I felt a little better and my doctor who was my previous
bishop was second guessing his decision. He thought maybe
he was misdiagnosing me. I told him I didn't want to chance
it so we went ahead with the surgery. He came out not
believing what he found. I had lost a liter of blood and he
had to close off my left tube. Basically, I was pregnant and
the baby was stuck in my tube and was growing there. As
it grew my tube burst. He thought they may have to
do a blood tranfusion so they watched my blood pressure
very closely for 4 hours. I was determined not to be
admitted so I made sure I passed all the required tests to
get the heck outta there. A normal blood pressure is 110 and
mine was down to 64 so it took a bit for it to raise. What a
miserable day that was.


I'm brave to post this picture. Joe took it from his phone
in the recovery room. The nurse, who was soooooooooooo
awesome said as they released me~ that in her 25 years of
being a nurse she has never released anybody who looked
so bad! I was so pale and I mean look at me, not pretty. I
had to chuckle a little bit at her comment though. I hadn't
seen myself but I felt like a was hit by a truck so I knew she
was probably right. I'm not sure how everyone else recovers
from a laparoscopy, but me, not so well. From the moment
I woke up it felt like very sharp stabbing pains up in my
shoulders and neck. I mean it's excruciating. My kids saw
me dealing with this and it freaked them out. Joe didn't
know what to do either. That's what is bad about it is that
there really is nothing you can do. Of course afterward my
mother-in-law told me when she was in the hospital one
time, they tilted her bed so her head was down and she
laid like that for a while and then when she sat up most
of the pain was relieved. Hopefully that will help some of
you if you have to deal with this. All I have to say is that
I'm grateful for my faith. I had Joe give me a preisthood
blessing that morning about 5:00 and then my dad gave
me one about 8:00 that night and instantly the sharp
pains went away. I was still uncomfortable, but nothing
like what I was. Expect to be out for a good 4 or 5 days
after something like this. Get some good friends and
family to come help you. It's really hard to do the easiest
things. One thing I had heard was that you ovulate from
different sides each month so I thought my chances were
cut in half, but my doctor told me that was an old wives
tale so I'm crossing my fingers it can still happen. I'll
keep you posted. I think we may get outside help if
nothing happens by the end of the year. I'll be 30 next
year and I want to be done by 35 so I gotta figure it
out.

Keep the stories coming ladies- Jana Dille

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Taking Charge of your Fertility

Jana,

My husband and I have been trying to conceive for about
a year and a half now, It is so frustrating and i am so glad
that somebody decided to blog about it. It is so nice to talk
to other people who have been or are going through similar
things. I am tired of talking to all of my friends and family
who got pregnant so easily. It is getting hard for me to smile
back when they look at me and say "I guess I'm just a fertile
Mertile, it only took us one try". Well I am not and it is
bugging the crap out of me! :) Well anyway we are just
beginning the process of going to the doctors to see if they can
help. But I am reading a book right now that I think will help
anyone that is trying to get pregnant. It is called "Taking
Charge of your Fertility" By: Toni Weschler. It is an amazing
book and I wish I would have read it a year ago. It gives
women so much information about their bodies and how they
work. It also talks about how to chart your cycle each month
so that you know exactly when you are ovulating and how to
tell if you are pregnant at an early stage (that way you don't
have to wait for a missed period just to be dissapointed when
you start). I have found it very helpful in determining what
is wrong with me and why my husband and I haven't been able
to get pregnant. By reading the book you can know more about
your body and help the doctor determine what is wrong with
you on your first visit, that way you save a ton of money on
testing. Like I said I have only been charting for about 5 days
and I think I already know what the problem might be. Anyway,
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has been or
wants to start trying to concieve. Hopefully it won't be long for
my husband and I now. :)

Ashley Muir