 |
|
Online Guests
|
|
|
|
 |
Membership: |
 |
Latest:
Debbe R |
 |
New Today:
1 |
 |
New Yesterday:
1 |
 |
Overall:
419 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MEND Online Forums
|
|
|
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply.
|
|
| Author |
Messages |
|
Melissa Stephens
MEND Moderator
Recognized Participant
Posts: 153
 |
| 06/26/2007 6:40 AM |
 Alert
|
My name is Melissa Stephens and I am the leader of M.E.N.D.'s Infertility Support group and am also the Moderator of this forum. I live with my husband, son and dog in Flower Mound, TX. For those of you who don't know my story, I'll post it here. I'm giving the long version, so beware! (Then again, are any of our stories short?)
In October of 2002, I stopped taking birth control pills because my husband Rob and I had decided we wanted to start ttc in January, 2003. I had one normal cycle after going off the pill. I was fertility charting, so after 6 weeks or so of not ovulating, I called my doctor just to let them know what was going on. My doctor asked me to come in for a simple blood test to see what was going on. After that blood test, he called me and said, "You will not conceive on your own." My hormones were out of whack and it became clear that I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). I started Clomid early in 2003. I did not ovulate on 50mg, so I was bumped up to 100mg and became pregnant immediately. We were thrilled!
My pregnancy was uneventful until the 21st week (other than some light spotting throughout my first 13 weeks). At my ultrasound during my 21st week, we found out we were having a boy. We also found out that he had what is called an omphalocele. This is where the liver and bowel do not enter the abdominal wall, but rather continue to form in the umbilical cord. The cord stretches into a sac where the cord attaches to the abdomen. Everything was functioning normally, but an omphalocele requires surgery after birth (sometime several surgeries) to put the organs INTO the baby's abdomen. The scary thing about his diagnosis was that it comes with up to a 70% chance of chromosomal abnormalities, some of which are fatal.
We were told to have an amnio, which we did. While we waited anxiously for the results, we also saw a pediatric cardiologist who checked David's heart. (We named our son David Atkins). He had a tiny hole in his heart, but it was nothing very concerning and would not require surgery. Soon, we received the results of the amnio. David's chromosomes were normal! I can't tell you how much I cried and cried tears of joy that morning! Our boy would be okay. He would be in the NICU, but he would be okay. We quickly started the process of finding a pediatric surgeon at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, where David would be transferred after a cesarean birth. The day of our first interview was the first day I didn't feel him move. It was Monday, October 13, 2003.
That day was an especially busy day for me, as I didn't even return home from work until after 10pm. Those late days were a once/month commitment for me. As I lay in bed that night, it was the first time I realized I hadn't felt any movement. I brushed it off, figuring I had just been too busy all day to notice. The next day, I became more worried. I called friends with babies who all had stories of rushing to the ER due to lack of movement and everything always turned out fine. "He's fine," they reassured me. On Wednesday, I started to feel dread in the pit of my stomach. But I absolutely refused to believe anything could be wrong. I had been told time and time again by many specialists that babies do not die from an omphalocele. And, honestly, the thought that he was gone just didn't even compute in my brain. Finally, Thursday morning, I broke down in tears at work. When I told my boss and coworker that I hadn't felt David move since Sunday night, they encouraged me (firmly, but calmly) to call my doctor. When I did, the nurse told me everything was probably perfectly fine, but I should come in to hear the heartbeat and ease my worried mind. I called Rob at his office and was so convinced that all was okay, I told him not to even bother meeting me at the doctor. Thank the Lord, he insisted on coming anyway.
Needless to say, we couldn't find a heartbeat. As I struggled to stay calm, I was taken immediately for an ultrasound. It was then that we learned our little David had gone to be with the Lord. I delivered him exactly one week later.
You all know the grief and pain that followed. But unlike some grieving couples, Rob and I couldn't wait to try for another baby. In fact, we started "trying" before I was even cleared for "activity" at my 6-week post-delivery checkup. My wonderful doctor understood our incredible desire to become pregnant again quickly and he started me on Clomid after my first cycle. I didn't ovulate on 50mg, or 100mg, or 150mg. What worked before wasn't going to work this time. I was sent to a reproductive endocronologist early in 2004. After interviewing me, he was certain that I had endometriosis in addition to PCOS. I had a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy in May, 2004. During that surgery, strange masses were discovered in my uterus. After a biopsy showed that I had adenomyosis, I was told that pregnancy would be difficult and dangerous at that point. To treat the endometriosis and adenomyosis, I was placed on estrogen suppression (induced menopause) for 4 months. It took me a couple more months for my estrogen levels to return to normal. We waited and waited for my first cycle to come. Finally, my doctor had me in for a blood test to see why I hadn't started my cycle. The results showed that I might ovulate soon. Two weeks later, I got a positive pregnancy test.
After a blessedly uneventful pregnancy, Christopher James (C.J.) Stephens was born on September 29, 2005.
This has gotten so long, I'll post our NEXT journey with infertility in my next post.  |
|
Melissa
wife to Rob
mommy to:
David, my 1st angel in heaven - born still October 23, 2003
C.J., my angel on earth - Sept. 29, 2005
Baby Stephens, my 2nd angel in heaven - June 30, 2008
Stanley, my fur-baby - miniature schnauzer, 4 years old |
|
|
Melissa Stephens
MEND Moderator
Recognized Participant
Posts: 153
|
| 06/26/2007 6:50 AM |
Alert
|
PART II 
After C.J. was born, my RE informed me that I should try to get pregnant again ASAP after breastfeeding because of my endometriosis. Our best chances would be at that time. Well, let's just say that breastfeeding didn't go well and after 4 months of trying to make it work, I finally gave it up. Before doing so, I visited my doctor and we set up a plan to try Femara in the same way that I used to try Clomid. After my first cycle came, we tried the Femara. It didn't work. We tried several other things which I must have blocked out of my memory, because I can't seem to remember what we did between then and July, but we were trying. Ha! I forgot to mention before that I've been on Glucophage all this time and the last time we were ttc. This is to supposedly help my PCOS (though it sure doesn't seem to be helping all that much if you ask me). In July of last year (2006), we did our first IUI with injectable meds. It failed. I was very disappointed b/c it had now been 6 months since we started ttc and my doctor said it was time to go back on long-term estrogen suppression (induced menopause) to treat my endometriosis. I took the shots and meds for 4 months and it took me another 3 1/2 months to finally start my cycle again. This was very disappointing, as we were hoping to catch that egg before the first cycle like we did last time! Our timing was right, but I didn't get pregnant. By this time, it was March of this year. My doctor wanted me to do a "natural" cycle to see what would happen. After 3 ultrasounds, we're still not quite sure of anything except the fact that if I did ovulate it was late last week. Yes, it has taken me all this time! And we're not even sure whether I did. During this cycle, I've actually gone to get a second opinion and will probably be sticking with the new doctor. He seems a bit more up-to-date in his practice, though these things are hard to judge. So...I'm currently taking Prometrium 3 times/day and hoping for good news on July 5...or sometime around then. I mean, it's not like I'm counting. |
|
Melissa
wife to Rob
mommy to:
David, my 1st angel in heaven - born still October 23, 2003
C.J., my angel on earth - Sept. 29, 2005
Baby Stephens, my 2nd angel in heaven - June 30, 2008
Stanley, my fur-baby - miniature schnauzer, 4 years old |
|
|
Michelle Claire
Member
Posts: 4
|
| 04/22/2008 4:48 AM |
Alert
|
| Thank you for sharing your story Mellisa.. Although heart-breaking it has brought me a drop of hope.. I'm sorry for you loss.xxx |
|
|
|
|
Lisa Day
Recognized Participant
Posts: 154
|
| 04/22/2008 5:23 PM |
Alert
|
I wanted to thank you for sharing your story, also. I am so sorry that this has been such a difficult journey for you. I am grateful to know that everything went well once you conceived again. I have been scared as well as anxious to try once more. Today I started packing up my maternity clothes, hopefully just for awhile!
It gave me hope to read your story. Hang in there and try to be patient! I can only imagine how hard this has been for you! Be very, very blessed!
Lisa
Mommy of Joshua (12) and LilyAnne (4) and my babies in Heaven
|
|
|
|
|
Lisa Day
Recognized Participant
Posts: 154
|
| 04/28/2008 3:28 AM |
Alert
|
Melissa,
I wanted to clarify that I meant C.J. when I referred to your concieving again. After I reviewed what I wrote, I was afraid that you may have thought I was not paying much attention to what you were expressing. I really feel for you and your family!
Also, thanks again for what you do for so many!
I pray great blessings for you,
Lisa Day |
|
|
|
|
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply. |
|
|
|
ActiveForums 3.6
|
|
|
|
The MEND Site Map is a published outline of all content on this web site.
Please review the MEND Reprint Policy and Disclaimer.
This site was last updated November 20th, 2009.
|
|