Thank you in advance for your donation. It is such a blessing. With endometriosis, we have such limited time to get pregnant. We appreciate your donations that help give us the opportunity to have these procedures as soon as possible.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
How You Can Help
If anyone would like to make a donation, we would be so grateful. Your donation will go towards upcoming procedures and medical bills. You can go to:
What is Endometriosis Anyway?
I never would have known what endometriosis was before I got diagnosed with it. I've been asked a few of the same questions, so I thought I would clear things up!
What is endometriosis?
What does endometriosis feel like?
Endometriosis is actually really painful. I actually had no idea how excruciatingly painful is was until after I had the surgery and had the disease removed. I was so surprised! I had nothing to compare it to! And, I had realized I have had it my entire life. The first few days of my period was always the worst. I could barely move, barely walk, and would lay in bed all day. I even had to miss church some days! My first cycle after the surgery, I felt like I could run a marathon! I didn't even need any pain medication at all! I felt wonderful!
What does it look like?
This is a healthy female reproductive system.
This is a female reproductive system with severe endometriosis.
How does it affect my fertility?
I'm sure the pictures above are pretty self-explanatory already with how endometriosis can effect fertility.
How likely is it that endometriosis will come back after surgery to remove it? How soon until it does?
My doctor told me there is a 50% chance the endometriosis will come back. I am hoping that it isn't coming back, but I am already feeling a lot of pain... so I am definitely worried.
How common is endometriosis?
What is endometriosis?
"Endometriosis is an often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus (endometrial implant). Endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, bowel or the tissue lining your pelvis. Rarely, endometrial tissue may spread beyond your pelvic region.
In endometriosis, displaced endometrial tissue continues to act as it normally would — it thickens, breaks down and bleeds with each menstrual cycle. Because this displaced tissue has no way to exit your body, it becomes trapped. When endometriosis involves the ovaries, cysts called endometriomas may form. Surrounding tissue can become irritated, eventually developing scar tissue and adhesions — abnormal tissue that binds organs together."
Source: www.mayoclinic.org
What does endometriosis feel like?
Endometriosis is actually really painful. I actually had no idea how excruciatingly painful is was until after I had the surgery and had the disease removed. I was so surprised! I had nothing to compare it to! And, I had realized I have had it my entire life. The first few days of my period was always the worst. I could barely move, barely walk, and would lay in bed all day. I even had to miss church some days! My first cycle after the surgery, I felt like I could run a marathon! I didn't even need any pain medication at all! I felt wonderful!
What does it look like?
This is a healthy female reproductive system.
This is a female reproductive system with severe endometriosis.
How does it affect my fertility?
I'm sure the pictures above are pretty self-explanatory already with how endometriosis can effect fertility.
"If you have endometriosis, it may be more difficult for you to become pregnant. Up to 30% to 50% of women with endometriosis may experience infertility. Endometriosis can influence fertility in several ways: distorted anatomy of the pelvis, adhesions, scarred fallopian tubes, inflammation of the pelvic structures, altered immune system functioning, changes in the hormonal environment of the eggs, impaired implantation of a pregnancy, and altered egg quality. At the time of surgery, your doctor may evaluate the amount, location, and depth of endometriosis and give you a “score.” This score determines whether your endometriosis is considered minimal (Stage 1), mild (Stage 2), moderate (Stage 3), or severe (Stage 4). This scoring system correlates with pregnancy success. Women with severe (Stage 4) endometriosis, which causes considerable scarring, blocked fallopian tubes, and damaged ovaries, experience the most difficulty becoming pregnant and often require advanced fertility treatment."
Source: www.asrm.org
How likely is it that endometriosis will come back after surgery to remove it? How soon until it does?
My doctor told me there is a 50% chance the endometriosis will come back. I am hoping that it isn't coming back, but I am already feeling a lot of pain... so I am definitely worried.
How common is endometriosis?
"Regardless of whether pain or infertility is the major problem, many women with endometriosis are never diagnosed. This is because their symptoms are not severe enough to require laparoscopy. Among all women, it is etimated that 6 to 10 out of 100 have endometriosis."
Source: www.webmd.com
Monday, November 17, 2014
After All We Can Do
We are getting to the point of having done all we can do. We have tried to conceive naturally for about a year, I have gotten surgery, we have had a million tests done, tried prescription after prescription, and we will be doing an IUI next month.
Unfortunately, we found out this morning that we got denied for our IVF loan. The success rates for us were less than 10% chance with IUI, and 60-70% chance with IVF. Those rates were if we acted now. We don't have much time. Getting denied for this IVF loan is really heartbreaking. With having such severe endometriosis, it will come back. I have already been feeling a lot of pain lately... so I know the disease has already started to grow back. The success rates lower dramatically the longer we wait. Unfortunately, my body can't have this surgery whenever we want to get pregnant. It will cause damage. Our hands are tied, and all we can do is hope and pray we will get pregnant before this disease comes back.
Tyler and I will have done all we could do after next month. We really felt the last thing we could do is ask for help from all of you. As we are drowning in medical bills, and have procedures coming up, we would appreciate the financial help as the cost of these procedures are much more than we anticipated. If any of you would like to donate anything at all, please visit our donations website at www.babyhazelton.myevent.com. Please don't feel pressured to donate much. Just a $1.00 donation would help us. Please help us achieve our first positive pregnancy test!
Thank you so much in advance to everyone who is supporting us emotionally or financially. We really appreciate all the prayers from everyone. In the end, Heavenly Father's Will will be done. Thanks for having faith is us!
Unfortunately, we found out this morning that we got denied for our IVF loan. The success rates for us were less than 10% chance with IUI, and 60-70% chance with IVF. Those rates were if we acted now. We don't have much time. Getting denied for this IVF loan is really heartbreaking. With having such severe endometriosis, it will come back. I have already been feeling a lot of pain lately... so I know the disease has already started to grow back. The success rates lower dramatically the longer we wait. Unfortunately, my body can't have this surgery whenever we want to get pregnant. It will cause damage. Our hands are tied, and all we can do is hope and pray we will get pregnant before this disease comes back.
Tyler and I will have done all we could do after next month. We really felt the last thing we could do is ask for help from all of you. As we are drowning in medical bills, and have procedures coming up, we would appreciate the financial help as the cost of these procedures are much more than we anticipated. If any of you would like to donate anything at all, please visit our donations website at www.babyhazelton.myevent.com. Please don't feel pressured to donate much. Just a $1.00 donation would help us. Please help us achieve our first positive pregnancy test!
Thank you so much in advance to everyone who is supporting us emotionally or financially. We really appreciate all the prayers from everyone. In the end, Heavenly Father's Will will be done. Thanks for having faith is us!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
IUI's & IVF's
So, it's been a couple months since my surgery at the end of September. Tyler and I went to a new doctor today. Atlanta Center of Reproductive Medicine (ACRM) or Atlanta Infertility. We met with our wonderful new doctor, Dr. Calhoun. She is so great!
As it turns out, my case of endometriosis is a lot more severe than we thought it was. Like... we have a VERY short window to try to get pregnant before the disease comes back. We already did one month of Clomid, and we are still waiting to find out if that was successful (fingers crossed!). Dr. Calhoun says she would be less concerned if my endometriosis wasn't so bad. But, she is very concerned, and time is definitely not on our side. If I am not pregnant this month, I will be doubling my dosage and taking 100mg of Clomid (increases the chance of twins!), and we will be doing an IUI next month... a.k.a. Artificial Insemination. I will meet with the doctor 4 times next month, and the 3rd appointment is IUI day!
We are so excited about this IUI coming up, but very stressed as well. We have a HUGE dilemma. We have such a short window to get pregnant before the endometriosis comes back. If this IUI does not work, we need to start IVF. As most of you know, IVF can range from $10,000 - $15,000. It is so expensive. Any normal person would think, "Oh! Just have the surgery again when you can afford IVF!" That's what we thought, but unfortunately, the surgery is very damaging to my fallopian tubes. My tubes are like tissue paper. I only have one working right now, and Dr. Calhoun said my only working one has probably healed in a deformed way because of the effects of the surgery. So, really, we need to have an IVF soon if the Clomid alone from this month or the IUI next month doesn't work. We aren't so sure with what to do. Heavenly Father will help us.
Remaining faithful through all of this is really important. I am so grateful for this gospel. It brings me so much happiness. But, I would be lying if I said this trial didn't tear me apart sometimes. It's so hard to dream of being a mother, ever since I was a little girl... and then come to find out that I can't get pregnant. As a woman, I want to feel like the mother Heavenly Father intended us women to be! I want to be that Mormon mom with 7 or 8 kids with a huge minivan to drive them all around in. I know I will be a mother soon, whether it be a foster mom, adoptive mom, or biological mom. I am not sure what will come first, but either way, I will be a mother.
Heavenly Father has done so much to ease this burden for me. Tyler is so wonderful. He is so supportive, and is always there to wipe away my tears. I love him so much. Another huge blessing, is my dog, Jonah. He acts like a baby, and is the perfect size. He lays on his back in my arms and would let me hold him forever, if I wanted to. I am not saying he is a baby, or equal to one, but he definitely fills the gap. I have him to hold in my arms. I have a countless number of blessings, that I will forever be grateful for. Heavenly Father is so wonderful, and understanding. He will help Tyler and I through this trial, just like He has been this entire time!
The Big Mistake
The big mistake that changed everything...
Post-Op Update:
There was a mistake with my results.
I went to my my post-op appointment and it was with a different doctor because my original doctor was out of the office. She explained my surgery summary of how things went and everything... And I'm not sure if my other doctor got confused when he told me the results or not... But these are the real results:
Both fallopian tubes were blocked. I had endometriosis everywhere as well as scar tissue. My entire left side was all twisted and stuck together. My right side was fine, but my right tube was still completely blocked.
They were able to completely fix the left side, and unblock the tube. I was INITIALLY told that both tubes were unblocked!! But, as it turns out, they were NOT able to save my right tube. It is still completely blocked, and they could not unblock it. So, I only have an unblocked left tube. (Lol, I am very overprotective right now of my entire left side of my body.)
That's still such a blessing because I still have an equal opportunity to get pregnant because my right ovary is perfectly fine. If I happen to ovulate out of my right ovary that month, it can go into the left tube I was told I still have as good of a chance of getting pregnant as other women do... If I ovulate.
I was told that I do NOT ovulate. AT ALL. That was sad to hear.
Good news is... There is medicine out there that can make me ovulate. It's called Clomid. So, I will be taking that from now on.
It's hard having so many problems. As a woman, I want to have a normal cycle. I always dreaded to hear that I was "infertile". It's so hard to realize that what I feared is reality. I just want to badly to have a baby. So, so badly. It breaks my heart.
But, it's interesting how Heavenly Father works. He will only give us trials that are hard for us. It wouldn't be a trial if it had no affect on us. Heavenly Father knew that this would be the hardest for me. But, He also knew that I would rely on Him and become incredibly close to Him through this trial.
I KNOW that as Tyler and I endure this trial well, He will bless us with a child. I know that Jesus Christ has gone through this trial in the Garden of Gethsemane and knows EXACTLY how I feel. Because He knows how I feel, I can rely on Him as well and know how He endured this trial, and I can follow His example. I am grateful for this Gospel of Jesus Christ. This trial would be so much harder without it.
We have 4 months get pregnant with the Clomid. If I don't get pregnant by then, we will do an IUI (Artificial Insemination). If that is unsuccessful, we will do an IVF.
Either way, we will get pregnant soon!
After the Surgery
After my surgery, I posted again on Facebook letting everyone know how it went! I was so excited.
"UPDATE: The surgery was definitely a success!
They did an hsg test during the surgery (used dye to see if my fallopian tubes are blocked), and BOTH tubes were blocked. One with scar tissue and endometriosis, and the other with just endometriosis. My amazing doctor was able to 100% clear BOTH tubes perfectly!
And I believe they said I had scar tissue or endometriosis in my uterus. I also had adhesions everywhere (makes everything stick together) that they were able to remove/separate completely!
But everything is cleared up perfectly now and I'll be able to get pregnant very soon!! He said we will have the best chance within 6 months (idk if hes saying that because he believes it will come back again). He will tell me more details at my post-op appointment on Thursday.
He also said he thinks I might not ovulate every month, and is going to put me on clomid. I am really so excited. He's said EVERYTHING is clear!!!! I should be able to finally get pregnant! Even if I have to wait until next cycle for the clomid, my chances for getting pregnant have dramatically increased without it. Thank you for all of your prayers!! As far as how I am doing, I feel great. This wonderful news makes any and all pain worth it!!"
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