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Our Experiences with Endometriosis
and Infertility |
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I first started menstruating when I was about 14 years old. My periods were fairly regular, occurring every 26-30 days apart and lasting 5-9 days. I did have painful cramping before starting and for the first few days, which had gradually gotten worse over the years. I did have an infection at one time which caused my period to last for two weeks, but medication cleared that up.
Our journey with all of this started shortly after we were married. My husband, Nellis, had been married before and had not had any children with his first wife. It was suggested to us that we should have him tested to make sure that everything was okay with him. |
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| Semen Analysis |
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| Nellis had a semen analysis done in May 1995 and was told that his count was low and he needed to be given testosterone to help raise his count. He was given shots of testosterone for three months and retested. He was again told that his count was low and was told to get in to a urologist. We took him to his urologist who has treated his kidney. He was tested again and was told that nothing was wrong with his count. |
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| Basal Body Thermometer |
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| In June 1995 we were advised to start using a Basal Body Thermometer (BBT) to check my temperature before getting out of bed each day and record the temperature on a chart to see when my temperature went up around ovulation. |
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| Ovarian Cysts |
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In November 1995 I started to have a lot of pelvic pain in my lower abdomen. It was really bad on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1995. I had a lot of severe sharp pelvic pain while visiting Nellis' parents. I went to the local ER the next day and found out after a pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound that I had ovarian cysts and to get in to my gynecologist.
On November 28, 1995, I started to see the doctor who had done my mom's hysterectomy (which was done because of endometriosis, even though they did not know that is what she had until it was done). We discussed everything with the doctor and decided to wait and see what the cysts would do on their own. They went away for a little while. |
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| Ovulation Test Kits |
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| In July 1996 we were told to start using an ovulation test kit from the store to test my urine starting on day 8 of my cycle and I received a positive showing that I was about to ovulate. |
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| Miscarriage |
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| On October 1, 1996 I had a miscarriage. My period was about a week late and I had been nauseated and very tired. I would gag passing an oil truck while driving down the road. I never got up during the night at that time, but for some reason I did early that morning. I went into the bathroom and as soon as I sat on the toilet, I heard a plop. I looked down and saw something red, about the size of a half-dollar in the bottom of the toilet and a lot of blood. The thoughts, "Goodbye baby" and "You just lost your baby" both went through my mind immediately. I then had the heaviest period I have ever had. The nausea and everything went away after that. I went to the doctor that night. They did a pregnancy test which was negative. The doctor told me that it was just a blood clot (I have had blood clots since that time and I know that it was not a blood clot). I know with all of my heart that it was a miscarriage. |
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| Cysts Back |
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| In December 1996 my pelvic pain started again and gradually got worse. There was even a time that I was at the grocery store and the pain hit me so suddenly and so bad that I collapsed to the floor. By February 1997 it was so bad that I missed a week of work. |
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| First Surgery |
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| I went back to my doctor and an ultrasound on February 24, 1007 showed a 2.0 x 3.4-cm cyst on my right ovary. My doctor did a laparoscopy on February 28, 1997. He drained the right ovarian cyst. I also had a lot of endometriosis in the posterior cul-de-sac and on my left ovary. He lasered all of the endometriosis and noted that my tubes were normal and open. I later found out that this was stage II endometriosis. I missed a full week of work after the surgery and worked part time for about two weeks. I was told that everything was taken care of and I should have no problems becoming pregnant. |
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| Hysterosalpingogram and Clomid |
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| On July 1, 1997 my doctor ordered a hysterosalpingogram to make sure that my tubes were open. They were, but the dye or something messed up my body and I had a second period that month. Due to that and the fact that we were working toward pregnancy, my doctor started me on 50 mg of Clomid monthly. I took the Clomid on days 3 through 8 of my cycle in July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, and March. He did serum progesterone draws in October and November showing tha I was ovulating. |
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| Intra-uterine Insemination |
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| By January 1998 we were still not pregnant and decided to try intra-uterine inseminations (IUIs). We did them twice monthly in January, February, and March. There were no problems with doing the first insemination each month, but the second one was more difficult. I was told that I had a stenotic cervix and it required dilation to do the IUI in March. |
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| Cysts Back |
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An ultrasound done February 5, 1998 because I was having cramping and pain after the first set of inseminations showed a retroflexed uterus, a 1.8-cm complex follicle on my right ovary and a 1.6-cm complex cyst on my left ovary.
My pelvic pain came back by March 1998 and we decided to discontinue the Clomid and inseminations. In April 1998 my doctor referred me to a doctor at a reproductive care center because he felt that there was nothing more that he could do for me. |
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