Infertility 1

Okay, this will be the first of many infertility posts for my infertile peeps out there. Everyone who knows me knows that we had to use donor egg in vitro to get pregnant. Because of this, we get quite a few people calling us wanting more info on the process, procedures of infertility treatments. So, here's my story...hope it helps. In my case it's called Premature Ovarian Failure. Why do I have it? Who knows. Is it genetic? Who knows? Is there a way around it? You bet...sort of.
After a period (or lack of a "period"...ha ha ha) of test, exams, ultrasounds blah, blah, blah the conclusion was that my ovaries failed before they ever really got going. I was told by the specialists at the University of Utah Reproductive Medicine that donor egg in vitro was my only chance at becoming pregnant. Options were discussed about using known donors (such as my sister) or an anonymous donor provided by the U of U. Once given this information, my only chance was to use hormone therapy for development and provide estrogen to my body which protects my bones and does lots of other junk. Although sad about the diagnosis, I have looked back and realize my outcome was so much easier then others who struggle to get pregnant with perfect ovaries.
My diagnosis was at 18 years of age, without a single spontaneous menstrual cycle. But, I knew in advance what was going to have to be done instead of being ready to get pregnant and not able to figure out why I couldn't. This was my advantage (if there is any advantage). When we were ready to have a child, the U of U performed an HSG (hysterosalpingogram). It was done to visualize the patency of my uterus and fallopian tubes (basically wanted to make sure there wasn't a blockage anywhere). It wasn't too bad (kinda like being injected with karo syrup)...only a little cramping. After that and a few ultrasounds, blood tests, we were ready to go ahead with the donor egg in vitro program.
First off, we had a session with a psychologist to make sure we knew what we were doing. She discussed our options with using a known donor such as my sister. I have one sister and she's one of my best friends, but I wouldn't want to ever change that. Can you imagine your child being mad at you and saying " well fine, I'll just go live with aunt so and so because she's my real mom anyway!" So, we opted, as recommended, to use an anonymous donor. More to come...