Old Faithful

I needn't have worried about Day 3 falling on Christmas, because my trusty old vagina waited until Christmas Day for Day 1. This has happened several years in a row, so I ought to have suspected this year would be no different.

Normally this would be beyond irksome, but this year, of course, it's pretty good news because it means I get to go for Day 3 testing tomorrow. Day 3 testing is nothing new for me and I don't expect it to reveal anything interesting, but I do wonder about the many other tests they're going to run at the same time.

No one wants anything to be wrong with themselves, but I hope there's something wrong with me just so I can have an answer, finally. Of course, I want it to be something extremely fixable, too. I'm particular that way.

There will be more tests later in my cycle, so I won't have the full story until near the end of January, but, oh ... I wait with bated breath.

getting the ball rolling

What's that saying? The one about how if you have a problem with everyone, maybe you're the problem? After all, the common denominator is you.

I don't have a problem with everyone, but I do have a problem with most doctors. I've only ever had one doctor who helped me out. This was probably six years ago now, when I thought I was having panic attacks. She ran every test under the sun, and the results were super helpful. Turns out I wasn't having panic attacks; my heart is just a little jacked. Unfortunately, that doctor closed her practice.

I just saw a new doctor, and ... I am afraid to get my hopes up, you guys. I went in with my 7-page infertility questionnaire, told her it'd been over two years and two miscarriages, and said I wasn't interested in hearing about how I needed to have a third miscarriage in order for her to be concerned. She told me she wouldn't have said that, anyway. This may have to do with me being 34 years old now.

She is running 19 tests. Many of them are specifically for the repeated miscarriages. 

And she's running the progesterone test, guys. Why has it taken me this long to find a doctor who would run a series of progesterone tests? I've always suspected progesterone was the issue.

I'll also get a heart check-up to make sure I'm OK to actually carry a child since it puts stress on the heart.

Of course, I need to wait for the start of the next cycle before I can do any of these tests. Many of them need to be taken on Day 3 of my cycle. And when do you suppose Day 3 is projected to fall for me, since my cycle has been spot-on for the last several months? That's right. Christmas Day. This Murphy's Law shit is the story of my life. I've just called and confirmed that yes, all of the labs will be closed on Christmas. As they should be. So I will probably have to wait until the following cycle.

It's ok, really. I do feel very rushed to get my results, but it's been over two years already. Another month won't hurt.

Results: Round 1

I had Day 3 blood work last week and on Friday my doctor's office called to say what I knew they would: Everything looked normal.

Then my husband submitted his own "sample," amid much angst about his manliness, and the doctor's office called Tuesday to tell me what I knew they would: His sperm is normal. 

Now they want to schedule the next round of testing on me, which I imagine will include more blood work and an ultrasound or something of the sort. I haven't scheduled it yet. I'm waiting ...

I know Day 3 blood work means next to nothing. It means I haven't entered into early menopause, which is fabulous news. But it doesn't tell me anything else, at all. I hope Christina will not mind when I tell you that she has had Day 3 blood work done more than once, and all times it returned normal. This in a woman who has PCOS and endometriosis.

It occurs to me that I should send my doctor information about basal body temperatures I've tracked over the last six months or so, and clue her in on my own suspicions about progesterone deficiency. I will. I'm waiting ...

I guess I feel like I'm at a fork in the road. The road I most certainly will go down involves lots of poking and prodding. The road I want to go down involves naturally and happily conceiving a child without thinking too hard about it. These early tests are a bit deceiving, I think, in offering hope that everything could be normal, and it simply hasn't happened yet. A few more months might be all it will take.

Making Babies says that in any given cycle, a normally healthy couple has a 20 to 25 percent chance of conceiving if they're having sex two to three times a week. Chances do not go up just because you try over and over, month after month. I've never been known to be extremely lucky. Perhaps the coin is just landing wrong every month.

If I have to continue down this the path of medical testing, I'd like to be in optimal health. Is it wrong for me to wait a couple months until I feel optimally healthy? Is it realistic for me to believe I will ever be healthier than I am right now?

I hope it is.

So that's that. Round 1 is done. Round 2 is imminent. My brain is tired and needs to figure out what it's willing to do, and when.