November 1, 2014: Engaged! Andrew takes me completely by surprise and proposes to me at one of my favorite places on earth, Capon Springs!
January 15, 2015: Our first NFP class - we begin learning the Creighton Model of fertility awareness. Never in my life did I think ever think the term "cervical mucous" would pass my ears and lips as much as it has since that day.
March 26, 2015: After almost three cycles of charting, our NFP instructor suspects I have a type 1 phase luteal phase defect / low post-peak progesterone. She refers me to a NaPro doctor, Dr. Z, for an appointment.
April 24, 2015: Lab tests confirm a type 1 luteal phase defect, low post-peak progesterone, and a too-short post-peak phase. Dr. Z. prescribes HCG shots on peak + 3,5,7,9 in order to get my body to produce progesterone.
May 2, 2015: Our wedding day! One of the best days of our lives. We immediately start trying to grow our family. Also the first day I begin HCG shots.
July 2, 2015: My NaPro doctor, Dr. Z., leaves her family practice in order to begin the process of starting her own NaPro-based practice (which will take over a year). I switch to another NaPro doctor, Dr. Po, who is an hour away from me. Dr. Po tells me to come back in three months if we haven't achieved pregnancy. On the plus side, the HCG shots have increased by post-peak phase from 7 days (sub-par) to 14 days (slightly better than normal)!
September 23, 2015: Back to see Dr. Po because...spoiler alert...we still aren't pregnant. She prescribes Clomid on cycle days 3-5, Estradiol on P+3-12, and recommends several OTC products (FertileCM, time-released Vitamin B6, Guaifenesin) to improve the quality of my cervical mucous. Plan to reconvene with her in two months if we still haven't achieved pregnancy.
November 25, 2015: With still no pregnancy after six cycles of trying, Dr. Po begins the process of referring me to a NaPro surgeon. The closest one to me is several states away, in New Jersey. Although I exhibit none of the classic symptoms of endometriosis, the lack of pregnancy and persistent tail end brown bleeding make endometriosis a possibility.
January 11, 2016: Phone consult with NaPro surgeon Dr. B. Laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, and selective hysterosalpingogram are scheduled for early February.
February 2, 2016: Exactly nine months to the day after our wedding, I'm at a hospital under the care of an OB surgeon...but instead of delivering a baby, Dr. B is finding and excising endometriosis, a uterine polyp, a small ovarian cyst, and biopsying my endometrium. Pathology confirms both endometriosis, and chronic endometritis (inflammation of the lining of the uterus). Dr. B recommends Pycnogenol and prescribes Peroxicam to reduce the inflammation.
May 6, 2016: Still not pregnant. Another appointment with Dr. Po At the suggestion of my NFP instructor, who I've continued to bounce questions off of, I ask for a peak +3 ultrasound to confirm ovulation. She also adds Low-dose Naltrexone to help with inflammation.
May 23, 2016: Peak + 3 ultrasound, hoping to rule out an ovulation issue.
May 25, 2016: I receive the news from Dr. Po that the ultrasound did not find a collapsed follicle (which would have indicated ovulation), but instead a large hemorrhagic cyst on my ovary, which can indicate luteinized unruptured follicly syndrome (LUF). Essentially, my body is producing all of the hormonal changes necessary for ovulation, but the follicle does not release the egg. Because we are moving 12 hours away, Dr. Po advises me to stop taking Clomid, stop taking post-peak HCG shots, and figure out a plan with my new doctor.
July 5, 2016: Having moved to the windy city for my husband's work, I have my first appointment with NaPro-trained fellow, Dr. P. He is located in South Bend, IN - two hours away from our new home. Dr. P. switches me from Clomid to Femara, from post-peak HCG injections to post-peak oral progesterone, prescribes a 21 day course of Biaxin to clear up any potential infection causing the endometritis, orders a CD 12 ultrasound to measure follicle size, and prescribes a high-dose shot of HCG to trigger the rupture of the follicle when the follicle reaches maturity.
