This day last year, I peed on a stick.
It was something I’ve done many times before. A line shows up on the control window almost instantly. I expected that. I wait for three minutes more just to be sure. When I checked the stick again, there was another line. A line I’ve longed to see but never did. It was on the test window. My heart pounded. I checked the box again. Two lines meant positive.
Despite being in a state of shock, I managed to get out of the bathroom. I burst into our bedroom and woke my sleeping husband up. I shared the unbelievable news with him. “B! Positive!” Reden, still groggy and disoriented, managed to say “Ha?” And so I told him again, “Positive!” and showed him the stick. He got up and we hugged. I almost cried.
But we wanted to be sure so we did a test the next day and another on the day after that. Both were positive. Three tests mean there’s no doubt about it so we decided to call the hospital and arranged for an appointment.
It was something I’ve done many times before. A line shows up on the control window almost instantly. I expected that. I wait for three minutes more just to be sure. When I checked the stick again, there was another line. A line I’ve longed to see but never did. It was on the test window. My heart pounded. I checked the box again. Two lines meant positive.
Despite being in a state of shock, I managed to get out of the bathroom. I burst into our bedroom and woke my sleeping husband up. I shared the unbelievable news with him. “B! Positive!” Reden, still groggy and disoriented, managed to say “Ha?” And so I told him again, “Positive!” and showed him the stick. He got up and we hugged. I almost cried.
But we wanted to be sure so we did a test the next day and another on the day after that. Both were positive. Three tests mean there’s no doubt about it so we decided to call the hospital and arranged for an appointment.
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| Three positive pregnancy tests surely mean one thing. |
We were pregnant.
Finally!
Fertility treatment
Pregnancy wasn’t an automatic thing for us. When we were finally ready to have a child (around 2008), we tried hard to get pregnant. After a year, our efforts proved futile so we decided to seek the help of fertility specialists. We underwent a number of physical examinations and blood tests until the doctors concluded that it was me. I was not ovulating.
The doctor prescribed three five-day cycles of Clomiphene Citrate aka Clomid. After each cycle, I was required to come down to the clinic for a blood test which will determine whether I ovulated or not. If this doesn’t work, they’ll have to do a scan to check if my fallopian tubes were blocked.
I began treatment in May. I didn’t ovulate on the first cycle so I had to increase my dose from 30mg to 60mg for the following month. Once I finished the second cycle, the blood test showed that I still did not ovulate.
Undergoing a fertility treatment is no walk in the park. It’s difficult physically, emotionally and mentally. Clomid kinda made me crazy because it did something to my hormones. Plus, going on all those trips to the hospital was nerve-wracking. You want to expect a positive result but at the same time you don’t because when you hear the opposite, you’ll just be sad. Being in that situation was definitely challenging so after having two unsuccessful cycles, I was tired and frustrated. I was ready to consider other options (a childless marriage, a nomadic existence, pet ownership or adoption).
But before giving up, we had one more cycle to go. I waited and waited for my period to come so I can finally start taking the drug. It didn’t come. The medication worked.
Ectopic scare
After three positive home pregnancy tests, we went to see the doctor on the 23rd. We were giddy and excited. He congratulated us and told us to ignore the blood tests. If three pregnancy tests say I’m pregnant, then I am. He then ordered a sonogram to check if everything is developing normally. Reden and I proceeded to the antenatal monitoring clinic.
Since I was just 4.9 weeks amennorhoeic, the technician said she needed to do a transvaginal instead of an abdominal scan. After a couple minutes of probing, she told me, “Cannot see the baby today.” Thoughts of what could possibly go wrong (ectopic pregnancy? False positive?) immediately went through my head. We then went back to see the doctor, who then ordered for an HCG blood test. Reden and I left the hospital with our hearts in our mouths. When we got home, I cried. If this was a joke, then it wasn't funny.
That evening, the hospital’s 24-hour clinic called me and told me my HCG level was 1,000, which is high. The nurse instructed me to go back to the clinic the following day for another blood test, and maybe another ultrasound scan.
Finally!
Fertility treatment
Pregnancy wasn’t an automatic thing for us. When we were finally ready to have a child (around 2008), we tried hard to get pregnant. After a year, our efforts proved futile so we decided to seek the help of fertility specialists. We underwent a number of physical examinations and blood tests until the doctors concluded that it was me. I was not ovulating.
The doctor prescribed three five-day cycles of Clomiphene Citrate aka Clomid. After each cycle, I was required to come down to the clinic for a blood test which will determine whether I ovulated or not. If this doesn’t work, they’ll have to do a scan to check if my fallopian tubes were blocked.
I began treatment in May. I didn’t ovulate on the first cycle so I had to increase my dose from 30mg to 60mg for the following month. Once I finished the second cycle, the blood test showed that I still did not ovulate.
Undergoing a fertility treatment is no walk in the park. It’s difficult physically, emotionally and mentally. Clomid kinda made me crazy because it did something to my hormones. Plus, going on all those trips to the hospital was nerve-wracking. You want to expect a positive result but at the same time you don’t because when you hear the opposite, you’ll just be sad. Being in that situation was definitely challenging so after having two unsuccessful cycles, I was tired and frustrated. I was ready to consider other options (a childless marriage, a nomadic existence, pet ownership or adoption).
But before giving up, we had one more cycle to go. I waited and waited for my period to come so I can finally start taking the drug. It didn’t come. The medication worked.
Ectopic scare
After three positive home pregnancy tests, we went to see the doctor on the 23rd. We were giddy and excited. He congratulated us and told us to ignore the blood tests. If three pregnancy tests say I’m pregnant, then I am. He then ordered a sonogram to check if everything is developing normally. Reden and I proceeded to the antenatal monitoring clinic.
Since I was just 4.9 weeks amennorhoeic, the technician said she needed to do a transvaginal instead of an abdominal scan. After a couple minutes of probing, she told me, “Cannot see the baby today.” Thoughts of what could possibly go wrong (ectopic pregnancy? False positive?) immediately went through my head. We then went back to see the doctor, who then ordered for an HCG blood test. Reden and I left the hospital with our hearts in our mouths. When we got home, I cried. If this was a joke, then it wasn't funny.
That evening, the hospital’s 24-hour clinic called me and told me my HCG level was 1,000, which is high. The nurse instructed me to go back to the clinic the following day for another blood test, and maybe another ultrasound scan.
So we went to the hospital on the 25th for one more blood test. The results showed that my HCG level has doubled in the last 48 hours, which confirmed that I was pregnant. The on-call gynaecologist performed an ultrasound scan on me and there it was, a gestational sac with a teeny tiny yolk. I was so relieved! The doctor gave me a printout of the beginnings of our baby and told me that this will be a healthy pregnancy.
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| Ziv's first picture :) |
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing your story ^_^ it's interesting and I bet it's a positive influence to those who are also experiencing likewise. Having children is indeed a blessing and a miracle.
Nabitin ako sa kuwento. :)
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