The beginning of our journey

Hubby and I are both 35, and at this age studies say that it would be more difficult for women to conceive...tsk...tsk...What to do, what to do?

We decided to go for medical intervention, so I searched the Internet about fertility doctors in the Philippines. I came across CARMI and looked for a doctor available on Saturdays for consultation. There were two of them and I chose Dr. Ma. Asuncion "Jing" Fernandez. Usually people would go for the most popular ones, but I would rather be taken care of by someone who has enough time to explain everything and really cares about his/her patient.

On January 19 we went to her clinic at St. Luke's Medical Center - Global City. I got there at 9:30 A.M. and I was 8th on the list. Hubby got there from work at around 10:30 A.M. We had our turn at around 1:00 P.M. Dr. Fernandez spent at least 30 minutes for each of her patient. It was worth the wait though because she was very patient in explaining everything from conception to our best options to conceive. She talked to us for almost an hour!

Because of our situation, Dr. Jing recommended us the Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is the placement of washed or processed sperm inside the women’s uterus at the time that she is ovulating. It is commonly performed after failure of natural conception or in instances of mild to moderate sperm problems. (Source: http://stlukescarmi.com/services/intrauterine-insemination)

Dr. Fernandez made us a plan for our first try of IUI. I hope everything goes well. So here is our schedule for now:

• CD1 : inform Dr. Jing
• CD3-CD7 : take Clomid, 2 tabs/day (50 mg each) at bed time

• between CD5 & CD7 : HSG (when period is over)
• CD12 : TVU for follicle monitoring

*CD1 = Chart Day 1 (first day of period)

*HSG = Hysterosalpingogram

*TVU = Transvaginal ultrasound

A hysterosalpingogram (HSG) is a special kind of x-ray. Hysterosalpingogram is pronounced /he-ster-o-sal-ping-o-gram/. It is an outpatient procedure, which takes no longer than a half hour. It involves placing an iodine-based dye through the cervix and taking x-rays to help evaluate the shape of the uterus and whether or not the fallopian tubes are open or blocked. (Source: http://infertility.about.com/od/infertilitytesting/a/hsg.htm)

(Source: http://100infertilityquestions.blogspot.com/2010/03/question-12-what-is-hysteroscopy-and-do.html)

I took Clomid yesterday at 8:30 P.M. From my readings, Clomid is best to take at bed time to minimize its side effects. More common side effects of Clomid are:

Twins and Multiple Pregnancies 

Hot Flashes

Bloating and Abdominal Discomfort

Weight Gain

Mood Swings

Nausea and Dizziness

Headaches

Abnormal Menstrual Bleeding

Breast Tenderness

Vaginal Dryness or Thick Cervical Mucus

(Source: http://infertility.about.com/od/clomid/tp/clomid_side_effects.htm)

So far I have only been experiencing headaches (tolerable w/o med), hot flashes (annoying), and mood swings (thanks to hubby, he's been very patient with me!). Today is my second day of Clomid.