Month 10 of Trying to Conceive Baby #2: Surgery Follow-up & Next Steps
My positive OPK from Month 10! We probably shouldn’t be trying, but… it’s hard not too! Am I right?
If you’ve been following along, or even looked at the series of blogs on my infertility page, you’ll know that I recently underwent a Hysteroscopic Polypectomy to remove some uterine polyps that were causing infertility. As a part of the prep for that surgery (which happened in May), I was required to take birth control (BC) a few days after the start of my period to keep my uterine lining thin for surgery. And, as you’re probably familiar, once you stop taking BC pills, your period starts.
I’ve been on Month 10 for a while…
In fact, I’m almost to Month 11! Nothing significant happened during this month as I have to take the time to rest from surgery. They do require a 7-day pelvic rest afterward, meaning no sex, no submerging in water, no tampons, etc.
Surgery Follow-up
I just had my follow-up appointment with my doctor via Telehealth, yesterday, to discuss the surgery and my next steps. On the surgery front, the polyps (which are always sent to pathology) came back as benign, so there's no need for concern. My prolactin levels also came back in the normal range, so they were likely elevated when I did my initial bloodwork due to breastfeeding (but we all figured that was the case).
We also talked about our plan of action to conceive baby #2, and it’s essentially the same as the last. We’ll try with three to four IUIs, and if those are not successful, we’ll regroup and talk about other types of ART (advanced reproductive technology), but in my case, it will probably be IVF. (Though I am not sold on going that far.)
Doc said that everything - from my ovarian reserves to my labs - are all very similar and close to what they were last time, so she’s hopeful that the same course of action will work! The only downfall is that I’m a little older now, which may make it not as easy to get pregnant via IUIs like it was last time. Bummer.
Next Steps
Again, I have to wait for a month before we can proceed with IUIs. (Doesn’t mean we won’t be trying naturally, though, even though we probably shouldn’t, haha. ;)) But, here’s how my next few months could look like:
On Day 1 (start of Month 11) of my period, I’m to call/message my clinic so they can prescribe me with Clomid/Clomiphene
On Day 3 of my period, I’ll start taking Clomid for 7 days. If you’re not sure what Clomid is, in layman’s terms, it’s a medication that helps you produce more eggs and ovulate.
On Day 10 of my period, I’ll start tracking with at-home ovulation predictor kits (OPKs) for my LH surge.
When the LH surge happens, we have to drop everything and fly to Oʻahu to have the IUI done. Unfortunately, we can’t have it done on our home island.
Keep your fingers crossed for us, and say a prayer!
