Month Eight of Trying to Conceive Baby #2
I haven’t really given an update since right after my last appointment, so here’s what’s happened since then…
Month eight of TTC Baby #2 came QUICK…
because not even 48 hours after I stopped taking birth control to do my saline sonogram, I got my period. I got my period TWO WEEKS after my last period ended. How fun (NOT)! Since I got my period so quickly and our follow-up appointment with our doctor to discuss lab results wasn’t for another month, I asked our PA (physician’s assistant) if I still needed to take birth control. (I hate how birth control makes me feel.) Thankfully, she told me I could start taking it again after my next period ended - phew!
I stopped nursing/breastfeeding!
If you recall from this blog, my prolactin level was elevated. That’s most likely because the prolactin hormone helps with breast milk production (lactation) and can interfere with implantation. After my labs came back, our PA told me I would have to go back to retest, but this time, I would have to do a 12-hour fast, and I couldn’t have intercourse or nipple stimulation for 48 hours. I responded, “Does breastfeeding count as nipple stimulation?” I think they forgot from the initial consult that I was breastfeeding because the next chat I got said, “You’re still breastfeeding? Do you have plans to wean? We don’t treat if you’re still breastfeeding…”
This might’ve been a big deal for me, but we already had plans to wean in March anyway since I was traveling alone for work for the first time in 25 months. (If you want to learn how that experience went, read my weaning blog here.)
We had our follow-up appointment with our Doctor today, it just finished…
and it went much better than I thought it would. You may or may not know I ChatGPTed the shit out of my labs to try and understand them (again, that blog is here if you’re interested). When Doc told me everything was similar to my 2021 numbers (the last time we started treatment), I was relieved! My husband’s SA results were great, so there were no concerns there. After less than a 15-minute virtual appointment, here’s what the takeaways were:
POLYPECTOMY
Like last time, I’ll need to do a polypectomy (surgery to remove the polyps found in my uterus). My lining needs to be thin for this - so I will need to go back on birth control once my period ends. More on the polypectomy surgery here.PROLACTIN LEVELS
I’ll need to do more bloodwork to have this level retested now that I’ve weaned. Rather than do this separately, I’ll do this the day I go in for surgery.ONE MONTH WAIT
Once surgery is completed, I’ll have to wait one month before we can start with IUIs. Then, she recommends we do three to four IUIs before considering moving on to more “advanced treatments” AKA IVF.
So, here’s what’s next:
My clinic’s OR (operating room) scheduler will contact me to schedule the surgery, but with everything going on in my personal and work life, I won’t be able to get surgery until May. After a month of healing, we’ll be able to start on our IUI journey again!
