Redbook's No Shame Campaign Infertility Awareness

It is refreshing to see more and more people "coming out" about their infertility struggles. Below are just a few videos of the many that have been submitted by celebrities, women and men discussing their struggles with infertility. Since infertility is such an isolating experience, it is a fantastic feeling (as much as it can be knowing others are struggling and hurting as much as you are) that you are not alone in the feelings and emotions that come with infertility.

http://www.redbookmag.com/infertility-video-series/#v1212312917001

A husband's perspective of Male Factor Infertility.

http://www.redbookmag.com/infertility-video-series/#v1223230329001
Another husband's perspective of infertility.  

http://www.redbookmag.com/infertility-video-series/#v1212096718001

MANY great points in this video and tips to be a great support for someone suffering with Infertility.

http://www.redbookmag.com/infertility-video-series/#v1212096718001
I personally can relate to A LOT of the struggles that this woman has gone through.

http://www.redbookmag.com/infertility-video-series/#v1223222300001

Sherri Shepherd keeps her humor while sharing her struggles with infertility. 

To watch more videos and submit your own, you can go HERE.

Well, well, well.....

isn't that how the cookie crumbles? Since my last post I did decide to give Clomid another try and all seemed to be going well. It appeared as though I was gearing up to ovulate, just like clockwork. (MY clock work anyways) That was, until it was time for the temp shift, and there was no rise. Not even a tiny one, nope, instead my temp went down. So did my level of Hope. Each day I have been waiting for my temp to shoot up and with each passing day I am getting more and more discouraged. I am now on cycle day 24, 17 days past my last Clomid dose. I need to get out of my denial stage and face the music that this cycle is a bust. Even with my apprehensions of wanting to move forward with this cycle, I was still hoping to have at least half a chance. Not this time. So plan is at this point to wait this cycle out for a few more days in which I will then fax my charts to my dr, he will determine if I ovulated or not (but at this point it doesn't even take an experienced chart reader to know I haven't) and I will without a doubt, have to start Provera to induce a period. Next cycle I am sitting it out!!!! I need a break, a break emotionally, from artificial hormones in my body and time for all of these hormones to LEAVE my body. My husband is now going to get to experience just a bit of what I have gone through in the last 3 and a half years! Testing!!! (haha, love you baby!) He is very reluctant of any testing, so I know this is going to be like pulling teeth from a gator. Although what he doesn't realize is, this test won't be painful one bit. Oh no, far from that actually! His test actually involves pleasure, go figure! At this point, after hubby's sperm analysis, I don't know where we will be going after that. The game plan was to do 3 cycles of Clomid, in which I ovulate (we have 2 out of 3, so a good start???) then if no pregnancy we will have hubby tested. So, it is all a guessing game of where we will be going next, until I talk with my doctor in 4 days. I have a feeling this was my last cycle on Clomid before we turn to Femara. I have major apprehensions about Femara and pursuing further infertility meds and costs. I guess we will cross that bridge once we get here. In the meantime, I am just passing the time until I find out my next steps.

Just let me be sad for a moment

Another cycle down, another failed attempt at getting pregnant. I'm actually surprised that I ovulated at all this cycle and if it wasn't for the Royal Jelly supplementation midway through my cycle, I probably wouldn't have. My temps were extremely slow to rise this time so it wasn't until I was already 8 days past ovulation that my chart looked like I had ovulated. Pretty sweet when you want that two week wait to fly by. Except now it has led me to a whole bunch of feelings. Feelings of, I don't want to do this anymore. I am tempted to NOT call my dr this morning to get another Clomid script, but instead to just put my journey behind me. It is too painful at times to want to continue this month after month, year after year. 

I dislike that I am feeling this way, almost defeated, right at a time that I have FINALLY found a dr willing to work with me. What the hell?!?! The game plan was to do 3 cycles of Clomid, responding to the Clomid by ovulating (which so far I have) then if no pregnancy then we will have hubby tested. Since we know the problems lie within me, I see that as a wasted test, but if it will help to rule some things out, by all means. I have just lost my mojo to go any further in my journey. 

We (hubby and I) have discussed putting our journey on a time frame, and if no pregnancy by then, then we will just accept our fate and move on knowing we have had the opportunity to raise two wonderful, intelligent girls. I'm pretty sure we decided on 33 being the magic number for us. Being I just celebrated my 32nd birthday, that leaves us a year to conceive. I'm brought back to those feelings of, there is NO way my well being will be able to do this for another year. Hell, I don't know if I could handle another cycle of this roller coaster of emotions, heartache, let downs, etc. But there is that nagging desire within me that says, keep on going, you can do this.