Hello and welcome to the Fairfax Cryobank Family Forum!
The forum has a new look and the Fairfax Team is so excited to create the best experience for our users.
To Note:
Private Donor Groups and Private Sibling Connection Groups are now located under the category "Groups". Search the donor number in the search box and you should find exactly what you're looking for!
Questions about your forum access? Email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
Follow these steps to join a private donor group:
1) Press "Join" at the right of the group
2) Once prompted to confirm your request please list this information so we can verify your information:
Name (under which the vial was purchased)
Email
Clinic Name
Donor number
Child Date of Birth
*If you are looking to start a private group for a PRS donor please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com with the above information and that you are looking for a PRS group*
If you have any questions about the verification process please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
The forum has a new look and the Fairfax Team is so excited to create the best experience for our users.
To Note:
Private Donor Groups and Private Sibling Connection Groups are now located under the category "Groups". Search the donor number in the search box and you should find exactly what you're looking for!
Questions about your forum access? Email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
Follow these steps to join a private donor group:
1) Press "Join" at the right of the group
2) Once prompted to confirm your request please list this information so we can verify your information:
Name (under which the vial was purchased)
Clinic Name
Donor number
Child Date of Birth
*If you are looking to start a private group for a PRS donor please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com with the above information and that you are looking for a PRS group*
If you have any questions about the verification process please email forum@fairfaxcryobank.com
One ovary, single and soon-to-be unemployed...
njbaby79
Junior Member
At 31 I thought I’d be traveling Eastern Europe with my amazing life partner. Instead I am a ball of nerves and tears fretting over a monstrous student loan, one ovary and near unemployment. Timing I am told, is everything. Well, when will someone let timing know I need him/her to shape up? Timing really must be a man because women tend to have things at least sorted out. Ok, that was a bit unfair, but I have to sneak in some humor here and there. I like many others using this forum, found myself in a less than ideal reproductive situation. In 2008 I passed out in an airport in Little Rock, AR only to wake up in a strange hospital with a nurse telling me my surgery went well. Say whaaa? Apparently I had a 12cm dermoid cyst explode in my abdomen at some point. My body was in the beginning stage of septic shock. As a means of saving my organs and ultimately my life, the doctors went in and cleaned up the mess. I knew I had been a bit crampy and uncomfortable for a few months, but as a woman I had grown to accept the occasional twinge and pressure. Unfortunately 9 days later, on my birthday, I had to have my left ovary removed. Happy Birthday to me! ?
Of course I began hounding my GYN, the best GYN I know, about my chances of conceiving children. She told me that I had nothing to worry about. Despite having the highest level of confidence and trust in my doctor, I thought I would find out for sure. I requested a full noninvasive scan and ultrasound of my body, full hormonal check-up and estrogen supplements. Since my insurance coverage was awesome and I was financially able to foot the bill for any lingering costs, my doctor humored my requests. As it turns out, I was pretty healthy except for one thing, my estrogen levels were lower than my testosterone levels. ? Apparently my extensive weight and strength training had thrown my body out of whack. I was producing more testosterone than estrogen. That was a side tickler. I looked awesome from a physique standpoint for a young woman of my age. I actually worked with my doctor’s personal trainer to help improve some areas she wanted to work on. Everything was so nice and not masculine looking so I wasn’t sure how that happened. Nonetheless she gave me some meds that helped to correct the problem.
Once I got over the whole estrogen good, too much testosterone bad scenario, I began mentally preparing for a child. I had no options in the way of a partner and I would not consider the whole guy friend = known donor for obvious reasons. The only feasible option in my mind was donor sperm. Now how can I sneak that by my family and friends? I have never been one for caring about what others think especially when it’s something I want for myself, but I do value the logic that sometimes comes from those that I trust and love the most. I had pondered the stigma that society and ill-informed people tend to attribute to such a means of conception, but society doesn’t have to raise my child. The negative connotations of “test-tube babies” and children that may never know 50% of their lineage are unpleasant and still alive and kicking. I had to prepare myself to fight such battles that my child may face one day. I know I will be and am strong enough, but how will my child cope? I really took some serious time to do some soul-searching. Fearing that your child may resent you or yearn for knowledge and interactions that I may never be able to give him/her is tough to rationalize. I can only provide my willingness to answer questions, seek out avenues available for assistance and love my child with every fiber of my being. I vowed to never withhold any aspect of my decision and struggles to achieve a live birth.
So here I am today, starring down the scope of cycle number 3.
Round 1: Went to the Insemination troll as I like to call it. Femara was taken on days 3-7 of my cycle. 4 excellent follies (13mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm) on the right side, perfect cervical mucus, 250mcg Ovidrel on day 12, IUI on day 13. Spotting on day 6 of the 2WW…assumption of it being implantation spotting. Got a BFN on 2 HPTs on day 14 of the dreaded 2WW. Retest done on day 15, BFN. ? Spotting the day before AF. AF smiled on the following day. ? Crushed…cried all day and all night.
Round 2: Went to the Insemination troll again. Femara once again, 2 follies (20mm and 13mm). 250mcg of Ovidrel on day 12, IUI on day 13. Spotting bright red on day12 of the 2WW. Scared to death. Spotting again on day 15, AF smiled on day 16 post IUI.
I had nothing but starry eyes and not a single thought of how I would feel should the first cycle not work. I could not regroup for nearly a month. I hated seeing babies, though I love the sight of them. My spirit was broken. I starting blogging about my journey on Wordpress for days. Finally I got it together and prepared for my second cycle. Before my ultrasound was scheduled, I learned my job of six years was ending. The company was sold and ALL the employees would be let go in 60 days. ? Crushed yet again. Talk about a shock. Luck is not on my side. Well, since the company is gracious enough to allow our benefits to carry through an entire month after the closing, I decided to give things one last try before I have to foot the entire bill. I couldn’t have imagined things would have gone this route. This experience has been a humbling one. I have not reached my goal of motherhood as of yet, but my faith in God has been renewed and strengthened. I would hear of couples/women going through similar processes prior to doing it myself and I always sympathized for them. Funny thing is I never thought I would EMPHATIZE with them at any point. Life always has a way of humbling the most confident of us all. I wish the best and much success to everyone on here. I hope you keep me in mind and send some baby dust my way too. This journey has been difficult for me, since I am going in alone and with only one distant shoulder to lean on. I would love an email buddy if anyone is interested….
¸.·´¯`·.´¯`[{-_-}] ZZZzz ·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>
Of course I began hounding my GYN, the best GYN I know, about my chances of conceiving children. She told me that I had nothing to worry about. Despite having the highest level of confidence and trust in my doctor, I thought I would find out for sure. I requested a full noninvasive scan and ultrasound of my body, full hormonal check-up and estrogen supplements. Since my insurance coverage was awesome and I was financially able to foot the bill for any lingering costs, my doctor humored my requests. As it turns out, I was pretty healthy except for one thing, my estrogen levels were lower than my testosterone levels. ? Apparently my extensive weight and strength training had thrown my body out of whack. I was producing more testosterone than estrogen. That was a side tickler. I looked awesome from a physique standpoint for a young woman of my age. I actually worked with my doctor’s personal trainer to help improve some areas she wanted to work on. Everything was so nice and not masculine looking so I wasn’t sure how that happened. Nonetheless she gave me some meds that helped to correct the problem.
Once I got over the whole estrogen good, too much testosterone bad scenario, I began mentally preparing for a child. I had no options in the way of a partner and I would not consider the whole guy friend = known donor for obvious reasons. The only feasible option in my mind was donor sperm. Now how can I sneak that by my family and friends? I have never been one for caring about what others think especially when it’s something I want for myself, but I do value the logic that sometimes comes from those that I trust and love the most. I had pondered the stigma that society and ill-informed people tend to attribute to such a means of conception, but society doesn’t have to raise my child. The negative connotations of “test-tube babies” and children that may never know 50% of their lineage are unpleasant and still alive and kicking. I had to prepare myself to fight such battles that my child may face one day. I know I will be and am strong enough, but how will my child cope? I really took some serious time to do some soul-searching. Fearing that your child may resent you or yearn for knowledge and interactions that I may never be able to give him/her is tough to rationalize. I can only provide my willingness to answer questions, seek out avenues available for assistance and love my child with every fiber of my being. I vowed to never withhold any aspect of my decision and struggles to achieve a live birth.
So here I am today, starring down the scope of cycle number 3.
Round 1: Went to the Insemination troll as I like to call it. Femara was taken on days 3-7 of my cycle. 4 excellent follies (13mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm) on the right side, perfect cervical mucus, 250mcg Ovidrel on day 12, IUI on day 13. Spotting on day 6 of the 2WW…assumption of it being implantation spotting. Got a BFN on 2 HPTs on day 14 of the dreaded 2WW. Retest done on day 15, BFN. ? Spotting the day before AF. AF smiled on the following day. ? Crushed…cried all day and all night.
Round 2: Went to the Insemination troll again. Femara once again, 2 follies (20mm and 13mm). 250mcg of Ovidrel on day 12, IUI on day 13. Spotting bright red on day12 of the 2WW. Scared to death. Spotting again on day 15, AF smiled on day 16 post IUI.
I had nothing but starry eyes and not a single thought of how I would feel should the first cycle not work. I could not regroup for nearly a month. I hated seeing babies, though I love the sight of them. My spirit was broken. I starting blogging about my journey on Wordpress for days. Finally I got it together and prepared for my second cycle. Before my ultrasound was scheduled, I learned my job of six years was ending. The company was sold and ALL the employees would be let go in 60 days. ? Crushed yet again. Talk about a shock. Luck is not on my side. Well, since the company is gracious enough to allow our benefits to carry through an entire month after the closing, I decided to give things one last try before I have to foot the entire bill. I couldn’t have imagined things would have gone this route. This experience has been a humbling one. I have not reached my goal of motherhood as of yet, but my faith in God has been renewed and strengthened. I would hear of couples/women going through similar processes prior to doing it myself and I always sympathized for them. Funny thing is I never thought I would EMPHATIZE with them at any point. Life always has a way of humbling the most confident of us all. I wish the best and much success to everyone on here. I hope you keep me in mind and send some baby dust my way too. This journey has been difficult for me, since I am going in alone and with only one distant shoulder to lean on. I would love an email buddy if anyone is interested….
¸.·´¯`·.´¯`[{-_-}] ZZZzz ·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º>
Comments
Its important to stay positive and know that God won't bring you THIS far only to leave you. He is always with you even when you feel completely alone and isolated. Be encouraged and remember there's a test in testimony!
All the best and lots of positive thoughts!
Moe