Our Struggle

 Just 3 months after being married we went off birth control. We knew that we would have some problems getting pregnant, just didn't know the extent of it at the time. We didn't want to prevent the chance of us having a baby, so we decided to go off all types of prevention.

After about 6 months of no luck, we decided it was time to see our obgyn. He confirmed that I had PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome.). I was actually diagnosed with this condition when I was about 14 years old. PCOS is;

The ovaries doesn't make all of the hormones it needs for an egg to fully mature. The follicles may start to grow and build up fluid but ovulation does not occur. Instead, some follicles may remain as cysts. For these reasons, ovulation does not occur and the hormone progesterone is not made. Without progesterone, a woman's menstrual cycle is irregular or absent. Plus, the ovaries make male hormones, which also prevent ovulation. Due to a hormone imbalance in women some symptoms include: irregular or no menstrual periods, heavy periods, excess body and facial hair, acne, pelvic pain, trouble getting pregnant, and patches of thick, darker, velvety skin.

Many women have a hard time getting pregnant with PCOS, but a lot of women do have babies. We felt very confident that we would be able to conceive. Our Doctor put us on a medicine called Clomid, the most common drug for infertility, epically with women who suffer from PCOS. Clomid works by stimulating an increase in the amount of hormones that support the growth and release of a mature egg (ovulation.). We did 4 rounds of Clomid, then I went back to school so we went off all hormone medication. We never went back on to any type of birth control.

6 months later we went back to the Doctor and started Clomid again! After 9 long and emotional months we still were not pregnant. Our doctor decided to send us on to an infertility specialist. We were referred to Cache Valley Infertility. They are seriously the best doctors and I highly recommend them to anyone struggling with infertility. They are very knowledgeable, compassionate and easy to work with.

This is when we started testing, testing and more testing to get to the bottom of our problem. The first thing they did was test Colten. All his test came back great with no concern. At this point, we knew it was me. We did blood work, blood work, and some more blood work, ultrasounds and more ultrasound. Everything seemed to be coming back okay. That's when the doctors decided it was time to send me for a hysterosalpingogram (say that 10x fast).

 Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) is an x-ray test that looks at the inside of the uterus and fallopian tubes and the area around them. It often is done for women who are having a hard time becoming pregnant. During a hysterosalpingogram, a dye is put through a thin tube that is put through the vagina and into the uterus. Because the uterus and the fallopian tubes are hooked together, the dye will flow into the fallopian tubes. Pictures are taken using a steady beam of X-ray as the dye passes through the uterus and fallopian tubes. The pictures can show problems such as an injury or abnormal structure of the uterus or fallopian tubes, or a blockage that would prevent an egg moving through a fallopian tube to the uterus. A blockage also could prevent sperm from moving into a fallopian tube and joining (fertilizing) an egg. A hysterosalpingogram also may find problems on the inside of the uterus that prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall.

Right before the test was done. I am so glad Colten was there with me to hold my hand. Little did we know, we would be getting life changing news.

The result of the test was not exactly what we were hoping or wanting. I was diagnosed with an Unicornuate Uterus;

A unicornuate uterus is half the size of a normal uterus and there is only one fallopian tube. Because of its shape, it is described as a uterus with one horn. It is a rare abnormality, affecting about one in 1,000 women. It develops in the earliest stages of life, when the tissue that forms the uterus does not grow properly. If you have a unicornuate uterus, you probably have two ovaries but only one will be connected to your uterus Pregnancy can occur with a unicornuate uterus, and the term pregnancy rate is approximately 47%. But women with a unicornuate uterus who do become pregnant are at risk of: Spontaneous abortion - it is thought that the abnormal shape of the uterus itself and compromised blood flow to the uterus and placenta lead to spontaneous abortion. Premature labor - since the uterine cavity is smaller than usual, the baby outgrows the available space earlier in the pregnancy and there is an increase in breech presentation during delivery.



So, I only have one fallopian tube, but that tube is convoluted. Which means its hard for the egg and sperm to meet there. The fallopian tube is where the egg and sperm"hangout" for the 3-4 days before the embryo makes it way down the tube and implants in the uterus. With my tube not functionally working, it makes it hard for us to conceive on our own

The doctor can completely bypass the fallopian tube by doing IVF. IFV is preformed by extracting an egg from me and collecting sperm from Colten. And carefully creating a little embryo and implanting it in my uterus. Sounds ideal right??  But the problem now is having a unicornuate uterus. Sure, they can implant an embryo.. but there is only a 47% chance I could carry it.

We were left with the decison of paying $15,000-$20,000 to do IVF only having a 47% chance of caring the baby or saving our money for adoption or surrogate mother.

After much thought and prayer we decided to continue with adoption and save our money for surrogate. My sweet mom has offered to carry a baby for me and Colten. How sweet is that??? She is such a blessing in our life. We know that threw adoption and doing surrogate we will be blessed with children.

so, in a nutshell... I have a unicornuate uterus. I have both ovaries. Only one of them is connected to my uterus. But is connected with a convoluted tube that doesn't work properly.  And only have a 47% chance of caring a baby! We want children and will find a perfect little baby that needs to be ADOPTED!!!