Good news?

Part 1:

My FSH was 16.7!!! this is almost half of what my FSH was when I tested in January. If you are not familiar with FSH, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, here is a summary of what it is and why it's important:

FSH is the hormone tested on day 3 of your cycle. This is the hormone that stimulates your follicles to produce an egg. An ideal FSH is below 10, especially for any type of treatment. Anything over 10 is considered risky, and anything over 15 is considered untreatable. 31.7 is basically considered perimenopausal and you are told, like me, that you are have "diminished ovarian reserve" (DOR) and are headed to premature ovarian failure (POF).

Basically, a high number means that your ovaries are working harder than they should to produce an egg, because there aren't many to choose from, it's like stepping on the gas really hard when there is hardly anything left in the tank.

FSH is used to predict how successful you will be with any drugs that stimulate your ovaries during an IUI or IVF, or even just a round of clomid. If you have a high number, anything over 10, it is shown that you will not respond well, if at all to any of these stimulating drugs. This is why doctors say you don't have much of a chance with treatment if you have high FSH. High FSH is one of the only conditions that can't be treated or helped, and most couples are told they won't have children of their own, with or without help.

So, yes, it's good that my FSH is lower, rather than higher. However, in the medical world, it really doesn't matter. Once you have even just one high FSH count, that high count is considered your "true" reflection of ovarian function. You are only as good as your WORST number.

However.......There is still a lot doctors don't know about FSH. They will tell you that you can still get pregnant naturally, but your chances, like mine, are "less than 1%". So, basically what they are saying is that you are able to get pregnant, you just, most likely, won't. But, miracles happen everyday. There are many women who get pregnant with high FSH, some naturally, some with treatment, even after being told it probably wouldn't happen for them. So, this brings me to where I am today.

Part 2

We went to see another RE (reproductive endocrinologist) yesterday. We were extremely discouraged from our last RE, Dr. S., who basically told us to throw in the towel and use donor eggs, donor embryo, or adopt. There are MANY reasons why I hate this man, but I won't get into them all here.

After doing a lot of research online, I have found other women who have been successful with treatment. I decided to find a doctor who would be willing to go beyond the "textbook" and actually help a more difficult case like mine. I do understand that my chances are small, and I do understand that things are not in my favor, but I also understand that I do STILL HAVE A CHANCE!

*tangent* - Fertility specialists are required to post all of their statistics. There is a big databse of stats on success rates for these specialists. It is a very competitive practice and doctors want to show they have the highest success rates in town. Sometimes it means talking a patient out of treatment that they don't think will be successful especially on the first try.

We met with Dr. K and after about 20 minutes we knew he was a much better match for us. He has been practicing for over 20 years and is the oldest and most experienced RE in the city, and I think even the state. He went into the various "theories and practices" on stims, what has been done and what is being done in other countries (he is Japanese) and how he doesn't necessarily like what's being done in the US. Anyways, to make a long story short, we like the way he thinks and he is willing to help us.

He gave us a couple of options, including IUI and IVF and several other tests he wants us to do before we do anything. We have a lot to think about and to pray about. We don't want to get our hopes up too high, but we are rejoicing that we found a doctor who isn't going to let statistics get in his way of helping us. I also LOVE that he gave me BBT (basal body temp) charts to take home so I can start temping. Do you know how many doctors basically scorn taking your basal body temperature, claiming it's "prehistoric"? I'm glad he sees the value in letting my own body tell us what it is doing. I am just so thankful for this answer to prayer, and even if things don't work, I know that we tried everything we could before giving up on our own baby.