We started on the road to having a baby 3 1/2 years ago. 2 months before we got married we decided to go off the pill and try to conceive.

I waited a year before I went to a specialist. He said to go away for 6 months and if I'm not pregnant they will do a laparoscopy, so in June 1997 I had a laparoscopy. They found bits of endo and bowel sticking to my tubes, but my tubes were apparently fine. He again told me to go away and I would be pregnant in a few months. I waited till November and then demanded to do IUI. We had our first one that month. I was on Clomid and produced 3 follicles. That cycle did not work. We tried again in February 1998, that also did not work. I then decided that for my 3rd and final IUI I would have an HSG beforehand as I had heard that it clears the tubes like a washout. So I had the HSG in March 1998 and they discovered a badly blocked left tube. I was devastated. I changed doctors and found a new one who highly recommended IVF for me. So we put our credit card in debt and did our first IVF. This turned into disaster, when somehow, regardless of being on Lupron I ovulated early and lost 11 out of 16 eggs. They did catch 5 but they were poor in condition.

Only one made it to transfer. Needless to say it didn't work.

We then found out that our name had come up on the public waiting list (free) so we had to go back to our original clinic. We went back there and went on Metrodin for this IVF cycle. After 7 days I hyperstimulated and they sort of postponed the cycle, so I stopped stim drugs but carried on the Lupron. After a week the follicles still hadn't gone away so I had to have a cyst aspiration to get rid of them. By then I was feeling very, very ill, so in the end I burst out crying and cancelled the cycle. I then had surgery in December last year to open up the tube and remove the bowel sticking to the uterus. All went well and my doc said that we should give it till May then try IVF again.

May came around and we finished our 3rd IVF that was yet another disaster. I was on Gonal-F this time and hyperstimulated so they decided to coast me. Then I prematurely ovulated again, regardless of having being on a higher dose of Lupron.

We tried again in late July with Gonal-F again. This time I hyperstimulated again, but they went ahead with the retrieval and retrieved 20 eggs. Out of those 20 eggs, 14 fertilized. They are now sitting in the freezer.

It is now October and we are about to do our first FET. My heart really isn't in it, but my husband really wants to give it one last shot, so we are doing it. The actual transfer will be in about 2 weeks from today (14/10/99).

As for adoption we have just completed our homestudy and sent it in to the agency. We have a one-day seminar in November and our profile should be in Russia by the end of December. I am very excited about the adoption. My heart is now completely in that instead of getting pregnant.

I'm sorry my story is hardly a "winning" one, but it has been a very long hard road. I have not been pregnant for even one day throughout these 3 1/2 years.

Shelley
burkes@ihug.co.nz

Author's Update: 1/11/99 Unthawed 10 embryos and came out with 2 blasts so we replaced them on October 30th. We get the results Monday November 8th. Our profile will be in Russia by the end of December for adoption.