Our Fertility Story

Over a year ago, Ted and I decided that the time was right to try and get pregnant. I went off the pill and we figured that we would just see how things went. After a few months, we weren’t pregnant and I started keeping track of my cycle to pinpoint the optimal time. Several more months went by and with my irregular cycle, I decided to speak with my doctor. She did some initial bloodwork to check hormone levels and also sent me for an internal x-ray to check whether my fallopian tubes were open. The tubes were fine but the hormones were odd, and she recommended that we see a fertility doctor. Ultrasounds of my ovaries helped the fertility doctor to diagnose PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) which essentially means that I don’t or rarely ovulate. In most cases, he said, patients with PCOS are successful getting pregnant with the help of fertility drugs. He said that within a few tries he would expect us to be pregnant.

After our first cycle of clomid, I got blood drawn on Friday April 11. The doctor called with the happy news that I was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it and I remember asking him several times “are you sure?”. This was a belated birthday present for Ted, and for the next few weeks we were so happy. My first ultrasound was scheduled at 6 weeks. Ted came with me to the appointment at the end of April. We knew that there was an increased chance of twins, primarily because an ultrasound had revealed two follicles ready to release eggs, and also because of our family history (my youngest brother and sister are twins). So when the doctor showed us the first embryo and then said “and here’s a second”, I looked at Ted and we were both happy and excited. Then when the doctor said “and there’s a third”, I reached out and put my hand on Ted’s chest for support as we both absorbed the news. The doctor was not very happy to see three embryos and started explaining some of the risks to us then but I don’t think we took in the details. He was also very surprised and said he had only seen triplets occur with clomid one other time in his career. (I have since found that it is not as uncommon.)

The next course of action was just to wait and see. In many cases, we were told, the pregnancy would “resolve itself” and one or more embryos would self-terminate. So each week, we went back to the doctor’s office for another ultrasound. It consistently showed that embryo A was smaller and measuring a week behind, while B and C seemed normal. This was the case for the next three ultrasounds, and I think by that time we had convinced ourselves it would end up being twins. Every Friday appointment was like the movie Groundhog Day, and was a repeat of the last time. At the last ultrasound with the fertility doctor, A had just about caught up to the other two embryos.

We knew that the next step would be a referral to a specialist for CVS testing (chorionic vilius sampling) and possible multi-fetal reduction, having already discussed this option with the fertility doctor.