The Infertility Appointment.

I have been delaying to write an update for a while, because I have been hoping it will be an "I'm pregnant!" update instead of the infertility appointment update. However, after 7 months of unsuccessful trying I decided it was time to investigate things further. My anxiety about keeping my JRA under control, on less than optimal systemic medications has continued, and was recently exacerbated after my pharmacy gave me the wrong dose of Enbrel,causing a brief Uveitis flare. Fortunately, everything is back under control and I am even more anxious to get pregnant quickly.

This leads me to yesterday's appointment at the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery. I have been to hundreds of doctors appointments in my lifetime but I was more anxious about this one then many of my previous appointments. Infertility is certainly out of my comfort zone of medical knowledge and experience. Send me to an ophthalmologist or rheumatologist any day but I had no idea what to expect at this appointment. Infertility is usually managed by a reproductive endocrinologist (RE), a new specialist to add to my list! The RE we met with was very thorough and informative. She agreed with my concerns to want to become pregnant quickly and my hesitation to wait the recommended year of trying to conceive before seeking out fertility treatment. She suggested a full-blood work up, semen analysis and to schedule a hysterosalpingogram, or HSG, at my next cycle. She then discussed that if nothing is found wrong, it will be a little tricky have insurance approve any treatments before a year of unsuccessful trying, but we can cross that bridge when the time comes.



I left feeling slightly relieved that we had a plan in motion and were no longer just waiting for it to happen. Trying to conceive while having JRA is very emotionally stressful. It is very hard for me to not think about the "what if's?" What if some of my medications make it harder to get pregnant? What if having JRA for 30 years somehow impacts my fertility? What if I flare and need medications that are contraindicated in pregnancy? What if this never happens? However, I am hopeful that we are heading in the right direction and will have answers one way or another soon...