It is kind of a bummer because I swear I had some early pregnancy symptoms including some spotting a week ago. I was using progesterone cream every night and some of the side effects are similar to pregnancy, but last week while using the bathroom I had a little redish coloring when I wiped. Not a lot, but something I might see a day or two after my period ends. So I thought that might be implantation bleeding. I did read that up to 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, but up to 75% of the miscarriages happen before the fifth week of pregnancy (third week from ovulation). A woman might not even realize she is pregnant and might only have a slightly heavier period. I also read that early miscarriages like this is because of a chromosome imbalance. So perhaps I did really see some spotting, or maybe I was just hoping.
So, the first week after my IUI I went to San Diego. I noted some cramping. Last time I remember cramping the day of the IUI and maybe the next day, but not after that. This time I had some cramping/tenderness for a while. It wasn't enough to bother my normal activity so I wasn't concerned, but I could feel my uterus. A week ago I had some tenderness, constipation, maybe some mood swings and maybe a craving? We went to a fish shop one day and the next day I wanted the same food again. I was disappointed that we were having chicken instead, but it also didn't seem like a craving for the food, just a wish. That is also when I noted the spotting on the TP.
On the second week, I did feel a little nauseated one day but it was pretty mild. I would get it a few hours after I had eaten. I remembered that one of my friend's said her doctor told her to eat before she got nauseated. So when I felt nauseated I would eat lunch or dinner and it went away for a while. I also noticed that my nipples were hard during this time. I don't really remember my nipples getting hard or sensitive for no reason. They didn't hurt tho so maybe I just never notice. It was because of these two symptoms that I took the first pregnancy test on Saturday.
Today I called in my negative pregnancy test, because of Covid-19 the test was at home. It was nice that I didn't need to go in and pay for blood work. Since the test was negative, I'm going to believe that the symptoms were because I was paying more attention to my body, and/or I was using progesterone cream. Perhaps it was a chemical pregnancy, I know I had that "feels different" feeling, but I think for next time I will assume they are side effect not symptoms because I don't want to get my hopes up.
Generally, after the third IUI women will increase the medication to increase the chance of pregnancy. There are more side effects, and an increase chance of twins, but there is a 25% chance of pregnancy in the first round instead of a 12.5% chance. I know the last cycle I did it more naturally, but I did have the trigger shot and the progesterone cream. I think that counts as two IUI cycles. The added cost of the hFSH injections is most definitely less than having to do two or more regular IUI cycles. So I think it would save me money and time to jump to the next step.
Additionally, the treatment center I go to often have trials for IVF, last year I was considering one, but I needed to have two IUI cycles first, I know other trials require more cycles. However, right now there aren't any trials for IVF probably because of COVID-19. So if the IVF was an option than the simple and cheaper IUI would probably be better, because if I qualified for IVF then the likelihood of getting pregnant is high and the cost is super low. Since I don't have that fall back plan, I think I should try the option that has the best results and that I can reasonably afford. I probably would consider getting a personal loan to do an IVF if it came down to it, but I don't really want to take a loan out if I don't have to.
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