The big science experiment begins!

Chris and I have just discovered that our chances of successfully conceiving naturally are less than 5%. I'm no statistician but that can't be good!

We first saw a consultant last November who apart from carrying out a whole host of blood tests and scans on me (and sperm count tests for Chris) put me through the pain and discomfort of a laparoscopy in March this year.

My results all revealed normal findings. Knowing that there is a history of premature menopause for women in my family (33-35 for mum, aunt and nanna), I opted to pay privately through the consultant for a test to discover the state of my ovarian reserve (which would indicate whether or not premature menopause is likely to be an issue for me).

We had the results just over 2 weeks ago. So what would these results indicate:

40-48 = high fertility (and what a dr would expect to see for a healthy patient in their late 20s)

20-40 = average fertility

5-20 = low fertility

0-5 = infertile

So what was my score?

7.

Bummer.

The dr went on to explain those results aren't "catastrophic" but had we come back in a year's time they would be unlikely to be able to help us (whilst the dr did her best to focus on the positives, the entire time she was speaking I was reading the subtext which was basically, your results were shockingly low for your age - I was sceptical about your premature menopause claims but looks like you were telling the truth!)

So what are our options now? The only real option for us to have a baby is to go for ICSI. This is one stage further than IVF (in IVF they harvest eggs and mix with sperm, allowing the sperm and eggs to fertilise naturually (well as naturally as they can in a test tube!)). With ICSI they do the first bit the same as IVF up to the fertilisation bit but go one stage further by actually injecting each egg with a sperm to force fertilisation.

We had a planning session with the nurse on Monday of this week and picked up our (I say "our", but really I mean "my") drugs.

It's quite a daunting regime:

I thought it would be of interest to people to understand more about how this marvellous science experiment works (having had no clue other than it involves injections until a week ago). There are two different ways of doing IVF/ICSI insofar as the drugs regime is concerned. One where they suppress your body's own hormones for a few weeks (to put you into a temporary chemical induced menopause) then give you a load of hormones. The other (and the one I will be on) they work with your natural cycle and just boost your own natural hormones.

Timeline (reference to the days refers to days in the cycle):

Day 2 - go for scan to check lining all okay and healthy and right thickness and start drugs by injecting to boost the ovulation process to make my ovaries release a number of follicles (continue with these drugs until about day 12)

Day 5 - start some anatagonist drugs to release the follicles

Day 6 - scan to check number of follicles and size and progress

Day 11 - scan to check number of follicles and size and progress to decide if ready to be harvested.

Day 12 - If all looking good for harvesting, get a hCG injection (the pregnancy hormone) to trick the body into thinking it is pregnant

Day 14 - get put under general anaesthetic for follicles to be harvested. Chris gives a sample of semen to be used in the lab to fertilise the eggs

Day 14-15 embryos are grown in the lab and checked to ensure they are healthy and dividing normally. If more than 6 embryos are doing well, they will continue to grow them for another few days to get to blastocyst stage (100 cells or more)

Day 15 or 18 - the best looking embryo is implanted back into my uterus (done whilst conscious with the use of a catheter in the purpose built entrance!) Start a high dose of progesterone

Day 29 or 32 - go back to the clinic for a pregnancy test.

If pregnant, the progesterone prescription will continue to be taken up to 12 weeks.

The Big Taylor Science Experiment begins at the end of August.