After a 3-month hiatus from intrauterine inseminations (IUIs), my husband was fully recovered from his surgery and had a new "crop" of sperm to work with. So, we started infertility treatments again.

By this time, we were approaching the two-year mark of trying to conceive. While I was frustrated that the process was taking so long, I was also hopeful that we had "fixed" our fertility issues and would soon become pregnant.

While we did not run another formal semen analysis, the nurse viewed the specimen under the microscope before our next IUI and confirmed that the surgery had worked. My husband's sperm count was now in the "normal" range, so the odds of our conceiving with an IUI were much better. Unfortunately, after several more IUIs, I was still not pregnant.

Dr. M said that the next step was to try follicle tracking. Instead of using an ovulation predictor kit, he wanted me to come into the office around the time that I was supposed to ovulate so that his office could track the progress of my ovaries. Once my body was ready to ovulate, he would give me an injection to ensure that I ovulated, and then we would do an IUI the next morning.

Follicle tracking is performed using an ultrasound. The only type of ultrasound I knew about was the paddle that you rub over a pregnant woman's abdomen. This type of ultrasound uses a wand that is inserted past your cervix toward your ovaries.

The procedure was uncomfortable but not painful. It was interesting to watch the results of the ultrasound on the monitor. My eggs appeared as large black circles surrounded by white, which I believe was the ovary itself. Some months, we could even see two black circles pressed beside each other on one side. This was caused by the Clomid and could have resulted in our conceiving twins.

The physician's assistant (PA) would track the size of my eggs. Once they reached a certain size, then I was ready to ovulate. There were some months where I had to come into the office two or three times before the eggs were large enough. The PA was pretty good about judging the rate of growth, so in most months, I only needed one or two visits.

Once I was ready to ovulate, the PA gave me a shot in the bottom using a really large and scary-looking needle. I wondered if the doctor had to buy those needles from a horse veterinarian because they looked excessively large for human use. The nurse explained that the needle needed to reach deep into my muscle tissue, which is why it was so long. All I know is that it was quite a scary sight.

One month, I needed the shot over the weekend, and my husband and I spent an hour arguing over who was going to administer it to me. The options were -

• My husband giving me the shot in my bottom
• Giving myself the shot in my thigh

There is a good reason that I did not go to medical school: I am squeamish about blood and shots. We finally reached an impasse, so I told him that we would just have to skip the IUI that month. He finally gave me the shot and asked me not to talk about it again.

Related Topic:

Instructions on Using Injectable Drugs