Just in case you haven't been informed, we went the invitro-fertilization (IVF) route in order to get
where we are today.  We had tried the "old fashion way" for nearly a year when the doctor told us
that we might be wise to have ourselves checked out.  It turns out that there was a problem that would
make it very unlikely (if not impossible) to conceive a child without some medical assistance.

We began with simple fertility drugs (clomid and fertinex) and a procedure known as intrauterine
insemination or IUI which is the relatively cheap first step.  After having little success in several
attempts covering nearly eight months, we moved to a similar procedure with stronger drugs as
a second stage, not really expecting it to work since its success rate was not much higher than
IUI.  It took us a year and moving to Greenville, SC before we decided to try again.
The doctors all agreed, that the next step would have to be IVF since the other procedures
most likely weren't going to work for us.

While there has been a lot of yammering in the news about fertility drugs and
huge numbers of multiples being born to stubborn mothers.  You should know these facts:

With our circumstances, the chances of success were a mere 40% per attempt of conceiving a
single pregnancy.  We went into the procedure hopeful, but realistic that we might have to endure
another round of IVF with all of the trouble, pain (for Rachel) and cost associated with IVF.  It
wasn't an easy process (take a pill, have a baby) to be sure.

Feel free to read more about it at the InterNational Center for Infertility Information Disemination:
  IVF   and then read the other part  ICSI

And then have a look at the doctor that made it all possible and the guy who had to tell me that
I would have three starting college in the same year.

     John E. Nichols, Jr., M.D.                 Greenville Center for Women's Medicine (REI)
 
 

Just to give you a taste of the process, this is the list of drugs Rachel had to take during the
2 1/2 weeks leading up to the IVF egg retrieval process and weeks/months after.

Prenatal Vitamins     (One tablet per day until the babies are 6 months old)
Doxycycline           (One tablet daily for 7 days)
Lupron                (One injection daily, 18 days)
Gonal-F               (Two injections daily, 5 days and then once per day for 3 days)
Repronex              (One injection daily, 3 days)
HCG                   (One injection, total)
Methylprednisolone    (Two tablets, twice a day for 10 days)
Crinone               (Once per day, for 10 weeks)
Trovan                (One tablet, total)