Friday, February 11, 2011

The hoplesness of infertility

I am going to be quite honest.

Part of me feels like I have given up on ever being pregnant again. It would be silly to say that, because every cycle I get excited again, only to have my hopes dashed. I am an optimist. I know I am. I want to be angry and mad, I want to scream. But inside there is that tiny, nagging feeling. I am still, after all this time, hopeful.

Sometimes I wish the hope would go away. Sometimes I feel so stupid for thinking "Oh maybe this is the month!." I just have this feeling I am not done. I can't explain it. I don't know why I feel the way I do. God do I hope it's true.

We started our tax returns and a small part of me got really really excited. We're getting a little bit more back than I expected, due in large part to the crazy amount of money I spent on graduate courses last year, including the new certification I am getting. All I can think about is this summer: new RE, new clinic, and money to spend, hopefully, on IUIs so we can get pregnant.

But then my negativity comes back: what if this is just throwing money down the drain? We don't have money for IVF. If we do a few cycles of IUI this summer and it doesn't work, it might just have to be it.

The thought petrifies me.

I hate the uncertainty. I feel like I am in a constant limbo with a large part of me feeling so stupid to think I might actually get pregnant, and a tiny part of me keeping that flame of hope alive. Sometimes I get so mad, I just want to blow it out so I can move on.

The overwhelming sense of hopelessness is always there. I try to ignore it, but sometimes I feel like a cloud hangs over my head everywhere I go. It nags me: "Why chart? Why temp? Why try?"

I wanted it to be easy for once. I hate that it can't be easy.

I think I hate most of all the horrible mix of emotions and isolation of being infertile. I care so much for others, yet feel angry when friends announce they are pregnant. Those feelings just turn around and make me ashamed. There's no way to win.

I hope I am not pinning my everything on something that will never happen. I just have to get these feelings out, as they have been weighing so heavily on my mind. Thanks for listening.




6 comments:

Chynna said...

Thank you for sharing this. Your post broke my heart because I can relate so much to the temps, charting, etc. (I've had cervical cancer so my cervix is scarred and a bicornuate uterus...) We did it all too. We have 4 but it took some work and I don't exactly have the healthiest immune system.

I'm going to make sure all the mums I know struggling with infertility have your blog in their Favorites. You are doing great things here. <3

Chynna
www.lilywolfwords.ca
www.the-gift-blog.com
www.seethewhiteelephants.com

Esther and Brian said...

sending you big hugs...i felt very similarly before the twins were concieved...i worked as a rep for obgyn offices and i saw pregnant ladies all day long. it was hard. but let's keep the hope up and believe that it may just happen again for you. one way or another. i truly hope so and wish you the best of, well, luck, patience and health. Hugs from Illinois...

Souza Sisters said...

(((HUGS))) to you...

Safire said...

I have been having a lot of the same feelings and struggles too. Every month, I get excited and hopeful, then every month I am reminded that I shouldn't be. I'm also scared of starting up treatment and throwing money down a dark hole with nothing to show for it. It's frustrating, awful, and just plain not fair. *pouts in corner*

tbonegrl said...

I think the worst part of infertility is that it is such a silent disease. People are almost afraid to talk about how much pain they are in.

Thanks for listening and letting me lean on you, ladies

Lisa said...

I have that same tiny bit of hope every month, despite never being pregnant (we adopted 11 months ago). I hope both of our dreams come true so that we'll be able to add to our families, give our little ones a baby brother or sister. It's so disheartening, isn't it?