Yesterday we had our phone consultation with the doctor in Las Vegas. It was scheduled for 6 pm our time, but they called me while I was at work around 1130 and said that the doctor may or may not have to do an emergency surgery later on and was wondering if I was available within the next hour to talk to him. I told them I was at work and not with my husband, which I wanted to be for the call. After texting with J Bird he said we should just go for it, because we would have been super disappointed if we didn't get to talk to him. So I left work and drove to his work to have the call.
The call was very informative and a major part of it was the doctor discussing what our issues are and giving us knowledge about the issues. Of course, with my extensive internet knowledge I knew just about everything he told us, however, it was reassuring to hear it directly from the source. Then he told us it was a miracle that we had ever gotten pregnant! I was kinda surprised by this. His reasoning was that the endometriosis didn't just begin to develop with the D & C, but that it had been there for years.
He said that a woman my age has a 30% chance of getting pregnant every month and that I have a 3% chance of getting pregnant every month. Sheesh! He also feels that when women with endo get pregnant doing IUI, they get pregnant in spite of the fertility treatment, not because of it. The doctor said that it was like, "Planting a good seed in bad soil." He said IVF is the way to go and that we have an 80-90% chance of getting preggers within two cycles.
I felt like this was an honest answer. I know for a fact he doesn't tell everyone that they need more than one IVF, so it's not like he is looking to scam us out of money (he recommended we purchase a 2 cycle plan). Also his clinic includes things like ICSI and assisted hatching at no extra cost whereas those treatments would cost a few thousand at others.
After speaking with him for 1.5 hours (and for free! woohoo) we decided that he was the man for the job. He is knowledgable and recommends getting immunology testing done before IVF so that we can have a competent treatment plan. We talked to the financial person last night and signed ourselves up for the 2 cycle plan! This includes 2 fresh cycles and as many Frozen Embryo cycles as possible with the left over eggs.
I was feeling a little nervous that we may have jumped the gun because we signed ourselves up for the June cycle. We had talked previously about waiting until November, but really what's the point? It's probably not going to happen naturally and this way we don't have to wait and think about it for such a long time.
I am so excited about the possibility of even being pregnant any time this year. I always hope (and for one week a month-really believe) that I am/will get pregnant, but this just takes it to a whole other level. The most amazing part of this process is that with our June cycle dates, I would get pregnant on exactly the same day I got pregnant before which means the same due date. I am trying not to get my hopes up for that, in case it doesn't happen the first time, but what a coincidence!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Reality TV
I gotta admit, I like tv. From no good, trashy reality shows (Big Rich Texas anyone?) to comedies. I am easily entertained. Most of these characters I have not a damn thing in common with. Many are loud, gossip too much, have all kinds of plastic surgery, don't work, and mainly focus on themselves and their appearance.
One of the shows I watch however, Giuliana & Bill definitely strikes a cord within me. I watched before they had their miscarriage and before I knew they were going through IVF. And that was wayy before I had even considered IVF as an option for me. Bill reminds me of J Bird- he's caring, family-oriented, funny, analytical and his wife's partner in crime. I don't know if my personality is necessarily like Giuliana's, but she definitely says things that I would say or have said and reacts to situations a lot like I do, mainly using humour to lighten the mood.
During the second episode of the new season J Bird and I just looked at each other and laughed because B & G's interactions mirrored ours. G is sitting on the couch and tells B she needs her computer to do some "research". She then tells him that she found this great message board for women going through breast cancer. All Bill can say is, "Bad idea. Bad idea!" Bill goes on to say that unless someone has an MD behind their name, don't take any advice from them...like you've been doing. This is when we looked and each other and laughed.
I don't know how much time I've spent on the net doing "research". I've been through 6 years of college and yes I know what a valid website or source should look like, yet everyday there I am on group message boards or reading people's blogs. It's something that my husband and Bill just haven't tapped into- the power of hearing other people's experiences and what their journey has been like...on the web.
Giuliana goes on to read descriptions of people's terrible experiences with chemo, but also finds the things they recommend to help through the process. All the while Bill has his head in his hands and is shaking his head. I know lots of women spend their free time doing research, but it was just reassuring to see Giuliana on tv doing and saying the same things I would say and seeing her husband react in a similar way
One of the shows I watch however, Giuliana & Bill definitely strikes a cord within me. I watched before they had their miscarriage and before I knew they were going through IVF. And that was wayy before I had even considered IVF as an option for me. Bill reminds me of J Bird- he's caring, family-oriented, funny, analytical and his wife's partner in crime. I don't know if my personality is necessarily like Giuliana's, but she definitely says things that I would say or have said and reacts to situations a lot like I do, mainly using humour to lighten the mood.
During the second episode of the new season J Bird and I just looked at each other and laughed because B & G's interactions mirrored ours. G is sitting on the couch and tells B she needs her computer to do some "research". She then tells him that she found this great message board for women going through breast cancer. All Bill can say is, "Bad idea. Bad idea!" Bill goes on to say that unless someone has an MD behind their name, don't take any advice from them...like you've been doing. This is when we looked and each other and laughed.
I don't know how much time I've spent on the net doing "research". I've been through 6 years of college and yes I know what a valid website or source should look like, yet everyday there I am on group message boards or reading people's blogs. It's something that my husband and Bill just haven't tapped into- the power of hearing other people's experiences and what their journey has been like...on the web.
Giuliana goes on to read descriptions of people's terrible experiences with chemo, but also finds the things they recommend to help through the process. All the while Bill has his head in his hands and is shaking his head. I know lots of women spend their free time doing research, but it was just reassuring to see Giuliana on tv doing and saying the same things I would say and seeing her husband react in a similar way
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Trying to be the queen bee
Over my two years of trying to conceive I have been adding more supplements, vitamins and herbs as the months pass. Some have been the advice of my acupuncturist, some have been touted by other bloggers and I just had to try them. Some were recommended by people who have gotten pregnant while taking the particular supplement so of course, I had to try it too.
It all started very innocently with a prenatal vitamin and a one-a-day energy multivitamin. When I got pregnant my doc had me ditch the one-a-day because of the B12, gave me a prescription prenatal vitamin and added extra folic acid. After the miscarriage I carried on with the prenatal and folic acid. Somehow my morning and evening ritual now involves 11 pill bottles and 1 elixir for a grand total of 68 pills a day!
That's a little excessive, eh? Thank God I got a pill holder. Seriously, I was so excited the day we bought one large enough to divide my pills into morning and evening, as well as have enough room for J Bird's morning and evening pills.
So from left to right:
The first two are Chinese herbs- I can tell you the name but I really don't know what the hell they are! I put full faith in my acupuncturist.
Fertilaid- I bought this a few months ago but then realized I can't take it with Clomid. I started taking it this month and it's a multivitamin, but it's supposed to also help regulate ovulation and increase cervical mucus.
Pycnogenol- Reduces inflammation due to endometriosis. There have been studies that compared Lupron and Pycnogenol. Pynogenol has been found to decrease endometriosis symptoms as Lupron does, but does not create menopause-like symptoms.
Spirulina-high quality protein, also includes vitamins, minerals and may help improve egg quality.
Coq10 (Coenzyme10)- includes antioxidant and anti-aging properties
Fish Oil- omega 3 fatty acids and helps prevent painful periods
Prenatal Vitamin
Evening Primrose Oil (EVPO)-I take 2 pills a day to help with cervical mucus and to decrease painful periods
Folic Acid- I take this just in case I get pregnant because it helps to develop the brain and spinal cord.
Royal Jelly- Improves quality and quantity of eggs. Ordinary bees that live on royal jelly become queen bees laying 1000's of eggs daily. I'm trying to become a queen bee :)
Vitex Elixir- I started taking Vitex this month in place of Clomid. It's supposed to take a few months to kick in, but I am pretty sure I ovulated this month. The elixir contains chaste tree berry and red raspberry leaf which support the luteal phase.
Every month I tweek the supplements a little bit, depending on the acupuncturist, what drugs the doctor is giving me or whatever I think is going to make a good balance.
It all started very innocently with a prenatal vitamin and a one-a-day energy multivitamin. When I got pregnant my doc had me ditch the one-a-day because of the B12, gave me a prescription prenatal vitamin and added extra folic acid. After the miscarriage I carried on with the prenatal and folic acid. Somehow my morning and evening ritual now involves 11 pill bottles and 1 elixir for a grand total of 68 pills a day!
That's a little excessive, eh? Thank God I got a pill holder. Seriously, I was so excited the day we bought one large enough to divide my pills into morning and evening, as well as have enough room for J Bird's morning and evening pills.
So from left to right:
The first two are Chinese herbs- I can tell you the name but I really don't know what the hell they are! I put full faith in my acupuncturist.
Fertilaid- I bought this a few months ago but then realized I can't take it with Clomid. I started taking it this month and it's a multivitamin, but it's supposed to also help regulate ovulation and increase cervical mucus.
Pycnogenol- Reduces inflammation due to endometriosis. There have been studies that compared Lupron and Pycnogenol. Pynogenol has been found to decrease endometriosis symptoms as Lupron does, but does not create menopause-like symptoms.
Spirulina-high quality protein, also includes vitamins, minerals and may help improve egg quality.
Coq10 (Coenzyme10)- includes antioxidant and anti-aging properties
Fish Oil- omega 3 fatty acids and helps prevent painful periods
Prenatal Vitamin
Evening Primrose Oil (EVPO)-I take 2 pills a day to help with cervical mucus and to decrease painful periods
Folic Acid- I take this just in case I get pregnant because it helps to develop the brain and spinal cord.
Royal Jelly- Improves quality and quantity of eggs. Ordinary bees that live on royal jelly become queen bees laying 1000's of eggs daily. I'm trying to become a queen bee :)
Vitex Elixir- I started taking Vitex this month in place of Clomid. It's supposed to take a few months to kick in, but I am pretty sure I ovulated this month. The elixir contains chaste tree berry and red raspberry leaf which support the luteal phase.
 |
| The left hand contains my morning pills and the right contains my evening pills. The small balls are the chinese herbs. |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The gathering phase
Hey Ya’ll. It’s been way too long. I kept thinking about writing, but I have been so busy with my new job, researching clinics and fertility treatments and appointments that I just didn’t know where I would start.
Checklists help me to reduce anxiety about too many things on my mind so here’s what’s been going on:
- Quit Hot Yoga - too strenuous on my body and too hot for sperm
- Started Acupuncture
- Quit taking advice- or lack of advice- from my OB
- Initial consultation with fertility center. Ultrasound shows a cyst and gynecological exam hurts like Hades. The endo has spread again. Doctor recommends a colonoscopy stat for bowel symptoms. Rut roh
- Make a plan to take 100 mg of Clomid and do an IUI. We are excited!
- Scratch the plan to do an IUI and decide against Clomid this cycle. IUI has a 10% chance on working any given month for women with endo. Those odds SUCK. Might as well throw our cash into the wind.
- Decide to go a few months au naturale (no drugs) to restore my sanity.
- Get a new plan- we are going straight to IVF after the break. Narrowed our options to two clinics- one in Nashville and one in Las Vegas. I’m pulling for Vegas!
- Schedule a skype consultation with doctor in Vegas and an old fashioned face to face visit with a female doctor at the same fertility clinic we already visited
- Go to a Resolve Infertility Support Group. It was awesome. We both went and were surprised to see so many other couples at the meeting. J Bird really liked talking to and hearing from other men going through the same things we are.
- Got an HSG done to see if my fallopian tubes are open. I cried during the exam before they even put the dye in. GD endometriosis makes it impossible to even put a speculum in without extreme pain. I haven’t heard from the clinic yet about results, but the radiologist said that everything looked good and both my tubes are open. First piece of good news in what feels like forever.
- The day after my HSG I start my bowel prep. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as everyone had warned me. Mostly I was hungry. I didn’t work that day so I had easy access to run to the restroom when needed.
- The big day. Still very hungry and fantasizing about my first meal as if I hadn’t eaten in a week. The worst part of today was that it took 2 nurses, 1 anesthesiologist, 4 needle pricks and 1 badass bruise before they could start my IV. I have small veins to start with and dehydrating me doesn’t help!
- Doc tells me it’s all good in the hood. Two pieces of good news in a week! What?!
Now we are all caught up. Right now my focus is on making sure my body is healthy and fulfilling all the prerequisites for IVF. I have a lot of the prereq’s taken care of already, but one thing I am really looking forward to is getting my bloodwork taken to Natural Killer Cells and Antisperm Antibodies. I just reread that sentence and it sounds sick to “look forward” to a blood test to find out if something is wrong with you. For me it is a way to check another thing off my list (hopefully) and it will help me feel more confident moving forward with IVF. I don’t want to take the chance of IVF not working and then finding out AFTER we go through it there was a blood test I could have taken to find an issue.
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