At this time 3 years ago, I had just gotten married to my best friend. We were surrounded by our friends and family, I was in a poofy white gown, and we were getting ready to party for the rest of the night. It was the best night of my life (so far).
Three years later, and I'm still falling for that guy more and more every day.
28 August 2013
17 August 2013
Post-Appointment Update Extravaganza
I promised I'd come back to update about our consult with the head RE, and look at me - I'm following through! It may have taken longer than I planned, but it's the thought that counts, right?
I thought our consult went pretty well overall. It's a good thing B was there to join me in the meeting, because a lot of it revolved around updating our health histories and getting to know what testing and treatments we had done so far. The nurse who we met with first was an interesting character. She was very energetic and quirky ... she kind of reminded me of a Kristen Wiig-esque character from Saturday Night Live - obviously I thought she was great. After going over my extensive list of treatments, the focus turned to B's testing, and we actually heard something new. B saw a specialist last summer because my clinic had issues with his SA results, but the specialist said the results he saw didn't concern him, and that was it. But at this latest appointment, both the nurse and the RE mentioned a notation about a varicocele. We had no idea what they were talking about because it had been a year since he saw the specialist, but he didn't remember the doctor saying anything about varicocele. I'm not sure when we'll get further clarification, so mostly the new information just confused us (mosty me) a little more.
I thought our consult went pretty well overall. It's a good thing B was there to join me in the meeting, because a lot of it revolved around updating our health histories and getting to know what testing and treatments we had done so far. The nurse who we met with first was an interesting character. She was very energetic and quirky ... she kind of reminded me of a Kristen Wiig-esque character from Saturday Night Live - obviously I thought she was great. After going over my extensive list of treatments, the focus turned to B's testing, and we actually heard something new. B saw a specialist last summer because my clinic had issues with his SA results, but the specialist said the results he saw didn't concern him, and that was it. But at this latest appointment, both the nurse and the RE mentioned a notation about a varicocele. We had no idea what they were talking about because it had been a year since he saw the specialist, but he didn't remember the doctor saying anything about varicocele. I'm not sure when we'll get further clarification, so mostly the new information just confused us (mosty me) a little more.
Aside from that little surprise, we didn't really get a lot of information from the RE, but considering all she had to go off of was our past treatment information, that was expected. We won't know our plan of action moving forward until we have some re-tests done, but the RE did mention some possibilities. She was surprised that we didn't exhuast our options with the Letrozole (I only tried the lowest dose before I was moved to the Clomid/Follistim combo deal), so that's something that we'll probably revisit in hopes of getting better results. She would rather have us exhaust all of our other options before moving on to the more aggressive treatments (which we - and our bank account and my tummy - really appreciate, because injectables are hella expensive, guys. And stabbing a needle into your own tummy fat is no picnic). Also, she was surprised that we even did a Clomid/Follistim combination - the "mother clinic" (that's what the nurse and RE call it - like the mothership of aliens) doesn't combine other medications with the injectables, they just start the injectables earlier in the cycle to hopefully boost egg growth. It was pretty interesting to hear about what the main RE would do differently, and I'm looking forward to working with her. One of my favorite things that they told us was that they like to change things up if they notice that they aren't working, rather than spinning our wheels and trying the same thing over and over, wasting time. I'm hoping that this will keep us from feeling so stuck.
At the end of the appointment, I was given a shiny new Clinic Fertility Services folder packed full of information about their pricing for different procedures and testing (yep, that's right, this clinic actually wants us to know what the approximate costs of everything will be. Amazing right??), general information about IF, a list of grants available for IVF (which appears to be outdated. I checked out all of the websites, and a few of them have been inactive for a couple years) and copies of our insurance coverage and tests ordered. I'm planning on starting a new folder o' stuff to keep everything together, and I'll close out my folder from my last clinic (that I didn't do a very good job of keeping updated).
The biggest drawback to this switch is that all of the appointments will take place at the mother clinic, which is located within the hospital, and of course the hospital is located about an hour away. Getting to our frequent appointments was difficult enough, and now with the clinic being farther away and crazy work schedules coming our way (I'm back to the split shift soon, and B has a few work trips coming up) things are really going to get difficult. It's looking like we'll continue our break through September, then hopefully get back to treatments and appointments by October. More bumps in the road, but hopefully this new RE and clinic will get us closer to the light at the end of the tunnel.
The biggest drawback to this switch is that all of the appointments will take place at the mother clinic, which is located within the hospital, and of course the hospital is located about an hour away. Getting to our frequent appointments was difficult enough, and now with the clinic being farther away and crazy work schedules coming our way (I'm back to the split shift soon, and B has a few work trips coming up) things are really going to get difficult. It's looking like we'll continue our break through September, then hopefully get back to treatments and appointments by October. More bumps in the road, but hopefully this new RE and clinic will get us closer to the light at the end of the tunnel.
05 August 2013
Good News, Bad News
I've been meaning to update for a while, but life has been so busy lately (isn't that always the case? I need a vacation). I figured the best way to do this update was a Good News/Bad News list, because that's how things have been going lately.
Good News - it appears as though insurance has covered more of my HSG than we had originally expected. After what felt like a million phone calls (and several customer service representatives), I was told by a financial coordinator through the clinic and an insurance representative that the procedure itself would cost $1,501 and we would be responsible to cover the rest of my deductible and then 20% of the remaining cost, for a grand total of $700+. Ouch. But on July 24th, I got an excited text and email from B with our insurance explanation of benefits attached - it appears as though we are only going to be charged the $20 copay that accompanies office visits at our clinic. That's a major savings, which our bank account greatly appreciates. It's not going to last long of course, but we'll take what we can get!
Bad News - AF arrived early at 5dpo, almost 2 weeks ago. Yeah ... that sucked. I noticed some spotting and just knew. Wednesday morning (July 24) - the day I was supposed to get my progesterone level tested - AF was here in full force. My progesterone results came back really low, indicating I didn't ovulate (which I totally don't understand - I had a 19mm follicle and I gave myself a trigger shot ... how did I not ovulate?), and general suck ensued (500 points if you just did the How I Met Your Mother salute to General Suck). I had to have my CD3 ultrasound with a different doctor, and it was soooo awkward. First of all, it was a dude, which is not my favorite. Second, I felt like he wasn't really listening to me (we actually had a debate about what cycle day I was on, as if I didn't know how many days I had been bleeding!). And he raised the exam table way into the air rather than sitting down at a lower level for the exam, so when he was done, I couldn't sit up and regain a teensy bit of modesty until he lowered the stupid table down. Nothing like waiting for the table to slowly lower back to the ground with my legs spread and my hooha hanging out. Not my favorite experience. I really hope that I never have to see him again.
Good News - I have an appointment with the head RE at my clinic tomorrow, which will hopefully get us more answers. The physician I usually see suggested I make an appointment with this RE, although I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of the appointment is, to be honest. All I know is that the consult is supposed to be about an hour long, and I'll probably bring B back with me. I want to have a second set of ears so that we can be sure to take in all the information we can get. I'm guessing we'll discuss the last year's worth of treatments and maybe talk about a plan moving forward, but I don't really know. I guess I'll find out tomorrow :).
Mixed Message News - When we realized that last cycle didn't work out, I was told that we had 2 options - go ahead with an increased dose of injections and try again, or take a break for a cycle, chat with the head RE, and then decide where to go from there. After we talked about it and mapped out important dates, we figured the timing probably wouldn't work out. Even though I hate the idea of losing another month, I know it was our best choice, and it hasn't been too bad - it's nice to have a break from giving injections, taking pills, visiting my pal the vag cam, and peeing on sticks.
Good News - MTV did something pretty awesome - huge shock right? Their program True Life finally focused on something important with the episode "True Life: I'm Desperate to Have a Baby." (Yes, I know they've covered topics like addiction, which is also important, but one of their newest episodes is called "True Life: I'm Too Beautiful." Give me a break.) It followed 2 couples who were struggling with infertility and documented their efforts to get pregnant via IVF. It is definitely worth a watch.
So that's the most recent update. I'm hoping to be back tomorrow with all of the details from our meeting with the RE, and I have a couple of drafts that are burning a hole in my brain that will hopefully be published soon.
Good News - it appears as though insurance has covered more of my HSG than we had originally expected. After what felt like a million phone calls (and several customer service representatives), I was told by a financial coordinator through the clinic and an insurance representative that the procedure itself would cost $1,501 and we would be responsible to cover the rest of my deductible and then 20% of the remaining cost, for a grand total of $700+. Ouch. But on July 24th, I got an excited text and email from B with our insurance explanation of benefits attached - it appears as though we are only going to be charged the $20 copay that accompanies office visits at our clinic. That's a major savings, which our bank account greatly appreciates. It's not going to last long of course, but we'll take what we can get!
Bad News - AF arrived early at 5dpo, almost 2 weeks ago. Yeah ... that sucked. I noticed some spotting and just knew. Wednesday morning (July 24) - the day I was supposed to get my progesterone level tested - AF was here in full force. My progesterone results came back really low, indicating I didn't ovulate (which I totally don't understand - I had a 19mm follicle and I gave myself a trigger shot ... how did I not ovulate?), and general suck ensued (500 points if you just did the How I Met Your Mother salute to General Suck). I had to have my CD3 ultrasound with a different doctor, and it was soooo awkward. First of all, it was a dude, which is not my favorite. Second, I felt like he wasn't really listening to me (we actually had a debate about what cycle day I was on, as if I didn't know how many days I had been bleeding!). And he raised the exam table way into the air rather than sitting down at a lower level for the exam, so when he was done, I couldn't sit up and regain a teensy bit of modesty until he lowered the stupid table down. Nothing like waiting for the table to slowly lower back to the ground with my legs spread and my hooha hanging out. Not my favorite experience. I really hope that I never have to see him again.
Good News - I have an appointment with the head RE at my clinic tomorrow, which will hopefully get us more answers. The physician I usually see suggested I make an appointment with this RE, although I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of the appointment is, to be honest. All I know is that the consult is supposed to be about an hour long, and I'll probably bring B back with me. I want to have a second set of ears so that we can be sure to take in all the information we can get. I'm guessing we'll discuss the last year's worth of treatments and maybe talk about a plan moving forward, but I don't really know. I guess I'll find out tomorrow :).
Mixed Message News - When we realized that last cycle didn't work out, I was told that we had 2 options - go ahead with an increased dose of injections and try again, or take a break for a cycle, chat with the head RE, and then decide where to go from there. After we talked about it and mapped out important dates, we figured the timing probably wouldn't work out. Even though I hate the idea of losing another month, I know it was our best choice, and it hasn't been too bad - it's nice to have a break from giving injections, taking pills, visiting my pal the vag cam, and peeing on sticks.
Good News - MTV did something pretty awesome - huge shock right? Their program True Life finally focused on something important with the episode "True Life: I'm Desperate to Have a Baby." (Yes, I know they've covered topics like addiction, which is also important, but one of their newest episodes is called "True Life: I'm Too Beautiful." Give me a break.) It followed 2 couples who were struggling with infertility and documented their efforts to get pregnant via IVF. It is definitely worth a watch.
Get More:
True Life, Full Episodes
So that's the most recent update. I'm hoping to be back tomorrow with all of the details from our meeting with the RE, and I have a couple of drafts that are burning a hole in my brain that will hopefully be published soon.
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