Protocol, going AMA and more paperwork...

So Nik and I went in last week to get my protocol, sign all the legal stuff for CRM and map out the scheduled for meds and implantation.

Now that was out of the way we ordered my meds. Continue on birth control, Loupron, baby aspirin, Delestrogen, Progertrogen in oil before implantation which should be on or around September 19th (wow, thats 1 months away, EEK!).

The meds arrived Friday during a board meeting I was hosting. (thats Sammy behind me)

Everything needs to be organized and separated. There are 6 different kinds of needles and syringes, each medication came with 2 different kinds of needles and they all get stuck in different places around my body, Oh fun!

(TMI alert!) As of right now I'm only on birth control and I've already had some weird side effects already. The first 6 days I was on it my sex drive went way up, day 7 and on the sex drive went away and I became very lethargic. Naps have been a necessity already and I'm only on birth control so far. I am honestly nervous how my body is going to handle Loupron. I've never been medically forced into menopause before so this should be interesting. I'm very sensitive to hormones so I'm glad they will be monitoring my levels and doing ultra sounds regularly.
Loupron begins in the morning (Monday, Aug. 19th) and its Sammy's first day of VPF too.

The first thing our Dr. went over was that she'd decided that I needed a hysteroscopy to remove a "tiny imperfection at the bottom of my uterus" She said that it was probably just a tiny polyp and that we should go ahead and remove it just because it makes our success rate better for implanting. Ummmm, what!?!?! After being told by the Dr., who did my HSG (in the same practice), that he "gives my uterus an A++ even with the tiny imperfection" I was a bit confused. We looked over the HSG image and talked about how with the pin head sized possible polyp, we have a "less than 10% chance it will affect the success of embryo implanting" really.... less than 10% it will even affect anything at all, thats not a very scientific statistic. I'm a facts and evidence based medicine kind of girl so you can bet red flags were going up. "its probably a polyp and less that 10%". So it may not even be a polyp. Those procedures are done while on your cycle so its possible that the imperfection (basically a spot that didn't fill in during the HSG) could have been a blood clot.

If you look closely you can see the "imperfection" look at the bottom left corner near the cervix. Its a little 

lighter than the rest. its about the size of a pin head. The procedure would cost them about $1400 out of pocket too.
With all of this information I took it back to my IP's. I gave them the "statistics" they gave me and the cost along with my concerns about how this came out of no where since my HSG was months ago and we got the all clear. I also asked the nurse at CRM to call my IPs to give them more details just so that I'm not just giving them my views on it but told them I'd be more than willing to have the procedure done if they wanted me to.
The next morning my IP's contacted me telling me they were torn over it and asked me my thoughts. I'm a birth doula so I tend avoid medical procedures and medication when I can so I  was completely honest when I told them I though it was excessive and unnecessary and as it turns out, so did they. We decided to go against AMA (against medical advice). I called Lauren, our agent, and filled her in on everything. Apparently thats common for fertility specialists to over a hysterscopy just before starting meds. Its a way to pad the bill and to get a better view of the uterus for the big day. She said no one ever goes AMA and that she was proud of us (she's a natural mama too). Apparently they were a bit surprised by our going AMA that they called my IPs just to be sure.

Here we go!

Started my hormones Tuesday night. I'm taking birth control to build up my estrogen levels before I start Lupron. We See Dr. Jaffe for our final IVF appointment to select and order my protocol on Monday Aug. 12th.

starting the pill on Sunday

I go in on August 12th (first day of school for Benji) for my final IVF apt. to get my protocol before we start meds. My cycle starts this Friday (Aug 2nd) so I will have to wait until September to start on any medication, or so I though. I received a call from our agent Lauren about the dates and meds. She suggested I call and talk to the Dr.'s nurse and ask if they can start me on birth control now or when my cycle starts on Friday instead of waiting another 30 days. What a great idea, why didn't I think of that!?!?
Birth control was called into my pharmacy right away and I should be starting them on August 4th or 5th as opposed to September 4th or  5th. doesn't seem like a huge deal but thats 4 weeks sooner we can go the IVF procedure and assuming if the embryo takes it puts me at an earlier "due date".
I did get word that out of the 8 viable embryos only 3 survived the freezing process. Lets hope it takes on the first try.

Back on track for IVF

A few weeks ago I posted about having to postpone IVF till November.  The IPs called me yesterday telling me they have decided to forgo the extensive testing for the specific gene they were looking for since the statical odds are in their favor of the baby not having the gene they were originally concerned about. They are still doing regular genetic testing which has a 2-3 week turn around which means I can start IVF as soon as I go in for my protocol which will hopefully be next week.
In the mean time I'm trying to fit all the dental work I've been putting off. 2 crowns this month and my 1 wisdom tooth out hopefully in a few weeks because I don't want to be in the throws of IVF while dealing with pain medication and oral surgery.

8 lil embryos, growing in a dish

The IPs were in town yesterday for their egg retrieval and I just received a message that 14 eggs were retrieved (I'm sure there is a joke about laying eggs in there somewhere) and 8 were fertilized.
I'm so excited and looking forward to being pregnant by the end of the year.
and now we wait.....

I spoke too soon....

A wise man once told me "If you want to hear G_D laugh, say our plans out loud"
In my last post I mentioned that the egg retrial process has begun for the IP's and I would be starting meds soon which meant I should be pregnant with in the next 8 weeks. Less than 24 hours of me announcing that we hit our first bump in the road.
I received a call from our nurse at CRM (our IVF Dr.s office) this afternoon while I was at a playdate. She called to tell me that since the IPs are doing genetic testing on the embryos that the lab that does the testing on them is back logged by 14 weeks. This means that I cant even start my part in the IVF process for another 2-3 months minimum and implanting in the next 4-5 months assuming there are not any further delays. The nurse said this service usually has a 2 week turn around which is why we did not expect the delay but apparently genetic testing on embryos has become standard practice now with families doing IVF so they are backed up. I was also told that its only become that way in the last month or so. The nurse called me because the IP mom was nervous to tell me so the nurse offered to break the news instead. They were afraid that I might think they were blowing me off or they had changed their minds or something so she thought he nurse could explain it better than she could. I messaged the IP mom as soon as I got off the phone with CRM to tell her I was not upset or feeling blown off. It does put me at a end of my pregnancy in the dead heat of summer which was what we were trying to avoid but in the end a healthy baby is what matters so waiting to get the testing done was more important than me living in my pool for my last trimester. Its not like I'm doing this for the money and antsy to get paid so waiting a few extra months is no big deal. These things take time.

I got a call from the IP dad today too while I was still at the playdate. He had to make a decision on something important that he could have done on his own and with the attorney but instead he called to see how I felt about it since it did technically affect me indirectly and wanted to let me make the call. I know this is technically a business arrangement but it goes beyond that and I'm so glad I found a couple who feels the same way, treats me as an equal with dignity and respect and not hired help.

I came across a blog tonight. Its a blog that a surrogate and her IP mother did together and they happen to be Sister-in-laws. Its so beautifully done and the IP had a similar story to my IP's. In the end the surrogate gave birth to twins.
A belly for me A baby for you
Check it out.
It will be a while before I have any updates not that we are just playing the waiting game.
Have a good summer!

Mock transfer yesterday

Yesterday was the mock transfer. It took all of 45 seconds and everything went well. No discomfort except a slight pinch when she pulled the catheter out. it was LONG. This is it still in its sterile packaging.

A mock transfer is a preparatory procedure that will help the fertility doctors establish where the embryo will go and when the actual placement of the embryo will happen.

Read more: http://www.fertilityproregistry.com/article/in-vitro-fertilization-what-is-a-mock-transfer.html#ixzz2YnDNyIQ5

I go in Monday for my final IVF appt. to select a protocol and order meds. EEK! In theory I could be pregnant in the next 2 months.