Got the pre-op appointment out of the way today.
Quick recap:
Dr. Spa proved true to type, didn't include ANY measurements of the polyps on the saline sono-thing report that they forwarded to my real RE. Of course.
Dr. Real gave me a pre-op physical hisveryownself. Took a while, but he located one tiny tiny polyp on the ultrasound and maybe two even smaller ones, but they were so small that he couldn't be sure. The one he definitely saw was so small that no one would have seen it if they weren't really searching just for that.
All the paperwork is done. I call with CD1 and they start looking for an available OR slot. He is confident we can get this done in December. One step closer to the next step.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Mumble, Mumble, Moan
Fair warning - this is mostly moaning.
The family has vacated the premises, so it's safe to log back in. We had a lovely (if short) visit with the parents. We ate way too much and drank too much wine, and there is enough food (and wine) left over to feed another table of six. I didn't even bother to log my calories on myfit.nesspal. BFF(B) very kindly stashed my meds in her fridge so the parents wouldn't accidentally stumble on them and NOBODY mentioned grandkids or babies at all. Nice.
Started working on the Christmas lists (for giving and receiving). Actually ventured into the retail wilds on Saturday and scored a few gifties for Prof so I can start crossing things off! That was traumatic enough, I think I'll stick to the internet for the remainder. Funny, I used to love shopping, but now it's absolute torture.
Pre-op consultation with the RE is this Tuesday. No idea yet when the surgery will be, but this will get us on the waiting list so if someone else cancels in December we might get in sooner rather than later. Otherwise, looks like it might be January. More waiting.
I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how we'll pay for the IVF if we end up on that road. My maxed out FSA will cover most of it, but they don't cut me a check until a procedure has been performed and a claim sent in. The IVF has to be paid in full two weeks before retrieval. Which leaves a gap that my credit card can't handle. So there's that.
I have our last major work event of the year coming up this Thursday. I had to leave this event early last year with the onset of what I have since decided was an early miscarriage. After three days of sore boobs and brief flashes of nausea (the likes of which I had never experienced before and have not seen since), I got what was one of the worst periods of my life right in the middle of this event. My period is due over the weekend (can't pinpoint since I didn't track ovulation this cycle), so if my luteal phase is shortened, I may get to have my period for the event this year as well! Good times, can't wait.
We should get our new appliances this week (if all goes according to plan - ha! ha!) and I need new tires on my car before we get actual snowfall (or godforbid ICE). I'm more thankful than I can express that we have the cash to do these things right now and don't need the credit card for Christmas gifts this year. Not all bad.
Every inch of my body hurts and if I breathe deeply, I get an unpleasant hot feeling in my lungs. With everything I need to accomplish this week, I DO NOT need the flu. I just want this week to be over already.
The family has vacated the premises, so it's safe to log back in. We had a lovely (if short) visit with the parents. We ate way too much and drank too much wine, and there is enough food (and wine) left over to feed another table of six. I didn't even bother to log my calories on myfit.nesspal. BFF(B) very kindly stashed my meds in her fridge so the parents wouldn't accidentally stumble on them and NOBODY mentioned grandkids or babies at all. Nice.
Started working on the Christmas lists (for giving and receiving). Actually ventured into the retail wilds on Saturday and scored a few gifties for Prof so I can start crossing things off! That was traumatic enough, I think I'll stick to the internet for the remainder. Funny, I used to love shopping, but now it's absolute torture.
Pre-op consultation with the RE is this Tuesday. No idea yet when the surgery will be, but this will get us on the waiting list so if someone else cancels in December we might get in sooner rather than later. Otherwise, looks like it might be January. More waiting.
I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how we'll pay for the IVF if we end up on that road. My maxed out FSA will cover most of it, but they don't cut me a check until a procedure has been performed and a claim sent in. The IVF has to be paid in full two weeks before retrieval. Which leaves a gap that my credit card can't handle. So there's that.
I have our last major work event of the year coming up this Thursday. I had to leave this event early last year with the onset of what I have since decided was an early miscarriage. After three days of sore boobs and brief flashes of nausea (the likes of which I had never experienced before and have not seen since), I got what was one of the worst periods of my life right in the middle of this event. My period is due over the weekend (can't pinpoint since I didn't track ovulation this cycle), so if my luteal phase is shortened, I may get to have my period for the event this year as well! Good times, can't wait.
We should get our new appliances this week (if all goes according to plan - ha! ha!) and I need new tires on my car before we get actual snowfall (or godforbid ICE). I'm more thankful than I can express that we have the cash to do these things right now and don't need the credit card for Christmas gifts this year. Not all bad.
Every inch of my body hurts and if I breathe deeply, I get an unpleasant hot feeling in my lungs. With everything I need to accomplish this week, I DO NOT need the flu. I just want this week to be over already.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Just to Hear Myself Talk
Still trying to manage direct contact with my original RE (really need a name for him) to discuss next steps in regards to the saline sono-thing and the polyps. I left a message, but have not received a call-back. I'll try again Monday. Not critical yet as the whole records transfer thing is still in process, but I just want to feel like I have a plan of action. I'm really in limbo at the moment. Not quite Hell, but it sucks all the same.
Tick-tock, people. Tick. Tock.
Professor is home safe and sound, no further airplane malfunctions. He did opt-out of the nudie scanners and got thoroughly groped for it. He also caught a bug and has been a little under the weather, but all in all, just glad to have him back.
We ordered a new fridge and stove on Saturday. The ones we have now came with the house when we bought it and have seen better days. Neither were much to speak of when they were new, and that was clearly a long time ago. We had hoped to have the new ones in place for Thanksgiving, but alas, that was not to be. I am inordinately excited by the prospect of new appliances. I keep catching myself giggling at the prospect of loading up my fancy new fridge shelves. And an ice-maker! At last! With these appliances installed, our kitchen will be done! We have been working on it little by little since we bought the house over four years ago. I think the master bedroom may be next...
This will be a busy week. I have a haircut and we are double-dating with BFF(B) and her DH on Tuesday - to see HP7! We also have rather a lot of housekeeping to get done as we are hosting my Dad and both of Prof's parents for Thanksgiving this year (thus the hope for the early appliance delivery).
May not be posting again before the holiday, so just in case:
Happy Thanksgiving! Try not throttle anyone!
Tick-tock, people. Tick. Tock.
Professor is home safe and sound, no further airplane malfunctions. He did opt-out of the nudie scanners and got thoroughly groped for it. He also caught a bug and has been a little under the weather, but all in all, just glad to have him back.
We ordered a new fridge and stove on Saturday. The ones we have now came with the house when we bought it and have seen better days. Neither were much to speak of when they were new, and that was clearly a long time ago. We had hoped to have the new ones in place for Thanksgiving, but alas, that was not to be. I am inordinately excited by the prospect of new appliances. I keep catching myself giggling at the prospect of loading up my fancy new fridge shelves. And an ice-maker! At last! With these appliances installed, our kitchen will be done! We have been working on it little by little since we bought the house over four years ago. I think the master bedroom may be next...
This will be a busy week. I have a haircut and we are double-dating with BFF(B) and her DH on Tuesday - to see HP7! We also have rather a lot of housekeeping to get done as we are hosting my Dad and both of Prof's parents for Thanksgiving this year (thus the hope for the early appliance delivery).
May not be posting again before the holiday, so just in case:
Happy Thanksgiving! Try not throttle anyone!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Second Opinion (Think Again)
I went today for the saline hysterosonograph at the second opinion clinic. First thing I asked was if they had my blood work back from last week. They did (so why didn't they call me with the results?) and the verdict is:
FSH = 10.7
AMH = .33
The FSH is up from 9.1 in September. I have yet to consult Dr. Google about these results, but only because the doctor was pretty clear in her analysis. Basically it could be much worse, but this isn't very good news. They will have to push me a little harder to get a good response for IVF. Not a big surprise at any rate.
That conversation out of the way, we moved on to the saline thingy. My overall impression of the whole procedure was "wet". The doctor kept asking me how much pain I was in, but honestly, I never felt a thing other than wet. I kept waiting for her to get started, and it wasn't until I saw what was happening on screen that I realized what she was doing. The upshot is there are a few very small polyps at the top of my uterus. She didn't think they would necessarily prevent me getting pregnant, but they might. She did say it would not be a great thing to get pregnant with them in there because they could get larger and bleed and cause problems, and it would be better to have them out before going any further.
The only thing that makes me think this really does need to be done is that this office can't do it. They suggested I have my regular OB perform the hysteroscopy. I had them send the records to both my midwife and my original RE. I'll discuss it with them both before moving forward on anything, but it looks like this puts us out of the running for a December IUI. Which also puts IVF further in the future.
I wonder how fast my FSH is rising...
FSH = 10.7
AMH = .33
The FSH is up from 9.1 in September. I have yet to consult Dr. Google about these results, but only because the doctor was pretty clear in her analysis. Basically it could be much worse, but this isn't very good news. They will have to push me a little harder to get a good response for IVF. Not a big surprise at any rate.
That conversation out of the way, we moved on to the saline thingy. My overall impression of the whole procedure was "wet". The doctor kept asking me how much pain I was in, but honestly, I never felt a thing other than wet. I kept waiting for her to get started, and it wasn't until I saw what was happening on screen that I realized what she was doing. The upshot is there are a few very small polyps at the top of my uterus. She didn't think they would necessarily prevent me getting pregnant, but they might. She did say it would not be a great thing to get pregnant with them in there because they could get larger and bleed and cause problems, and it would be better to have them out before going any further.
The only thing that makes me think this really does need to be done is that this office can't do it. They suggested I have my regular OB perform the hysteroscopy. I had them send the records to both my midwife and my original RE. I'll discuss it with them both before moving forward on anything, but it looks like this puts us out of the running for a December IUI. Which also puts IVF further in the future.
I wonder how fast my FSH is rising...
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Saturday Night Fever
In true Slackie fashion, I am spending Saturday night curled up on the couch with the cats. Professor is on his way to Paris for the week on business, so I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself. Sure I've been to Paris before and yeah it's only a week and he'll be in meetings for ten hours a day, but I'm spoiled. I would have preferred either to go with him or for him not to go at all.
So here I sit, fretting about the airplane he is on (which had a malfunction necessitating de-planing for a while) and focusing perhaps to an unhealthy degree on the likely next steps in our IF journey. God it's awesome being thirty-eight!
I'm doing a lot of thinking about IVF even though we still have one last IUI to do. I've done a little more digging to see if there is anywhere in reasonable driving distance that we should consider for a proper second opinion, and all signs continue to point to our original clinic being the top IF group in our area. I can't help wishing that we had gotten a real second opinion. I feel like last week's appointment was mostly just a look at what not to do. I've revisited the IVF success rates for our Chosen Clinic versus our "Second Opinion" and the Chosen Clinic has much better numbers. In reviewing their standard protocols, it looks as though for patients my age (38) with my diagnosis (unexplained), they recommend both assisted hatching and ICSI.
I'm still waiting on the blood work results from the second opinion appointment. The AMH takes about ten days to get results because it has to be sent away for the test, so I'll be waiting a while yet. This Tuesday I have a saline sonohysterograph as I've never had one. I'm slightly nervous, but don't really expect to find anything problematic there. After that I will just wait for CD1,which will be around December 5th. Then it will be full steam ahead on injectible IUI#3! I bet I have my baseline the same day as the IVF info session at our clinic. Any takers? The timing will actually be pretty good, with stimming, monitoring and IUI all wrapped up just days before the family descend on us for Christmas. I'll know the outcome by New Year's.
I'm trying not to think about what the new year might hold.
So here I sit, fretting about the airplane he is on (which had a malfunction necessitating de-planing for a while) and focusing perhaps to an unhealthy degree on the likely next steps in our IF journey. God it's awesome being thirty-eight!
I'm doing a lot of thinking about IVF even though we still have one last IUI to do. I've done a little more digging to see if there is anywhere in reasonable driving distance that we should consider for a proper second opinion, and all signs continue to point to our original clinic being the top IF group in our area. I can't help wishing that we had gotten a real second opinion. I feel like last week's appointment was mostly just a look at what not to do. I've revisited the IVF success rates for our Chosen Clinic versus our "Second Opinion" and the Chosen Clinic has much better numbers. In reviewing their standard protocols, it looks as though for patients my age (38) with my diagnosis (unexplained), they recommend both assisted hatching and ICSI.
I'm still waiting on the blood work results from the second opinion appointment. The AMH takes about ten days to get results because it has to be sent away for the test, so I'll be waiting a while yet. This Tuesday I have a saline sonohysterograph as I've never had one. I'm slightly nervous, but don't really expect to find anything problematic there. After that I will just wait for CD1,which will be around December 5th. Then it will be full steam ahead on injectible IUI#3! I bet I have my baseline the same day as the IVF info session at our clinic. Any takers? The timing will actually be pretty good, with stimming, monitoring and IUI all wrapped up just days before the family descend on us for Christmas. I'll know the outcome by New Year's.
I'm trying not to think about what the new year might hold.
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