IVF Consult

Yesterday we drove 3.5 hours to meet with the specialist in Baton Rouge. I have been a nervous wreck all week long. Haven't even really enjoyed my Spring Break - my mind has completely been consumed with IVF. I'm going to try and get all of the information out that they crammed into my head, but I'm so sorry if it comes out all jumbled up. But man they shoved a ton in our heads in the measly hour that we sat in the office chairs.

When we got to the clinic, we had to sit in the waiting room for about 20 minutes while a couple with a baby went back to talk to Dr. Dunaway. They were there to basically say thank you for helping them get pregnant and to show him their own little miracle baby. Ryle thought it was strange, but I thought it was incredibly sweet - I can't wait til the day we get to have that kind of appointment. Hopefully that day will come ... Anyway, we finally get called back so the nurse can take my vitals and see if there have been any changes to my medical history for the past two years. When she opened my file, this was the first thing we saw. This clinic always takes a picture on your very first visit with them so that they can put a face to the names. I love that idea and I love the picture. We haven't changed much in the two years we've been gone, except Ryle now has hair. While we were waiting on the baby couple to leave, Ryle got all comfy on the table. How come I never look comfy and relaxed when I'm sitting on that? Lol! Well I just had to take a picture of him ... he might kill me for posting it on here, but oh well!

Our very first visit to our RE way back in 2011 ... seems like ages ago

I'm never that relaxed when I get in these chairs! Haha!

It's finally our time to go see the doctor, and let me just stop right here and say I LOVE MY DOCTOR and I LOVE THE WHOLE STAFF!! We always leave there feeling so much better than we did when we walked in. This is what he said in a nutshell: 

1) He does not recommend having the surgery for my Endometrosis at this time - mainly because I was only stage 2 last time and because I'm not having pain yet. 

2) I show signs of PCOS which I already knew. My last baseline lab work showed my LH level to be 43 on Cycle Day 3. He looked at the levels and said "Wow you are very polycysticy!!" I'm not sure that's a word, lol but that's what he said! Just to give you an idea, the normal range for LH should be anywhere from like 2-11. So mine is CRAZY high, right? Yeah - I'm full of problems apparently! Our nurse said she hasn't seen numbers that high  .... story of my life!

3) We are good candidates for IVF especially with our age. He then went over the whole IVF process and since I've already done injectable cycles before, we will only be adding a few steps. He said assuming my eggs are good and Ryle's sperm are good, we have a 50-60% chance of this working. Much better numbers than the IUI percentages. And that also gives us a 25-30% chance of producing multiples - which I am okay with. I wouldn't mind twins. This woman will not be picky and I will NOT be one of those women that complain about all of the pregnancy symptoms - I've had to work too hard to get there, so I will gladly put a smile on my face every SINGLE day, even if I have to hang my head in a toilet because of morning sickness.

4) The nurse then went over ALL of the paperwork that must be completed, I'm basically signing my life away with consent forms. I got a whole folder full that we have to read over and bring back on our next visit.

5) So here's the game plan - 

    a) get approved for the loan 

    b) Call the clinic if I have not started my period by March 27th - they will then call me in some Provera to induce a period.

    c) Call the clinic on Day 1 of my cycle to schedule my baseline ultrasound and labs. We will also have to provide a semen sample for a semen analysis on this day. Ryle and I will both have our pre-screening labs done this day.

    d) I will then start the birth control that precedes the IVF cycle and have to go back for another ultrasound that cannot be completed with my baseline.

    e) Once all tests are done, we may begin the IVF cycle on April 30th (this will be the first day of injections). The nurse didn't think that I will have all of my pre-screening labs done by the April 11th window. But I'm ok with April 30th - closer to the end of school so I won't feel so bad for missing days for all of these appointments that I will have to keep. Since I'm talking about my job, let me just stop right here and say, I love teaching. I love that I get to be around such amazing kids each day, but when I became a teacher, I did not think that I would become such good friends with the parents. I can honestly say, that I have met some wonderful women and made some great friends. They are always there for me and I just love getting texts from them with encouraging words. MAKES. MY. DAY! So, thank you to those parents - you know who you are :)

Well that basically sums up our visit with the doctor. I've been on the phone with the finance company today. We are going to wait another week before we apply for the loan. Once you apply, and are approved, you only have 60 days to sign the paperwork or your approval is void. So Ryle and I decided to wait. We will call them right before I start my period. We want to make sure we are approved before we go in for all of the pre-screening tests - those are not included in the IVF package that we are buying. We have to pay for the screenings out of pocket.

I really hope that all made sense ... if not, feel free to comment below and I'll see if I can clear something up. Hopefully in a few weeks, I will be on here posting that we are approved and have results for all of the baseline tests.