Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Good things are happening

Things are moving along, and I couldn't be happier. Yesterday, I had the "I'll be doing IVF soon" with my boss, to sort of set expectations. On both sides. This is an odd situation, because my manager has been through ten IVF cycles. Ten. So she's been super understanding about all my struggles and has been a good source of information too. She's been encouraging me to move onto IVF, telling me it's "no big deal" and that she'd be as flexible as possible while I'm cycling. She's already living up to her word on that point; during our conversation yesterday she told me I can work from home as often as I like during the cycle ("like, when your pants are too uncomfortable to wear or you just can't walk upright"), and told me I should take off a couple of days around ER and again around ET ("and if I see you put vacation days though, I'm going to reject them, so make sure you use sick time").

Then today I got a call from the nurse / IVF coordinator at my clinic, regarding my protocol. First of all, she said I'll definitely be on BCP's, so no rush on ordering meds ahead of time or anything. I should show up on day 2, 3, or 4 for bloodwork and u/s, and then they'll give me the script for BCP's. (By the way, what the heck are the BCP's for anyway? Is it just to hammer down your timeline better, or is there an actual scientific or medical reason for them?) I asked about the rest of the protocol, and she said "oh, we'll discuss that at the orientation, but you'll be doing Gonal-F again, plus another gonodotropin." Does that mean anything to anyone? I also asked her about the mock transfer, and she said no problem, we'll schedule that at the start of next cycle.

I'm psyched! I was on the fence for so long about whether to move on to IVF or not, and now I couldn't be clearer that this is the road I want (and need) to take. I think it was partly the beach vacation with my kiddo ... it was pretty sad that he didn't have anyone to play with ... and thinking of him going his whole childhood without a sibling just makes my heart want to break. There are obviously so many other reasons for not giving up, but the image in my mind of him on all those amusement park rides by himself (or with one of us crammed into the little kiddo-sized seats) really helps me clarify that we need to keep going. We need to do everything we can to make this happen.

5 comments:

  1. BCP's let them zero in on your schedule (allows them to play around in case they need your cycle to start on a certain day). In other words, they don't want every patient doing retrieval and transfer at the same time (that would be bad). Using BCP's (and overlapping with Lupron if part of your protocol) also supresses your system to their liking to ensure they start you off right.

    They will likely add Menopur (or something similiar) to the Gonal-F. One med is better at growing follies, another for making "mature follies". That is standard for IVF protocol, and important because unlike IUI, they are trying to grow as many follies as they can and keep them in the same size range.

    Good luck, lots of excitement coming your way. It will happen fast and you'll be an expert in no time. ;-)

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  2. It's such a great feeling when you make the decision to do IVF. I am so so so happy that your boss understands the process. Although I'm a little sad for her that she did ten cycles--was she successful?

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  3. Shelli, great info, thanks! That definitely helps.

    Jenicini - unfortunately, no. :( She had a late loss (twins, boy/girl, just an unimaginable heartbreak) on one of the early IVF cycles, and then many more BFNs. Terrible.

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  4. I'm so excited that you are excited!!! IVF has so much higher success rates than IUI. I'm taking my front row seat and can't wait to cheer you on.

    I'm so sorry for your boss, though. :( That does sound truly heartbreaking (not to mention expensive).

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  5. How exciting for you!!! My little tips: first clinic never did a saline ultrasound (there's some fancy word for that) and I had a polyp that needed to be removed (they act like IUD's in there and don't allow the embryo to attach. New clinic fixed that first. Next tip: buy meds as needed. I got canceled at first clinic and left with meds that I can't get rid of but had to pay for. Best of luck on your journey!!!

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