So, a few small updates since I last posted. Yesterday I started the birth control pills to begin my ivf cycle! It's a 2 month process, but at least it's finally being started. I will go in on wed or thurs to pick up my medication and learn how to inject myself. Ack!! I found out that my insurance doesn't cover acupuncture in any form. I was told originally that I had to have a referral from my dr that it would be beneficial for fertility, but I called again today and they said it is not covered no matter what. I'm gonna try once more since I got two different answers from two different people, and see what the final outcome is lol I also found out that since my BMI is just above what they consider "safe" for twilight sedation because of potential breathing problems, that I have to go to mass for my egg retrieval and to have the fertilized eggs put back in. Which is a major inconvenience because its so hard for Joe to get time off from work. But...oh well, we'll make it happen. I think he's just going to have to break down and inform his employer of what is going on, so they can be understanding of him having to take spur of the moment time off from work. Ug! On another note, boy am I glad for insurance!! Just the blood, STD, and genetic tests for me was close to $2,000!! Yikes. That's before my costs of ivf. Boy are we blessed. I joined the gym, and my first time was last night. I went, worked out for like 35 minutes before work, and felt great. Not even lame today. Yea!! Well, I'm off. More later!

Blood!! eek

I hate getting blood drawn! And Friday I had to have 6 vials for various tests! It was the most painful blood draw I've ever had, but the cleanest! I have never had someone stick me with a needle where you literally could not tell it happened 5 minutes later. No bruise, no mark. I was pretty impressed.

Poor Joe only needed 2 vials and he barely made it out the door w/o passing out. Guess he is not a fan of needles or something. I've never seen him so white! I felt so bad.

So, now I'm just dealing w/ this really crazy cycle right now. I have been having my period for almost 4 weeks now, so my Dr. called in some progesterone which will stop the bleeding in a few days, and I'll wait for my next cycle to begin. So, probably will take significantly longer, but oh well. At least I'm on the road!

Our journey finally officially begins

I'm sitting here in bed, starting this blog, because even tho I should be, I can't sleep after working all night. Teaches me for taking a long nap yesterday! I wanted to create this blog as a way to keep some family and friends updated about our IVF journey, without having it broadcasted on Facebook, or to my extended family (grandparents, etc) who would make me feel anxious and pressured about it.

So as you all know, Joe and I have had trouble getting pregnant. 3 1/2 years of no birth control, some months trying, some months not trying. Last fall we finally got some tests done, and found out that we have both partial male and female sub-fertility factors. In other words, both Joe's and my bodies are making it hard to get pregnant, and so with the combination of the two, it's even less of a chance to get pregnant naturally.

Joe has abnormal sperm count, it fluctuates greatly, as well as motility and morphology are whacky. As for me, I have always had weird cycles, and tho we don't know exactly what is wrong, it makes it difficult to conceive. My Dr. told me yesterday that if we never used medical assistance, we might get pregnant by the time I'm 38 (10 years). He said on any given month we have a 1-3% chance of conceiving, where most normal couples would have about a 70-80% chance.

So, this past winter, we tried 3 cycles of clomid/iui treatments. All unsuccessful obviously, but I was getting confirmed ovulation. My Dr. said that 90% of couples conceive in the first 3 tries of clomid, and that it clearly didn't make sense to continue on that road.

So, I was pretty discouraged this spring, because really any other options would be so expensive. Thankfully God gave me a wonderful job that I really love. I'm working at Baysquare in Yarmouth, with dementia residents, and it's challenging but great. I never expected to love this kind of work as much as I do! Along with the great job, came amazing insurance, totally a surprise blessing! It covers fertility 100% which is almost unheard of in Maine. Insurance kicked in Aug 1, and Aug 3 was my first appointment with a fertility specialist.

That brings me to now. Yesterday was my appointment, and it went really well. He is having us try IVF right away, no other tests or procedures, which is kind of relieving. All of my prior tests were still good! I am currently waiting for my next period to start and then will be given birth control pills for a couple weeks to get my cycle on track and stuff. Im still learning so much about all of this, but it's exciting!

It will still be a couple months until things really get under way...lots of waiting for the next thing to happen. I am nervous about giving myself shots every day! It's going to be a challenge for us, but I'm glad we are both in this together, and hopefully next year we can welcome home a new family member!

Joe and I have STD tests (standard protocol even tho we can't really have STDs) and genetic testing to make sure neither of us are carriers for taysachs or cystic fibrosis on Friday. After that, it's just waiting! Wish us luck <3

Crystal