C'mon, admit it, you totally sang that title to yourself :)
So I had my first appointment with CNY back on October 6th. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it was very informational. Long, but informational. Lloyd and I had "paperwork" that we had to fill out online previous to our appointment, so the doctor who met with us already had a general background on the two of us before we even arrived. We sat with the doctor for about a half an hour, going over said paperwork with us and discussing what our options were. Did you know that you don't necessarily go through the full-blown IVF process? I did not! The two most common fertility treatments are IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) and IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). IUI is not as intense and involved as IVF (to learn the differences between the two, click here. Because of the specific issues I'm having, the full IVF process is the best option for us.
After meeting with our doctor, we met with the benefits person, who was super helpful and knew the answers to all the questions we had. For instance, Lloyd and I have different insurance plans/providers. Mine covers IVF, his does not. Since he needs to be involved in certain areas of process (collection of semen and such), I wasn't sure if that would be billed to his insurance or mine (the answer is mine). Also, we found out that I do not have to pay co-pays for any visits until I achieve pregnancy! That's HUGE, since there are many, many appointments that take place before pregnancy is (hopefully) achieved. Once I do get pregnant, I'll pay co-pays while I am being treated by them (approximately 8 weeks). From there, I'll be released to my regular OBGYN, where I won't have co-pays for those monthly visits. It is such a blessing and relief knowing so much of this process is covered.
Next came the fun part of the appointment (there really should be a sarcasm font). We went into an exam room, where I would have blood drawn and an ultrasound (I knew ahead of time that these would be taking place). They took about 8 vials of blood (I was impressed they were able to get blood from the first vein they poked without it collapsing) for various testing - various carrier genes, vitamin levels, making sure I was still immune to rubella, and I'm sure other things I'm not remembering right now. Once they were done playing vampire, they asked me to strip from the waist down for the ultrasound. Unbeknownst to me, though not surprising, they were doing an internal ultrasound. It makes sense, since the internal ultrasound is superior for looking at the ovaries for egg follicles and checking to see if I had any fibroids or cysts. Egg follicles looked great, and they were able to tell that I would be ovulating from my right ovary (so much for the possibility of getting pregnant naturally this month!). I have no cysts, and though I do have one small fibroid, they don't think it should cause any problems.
After I was done being poked, prodded and probed, they gave us a folder full of various information, as well as a free book (written by one of the doctors at CNY - surprise, surprise lol) and sent us on our way with instructions to call them on the first day of my next cycle to schedule appointments for more tests.
Since that appointment, CNY has contacted me twice regarding results of my blood tests. The first time was to tell me that I was no longer immune to rubella (German measles). Not surprising, since it's been about 30 years since I had the vaccine. I needed to schedule an appointment with my primary doctor to get the vaccine. I'll talk more about that in my next post, which will follow my appointment with the doctor this coming Tuesday. The second time CNY called me was to let me know that I was fairly deficient in Vitamin D. When this happens, they usually recommend to patients that they take either 2,000 or 4,000 unit vitamins to make up for it, depending on how deficient the patient is. They recommended 4,000 units for me (go figure, I didn't get my pasty white skin from basking in the sun all day!). Since they haven't contacted me again, I'm going to go with the whole no-news-is-good-news adage.
Happy reading!
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Thursday, October 15, 2015
A little background...
Hey there!
Yes, you there. Welcome to my blog! Come on over and pull up a chair. If it's more comfortable for you, feel free to pull up a bean bag chair and make yourself comfy.
This is a blog I never thought I would start. If you told me 5 years ago, or even 2 years ago, that I would start a blog about infertility, nevermind actually suffer from it, I would have looked at you like you had three heads and given you my best "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" imitation (spoiler alert - it's horrible). I already have a kid, and it took all of two weeks to get pregnant with her (no, seriously - from the time I went off birth control to the time she was conceived, it was two weeks). So what if that was 11 years ago, and so what if it was with a different man?? I'm Fertile Myrtle over here!!
Except I'm not. Not even close. After trying for over a year, we started to think there may be something up. So I made my husband, L. go get checked first. After all, it's far easier for guys to get their stuff checked than it is for girls to. He gets checked, and all is well. Now it's my turn. I have what's called an HSG (a hysterosalpingogram) done. It's where they shoot a dye up into my nether regions and use an x-ray machine to see where the dye is flowing to. Its primary purpose is to check to make sure my uterine cavity and fallopian tubes are open. As it turns out, my right tube is blocked. This stems from a surgery I had back in 2008 to have a fibroid tumor the size of a 20-week fetus removed from my uterus. Sounds like fun, huh? I now sport an awesome scar that looks like a Cesarean scar, without the baby (guaranteeing me to have a c-section once I DO finally have another child). Anyways, as a result of the surgery, my right tube is blocked from scar tissue. While this does not completely kill my chances of conceiving naturally, it does cut them in half.
With last month marking the 19th failed month of trying, combined with wanting to discuss the results of the HSG, I went to see my OBGYN (who I absolutely ADORE). It was a five minute appointment that I didn't even have to undress for - She looked at my file, looked at me, and said "Well, you're not getting any younger - let's get the ball rolling on IVF!" She sent me home with instructions to call the IVF center (which will be referred to as CNY from this point on) in a couple of days and sent a referral over to CNY. I had that appointment last week, which I'll talk about in my next post.
When L. and I first began trying to conceive (TTC), we discussed the possibility of infertility (though at that point, we never in our wildest dreams thought it would come to that) and what we would do in that situation. We mutually decided that in lieu of trying IVF, which is very costly and not a guarantee, that we would put that money toward adopting a child, which is also very costly and also not a guarantee, but the positive outcome is more likely, even if it takes years. So what changed our minds, you ask? This:
(excuse the poor choice of browser - I much prefer Chrome, but IE was all I had access to at the time)
My insurance will cover our IVF treatments. When does that EVER happen?? When we found that out, we decided that we couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's worth a shot at least, right?
So, that's where we're at! I invite you all to join me on my crazy journey, where there is sure to be a fair amount of laughter, and probably just as many tears, along the way. And feel free to share my blog with anyone you want!
Happy reading!
Yes, you there. Welcome to my blog! Come on over and pull up a chair. If it's more comfortable for you, feel free to pull up a bean bag chair and make yourself comfy.
This is a blog I never thought I would start. If you told me 5 years ago, or even 2 years ago, that I would start a blog about infertility, nevermind actually suffer from it, I would have looked at you like you had three heads and given you my best "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" imitation (spoiler alert - it's horrible). I already have a kid, and it took all of two weeks to get pregnant with her (no, seriously - from the time I went off birth control to the time she was conceived, it was two weeks). So what if that was 11 years ago, and so what if it was with a different man?? I'm Fertile Myrtle over here!!
Except I'm not. Not even close. After trying for over a year, we started to think there may be something up. So I made my husband, L. go get checked first. After all, it's far easier for guys to get their stuff checked than it is for girls to. He gets checked, and all is well. Now it's my turn. I have what's called an HSG (a hysterosalpingogram) done. It's where they shoot a dye up into my nether regions and use an x-ray machine to see where the dye is flowing to. Its primary purpose is to check to make sure my uterine cavity and fallopian tubes are open. As it turns out, my right tube is blocked. This stems from a surgery I had back in 2008 to have a fibroid tumor the size of a 20-week fetus removed from my uterus. Sounds like fun, huh? I now sport an awesome scar that looks like a Cesarean scar, without the baby (guaranteeing me to have a c-section once I DO finally have another child). Anyways, as a result of the surgery, my right tube is blocked from scar tissue. While this does not completely kill my chances of conceiving naturally, it does cut them in half.
With last month marking the 19th failed month of trying, combined with wanting to discuss the results of the HSG, I went to see my OBGYN (who I absolutely ADORE). It was a five minute appointment that I didn't even have to undress for - She looked at my file, looked at me, and said "Well, you're not getting any younger - let's get the ball rolling on IVF!" She sent me home with instructions to call the IVF center (which will be referred to as CNY from this point on) in a couple of days and sent a referral over to CNY. I had that appointment last week, which I'll talk about in my next post.
When L. and I first began trying to conceive (TTC), we discussed the possibility of infertility (though at that point, we never in our wildest dreams thought it would come to that) and what we would do in that situation. We mutually decided that in lieu of trying IVF, which is very costly and not a guarantee, that we would put that money toward adopting a child, which is also very costly and also not a guarantee, but the positive outcome is more likely, even if it takes years. So what changed our minds, you ask? This:
My insurance will cover our IVF treatments. When does that EVER happen?? When we found that out, we decided that we couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's worth a shot at least, right?
So, that's where we're at! I invite you all to join me on my crazy journey, where there is sure to be a fair amount of laughter, and probably just as many tears, along the way. And feel free to share my blog with anyone you want!
Happy reading!
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