It’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks. Interspersed between a few vacations, we also had meetings with tons of different doctors. You see, we can’t just up and start another IVF cycle. No, that would be too easy. Our story always has to be complicated, right? So here’s the catch:
The specialist who did Bobby’s last TESE has moved to another hospital three hours away. And his NEW practice is urology only – no IVF.
So, here’s the plan: I am going to use another IVF clinic further south, about an hour away from Bobby’s urologist. My monitoring – blood draws and ultrasounds – will be performed by my clinic up here that is 10 minutes away from my house. My clinic will fax my results each day down to the other clinic, who will then call me and tell me how to adjust my meds, etc.
Then a day or two before my retrieval, we will travel south. Bobby’s surgery will be performed by the urologist. The semen (hopefully) will be transported by the embryologist from the urologists to the IVF clinic an hour away, where they will be cultured for a day or two. Apparently there’s some new process of culture medium that will help strengthen the sperm before ICSI. Then the retrieval and transfer will happen at that IVF clinic, which thankfully is near my parents’ house, so they will be able to take care of us and Evan for a few days.
So, did you get all that?
If you did, can you explain it back to me again? I’m still not sure I have it all myself.
I am expecting my period any day, at which time I will start birth control pills. I have a blood draw on day 2 or 3 of my cycle, and another rather extensive blood panel to check for all kinds of abnormalities that could prevent implantation. My new doctor says that even though I’ve been pregnant once, things can change, and since this will likely be our last attempt, he wants to be extra certain that nothing is going to get in the way of implantation. I tend to agree with him, although just looking at the blood panel order makes me feel lightheaded. The nurse explained they would need SEVERAL vials to get all those tests done. I am looking at the list though, and questioning slightly whether they’re all necessary. One of them is for Lupus… pretty sure I’d know if I had that by now. I wonder if my insurance will cover all this…
Before the FET this summer, I felt excited and nervous. Now, I feel numb. I recognize the potential for anxiety to blow up in my face over all the moving parts that are involved with this procedure, and I also know that I don’t want to get my hopes up again. So I am definitely doing a little self-preservation by distancing myself emotionally from what’s going on. I am actually doing a decent job of not thinking about it, while still trying to keep track of all the different consults and blood draws and dates, etc. I joined a gym this week, which is doing a lot to keep me active and give me an outlet. At first I thought maybe I shouldn’t join, as I will be on restricted activity during the stims and not able to really get my money’s worth, but I’m tired of putting my life on hold for this crap. I’ll walk the treadmill for two months if I have to – I’m going to the gym.
Cross your fingers, eyes, and toes… here we go again.
Just Keep Swimming 
