IVF Consultation

First off, if you're reading this, thank you for joining us on our journey - Project Little Test Tube has been underway for a long time - and I'm grateful for the love and support that we've gotten from all of you.

Holy cow. 

We had our IVF consultation in Grand Rapids today, and let me tell you, I feel like my brain is about to fall out of my ears. It was 2.5 hours long, and it felt like running a marathon (or what I assume running a marathon would feel like. I may be too short and tubby to do much running. Anyhoo. . .)

I was ridiculously nervous about this consultation. Normally, I take medical/hospital/doctor stuff with a grain of salt. I've seen it, I've done it, it doesn't scare me, and honestly, I'm absolutely fascinated by the medical field. 

This time? Not so much. I was alternating between nausea and cramps from terror. Luckily, our clinic is also right near the Meijer Gardens so we went early and wandered the grounds. Nature is very, very good therapy.

Aah.... Gorgeous, right? 

I focused on those flowers and that pond while we were waiting for our consult nurse to come in.  I think my heart skipped a beat when she called us back. Her name was Amy and she was cheerful and friendly - I liked her right away. It's every day business for them - which is nice if you think about it. Nothing to be scared of. They make infertile couples parents every single day. 

I wish I could tell you everything that she discussed during those two and a half hours. There is SO MUCH information, and stacks upon stacks of consent forms. Some things I expected, some threw me for a loop. You want us to sign papers designating guardians for our embryos in the event of our death? I don't even know who I would give custody of our cats to! (Accepting applications for embryo and cat guardian!) 

Mostly, the discussion is medical. Here are the drugs we're going to give you, here's the numbers you have to call, here's what you can't do on the medication.... 

I currently have a list of ten prescribed medications in my hand - Lupron, Certoide, Gonal-F, FSH, Menopur, MCH, Zihromax, Medrol, Promethazine, Valium (wish I got more than three of those....) and the dreaded, colloquially known PIO or progesterone in oil. 

Why the progesterone pout? A shot is a shot, right? Not so much. PIO has to be injected intramuscular, which means it HAS to go in your behind. 

Say hi to the 22 gauge PIO needle. He and I will be frenemies (?) the next few months....

 (This is the part where you all chime in and tell me it's worth it)

I'm trying to look at that needle and see an ally. What I took away most from the consult was hope - the odds are good for us (about 50-60% for a first, fresh cycle, then upping to about 70-75% for a second, frozen cycle). So even though this still seems very, very overwhelming, I am trying to focus on the knowledge that we have a 50 to 75% chance of holding our baby a year from today. Or babies! Fertility treatment always comes with a risk of multiples after all. 

So what's the basic takeaway from the IVF consult?

• Next month I'll be having a sonohysterogram to check my uterus for any malformations and a CRAP ton of bloodwork. (I checked. The proper terminology for any bloodwork that requires more than five vials of blood = 1 crap ton) 
• In August, I'll start taking oral drugs to suppress natural ovulation and prepare my body. 
• In September, I'll begin taking daily injections of Gonal-F and Menopur to stimulate my ovaries to make as many eggs as possible. 
• After about two weeks of 'stim' shots (and being checked every few days via ultrasound) I will take a timed trigger shot which will prepare my body to release the eggs.
• The next day, we will go to Grand Rapids where I will (mercifully and blissfully) be knocked unconscious while they jam a huge needle through the vaginal wall and suck them out. 
• Eggs and sperm will have a little honeymoon in a petri dish and we cross our fingers and hope that a few fertilize. 
• Two days later, those ferilized eggs (2 maximum) will be transferred back to my uterus and voila! PUPO - pregnant until proven otherwise. More infertility-isms. 
• Rest, progesterone, and prayer - and hope those little eggs stick around.

Headed to your own IVF consultation? Here are my tips:

Write your questions down beforehand (and don't feel stupid for asking)!

We scheduled this appointment months ago, once we had received our insurance approval. I kept a running list of questions to ask - you will think of the best questions at the most inopportune times - in the bathroom, falling asleep, trying to plant a raspberry bush in the yard. It's too overwhelming to gather your thoughts during the consultation and try to ask questions. Write them down! And remember, these people are pros - they've heard it all before and there is no such thing as stupid question. 

Don't try and remember everything!

The key word here is 'consult'. This is not the last time you will be working with your clinic and the staff - they'll tell you everything step by step as you do it. This is just a huge overview of the next couple weeks! 

It's okay to be terrified. 

This is a big, huge, honkin' deal. This isn't just a trip to the doctor for a check up. It has the potential to change your life forever. It's scary as hell. You can be grateful and excited and looking forward to the opportunity and still be scared.

As a matter of fact, I took my "Therapy and Travel Dinosaur", Dino, with us! He stayed on our laps the whole time. There's no shame in having a dinosaur :)