Our mock embryo transfer!!!

Today was a big day for our family. We got to have “the talk” with Dr. Hessla!
Our morning at Dr. Hessla’s office started off as it usually does with an ultrasound to check out my “stuff.” What I did not realize was that along with looking at my ovaries, he also wanted a good look at my uterus. The only way the uterus can be viewed is if the bladder is full. I was under the impression that he was going to do the uterus check last, so I had not filled up. Turns out he wanted it first, so I could empty and he could then look at everything else. Needless to say, I was able to drink a gallon of water in 5 minutes and the exam continued beautify!

Today’s focus was on
How my ovaries are responding to the Clomid (Dr. Hessla said my ovaries are beautiful and every woman’s dream!!!)
To complete a mock embryo transfer. Although in the real transfer I will be done under anesthesia, for this procedure I was wide awake. The primary goal was that my cervix would allow the catheter to pass, and it did!!!
Doppler study… Basically Dr.Hessla wanted to check the blood pressure/ flow of blood to my uterus. He said the flow was great!

What I was extra excited about today was that we finally got our official “IVF calendar.” In the next two months you will hear all about my calendar! The calendar goes day by day from February 26- April 16. Each day there are a list of medications I must take, blood that must be drawn, ultrasounds I must have, ect. All I can say is that taking off two weeks from work in April is not going to be enough! Getting pregnant with IVF is truly a full time job!

I don’t want to get into all of the details of the calendar, but the first medication I will start off with is birth control pills… Yes, that is right… That is what Dr.Hessla has determined to be our problem, we need more birth control! This, along with the bowl full of condoms in his office made Don and I crack up today. Nothing about this process is intuitive! It turns out he wants me on birth control so all of my eggs will devlop at the same rate, so when we do the real egg retrieval they will all have the same maturity. I will take those for twenty days, along with starting Lupron (injection hormone,) Dexamethasone (steroid,) Aspirin (to keep me from getting blood clot from all the hormones,) Prenatal vitamin, and Doxyclcline (an antibiotic due to all the invasive procedures I will be going through.) More meds will come as the cycle progresses….

We also discussed the reality of an actual child coming from this. I know this sounds crazy, but I often forget that a child is the focus. It is so easy to get side tracked with all the tests and meds…. I actually discuss the possibility of being pregnant was overwhelming. Dr.Hessla reviewed our labs, radiology reports, ect and said that the IUI we are doing next week gives us a 5% chance of a pregnancy. Although that is low, we will still march ahead with it. He then said if we do IVF when we have scheduled it, we will have about a 70% chance on pregnancy on the first round. If we do get pregnant there is a 55% chance that it will be fraternal twins. The chances of triplets are less than 1% and, in his office, this outcome is viewed as the worst possible scenario.

Right now I am exhausted… Between school, work and Dr.Hessla my plate is full. Tomorrow Don and I plan to go for a nice hike and get our minds off of this whole process. I have attached some pictures from Dr.Hessla’s office. It is such a strange place! When we first started going there they had financing forms throughout the office like the ones you see at a car dealership. The top of the forms had various headings like “Financing for your family,” and “We make your dreams come true.” On each form was a photo of a beautiful baby, as if choosing them for your financing would somehow guarantee a kido. Anyways, the forms are gone, but the office remains quite strange!

I also want to send out thoughts to a friend, M, who has just gone through IVF in Hunrgy! She is back in teh states now, but she deoesn't yet know what the results are. I know she is scared and hoping for a miracle. My prayers are with her tonight and I am sending her extra special baby thoughts….