So the journey officially begins...
I suppose my journey originally began that first month last fall it took 36 days to finally start bleeding... that's when I first knew something wasn't right. But I blamed the years of three month birth control pills and was told "you have to get them out of your system". But as my cycle started jumping all over the place, we weren't pregnant, and the ovulation strips I peed on during my entire vacation in Italy showing nothing, I couldn't ignore my body anymore.
After a frustrating dead-end call to my OB-GYN where they promptly told me "try for a year and then call us back" I decided enough was enough. I found a highly recommended RE 10 minutes from my house and made myself an appointment. So began the numerous office visits, more blood draws than I can count, and what felt like always waiting for something...
My HSG (which was one of the most painful medical procedures ever, thankfully I had a good radiologist and nurse and it was over pretty quickly) was in December and the truth came out--one tube completely blocked and the other so dilated the dye barely went through--and that was only after forceful pushing by the RE. So, as my husband and I joke, I have "junk parts". You realize you have to make some jokes or you'll go crazy with this whole process.
To make matters more complicated, the hospital my RE is affiliated with closed their IVF lab "indefinitely". I finally felt comfortable with her and then I was forced to find a new RE. The closest one with the highest CDC rates is an hour away. I got copies of all of my charts and xrays and bloodwork and drove an hour to the new place. At least I am lucky in that they realized right away that we've been through everything and had every test under the sun... we're just ready to get started with IVF since that appears to be the best option for us.
Today, on my 30th birthday, my Lupron has arrived and yesterday I was given an early birthday present with a huge box of all sorts of meds, syringes, needles, alcohol swabs, etc. I feel like the journey officially began seeing all that medication spread out on my kitchen counter.
In the meantime, I trust that God will continue to give me strength and courage to get through these challenging days ahead. I've already given myself a practice injection, and Jason did a great job with the IM shot during practice too; that seems to be the most intimidating part of all of this, so we're well on our way. Who cares about driving an hour to and from the doctor's office early every other day once the ultrasounds and bloodwork start... piece of cake compared to those needles. :)
As I reflect on everything that has happened, and everything yet to come, I am hopeful in the irony that my very first day of injections of Lupron, step one in this phase, is scheduled for Mother's Day. I remain cautiously optimistic....
After a frustrating dead-end call to my OB-GYN where they promptly told me "try for a year and then call us back" I decided enough was enough. I found a highly recommended RE 10 minutes from my house and made myself an appointment. So began the numerous office visits, more blood draws than I can count, and what felt like always waiting for something...
My HSG (which was one of the most painful medical procedures ever, thankfully I had a good radiologist and nurse and it was over pretty quickly) was in December and the truth came out--one tube completely blocked and the other so dilated the dye barely went through--and that was only after forceful pushing by the RE. So, as my husband and I joke, I have "junk parts". You realize you have to make some jokes or you'll go crazy with this whole process.
To make matters more complicated, the hospital my RE is affiliated with closed their IVF lab "indefinitely". I finally felt comfortable with her and then I was forced to find a new RE. The closest one with the highest CDC rates is an hour away. I got copies of all of my charts and xrays and bloodwork and drove an hour to the new place. At least I am lucky in that they realized right away that we've been through everything and had every test under the sun... we're just ready to get started with IVF since that appears to be the best option for us.
Today, on my 30th birthday, my Lupron has arrived and yesterday I was given an early birthday present with a huge box of all sorts of meds, syringes, needles, alcohol swabs, etc. I feel like the journey officially began seeing all that medication spread out on my kitchen counter.
In the meantime, I trust that God will continue to give me strength and courage to get through these challenging days ahead. I've already given myself a practice injection, and Jason did a great job with the IM shot during practice too; that seems to be the most intimidating part of all of this, so we're well on our way. Who cares about driving an hour to and from the doctor's office early every other day once the ultrasounds and bloodwork start... piece of cake compared to those needles. :)
As I reflect on everything that has happened, and everything yet to come, I am hopeful in the irony that my very first day of injections of Lupron, step one in this phase, is scheduled for Mother's Day. I remain cautiously optimistic....
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