Tuesday, November 24, 2015

IVFx6 Update & the Holiday Season...



Once again it’s been too long since I’ve blogged.  I remember a time when I was determined to get 3-5 posts out a week, now I can hardly muster 1 post a month.  I’m not sure what has changed, maybe the fact that I feel as though I never have anything new to write about because we are still stuck in this same horrible storm of infertility that we have been for so many years now.  Sharing my favorite stocking stuffers or a new recipe just doesn’t even seem worth it to me anymore.  I wonder if I will ever be able to make this blog what I had originally intended to over 3 years ago.

On top of my lack of motivation to write, work has been absolutely crazy.  I work for a gas & electric power company and we have had a couple major storms in the last few weeks and on top of that we are down a person in the office and she happens to have the most pressing responsibilities that we can’t let pile up.  I also happen to be her back up for almost everything she does so in her absence, I have been swamped.  We don’t expect her back for several months due to medical reasons so there really is no end in sight either.  Between work, traveling for doctor’s appointments, prepping for the holidays, and everything else life throws at us, I’m ready for a break!

As most of you know we recently started seeing another doctor that we are hoping will finally get us where we want to be.  This is our 3rd doctor & our 4th opinion in 2 years.  I was very happy that our new doctor, Dr. Sherbahn seems to be on the exact same page as we are with what we want for this cycle.  Last week I had a “mock” transfer and hysteroscopy which came back all normal, Joe submitted a sample which was normal, we had all preliminary blood work done & my meds will arrive today.  We are all geared up to start our 3rd and final fresh cycle. 

When I say final, I not only mean that I hope that this is the last fresh cycle that I will ever have to do, but for now, this is the last fresh cycle that I’ll willingly subject my body to.  If this cycle (and any frozen cycles to follow) doesn’t work, then we need to move forward with another option.  Of course this is subject to change, but what I have decided for myself at this time is that I will not let infertility be my entire life, I won’t give it any more time than I have to.  At some point it has to come to an end.  I hope it comes to a happy end where I can carry my own pregnancy with a healthy baby created by both mine & my husband’s genetics.

Things are progressing very quickly as next Monday the 30th is our baseline ultrasound and stims start on Tuesday the 1st.  My first monitoring appointment is the 4th, & retrieval is slated for the week of December 13th.  We decided that we’d like to do the PGS testing since it’s something that we haven’t tried that will rule out a lot for us and give us the peace of mind that we are transferring normal embryos.  The PGS testing will be costing us $5000 out of our own pockets because it is not covered by insurance.  Having just built a house, this will be a bit of a challenge for us, but we will make it work. 

Because we chose to have the testing, we will be doing a FET in January after the cells are tested.  The way that PGS is works is they retrieve the eggs, fertilize them, and then biopsy them and send a tiny sample of cells to a testing facility & freeze the embryos while the cells are tested.  The results take about 5 days & because of this, a frozen transfer is required the following month rather than a fresh transfer.  Because there is a chance that not enough eggs are retrieved or not enough fertilize to be sent for testing, a fresh transfer is a possibility.  I don’t expect that to happen since I am a great responder, but we are prepared for that if it comes down to it.

I have high expectations for this cycle and I really feel as though Dr. Sherbahn’s protocol for us will get us the best results.  I couldn’t believe how quickly they were able to get me into their schedule, the time is just flying and I can’t believe we are already celebrating Thanksgiving this week!  I am excited to decorate my new house for Christmas, go cut down our tree, and enjoy time with friends and family over the holiday season.  It really is the most wonderful time of the year. 

For Thanksgiving we have 3 stops.  It usually makes for a long day, but it’s always well worth it to see our families.  One of my favorite parts about this day is when we finally get home after our whirlwind day we sit down with a couple mimosas and officially kick off the Christmas season by watching Christmas Vacation, Elf, and any other Christmas movie we can stay up to watch.  It really is one of my favorite traditions of ours.  We will cut down our Christmas tree over the weekend too and start decorating.  We have an ugly Christmas sweater party to attend and I’ll be doing some Black Friday shopping as well.

As always, I really appreciate you guys sticking around for the long haul, and boy has it been a loooonnngg haul!  I know that I’ve been practicing terrible blogger etiquette as I’ve been slacking on commenting and reading as often as I used to so I really do appreciate those of you who still like to read, comment, and support us on this journey.  I hope everyone has the happiest of Thanksgivings.  Don’t forget to count your many many blessings.  I know that I am blessed beyond measure to have such an amazing husband, family, friends, dog, home, job, health, support group, and more!  Thank you all again! 

15 comments:

  1. I'll be praying for you, as always, Elena! I have faith that you'll be blessed with a beautiful baby...SOON :) big hugs!

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  2. I love that you have a positive attitude and that you're keeping your head up through all of the unknowns. I so hope this is it and this will be God's perfect timing for you and your husband!

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  3. Considering that you are doing PGS testing have you ever considered doing a cleanse to prepare your body for a transfer. Font know if you have heard of this site but Ive used a few of their products to help regulate my body after miscarriages and they've worked.
    http://www.naturalfertilityshop.com/Fertility-Cleanse-Kit-p/hhfckit.htm

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  4. No worries about not blogging...sometimes with all of the infertility stuff it makes sense not to. Next year, we are planning to get all our embryos and put them on ice right away...but our transfer date won't be for a while. And honestly, I don't know yet if I'm going to blog about the transfer part....unless it fails. It seems like a lot of people are constantly hoping for the best and then being let down, and I don't know if I can handle telling a bunch of people everything. But that's like a year away so who knows. Anyways, I hope this is it for you. I really do. I don't know how you've put yourself through all of those needles this whole time. You are quite the warrior lady! Stay strong and zen out this next month. Plans can wait. Sometimes it's good to say no to things and just chill in your pj's. Happy Thanksgiving lady!

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  5. So glad that you have a new doctor going forward. I think doing PGS testing is such a great idea, then you know that you are transferring the best embryos. I hope that this cycle is it for you. Wishing you the best. xo

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  6. I am glad to see you blogging, even if you feel like you don't have much to blog about! I think it's so good that you like this doctor and you are both on the same page! Glad you already have a plan in place!

    I love the tradition and watching all the movies! Sounds cozy and fun to me <3

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  7. I'm am sending all the good vibes I can for this cycle!!!! What a magical time of year to be going through the process (although I'm sore after so mama heard now, it may not feel like it). Your Thanksgiving evening sounds just like ours! First Christmas movie of the season and then we got cut down our tree the next day too!

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  8. I think your blog is perfect just the way it is and I feel like you are such a big advocate for IVF and I respect you so much for sharing all of your stories. You are a warrior and I'm always praying for you and I know good things are in store for you :) Write about whatever you want on your blog and we'll be here :)

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  9. screw blogger etiquette! you got a lot going on. work sounds horrible! hope it gets better soon. hope all goes well with the transfer!

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  10. I'm glad you are blogging and I'll be praying for you as always.

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  11. Rest up girl and don't worry about not blogging. Always supportive of your journey and I hope it ends up exactly the way you want it to. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  12. Continue to take each day as it comes and try not to stress. It's great that you got to hop right into your next cycle! Looking forward to hearing updates! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

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  13. Girl...no matter how long this haul is, I'll always be reading and supporting you! I am also hoping that this is the last fresh cycle that you will need to do because this one is going to bring you LOTS of precious babies! hugs to you! xoxo

    waitingforbabybird.com

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  14. Thinking and praying for you! My gf had the testing done and she swears it was the only reason she's pregnant since out of 10 embryo's 5 were complete. Hoping it helps and we see a good news announcement. Proud of you for all you've gone through girl xx

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  15. As always, I'm thinking and praying for you! I definitely understand why you've taken a few steps back from blogging but it's probably good for you and your family to enjoy the holidays and your time together! I feel like this current cycle is going by so fast for you! Hopefully the testing comes back good and then you'll know that for a peace of mind! XOXO

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