Monday, August 10, 2009

The Difference a Day Makes

Wow. I'm still a little bit in shock, but I will try to relay as best I can to you what transpired today at the doctor.

As I said in my previous post, during my doctor's appointment Saturday, Dr. Dorsett asked me if Richard and I had ever considered doing in vitro fertilization (IVF). See previous post for more details or to catch up.

So, I returned to the doc today, had another ultrasound that looked good and bad. It was really good in that I had beautiful, large, healthy follicles. It was bad in that there were too many of them, and Dr. D won't do the IUI we were planning on this cycle.

I also had some blood work and urine test done. The urine test came back saying it detected Leutenizing Hormone (LH). This is the hormone that tells your body you are ready to ovulate. That wasn't the best news. It meant my body was starting to ovulate on its own, and if we were going to do anything with this cycle, it had to be QUICK!

Well, nothing can be quick when your husband is 7 hours away in College Station. I kind of need him for this part. ;)

So, Dr. D sat me down and said we had two options (McH is on speaker phone and participating in the conversation). OPTION #1: Trash this cycle altogether, take our losses, and move on after we regroup. OPTION #2: IVF, starting with a harvest TOMORROW MORNING...as in, 10 hours from now!

But don't get your panties all in a wad just yet. Remember that LH stuff I mentioned above? Well, depending on when it started doin' it's thing, I could get there in the morning, have an ultrasound, and discover all those beautiful follicles are nowhere to be found. That would be a bummer. But, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Not for a long shot. We would just regroup, and start another cycle, but this time with the INTENTION of doing an IVF cycle, instead of having it sprung on us the day before...talk about a SHOCK!

Anyway, I am nervous, excited, anxious, but mostly just anticipating what tomorrow will look like. If the ultrasound shows those beautiful follicles are still in place, I will go into retrieval which involves Valium, an IV, a tube and lots of other stuff you probably don't want to know about. It means I can't drive myself home (McH will be there, so I won't need to anyway). It means a LARGE investment of both faith, time and money.

If it can be done tomorrow, the resulting embryos will then be transferred five days later and I will have to be on bedrest for two days following (sorry, EKP)!

Whew...see why I'm exhausted, overwhelmed, and shocked, to say the least?

Oh, and McHotterson is on his way here (to Levelland) from College Station and won't be here until the wee hours of the morning, only to get up around 7:00 to leave for Lubbock. Poor guy.

I miss him SO much. I haven't seen him for nine days. Yuck.

And probably the most entertaining and intersting part of this ENTIRE post for most of you: I didn't know I would be spending the night, so I had to stop by Wal-Mart on my way into Levelland. Some clean underwear and a toothbrush later, I figure I can make it work!

A day in the life of infertility. Isn't it grand? But I really am thankful for all of it. I wouldn't choose it for myself or anyone I love, but I am thankful for all the possibilities God has given McH and me.

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12 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you posted. You have been in my thoughts and prayers all day. I hope tomorrow goes well and that you have peace in your heart no matter what happens. Blessings.

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  2. See those choices God laid in your path were there for you. I'll be praying for you and McH this morning. The Valium will help and the anticipation of carrying a child will help as well. I know you'll do everything the doctor says to do. Hope everything is in place to make a go of it. Love ya!

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  3. Oh wonderful! I think you will have peace with your decisions and am so excited for you. I know you been dealing with this for awhile and I also know a day doesn't go by that you dream of a child one day. Good luck and may you get good rest during your recovery period. I will be praying for you!

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  4. SO exciting!!! IVF is much more controlled (which i like). praying for big, fat, healthy follicles to turn into perfect eggs! and the procedure should be very easy---i actually recovered patients in an assistive reproductive facility (egg harvests, reimplantations)--and this was all while i was trying to get pregnant! but the patients all did very well--never had a problem. LOVE YOU!!!

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  5. i love your positive attitude - we are all hopeful along with you. please please keep us posted!

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  6. Great News Char-Shee! Get lots of rest...and we'll keep up the prayers :)

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  7. Sending prayers your way right now!! Love you guys!

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  8. oh, i have been thinking about you all day! thanks for the update! i will be praying for you guys! keep us updated!

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  9. Oh, I feel for you. It is such a roller coaster. One you didn't buy a ticket for either! The stres was definately the hardest thing I have gone through.

    Will keep you in my prayers!

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  10. I am praying for you and know God will do all he can to bring a life into your world. I love you girl-and remember to breathe! You are such an awesome awesome person and I'm so glad to have have you in my life. Keep me up to date!! Love you-Cari

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  11. Wow--Richard and you are in my thoughts and prayers!!

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