Not sure there is any one out there any more reading this, but I did promise I would come back when we were trying for number 2 and here we are!! For those that don't know we are currently residing in Brussels, Belgium (likely until next summer, but that is still up in the air) and that is the main reason it took us so long to get here. And as if fertility treatments aren't difficult enough on their own, we decided to add in the lovely factor that our embryos are on a different continent than we are...ugh! So needless to say, my already fried nerves are totally charred at this point and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.
I've been communicating with our coordinator at SIRM for the last month or so and with much trepidation decided to do a medicated Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET). I had been planning to go with the natural FET because my cycles are like clockwork and you know...why stick yourself with a bunch of needles if you don't have to...right? Well, since we're traveling all the way home for this and want to limit our time apart we just decided it best to do the medicated and have everything planned out to a "T" ahead of time. So I'm on birth control now...and my first shot of Lupron and Dexamethason pill will be on September 21st...one week before we head home.
I made an appointment with an RE here so I could get a fluid ultrasound and some blood work done to make sure all systems were go for October :o) We visited him on Tuesday and the good news is everything looks good...no polyps or anything (phew, I was kinda worried since I've had several removed in the past)...the bad news is, Jacob may have to sell a kidney to pay for the visit...WOW!! I thought medical care in Europe was cheap! I'm not sure if we were taken or what, but he slammed us with a whopper of a bill that had us seeing stars and praying that we will not have to undergo any further tests or treatments at that office! I was planning to use this office for my post-transfer care, but now I think we're going with plan B...a regular OBGYN. My friend recommended a great one and we'll probably still use her, but when I called the office today I went round and round with the receptionist trying to explain that I needed blood work and an early ultrasound done after having an IVF cycle in the US. The way they do it in the US is on day 12 and 14 past transfer you get blood work drawn to read your HCG levels and ensure they are doubling prior to giving you the *hopefully* good news that you are expecting. And then you have an early ultrasound to check for implantation and number of babies. Then, atleast at SIRM, they do another ultrasound a week or so later to see (and possibly hear) the heartbeat....once they at least see the heartbeat you are released...and considered "normal." Ha...like anyone is "normal" after going through infertility. But it sounds like unless I go back to the really hard to get to and really expensive Infertility clinic, I'm going to have to do it all the "normal" way...and I really don't want to...sigh :o( I know it sounds silly and I know I'm being irrational, but I want some special treatment...I want the blood tests as early as possible...and I want more than one...reassuring me that my numbers are increasing just as they are supposed to...and I want the early ultrasound that confirms the blood tests were accurate...and I want another one a week later where we can see a heartbeat...I want it all just like I had it the first time around! And I'm really frustrated to be going through all this here when none of these doctors (or at least their office staff) seems to understand how difficult suffering from infertility is! I truly miss having one office, one doctor, one nursing staff to deal with. Having to go over and over all of this and no one here understanding (because it's done so differently here) is just so frustrating! Ugh! Man, it feels good to get that off my chest!
But when it comes down to it...what I want more than anything is more children...siblings for Autumn...another little one to hold in my arms in the not so distant future. So although the road looks like it might be a tough one, we'll find a way to get through it and hopefully will have good news to share in a few short months!
Countdown to first shot: 22 days
