BFFs with the Urologist

I think we can officially say that E and I are BFFs with the urologist.  Today, we had yet another appointment with him to get an update of E's testosterone levels.  It has been 8 long months of appointments, surgeries, and follow-ups.  Urologists appointments are awesome because I feel like over 50% of the appointment is devoted to you and your husband talking about your sex life - fun times!

The Good News: E's levels have increased by 100 and is now at 470.

The Bad News: We will not have a SA until July because it takes 3 months for sperm to mature.  We were really hoping to start a fresh cycle in July (assuming my colposcopy goes well next Friday).  It now looks as though we will need to push it back to August - the same month that my sister is due with her first child.  

I am really hoping that the third time is a charm for us - fingers crossed!

Abnormal Pap - Just Our Luck!

So over the course of the last month, I have had to go for a lot of preliminary testing so that we can start a fresh cycle in end of June, beginning of July.  I had blood work done, a saline sonogram, and then a bunch of tests to check for STDs.

Everything came back fine except for my pap.  I have been getting pap smears done consistently for the last 15 years and everything has always come back normal.  Of course the one time I NEED a normal pap, I get abnormal results. 

Side note:  I was not even up for a pap until July 2014 (according to the new guidelines).  My advice ladies - do not follow these guidelines - go EVERY year.

 My obgyn's office at first says the first appointment for a colposcopy is not until June since one of the doctors is going on vacation - Are you kidding me?  After talking to the nurse, they were able to fit me in in 3 weeks instead of 5.

So, now we wait.  My IF clinic said that if everything comes back normal after the colposcopy then we can still cycle this summer.  Fingers crossed!

How Fertile Friendly is Your State?

Can we all move to Massachusetts?

Look at the coverage they are required to provide people dealing with infertility:

Mandate Information

•All insurers providing pregnancy-related benefits shall provide for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility including the following: artificial insemination; IVF; GIFT; sperm, egg and/or inseminated egg procurement and processing, and banking of sperm or inseminated eggs, to the extent such costs are not covered by the donor’s insurer, if any; ICSI; ZIFT;
•Insurers shall not impose any exclusions, limitations or other restrictions on coverage of infertility drugs that are different from those imposed on any other prescription drugs;
•Insurers are not required to cover (but are not prohibited from covering) experimental infertility procedures, surrogacy, reversal or voluntary sterilization or cryopreservation of eggs;
•Employers who self-insure are exempt from the requirements of the law;
•No lifetime cap on coverage;
•No maximum IVF cycles.

My state ranks in the top 10, but I am still super jealous of what the residents of MA are able to get.  When will people start viewing infertility as a disease/disorder and provide adequate coverage for it.

National Infertility Awareness Week

April 21-27 marks National Infertility Awareness Week. 

I think having an awareness week for infertility is important - unfortunately very little attention is garnered for this week.  As everyone who has dealt with infertility knows, it is easy to "hide" your struggle - hence the name of the blog.  Many people are ashamed or embarrassed by their situation, which makes the struggle even lonelier than it has to be.  There is NO reason to feel this way.  Infertility strikes people of all backgrounds, races, and income brackets.  It does not discriminate.  If people were more willing to talk about their struggles, fewer people would feel uncomfortable talking about it.

 

So what can we do during this week of awareness?  Perhaps, it would be helpful to share your story with one person close to you who is not aware of your situation - someone you feel comfortable talking to - start small.  Or if you are not directly affected by infertility, send an infertile friend a quick note to let them know that you are thinking about them.  Seems simple enough and I am sure it will brighten their day.

 

Finding Out About Other People's Infertility

E avoids telling people about our journey at all costs.  I, on the other hand, find it somewhat therapeutic to talk about.  I think it is a male/female thing.

E finally told his buddy at the gym what we are going through.  The guy's response, "We had to do IVF to have our daughter."  To think, he could have told this guy that months ago and had someone who understood what it was like to go through IVF.  I think the fact that he now knows someone else had to go through a similar experience has made him feel a little bit better.

Additionally, today, I found out two of my dad's siblings had to do IVF as well.  One did it in the early 1980s, when it was a very new procedure.  The other did it in the mid-90s.  It is a good feeling to know that we are not alone in this and that other people have been through the same thing and survived (not that I would wish this on anyone).

Awkward

So today I had to go and get a saline sonogram at my old IVF clinic.  You might be asking yourself - why would this lady go back to a place that she has been trying to avoid - simple - my new clinic is 2.5+ hours away and that would have meant I had to take the entire day off of work.

The first thing that hits me about this clinic is that it truly is all about appearances here.  Dim lighting, comfy couches, piano music - blah.  My new clinic looks like a doctor's office and personally, I prefer the sterile feel.  They are spending their money on developing new reproductive technologies instead of trying to set the mood.  (Reason 986 I am now going to a new RE)

When I sat down in the waiting room, I was apprehensive about seeing my old RE, but I doubted he would even remember me, seeing as how I was mostly cared for by nurses when I was a patient. Oh yeah, funny story, my appointment today was done by a nurse and not a doctor.... (Reason 987 I am now going to a new RE)

As I am walking to my room, I see all the nurses crowded around a baby - seriously - a baby is in the hallway which leads to the procedure rooms - are you kidding me?  I found this extremely offensive and I am sure I am not the only one.  It makes me feel better that I am no longer under their care.  (Reason 988 I am now going to a new RE)

There were two positives that came out of this appointment.  One the nurses who I always saw during my two previous cycles performed the procedure today and remembered me.  She gave me some kind words of encouragement.  The other good thing is that everything looked fine on the saline sonogram and so far I have minimal to zero pain from the procedure.  7-11 weeks until we start our next IVF cycle!

 

Urologist Update

We had our check up with the urologist yesterday.  Seeing as how we already knew the results of the SA, we were prepared for the impending bad news.  The two other things we were concerned about was E's pain and his testosterone levels.

Well, the doctor said that E's groin pain is not caused by the surgery and that it is a muscular problem, completely unrelated.  This is good news.  The doctor said to stop using the jock strap and to change to compression shorts.  We are now on the hunt for good compression shorts.

As for the testosterone level, no good news there, either. Story of our lives.  After an initial bump in testosterone levels in November, it appears as though the anastrozole has stopped working.  The doctor has now prescribed Clomid for E.  He has another follow up exam in 5 weeks to see if it improves his t-levels.

And so our journey continues...