Hope

Well, there is hope after all :). My appointment yesterday at the fertility clinic went fabulously and to say that I am excited for the future would be a HUGE understatement. It was a long day for me overall - working for 4 hours, driving 3 hours there, having an 1.5 hour appointment, and then driving 3 hours home - but is was more than worth it.

Without boring you all with every detail, let me give you the basic rundown instead.

How it went
First and foremost, I am nothing but impressed with this place. I went to Red Rock Fertility in Las Vegas, and from the moment I walked in the door I felt welcomed. Not only is the atmosphere a professional cozy, more importantly the staff are very friendly and seem to have a sense of how important their job is to each of their patients.

I first met with a nurse who went over some of the clinic's procedures and policies with me, and also took the time to discuss my particular insurance coverage and what I can expect to pay for certain tests along the way. I LOVE that they were completely upfront with me and really seem to have my best interest at heart.

After meeting with the nurse I met the Advanced Nurse Practitioner who I will be working with for the majority of this process (who I will just refer to as N), and again, SOOOO impressed by her. She is professional, friendly, and most importantly, she knows what she's talking about. In the time I met with her she helped me better understand PCOS, and for the first time since my diagnosis I was able to actually realize why it makes healthy, viable pregnancies difficult to achieve. I wish I could draw a diagram and show you all what she showed me!

Anyways, N had already reviewed my records from my previous OB/GYN (all 54 pages!) before I had arrived, and had them readily available so I could ask specific questions and she could give specific answers. We talked about my cycles, what we need to find out before we proceed with any sort of treatment, and what my expectations are. Again, she was so incredibly understanding and she took the time to answer all of my questions (which were definitely NOT in short supply, lol).

So, here's....

What happens next
Although both Jeremy and I have been through fertility-related tests in the past, it's been awhile, so my doctor wants to get updated results. Although Jeremy only has a few things he has to do, I on the other hand have a whole heap of tests to go through - some of them I have had in the past, but most of them I haven't. There's a lot of blood work I have to get done, and thankfully all of Jeremy's tests and my blood work can be done right here in Lake Havasu instead of in Vegas. We can get those tests/blood work done at any time over the next couple of weeks.

The rest isn't quite as easy, lol. First of all, a lot of my testing needs to be done within the first week or so of my cycle. Since PCOS makes it difficult for me to determine when a new cycle will begin, I am going to start taking a drug to jump start it. I'll take 10 pills (one a day), and hopefully my new cycle will begin the day after I take my last pill.

On day 3 of my cycle, I will go back to Vegas to have more blood work done and to have an ultrasound done that will check for abnormalities on my ovaries and uterus. Sometime between days 7-10, I will have two more tests done. One test will use X-ray and check to make sure my fallopian tubes are open and unobstructed. The other is an ultrasound exam that uses fluid to identify any lesions in my uterine cavity. There's one more test I am supposed to have done, but it's a little more surgical and not completely necessary, so I am almost 100% sure I will not be getting that one done.

Once all of those tests are completed, then I will have a follow-up consultation with N and we will decide what to do from there.

All these tests mean I have to take time off of work and spend a couple days in Vegas (oh darn, lol). Jeremy won't be able to come with me because of his work/call schedule, but we gotta do what we gotta do. I'm a little leery to ask for time off since I have only been at my new job for 2 weeks, but I think my boss will be understanding...I am trying to time things so that I only have to take off 2 days total, so hopefully things will work out accordingly.

The IUI verdict
In my last post I mentioned that a very large part of the reason I was going to Red Rock was to find out if N thought Jeremy and I would be good candidates for IUI. Although she wants to get all of our test results in before she gives me her final decision, as it stands right now she thinks our odds are pretty good. For most people who are trying to conceive, IUI only has a 10-20% success rate. But, because Jeremy and I are young and because of some other factors she saw in our records, along with how successful their clinic generally is, she said we would have about a 45% chance of conceiving. That's almost a 50/50 chance!!! Again, only time will tell if that's true for us, but it was enough to give me hope that we may very well have a child of our own one day :). If IUI looks like it may be successful for us, we will begin that at the start of my next cycle (the one after this "testing" cycle).

So, there you have it. At the end of my consultation with N she said something that totally took me by surprise but gave me more hope than I could have even imagined having. She looked like she was thinking, and then she says, "ok, so if we do this now, that means we'll deliver you in August - it'll be hot, but oh well." Did those words really just come out of her mouth? Is she HONESTLY thinking that I will be delivering my very own baby in August?? I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much about that, knowing very well that the odds generally haven't been in our favor and that many, many, many couples are unsuccessful with IUI. It's also possible that N may have just been saying that to me to keep me optimistic throughout this whole process. Nonetheless, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best - I really like the month of August :).