Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A few things going on behind the scenes
So I got all of my meds in finally! So I am ready to start whenever they say "GO!" LOL! Hubby & I had blood drawn for the HIV/HCV DNA test (special testing required by the FDA when you are either an egg donor or "donating" tissue to someone, i.e.; using a surrogate) That was a feat in itself! We had to go to THREE different places before we could have it done! The 3rd time was a charm! Tomorrow I go for a hormone level check (to see where I am in my cycle since I don't have a period) and to check my ovaries again. I think after that I should get my schedule of when to start meds and BCP's... Both of my shipments of meds were LATE! Thank God the overnight one was packed well enough on ice so that it was still cold when it arrived A DAY LATE. The other one was just 4 hrs late... On a positive all my meds were cheaper than I thought they would be, yippee! Please pray all my levels are on track tomorrow! I hope everyone is ready for the holidays!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
More Changes...
Sorry for no updates lately but, I have been deathly ill! I have been fighting ear infections, sore throat, a horrid cough and some other not so glamorous things! So kinda some thinking and processing has been going on in our heads lately, as we have some decisions we need to make regarding how we are going to proceed with this cycle. This is crucial because we are in a unique situation right now where we still have options. NO, that does not mean we are looking for a new surrogate, that part is the only thing we ARE SURE ABOUT! Let me explain the backstory:
My wonderful friend and surrogate did NOT have her blood work done! Not her fault, after being told by the RE's nurse that it would be done and giving me the cost and also telling me they would contact me after the consult with my friend and her husband, I never heard back from the clinic/nurse and I had to hear it from my friend that they didn't get blood work! I was NOT happy with this news. She informed me that the Dr. made that call and said he didn't want them to do it until all parties had signed contracts. Because it's my friend that doesn't worry me, but WHAT IF IT WAS A STRANGER??? The blood work is MUCH cheaper than the contracts, so it makes better sense to me that the blood work be done in advance, so if something came back positive (or negative) on a blood test for the surrogate and her husband, that would rule them out, the intended parents would not be out money on a contract they would have to have changed or possibly not need based on the surrogates location! (If you have a surrogate in one state and find one in a different state, the 1st contract wouldn't be valid and you may have to even find an attorney in the new surrogates state!!) So I am not sure how I feel about that. Well I DO know how I feel about that, but it's not easy to put into words.
Another thing that is bothering me is the RE during my initial consult informed me that he was sure my hormone levels were going to be higher, or more in correlation with someone who is almost 37 (this was before my birthday) and that based on what he was pretty sure they would be i would probably be on protocol A. I said "Well protocol B worked really well for me and I am nervous about starting a new med that I have no idea how it will affect my egg production" (the goal is to have the "most" eggs produced SAFELY, in the event your embryo transfer does not work, you have additional embryos to work with for frozen transfers later). So RE says "I will be shocked if your hormone levels are in line with what they were 7 yrs ago (the last time we tried this and what I am basing the protocol I feel I should be doing on), but if they are then we will probably put you on a protocol very similar to what you were on 7 years ago (the answer I wanted to hear!) So RE has me do some hormone testing in addition to what I already had done (which was pretty much in line with my 7 years ago testing) and he said this final test would give him a better idea of the bigger picture of egg quantity and quality. So I have that test done and it comes back "REALLY GOOD!" according the nurse. So I say, "OK, so does that mean I am on my old protocol, or pretty close to what I was on before?" (in my very excited voice). Then the boom is dropped... "NOPE, Dr. S thinks you will do fine on protocol A" WHAT THE F*&K!?!?! "That is NOT what me and Dr. S talked about during the consult, he said...." ( I ALWAYS write down what they say so I can refer back to it if need be" she pauses and says "Well he wrote in your chart that you are doing Protocol A and he believes you should have a good outcome" I was very upset by this news. So being me I do some research using Dr. Google and find that protocol A is generally used for older women or poor responders to the stimulation meds (the meds used to produce numerous eggs) and also that embryo QUALITY is not as good with protocol A as it is with protocol B (the one I want to use). So I email nurse lady and inform her of my findings and she goes on to say "Yes, you are correct this protocol IS used for older women or poor responders to the meds, BUT Dr. S feels that you will do fine on this..." UMMM, NO. is what I am thinking.. And here is my problem folks: First off, let me say I AM NOT A DR.... BUT I DO know that if it ain't broke DON'T FIX IT. And I also know that I REFUSE to be someone's guinea pig.. If they were offering me another cycle at NO CHARGE in the event his theory turns out wrong, I would say SIGN ME UP, I'm game! But seeing as that it will cost me over $12,000 JUST for the IVF cycle (not including testing) I am NOT comfortable agreeing to this protocol. So We have decided to NOT use this clinic for the egg retrieval portion of the cycle. Sounds weird? Let me explain further. I put a call in to my old clinic and explain the situation to them. They said they feel I should do "protocol B" based on my hormone testing. I said "OK sign me up". So I am going to use my old clinic for the stimulation portion and egg retrieval. Once they fertilize my eggs and freeze my embryos, I will have them moved to the clinic that we planned on going to and have them do the transfer to my surrogate. This is the plan we feel most comfortable with. I get the protocol I know works for me AND my friend gets the convenience of us still using the clinic local to her for the embryo transfer and monitoring. It's not pretty, but it works! So, with all that said, I should be starting birth control pills (yes, you take birth control pills to HELP you have a baby with IVF) anytime now and starting the injections 3rd week or end of January, YAY!
My wonderful friend and surrogate did NOT have her blood work done! Not her fault, after being told by the RE's nurse that it would be done and giving me the cost and also telling me they would contact me after the consult with my friend and her husband, I never heard back from the clinic/nurse and I had to hear it from my friend that they didn't get blood work! I was NOT happy with this news. She informed me that the Dr. made that call and said he didn't want them to do it until all parties had signed contracts. Because it's my friend that doesn't worry me, but WHAT IF IT WAS A STRANGER??? The blood work is MUCH cheaper than the contracts, so it makes better sense to me that the blood work be done in advance, so if something came back positive (or negative) on a blood test for the surrogate and her husband, that would rule them out, the intended parents would not be out money on a contract they would have to have changed or possibly not need based on the surrogates location! (If you have a surrogate in one state and find one in a different state, the 1st contract wouldn't be valid and you may have to even find an attorney in the new surrogates state!!) So I am not sure how I feel about that. Well I DO know how I feel about that, but it's not easy to put into words.
Another thing that is bothering me is the RE during my initial consult informed me that he was sure my hormone levels were going to be higher, or more in correlation with someone who is almost 37 (this was before my birthday) and that based on what he was pretty sure they would be i would probably be on protocol A. I said "Well protocol B worked really well for me and I am nervous about starting a new med that I have no idea how it will affect my egg production" (the goal is to have the "most" eggs produced SAFELY, in the event your embryo transfer does not work, you have additional embryos to work with for frozen transfers later). So RE says "I will be shocked if your hormone levels are in line with what they were 7 yrs ago (the last time we tried this and what I am basing the protocol I feel I should be doing on), but if they are then we will probably put you on a protocol very similar to what you were on 7 years ago (the answer I wanted to hear!) So RE has me do some hormone testing in addition to what I already had done (which was pretty much in line with my 7 years ago testing) and he said this final test would give him a better idea of the bigger picture of egg quantity and quality. So I have that test done and it comes back "REALLY GOOD!" according the nurse. So I say, "OK, so does that mean I am on my old protocol, or pretty close to what I was on before?" (in my very excited voice). Then the boom is dropped... "NOPE, Dr. S thinks you will do fine on protocol A" WHAT THE F*&K!?!?! "That is NOT what me and Dr. S talked about during the consult, he said...." ( I ALWAYS write down what they say so I can refer back to it if need be" she pauses and says "Well he wrote in your chart that you are doing Protocol A and he believes you should have a good outcome" I was very upset by this news. So being me I do some research using Dr. Google and find that protocol A is generally used for older women or poor responders to the stimulation meds (the meds used to produce numerous eggs) and also that embryo QUALITY is not as good with protocol A as it is with protocol B (the one I want to use). So I email nurse lady and inform her of my findings and she goes on to say "Yes, you are correct this protocol IS used for older women or poor responders to the meds, BUT Dr. S feels that you will do fine on this..." UMMM, NO. is what I am thinking.. And here is my problem folks: First off, let me say I AM NOT A DR.... BUT I DO know that if it ain't broke DON'T FIX IT. And I also know that I REFUSE to be someone's guinea pig.. If they were offering me another cycle at NO CHARGE in the event his theory turns out wrong, I would say SIGN ME UP, I'm game! But seeing as that it will cost me over $12,000 JUST for the IVF cycle (not including testing) I am NOT comfortable agreeing to this protocol. So We have decided to NOT use this clinic for the egg retrieval portion of the cycle. Sounds weird? Let me explain further. I put a call in to my old clinic and explain the situation to them. They said they feel I should do "protocol B" based on my hormone testing. I said "OK sign me up". So I am going to use my old clinic for the stimulation portion and egg retrieval. Once they fertilize my eggs and freeze my embryos, I will have them moved to the clinic that we planned on going to and have them do the transfer to my surrogate. This is the plan we feel most comfortable with. I get the protocol I know works for me AND my friend gets the convenience of us still using the clinic local to her for the embryo transfer and monitoring. It's not pretty, but it works! So, with all that said, I should be starting birth control pills (yes, you take birth control pills to HELP you have a baby with IVF) anytime now and starting the injections 3rd week or end of January, YAY!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Holy Protocol Batman
So I have my protocol! That's a MAJOR step in this as that is the medicine I will be taking to produce the eggs needed to make the baby!! My wonderful friend and surrogate is having her consult and blood work done tomorrow so hopefully I will have some great news next week! One step closer to the starting line!!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Small Change in Plans
Well my wonderful surrogate had to change her consult date! Her hubby had a meeting at work that he has to be at on Tuesday so they changed it to Friday the 10th. Atleast they both will be able to be there and get their stuff done at the same time and she will have her support system with her, so all things happen for a reason! I put a call and email in to the Dr. through his nurse to find out about my cyst! I have had it for over a year and it's a pretty big one at 3cm so I want to know if I need to go on BCP (birth control pills) now to try and shrink it and also if it will interfere with me taking the stim meds, that would be a disaster!! So hopefully I get some news on this next week! Saying prayers that this doesn't hold anything up!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tests Results are in!
All of our bloodwork is finally back!! All the results are either negative as they should be or within normal ranges as they should be! That was the preliminary bloodwork, but still a major step. Now my surrogate is scheduled for her appt. on Tuesday and will have her consult and bloodwork completed. Her hubby is going to try and make the appt. as well and if so he will be finished with his part, with the exception of the psych eval. Things are taking a little longer to coordinate since we are in different states and testing is being handled by 2-3 different places depending on what the test is.. My patience is definitely being tested at this point, but I know I can survive this and just keep praying that all things stay on track or as close to on track as can be. Right now we are waiting on the contract draft (we still have time for this, doesn't have to be completed until I start medication and we are a bit away from that still) and then however long it takes to get the psych evals back.. So, that's about all I have for an update for now, but things ARE moving forward so that's a blessing in itself..
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