If you read the spoiler, you already know what happened but, you don’t know what ALL happened. If you didn’t read the spoiler, welcome to the ride. First, I want to reiterate that while this is a pretty interesting story, it is my real life and the events really did happen. I’m sharing because this is therapeutic and I know there are people who are interested. I know I am interested in the experiences of others. I’d also like to thank all of you for your support. It has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive.
My husband and I started our current IVF journey in 2019 with all of our testing. We were postponed due to the pandemic but were able to get rescheduled for an August embryo retrieval date. I journaled during the time we were undergoing treatment. I am going to share those journal entries over the next few posts. (I changed my husband’s nickname to Husband because some things stay private.) I knew I wanted to share the process, but I was hesitant to share it while it was happening. I had many concerns including the idea of doing IVF during a pandemic. We ultimately decided to take the risk and go forward with it. Here goes.
July 28, 2020
Today we headed to DC. Tomorrow is my baseline appointment for IVF. That just means I have bloodwork and a vaginal ultrasound. They’re checking for follicles so they can plan on how many follicles our goal will be. Ideally, we want at least 15 to 20. I only have one ovary so my number will most likely be much lower. The follicles represent the eggs and we need a lot more eggs than a normal menstrual cycle would produce. This gives us a greater chance of having good quality eggs so we can make good quality embryos. They also want to make sure my bloodwork and levels are adequate. After that, I get my meds, syringes, and meet with someone from the reproductive endocrinology staff. At least that’s what I’ve heard.
There are so many variables in this entire process. My ultrasound needs to show enough follicles to work with. My bloodwork needs to show that I’m ready to make a baby. The medication needs to stimulate my follicles and eggs enough to produce a good number. Husband needs to have sperm and the urologist needs to be able to perform his TESE. She’s been put on a COVID tasker and can be called up at any time. If she gets called away, we go to an egg retrieval situation with no embryo transfer and wait until the urologist can perform Husband’s TESE. I’m not nervous though. I just know this is all going to work out.
So back to the story. We’re here in the DC area for about a month for fertility treatments. We’re doing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) at Walter Reed because they have a program that offers the service at a hugely reduced cost. We were supposed to do this back in May but the pandemic hit and everything got postponed. We had an amazing apartment booked but they won’t refund us so that sucks. Now, we’re staying at the lodge on base. It’s not my first choice but it’s adequate.
We have a small refrigerator and a microwave. I tried to book the full kitchen room but it wasn’t available. We plan to cut costs by making sandwiches and having breakfast in the room. I’m sure we can figure out dinner. Bag salads are good and easy to make. We’ll have to see how it goes. The desk attendant checked us in and told us to call the CDO. Why? They had to make a determination on our quarantine status! At first, they told Husband we’d have to quarantine for 14 days! This meant we couldn’t even walk outside our room. Husband immediately started looking for another hotel. Luckily, they called back and let us know that we were free to roam about. No quarantine for us. Thank GOD!
We ventured out to pick up our grocery order and grab dinner before heading back to our hotel on base. Husband hooked up our projector and Xbox then promptly put the news on. No need for the room TV when you have a projector to watch at 85 inches…lol. I’m trying to drink lots of water so that my blood work goes well tomorrow.
As I said, I’m not really nervous. I don’t want to forget to ask anything though. I want to make sure I’m doing this right and I want to make sure I’m being a good patient. I’m more nervous about raising children than I am about this process. I can’t wait to get through this and head down south to see my mom. I’m about to take my final birth control pill. I’ve been taking them for the last month to regulate my ovulation. It’s weird to take these even though there’s no way I’d get pregnant anyway.
I can’t believe we’re finally doing this!
