Disclaimer: This blog contains medical appointment details that some my find to fall into the TMI category. I'm ok with sharing, but you've been warned if you think it's more than you wanted to know :o)
In March of 2012, just three months after we decided to start trying to start a family, we had our first appointment with Dr. Zeringue, at California IVF. He walked us through exactly what PCOS was, what we were up against, how to try to counter the effects of it, and the most fun Doctor's orders I've ever received, he suggested we try on our own for at least 6 months before moving forward with any treatment plan (oh darn, :o). So we had a plan. I faithfully kept track of my temperature day in and day out to see if I had ovulated and every month but one we faced disappointment. Shocking....sometimes our plans don't always go as we hope the will. I had only ovulated once in the 10 months that we had been trying to get pregnant which meant it was time to schedule an appointment to pursue treatment. The receptionist explained to me what would be required before we moved forward and it wasn't for the "only somewhat committed."
To start, there was lab work for both of us to do. At first I was a little insulted when they told us we would both have to do a full STD panel. Seriously? However, after giving it some thought, it occurred to me that Danny and I most likely fell into the very small minority of their clients when it came to the limited and exclusive "history" that is taken into consideration with that particular kind of testing. Eventually I got over my offense and could see why it would be important--I just already knew what our results were before they ever stuck us with needles :o). Next came the socially awkward and physically uncomfortable portions of our pre-treatement extravaganza.
Danny (poor thing) had to have the awkward "date with a cup" which was clearly unpleasant for obvious reasons. Who really wants to do what he had to do, knowing a whole office of medical professionals were waiting for him to do it, all while feeling he had this sort of "phantom" audience? But, lucky for him, he didn't have three medical professionals in the room for his test, that was certainly an added treat for me. Nope.
I was to endure a wonderfully unpleasant procedure called a saline contrast ultrasound. Until we were ready to pursue treatment I had never heard of it before. The purpose was to ensure that if we were able to get a fertilized egg, that my uterus would be a hospitable hostess for the precious cargo. There really wouldn't be any point in pursuing treatment to make me ovulate if the swimmer and egg couldn't find a good place to lease for the following 9 months. I tell you what, there's nothing quite like a catheter taken beyond one's cervix to inject a few tablespoons of saline (which was WAY better than the water bottle amount, I had initially pictured when they described the procedure) all during an invasive pelvic ultrasound. The best part was it was all under the guidance of an NP who clearly was much more the novice than expert. Ouchie.
Eventually, our results were in: "I can't believe Dan and Lisa are STD free!" -said no one ever! But to GREAT relief to me, 100% of the other prenatal labs came back completely normal. Finally, the overachieving system of mine was slacking off to be the average student I always hoped it could be. Danny's results from his test came back with flying colors, much to his IMMENSE relief. I tell you what, no matter how much a wife explains to her husband that he wouldn't have to go through that kind of test in the first place if things were 'ok' with her, does little to relieve a man's fear that something might be wrong with him. I can't recall the last time I saw him so relieved.
The pieces were slowly coming together . Since the doctor was present at my ultrasound I knew before we left that horrible appointment that once swimmer met egg, they would have a beautiful home to settle into. All in all, we were cleared to move forward with treatment. We still just had the one strike against us. The fact that I didn't ovulate was all that was keeping us from starting our family....and they have pills for that!
No comments:
Post a Comment