Curvy Roads Ahead....

This is the sign in my head when I think about the upcoming month or 2!! Not sure what to expect, but we're ready for any curves in the road!!

To catch you up, I got my period on Sunday (FINALLY)!! I've havent had a period since January 1st!!!!!!! Of course a lot has happened between then and now, but it was still shocking to think about it like that!
Anyway, here's the skinny as far as I know. I go in tomorrow for ultrasound and bloodwork to make sure my levels are ok and all looks well. If we pass that test, then I'll have an HSG next Monday where they shoot dye thru my tubes and take xrays of my insides to make sure it's all ready for IVF. I'll have that done in Margate or Naples - that is still TBD! (long and boring story as to the why)

If we pass those tests, I'll start an ovulation predictor kit on CD10 to see when I ovulate. Once I ovulate, they'll wait 8 days and start me on Lupron shots which helps suppress my hormones. I should be on those shots for 12 days and then I'll start the stimulation phase. I'm guessing I'll start that the first week in June, but that is all determined by when I ovulate this month. All dates are pinned to that.

For now, I just have to get my bloodwork/ultrasound tomorrow and have an HSG on Monday - those 2 will happen no matter what. Then I have to wait to ovulate which will be around 5/12ish and we'll go from there. Lots of hurdles to jump first, but if all goes well, then we'll start the stimulation early June, implantation mid June and find out if we're pg in July!! WOWOWOWOW!!

We wanted to start this month bc if there are unforseen delays we still have a lot of summer to play with to try again. It all happens so fast! It is much nicer knowing what to expect for both David and i and I'll be floating in my pool in between appointments to avoid any stress whatsoever!!

Hope that all makes sense!!! Thanks for caring!!! We're ready for the race to begin again! Get on your marks!!

Appointment Went Well

I'll give acupuncture a thumbs up!!

I loved the acupuncture!! I was really surprised as I did it years ago and didnt enjoy it bc I was so stressed about the needles the entire time! This time I didnt feel a thing!! She left them in for 30 minute and I zonked out like a little baby! Hopefully, this'll work bc it costs $110 the first time and $80 each additional week!!! Insurance does NOT cover it!!! UGH!! I spent almost 2 hours with her bc she was counseling me so much asking me all sorts of questions about my lifestyle, history, my coping skills, etc and it was very interesting!! She kept asking how I was grieving all this and the emotional pain might be leading to some other ailments (insomnia, constipation, etc) The whole session was much deeper and therapeutic than I expected! I thought she'd come in, pop me with a few needles and I'd be on my merry way. I didnt think I was going to a therapist!! I'm looking forward to going back next Thursday!!!

No af yet so it's hard to plan my IVF schedule.......they said 4-6 weeks from the D&C and im in week 5 - i keep thinking anyday, but not so much! maybe the needles will help her come along!!

New Appt. on Thursday...

I have a new acupuncture appt on Thursday at 3:30 - should be interesting. Still waiting for af :)

Not Meant to Be...

My new acupuncturist just called me and said she came down with a 24 hour bug last night so she has to reschedule! UGH! Grrr! I get myself all psyched up about it and then bam-o! I'll probably reschedule sometime this week if she's feeling better, but just wanted to keep you "posted" - I'll let you know the new appointment.

Hi Lisa Forsythe...

This is our new dream miracle worker we're hoping will help us achieve our dreams of meeting Baby Hutcheson. She's my new acupuncturist

and she's been referred to me by so many doctors, friends in the area that I'm sure she'll be fantastic! She'd better be for $110 for the first visit and $80 for every one after that!!!!!!!!!! GULP! Those are some pricey needles if you ask me!!!!!! We're still finding out if insurance covers it, but will go to her no matter what. With the insurance I have, I'm thinking it won't be covered. :( :( :( I spoke to her and she said she's had many clients going through IVF that go to her and has had success! This is one of her specialities! Now that's what I'm talking about!! I can't wait to meet her. I have an intake and acupuncture session with her on Monday at 3:30. I hope this helps with Baby H because it won't hurt so much when the needles are going in and when I'm writing that check every week! DOUBLE GULP!!!!

Acupuncture...or something like that!

The acupuncture appointment was a BUST!! I got there, filled out all the paperwork, dealt with my butterflies, and met with the doctor. Once we got to talking, he realized I was there for acupuncture, but he had me down for something else that sounded like it! When I called to make the appt, the receptionist thought I said something like "acuvator" or "accupressure" so she made the appt for me! Long story short, they don't do acupuncture!!!!!!!!! All that for nothing!!! So it looks like I'm back to square one so I'll now...

"Let my fingers do the walking!"

Acupuncture Today!!

My first acupuncture appointment is today! I'm pretty nervous and excited at the same time! Needles still freak me out, but I'm just going to try to focus on the end result (ie Baby Hutcheson in our arms) and try not to get mentally involved with what is happening to me. I went once before, years ago, and it was very stressful for me bc I was so worried about where she was putting them and was SURE she'd forget to take one of them out and I'd find it later on when it hit against something! Why can't Maxson prescribe that I get a massage or visit the Hyatt Spa every week! Now that's what I'm talking about!! Not so lucky!! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes! YIKES!

On the Road Again...

As the famous Willie sings, we are "on the road again"!! What an appointment! I'm up at 3am because my head is spinning so I'm turning to the blog to spew it all out here! First of all, all tests came back NORMAL!! YAA!! Dr. Maxson was wonderful and went over every test, what it meant and each one came back negative which is what we wanted. When he was going over each test and what it tested, our heads were shaking, but some of the words like posphatelykinemethomankeiserfudgeruckers that he said with ease and didnt make any sense, but we just kept nodding like we were at med school together! We were expecting them to come back normal, but relieved to hear it come out of his mouth!

Then he went over, in detail, each stage of our IVF cycle, what he liked, what concerned him, what he would change for next time, etc. This is where we were all on the same page! We felt like such IVF experts as he was spouting off about the details of our eggs, drugs used, and IVF techniques. He recommends trying IVF again and thinks our chances are great because we got pregnant this last time.

He said the m/c had nothing to do with either of us; but rather just what happens in 1 in 4/5 pregnancies. This was great news!! He said our chances of another m/c is not increased which was a relief. It looks like we're going to do the same process again, but he's going to make an ever so slight adjustment in some of the timing and drugs used. We're also going to do acupuncture with this next round.

There are studies out there that acupuncture helps to get your body in order and actually increases pg-cy chances! We'll try anything that boosts those % even just a little. He actually has an acupuncturist on-site they use all of the time and he was very excited that we are going to do this. He said to start it now to get my body in order for another IVF cycle. He likes to have acupuncture done in the months preceeding IVF instead of once the cycle begins. With our first cycle, I asked the nurse about it when the stimulation began, but she stated it was too late to start something like that because it takes my body a few treatments to get used to and it's too much to start during the stimulation phase. He said to go once a week and increase a little once the retrieval and transfer get closer. He even said that after the transfer/implantation, he recommends going to the first floor of his building and have a treatment done immediately following! WOAH! Now that's quick!!

Here's the timeline as we see it:

We need to wait for my next period to start these chain of events, but on day 2 of my next cycle, I will go in for bloodwork/ultrasound to make sure my body is OK after the m/c and D&C. Then I'll go to him on day 7, 8, or 9 for another HSG. This will be my 3rd one in 4 years! yuckie! They're not pleasant as they stick a catheter into my uterus and shoot red dye through it and take x-rays to get a clear picture of my uterus and internals to make sure everything is cleared out from the D&C/mc and see if I'm ready for another IVF cycle. Sometimes the act of having an HSG can help to clear out any remnants leftover. (there's a link in the title of this blog for more info about the HSG)

This will be a big factor to decide when we can start IVF again. We may start the suppression cycle (1 month of suppression, then one month of stimulation)right away or wait a month depending on the results.

When we were at the dr., we talked about having the HSG and then going straight to suppression then stimulation, but the more I look at the calendar, the brunt of IVF will come towards the middle/end of May and we really want to try again when I'm out of school due to the extensive travelling so we may have to wait another month which is fine with me. Either way, we're looking at this summer to start this process; a lot depends on when I get my period and how the bloodwork/ultrasound and HSG turn out, but we're hopeful to try another IVF cycle this summer! (GULP!!!!) OMG! I can't even believe I'm typing those words!

We have a flood of emotions when we "fast forward" and think of all that is ahead of us, so we really just try to take day by day, test by test and focus on all the good in our lives and know this is not a burden we will have to carry with us our entire lives. There will be an end to this someday, some way! We have such an amazing support system in our friends, family and each other that we truly are VERY blessed and can't wait to get to the pot of gold and be stronger for the wild ride on this slippery rainbow!!

4-11-07

4-11-07, tomorrow, that's when our appt is with Maxson.....The difference between 11-4=7 so Im hoping that'll be good luck for our appt tomorrow - I'm a big "numbers" girl where I remember dates, look for patterns and meaning in every number. Always have been that way.

Anyway, our appt. with Maxson-Margate is tomorrow. I wasnt nervous because i feel (Dr. T too) like the results will all come back "normal" (that's the best word), but today I started to get butterflies talking about it with a co-worker.

Maxson will meet with us and go over each test in detail that we had done to tell us if this was a chromosonal issue bw D and I or just a "fluke" that happens in 1 in 4 pregnancies. We're hoping for the latter of course. Then we're going to find out what we should do next.

We're thinking about trying IVF again this summer (GULP!) because I dont have school and can travel back and forth with ease, but we have to get the OK from Maxson. Orrrrrr we could find ourselves perusing every website, talking to every lawyer, and interviewing adoption agencies this summer! Orrrrrrrrrrr Maxson could tell us to try naturally for awhile before going down any route whatsoever. No matter what happens, we know we're doing all we can, it's in His hands and that gives us peace knowing the decision will come to us. I'll be sure to post the results of the meeting afterwards. Thanks for caring and checking in on us!! We're so blessed!!

We're definitely feeling like we're

at a fork in the road! ha ha ha :)