Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Group IVF Meeting is Tonight!

Tonight we attend our group IVF Orientation meeting! I'm not sure what to expect but am excited and nervous at the same time...like it's the first day of school or something. Hubby has an impending business trip to London, but LUCKILY he was able to fly out early tomorrow morning so that he could make tonight's IVF meeting. I can't tell you how much I appreciate having a husband so involved in the process. I don't ever take that for granted! They only hold one of these sessions per month, and our favorite RE, Dr. Vaughn, happens to be giving tonight's seminar. Speaking of which, our guy was also on the news a few days ago with one of his IVF patients. I just love hearing IVF success stories, because it helps make the possibility of it working for us that much more real...



If she can do it so can I, right?? That is the purpose of a press release isn't it? Well, I guess they are in fact doing a good job of convincing those of us who want babies. ha! The fact that my hCG was back to zero on Friday makes tonight's meeting perfectly timed, and I'm thankful to be attending with a clean slate and without the burden of the ectopic still lingering.

Unbelievably enough, it looks like I may be ovulating already. Is that even possible?  I certainly wasn't expecting an ovulation to occur so soon after the ectopic, but I woke up to fertile cervical fluid yesterday, tested with Wondfo OPK's (which looked positive all day and this morning) but I ran out and bought CBE digital OPK's a little late after noticing this. I'm still testing today see if I get a + on the digital. I'm not trying to time intercourse for baby making,  but rather the opposite... I want to make sure we DO NOT have intercourse during ovulation time. I also want to know if I'm actually going to experience a true LH surge and ovulate or if this will be an anovulatory cycle. I just want to know where I'm at right now you know? It would be nice to ascertain when a new cycle will start, so I know what we're looking at over the next month or two for scheduling purposes.

I will say, it is really hard to know you're ovulating and abstain from baby dancing. However, hubby and I discussed the research surrounding "wait time" following the administration of the methotrexate shot, and we feel it's best to wait for my body to replenish it's folic acid and other key vitamins and minerals lost during the treatment. The mtx basically sucks all the folate from your body (no bueno) and although some studies say the mtx is out of your system in one week's time, many dr.'s suggest waiting a couple months time to start trying again just to be on the safe side. Guess I'll have to put on my patience panties for now. Hmpf



Instead I'm focusing on how good it feels to be back on my prenatals and supplements and to be pounding spinach salads like they are going out of style. Hubby and I are officially over the holiday eating splurges and back on our healthy diets in full force.  I have a couple of books on order that explain IVF thoroughly and how to increase chances for success, so I'm excited to devour those as well...



And this one...



I'll post an update once I get into them and let you know how they are. I really doubt there is a whole lot I will do differently eating or supplement wise going forward with IVF, but I definitely want to learn more about the process and gain a better understanding of exactly what to expect on a scientific level.  Plus, reading stuff about how to be successful just motivates me to do all of the right things anyways...no sugar, minimal/no alcohol, eating well, getting enough rest, doing yoga, and meditating daily will be mentioned I'm sure. Any extra reminders I can have to do those things is helpful right now. Learning everything I can about a procedure tends to reduce my anxiety when treading into unknown waters as well. I am still trying to ensure we are making the best choices for our situation. I think we are content to move forward with IVF already, but until we sign on that dotted line, I will continue educating myself and asking questions as much as humanly possible. Wish us luck tonight!

6 comments:

  1. Good luck tonight Emily! I'm really excited for your IVF journey and your RE seems to be amazing and capable and I really think he's going to take great care of you and get you that hard earned BFP that is healthy and sticky. Looking forward to reading your update later.

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  2. So excited for you. Seems like everything is lining up for you. I hope you enjoy the seminar tonight and glad your Hubs can go with. Isn't that the best?

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  3. Good luck at the educational meeting tonight, Emily! Sounds like you are doing everything possible to prepare for this crazy journey. You will be glad you did! Hope you gets lots of great info tonight and get most of your questions answered.

    Hugs,
    Kara

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  4. Great video! How did the meeting go? Can't wait for an update!

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  5. I hope the meeting went well! I am so excited for you to get all the information you can and hopefully get started soon! I love the panties, btw. I am so, so glad that you found this RE that you trust so much, because I know it makes the decision making process much easier when you know you're in capable hands. I'm so sorry for all the hell you have had to go through to get to this point, but I'm glad that the ectopic nightmare is over and that you can move forward now.

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  6. Thanks ladies! Just got back from the meeting and it was great. It got very heavy into the scientific process of the whole thing, which is exactly what I wanted. I was glad it wasn't totally "dumbed down" and seemed to cater to those who have been around the block with infertility already. I asked several questions, which I'll have to make a separate post about tomorrow. :)

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