Welcome everyone

Hi there - I've gotten a few more followers who are in the same boat - or want to be in the same boat - well this on is heading for Colorado, so hang onto your hat and FSH level. Thank you all for caring and wanting to come along. I'll try to keep down the acronyms, as not all my followers are IVF sailers.

Over the holidays, I'm wondering if I should go off DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) for my Cholimd Challenge, as it has a tendancy to mess with hormone readings - most of the time for the better, very rarely for the worse, but I want my doc in Colorado to be aware of my true readings, not DHEA influenced. And, trying to keep my weight down - the holidays and DHEA have not been friendly to it. DHEA is supposed to lower your weight as well as many other bonus side effects but it has had the opposite effect on me....great! So all the best for the holidays everyone and I'll keep you posted!

Was I Dreaming?

My memories of my one day work up in Colorado now feel like a dream - one where I was transported to a futuristic society. Where everyone walked around in lab coats and beautiful outfits, was young and pretty, always smiling, in a grand builiding that was something between an ultra-modern 5 star hotel and a Paris train station. Everyone had answers to any question, no matter how hard and how many times reapeated (but I didn't do that ) and ushered me around from room to room with the gentleness and ease of a spring wedding. Everyone eager to attend to the silliest or the most profound thought you may have - even the lady at the in-house cappucino bar. Having no US cash on me, she gave me my first Latte in a week for free, and laughed it off with a wave and a smile. Like scientists from another world, they spoke and performed examinations and proceedures I had never even heard of - fagile X chromosome testing for severe retardation (bought that one), Comprehensive Chromosome testing of embryos, hysteroscopy (no biopsy, but the needle in the cervix was a little coocky), Doppler ultra sound to test blood flow to my uterus and many more. I came home with not only a binder, but a stack of consent forms for us to sign and fax, lab work to be done and shipped frozen (they don't trust other labs - why should they? they're from Saturn), having to notorize some of our signatures, and general paperwork to get us on our way.

The proposed timeline is this: Day 3 of cycle in January means day 3 blood work, a chlomid challenge test to test my ovaries and hormones, Day 10 blood work along with Stef's blood work, all frozen at the lab in the hospital and shipped overnight to Colorado. Speaking with our doctor on January 13th to assess our prognosis and probability of pregancy based on the tests carried out during my one day work up and the chlomid challenge, and a decision about moving forward. February: if all goes well, I will start what they call "my calendar" or "IVF cycle" in February, which entails taking a birth control pill to suppress and take over my natural hormone system, followed by stimulating my ovaries to overproduce eggs - on one of their 21st century ultrasounds, they found 12-13 follicles right now, which means I may produce as many as 15 eggs. At the end of February/beggining of March, I would be there for egg retrieval. If we chose the embryo chromosam testing, I have to go home after that and will not have an embryo transfer. They get tested and frozen - I would come back at a later date for a frozen embryo transfer. They freeze their embryos by a process called 'vitrification' which guarantees a living thaw at 97%. If we do not opt for chromosmal testing (it sounds simple but it's not - there are risks involved of not having any embryos in the end and it's $6700 extra) then we will have a fresh transfer and go home. Their labs are second to none, so I'm hoping one way or another, an embryo(s) will find it's way into our life as a happy child/children. The success and prestige of this clinic was confirmed to me by the driver of my $100 towncar ride to the airport (hey! I got a needle in my cerix!) A wealthy couple from Spain flew in on their private jet to purue their egg hunt at Colorado - and he was their private chauffer for the entire time. If figure if millionairs from a country with state of the art fertility clinics of their own are prepared to spend some gas money on their jet to kiss the skies and try their hand in Colorado, we have a half a chance.

Wake up Call

I got to the lobby this morning just in time to wolf down some resemblance of breakfast and jump on the shuttle to the clinic....when something instantly seemed odd when I arrived. It was pretty quiet for a supposed busy time of the morning, and the kitchen was just putting out the breakfast when it should have been out already for almost an hour. I looked at my watch to see exaclty how late the kitchen was... and a chill went down my spine as I pulled the sweater back on my wrist.....and there it was.... the small hand was in the wrong place. It was an hour earlier than I thought....or at least an hour earlier than the alarm clock in the room. I couldn't believe it.....I had even spent time telling the front desk that their automated wake up call came into the room an hour late. Here I was greatful I set the alarm clock...boy! I shouldn't have touched it - turns out I set the time ahead by an hour accidentaly when setting the alarm. I figured both the alarm clock and the hotel wake up call should get me up. Never did I think I would find an hour the next day. As mild sleep deprivation sets in knowing I got up at 5am, I ponder at what a girl does when she is given an hour as a gift. Well, she goes back to her hotel room to spend more time on hair and make up of course, comments on someone's killer shoes in the lobby and learns they are Mark Nason's - so looks them up on the net and updates her blog. Sometimes a wake up call is just that - a wake up call - so set your clocks right. And if you find an extra hour out of no where - see it as a gift, rather than a sleepy nuisance.

Boy! I feel like a Denver

Not the sandwich - the place. Got here! after a one hour shuttle ride and being whoosy all the way here today - don't think my breakfast agreed with me. The hotel will do and it's a good deal. Will probalby be here for two weeks in February. Nice location - lots of cool little restaurants near by and a place with the words "YOGA" in big letters. Sure hoping that's a yoga studio! Bonus! rather than a clothing place. Yoga is going to help me keep my sanity while I take injections every day again and watch myself grow a melon over my jeans. So, catching the 7:15 am shuttle tomorrow morning to the clinic. I hear it's spectacular - can't wait to see it and take pics for Stef. Looking forward to tomorrow but a little scared of the tinkering under the hood....had a PAP this morning at my docs in Regina and she gave me a cold, clear heads up that the hysteroscopy is painful....oh good...I hate it when nothing hurts. Will let you know how it all went!

Taxi!!

Wanted to welcome my two new followers...(someone to dismiss my husband as my only follower! thank you!) My sister in law Serena and dear friend Brenda...thanks for supporting the cause! or madness! ..whichever!!  

Details....details...so I booked a hotel for my one day work up - a great place near by - a smokin deal! $70 a night for a one bedroom suite with free breaky, dinner, including drinks...well...I guess that's great for the guys...not us preagers wanna be's. Seeing as my last appointment ends at 3:30 (did I mention the hysteroscopy at 2:45?) I fugured a 7:30pm flight home was a piece of cake. Turned out to be a piece of dog's breakfast and a load of stress. Had no clue that the cab ride to the airport would be $80....and I thought London England was bad....at least they had a cool car and the wrong side of the road thing was trippy. Well, I can order a shuttle for $36 but they do the milk run and pick all kinds or Toms, Dicks and Herrys (there's lots of Dicks at the clinic too.......ouch..bad one eh?) so I don't trust that the shuttle will get me there on time for the two hour before the flight thing. So, the taxi it is.....and no stress...all the better for the little eggs that are about to get jacked on Leutinizing Hormone.....and no hassles with shuttle business when a piece of my uterus was just put under a microsope....happy to pay whatever to sit in a car and ride...

We thought this was going to be easy

I got an email from Denver describing my one day work up and what else they need before I fly there for the 17th. That day will be packed with orientaion, blood work, consultation, Dopler flow (blood flow to the uterus) and a hysteroscopy (biopsy of the uterus). Turns out they also need a mammogram and pap before my egg retrieval - this almost made me sick last night from stress. My doc could barely fit me in for a pap before I leave and Regina is booking mammograms in February. Guess when my egg retrieval is scheduled? you guessed it! February. So things may all get slowed down just becasue of this city of medical molasses. End of Feb would have been perfect. I guess I just have to accept how things will shake out and try not to throw up. Will be bringing my doc lunch today to thank her for squeezing me in and checking on that mammogram......oh that's right! my girls get to get squeezed! God forbid only the south quarter gets poked and prodded! :)

Change of plans!!

It's a long story, but after being on the phone the whole morning between my doc here and the nurse in Denver, it was decided that I will go to Denver for the one day work up in December - the 17th to be exact. Sooooo, now we jugle 2 Christmas parties, a two day meeting, my year end at work and flying to Denver, all in the next 10 days...like I said...already a nail biter!

Talked to Colorado!

The first step in our new jouney to Denver finally came tonight! Dr. Minjarez called, a half hour late, during which Stef and I sat, looking at each other, hearing the clock ticking, tea getting cold, quietly worrying. When the phone finally rang, we almost crapped ourselves. Anyways, she was very pleasant and informative. We learned about about what their process is and what is up next. I will have my first blood test and Chlomid challenge test (measures the quality of my eggs) on Wednesday. I have to come back early from an out of town trip to do this test. The value she was sent from a previous test worries her a bit and she wants something more sensitive....it's already a nail biter and we barely started!! The hardest part of all of this will be coordinating the tests they want with my family doc and the labs here. Get this - my blood has to be spun and frozen here, then shipped frozen to their lab....holy moly. My blood flying to Denver - frozen. Stef's swimmers being shipped - frozen....how do you not make fun of this stuff!! The time line so far - first week in January I fly there for a one day work up of tests - Stef can stay home for this one. As early as late Feb will be my two week treatment, with Stef there during the egg retrieval. Thats all we know so far....see you sooon!

Here we go

Tomorrow is the first day of our plan B for Baby(s). We will be talking to Dr. Minjarez, a Fellow in reproductive medicine, at CCRM, Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, on the phone at 5:30pm. I of course, will have a river of questions - and hopefully our doctor will provide all the info we need and vice-versa. Speaking of questions, to keep you updated, I started this blog!! My first one! From this day forth, I promise to post everything that should be known amongst our closest friends and family during our process - and as up to date as possible. I also started this blog because the next few months will be full of further tests, flights to Denver and lots to manage so I may not always have the time for extensive updates...but I want to share our journey with my loved ones.....and I know that all my dear friends and family support us and want to know what's going on....well trust me....you will find it here! An update on Dr. Minjarez coming up tomorrow!!