To In Vitro...And beyond!

I feel like a space explorer...  about to boldly go where I have never gone before.  I am about to enter, the infertility world of IVF.  The thing that infertility has taught me is that the common person believes this is the only treatment.  So most might be surprised that it's taken us four years to get to that point.  But four years, six treatment cycles, five IUIs, and one miscarriage later that is where we are finally headed.

I've talked before but now the plan is more solidly in place.  I had my RE consult (which I've blogged was mainly just him explaining how it worked) three weeks ago.  And yesterday I had the nurse consult.  That was going over what I specifically will be doing.  Um...why can't these be done in the same consult?  Why insist on two appointments?  Cha-Ching?  But I digress.

I will be starting birth control pills after my baseline from my next period. Which is about 10-12 days from now.  I will be on the BCP for about three weeks and stopping them Sept. 18th, have another baseline and start stims on Sept 20th so that I will be ready to have egg retrieval and egg transfer in my RE's "October Window".  Since he only works in the Highland Park IVF clinic two weeks a month this will have me ready to go sometime between Oct. 1st - 11th.  I tend to stim fast so I expects to go in for ER in that first few days.  I will be on 150iu of Follistim and two vials Menopur and add Ganirelix   towards the end.  And of course Estrace, Endometrim, etc. etc. etc.  And oooooh, a valium for ER.  Drug induced haze!  I've never taken a valium and thought it was funny that she said it was more to relax my uterus then to relax my mind...but it will help with that too.  I thought for sure it was to just relax me, who knew my uterus would be tense too LOL.  And I'm sure other drugs I'm forgetting because, well, it's a long ass list.  But I was told I am on the "easiest protocol"  yet never actually told what protocol that is.  I've heard of "long lupron" or "short lupron" (and FYI I'm not even on lupron of any kind!  I was told BCP is enough of a suppression for me, and I forgot to even ask about lupron.  I think I'll try to get clarification on why I'm not taking it next appointment.)  And I've heard of antagonist protocol...but who knows what they're calling this?  I sure don't.
**Update an hour later, after some quick searching on the internet it appears Ganirelix use is what they refer to as antagonist protocol.  Good to know!**

So with that said,  16 days from my ER will be my beta.  So two months from now I could be getting my results.  Which happens to be the due date of our miscarriage.  And a day after Infant Loss awareness day.  Ouch.  I'm in for being one hot mess.

Now, I know some of you watched Giuliana & Bill's TV show.  Do you remember their IVF at their Chicagoland doctor?  It's that office.  I've been there once before but yesterday I got a tour of the whole place.  Waiting & recovery room, room for ER and ET, embryologist room where they actually do the in vitro and watch them grow and cell division (nerd utopia!  I'd love to watch that!)  and the cryolab where the frozen embryos for FET hang out (and where our little ones, if any extras make it to freeze - fingers crossed) will live for up to a year or more) and the "Husband Rooms" for his sample time.  And you know what I said "Looks just like it did on TV."  Because I remember that episode of G&B, with the inlaws in the waiting room and such.  So now you can picture (if you saw it) where the magic will happen.

So here goes nothing!  Only two weeks left til we get this show on the road!