Saturday, Mr. Jem and I had a phone consult with Dr. Z.
First the good news: he said I had good ovarian reserve and Mr. Jem should have enough sperm to NOT have to do another biopsy.
Mr. Jem: start taking Fertility Blend for Men again (he did before our first IVF). And go back on clom.id to up sperm production.
Me: Dr. Z wanted to do a different protocol. Instead of antagonist, which is best patients with low reserves, he would have us do IVF with ICSI using a Long Lup.ron protocol, to control hyper-stimulation. He also wants me to do some additional testing before we start our cycle (for killer cells, etc.) The other thing he wants to do is PGS on the embryos, so we transfer only viable embryos. At age 40, he said an embryo only typically has a 1 in 5 chance of being normal, so he wants to test ours, before transfer.
What's next? A chat with the nurse coordinator and then a financial person (our next cycle will be out of pocket).
So, are we going to go forward? You betcha! My mom reminded me that I swore I was "done" after the last cycle, but this feels different. It's not the "same ole" and, despite the fact that we may never know why we can (or can't) get PG, I'm ready to move forward. Dr. Z has a great clinic, a top-notch lab, and responsive admin staff. Let's just hope they can get us a BABY!!
Jem
P.S. Here's a teaser for my next post on our vacation - a picture of Mr. Jem fly-fishing in Central Oregon, with a little help from my step-dad. Yes, that's a fish in Mr. Jem's left hand.
13 comments:
I've been lurking on this blog for a while and am glad to hear you excited with this new plan. It is always nice to feel like you're moving forward on life's journey - whatever that journey may be. Wishing you good luck and peace.
That is awesome news about your ovarian reserve and no biopsy! And yay for a great plan you feel excited about! That 1 in 5 stat is depressing, to say the least, but it sounds like Dr. Z and you are in a position to be able to take care of it. Sending you lots and lots of good energy for this cycle.
Love,
Maddy
Dr. Z sounds great! Very excited for your next cycle :)
Fingers crossed for you as always Jem!!!! Sounds like good news from a good Doc!
Yay for 2nd opinions! I'm glad that you had a great appointment. It sounds like he knows his stuff and is ready to tackle your issues head on, instead of treating you like you are the same as everyone else. I take it as a good sign that you feel differently about this cycle so hopefully you will get your prize at the end of all this.
That does sound like whole lotta changes! How great to have a different road map. I'm so happy you're moving forward.
I swore I was done a number of times. When we're upset we say things....and then we see a light, and keep going. I'm glad to hear the excitement from you :) Go Baby!
Sounds like all good news!
so glad you have a new plan that you feel good about! i'm doing a lot of extra testing this go around too, as well as embryo testing. i'll also be on the long lupron protocol. i just gave 15 vials of blood for some tests this AM!
do you know if PGS tests all the chromosomes? i'm unclear if i'm doing PGS or CGH. the nurse said CGH but the paperwork says PGS. all i know it that all chromosomes are being tested.
good luck! i'll be following along!
So happy you got a good vibe from Dr. Z. I swore I was never doing another IVF after OHSS with my first. (Although I had really believed that one of our FET would result in a BFP.) We all change our plans as life demands. Good luck Jem!
Good luck! I did a variation of the long lupron protocol this cycle and it worked really well.
Glad you had a good consult. I hope your fairy godmother surprises you with a windfall... but as expensive as IVF is.....
you'd be shocked at how much MORE expensive the BABY is...
then you are shocked at how much money you spend a year on day care (like what we paid for college!)...
if princess has to go to private school, you'll be shocked again...
and if she/he goes to public school, don't worry - the hidden costs are all over!
75% of our credit card bills are for stuff related to the kids....
Good luck on finding the fairy godmother. When she shows up, please send her my way. I need her pocket change!
Fingers crossed for your next cycle.
That sounds very optimistic. Will be watching closely as you go through your cycle.
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