OPK

Well, it felt good to finally start something! I did the first OPK test this morning and it's not positive yet. Now I am just waiting for that and we can schedule my shots! I called the facility today to let them know that insurance approval is coming ON February 1st and that I started the OPK today so they should expect a phone call from me once I get a positive! I'm sure they'll be ordering the medications as soon as they get the approval, just so I can have them at home and ready to go once I need them. I'll be using Lupron, Gonal-F, Ovidrel & Endometrin.

I have noticed in reading blogs and watching videos that a lot of women are given an antibiotic to take AND baby aspirin. My RE has never mentioned either of these things and I obviously didn't need it the first time. Still, I wonder if baby aspirin gives you a better chance of having the embryo stick. I don't know.

I am still doing Atkins and I plan on stopping once I start stimming so I can grow some big healthy eggs, but for now, it's working. At my heaviest (2006), I was 260. I lost some and stayed at about 230 for a long time (years)...then got down to 195 right before the 1st IVF. Over the past year and a half, I gained 25 back. I am currently down to 202 and I want to get to 195 before IVF...soooooo only 7 more pounds to go! Then, I'm going to eat the same diet I ate when I was pregnant...it's the one they gave me for gestational diabetes. I didn't actually have GD but my glucose test was borderline at 15 weeks so it was preventive. I was 19 weeks and hadn't gained any weight, only lost 3. I could deal with that. :)

Intro

My husband and I have been married for 4.5 years now and we tried to have a baby for about 2.5 years before we sought medical help. We started with an RE who was recommended by a friend of mine. Our experience with him was okay...we had the usual consult and were scheduled for all the testing. I had a few tests come back with odd results, but after follow up appointments and further testing, everything was found to be normal. My hubby however, had a semen analysis with zero the first time. I'll never forget that phone call.

Hubby was referred to a Urologist for further testing. From what they could tell, it was not an obstructive problem, however all his hormone and genetic testing came back normal. He was then referred to another Urologist at Boston IVF who specializes in Male Infertility. This doctor has been amazing and SO nice to my hubby from day one. (Because of the way he looks, people are usually intimidated by or condescending to my hubby...the long hair, the leather bracelets, etc.) Hubby was overweight at the time and we were informed that he couldn't have sperm retrieval surgery until he was <300. He is 6'4'' and at the time was 360-ish. Doc put him on Clomid to increase the chances of us finding sperm and hubby hit the gym with a vengeance. He is now <300 an had a MESA surgery last month. And we found sperm!!!! Turns out it was an obstructive issue after all. Nothing that could be fixed, he was just born that way. So...they are on ice now.

I started my Lupron injections a little over a week ago and am just now waiting for AF to show up. I'm really excited but nervous at the same time. I've never had anesthesia, and I'm a little nervous about the egg retrieval because of that. I keep trying to focus on the main goal of this whole process instead of worrying about that stuff though.

I don't know anyone who has gone through this and that is why I decided to join Blogger. I found some blogs on here through a Google search for "IVF Blogs" and it has encouraged me to read the stories of other women's IVF journeys. :)