What an eventful and stressful last couple of weeks it has been! Last I posted, I told you about meeting with Dr. Le and discussing our options. Leaving the doctors office I was relieved and confused at the same time. Days went by and it was really getting to me... what should I do? Should I spend the money and go forward with the scope? Should I give IVF a try? I was at a loss and at one point all I could do was cry. I prayed and prayed and prayed that God would lead me in the path to make the right decision, or the decision I would be happy with in the long run and that HE helps me find comfort in the decision we decided to make. I talked to Brandon about it daily, I talked to my mom about what I should do, I talked to my dad, and I talked to my best friends about what to do.
At first I was pretty set on doing the scope. It seemed to make the most sense because I would get an answer, yes we found the problem or no, everything looked fine. The thing is, if I do the scope and it turns out that they don't find anything, I just spent thousands of dollars on a surgery for them to say, "well, you're next step is IVF" and all the money I just spent on the scope could have been used to put toward IVF. Again, I prayed about it hundreds of times a day. I woke up one morning and my decision seemed to be clear. After talking everything over with Brandon, we decided together that after 2 1/2 years of trying and everything we've tried from then until now, that IVF was our best bet. The decision was made clear, we were both comfortable with our decision, and feel excited and eager for the journey. I scheduled an IVF consultation for yesterday. We wanted to weigh our options, see how the exact process works, and get some questions answered by Dr. Le before finalizing our decision. Brandon couldn't go due to work, so my mom took off and went with me so I would have someone there to support me and be an extra set of ears.
I was an absolute wreck! My nerves were through the roof, my stomach was in knots, my whole body was shaking, I'm sure my blood pressure was through the roof, and I warned my mom walking in that I would probably start crying while talking with Dr. Le so just to be ready. I know, we were just there for a consultation and to get more information about it, but to me this was a BIG deal. This decision could change our lives forever.
When we were called back to visit with Dr. Le, we discussed the success rates, the cost of the IVF process and medications, how exactly the procedure works, and the timeline for it all. Of course when discussing the success rate and how it's not a guarantee that this will work, I start crying. Big surprise, I know! I have to just keep my faith that it will work and pray about it constantly. With IVF, I have a 60% chance of getting pregnant, a 40% chance of twins, and only a 3% chance of triplets. He said in the last several years, there have been zero triplets (as he knocked on wood), so we should be safe there. I guess there is always that small chance, but it's a chance we will have to take. I cannot workout very much at all. I have 2-3 days a week I can do light lifting and/or walk. NO running because running can twist the ovaries. This I did not know! He said when I started my next cycle, and if we wanted to proceed with IVF, to come in and have a baseline sonogram done on cycle days 2-4. I informed him that Brandon and I have already been discussing our options before then, and had pretty much had our minds made up that this was the right decision for us. It just so happened that I was on my cycle day 4, so after calling Brandon to confirm that this was what we wanted to do, we went ahead and did our baseline sonogram yesterday.
What this means is I go back in next Wednesday for a trial transfer. They will measure my uterus and prepare for the actual egg retrieval that will happen about 3-4 weeks later. He started me on birth control pills for the next 10-14 days to rest my ovaries before I start all the medicine. While taking the medicine, I will go in for 4-6 sonograms to monitor the progress of the follicles. After about 10-12 days of medicine, I will go back in for the egg retrieval. They will take the sperm sample and the eggs and grow them for 5 days, then I will go back in for the embryo transfer. This is where all the extra prayers come in.... we will wait about 10 days before I go back in for a blood test to see if it all worked.
You may not agree with our decision to move forward with IVF, and that's your opinion. Until you have personally experienced everything we have experienced in the past 2 1/2 years, I don't really consider your opinion to be valid so keep it to yourself :). No, we haven't had anyone specific give their negative opinion, I just don't care to hear it if you do. To those of you who support us and pray for us on a daily basis, we truly appreciate it! This has been the hardest and most stressful journey I have ever been on. People take for granted being able to get pregnant on a daily basis. Be thankful for what you have and the blessings you have in your life.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.- Proverbs 3:5-6
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