Medicine and my Pharmacist

For one of the tests I am having done, we both have to take a prescription to keep me from getting an infection.  Luckily, I just came across my ex pharmacist in line at the grocery store this week - so I transferred all my stuff to him at his new pharmacy and could get this one filled! :) It made me happy to find him, because I trust his knowledge and I like having him as the point man between all the different doctors that I see. :)  Even tonight, when I picked up the meds, he said "I know this scrip was from a fertility clinic, but I want to make sure you are not pregnant - because you absolutely can not take this med if you are."  Most places just put the sticker on the bottle and hand you the bag!  He rocks. :)

His Test

My husband had to do his portion of the testing today.  Super quick and easy.  Oh to be a boy!

They called and said everything is A-OK ... so now, on with my tests.

The Initial Visit

Usually when I'm heading into uncharted territory, I make a plan.  I google, I read, I get a book from the library, I browse chat rooms and message boards.  Even if I throw out half the ideas I come across, I like to know it all.

I didn't do that before today.  I didn't want to be scared off by people's comments.  I am sure this who process has chat boards buzzing around the world, just based on the things I read during wedding planning.  If people will have 425 posts about exactly which pink they should make their bouquet, then I'm pretty sure people will have at least that many about how babies.  I just didn't want to read it.

We met with Dr. Katz today.  Being in the office was a different experience than many other doctors offices.  First of all, we were the only ones there.  Someone showed up just as we were leaving, but other than that the place was deserted.  I wonder if they do that on purpose, or we just happened to hit a light day?  

So amusing brain lapse - we both had to fill out questionnaires before going.  My husband put our anniversary as 6/29/08 - which is indeed the day we got married.  I however transposed some numbers and put 6/28/09.  What? I just took a year off our marriage.  Oops!  Dr. K interviewed us about our family history and our medical history and all the basic stuff before telling us the timeline and plan that was in our future.  I could tell that Dr. K gives this speech all the time, because not only could he recite the information, he wrote upside down on yellow graph paper so that we could see it while he read.  (I bet he uses graph paper on purpose to make it easier!)

Basic info - now that we've broken past 1 year and are moving steadily towards a year and a half, our chances of being surprised one month are getting slimmer and slimmer.  So - we test!

Mike's test is easy and takes no time at all, of course!

My first test is an ultrasound to see if I have the eggs I am supposed to have, along with blood work.  Good thing about this test is that it'll be on a high pain day - perhaps it will give a clue as to the pain!!  That is the hope.

Then I do another test called an HSG to see if my insides are nice and healthy.

Concurrently, we will do a DNA test to make sure babies we have won't have any serious carrier type diseases like CF.  That's the testing that the big glossy packet mentioned.  

So...that's the plan.  We did not get to meet the nurse that will be our primary nurse because she was off today.  Same with the woman who is in charge of financial stuff.  However, I did dig around in my health insurance website and I'm fairly certain that I'll be covered for initial testing and some of the treatments.  A little frustrating to not get to meet all those people today, but when you get squeezed in before the big holiday I guess that's what happens!

The Packet Arrives

When most doctors tell you they're sending paperwork in the mail, you get a standard size envelope with a few pages of questions and perhaps a sheet with the privacy notice.  The mail from SG was as big as a college admissions packet.  Those envelopes were filled with glossy pictures of beautiful people studying on a perfectly manicured lawn or hanging out in a huge beautiful dorm room that nobody on campus actually lived in. :)  This packet actually had very few pictures.  There were a lot of graphs, charts, and tables towards the back ... especially dealing with the statistics of their IVF program.  I was expecting cutesy baby stuff and pink and blue and green and yellow literature.  Instead, it's bold blue and yellow and looks like information from a business company instead of a group who's in the baby business.  The most interesting flier in the packet was a letter to patients who already have kids.  They were requested to not bring their children to the offices to be sensitive to those patients who haven't gotten there yet.  The flier was a different shape and color scheme than the rest of the papers and looked like it had been designed quickly to be added.  The whole idea fascinated me. But I guess in my world, I'm around kids all the time.  I don't think of them as out of place ever because I spend more time with kids than with adults.

This packet had a lot of information, but was really just a different format for the same pages on the website.  Doctor bios, a description of where you'll start, and the assurances that while most people think of fertility treatments as being just IVF, almost everyone who is seen at their practice is helped long before that stage.  (I liked that assurance.) 

Several times in the literature, I identified myself ... young 30's, regular Gyn referrs patient for inability to get pregnant in the early stages of advanced maternal age, irregular cycles throughout her life.  Those are the patients that they can usually help with minimal intervention.  That's me!  It's good to know these things.

The question packets for each of us are extensive.  I did fill mine out already, and it took a lot of time.  It asks all kinds of questions about my medical history as well as everyone who is related to me.  It's a good thing I listen when people babble about that kind of thing!

Another interesting inclusion was the request for genetic testing.  They have several levels we can choose from, but they recommend doing at least a certain level.  This is one of the reasons I have dreaded baby creation turning into a science project.  Regular people just get pregnant and have the kid!  I mean, lots of people may choose not to have kids if they find out both parents carry a recessive gene for a dangerous disease, but I don't think that regular gyn offices whip out the genetic testing form the day you mention wanting to have a baby. 

This whole thing is overwhelming.