The second scan proved even more eventful than the first.
The 'is it or isn't it a fibroid' question took two sonographers and a consultant 45 minutes to solve. They all commented on how interesting this fibroid/object was in my uterus but, at the time, it didn't feel very interesting. When the Dr (who was young and very good looking - could this get any worse?) started talking about surgery I began to realise that yes, this could definitely get A LOT WORSE!
He said that in cases like this they would prefer to go in to see what it is and that, if I was OK with that he had a cancellation for next Tuesday. All I could think about was that this would postpone the treatment and, surgery? Next Tuesday? Really??!
I think their main concern was the position of the fibroid/object. I say think because, at this point, I was wishing that I was anywhere but there. If it was attached to the endometrium then we had problems. The sonographer suggested adding saline, the Consultant asked if I was OK for this to be done here and now, that it was a procedure similar to embryo transfer - a catheter would be inserted followed by saline. If the saline went around the fibroid/object it was good news, if it didn't, it was bad news and next Tuesday would be on.
The saline, thankfully, went all around the fibroid/object. They seemed happy with the fact that it wasn't attached so I am free to continue with this cycle however, he would like this fibroid/object to be monitored. So, although it was a stressful 45 minutes I have now experienced (minus the full badder) what a embryo transfer is like.
Now, I wait for the paperwork, protocol and prescription to arrive in the post which, the sonographer told me would be in the next two weeks.
We're on to the next stage...phew!
Friday, 26 February 2010
Saturday, 20 February 2010
The scan
The 3d antral follicle scan wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My main concern was the fact that I was on CD3 but thankfully my period decided to go from extremely heavy to light for one day only. The scan did last longer than I had expected because the sonographer (I think that it was they are called) was trying to use a new machine that she wasn't familiar with. She ended up having to call her colleague in which meant that the scan lasted for about half an hour, although it felt like an eternity.
The sonographer didn't say a lot. She seemed happy with the follicles and she did say that there was a small cyst on one of my ovaries but she didn't think that that was a problem. The only thing that she was concerned about was a dark area that could be a fibroid. I've got to go back next Thursday for another scan to see whether the fibroid has gone down after my period.
I did ask her what it would mean if it was a fibroid but she didn't seem to want to comment, she said that we would know more next week.
The sonographer didn't say a lot. She seemed happy with the follicles and she did say that there was a small cyst on one of my ovaries but she didn't think that that was a problem. The only thing that she was concerned about was a dark area that could be a fibroid. I've got to go back next Thursday for another scan to see whether the fibroid has gone down after my period.
I did ask her what it would mean if it was a fibroid but she didn't seem to want to comment, she said that we would know more next week.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
The best bits of the first appointment
I've been trying not to think too much about our initial appointment mainly because I'm wanting to just go with the flow, keep stress levels low and not over analyse everything.
Isn't it weird that the day I start to write this is the day that my stress levels begin to rise slightly. After being told by the doctor that there wouldn't be a problem with booking a 3d antral follicle count scan, surprise, surprise, it seems that there is a problem. The receptionist this morning said that there were no appointments for Friday but that she would have to try and squeeze me in. She's calling me back once she has sorted it out. That was 4 hours ago. Will she call before I end up calling her? I doubt it.
Anyway, I've digressed slightly, here are the best bits from our first appointment:
* Our infertility is likely to be a combination of my endometriosis and the husband's oligoasthenozoospermia.
* The husband's morphology has increased by 0.5 and has increased overall by 2.5 since his original SA.
* They will decide on the day whether to do ICSI or not.
* If our cycle is cancelled for any reason then that is the end of our funded treatment although we will have the option to appeal.
* It's all down to luck!
My views on the above:
* Hearing that our infertility is a combination of both of us really helped the husband so, for that diagnosis, I am thankful.
* I'll take any kind of increase on the morphology because I am sure that that is our main problem.
* I'd rather go with ICSI (because of the morphology issue) but she did say that it can cause damage so I am happy to go with the experts.
* I'm really hoping that we don't have a cancelled cycle but, if it happens, we will have to deal with it.
* I always knew that it was a case of luck but actually hearing the doctor say it makes you realise that they can only do so much and it really is down to luck. A little scary as we aren't really all that lucky!
Isn't it weird that the day I start to write this is the day that my stress levels begin to rise slightly. After being told by the doctor that there wouldn't be a problem with booking a 3d antral follicle count scan, surprise, surprise, it seems that there is a problem. The receptionist this morning said that there were no appointments for Friday but that she would have to try and squeeze me in. She's calling me back once she has sorted it out. That was 4 hours ago. Will she call before I end up calling her? I doubt it.
Anyway, I've digressed slightly, here are the best bits from our first appointment:
* Our infertility is likely to be a combination of my endometriosis and the husband's oligoasthenozoospermia.
* The husband's morphology has increased by 0.5 and has increased overall by 2.5 since his original SA.
* They will decide on the day whether to do ICSI or not.
* If our cycle is cancelled for any reason then that is the end of our funded treatment although we will have the option to appeal.
* It's all down to luck!
My views on the above:
* Hearing that our infertility is a combination of both of us really helped the husband so, for that diagnosis, I am thankful.
* I'll take any kind of increase on the morphology because I am sure that that is our main problem.
* I'd rather go with ICSI (because of the morphology issue) but she did say that it can cause damage so I am happy to go with the experts.
* I'm really hoping that we don't have a cancelled cycle but, if it happens, we will have to deal with it.
* I always knew that it was a case of luck but actually hearing the doctor say it makes you realise that they can only do so much and it really is down to luck. A little scary as we aren't really all that lucky!
Monday, 8 February 2010
Comparing the cost
Husband: Don't say what I think you are going to say to my question.
Me: What's that?
Husband: Don't say that you have had it a long time when I ask you how long you have had that skirt.
Me (smiling because I had clearly been rumbled): This skirt (pointing at said skirt), yes, I've had it a long time. I've had it since Wednesday...
Husband: How much did that cost?
Me: Quite a bit.
Husband: How much is quite a bit?
Me: £50
Husband: £50?!?
Me: Yes, but the cardigan was a bargain. It was £50 reduced to £25.
Husband: So that outfit cost you £75?
Me: Yes...
Husband: Blimey, you get a whole outfit for £75. All I get for £75 is a quick wank in a small room in a hospital!
Me: What's that?
Husband: Don't say that you have had it a long time when I ask you how long you have had that skirt.
Me (smiling because I had clearly been rumbled): This skirt (pointing at said skirt), yes, I've had it a long time. I've had it since Wednesday...
Husband: How much did that cost?
Me: Quite a bit.
Husband: How much is quite a bit?
Me: £50
Husband: £50?!?
Me: Yes, but the cardigan was a bargain. It was £50 reduced to £25.
Husband: So that outfit cost you £75?
Me: Yes...
Husband: Blimey, you get a whole outfit for £75. All I get for £75 is a quick wank in a small room in a hospital!
Friday, 5 February 2010
IVF on the NHS
Three days after our initial appointment at the fertility clinic and we received our first, of probably many, bills.
It looks like there are lots of hidden extras that are going to cost us money. The first is the SA that the husband had done, the second will be for the 3d scan and blood tests scheduled at the end of the month. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate not having to pay for the actual cycle but it would have been nice to have been told on Monday that we would be receiving a bill for the SA and that the scan is going to cost. The lovely IVF doctor has already lost a couple of marks and we haven't even started!
It looks like there are lots of hidden extras that are going to cost us money. The first is the SA that the husband had done, the second will be for the 3d scan and blood tests scheduled at the end of the month. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate not having to pay for the actual cycle but it would have been nice to have been told on Monday that we would be receiving a bill for the SA and that the scan is going to cost. The lovely IVF doctor has already lost a couple of marks and we haven't even started!
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Look here, I have an award!
Thank you so much to Missy for the award. Since my last (and only other award) I have figured out how to upload the picture - check me out!
The instructions are as follows:
- Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
- Copy the award and place it in your blog.
- Link the person who nominated you for this award.
- Tell us 7 interesting things about you.
- Nominate 7 bloggers.
- Post the links to the 7 bloggers you nominate.
7 interesting things about me:
- I LOVE chips, I could eat them every single day of the week. Give me a plate of string fries, fat chips, curly chips, potato wedges and I'm a friend for life.
- I have to get a tape measure out when moving furniture around so that I can be sure that it is central or straight.
- I suffer with OCD (it drives the husband mad) I check, check and re-check doors are locked, the oven is off (even if I haven't used it), the straighteners are off etc.
- I get obsessed with things - when I see something I like I tend to go overboard and buy lots of it.
- I twiddle my hair, I've done this since I was a baby. It used to drive my mum and dad mad. When I was younger I also used to pull clumps of hair out whilst twiddling but luckily I stopped that part of the habit!
- I ran the L.ondon Marathan to mark my 30th birthday.
- This award has made me realise that I don't have that many interesting things to tell you about myself!
7 bloggers I would like to nominate (apologies if you have already received this award):
- Sas - the Sassy infertile lady
- Chirleen - Confession of a ttc-a-holic
- Liz - Womb for Improvement (second nomination!)
- May - Nuts in May
- Jenn - Happily Ever After
- Rambler - My world, my ramblings
- Eileen - We got hitched...
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
First appointment
Our first appointment went really well. We both came away feeling happy to be moving forward, relaxed and sure that we had chosen the right clinic.
I can't believe how nervous I felt before the appointment. It didn't help matters that, on the Sunday, I had decided to join the clinic’s forum. It was great to read positive posts and it prepared me to expect a wait (as others who had had appointments in January were not scheduled to start treatment until the March) but, it also made me feel slightly apprehensive as there were a few posts commenting on administration errors.
One woman had phoned the clinic to ask a question and whilst on the phone she checked her appointment only to find out that she wasn't booked in. Living an hour and a half away from the clinic I thought that it would make sense to phone on Monday morning to check that there hadn't been a change to the appointment. When I phoned the receptionist was a bit funny with me, she asked why I was phoning to check (so I told her about the forum comment and that before embarking on the long journey I wanted to double check), she proceeded to tell me that the clinic’s administration is top quality and that there are never any mistakes! I suppose we will be able to judge this for ourselves over the next few months, I did wonder though whether we would have a black mark against our names.
Anyway, we got there in time (just). The clinic is within an NHS hospital which is huge, a complete maze. We finally located it and, no sooner had we walked in, a doctor was there to greet us. The doctor was lovely, really down to earth and a female which helped when talking about things. She asked us a few questions, nothing too taxing and then proceeded to tell us about the whole IVF process although she stressed that they would always only give us two steps to remember.
The plan is as follows –
1. Obtain FSH blood test results from doctor because, although she said that she would send them with the referral, they didn't. No real surprise there. (UPDATE - it's taken me so long to post this that I have already managed to obtain these).
2. Phone the clinic when I get my next period to arrange a 3d scan and STI blood tests (again) for both the husband and myself. Our results from the G.UM clinic cannot be obtained due to confidentiality.
3. Following the scan the clinic will send in the post my protocol, consent documentation and prescription for drugs.
4. Complete and return the necessary paperwork and return
5. Call the clinic when I get my next period to start our treatment (booked in for 17 March).
So, things are moving forward at last.
I can't believe how nervous I felt before the appointment. It didn't help matters that, on the Sunday, I had decided to join the clinic’s forum. It was great to read positive posts and it prepared me to expect a wait (as others who had had appointments in January were not scheduled to start treatment until the March) but, it also made me feel slightly apprehensive as there were a few posts commenting on administration errors.
One woman had phoned the clinic to ask a question and whilst on the phone she checked her appointment only to find out that she wasn't booked in. Living an hour and a half away from the clinic I thought that it would make sense to phone on Monday morning to check that there hadn't been a change to the appointment. When I phoned the receptionist was a bit funny with me, she asked why I was phoning to check (so I told her about the forum comment and that before embarking on the long journey I wanted to double check), she proceeded to tell me that the clinic’s administration is top quality and that there are never any mistakes! I suppose we will be able to judge this for ourselves over the next few months, I did wonder though whether we would have a black mark against our names.
Anyway, we got there in time (just). The clinic is within an NHS hospital which is huge, a complete maze. We finally located it and, no sooner had we walked in, a doctor was there to greet us. The doctor was lovely, really down to earth and a female which helped when talking about things. She asked us a few questions, nothing too taxing and then proceeded to tell us about the whole IVF process although she stressed that they would always only give us two steps to remember.
The plan is as follows –
1. Obtain FSH blood test results from doctor because, although she said that she would send them with the referral, they didn't. No real surprise there. (UPDATE - it's taken me so long to post this that I have already managed to obtain these).
2. Phone the clinic when I get my next period to arrange a 3d scan and STI blood tests (again) for both the husband and myself. Our results from the G.UM clinic cannot be obtained due to confidentiality.
3. Following the scan the clinic will send in the post my protocol, consent documentation and prescription for drugs.
4. Complete and return the necessary paperwork and return
5. Call the clinic when I get my next period to start our treatment (booked in for 17 March).
So, things are moving forward at last.
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