A Whole Lot of Hocus Pocus?

At least that's Doc's opinion on the whole thing. Our new doctor, Dr. Zed, comes with rave reviews and accolades from many women, including those who have been unsuccessful with IVF elsewhere, but I guess some of his methods are slightly unconventional. He tends to test for a whole lot of stuff that Doc and other fertility clinics think are way over the top.

For example, he tested me for MTHFR (which is not uncommon) but he also tested me for NK assay, TH1/TH2 Intracellular Cytokines, Anti-phospholipid Antibodies, Anti-thyrobglobulin Antibodies, and Anti-microsomal Antibodies. So far, I've tested negative for most of them and we're waiting for the results on the rest. All of these tests are immunology related and I guess (based on what Doc has told me) it's very rare for people to have these issues. Hence, his doubt on the necessity of these tests and his skepticism regarding Dr. Zed's medical philosophy. In other words, he thinks that Dr. Zed is using a machine gun to hunt a rabbit.

Now, my thought is that obviously something is going right with Dr. Zed's practice because a lot of women who have been unsuccessful have gotten pregnant with Dr. Zed. And if it's because of his hocus-pocus medical practices, then fine, I'm all up for a bit of magic if that's what it takes. The downside of all of this though is that his hocus-pocus is not for free nor is it included in the price of the IVF. It's all extra and it starts to add up.

Dr. Zed is recommending that I do an intralipid infusion even though I tested negative for NK cells. I think it's mainly because he believes something is going on with implantation and that an intralipid infusion may be able to help and at the very least it won't do any damage. But, that costs an additional $700. Seven hundred bucks is a lot of money to spend on something that may help but probably won't.

So, right now, I'm putting all my money on Dr. Zed and hoping that he'll work his magic and all his hocus-pocus will pay off in the end.

Good To Go

I had my ultrasound and antral follicle count with Dr. Zed yesterday and I'm set to go. No cysts, lining is nice and thin, and I have 10-11 follicles waiting to get started.

His thinking is that with an antral follicle count at around 10, I should have almost no chance of OHSS, so he's going to start me with a pretty aggressive dose of stims. I will not be taking BCPs, but rather, will be starting on estrace beginning cycle day 20, all the way through to the day of my trigger. Stims will be started right after I get back from our vacation (we're going to Puerto Rico) at the beginning of June.

Now all I'm waiting for is to hear back regarding my immunology tests. If anything comes back positive and I have to take meds, it may set back my IVF start date. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have any issues.

As for the office and Dr. Zed, they're both really nice. His office is very quiet compared to Dr. P's office (probably because Dr. Zed is a one-man show). He's a super nice guy and is very thorough. He explained everything during the ultrasound and didn't seemed rushed at all.

I'm a bit scared to say this because I feel I might jinx something, but I'm feeling pretty good about this round of IVF. We'll see how it goes!

Day 1 - Take 2

It's Day 1 for me again and although AF showed up, I'm not surprised nor am I sad. I'm actually relieved because we can get this show on the road.

I realized it's going to be a bit more complicated this time around because we're going out of the Big-K network and so, blood tests and prescriptions won't be as easy to fill. I also have a lot more doctor's appointments because Dr. Zed is a lot more thorough (maybe also known as being anal). He's having me do an immunology panel with testing for certain antibodies and MTHFR, and a consultation with a genetic counselor. I also have to get my primary care doc to sign-off on a health form and get a recent pap smear.

Tomorrow is my ultrasound and antral follicle count, so wish me luck! It'll be my first time going to his office, so I'm hoping that I like the staff. So far, things have seemed pretty good. They're very responsive and friendly.

Venting Vagina and Sienna from It's Baby Time will also be doing their IVFs in June, so please, please send out good vibes to all of us. Ladies, I'm counting on some BFPs from our group!!

New Doc, New Plan

We had our phone consultation with Dr. Zed yesterday afternoon and I feel very comfortable that he knows what he's doing. We discussed the immature egg issue and his thinking is that the protocol was incorrect. He felt strongly that based on my age and my antral follicle count (which is between 10-12), that I still have a pretty good chance and that I should've been placed on a microdose flare protocol (which, by the way, is what Dr. P recommended for IVF #2) with an initial higher dose of meds. And, where Dr. P thought that the BCPs oversuppressed me, Dr. Zed feels that if I start on a higher does of meds, the BCPs shouldn't be an issue and that the the liklihood of having a lead follicle or uneven follicle growth is too high without BCPs. He also thinks my lining needs a bit of beefing up with means that I'll be doing estrace priming.

Overall, the recommendations were very similar to what Dr. P had suggested for IVF #2, which makes me feel more comfortable. The main difference between the two seemed to be their level of experience/confidence. When Dr. P was making his recs, he seemed a bit hesitant and explained that he really hadn't encountered a case like mine before. However, Dr. Zed told me that he had encountered many cases like mine in his 25+ years of practice and he seemed very confident in his recommendations.

Now, that could all be BS, but I have to believe in something to make my decision? So, based on all the information I currently have, we're going to go with Dr. Zed.

As for timing, I'll be starting on BCPs with my upcoming period and I'll also be doing my first ultrasound. Since we're on vacation during the last week in May, we'll start the stims at the beginning of June and then do the retrieval/transfer mid-late June.

It's such a relief to have a game plan set up! Let's get this show on the road.

It's On Like Donkey Kong

As you can probably tell, I'm feeling a bit better than I was yesterday. Thanks to all you lovely ladies for giving me a boost with your comments. I swear, this blog has been the best thing for me and it's far easier on the wallet than actual therapy.

The other thing that has my spirits a bit higher than yesterday is that my phone consult with Dr. Zed is on for tomorrow. I got a call from the coordinator and she said there was an appointment for tomorrow afternoon that opened up due to a cancellation! Hooray! So, my May 12th phone consult is now scheduled for tomorrow.

The sooner we get the second act on the road, the better. My first IVF was done through the big K HMO (for those of you in CA, you'll likely know which one that is) and although they did all the tests, I'm not sure if Dr. Zed will want to do some again because they're old and they were done at the big K. If we do tests again, it'll take a few more weeks than we anticipated, so I'm anxious to start as soon as possible.

I'm also excited to hear what Dr. Zed will say about my protocol and what he'll recommend. Dr. P (from IVF #1) recommended estrogen priming with microflare protocol and no birth control pills. I've read that Dr. Zed also uses estrogen priming, so I'm thinking he may recommend that, but you never know. Wish me luck!

IF Funk

Ah, man...I got the IF blues. If I had a harmonica or a guitar (and I knew how to play them), I'd be singing the blues right now with a tear in my beer.

Usually, I do ok with keeping my IF blues in check and I can typically convince myself that one of these days I'll have that elusive baby, but today I can't quite get my mind to be optimistic. I think the blues set in yesterday, after I went to my close friend's baby shower. This is only the second baby shower I've ever been to because most of my friends aren't even married yet (yes, they're slow bloomers).

I've spent a lot of time with this friend and I was even there when she announced her pregnancy (they got pregnant on their honeymoon) and although it has been difficult, I've never felt this type of nagging insecurity and funk. It's like all hope has been sucked right out of me.

I'm so scared that IVF #2 will be unsuccessful and we'll have to continue with another and another and another. I hate knowing that everyone is wondering why we're not pregnant. No one has blatantly said anything, but I feel the underlying questions and I hate it!

What I wouldn't give to see, just once, a positive pregnancy test. Just a glimmer of hope to signify, yes, I can get knocked up. Right now, I'm all out of hope and I can't seem to muster up anymore.

Not IF related

Ok, in case you don't figure it out, this post is in no way IF related. It's more just something that I thought I'd share since it's one of those pet peeve things.

See, the thing is, I really enjoy going to the gym and getting my sweat on, and up til about 3 weeks ago I wasn't able to enjoy this past time because I was doing IVF. Now that I'm back on the wagon again, I've been spending some good quality time at my gym.

When I used to go regularly, I would see the same people day-in, day-out and you get used to seeing them. Since I've been gone it seems that there have been some new members that have joined on. Don't get me wrong, I like seeing new people working out, but there are some things that I just don't like or that just baffle me and takes away from my workout experience.

I'll list them below for your reading pleasure (and because I have nothing better to do right now):

- Mullet Man: There is a new man in my spin class with a very interesting mullet. It's still business in the front, party in the back, but he also has a bald patch right at the top-back part of his head, so essentially there's all this hair everywhere except for a nice little bald ring in the back. Now, how do I know this? Because I spent the better part of an hour in my spin class studying the back of his head since he came in late and sat on the bike right in front of me. In addition, he was wearing his shirt inside out...maybe that was done inadvertently because he was running late, who knows? But, the bald-mullet, I'm not so sure.

- Ass Cracker: Yes, there was a woman in spin class who decided to wear her low-rider shorts...It was not a pretty sight and unfortunately, she was sitting next to Mullet Man and so I was accosted by a view of her ass crack for the better part of an hour.

- Stinky Man: One word - Shower.

- Grunter: I get it. The class is tough, but grunting only makes me want to hit you and that would probably make you grunt even louder.

All of these people and so much more have invaded my sanctuary of sweat and I feel violated. What happened during the weeks I was gone? Was my gym invaded and all the normal people replaced with weirdos? It's a sad, sad situation...