Candace: It has arrived, all $K of it. This fun filled box is filled to the brim with syringes, patches, pills, and a hormone cocktail of vials for Chris to play doctor with. (And not the kind of “playing doctor” you are probably thinking about – gutter minds … eye roll). IVF ranges between $14-20K US for your first “fresh round.” This term means they will medically stimulate your reproductive system and prolong the ovulation process so you have a ton of eggs. The 4 stages of IVF are: sTIMS, Retrieval, Implantation, and the dreaded two week wait (TWW). For a quick recap of IVF 101 as it relates to us, here is a brief run down of the steps minus the graphic, emotional, painfully broke details.
Day 1 – I begin a series of injections of gonadotropin drugs (follistim, gonal-F, bravelle and.or pergonal, or repronex and HCG) to stimulate the ovaries.
Day 6 – After five days of stimulation, the doctors check to see whether there are enough follicles (eggs) developing to continue the IVF cycle. If so …
Day 10 – Depending on my progress, this stage can occur anywhere from day 7 – 12. I get more injections, this time of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) or in my case, Ovidrel, to trigger ovulation.
Day 11 – One day after HCG, the patient returns to the clinic for an ultrasound to check on the status of the follicles.
Day 12 – 35 hours after HCG, under general anesthesia, Dr. O. will retrieve the eggs by guiding a needle into the ovary through a tube inserted into the, well, you get the idea. Around the same time, a sperm specimen is collected, no pressure Chris. The sperm will be sorted according to their motility in a fashion similar to salmon swimming up a river. Only the grade A, all-star, super magnificent sperm make the cut. Then, an embryologist will, with very steady hands, inject a sperm into one of the retrieved eggs. This is called, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Not sure if they play any Barry White during this process or not, but I imagine it is as clinically romantic as possible.
Day 13 – Doctors check to see how many eggs have been fertilized, and what their quality is. If there are more good-quality embryos than can be transferred, some may be frozen.
Day 15 or 17 – Depending on the clinic, this could be 3 or 5 days after fertilization. The cells, now called embryos rather than fertilized eggs, are transferred back into my uterus, using a thin catheter. Two days of bed rest follow, after which normal activity is allowed.
Day 28-30 – The final step: the pregnancy test! — Aside from my PIO injections, this is the hardest part.
Here’s another resource for a good summary of the IVF process
For my last round of stimulation, I had to waddle around, I was so bloated from carrying so many expensive precious eggs lots of them at that. Note to the IVF “To do list” – time to buy elastic band waisted pants or a festive mumu, whichever is more comfortable. At this point, high fashion is the furthest thing from your mind, you succumb to that “I don’t give a bleep” look, due to the hormones, uncomfortable waddling, lack of sleep, and nothing fitting because your waistline is a bajillion sizes too swollen. I mean, some people are afraid to get a flu shot, or have a minor surgery. This is something you wipe out your savings for, with a 40-46% chance it will work. So when people say, why are you spending so much money on this? I challenge those who do have their own child to call you mommy or daddy. How much would you pay for or what lengths would you go to for them? So that makes eating Ramen Noodles and checking couch cushions for change worth the shots, tears, and money.
Chris: We’ve all been there before. It’s 3 days before Christmas … Grandma said she mailed the package a week ago … You are fairly certain that there will be candy and not pink bunny pajamas (See “The Christmas Story” if you are not sure of the nod there). Finally, there is the delivery truck and the delivery guy walking up the driveway. Bam! There is the gift from grandma. Exciting stuff. Well, we got something of a grandma package with these meds. Umm, maybe not as exciting because nothing I ever got from my grandma was so sharp and almost nothing needed to be refrigerated. We were looking forward to all of this stuff though. It became official when all of the stuff came. It is like we just sat in a whitewater rafting raft and the guide just pushed off the shore. We are on the raft and the only way to get off is to go down the river. One – five shots at a time. So, here’s to having an adventure-packed, hormonally-charged summer!
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