Thanks for all your wonderful, encouraging comments! I suppose now you want an update?
Once again I'm squeaking in under the wire. Once again, I'm wishing I had finished posting about my previous cycle, so you could understand the whole squeaking in under the wire analogy. Low numbers, cancel cycle, don't cancel, no wait, uh oh only 4 follies, too bad only 2 embryos, gosh only 1 fertilized, blah blah blah.
So my FSH is 9.3. Or 9.7, I can't remember know. They like to see under 10. Squeeeeeeaked by that one. Because of my age, my RE doesn't want to wait for me to lose weight. Cool. Because of my age and previous poor response, we may qualify for a study that's being done.* The nurse in charge of the study is going to screen me after Passover, and if I qualify, I'll likely start after my next menstrual cycle.
I'm 2 pounds over the maximum weight for this study, though, so I have to boot off those pounds. And any other pounds I feel like kicking out will always help. Yep. Matzoh will be very helpful for that. /end sarcasm
But if I don't pass the screening for the study, my RE (shall I come up with a name? Sure, how about "Dr. Straightforward"? Dr. SF for short?) will start me on a heavy-duty, kick-those-ovaries-into-high-gear protocol with my next cycle. And no BCPs. I won that argument. Actually, it wasn't an argument. I brought it up, Dr. SF said no BCPs, I said okay. I wish I had more arguments like that.
Dr. SF exhibited a distinct lack of enthusiastism for the success of a cycle, however, there was a glimmer of hopefulness. In other words, we weren't dissuaded from trying. And Dr. SF knows our situation, and has been in contact with us over the past two years, so I don't think it's a case of "taking our money anyway."
Oh, and I did ask about the male hormone stuff. Dr. SF gave a vigorous headshake and said there have been some studies done on this, and some of the many side effects mimic PCOS. In the good doctor's paraphrased words, "you're already in IVF for specific issues, why give yourself *other* issues on top of that?"
So, it looks like, one way or another, we're good to go. It will be cool to finally see my name on Cyclesista.
*I don't want to say too much about the study, because it's fairly small and anonymity blah blah blah.
What do: a) shtetl Jews in Eastern Europe b) Japanese people c) Broadway musical all have in common?
I know what you're thinking: Japanese people going to see the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof .
Wrong.
The correct answer would be Japanese people IN the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. Get past the first minute, and it's hilarious and very cool. And I thought Tevya was ticked off in English. Heh.
Julie posted some interesting links up on her blog the other day. Unfortunately, it was in the context of coming to terms with no longer trying IVF for a second Batboy (or girl).
But the articlesresound very strongly with me. You don't remember, because I never got that far in my tales of woestory, but with my last, first and so far, only, cycle, in spite of a plethora of healthy follicles waving "HI" to my shocked doc, the follie union called a strike just as I was cycling and don't you know, those buggers wouldn't cross the picket line.
So many follies, so little eggs.
I wound up with one ovary turning shy and going into hiding behind my uterus, and the other producing what looked like maaaaybe 4 eggs. There was a lot of: "Cancel this cycle" "Wait, don't cancel, your numbers are up!" "Never mind, you should cancel" "It's really up to you - what do you want to do?" which maybe I'll go into more some other time. Anyway, those 4 turned into two actual eggs, only one of which fertilized. But it only takes one, right?
Yeah, but apparently not that one.
The docs all labeled me a "poor responder." Which ticked me off, because I've always been a good student. And I scored freakin' high on the CBC's Test the Nation IQ test.
Boy, am I digressing. My point in all this rambling, is maybe these male hormone treatments might be something I should bring up with my RE. And maybe it's something I should try. But do I go "normal" for the first cycle, and male hormonal for the second? Or should I just dive right in and convince my doc to let me get my fix right off the bat? Are there long-term effects? Can male hormones taken pre-natally affect the fetus? (Feh, look how positive I am, talking about a fetus. As if all this might actually, possibly work.) Are there side effects for me? Will I suddenly have an urge to drink beer, watch football, shove my hand down my pants, take the entire New York Times to the bathroom and announce to everyone in the room I'm going to "the library," leave my underwear on the floor right next to the laundry basket, and yell "Nice ass!" to every hot chick that walks by?
Maybe. But isn't that worth it for the end result?
Starting the "Fund Fertility Already" Fund Campaign
Now, if we can just get our government leaders to read and comprehend.
From the Calgary Sun:
"What's going on here is a form or reproductive discrimination," adds Dr. Greene, of the province's refusal to fund IVF, which costs $5,150*, not including drugs.
He's launched a campaign urging Alberta to fund the $8-million a year program. Then he could restrict an infertile woman to replace just one embryo, something health economists say will save the province millions and pay for the program, since twins tend to be costly.
"We used to say, funding IVF is the right thing to do. What's different now is we're saying, it's also the smart thing to do."
If you're Canadian, and affected by infertility, now is the time to start bombarding your MPs with letters and phone calls. Let's get IVF funded by Healthcare, the way it should be!
*Note: I should go to Calgary for my next cycle; it's much cheaper than BC. And you Americans? Come on up for a visit and cycle here. Seriously. You can stay with me.
Well, I went for my Day 3 bloodwork yesterday. When my number was called, I went up to the nice lady behind the desk and said, "I'm here for my Day 3 blood draw."
She took my form, started typing like a madwoman, asked me stuff like phone number, and health number - all of which were printed on the form - and said, "is today Day 3?"
Uhhh. Was I supposed to come on Day 3 for my Day 3 blood draw? Well, how the frack was I supposed to know that. Of COURSE it's Day 3, you ninny, why else would I be here??
*sigh*
After waiting a not very long time, I get called in to the tech. Guess what he asked me?
G'wan, guess.
"Is today Day 3?"
argh.
Fine. I guess they're just confirming in case someone honestly doesn't realize what "Day 3" means. I'll stop being so critical.
Of course, as usual, my veins saw the latex tourniquet thingy and ran screaming for the hills. I have bad veins at the best of times, but this time was just a doozy. Dude tied me up in 4 different places (and not in that good way), thought he saw a little something, stabbed and lost. Tried again somewhere else, and stabbed and lost again. Finally, in the back of my hand, we struck oil. Actually, it was like oil, because slow, thick sludge oozed into the vial. Thankfully, he only needed two vials this time (as opposed to the 10 from last time), otherwise, I'd be posting this blog from the lab where we'd still be waiting for the vials to fill.
The best part was afterwards, when Hubby took me for ice cream. It's not on the diet, but it's prescribed for speedy blood draw recovery.
I get some funny Google searches. I get some that make me sad, too, like anyone actually looking up infertility information. I'm sad when anyone is in that situation.
For your pre-Shabbat (or weekend for my non-Jewish friends in the nets) reading pleasure, forthwith I present my most recent Google searches, and my comments on each.
getting 3cc but injections Could this be 3cc "butt" injections? I have no idea what this means.
male jewish pregnancy blood test To the best of my knowledge, there is no blood test to check for male pregnancy, Jewish or otherwise.
infertility roller coaster male perspective I wonder if this was a man searching, or a very thoughtful woman searching to get some insight on her infertile husband?
gallbladder Twitching HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm so sorry I'm not alone. (btw, it turns out it's related to my IBS)
is socializing difficult for an orthodox kosher jew? It doesn't have to be. It depends on with whom you wish to socialize. If an orthodox kosher jew wants to socialize with people who insist on eating bacon out on a Friday night, that might be difficult. If an OKJ wants to meet some friends for a drink after work, no problem. Going to the movies is a problem for some groups, but not others. Of those who go to the movies, some will go to any movie, others will only go to "family" movies (no sex, bad language, etc.).
count for how many jewish males are in the world Why would someone want to know this? Besides, everyone knows it really only matters how many Jewish FEmales there are in the world, since we're the ones with all the power ;)
why jews want male babies Most Jews want healthy babies. While there are some Jews, as with any group, who would prefer a male child (you don't have to pay for the wedding!), most orthodox Jews want at least one male and one female baby, to satisfy the mitzvah of p'ru urvu, be fruitful and multiply. This mitzvah is typically seen to include both a male and female baby, because it takes a male and female to multiply. Not that you would want your male and female babies to multiply with each other. Ew.
darfur genesis Thank you for being interested in this horrific situation. I hope you found my links helpful.
vasectomy and orthodoxy Makes it sound like two religions, no? Welcome to the High Orthodox Church of Vasectomy. Orthodox Jews say it is a no-no. Doesn't mean some don't do it. Doesn't mean some didn't do it before they became orthodox.
orthodox judiasm and egg donation I'd direct this person to Wessel's site, but she took it down. Jews are allowed to use donor eggs. There are, of course, guidelines for using donor eggs, so consult your LOR (locally ordained rabbi).
jewish infertility Yep, Jews can be infertile, just like anyone.
johnny depp jewish ancestry Oh no he doesn't. With that cute little nose?
jewish fish fertility Jewish fish? Fish fertility? There are no Jewish fish (aside from gefilte. And lox, of course). And it's been my experience that fish are extremely fertile. How would you do IVF on a fish, anyway? And how would you circumcise the little buggers?!!
I'm an Orthodox Jew on the IVF road to, well, somewhere. Hopefully parenthood. We're dealing with age, male infertility, Orthodoxy, finances, in-laws and one neurotic dog.
::Note::
Please do not use me as a guideline for Jewish practice. I am always learning, and what is okay in my community, might not be okay in yours. I'm happy to answer your questions, bearing in mind you should always consult your Rav for the standards of your community.
Also, if you think you know who I am, please don't wave hi. My ability to speak freely is important to me, so I don't want to know that you know. Todah rabah.
