Hurry up and.........Wait.

I was so nervous about going to this doctor. I had already gone to the place in my head where he told me that we'd never have children. JC calls that "snowballing". I do it quite often.

So Dr. Ratner (my new hero and new Urologist) reviewed all our records, gave JC a quick once over, and asked some questions. And then he explained what he is 98% certain is the reason behind our problems. An enzyme called Aromatase. Dr. Ratner explained that men produce both testosterone and estrogen. They are usually in a ratio where the T is much higher than the E. In men that are overweight (like my JC) there is an over abundance of this enzyme called Aromatase that changes T into E and shrinks the ratio. Best thing is that there is a drug that can block the production of this enzyme and return the ratio to normal. The.Best.News.Ever. In combination with that- JC is going on Clomid to stimulate the production of FSH. This will help get his testicles working overdrive to make up for lost time (kinda...).

So we test drive this cocktail for a month and then repeat blood work. If the T #'s are up significantly- then we do another 3 months and repeat the SA to see if the increased T has helped our SA numbers.

Good Things About This Plan:
1. These drugs will help JC feel better without impacting our TTC plans. Yeah!
2. Worst case scenario- we know we can have IVF with ICSI.
3. This plan *could* increase his count enough for us to try IUI! HOLY CRAPOLA!
4. The test drive period lets us get everything with the house squared away and the last of our bills paid off in the mean time.

So if you've made it this far- you deserve a cookie.

Needless to say- great appointment for strange reasons. Now I hurry up and wait.

IVF Update

I had a good little chat with my IVF nurse Chris yesterday. I let her know that I'm all scheduled for my HSG. She said I can go ahead and schedule my follow up appointment with Dr. Khan (my good-looking Indian RE who I really like) for a few days after my HSG.

October 8th it is. How can something be so exciting and make me want to throw up all at the same time?!? She let me know that at that appointment we'll get our IVF schedule and protocol. Here's the low down:
3 weeks of regular old birth control pills.
10-12 days of stimulating drugs
Egg Retrieval 24-36 hours after triggering
Eggs will be fertilized using ICSI
Egg Transfer either 3 or 5 days after retrieval
Then wait for the big news!

Sounds so simple, right?!? Lots to do to prepare- Injection classes, Mock Transfer. Lots of hands in my va-jay-jay. Lots. I guess I should just get over that part now.

My next concern- Before we got into the proposed schedule...she said "As long as things go ok with Dr. Ratner (new Urologist that specializes in MFI), then we'll be good to go." HUH?? Holy Crap. What else would we need to get through?? So please, please, please cross your fingers that we make it through tomorrow. If we do- we'll be starting out soon!!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the fall weather that seems to be on it's way. I am thankful that my car will be paid off next month. I am thankful that JC and I are able to make smart decisions together.

What are you thankful for today?

Coming Out of the Closet

I had a great weekend. It's been a while since I really had a great weekend. The events of late have really weighed on my mind and all of our activities center around appointments or preparation of some kind. It's draining.

I spent this weekend with three girls I went to high school with. One of them is one of my very best and oldest friends. We also went to college together and are still very close. The other two I lost track of along the way. We managed to reconnect over the very sad event of the passing of one girl's husband. So this weekend- we spent catching up. In one way, it makes me sad that I lost all those years of being friends with them. But on the other hand it makes me happy to be friends with them again. My high school friends are like coming home. They know the better version of me (in my opinion...). The non-crazy college drunk version of me. I guess that is what makes it so nice to spend time with them.

On my way to see them- I had an internal debate about telling them about IVF. JC is 110% against telling anyone. But I think that is his bruised male ego talking. My "Do I come out of the Infertility Closet" debate with myself ended when I realized that these people are not going to judge me. They will tell me that they hope that things work out for me and that empathize with my situation. Delicious desserts, good wine and conversation aside- THAT is why I had a great weekend.