Countdown starts

Called in my surge today.  Next Saturday I begin taking Estrace.  Soon after, the injections begin again. 

I'm not worried about the injections.  Those don't stress me out.  I am worried about the financial aspect this time.  Paying for this cycle is going to mean quite a few months of doing without and monthly deposits on my line of credit.  For Christmas this year, my mother bought me a Heart & Stro.ke Foun.dation Calendar.  For some families, it's diabetes or cancer; in my family we have a history of stroke.  Money from purchase of the calendar goes to the foundation.  Every day there is $3000 give away.  Every Friday, a $10,000 and once a month both a holiday jackpot of $12,000 and end of month $20,000.  I keep hoping that we'll hit one of those jackpots.  It would definitely reduce the stress when it comes to thinking about paying for this cycle.  Ugh.

Speaking of stress, it appears that the clinic is going through some major adjustments.  The doctors who actually founded the clinic are moving on and starting a brand new clinic.  Apparently one of the REs took over the clinic and is hiring two more for the States.  Thankfully my RE is remaining.  But it's a little disconcerting when 4 of the REs move on. What could have possibly happened to lead the founders of the clinic to leave?  I would assume that it would be somewhat like abandoning your child. As long as the level of care is maintained, I'm staying.  And hopefully after this IVF treatment, I won't need to use their clinic again.  When I was young, I assumed I would have 2 or 3 children.  Now, I know I'm fortunate if I can have one healthy little boy or girl.  

I'm sure once my cycle gets underway, I'll be back to blogging on a more frequent basis.   Until then, good night and adieu!  

Question about CoQ 10

My doctor recommended 600mg of CoQ10 daily. I know it's supposed to have a positive effect on ovaries and the theory is that it can reverse the aging.  I've been on it for a few years now but have only been using the prescribed CoQ10 since November.  I'm also taking myso-inositol, melatonin, and folic acid.  (Study on myo-inostitol, folic acid, and melatonin and egg quality.)  Since starting the prescribed CoQ10, my cycles have been a little off.  Typically I'm like clockwork.  Every 28 days Aunt Flo visits.  Now since the CoQ10, my cycles have been shorter.  Twenty-six days, twenty-seven days.  And now, only twenty-three days in, I'm already spotting.  If so, then my IVF cycle will be moved up a week or so.    

My question:  Can CoQ10 shorten a cycle?

All Clear!

Last week I had an appointment for a hysteroscopy.  Of course the only day that I have to commute into the city during Christmas break and there is a multiple vehicle accident on the bridge.  Thankfully the other routes were clear and problem free and I made it to the clinic in record time.  

To make a short story shorter, the RE checked out my uterus for any issues and saw none.  The only thing that he said that was a little out of the ordinary was that one of my tubes was deeper set than the other.  But in the grand scheme of things, that's not a problem.  So once again, there appears to be nothing wrong. 

I'm really tired of doctor's telling me that everything looks good.  If everything is good, then why haven't we gotten pregnant? 

As I mentioned before, I'm at a new clinic.  Let me clarify.  This is the same clinic as my last FET but a different clinic from my last two IVF cycles.  This is a private clinic while the other one was public.  Already I'm noticing the difference in technology.  While I really like my last clinic, this private one definitely provides a lot more bang for your buck.  When I had a hysterosonogram at the old clinic, the imagery was fuzzy and difficult to view.  For the hysteroscopy, it was a very clear colour image.  I think I need to make it clear, when I say public, it's simply a public facility.  We were still obligated to cover all the expenses of the treatment; no government subsidies.  Only one province in Canada covers the costs of IVF and that's Quebec.  I believe they'll cover 3 treatments but you can only transfer a single embryo.  It would be awesome if our province did the same but alas, they won't. 

Did I mention that I have a coworker whose daughter is at the same clinic with the same doctor?  She's done one fresh cycle and one FET.  Both times she got pregnant but the pregnancy didn't progress.  She and her husband are quite young but they both have some major issues.  Her AMH is quite poor and he has a low sperm count with poor motility.  From what her mother said, she'll be cycling about the same time as me.  Fingers crossed for both of us!

BTW:  I have some Endometrin left over from my August FET.  I was hoping to use it for this cycle but the best before date is 01/13.  So if you're interested, just let me know.  

    

  

New Year. New Clinic. Old Doubts.

When I was little, I thought that in the year 2013 we would all be in flying cars or using teleportation to travel the world.  While we're still far away from flying cars and such, it doesn't seem like it's so far away.  Everything in Sta.r Tr.ek seems like a possibility.  Hopefully women in 2033 won't struggle with pregnancy as so many women do today.  Hopefully there will a be a sure fire way to make sure that only those who choose not to have children will be childless.  

This month I start my final attempt at IVF.  Sweets and I always stated that we would give it three attempts and this is our last one.  We had our meeting with the nurse at the clinic last month to go over all the schedule, the medications, and the paperwork.  For some reason, though I've done this before, it all seems more convoluted and is causing more anxiety than before.  There is more medication to be taken and the costs are so much more than the public clinic I went to before.  I have an appointment at the clinic tomorrow for a hysteroscopy.  At that time, I can ask for more clarification on my schedule and the blood tests I need before we get started.   

Even though I'm confused, this is what I do know:

• When we had an ultrasound on Dec 17th, they found 8-9 follicles.  Not a lot but average for a 40 years apparently.  I was at the end of my cycle.  Does that make a difference?   
• In January, I'll begin using estrace.
• In mid-Feb, I begin menopur (never used it before) and puregon.  
• Though I was a high responder at my old clinic, for some reason they feel that I'll need a lot of meds now?  I'm a little confused about this part.  I guess they're assuming with my age, I'll need high doses of medication.  Can so much change in a couple of years?  How do I go from moderate doses to high doses?  Perhaps they're just playing it by ear until they see how I respond. 
• First week of March is the estimated time for retrieval .   

I know it's been a while since I've posted or even read up on the blogs.  Like many, when I'm not in the midst of treatments, I don't want to think about infertility.  It's too painful.  I've tried to just live my life these past few months.  And in that time, 4 of my high school classmates have given birth - they're all the same age as me.  Three boys and one girl.  I've got to believe that this will happen for us.  That Sweets and I will be parents one day.  There is so much anxiety around this one because it is the last attempt.  If this doesn't work, then Sweets and I will have to make peace with the fact that we'll never be parents.  I pretend to be okay with it but I'm not.   

I noticed that some bloggers may have left.  Does anyone know if Evelyn is still around?  I tried to find her blog, but couldn't. 

Happy New Year everyone.  

On the plus side, our house got the vasilopita coin.  Good luck?