Our appointment was at 9am today (not 10.15am like I though - good job I double checked last night!!) which was great because it was less time for me to work myself up before hand!
The nurse we had was really lovely, and took a lot of time explaining everything that was going to happen to us and making sure we understood it all. She took blood from both hubby and I to test for Hep A/B/C and HIV plus another AMH for me but we've had them all done before so it's not something we're concerned about at all. I also had to have swabs taken to check for infection and chlamydia (again, already had it done so not worried) but it was fine and barely even uncomfortable apart from my leg still not being great.
She also gave us a pack of forms we have to complete before starting treatment, some of them we have to do at home and the others when we go back next time. We go back 4 weeks on Monday to the ACS (Assisted Conception Services) unit and we'll get all the results then from today's tests and go over everything that will happen with the treatment cycle. I know my AMH is 12.5, so when I told the nurse that she said that was good and I'd go onto protocol 7 - and that's the one they like people being on because it's easier and more straightforward which is great news!! All being well and providing AF decides not to mess around and there is an appointment available, we should be able to start our first cycle within roughly a week or so of the appointment!!
One thing hubby and I will have to discuss before we go back next month is how we feel about a single or double embryo transfer (SET/DET) The policy at our clinic is to only put one embryo back if you're under 35, but from speaking to other people who have had treatment there it seems that you can sometimes push for a DET and they'll allow it. I know there are risks with a multiple pregnancy, but I have read up on it quite a bit and I am leaning toward a double transfer rather than a single. Anyway, it's something we'll discuss more over the next couple of weeks and even then we'll have to see what the clinic says.
When I say we were given a pack of forms I'm not kidding, here is a list of what we have;
*A letter detailing what is in the pack
*An acknowledgement of Information provided form to sign
*A "Female partner" questionnaire
*A "Male partner" questionnaire
*Consent to contact GP
*A patient registration form
*Consent to IVF/ICSI
*"Welfare of the child" information
*Consent for use of eggs/embryos for treatment and storage of embryos
*Consent for use of your sperm and embryos for your partners treatment and storage of embryos
*Your consent to the disclosure of identifying information (one for each of us to complete)
*Information about the embryo transfer pathway
*Consent to embryo transfer pathway
Told you I wasn't kidding!!!!!!! lol
They'll keep me busy over the next few weeks anyway until our next appointment, and it's so exciting to finally be staring the next step on our journey to having a baby. I never for a minute thought this is the way we would (hopefully) be having a baby, but I guess there's nothing for it but to get on with things and hope that it works and we finally get our longed for baby.
S x
Saturday 26 May 2012
Friday 25 May 2012
The start of the next step on our journey
The day has finally arrived - we go for our first proper IVF appointment tomorrow after almost three years of TTC.
It isn't a major appointment - just bloods etc for more tests - but it's still a bit step for us as it means we're almost ready to start our first cycle.
I'll update when I come back tomorrow, but don't think there's much chance of me sleeping much tonight even although I know it's nothing to get excited about.
S x
It isn't a major appointment - just bloods etc for more tests - but it's still a bit step for us as it means we're almost ready to start our first cycle.
I'll update when I come back tomorrow, but don't think there's much chance of me sleeping much tonight even although I know it's nothing to get excited about.
S x
Saturday 12 May 2012
Two week wait - of a different kind!
The two week wait (TWW) is normally the worst part of any cycle and the time when you can actually drive yourself insane with wondering "what if...." After TTC for so long I don't even bother with the TWW any more, however this week I have a more exciting TWW going on;
It's now two weeks today until our IVF appointment!!!
It's also almost seven weeks since my surgery, and although it's still taking longer than I'd like I'm slowly starting to be able to do more and I'm hoping that by my appointment in two weeks I'll be walking a lot better than I can manage just now.
It's exciting to think that we're almost ready to start on the next part of our journey, but at the same time it's terrifying as this is the final step on our TTC journey and if the treatment doesn't work it means learning to accept that we can't have children. I know I shouldn't really think about that part just yet, but after so much disappointment it's hard not to look at the negatives all the time. For a while I've known there was a support group in our area set up by Infertility UK, but didn't really feel ready to go because we were stuck in limbo waiting for IVF. I decided this would be the month I would go (plus it gave me an excuse to get out the house a bit while I'm still stuck so much) as I'm sure once we start treatment again I'm going to need all the support I can get without putting everything onto hubby. It wasn't a busy night (they knew not many would be along beforehand) but it was so nice to meet people who were so open and honest about treatment and how they were feeling. I didn't really talk much other than telling them where we were at just now, but next month I'll have more to talk about (and I'm sure many more questions) as we'll have had our first appointment by then.
Although this appointment is really just for bloods to be done, it's still a major step on the road as it's our first "official" IVF appointment. Next months appointment will be a lot more of a big deal as it'll be when we find out what protocol we'll be on and when we'll actually be starting!!!
S x
It's now two weeks today until our IVF appointment!!!
It's also almost seven weeks since my surgery, and although it's still taking longer than I'd like I'm slowly starting to be able to do more and I'm hoping that by my appointment in two weeks I'll be walking a lot better than I can manage just now.
It's exciting to think that we're almost ready to start on the next part of our journey, but at the same time it's terrifying as this is the final step on our TTC journey and if the treatment doesn't work it means learning to accept that we can't have children. I know I shouldn't really think about that part just yet, but after so much disappointment it's hard not to look at the negatives all the time. For a while I've known there was a support group in our area set up by Infertility UK, but didn't really feel ready to go because we were stuck in limbo waiting for IVF. I decided this would be the month I would go (plus it gave me an excuse to get out the house a bit while I'm still stuck so much) as I'm sure once we start treatment again I'm going to need all the support I can get without putting everything onto hubby. It wasn't a busy night (they knew not many would be along beforehand) but it was so nice to meet people who were so open and honest about treatment and how they were feeling. I didn't really talk much other than telling them where we were at just now, but next month I'll have more to talk about (and I'm sure many more questions) as we'll have had our first appointment by then.
Although this appointment is really just for bloods to be done, it's still a major step on the road as it's our first "official" IVF appointment. Next months appointment will be a lot more of a big deal as it'll be when we find out what protocol we'll be on and when we'll actually be starting!!!
S x
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