RE Visit

We had a "state of the union" with our RE today. It was tough but helpful. I didn't cry, but I felt like I was about to at several points. When I'm in those offices and there is "a mission" (e.g. transfer, follicle count, etc.) I'm usually pretty strong, but when I just need to go in for something minor, I'm an emotional wreck. I feel like the walls are closing in on me and all the sadness from past experiences seeps into me. I think "I can't do this anymore..I can't go through this again..why me?...etc, etc." Anyway, I survived today without a breakdown.

Summary of the conversation:

1. He agrees with trying naturally for a few months since it's worked recently. phew...i like the break from the meds, etc.

2. He think egg quality is the issue...causing both infertility and miscarriages. They've started an embryo screening process during IVF that we could use next time. It could identify embryos that would likely result in miscarriage. That's a small consolation...but more data is better.

3. I brought up the very uncomfortable discussion of getting a second opinion (since we've been seeing him for 2.5 years already). This was hard for me because I believe my dr./clinic is excellent, but more so because he is a family friend. He was great about it. He encouraged it and thinks we may learn something from it. It's kind of daunting to think about starting over with a new Dr. But, hey, maybe it will help. I think we'll get that process started in a month or so. He mentioned some clinics that are out of town. That sounds really challenging. Has anyone done that? How many times do you have to travel?

4. I broached the subject of donor eggs. He asked if we wanted to have the emotional conversation or just the process conversation. It took me .2 seconds to pick process, since I was trying to avoid an emotional breakdown. Anyway, on the process front, he said it typically takes about 5 months start to finish and walked us through the major steps.

5. I told him about the IF blogging community and that he should mention it as a resource for patients. I wish I would have known about it earlier as all of you are awesome!

All in all, I'm glad we had this appointment. But, this is serious and heavy stuff. It's going to be hard to make some of these decisions. Please, please, please let me get pregnant before we have to.

Saturday

Thank god the end of this week in nearing. It's hard to believe that just a week ago I was filled with hope & fear and now I'm just filled with emptiness. On Wednesday, my Dr. inserted misoprostel into my cervix to induce miscarriage. It seems to have worked because I started bleeding within six hours. And while it's been sad and gross, I'm glad I chose this method over another D&C. When I had a D&C last year, the Dr. only used local anesthetic and it sure didn't feel numb to me!! That was not a good experience.

I'm trying to focus on having fun but I really don't have the energy. I'm a doer and a planner but this loss just has me feeling unmotivated. However, I know, in time, I will start to feel better. My Dr. said that after one normal cycle, we can start trying again so that is good. The fact that I got pregnant naturally this last time makes me really eager to try again because maybe something has just "clicked" in my body. At the same time, I am pretty pessimistic that it will actually work. Before this pregnancy, I was starting to warm up to the ideas of donor eggs. I think I have energy for one more full IVF cycle in me (and not soon), but that is probably it.

I'm about to watch the Ventoux stage of the Tour de France. The Tour has been a good distraction during these past few weeks. Later, I am supposed to hang out with a friend of mine that is now 11 weeks pregnant. I have mixed feelings about this. I am obviously very envious of her and am not sure how I'll deal. Tomorrow, I'm going to an outdoor concert so that should be fun. I can tell you that wine will be a very important part of the picnic menu.