Reward dollars, here we come!

CHA-CHING! I just plopped down a huge chunk of change for IVF #2. Somehow giving your credit card number over the phone isn’t as fun as doing the ole swipe yourself. Thankfully I brought my lunch today, otherwise I’d feel like an asshole going out to eat after spending thousands of dollars after one quick phone call. So, I’m all paid up! Meds should be arriving next Tuesday. Lupron starts next Saturday. OMG! This is really happening!

I’ve noticed how well I’m doing squashing fearful thoughts as they come up. You know those ones. Pit in center of your gut. Will this work? What if… Maybe it’s the meditations. Maybe it’s the herbs. But I’m able to very quickly switch to positive, healthy, fertility-affirming thoughts. I know I keep saying this, but for anyone who’s on the fence between cycles after lots of BFNs, my advice is to take some time off. I can’t even put into words how wonderful this has been for me. I hated the thought of downtime but it has allowed for room to take some really (much needed) deep breaths.

Now that all of our testing came back normal — with the tiny exception of MTHFR — I think we will move forward with the embryo testing. Maybe we’ve had bad luck because our perfect embryos weren’t so perfect. Maybe all my work stress I endured in January (not to mention the stress of your very first IVF cycle) did something bad to my eggs. Maybe my eggs were kinda like me: pretty on the outside but hurting in the inside. Maybe all we need is another batch of eggs made under a much less stressful environment. Or maybe the extra Folic Acid, B6 and B12 will help. Just like a commenter noted on my last post, I’ve read lots of stories of women who go on to get and stay pregnant once diagnosed with MTHFR with Folgard and baby aspirin treatment. Even though my RE doesn’t think this is a big deal, could this be all I need?

But why not also throw in embryo testing for good measure? Maybe I am making more abnormal embryos than normal for my age. We won’t know for sure until we test. Maybe besides MTHFR, we’ll get one more piece to the puzzle. We have until next Wednesday to decide, and then pay another sizable chunk of change, but I think we’ll do it.

Knowing that we’re likely doing embryo testing, combined with the fact that we’re stimming a little slower/lower this time, we’ll most likely have fewer embryos to work with in the end. Fewer embryos means we might qualify for the 2-cycle plan at my clinic. It’s only about $4,500 more and we’d get free FETs from this cycle (if there are any embryos to freeze) as well as another IVF should we need it. The only stipulations of the 2-cycle plan are that you have to use all frozen embryos before you do the next IVF cycle, and everything has to be completed within 6 months. What’s that work out to? Two additional cycles at most if you count this IVF? That would work fine if we have fewer embryos to work with (like I think we will), but if we end up like last time (with a crapload of “perfect” embryos that don’t stick) then we’ll lose our extra money.

Hmmm, more decisions. We have until the day of ER to decide whether or not to upgrade to the 2-cycle plan, so we have time. By then we’ll also know how many follies are in play. But I won’t need this anyway, right? IVF #2 is gonna work, right from the get-go?

I am so excited that we’re getting closer!