IVF Appt #1: So far, so good.

Tuesday we went in for the first appointment (of three) to prep for our first IVF cycle.

The goal of the appointment was to:
1. check for bacteria
2. size up my plumbing (to determine the best tools to pull from the tool chest on go-day)
3. send Berilac and I away to get many MORE blood tests

Well, thank you for your prayers ... our results were: great!, good, and great-so-far ... respectively.

The reason I report a "good" on the sizing up of the plumbing is because they were trying to get their wicked step-sister to squeeze into this little Cinderella's glass slipper. Let's just say they needed to try a couple of different types of instruments before they actually got one to work. I'm purposefully being a little vague here because if any men-folk are reading this, they might blush ... basically they were trying to find the right tube that will deliver our little embryos straight to the source come embryo transfer day. Evidentially, because I've never had a baby there's not much through-put ... if you know what I'm saying. (Yikes, and come the ever hoped for day of labor & delivery they are going to have me push what??? through where???) During this investigation the Doctor did tell me that I have a small uterus. (Let's see ... I'm petite, normal weight, small framed, have you seen my parents? ... is this really news that I have a small uterus? ... Ok, I guess I was freaked out to hear this because a wee uterus doesn't exactly pair well with the high rate of twins that IVF boasts ... one third of successful IVF pregnancies are twins or more!!) [note: please don't read this as I desire to have "twins or more". I understand how serious the risks are with multiples]

The "great-so-far" result in regards to the blood tests was rated as such since we were sent out for MANY tests, and only most of them have come back; albeit those that have come back have shown great results! So since the end of May that makes it Polly: 33, Berilac: 5. Yes, I win. I've taken six times as many fertility tests as he has! But in reality I haven't won at all because all of his tests have come back normal, and mine turn out to provide less-than-adequate results (my struggles in this area are worthy of their own post!)

Ok, so in the midst of all of the blood tests they had me take, they accidentally re-did my TSH and T4 levels ... early (they were supposed to allow one more week for the Thyroid drug to get into my system before re-testing me) but they learned that I'm responding really well to my meds!

Results that pointed toward my Hypothyroidism:
TSH: 5.8 (range .34-4.82)
T4: .7 (.6-1.6)

New & improved results:
TSH: 1.9 (range .34-4.82)
T4: 1.2 (.6-1.6)

This is exactly what they want to see happen ... a decrease in TSH and a rise in T4 - so thank you Lord!

Finally, I did want to say, on the note of awaiting blood tests: There is still one test from July 12th that we are waiting to hear back on. It's called Fragile-X and I guess if Premature Ovarian Failure is familial for a women (as it seems to be for me) there is a 1 in 15 chance that the woman (me) is a Fragile X carrier. Being a fragile X carrier could mean an increased chance of having children with mental retardation. Obviously, this would be very difficult to learn about and would definitely require a long meeting with a Geneticist to understand all of the implications. Let's pray that this is not the case for us. Let's claim Philippians 4:6 ... "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." So what should I be anxious about? ... nothing. So I guess, as they say: no news is good news.

Thank you again for your continued prayer and support. We love and cherish all of you!