When last I wrote, I was worried that we wouldn't get our financing paperwork in to Attain in time for this month's IVF cycle . . . we did get it done and emailed late last Wednesday before we left for San Francisco. I had put a note in the email requesting that we be notified when our paperwork was received, but I heard nothing during the 6 days we were in California. I still hadn't heard anything by yesterday (Thursday) and was going to call them today just to make sure all was well, when they called me first and left me a message bright and early this morning.
The woman who called said she wanted to touch base with us and see if we had any more questions and if we were planning to begin an IVF cycle soon. This made me a bit nervous as I figured if they had received our paperwork, they would know we didn't have any more questions and were gearing up for a cycle. When I called, I explained that I had emailed our paperwork and copies of our driver's licenses a week ago. The lady I spoke with said they had received all of that, but had I signed the loan document from Springstone? Springstone is the financing company giving us a loan for the multi-cycle plan we chose. I told her we hadn't received any paperwork from them--we had applied and been approved for the loan using an online application. Again, I was nervous that this would throw a wrench in our plans since we are so close to beginning the "injectables" as the stimulation drugs are called, so you can imagine my relief when the lady said she would email me the Springstone documents today and I should just sign them and send them on to Springstone. I still think it's odd that one company would give me the other company's documents, but I guess that is the nature of their relationship. The Attain lady assured me that all would be well, even if we started the injectables next week--which we will be, but more on that in a bit.
After I figured out where we stand with Attain, my next order of business before heading off to work was to call OHSU back. Tracy, the IVF coordinator working with us had called me yesterday and left a message that I need to choose a pharmacy where we will get the injectables. I ended up leaving a voicemail message for her to call me and headed off to work.
A couple of hours later my phone rang and it looked like OHSU's number so I answered right away. It was Jeannette, the financial counselor calling to "check in" and see if we had applied with Attain. She had seen our upcoming Monday appointment on the calendar and wondered if our financing was in order. I'm sorry to say that I wasn't very nice to her--not rude, but not friendly. Part of it was that I have been fighting an on-again, off-again headache for the past three days (side effect of the Pill perhaps?) and part of it was that I was annoyed she was calling to check up on me when I felt like she didn't help us much at all with the financing part of this venture. I kept it short and told her what I'd found out from Attain this morning. She seemed quite happy but could probably tell that I was not really pleased about talking with her.
I still hadn't heard back from Tracy by 4pm, so I called again and was transferred right to her. Tracy explained that we basically have 3 options for getting our injectables: we can buy them from OHSU's specialty pharmacy; we can go through another local specialty pharmacy called Strohecker's or we can choose to go through a mail-order pharmacy. She explained that OHSU doesn't really recommend using a "regular" pharmacy since most don't have what I will need in stock and it will take longer to get them and also that the cost will probably be higher since they don't order fertility drugs in bulk like specialty pharmacies do. I told her I thought someone from OHSU had said that OHSU's pharmacy will match prices if you find a drug cheaper somewhere else, but Tracy said she didn't know anything about that. I guess I will need to do some legwork this weekend and see what I can find out online.
I asked Tracy if she knows when I will start the injectables and she said she did--she has our schedule ready and we will get all the news at our Monday appointment. She did tell me that I am scheduled to begin taking injections next Saturday, July 16th. This was actually a little later than I thought it would be . . . I'm on Day 15 now, so I was thinking I might start as soon as Tuesday. I'm still not quite sure how it works going from the Pill straight to the follicular stimulation drugs, but Eileen said she had a small period between the two. I know that most women doing IVF don't take the full cycle of the Pill and I have almost taken it for 14 days, so maybe they will have me go off of it for a few days next week, then start the injections. We'll find out for sure on Monday.
Here are the four drugs I will be starting out with:
- Follistim
- Menopur
- Ganirelix
- Ovidrel
OHSU has already scheduled me for my first 2 ultrasound appointments during which they will check on my ovaries to see how the follicular development is coming along. It was kind of funny because I got an email message from them yesterday, I think it was, telling me I had a new message from them on my OHSU MyChart account. When I checked it, I saw they had already put me down for an ultrasound next Wednesday at 9:15am and another one on July 19th at 9:45am. I guess you don't really get a say in what time you come in . . . maybe I can ask about that on Monday too.
Michael and I have decided that it will probably be best to sit down with our boss and fill him in on what is going on after Monday's appointment, once we have our schedule and can give him an idea of the time I will need off. We've already missed some time at work because of fertility appointments and I have wondered if he thinks it odd that we go together to the doctor, but he hasn't ever made a big deal out of us being gone. I honestly don't forsee it being a problem, mostly because I am the one who will be late coming to work or out a few days in a row--Michael is the more vital to the company of the two of us, and he will probably really only miss work time on the day of the retrieval and the transfer. I'm not too nervous about talking to our boss, but all the same, I'll be glad when it's over and he knows what's going on.
I have a feeling that things are going to start moving very quickly after Monday. Today I really got the sense that this is going to happen, and to be honest, I got scared. It's a big unknown and while I still have a quiet sense of confidence deep within me that we are going to get pregnant and have our baby (ies), what it comes down to is that I still have to do quite a lot to get there: daily injections, near-daily ultrasounds and bloodtests, and at any time something could happen (or not happen) that would mean cancelling the cycle and trying again later. Maybe that is the scariest part: knowing that after all of the things I have done over the past year and longer (diet, herbs, supplements, etc.), now I have to let go of being in control. I have to accept that I cannot control the outcome of this IVF cycle and I have to trust that what is most right will happen.
I know I will feel better after I see Jelena tomorrow for acupuncture. And knowing that I have the support of so many family and friends going into this almost guarantees I'll feel more confident in a day or two. Thank you to all of you who read this blog and who send me your good thoughts, your love and encouragement. I can't tell you how much they mean to me.
<3
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