Vitamin Cocktail

We got an email from our IVF nurse Annie for DH to start his vitamins. This is what they are suggesting so we got  all of them. DH went to Whole Foods last night to get them all which cost about $100 and that is for a 3 months supply so not too bad.  You can probably find them cheaper someone where else but we like the Whole Foods brand and it's close to home. This is the email that was sent, looks like we need CF testing done as well. Like I said before when they give you the breakdown of ALL the fees I should have just said we will take everything that has a $ in front of it.

Co-enzyme Q10 200mg

Vitamin C 1000mg

Vitamin E 400IU

1 Centrum with minerals

Take each of these every day.

As Shannon also recommended, you may wish to have Cystic Fibrosis testing done. Although we know your karyotype is abnormal, you may be a carrier for CF as well which can cause low sperm counts.

DH tried to get me to take them too but they said I only need the prenatal vitamin and that is all I am taking...besides I have to do the injections. 

Running + Girl Talk = Fast Fun

I love running, it’s my de-stressor in life. Running can pretty much help me figure anything and everything out. Sometimes when I don't want to think so much on a run I listen to "Girl Talk". It is a mix of top 40 songs from different genres. Not only does it keep the beat going the entire song, it makes me feel super fast. I am not looking forward to not running so much when I start the stims. They say to limit running, lifting weights and other strenuous activity when starting IVF. Until then I will continue to try to have as much of control of my life as I can.

While in Colorado

We had a great trip to Colorado for the ODWU while we were there we totally took advantage of the great outdoors. The temps were mild and the snow was coming down in the mountains. I must confess we went snowboarding for 2 days after our appointment on Friday. They actually tell you not to go skiing or snowboarding while in Colorado and then they tell you horror stories of a husband falling and breaking his leg and then they have to aspirate is sperm for the day of retrieval. We figured we weren't doing IVF till spring and we are not first timers on the mountain so why not. It was too funny while we were meeting with the Danielle the Geneticists; she said someone was going snowboarding because she saw the boards on the rack. We had to confess that it was us. She chuckled and said "good for you two". So while you are in Colorado enjoy yourself, we did. I know I won’t be doing that come ER time.

I'm A Stalker

I started this blog mainly because I searched the internet for answers to my questions and came across a lot of wonderful blogs that helped me out more than any family member or friend. Don't get me wrong family and friends are important to me but they just don't get it sometimes and that is fine I am not expecting them to. I continue to go back to many of these blogs as they are ahead of me on this infertility road. As most of them I too am going to CCRM. I get more positive everyday reading their success stories. Here are a few of my favorite CCRM blogs. I can tell you one thing is sure I will never be as good as them documenting my events but I will do my best as I know there are many more out there just beginning journey.

http://ccrmjourney.wordpress.com/

http://babymarathonadventure.blogspot.com/

http://hopefulincolorado.blogspot.com/

Thank you all for creating such wonderful blogs!

SA Report

Well we got the SA (semen analysis) report back...not amazing, but that was to be expected as that is  why we are doing IVF at CCRM in the first place. I am just happy he has some swimmers (6% to be exact) to work with. But let me tell you that does increase our fee an extra $500. That's nothing compared to the 20K price tag already. So now we have to do CCS, ICSI, IMSI, and we need 2 frozen back ups. I should have said, "Sign us up for ever single fee you have and then we have a deal". I will post a picture of the fees broken down. Regarding the SA at CCRM, DH is always nervous doing the SA. He said it wasn't any different at CCRM. At CCRM they make all the DH go to the basement to give their sample and the nurse walks you into a room with porn, penthouse and other magazines.
What's next...we need to regroup with Dr.Gustofson, get blood work done and pay some money to CCRM and figure out when we are going to get the ball rolling. Probably April, that way we will have all the money save up and then some so we aren't broke after all of this.

Here are a couple definitions for you regarding ICSI & IMSI

Both ICSI and IMSI are micromanipulation techniques. In ICSI, a single sperm cell is injected directly into an egg (usually, several single sperm cells are injected directly into several eggs). This gives the sperm cell a head start when it comes to fertilization. Fertility specialists recommend this technique when there are problems with a man's sperm, and this is the reason why his female partner is struggling to get pregnant.

IMSI is basically ICSI with the added "advantage" that more attention is paid to the quality of the sperm to be injected into the egg. In IMSI, the man's sperm sample is examined under a high-definition microscope and only those sperm cells which appear have "good" genetic characteristics are selected for injection into the female partner's eggs

CCRM ODWU

The long awaited ODWU came on Friday, December 10th at CCRM in Colorado for those of you who don't know.  Our appointment was located at the Lone Tree Office. Everything was expected. I have been following a lot of blogs through this long process so I even knew what this place looked like inside and out.
Let's just say it's a long day of sitting, waiting, signing and of course all the tests they perform. Everyone was great and I love or RE. We have decided  to hold off on our first IVF treatment until the Spring of 2011, mostly due to financial reseaons, IVF is not cheap and once you add CCS testing &  ICSI to it, the price nearly doubles and we don't want to be in debt forever so we are saving the $20,000 and not taking out any loans. Let's just say I hope next Christmas we have more to celebrate.

The day went at follows:
7:30-8:30am-Nures Orientation to IVF at CCRM: Required Group Meeting. Basically you go over the CCRM policies and procedures. They discuss everything from the drugs you inject, having multiples, donor egg/sperm, a generic timeline, caffeine, blood work and much more. They let you ask questions but I would just hold off until you meet "your" IVF nurse as everyone is assigned someone.
8:30am: New Patient Consult: With your IVF Dr. We met with Dr. Gustofson because our local RE recommended him to us.
9:00am: Nurse IVF Consult: you will meet "your" assigned IVF nurse. Ours is Annie and she seems really nice, young but really nice and helpful! I am fine with young because I feel like they are excited about being at work.
10:00am: Genetic Counselor: We met with Danielle who was great. We are doing the CCS-that adds $6780 to the price tag. Regroup with her before ER. I love how they keep telling my how young I am. I don't feel that way being 34.
10:30am: Baseline Ultrasound +Doppler: Here they check your ovaries and count follicles, measure uterus and they check the blood flow to the uterus. One of the sonographers does this.
11:00am: Blood Work for Communicable Diseases (required). We did not do this since we are putting off IVF until April. It only stays current for 6 months so we didn't want to repeat it. They said to get it done somewhere else to make sure everything is fine (no surprises) and then they would do it the week of the ER.
11:30: Semen Analysis: Husband always says he's doing it for the team.
11:30: Hysteroscopy-performed by your Dr. Let's just say I felt some cramping and it did become uncomfortable at one point. Take Advil before procedure as I did not. They check the uterus for any polyps and other issues. It's considered a trail transfer.
12-1pm: Lunch: They do have a group lunch seminar. We choose to do lunch else where. We ate and then filled my prescription for the antibiotics they give you that you have to take after the Hysteroscopy at the nearby Super Target.
1pm: Fertility Labs of CO Consent Review: Get ready to sign your life away. Husband was not ready for all the questions.
1:30pm: Business Office: Go over fees & payment option. There is only 1 option, you much pay in full or if you have insurance you are so lucky.

Still waiting for our phone regroup with Dr. G...


Here are some pics of what you will receive.

The CCRM "Bible"

The Welcome Letter

The Fees
It does state that they require a $1000 deposit to be put on the schedule but the business lady to us that, that's not required for out of towners. Their reason is that they feel us out of towners are committed since we showed up for the ODWU.