Fast forward to 2012 in the day that personal letters via snail mail have become obsolete and print periodicals are the thing of the past. What's to look forward to aside from the occasional Amazon package or birthday card from grandma with money in the inside?
Since the revelations about Jon's beloved yet infecund swimmers came to light, I've been toying with the idea if I was going to hasten the seemingly inevitable next step to meet with a Reproductive Endocrinologist--otherwise known as "fertility specialist". It is unclear what role I play (if any) in hindering our ability to get pregnant. Therefore, I decided to proceed with getting cycle day 3 labs which test both my ovarian reserve and egg quality. Typically, these lab results show a clear association with age meaning the older you are, the more likely these lab results are to be "abnormal". On occasion, you'll hear of a 29 year old that has diminished ovarian reserve (meaning few eggs left) and as we learned from math class--the fewer you have, the less likely you are to retrieve "quality" ones when needed.
If I could summarize the theme for infertility and TTC, it would be WAIT, WAIT, and more WAITING. If you're one that seeks instant gratification, then you need to not apply to the infertility club. I was extremely and irrationally nervous that these lab results were going to reveal that I was approaching menopause at 29 (as indicated before, rationality is thrown out the window with the birth control when you begin TTC), so you can imagine my internal frustration when the lab tech told me it would take 2-3 days for the results. Are you kidding me? You're telling a girl that has been waiting 10 months to get pregnant that she needs to wait once again for lab results that may arguably predict how hard or easy the next few months are going to be?! Sadly, the waiting game is the story of my life. I wait to ovulate. I wait to test. I wait for aunt flow. I wait for doctor's visits to reveal diagnoses. I wait for lab results. I wait to see what next morning's temperature will be in hopes I finally ovulated. And perhaps most unfortunate, I wait 33 days on average once my period shows up to find out once again the next month that my period is arriving again, and I've 10 cycles of waiting 33 days on average each time. It is one long giant waiting game full of unforeseen obstacles, happiness, unexpectedness, fear, and relief. As much as I love taking my temperature every morning (I'm surprised that thing hasn't broken yet from incessant use), peeing on sticks (I've probably spent close to $100 on ovulation and pregnancy sticks), and laying out the intricacies of my cycle month after month to the man who now thinks he's being used only for his sperm (it's true), can I please just do something different with my life so that I don't have to carefully plan my life out with TTC manipulating everything?
Needless to say, my lab results all came back normal. However, given that we may be needing to re-budget our finances within the next few months to factor in any costly interventions that are needed, I decided that it may be best to leave any necessitated interventions up to the experts. I once heard that visiting an OBGYN for infertility is like buying a laptop from Wal-Mart--you'll get what you need and some will be satisfied with only that, but anyone seeking a more advanced laptop should probably be seeing the experts in the field. Hence, the fertility specialist. OBGYNs are skilled in pregnancy and labor and delivery, but only dip their toes into the infertility pool.
After making some phone calls to the insurance company, I learned that my health insurance covers Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) visits like any other physician office visits, yet will offer $8,000 lifetime maximum coverage for assistive reproductive technology (ART) only after my $2,000 deductible has been met (this includes both IUI and IVF). It is unclear if we will need to pursue IUI (remember--the turkey baster method?) or if we'll be able to get pregnant for free (that would be ideal--wouldn't it?). I called an infertility clinic near my house that was recommended by several people and scheduled an appointment for March 12th which is a few days after Jon's March 8th urology visit. I inquired about the costs of having to do an IUI and was told that the all-inclusive rate was $2,000/cycle. Oy.
I opened the door to get the mail this afternoon and found a big fat white envelope too large to fit into the mailbox sitting instead in the doorway. My packet welcoming me into the Infertility Club! Why am I so excited to get a packet to the very clinic I have been trying to avoid ever since we began TTC? My cousin asked me a few days ago how I felt about going to an RE and I answered truthfully that I am excited to finally be doing something other than the same thing month after month that proves fruitless. We will get pregnant, it's just a matter of when. Jon's visit to a urologist coupled with our appointment to see the RE will do nothing but maximize our ability to finally get pregnant so we can move on to the next chapter of our lives (because quite frankly, this chapter is getting boring and uneventful).
As I sifted through the rest of the mail before opening the welcoming packet, I saw a little white flat package with my name on it that I glanced at confusingly before moving on to the rest of the mail. A few seconds later I stopped abruptly and thought, "wait a second.....could it be?!". Yes folks, it is! My passport has arrived in the mail just 2 weeks after I mailed it in! Jon and I have booked our flight for Europe April 16th-25th and the passport arriving is only a reminder that we are one step closer to leaving for one last trip before children start ruling our lives!
How about that? The mailbox was full of fun today......even if the rest was just junk mail :)
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