Thursday, August 21, 2008

If the Jolie-Pitts can do it, so can we!

Who would willingly pump their bodies full of crazy hormones in hopes of having children?  Well Dave and I for one, and apparently Brad and Angelina (now you know my guilty pleasure is celebrity gossip).  

Of course we have absolutely NOTHING in common with the Jolie-Pitts (except for maybe in vitro).  In the off chance you aren't interested in our IVF treatment procedure, just remember that Brad and Angelina might have done something similar (are you hooked?)

Most of this information came from our fertility clinic's information booklet.
  • The entire process takes 4 - 6 weeks (from the start of menses to pregnancy test time).
  • We are not allowed to schedule any trips or vacations during the 4 - 6 week process (sounds like we'll be spending Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas in Charlotte).
Pre-Screening Phase
  • Dave and I need to get tested for infectious diseases (like HIV, Hepatitis, etc.) prior to starting IVF (failing this one would be awkward).
  • We'll have to attend an injection teaching class since I'll have to take between 3 - 4 shots a day during portions of IVF (after a unanimous vote, Dave will be administering most of  these).
  • In the next few weeks I will do a trial embryo transfer with my doctor (a full dress rehearsal, if you will, so he can make notes on how easy/difficult the transfer will be).
Ovarian Follicle Development & Monitoring Phase
  • Once we determine an IVF start date, I'll take gonadotropin injections for 8 - 13 days to stimulate multiple follicles in each ovary (follicles house the eggs).
  • During the 8 - 13 day time period I will visit the clinic frequently to monitor follicle development (this will be done via ultrasound and blood work).
Egg Retrieval Phase
  • Once Doc says I have enough mature eggs, I'll take Ovidrel to time egg retrieval.
  • 36 hours after taking Ovidrel, Dave and I report to the clinic for egg retrieval and sperm depositing.
  • Egg retrieval takes approximately 1 hour.  Apparently it's a painful procedure so I'll get a 'light anesthesia' (not sure if this is full sleep, light sleep, grogginess, etc.  either way I've been assured I'll be out of it).
  • The embryologist then cleans the eggs and inseminates them to create embryos.  The embryos strengthen in the lab for about 3 - 6 days (the longer the better, just depends on the quality of development).
Embryo Transfer Phase
  • I'll take an antibiotic and steroid after egg retrieval lasting until the transfer.
  • Additionally, I'll start taking a daily progesterone shot until the pregnancy test.
  • I've been told the embryo transfer process is relatively painless (but they will give me a valium for relaxation during transfer).
  • The embryologist will select the best 2 embryos for transfer (unless we request more); the remaining embryos will either be frozen for our later use or disposed.
  • I'm required to 'remain on strict bed rest for 30 mins.' post embryo transfer at the clinic, lay in the backseat of the car on the ride home and stay in bed for 48 hours once home (Dave started laughing when I told him this part.  I think his exact words were 'I'm confident you won't have any trouble with the 2 days of bed rest')
  • After transfer we wait for 12 days before taking a pregnancy test.  No exercising (except for walking) and no lifting (basically nothing to strain the abdominal area).
Pregnancy Test Phase
  • If we are pregnant and everything looks normal, we return to our obgyn for normal prenatal care.
  • If we are NOT pregnant we schedule a post IVF consult 2 - 4 weeks after the negative test results to discuss what happened.
There you have it!  The basic outline for our IVF procedure.  If all goes well we will have a very Merry Christmas.  If not, I'm thinking a vacation somewhere tropical is in order (Dave is not aware of this idea yet)

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Omigosh...Here we go!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Emily, congratulation for the school and for your determination to have a baby. I hope it will not interfer with your school. I wish you the best of luck on both account. We are well here and are exited to see the two of you at Dave's birthday or before. Love you Francoise D.

Anonymous said...

Hi Emily, congratulation for the school and for your determination to have a baby. I hope it will not interfer with your school. I wish you the best of luck on both account. We are well here and are exited to see the two of you at Dave's birthday or before. Love you Francoise D.