And we're off...almost

Yesterday was a big day in my IVF world. Bright and early at 8:00 am W and I were at the RE's office to meet with our nurse coordinator to go over every single detail of the process. At this point I feel like I could be giving that talk, but I think it was good for W to hear it all. The most exciting for me was finally learning what my protocol will be. I feel like it's real now.

Amazingly there's not much to it. No bcp, no lupr0n... I've gotten some back-up over at this board that this is not totally unheard of. I start F0ll1stim and Repr0nex on day 2 (hopefully around May 11) and as long as I respond well should trigger and have my ER shortly there after! We are a little tight with time, as W leaves for his annual golf trip on 5/29. He very wisely offered to delay his trip a day or two if need be, but I really hope that's not an issue.

I've pretty much given up on the pipe dream of this au naturel cycle working, so I'm just waiting for AF to show her (one time only!) welcome face.

I also had my first appointment with the new acupuncturist. Effectiveness aside, this place was at least a much nicer experience that at my last one. There was a very zen-like feel to the place, she had nice music playing and I got an eye pillow while the needles were in. An eye pillow! It was excellent.

The good news is that she came to many of the same conclusions that my previous acu'ist did, so I don't have to feel like I was wasting my time there. The two months I put in with her definitely did not go to waste. But I still like this one better. Probably because she's not one of the providers in my insurance. She asked questions about FSH levels, and drug protocols and she trained with the author of "The Infertility Cure." All good things, right?

Allergies ≠ Infertility

When I made the decision to start acupuncture, I did some cursory research about where to go, but in the end decided to go to the woman who helped a friend of mine with her allergies.

Wait, WHAT?

In retrospect, I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. It's great that she soothed my pal's stuffy nose, but shouldn't I have looked for someone who maybe specialized in my particular problem?

Of course, it's hard (and maybe unfair) to judge the effectiveness of her treatments barely 2 months in, but there were a couple red flags raised yesterday that make me think a change is in order. I had told her about last month's IUI and yesterday's appointment was the first time I'd seen her since, although she knew it had failed because I'd told her via email.

Scary exchange #1:

Acu: So, that test didn't work?

Me: Umm...do you mean the IUI, the insemination? Ah...no. (thinking...did we not just talk about how I'm on CD10 therefore not at all pregnant??)

Scary Exchange #2

Me: Have you ever had a patient going through IVF while you treat them?

Acu: (Eyes darting around oddly) I..uh...yes, I treat you just the same, and even if it works, when you are pregnant.

Me: (huh?) Ok...

Acu: Sometimes it can take up to 8 months or a year to work.

So, calling the IUI a "test" is definitely weird, right? Her English is damn good, so I don't think that was the issue. It just seems like a serious misunderstanding of the concepts. Then this last part really sent me over the edge. I know that she's practicing TCM and doesn't need to speak in terms of Western medical practices, but when talking about infertility, isn't almost everything discussed in cycles as opposed to months? Not to mention that she'd first told me that it would take 3-6 months to get my innards working correctly. Why double that now? She didn't even answer my question about other IVF patients she's treated, so I guess I'm done with her.

This is kind of like dropping a hairdresser, though. How do I tell her? "It's not me, it's you?"

"Pressure"

I cried today during acupuncture. Each little pinprick definitely hurt more than usual (although Portia, my acupuncturist, was calling in "pressure" as opposed to pain). To make matters worse, she kept squeezing this spot just below my knee, despite noting that it was causing me serious discomfort. I don't think it was the pain that actually caused the tears - it was the fact that I had to get up early on a Saturday just to endure said pain in order to (hopefully) become pregnant. So frustrating.