2nd Embryo Transfer

Monday was the big day! I came up to Reno late Monday morning for my 3pm appointment. My friend Jaime Carter was my driver, sense I couldn't drive myself due to the medication they give you for the transfer. During the consult right before the transfer the doctor told me that all 4 embryos that I had frozen made it though the thaw process, which was unexpected. There was one embryo that was graded as "good" with 6 cells, one graded a little less that good with 6 cells and the other two were not in the best shape. They only had a few cells between them but the doctor said pregnancies have developed from embryos in this shape. So, we transferred all 4! Although, even with all 4, my chances are still only 40%. But, I'll take it!
I am staying up here in Sparks with Jaime so I'm not tempted to do something I'm not suppose to do. Doctors orders are not activity for three days, and limited activity until my first blood test next Tuesday. We decided to have Jeff stay home with our four legged furry kids instead of him just coming up for the hour the transfer took. It is really a quick process and painless, thank goodness!
Friday we are headed over to South Lake Tahoe for Jaime's batchlorette party, at lease I can be the sober driver for them! Whoopy! It will be fun though! I'll be home Sunday or Monday, not sure yet, just playing it by ear!
Stay tuned....

Round 2

The first cycle unfortunately didn't work. We found out on Monday. After speaking with my doctor he said it must have just been bad luck cause everything looked good. Thankfully, we have four frozen embryos! Doctor said it is likely that not all four will make it through the thawing process so my fear of quads was put to rest! I just hope that we have three or even two once the thaw process is complete.
I am in Reno now and have an appointment on Monday to start round two. We should be able to transfer the next set of embryos the week of March 16th (our anniversary is on the 19th, that has to be good luck!). So, that is all I know right now! Stay tuned...

Egg retrieval and Embryo Transfer

Well, after a traumatic series of fertility drug injections to make my ovaries engorged with eggs, they retrieved 26 mature eggs on Tuesday. They knocked me out for the procedure and thank goodness, I was in pain!! I got some great drugs pumped through my iv before they released me to have Jeff take me back to my girlfriends house to recover. I have been staying here in Sparks Nevada for the treatment and will stay until the embryo transfer. So, 24 hours after my girls and Jeff's boys were introduced we have 12 embryos marinating in the lab at the clinic. They fertilized naturally and didn't need any intervention from the embryologists. This was a huge relief to me cause now I know the problem isn't with my eggs. The next step is the embryo transfer on Friday at 4pm. I will consult with the Doctor and he will review how many embryos survived the three days and we will pick the healthiest two to transfer to my uterus. No, not 8! That is a whole other blog! after that we will know 10 days after transfer if it worked, but of course I'm sure it will! It's all about the positive thinking!!
Stay tuned...

One Step Closer

Today was surgery day! I had a uterine plop removed that was acting as an IUD and preventing attachment of an embryo. The next step is a Plan of care appointment. I will have an itinerary of my first and hopefully only in vetro cycle tomorrow. It is becoming real to me now and I am very excited about the next steps.
To be continued.....

Something to think about...

Most people close to me know about my struggles with infertility. Recently, I had a talk with someone who has strong beliefs about abortion and I had to make it clear how abortion laws greatly affect infertility treatments. No matter how you feel about abortion, please know that further restrictions on abortion can hinder infertility treatments available to people like me. I think everyone would agree that abortion is a very touchy topic, but if you think more in the light of reproductive rights, it is a much broader topic. Just something to think about!

CA Edu Code

"Education Code (EC) 51933 (Outside Source) specifies that school districts are not required to provide comprehensive sexual health education..."
(http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/sexeducation.asp)
In addition, the state of California requires teachers to "emphasis abstinence" when teaching sex education. With these two stipulations it just seems that there is a huge potential for very important information to be left out.

"In accordance with EC Section 51933, in grades seven through twelve sex education classes shall also teach about:
o abstinence from sexual activity
o STDs, including their transmission, treatment, and prevention and information about the effectiveness and safety of all Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved methods reducing the risk of contracting STDs
o the effectiveness and safety of all contraceptive methods approved by the FDA
o the California law allowing parents to surrender newborn babies to hospitals or other designated sites without legal penalty. "

Problem #1. Studies consistently show that the effectiveness rate of condom usage dramatically increases with education on how to properly use them. You cannot just hand out condoms and tell young people to use them, they need the know how.
Problem #2. I see nothing about peer pressure and dating relationships. Grades 7-12 is prime dating ages, why are we not teaching young people what kinds of behavior to look out for and be aware of? I know of so many high school relationships, including my own, that were abusive, manipulative and/or destructive.
to be continued......

Ethnographic study

So, I need to know what you thing, feel, believe about sex education and when is it appropriate to initiate "the talk". Specifically, what do you think about abstinence only education? Should parents be more involved in the classroom teaching practices on the subject? Would you volunteer/ participate in your child class? Do you have children? When did you or when will you approach the subject with your own kids? And, what subject matter did you cover? How open are the discussions about sex in your family? Talk to me....