My RE Consultation

We went in for our RE Consult on Tuesday. Yes - I realize today is Thursday & that I shouldn't keep everyone in such suspense, but sorry - I got busy! But, before I tell you about the actual visit, let me set the scene: So a little over an hour before I was supposed to be at the RE's office, I was meeting my mom at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to switch my old car from my name to her name (giving it to my little sister who is a minor) & to surrender my plates since I just bought a new car. So, after we wait in line & get up to the counter of the DMV, the lady says we need a notarized statement saying that I am giving the car as a gift to my little sister to avoid paying sales tax. I told my mom that I just wanted to get this done with & get the car out of my name so that I didn't have to insure it anymore. I also didn't know I had to surrender my plates - I thought I could just transfer them over to my mom's name, but NOOOOO the Virginia DMV is difficult & makes you actually surrender the old plates & the new owner needs to get new ones! Can you say a 'effing.waste.of.my.time?! Since I was oh so ready to be done with this whole shenanigan, I told my mom that we would run over to her house & get the plates off the car, then run to the bank for the notarized statement & then run back over to the DMV to finish switching the title over to her name. Well, by the time all that was done, it was 2:00 PM & I was supposed to be at the RE's office by 2:10 PM since it was my first appt.

Well, on my way speeding home to pick up Mr. Worry Bud, I remembered that I had not printed out my charts, so I had to call Mr. WB & walk him through how to print out charts in Fertility Friend, lol. When I got home, we grabbed the charts, paperwork, medical records, etc. & ran out the door. It was 2:08 PM by that time & I live about 10 minutes from the RE's office. Needless to say, we were late - we arrived at like 2:21 PM & then I realized I hadn't filled in our insurance information on the front of the registration form. And I also neglected to fill out another form, so I was still filling those out when we got in the office! Ugh...crazy day!

Finally, after all that craziness & after I got weighed & they took my height, the doctor comes out & calls my name. We shook hands & then walked back to his office. He basically reviewed our paperwork & asked follow-up questions about our medical & family history. Then he went on to explain the whole reproductive process & we discussed my concerns. He agreed with me that my LP is "a little on the short side" (his words, not mine - I personally think it is A LOT on the short side). He explained all the testing we need to get done - regular b/w, CD testing & an HSG for me plus an SA for Mr. WB. He also suggested some genetic testing to test to see if we are carriers of cystic fibrosis &/or tay sachs - we still haven't decided if we would do this or not. I asked about testing my progesterone levels & he said that he certainly could, but that regardless of the levels his initial approach to treatment would be the same. He told me that because of my health & age, he thinks that I have an excellent chance of conceiving without invasive procedures. He told me that he believes that I am ovulating, but just late & possibly weak, but he thinks that a low does of fertility medication (ie, Clomid) will help correct my problem. Chef Bud also suggested that I push to get some progesterone supplements along with the Clomid, so that is something I am absolutely going to be bringing up with the Dr. as well.

After we left the office, I really felt like Mr. WB was apprehensive about all the testing & possible cost of everything. We were unable to speak with a financial counselor at the consultation because the lady was out of the office, so they are supposed to be having someone from another office call me this week to discuss costs. I have actually done a bit of research on my insurance & it appears that they cover 85% of testing and treatment, but 0% of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) - ie, IUI, IVF, etc. The good thing about working for the federal government though is that we have 50+ health care plans to choose from - all with different levels of coverage for certain conditions/Dxs, co-pays & deductibles. And also, the government has negotiated with the available insurance carriers so that there is absolutely NO EXCLUSIONS for pre-existing conditions. So, I think for now, I plan to stick with my current insurance company & make a decision about switching at a later time if we need to.

Tough Decisions:

Photo Credit

So, like I was saying, Mr. WB seemed very apprehensive, which made me feel like he thought I was overreacting or jumping the gun on all of this. He told me that he is just confused because he doesn't know too much about all of this stuff & he does think I am just worrying a bit too much (go figure - once again, hence my name) & a bit too early. I told him that this is how I see it: I would rather do the testing now & find out that nothing is wrong, than wait to do the testing & find out something is wrong a year from now. After a serious discussion, he agreed with me & is okay with moving forward...but still wants to know how much everything will cost out of pocket. If I do not hear from a financial counselor by the end of the day, the nurse told me to call & ask to speak with someone at the end of the week, so hopefully we will get some definitive answers on that front soon.

At this point, I am being optimistic & trying not to stress too much about the whole thing. I hope Dr. G will help us quickly correct my LP issue & we get our BFP very very soon! Oh & 1 more thing - check out my chart (link under "The Beautiful Buds" section over there --> on the right hand column of the blog), today I got CH's on CD 20 & this morning's temp jump was crazy - I don't think my temps have EVER been that high post O. I am not getting to excited about it, it's just odd & worth mentioning. I was just telling Obsessive Bud today, what if my LP does fix itself & I get pg on my own?! How exciting would THAT be?!