We had our "IVF Orientation" session this morning ... our Doctor, and his office did an outstanding job - very nicely done.
I started out the morning just how I always like to: With a sterile cup and a big stack of porn. Yes, they are doing yet another semen analysis. This being the 4th facility in which I've "collected", I'm starting to become a connoisseur of the process. A DVD-equipped TV sat atop a filing cabinet with drawers labeled "DVDs", and on the wall was ~30 Playboy, Hustler and Penthouse magazines. A faux leather couch (blue) was provided and the room was filled with a "whooshing" sound from a sleep noise generator (I'm guessing to minimize any slapping sounds that might leak beyond the door and/or walls) A small metal door covered the opening between the collection room, and the lab - I placed my sample in there post-climax. This eliminated the need to shamefully carry my specimen down the hallway to the nurse at the front desk, saying "here is a cup that contains my semen, which I got by masturbating in the room over there with all the porn in it - my pecker was in this cup just a few minutes ago, and it was also in the hand in which I am handing the cup to you with" Nuff of that ...
The Dr. spent over an hour with us reading through the detailed results of our first failed cycle. He confirmed his theory that we have an embryo development issue. In our first cycle, 19 follicles were collected. 15 of them were mature. Of those 15, 9 fertilized. Only two of the fertilized embryos matured sufficiently to be transferred, and the quality of these two was less than desirable. All remaining follicles degenerated, leaving nothing to freeze. Sounds grim, right? Not so fast - he thinks the cycle-to-cycle variability leaves us cause for optimism. He is hopeful that our next cycle presents a 60 - 65% likelihood of success - not too bad. Depending on egg / embryo quality, he leans towards returning only a single follicle to the womb ... two max, so this is likely the way we will proceed.
The remainder of the morning was spent watching a brief slide show that illustrated the ICSI process with a step-by-step narration from our Doctor. It might not sound like that big of a deal, but we were very impressed. His willingness to spend time with us, and his empathy left a deep impression on us. He could tell my wife was tearing up at certain points of the process, and you could see he genuinely cared ... we have a good amount of faith that we will be getting the best care possible.
Next steps are for my wife to get an ultrasound tomorrow ... then meds begin on February 13th.
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5 comments:
I'd be nervous as hell with the thought of what's ahead.
Best of luck as always.
You gotta transfer two. Think of how disappointed you will be if you only do one and your results are negative. My husband and I had the same problem you do. We did three IVF cycles and only found success after we transfered three. Good luck to you!!!!
I'm so glad the appointment went well! A caring doctor can make all the difference.
Good luck to you guys in this cycle, I hope it is the one for you! Our doctor prefers to transfer back one embryo as well, but we're going with two because we can only afford this one cycle and the chances for a single live birth are higher. Doctor thinks I'm healthy and carrying twins wouldn't be dangerous, plus we have lots of family help in the area.
These decisions are all so difficult. I wish we had a crystal ball!
My husband would like to know where this clinic is. He said it sounds like you had more "material" available to you than in any of the 3 places he has had to, er, um, produce!
Aww this post really hit home with my other half, he had to do his sample at home, frantically try to keep it warm and get to the hospital within 30 mins. The nurse picked it up looked at it and said, yeh that looks good...he gets embarrassed easily lol...we are doing ivf/icsi nxt yr hopefully. Good Luck !. x x
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