Saturday, January 21, 2012

IVF: Don't Test Early

It is about time I continued with the IVF Journey, especially as I left you after my first IVF return of four embryos (of various grades) and about to begin the notorious 2WW again (2 week wait - not Second World War).

June 2005

The bits of paper they'd given me to bring home told me to take 2 Estrofem a day, continue with the folic acid and to vaginally apply 8 Uterogestan (for in the morning and four in the evening). These are basically thick cream enclosed in a thin plastic spherical coating which dissolves quickly. If you think this sounds like a country you wouldn't care to visit, you'd be right. It's as inconvenient as it's unpleasant. Nuff said.

I was to return in two weeks time for a blood test. This time I couldn't resist buying a home pregnancy test from the pharmacy. It was negative on the twelfth day. However, on reading the printed material that came with it, I learned that the drugs I was taking could interfere with the results. And what's more, after IVF they suggest waiting even longer for a more reliable result. I wanted so much to believe it but I was now more anxious than if I hadn't taken the test.

Two days later I went back to the hospital for my blood test. I had to go anyway to get a renewed prescription for Estrofem and Uterogestan. "Call at 10.30 for the results," said the nurse. "Good luck." The nurse was hopeful, after all it was IVF so there's no reason that it shouldn't work, right? I still didn't feel anything but, on the other hand, I still didn't know what I was supposed to feel.

The negative home pregnancy test weighed on my mind though. These things are pretty reliable. If they say you're not pregnant then you're probably not pregnant. I didn't need to use the prescription for more Estrofem and Uterogestan. I made another appointment to see one of the doctors and start again.

11 comments:

  1. Oh gosh the 6 months I TTC with Aaron I got through so so so so so many HPTs. I never added up how many I used and they were darn expensive. The worst period of time was by far the 2 ww and the ONLY thing that got me through it was the forums on Net Mums xxx

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  2. Liska, I also found support on online forums - mostly American as I didn't know about netmums. And yes, it is very expensive. Thankfully it worked out for both of us in the end :) Thanks for commenting.

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  3. Its fascinating watching your journey unfold, cant wait for the next installment x

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  4. Thanks Alyson, sometimes I wonder if anyone is actually interested. Although the point of writing it all here is more for the record.

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  5. ivf process

    IVF therapy is often effective, though, it may take more than one try.

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    1. Mine took a few more tries and eventually I was successful. My daughter is now 3 years old. I am writing my IVF story and this is only half way throuhg. Sorry if you were confused but thank you for taking the time to comment.

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  7. Please continue! :) I'm considering this myself and have read your whole story to this point.

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    1. I know I should. You should go ahead and not wait for me, good luck with it! If you would like to speak to me or ask any specific questions you can email me at midlifesinglemum@gmail.com.

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  8. I really enjoy reading your blog. I don't really remember how I ended up finding it (I'm from Jerusalem, I think someone on facebook linked it). I never had fertility treatment, but I think it's very important to understand what women go through when they get IVF. Please finish your story!

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  9. Please continue your story!! Not that I don't love your other posts, but I find your story heartwarming, fascinating and frankly, I'm hooked. And you leave us hanging each time... you should write mystery stories for a living!

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