Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Issa No From Me, Dawg...



So....previously on Self-Made Motherhood Blog....we were testing positive on EPT's and also bleeding like nobody's business and also waiting on bloodwork results to tell us what any of this might mean.  No. It means 'No'.  The bloodwork results are in and I am unequivocably not pregnant.  "What were your HcG serum numbers though?" you might be asking.  The answer to that question is "0".  This can mean one of two things (probably of more than two things, but these are the two most likely scenarios I can come up with).  1) My light positives on 12 & 13dpo were a fertilized little ball of something that failed to implant or got impeached when I started bleeding because my uterus is stubborn and the only thing about me that ever runs according to schedule; or 2) positive tests on 12 & 13dpo and fading positive tests on 14dpo were my HcG trigger shot still filtering out of my system and the Osom brand tests really are just that damned sensitive.  Either way, I need to plan my next move.  My bank account is telling me I'm not ready to do another cycle right away.  Most likely I'll wait for my holiday bonus to come in from work and plan a January cycle with that.  

Last year, I was planning to buy/finance a new laptop, but my crap cell phone died semi-unexpectedly and because cell phone companies no longer give you the latest phones for $200 when you sign a new contract, I ended up spending a hefty chunk of my bonus on a new phone and accessories (gotta have the screen protector and indestructible case or else you may as well just give them all of your money now for when it breaks) & the rest on TTC.  This year, I'd really, really like to actually get a new laptop (and also throw some funds at TTC).  So I'm currently planning for a January cycle (same protocol: Letrozole, follie ultrasound, trigger, IUI at home, progesterone for the tww).  But...I'm gonna try to save some extra leading up to the holidays so that I can, hopefully, afford to do two or three consecutive cycles and up my chances with the cumulative effect.

For a hot second, I considered saving up for a cycle with the injectable FSH (Follistim) like I'd been planning for this last cycle before I got smacked in the face with how much the Follistim alone cost (and how shit my insurance is that the Follistim is "covered", but I'd still have to come up with $3k out of pocket).  But then at that price, if I could get that kind of money together in that time frame, I might as well wait and save some more and just do IVF.  And since I brought it up...I really don't want to do IVF, but I'm getting older and it's starting to look like a semi-attractive option (I mean, they fertilize the eggs and pick the best looking ones and put them directly into your uterus...It takes a lot of the guess work out, ya know?).  I'm not saying I'm looking into IVF for real-for real, but I think I'm going to start investigating it as a viable option (or, rather, investigating it to see if it is a viable option for me).  New Jersey actually has some kind of state mandated financial assistance for IVF, but I don't know what the income or maternal age restrictions might be.  I know my insurance is too crappy to cover the actual IVF procedures, but I don't know if it covers any of the meds or monitoring.  And then, what's the state financial assistance look like once the insurance coverage (or lack thereof) is factored in.  And would all of this still be more expensive than if I just went to Barbados or somewhere and did the IVF there?  And does my sperm bank even ship internationally???  It's a lot of questions and I probably don't even know the right questions to ask t this point.  So, there's definitely research to be done there.  I like to have my bases covered so that if it does come up at an RE visit, I'll already know what else I want to know.

So, umm....yeah.  Guess that's that for now.  Stay tuned...

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