The Eternal Guest Room

I think that a lot of people read this blog, more than actually comment, I think. Some of them we know, and some of them are complete strangers. Some people know exactly what I’m talking about, and some people have no idea sometimes. So I try to strike a balance between giving updates to family and friends, sharing my thoughts, connecting with people going through similar things, and informing people who don’t really know what the acronyms and details all mean.

I’m going to try to explain all the steps of this IVF process to anyone out there who doesn’t know much about it and who wants to know, whether just for the sake of learning or to have a better idea of what we’re going through.

I hope I don’t bore anyone who already knows this stuff, but if I say something wrong, feel free to correct me. Sometimes I don’t really understand it all myself until I sit down and try to write it out.

And if I say anything that doesn’t make sense to anyone, feel free to ask.

As I mentioned before, we’re using this month to do some testing and planning. I had my FSH tested on Monday, which I was actually kind of nervous about because the doctor mentioned that it was a little on the high side when it was tested a little over a year ago. Basically, you’re born with all of your eggs, and you use them up throughout your lifetime. The best eggs get released when you’re younger (that’s why teenagers get pregnant so easily) and as the years go by, your body uses up the best eggs and starts releasing the eggs that aren’t so amazing. That’s why it’s harder to get pregnant as you get older.

You want your FSH levels to be low. When they’re high, it means that you are running out of eggs, and/or the eggs you have are not great quality. Your FSH number typically goes up as you get older, because you’re running out of eggs. So when the doctor said that mine had been on the high side a year ago, I got a little worried that it would be even higher. But when the nurse called, she said that my level was lower than it was last time. Yay! (It went from 9.9 to 7.4 and they told me that they like it to be less than 10, although from things I’ve read different doctors have slightly different opinions on what numbers are good…I think.)

The thing about IVF is that there are a lot of steps in the process. There are a lot of things that can go wrong along the way. So it helps to celebrate the little successes along the way and look at it as one thing at a time, instead of an overall success or failure. There are a lot of little “milestones” that we have to pass before we get to the end, and this was the first one.

On Monday I go in for a diagnostic hysteroscopy to check for polyps. This is different from the surgical hysteroscopy I had a year ago that involved going to the hospital and being put to sleep. This is just done in the regular office to take a look-see and make sure nothing weird is going on.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that I am polyp-free!