Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Baseline Appointment- IVF Round 2

Chris and I had our "Baseline Appointment" with our fertility clinic this morning. A Baseline appointment is pretty much what it sounds like, they take your blood, do an ultrasound, and see where you are at before you start taking the stimulation injections.

It was very windy today but that's me outside of our clinic with my bright blue arm band on post blood draw.

According to our doctor, "everything looks beautiful." My ovaries and lining etc are exactly where they need to be and doing what's expected at this time. (yes this blog will have many "tmi" moments but it IS a blog dealing with infertility so I hope you aren't squemish")

This plaque is one of many hanging on my doc's wall

We were instructed to continue our daily injections of Lupron (in my arm)  until told. This will be day 11 of injections and for the most part they aren't bad. Every once in a while I'll have one that does sting and after all it is a needle but Chris does a great job of trying to distract me and do them quickly.

 We also start the "big" injections this Thursday. I'm not gonna lie, these scare the hell out of me especially at first but I have to just look at this entire experience as the blessing that it is and try to see the positive.

Our Doctor, Dr. Steinkamph surrounded by a sea of babies

I really do love the team at our fertility clinic. They are always so attentive and do truly care about us. I have days where it's the last place in the world I want to be for obvious reasons but they always do their best to make us feel cared for. 

"Wall of babies" these line the hallways at our clinic & give us something to aspire to. (We will take one please and thank you)

I'm tired today. Had a hard time falling to sleep last night due to the appointment this morning. I'm not sure why but I couldn't calm the "what if's" in my mind.  I know worrying won't do us any good but I can't help it sometimes. It was easier going into this process the first time with a positive outlook and I am trying very hard to get to that positive place again. 

Chris with our "favorite" painting in the office where our clinic is. We have no idea why it's there but we mock it every time we pass it. If nothing else it serves as a source of humor.

I have made appointments with my massage therapist Carla and look forward to seeing her soon. She applies acupressure therapy and meditation during our sessions and truly does help me get into a positive mind frame. 

I will do another post soon regarding the "Big" injections coming up on Thursday. See you then.



3 comments:

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  2. You are such a strong woman! I love you guys dearly...this blog is fabulous...so proud of YOU!!!

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  3. My name is Michal Munk and I am pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University. As part of my dissertation I am researching the relationship between infertility, depression and body image in women, specifically as related to the differences between women with primary (unable to conceive and maintain a first pregnancy) and secondary (unable to conceive and maintain a pregnancy subsequent to having at least one child) infertility. I hope that findings from this study will eventually help develop better psychotherapy treatments for women with infertility.

    Females between the ages of 18-50, who are currently infertile (have had unprotected sex for at least 12 months with no successful pregnancy), and have no adopted/step child(ren) are eligible to participate in this study. The study entails completing questionnaires either online (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YCBQ35D), or by hard-copy upon request (call: 347-766-3798), and may be completed in 20-30 minutes. Participation is voluntary and confidentiality will be maintained. For each person who completes the survey, 2$ will be donated to RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. This study has been approved by the FDU IRB (2/17/12).



    Feel free to contact me with any further questions about this study. I may be reached at michalm@student.fdu.edu.



    Thank you for your time and consideration.


    Michal Munk, M.A.
    Clinical Psychology
    Fairleigh Dickinson University

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