Today J and I had our first of many appointments with Dr. K and her staff. The GPS nearly made us late, but we were luckily able to hop on the freeway and make up for lost time.
One we arrived at her office, I was asked to fill out some more paperwork and turn in the forms they had sent in the mail. We only waited a few minutes before being called back. I was weighed (not my fave) and then we were shown to a room where the nurse asked a few more health history questions. She left to get the doc and told me Dr. K would be performing an exam...well, my period, which hasn't been around in two months, finally decided to show last night so we skipped that portion.
Dr. K came in to review my blood-work results from Dr. P, which were normal. Because we skipped the exam, we were shown to her office to have a one-on-one consult with her during which she explained their process and how we would proceed.
Turns out my period showing up was a good sign because they need Cycle Day 3 blood-work, which means I need to return tomorrow. They will be doing testing on hormone levels, blood type, an STD panel, and genetic testing. After this testing, I'll need an HSG which is an ultrasound of the reproductive organs with dye. Before we can start, we need to meet with the counselor on staff, the PA, and J also needs to get blood-work done to confirm her STD-free status. They also require us to meet with a lawyer since the state we live in refuses to recognize J as the parent.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we will be officially starting the insemination process for a little while. Dr. K is concerned that my excess weight could interfere with the success of treatment. Since it's so costly, she recommends delaying until some weight can be lost. Though I'm completely bummed (as is J) I know it's for the best. I've been trying all summer to lose some weight and am basically where I started. Dr. K's office has an entire team of people dedicated to things like acupuncture, massage, group therapy, and even nutrition. She recommended that I enroll in the nutrition and fitness programs which focus on a low carb/high protein diet. I've been successful with this sort of plan in the past so I am certain we (J is going to do it too!) can be successful this time.
Another hiccup is that Dr. K doesn't work with the sperm bank we chose. That means we are back to the drawing board completely. She had a few concerns with them: 1) we live in the same geographic area as the donors which could lead to our kid(s) having half sibs in classes, etc. and 2) they have had much greater success with the three they recommend which (duh) is why they are recommended.
Overall, I'm pretty sad we can't start trying as soon as possible, but I know there is a reason for everything. Dr. K made a great point about the costs alone. We wouldn't want to just waste our resources when it's not as likely to be successful or without risks like miscarriage. Losing some weight will help increase our odds of success and decrease the risks of miscarriage.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
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