LOVE HER!
So, as you may or may not have noticed from my post this morning, I left in ample time for my appointment..one and a half hours early, and STILL traffic was so bad I only got there 10 minutes before I was supposed to....Totally stressed me out and my blood pressure shot up as was seen in the reading of 140/88...super high for me these days....it has been wonderfully consistent the past two years. Oh well...I am sure it was just the circumstance since I had it taken just a couple weeks ago and it was fine.
Anyway, I walked into the clinic and told the receptionist I was there for a 9:00 appointment and she asks me to take a seat. I think this is a bit odd since the paperwork said I had to bring in some papers to her when I first arrived. So, I went back and told her it was my first appointment and she said something about she thought she recognized me...kinda made me feel more comfortable (even though I know she DIDN'T know me) because then I wasn't so worried that they would turn me away immediately based on my size....Anyway, so then she asked for the consent form to share medical info with your partner, I told her I hadn't signed it since I was single. She asked me then, "so why are you here?" I got a bit nervous again for a second and just told her I wanted to get pregnant and that was that. The visit was off to a rather rocky and stressful start....
But then, I met with the nurse who took my history and she was very pleasant and matter of fact.
I finally got in to see my RE about 10 minutes later. She was SOOO nice. I felt so very relaxed. We discussed my weight and my efforts to be healthier. She said she was happy with what I was doing now but wanted to see me add more exercise into the mix. She also said she really wanted me to focus on only losing 0.5 pounds a week from now on as that is healthiest when you are trying to conceive. We went over my history in very great detail and she decided she wanted to run some tests to check for Cushings disease...I will have to research this one, haven't heard of it. Apparently some women are misdiagnosed with PCOS when really it is Cushings. She also wanted to check to see if I had a genetic predisposition to blood clots or if my pulmonary embolists way back when were just due to the broken ankle and consequent immobility.
We discussed where I was thinking of purchasing my sperm. I almost giggled...throughout this whole process I have read about sperm, I have probably even typed it in various messages, but hearing it just seemed so weird hahahah. Anyway, I was happy when she said that they wash the sperm there so I can buy ICI sperm (unwashed sperm...) which is quite a bit cheaper. Since they recently moved and separated from the University of Washington into their own private clinic, they are still in the final stages of setting everything up and should be ready to accept sperm December 1st. She told me to do my research now and choose my top three donors in case one was unavailable when I needed it. I can order 3 vials and have them sent to the clinic (they will store for a small fee...) anytime after Dec. 1.
This clinic requires a psychological consultation for anyone using donor sperm so I have my appointment next Monday afternoon (I will be late to my last ESL methods class....oh what a shame hahaha). She also ordered a SLEW of prenatal blood tests, about 15 or so in all, which I am going to see if I can get any done at Group Health. If not, I will have to go back in to get them done, and bring a good book or some knitting as I have to take the 2 hour glucose tolerance test...
Once I have my blood tests done, and my psychological consult, I make another appointment with her (she guessed about 2 weeks or so) and we begin with Clomid! woohoo!! Of course, I doubt it will work in December anyway since I am going home...but January is not that far away!:)
Sorry for the incredibly long post...I left there with such an incredibly hopeful feeling. I needed to share with someone!:)
Edited to add: Just got an email back from my primary care physician at Group Health. Most tests can be done there and she needs to ask the lab director about a couple others because she is unsure...woohoo! That is 600 dollars of testing that I can get covered!:)
Anyway, I walked into the clinic and told the receptionist I was there for a 9:00 appointment and she asks me to take a seat. I think this is a bit odd since the paperwork said I had to bring in some papers to her when I first arrived. So, I went back and told her it was my first appointment and she said something about she thought she recognized me...kinda made me feel more comfortable (even though I know she DIDN'T know me) because then I wasn't so worried that they would turn me away immediately based on my size....Anyway, so then she asked for the consent form to share medical info with your partner, I told her I hadn't signed it since I was single. She asked me then, "so why are you here?" I got a bit nervous again for a second and just told her I wanted to get pregnant and that was that. The visit was off to a rather rocky and stressful start....
But then, I met with the nurse who took my history and she was very pleasant and matter of fact.
I finally got in to see my RE about 10 minutes later. She was SOOO nice. I felt so very relaxed. We discussed my weight and my efforts to be healthier. She said she was happy with what I was doing now but wanted to see me add more exercise into the mix. She also said she really wanted me to focus on only losing 0.5 pounds a week from now on as that is healthiest when you are trying to conceive. We went over my history in very great detail and she decided she wanted to run some tests to check for Cushings disease...I will have to research this one, haven't heard of it. Apparently some women are misdiagnosed with PCOS when really it is Cushings. She also wanted to check to see if I had a genetic predisposition to blood clots or if my pulmonary embolists way back when were just due to the broken ankle and consequent immobility.
We discussed where I was thinking of purchasing my sperm. I almost giggled...throughout this whole process I have read about sperm, I have probably even typed it in various messages, but hearing it just seemed so weird hahahah. Anyway, I was happy when she said that they wash the sperm there so I can buy ICI sperm (unwashed sperm...) which is quite a bit cheaper. Since they recently moved and separated from the University of Washington into their own private clinic, they are still in the final stages of setting everything up and should be ready to accept sperm December 1st. She told me to do my research now and choose my top three donors in case one was unavailable when I needed it. I can order 3 vials and have them sent to the clinic (they will store for a small fee...) anytime after Dec. 1.
This clinic requires a psychological consultation for anyone using donor sperm so I have my appointment next Monday afternoon (I will be late to my last ESL methods class....oh what a shame hahaha). She also ordered a SLEW of prenatal blood tests, about 15 or so in all, which I am going to see if I can get any done at Group Health. If not, I will have to go back in to get them done, and bring a good book or some knitting as I have to take the 2 hour glucose tolerance test...
Once I have my blood tests done, and my psychological consult, I make another appointment with her (she guessed about 2 weeks or so) and we begin with Clomid! woohoo!! Of course, I doubt it will work in December anyway since I am going home...but January is not that far away!:)
Sorry for the incredibly long post...I left there with such an incredibly hopeful feeling. I needed to share with someone!:)
Edited to add: Just got an email back from my primary care physician at Group Health. Most tests can be done there and she needs to ask the lab director about a couple others because she is unsure...woohoo! That is 600 dollars of testing that I can get covered!:)
posted by Katrina | 11/09/2004 11:21:00 AM
4 Comments:
Great news! Glad you shared it. Sounds like you're definitely on your way now!
Hey Katrina - so glad to hear that things went so well :). Woo hoo! I'm so excited for you and what the future holds for you. Being a mommy is about the best thing in the whole world! I will keep checking in for updates.
Thanks, Carrie and Monica! I so want to get started! I can't express how excited I am! :)
OH Katrina! why didn't you tell me!
I am soooooo Happy for you... it must be rather exciting to get such awesome news!
I will pray that the treatments work quickly so you don't have to wait so much longer, (like i have).
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