CurlySue
P.I's Mummy
- Joined
- May 12, 2008
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Because a lot of you will probably 'tread this path' so to speak I thought I would write up a little summary of what was said, what was advised, facts, figures, etc, so that I may share my learnings with all of you. The evening is an integral part of treatment for a lot of PCTs and you are not allowed to undergo treatment without attending so it's clearly quite important in the grand scheme of things.
It's all about letting people know what they are getting into; letting people see, with their own eyes, and hear with their own ears what is going to happen to them, what to hope, what to expect and, probably most importantly, what not to take for granted.
The first thing that happened was that we met the Head of Department. Funny man, actually, cracking jokes, soft-spoken and still wearing his 'theatre gear' of a lovely salmon pink. His name was Dr Kingsland and he is 'very proud' to work where he works, in what will soon become the Largest IVF centre in Europe.
He explained the whole procedure of conception in Layman's Terms. The egg is released from the ovary, etc etc etc. Did you know that the human equivalent of a Sperm's journey is to swim from England to the Statue of Liberty? I didn't know that but that's the comparison he gave. It was a good comparison and it really emphasised how much travelling these little swimmers need to do in order to reach their destination.
Sometimes, he said, the sperm are too tired. Unfit, perhaps. They haven't been to the gym in awhile. They're running for the bus but they stop half way and miss it. The bus is only In Situ for a select number of hours so the have to be fit. They have to be strong and healthy. If they're not then they might never reach their destination.
He described problems with eggs ("Old", "Hard-boiled", etc) and said that he was not concerned whether or not we ovulate but was more concerned with WHAT we ovulate. He described the FSH test in terms of being stuck at traffic lights. One car is a Ferrari. The other car is a Skoda. For the Ferrari to get from 0-60 takes very little effort. For the Skoda it might struggle. It needs more gas. If we're driving a Ferrari then our FSH level should be very low because the body does not need much effort to mature our eggs. In a Skoda it might be high because we are trying very very hard.
"We need to find out whether you are driving a Ferrari or a Skoda", he said, "before we can decide on the course of treatment we will take with you."
He explained the procedure of IVF, of ICSI. Showed us a video of the ICSI procedure (did you know that sperm can be 'stunned', left concussed with a 'blow to the head' in order to suck them up into a needle? Makes them seem like their own entities, in a way!!!)
He explained the overall success of IVF.
"IF I took 100 couples and put them in a room, told them that they could have sex once that month, that they could time it, could use ovulation strips, could do whatever they wanted, only 8 couples, on average, would get pregnant. If I did IVF on them? That would go up to 35. For that one day, IVF is four times more successful than intercourse."
He told us that we have a one in three chance; that though we should be hopeful we should actually prepare ourselves for failure because it fails more than it succeeds. That made sense. But, the way he put it made me remain hopeful, for some reason.
"If you do your job," he said, "and get yourself into the best physical condition that you can, we will do our best to get you pregnant."
He talked about reflexology. About accupuncture. "In your heart of hearts," he said, "do you REALLY believe that sticking a pin in your ear is going to get you pregnant?"
He said that if we want to relax then by all means, go ahead, but that there is absolutely no proof that it helps you get pregnant.
Chinese remedies are out, he said. Terrible for you when TTC. Herbal remedies are also not particularly useful and the only thing we should be taking is Folic Acid. Massage, he said, can be beneficial during the two week wait because it helps a person to relax. But, again, it's not going to get us pregnant.
He spoke a lot of sense. He said a lot, out loud, that I was thinking.
We spoke to the embryologists who explained that they prefer singleton births since the natural selection of twins is only 2% and with IVF is 25%. That is too unnatural, she said. That is not close enough to nature as they want to get. If they only replace one egg, she said, take it as a good thing because that is an exemplary egg and they are confident it has the greatest chance. If they replace two then it's no problem.
They will not replace more than two.
I learned that our PCT offers two free IVF cycles with all frozen embryo transfers included. For people in Wales, that is only one IVF cycle and any transferred frosties are not funded. In this moment, I felt lucky.
The whole drug regime was went over. Doesn't sound pleasant but, we will cope. Four different drugs need to be purchased on prescription at a cost of £28. They are collected on CD23 and injections commence. I was luckily able to go for my blood test yesterday because my periods are unpredictable, had only spotted until Sunday night, on off, and did not get the fresh, red, crazy blood until late on Sunday. "That's as close to CD2 - 4 as you might get for weeks," I was told, "so just go tomorrow."
Took half an hour to get a vein. I am covered in bruises. They needed to bring in an anaesthetist in order to get blood from my hand, but I know I am now on my way.
We heard from a counsellor. Every last thing we write about on this forum, our frustrations, our hurts, our ills, she brought every last one up. And, she told us that these feelings are all NORMAL. "Just relax," she said. "How many times have you heard that?"
How many times, indeed...
The important thing to remember, she said, is that you are not alone in all of this. And, looking around that room, I finally realised that we're not.
It's all about letting people know what they are getting into; letting people see, with their own eyes, and hear with their own ears what is going to happen to them, what to hope, what to expect and, probably most importantly, what not to take for granted.
The first thing that happened was that we met the Head of Department. Funny man, actually, cracking jokes, soft-spoken and still wearing his 'theatre gear' of a lovely salmon pink. His name was Dr Kingsland and he is 'very proud' to work where he works, in what will soon become the Largest IVF centre in Europe.
He explained the whole procedure of conception in Layman's Terms. The egg is released from the ovary, etc etc etc. Did you know that the human equivalent of a Sperm's journey is to swim from England to the Statue of Liberty? I didn't know that but that's the comparison he gave. It was a good comparison and it really emphasised how much travelling these little swimmers need to do in order to reach their destination.
Sometimes, he said, the sperm are too tired. Unfit, perhaps. They haven't been to the gym in awhile. They're running for the bus but they stop half way and miss it. The bus is only In Situ for a select number of hours so the have to be fit. They have to be strong and healthy. If they're not then they might never reach their destination.
He described problems with eggs ("Old", "Hard-boiled", etc) and said that he was not concerned whether or not we ovulate but was more concerned with WHAT we ovulate. He described the FSH test in terms of being stuck at traffic lights. One car is a Ferrari. The other car is a Skoda. For the Ferrari to get from 0-60 takes very little effort. For the Skoda it might struggle. It needs more gas. If we're driving a Ferrari then our FSH level should be very low because the body does not need much effort to mature our eggs. In a Skoda it might be high because we are trying very very hard.
"We need to find out whether you are driving a Ferrari or a Skoda", he said, "before we can decide on the course of treatment we will take with you."
He explained the procedure of IVF, of ICSI. Showed us a video of the ICSI procedure (did you know that sperm can be 'stunned', left concussed with a 'blow to the head' in order to suck them up into a needle? Makes them seem like their own entities, in a way!!!)
He explained the overall success of IVF.
"IF I took 100 couples and put them in a room, told them that they could have sex once that month, that they could time it, could use ovulation strips, could do whatever they wanted, only 8 couples, on average, would get pregnant. If I did IVF on them? That would go up to 35. For that one day, IVF is four times more successful than intercourse."
He told us that we have a one in three chance; that though we should be hopeful we should actually prepare ourselves for failure because it fails more than it succeeds. That made sense. But, the way he put it made me remain hopeful, for some reason.
"If you do your job," he said, "and get yourself into the best physical condition that you can, we will do our best to get you pregnant."
He talked about reflexology. About accupuncture. "In your heart of hearts," he said, "do you REALLY believe that sticking a pin in your ear is going to get you pregnant?"
He said that if we want to relax then by all means, go ahead, but that there is absolutely no proof that it helps you get pregnant.
Chinese remedies are out, he said. Terrible for you when TTC. Herbal remedies are also not particularly useful and the only thing we should be taking is Folic Acid. Massage, he said, can be beneficial during the two week wait because it helps a person to relax. But, again, it's not going to get us pregnant.
He spoke a lot of sense. He said a lot, out loud, that I was thinking.
We spoke to the embryologists who explained that they prefer singleton births since the natural selection of twins is only 2% and with IVF is 25%. That is too unnatural, she said. That is not close enough to nature as they want to get. If they only replace one egg, she said, take it as a good thing because that is an exemplary egg and they are confident it has the greatest chance. If they replace two then it's no problem.
They will not replace more than two.
I learned that our PCT offers two free IVF cycles with all frozen embryo transfers included. For people in Wales, that is only one IVF cycle and any transferred frosties are not funded. In this moment, I felt lucky.
The whole drug regime was went over. Doesn't sound pleasant but, we will cope. Four different drugs need to be purchased on prescription at a cost of £28. They are collected on CD23 and injections commence. I was luckily able to go for my blood test yesterday because my periods are unpredictable, had only spotted until Sunday night, on off, and did not get the fresh, red, crazy blood until late on Sunday. "That's as close to CD2 - 4 as you might get for weeks," I was told, "so just go tomorrow."
Took half an hour to get a vein. I am covered in bruises. They needed to bring in an anaesthetist in order to get blood from my hand, but I know I am now on my way.
We heard from a counsellor. Every last thing we write about on this forum, our frustrations, our hurts, our ills, she brought every last one up. And, she told us that these feelings are all NORMAL. "Just relax," she said. "How many times have you heard that?"
How many times, indeed...
The important thing to remember, she said, is that you are not alone in all of this. And, looking around that room, I finally realised that we're not.
x
