We finally went to see Dr. B. last night: a break from renovating. I had 4 questions:
- Can gf's stockpile of unused sperm from her abandoned ttc attempts be washed for IUI and used at Dr. B.'s clinic (yes.)
- What should our plan be, given my arbitrary limit of eight attempts? (1-2 shots unmedicated, then ramp up as necessary.)
- Should I be charting? (Nah, blood tests and ultrasounds will be more accurate.)
- What next? (Get back on pre-nates, go back in April to check for residual scarring from the surgery.)
I have no problem with gf's unused sperm. I don't imagine I can conjure the perfect donor, so it doesn't bother me that I didn't choose this one. I kind of like it that he was her pick entirely-- that gives her total control over half the DNA in this equation. In a weird way, that makes sense to me.
I am fine going unmedicated for a couple of rounds, as I don't really want the added stress and expense of all those drugs (though I think I have a source for some unused injectibles) but I have thoroughly convinced myself that the first couple of attempts are warm-ups. I would be totally shocked if they were to work.
I am so relieved not to have to do the charting/pee stick thing, but why, if it's as simple as a blood test & an ultrasound, does everyone else seem to be harnessed to temp charting, OPKs, and Fertility Friend?
He also said we'd inseminate 12-24 h BEFORE ovulation... because sperm (even the frozen type, he assured me) would live at least that long. Really?
I forgot to ask about spinning for a girl (yes, I do want to.)*
Does that all seem kosher?
We also learned to our disappointment that he is a Republican! A Republican is going to be all up in my hoo-ha! That seems kind of wrong. But he did say he likes Obama, so that redeems him a little bit.
*Nutella brings up a very good point: The ethics of spinning... I have never been bothered by it, but I am open to other thoughts. In all honesty, boys are hard for me to deal with at any age, and that is what drives me to think about "spinning for a girl", though it only increases the odds to about 65-35.
Ok, I'm going to answer these from my personal perspective only.
ReplyDeleteWhy chart and OPK's? First of all, I did not find temping, charting and OPK's to be arduous. In fact, I thought it was pretty cool to be able to figure out my body and its supposed secrets. And even though I went right to an RE to start TTC my only issue was access to sperm. There was no reason to doubt my body's ability to get pregnant. Since it is generally accepted that frozen sperm lives only 12 hours max it all came down to timing. Doing bloodwork and ultrasounds to pinpoint ovulation would have been an added considerable expense. And to me at least, it seemed like overkill. I wanted to give my body a chance before any interventions. My RE was very much of this opinion as well. Yes, I am lucky that it worked so quickly. No, I was not opposed to interventions, but I still wanted to try more simply at first. As I said, these were our personal choices, and you are certainly free to make your own.
I would caution you to be fully informed about the costs of everything before you begin. As an example, our RE’s lab had the ability to was frozen sperm. For an additional $380 per vial. It ended up being much cheaper to buy pre-washed sperm. As for spinning, aside from the ethical issues about it, it will also be very expensive, even if your RE is willing to do it. Most will not do it without a demonstrated genetic concern (ie a sex specific genetic abnormality).
In any case, good luck as you begin this leg of your TTC journey!
Our doc said there's no use in temping since we'd be tracking ovulation with ultrasounds. For me it was a relief. I was finding it burdensome trying to get to bed at the same time and trying not to get up to pee in the middle of the night (which I do a lot).
ReplyDeleteSome of the literature my RE provided me was written geared to doctors and it encourages doctors to tell their patients to stop temping.
I put off having a child for fear I'd have a boy (having no child was better than having a boy). Back then I considered spinning for a girl too... but here it's illegal (from what I could find on the matter). I've since made peace with having a boy and could honestly say (with tremendous relief) that I'd feel comfortable having a child of either gender.
Loads of women don't chart and that's fine. I charted because I wanted to see what my body was doing. It also really helped my acupuncturist to treat me.
ReplyDeleteDo ask about the washing fees as they can be quite expensive.
If you are doing unmedicated cycles and not using any OPK's or trigger shots...how is the RE going to determine ovulation?
For instance, if he is waiting to see a surge in your LH and then you schedule the IUI, it could be too late. I'm curious. I personally love the trigger shot as it solves this problem of guessing.
I've never heard of frozen sperm living 24 hours. Never. Someone may correct me...but I'd feel more comfortable going with 12. You do want to do the IUI before the Ovulation, but with frozen I wouldn't do it 24 hours before. The boys could all be dead by then.
I've heard of spinning. I don't think the method is high in accuracy, but if you are set on it, then do it. I used to think I would only have a girl and I only wanted a girl. However, the past years have brought so many sweet baby boys and toddlers in my life that I really don't care anymore. I think baby boys are sent to lesbians so we can put some good men on earth:)
Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteCentrifuging sperm is not 100% effective. There's still a slight chance you could have a boy. Therefore, you may still want to consider that possibility and delve more into WHY...it was something I had to come to terms with as well. We wanted a girl, but knew we would love a boy no less. But I had to realize that a large part of the WHY was based on gender stereotypes and that boys felt more "foreign" to me.
- Strawberry