Day 10

I just want everyone to know, I don't care what the Courier Journal says.

MY PET ROCKS!!

Elly wants to say "Thank You" to everyone who voted for her and promises that if for any reason the reigning My Pet Rocks winner cannot fulfill their duties....Just Kidding! That is in poor taste since Booboo is already dead.

Tomorrow I will reveal my surprise I've been working on for when I begin my shots.

Stay tuned,
Sara

Day 8

I called the clinic today to check on my bloodwork. I needed to make sure they didn't need to adjust the pharmacy order so I can place that order next week. To my surprise, when they pulled my chart they saw they hadn't received my results yet.

I had to call Labcorp and ask what the deal was only to find out that the person working the day I went in didn't enter the clinic's fax number so it never got sent over. She then informed me that to get the results we would have to contact the main office and that only the clinic could do that because it wouldn't make sense for me to be able to obtain my own lab results?!?

My IVF nurse of the day, Samantha, called the main office and got my results. This test was for my FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). This time I have a 4.9. Last time I had a 5.3. I was reading that the lower the number, the better for fertility. This is an excerpt I found for those of you who are interested:

If the ovary has many eggs, the FSH in a woman’s blood is low because the body doesn’t need to work hard to get a normal ovulation. If the egg number is low, the body needs to work harder to get ovulation, so it increases the amount of FSH in an effort to push the ovaries. A high FSH means the egg number is reduced, sometimes to levels so low that pregnancy is not possible.

So the level is actually better this time than last:) That means that my medication order doesn't need to be adjusted so I'm good to go on that.

Good thing I like to be organized.

There is a possiblity that I might have to fly to Alabama the week after next for work. I was a little anxious about this because it would be only my third day of my injections. I had read on one of my handouts that my first injection, Lupron, had to be refrigerated. Since I am trying to keep this low key around the people I work with, I thought it might be hard to explain why I was taking a cooler on the airplane (I was thinking...the drinks are too expensive so I brought my own?). I found out today that it doesn't have to be refrigerated but I still will probably have to check my luggage since I will have to take needles with me. Samantha also told me that I will probably have to have a note from them to give to the airline even to check the syringes in my luggage. I'll probably be the brunt of the jokes for checking my luggage for a one night stay but oh well!

Days 6 & 7

***UPDATE***

It looks like Booboo was out rallying for votes yesterday so if you know someone who hasn't voted for Elly yet please ask them!

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Yesterday, I called the pharmacy that we were going to use the first time we placed a medication order for our shots to see if we could still use them with our insurance coverage. Turns out, we can. I also found out that we can use our Health Savings Account to pay the deductible so we won't have to pay anything out of pocket. What a blessing.

Funny how we went from paying thousands of dollars to paying nothing. Coincidence or Godincidence?

I only have 10 more days until I start my shots. This weekend I'll be working on my little "plan" regarding my shots. I've figured out a way to make them more interesting. Maybe I'll give you a sneak peek...

Thank you to everyone who voted for Elly! She is currently in the lead but I will have to keep a close watch in case Barney tries to rally for votes at the last minute. We'll see on Friday;)

Days 4 & 5

Nothing much going on around here.

I finally got myself together enough to make a new chart for my refrigerator. That took some pressure off. I also mailed off our forms to the clinic this morning.

I need to track down which pharmacy I'm allowed to use with our insurance coverage. We'll be placing that order in a little over a week.

I do need to ask for everyone's help regarding our furry baby! Elly is in a contest with the Courier Journal for "My Pet Rocks". Please go to this link and vote for her. When on the page, scroll down and check Elly's box and then enter your email address to submit. If she gets the most votes before Friday, we win a $50 gift card to Feeders Supply. With as much food as she wastes (she's a picky eater), we could really use this. Also, Elly wants to be a star!

Looking forward to March 7th so I can get this show on the road,
Sara

Days 2 & 3

Day 2 is an uneventful day.

Day 3: Bloodwork!

Steve took me this morning to get my bloodwork done and then to the doughnut shop for breakfast:) We took our doughnuts home and ate them in bed while we watched the Biggest Loser on the DVR...ha ha!!! Seriously, we really did that.

I spent the afternoon working on my first painting project. I'm working on a piece to hang in our kitchen. It was fun and relaxing. I'll post a picture of it when it's done.

We received our official letter in the mail from the clinic today. It's just a form for us to sign saying that we submitted a statement from the insurance company that shows our coverage. Last time we received that letter, it had to be returned with a check that had a lot of zero's in it. This time, no check!!! Yay! Needless to say, it got signed a lot faster this time around.

I almost forgot to pick up my birth control prescription from the pharmacy today. I begin those tonight. I feel a little disoriented this time around for some reason. When I talked to my IVF nurse on Thursday (Day 1), I asked her how I was going to get my Day 3 bloodwork done since it was on a Sunday. She said, the labs will be open on your Day 3 because it is Saturday. Whoops! I couldn't even count 3 days right. I need to make a new calendar because I still have my old dates on the worksheet hanging on the fridge.

I need to get it together!!!
Sara

!!! Day 1!!!

That snuck up on ya didn't it? Me too!

I started a new cycle today and I still hadn't heard any news from the clinic. I went ahead and called and left a message for someone to check if today could be my "Day 1". Sheila called me back and said she looked through today's mail after she received my message and my "GO" letter was in the mail!!! So we are fully covered by insurance and have the letter on file to prove it.

My new schedule is:
-Saturday I go for bloodwork then start birth control pills
-March 7th I start the first series of shots
-March 18th I go to Cincinnati for bloodwork and an ultrasound
-Tentative egg retrieval date of March 30th

Thank you to everyone who lifted us up in prayer about getting to start over on my next cycle. This is a great example of the power of prayer and a reminder to us that God never shows up late, He is always on time.

Here we go....again,
Sara

Valentine's Day

***UPDATE***
I can't figure out how to make the pictures bigger without making them blurry. You can click on a picture and it will pop up bigger in a seperate window. You should do this to look at the plaque at the bottom of this post that my mom got me because it is really cute;)
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What a wonderful day it was!

Steve is really good at Valentine's Day. He loves to cook special meals and this year he was very creative. Our menu consisted of crab legs, pasta alfredo and twice baked potatoes partnered with wine that Beth brought us back from her trip to Napa Valley. The wine was a special treat for me since I am trying to steer clear of alcohol and caffeine until after our little miracle/s arrive;)

We were glad to have Jeremy, Rebecca & Sophie join us for dessert which happened to be Chocolate Fondue!!!

Everything was perfect and helped to lift my spirits from the funk I felt like I was in this past week.

Thank you Baby for being you....I love you!

I also received another suprise from my Mom. She bought us this special plaque that we now proudly display in our kitchen. You all know that I love this verse and now I will be able to see it numerous times everyday to remember the promise that God has made to us all. Thank you Mom!

Still Waiting.....

Please forgive me for waiting a whole week to post! I have a few blogs that I check everyday and I hate when they're not updated too:)

Here is the latest information:

On Wednesday, I got to talk to Heather again (one of my favorite IVF nurses)and she told me that our antibiotics were good for one year so we won't have to take them again when we start over, Yay! She mailed me a new prescription for birth control (which I do have to take again) and a new bloodwork order that I get drawn on my Day 3. I asked her to check in with Sheila, the financial coordinater that is keeping tabs on the insurance company, to see if there was an update. I'm getting a little nervous because I only have a few days left of my birth control pills and usually when you stop taking them you start a new cycle. (Is that a lady like way to say that?)

On Thursday, Sheila returned my call but I missed it so she left me a message. She said that they mailed my "letter of medical necessity", which states my past treatments, medical history, etc.., to the insurance company at the beginning of this week. She wants me to check in with the insurance company in about a week just to make sure they received the letter because they didn't give them a direct contact to mail it to. Evidently there is a lady named Karen at the clinic who is also helping process our claim and she said that she spoke with the insurance company and they stated to her that we were covered so it's only a matter of formality now that we receive their "acceptance" letter.

This is all really great news and we are so grateful that things are progressing as they are. Of course we wish it could happen faster but either way I am just thankful that in the long run, we will be able to have full coverage for the in vitro. I'm sure every one of you would have done the same thing.

I was a little sad today because I still have my calendar hanging on the refrigerator and today would have been Day 20. We would have been about halfway there. The thought of starting all over again is discouraging. Those first few weeks were long but exciting because I got to share it with all of you. So I've been a little down this week just thinking about having to go through those first couple weeks again and at the same time, not knowing when I'll even be able to start them.

Please pray that we'll get a miraculous quick answer from the insurance company and that we'll be able to start again on my next cycle. That is my prayer and I would be ever so grateful if you would join your faith with mine and pray in agreement with me.

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or more have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

I do have something to look forward to this weekend. Steve is planning a Valentine's Day surprise for me so I can't wait to see what it is....

Thank you all for sticking with me. Hopefully I'll have good news soon:)

Happy Valentine's Day!
Sara

Days 10,11,12,& STOP!!

Well I planned on posting today about how we ordered our medicine yesterday and mailed in our check today and that we were officially on a roll.

God had a different plan.

I had written on my calendar that I needed to send off for my medicine on Thursday this week. Thursday was also my busiest day of work and I had to attend my grandparents 60th anniversary party that evening. I had only about 20 minutes to get home, get my things together, take care of Elly and get out the door to head to the party. I had intended on grabbing the pharmacy phone number and calling them on the way. I walked out the door with everything but the phone number.

As some of you saw last night, I was a little upset with myself because I had a plan and I didn't follow through with it. Boy am I glad I didn't...

This morning when I called the pharmacy, the lady kept asking me if I was sure that I didn't have insurance coverage for fertility medication. I told her that we had checked several months ago and we did not. She said I should check again and then I had to call her back anyway because I didn't know the exact amount in my flex spending account that I was going to give her for payment. I pulled up our benefit account online and what do you think I saw? Right there under the coverage benefits for "Family Planning" was IN VITRO!!!!

I immediately called my insurance company and verified what I saw was correct and then called the clinic to verify with them. Not only was I covered but our clinic is "in network" so we can continue to work with them! Praise the Lord!!!

Unfortunately, we didn't get to find this out a few weeks ago so now we have to stop this cycle to get the appropriate paperwork from the insurance company. The only thing that we do have to wait and see on is if I have filled the criteria for having exhausted all other resources before considering in vitro. The clinic assured me that I have, but ultimately it is up to the doctor on staff with the insurance company.

Please Pray, Pray, Pray that there will be no hold up with this paperwork and that on my next cycle we will be able to start over with a clean slate. This would truly be a blessing to us. I have long been frustrated with insurance companies for saying that fertility is something elective, not a medical condition. Can you believe someone would say that to a woman?

I know that all of you have invested so much time and support into this with us already and you will never know how grateful we are. Please bear with us just a little while longer. I will still post every week as I wait to hear the good news that we are a "go". Hopefully with the timing of everything, this will only be a couple week set back and then we'll be back on track.

Thank you Lord for taking control of this time in mine & Steve's lives and sending us such an abundance of blessings!

Jesus, take the wheel, I'm letting go....
Sara

Day 9

I called to check in today about my bloodwork from last week.

I really have to take a second and brag on my IVF nurses at the clinic. I have talked to three different nurses since my Day 1 and they have all been so sweet! Some of you know that I haven't had pleasant experiences in the past with my previous doctors office. While I was trying to go through initial fertility testing with my OBGYN, I was constantly put off on my doctors assistant and rarely got to talk to the doctor herself. She always seemed inconvenienced by me and I just thought that was the way it was with everyone. Then I would hear from others about how much they loved their doctor and I was so jealous! I am happy to say that I have found a doctors office that is finally pampering me a little bit:)

Back to the bloodwork...
I had my FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) tested. This hormone helps control the production of the eggs. You want the level to be below 10 and mine was a 5.3. Heather said that I had a GREAT number!! Yay! I felt like I had been given an award for finally doing something right! She told me that my initial dosages for my shots were all in line so I can send off for my medicine anytime I want. She said that I should start taking my shots on Feb.10th as instructed and go for my next bloodwork checkup on Feb. 23rd. I told her I didn't think I should be unsupervised for that long and she assured me I would be ok and I can check in with her anytime I want:0)
Isn't that nice service?

By her predictions, I would have to visit Cincinnati on March 2nd for more bloodwork and an ultrasound to check out the eggs. Then I still have a tentative date of March 9th for retrieval.

It seems like a month has passed by since our Day 1 and it's only been 9 days! Anxious much?

Happy Groundhog Day!
Sara

Days 6,7,8

I know, I know, I skipped a few days.

We settled back into punching the time clock on Friday and anxiously awaited our weekend. We had to have time to relax and recover from all that hard work playing in the snow last week:)

Saturday we were able to finally catch up on all our shows that were overloading the DVR from last week. We watched a disappointing KY basketball game and had dinner at the in-laws. Sunday we went to church and the grocery. I finished a book and came to update the blog while Steve watches the Superbowl. I still feel like I need one more day off.

We have four days left of antibiotics and 10 more days until the shots begin. I'm still taking birth control pills for 15 more days. I might call the clinic tomorrow to check on the results of my bloodwork from last week. I'm not sure if there is anything to tell but I'll call anyway. I'm a little anxious because I went to their website and evidently it is under construction. I was counting on watching the instructional videos for the shots again before I have to administer them. I hope they get it up and running soon....

I hope everyone has electricity now and has melted streets! I think it will take a month for our street to melt. Still be careful on the roads. We almost slid into a stop sign this morning thinking there wasn't any more ice on the road. We were wrong.


Happy February!
Sara