Lilypie

Sunday, July 6, 2008

One Day Work-Up Appt. at CCRM

Well, I think it went pretty well overall. I'll start with a picture. CCRM was a large building that was solely occupied by the group. As you walk into the 2 story entryway, there is a waterfall behind where we are standing. It was so impressive! Unfortunately, our camera died, (and of course the back-up battery was at home) so this was the only pic we have to post. We will take many more photos of the gorgeous Rocky Mountains on our next trip out there. We stayed until Saturday. But, it feels good to be home today. :-)

But on to what everyone wants to hear about: the appt! Below are the steps we took throughout the long day of testing...

1) We met with the Business Office/Financial area first. Nothing like getting the bad news out on the table immediately. We did go ahead and give them a $1000 refundable deposit so that we could get started ASAP following Dr. Schoolcraft's approval. That's only a drop in the ~$25,000 bucket this cycle will probably end up costing us. I sooo hope there is a baby at the end of this...

2) Steve did "his business." They did use some of my blood (drawn later in the day) to test for anti-sperm antibodies. Seems reasonable...

3) We met with one of our nurses. CCRM assigns a primary and a secondary nurse to each patient. She was so knowledgeable. Yay! We grilled her for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about 2 hours...

4) My favorite part: the baseline u/s and doppler flow studies. We had a sonographer perform the procedure. She asked me "Have you ever had a vaginal u/s?" I said "Yes, many times" but what I really wanted to scream was "I've had so many u/s tours through my vagina that I'm thinking about charging admission." But seriously, I've gotta hand it to this lady--she was better than any physician I've ever had to do a vag u/s. She saw something interesting immediately on the screen: a big bladder. And I had just emptied it literally one minute before the procedure. Completely (or at least so I thought). She said "Wow. You may want to get that checked out." Great. Now I need to add a urologist to my list of doctors? Aetna hates me this year. Anyway, the rest of the exam looked good: no scars, fibroids, cysts, etc. Also, I had great blood flow to my ovaries = no need to have acupuncture. Thank goodness! I hated those stupid needles in my ears...But, she did find something alarming at the end of the u/s. In order to get my AFC, she began counting on the right ovary first. She got up to 18 (on just the right side) and said "You've got A LOT of follicles, has anyone ever mentioned PCOS?" I wasn't totally taken off guard as Dr. Schoolcraft did mention it OVER THE PHONE. But I'm pissed! If someone can read a chart and mention his thoughts over the phone, don't you think that the doctors at IRH could've noticed it on the numerous baseline u/s I've had since last October? Dr. Awadouchebag (as Steve refers to him and now I've come to call him as well) blows. The left ovary only had around 12-13, so all in all, I had an AFC over 30. So, that's good that it's high, but bad that I might have PCOS.

5) We both had tons of b/w drawn. Normal labwork, screenings for genetic disorders and communicable diseases, the aforementioned anti-sperm antibody screening, and list goes on. I gotta admit that I was glad that Steve was able to slightly share in some of my pain by getting stuck. All in all, I had 8 vials of blood drawn and he had 3 vials. We are so impressed with their attention to every detail. I love CCRM.

6) I had a hysteroscopy next performed by Dr. Minjarez (due to some late scheduling changes). I was glad to have her as I was really worried about PCOS following the u/s (and PCOS is one of her "special interests"). She was very nice, funny, etc. The test went well and ended with my favorite line from REs: "Your uterus looks beautiful." Dr. M did say that while I didn't have any cysts on the hysteroscopy, that I may still have the syndrome. We won't know until my Day 3 b/w comes back. The conclusive diagnostic test for PCOS is an abnormal LH/FSH ratio, which is normally 1:1. With PCOS, it's common to have a low or normal FSH, an elevated LH, which can mean a ratio of 2:1 or 3:1. So, we have to wait on this one. Dr. Schoolcraft will decide at that time whether or not I need to be started on Metformin.

7) We were supposed to end with the FLC (CCRM's lab) Consent Review with signing lots more forms, but we were tired and I think they may have been tired of us as well, so we just went home with the promise to read over the info and finish up when we return next time.

So, when will the next time be? If all goes as planned, we may be cycling at the end of August. The only problem? The Democratic National Convention is in Denver during Aug. 25-28. Lovely. So, I'm not sure how that will factor into everything. That was the only bad week all summer at CCRM, so I'm not surprised that it would fall to be my time to come out for my stims and ER. I guess I could be a little happy if I were a Dem and try to go to the convention, but alas, I'm a Republican...Why couldn't Denver be the site of the Republican Convention??

Things to do beforehand:
1) Get endometrial biopsy 9-11 dpo on this current cycle.
2) Get Day 3 b/w drawn and sent to CCRM on the beginning of the next cycle.
3) Wait.

22 comments:

Jill said...

It sounds like you got some great info (and great care) while you were there! GOOD LUCK!!

Christi said...

love the picture! very cute! glad the day brought good information! GOOD LUCK

Lost in Space said...

I am so glad that CCRM is taking such good care of you. They seem to be on top of everything from the beginning. I am starting to understand more why they are so expensive. (: Thanks so much for sharing!!

I love your picture too. You 2 are a great looking couple. Good luck!!

Josée Martens said...

Yep! That is pretty much how my day went (minus the PCOS talk since i have endo). I will be there the week after the democratic convention or maybe as early as the day after the convention. Maybe we'll be there at the same time.

If they can find something like PCOS, you might be ever so close to having that family. Wouldn't it be great if they make a minor tweak and BOOM, baby's here!

Good luck to you. I just sent in my day 3 blood last week. The endo biopsy was nothing too bad for me.

GOOD LUCK! welcome home.

hannah said...

Hey girl!! Sounds like you are moving forward in the right direction!! So glad you've found a place you are more comfortable with (not to mention more confident in!!)

Your Dr. Awadouchebag comment cracked me up. I have a girlfriend who calls him Dr. Awa-asshole :)

Still haven't had the privilege of meeting him :) hope I never do.

Hannah

(hannah&ben from the nest)

Jen said...

Holy Cow... that's a full day. I'm so glad CCRM seems so attentive and you are getting the very best. I'm interested to hear how the PCOS comes out.
Either way, it sounds like you are on the right road, for certain!!!

M. said...

It sounds like the visit was awesome. How can your previous doc possibly have missed the high number of follies?! Makes no sense! UGH!

As for the biopsy, ask for local. It helps tremendously :)

I just feel like this new place is going to work for you guys... I really feel it.

Ariella said...

Great pic of you guys. I am glad you got lots of your questions answered and it sounds like they might be on to something with PCOS. Good Luck and I can't wait to read about your next visit.

Just Me. said...

I had to chuckle at this: I've had so many u/s tours through my vagina that I'm thinking about charging admission.

Maybe I should start charging too? :)

Good luck on this cycle! I should be cycling around the same time.

TTCinDC said...

congratulations on all the progress! It sounds like a great place and that you are in the most capable hands possible!

DAVs said...

Dr. M is our doctor but we've not yet met her (she was out of town during our one day work up) but I love her over the phone. It sounds like you got a lot of good information--I'm jealous of your beautiful uterus since mine has to undergo a polypectomy next week, ugh. It feels good to be in such good hands, doesn't it? Good luck! We won't cycle until October, but I'll be following your blog!

Emily said...

Welcome home! What a great pic - I love your hair. Sounds like everything went really well - they really are a finely tuned machine out there. GL with all the testing! Thinking of each and every day!
HUGS,
em

Kate said...

Hey Jill - It looks like everything went really well at CCRM! Hopefully the convention won't be an issue for you.

Hope2morrow said...

WOW! Sounds like your appointment went well.

Glad to hear things are going to be progressing. I'm happy for you all and hope this brings you exactly what you want.... a baby.

You are a beautiful couple!

Jen said...

Kick Butt! It is amazing how much you accomplished in one day. I guess that's the perks of going to the top notch place, right?

I'm so excited for you! I hope you get some good results back. And the PCOS potentially sucks, but it is so much better that someone is paying attention now and actually knows what is going on.

Adorable pic, too!

Kristen said...

I am SOOO glad that your visit at CCRM went so nicely. They certainly sound thorough!! I'll be anxious to hear about your PCOS results with the bloodwork, as I too have PCOS yet don't have the ovarian symptoms, just the other parts of the "disease".

Erin said...

Jill, you are so beautiful. I am glad that you had a fulfilling experience at CCRM. I hope all goes well with your timing!

I didn't realize you were a nurse. That is my dream job. Well being a flight nurse or trauma nurse, but a nurse :) I am a trauma junkie.

Chelle said...

I can't believe that they overlooked the possibility of PCOS at your previous RE... ! That's the first thing they picked up on with me. AND every time I have an u/s (no matter who it is), they say, "has anyone ever talked to you about PCOS?" UM YEAH!

But, anyway, I hope you don't have it.. It's not the worst thing, but can cause road bumps. All in all it sounds like a very successful visit!

Beth & Brian said...

I'm SO glad you've started with this new group. Sounds like they are going to do things right!

bethpaints said...

JiLL!!!!!!

You must already feeL better taken care of!!!!!!! (I know that sounds grammatically so wrong!)

You guys lookS so faB in the picture and you can tell you know this is the pLace thats going to make you parents!!!!!!!!

Convention -smention...stay in Golden its like a half hour away!!!! If you can get to Boulder greaT bouTiQue shopping!!!!!!!so artsy!!!!!

I am so happy for you guys!!!!! The only question I had was why are you having to pay OOP? Arent you covered for IF???

Ahyhoooooooo
Huge love
B

Katie said...

CCRM sounds great, like the IF promiseland! Hope it promises to help you have a baby or two!

LOL at Adawadouchebag. Inattentive doctors are the worst. Glad you are at a good place.

g said...

Your trip to CCRM sounds much like mine! Regarding the PCOS and the shock factor as to why noone mentioned this before.. DR. Schoolcraft though that it was necessary to start me out on Glumetza did they do that for you as well. When r u heading back up there? We will be there towards the end of the month for surgery. Well i wish you the best and hope that your cycle goes great!!