Just stick yourself with this needle...it's really easy!

So...we had our injections class today. When I hear class I think of a room full of people, a teacher, and maybe a blackboard. When I was told to sign up for a injections class this is what I pictured. I thought there would be other couples learning the same thing....you know someone else to ask the dumb questions you have so you don't have to. (Like will an air bubble kill me? Or my latest fear...what if I break the needle off inside my skin!) Not so lucky! It was more of a hallway meeting between us and the phlebotomist super quick...wham bam stick yourself thank you mam! 

She had examples of all three injections I will be taking and we practiced each one ONCE in a little rubber block really quickly. Took about 15 minutes.  Although I was in no way looking forward to sticking myself today I thought I would be. I feel like that first prick will be the hardest. I think when the day comes I am going to be sitting there (by myself because the hubs has work that night!) for an hour trying to work up the nerve. I would have much rather gotten over it today in the safety of  a doctors office with the pressure of someone waiting for me to do it. Not to worry I did confirm it would be near impossible to kill myself with an air bubble. I didn't have the nerve to ask about breaking needles off in my own tummy but after seeing the needle I felt it was pretty unlikely I would be able to do that either. But in no way do I feel comfortable purpously sticking a needle in myself yet! 

Here is how we feel about needles....scccccarrrrry! 

On another needle related note....our medications showed up today. They were shipped overnight from the pharmacy. The arrived packaged neatly together and some in a little cooler that we then put into our fridge. They make it pretty easy to figure out what goes together etc. 

Here is a picture of everything we were sent. Hard to believe I need all this for just a couple weeks! 

An update on the process and FINALLY A DATE FOR TRANSFER!

After talking about IVF for almost 2 years we FINALLY have a date for our transfer!! I am a total planner and having an actual date makes it real for me! ( I think Adam is starting to feel it too!)

                 Here is my excited face...Adam gets a little less excited by calendars but loves me anyway!

Once we got the final green light and calendar things started to feel like they were happening really fast. We got the green light on Christmas Eve and couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present! So in the last two weeks this is what has happened...

• We were accepted into the Attain "6 try" program (see my IVF through Attain post for more info)  we signed all contracts with Attain. Payment was due in full up front as well. Once Attain has received the contract and payment they send over the information to your fertility clinic to let them know they can proceed. 
• We were given a full calendar of "events" which lays out your entire treatment plan 
• We had a final meeting with our doctor to sign off on all IVF consents 
• A last blood drawl was done for me just to check hormone levels again
• Seattle Reproductive has sent my prescriptions into a specialized fertility pharmacy for all of the hormone injections I will take leading up to the transfer. All of these medications are not covered by our Attain program and had to be paid up front as well. Our financial adviser at SRM told us these usually run 5-6 thousand. Ours were just under $3,000 so we got lucky there!
• We also paid a $900 freezer fee up front at SRM (this is for them to freeze and store any "extra" eggs after our 1st transfer.) 
• SO for those of you playing at home that is about $34,000 out the door for our baby(ies)! I tell you this not to scare you but because when I was researching and reading blogs I could NEVER find a true estimate of cost. I like to be prepared and this annoyed me! Keep in mind we live in Seattle which has some of the higher cost we have seen (but the best success rates!) and paid for the Attain program also our insurance covers NOTHING so this could be less for lots of you!
• We have scheduled an injection class where we will learn to give me the hormone shots. Right now I have it in my head I can accidentally allow an air bubble into the needle and kill myself...soooo I am hoping they cover that in the class. 
• I have stated prenatal vitamins and am remaining on birth control so they know when my cycle will start.

What's to come (Dates can change based on my cycle and how I react to the hormone shots)

• Feb 1st- Adam will take a high dose of antibiotics to make sure his little swimmers are nice and healthy on transfer day.
• Feb 4th Suppression Check- they will check my uterine lining and ovaries to be sure they are doing what they normally should after a cycle. 
• Feb 8th I will start stimulation injections 
• Feb 12th I will have blood work done to verify I am progressing with the hormones
• Feb 15th more blood work and another ultrasound to verify progression and egg growth
• Feb 18th (this was weird to me) I take a pregnancy test..which should show positive as they have pumped me so full of hormones by body thinks its growing a human. If positive...
• Feb 19th EGG RETRIEVAL DAY! They will also drain my cyst this day as long as it is accessible while extracting the eggs. Adam will also give his contribution which will be mixed to make some very cute babies!
• Feb 24th TRANSFER DAY! The fertilized egg or eggs will be transferred back in then we will all cross our fingers hoping for it to cling on!!! 
• March 5th will be my blood test to verify if I am pregnant or not. 

Its all very exciting! I will be posting along the way to keep everyone updated. Please feel free to let me know if I become crazy at any point. (Adam is starting to get nervous!) 

IVF through Attain Fertility

The cost of IVF can become quite costly. National success rates vary between 25-80 percent. After examining our history and current medical conditions our doctor estimated we have an 75 percent chance of success. After a successful "attachment" there is still a higher chance of miscarriage for IVF patients. So total odd of a live birth for us on our first IVF round is about 50 percent. Our insurance company covers none of the cost of fertility treatments.

Attain fertility is like a 3rd party insurance company that offers you multiple tries at a successful IVF round for a discounted price.

At our clinic a single round of IVF cost about 14,000.00 if unsuccessful we would need to pay that again for a second attempt and so on.
With Attain they offer the chance for multiple rounds with a guarantee that you will bring home a baby.
We had the following options to apply for through Attain

2 rounds of IVF for 22,000 with no guarantee
OR
4 Rounds of IVF (2 with Live Egg removal and 2 using frozen embryos ) for 24,000 if unsuccessful you receive 50% of your money back
OR
6 Rounds of IVF (3 with live egg removal and 3 using frozen embryos)  for 29,000. If unsuccessful you receive 100% of your money back

I truly do believe that this first round will work. I don't stress much, have a great relationship with my husband and know my body pretty well. For some reason I truly believe that one that little eggy is in there she/he will stick!  However I also have no idea what this next two months holds. My husband keeps assuring me that once I am pumped full of all the hormones I will be certifiably bat crap crazy! So we decided that although I KNOW it will work first round, we may need an extra round.

We felt the 6 rounds with 100% guarantee was the best for us. Having the 100% guarantee allows us to go through the process with no expectations and no risk. If for some reason IVF did not work we would have that money to move forward with adoption.

Clearly if we have a baby on the first try we will not be disappointed that we spent the extra money when we didn't need more than one try.

For anyone looking for more information on Attain here is their website.

http://attainivf.attainfertility.com/attain-ivf-programs