If I were expecting a sugar coated visit today, I would have been extremely disappointed. Thankfully, I wanted it straight up, and that's what I got.
Where to start?
For some reason or another, my file didn't contain my records from Dr. Slick's office, which was weird as when J had called yesterday to confirm the appointment she said that they had them. Dr. S had to go find them and once he had them, did a quick perusal of the information, taking notes as he went.
He revealed a piece of information that I was not aware of from my second cycle with ol' Slick. My FSH level was 16.8! WTF??? I was never told that my FSH had ever gone that high!
So with that bit of information, and the outline of my three different protocols that Slick followed, Dr. S laid it all out for us.
We're going to do quite a bit of testing that Slick never did, including a clomid challenge test, an antral follicle count (never once did I have this with my old RE), as well as the MHA, which basically is an ovarian reserve test that takes about 5 days to get the results in. As well as testing my FSH levels on day 3 & 10 (which now that I think of it, this is part of the clomid challenge {look forward to being on that drug again - NOT!}). Also, the medical records that were sent over didn't indicate all of Hubby's semen figures, so he has to repeat this.
Thankfully, he doesn't think we need to repeat the HSG or the hysteroscopy (thank God!), so that will save me some pain, but he does want to do a mock transfer to see how his tools will work with my body. (That sounds like it could be dirty, but get your mind out of the gutter!)
Also, he wants me to start on DHEA, which some studies have found to increase the number of follies produced in women with poor ovarian reserve. The drawbacks to this are that 1) it can take 8-12 weeks to see results, and 2) it can cause acne and oily skin. He said that if this happens, I can just toss the pills in the trash as he doesn't want me to have to be concerned about that. (Not sure why this would be a concern, I'll just go invest in some paint from Lowe's to match my skin tone ~ lol.)
Depending on how all the test results come back, and what he thinks my chances of producing at least 4 follicles (that is our bare minimum to proceed with an actual IVF cycle) are, then we'll go for it. If things look bad, then we'll pursue egg donor.
However, if that is the route that we take, he highly suggests that I take at least a year off and lose 100 pounds (possibly through bariatric surgery), so that I don't have a complicated pregnancy. He said that if I do get pregnant using my own eggs, then he'd just refer me to a perinatologist, as I'd be considered high risk (diabetes {though I don't have this currently}, high blood pressure {again, don't have this currently}, higher rate of miscarriage, possible ectopic, higher risk of downs, etc., etc., etc.).
So the plan is this: Go through all the tests he wants me to do, take the DHEA for 8-12 weeks, blood tests, clomid challenge, etc., regroup and decide at that time what we'll do.
I feel good with this plan. No, there are no guarantees that I'll be able to use my own eggs, but at least we'll be giving it our best shot. And if this doesn't work, well then, we'll have another plan to pursue next year.
