Updates GALORE

Good morning!  I'm feeling especially chipper considering I'm on day 3 of spring break.  It is, however, going by too quickly...but then again, that's how it always seems to go.  [note: I don't use the word "chipper" when speaking.  Apparently I do when writing...who knew?]

For the new folk, my first IVF failed but resulted in 10 beautiful snowbabies (6 grade A, 4 grade B).  We are moving on to FET #1 in April.

UPDATE #1: My nurse called yesterday with my auto immune results (drum roll, please): NEGATIVE.  My feelings?  Mixed.  Mostly, I'm happy that we're not dealing with any added drama but it makes our "perfect cycle with imperfect results" even more frustrating.  BTW you guys are right...I can't dwell on what went wrong but as the results keep coming, my mind starts to wander a wee bit.

UPDATE #2: FET #1 meds have been ordered.  If all goes according to plan, we're looking at $3,127 (transfer + meds) for this round. 

UPDATE #3: Our FET would have been April 7th but is now scheduled for April 23rd.  Apparently REs go on vacation too (LAME).  Though I'm disappointed it's a little over 5 weeks away, I find peace in the certainty of April 23rd.  It's such a different feeling than going through a fresh cycle.  Oh, and my RE's frozen stats are higher than fresh.  Strange?  Perhaps.  I'm not complaining.

UPDATE #4: I signed up for Cristy's Sock Exchange.  I need all of the fertility hope I can get...even in the form of socks.  Check it out and join us.  The deadline is March 21st.  I can't wait for my new socks!!  Thanks Cristy.

PARTIAL Blood Results

I hadn't written about the results yet because they won't all be in until Tuesday or Wednesday.  But since my thoughtful buddy Caitlin asked, here goes...

There was a message on my phone this week from my nurse.  I checked it {nervously}.  All good news: my ETA, RIP and NKA (the expensive tests that were sent off to Chicago) came back NEGATIVE.

:::WHEW:::

I was thrilled and soon called my nurse back and said, "I got the good news!"  She said {ever so glumly}, "Yeah, but it still doesn't tell us anything about your failed cycle."  Then she got on to my for dragging my feet on the additional blood work.  WTF.  Seriously, lady?  I'm paying you big bucks to be my cheerleader.  AND I'm beginning to think less and less that this failure had anything to do with my body.

More results to come...

RARE Blood Tests

So, in an effort to {potentially} find out why my beautiful embryos didn't stick around, we're running a series of rare, expensive blood tests this week:

ETA (Embryo Toxicity Assay)...$260: to find out if my "serum" contains toxins that cause embryos to stop growing and die.  HOLY COW.  We're hoping this comes back negative.  If not, I will have intravenous infusions (that last several hours) that begin before my FET and go through week 34 of pregnancy.  WOW.  This one gets sent off to Chicago tomorrow morning.  We'll get the results in about 2 weeks.

RIP (Reproductive ImmunoPhenotype)...$265: IF this test shows that my white blood cells are actively seeking out and destroying foreign material (aka my sweet embabies), I'll have a NKA (Natural Killer Cell Activation) test...$340.  Again, this is treated intravenously and will be sent off to Chicago.

I'll also be heading to Quest this week for the following tests:
Ana Screen
Cardiolipin Screen
Lupus Anticoagulant Evaluation
Rheumatoid Factor
Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin Antibodies

We're hoping and praying that ALL of these tests come back negative and that we're good to go for our April FET...