Speaking of IVF....

On Wednesday we went to P-Cola to talk with Dr. Ripps about the "next step" which for us is IVF. I have been really worried about the moral issues that come with something like IVF. You know, if you consider the little embryos to be the beginning of a human being then you might have a problem with 15 or 20 of your own little people just sitting in a freezer somewhere. You can't throw them out and I definitely wouldn't let them be donated to science. Dr. Ripps explained the process (very basically) to us and it made me feel alot better. As soon as I start my period I will go on a birth control pill. I will also start on a progesterone shot (Doc says this shot is most uncomfortable). The needle on this shot is very long and thick and it is another shot in the rear end. Good thing God gave me some padding back there. :) Once I've been on the birth control pills for about 3 weeks I will start on the shots to build up the eggs again. Thankfully I have alot of the follistim left, so I can use that. (that also saves us a couple thousand dollars on meds) When they're ready to do the procedure they will take a needle and insert it into my ovary and suck out the fluid in the ovary. (the eggs will be in the fluid and then they can just remove them.) Once they extract the eggs they will take one sperm and inject it into one egg, fertilizing the egg. Dr. Ripps says that with our sperm issue and the procedure of fertilizing the egg our chances of conception are about 80-90 percent. Let's just pray we don't find any other problems that we didn't know about. Approximately 24-48 hours after the eggs are fertilized they will be placed in my uterus via artificial insemination (of which I am an old pro). The doctor said he wants me to take it very easy for a while after that. About 10 days after IVF we will go in for a pregnancy test. All of this will be accomplished by the end of October. Doctor Ripps said that when they extract the eggs we will probably get 12-15 eggs since I am so young and seem to have no issues with making eggs. He also said though that once you start the process of fertilization that number falls away very quickly. He guessed that we will probably have 4 or 5 viable embryos to implant. He recommends that we implant no more than 2 because the likelihood is that both will become a baby. I'm ok with two babies at once. I don't think we need more than that right now...but after all I've been through I will not complain no matter what happens. We will have embryos left over, and we will have them frozen and a couple years down the road they can do IUI again and we could have another baby. (this time payed for by insurance)!!! So, my concerns were quieted. I know people have alot of different opinions on IVF but I must say that you shouldn't judge someone if you haven't been in their situation. I have a great deal of peace in my heart, and I feel like this is it... We may be parents by the end of the month of October. Two months away, can you even believe it??? This is very exciting. It is gonna be harder than the last two procedures, the drugs are alot stronger, even the follistim I will be taking larger doses of. Just keep us in your prayers. I will write again soon. Shauna