The hubs and I went down to the clinic Wednesday morning for psychological testing. Well, I was tested. He got to sit around in the waiting room and play with his computer and read books. They actually had me do (no joke) a Rorschach test. I thought those things were outmoded years ago! Then, they had me do the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). I'm sorry, but unless you're completely oblivious, there's no way you can't see what the test is trying to do. It would have been easier to just ask me, "Are you a kleptomaniac? Are you a nymphomaniac? Are you a pyromaniac? Are you an alcoholic? Are you a pathological liar? Are you manic depressive? Are you suicidal? And last but not least, are you a hypochondriac?" Umm... No, no, no, no, no, no, no and no.
In the afternoon, me, the hubs and our IF drove to one of the clinic's satellite locations. Of course, my Google directions (GOOGLE! I have lost my faith in you!) were faulty and because of that, we got lost. We stopped at a gas station to ask directions (because here, you can ask pretty much any convenience store clerk how to get somewhere nearby and they can tell you), but the girl behind the counter was clueless. Fortunately, Verizon offers 24 hours of GPS service on their phones for a one-time charge of $2.99. Hooray for that! On the up side, we got to spend some quality time with our IF and I think the experience helped build trust and rapport.
Anyway, at the satellite location, they did an SIS (saline infused sonohystogram). This involved the doctor inserting a small catheter through my cervix and filling my uterus with saline solution. Once my uterus was full, the doctor used an ultrasound wand to do an internal ultrasound. The purpose of this was to determine whether my uterus had any scar tissue, cysts or polyps that might prevent proper implantation of an embryo. The doctor declared that my womb is in great shape, and gave me, the hubs and our IF an overview of the implantation process.
We spent the night in an inexpensive but clean and comfortable hotel; watched Law & Order SVU and Man vs. Food and had a nice quiet dinner together. Thursday (yesterday) morning, we had blood drawn and gave samples for urinalysis, then met with the clinic's social worker to go over our family and psychological histories. The meetings with her went very well (according to our IF, who is very open and honest and reported everything he was told about us LOL) and we found that we are in agreement on every major issue and concern that might arise.
We had lunch at a lovely local restaurant and enjoyed a nice long chat with our IF. He really is a fantastic person, and is totally committed to us and to this process. I think we really may find ourselves blessed with a wonderful, lifelong friend.
In the afternoon, we met with the head nurse at the clinic and were given an overview of the preparation process; the drugs I'll need to take, how to administer them; the time line for it all, etc. She really knows her stuff and seems to be very well organized. Fortunately, since the kiddo's father as well as a long-time friend of mine are diabetic and have to give regular injections, I've been given the chance to learn to administer injections ahead of time and don't have issues with needles. Anyway, by the sounds of it, the egg donor's and my cycles are already being synced up via our birth control pills. Once we've all cleared the screening process, I'll be taking Leuprolide Acetate (Lupron) as a subcutaneous injection in the evenings, as well as Estrogen in the form of pills and patches. The same night that our egg donor goes through the egg retrieval process, I'll stop taking the Leuprolide Acetate and begin administering Progesterone gel. I'll have an ultrasound very shortly after I start taking the Progesterone to check the thickness of my uterine lining and make sure that it's sufficient to accept an embryo. If it isn't, I'll be given an extra dose of Estrogen for a day or two, and then I'll be called in to have the fertilized eggs implanted. They'll only be implanting two, as more than that raises the chance of a triplet pregnancy, which is not desirable to anyone. About two weeks after the implantation, I'll take a home pregnancy test and report the results to the clinic. If the results are positive, I'll make an appointment to go in and have an ultrasound and blood tests done to confirm pregnancy. I'll continue to take the Progesterone gel and the Estrogen pills and patches through most of the first trimester (about 10 weeks) to ensure that my body doesn't reject the embryos.
There. I think that covers it and I hope I got all the information right. I'll correct it later if I find out I'm wrong.
