The Next Step

Yay for our counsellor kicking ass, that’s for sure! We had our appointment with the doc this morning and we are feeling pretty great actually.

He is most concerned with the failure of the transfer, and thinks that the reason for the bad IUIs, and now this, is that there is something (probably endometriosis) which is growing and pushing the wall of the cervix into a kink. This is why it is getting so much harder with the IUIs, and why the transfer dr thought there might be fibroids or something there.

So the plan is K will go back to her GP and a letter of referral to see a specialist based on her history of painful and heavy periods etc. The specialist just so happens to be our clinic dr (we need to think of a nickname for him – after all this time we have none). He will see her as a private patient and give her a letter for her insurance company based only on the pain and other symptoms. If he mentions infertility or fertility treatment at all, insurance won’t cover anything, but doing it this way they should cover the laproscopy surgery (hence we have to see him at his private clinic, not the fertility clinic).  He will also do a cervix dilation at the same time to give even more chance that the next transfer will be smooth.

We will ring his private clinic on Monday and he will try and see her in November, and hopefully schedule the surgery for January/February. He recommends at least one period in between the surgery and the next try so we’re probably looking at March/April at the earliest for our next round.

To back track a little, he was very happy by her response to the stims, and also very happy with the quality of the blastocysts that were transferred on day 5. He thinks that the traumatic transfer may have impacted implantation as there may have chemicals etc released that shouldn’t have been.  So he is very confident that the protocol was right, and that by dealing with the endometriosis and improving chances for implantation we should have a winning combo.

Our main problem is money. We’re planning on buying the winning lotto ticket today anyway, but other than that we’re committed to paying off the existing IVF debt before getting any more. The other problem is that based on the AMH and FSH testing K really only has another year. Those two are a vicious cycle – it will take a year to pay off the debt and we can’t afford to take more debt out in the meantime, but by then it may be too late.

Because we have been at it for so long,  we do have a chance for public funding. Over here there is a points system and we have enough points for two free rounds of ivf, but to get onto the waiting list you need to be a certain BMI. The waiting list itself is about 12-18 months so by the time K lost enough weight (about 30kgs) and the waiting list time was up, it would more than likely be too late.

So the next thing he said floored us – he said that we had been on their books for such a long time and with the low ovarian reserve, that if K could get as close as possible to the goal BMI he will talk to the clinic manager and see if we could bypass the waiting list. It’s not a guarantee but we are so excited!

So the next mission will be doing everything possible over the next several months to lose weight (both of us).  If we can get K’s BMI down and they agree to move straight into the funded ivf, we have another shot at this – two shots actually!

There is a long way to go before we get to that point, and it won’t be easy but there is hope again. It’s crazy how hope and despair are almost interchangeable in all of this!!!

Now we are off on our weekend away, it’s a beautiful day here so let’s hope our destination is just as great! It’s been an incredibly stressful week so some relaxation is just what we need, and after today’s appointment we feel like we might even manage it.