Do you hear the Rocky Theme playing in the background? I do, because we're starting Round #2 of the IVF cycle and I've been in training in the off season. OK, so I didn't go to Philly and run up and down the library steps a jillion times, nor did I jump rope for hours on end daily, but I've been in training.
You see, as if I didn't already spend enough time with needles between botox and fertility meds, I've decided to spend even more time with them! Yes, I've been doing acupuncture since the middle of January. There's been some research in Europe that has shown that acupuncture can help with fertility treatments, increasing the number and quality of eggs produced. There's also research showing that it can increase the chances of implantation of the embryos once they are transferred, but there's not much I can do on that side of things. Thus, I've been focusing my efforts on this side of things. My acupuncturist is also a Chinese Herbologist. Thus I've been taking some wonderful herbs for the past 2 months also. At least, I'm assuming they are wonderful herbs. With a name like "Nourish Ren & Chong Formula-Jia Wei Gui Shao Di Huang Wan," and containing things like Dioscorea oppositifolia rhizome, Paeonia lactiflora root w/o bark and Rehmannia glutinosa cured root ruber I can't state for certain that they are indeed wonderful. All I can say is that they are supposed to help with fertility and egg quality. And since that's what we're going for, then in my book, they're wonderful!
To be honest though, I'm heading into this cycle with a lot more trepidation than last time. Believe me, I know that a positive outlook and state of mind can do wonders. Yet, I'm way more concerned than last time. I guess last time I was blessed with a certain naivete. We were expecting about 15 eggs of good quality. We had no reason to expect anything different. And I guess now my eyes are opened to what can happen. On the good side, although we didn't get many eggs last time, we still got some, and we were still able to transfer some. But it wasn't what any of us, our doctor, Aaron, or our surrogate were expecting. And so I'm nervous and anxious. Which, really, there's nothing to be nervous and anxious about. I've done everything possible I can do: vitamins, acupuncture, herbs. At this point, it's out of my hands and into the best hands possible, God's. There's nothing I can do. What is going to happen will happen, and worrying about it won't change the outcome. Yet, I suppose worrying is part of the human condition. I've been praying for peace about this, and I'm getting there, but it's not easy. I guess it never is.
So here's the outline. The retrieval should be sometime around the 10th of March depending on how my happy little ovaries produce. And, we are expecting they are going to produce abundantly! My first ultrasound that will show how they are doing is this coming Tuesday, so I will definitely try to post an update. For the next several weeks if you could pray for me, Aaron, our child to be, and our wonderful surrogate "Lisa" that would be fantastic.
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