So, before you can start IVF, you must attend a 3 hour class. I have to say, there is a lot of commitment in the process. I think I did more to get approved for this than most people do for a 30 year mortgage. Make sense I suppose. Now, this class happens to only be held on Thursday mornings. I get it, there can’t possibly be so many women doing IVF that they need daily classes. However, with my work travel schedule I knew this would be difficult. Thinking, this is no big deal. You know, you call, schedule, attend, what could be the problem. Well I traveled two back to back weeks, and had another week of travel coming up. No problem. I have one whole week available. I will just go that Thursday. Wrong!
Well, normally that would be fine, I was told by the scheduler, BUT this week we had to cancel b/c our nurses are not available to do it. Well damn. That sucks. So, now I am pushing it back two weeks. Now mind you, I am at a client, delivering content while I am trying to work all of this out on the phone. This client, by the way is 99% male. Seriously they have extra men’s rooms because they don’t want to wait in line, while I can go into the women’s room and it is obvious no one has been in there all day.
I take the call in the hall. Walking as far away from the men as possible, so that when I say, “I want to sign up for the IVF class” no one will hear. I am talking to one of my nurses and unfortunately, I am now freaked out because the scheduling of the class is delayed. Finally I say to the nurse, “ look, I have been trying really hard not to have my travel schedule filled for three weeks at the end of May and June and now I am worried the timing won’t work out.” This incredibly patient woman helped me work through my calendar to determine, yes, it will work out. Whew!
So, two weeks later I attend the class. Luckily I have a friend who works in the hospital, so she came with me. Well, she had to work, so she came to the second half with me. We had about 7 women in the room, two had husbands with them. The rest of us were on our own (at least I was until my friend showed). Now, this is the class where they show you the big ugly needles and tell you the entire process. I won’t get into that here. It isn’t necessary unless you are going to take the class. Needless to say, if you were going to freak out this would be a good moment. I took notes…lots of notes. (haven’t looked at them since).
There was moment when the nurse was talking about the post embryo placement drugs, specifically progesterone. There are three ways you can take this drug. Trust me, none are good. But a wonderfully hilarious moment happened. Basically, you can take a shot with a really big needle , or a, well, we will call it one of two suppository options. The last option involves not walking around 30 minutes after using it. One woman, who was in a wheelchair, asked if that was the only issue, “since she would not be walking around” The nurse then said, well it is better than the alternative, an intra-muscular shot every day for 12 weeks. I think most of us would have a problem with that. In the end the nurse was trying to say the suppository was better, who would want to stab themselves that much. Again the women in the wheelchair looked at her, then looked at her husband and said, “Well that’s your job.” I am pretty sure she preferred the shot, I am going to guess, not feeling it is just fine for her.
As for me, I have now been take shots for five days now. We will get into that in the next blog.
lifedecision 