Thursday, May 15, 2008

Trojan Man

Apparently, if I want to get pregnant, we need to use condoms. The nurse called today with the lab results. As I expected, I am not already pregnant, so I am all clear to start taking the Provera. Then the nurse informs me that I need to either abstain from making whoopie, or use a barrier contraceptive, during the time that I am on the Provera. Don't want to accidentally get pregnant while on the Provera, then stop taking it and have a miscarriage when my cycle starts. Abstinence is out of the question, so condoms it is. When the nurse called, I was in HEB, so I thought I would go ahead and get some condoms. I go to the condom aisle, and start looking, and get a little overwhelmed by so many choices. After all, indecision may or may not be my problem. Besides, we have been trying for 2.5 years, so needless to say, I have not purchased any condoms in quite a while. So I called Brad to tell him the news, and ask his opinion on what condoms to get. He says, "Well, I don't know. Here, talk to Michael, he uses those more often than I do." He then hands the phone to Michael, his son. So before I can stop it, and despite my protestations, I find myself discussing the merits of various condoms with my 18 year old step-son. It freaked me out. I wound up having to call my Mom for moral support. She thought it was effing hilarious, and had to share the humor with her husband. After I regained my composure, I picked a box of Trojan Her Pleasure - Warming Sensations, and a Trojan variety pack. Still having a hard time with that indecision thing. Then I go to check out, and as the line moves forward, I realize that the cashier is one of the senior girls from the high school that I see on a daily basis, but she has seen me, so I can't switch lines. Just as I get to the register, I look down and realize that one of the boxes of condoms is open. So I have to have the bagger go exchange it for me, because buying an open box of Trojans would not be prudent. Sort of like buying a sex toy at a garage sale. Just a bad idea all around. So I got the condoms home, but not without much drama. Oh well. My Trojan Man is worth it. And if it gets us a little trojan baby, that's even better.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

A Whirlwind Day

We went to the initial consult at the fertility clinic today. It was storming and traffic on MoPac was at a standstill. I was only 10 minutes late, and I got chastised by the doctor for it, because she and her other patients do *not* like to be kept waiting. She will from here on be known as Dr. Punctual (unless she does something to merit a different name). There wasn't a soul in the waiting room, and when I tried to call to let them know that I was on my way, but running a little behind, of course I couldn't get a real human to answer the phone. She either needs to give lessons to other doctors in punctuality, or pull the stick out of her ass. I'm so used to waiting for long periods of time in doctor's offices that I didn't think it would be a problem. So anyway, we did the interview/consult, and here is the tenative plan of action: I have to get Brad in to the doctor for a checkup on his diabetes, cholesterol, and blood pressure. He will also have to have a semen analysis, and he will have to quit smoking. Dr. Punctual wanted me to have a couple of labs drawn, to start with, and to make sure I am not pregnant already. Then I will start taking Provera to start my cycle, then 100mg of Clomid, since we already tried 50mg with Dr. Adonis. She will monitor me for a good response, and if the response is not satisfactory, I will immediately start Provera again, and move to 150mg of Clomid. If the response is good with either dosage, we get ovulation predictor kits, and make like rabbits. If the response is just mediocre, we consider higher dosages or extended dosing times. If there is no response, we move on to injectable stims. It sounds like a reasonable course of action, with acceptable expediency. Speed is definitely a factor, since I will be off during the summer, but when school starts again, it will be much harder to do all of this.
After we got through with the appointment, we went to St. David's for the lab work. We had to wander all over to get to the lab, but once we got to the lab, I was in and out within 10 minutes or less, and the service was exceptional and friendly.
Then went to the Social Security Administration, at 9th and San Jacinto. I was so proud of myself to have remembered where it was. We walked in the door, only to find out that the SSA moved about three years ago, and is no longer at 9th and San Jacinto. How annoying. It moved up near I-35 and St. John's. I will say one thing, the new building is a huge improvement from the old one. Gone are the two little service windows and wall fans to try to blow away the odor from the crush of humanity. Instead, there are 24 service booths (with chairs, even) to serve your needs. There is modern air conditioning, adequate seating, and color television, all topped off with a pleasant feeling of cleanliness. I still had to wait for 45 minutes, but that's better than 3-4 hours in the old location. I officially got my name changed (almost 2 months after the wedding), and I didn't have to argue with a single person. The man doing the change was even friendly.
After that we went to the building supply place that once was Calcasieu and got a quote for the materials to replace the fascia boards on the outside of the house before we paint. They were mostly knowledgeable, and completely friendly. The quote was for $600. Then we went to the bank and got a check for $600, with which to purchase said materials. The bank was efficient as well.
Then we went to DPS and I changed my name and address on my driver's license. I even got fast, friendly service there.
Last, we went to my bank and deposited some money in my account. Hopefully my employer will deposit some money in my account tomorrow, and then the government will deposit some more money in said account on Friday.
Overall, we had a whirlwind day, in which we accomplished much, received exceptional service from all parties involved, and nobody pissed me off. Talk about a success. About the only thing that would make it any better would be for the fertility clinic to call and say, "Stacy, all of that was for nothing. According to the lab, you're already knocked up. Go ahead and schedule an appointment with your regular OB/Gyn." Wouldn't that be nice? But knowing my luck, I'll just have to settle for the pint of Blue Bell in the freezer.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Every Journey Begins With A Single Step

I made the first major step toward figuring out this stupid infertility thing. I made the prerequisite 83.2 phone calls to the insurance company, fertility clinic, OB/Gyn, personnel office, and others. The lady at the insurance company was actually helpful and friendly, and told me that I did not need a referral, and provided me with plenty of additional information, because apparently she has done all of this herself. The lady at the fertility clinic was helpful once I got her to return my calls. The hours that the clinic answers the phone are really crappy, and I called a bajillion times trying to talk to a real human. Finally after leaving several messages in several different inboxes, I gave up, as it was Friday afternoon by that point. So I had to wait until the next week to get a return call from them. I finally was able to schedule a new patient consult. Then I had to call personnel to get the time off approved, and then call Brad to get him to put the day on the calendar at his work. Then I called the OB/Gyn's office, and learned that all of those results came back normal, and asked them to send those to the clinic. So, I will have my first appointment with the fertility doctor on May 14, 2008, at 10:00am. Now I just have to make approximately 93.6 phone calls to various other bureaucracies to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. Yay, what fun. One step at a time, I guess.

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