Testing Testing 1 2 3

Overload of information at our appointment! Long and short? Public health care sucks. Or our previous clinic did... take your pick! Basically he confirmed that we really knew nothing about our care... and not only that, but he really had to read through the lines at the information included in our file. 

Case and point, it stated poor ovarian reserve, but then contradicted itself saying poor outcome regardless of good ovarian response. 

Anyways, we were super happy with our new doctor. He seems extremely knowledgeable, and compassionate towards our situation. He seems determined to find what the problem is, and isn't just masking it with "unexplained" and let's throw some IVF at it. That's not to say he doesn't think IVF is the best route for us, in fact the opposite, but he's just saying that he wants to treat us as precisely and thoughtfully as possible. Exactly what we wanted to hear.

So step one is a lot... I repeat A LOT of testing. On the day of our appointment I got some bloodwork drawn, we checked my lining thickness, and took a look at my ovarian reserve (which was indeed low). We also found a cyst which wasn't super surprising. 

Step two is for me to get a  ____ test, and the husband to see a urologist to find out if he has varicocele. 

Then, on a cycle that the timing works, I'll get a uterine biopsy done. Since I have an odd shaped path to the uterus he's going to sedate me so I'll sleep for the procedure. While there, he'll also do an SHG, and a trial run with the catheter to know what to do on transfer day. This is necessary because we've had difficult transfers in the past, possibly contributing to our negative outcomes.

Then I might get tested for Killer attack cells, and then hubby and I will get tested for DQ Alpha match to see if our genes are compatible. If I have killer attack cells then I'll likely do intralipid treatments. These tests are paid out of pocket (and not cheap) and yet the intralipid therapy is covered under insurance. Makes no sense... so we're half tempted to ask if its worth simply going ahead with intralipids regardless if I need them. Though with all my immune issues, I'm pretty confident that I do!

Hubby can also get tested for his sperm DNA fragmentation. If there is high fragmentation then the doc will suggest doing PICSI on fertilization day. We're going to ask if we can skip the first test, and just do PICSI regardless since both are paid out of pocket. Seems silly to test for something just to confirm or deny that we need it... and if needing it pay more out of pocket. might as well just pay for doing it, right?!

Anyways. That's all the testing we're looking at right now. He says depending on what everything turns up, he'd like to maybe only put 1 back in. Of course immediately I'm hesitant since our last two rounds of IVF we transferred 2 embryos each time with negative outcomes. He says he'll agree to 2 if I'm adamant. I was... but now I'm not so sure... I really believe in him, and trust him, and would rather not have to deal with the complications that can arise with twins, so feel inclined to just do 1 if we really think it'll work. 

I dunno.. brain is exploding with all the info.