The (contraception) pill (13th May 2010)

Today I took the last pill from the 1st pack of contraception pills.

 Start the 2nd pack of (contraception) pills tomorrrow and I will take the last pill on Monday.

The Last Planning Appointment (13th May 2010)

Today we had our last planning meeting with our fertility nurse at Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine.
I was given my first medication schedule which is a time table explaining which drugs o take on which days and for the next two weeks at least its quite simple just a single injection a day.

Also at this visit the fertility nurse gave us a practical demo of how to use the puregon pen which is a semi automatic injection system and also a demo of how to use the standard needle and fluid bottle method which is used for Buserelin.

Then we booked our 2 scan dates.   

The Letter that came on 28th April 2010

Yippee today we received a letter from the Sister at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine saying "An appointment for your last planning meeting with Becky (our fertility nurse) has been made for Thursday 13th of may 2010 at 1pm, please bring with you your Buserelin injection"

The letter also said a pre-op assessment appointment has been made for you and Dave for Tuesday 25th May 2010 at 2:30 and 3pm.

This represents a big step really as it kind of finalizes a lot of planning and now we actually have an idea all be it a vague idea of when we are likely to conceive, staying optimistic of course of a positive outcome.

The Drugs Begin (23rd April 2010)

Day 2 of my monthly cycle 23rd April 2010.

I start taking the pill today.

nothing much else to report .......... for now!

First Day of my Monthly Cycle and Hopefully the last till next year (22nd April 2010)

Day 1 of my monthly cycle 22nd April 2010.

I phoned Becky my fertility nurse to let her know that I had started my period.

Becky said to start taking the pill on day 2 of my monthly cycle (tomorrow), The pill was delivered in the parcel with my fertility drugs.

Becky also told me to book off from work the week beginning the 14th of June 2010 because that is the week that I will be having my Egg collection, Dave will be having his TESA (sperm collection) and then a couple of days later implantation.

Becky said I will stop taking the pill around 17th May 2010 and thats when I will start injecting the fertility drugs.

The Delivery of my Fertility Drugs (16th April 2010)

Delivery of the fertility drugs is taken care of by a courier just like any other mail order parcel, however the packaging is polystyrene as some of the contents are refrigerated and must by transfered straight to the fridge after delivery, now is a good time to check off the contents of the parcel against ones prescription.

Everything you need for your fertility drug regime comes in this parcel.

Ordering the Fertility Prescription (14th March 2010)

I emailed my Fertility prescription to Calea, who deliver my fertility drugs straight to my door.

When they receive your prescription they phone you back to confirm your delivery address, date of delivery and time of delivery (as someone needs to be in to sign for your delivery).

After emailing my prescription to Calea you need to send the original prescription to them in the post (a legal requirement).

Group Planning Session (13th April 2010)

13:30 pm, Group Planning Session 13th April 2010.

This appointment was held by Becky our fertility nurse (lovely gal).

We were accompanied by 4 other couples.

Becky did a presentation on the whole treatment step by step from beginning to end.

We found this presentation very helpful by filling in the blanks. the atmosphere was informal which made every one relaxed and feel easier about what we all have ahead, it also proved to be an opportunity for the clinic to fill in any blanks they have like missing blood results etc.

Anyone needing to update their blood tests and MRSA tests were called back in individually for that purpose and every one was issued with their prescriptions and asked about how they felt with what was to come.

Our next Appointment (25th March 2010)

Our next appointment at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine was with Sister Lorraine at 13:30.

Sister Lorraine just spoke to us about the ICSI procedure making sure we both knew the more complex details including possibility of multiple births and complications that may occur due to choices we make regarding our treatment.

I think the idea is to make sure you understand the moral implications and make informed choices about your own treatment before you commit to such things as how many embryos to implant and weather to freeze any for future use.

This meeting was fairly intense and gave much food for thought and provided us with plenty of discussions over the following couple of days.

The repeated blood tests (22nd March 2010)

My blood tests were repeated on the 22nd March 2010 at 11:10am, Daves were repeated on the 23rd March 2010 at )8:10am. at our General Practitioners.

We had to repeat the hormone tests between day 1 and day 5 of my monthly cycle, day 21 of my monthly cycle, then we both had to have tests for HIV, HEP C and HEP B.

The nurse also signed our passport photos aswell..... bonus!

More paperwork (13th March 2010)

Today we received our IVF information pack in the post, with lots more forms to fill out.

We were told we had to repeat all our blood tests because the last results were now a year old, we also had to have passport photos done of each of us as photo id, which had to be signed by someone in a higher profession.

The paper work (6th March 2010)

Next was all the paperwork to sort out and sign. The most important was to fill out the application for funding our treatment on the NHS.

The follow up Appointment (9th February 2010)

Dave had is follow up appointment on the 9th February 2010 at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine with Miss Dalton our Fertility Consultant at 09:50am.

Miss Dalton said she was pleased with the findings of Dave's trial TESA, as motile sperm was found immediately upon extraction, which indicates that there should be no problem when the procedure is repeated for actual fertilization.

The Trial TESA 21st January 2010

On the morning of the 21st January 2010 we got up really early because neither of us could sleep and Dave could only have black coffee to drink 2 hours before his operation, also the medication Dave had to take as a pre-med called voltarol was in the form of a suppository! He looked forward to that!!

Dave and myself arrived at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Exeter at 08:15am, we were shown on to the ward and to Dave's bed (by the window, not much of a view though).

Once familiar with our surroundings we both had to change into hospital attire, Dave because he was going into theatre and myself as I was going to accompany him.

We had to wait about 2 hours in our cubical before our theatre slot at 10:15am, Once in theatre the procedure only tool about 20 - 30 mins and the staff nurses who attended were all very friendly and helped to reassure Dave during the process.

10:45am out of threatre and back in cubicle, we now had a wait ahead as you have to wait for the local anesthetic to wear off and demonstrate to the nurses that you are again able to past water.

They offer you tea, Coffee and toast if you want it.

Before you leave the embryologist comes for a chat and explains the findings of the procedure, which in our case was a healthy result.

12:30pm other than slight bruising and being a little sore all is back to normal and we leave the hospital and head off home. All in all good result today :-)

Dave's Pre Op for Trial TESA (29th December 2009)

Dave's 2nd pre-op appointment with the recovery/theatre/pre-assessment sister at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine at 09:30am.

At this appointment the sister talks to you about the procedure, what will happen in the theatre and after your operation.

She asks you loads of question ie Have you had a operation before, what are you allergic to etc etc and she weighs you and tests you for MRSA.

The tests for MRSA is just two swabs one just up your nose and the other is at the back of your throat.

Dave's Pre Op for Trial TESA (22nd December 2009)

Dave had an appointment with the recovery/theatre/ pre-assessment sister at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine at 13:30 but the Sister was off sick and no one thought to phone us to let us know so the appointment was reschedule.

The out come of being on Testosterone Patches (6th October 2009))

Our 3rd Appointment With Miss Dalton at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine.

Its another bad day today, Miss Dalton told us that the testosterone patches are not working at all and that Dave's motile sperm count is unchanged by the patches.

The next step is more invasive, what is suggested is to book a trial TESA which evolves a small surgical procedure where a needle is used to retrieve sperm directly from the tubules inside the testes.

The test after being on Testosterone Patches for 3 months (7th September 2009)

On the 7th September 2009 Dave had to do yet another sperm sample and take to the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine to see if being on testosterone patches for 3 months had made any difference to Dave's sperm count.

The results of Dave's 2nd blood tests (2nd June 2009)

Dave booked his repeat blood tests for 12th May 2009.

On the 2nd of June 2009 we received a letter from Miss Dalton that said Daves blood tests results were the same as previously, so with that fact established Miss Dalton has sent Dave's General Practitioner a letter requesting him to write a prescription for Testosterone patches.

The initial period for these patches to be prescribed will be 3 months at which point more blood tests will be arranged to see if they have the desired effect.

Dave started these patches on 3rd June 2009.

the 2nd Appointment at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine (5th May 2009)

We had our 2nd appointment with Miss Dalton our fertility Consultant at the Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine at 12:10pm.

Miss Dalton had bad news and good news to give us this time, lets start with the good news..........

My mid cycle scan was lovely and healthy, everything is perfectly in order which means I defiantly have no fertility issues what so ever.

The bad news was ...................... Dave's blood tests results show that Dave's testosterone levels are low, Dave needs to repeat the blood tests and if the results are the same again then Dave will need to be prescribed testosterone patches which are just like the stick on patches people use to give up smoking, but they contain testosterone instead of nicotine.