So it Begins

Jenni says:

Today we had our first appointment with the doctor! As always, it was a bit of a crazy ride getting there, but we were lucky to have our aunt Karla drive us there. She navigates the roads perfectly fine and didn't seem phased at all by all the honking and giant busses trying to squish into the same lane as us.

The building where the clinic is was very nice. To get access to the elevators, you had to sign in at the front desk to get a swipe card, and there was security visible at the entrances as well. We went up the elevator and found the clinic easily on the second floor. The clinic itself was also very nice and clean. The receptionists greeted us quickly, and had us fill out some forms. It was nice to see other patients waiting, as there had been some (probably well intentioned, but misguided) concerns raised by the family of what if they were just trying to rip us off, and didn't actually intend on helping us with pregnancy? I thought of a very old Law & Order episode with a sketchy fertility clinic...but this clinic was full of other patients, and we even saw a couple gushing over an ultrasound, and we overheard they had been to other clinics before finding success here. It put the mind at ease--it definitely didn't look like a clinic that was looking to scam some Canadian medical tourists. (Whew).

We got into the office pretty quickly, and had a weigh in for us both, with some hip and stomach measurements (unsure of why, but sure why not), as well as took our blood pressure. Karla came with us, and wanted to take pictures while we had the blood pressure sleeve on. Cute, but not getting posted here.

We met with the Doctor, Dr. Salguero, and I was pleased that he was willing to speak to us in English. I feel a little better about listening and understanding Spanish (except I never know if someone is asking a question or giving me a statement as it takes me so long to catch up to what I'm hearing), but I was happy to have him speak in English. He explained a lot that we already knew from our research, about the pros & cons of taking fertility medications vs. having a spontaneous cycle. Because my body decided that the earlier the better, I am already on day 9, so no medications for me. I'm fine with that, as I wanted to try once as a dry run anyway. Anai on the other hand is on day 3, so we decided that she should try the medications. They had previously mentioned Femara, but our health insurance at home won't cover that particular medication for fertility use, whereas Clomid is covered--even if we get it out of the country. So Anai got a prescription for it, and starts her round of 5 pills, 50mg each day for the next 5 days.

Next, we went for an ultrasound to see how everything was going. No one likes being in a backless dress, but Karla used the moment to take another picture, this time a picture of "I'm on a table about the get wanded." Also, not getting posted here, hah. My uterus was in great shape, and my follicles were of a good size, the dominant one being 11mm. The doctor said that 17mm is ideal size, and that they grow about 2mm per day, so if I ovulate on day 15/16 that puts me Friday/Saturday/Sunday. I have my appointment on Friday, and will be peeing on a stick hoping to get an LH surge. As a side note, we should have purchased our ovulation prediction sticks in Canada, as we had to pay $30 for 3 sticks, whereas in Canada we could get a pack of 10 for $40. Public documentation of "I told you so" to Anai! We're going to check Walmart here to see if we can get them cheaper.

Anai was also doing well, and will start her meds right away and her appointment is on next Monday. Dr. Salguero was very clear with what he was saying, when to start things, when to come in. He gave us his cell phone number and told us to call if I get an LH surge before the appointment on Friday. Next, he told us that we could pick up the donor profiles and choose one of them either here at the clinic or take the profiles home and just call in with which one we wanted. We paid for our appointment(s) which was 1,080Q, $180 Canadian dollars, which included the $30 ripoff for the LH surge predictor sticks.

I felt comfortable at the clinic--except for the backless dress and circumstances of course--but everyone was friendly and it seemed very professional. I was very thankful that Karla came with us, not only for moral support but also for the assertion that it all wasn't just a rip off, or some weird scam. She said the doctor seemed very nice as well. They didn't bat an eye that Anai and I were together, that we wanted to use the same donor, that we were both getting pregnant at the same time. Overall, it all feels a lot more real. I'm excited, and I hope that even if this is a "dry run" of one good try, for me, and an all out go for Anai, that it goes well and that there is minimal time in the backless dress, even if it was 29 degrees with 100% humidity today.