Questions and Answers (plus some fun stuff)

My temps never lie; CD2 today. I cried myself to sleep last night, with my hubby's arm around my waist as he tried to console me and reassure me that I am not a failure. So why do I think otherwise?

Thank you for all your comments and questions. I'll try to answer some of them here.

Dramalish: The RE uses the full vial of donor sperm, but he uses half on the day of the HCG trigger and the other half 24 hours later. Believe me, it isn't wasted. Though I've often wondered about the timing of that; although he usually has good success with that protocol. Just... not with me so far. Money is an issue, seeing as very little (other than the drugs) is covered in Canada so I want to discuss the timing of the IUI with him, along with other options and issues.

Aurelia: Why doesn't the RE do betas on 13 or 14DPO? Well, at that point, it's a bit of a waste; it won't change anything. He does a beta if you get a positive HPT; otherwise, wait til CD1 and call again for another appointment. I mean, a beta on that date won't change the outcome so I don't run for one. When and if I see a positive HPT (if my AF is ever 3 days late, I might bother to check but I've got a clockwork system going here) then I'll go see about a beta. As for why he doesn't keep me on progesterone longer? Good question. He has told me repeatedly that if a pregnancy occurs, the body will make its own progesterone (yeah, right, that doesn't happen for all of us does it?!) and that I wouldn't need progesterone past 13 or 14 DPO. This is one of the things I need to question him about, as obviously many women take progesterone well into their first or early into their second trimesters because they NEED it. I'm not sure he agrees with this. So I'm wary on that point.

Other things to consider: My levels of DHEA Sulfate are a bit low for my age and that combined with semi-high prolactin levels may be a huge issue. I want to discuss this with him. Also, the possibility of hypothyroidism; tests are "normal" but other symptoms make me think otherwise and I'm not satisfied with the answers I've heard. He's also never screened me for any particular antibodies that I know many IF women have issues with, and it's time to do that too and not just assume that everything is normal. I have an appointment with my GP on Thursday this week to show her my bloodwork results and discuss some of these issues with her as well. Additionally, I've contacted my RE's office to say that I want a consult with him (not just a morning appointment for a dildo cam wanding) to chat about these things. We may have to sit out a month while we wait for that appointment.

I am not surprised that hubby and I are having trouble. I don't come from a very fertile family at all. My parents were married for five long years before I arrived on the scene, and that was after three years of actually TRYING (i.e., no birth control and appropriate timing). On my father's side, my grandparents only had one child (my dad) and that was after seven years of marriage; quite long in the 1930s and 40s. On my mother's side... my grandparents had five children (or possibly six, but one died early), and of those five children, there are only six grandchildren. Two of my aunts never had children at all. One aunt had a single son after many years of marriage. My mom had two (me and my sis) and my uncle and his wife had three children, only one of whom has had a child herself. I have a total of four cousins. That's it. So for me to have trouble having a child is not abnormal. But given that we have to work with donor sperm, it is d*mned expensive and we have very little shot at the prize. I'm thinking I need to look at saving and/or a line of credit for IVF if that is a possibility for us.
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On to the fun stuff. Thanks to Kate over at Kicking You from the Inside, here's a little game to distract your attention.

Go to google and type in "*your name here* needs". For instance, I would type "Gil needs" including the quotation marks. Then write down the first 10 entries that appear. This is one I haven't seen before, so here we go!

Gil needs:
1. Gil needs to get used to what the physical demands of her job as a prostitute will entail. (OMG... you're kidding right?!)
2. Gil needs Brodick's help to locate her sister. (Who the heck is Brodick??)
3. Gil needs bringing down a peg or two. (I do? *blink*)
4. Gil needs sleep. (I'd agree with this one. Yup.)
5. Gil needs to use her myspace and/or empty her vmail inbox NOW. (Um... no? Kthxla!)
6. Gil needs a tutu! (Oh no she doesn't. Really. That would NOT be appropriate!)
7. Gil needs nothing. (Well, I can think of at least one thing...)
8. Gil needs to be in a calm and peaceful environment where she and her baby can eat and rest. (Ugh, this had to come up right? Meh.)
9. Gil needs to stay, no matter what. (Where exactly?)
10. Gil needs to do something about it! (Huh? Colour me stupid, but about what?)

For Tuesday's Commentathon: 10 comments plus 2 return comments = 14 points total