Sing This To The Tune Of "Fairytale In New York" (Pogues, Of Course)

I had an absolutely delightful weekend (give or take a few days) and I hope you did too.

If you couldn't tell, I have had the gloomy sense for weeks that everything in my life was going a little bit wrong (have I mentioned the law suit? the one reminiscent of Bleak House involving my honored parents? well, to sum: it sucks rancid chunder.) Then last week the skies opened up and Fate began to pelt me with oranges and candy so I am now singing about the house again. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you (besides posting my sauce recipe, I will do that.) I'd like to spread some of this contentment around before Nemesis spies me scraping joy off my boots and decides to smite me some more. 

It was SO NICE to just have Christmas by ourselves this year (that song has been in my head nonstop for a week. Do you remember it? The chorus goes: "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Christmas by myself this year! Merry Christmas!" Steve and I have been changing the words to that one for days. It's been like a beggars' opera around here with normal conversation being sung to the tune of holiday songs: "Do You Know It's Dinner time? Feed the b-o-o-y! Let him have some broc-co-li!" Ahem. Yeah. We are a fun couple, it's true.)

Yet again a parenthetical thought eats my paragraph whole. As I was saying, although I like spending time with both sides of our family, it was delicious to have Christmas exactly the way we wanted with no preferences to consult but our own. This involved a three day screening of the entire extended Lord of the Rings after Patrick went to bed every night (Steve liked the battles and I liked the part when the beacons are lit and after that I kept urging Frodo to stop twitching and just die already. You know who the hero of the trilogy was? Samwise Gamgee, that's who. Go on, argue with me about it, I dare you.) And we ate good things and Steve surprised me with lovely presents and Patrick got a remote-controlled train set that he is in love with and we all laughed and laughed. So... delightful.

And that's not all.

* The insurance company called last week to say they will cover Steve's FISH test from September. The FISH test is an analysis to determine what proportion of Steve's manliness is genetically mutoid and we paid $1400 for it out-of-pocket. To say that we are pleased to hear that our insurance company is picking up the tab is an understatement. And if you are wondering if your insurance company might pay for it for you, should such a thing be relevant, I will note that our insurance covers fertility testing and does not specifically exclude FISH (unlike everything related to IVF, which it has listed in our contract under Services Ha HA, You WISH.) So I ran with that and lo! we are being reimbursed.

* The airline found our bag in Spokane, Washington and rushed it back to Minneapolis on Christmas Eve morning. Then it sat there, unattended next to the baggage carousel, for thirty hours until Steve and Patrick and I did the traditional Christmas morning drive to the airport to liberate our lost luggage. I was APPALLED. I know that some airlines had unforeseen staffing issues this weekend but it still seems inexcusable to me that literally hundreds of bags were just sitting on the floor of baggage claim for days. If you happen to be waiting for someone to deliver your luggage to you right now please accept this gentle tip: NO ONE is bringing your bag. GO GET IT.

* Steve had a surprise semen analysis done at S Grove last Monday, which in itself was enough to cheer me up well into 2005. You should have seen his face when the good doctor asked when Steve's last analysis was done and I told him it had never been done and the M.D. said, "We should do that now then." Heh heh. Steve turned pale and then purple and then pale again. When he returned to the lobby looking grim I cheerfully shouted out, "Did you remember to wash your hands?" and raced for the safety of the elevator before he could murder me.

Just so you know, he DESERVED a bit of humiliation. I sat him down before we went to DC and read him the drug protocol and injection booklet. I spoke eloquently and well of the shots I would get in the morning and then the shots I would get in the evening. I read to him of Estrace and HCG and the birth control pills that even as I type this are making me quietly nauseous. Then I got to the part where it said: "Both partners will start doxycycline..." and he said "WHOA! WHAT?! You think *I* am going to take something? No way!"   

!

I ask you.

Anyway, the semen results came back today and I do not have the specifics but she said they were beautifully normal. This means we can forego the expense of ICSI as it does not statistically increase the IVF fertilization rate in the absence of a male factor. If you see what I mean. We also got my new Day 3 numbers today. As you doubtless recall, the last time I did Day 3 testing I still had hcg in my system and the FSH came back a little high. This time e2 was 21 and FSH was 5, so things are good. Yay.

There was something else but I cannot remember it right now. Besides my thumb is killing me and I need to stop typing. I had read that acupuncture increases IVF success rates so, being a good little internet sheep, I started acupuncture three weeks ago. And despite the fact that I found the needles sting-ish and unpleasant I have gone back every week since then. Then I noticed my thumb was sort of sore for no apparent reason. So I mentioned it and she stuck some extra needles in around the digit in question and by the time that session was over my thumb had swollen to three times its normal size. Then the curve from the thumb tip to my pointer finger turned blue and black in one of the most spectacular bruises I have ever encountered. It looked like my hand had been run over by a piano.

So call me superstitious but  I am not going back to this particular acupuncturist. Although the ways of the East are veiled to me, I maintain this could not possibly be right. I don't care how unbalanced my Qi is, I should not start bleeding internally with treatment.

Oh, and a question, if you please: if you did acupuncture with IVF, how long before the cycle did you start? Because I need to find a new person and, tick tick, I start Lupron in less than two weeks.

More later. Happy week to you.

PS Bec with Ethan, email me please.

Comments

[tracy]

(1) I think that song is The Waitresses (?) Christmas Wrapping (or is it Rapping?)

(2) No argument here. Sam is The Hero. But Aragorn is The Hunk, and Legolas is The Gorgeous Blond, and Frodo is The Eyes. Poor Sam gets lost in all that glorious manhood.

(3) For some reason, I just love the idea of a surprise SA. LOL at the "wash your hands" comment. :-)

[Summer]

Christmas by yourself! Egads! It sounds lovely. I am so tired from our Christmas Marathoning that I feel like I'm still hungover from those six Kir Royales I drank on Christmas Eve.

Which train set did Patrick get? Dorian was given portions of the GeoTrax set for Christmas, and I'm still debating as to whether or not it'll be going back to Kohl's to become new jeans for Daddy. He's already got one of those old-fashioned wooden ones, and I'm thinking that Mama prefers the trains without batteries. But if the GeoTrax really is the shit for toddler boys, I might maybe possibly let him keep it.

Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, and all that. Here's hoping the good times last.

[Lori]

Tracy almost got the name of the song -- it's Christmas Rap

[Aussiegirl]

Hi, I'm delurking to say this; I had accupuncture once a week for 2 weeks and then also the day before transfer and the day after. Thats it. 6th IVF cycle and first time accupuncture; a BFP. pure JOY.
good luck with the cycle, the first cycle's a bitch.

[Sandy]

I've been enduring a marathon Lord of the Rings trilogy event here, completed by three little boys and my one big boy. I love Sam and get completely wigged out by the skinny bald big eyed one whose name I cannot spell. I'll be engaging in pay back tonight and making them all watch something less than manly with me. Haven't decided which one yet - Garfield or Nemo...hmmm. I'm no doctor, but I'm thinking the decision to not let that person stick more needles in your honking big thumb is a good one! Enjoy your solitude....no fussing is always good during the holiday season.

[Toni]

Started accupuncture about a week prior to lupron. A couple prior to transfer, 1 before transfer, 1 right after transfer, 1 shortly after (couple of days) and one while I was waiting for beta #2... yep...got the BFP too. :)

[Danae]

I'm loving all this good news, Julia. Insurance actually paying for something - wow! Luggage found just in the nick of time - yay! Kickin' sperm and fantastic day threes - fabulous!

Yeah, I'd say your Qi is already quite balanced.
Wishing you continued happy stuff, my dear.

[dana]

you should start acu soon - at least a week or two before stims -

my dh took about 1/3 of the antibiotics and only when I got it out of the bottle and put the pill by his plate, it was like I wanted a kidney or something, seriously WTF is up with that?

[Annie]

I did accupuncture for about a month before and did a treatment on the morning of the transfer and that was it. BFP for me, too. I wasn't really digging the treatment either, but no blue thumbs for me. Might as well, I mean if it helps, WTFN? Glad you had a great xmas.

[Day]

Acupuncture: the more the better. I never got a BFP when I wasn't doing acupuncture. For both my IVFs I had the acupuncturist come to my home to do a treatment right after the transfer - and I got BFPs with both of those.
I figured if I had to go through the rigors of IVF, I was going to make sure I maximize my chances. I think it had a lot to do with my success.

[Missy]

A lady I work with did acupuncture for 2 months before she was going to start her IVF and lo and behold 6 weeks in she got preggers and is due in March.

Glad you had a family free Christmas!

[e]

We had a LoTR marathon here yeseterday....8:30am-8:30pm. I missed most of it be post holiday shopping and cleaning. But I did see a few hours on the 80x60" white table cloth Tim set up with a projector in the basement (did I mention he is a geek? he is.) And yes, Sam rocks, and Legolas....I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers, and normally I don't like blondes. with pointy ears.

[AyEnDeeAreEeAyAitch]

Did you know that I live in Spokane? Well I do and don't ask me what I was doing to your bags...You will find out eventually.... because they weren't really at the airport and the airlines didn't really lose them... ahem, heh, heh. Am I creeping you out yet?

But, now I am curious about this lawsuit.

I don't dig on the acupuncture I think it's all a bunch of hoo-ha. Just like the "I see dead people" people. But everything else sounds like you had a grand old time!

Wheee!

[laura]

A Christmas by yourselves - sounds wonderful! Glad you had such a great time together. :)

As far as acupuncture goes - this is my understanding (as limited as it might be). There was one study conducted in Europe recently (in the last 2 years I think) in which they followed women undergoing IVF. They used the same protocol on all of the women who were part of the experimental group - the results showed a significant advantage to using this particular acupuncture protocol during IVF. The study has not been replicated (yet) and was done with a fairly small group of participants but it caused quite a commotion in the medical field when it was published. There are acupuncturists who specialize in fertility scattered all over the country who will be familiar with the protocol. The trick is to find one who knows about the study and could replicate the placement of the needles, etc. for you.

I underwent my first IVF cycle in August of last year in Seattle, WA. The University of Washington is replicating the study in Europe to try to confirm the results of the first group. I hooked up with one of the acupuncturists who is part of the study and had my treatments with her. She was located about 10 minutes from the hospital where I had my treatments. Lo and behold - I got a positive result my first time out.

As far as what the protocol is - basically you go in for a session 1 hour before your embryo transfer and then you go back for a session immediately after your transfer. Both sessions took about 35 minutes - so I was done with the whole thing in one morning. It was fairly simple to do.

I also believe - from personal experience - that acupuncture treatments in general can help with fertility. Before I started my IVF cycle, I was seeing a local acupuncturist who specialized in women's issues to help me with stress and relaxation primarily. I did not use her during my IVF cycle, but she really helped take the edge of for me during the months leading up to it.

If you are interested, feel free to email me and I'll give you the name of the acupuncturist in Seattle that I used who is part of the study. She may be able to help you locate someone in your area.

Good luck with everything and take care - I am pulling for you. :)

[Monica C.]

"This means we can forego the expense of ICSI as it does not statistically increase the IVF fertilization rate in the absence of a male factor. If you see what I mean."

You are so hilarious. This reminds me of the skit that was repeatedly performed by one of the Wayans brothers on the show, "In Living Color," where they would show this guy in jail who had become uber-educated while in the pen, and he'd be like, "The oppression of the dominus attribus is evident in the cunnilingus of the referendum, which is always set aside by the white man's agenda. You dig?"

[Tertia]

Acupuncture on my positive cycles as well. twice a week, starting a month before stims. then 30 mins before and after transfer as per the german study.

never had needles in my thumb.

and v v funny chirp re wash your hands, excellent. loved that.

[Moxie]

I think if you go to the UrbanBaby message board for DC you could get recs for a good fertility acupuncturist there who could do you before and after transfer. You have to sift through a ton of bullshit on UrbanBaby, but you can get good recs for stuff like that. I'm guessing DC's board isn't quite as active as NYC's but it's probably close.

Can they give Steve the doxycyclene as an injection? 'Cause that would be fun.

[MollyD]

Delurking to say I had acu before my last FET. It started weekly approx 3 weeks before, then the day before transfer, and later the same day of transfer, then a couple of sessions, (3 maybe.. ) after. I was v. hopeful..
Well, it was a BFN for me, am about to start next stim cycle later this month but will not be doing the acu... money and time to get there being the reasons..
good luck