Latest Update

We have decided not to do a 4th round of IUI.  I would have had the scan this past Monday with intrauterine insemination on Wednesday, but we have weighed the pros and cons and decided against it.  Our RE said that she has seen many successful pregnancies happen with the 4th round, but there were just too many cons to consider.  My thought process was that I did not want to be pregnant in Ghana in case I -

• have severe nausea
• have an ectopic
• have a SAB (spontaneous abortion/miscarriage)
• need a D&C

I also was concerned because I will have to take anti-malarial tablets and of the 3 kinds that are recommended for Ghana - Malarone, Mefloquine or Doxycycline - none are safe during the 1st trimester.  I definitely do not want to contract malaria whilst I am there, but I also do not want to cause undue harm to my unborn child.  Which, I guess in theory, could happen with not taking anti-malarials and contracting malaria AND with taking anti-malarials.  According to the WHO, pregnant women are more vulnerable to malaria as pregnancy reduces the immunity to malaria (an immunity of which I have none of) and increases ones attractiveness to mosquitos due to hormones and pheromones.  Contracting malaria in pregnancy increases risk of illness, severe anaemia and death.  Maternal malaria also increases the risk of a SAB, stillbirth, premature delivery and low birth weight, which is the leading cause of infant mortality in Ghana.

All these thoughts culminated in us skipping our last round of IUI.  

We met with our RE this past week, and told her our decision.  We discussed doing a 4th round when I return from Ghana, but we are already booked for an IVF start date of 27 October, so there was not a way to squeeze in both the IUI and IVF start in October, especially with having to take anti-malarials for 2 weeks post-return.

So, we now are set for the following schedule, some of which has been completed:

1. Husband do pre-IVF infectious disease blood work 
2. Re-apply for Springstone IVF financing at end of August
3. Leave for Ghana beginning of September
4. Husband donate sperm for freezing on 2-3 separate occasions during September
5. Return from Ghana early October
6. IVF counseling 3 October
7. Husband leave for 6 months
8. Begin IVF cycle 27 October

I know there are many more steps between 3 October and 27 October, but I do not know what they are yet.  We will find out on the 3rd!  I know I do need to let Attain know that we are beginning our treatment on the 27th.  They are providing us four rounds - 2 fresh and 2 frozen - for $16,000 USD.  I also need to work out our financing.  Our clinic wants the money up front, so we are going to go through an IVF financing company called Springstone.  We applied earlier with them and were approved for the IVF amount with monthly payments of $300 for 60 months, $335.97 for 48 months, $412.44 for 36 months or $573.50 for 24 months.  It IS quite expensive, like a monthly car payment (which thank goodness, we do not have), but we are going to have to use the financing route as we do not have $16,000 in cash to pay up front by October.  Unfortunately, our application was only good for only 60 days, so we will now have to re-apply.  I hope we are able to secure as good of a rate and financing for the whole amount when we reapply at the end of this month.  

It's nerve-wracking thinking about all that needs to be done and the possibility of not having a successful outcome whilst being out $16,000.  I am trying to be positive, of course, but the fear is still there.  I had a dear friend who just went through her 4th failed IVF attempt.  It is heart breaking.  I am truly hoping and praying for success on the first go-round.  I'd like to get our money's worth, but really, I'd much prefer early success.

Ghana bound

I have decided to do an elective in Ghana via Work the World in September when I am on my 3 week break between summer and fall terms. There I will be working in a hospital in Takoradi - a 4 hour drive west of Accra along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. The experiences other midwives and students have had sound phenomenal. I am quite excited to go, albeit a bit nervous as I have never been to Africa and do not know what to expect of the country or the healthcare. I imagine it will be quite shocking at first and not at all what we are use to in our Western industrialised nations.

To enter Ghana I had to have a pre-travel appointment with the travel clinic and found I needed both Typhoid (only good for 5 years and my last was in 1991) and Yellow Fever, which certification of receipt is required to enter Ghana. Upon receiving the news that I was not pregnant (again) I quickly secured my vaccinations since you cannot take either whilst pregnant due to the live viruses they contain.

This now delays my next IUI since I need to wait a month before trying to conceive after taking these vaccinations. I was a bit skeptical about trying another round of IUI in May though, as both Malaria meds are pregnancy C category and if pregnant, I cannot take Doxycycline at all. I also read that mosquitos are more attracted to pregnant women (hence why many pregnant women in Ghana also have malaria), so I am a bit leery about that. I am following up with my physician to ensure it will be okay to be pregnant and go to Ghana. I definitely do not want to work so hard to get pregnant to then put my baby or myself at risk of being infected with a disease.

I have asked for a consultation with my physician, but it seems that all appointments are booked up for consults until May. That is a bit disappointing. I am hoping to get in before we do our next round as I would like to discuss our short term and long term options. Obviously I know we can do another 2 rounds of IUI, but there are further issues to contemplate. I will be gone to Ghana for 3 weeks in September, and sometime around September my husband will also be leaving on business for 4+ months. We hope to inquire about sperm freezing as well as speak about our options with IVF to include how it would work if my husband is gone, financing, risks, etc. I never thought I would consider IVF, but it looks like we are heading that way. I just do not know how it will work with me being out of country most of September and my husband leaving the same month. Possibly we have to do egg retrieval and insemination before he leaves with implantation after I return? These are the questions I would like to learn answers to.

I will be 39 this November. I feel like my time is running out. I want to be pregnant before I turn 40 as success rates after 40 drastically decrease while risks of Down's Syndrome and other age related issues increase.

Gosh. Hoping for a miracle!