I called the RI's office today to set up an appointment with the Dr to go over my plan. I have to pay 3 months at a time. I explained that I was purchasing another 3 months and what I usually pay for it. Then she put me on hold for 10 minutes. Then she comes back and tells me that she will need to call me back. HMMMM So 30 min later the office manager calls me back to tell me about a fee increase. While I can understand a small increase bc prices are going up everywhere, his cost for talking to me on the phone and ordering lab tests has not gone up. So I thought maybe an extra hundred. I almost passed out when she tells me that I will now have to pay DOUBLE............WHAT???? Then she tries to make me feel better bc since I am an established patient I ONLY have to pay double bc new patients will have to pay triple........Of course they decide to tell me at the start of my cycle when I have no choice.
Now I do not know what to do. This is outrageous. Since I pay out of pocket, there is nothing I can do about it. I put the word out on the yahoo immunology board to alert his patients and to see what others have to say about it.
He said that he was going to do basically the same protocol this month. I still have 2 more refills on the neupogen so I could just take it myself without needing him. I do not even know if the neupogen had any effect. I am getting more immune tests done this week and it will take two weeks to get the results back. I was thinking about sitting this one out and waiting until I get the results and go from there.
I am looking into different immune drs, but there are not too many out there. I have heard that most are overbooked and they charge about the same. Now that he doubled his price maybe they will be cheaper? I do not want to have to pay the new consult fee again bc this last one was very expensive. I have already invested a lot of money into Dr JB
My DH wants me to send him an email. I am so mad right now that I have to cool down before I do that. Plus I am not even sure what I want to do yet.
Does anyone have a good immune dr that has reasonable fees and will not charge a huge new patient fee if you transfer?
UGHH maybe this is a sign that I should quit?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Test Day May 2011
Today was test day. I thought about POAS today but I did not give in. My results came back in online. I checked my progesterone first. It rose to 17 so I got excited. It does not usually rise. Then I checked the HCG. At first I got excited because I saw a 7, but then I realized it was .7. This is the first time ever that it did not say <.5 so I thought maybe there was a chance. Then I searched the internet and learned that less than 5 is a BFN so less than 1 is definitely a BFN. It seems that it is normal for your body to have a small amount of HCG sometimes.
This was my first month taking neupogen so I knew logically that I should not expect it to happen right away, but my heart got excited that this could finally be the magic potion. It is hard when you spend an entire month stabbing yourself in the gut every night for the whole cycle and get nothing in return.
I am waiting to hear back from the Dr about next month's plan. This Dr locks you in for 3 months, so if I decide to continue I will try for at least 3 more months. I am assuming that he will order repeat immune tests. I am hoping that at least the neupogen made my levels move in the right direction, becuase then at least I can feel that I am still moving forward.
I am getting tired of this and I do not know how much longer I can keep trying. My DH was sweet. He reminded me that at least my LUFS seems to be under control.
This was my first month taking neupogen so I knew logically that I should not expect it to happen right away, but my heart got excited that this could finally be the magic potion. It is hard when you spend an entire month stabbing yourself in the gut every night for the whole cycle and get nothing in return.
I am waiting to hear back from the Dr about next month's plan. This Dr locks you in for 3 months, so if I decide to continue I will try for at least 3 more months. I am assuming that he will order repeat immune tests. I am hoping that at least the neupogen made my levels move in the right direction, becuase then at least I can feel that I am still moving forward.
I am getting tired of this and I do not know how much longer I can keep trying. My DH was sweet. He reminded me that at least my LUFS seems to be under control.
Napro Surgeon on the West Coast
Today I received an email from Dr. Stigen's husband who found my blog. Dr. Theresa Stigen, was a Fellow at Pope Paul VI Institute the same year as Dr. Kyle Beiter and he said they are good friends. The couple moved to Fallbrook, CA, to open up Mystical Rose Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Stigen is a Medical and Surgical NaPro Technology Consultant. She has NaPro patients from all over the West Coast, even Alaska and Hawaii!
I am so honored that he contacted me. I added their information to my Drs Page. My mission in creating this blog last year was to spread the word that Napro exists. Now there is a bridge from the west coast to the east coast.
Mystical Rose Obstetrics and Gynecology
Theresa Stigen MD (napro trained surgeon)
521 East Elder Street Suite 206
Fallbrook, CA 92028
Phone 760-983-4024
Fax 760-723-9010
www.mysticalroseobgyn.com
Mystical Rose Obstetrics and Gynecology
Theresa Stigen MD (napro trained surgeon)
521 East Elder Street Suite 206
Fallbrook, CA 92028
Phone 760-983-4024
Fax 760-723-9010
www.mysticalroseobgyn.com
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Not Much Going On
Last night I was watching television and three women had surprise pregnancies... Now I know they are not real people, but three??? Two were on the same show. If you watch house you know what I am talking about. Ergh it just burns when someone, even a fictional person gets pregnant by accident. After 4 years of TTC I cannot believe how that is even possible....
Tomorrow is the end of the 2ww for me. I have decided that I am not going to poas this time. I always cheat, but not this time. I am going for a bt on Friday. This way I can live the fantasy for a few more days and then have the weekend to either celebrate or be miserable.
Not much else going on. The end of the school year is drawing near. It is a tough time, due to all the things that must be done at once. Planning class picnics, awards, end of year evaluations, getting ready for finals etc The weather gets humid and it is hard to keep their attention.
I started my garden. I have raspberries, grape tomatoes, broccoli, and green beans. I am surprised that my plants have been growing since we have had hardly any sun, just rain.
Tomorrow is the end of the 2ww for me. I have decided that I am not going to poas this time. I always cheat, but not this time. I am going for a bt on Friday. This way I can live the fantasy for a few more days and then have the weekend to either celebrate or be miserable.
Not much else going on. The end of the school year is drawing near. It is a tough time, due to all the things that must be done at once. Planning class picnics, awards, end of year evaluations, getting ready for finals etc The weather gets humid and it is hard to keep their attention.
I started my garden. I have raspberries, grape tomatoes, broccoli, and green beans. I am surprised that my plants have been growing since we have had hardly any sun, just rain.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
1 Year Blogiversary
I created this blog in May 2010 so this month is my one year blogiversary! Last May, The Gianna Center in NYC invited some people down to ask them to help spread the word about this great center. I was honored to be invited. I live about 4 hours away so I was the only one from upstate NY present. I thought about how I could help them. I created this blog and posted their information. I also made fliers and sent them to every diocese in New York State as well as local churches. My diocese added this information to their website and invited met to speak at their annual right to life meeting.
This blog started out with the intention of helping the Gianna Center flourish and it has now turned into much more. After awhile, I started to get more comfortable with blogging. I started to branch out and add more information about napro technology in general. Little by little I built this blog by adding pages and links. I also added my personal information. This blog keeps evolving. The topic of infertility is so vast that I never seem to run out of information. Now I am starting to get into reproductive immunology, something I had never heard of last year.
Over the past year, I have met some wonderful people. I have received many wonderful comments from my readers. I am grateful to you! My readers keep me going when I am down. I have had other women tell me that they recommend my blog to others because of my great info and links. I am so happy to be able to help others. At least if I am suffering from infertility, I can have some peace knowing that my experience can help others.
Thank you for making this blog a success!
One Year Blog Stats:
Page Views: 6,584Top 5 Most popular Posts:
373 views (LUFS) Luteinized Unruptured Follicle Syndrome
240 views Bust an Infertility Myth Blog Challenge
175 Views New Article: Birth of a Miracle
155 views 4 New Articles
152 views The Gianna Center in NYC
Top 5 Most popular Pages
414 views Catholic Infertility Doctors
379 views 10 reasons to choose NPT over IVF
336 Views My TTC Summary
190 Views Napro FAQ
78 Views Articles and Books
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Gianna Center: Now has two locations
Dr. Anne Mielnik and Dr. Kyle Beiter, NAPRO trained surgeon
Gianna Center for Women
15 E 40th Street Suite 101
New York, NY 10016
Ph 212-481-1219
Fax 212 481-1423
www.giannahealth.org
New Jersey:
Dr. Kyle Beiter ( My doctor. I highly recommend him)
Gianna – The Catholic Healthcare Center for Women
254 Easton Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: 732-565-5490
Fax: 732-792-3038
http://www.saintpetershcs.com/GiannaCenter/
St. Peter's Brochure
The Gianna Center for Women offers effective treatment for infertility and recurrent miscarriage using NaPro Technology, an alternative to in vitro fertilization. The Gianna approach in completely in line with Catholic Church teaching and allows a couple to conceive naturally, with success rate which are comparable to other methods. The Gianna Center also offers pro-life obstetrics, gynecology and general medical care for women.You can work with them long distance and then travel for surgery only.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Root Beer Float
Right now I do not know what to think about this cycle. I went in CD5 for baselines last week. My BW was okay. The nurse thought she saw a cyst but was not sure. I did not see anything so I thought I was clear. Then my estrogen came back high at 123 so it seems I did have something. CD11: I went in yesterday to check on my follicle growth. Usually by this time I have a nice big one. I was worried bc I just started a new medicine called Neupogen so I was not sure how this would affect my ovaries. I had no CM and I usually do at this time, so now I was worried that the medicine got rid of my CM.
Well to my surprise, there was no follicle............ugh.... well that would make sense why I had no CM. She saw a large hemorrhagic cyst. So at that point I felt defeated. I had nothing growing. This is the first time that I did not have a follicle. It freaked me out. Every month, even those when I had a cyst, I always had one new one form. Hmmmmm so I left there wondering what the new plan would be. I was so bummed out that I decided to treat myself to a root beer float. It was amazing. I still love brownies as my comfort food, but I may have to add this for the summer. I got my blood work and my estrogen went up to 193.
I spoke to the Dr. he said it did not make sense that my estrogen was going up. He said something had to make it go up. I thought it was the cyst. He said no. So he wants me to go back tomorrow to get rechecked. At that point, I had mixed emotions. I was disappointed that my cycle was a bust. Now, it seems that I have to prolong the issue and get another stab in the arm. I don't want to get my hopes up, but is it possible that something is hiding on my right??? That ovary is covered in junk so is there a small chance?? Who knows.
Today I started to get some more CM. Which is supposed to mean that my estrogen is going up again. This is weird. Can you get CM without a follicle or do I have a chance???? Tomorrow will be interesting. I have come to learn that I should expect the unexpected.
I love watching the hawks on the live cam. http://www.livestream.com/nytnestcam Today I saw her feeding the baby. It was amazing. The mother hawk caught a mouse and pulled small pieces off to feed the baby. I know it sounds gross, but it was amazing. How often do you get to see that? She still has two eggs that have not hatched. I don't know if they will, but she continues to sit on them all day long.
Well to my surprise, there was no follicle............ugh.... well that would make sense why I had no CM. She saw a large hemorrhagic cyst. So at that point I felt defeated. I had nothing growing. This is the first time that I did not have a follicle. It freaked me out. Every month, even those when I had a cyst, I always had one new one form. Hmmmmm so I left there wondering what the new plan would be. I was so bummed out that I decided to treat myself to a root beer float. It was amazing. I still love brownies as my comfort food, but I may have to add this for the summer. I got my blood work and my estrogen went up to 193.
I spoke to the Dr. he said it did not make sense that my estrogen was going up. He said something had to make it go up. I thought it was the cyst. He said no. So he wants me to go back tomorrow to get rechecked. At that point, I had mixed emotions. I was disappointed that my cycle was a bust. Now, it seems that I have to prolong the issue and get another stab in the arm. I don't want to get my hopes up, but is it possible that something is hiding on my right??? That ovary is covered in junk so is there a small chance?? Who knows.
Today I started to get some more CM. Which is supposed to mean that my estrogen is going up again. This is weird. Can you get CM without a follicle or do I have a chance???? Tomorrow will be interesting. I have come to learn that I should expect the unexpected.
I love watching the hawks on the live cam. http://www.livestream.com/nytnestcam Today I saw her feeding the baby. It was amazing. The mother hawk caught a mouse and pulled small pieces off to feed the baby. I know it sounds gross, but it was amazing. How often do you get to see that? She still has two eggs that have not hatched. I don't know if they will, but she continues to sit on them all day long.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Live Hawk Cam
I love nature and I thought I would share this with you.
A red tailed hawk made a nest on a ledge outside a 12th story New York University office window so they put up a live webcam. There is one baby in the nest and two eggs. If you go to the web cam link, look for the video with all 8s and fast forward you can see her stand up and then you can clearly see the baby. They are going to try to capture her becuase she has a wildlife identification band that became too tight and is now hurting her leg. They need to remove it and then return her to the nest. The link to the article has some nice photos. Here are two that I captured from the video.
Enjoy
http://www.livestream.com/nytnestcam
Article about the hawks
Enjoy
http://www.livestream.com/nytnestcam
Article about the hawks