FSH and Estradiol

A few weeks ago, I realized that a long-planned camping trip with my two best friends might be cut short by needing to get my CD3 blood draw for FSH and estradiol tests (measuring follicle stimulating hormone and sex hormone levels), and then the vitamin D was wreaking havoc so I thought maybe it'd come after camping was over. But of course last Thursday night, the night before we left, there it was. Luckily that meant that we only had to leave early on Sunday instead of late morning. So we had a good trip, and woke up early yesterday to tear down camp and run up to Portland for the test.

While the nurse (Annabel - she made sure to introduce herself to me and I realized later it was because I'd most likely be seeing a lot of her in the next two months) was labeling my blood vial, a woman poked her head around the corner and whispered "Annabel! I'm so sorry, but I'm going to explode!" Annabel went off with her to the bathroom and I could hear her telling the patient that she could only pee this much; and then she came back and smiled at me and said "that's going to be you soon!" Heh.

So the blood draw was over quickly, and then on Thursday I go back up for my trial transfer. I sort of know what to expect, but like any procedure you read about on the internet, reactions and pain levels go from zero to horrible. I'm aiming for zero. After all, C can't make it on Thursday so I'm gonna do it by myself! It mostly involves a trans-vaginal ultrasound, counting follicles, measuring the uterus and filling it with saline. Gonna be a spendy visit though; I thought for some reason that it was covered in my financing plan but it's not. And of course it's the last day before I get paid. So I'll be cashing in those savings bonds on Wednesday at the latest so I can be ready!

We also looked into Aflac today, for short term disability (helping pay for maternity leave) and another plan that helps pay for the delivery (insurance covers a lot of it but not all of it). It would definitely pay for itself by the time I'm done using it, but another $100/month is an awful lot when we're still paying off the car and about to start paying off the IVF loan, on top of all of our other monthly expenses. We'll make it through but ack.