Night and freakin day

Wow, I'm still digesting everything from my two appointments today. I couldn't possibly have two more different experiences.

First things first, my lining increased to 11 and everything looks great. No fluid, no cysts, great lining, no bleeding or spotting for a few days now. When I texted W after the appointment the adjective he actually used was "amazing". Can you tell we haven't had things look this good in a while?

Oh, by the way, music is my current anxiety cure for the clinic. OK, maybe not a cure, but it sure helped to have some good tunes to sing along to on the way there. I even brought my headphones and listened between the walk from the parking garage to the waiting room. 

The appointment was fast and I headed off to work in a fantastic mood. The day went by fairly quickly and before I knew it I was headed off to my second appointment. W met me there and immediately things were different. I have been in this clinic once before for a support group so the waiting room was no big surprise in how it looked. What did surprise me was how many people were there. Holy crap!!! 

They took us back fairly quickly and into a fancy room. We sat on a comfortable couch and waited a few minutes for the nurse to come in. When she did she didn't have much to say since she figured I knew most of her usual spiel about infertility and treatment options. Dr. Gere came in shortly after. He gave me a warm greeting and sat down to talk to us. His questions were flying at me so fast I had a hard time. I felt like he wanted an answer in 5 seconds or less and I crumbled under this pressure. W interjected and answered a few questions for me. This is not what I am used to. I never feel rushed with Dr. S and at times I am the one who gets impatient. Ha, what a difference.

Dr. Gere asked me quickly about my history and then basically asked why I was there. I told him we were interested in his package deals (amazing deals) and that I felt like I would like to be a bit more aggressive about things.

He first said I was going to get pregnant this cycle and that we weren't going to need him. I didn't get the impression he would have done things differently from Dr. S with the exception of the fluid. He said he would have used a transfer catheter to drain the fluid and then would have continued with the transfer back in July. He quickly asked about IUI's and got it that we weren't interested. He said our best option to get pregnant would be IVF and that he would probably use an antagonist protocol with Follistim, Ganirelix, and Menopur. We would take the pill for a month (with some possible overlap of Lupron) and then once I got my period I'd start stims. That all sounded good to me. 

On to the ultrasound room we went. Even with wandy he was fast. My pulse and blood pressure were both higher than normal and it was good to know that I don't discriminate when it comes to fertility clinic anxiety. He said my lining was beautiful and that I was going to get pregnant. My ovaries were polycystic but I don't there was anything enlightening about the ultrasound. He said to me that he was more aggressive than most doctors, so I know I would be getting what I asked for. 

To make it all clear in my head I decided to summarize. Which doctor:

Is the best deal financially: Dr. Gere has package deals unlike my current clinic. Not sure about donated meds. They even have a money back package which is very appealing to me currently. The biggest thing is that Dr. S works for the University and has zero personal financial investment. Dr. Gere owns this clinic and two others in addition to a healing arts center that provides yoga, acupuncture, and many other services. 

Gives you his time and makes you not feel rushed: Dr. S In fact, when he called me to give me further directions this evening and gave me more of his time over the phone than Dr. G gave me in person today. He allows me to ask questions without me feeling pressured. Dr. Gere was rushing around that place like crazy. Dr. Gere's office had a revolving door feel. Granted the door is super nice, but man it feel like a factory in there. So many receptionists and patients in the room. Tons of nurses. We had to wait for a free room in order to do the ultrasound. There was actually a sign on the door in the ultrasound room that said if you have been waiting more than 15 minutes to remind them. They are so busy they forget about people?

Most optimistic: Dr. Gere and I loved it. I drove home convinced that we are going to get pregnant this cycle. 

Nicest office: Dr. Gere. Keurig machine in the waiting room, comfy couches, nice music, tons of reading material. A much better vibe than my current, somewhat ghetto office. 

Most aggressive in treatment: Dr. Gere and I feel like we may need this. At the same time, had we done the transfer with the fluid/polyps like Dr. Gere would have done, it would likely not work. I guess being aggressive isn't always the best. 

Most thorough: Dr. S. He fully informs me of everything and allows me to have a say in the decision making process. He often thinks out loud though which can be interesting. I know Dr. S has consulted the literature/research about me multiple times to guide his decisions. 

Treats each case individually: Dr. S. Dr. Gere didn't really seem to consider much about me specifically. He recommended the antagonist protocol since that is "what they have been doing a lot and what has been successful for many." 

I hope to not have to make any future decisions about who I will be using for my next round of IVF. There is a lot to process and digest, but it is good to know I have options. I feel great knowing that I could call either clinic and start another round of IVF if necessary. Let's hope I won't be doing any more and that this FET is the one. I really should take a page from Dr. G and keep convincing myself that this cycle is going to work. 

Out transfer has been pushed back one day to Tuesday. I started my IM progesterone tonight and the dosage is higher than last time. We did 2 ml and I know I will be feeling it tomorrow. I am starting to get really excited about everything. I should get a call tomorrow telling me what time the transfer is scheduled for and whether we will be doing assisted hatching or not.

8 more days!