THE BOMBSHELL

We had our follow up appointment with our FS (fertility specialist) in the beginning of April 09. We went in expecting to be told to be patient, that it would happen and perhaps a tentative talk about IVF in the future but we were in for a shock! Our FS isn't the type of man to beat around the bush, he's straight up and honest which is probably why we like him so much. He doesn't give false hope where there is none but he is also sympathetic and thorough in explaining things to us which, being a control freak and wanting to know every little detail, is great for me! We stepped into his office and no sooner had we sat down he told us the only way we would be having a baby was through IVF. If I recall correctly, he said something along the lines of ' You have 4 fertility problems, not one, not two, not three but FOUR. Your chances of concieving on your own are very very slim, if not impossible' I should have been upset but in reality I felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders at this point because he was telling me something that deep down I already knew. IVF was going to be our only way to start a family. I had a blocked tube, a uterine polyp (which was removed but are notorious for growing back), polycystic ovaries and low progesterone. We were told we had already reached the threshold for publicly funded IVF treatment and were on the list to start in December 09 which was a 7 month wait. At the time that seemed like a lifetime away but I now know how bloody lucky we actually were with getting on the waiting list so soon (after only 16 months TTC) and that Wellington had the shortest waiting lists in the country. I soon found out through others that in Auckland the waiting list can be up to 26 months! Suddenly 7 months didn't seem so long and I chose to count my blessings that we were on the list at all! Thank god for listening to my intuition and getting tested so early. But did I leave it at that? Did I enjoy those 7 months and try to stop thinking about it? That would have been too easy and as always I had to take it one step further and try to control the situation - acupuncture, chinese herbs and temping here I come! My little candle of hope was reignited with the idea of taking a 'natural' approach.