Decisions Decisions

One of the biggest, most unnerving parts of the process was the "decisions" we have to think through and make. As with any good research institute, USF does their due diligence in educating their patients and making sure they understand all of the implications of the medical procedures and the "what-ifs". Our first big decision making session was called the "Consent Signing Appointment". During this appointment, Dr. Mayer outlined all of the risks, decisions, and outcomes that could happen with IVF with ICSI. If you're interested in seeing a blank Informed Consent and what we went over, visit http://www.usfivf.com/ and click under "Patient Forms". 


My biggest concern with the procedure was the long-term, and unknown effects, of injecting hormones and stimulating ovaries. There's a reason the human body has a certain chemistry - and as we mess with it, I'm afraid of the long-term risks. You hear of many stories of women who got cancer or other terminal illnesses from IVF stimulants. Our doctor showed us the research, showed us the data. We walked out of the appointment knowing that I won't be over-injected to cause any problems. After all, I'm the "perfect age of 27" for IVF (no joke, EVERY doctor has commented how 27 is the PERFEECT age for this! I've never felt more special!)

The next decision factor was what to do if it doesn't work. Many couples have a sperm donor on the side - so if Todd's "stuff" didn't thaw correctly, we could still have a baby and use the eggs that are retrieved. Todd and I both agreed that it's either our baby together or we would adopt a baby together. I'm not the type of girl that needs to be pregnant, that needs to experience the miracle of birth. I've seen people have babies - I don't need to get fatter, my boobs don't need to get bigger, and I sure don't need to go through the pain! So that was an easy decision for us - it's ours biologically, or ours adopted but not a combo. Even though Todd's friends offered to have a "mystery donor bank" -appreciate the thought guys, but we'll pass!

Finally what we have to decide on (and i'm still not certain) is how many to implant. Because of my perfect age of 27, at most they will do 2 embryos.However, for medical research they want to do some research with implanting only 1 embryo to see what success rates are (currently 50/50 for implanting TWO). I've always wanted to be  medical research, and the thought of twins is terrifying! So we have up until implantation day to think through if we want BOGO babies or not. No way will I be the new Octomom or "Kelly Plus 8". We'll follow the doctor's protocols. As much fun as the Burchell's are, I don't know if we're cool enough to have an audience for a TLC TV show to help cover the expenses of that baby drama.