First IVF Appointment

I started my period on Sunday night, so I called the office Monday morning. My first IVF appointment was set for Tuesday at 7:15am. I had my blood drawn to test my FSH and estradiol levels, and then I had an ultrasound. I was given my prescription for birth control pills, as well as Zithromax 3-day antiobiotic. Both of us have to take the antiobiotic to clear out any minor infections we might have.

The Doctor brought me in to the office to discuss the husband's sperm count. His counts have been fine all along, but when you are planning on IVF they do an additional test called "Strict Morphology", or "Kruger's Test". This test measures the shape of the sperm, but on a more strict basis than what is typically test for the other procedures. Normal range is more than 14%, and the huband's was 3%. The Doctor says this could be one of the main reasons we haven't gotten pregnant yet.

We will have to include ICSI procedures with our IVF. With ICSI, each sperm is hand-selected to be normal, and then injected into the egg directly. Without the assistance, the sperm might not be strong enough to penetrate. You can look at photos of the procedure at: http://www.advancedfertility.com/icsiimag.htm.

I would like to advise everyone that is reading this blog before their IVF that they get this particular sperm test completed before spending a lot of money on inseminations. Had we known then that there was a problem with the sperm morphology to that great of an extent, we would have just gone straight to IVF.

Later in the day the Doctor called to tell me my blood test results were normal. My FSH was 8.3 and my estradiol was over 20.

My next appointment is a "trial transfer", where they pretend to put the embryos back in to my uterus, and this allows them to figure out the shape and depth so they know exactly where to put them when the time comes.