Alright folks, here we go. Brace yourselves for a ridiculously long post on my personal experience with fertility diagnostic testing!
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Hi friends. In my last post, I confessed that my husband and I have been struggling with infertility. At the time, I was so, so nervous about the diagnostic testing! You guys have no idea. Well, I’m going to lay it all out here for those of you who are interested in the process.
But first, here are a few things I wish I had known before starting the infertility process. This may be helpful those of you thinking about seeking professional medical help. (1) If you work, make sure you have lots of sick leave and a FLEXIBLE schedule. I’m serious. You are required to go in for testing on certain days of your menstrual cycle. And if you are struggling with infertility, chances are high that you have irregular cycles (like me). SO there is just no way to predict when you need to go in for testing! Lucky for me, my boss is super cool and relaxed about my work schedule. Still, it makes it very awkward and risky at work when you abruptly start taking time off for sick leave. Your colleagues will start asking questions, and you will need to rehearse an answer. (Think carefully before telling them it’s for infertility treatment. No one likes to cover for a colleague’s 3 month maternity leave. NO ONE.) (2) Stop waiting and just go for it. Stop perusing forums, stop googling for advice. Be extremely cautious with asking for hmong herbs-- that stuff could mess your cycle up even more. Get professional help so you will know what the problem is and how to attack it. This is because the entire diagnostic process takes a very long time. Here’s how it went: I first called in July for an appointment, spent most of August and September doing tests, and didn’t get our results until end of September. It only took three months because I opted for a doctor with a lighter schedule. To recap, it took nearly three months just to diagnose our condition. It will take even longer to actually start the treatment. (3) Check your health insurance for infertility coverage. I really wish we had checked ours sooner, because our current insurance covers EVERYTHING. I could have started the process months ago and possibly had a little bundle of joy now! But also, I have been going over our insurance EOB (explanation of benefits), and lemme tell you guys—these fertility docs are banking. I would seriously think twice about doing this if I didn’t have infertility coverage. (4) I’m verging on being too preachy, but here it is: timing is everything. You really need to figure out if the timing is right for you two to have a child. *SPOILER ALERT* My husband and I recently decided against going forward with fertility treatment, due to external life factors. There are a lot of pieces in play right now, so I can’t confirm anything yet, but I promise to explain later. This post ended up being 10x longer than I expected, so I’m going to stop here. I’ll explain the entire diagnostic process in my next post. |
AuthorA young professional and her struggles as a Hmong nyab, wife, and daughter. Archives
October 2016
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