Did you know that even if you have over 100 television channels, there's really nothing to watch at 4:00 am? Well, there isn't. Lately, I've been having some problems falling asleep at night. I read for a while. I toss and turn for a while. And when that doesn't work, I grab for the remote and flip through the channels for something - anything - to make my brain stop the endless loop of What Ifs. What if we've chosen the wrong clinic? What if my fsh is too high? What if we don't make any embryos? What if we make shitty embryos? What if it doesn't work? What if Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav break up? After all these sleepless nights spent watching infomercials and QVC, I've learned quite a lot. For instance, I now know which steak knives can cut through aluminum cans and then slice a tomato - paper thin - WITH EASE! I know everything there is to know about the popular new mattresses on the market, including the AMAZING COMFORT OF VISCOELASTICITY! I've learned that you can get affordable life insurance - EVEN IF YOU'RE OVER 60 - for just pennies a day! I've learned that you can buy real estate with NO MONEY DOWN and become a millionaire in just weeks! And I've learned that there's a never-ending stream of gadgets on the market that will tone and shape your abs SO YOU CAN STOP DOING CRUNCHES! I must admit, though, that I find it rather annoying how they get all up in your face about being awake in the middle of the night when you could just "TAKE A PILL AND GET A RESTFUL NIGHT'S SLEEP, YOU IDIOT!" By the way, if you were wondering what ever happened to Erik Estrada from CHiPs, he's on TV at 4:00 am selling retirement property in Arkansas. Anyway, since our third opinion consult last week, my husband and I have discussed our options and have made a decision about our next IVF cycle. It goes like this: Low dose Lupron (I've never used Lupron before - always Antagon or Cetrotide) then a high dose cocktail of Repronex or Pergonal (do they even make Pergonal anymore?) and Gonal-F or Follistim, which will be reduced if need be, but not increased. I've always had the opposite protocol in the past - starting out with a lower dosage and constantly increasing the amount as my E2 refused to budge. So I'm hoping my ovaries will respond nicely, like all good little ovaries should. Then if there are enough embryos we will use PGD. The most embryos we've had from past cycles was ten and the least was four, so who knows what could happen. I just hope we have something. So that's that. Oh yeah, if all goes as planned, I'll be starting Lupron mid-April. And you can bet that all this waiting isn't going to help the insomnia. Not one bit. So what can we chat about until then? Golden Girls reruns? The George Forman Grill? The Hair Club for Men?
