Testing the Swimmers Part III--Guest Post By The Hubs

This is the third part of what's now becoming a FOUR part guest spot! Catch up with Part I and Part II before reading today's!


xo,
Angela

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So I did the test/ What an experience! It wasn’t as bad as I thought. As it turns out, I didn’t have to go into a room with adult magazines and take care of business. I was able to take care of business at home. That is where the bad news comes into play. After getting the “SAMPLE”, I had to keep it at body temperature. This meant making the 10 minute drive with a sterile cup of sperm in my pocket.

Once I got to the lab, I had to fill out some very basic paperwork mainly dealing with my insurance. The people were very nice, and apparently I was the only one that felt awkward passing a cup of man juice across the counter. This all happened on Friday. The lady that took the sample said the results would be ready around the first of next week.

That might seem like a short period of time, but when being infertile is one of the possible answers, it feels like forever. As of the time writing the post (11/21), we still haven’t got the results. I’ve contacted the lab every other day and get the same answer. “We’re experiencing an extremely long wait due to heavy demand.” At this point, I’m thinking about going to a place that specializes in fertility testing in Greensboro. If I don’t get the results in the next few days, that’s exactly what I’m doing. As you can tell, I’m extremely irritated by this. My nerves were already on edge waiting for the results, and the stupidly long wait is making it worse.

So I’ll tell you what, no matter what happens, I’ll write another post dealing with either the results, or my experience with the fertility center in Greensboro. Till then…

Clicky clicky for my wifey!!

Testing the Swimmers Part II--Guest Post by The Hubs

This is the second post of a three part segment written by my hubs, Vance, author of The Vance View. If you didn't read Part I yesterday, I highly recommend you head on over and read it before you continue reading this post. Part III will be posted on Monday of next week! :-)


xo,
Angela

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In my last post we had gone in to see the doctor for my wife’s lady visit. That’s when they told me about the lab for my tests. What I didn’t do is go into much detail on my last post about the actual conversation we had with the doctor about my visit to the lab. Let’s just say it was interesting. She tossed around words like Playboy and phrases like getting the job done. I kind of wanted to throw up in my mouth a little. Angela had the same thought go through her head as well.

It took a few days to make the call to the lab. And by a few days...I mean five to seven. Nervous doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt about this whole situation. Not only did I know what had to be done (remember the playboy incident from the first paragraph?), but I couldn’t help but think the worst about what the results might be. But, I made the call anyhow. As it turns out, I didn’t have to go into a creepy room with girly magazines. The down side? The lady from the lab told me that I had to create the sample at home and bring it to the lab. Oh joy! It was bad enough that I had to be tested, but now I had to transport it!

It wasn’t until I made the appointment that it really sunk in that I was having my swimmers tested to see if I was infertile. I can’t speak for other men, but for me this is a depressing topic. It is also kind of embarrassing. I know what you’re thinking, and it doesn’t matter. That is just how I feel. I’m still doing it because I want kids so badly, and I need to know exactly what we’re working with. All I can do is pray that the results come back saying I’m fine.

My third installment will be coming Monday. I’ll talk about my thoughts on the test experience and the follow up. Until then...

Vote for my sexy wife!

Things DIdn't Go According To Plan

I went in for my blood work today. Needless to say that if you read the title of this post, things did not go well.

I go to a clinic that services people of lower incomes, since we can't afford to put me on the hubs' insurance right now. His insurance is super expensive since only 4 people work in the business that his dad co-owns. It would seriously cost us around $300/month to cover me with insurance. That's JUST insurance for me. That doesn't cover both he and I...just me. SO...we found a clinic that has lower rates for people without insurance. The nurses there are super nice, the clinic is clean, and the doctors who work there also work at two of the local hospitals in Winston-Salem. It's a nice alternative to having to pay huge bills at other office's and/or having to pay $300/month for insurance that I would rarely use. (I'm not sick very much.)

Anyway...today they were super nice, it didn't take long for them to call me back to get my blood drawn and it wasn't super crowded when we went in. A very nice, semi-unsure of herself nurse called me back to a meeting room/break room. Pretty much every other room had actual patients in them. (Tuesdays are the day that an OBGYN specialist is in the clinic, so they have a higher traffic volume on Tuesdays.) The nurse was super nice. I showed her the vein that nurses usually use to draw my blood and it turned out to be the best vein to try. Sadly, it yielded very little blood. She didn't hurt me until the very end when she had to go in deeper on the second stick. As soon as I said it hurt, she stopped. She apologized a million times, but it really wasn't her fault my vein wasn't producing much blood! She went and got another nurse while I drank some water and tried not to feel sick, even though I felt like I was getting a little nauseated. (I wasn't supposed to eat anything before going in.)

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The next nurse came in and was nice, but not as nice as the first lady, although she was more confident in her abilities. She tried using the same vein, but in a different part. She pumped my veins up a bit more. Sadly, the smaller needle didn't yield ANY blood this time after two different sticks, so she broke out the big one. UGH. That was no fun. It wasn't too bad, but I wish I hadn't looked at it before she put it in. What's worse is that I STILL didn't bleed. My hubs joked that he should have gotten me drunk before we came so that I would bleed freely! By this point, I was feeling REALLY nauseated, almost like I was going to vomit, as well as dizzy, so I said I needed her to stop. So...5 sticks in...one being from a big needle...and still not enough blood to run any test with. That nurse left to get the head nurse to see if maybe SHE could do something. I drank some more water, used the bathroom and tried not to vomit/pass out. I leaned on my hubs and whined a little. (Have I ever told you how great of a husband I have??)

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The head nurse came in and I told her how I was feeling, so we moved into a patient room where I could lay back on a table and focus my breathing to alleviate some of the nausea. Well, every time I leaned back, I felt like I was going to throw up. Every time I leaned forward, the nurse thought I was going to fall over and off the table. She tried a tourniquet on my opposite arm (right one) to see if she could get any veins to pop up. She is the nurse that did my blood-drawn pregnancy test back in July/August. She's super nice and she nailed it last time. Well...she didn't get a chance to try it. I almost tossed my cookies. I won't go into detail, but we all decided it was time to stop treating me like a pincushion and save it for another day. The head nurse, whose name I can barely pronounce, let alone try to spell, was super nice about it all and said they could just do the blood work at my appointment next week.

After we left, the hubs got me something to eat, I took a long nap, and I feel much better now...besides my sore left arm. ;-) Keep praying for us! We're at the beginning of what could be a long road...especially if my veins aren't going to cooperate!

If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!

Tests are for Students...Right?

Tomorrow, I go into the doctor's for some tests. These tests are a prelude to my big "fertility" appointment on November 1st. I am slightly nervous. I hope everything turns out relatively alright. I also hope we're able to get some answers after this visit and next week's visit. We're praying that it will be as simple as "Here's some Clomid; come back and see us when you're pregnant in 1-6 months." However, I realize that may not be the case. I am basically being forced to face up to the fact that we may not be able to conceive with or without drugs. We're taking one step at a time and not going before God. We're just hoping and praying that everything works out. We're also hoping and praying for our little miracle. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

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If you could take 2 seconds and give this a click, it would mean so much to me! Thank you!!