It’s day#4 and I had my first Dr.’s appointment today after starting my stim meds. It’s always nerve-wracking to see how your body is or isn’t responding to the meds. Today was no different.

But what do these appointments actually look like?

Well today was a fun one so let’s walk through it. Some helpful background knowledge, we are doing IVF through Dr. Magarelli in Colorado Springs. My acupuncturist (the wonderful Kandace Cahill) recommended him because she knew we couldn’t afford to do IVF with our current doctor at CCRM. At Dr. Magarelli’s practice, the cost of IVF is about half what it is other places (his passion is providing IVF to patients who otherwise couldn’t afford it) and after meeting him we really liked his approach, openness and optimism. However, he is based in Colorado Springs, we are in Longmont. This is not ideal.

They do have a “Denver” location which is actually Castle Rock, (yeah false advertising) so 1.5 hours compared to 2.5. Why is this important? Because once you start your IVF stim meds, you have appointments every 2-3 days to check on your progress.

So back to today, my first appointment. Also the day Colorado decided to be Colorado again finally and coat everything in sight in snow and ice. We left the house at 6:30am to make it to my 8:00am appointment. Traffic was crawling, I counted a dozen or more cars off the side of the road, on their roofs, sides, and otherwise sprinkled over the landscape.

I arrived 30 minutes late but thankfully my nurse was also late in because of the roads. I check in and upon being called back begin the routine of: weight check (so fun when you’re on so many bloaty meds and can’t exercise), blood pressure and temp, blood draw, cycle review (which stim day are you, what meds, what dosages etc) and then the ultrasound. Oh the ultrasound. Basically they wave their magic wand around and count the number of follicles in each ovary. (follicles are what grow the eggs, and all the lovely meds I take are to stimulate the follicles to grow baby grow!)

Once they are satisfied, you go on your merry way, the whole thing takes about 20-30 minutes. So that was today.

One thing I’m learning in this process, is that as awesome as Dr.’s and nurses are, (and they are) they are still human, they are busy, they have a lot of patients with unique situations. So I’m becoming better at advocating for myself. Of speaking up when I’m not sure about something, and so far it’s paid off. I questioned a dosage early on with one of my nurses and found out that I was correct after she spoke with the doctor, and today I proactively picked up more medication that I knew I would need before hearing for certain that I would from my nurse. So no don’t go all rogue, but do listen to your intuition, and be willing to speak up for yourself. After all you know your body, and at times like this, its okay to get a little stroppy, It’s taken a lot of money, blood, sweat and tears to get this far, so put yo’self first when it comes to your health, after all, if you don’t, who will?

Also, Fun fact of the day, as my pharmacy is on Colfax in Denver, I got to experience/briefly participate in a MLK Jr Parade that was passing by as I was leaving with my prescription. The sidewalks were all ice and the streets clear, so I joined the crowds walking in the parade for a block or so back to my car. It was a fantastic experience. One of the parade goers held up a sign with a quote from MLK Jr that I love.

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. 

Don’t be silent friends, advocate for yourself, and speak up for all the oppressed, the abused, the neglected, and the forgotten.