Sunday, April 19, 2009

No Way Back

The process of choosing to create a DI family has been just as emotional as dealing with IF. Just a new set of "What if's" and "How come's". Well at least for me anyway. It was a pretty rough night in the Griffin household this Saturday. Had myself a meltdown...

Even though we've made a decision, the fact that we didn't have a definitive plan left me with the need to discuss the topic incessantly. I can't help it, I'm a planner. I HAVE to obsess, otherwise I'LL DIE FROM NOT HAVING SUFFICIENT CONTROL. Every time I brought it up, it seemed like Brian wasn't in the mood to talk about it, or I only got short answers. I accused him of avoiding the topic, pointing out that his lack of discussion and interest in searching for donors was his secret way of telling me he never wanted to have kids with me at all. AT ALL!!! It started out innocently enough, while we were discussing the process with some really close friends of ours. When suddenly our conversation took a violent turn in the center of my head... Then well, Yada yada, I left our friend's house bawling. After a deafeningly silent car ride home I thought it'd be a good a idea for me to take a drive and consult the Foo Fighters- In Your Honor album, for some solid advice. Or at the very least, play it loud enough to muffle my sobs. After an hour of sitting in my car parked at a vista point, in front of a couple who was undoubtedly creating an illegitimate child of their very own in their car, Brian called me and begged me to come home. When I say begged I mean, tried to sound like he was worried instead of mad. So I went home. But I took the long way. Cause I'm 30, and I can do that if I want to. Only to find him already asleep when I walked in the door.

We're doing better today. There are still many more discussions to be had. And Brian admitted that he may have been a little less than accommodating when it came to my questions. But told me that he didn't always feel the need to discuss it at my suggested lengths. And that it seems so far away, what's the rush? My urgency stems from the crazy, which is propelled by the hormones, who are sponsored by the Infertility. And we're coming up on two years here. I'M READY FOR A CHILD, GET IT? What I mean is, it's all part of the journey. And actually I think that Odyssey is probably a more accurate term.
Makes it sound more lengthy and treacherous, doesn't it?


This afternoon we had our first consultation with our RE since our test review in January. We told him that we had decided on DI, he congratulated us, and began to tell us the basic steps to get on our way. Surprisingly my demeanor was a little more solemn than I thought it would be. I've been looking forward to making this call- Taking our first real step towards finally having a family, and instead of hanging up with a beaming smile, and girlish laugh, my polite work-like tone was all I could manage. I feel a loss. Still.

Part of that loss, is from our bank account. It's going to cost double what I thought it would because of the amount of vials our Doctor prefers that we order. And for the process he prefers. It's partly my fault though, I keep forgetting to use the "Home Owner Rule" when it comes to medical bills. This rule usually applies to repairs, whatever you estimate the maximum cost will be, DOUBLE IT.

After the rest of our questions were answered by the doctor he set up two more conference calls for me this week. One will be with my Cycle/IUI Coordinator, and the other will be with the Go-To person for handling our shipments from the California Cryobank. I'd like to give you a better breakdown of the specifics for this process but I don't have a complete grasp on what exactly that is yet. But I promise I'll let you know as soon as I do. It's time for bed now... Stayed tuned for details on the chat with our RE

***Welcome ICLW Readers***

9 comments:

WiseGuy said...

Ooohhh..that was a pretty worked up meltdown there...

Yes, you are correct...there are several bloggers relating to donor eggs, but almost none of them have whispered donor sperm....

It is such a tough choice.

I am glad that you doc is helping you thrash through...and well the cost...aargh!

*ICLW*

infertilityrocks said...

Thanks for visiting my bloghouse earlier today!!!!!!

Ugh, I can't imagine how hard coping with DI has got to be. I know my dh often seems less than involved since we're dealing with female issues only. It always makes me feel dissatisified when I try to have those 'well, what do you think?' conversations.

I loved your comment "sponsored by infertility". I can see the print ad now, "This maniacal rage was brought to you by Infertility."

We are forking over the funds for our back-to-back IUIs tomorrow. It pisses me off so much that we IFers have to deal with the money crap on top of the IF crap.

Smitty76 said...

Hi, from an ICLW reader!

No, I think Odyssey is just about right. :) A long, winding journey that is not for the faint of heart. Yep!

Glad you guys are doing better, though. In several points along our path, I could have written your post verbatim (BTW, we used Calif Cryo, too, and were very happy with them).

For me (an obsessive planner, too), the forward movement helped. I hope it does for you! And, given the incredible expense of it all, I'm praying your Odyssey is a brief one. :)

Once Upon A Time said...

I am so glad you started to post about your current progress, but sad for you that it is going to cost more $ than you thought (doesn't it always though?- that's yet another thing that makes me bit my fingernails about IVF- just how much more can it cost, anyway???) Take good notes, b/c I will use you as my expert DIUI if it comes to that!

What IF? said...

Thanks for the sweet comment on my blog!

Infertility doesn't just suck. It's a life crisis. Regardless of how you move through it, or how strong you are, or the handle you think you have on life and IF in general, there are these moments of smack-between-the-eyes reality where it all just hits home with fierce intensity.

I was sobbing uncontrollably on quite a few occasions, picking fights with my Dh because he didn't seem "present" enough to my liking, or didn't want to discuss stuff at length. Sound familiar? I immediately thought he didn't care, or didn't want babies as much as I did. He was coping with it as best as he could...

These are all small steps in coming to terms with it all. The moment you start cycling, your attention turns to this day and the next. In a way, it's easier to deal with that than the anticipation you're experiencing now.

Hang in there. You can do this.

Ellie said...

Melissa, I admire your strength through this even though I can tell that you don't feel very strong right now. You are still handling this so well. This is a major decision you guys have made and of course it's going to be emotional. You have to go through the grieving process and the celebrating process all together at once. I'm so sorry it's been so hard and that DH has not been very expressive or talkative on the subject. Guys definitely process things completely different than we do. Ugh, why is it with IF everything always costs WAY more than it should or you expect it to? It's so cruel. As if you weren't dealing with enough already. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time. I hope everything falls into place soon and that you can start getting more excited about the baby you will most likely have in the coming months.

Kerri said...

Oh, Melissa, I'm glad to know I am not the only one who's been known to bring out the crazy every now and again. It's an unfortunate side effect of infertility I suppose. I know you're going through a roller coaster of emotions right now and I think it will be an on-going process for both you and your DH. I love you and am here any time you need to vent, talk, or bring out the crazy!

Somewhat Ordinary said...

I wanted to stop by and say hello! I came here from your comment on Jendeis' post about IUI or ICI donor sperm.

I'm a DI mommy and want to wish you all the best in this journey. I could have written this exact post 2 years ago. In fact, I have several very similar to this one. My husband has azoospermia and that is why we did DI. There are quite a few DI mommy, DI soon-to-be, and DI hopeful mommy bloggers out there. I'm currently private out of respect for my husband, but always welcome new readers...especially when they are in the same boat as me. If you are interested in reading or have any questions or vents you can e-mail me at
somewhatordinary at gmail dot com

Good luck!

theworms said...

We will be moving forward at some point with DI and I'm wishing you lots of luck, it is a rough road to travel.

ICLW