You say goodbye, I say hello

This is it for a few days. We’re off to NY and then onto Israel.

Hope you’ll join me sometime on Tuesday when I’ll be blogging from a very different time zone!

Both the car title and Aunt Flo arrived today.

Another reason I adore Israel

From the Nefesh B Nefesh Web site (for the record, there are roughly 4-5 shekels in a dollar, give or take):

Fertility

According to the Israeli National Health Insurance Law, insured persons (i.e. all Israeli citizens) are entitled to fertility testing and treatment including: treatments to increase sperm counts, medications, hormonal treatment, in-vitro fertilization. These treatments are an entitlement to a couple who do not have children in their current marriage (may have from previous marriages) for the first and second child and where the woman is under age 45 (there is no limit to the number of “attempts”). In general the treatments are given at no cost to the patient, apart from co-payments. These co-payments are minimal and may be for the physician visits (about 17 shekels for 3 months of visits), injections (12 shekels/treatment) and others. Health funds are only required to provide fertility services in conjunction with government hospitals. Private hospital stays and treatments may be covered partially under the health plans’ supplementary insurance or via private payment.

Supplementary insurance plans at the health plans include additional benefits including partial payment for services received in private hospitals, treatments for third, fourth, etc. child. There may be a waiting period of up to two years for these services.

Several private not-for-profit organizations provide support, information and services at no cost: These are Machon Puah and Zir Hemed.

On a different note, Israeli law allows a working woman to a paid leave of up to 16 days per treatment up to four times a year. Women may not be laid off during the time of fertility treatments.
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In other news, my hcg numbers say no preggo. The progesterone is inconclusive. So I am okay to fly, but the clomid appears to have had no positive effects.

And B”H the strike is off, so the airport in Israel is working again and we should be good to go. Just a couple days left…

So here’s what I did

I got a call from the nurse/case manager of my insurance plan on Friday. After a short explanation of the canceled IVF cycle, I explained that I was trying clomid and that my last cycle started on June 4. And that all stick peeing resulted in negatives.

She said it was vitally important that we rule out an ectopic pregnancy before I got on my aliyah flight. Her suggestion? Bloodwork for hcg, progesterone and and ultrasound just in case.

So I contacted the evil infertility clinic in Pittsburgh to get an order for the bloodwork and ultrasound. I was told an ultrasound would be worthless and ridiculous since nothing would show up this early.

On Friday afternoon, I had blood drawn for hcg and progesterone. On the orders it was written: STAT.

So, as I putter around Sunday afternoon, I have heard nothing back. No calls, no nothing.

Meanwhile, on to my next crisis.

We need to sell our car. This Friday. We already have an estimate. We do not, however, have the car title. Which is in the mail. So here’s to praying that our title arrives in my work mail sometime before Friday morning.

And my iPod died. It was under warranty at Best Buy, so I get a brand new one, but that does nothing to replace the 45 GB of music that was on it. And I won’t have the new one before we leave for Israel.

Oh come on now!

This is getting a bit ridiculous.

The 2ww has turned into the 4ww. While I won’t speculate on the myriad reasons why my period might have gone on holiday, I will go so far as to say it’s highly unlikely the answer is “pregnancy.”

If there is no progress on this front by Friday, I’ll be going in for bloodwork to find out what is going on.

No real news otherwise. Eagerly anticipating the big move and still fluctuating between sheer excitement and paralyzing fear. Good times have been had by all.

Edited to add: Okay, better yet. What do you guys think I should do? Just wait for AF or find out what the hell is going on? And, if the latter, how, exactly, do you do this? Bloodwork for HcG? For progesterone?

Out of blog, out of mind

Just a quick note. The goods are shipped, the keys are soon to be exchanged. Meanwhile, we’re spending our last two weeks in the U.S. on an organic farm in rural Pennsylvania. We don’t have Web access there, so posting will be few and far between.

Still no AF, haven’t tested in almost a week. Look for an update this Sunday.

The Haiku Meme

So, I’m starting a meme. Never done it before, just felt like the time.

Here’s the deal. You write a haiku to describe your IF/latest cycle/you name it. It can be deep and emotional, or snarky and bitchy, or just downright funny.

A haiku is a 17 syllable poem in three lines: the first and third lines have five syllables each, the second line has seven.

Mucus shows up too late,
Ovulation is moot now,
My ovaries suck.

or

Infertility
means losing a loved one you
never got to know.

or

If I could save one
person in a shipwreck, it
wouldn’t be my doc.

or

Clomid, I hate you.
You turn me into Satan,
but yield no babies.

or

Stupid OPK!
“User! Your ovulation is
imminent!” my ass.

It’s fun. Have a go!

I tag ProjGen, Mel @ Stirrup Queens and the fabulous Rachel Inbar!

But you don’t have to wait to be tagged or have a blog! Post your gems in the comments. Maybe Mel will be kind enough to do a roundup of the best on Friday?

Cue the EWCM! Only 12 days too late!

Yeah, you read that right. Sorry for the TMI, but on CD26 I appear to be ovulating.

I am having a hard time caring. For the first time since we started trying to conceive (!) I do not really care. I’m not going to try and fix it until we move. I do not have time to play Stirrup Queen right now.

Though I reserve the right to take 100 mg a day of clomid as soon as Aunt Flo makes the dreaded visit. We have a month till we move. No harm in trying one more time.

There are times when I just want to pick up my ovaries and uterus and shake them. I mean really. Now? You want to ovulate now? Why now? Why not when we were shagging like bunnies? What, that was too soon for you? For the love of Pete you stupid ovaries … just ovulate already! Who do I have to sleep with to get you to drop an egg?

For the record, I have no actual evidence of ovulation. I did not take an OPK. I did, however, POAS and it was a snow white negative.

Conclusions:

1. Clomid appears to have had no effect.

2. My feminine bits are revolting. Both as in they appear not to play well with others and they are making me sick to my stomach.

3. Either that or I am pregnant and my cooter has the flu.

4. Or I am (suprise!) ovulating on CD26. If I don’t get my period in a few days I might just get my bloods done to see what the hell is going on in there.

5. Maybe I had a sex change and didn’t notice?

6. I am starting to wonder if I have PCOS. I have more hair than necessary on my face, can’t lose weight for love or money and appear not to be ovulating/am having really long cycles. Yet another fun thing we can look into in Israel.