Day 10 AET (After Embryo Transfer)

Ever feel like you’ve beaten a topic to death? That’s how undergoing IVF feels. Actually, it feels like a lot of things, but this is one thing that really isn’t addressed much. Most people don’t understand how it’s done. I mean, they know scientists and doctors are fertilizing the eggs on behalf of the couple, but the medications, the time line, the emotions, the process…most parents, siblings, doctors even, don’t know what’s involved.

So when you say “We’re undergoing IVF,” everyone asks, “Explain that to me. What’s involved?” Every time anyone asks for an update, they also ask for a brief, “Explain this to me again. How is it done?” This topic was worn out for me after the third retelling of my first IVF cycle. I’m on my third cycle, and now I just don’t want to talk to anyone about the how. Have a look here if you missed the previous articles.

Two beautiful 3-day old embryos were placed inside of me on Friday, 12 July 2019. Now we sit…and wait. The embryos have to implant and that is pregnancy. On my second IVF, we don’t think they implanted due to a drug the doctor put me on that prevented the implantation (That would be LDN – A drug prescribed to HIV/AIDS patients to boost their immune system). And there is that redundancy I just don’t want to talk about anymore, so I’ll move on.

Let’s talk about food.

Three days after implant, my caloric intake doubled. I went from taking in a well structured 1,200 calories a day to nearly 2,200 calories a day and the appetite hasn’t slowed down. I am always starving. Am I pregnant? I have no idea.

When you’re looking to get pregnant, you look for every stupid little sign that tells you you’re pregnant. The irony is if, I a, pregnant, I’m currently in my second week. Most symptoms don’t start until the 4th or 6th week. And many pregnancy symptoms can be psychosomatic. Can hunger? Riddle me this. The hunger is strong, it wakes me up at 2AM. Can I have psychosomatic symptoms while I sleep? I don’t know.

When I wake at 2AM because I feel like someone’s punched me in the gut and four Chips Ahoy cookies barely takes the edge off, giving me enough time to make an egg sandwich, it gives me pause to wonder if I’m pregnant.

So that is where I am. I take a base-line pregnancy test tomorrow on 22 July 2019, but the blood test on Wednesday, 23 July 2019 will tell me if I’m pregnant or not. In the meantime, I eat, sleep, and relax.