Update, and travel, and needles. Oh my.

I leave tomorrow for a long weekend in NYC, NJ, and PA. There will be lunch with Frequent Citations, and sightseeing in Philly, and much catching up with people I love. It may be my last vacation for a while, and I'm planning to enjoy it.

I'm even taking the good camera. Be afraid.

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All has been pronounced clear after the hysteroscopy. What now?

If I'd already selected a donor, I could actually have done an unmedicated IUI cycle either tomorrow or Thursday. Sigh. I haaate missing even a month at this point, so I'm smacking myself. Of course, since I go out of town tomorrow night, even with a donor safely in place I might still be out of luck.

(Travel is apparently off the table for the next little while, it looks like. I am a slave to my girlyparts right now. Whee!)

Given my upcoming loss of IVF coverage, my doctor's office is put in for approval of IVF today. AND GOT IT. I can't tell you how surprised I am-- there's no demonstrated history of IUI/other fertility treatment; the biggest issues are my age and my blocked fallopian tube, and I didn't think those would fly to justify IVF.

I asked the nurse "Did they get a confirmation number?" Seriously. I deal with insurance companies all the time, and am SHOCKED. (I hope they don't come at me after the fact.)

So at this point... IVF in, probably, early October. Meds start next month.

Ack. Yay! Ack.

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I had my first acupuncture session today, and am surprised at how straightforward it was. E, the practitioner, was straightforward and approachable, and I liked her very much. The space was open and inviting. The needles didn't hurt.

She had said to rest with the needles in for at least 20 minutes; I rested nearly half an hour and time just flew by-- rare for me, since I'm a wiggly person. When I finished, E said I'd done well for a first-timer-- most first-timers she's seen can barely last 20 minutes, but the average for returning clients is 45 minutes to an hour. Heh. It was somehow far more soothing than just resting in a chair would normally be.

E said a good chunk of her clientele, currently, is coming for fertility reasons, so I'm not alone in having found the data and pursuing it. Beginning in September, when I am officially on the track for IVF, I'll start going twice a week.

Despite the fact that the needles were placed related to fertility areas, I feel surprisingly clear and rested now. Very, very cool.

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OK. I'm going out of town for five days and have packed nothing. NOTHING. I need to get offline and, if nothing else, decide what shoes I'm taking...