So we went to the doctor. And then we waited. And waited. I guess waiting comes with the territory in a GYOBN office since they're always rushing off to deliver babies. And then you get to sit in the waiting room surrounded by pregnant women. Great, just what my empty-infertile-bleeding self needed today.
An hour and a half later we were in the doctor's office. My French was really put to the test as I explained our infertility history. Thank goodness most fertility-related words are pretty much the same as they are in English - insemination/insémination, sperm/spermes, uterus/utérus. Just say those words in a Frenchy-type accent and you're good to go. So he agreed that we should go ahead for IUI and he walked us through the process. I would come in on day 10 of my cycle for a scan of my lovely ovaries and then as soon as one of my follicles got to 20mm I would need to take a 'pillule' - this is 'pill' in French but he did this little hand motion with his finger going up that made me suspect that it is actually a suppository. I sincerely hope it's not. But let's face it, this is IF, so it probably is.
This 'pillule' is in order to trigger ovulation. I asked him if it was possible to do the cycle au naturelle, with no drugs. He told me that it was better with the drug so they wouldn't miss my ovulation. This is the only part I don't like. I've since read on the web that a completely natural IUI is possible if they do a blood test for your LH surge. I'm thinking about asking him about this. I am soooo nervous about taking drugs since I've been trying to clean out all my lead and I know my liver has been under strain because of this and I don't want to bombard it with more chemicals. But then is one 'pillule' going to be that much of a bother?
The best thing about the IUI here in Marrakech is the price. Yes baby. It is so much cheaper than in Europe. First of all to do a sperm analysis in the UK costs 100 pounds (1200 MAD or US$163) but here in Morocco it's only 300 MAD (25 pounds or US$37) woo hoo! The total cost of the IUI will be 1000 MAD (83 pounds or US$125). My hubbie looked over at me, sh*t I'm willing to do at least ten of these if we have to. He was not joking.
Anyway then the Doc said he needed to do an internal exam. But I have my...? You want to do it now? Yes, it's no problem. Okay. I've never had any kind of activity going on down there when AF was in town and I felt super self-conscious. Plus, my legs really need de-furring and I always make sure I'm waxed before I go to one of those appointments. I'm a bit of a freak about it. I won't even go to my acupuncturist until my legs look like they belong to me and not to a gorilla just escaped from the zoo. (When you have thick dark hair on your head, it grows prolifically everywhere else too.)
So he did the cervical exam. Parfait. I felt smug. My cervix is "parfait" apparently. The he inserted the Spanish Inquisition instruments of torture - is he going to give me a smear? But I have my period, so what's the point? No, he replied, I'm going to measure your uterus. That was a bit painful. He inserted this thin ruler type device he said was for measuring my uterus and checking the angle for the insemination. After it was all done we made the date for our next rendezvous. Ovary scan - 19th June.
Oh, I almost forgot. Mr. T has to play his part too. He needs to do another semen analysis before the IUI so I guess he's got some work on his hands too (forgive the totally intended double entendre). IUI here we go.
