Hello ladies,

Well it's time for me to join this thread.

Background:
I went off the pill (after 8 years) in June 06 and haven't had AF since. and found out that I don't ovulate (probably stress related).
Started OI in August after some delays, and did not respond at all (75u gonal-F).
Went to FS this week expecting him to tell me to just increase the dose etc, but no...

Found out I have Factor V Leiden, a clotting disorder - meaning he won't consider continuing with OI due to increased risks of developing a blood clot. He also thinks I'm an all-or-nothing girl, so I'll not respond and then 'wham' I'll over-respond. So he very matter-of-factly told me that IVF (and 50% likely to be IVM) was our next option.

I was pretty floored because I hadn't really prepared myself for this! And DH wasn't there as he couldn't get out of work (clearly he would have tried had he known that would be the conversation!).

I know that a lot of ladies are going through IVF, but I'm sure you all remember how you felt when you first found out. It's quite a shock.

Then of course we get to the money side of things - FAR OUT I really had no idea. We need to come up with around $10,500 upfront, but will hopefully only be about $2,500 out of pocket (after we hit the safety net this will go down).
So we're waiting til Jan 09 to start, because we can't fit 2 cycles in this year due to a holiday and work commitments, so it makes more sense to wait til Jan. Also gives me a chance to try and loose a few kgs, get as healthy as I can, and give us every extra chance of success.
We're going on holiday in 10 days to Vanuatu, which is a celebration trip as I've recently submitted my PhD thesis. After that we'll be telling DH's immediate family about it (they have no idea of our fertility probs) and most likely asking his parents if we can borrow the money. We're actually heading off to visit my parents this weekend (they live in the country and we haven't been to their place for ages) so we'll take the opportunity to tell them face-to-face.

I was wondering how many people have told their work about being on IVF? At this stage I think I'll tell my office manager and direct boss, but not until Jan. I think they'll be supportive and I know the process of taking time off etc will be easier when they are not questioning why or thinking I'm slack!

Anyway I just wanted to say hello, I'll be lurking around here following all your journeys and learning a lot in the process!! BB has been a great help to me so far.

And if anyone else has FVL I'd love to hear your stories - I'm heterozygous for the gene. Interestingly my FS told me I can't ever go on the pill again and should always wear compression stockings when I fly (hmm, in the last 2 years I've flown long-haul international flights several times and numerous national flights - whoops - plus I was on the pill for 8 years!).