It's Just That I Don't Like the Answers

The REI fellow answered my email. She apologized for taking so long (3 days??!) to get back to me, saying she had house guests and had been very busy. It's not at all productive to compare her to Kate, so I'm trying not to go there.

Anyway, she said that there really is no difference between how the recombinants (Follistim, Gonal-F) act on your ovaries, but that many REs will prefer them to Bravelle because the actual FSH concentration in Bravelle can vary from batch to batch. (I guess those menopausal nuns can't urinate exact concentrations on command.) Because I as yet have no indication that I will be a poor responder and need those exact IUs to the nose, I'll continue with my significantly cheaper Bravelle.

She also said there is no, none at all, difference between Cetrotide and Ganirelix. (She did not add "aside from the various pharmaceutical give-away calenders and other assorted kickbacks", but then again, she is only halfway through her fellowship, so she's not quite an expert on all things.)

And that using microdose hCG along with FSH, which my clinic does, unique from any other protocol I've stumbled across on the various infertility message boards I frequent, as opposed to Menopur, makes no difference aside from the number of injections. She's incorrect in assuming that Menopur means fewer injections though--I am a master (mistress?) at mixing, and using my low-tech means, I only give one injection per day, counting Lupron, Bravelle, and hCG. No fancy pens for me, though I do have to admit to some curiosity.

But, alas, she said there is absolutely no evidence that any dietary restrictions, vitamins, Wiccan chants, etc. can "shrink" cysts, that I just have to wait (patiently, she did not add, perhaps she knows a bit about me?) for it to resolve on its own.

And also that she agrees that starting me on a long Lupron protocol made the most sense, but if I'm ready to move on, I should talk to my RE. She seemed to favor the antagonist over the flare protocol for me, but she didn't really go into it. Probably because she's not my doctor and is a bit wary about dispensing medical advice, sight-unseen, over the internet. (Which, really. She should frequent some of these boards I mentioned. Women guzzle grapefruit juice, cough syrup, soy, whatever, all because someone said it works. But then again, I suppose no one could slap FertilityFriend with a malpractice suit.)

So I continue to wait, and do nothing. (Well, not quite nothing. I put in a call to my nurse asking about maybe getting some antidepressants. I see a therapist, but I honestly some days think I'd rather just die than deal with Christmas. That can't be right.)