Well, I'm not pregnant. But according to the b/w taken at my RE's office I do seem to have ovulated. My progesterone was post ovulation but my HCG was negative and we haven't DTD in so long there's no way I was pregnant anyway.
I had baselines done today to see where I was in my cycle and an ultrasound. I can't tell you how much I hoped (even knowing it was stupid) that it would somehow show a baby in my uterus. 5 or 6 weeks along - a total surprise. I'm definitely "Movie of the Week" material, haha. Anyway, no such luck, but I'm guessing I did ovulate a week ago when I was wondering if I was or not. I have no idea why I didn't O until day 40-something. It's fine, I should get AF in another week or so then, and then start my BCP which I picked up today.
We went to Boston to do our PGS counseling yesterday. It was pretty good actually. It wasn't that helpful to explain stuff to us because we know how it works, but it was actually helpful to talk about our family medical history in depth.
My grandmother died from ovarian cancer and my mother told me some years ago that she tested positive for some gene that is prevalent for ovarian cancer - so 5 or so years ago she had a hysterectomy since she was in her early 50s and there was no need anymore for a uterus. That way she didn't have to worry about getting ovarian cancer.
It turns out L's aunt died from breast cancer at 48 and his grandmother died from ovarian cancer at 44. The genetic counselor told us those two cancers share a gene and there's a chance that L, even as a male, carries it. If I carry my mother's/grandmother's gene as well that could put any kids at risk for that cancer later in life. Not that it would affect anything right now, but it's really good to know.
We're going to meet with an adult geneticist to take a look at whether my heart condition is a hereditary condition (not likely as no one else in my family has one) or just a fluke of nature/environmental issue while in the womb. That doctor will be able to suggest things we can do PGD for later on. Otherwise, we'll just do PGS.
So I've learned the difference:
PGD = pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. If you're looking for a specific disease you use this. (i.e. my heart condition if there's a genetic component).
PGS = pre-implantation genetic screening. A general screening for any possible genetic disease (I think there are basic things they look for).
Because of our "mediterranean heritages" (haha, never thought of it that way) she wants to see if we have had any bloodwork done for thalassemia. It's also called "mediterranean anemia" and I'm sure someone in one of our families would have had this by now if we did, but hey, we're looking at everything.
I also need to send her the results of the karyotypes we had done a few years ago, bloodwork I've had done when pregnant (results of cystic fibrosis tests and the like) and my mom's genetic test if I can get it. Besides looking for stuff for PGD, I'm going to be able to get a genetic test (and maybe L as well) to see what genes we have to see if we're susceptible to cancer later on in life as well. It's kind of cool.
I got an email from the attorney that is representing us with the surrogacy (really a surrogate agency attorney) saying she's planning on sending our surrogate agreement to us to look over next week. Took them long enough, sheesh. I really think it's a template for the most part, there's really no excuse.
Hoping Gabby's screening happens sometimes soon.
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