getting back into the swing of things

Ok, it's finally time to recap the last few days. I'm sufficiently recovered from my travels.

My last night in Cape Town was spent at the Savoy Cabbage with the Infertile Gourmets. Such a lovely time! I'd taken a special book for the chef there but missed him! We were dining late and he left before I could thank him. I left it with a note and a bit of disappointment.

My last morning was a busy one. I had my final acupuncture appointment with Dr Z and so many tasks to get done. Packing took a lot longer than I expected. I was trying to stay calm and stress-free but became a bit frazzled.

I did finally get all my luggage corraled (and fit many cans of tisers into said bags), stopped by the SC to say good-bye to Chef who was super sweet and called the hotel to make sure I'd stop by, and left for the airport a bit late. I planned on dining in Jo'berg since I knew I wouldn't have time in Cape Town. I was super stressed all the way to the airport and convinced I wasn't going to make it home in one piece.

I checked in with just a few minutes to spare (or so I thought) and met a lovely woman in line behind me. We were both headed to Atlanta. I'd booked a slightly earlier flight to Jo'berg so I wouldn't be stressed and would have plenty of time before the long flight.

Well, one thing led to another and our flight was delayed. We were rebooked and that flight was delayed. My time in Jo'berg was going to be nearly non-existent. There wasn't time to eat in either airport, instead I got to spend quality time in various queues and repeatedly going through airport security. Fun!

To cap off my Cape Town adventure I decided it was finally time to give myself my first im pio shot. I know, I know, I'm a total wimp. I'd been getting shot up by all sorts of folks but saved my last day to force myself to do it.

In the public women's room. In front of many women parading in and out of the bathroom.

That did make it very, very quick on my part. It wasn't as bad as I thought but the angle was fairly awful. Oh and I bled quite a bit. I'm sure I left an excellent impression on those women.

By the time I got to Jo'berg I had just enough time to run from the domestic terminal to the international one, go through security for the 4th time of the day (soooo much fun) and spend some of my last rand. Not enough time to get anythiing to eat so I depended on the food on the plane.

My friend from line turned out to be seated next to me all the way to Atlanta. The plane was PACKED. There was a transportation strike in France so lots of people that had planned to go through Paris to the US were on our plane instead. It was less than optimal conditions. Oh and it was really, really bumpy. I do okay with turbulence but it does bother me more when I know I'm over the ocean. Conjures up visions of Lost or something I guess.

My seat-mate was fun to talk to but totally afraid of flying. Her dad had worked for the airlines for 40+ years as a flight engineer so she knew lots of cool stuff. She works as lead stewardess on a private yacht so she had lots of good stories about the jet-set lifestyle as well. I can't even comprehend the kind of wealth it takes to own a 190+ foot yacht with a staff of 14. Crazy!

I survived the flight. That's about all I can say. I watched 4 movies and read a book. Oh for a sleeping pill and a couple of classes of wine!

Clearing immigration and customs took much, much longer than normal. I finally got some non-airplane food (thank you Chik-Fil-A) and quickly got on another long flight (though the last one was only 5 hours so it seemed like a short hop).

I was so very glad to see the Mister when I finally got back to my time zone. My bag was only 24 hours behind me and arrived fairly intact.

Jet lag has been kicking my butt for the last few days. I'm still waking up very early and going to bed early as well. I know they say the early bird gets the worm, but what about the early worms? They just get eaten, right?

Daylight savings time has come at the perfect time for me. I need all the help readjusting to this 10 hour time change.

Oh and that cycle thing. Well, all the shots and drugs are going fairly well. I don't have a nightly opportunity to exhibit my butt in public so I'm letting the Mister do it all. I'm trying not to think about things too much. My local clinic wants me to wait until April 10th or 11th to take a beta hcg. That will put me at 14-16dp4dt which I think is completely insane. I'm hoping to be able to test Friday but I don't want to piss them off so I guess for now I'll just say we'll see. So it's not like I've obsessively been googling anything to do with 6dp4dt. Not like that at all.

Comments

[Boulder]

Welcome back!

I think I'd be certifiable if I were ever forced to wait for 14-16 days past a 4dt. That's crazy talk. Wonder what their rationale is for delaying? My clinic doesn't like to go past a 10 test with 3dt, so you'd be 5 days past that at best. I'd be buying up hpts all over the county by then!

[Bonnie]

You are going to test before that, right???

[Kellie]

I agree wtih Boulder. 14-16 days is way way too long.

Glad you made it back in one piece. Good luck.

[Red Headed Momma]

Oh man, what a nightmare trip back! So glad that's over and you're back at home! Geesh, can't wait for you to test!

[Roni]

Hey Millie - know what you mean about the flight back - ours sucked too - like a can of sardines. UGH!!! Glad you got through it in one piece, and congrats on doing the shot yourself - that's very brave(even though it was necessary, it was STILL brave). And I agree - 14-16 dp4dt??? What are they thinking?? I actually asked my accupuncturist to give me the Quest Lab form for my beta - I called my health carrier and asked them whether they'd pay for it - as long as the form was submitted by a licensed provider (and not even a network one) they paid for it - so I went with that and got my beta without having to pester my local RE. Can you try something like that? Or can you call your OB instead and ask for the form?

I hope you find a way around this bullshit.
Roni

[Fran]

Hey Ms Millie, the timing on that beta is ridiculous! I like Roni's idea regarding getting Dr. L (our acupuncturist) to fill out a Quest form is a great idea.

I also wanted to thank you for highlighting to my Mr. the other night, that there are lower cost DE options here in the U.S...

Call me when you can.

xo,

Fran

[thalia]

That journey would have reduced me to a snivelling wreck. I'm glad you made it back after all that, and with the cans of tizer too.

I think a beta must be procured sooner than that. Why do they want you to wait that long? If you just show up are they really not going to take your blood?

[Pamplemousse]

So.....are you going to pee on anything soon???

[Kellie]

Well that's probably not the first time someone's been spotting shooting up in the bathroom at an airport. heh.

Sounds like an amazing trip. I'm sorry that you have to wait so long to take your beta - it's hard for all of us to wait to hear the results so I can imagine what you're going through. Yikes.

[Kellie]

I actually meant SPOTTED not spotting above.

[PBfish]

Sounds like an awful trip home. Blech.
I agree with the others, it just seems cruel not to let you test earlier. Still crossing my fingers for you!

[Paisley]

Glad your tisers made it home as well as you did. As the others say, the beta timing is insane.

[Sue]

obsessive googling? What's that?
:) Helping you count the days, Mil.

[Tonya]

Holy cow, now that's a long wait for the beta. All they have to do is send you to a lab with a lab slip in hand, how lazy are they being?? I hope you can talk them into doing it sooner.

[fisher queen]

Can't believe you shot yourself in the bathroom in front of people. What guts! It sounds like a horrible trip all around.

[ninaB]

gawd. that sounds exhausting. hope you had a chance to rest & recover on the weekend. glad the tisers arrived in tact. am thinking lots of good thoughts for you, the mister and the little blast.

[Ornery]

Just reading about your return trip makes me feel exhausted! So glad that you're back home with the Mister.

[Jan1902]

Hey there,
wow, what a trip. Hope you are enjoying relaxing a bit now.
My old RE tested on days 6 and 8 post 5dt - pretty early. What did you decided to do?
I have a favor to ask also, would you mind posting (or emailing me) your FET protocol? I would appreciate it so much.

[InSpring]

Wow! Well I'm glad your trip was better than your travel at least that's something. You have so much courage, I'm not sure I could do all that you did. You're quite a gal!