"Get thee to the RE for IVF -- ASAP!!!!"

"Why are you still sitting here? Didn't you hear what I just said? Go - right now! I mean, right now!"

OK, those weren't the exact words that Dr. NHB used today during the post game wrap-up, errr I'm mean, post op appointment. But they are pretty darn close. I mean VERY close.

David and I arrived at Dr. NHB's office this morning at 10am. He directed us into an exam room where he examined the sites of my incisions and seemed very pleased with his handywork and informed us that I was healing well. We then sat in his office where he explained the photos he'd taken during the laparoscopy and answered all of our questions related to the procedure. I had over 30 questions, many were compound questions but his answers were basically the following --

1) My uterus looks good now! As do my ovaries, although the endometrioma will likely return.

2) My pelvic organs were pretty much glued together. My appendix was covered with endo, was enlarged, and attached to my uterus and ovaries. He believes that, had it not been removed, it would have ruptured eventually.

3) He attempted to remove as much endo as he could, although he could not give us any type of percentage or estimation of how much was removed.

4) He removed the right tube with the hydrosalpinx.

5) He freed my left tube (blocked) and ovary from the left pelvic wall and freed the right ovary from the right pelvic wall. He removed the endometrioma from my ovaries. He explained that this was all in an attempt to prepare us for IVF.

6) I asked about unblocking the remaining tube. He said there was no point in taking this action as the endo may return at any time.

7) One fibroid was removed but the other intramural fibroids were left inside.

8) All of the tissue that was removed was biopsied and "benign" endo/fibroids were confirmed.

9) He could not give me any sense of how long we have before the endo will return but he suggested that with stage 4 endo, coupled with my age, we should quickly begin IVF. As. soon. as. possible. I mean like NOW!

We assured him that our appointment with the RE is in 2-3 weeks (we've decided to just return to Dr. L, given that the consensus is -- in a large practice we'll see all of the doctors anyway and they consult on each others cases.) So since Dr. L is nice enough, save some unresponsiveness (maybe attributable to his former nurse?), we'll stick with him. Dr. NHB was happy to learn that we'd made an appointment to return to Ginormous Fertility Clinic and that we were aggressively pursing treatment.

Of course, Dr. NHB could give us no definitive cause for endo only theories, which is consistent with my research, nor could he make any recommendations about diet or other methods of controlling endo (not that I really expected answers). He suggested that Lupron would help (obviously, not advisable outside of an IVF protocol) and that another lap may be necessary at some point, depending on my symptoms. He also suggested that fertility meds would likely accelerate the development of endo but pregnancy (a veritable panacea) would stave it off.

He also informed us that I could resume all normal activity, including exercise, but should expect soreness as this was a major, albeit laprascopic, procedure. He hopes that my menstral cramps will be less painful now. Finally, he confirmed David's observation that the procedure took nearly 3 hours.

So here we are.

Here we are.

I recently spoke with two fellow crusaders. One whom I'd met during a meditation class a few weeks ago, Cathy, and another woman, (I'll call her Gail), whom I met at a local get-together of Resolve bulletin board posters. Both have been through multiple IVF cycles. Cathy got pregnant from her last IVF cycle and is now about six weeks along. Gail is currently awaiting ET. Both spoke positively about their IVF experiences, assuring me that yes - WE CAN DO IT! They both informed me that the injections weren't so bad, even the IM injections. I was happy to speak with such positive women, who both suggested that IVF cycles would be fine, despite my reservations.

So our appointment with Dr. L is on September 16th. I am going to drop off the laparascopy photos and Dr. NHB's report at Ginormous Fertility Clinic either later today or tomorrow. We may attempt to speak with Dr. L or one of his nurses over the phone prior to the consult, so that we can hit the ground running on the 16th. Gail suggested that I inform Ginormous' financial advisers that we intend to pursue IVF, so they will begin working on the insurance approvals immediately. I think that's a great idea and I plan to speak with one of their financial advisers when I drop off the laparascopy materials.

Lastly, I guess I will make a decision about an acupuncturist, Eve or Frank , in the upcoming days.

And, of course, await our appointment with Dr. L.

And the countdown begins.