I was surprised to flip to "The View" this morning, and the topic was infertility. They had a doctor from the NYU clinic, Giuliana and Bill Rancic, and two other couples that were dealing with infertility.
My thoughts
*Didn't know that Sherri use IVF to conceive her son
*Didn't know that Barbara had 3 miscarriages before she decided to adopt her daughter
*Awesome that Whoopie put Giuliana in her place about not wanting to gain weight after the doctor advises her to before getting pregnant.
*Giuliana said that they had done IUI, and one time they had 8 (!) follicles.... WHAT THE HELL!?! granted, they might not have been all dominate follicles, but still... my doctor threatens to cancel it if there are more then two!
*Didn't realize that you had to get permission from your spouse to have treatments... which becomes a problem if you are having a long draw out divorce.
*If you've done IVF, and have stored embryos, and go through a divorce, the courts can decide who gets the embryos....
This show is kinda hit or miss on if I enjoy it... I'm not huge fan of it overall, however this one was interesting, because fertility is not a common topic, though it seems at least two of the hosts have dealt with infertility issues. I guess yesterday was a good lead in... they had Octo-mom on!
I'm adopted, he's in the Air Force, and all we really want is family. After 8 miscarriages, and one failed adoption, this blog is a journal through infertility, adoption, and now parenthood, now that Isaac has filled our baby carriage, and it's about to be filled again with a surprise, successful (so far) pregnancy! It's sometimes blunt, sometimes improper, but always real. This is our story.
I just watched it also and never do, for various reasons. I pretty much had the same thoughts that you did. My mouth was on the ground about Barbara Walters. I struggle with feeling like a normal human being and feeling like I'm never going to get over this. Seeing her, knowing how strong she is and also going through it all in the public eye, well, WOW.
ReplyDeleteI heard about that episode a couple days ago and wanted to record it but I forgot. Thanks for the info from it! I would have loved to see Whoopie's conversation with Giuliana!
ReplyDeleteI've got to say, I've watched a few episodes of Giuliana and Bill's reality show and the whole fertility issue thing seems fake to me. The dealings with their RE-type person and their appointments and their conversations about it are all a little... off.
I use to routinely have 6-8 follicles for my IUIs. Of course then we didn't know that my eggs were complete crap! What did Whoopie say to her about weight gain?
ReplyDeleteI've got a positive approach to ART on television for you - "The Little Couple" on TLC.
ReplyDeleteIf you're not familiar with it, she's a doctor, he's a business owner; still newlyweds but old enough to want to get started on family building fairly soon. One episode showed the process they went through in re. genetic testing, meeting with an RE, contemplating a gestational carrier using their genetic material, starting to debate adoption and so on. Very much a matter of fact 'this is what we have to do to reproduce' approach, not sensationalized in any way such as Giuliana & Bill or Octo-Mom. Of course, with cameras following every move it's hard but I really get the feeling from seeing other episodes that these are rational people, not just media players.
On IVF @ divorce: our clinic had us sign & initial paperwork indicating how any embryos in storage were to be dispersed in event of such (and other events). I'm not sure how well it would hold up in court, but at least it was a documented intention.
ReplyDeleteI had the same reaction -- 8 follicles?! I'm lucky if I come out with 2 that are above 15mm.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed your recent post about B&S. I love that show and thought of so many bloggers last weekend while watching it.
I saw your post and went downstairs to check my TiVo (I have it set to grab anything related to infertility). I then watched the whole episode. I think it's really great that they are getting the word out there and that those couples had the courage to come on and discuss their IF. I never knew that many of the hosts had themselves struggled with IF. The gaining weight issue with Giuliana seemed a little off to me -- I am really thin and the doctor telling me to "just gain 5 lbs" was literally impossible even eating 2400 calories/day. So if she's like that, I can see how it would be hard, but she instead sounded like she was so worried about her body image (so gaining weight isn't hard she just didn't want to). That seemed off ... she did admit she gained 5 lbs though, so who knows.
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