IVF Consult Today - and - A "Brief" Entry On Boxers (heheh)

IVF

We have an appointment this afternoon to talk with the IVF coordinator, or whatever they call her, to get everything explained & scheduled and have whatever questions we have answered. We've been trying to think of as many questions as we can beforehand, and this morning we had a brainstorming session in the car. We'll likely do the same on the way there. Aught to be able to think of a few more during an hour drive.

The critical thing is the timing. We're pretty sure we can get one try in right away, but they have a gap in their scheduling during the summer to give their machinery a thorough cleaning. (It just occurred to me: does that mean we get the machines at their dirtiest? Probably well within tolerances.) If the first try doesn't work (~40% chance of success per try with ICSI at our age, they say) will we have to wait a few months longer for the second? I guess if the first try fails and we can identify one or more contributing factors a delay could give us time to do something about them, so if there is a delay there could be a silver lining to it. My wife just wants to power through this thing and get it done, though.

Boxers

As part of an attempt to do everything possible to improve my sperm count & morphology, I've now switched to boxers after having worn briefs my whole life. I got knit boxers, so the feeling would be a little more familiar. It's still a different experience altogether, I can say. Everything dangles, with no support to speak of. The first couple days there was some definite discomfort in my left testicle as it hung unsupported, but that seems to have passed.

My wife picked up a couple pair for me. Merona, I think the brand is. Then we picked up some others - a couple Hanes and a couple Jockey, plus one novelty pair with Homer Simpson just for fun. Then my back went out on me. I have a bad back, an inheritance from my father, and every so often it hits me. I believe it's the muscles of the lower back going into spasm. It seems to happen more readily if I wear pants with a waistband or drawstring that digs into them. Lying on the floor seems to help a lot, if only temporarily. Anyway, I took a closer look at the waistbands of the brands I got, and while the Hanes look smoother & softer - puffy with no bunching like you normally see with an elastic waistband in boxers - the elastic seems like it's going to hug tighter in a narrow band at the base of the waistband. The others seem to have more even pressure distributed over the entire hight. Because of that, I've declined to try wearing the Hanes until my back gets better. Search Amazon.com for merona boxer

The button fly is a new twist for me too. It's hard to unbutton those things while you're dancing.