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Screening Time!

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By: Kelly Rummelhart

 

So I have made my decision to proceed with a third, and final, surrogacy.  Since I’m no spring chicken, time is of the essence.  I actually have several years before I can no longer be a surrogate, but I’d rather not be pregnant at my twenty-year high school reunion (which is coming up sooner than later), so it’s time to get the process started.

At the end of June I flew down to Los Angeles to complete my physical and psychological screening. I gave a photo play-by-play on my own blog but will give you a quick summary.

The physical screening only took about two hours. When I arrived at Dr. Kolb’s office I checked in and filled out several new patient forms.  Later, they took several vials of blood and urine samples.  Next, I went into the doctor’s office and we discussed the process of IVF.  It was more of a summary since I have been through it twice already.  However, the first time you go in, usually with your husband/partner, they will explain everything, so you know what you’re signing on for.

After our discussion, I followed Dr. Kolb into the exam room.  I undressed from the waist down for my pelvic exam and transvaginal ultrasound.  This is when they fill your uterus with saline to see how it’s looking.  He told me that it looked great.

Lastly, I spoke with the nurse and she informed me that I should hear back in a week or two.  She also gave me birth control pills, so that they get my cycle synched with the egg donor, when the time comes.

My husband didn’t have to come down this time (only the first) but he had to have his blood drawn locally for his part of the screening. I assume our physical screening results will all be okay since not much has changed since the last two journeys.  Rick and I are still monogamous and still don’t use drugs.

Although, I did have one fear . . . when my surrogate friends and I were at San Francisco Pride this year (two days before my screening), it was on the same weekend as the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup.  Let’s just put it this way, I hadn’t smelled that much pot since I was a Resident Assistant in college!  I even tweeted about it:

The pot convention is happening the same weekend as Pride . . . I am sick of smelling it. 1:08 PM Jun 26th via Twitter for Android

If it shows on my surrogacy screening Tuesday I am going to be pissed. 1:09 PM Jun 26th via Twitter for Android

With the physical screening complete I then left the doctor’s office and took a cab to Growing Generations to complete my psychological screening.  For that part I spoke with Fertility Counseling Services.  Next, I took the computerized psychological assessment.  Some of the questions are pretty funny and it’s something that a lot of us surrogates talk about after the fact.  Once we even created a list of questions (that are true for us) that could sound crazy to others: “I have a habit of carrying gay mens’ babies”.  The psychological screening can take about 2 or three hours.  The computerized part is almost 600 questions, so the difference in time may depend on how long it take you to answer all those.

It’s been about 2 and a half weeks since I screened and I’m just waiting for my results. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.  I was supposed to hear back Friday but the doctor’s office never emailed me.  Hopefully by the time this hits the Internet I’ll have my answer.  And of course I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

Kelly Rummelhart writes about her experiences as a two-time gestational surrogate for gay couples. She calls herself a “Uterine Activist” and will be the first to tell you that her uterus is an ally. Kelly also writes at Just The Stork

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