Michael and Brandon Keilen Part 3

[Feministe9000]

34 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

Birthday post from Brandon:

 

They're cute in their own awkward way.

He also makes a point to call her Michaela, which is interesting.

 

[SassyPants]

On 1/12/2018 at 4:10 PM, sophrosyne said:

The house is on a street adjacent to the IBLP headquarters in Oak Brook.

Are they rent subsidized? That's some high priced real estate.

[nickelodeon]

I definitely agree with the "most privileged guy I know" part.

[Dandruff]

I semi-watched this week's episode and Michael had a procedure to see if her tubes were blocked.  I couldn't quite make sense of it (or they were intentionally vague) but it sounded like one tube isn't blocked and the other may be blocked.  Brandon's swimmers are apparently OK.  Michael said she had a lot of blood work and hyper-ovulates.  Dr. Vick suggested they give things another few months.  I'm kind of surprised that they waited this long to check for a blockage. 

[Thorns]

8 minutes ago, Dandruff said:

I semi-watched this week's episode and Michael had a procedure to see if her tubes were blocked.  I couldn't quite make sense of it (or they were intentionally vague) but it sounded like one tube isn't blocked and the other may be blocked.  Brandon's swimmers are apparently OK.  Michael said she had a lot of blood work and hyper-ovulates.  Dr. Vick suggested they give things another few months.  I'm kind of surprised that they waited this long to check for a blockage. 

It might be because it is invasive and probably expensive. She might have had to think a lot about it first. If one of her tubes is blocked and she ovulates mostly from that side, it might explain the problems they have been having. Hyper ovulating might be part of the problem as well. I hope they get some answers and some peace.

[Dutchie]

On 16-1-2018 at 7:27 PM, ladybug15 said:

Which country are you in that there are covering so many ICSI? In most I heard 1 or 2 max, and you are not eligible if either of the partners had kids previously

I’m from Holland, here IUI is fullycovered for 6 tries and IVF for 3. We don’t have single payer, we pay around 100 euro a month per adult (kids are free). And we have a 350 deductible per adult (kids don’t have deductibles). But a lot of things don’t fall under the deductible (I’m 7 months pregnant and nothing so far had to be paid for. 

[VelociRapture]

5 hours ago, Thorns said:

It might be because it is invasive and probably expensive. She might have had to think a lot about it first. If one of her tubes is blocked and she ovulates mostly from that side, it might explain the problems they have been having. Hyper ovulating might be part of the problem as well. I hope they get some answers and some peace.

If nothing else, at least this may help narrow things down for them a bit and give them more of an idea of what to look for. And yes, hopefully they get some answers and find some peace, regardless of the outcome. 

[BeccaGrim]

She really broke my heart in this one. I could really feel her pain.  And Brandon actually reminded me of my husband in the sense of being very quiet but very supportive.  I'm so aggressive medically, I couldn't help but be like "NO, PUSH. KEEP GOING. WHAT IS THIS PAUSING THING?" But I think that speaks more to me than her.  

[Mela99]

I'm mildly surprised that he didn't check her tubes first thing. That tends to be the norm for the first invasive test - the HSG. They check blood levels first to see if your body ovulates, they check husband's sperm, then they see if you're blocked. (Just my experience having been down the infertility route) 

Mind you, I don't blame her at all if she didn't want the HSG. That fucker HURTS. They feed a catheter up there then shoot your tubes full of dye while they watch. One of mine was blocked, and the other spasmed from it. Took about fifteen seconds total, and I was still screaming for them to stop. 

And all of this does make you feel really vulnerable and "broken". I truly feel for her. I hope against hope they can help her. 

 

[twinmama]

2 hours ago, Mela99 said:

Mind you, I don't blame her at all if she didn't want the HSG. That fucker HURTS. They feed a catheter up there then shoot your tubes full of dye while they watch. One of mine was blocked, and the other spasmed from it. Took about fifteen seconds total, and I was still screaming for them to stop. 

Holy hell, my HSG hurt more than my c-section. It was AGONIZING and I didn't have a blockage. It seriously hurt so bad I could not think straight. Thank god the pain stopped as soon as they stopped pushing the dye through. Ugh, horrible memory.

[crazysnark]

If Michael hyper ovulates does that mean if/when she does conceive she will have a higher chance at twins? 

[Mela99]

2 minutes ago, crazysnark said:

If Michael hyper ovulates does that mean if/when she does conceive she will have a higher chance at twins? 

Depends. If one of her tubes is blocked, maybe not. Sometimes with HO women ovulate out of both. It also really depends if she has any other existing issues. From what I've seen, HO often presents with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome too. 

[MsSaylor]

So hyper ovulating is actually a fertility issue in  itself or no? So Michael did have the dye test? Ive heard of a lot of women getting pregnant right away after getting that bc the dye itself can open up and flush out the tubes.  Im surprised they mentioned Brandons sperm, but Im glad they tested that as well.  

[Mela99]

Hyperovulation is not, in and of itself, a fertility issue per se. It does increase the risk of multiples.

But like I said, a lot of the times it presents with PCOS. That tends to be where the most issues lie. 

As far as I can tell - I did not watch the episode - Michaela did not have any of the invasive testing, the HSG or SHG. They only suspect at this point she may have blockage. 

[ladybug15]

1 hour ago, MsSaylor said:

So hyper ovulating is actually a fertility issue in  itself or no? So Michael did have the dye test? Ive heard of a lot of women getting pregnant right away after getting that bc the dye itself can open up and flush out the tubes.  Im surprised they mentioned Brandons sperm, but Im glad they tested that as well.  

HCG (the blockage test) is the dye test. In my experience its the first test they do beyond hormones. And its painful. I almost fainted during it and I was not tested. 

AS for hyperovulation, I thought it was more than one egg released but it has to be from the same ovary as only one side matures each month. They often alternate (ovaries) but only one matures an egg each month not both.

 

[sophrosyne]

On 1/24/2018 at 4:51 PM, SassyPants said:

Are they rent subsidized? That's some high priced real estate.

I'm pretty sure it's an IBLP owned house. Some of our other favorite FJ fundies (Wallers, Staddons) lived in IBLP owned houses on adjacent blocks.  The Keilens' current house is on a lane of houses built in the 1960s and nice in their day, but not all have been updated or well-maintained, including the house they're in.

 

[VineHeart137]

1 hour ago, Mela99 said:

As far as I can tell - I did not watch the episode - Michaela did not have any of the invasive testing, the HSG or SHG. They only suspect at this point she may have blockage. 

I didn't watch the episode but I saw their 19 second recap, and the doctor was saying Michael had fluid inside (somewhere) and it had to have gone through her tube to get in there. So it sounds like they did test for a blockage.

[LiLSeaWitch]

I only have 1 tube and 1 ovary due to a cyst when I was 21. I had no problem getting pregnant with my first. Between my first and second I had a tubular pregnancy, my doctor was great and managed to reconstruct my damaged tube because I wanted another child. I had to have this dye test done after healing to make sure the tube wasn’t blocked.  It is true this test hurts like a son of a gun, oh my goodness the cramping and I continued to have the cramping for about an hour after. Seems to me if there is some blockage in one of her tubes they would remove it so there is not a chance of an ectopic pregnancy,  which can be life threatening. Like I said I only have one tube and one ovary but I had my cycle every month, lack of an ovary and fallopian tube did not hinder getting pregnant. 

[LillyP]

As someone who has dealt with unexplained infertility, it really really sucks and it heartbreaking. It's easy to look at people in their situation and think "gosh what are they waiting for, why haven't they done anything about it?" but the reality is, it's not that simple. For some it can be a mental block, for others a financial one. My insurance does not cover infertility in any way. All the blood tests I had done,  my husbands semen analysis, etc were all out of pocket.

As badly as I wanted to be pregnant and as long as we tried, I still drug my feet when it came to scheduling an HSG test (the test Michaella had). I was nervous, scared, and frankly pissed it would cost me anywhere from $700-1500 out of pocket. I had finally made up my mind to do it and was waiting for my period to show up, and that month I ended up being pregnant. Sadly that ended in an Ectopic pregnancy, and our first month back trying ended as a Chemical pregnancy. I did end up getting pregnant with a keeper, but it was an emotional roller coaster.

Families like the duggars and bates make getting pregnant look easy, and while it is for many people, it's not for far more than people realize.

[janey]

6 hours ago, twinmama said:

Holy hell, my HSG hurt more than my c-section. It was AGONIZING and I didn't have a blockage. It seriously hurt so bad I could not think straight. Thank god the pain stopped as soon as they stopped pushing the dye through. Ugh, horrible memory.

Ugh as soon as they talked about going home to Dr. Vick to do a test I knew it was this. I totally had sympathy pains. 

[Kelsey]

I had the HSG and while I don't remember how much it cost, I do remember how much it FUCKING HURT. It was the single most painful 15 seconds or so of my life. It was the last test I had done before having IVF (I didn't have a blockage). I had 3 failed IUI's before.

[BullyJBG]

7 hours ago, crazysnark said:

If Michael hyper ovulates does that mean if/when she does conceive she will have a higher chance at twins? 

I did some research, and it does appear that way. I hope they do.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

The nurse told Michael she would feel “pressure.” Bullshit. As others have said, that test hurts like all hell. The nurse who did mine said that a lot of women conceive the next month because it opens up your tubes, and a friend of mine told me later that happened to her.

[TeaELSee]

Is that Gothard church in Hinsdale still open now that headquarters have been moved to Texas?  Does anyone know why Brandon stayed and what his job is now?

i have no idea why this is nagging at me. Maybe because I live in the general area and I find this lifestyle so foreign and fascinating.  

Fascinating as in odd, not as I’m interested in pursuing it!

[Mela99]

The nurse told Michael she would feel “pressure.” Bullshit. As others have said, that test hurts like all hell. The nurse who did mine said that a lot of women conceive the next month because it opens up your tubes, and a friend of mine told me later that happened to her.

Same. It's a flat out lie. It's a forcible push through your tubes. My clinic called it the good luck flush because it does clean things out.

That still bugs me about some of the Fertility treatments and tests. Obviously I'm still going to do it but be honest with me about the pain so I can prepare.