LIT in Mexico...um, That was Fun?

Ok, here is the update to my adventure in Nogales, AZ. Mark and I stayed in Tucson the night before...since the drive the next morning would only be 1.5 hours as opposed to 3.5. It was also going to be my only day to sit out at the pool and get a little sun. Wouldn't you know it that about 20 minutes after I got situated at the pool, it started to pour. It didn't stop until dinner time. : (

Woke up at 5:30 on Saturday morning to shower, and check out of the hotel. We arrived in Nogales, AZ a little before 8. We were to meet our "ride" at the McDonald's who would then drive us across the border to the doctor's office. We walked in, and everyone was Mexican except for one other couple. So, no brainer there, we weren't the only couple heading to MX that morning.

Anyway, the driver met us and 2 other couples and drove us over the border. Nogales is pretty gross. There is nothing there but junky souvenir shops, and lots of dentist offices. The doctor's office was very clean, but very very small. I think there was a mini lobby with reception, a tiny bathroom that didn't work that well, the doctor's little office, and a room with an ultrasound.

We were the fourth couple to get called into the doctor's office. He didn't speak English as well as I had hoped, so that was a little disconcerting. He asked a variety of questions...some we could answer and some we couldn't. After that, Mark and I went into the back room where a nurse took 10 vials of Mark's blood. The nurse told us to come back in 2 hours. Nogales is not a town that you really want to walk around for that long, so we hung around the office. We met another couple who was there for their 4th LIT procedure. They had been here 4 years before and wound up with a son, so it was great to hear their success story. We ate breakfast with them at a decent place up the street.

Two hours later, we were all back at the doctor's office awaiting our injections. The people who had done this before were all telling me about their physical reactions to the procedure. Some suffered from mild "welts" and some itching, and some had more severe reactions. I was nervous. Three couples went in before us, and then finally it was our turn. I saw 2 big needles there on the table, and it hadn't occurred to me to be nervous about the injections. I was just nervous about the reaction I would have POST injection. Anyway, the nurse injected the serum (which was a mixture of Mark's white blood cells, and some other stuff) in 4 different places on my forearm. The needle pinched going in all 4 times,and then the serum burned as it was injected into me. My eyes definitely watered. The hard part was knowing that after she finished my first arm, I still had another 4 injections left in my other arm.

After she finished, the injection sites still burned and were a little red, but my reaction wasn't as bad as I thought it would have been. About 30 minutes later, the doctor drove us back to the border. We waited in line for about an hour and then went through the border. We got stopped though for inspection. I guess it looked suspicious to have 3 unrelated American couples being driven over the border by a Mexican physician. So, they inspected our passports, asked us all a few questions, and then 20 minutes later, we were on our way back to Scottsdale.

It is now Monday, 2 days after my LIT treatment. I have 4 big welts on each arm, and they are starting to itch a little bit. I can't wash my arms, put lotion on them, have them exposed to the sun, take antihistamines to stop the itching, or exercise. The good news is that I can sit in the pool, drink alcohol, and pretty much do whatever else I want to.

If this works, and I get pregnant, I probably don't have to go back for another treatment. If I don't get pregnant, Mark and I have to decide if we want to make the trip back to Nogales.

Feel free to leave me any comments if you have any questions about my LIT treatment.

I'll blog again when I get back to New Jersey!