Friday, May 30, 2008

Read the label

After a long day at work yesterday, I came home with nasty cramps. I went into the house intending to take two a.d.v.i.l. I went to the fridge, took out the bottle, shook out two capsules, thought again, put one back, and took one capsule. Twenty minutes later, I was wondering why the cramps still hurt so bad. I was just crawling into bed when I thought maybe I hadn't taken the gelcaps (which seem to me to work faster). I thought about it, and I remembered taking a white capsules, not blue capsules. Then I figured it out. I had taken an extra dose of my T3 instead of the a.d.v.i.l! Not good. I had just eaten a snack, so I figured that would help keep my body from absorbing all of the thyroid hormone, but it still was not good!

Thanks for the great comments on the last post! It's good to know that those results don't seem too weird. I went and picked up the Clomid today. Lifehopes asked why clomid instead of letrozole, and I'm not sure! I asked the nurse, and she just said that the doctor probably thought it would work better, given my test results. And Allyouwhohope asked a couple of posts ago whether the PCOS caused me to stop ovulating--sorry it took me a while to answer that! I don't think so. I've never had a progesterone test low enough at Peak +7 as to indicate that I hadn't ovulated, and when I had my ultrasound series (wow, almost a year and a half ago now!), everything looked normal. When I called for my cycle review today, the doctor also prescribed more vitamins on days 1-10 to support capillary health (for the blood vessels in the uterus, given the brown bleeding I've had in the past).

So, this cycle, I'm taking:

Days 1-10: antibiotics (for the brown bleeding), plus the new vitamins (1g of vitamin C twice a day, B complex, and bioflavinoids)
Days 3-5: clomid
Peak +3, 5, 7, & 9: hCG injections
After period till Peak +2: guaifenesin
Whole cycle: Multivitamin, folic acid, B6, calcium & magnesium

Man, it looks like a lot when I write it out! And I need to keep track of these things so I don't just keep taking T3 whenever I know I have to take something!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Huh?

So, I got the results of my blood draw series. I had blood draws on days 12, 14, 16, and 18 to test estradiol levels around ovulation.

Here's what happened:
Estradiol peaked on Day 14
Positive OPK on Day 16
Peak Day on Day 18

What's up with that? Anyone have any ideas? Now, I did not have a blood draw on Day 13 or Day 15, so it's possible that my estradiol really peaked on one of those days. But, as it is, it looks like the estradiol, LH, and cervical mucus aren't synched up. I'm not sure, though--are estradiol and LH supposed to peak at the same time? I'll have to do some more reading . . .

The upshot of the whole thing is that the doctor is prescribing Clomid for my next cycle, along with another series of blood draws to see how things change. Since I've been taking a higher dosage of T3, I've been taking my temperature, and it dropped quite a bit this morning. Bummer. But not a big surprise if I think about those test results (and interpret them in my amateur fashion!). So, I'm thinking today will be Day 1 and I'll have my first dose of Clomid on Saturday!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Sewing Machine!

This weekend, we bought a sewing machine! I'm so excited. We got it for $25 on c*r.a*i.g's l*i.s*t. I haven't done any sewing in about 10 years, partially because I haven't had a sewing machine. It's very basic, but I don't need anything fancy right now. If I really get into it, then I can always look for something more complicated later on.

I'm looking forward to making some baby gifts this summer! I took up crocheting a few years ago, and I love it, but I think that sewing will be quite a bit quicker than the crocheted blankets and stuffed animals I've been making for baby gifts. We have a new niece or nephew coming in a couple of months (and a couple of friends' babies who have been on my crocheted-gift list for too long), so I'd better get on that gift pretty soon.

Our other fun thing this weekend was going to a town nearby with hot springs. I'm at Peak + 11 today, so we went in the pool that was at 97 degrees, not in the hot baths that were above 100. We also went in the mud room, which was a hoot. We were in a little room with windows, so it was funny to see people peeking in at us from the pool as we sat there all mud-caked in our bathing suits while we dried.

I have two memes that I really should do! Oh my gosh, I don't even want to think about how long it's been since I was tagged. I'll try to come back later this week and take care of those!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Crazy week

So, this week, my husband was on a business trip, my mom came to visit, I had a series of blood draws, my dog had surgery, and I had three big meetings at work. Yikes! Fortunately, poor Wonderdog is doing much better, and it was great to have my mom here.

**Warning--gross dog medical details below**
Wonderdog is getting older, and she's developed some fatty tumor things that older dogs apparently get. We've had them checked, and they're benign. Most of them are round and pretty small, but she had one on her side the size of Mr. X's hand. It was flat, so it was kind of hard to notice at first. Well, last Thursday, Mr. X called me over and showed me that it had gotten enormous! It was like someone sliced a football in half lengthwise and attached it to her side! I brought her in to the vet on Friday morning, and it turned out that it was filled with fluid. The vet drained as much as she could and checked it out under the microscope. She sent us home with antibiotics and said that, if it didn't go back to its normal size over the weekend, I'd need to bring her in to have a drain placed in it! Obviously, it didn't go away, so we got her scheduled for Tuesday, since she had to have anaesthesia and everything. Once the vet put her under, she realized that it would be better to just remove the whole darn thing. Part of it looked really bad, so it's been sent off for a biopsy now. So, Wonderdog ended up with a 5-inch incision on her side, with two drains in it. They had to keep her overnight on Tuesday, and we've had to put a t-shirt on her and then wrap her in a training pad (the big plastic-backed paper pads they use for house-training puppies) to keep her from bleeding all over everything. If I'm not with her, she has to wear a cone on her head, too! She was really pitiful on Wednesday when I brought her home, but she's doing much better now. But it was probably one of my mom's least glamorous visits! Thank God she was here, because it would have been a bit crazy trying to get her cleaned up and bandaged alone.

**End of gross dog medical details**

I'm having a series of blood draws around ovulation this week. I've also been using OPKs, too, just too get a sense of what's going on. It was positive on Wednesday, but sometimes I've had two positives in a row, so I tested again yesterday. I waited the requisite four hours, peed on the stick, and waited. And nothing happened. I mean nothing happened! No liquid moved across the little window. It was the weirdest thing! I started second-guessing myself--I did pee on this thing, didn't I? So I grabbed another one . . . but I had nothing left! I pried the little stick apart, and apparently something was blocking the liquid from the little window, because as soon as I opened it up, I could see it wet the little strip in the window, but it didn't look like it usually does. So, I had to wait another four hours and try again. It's so goofy--in a normal day, I'm sure I go more than four hours without peeing, but tell me I can't pee for four hours, and it's all I can think about!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mother's Day

Well, Mother's Day has been kind of weird. I had to take Mr. X to the airport first thing in the morning for a business trip, and then I went on to sing at church. The fact that it is also Pentecost helped in that the mass was clearly focused on Pentecost, and more people were wearing red for Pentecost than were wearing flowers for Mother's Day. It was a struggle, though. There were so many kids there. I tried to focus and pray for the other people I know who were there at mass--the young woman who lost her mother, the godmother of a seriously ill child--and everyone else who is dealing with infertility and loss.

We had a first communion today, too. Oh my gosh, he was adorable. The family sat up in the first pew, and they were all so happy. The little guy is the third of four kids, and they were all in their Sunday best, with his sisters in matching dresses. He was all smiles through the whole mass. Then, when he was called up for communion, he bounded out of the pew and ran up the stairs to the altar. The priest always comes down the stairs to distribute communion, so he gently guided the boy back down the stairs with him, and people couldn't help but laugh. Fortunately, the laughter didn't seem to make him self-conscious. It was just the cutest thing!

The blessing didn't come until the end of mass, when we were all standing already for the final blessing. So the priest asked everyone but the mothers to sit down. It was a weird feeling. On the one hand, I feel like I really am a mother, even though my baby isn't here. And I could certainly use the blessing. If I were sitting out there in the congregation where no one I really knew could see me, maybe I would have stayed standing. But I was up in front of the church with the choir. If I were to stay standing, the rest of the choir would assume I was pregnant (heck, I just had to go to the bathroom during mass a few weeks ago, and everyone thought I was pregnant then!), and no one at the church knows about the miscarriage. But having to go and sit down was harder than just not standing up, if that makes any sense. So, I made it through mass pretty well, but it seemed like every few minutes I was having to choke back tears, which doesn't make for the best singing I've ever done.

After mass, I cleaned the house a bit, then took a nap--for four hours! When I woke up, I called my mom and cleaned some more. My mom's coming to visit this week, so I'm going to a little more cleaning before I go to sleep--I've spent more time online than I intended to (how unusual for me--ha!), so I'd better get to it!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Another update

I wrote a post about my reasons for not trying to impress people with their cooking, but I want to read that one over again before I post it. So here's another update on the infertility stuff. The doctor ordered a series of estradiol tests around ovulation to determine if I need letrozole. The first test falls tomorrow. Saturday!

My doctor's not available to do the blood test, so I started calling around to labs. Oh my gosh! You would think this was the weirdest request they've ever heard. The issue is that the sample's supposed to be sent to Omaha for analysis. Since my doctor's office is going to collect the other samples and mail them, it would just mean sending the sample to my doctor's office. One lab was pretty reasonable. They said I could bring the order and the shipping package, they could provide the tube, and I could ship the sample myself. But it turns out that my insurance doesn't cover that lab! The lab my insurance does cover wanted a kit and insisted on shipping it themselves. Which means I'd need to pay for shipping to get the sample to my doctor's office on Monday morning . . . when I will be there myself for another blood draw. Argh!

So, I called my doctor's office, and the staff members weren't sure what to recommend. I figured that, if they had a kit for me to pick up, I'd better get there before 5. And if they didn't have a kit for me to pick up, I'd beg for a blood draw today--after all, it would only be one day off. So, I just drove to the office and got there about 15 minutes before they closed. They were so nice! Not that I was surprised by that--they're always great. They put together a kit for me, but then we needed to figure out how to get the sample sent to the local doctor's office instead of to Omaha. So, when the doctor was finished with his patient, he talked to me and suggested that I try the other NaPro doctor in the area (I know, it's an embarrassment of riches to have two within driving distance) to see if they could do a blood draw tomorrow. Since it wasn't yet closing time, he called the other doctor himself and got me set up for tomorrow morning. How much does my doctor rock?

Allyouwhohope asked a few questions, too! (And, allyouwhohope, I really need to e-mail you--I'm sorry I've been so slow!) I do have a diagnosis of PCOS. My surgery included an ovarian wedge resection, but I'm still receiving treatment for the hormone dysfunction. Much to my disappointment, when I was off treatment following the miscarriage, my hormone levels were not good. So, I'm still getting hCG injections on Peak+3, +5, +7, and +9 to stimulate my body to produce estrogen and progesterone. My ultrasounds (pre-surgery) didn't reveal any ovulation problems, but the one letrozole cycle I had was the one cycle I conceived. The antibiotics are intended to fix the brown bleeding I've had. I found out that the protocol is a full cycle of antibiotics in the first cycle, then antibiotics for the first 10 days of the following seven cycles. Only one more to go!

Well, we're going to watch a movie, so I should go!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Update

Things have been a little bit nuts lately! We are back in town again. We were packing for our trip with the intention of carrying on all of our luggage. Fortunately, right before we left, I realized that the HUGE NEEDLES I had packed in case I needed progesterone injections meant we really couldn't carry everything on.

Unfortunately, we didn't need the needles. I only made it to Peak+12! Usually, it's at least Peak+13. No letrozole this cycle either. I must be a pain in the neck patient. I asked the nurse if I could take it this cycle. She said that the doctor would probably say "no" because my hormones were good last cycle (progesterone was 27 at Peak+7), and then asked if I was taking letrozole when I conceived. Yes--the only time I took it! So, as predicted, the doctor said no, but he did order estradiol tests every other day around ovulation to see what's going on. My doctor's office isn't doing weekend blood draws any more, so I'll have to go to the lab to have my first one on Saturday. Should be interesting . . .

I started taking a higher dosage of T3 this week, and I'm taking the antibiotics for the first part of the cycle again. I've hardly slept at all for the past three nights (I think it's the increased T3, because I've also been starving, so it looks like it's increasing my metabolism), I've been feeling anxious, and I had about every digestive symptom you can name on Tuesday (from the antibiotics). Not fun.

I've been feeling a bit down about the baby stuff lately. I hope I don't get upset while I'm singing at church on Sunday. I was looking forward to being one of the lucky ones who gets a blessing on Mother's Day. I also found out a woman I work with is pregnant. I'm really happy for her, and happy there will be another new mom around the office when it finally happens for Mr. X and me (I really hope she's still a new mom by the time I become one). But, oh, I felt jealous. I was hoping that this spring I'd be announcing my pregnancy and planning my maternity leave! Only one person at work knows about the miscarriage, and no one at church knows.

In other news . . . I made dinner tonight for a friend who is recovering from surgery. The surgery happened while we were out of town, and a very nice lady organized meals to go to the family. I felt bad about not being able to participate. So, I saw her last night and found out that people are still sending meals over! I asked if she needed any more, and she said that she was going to make dinner today, but if I really wanted to, I could. Well, she's already done so much (she's been running the meals over every day for almost two weeks), and I really wanted to help, so I gulped and said "sure!" So, I ran home early today and frantically cooked chicken, baked potatoes, and green beans, and made a salad. I had been contemplating stuffed shells . . . lasagna . . . and then I remembered that I no longer try to impress people with my cooking (more about that tomorrow). The thing is, between the renovations, the trip, and general craziness, the house is a disaster! I hoped I'd have time to clean up before the nice lady came to pick up the food, but I didn't. So, my plan was to run out the door as she pulled up so that she wouldn't see the awfulness. Unfortunately, Wonderdog did not alert me in time! I reached the door just as she reached the door, Wonderdog tried to make a break for it while the door was open . . . so, she did get a glimpse, but the dog's escape attempt gave me a good reason to slip out the door and close it behind me before we walked down the driveway to her car. Argh! Someday, I will have my house in order!

I've tried the FlyLady thing many times. To me, the whole thing is about establishing good habits. So, I decided while we were on our trip that I'm going to wake up at the same time every day. OK, bear with me with this--I know it seems goofy, but I've always had a hard time getting up in the morning. My parents sometimes literally dragged me out of bed. And my work schedule is irregular, so I tend to get up whenever I have to. Well, OK, half an hour after I have to. And Mr. X and I decided that work can no longer run our lives. We tend to stay up as late as our work requires and sleep until we have to get up and work. I decided no more. So, it probably seems goofy, but getting up at the same time every morning is my way of taking my life back from work. This way, I set my schedule, and work fits into my life, rather than my life fitting around my work. So, I've made it for four mornings so far. And until I have that habit down, I'm not going to try to add another good habit.

Well, maybe I should try posting more often. :) Then, I wouldn't end up with these long, stream-of-consciousness posts. Well, OK, maybe I would do that anyway.
 

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