First of all, sorry I have taken so long to up date. I went in for an ultrasound and blood work on Friday the 16th. My uterus looked good and the lining of it was what it was supposed to look like. I can honestly say I really never thought I would care about what my uterus looks like. Then again I never really thought I would be writing a blog about this adventure. Come to think of it you guys probably never thought you would be reading a blog about my adventure to motherhood...LOL.
Seriously now, that ultrasound also told us that my ovaries had about 15 plus follicles in them and apparently that is a good thing. So I started on the increased Clomid dosage, 100mg, on Monday the 19th and took it till Friday. I thought I was supposed to start it 2 days earlier however everything is based on the ultrasounds and blood work results, and just about everything is called a cycle day. I had an ultrasound appointment for today but was supposed to call if I had a positive result on the ovulation predictor kit. Basically it looks like a pregnancy test but in stead of the second line appearing if you are pregnant, the ovulation kit always has a second line, the positive reading depends on the color. If one is lighter it is neg, if they are the same you have a positive reading. Yeah, that's helpful, NOT. I wonder what the color blind do? Of course there is a Clear Blue Easy Test that is a happy face or a circle but that is ridiculously more expensive. So I am left with my "peeing on a stick" and my hopeful brain, IS IT? YES!!!! YES! well maybe not. I don't know, I think it it yes. No no I think it is negative. So at this point, Monday night, I gather all my tests and bring them to work for the nurses to look at. Tuesday morning I call Dr. Ripps office and they tell me to come in at 915. Here we go!!!!!
The ultrasound and blood work. Not really good news with the ultrasound. My left ovary has 15 follicles and my right has 20. This is good however their size, not so much, they measure less then 7mm each. At this point in my cycle they should be 15mm or greater. So now I feel really ridiculous because I obviously can't differentiate positive from negative on my "stick."
Oh, I forgot to mention my lovely side effects from the medication I am taking. HOT FLASHES. Oh how fun they are! Mom, I know you know what that feels like so you have sympathy for me. ( You always want Mom to have sympathy for you because she loves you so much) I also seem to be in a perpetual state of nausea. Yesterday I was on my way to the doctors office and I had to stop at a gas station and throw up. That was fun. And then there is the moodiness and teariness. Neal loves that. All the symptoms of early pregnancy with NOTHING to show for it. So at this point I want my mommy to fly down to Pensacola snuggle me and to make me pastina (my comfort food, and Italian recipe of pasta, egg, butter, and milk). Very low fat, no, not so much. My husband always joked that that is why Italian Kids are porky. Clearly he needs to be smacked. LOL
Back to the Doctor. Donna from his office called today and scheduled me for more blood work and another ultrasound this Friday at 9am. She said my blood work came back and it seems I have a consistently higher level of Lutenizing Hormone (LH) hence the false positives on the Ovulation Kits. Yeah, I am not crazy. OK people stop laughing. All of my friends know that is debatable. In case you were wondering, LH is the hormone you test for because it surges right before you ovulate. That tells you when to NOOKIE! :) Good News for the HUBBY! LOL.
OK, so I am trying to add a little humor to a somewhat frustrating experience.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Here goes..
Last night I was working and I got my period so of course I was ecstatic. It is funny to me how most of my friends wish they didn't have the monthly friend visit. Oh no not me, I celebrate it. Seriously though, I called the doctor to tell him I got it. I have an appointment tomorrow for more blood work and an ultrasound. I am fairly sure the ultrasound tomorrow is a baseline. I know already I start Clomid on Saturday but from there I am not sure what is next. I guess I will find out tomorrow morning. Unfortunately Neal can't come with me for my ultrasound because he has to work. That is a bit of a bummer, but I am sure this will not be my last ultrasound. I probably have about 3 more this month alone.
So, here goes a very busy exciting month. I am very positive and very hopeful.
So, here goes a very busy exciting month. I am very positive and very hopeful.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Oh the Hormones
I can sympathise with all those menopausal women out there. The hormones I am taking have totally messed with my internal temperature gauge. I am hot and cold, hot and cold. My loving husband who for all that know him is a very "warm" guy is about to shoot me. No not literally. It is the war of the air conditioning and the heating system here. I turn the air on he turns the heat on. Now I am sitting in my house the temp is 69 deg. in my house and I am sweating YES sweating. I came home from work the other morning and the man who sweats non stop in bed had a sheet, comforter, and a very warm fur blanket from Korea on top of the bed. The man who is almost always in shorts has had on sweat pants for the last 4 days. Oh what we infertile women do to have a baby. LOL.
I am being bugged to get my loving stepson a snack and drink, so got to go. I will try to post soon but not much will go on till about next Friday so definitely check back then.
I am being bugged to get my loving stepson a snack and drink, so got to go. I will try to post soon but not much will go on till about next Friday so definitely check back then.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
What I have learned today...
Today I have learned
1. It is very hard to stay awake on night shift when you can't eat or drink (especially caffeine).
2. I really need to learn how to stay awake on night shift with out eating. Apparently I have
been eating myself awake for the last 6 months. This fact is evidenced in my lack of a waist
line.
3. It is really hard for Medical Techs to draw blood from you when you have had nothing to eat
or drink in 8 hours. This fact is evidenced by the 5 needle marks in my arms (2 in the left, 3
in the right).
4. The last thing I learned today is don't make a habit of going to the "Red Circle Boutique"
when you have 2 hours to kill in between blood tests. You will spend all the money you
needed to save in order to get pregnant. Just kidding Honey, I didn't spend all the money at
Target I went to Michals too!
PS. He is not going to find that last one humorous.
1. It is very hard to stay awake on night shift when you can't eat or drink (especially caffeine).
2. I really need to learn how to stay awake on night shift with out eating. Apparently I have
been eating myself awake for the last 6 months. This fact is evidenced in my lack of a waist
line.
3. It is really hard for Medical Techs to draw blood from you when you have had nothing to eat
or drink in 8 hours. This fact is evidenced by the 5 needle marks in my arms (2 in the left, 3
in the right).
4. The last thing I learned today is don't make a habit of going to the "Red Circle Boutique"
when you have 2 hours to kill in between blood tests. You will spend all the money you
needed to save in order to get pregnant. Just kidding Honey, I didn't spend all the money at
Target I went to Michals too!
PS. He is not going to find that last one humorous.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Our First Visit
I am so relieved. We have a plan! I feel like we are moving forward already. Dr. Ripps and his staff are wonderful.
Today's visit was a basic consultation. He asked if I understood exactly what PCOS is. I told him everything I have learned about PCOS was from the RN's I work with and from the internet. a true statement because no one at NHP had even explained the syndrome except to say I have many cysts in my ovaries and it has to with not processing or not producing enough insulin. He asked questions about what treatments we have tried so far. I gave him the run down of treatment so far and he was already formulating a plan. A plan, yeah, a plan. To those of you who have been helping me through this bumpy road you know how exciting it is for me to be able to know what comes next. I also liked that Dr. Ripps wants to find out the cause of my PCOS. He said I will have a higher chance of gestational diabetes and miscarriage if we don't properly treat my PCOS.
So, what does come next you ask? Tomorrow, I go in for a fasting blood sugar test, blood work, and start progesterone to bring on a period. I call the office on cycle day 1(1st day of period) to schedule a follicle count. This month is a "diagnostic cycle monitoring" month so the doctor can see what my body is doing and how it responds to the medications to induce ovulation. Oh and he upped my dosage of Clomid to 100mg. If you read 1st entry you will remember that I had requested we try that and my doc said NO! Things like that are why we are now seeing a specialist.
Along with the telling you about our journey, I feel I need to thank a few people. First of course, our families. Thank you for all the love, support, and prayers. Next, I need to thank Donna, Faith, Fran, and Dawn who have all been where I am and having you to talk to and lean on has been a saving grace, all of you have such beautiful children and that gives me hope. I need to thank Erin because without you to laugh and cry with I truly think I would go crazy. I miss you girl! To Angela and Val my newest friends, thank you for being so caring and for letting me touch your bellies in hopes some good JUJU will rub off on me. And all my friends who have not been named you know who you are thank you and I love you all!!!!!!
And so we start on this next chapter!
Today's visit was a basic consultation. He asked if I understood exactly what PCOS is. I told him everything I have learned about PCOS was from the RN's I work with and from the internet. a true statement because no one at NHP had even explained the syndrome except to say I have many cysts in my ovaries and it has to with not processing or not producing enough insulin. He asked questions about what treatments we have tried so far. I gave him the run down of treatment so far and he was already formulating a plan. A plan, yeah, a plan. To those of you who have been helping me through this bumpy road you know how exciting it is for me to be able to know what comes next. I also liked that Dr. Ripps wants to find out the cause of my PCOS. He said I will have a higher chance of gestational diabetes and miscarriage if we don't properly treat my PCOS.
So, what does come next you ask? Tomorrow, I go in for a fasting blood sugar test, blood work, and start progesterone to bring on a period. I call the office on cycle day 1(1st day of period) to schedule a follicle count. This month is a "diagnostic cycle monitoring" month so the doctor can see what my body is doing and how it responds to the medications to induce ovulation. Oh and he upped my dosage of Clomid to 100mg. If you read 1st entry you will remember that I had requested we try that and my doc said NO! Things like that are why we are now seeing a specialist.
Along with the telling you about our journey, I feel I need to thank a few people. First of course, our families. Thank you for all the love, support, and prayers. Next, I need to thank Donna, Faith, Fran, and Dawn who have all been where I am and having you to talk to and lean on has been a saving grace, all of you have such beautiful children and that gives me hope. I need to thank Erin because without you to laugh and cry with I truly think I would go crazy. I miss you girl! To Angela and Val my newest friends, thank you for being so caring and for letting me touch your bellies in hopes some good JUJU will rub off on me. And all my friends who have not been named you know who you are thank you and I love you all!!!!!!
And so we start on this next chapter!
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