Praying For Hope: Testing, testing . . .

Monday, September 28, 2009

Testing, testing . . .

Testing time again.

We're doing another hormonal profile, and it started today with a blood draw for FSH and LH. This follows with more blood work every other day from now through P + 11 for Estrodial, Progesterone, TSH, free T4, Total T3, and Reverse T3. Throw into the mix a follicular ultrasound study tomorrow, Thursday, and I suppose every other day (more or less) until we can confirm ovulation, and you can understand why I'm feeling just slightly overwhelmed.

I'm not an organized person. I try to be but I'm simply not very good at it (I blame the ADHD). I just spent over an hour creating a calendar for myself with every appointment highlighted in DayGlo orange so I can't possibly miss it. Ideally. I'm sure I could possibly miss it if I really tried. Actually, I don't even need to try.

Somewhere in this mess, I think I'm supposed to have blood drawn for the food intolerance testing. I'm afraid to mention it yet until I have a handle on everything else. I'll bring it up if it's not done between now and the next cycle.

Have I mentioned recently that I'm not fond of needles?

I'm not complaining - really - if it has to be, it has to be. I'm nervous I'm going to forget something. I don't want to forget to show up for an appointment on some crucial day and throw a wrench into the whole testing cycle. I could easily see that happening. I should check Outlook again, make sure I've set all my reminders.

7 comments:

the misfit said...: Wow. That's just overwhelming. Best of luck!; September 28, 2009 at 5:31 PM
... said...: That is A LOT of appointments, my friend. You can do it! You can do it!; September 28, 2009 at 6:25 PM
prayerfuljourney said...: I think the appts will go fine and hopefully you won't need a blood draw on the weekends. Dr Napro's lab was closed so I had to go to the hsp where he faxed in an order...and I had never been to this hsp so I had no idea where to find the lab. It was a Sunday...so they opened it up for me. That is not the first time that has happened either. Are you a hard draw? Lab people and nurses always have a hard time finding my veins...so I usually get stuck many times(they've even sent me to the hsp and I actually had a nurse who draws blood on can.cer patients have a hard time finding a good vein. LOL!). See...If I can make it through all of that...you can too. I'm sure it will go fine and it will make the month go by faster. Blessings.; September 28, 2009 at 11:29 PM
prayerfuljourney said...: BTW: I didn't tell you my experiences to scare you...in the end...none of what I had to do was really a big deal. It's worth it in the name of hope for a family. :); September 28, 2009 at 11:31 PM
keep calm and carry on... said...: wow, that is a lot of blood work! i'm not so crazy about needles either.. i just try and look away!

hope you enjoy the ultrasounds (well, as much as you can) - i always think it's interesting to see what's going on.

good luck with everything!; September 29, 2009 at 12:36 AM
Praying for Hope said...: I live 10 minutes away. Have you ever been to the Hospital? The Holy Spirit Imaging Center Camp Hill (Holy Spirit Women's Imaging Center) is right next to it in the Medical Arts Building, 1st Floor, at 890 Poplar Church Road. Let's say you're in the Hospital Parking lot and you're exiting on to 21st Street. The entrance to the Medical Arts Bulding parking lot is, I believe, the first right after the light. Here is a map of all Holy Spirit Hospital locations: http://www.hsh.org/patients/directions.aspx. The Medical Arts Building is number 11. On this Campus Map, http://www.hsh.org/patients/campus.aspx, it's number 5. The campus map is rotated 90 degrees to the right compared with the first one, so it can be a little confusing to compare the two.; September 29, 2009 at 11:21 AM
LadyEm said...: Good luck...hope everything went well!; September 30, 2009 at 10:38 AM

TTC History

9/1/2007 - Married to a perfect man.

10/28/2007 - Started the never ending road of TTC at the tender age of 37. How many other people do you know who can name the exact date they started trying for a baby?

3/12/2007 - Decided my husband and I weren't getting anywhere on our own in TTC and and that it was time to look for someone who could help.

4/10/2008 - Attended our first CreightonModel Fertility Care class and started tracking my cycle.

4/25/2008 - Had our first one-on-one session with our FertilityCare practitioner. We learned a lot. She suggested an appointment with one of the practice doctors, Dr. Mark Stegman, a skilled Napro doctor and surgeon, we took her up on the offer. We might be able to get an appointment some time in August.

4/28/2008 - Got a call from a receptionist from Dr. Stegman's office. Could I come in next week? Yes!

5/5/2008 - My first appointment with Dr. Stegman. He was very thorough in discussing our options and a potential plan of action for us. We'll begin with blood work to establish a hormone profile series in my next cycle.

5/2008 - Blood work every other day for two weeks. The nurse at the front desk knew me by sight by the time we were done. I nearly passed out at the payment desk on the day they took 10 vials of blood. That was pleasant. Did I mention that I hate needles?

5/27/2008 - Our first seminal analysis (SA). We're not keen on the special condom meant for the job.

6/30/2008 - Our follow up appointment with Dr. Stegman to learn about the results of our tests and where we go from there. My blood work looks good. My husband's SA looks good, too, except for forward progression. We scored a 1+. I believe 2+ is the preferred score. Dr. S recommends Proxeed. He also tells us he wants to schedule a selective hysterosalpingogram, a hysteroscopy, and a laproscopy some time late summer or early fall.

7/30/2008 - Being too cheap to shell out over $600 for a 6-month supply of Proxeed, my husband and I opt for the generic equivalent. It's a lot of vitamins, but it's much kinder to our wallet.

9/8/2008 - I have the preliminary exam, blood work, and tests prior to my surgery. I'm so nervous, I'm about ready to run screaming out the door, down the steps, across the parking lot, and straight home so I can hide under the bed with the dog. It's a miracle that I don't.

9/9/2008 - I have the SHSG, hysteroscopy, and laparoscopy and, much to my surprise, I survive. My tubes are good (woo hoo!), and I have no adhesions. Dr. S removes three polyps and "quite a bit" of endometriosis. It doesn't look that bad in the pictures of the surgery. It's fascinating to see what I look like from the inside out.

9/10/2008 - 9/12/2008 - I look like Shamu.

10/30/2008 - We're told that everything from the surgery looks good. The scars will fade over the coming months. We're to try to make a baby on our own for the next 6 months. Dr. S calls this "the fun part."

1/30/2009 - We have another appointment with our FertilityCare practioner (we've had quite a few before this, but I haven't mentioned them). She thinks Dr. Stegman might try me on Clomid as a next step. I hope it's Femara. It's not nearly as drying.

2/3/2009 - We have our second SA. We're still not keen on the condom.

3/4/2009 - This is fun?

3/27/2009 - The scars from the laparoscopy are nearly gone. Oh, and I'm 39.

4/9/2009 - Another appointment with Dr. Stegman. We learned the results of the SA. The numbers are no worse than the first - in fact some are much improved - but forward progression is no better. Our plan of action: optimize mucus by taking Mucinex twice a day from CD8 - P+1 plus 500 mg of extended release B6 daily for 2 months followed by 100 mg daily. DH is to make an appointment with a local urologist while Dr. S contacts a urologist in Philly with an interest in male infertility to learn if there is any more we could be doing. Next follow up: August.

4/29/2009 - We - or more like DH - had our urologist appointment. Official dianosis: nothing. No varicoceles, no prostate problems. Prescription: continue doing what we're doing. For this we needed a urologist?

5/29/2009 - Dr. S is booked for the month of August! They said they'd call when August opened up for appointments. I didn't hear the phone ring. September opens up next week. An additional month of nothing. I'm 39 - Methuselah in TTC years. How many months do I have left?

7/16/2009 - Ho hum.

7/24/2009 - Another FerterlityCare appointment. Our FertilityCare practitioner, Kim Lane, suggested that Dr. S may be taking his cue from me as to how aggressively we want to pursue treatment. I need to come up with a few new cues so we can get off the wait-and-see treadmill.

9/17/2009 - Another follow-up with Dr. Stegman. Our plan starting with the next cycle: 1) Limited hormonal profile, 2) An ultrasound series to monitor follicle development, 3) Ovulation stimulation (type and amount to be determined by the u/s series), 4) Food intolerance testing (is it ALCAT?), 5) Five cycles of Amoxicillin from CD8 - CD12 to improve CM.

9/28/2009 - The beginning of another hormone profile and, a new one for me, a follicular ultrasound study. This should be interesting provided I can keep track of all the appointments.

10/4/2009 - 5th ultrasound and three follicles! Can you imagine? So what does that make FSH?

11/11/2009 - Progesterone and Thyroid support! We had another appointment with Dr. S to discuss the test results and come up with another plan of action. FSH and LH were only 5.7 and 5.1 respectively - good levels, good ratio - but TSH and Reverse T3 were slightly high and progesterone plummeted afer P+5. Ovulation looks great, so no ovulation stimulation . . . yet. Ah, well.

12/8/2009 - I am a fertility magnet. Anyone in my vicinity will, given the opportunity, become pregnant within a year, TTC or not. Whether it be a 20 year old woman or an 80 year old man, it doesn't matter. All those around me, as long as they're not actually me, will have a child. I am blessed with an awesome power. . . . How do I reverse the polarity?

1/27/2010 - BFP. Stunned.

1/28/2010 - I called Dr. S's office the moment they opened. We have blood work this afternoon, 200mg of Progesterone, and a prenatal appointment. Prenatal. With a midwife. I'm really pregnant. Me.

1/29/2010 - P+17 numbers are hCG, 472, and Progesterone, 10.2. PIO twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays. I can’t sit down, but I’m too restless to care. The HPT was right.

2/1/2010 - You do not make a desperate, hormonal woman wait for P+21 hCG results! By the way, they're 1670. I'm limp with relief.

2/11/2010 - There’s a baby in there! Our first ultrasound. Junior is measuring 6 weeks, 1 day with a heart rate of 96 bpm.

2/16/2010 - Progesterone results from the last blood draw haven’t budged, so we’re adding daily progesterone suppositories to the twice a week injections. I’ll do whatever it takes.

3/2/2010 - Progesterone has risen to 27.4, zone 3! No PIO for now, just suppositories until the next blood draw in two weeks. If it still looks good (fingers crossed), we may be able to stop the suppositories. Knock on wood, knock on wood, knock on wood . . . .

3/27/2010 - New decade: I'm 40!

4/5/2010 - No more progesterone. The level at the last blood draw is 30 which I don't think sounds particularly high. If the experts are happy, I'm happy. And the results from the Down Syndrome screening came back: we're at no greater risk for Downs than anyone else. We're breathing again, until the next milestone at least.

5/18/2010 - It’s a mobile, little girl! Keep growing, kiddo.

10/11/2010 - Welcome Kathleen Elizabeth.