Praying For Hope: CM, Vacations, and Whatever Comes to Mind

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

CM, Vacations, and Whatever Comes to Mind

I've been busy lately with not much time to blog. I don’t have time now, either, but I'm making it.

What's been happening?

TTC -- Well, we're approaching peak and I've had some incredible CM. Amazingly stretchy and clear. Two days in a row! I can't account for it. I'm not doing anything very different that I know of - the usual B6, Vitex, multi-vitamin, and whatever else. I suppose it could be the flax oil. I used to take it every day but slacked off over the past year or so. The stuff tastes horrible on its own. I've managed to increase my intake these past two weeks by making a salad dressing with it. Could that make a difference with CM? I can't find that it does despite a quick Google. Hm.

Life in general -- DH and I have decided to postpone the Caribbean cruise we were thinking about for January. The Pennsylvania budget impasse is still going strong. They're now thinking maybe October before they can come to an agreement. Until then, we don't know if there will be more furloughs - up to 5000 or 6000 - or possible rolling furloughs (unpaid time off for a day or two or three every month). I'm not comfortable prepaying several thousand dollars for a cruise without feeling certain I'll have a job at that point.

Hmph. And they wonder why people aren't spending money. It's not rocket science.

We are, however, taking a much less expensive vacation to Providence, RI in two weeks. DH decided when we were married that we'd go somewhere or do something during our anniversary week. Last year, we went to Niagara. This year, we're going to do the cliff walk and view the mansions. It's not a huge trip but it will be a good time for us to connect. Just the two of us with no home or work responsibilities. I'll miss my girls, Sadie and Muggles, of course, but I don't believe they'd let pets into the mansions. Something tells me . . .

I'm sure we'll enjoy this trip just a much as we did Niagara. The trick for me will be to put TTC in the back of my mind. I have no hope of putting it completely out of mind - I'm expecting AF that week - but I'm going to do my best to shove it back in the most inaccessible corner I can find. I may be able to find an hour or two a day that I don't think about it. Imagine that.

2 comments:

prayerfuljourney said...: I think a little getaway is the right kind of medicine to help get a break from all the TTC stuff. Too bad you can't hold the AF off until after the vacation. Hmmm....Oh well.... Good news on the CM front. I think B6 helps me. I just have to make sure I take it...I'm so bad about taking my vitamins. Ugh! But...I'm good about taking prescription meds. So, I guess I'm doing okay. I don't blame you for postponing the cruise if you are not sure about your income status. It's such a scary economy out there. My dh and I are so thankful he has a good job. I hope when I get my certification that I will be lucky like him and get a job. There's been a lot of cuts to the earl.y childhood programs out by me which is not good news. I'll pray more about that when I'm done w/my classes. BTW: taking night grad classes isn't so bad...gives me another focus and life direction if the other plans (baby dreams) don't pan out. I know in my heart of hearts that God wants me to teach. Everything has been falling into place. I thank God for all my positives in my life. God Bless.; August 18, 2009 at 4:08 PM
LadyEm said...: Vacation definitely sounds good! Glad your CM looks so good, definitely fertile! Good luck on your journey, and sorry to see your struggles :( Hope everything works out in the end.; August 18, 2009 at 9:55 PM

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.