homealone

I finally got that HSG procedure done and Oily Shit that effin hurt! It only hurt during the procedure - which probably took about 3 mins? Anyway, it was painful procedure but my endocrinologist said that pain of labor is about 10x that! Yikes! Anyway, we got the results, we had the doctor meeting and all that. Everything was normal except for one - my progesterone level was really low. Let’s say they wanted to see equal or greater than 10, I only had 4.5. I do not know the standard of measure that they used but that’s what the results said. And that was a little disappointing. The next thing to do for us is to take Clomid, a fertility drug that induces ovulation. As I understood it, the doctor said that clomid lets your brain know that youre ready for reproduction and so it tells your brain to produce eggs and prepare your body for pregnancy. Did I get it right? If i got it right, then I am a little confused about the whole thing. On all the tests performed, including the vaginal ultrasound, it seemed to me that I had no problem ovulating, and the ultrasound even showed then that I had two eggs ready to pop. Why then would I want meds to produce more eggs when all I need is something that will make my body be ready for the egg, assuming we got them fertilized, to nest to. And if I the level of progesterone is the problem, can’t I just get progesterone supplements (if that exists) instead of something that will make more eggs? We just started using an ovulation kit this month to see if i ovulate and it showed that I did…  I don’t know, this whole process is starting to confuse me and frustrate me so I think this will be the last ‘pregnancy update’ for now.

I just need to vent a little today. I had an appointment for the HSG this morning so I had to take a few hours off from work, and endure traffic jam to the hospital. I got there a little early so I could fill out the forms, etc. I haven’t even started yet when they called me. Then the nurse asked if I took the antibiotics. I said “what antibiotics? Nobody told me to take antibiotics, I did not get any prescription for it”. So she looked at me and disappeared inside the x-ray room. She came back and said, “we’ll have to reschedule you because you should’ve taken antibiotics first before we can do the procedure. Can you come back on Thursday?”. I got a little upset and told her that they should’ve told me what I needed to do before I came, they were very prompt at billing  me (over the phone!) and nobody mentioned to me that taking antibiotics is part of the process! She disappeared again, and this time the head nurse came and was very apologetic. Whatever. Of course I had no choice but to take the next appointment - they wouldn’t do the procedure no matter what I say, anyway. It’s their protocol. Grrr. So now i have to re-schedule my appointment with the endocrinologist, and change work schedules, too. So far, all our blood tests, semen analysis, urinalysis, etc for turned out normal. I am hoping nothing unusual shows up on this procedure so we can just relax and enjoy sex again.

I got another blood test result. This time it’s for the FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) level. My test results showed 3.8 mIU/ml. The health provider’s standard scale shows 5-20 IU/L. I know IU stands for International Unit, and I assume that the value “m”  means mililiter so basically, that means my FSH level is lower than “normal”. I got a little scared and started reading some more about the normal levels of FSH. So far, i’ve only those tests done on the 3rd day of cycle, mine was done on the 21st. Also I read that normal FSH is anything below 10. But if the standard they use at my clinic says 5-20, what does that mean now? I read that low fsh mean s the body doesn’t need to work hard to get a normal ovulation. If the egg number is low, the body needs to work harder to get ovulation, so it increases the amount of FSH in an effort to push the ovaries. A high FSH means the egg number is reduced, sometimes to levels so low that pregnancy is not possible. So do I have a good FSH level or not? I can’t wait to see the doctor again for some explanation. 

This morning I went to the lab to get blood drawn and tested. They also took some urine sample to pregnancy test. I wasn’t expecting that, but it was ok. I needed to pee anyway :D. Let me just tell you that the lab tech messed up the first time. Yeah, she stuck a needle on my left arm, wiggled the needle while it was in my skin then eventually said, “this one’s empty, let’s try the other one!”  I KNOW! So now i have two bruised up arms.

Anyway, ’nuff about that. I got the results an hour later. All the blood test results were good (I think), but the pregnancy test turned out negative. again. That was very disappointing. I don’t know what’s wrong but we’ll keep trying. Next step is the HSG test… more on that later.

The first blood i will be undergoing in a few hours is the blood test that’s taken on the 21st day of a woman’s cycle. This explains why I need it :

On the twenty-first day of your cycle, your progesteron levels may be tested. The body increases its production of progesterone after releasing an egg, so a test will confirm whether ovulation has taken place.

A blood test around this day will verify whether a sufficient level of progesterone exists in order to maintain a sufficient luteal phase. The luteal phase begins the day after ovulation and lasts 12 to 16 days, during which time progesterone levels rise in order to provide a fertile environment for the egg.

In addition, a blood test may also be conducted in order to determine whether you have any thyroid problems that might be affecting your chances of getting pregnant.

This is supposed to be a fasting blood test. I am already starving!

Last week we went to see an endocrinologist to check if there’s anything wrong with me, why we haven’t been able to conceive yet. She was really nice and very friendly, I felt really comfortable. They did most of what I assumed was standard stuff - a complete physical, a pap, and even an ultrasound! Everything checked out good. Whew. But it’s not over yet-  this weekend I need to practically “donate” blood. They have to do about eight blood tests! What sorts of stuff can you tell about somebody just by looking in their blood? A lot apparently! They told me they could even tell how  many eggs I have left! HUUUHHHH???  Oh well, Im sure they were telling the truth :). I’m getting tired of waiting but I’m still really hopeful.

Since we’ve been trying to become pregnant, I have been very careful about the things I could take, eat, apply to my skin as there seems to be a great concern about how these products might affect the baby or unborn baby. In my case, the yet-to-be-conceived-baby. I went to my dermatologist the other day to have this what seems to be like an acne break-out checked up. He immediately wrote 3 Rx’s, and made it sound like those would be the cure for my issues. And then he asked, if i had any questions so I asked him if this would affect my planned pregnancy? And then he said to ask my OB/GYN, but he suggested not to use any of it til after the baby’s born and done breastfeeding (if i was to breast-feed). Great. Can’t use that, so Im stuck with zits?! Geez! 

Today I am having sneeze-fits. Allergy attack! I was about to use my nasal spray when I thought of checking the lit that came with the Rx spray. Again it said, “If you’re pregnant or planning to get pregnant,  consult your doctor before using this product”.  Ayayay! So now I have runny nose and zits. The things we do for love.

I have started taking my temperature when I got my period. - Yes, I got my period after 2 weeks of worrying! That was still weird to me, but whatever. I got it, and so now I have a new starting line to start counting the days again. I also found out that taking your body’s temperature in the mornings when you wake up is a good way to predict when you’re about to ovulate.

The most important, or primary, fertility signs are your basal body temperature (BBT) and your cervical fluid.

Your basal body temperature rises after ovulation due to increased progesterone in your bloodstream. Your cervical fluid is the fluid that is produced by your cervix as ovulation is approaching. You can see and feel it in or outside your vagina. Cervical fluid, which is sometimes called cervical mucous (CM), changes throughout your cycle depending on your fertility status. It becomes watery and stretchy, like raw egg white when you are most fertile just before ovulation.

Taking note of these observations and recording them is enough to provide the clues you need to help time intercourse appropriately to get pregnant and see when (and sometimes if) you ovulate. Other, secondary, optional signs can add extra insight and help to cross-check the interpretation from your primary fertility signs.  source: fertilityfriend.com

I am not sure how this is going to help us but I am willing to do some work. So far, i’ve been consistently recording 97.2F.  Today I recorded 97.1. I think that’s on the low end of the normal body temperature (97-100).  I wonder if htere’s something wrong with our thermometer. hm.

We have been trying to finish our dining room and I think we’re finally going to finish it today - after two months of working on it on and off. Last Saturday, we primed the whole room, ceilings and all. Then yesterday I put on some sample paint  of the two top colors that we wanted. We went for the Behr paint. Even though we loved the greenish color it seemed like it’s a little too bold for the whole house.  So we ended up getting the Behr Creme Brulee paint. I think it would look good with the Crate and Barrel Madison dining table. Of course my husband just agrees most of the time. Smart guy! :) . So today, it’s back to my alien costume - mask (AO safety reusable respirators), gloves, goggles, long pants. My husband is a little anal about safety for both of us which is good, right? He’s extra careful when it comes to me because he doesn’t want to have an alien looking baby (birth defects).  We’ll see how it goes.

That was not my idea (of course!) but PETA’s. You know, that bizzaro-group of super radical animal activists. They sent a letter to Ben and Jerry’s, the ice cream makers, to use human breast milk for their ice cream production.  eew? Im not sure what they get from these weird acts/ideas. I think people mostly ignore anything that has the word PETA on headlines because they think it would be just a bunch of crock anyways. But I guess they need to go to extremes to get attention, and perhaps affect a even just few people.  What do you think? I still think they’re nuts.