just buying time...

well a month snuck past me without updating... an not much has happened as far as fertility developments until yesterday.  i had my 1 month follow up since starting the metformin, and i'm handling the medicine just fine now, the first two weeks were a bit of a doosey, but it's all under control now... a word to the wise, if you are about to start taking metformin, while easing onto it you most likely with experience nausea and how to put it delicately... well the big "D."  it's not fun trying to live your life needing to know where the nearest restroom is and wondering will i make it in time? not to mention, when you're sick like that, it's not a fun thought to have to leave the house and the privacy of your own bathroom while you body seems to have a mind of its own! not a very fun way to live indeed!  but at the encouragement of a friend who repped diabetes meds, she told me if i could stick it out past the first two weeks, my system should adjust and it would be back to the "regular"-ly scheduled programming {pun intended}.  and she was right, praise the Lord!

i thought there was a chance that the metformin was doing it's job, when i saw this on my CB fertility monitor on day 18 of my cycle...

however, after meeting with my doc yesterday she said that if in fact my cycle didn't end 2 weeks after it wasn't actually ovulation.  it's possible for you to get a peak in hormones like you would right before ovulating, and not actually ovulate.... well dang it, that was too good to be true.

yesterday was a dreary day, but it was a good excuse to break out my rain boots for one or like the 5 days in so cal that i can actually justify wearing rain boots!  they really are the only reason i like the rain... =)

so i chatted with to doc about how i was handling metformin, we discussed our possible options for our first go around of IUI, which it looks like we can either try to do this month or just after the first of the year. either way the hubs has to have one more semen analysis to check for any changes, and a test they will run for the {acrosome reaction}.  i won't even both trying to explain it, so if you'd really like to know you can check out the description by clicking on that term.  they also checked my hormone levels, and did an ultrasound {which was pretty inconclusive, yay for a 1 minute procedure that'll probably cost me $100}.... man it'll really be rewarding when when we're not just looking at my follicles + uterine lining and there's actually a little someone to see in there!  

oh and before i left, i asked for their fee schedule to plan ahead financially for what an IUI proceedure is going to cost us... not terrible, unless i need more than the standard included 2 ultrasounds planned for in the "IUI with Clomid" option.... i guess IUI may be our Merry Christmas + Happy New Year gift to each other this year, whoopie! 

2nd appointment with the RE: test results + metformin

today was my second appointment with my RE, and i feel at little more at ease compared with last night... just so i can get it off my chest and move on to the point of this post, i must share another facebook story...

i know, i know... but, i happened to log into FB to see a comment from a friend who was wanting to buy our SC tickets for this weekend's game, and there it was... another pregnancy announcement {boo}.  only this time it was this particular couples' third pregnancy announcement in what feels like the past year {but it's actually been more like the past 4 years}.  needless to say, she was announcing that they were so surprised to find out they weren't just expecting another baby, but 3, yes count them THREE babies naturally.  so of course my jaw dropped to the floor and so did my heart to see that not only did they accidentally get pregnant with a third child but this pregnancy will potentially add triplets to their already family of four.  {side note: why do people really call un-planned pregnancies surprises?? seriously people, we're all adults, we know how babies are conceive, is it really a surprise if you aren't doing anything to prevent it??}  ok, rant over... but i really do believe that God has an awesome sense of humor, and it took me an hour or two to get it.... no, i'm not laughing at them or wishing them ill will, i will for sure be praying for that family.  but even though i want nothing more than to become a mom to at least one child, i couldn't even image the stress and fear going through their minds planning for how to cary, birth and take care of triplets.  for the first time since ttc, i am not envious of their pregnancy, maybe God has softened my heart... i'm hoping so!

ok, now back to regularly scheduled programming:

so i met the RE bright and early this morning, and i found out the following...
 
       *  i am Vitamin D deficient: time to start soaking up more of that So Cal sun, no dear husband pool time isn't as bad for me as you've tried to convince me it is! =) actually dr. M suggested i take 2000mg of Vita D a day to help with that.

      * my thyroid is borderline off... my dad has suspected this for years because i could sleep all day long if allowed to, however over the years the "basic" thyroid tests have said i'm just fine... i guess it took a little digging to get to the bottom of this one... bottom line, not treatment right now, but when i do get pregnant they will need to keep an eye on me to ensure i don't miscarry.

       * my blood glucose levels were on the high end: she said the top of the range is a 5.6 and i was at a 5.5, so she said she felt good about putting me on metformin {hooray}, maybe i won't be saying that in a few days, take a look at the list of side effects + warnings on the bottle... oh dear...

from what i understand, metformin{a diabetes drug} will help balance out what seems like insulin resistance in my body, and lower androgen levels too {which i already know i produce too much of due to the cystic hormonal acne i have, the funky hair growth, funky cycles + lack of ovulation, as well as the tummy weight i've put on in the past year due to being borderline insulin resistant}.  androgens play a big role in PCOS, and it is so not glamorous, but i'm excited to be moving forward to treat this issues that have developed over the past year.  she did mention that this can do a number on your body and act as a diarrhetic in the beginning and can make you nauseous, so she's prescribed 750mg 1x per day for 1 week and if i handle it alright after the first week to add a second pill each day...  i'm feeling a lot better about treating my body in a way that should help get my body to doing what it's supposed to rather than just shocking it into submission by forcing it to ovulate {a la Clomid}.  so this is positive #1 for me today.

       *  the other genetic testing came back negative as well as our STD panels {which we weren't worried about since we were abstinent till we were married, yet it's a test docs are require to do according to CA law}... so it's nice to know those preliminary things are out of the way.

         *  dr. Mo also double checked my ovarian reserve too... this is positive #2 from today!  she said they like to see a number over 1-2 and i was a 12!!!  apparently my ovaries are very healthy, have tons of eggs, they just need to start working on maturing them and releasing them again on a regular basis... so Praise the Lord i have plenty of fertile eggs, and time to have babies.  she did reiterate that because i have so many eggs that i would be at a super high risk of hyper-ovulation if we ever did injectable treatments and i would have to be watched very closely should we even decided to pursue IVF down the road.  but i'll take lots of eggs any day.

so, i'm excited to start down the road to hopefully, Lord willing, getting my body, cycles, and hormones back in balance, and after Thanksgiving we will see Dr. Mo if we're ready at that point to move forward with IUI.