I had my period during the week leading up to my surgery. Then I had a week of post-surgery bleeding due to the stent. I had the stent removed Wednesday, and the bleeding continued, so I emailed my doctor yesterday and he told me I could expect bleeding for another 2-3 weeks. I'm SO TIRED of bleeding.
Anyway, my AMH level is 0.85 (which is a DRASTIC difference from the test I had in May/June when it was 1.35). That level is in ng/ml, but I converted it to pmol/l and that number is 6.069. Which is at about the 25th percentile for a 36-year-old woman. Which actually isn't as bad as I thought. (I'm using this chart for those of you interested in where I'm getting my statistics). My doctor seemed to think going straight to IVF was the best option, assuming we were planning to try IVF at some point.
Here is where things get a little tough. I'm not AT ALL excited about IVF, mostly because it's expensive and there are no guarantees, but also because it just sounds like a lot to be doing to myself (shots and meds and horomones and whatnot). I will obviously be bearing the brunt of this myself. I personally think our IVF options aren't all that expensive - $7000-$10,000 per try if we use my eggs, which are still viable, but I think there are ways of making it less expensive. I'm not willing to take out loans, though. We already have enough student loans to take on any more debt. However, if we are going to try IVF, I'd rather just get to it and not deal with months of waiting and injecting myself and whatnot. My eggs aren't getting any younger.
My husband, on the other hand, is dead set against IVF. He keeps saying "we don't have that kind of money". That's true. We don't. But we definitely spend money on things we don't need to, and we could save that kind of money more quickly than he realizes. But I'm beginning to think he doesn't want children as much as he originally thought, especially considering he doesn't actually have to do all that much in order to have them, other than not spend money on all of the frivolous things he likes to spend money on.
So now I'm wondering how much I should plan to do. Should I go through with a second surgery?
Friday, November 7, 2014
Thursday, November 6, 2014
I'm back!
So I had surgery last Wednesday. It went well! They were planning to remove the 2 or 3 fibroids that they thought I had. They ended up removing 10! So the surgery itself lasted 2.5 hours instead of only 1 hour, but my uterus should be pretty clean now. The surgeon inserted a stent to keep my uterus open while it healed.
Recovery sucked. The stent caused really awful cramping and backaches. For the first few days, I didn't feel well enough to do much of anything, except for get up to go to the bathroom. I lay in bed, my husband brought me food, and I tried not to think too much about what the rest of the house looked like. Mornings were especially bad, at least until the painkillers really started kicking in. I got the stent removed yesterday (not fun, but in the overall scheme of things, not horible). It's 8 days later, and I'm finally back at work and feeling like a human again.
Unfortunately, during the time I was out 1) My dogs knocked my laptop off of my dresser and it is now dead, 2) My really expensive racing bicycle was stolen from my garage, and 3) I misplaced my wallet. I'm fairly certain it's in the house, since I didn't leave the house that day, but I could kick myself for taking it out of my purse and then putting it... somewhere else, apparently. I vaguely remember thinking that it wasn't a good idea to not be putting it back in my purse, but apparently I didn't listen to myself and now it is gone. I have been tearing the house apart trying to find it. I am at a complete loss.
On the fertility front, the doctor wants to go back in sometime after mid-December to make sure there isn't a lot of scarring, and that the fibroids are gone and there is enough uterine cavity space for a baby to get started. I got the results of my AMH test - it is 0.85, which is not good :( Combined with an FSH of around 12, well... I'm not going to get my hopes up.
The doctor has instructed us to keep trying before my next surgery, and if I do happen to get pregnant, then we'll know this surgery worked. If I don't get pregnant, I'll have the second surgery and then move on to a combination of pills and injectables. And I have also been instructed to begin testing for ovulation once my next cycle begins. I'm VERY excited about that, as I really want to know what is going on.
Recovery sucked. The stent caused really awful cramping and backaches. For the first few days, I didn't feel well enough to do much of anything, except for get up to go to the bathroom. I lay in bed, my husband brought me food, and I tried not to think too much about what the rest of the house looked like. Mornings were especially bad, at least until the painkillers really started kicking in. I got the stent removed yesterday (not fun, but in the overall scheme of things, not horible). It's 8 days later, and I'm finally back at work and feeling like a human again.
Unfortunately, during the time I was out 1) My dogs knocked my laptop off of my dresser and it is now dead, 2) My really expensive racing bicycle was stolen from my garage, and 3) I misplaced my wallet. I'm fairly certain it's in the house, since I didn't leave the house that day, but I could kick myself for taking it out of my purse and then putting it... somewhere else, apparently. I vaguely remember thinking that it wasn't a good idea to not be putting it back in my purse, but apparently I didn't listen to myself and now it is gone. I have been tearing the house apart trying to find it. I am at a complete loss.
On the fertility front, the doctor wants to go back in sometime after mid-December to make sure there isn't a lot of scarring, and that the fibroids are gone and there is enough uterine cavity space for a baby to get started. I got the results of my AMH test - it is 0.85, which is not good :( Combined with an FSH of around 12, well... I'm not going to get my hopes up.
The doctor has instructed us to keep trying before my next surgery, and if I do happen to get pregnant, then we'll know this surgery worked. If I don't get pregnant, I'll have the second surgery and then move on to a combination of pills and injectables. And I have also been instructed to begin testing for ovulation once my next cycle begins. I'm VERY excited about that, as I really want to know what is going on.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Pre-op
So I had my pre-op appointment this morning. I was right on time, but the doctor was 40 minutes late. He told me that they no longer give him any say over how long appointments are, and they don't usually give him enough time. He did an ultrasound, and we got to see my fibroids again. One is definitely an issue, and two are quite questionable. I also had a large cyst on one ovary, and a small cyst on the other. We looked at my MRI results again, and he told me he was definitely taking out the big centrally located fibroid, and the other two were maybes. He doesn't want to remove too much of the uterine lining all at once, and the other two are definitely smaller and not in the way as much, so he might want to take them out in another surgery. However, one of the smaller ones is so close to the big one that may have to come out as well, and he may end up having to go in laproscopically because it is so close to the uterine wall. All of these maybes! I'll just be happy to have the procedure over with. Afterwards, I'll be on vicodin, antibiotics, anti-nausea meds, and estrogen. I'll be a veritable pharmacy!
I will also have a stent, aka balloon, in my uterus for a week. Apparently, this is likely to cause cramping, and possibly nausea as well. Hooray. And Halloween is Friday and I'm determined to something sorta fun. We've been invited to a party. I want to go, but I'm not sure D is as excited as I am. It will (probably) be a pretty low-key party, so I really want to go. Lots of my nerdy friends will be there. We can have nerdy conversations. It will be awesome! I will probably not feel like partying, though. I'm guessing I will also not be allowed to drink. Which is probably good for me.
I've been told to be at the surgery center at 9:45, and my doctor told me that my surgery is scheduled for 11:30, although he thinks his first surgery will run long. I would really, really like to not get stuck in commute traffic on my way home. That's all I really want. I'm missing our work luncheon tomorrow, and this is the first time everyone voted to go to my favorite restaurant, but I'll be ok with missing that as long as the ride home is traffic-free. But I'm guessing I'll be so out of it that I won't notice anyway.
OK, time to get my timecard done and submitted so that I don't have to worry about it while I'm out.
I will also have a stent, aka balloon, in my uterus for a week. Apparently, this is likely to cause cramping, and possibly nausea as well. Hooray. And Halloween is Friday and I'm determined to something sorta fun. We've been invited to a party. I want to go, but I'm not sure D is as excited as I am. It will (probably) be a pretty low-key party, so I really want to go. Lots of my nerdy friends will be there. We can have nerdy conversations. It will be awesome! I will probably not feel like partying, though. I'm guessing I will also not be allowed to drink. Which is probably good for me.
I've been told to be at the surgery center at 9:45, and my doctor told me that my surgery is scheduled for 11:30, although he thinks his first surgery will run long. I would really, really like to not get stuck in commute traffic on my way home. That's all I really want. I'm missing our work luncheon tomorrow, and this is the first time everyone voted to go to my favorite restaurant, but I'll be ok with missing that as long as the ride home is traffic-free. But I'm guessing I'll be so out of it that I won't notice anyway.
OK, time to get my timecard done and submitted so that I don't have to worry about it while I'm out.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Pre-pre-op
So tomorrow is my pre-op appointment and surgery is Wednesday, so today is my only "normal" day of the week. The one thing that I'm REALLY happy about is that I get to stay in bed for three days without feeling guilty at all. Assuming that my animals aren't too annoying, it's going to be great. I'll be SO happy to get this over with, especially since my period this time was fairly heavy. I can't wait to have better periods.
I had bloodwork yesterday, and I'm so glad I chose yesterday to go in. The phlebotomist told me that the day before, the wait to get blood drawn was an hour! I was the only person there when I arrived. I just got a few results back. The main blood counts all look pretty normal, and apparently the doctor checked my progesterone. It was CD3, so I'm not sure why he did that, but the result was less than 0.2. (Apparently I can't use the "less than" symbol or my blog goes haywire.). Anyway, I have no idea what that number means. It seems awfully low, but it's only CD3, and I'm hardly the expert.
My husband took both Wednesday and Thursday off. I'm not sure it's the best idea, considering how slowly he earns time off, but he's looking forward to it too. I'm sure it will involve a lot of xbox. Oh, how I hate the xbox. He says he will spend Thursday working in the yard. I hope he means it!
I keep forgetting that today is my "short" day at work, so I get to go home at 4. That also makes me happy. As well as all the work I did this weekend on the house, which included cleaning out our closet and really straightening our bedroom, building a "dog door" between the sunroom and the dog run (because another neighbor is complaining, and I am SICK AND TIRED OF OLD WOMEN WHO STAY HOME ALL DAY), and hanging the giant projector screen we bought with a gift card we got for the wedding. Also, I managed to locate most of our wedding presents! It's only been 4 months since the wedding, so probably time to get those unpacked and find homes for them.
I had bloodwork yesterday, and I'm so glad I chose yesterday to go in. The phlebotomist told me that the day before, the wait to get blood drawn was an hour! I was the only person there when I arrived. I just got a few results back. The main blood counts all look pretty normal, and apparently the doctor checked my progesterone. It was CD3, so I'm not sure why he did that, but the result was less than 0.2. (Apparently I can't use the "less than" symbol or my blog goes haywire.). Anyway, I have no idea what that number means. It seems awfully low, but it's only CD3, and I'm hardly the expert.
My husband took both Wednesday and Thursday off. I'm not sure it's the best idea, considering how slowly he earns time off, but he's looking forward to it too. I'm sure it will involve a lot of xbox. Oh, how I hate the xbox. He says he will spend Thursday working in the yard. I hope he means it!
I keep forgetting that today is my "short" day at work, so I get to go home at 4. That also makes me happy. As well as all the work I did this weekend on the house, which included cleaning out our closet and really straightening our bedroom, building a "dog door" between the sunroom and the dog run (because another neighbor is complaining, and I am SICK AND TIRED OF OLD WOMEN WHO STAY HOME ALL DAY), and hanging the giant projector screen we bought with a gift card we got for the wedding. Also, I managed to locate most of our wedding presents! It's only been 4 months since the wedding, so probably time to get those unpacked and find homes for them.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Cramps
So I started today. Or I guess yesterday. I had some light flow yesterday, and my cramps got worse towards the end of the day. I can't take any painkillers other than tylenol. I usually take 3 Aleve to start, and then another one or two every two hours until my cramps subside to a manageable level, but now I'm stuck with Tylenol because of my upcoming surgery. Today is not going to go well.
My husband and I were going to ride our motorcycles to work today, since it's supposed to be 80 degrees, but when we got up it was cold and foggy. Combined with my cramps and our exhaustion, we decided to just carpool instead, and I'm so glad we did. People were driving like maniacs!
So our dog run has not proved as successful as we had hoped, at least so far anyway. I left work early on Wednesday to get my fall garden in before it started raining and then I had surgery and then it would be too cold/wet to do anything. I arrived home to discover both dogs napping on the patio, on the wrong side of the dog run enclosure. They had chewed through the end of one of the boards that make up the gate until they managed to dislodge it, and then they were free! The next morning, D and I added extra boards so they wouldn't have room to squeeze their heads in and chew on things. Arrived home yesterday to Apollo running around the back yard. Apparently, he managed to squeeze through somewhere, and Lola is bigger so she was stuck in jail still. This morning, D reinforced the entire fence with some extra pallets we have, a temporary measure until we can figure something else out.
More gratuitous pictures of Apollo. This is the day we brought him home from the shelter. He was skin and bones:
Here are a few picture showing how absolutely ridiculous he is:
He will fall asleep in the WEIRDEST positions. He's a lot chubbier now, so I'm a little surprised he can still squeeze through the fence, but I guess that's something we're going to have to deal with, considering that on Sunday, while we were out buying supplies for the dog run, he got into my garden by squeezing through the fence and then went on a destruction spree in the lettuce and kale. I was NOT happy.
Anyway, I'm disappointed but not at all surprised that I'm not pregnant this cycle, but I'm SO happy that I'm having surgery now and I don't have to wait another two months. My doctor kept mentioning how all of these women he's treated had fibroids and he removed them and they were pregnant within 3 months. So I'll just be keeping my fingers crossed.
My husband and I were going to ride our motorcycles to work today, since it's supposed to be 80 degrees, but when we got up it was cold and foggy. Combined with my cramps and our exhaustion, we decided to just carpool instead, and I'm so glad we did. People were driving like maniacs!
So our dog run has not proved as successful as we had hoped, at least so far anyway. I left work early on Wednesday to get my fall garden in before it started raining and then I had surgery and then it would be too cold/wet to do anything. I arrived home to discover both dogs napping on the patio, on the wrong side of the dog run enclosure. They had chewed through the end of one of the boards that make up the gate until they managed to dislodge it, and then they were free! The next morning, D and I added extra boards so they wouldn't have room to squeeze their heads in and chew on things. Arrived home yesterday to Apollo running around the back yard. Apparently, he managed to squeeze through somewhere, and Lola is bigger so she was stuck in jail still. This morning, D reinforced the entire fence with some extra pallets we have, a temporary measure until we can figure something else out.
More gratuitous pictures of Apollo. This is the day we brought him home from the shelter. He was skin and bones:
Here are a few picture showing how absolutely ridiculous he is:
Anyway, I'm disappointed but not at all surprised that I'm not pregnant this cycle, but I'm SO happy that I'm having surgery now and I don't have to wait another two months. My doctor kept mentioning how all of these women he's treated had fibroids and he removed them and they were pregnant within 3 months. So I'll just be keeping my fingers crossed.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Surprise!
I just got a phone call from the surgery center. I was expecting them to say that December was open and they could schedule me, but they had a cancellation next week! And I'm taking it! I just had my phone appointment, and I'll have my pre-op on Tuesday morning, then surgery Wednesday. As much as I really, really, really don't want to have surgery, I'm SO happy that I can get it over with and hopefully get back to normal.
I think my monthly funtime may also be starting a bit early, so there's that. Weird. But yay! Surgery!
I think my monthly funtime may also be starting a bit early, so there's that. Weird. But yay! Surgery!
Spotting :(
I had a bit of spotting this morning. My rational mind is telling me that it's the precursor to my monthly funtime, which is scheduled to start this weekend. My ridiculously hopeful mind thinks "maybe it's implantation spotting!" So yeah.
In (m)other news, my mom fell AGAIN yesterday afternoon. My sister had to drive back to her house and enlist a neighbor to help get my mom up because she insisted on not having 911 called again. She thinks the new painkillers her doctor gave her are too strong and causing her to not be able to walk. I just don't know. At least she starts physical therapy next week, which I am SO grateful for. She doesn't get any exercise at all, and has apparently gained 30 pounds in the last year or two, and she was obese before that. I called her last night and got an earful about how my brother is so much better than I am because he's already called several times, and then we got into it about Christmas and how I'll be going to my husband's family's house for Christmas Eve because they don't celebrate Christmas Day, and my mom's family celebrates both days, so D and I will spend all of Christmas Day with her. Considering I work on Christmas Eve, so I will only be spending a few hours with D's family, I think she's getting the better end of the bargain. She demanded both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and when I said no, she suggested the D goes to his family's house and I go to her house. I tried explaining that D is also my family now, but she wasn't really listening. ARGH.
Anyway, this is not a family issues blog! So continuing on with my story of Monday, I finally bit the bullet and bought new jeans. Since I got engaged, or even before that really, I've put on 10-15 pounds that I haven't been able to get rid of (well, I actually put on 20 pounds, but I lost some and then plateaued). I can't fit into my pants anymore. I've been wearing skirts and dresses not-stop for over a year now. It's bad. I don't have time to exercise more, although I ride my bike to work almost every day, 8.6 miles round trip. I don't eat a lot (at least, I like to think so, but really, we don't keep junk food in the house, I rarely snack, and I think my meals are pretty healthy most of the time). My cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and BMI are normal, although my BMI is inching closer to overweight. I know I'm getting older and my body isn't going to be the same, but gosh darn it, it's driving me crazy! I just want to fit into my clothes!
Just went to the bathroom. Still spotting. Huzzah. I think I will try calling again about my surgery that may or may not ever happen. Even though I think it's not the only problem, and quite possibly not the problem at all. I wish I could get a total idea of what is happening with my cycle.
In (m)other news, my mom fell AGAIN yesterday afternoon. My sister had to drive back to her house and enlist a neighbor to help get my mom up because she insisted on not having 911 called again. She thinks the new painkillers her doctor gave her are too strong and causing her to not be able to walk. I just don't know. At least she starts physical therapy next week, which I am SO grateful for. She doesn't get any exercise at all, and has apparently gained 30 pounds in the last year or two, and she was obese before that. I called her last night and got an earful about how my brother is so much better than I am because he's already called several times, and then we got into it about Christmas and how I'll be going to my husband's family's house for Christmas Eve because they don't celebrate Christmas Day, and my mom's family celebrates both days, so D and I will spend all of Christmas Day with her. Considering I work on Christmas Eve, so I will only be spending a few hours with D's family, I think she's getting the better end of the bargain. She demanded both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and when I said no, she suggested the D goes to his family's house and I go to her house. I tried explaining that D is also my family now, but she wasn't really listening. ARGH.
Anyway, this is not a family issues blog! So continuing on with my story of Monday, I finally bit the bullet and bought new jeans. Since I got engaged, or even before that really, I've put on 10-15 pounds that I haven't been able to get rid of (well, I actually put on 20 pounds, but I lost some and then plateaued). I can't fit into my pants anymore. I've been wearing skirts and dresses not-stop for over a year now. It's bad. I don't have time to exercise more, although I ride my bike to work almost every day, 8.6 miles round trip. I don't eat a lot (at least, I like to think so, but really, we don't keep junk food in the house, I rarely snack, and I think my meals are pretty healthy most of the time). My cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, and BMI are normal, although my BMI is inching closer to overweight. I know I'm getting older and my body isn't going to be the same, but gosh darn it, it's driving me crazy! I just want to fit into my clothes!
Just went to the bathroom. Still spotting. Huzzah. I think I will try calling again about my surgery that may or may not ever happen. Even though I think it's not the only problem, and quite possibly not the problem at all. I wish I could get a total idea of what is happening with my cycle.
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