All last week I kept hearing talk about the DNC and I
thought – WOW, this stuff is making frontpage news.
It’s been 8 weeks since our second D&C and a year
since we thought we would be starting our family. It’s hard to believe that it has been a year. I understand now, when I read about different couples going
on year after year trying, how painfully quick that time can go. I try to keep the panic away when I
think about that. We still have at
least 5 years, hopefully, maybe.
I have returned to being a supplement junkie. In fact, there
are so many that they had their own luggage when we were on our road trip to
California. Seriously. It takes me about 5 minutes in the
morning to get them all down. Part
of that is because I also have this phobia that I will choke and die on my
kitchen floor when taking pills.
Those of you who know me well, know that fear is one of the many reasons
I got married. Being married
really means, if I did choke on some of these horse-size pills, someone would
find me quicker or possibly even be standing there to help. Thank you, Brett – yet, another amazing
thing about you. And yes, there
are many, even more than my supplement list for sure – Quercetin, L-Arginine,
Royal Jelly, Maca, Vitex, Selenium, Vitamin E, D, B-12, Super Greens,
Pre-Natals, Omega 3-6-9. I think
that’s it. At least it’s a start.
I also have started back to yoga, acupuncture every two
weeks, back on Chinese medicine, and have since started Mayan abdominal
massage. Basically, it’s an
intense monthly massage on your abdomen to stimulate blood flow to your ovaries
and uterus. You also have to do
weekly massages on your stomach for quicker progress. The massage therapist, like the acupuncturist, like the
Chinese medicine practitioner, has suggested waiting three cycles to get my
eggs super healthy. So we wait,
although I have started keeping track of my temperatures and using ovulation
predictor tests again and it makes it oh, so tempting when you see that you are
ovulating. But, I have made a
promise to myself to wait so that we might have the healthiest eggs on the
planet.
It seems an auspicious omen that just yesterday, Brett sent
me this picture while I was at work.
Yep, the chicks have become women chicks and they all laid their eggs on
the same day. Talk about
convergence of cycles. Now – if it
will just rub off on me, we’d be in business. But as it stands, we are in a holding pattern. For one, to theoretically get these
eggs of mine healthy. It
apparently takes 90 days for an egg to mature. Meaning, the egg I will ovulate next month started maturing
90 days ago. So everything I have
been doing for the last 90 days impacts the quality of this egg.
The other reason, certainly not on my agenda, but like
before, we are waiting for my cycles to begin again. I thought for sure that I would start my period on the first
day of school – a girl’s worst nightmare.
But nothing, despite proof that I’m ovulating. Unfortunately, 8 weeks
post D&C likely means a round of estrogen in the hopes to give things a
kick start. Johnson seems to have
a plan, which is good, since I called in typical ‘let’s get this party started’
mode a few weeks ago and asked, “So what’s your plan?”
Meanwhile, I have continued to research whether I might have
general hormone issues, thyroid, etc.
I decided that I would go see a general practitioner/family practice
doctor to see what I might find out.
Basically, I just wanted to get an entire blood work panel of sorts done
so that I could make sure that everything was within the normal range. I had seen a GP before, so decided to
go back to his office.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get in to see him, so had to go to a different
doctor. I guess if I had ever wondered whether Western medicine was entirely
useless, I got my answer.
After explaining to her that we had been trying to have a
baby for nearly a year, had two miscarriages of different varieties, and
wondered if perhaps I had some hormone issues going on, she asked me a number
of questions.
Dr: “So, did your OB run some blood work for you?”
Me: “Yes, but in February and for all I know, everything
checked out okay, but I’m wondering if perhaps she didn’t check my thyroid and
all my hormone levels.”
Dr: “Well, I would just be shooting in the dark if I started
doing a bunch of tests, especially if she already has done them. Do you know
when she considers you a high-risk pregnancy or [the dreaded] Advanced Maternal
Age?”
Me: “No, I mean, she hasn’t told me that she considers me
either of those things.”
Dr: “Does your husband stay out of hot tubs?”
Me: “Yes.”
Dr: “Does he ride a bike?”
Me: “Occasionally, but he doesn’t like to.”
Dr: “Are you taking a multi-vitamin?”
Me: “Yes and then some.”
Dr: “Well, then, you are doing everything right. There’s nothing much I can do for
you. You should really just talk
to your OB. Sorry…”
Me: “Okay, well, I guess I’ll call her when I get home.”
Dr: “Sounds good.”
Now, mind you, these doctors practice under the same
umbrella of healthcare providers, so feasibly they should be able to access the
test results, if said test results were kept electronically, which I don’t know
if they are.
But regardless, according to this doctor, we are doing
everything right. And who knows?
Maybe we are. I believe I have
reached my deductible for the year, so luckily my insurance will be covering
that appointment. Easy money for
her, I guess. All in a day’s work.
In the meantime, summer is coming to a close although you
would not know by the temperature in my classroom this week and I’m headed back
to work. I’m excited to be back in
the classroom after a year of being away. I think it will be a good distraction from worrying about
this elusive baby and will be a different way to feel time pass, rather than
focusing on my monthly cycles. We
have still not given up hope, not sure if we ever could really. But it certainly does feel harder and harder to focus our
intention on making it happen. It
takes a lot out of you and the desire and want can really consume your life and
energy. I guess now, we are just
trying to find a balance between living our life together and hoping that soon,
we’ll add one to our mix.
