we’ve reached critical mass…
Today is the day folks, I’m up to 3 Metformin pills per day! Took the first pill this morning with breakfast (though I think I should have eaten a bit more, because now my tummy is just a touch wonky), will take #2 with lunch and #3 before bed. So far things have gone well with the Met. I’m actually thinking it’s the reason my period started somewhat “early” for me. Usually, without meds, I’ll go up to 3 months between periods, but this time is was just a bit over a month.
I’m on CD-8. I’ve been doing the BBT thing so far everyday (except CD1). I haven’t noticed much difference from when I used to chart, my temp still seems like it’s all over the place:
- CD2: 97.44
- CD3: 97.70
- CD4: 97.50
- CD5: 97.26
- CD6: 97.19
- CD7: 97.44
- CD8: 97.46
I’m not sure if this is a normal flux or if my body is still crazy and the Metformin hasn’t started adjusting me yet (I know, it can take up to 6+ months, but a girl can be hopeful, right?)
All you BBT vets, is this normal? I suppose I really won’t be able to tell until I ovulate and start the next cycle…any info would be appreciated!
four and counting…
4 – that’s the number of pills I’ve taken so far today (and it’s only 11:30 am)! My first pill this morning was the prenatal vitamin…I hate taking that one. Not because it’s big…not because it tastes awful…not even because it’s pink. What I hate about taking it is that I’ve been taking these damn pills for almost 3 years, and I think it’s just a big joke. Prenatal – really? I must have a VERY l0ng gestational period…like an elephant. Yup, that’s me! The human elephant.
Okay. Pill #2 was Metformin. Yup – today was the day I start week 2 of the Met and so I’ve jumped up to 2 a day. I made sure to eat breakfast (which I normally don’t do) and took it with milk. We’ll see if I have any side effects, which I’ve been avoiding the past week by taking it at night so I can sleep through it all.
Pills #3 and 4 were the same: Extra Strength Tylenol. That’s right folks your friend and mine, Aunt Flo showed up for a visit today! I’m not sure if it was the Met that made her come earlier than normal (CD-38 instead of say, CD-90), but I’m glad I didn’t have to go through 3 months wondering when I’d get to see if the Metformin would regulate my cycles! So while I’m experiencing my vomit educing cramping, at least I can start tracking this cycle. I’ve never really gotten into the BBT thing (as my cycles were so long and temps up and down everyday). I’ve NEVER done an OPK…again, hard to know when to do the test in a 90 day cycle! So, tomorrow I will officially start BBT-ing and see what happens! You may see a new ticker, my CD ticker. That’s mostly for MY benefit, as I’m not a number person. It will help me remember where I’m at.
I’m nervous and excited. I know this Metformin stuff can take a while to really regulate things for me, but as we all can be when it comes to infertility, we think it won’t apply to us! The first time will be the charm! I mean I *did* get pregnant on my very first ever IUI, very first ever treatment for infertility. Of course after that it’s not been so “easy” for me. But here I am, on a new course of treatment so of course I’m thinking it’s going to work for me easy! I think I heard someone call this “infertility amnesia”. I’ve got it bad! I think that’s a good thing though. It will help to keep me hopeful. Until then, I’m going to try and keep my breakfast down. Damn cramps.
amen sister…
Today I found a new TTC blog (I think I’m addicted!) And was reading her most recent post. There was something she said that made me want to shout “Amen, sister!” So, I thought I’d quote her here and link and hope she doesn’t mind!
“I’ve been told that maybe the reason why I can’t have a child is because God doesn’t think I’m ready. Or because I’m just not ready period. Who has the right to make that decision for me? Why can’t I make that decision for me? How am I ever suppose to know if I’m not given a chance? There are many people on this earth that have the chance to be parents and still don’t care about their kids but no one stood there and told them that they weren’t ready or stopped them from having a child.”
Ain’t that the truth? Look at all the foster kids, kids for adoption, kids getting smacked in the middle of malls, etc…I know, not all of these situations were because the parents were at fault, but I’m willing to bet a good majority of it is. It is very frustrating to think “well, if I’m not “ready” or it’s not my “time”, then what makes those parents ready?? Just some food for thought. Thanks to All Any1 needs is Hope, Faith and Baby Dust for stating it so well!
it has begun…
Yup, started my Metformin last night! Yay me! So, here’s the scoop:
I was given 500 mg Metformin and told to take it 3 times a day. However, thanks to suggests from you all here on my blog (especially Maybe Baby?) and also from my IF sisters on Twitter I’ve decided to ease into it. I’ll do 1 week with just one pill, then week 2 switch to 2 and week 3 be up to the full dose/day. I’ve also restarted my pre-natal vitamins. I know, I know…don’t even say it. After the last BFN I pretty much went through my house and threw all of my IF supplies into a bag and shoved it in my closet (the needles, syringes, left over Endometrium, Pre-natals, etc…). This morning I dug around looking for the bag and pulled the Pre-Natals out and took one this morning. Yes folks, hope is again knocking on my door…and I REALLY want to answer.
I’ve also decided to hold off on the Clomid that I was prescribed. I wasn’t expecting it in the first place, and I’ve always been a bit wary of Clomid, just from things I’ve read about it. So the plan right now is taking the Metformin to regulate my cycles and also using OPK’s and BBT to make sure things are happening the way they “should” happen. Once I’ve had a cycle or 2 (or 3) that seem “normal”, we will do one of two things.
1) Call the endocrinologist that was recommended to me (may do this earlier if it turns out insurance will cover it) and talk with her about the Met and possibly starting the Clomid.
2) Call my old fertility clinic and do one last try at IUI (which we are saved up for and can do whenever, but want to try this Met stuff for a while first)
So – there it is! Hopefully something along the way will work for me and I’ll be pregnant BEFORE my next birthday (which is the big 3-0. Yikes). It’s just really nice at this point to have some freakin’ OPTIONS rather than sinking into a pool of despair. Yay!
I’ve also been working out regularly. I joined Curves and I got 3 times a week as they recommend. I haven’t missed a week yet! I’m feeling pretty good about that, and hoping also that now I’m on the Metformin it’ll help me loose weight, too. The next hurdle is the diet. I’ve never felt that I eat poorly, per se, but I don’t eat as well as I should. And I love carbs. I LOVE CARBS. Give me a loaf of fresh bread anyday!! Yum. So, you can see we have a bit of a problem there, but one I’m willing to work on. The DH and I were on the South Beach Diet for a while and it was working pretty good…I lost 10 pounds on that – before we crashed and failed! So, I might try to somewhat go back to that, or really, just be more conscious about what I eat.
So far, no side effects to report on the Metformin, but I purposely started my doses at night, so I could sleep through whatever may happen on them…at least for the first week. Really hoping I don’t get hit too hard with stuff. Usually, if I do experience side effects from meds, it wears off eventually, so I’m hoping I keep up that tradition. Okay…hope you are all well!!!!
um…okay…
So just got back from my gynecologist to discuss taking Metformin (or as DH calls it “metrosexual”) for my PCOS. 
Conversation went like this:
DrT: How are you?
Me: Good. You?
DrT: Good. So what can I do for you?
Me: Well, I’ve been going to FCI and they’ve diagnosed me with PCOS for the past 2 years. I’ve read and heard from people that Metformin is commonly prescribed for PCOS so I wanted to talk to you about possibly going on that.
DrT: Sure, I can do that for you.
Yup…it was that painless! Actually, she was pretty surprised and shocked that my fertility clinic never prescribed Metformin to me after the PCOS diagnosis. Needless to say, I have been shocked and surprised by that as well! She also decided since I was over due for my pap and check up to do that today too. Usually I have some time to mentally prepare for that, but all went fine.
Okay, but here’s the kicker – she gave me Clomid too!! What the…what do I do with that?? I’ve read putting Met and Clo together often work better than either one on their own, but I don’t really know what to do with Clomid. We skipped that step with the RE because we only had so much money to work with and we wanted to jump straight to IUI since it had a better chance of working (which turned out to be true on the 1st try, it just didn’t last).
So…Clomid vets, HELP!!! All I know is that I’m supposed to take it on days 2-5 of my cycle. She told me to start the Metformin right away. I’m not going to have any monitoring for this, as her clinic is not set up for that. She did give me a referral to an endocrinologist, but I’m pretty sure insurance wouldn’t cover that, so I can’t really go. I’m going to turn to good ‘ole Dr. Google and WebMD, but any insight and help I could get from all of you would be great too.
Can I just take the drugs and then BBT and use OPK’s and go from that? Should I do anything else? I’m already working out 3x’s a week. I really need to start eating better, so that’s on the schedule too, but anything else? Pre-Seed lubricant? I’ve heard that supposed to help…I know with Clomid it can dry up your cervical mucus, so I should probably use something to help. According to DH, we’ll just have to, as he so elegantly put it “boink” every night (yeah, he’s at the bar with some friends right now…).
fingers crossed…
I head to the doctor in about 20 minutes to talk about possibly getting on Metformin. Any last minute advice would be appreciated! Wish me luck!
I’ll be sure to post after I get back about what happened.
Booohalloween and puppies…
My appointment with the gynecologist about Metformin is tomorrow. I can’t wait. I’m hoping that it goes well. Since I’m in a waiting time though, I really have nothing to report…so I thought I’d share some Halloween pictures!
The hubby and I in our Halloween costumes. 100 points to anyone who can guess who we are!
(If you don’t know, the DH is Captain Hammer for Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog and I’m Helena Ravenclaw. I’m a huge Harry Potter nerd, and also a Joss Whedon nerd, so very happy hubby has followed along with that one! I made the dress myself!
I spent Halloween night at a friends house, and was gone most of the next day. When I got home, I was exhausted so I laid down on the couch. My dog Malcolm must have REALLY missed me because he came up and squished my face and gave me lots of puppy kisses (Mal is not a bit kissy dog, so it is a rare treat to get one from him)! He laid on my like this with his head on my face for about 10 minutes.
My other puppy, Inara, missed me too – she curled up right next to me on the couch. If you look in the background you can see Malcolm staring at me, too!
Well…hopefully I’ll have something to report tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck!
awards…
Seems I’ve been nominated for some awards! Wow – yay! So I’m going to take some time today to post them and nominate some more people, as I won’t really have much to report until Thursday afternoon…so here we go!
This award is from Still Waiting For My Sunshine – Thank you!!! I’ve just recently found her blog, but I’m glad I did. It helps to be able to read about people going through the same crap that I am, and for the same reasons. Us PCOS girls have got to stick together! Thank you so much and I love ya!
The rules for this award are simple. I LOVE YOU=8 letters which gives you 8 rules :
1-Thank the person who nominated you for this award and write a little bit about why you love them.
2-Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3-Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4-Nominate no more than 17 people (why 17?) who you love or you think could use some love.
5-Write one word (you can only use a word once) about what you love about their blog.
6-You cannot nominate someone who has already been nominated-the love has to spread to all.
7-Post links to the 17 blogs you nominate.
8-Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated.
So my awards go to:
1. SusQ -Best-Friend
2. Maybe Baby? -Honesty
3. Infertile Myrtle -Hope
4. The Big “IF” – Understanding
5. 2 of a Kind – supportive
6. Mommyland – Inspiring
7. IF Optimist – Cute
8. Fertility Chick – Fun
9. Birds and Squirrels – Informative
This award is from Infertile Myrtle – thanks so much!
Here are the rules:
1. You can only use one word!
2. Pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers.
3. Alert them that you have given them this award!
4. Have Fun!
The Survey
1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your hair? red
3. Your mother? interesting
4. Your father? strong
5. Your favorite food? chicken
6. Your dream last night? none
7. Your favorite drink? milk
8. Your dream/goal? baby
9. What room are you in? office
10. Your hobby? sewing
11. Your fear? alone
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
13. Where were you last night? Abbey’s
14. Something that you aren’t? hopeless
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. Wish list item? baby
17. Where did you grow up? Minnesota
18. Last thing you did? drive
19. What are you wearing? brown
20. Your TV? nice
21. Your pets? dogs
22. Friends? awesome
23. Your life? good
24. Your mood? anxious
25. Missing someone? yes
26. Vehicle? corolla
27. Something you’re not wearing? gloves
28. Your favorite store? Target
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When was the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? yesterday
32. Your best friend? awesome
33. One place that I go to over and over? home
34. One person who e-mails me regularly? Justin
35. Favorite place to eat? Sabai Dee
nominating these bloggers…
2. CeCe
3. Bottoms Off…
4. BlondeDawn
interesting news…
So in trying to get prepared for my meeting with the gynecologist next Thursday I called my nurse at FCI to get my PCOS diagnosis results faxed over so I could take them in to the appointment. She gathered together the info and explained it to me over the phone yesterday before she faxed it, which was nice. I now know that my PCOS diagnosis was not just a shot in the dark (they never properly explained it all to me until now, when I asked about it…guess that shows you really need to be an active participant in this whole process!!). I DEFINITELY have PCOS. I want to help any of you out there who may not be sure what that all entails, so this is what my nurse explained to me:
1) Antral Follicle count greater than 24 (mine for the past few checks were 40, 35, 27, 35)
2) Irregular Menstrual cycles (Yup, check…)
3) “Pearl Necklace” appearance to ovaries (this means there are small, pearl like bumps surrounding your ovaries)
4) High androgens (shown through physical appearance and blood tests)
5) LH to FSH ratios should be 1:1 (mine are not…one test was FSH 3.20 and LH 0.842)
So, now that I KNOW my diagnosis better, I feel better prepared to go into my appointment with test results, articles and determination at hand! I’m really not anticipating much of a fight, but I’m ready if I have to!
But that’s not the interesting news…after explaining it all to me she said she had a question for me. She wanted to know if we have ever considered IVF. I told her we are very open to it, but the cost is just too prohibitive. She then informed me that the clinic is doing a trial for PCOS patients to do IVF at a reduced cost and that she had spoken with the nurse in charge to get us into the trial if we want. I told her if it was very reduced we would definitely be interested. So, she faxed over my info and went off to talk to the nurse in charge of the trial.
About 15 min later she called back with the info. Normal IVF cycles at my clinic are $10,500 +meds ($1-2,000). The trial is cut in half: $5,500 +meds. Wow. I love my nurse. Not only did she think of us when she heard about this trial, but she spoke with the nurse in charge directly and she is waiting for our call to say if we would like to do it. I *heart* Jaime (my nurse). The only catch is that we need to get started before December. And that’s where the bummer part comes in.
The DH and I discussed it last night. While we would both love to jump on this opportunity (IVF will NEVER be this cheap again), we just won’t have $7,000 by December. If we had a bit more time to save up we could maybe have done it, but it just isn’t possible right now. I hate to give up this opportunity, especially since Jaime worked so hard to get us considered for the trial, but there you go. I’m upset we have to pass it up, but on the other hand I’m doing okay. If I didn’t have the Metformin option that we’re working on to fall back on I would have pressed a little harder to try and find a way to do the IVF, but we do have the Metformin “safety net” so at least I’m not completely out of options.
That being said, if any of you win the lottery in the next few weeks and want to donate $5,000 to me, I won’t say no!
