Test

I had the test on Thursday. It was very painful, but not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. The part I was not prepared for was walking into the room and seeing the hot young doctor who was to perform the test! I am pretty sure I didn’t have my poker face on when I saw him. He was very nice and professional though. After the procedure he walked me through the x-rays and his preliminary findings – everything looked clear! Yay!

Other than the pain, the worst part happened when I tried to get off of the table at the end. My gown got stuck on something and yep, you guessed it - I got off of the table and my gown stayed up on the table. The doctor had to help me get my gown un-stuck. So much for leaving with any dignity.

I finished the Letrozole and I start the OPK’s tomorrow. Thanks for those who left comments explaining why Letrozole had the no pregnancy warning. It was a little unsettling to see but good to know that it isn’t harmful to me.

Letrozole

Imagine my surprise when I picked up my Letrozole/Femara prescription and saw this warning: Do NOT use this medicine if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. What?! I read up on Letrozole so I knew that while it has been known to help ovulation it has not been FDA approved for that purpose yet – it is approved for treatment of breast cancer. But I definitely wasn’t expecting a warning like this! Since this is a test cycle with my husband still being gone, I’m not too worried - but I am going to ask my RE about it when I see him for the HSG test on Thursday. You think he might have warned me.

I am on day 3 of the Letrozole and haven’t had any side effects, but I think I’d prefer to have the crazy Clomid side effects knowing that at least it was FDA approved!

Baseline ultrasound

I had the baseline ultrasound yesterday. Oy! That bitch hurt! I guess not having a husband around for a few months did not make the process any easier. Luckily it didn’t last too long. At one point the nurse pointed to the screen and said “that is your uterus, where your baby will be.” It gave me chills to hear that, but I couldn’t really see anything on the screen.

The RE is going to look at the results, but I didn’t get an indication from the nurse that she saw anything abnormal. She said my follicles were measuring the right size and once she found both ovaries (right side was not being cooperative – probably not use to having something up there!) said those looked pretty good too.

I had bloodwork today, start Letrozole tonight, and have the HSG test next Thursday. To be honest I am a little scared of the HSG test now – my RE said the ultrasound wouldn’t hurt at all (WRONG!) and the HSG would be painful. Perhaps my pain tolerance sucks. I am not exactly looking forward to next Thursday, other than to hopefully rule out a tube problem.

My husband called last night to ask about the ultrasound. I was already asleep when he called so I didn’t think to sugar coat the procedure and ended up telling him that I pretty much got violated with one of those sticks they use at the airport to show the airplanes what gate to pull into, complete with condom and KY. It was funny to hear him gasp.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my two year wedding anniversary! I can’t believe we’ve already been married 2 years. I also can’t believe that he has been gone on both anniversaries. Boo. I’m not too upset because he should be back from deployment in about a month! Yay!

He called last night to wish me a happy anniversary as it was already the 17th in his time zone. I sure do love him.

Tonight is not a total loss – I get to do some girl bonding (drinking wine!) while helping my good friend fold programs and make gift bags for her wedding this weekend.

Updated Game Plan

The RE called on Friday to let me know that my bloodwork showed that I ovulated and my progesterone levels were very high. Yay! I was especially glad because when I told him that based on my temps I ovulated on day 36, he pretty much brushed me off. He did it in a very polite way, but told me it was unlikely that I ovulated at all since I was already on cycle day 45 and then gave me all the reasons why bbt is not very reliable. So based on the bloodwork results, he made some changes to my next steps.

Updated Game Plan:
• Reschedule baseline ultrasound until after I start, but before cycle day 5
• More bloodwork on cycle day 3
• Begin Letrozole on day 3-7
• HSG test around day 11 advice

I know the RE’s at this practice prefer using Letrozole over Clomid, but I forgot to ask why. He did tell me that the side effects last longer on Clomid than on Letrazole. Other than hot flashes and mood swings (my husband called Clomid my angry pills), I didn’t experience anything too bad on Clomid. Does anyone have experience with Letrozole? I would love to know what to expect.

Game plan

The RE appointment went well. I was surprised at how much time I actually spent with the doctor talking about my medical history and going over different options. He was especially understanding of our situation with B being deployed right now. His thought was to take a fairly aggressive approach to diagnosing the reason why I am either not ovulating or ovulating so late. This is the game plan as of now:

• Tomorrow get bloodwork to test hormones
• Depending on results of the bloodwork – either take Provera to start period
(if no ovulation is detected) or wait for period (if ovulation is detected).
He thinks I didn’t ovulate since I am on day 45 of my cycle now.
• Baseline ultrasound scheduled for Monday to make sure everything looks okay
• Day 3 of my cycle (whenever it starts) more bloodwork to test hormones
• Day 10 or 11 HSG test to make sure my fallopian tubes are okay

Depending on the results of all the tests I may start Clomid or Letrozole this cycle so they can monitor my ovulation. I am not really looking forward to the crappy side effects considering that B won’t even be here.

The doctor was really optimistic about our chances – but then again he hasn’t gotten any of the test results back so I am not sure what he is basing it on. But I do feel much better now that we at least have a strategy.

The big fertility appointment is tomorrow. I have spent hours filling out the freaking enormous packet of forms they sent. I am a little nervous about the appointment – even though I know it isn’t going to be a big deal. The nurse told me that I would talk to the doctor for 45 minutes and get bloodwork. That can’t be too bad. I am worried he is going to be concerned that I didn’t ovulate until day 34 this cycle. I am also struggling with the reality that I have reached the point of needing a fertility clinic in order to conceive.

I had a dentist appointment today. Most people dread going to the dentist, I always did – but I love my dentist! She is my age and even went to Auburn like me (WAR EAGLE!) We have a lot in common and today I found out that she has been trying to conceive for 2 years. I hate that she has had to go through it, but it is so nice to talk to someone who actually understands. Plus she always tells me that I have beautiful teeth!

This weekend was nice and relaxing. I participated in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk 2007, a wonderful event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. A friend at work started a team for the walk in honor of her mother who is living with Alzheimer’s. Our team of 4 raised over $3,000! One of the signs at the race really got to me – “There are no survivors of Alzheimer’s and there is no cure” – true, but so very sad.

On a side not, I am pretty sure I qualify as a Mountain Dew addict. It was pouring rain on Sunday – which we really needed – when I felt that I really needed a Mountain Dew. So instead of waiting for the rain to abate like a reasonable person, I put on my raincoat and went to the store to buy some Dew (and got completely drenched). But damn did that Dew taste good! Now I should be good for the week.

Talented pup

I figured I needed a happy post - so I will brag about my talented pup. What does my pup do, you ask. He runs on the treadmill! Don’t believe me? Check out this video:

(Note: Please mute the volumn, or you will hear me sound like a complete idiot.)

We got this idea from Cesar Millan, aka the Dog Whisperer. All we have to say is “get on your run” and he runs down to the basement and hops on the treadmill. It is hilarious.

Disclaimer: Don’t worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this video. He has plenty of room to jump off the treadmill if he wants, he isn't on for very long, and we don’t leave him unattended.

Deployments suck

I got to talk with B yesterday. We had a wonderfully long – 15-20 minute – conversation. I am lucky in that I get an email or phone call from him every week or so. Sometimes he can only talk for a few minutes, but it is so nice to hear his voice. Towards the end of his last deployment I learned that if I keep a list of things I want to tell him, our conversations are much easier. There is nothing worse than awkward pauses because we both are so excited to talk to each other that neither can think of anything to say.

This time I got to tell him a lot of funny stories – like that our Australian cattle dog, Count, farted so loud he jumped and then sniffed his butt (he alternates between jumping and growling at his butt when he farts!). Or that my brother called my mom this weekend to ask what you should do “if someone eats poop.” They have a miniature wiener dog who apparently left a surprise on the carpet, which my niece promptly put in her mouth. Nobody realized what happened until they went to wipe the “dirt” off of her hands, and it smelled funny. This one had B howling he was laughing so hard. I like conversations like this because I can forget how far away he is. Topics I steer clear from: his scary work/location, my boring work, next steps in our trying to conceive process, news, and celebrity gossip (oddly enough, he is not a fan).

After I got off the phone with B, I was washing dishes (with dishwasher open) when all of the sudden I heard a horrible crash. Turned around and saw Count with the bottom rack of the dishwasher attached to his collar! Somehow while he was licking the silverware - naughty dog! - he got himself attached. I wish I had a video of him running down the stairs to our basement with the bottom rack of our dishwasher “chasing” him while silverware is bouncing off the stairs. Thankfully I had only loaded three plates and miraculously they didn’t break during the chaos. My immediate reaction (after detaching said dishwasher rack) was to pick up the phone and begin dialing B’s cell phone. Then I realized where he was and it felt like the wind got knocked out of me.

This is so not what I pictured married life to be like. Not that I thought it was going to be all roses and butterflies – but I never expected to be alone half of our first 2 years of marriage, dealing with the reality of B’s job, and struggling to get pregnant. Poo, I just miss him so much.