Are you f***ing kidding me?

So I'm not going to my reunion next month, for many reasons.

The biggest one is cost, but not just the cost of flying out there and for hotel. First, they wanted to charge 80 for a whole weekend per person, then when enough people complained there was a sunday only option for people with families for a reduced price. Since I'm not made of money and definitely not local, I'm passing. I'm not in the mood to pay for someone's bar tab when I don't drink and to be around people who, from the looks of the reunion board, about 75 percent of the group has not left the high school or party scene.

After someone I knew well posted that he had to skip it due to costs as well, I made the simple suggestion to anyone on the East Coast (NYC and Boston areas) who had to miss it due to costs that maybe an option would be to maybe plan a mini-reunion for those on this side who want to meet up, perhaps linking it to the one out there with skype or something, or for after so that people who want to go to both can do so. I offered to open my home. My university does these types of events around the country for alumni, so why not this?

Well, you would have thought that I suggested that the world was coming to an end. Everyone who's on the planning committee is like, oh, what about couch surfing or here's what I found for airfare. Do they not understand that people have budgets, and families to support? I mean, I understand that yes, they are all single, and that yes, they want to make the reunion a large social event. But damn it all, some of us just can't swing thousands of dollars to fly out to an event that seems to be executed by the seat of their pants.

Maybe I'll see if there is an interest in a mini reunion, but with how the organizers are acting, I don't know if I should. God knows I wasn't in the popular group in high school, partying and getting schmucked and futhered every weekend.

Maybe by the 20th one the events will be more family and friendly, but I don't see that happening.

It's officially starting...

the first round of the study begins! Went to Burlington yesterday, where I got a whole lot of blood drawn and an ultrasound to do a follicle count (and there were a lot!), and I start the first round of drugs tomorrow!

As I get closer and closer to beginning this, I'm starting to freak out. I want one more child, I do; but it's just the idea of having to go the fertility drug route to do it that makes me sad. I'm already moody as it is off of the pill, so depending on which drug the study has me in (it's a double blind study; neither the provider or I know, all we know is that it is one drug or the other, no placebos) I may get super bitchy.

Like how I was back in high school bitchy.

Not a good thing. But I guess it's a good thing I'm not going to the reunion next month; would make people think I haven't changed. LOL

Monkeychild and reading

I love my son, I love him dearly. And I love how smart he seems to be. But sometimes it can be a little problem.

We were shopping yesterday, and I had him in the cart walking around our home away from home, Target. Well, lately, he's been learning how to read letters, and he's started to put words together.

Note to self: Do not take him into the bra and underwear aisles.

ABCs of Trying To Conceive

Saw this on another blog and thought it was an interesting way to get some perspective

 

 

 

A. Age when you started TTC: 19, then stopped for a bit, then 24/25. Had MonkeyChild, now I'm 27 and trying for our last child

B. Baby Dancing or Sex: Either one. Both lead to the same thing, hopefully. :-)

C. Children wanted: It used it be four. Then we raised my brothers, and then had Monkey Child. We decided one more would be enough. So I guess, in a way, we will have had four children.

D. Dogs/Cats/Fill in Children: Can't have pets, but for some reason I seem to be the go-to gal for info or as a sympathetic ear to my brother's friends.

E.  Essential Oils/Vitamins/Snake Oils: Prenatals, 4mg of folic acid (don't want a repeat of SB like with Monkey)

F. Fertility Meds I’ve taken:  None yet, but will soon, and I won't know which one.

 G. Gain: Too much! After done having kids and if I don't lose a bunch breast feeding, then I will consider gastric bypass.

 H. HSG (Hystosalpingogram):  nope, but I had a sonohystogram. that's the one with saline.

 I.  Infertile Pet Peeves: too many. people who say to just relax, the people who yell out "finally!" when a pregnancy is announced, etc

 J. Job title:Independent consultant for Pampered Chef; mama, wife, and writer.

 K. Kid’s names you’re afraid will be taken by the time you can use them: it's happened before, which is why we're not saying anything.

 L. Length of time TTC: this time around, since January.

M.  Miscarriages: One confirmed.

N. Number of times you’ve switched OB/GYNS, REs, FSs: Twice, unless you count switching doctors within a practice, then it's three. But the new one is for the study I am in.

 O. Ovarian quality: ha. seriously? I have PCOS. It's not like I can know when it'll happen....

P. POAS or wait for AF: Now I have to pee on a stick. Waiting for AF is not an option.

Q. Quote from an obnoxious fertile: "It's a good thing you are miscarrying because you are too young to be having children" from the OB who saw me during my miscarriage. I had been married over a year and was raising my brothers. It was while Baldman was in the air force and the doc was a captain about to pin on his oakleaf for major...let's just say he had to wait an extra year to pin it on :-P.

S. Sperm: all well and good, apparently. We found out as part of the study.

T. Time you tried naturally: too long. When you have PCOS or other fertility issues, you can't wait.

 U. Uterus quality: Was told bicornuate, but sonohystogram says it's only an arcuate uterus. Only slightly deformed :-)

 V. Vagina:That works just fine, as the Baldman showed me during monkey child's naptime ;-)

 W. What baby stuff do you already have?: I have maternity clothes still, but I gave away most of our old baby stuff when we were told we couldn't have more. Should have gotten that second opinion sooner! But it will be nice to go get new stuff.
 

X.  X-tra X-tra Hear all about it! How many people know the ins and outs of our crazy TTC journey? Some people. I don't keep it a secret. There's no shame in what's wrong. At least I took the initiative to find out what was wrong!

Y. Yearly Exam (do you still go in even though someone sees your lady parts most months?): Oh yes. I don't mess around with that.

Z.  Zits: It's worse now that we're TTCing. the BCP were helpful with that and the extra hair, but now that I'm not on it the zits are back and the hair is annoying.

PPCOS II study (Also known as Becoming a Lab Rat)

now that we know I don't have a bicornuate uterus like previously though, I've gone through the process of starting the PPCOS II study. It's out of UVM, a HUGE med school and university in the area.
To put it simply, it's a long process: I had to fill out a LOT of paperwork, and they stuck me a couple times this morning for bloodwork. Once all my labs (and Baldman's "contribution"), I'll be placed in a study group testing what is more effective in getting women with PCOS pregnant, with a secondary test to see if one drug is more effective in producing only singleton pregnancies than the standard Clomid which has a higher risk of multiples. It's at the most a six month study, which ends as soon as we get pregnant.

I like the doctor who is doing it. He REALLY LISTENS, and actually wants to help get the PCOS under control after we have this second (and LAST) child. He's doing another study he wants me to try out too, about emotional memory, which we'll see about. :-) Since I've actually administered some of the memory tests used in that one, I'm not sure I would be a good candidate to be a subject, but he knows that. He was surprised and impressed that I took the time to write out my gyn history for him after he called the day before yesterday and brought it in for him so that he would have it all documented and on hand when email his partners in the project. Baldman even got a kick out of him. :-)

I regret not being more pro-active than I already was before this. I should have taken the step to get this all under control sooner, but the OB/GYN practices on this side of the lake didn't seem to think it was necessary, and while i had my doubts I listened to them. Now when I drive by those offices, I show them the finger; I tell everyone I can to take their care over to Burlington. I thought medical people were supposed to want to get the best treatment for their patients, even if it means transferring their care to a larger hospital. How can people be so selfish or have such an ego that they put their pride in front of their patients needs?

Literally Gobsmacked

To go back in time I have to say that I was diagnosed with the bicornuate uterus in 2007 at my original OB/GYN office. It was confirmed only via ultrasound, no other tests were run. Let's just say that the diagnosis of that was a huge blow.

I transferred over to the medical center in VT with the medical school attached back in July to get the PCOS under control. They do a lot of studies and they really keep up on their research. I started with one doc, who referred me to another one in her practice who is running a study on PCOS, and at first I was disqualified because of the bicornuate uterus. However, he wanted an ultrasound anyway to get a follicle count. In the ultrasound the tech and the first year resident noticed that there was not a bicornuate uterus as I was told in 2007. They talked to the doctor, who came in and asked if they could do an HSG test while I was there (he knew I was coming from a couple hours away). I said sure, why not, and they did it.

It turns out that.....I DO NOT HAVE A BICORNUATE UTERUS!!! The twits at the old practices were WRONG. What there is, is a slight septum that is 1cm big dipping in. He said that he wouldn't even consider needing to operate on it; and that he wanted to talk to his co-horts in this study he is running, but since he is primary investigator in the study he wants to put me in it!!! All fertility treatments (drugs, exams, etc) until conception would be free.

Can you tell I am so freakin' excited???? I'm still recovering from the HSG test, which is very uncomfortable and makes you all crampy afterward, but this is huge news.

PCOS is hell

My hormones are all over the place. The doctor and I finally caught each other at the same time on the phone (we've been playing phone tag for over a week now), and while I can't be in the study for PCOS and conception because of the bicornuate (which sucks, but he's interested in), the tests show that the PCOS is rearing its ugly head. My testosterone levels and another hormone are VERY VERY high (explains the anger and rage issues lately! and the extra hair on my arms and face), and my FSH is LOW.
It means Clomid will be prescribed when I go in for my yearly exam next week. I'm sure he'll be wanting to get an ultrasound of the bicornuate, too. Not something you see every day.