Pieces

Update time: Had my second acupuncture appointment today. I got to be honest I wasn't really looking forward to it. But once I was there it all started to come together. I asked her for some advice as to what I could eat to boost my fertility. She gave me some herbs that contain all seeds. Seeds are the "essence" of what comes to be. So she recommends eating anything that is a seed...anything that can be planted to "create" something. Nuts, seeds, beans. I get the picture, put it my body what I want it to do. Makes sense. She also gave me Royal Jelly tabs. Royal Jelly is what the queen bee eats. And what does the queen bee do? Reproduces!! She also gave me some exercise to do to help with the flow of qi (chi). I'm willing to try anything. I did finally order the book The Way of the Fertile Soul. Hasn't come in yet.

As far as weight, diet and keeping active I failed miserably this week. I was just not feeling so great all week and damn it, it is still just to darn hot!! Next week is going to be much cooler so I will get back out there. Diet has not been to terrible. Got to try a bit harder to eat earlier in the day.

Fertility home front update: Finally my period has arrived, today as a matter of fact. (oh ya hoping for no cramps this cycle, acupuncturist did moxibustion on my uterus, she burnt mugwart on an acupuncture needle in my abdomen!) I am going to call the fertility clinic in the morning to make an appointment for an ultrasound. Hopefully no cyst so we can move forward with this cycle.

Back to work tomorrow night. Not sure how this night shift thing is working out with my body. Hopefully it is just because of my cycle but I was soooo tired this week. I couldn't get out of be until 11am on Tuesday and this morning. I don't go to bed until late but I would like to get up a bit earlier than that. I guess I can't have the best of both worlds. Night shift it will have to be for now....Peace

Decisions to make

I really need to update more often...Monday's acupuncture appointment was good. She made me think about some things that I have been trying to ignore. On the fertility front she feels that given the follicle fiasco this month that my body may be reacting negatively to the Clomid. She also explained some stuff about blood and energy flow to my reproductive organs. Chinese medicine is a lot to explain so I will have to leave the research to the reader. I myself have quite a bit of research to do as well. She recommended a book,  "The Way of the Fertile Soul: Ten Ancient Chinese Secrets", I think I am going to order it today. You can get a used copy for under $5 at Amazon.com. So we also talked about my weight, eating habits, depression, grief, and so on. Apparently they are all tied together and related. As far as weight and eating she recommended not eating protein at night (supper) because protein is for sustaining energy and we don't need that before we go to bed. She says to eat protein earlier in the day, breakfast and lunch, and save carbs, good carbs (low glycemic), for supper time. For example, sweet potato and salad or cooked greens. Have tried that this week and so far so good. She gave me some deep breathing exercises to do because she says that the area of my lungs related to grief is blocked up or something like that. I need to do more research. Concerning the needles, they don't hurt.

Now to the decision making part. Tracy and I have been going back and forth all week (good thing she was off) about whether to do an insemination next cycle or to wait 3 months while I am doing acupuncture. The reason being is taking more Clomid that could keep messing up my ovaries. We have then decided we would try 3 months of at home insemination. The cost is much less and I would have to do more monitoring. We would have to switch donors. After much debate we finally formulated a plan.

THE PLAN

Next cycle we are going to go ahead with the clinic IUI taking 7 days of Clomid as recommended by the fertility doctor. (This is assuming I do not have any cyst remaining from this cycle.)

If the next cycle does not work, then we are going to try ICI (intracervical insemination) at home. We have chosen to use a donor from Northwest Cryobank. They were recommended and after doing my research they appear to be the way to go. (Thanks Misty!) We have not yet determined whether to do 2 insemination or just one. We are still debating. I must get some feedback from some at home insemination veterans.  We have set the limit to 3 tries at home before going back to the clinic.

So that's the update. We change our minds quickly sometimes so hopefully we can remain on this track without any unforeseen obstacles.

Feeling bitter about these eggs.

I can get through this month of skipping an insemination. I am upset about it and I will continue to be upset about it all month. What I can't get over is the fact that I am having THE WORST ovulation pain EVER on BOTH sides!!!! So ya great I ovulated! But oh ya had to skip this months insemination because it was "too late." I get to feel the pain of ovulation and get nothing for it. And not just any old ovulation but both sides! I don't even think that has ever happened before. I am bitter, you betcha!!!

On another note it appears as though despite my gallant effort to exercise and lose weight I have only managed to gain a few pounds. I know, "muscle weighs more than fat" Whatever, I can still be bitter about that too.

Hopefully tomorrow will start the week out on a good note. Acupuncture appointment tomorrow afternoon.

Turning over a new leaf?

Today I biked 7 miles. Let me type that again. Today I biked 7 miles. I thought after the first mile or so, "This is crazy, I can't do this, I'm turning around." But a pushed through and made it to my destination. I should mention that my destination was the pet store up the road from my house. I had a filter and a container of charcoal that I was returning in my back pack. I was so excited when I got there and all I could think was I am buying a new bike seat with the money I get back on this filter. Nope. Think again. $70.00 store credit to a pet store. Not a big pet store, a small pet store that sells 90% fish. Oh well, I made it back home the bike back was a little easier. It felt good to know that I could do that.

My hips are very sore. Actually my legs feel as though they very well could detach from my body at any moment. Other than that I'm fine. Confession: I went to an all you can eat wing buffet at Wild Wings for lunch today. Lunch with friends, it was nice. I wasn't hungry for supper so I just ate a bowl of cereal.

That could quite possibly could be the most boring blog post ever.

Time for an update

Oh my I need to be better about updating. When I went to the Doctor's on Friday the ultrasound revealed several "small" follicles. Around 10mm. So he said to wait a few days and come back on Monday. He also suggested I take an Ovulation Prediction Kit every morning and to call him if it was positive. Well it was never positive so I went in on Monday morning for another ultrasound. Follicles still to small. Having to sit this month out. Next month I will take Clomid for 7 days instead of 5 days. My doctor is quite conservative and feels that less intervention is best. Needless to say I am feeling very defeated. I was so ready for this insemination. I hate having to wait out a month.

In order to make the best of this time I made an appointment with an acupuncturist. She specializes in fertility. I thought it couldn't hurt to have a little alternative help. I'm kind of looking forward to it. I also have decided to really ramp up my effort to lose some weight and increase my activity level. I weigh 183 pound right now and I am hoping to lose 10 pounds in the next month.

So my blog may be a little boring for the next few weeks. My acupuncture appointment is on Monday. I will post an update after that appointment.

Ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow

Tomorrow I go for my ultrasound to see what my ovaries have been growing these past 2 weeks. I am hoping for more than one follicle but I usually only have one good one. I don't know what is worse, the tww, or waiting to O. I always get so nervous that I will ovulate before the insemination. This time insemination is tentatively scheduled for Sunday which is CD15. Seems a little late, but my doctor knows his stuff so I will put my faith in the science of modern medicine.

This week I have had baby fever really bad. (or good). I have scanned the web and Consumer Reports for all the best baby gear. I have a crib, stroller, pack and play, infant car seat, a Moby Wrap, and cloth diapers all picked out. I even started a registry just so I can keep track of where all the stuff is that I want to buy. Hopefully I am not jinxing myself. I have not bought anything, just looking. :-)

I'll probably not be back with an update until Monday. I have to work the next 3 night. Have great weekend.