Friday Quick Takes

1.  I am going back to school.  **insert cringe face here**  I start in January and I'm excited and terrified all at the same time.  I will still be working full time, so I will only have 2-3 classes per semester.  The worst best news - I'm majoring in chemistry and my job is paying for most of it. Yay!

2.  Being a college FRESHMAN at the age of 33 sucks!!

3.  The general counsel of my company is trying to talk me into going to law school.  He is from Europe and their law school is handled different than ours.  I believe our bachelors degree (4 years) is the equivalent of a law degree.  I told him, that if I decide to go to law school its a long ways off.  Lets face it, its going to take a while to get my BS in chemistry, then go to law school!  I'll be 40 AT THE EARLIEST by the time I'm done.  The ultimate goal for me is to take over as intel.lectual pro.perty counsel.

4.  I scored four tickets to the Jags v. Patriots football game two days before Christmas.  Me, DH and my parents are going.  We even have club seats.  Oh Tom Brady, you are soo pretty!

5.  I am on CD5 right now.  I am being a very very bad patient and taking Letrozole on my own without ultrasound monitoring or anything.  We've been doing this for about 6 months, I know how it goes.  On CD12 I'll have a follicle on each ovary, take a trigger shot and still NOT be pregnant.  That's been the process since we started this adventure.

5.  The little tiny 1A high school in the county next to the one I grew up in is going to the state championship (Football).  Its great....Easton Corbin (the country singer) graduated from this high school and has wished them good luck.  AND some red.neck from Duck Dynasty put out a video.  I think its great for this little one redlight town.  Goo Tigers! (you have no idea how hard it is to say that!!  i will forever be an Indian!)

6.  My stepson's "baby momma" unfriended on FB and kindly asked that I remove all pictures of "their" son off FB.  **eye roll**  She sent me a FB message telling me my stepson needed to use the upgrade on his cell phone because he needed a reliable one "you know, for Brax.ton".   I told my DH to take care of it.  The boys know they are being booted off the cell phone contract in a few months.  I've been paying their cell phone bills since they were about 12, they are now 19 and 20.  Its time to grow up boys.  Apparently, I did not jump high enough to suit her majesty the baby momma, so she unfriended me on FB.  Two words - grow up.  Arrgghh!

7.  Baby fever is still raging over here.  In my head I'm hoping as soon as I start school and "move on" we'll get pregnant.  Now I know its never going to work, but after 5 years of BFNs one can always hope.   You know how people have told all of us "it will happen when you're not ready".  I'm going to put that to the test.  I'll let you know if it works.

World's Largest Cocktail Party

Tomorrow I am going to the World's Largest Cocktail Party a/k/a The Florida v. Georgia Game.  I am SOOO EXCITED!!  I cannot even tell you!  The will be my hubby's first University of Florida football game and its one of the best!!  The only bummer is - its not at The Swamp.  Oh well, just an excuse to go to another game! :)  The best part, we didn't even have to buy tickets - someone gave us a pair!!! 

GOOO FLLOOOORRRIIIDDDAAA!!!!! 

Chiropractor

I have been having pain my back on the left hand side, lower than shoulder blade.  It's been going on for about a month now and seems to be getting worse.  I can handle pain that I know is coming to an end (i.e. cramps, headaches, etc).  I can't handle pain that I don't know when its going to go away.  So I decided it was time to go see someone.  I went to the chiro yesterday.  He did a thermal scan, an x-ray and something else.  I know nothing about this stuff :)

After the tests, the first thing he noticed was my neck.  Then he started telling me that vertebrae (nerves) impact everything in your body.  Apparently, the vertebrae in your neck affect "reproductive organs".  I am not entirely sure I buy into this.  He goes on to tell me about a girl who hadn't had her period for YEARS, then after about 6 months of chiro care, her cycle came back.  As long as she receives chiro care, her cycle continues...if she stops, her cycles stops.  What do you guys think?  Related, scientific, anecdotal?   I can't decide.

I go back today to hear all about my x-rays and tests then receive a plan on how to fix me.  I am completely crooked and my collar bones are uneven.  I going to blame it on being a 10+ pound baby, but my mom said nothing went wrong during birth.  When I was little, my right shoulder (my right shoulder sits lower than my left) used to pop out of socket when I was picked up by my arms or hung from monkey bars.  So I have issues.

I just wonder if any of this is affecting my fertility?!?!?!?  Hmmmmmm.

More Surgery Details

I had follicle check on Tuesday and went over the details from my surgery.  He said he found no endo, which is great, but I did have adhesions.  He said they didn't look like they were caused by an infection, but that they were congenital.  I have never heard of congenital adhesions.  Have you?

He said my left filopian tube was kind of pulled away from the ovary, so he fixed that.  He also said my ovaries sit "high".  I thought he meant like high into my chest when standing up.  But no, he meant high to my belly when laying down.  I don't have to have transvaginal ultrasounds anymore because its easier to see my ovaries with a traditional on the belly ultrasound.  It's great!  But I can't help but wonder my stuff is still in a wierd place.

He didn't seem too optimistic that having the surgery would improve our chances, except for the fact of putting my left ovary/tube closer together.  So we'll see.  Dye poured through both tubes, so they are open.

We did another round of letrozole this cycle (CD3-8).  I had two follicles, one on each side.  This is cycle 5, I believe, of letrozole.  How many can you do?  I haven't discussed this with my RE yet.  He's been SOOO GOOD about not throwing IVF and IUI out there...I don't want to tempt him. :)  You know REs can't help themselves.  I really do like him though.

Being patient is not my thing.  I want to be pregnant now!

Lap Today

I had my lap today. I am feeling pretty good besides the dizziness when I stand.  Percocet and I have a love hate relationship.  I didn't actually get to talk to my doctor...and God bless my husband he tried.  Thid is all I know:

i had some scar tissue around my left tube. i assume this means adhesions? aren't they the same thing?

i do not have endo. whoo hoo.

my uterus sits "high" and so do my ovaries. i am not sure what this means?

both of my tubes are open.

i cannot wait to talk to the doctor myself and see the pictures.  i am glad i had it done.

***i typed this in my cell phone and on drugs....be nice about the punctuation and grammar***

Quick Takes

1 - I have a lap scheduled for next Friday with my RE.  Is it crazy I'm kind of excited?!?!  I think he was a little hesitant to do a lap this "early" in my treatment, but he agreed.  Whoo hoo!

2 - I am finally taking a certified exam (for my job) that I should've taken 2 years ago.  I am such a procrastinator.  Although I do remember why I hated school.....I HATE to study! 

3 - We're going to the local farmers market this weekend.  We love going and getting yummy local food.  Hopefully we can go and beat the storm.  Hurricane Isaac went back out into the Gulf and is now heading its way here (thankfully not as a hurricane).

4 - I am tired.  The T3 is helping my energy level, its just helping it at the wrong time.  I  CANNOT fall asleep at night.  I end up staying awake until at least midnight, if not one or two.  I'm not sure if its drug related or anxiety related - which  I seem to be having lots of lately....I'm not sure why.

5 - Obviously this cycle was a bust with my surgery being scheduled, but the big ol' meany BFN doesn't get number 1 priority in my Quick Takes this week.  Screw you BFN!

6 - I am working with my NaPro doctor behind my RE's back.  Yesterday when we were going over what drugs I'm on, I felt like I was in the principle's office.  I told him slo.w re.lease T3, LDN, etc.  He looked up and me and said "Where are you getting these drugs?"  HAHA Sooo busted!  I told him Dr. G, my NaPro doctor and he let it go.  Although he did tell me to stop taking the LDN before surgery.  Good Dr. RE.  At least he knew what it was :)

7 - I found a new love...SUSHI!  The first time I tried it was about 7 years ago.  I liked the first piece I ate, but the second piece was yuck!  I almost got sick right at the table.  Then and there I swore I'd never eat it again.  But I did.  And now I love it.  Although, I'm not sure if you can even call the kind I eat sushi.  Nothing raw and totally fried.  Yummmmm.  I want it now!  I think the hubs should take me to Bentos for dinner tonight!

Bookstore Story - Finally!

I posted a few months ago about an experience I had at a Catholic bookstore. Here it is:

I had visited this particular Catholic bookstore at least once before, looking for a new Missal. I noticed some super cute baby stuff while I was there, because what infertile girl doesn’t notice cute baby stuff?! I was invited to a baby shower a month later, and since the woman’s husband is Catholic, and their first baby was baptized, I thought “Yay! Now I have an excuse to go buy that cute baby stuff.”

I remember when I walked in, the store was pretty empty. I was only one of two people in the whole store, in addition to the saleswoman. While I was trying to decide between bibs, onesies, children’s books and other baby things, a man in the book section asks the saleswoman for help in finding a Church history book. I wandered over to where the conversation is happening, trying to soak up any information I can.

In the middle of the discussion, another man walked in. The saleswoman says “Hi, Deacon.” This poor deacon -- you could tell just by looking at him -- was having a bad day. I loved our deacon back in Salt Lake so deacons are some of my favorite people. We all started talking and the deacon was asked which parish he belongs to. He answered, then also told us that he ministers to prisoners in Flo.rida Sta.te Pr.isons, specifically those on death row. My first thought is “Wow! this guy is brave. That must be a horrible ‘job’.”

The man who was looking for the Church history book spoke up, saying, “What a coincidence.” The deacon looked at him surprised and said, “What?” The man goes on to tell his story:

The man before you now is not the man I used to be. I was not a nice person. I did some things I shouldn’t have and was sent to prison. While in prison, my behavior got worse and I was put in “max”, aka, maximum security. One day a Catholic priest came to max, doing his rounds, and stopped at my cell door. As ashamed as I am to stand here and say this, I was not very nice, cursed and spat at him. The priest did something I did not expect: He said ‘God loves you’ and walked on.

This priest continued to visit me every time he came to max. We built a great friendship. I told him I was Mormon and we talked about the Catholic Church. The priest told me, ‘I will live to see you become a Catholic.’ I laughed in his face. ‘Mormons don’t become Catholics. You’re crazy.’

Eventually, I was released from prison, and went to live with my parents while I got back on my feet. A year later, I met a girl. Two years later, we got married. There was a Cathedral about two miles from where my wife and I lived that always intrigued me. It was beautiful. One day when I was driving by, it felt like God Himself was telling me to go into the Cathedral. It happened to be during a daytime mass. I sat in the back and cried. There are no words to describe how I felt.

The next week, I talked my wife into going to mass with me. She wasn’t so sure what to think about the Catholic church, but I decided to enroll in RCIA that fall. I was so happy when my wife told me she wanted to enroll to. RCIA was a great experience.  We met wonderful people and learned so much. We were baptized during the Easter Vigil. As we were processing back to our seats, I see the priest, MY priest! I was so excited! After the service, I grabbed my wife and made a beeline for him. I asked him if he remembered me, and he said, “Yes, of course.” He was so happy for me, we hugged and cried. It was one of the best days of my life.  A day I will truly never forget.

When he was done telling his story, the saleswoman, the deacon and I are all bawling like babies in this Catholic bookstore. Thank goodness no one else walked in, because they would have thought we were all crazy. The tears rolling down our cheeks weren’t tears of sadness, but of joy. There was a man, right in front of us, who had to through hell and back to find his way to God.  I watched this Deacon go from sad to happy in :02 seconds. He was so excited! Like jumping up and down excited! He tells us he was having a really bad day, and this man's story helped turned his whole day around. He said stories like this man’s are what make his ministry all worth it. Since he mostly works with death row inmates or those sentenced to life in prison, he doesn’t get the happy ending stories like this one. He asked to pray with us and give thanks for God’s love. We all joined hands, the deacon prayed, and we cried even more. It truly was amazing to watch the transformation in this deacon. You could truly tell his whole outlook changed. I will forever be thankful for that day in the Catholic bookstore.

The kicker of this story? The man in the story -- the one who had been to prison and then became Catholic -- that’s my husband. A man of whom I am truly proud, and whom I couldn’t love more.