I HATE WAITING!!!!
After going to my ultrasound and getting ready to get out of town I waited (mostly impatiently) for a call or note from my doctor about when and what kind of meds we were going to start. I emailed a couple times to remind him and became one of those really annoying patients that won't shut up. Oh well, I was excited and in a rush to get my meds. I mentioned numerous times that I would be leaving town and would like to have the meds in hand by the time I got on the plane... no such luck. They finally got back to me the day after we got to Vegas. 5 emails and 2 phone calls later they were figuring out how to get the prescription to a pharmacy out there for me to pick up. I told them which one I wanted (quite literally right outside the hotel), when I got there to pick it up they told me it was sent to the other one on the other end of the strip... Fantastic... I got them to move it over but that caused another hour or so delay. Lots of work for 10 freaking pills.
Got the meds, took them all as directed and followed up with an ultrasound and OB appointment last Friday 2/6. Got some good news that even I could read when they were doing the ultrasound. The meds WORKED! That has never actually happened before. They actually matured one follicle to the point of release and released it on it's own! My doc was at another clinic so I had to follow up with an OB I'd never met before. That seems to be the theme of this round.
She said to keep on the course and we will see what happens.
It's been barely over a week since that appointment and it's killing me. This is the waiting part I hate. My mind plays tricks on me and tries to convince me that I am having encouraging symptoms. I'm not supposed to test for another 4-6 days. That hasn't stopped me though - I can't take the waiting even though there isn't much chance of things coming back the way I want them too. At least not at this point.
I will continue to drive myself nuts and try to wait it out. I will try...
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Return the the Jungle
Welcome to 2015!
We at the Jungle House took a bit of a hiatus for a couple years but we are back!
I am starting this up again to keep my spirits up and keep a log of all the things that have been happening now that I am going back to Dr. Kopher.
I called in mid December to make an appointment for January. The very nice lady at the appointment center informed me that I was just in time since Dr. Kopher is not taking any 'new' patients and is retiring in the spring. 'Great,' I thought, I'll get in to see him at the beginning of the year and we will start fresh. She says, 'he just had a spot open up on Tuesday. Are you available on the 23rd?'
Well, I guess we are starting earlier than we thought.
The appointment with Kopher went well, everything seemed to be right where we left off. Great news, right? We had labs drawn and everything came back good. So he put me on meds to start the regulation process and told me to come back for an ultrasound on 1/13.
Jumping to 1/12, I still have not been 'regulated' so I had to cancel my appointment. Sure enough, I cancel it and then my body cooperates 5 hours later. Figures...
20 emails with the clinic staff later and another week of waiting, I was able to make an appointment for 1/20. Of course, this appointment is not available at a clinic near me, I even tried to get them to do it at the hospital facilities before I went to work, but that was a no go. (I should say that I've been working like a dog for the last 3 weeks and driving myself crazy trying prepare to go on a little vacay to Vegas with Mark this week. I'm really looking forward to it as I realized today that it is the first time he and I have gone on a trip where we haven't been staying with family or been with friends for a wedding. This will be a lot of fun. I can't wait!) So, I had to schedule an appointment for the 0740 slot at the Riverside Clinic... for those of you that don't know, Riverside is in Minneapolis and I live in St. Paul. Not over all a big deal except that I am by habit an evening shifter and don't usually fall asleep until 0330 or so. Getting up for the appointment was difficult to say the least, and then I had to leave extra early to fight traffic all the way there.... Grrrrr #2.
Enough whining for now. The ultrasound tech I was working with today, Amy, was AMAZING! She was so sweet and kept asking if I needed anything or could make me more comfortable in any way. This was a complete 180 from the last time I had to go through this process. Even though she knew I had had the procedures done in the past she made sure to explain them to me in detail and kept informing me that the Dr that would be reading the ultrasounds didn't usually arrive to work until 0800 but that she would page out to the nurses station when we were done to see if she was there. She was not, but when Amy was done with the exams she told me she was going to go out and wait for her and bring her in as soon as she got there. That she did. I couldn't have been in the room for more than a couple minutes before they both came in to review the images with me. It was such a nice experience. I might just have to go back to the Riverside Clinic for all my ultrasounds in the future despite traffic and everything else.
Ok, maybe one more whine... in the middle of all the emails with the clinic, I asked if I would have results back and a message from Dr Kopher about what steps we were going to take next by the end of the day today, I received a yes response but did not end up getting a message one way or the other. This is frustrating me since I leave for vacation in 36 hours and would like to have time to pick up my meds if I need to before I go.
Alright, that's it. I think...
We at the Jungle House took a bit of a hiatus for a couple years but we are back!
I am starting this up again to keep my spirits up and keep a log of all the things that have been happening now that I am going back to Dr. Kopher.
I called in mid December to make an appointment for January. The very nice lady at the appointment center informed me that I was just in time since Dr. Kopher is not taking any 'new' patients and is retiring in the spring. 'Great,' I thought, I'll get in to see him at the beginning of the year and we will start fresh. She says, 'he just had a spot open up on Tuesday. Are you available on the 23rd?'
Well, I guess we are starting earlier than we thought.
The appointment with Kopher went well, everything seemed to be right where we left off. Great news, right? We had labs drawn and everything came back good. So he put me on meds to start the regulation process and told me to come back for an ultrasound on 1/13.
Jumping to 1/12, I still have not been 'regulated' so I had to cancel my appointment. Sure enough, I cancel it and then my body cooperates 5 hours later. Figures...
20 emails with the clinic staff later and another week of waiting, I was able to make an appointment for 1/20. Of course, this appointment is not available at a clinic near me, I even tried to get them to do it at the hospital facilities before I went to work, but that was a no go. (I should say that I've been working like a dog for the last 3 weeks and driving myself crazy trying prepare to go on a little vacay to Vegas with Mark this week. I'm really looking forward to it as I realized today that it is the first time he and I have gone on a trip where we haven't been staying with family or been with friends for a wedding. This will be a lot of fun. I can't wait!) So, I had to schedule an appointment for the 0740 slot at the Riverside Clinic... for those of you that don't know, Riverside is in Minneapolis and I live in St. Paul. Not over all a big deal except that I am by habit an evening shifter and don't usually fall asleep until 0330 or so. Getting up for the appointment was difficult to say the least, and then I had to leave extra early to fight traffic all the way there.... Grrrrr #2.
Enough whining for now. The ultrasound tech I was working with today, Amy, was AMAZING! She was so sweet and kept asking if I needed anything or could make me more comfortable in any way. This was a complete 180 from the last time I had to go through this process. Even though she knew I had had the procedures done in the past she made sure to explain them to me in detail and kept informing me that the Dr that would be reading the ultrasounds didn't usually arrive to work until 0800 but that she would page out to the nurses station when we were done to see if she was there. She was not, but when Amy was done with the exams she told me she was going to go out and wait for her and bring her in as soon as she got there. That she did. I couldn't have been in the room for more than a couple minutes before they both came in to review the images with me. It was such a nice experience. I might just have to go back to the Riverside Clinic for all my ultrasounds in the future despite traffic and everything else.
Ok, maybe one more whine... in the middle of all the emails with the clinic, I asked if I would have results back and a message from Dr Kopher about what steps we were going to take next by the end of the day today, I received a yes response but did not end up getting a message one way or the other. This is frustrating me since I leave for vacation in 36 hours and would like to have time to pick up my meds if I need to before I go.
Alright, that's it. I think...
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Last Ditch Effort
Wow. It's been a while, huh?
Things have been crazy busy the last few months.
Mark and I have agreed to try the meds one more time before we take a break from this for a few months. I started the pills yesterday so we shall see. Maybe some extra time with the families will send good vibes.
On a great note, I am so happy for all my friends that have recently added to their families! Andrea, Bob & Hannah, Shawandra! I know there are more (SORRY! I'm having a memory lapse) And here's sending some great vibes to Beth and Brandon, we all have our fingers crossed for you! And a little luck to my aunt and uncle in their adoption endeavors.
I have a strange request... Please save/send me any of the following items you might have lying around the house...
Yarn
Fabric scraps (any and all sizes, shapes, colors and materials)
Wine corks
Ladies knee high socks (the more festive the better but I'll take anything, don't worry about holes or wear)
Any art supplies you have no use for
Paint chips
Buttons
Thanks everyone! I'm trying to make some extra cash by making some art and various other things to sell online.
Things have been crazy busy the last few months.
Mark and I have agreed to try the meds one more time before we take a break from this for a few months. I started the pills yesterday so we shall see. Maybe some extra time with the families will send good vibes.
On a great note, I am so happy for all my friends that have recently added to their families! Andrea, Bob & Hannah, Shawandra! I know there are more (SORRY! I'm having a memory lapse) And here's sending some great vibes to Beth and Brandon, we all have our fingers crossed for you! And a little luck to my aunt and uncle in their adoption endeavors.
I have a strange request... Please save/send me any of the following items you might have lying around the house...
Yarn
Fabric scraps (any and all sizes, shapes, colors and materials)
Wine corks
Ladies knee high socks (the more festive the better but I'll take anything, don't worry about holes or wear)
Any art supplies you have no use for
Paint chips
Buttons
Thanks everyone! I'm trying to make some extra cash by making some art and various other things to sell online.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday's Appointment
So, today I realize that it's Friday and I haven't gotten on my computer yet. Shocking! I live on this thing most days. This week has been crazy busy!
At our appointment on Monday we got a chance to talk to the Dr. about everything that had been going on. I asked him the questions I had before he started anything so he didn't have a chance to run away this time. :) Thanks for all the recommendations friends and family! The Dr. told us that we should keep trying Clomid a few more times to get a good sample and that if we were still not having any success that we would look into other things. This would involve sperm counts, x-rays, and many, many more trips to his office. The next step after all of that would be injections. He says... "The injections are pricy. Co-pays for them are usually in the $400-500 range." My jaw dropped! Mark said, "Insurance isn't covering any of this, so..." And Dr. Kopher says, "Then it would be around $2000 a month." A MONTH!?!?! Seriously? That's just the meds. We're not even talking what I'm sure would involve numerous visits and many more expensive tests. All I could think was 'SHIT. I guess that's the end of this journey.'
As I'm fighting the wall of tears behind my eyes, Kopher starts the ultrasound. As soon as the picture pops on the screen I see it. A fricken E-G-G! My first one in my entire life! I was soooooo excited! I almost jumped out of my stirrups. We just had the one, but it was still one. The meds finally worked! My body had given up and decided to cooperate with this adventure. Thank God!
Next he came back with a shot of some med to induce ovulation, and off I headed to work.
The rest of the week has been a big blur. I'm still a little fuzzy with excitement and can only imagine what the future looks like. We should know more soon.
To top it off and finally do something that I've wanted to do for a long time, I joined Weight Watchers. So far, I'm hungry but I feel great. It's only day 1 and I have a long way to go, but I'm determined to stay with it and hope to make Mark join me.
Fingers crossed for the next few weeks!
At our appointment on Monday we got a chance to talk to the Dr. about everything that had been going on. I asked him the questions I had before he started anything so he didn't have a chance to run away this time. :) Thanks for all the recommendations friends and family! The Dr. told us that we should keep trying Clomid a few more times to get a good sample and that if we were still not having any success that we would look into other things. This would involve sperm counts, x-rays, and many, many more trips to his office. The next step after all of that would be injections. He says... "The injections are pricy. Co-pays for them are usually in the $400-500 range." My jaw dropped! Mark said, "Insurance isn't covering any of this, so..." And Dr. Kopher says, "Then it would be around $2000 a month." A MONTH!?!?! Seriously? That's just the meds. We're not even talking what I'm sure would involve numerous visits and many more expensive tests. All I could think was 'SHIT. I guess that's the end of this journey.'
As I'm fighting the wall of tears behind my eyes, Kopher starts the ultrasound. As soon as the picture pops on the screen I see it. A fricken E-G-G! My first one in my entire life! I was soooooo excited! I almost jumped out of my stirrups. We just had the one, but it was still one. The meds finally worked! My body had given up and decided to cooperate with this adventure. Thank God!
Next he came back with a shot of some med to induce ovulation, and off I headed to work.
The rest of the week has been a big blur. I'm still a little fuzzy with excitement and can only imagine what the future looks like. We should know more soon.
To top it off and finally do something that I've wanted to do for a long time, I joined Weight Watchers. So far, I'm hungry but I feel great. It's only day 1 and I have a long way to go, but I'm determined to stay with it and hope to make Mark join me.
Fingers crossed for the next few weeks!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Nerves
It's the day before a doctor's appointment and the nerves are kicking in already. I know that there's nothing to be nervous about, the meds either worked or the didn't. What's the big deal? I should be used to this by now but, I can't help getting butterflies and working myself up about it.
At least at this appointment we will be deciding something... I think... Who knows. I always go in with a list in my head of things to ask about but in the whole 5 minutes we actually see the doc I manage to forget about all of them. Hopefully with Mark there tomorrow we'll get some more answers.
On the bright side, today is a beautiful day and I spent it with my love doing a little yard work, playing cribbage and making a delicious fruit pizza for work tomorrow. It's been a very good day :)
At least at this appointment we will be deciding something... I think... Who knows. I always go in with a list in my head of things to ask about but in the whole 5 minutes we actually see the doc I manage to forget about all of them. Hopefully with Mark there tomorrow we'll get some more answers.
On the bright side, today is a beautiful day and I spent it with my love doing a little yard work, playing cribbage and making a delicious fruit pizza for work tomorrow. It's been a very good day :)
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Starting to write
As many of you know, Mark and I are going through a difficult time with creating a family. As far as we know, this is due to me. (Of course, right?!) I have a condition called PCOS or poly cystic ovarian syndrome. Meaning, my hormones are all out of whack and always have been. This causes everything else to follow suit.
I sought out the help of a fertility doctor in December and have been traveling down a rough road every since. It all started with 8 or so trips to the doctor's officein January for various stabs, pokes, physical exams and tests all to determine what the OB guessed I had in the first place. After all of the running around and taking 1/2 days off work a couple times a week to figure out what exactly was going on, I met with Dr. Kopher, my new fertility doc. Since then I have been off and on taking Clomid to try to get things running right.
I am currently on round 4 of the drug, halfway through my doses. After last round was a complete failure I don't hold much hope for things working out well this time around, and I am hoping that when I go in for yet another 'follicle study' on the 25th, that we will be able to talk about what needs to happen next.
I spent a good portion of my morning looking up the next steps in treatment and it looks like I will be working my way to injection therapy in August.
Fingers crossed that this is drawing to a close because I don't think I can take much more.
The last 8 months have been some on the most emotionally draining and heartbreaking I've every had to face. I always thought of myself as a tough person but PCOS is determined to knock me down a few notches.
On a much, much happier note...
Congratulations to John and Chrissy Papagianopolous on the birth of their baby girl, Alexa, this morning! She is beautiful and I can't wait to meet her.
I sought out the help of a fertility doctor in December and have been traveling down a rough road every since. It all started with 8 or so trips to the doctor's officein January for various stabs, pokes, physical exams and tests all to determine what the OB guessed I had in the first place. After all of the running around and taking 1/2 days off work a couple times a week to figure out what exactly was going on, I met with Dr. Kopher, my new fertility doc. Since then I have been off and on taking Clomid to try to get things running right.
I am currently on round 4 of the drug, halfway through my doses. After last round was a complete failure I don't hold much hope for things working out well this time around, and I am hoping that when I go in for yet another 'follicle study' on the 25th, that we will be able to talk about what needs to happen next.
I spent a good portion of my morning looking up the next steps in treatment and it looks like I will be working my way to injection therapy in August.
Fingers crossed that this is drawing to a close because I don't think I can take much more.
The last 8 months have been some on the most emotionally draining and heartbreaking I've every had to face. I always thought of myself as a tough person but PCOS is determined to knock me down a few notches.
On a much, much happier note...
Congratulations to John and Chrissy Papagianopolous on the birth of their baby girl, Alexa, this morning! She is beautiful and I can't wait to meet her.
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