So what's next? Lately we've been talking about adoption. And it seems like everywhere I go, everyone I talk to has an adoption story. It's all around us, sometimes right in our face. Maybe God's trying to tell us something. Hmmm.... :)

I've been looking and reading and trying to get answers to some questions we have about the process, the cost, the way things work. Lots of information out there.

So we start... or rather continue... on our journey. We'll get there someday.

Sorry I haven't updated in forever! I finished a round of Provera, started my period last week and then started Clomid on Saturday. Today is day 5.... last dose of Clomid for this cycle. We should know in about 3 weeks if it worked!

Happy Thanksgiving!
~Heather

Jack and I went to see Dr. Atkins yesterday. He jinxed me last time I was in his office by saying I’d be pregnant by December! (At that time I had had three regular periods, but haven’t had a single one since then!) So we talked Clomid. He told us about the side effects, the risk of multiples, etc. After that he did a regular exam, a pap, and gave me two prescriptions. One is for Provera, which will get a period started for me. That way we know when to start counting day one of my cycle. The other is for Clomid. I’ll take five doses of Clomid starting on day 5 of my cycle. Then on day 21 he’ll do bloodwork. If I have an elevated progesterone level, that means I ovulated, and the Clomid worked! If not, then we increase the dosage next month. Day 30 I’ll take a pregnancy test if I haven’t started another period, and we’ll just go from there!

I really, really like Dr. Atkins. He’s young, cool, very personable, and isn’t offended when I start a sentence with “I read on the internet that….” :o)

So here’s hoping for lots and lots of baby dust!!
~Heather

Can we call a do- over? :o)

For anyone who still might watch this blog, yes, I'm still here. It's been one heck of a year!

November 3rd, 2005 Jack was in a major motorcycle accident and almost lost his right leg. After two months in the hospital, sixteen surgeries, 11 months of physical therapy, one wheelchair, one pair of crutches, and now two canes (yes, I broke the first one!).... we are starting BACK on the road to starting a family!

Back in May I changed doctors. I'm working a lot closer to home now, so Dr. Richards is kind of far for me to go. My new gynocologist is Dr. Baron Atkins. Yes, I'm seeing Dr. Atkins! lol (You should have seen my mom's face the first time I told her THAT one!) He is awesome! Totally cool, young, and completely enthusiastic for us.

When I saw him in May, he did the typical exam and bloodwork. Well guess what - the bloodwork showed that I had a high TSH level (that's thyroid!). So he sent me to my primary doctor to discuss that. Well, after fighting with my primary doctor about whether I really needed it or not (hello! We've been discussing all the symptoms and you've been treating them all separately!)... he finally prescribed thyroid medicine.

About ten days later, I had a period! (I should insert some sort of fireworks picture here!) It was the first time I had a "natural" period in, um, like ten years people!! For three months I had regular periods. Granted they were short, but they were PERIODS!! So I went back to see Dr. Atkins in August and say hey doc, it's working! He says great! You'll be preggo by Christmas, see you then! Guess what.... no period since then! Just my luck.

So now, we're kind of back to square one. Well really it's more like square two and a half. I'm going back to Dr. Atkins for my pap, etc. and he'll probably start me on Clomid or something. We'll see.

But the big news is... we're back on the horse!
~Heather

LOL, sorry I couldn't resist the title!

Last Thursday I went to see the endocrinologist. They confirmed that I'm insulin resistant and officially diagnosed Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I've started on Metformin/Glucophage. This should help my body process insulin correctly. Also, side effects of the medicine include weight loss and increased/enhanced fertility. So I guess I'm taking care of two birds with one stone! :o)

The endocrinologist said that once I get pregnant I'll have to switch over to insulin during the pregnancy and as long as I breastfeed, so they taught me how to test my blood sugar (yes, I "get" to prick my finger twice a day!) and I'm tracking that each day. I've got goals of where my blood sugar should be two hours after a meal and first thing in the morning (fasting). I also met with a dietician and talked about ways that I can change my diet to help with the PCOS/insulin resistance.

So all in all, it was good, it was productive, and hopefully this medicine will help so that we don't have to get into the heavy hitting fertility treatments!

Jack is being wonderful through all of this! He even let me buy a few baby things!!! lol And we're starting to work on combining our offices so that the middle bedroom can eventually be a nursery. I know that's been the big question... who was going to give up their office? lol Well I think the long term plan is to put a storage shed in the back yard and then Jack would convert part of the garage to his office/library. But for now, we're going to split my office and see how that works.

That's it for now. I'll be sure to update more often, I promise! :o)
~Heather

Why? Because I started my period today! I guess it's good, but does it mean that I'm ovulating now? Or at least this month? Also, it's only been 20 days from the start of my last period... usually your cycle is 28 days. So what does that mean? I'm just so confused and have so many questions! UGH!!!

But the good news is that my endocrinology appointment is this Thursday. Oh yeah, and I turn 28 on Tuesday!

Here's to another week!
~Heather

My endocrinology appointment has been moved up! I'm probably going to be traveling after Thanksgiving, so I called and they moved me into a cancellation for - NEXT WEEK!! Woo hoo!! I was not happy about having to wait another six weeks!! (Have I mentioned my lack of patience? :o)

So my endocrinology appointment is now October 27th.
~Heather

Just popping in for a (hopefully) quick update.

Talked to the nurse at Dr. Richards' office today. Jack's swimmers are just fine. No problems there. They are waiting for my HSG tests to come back... should be later this week... but the radiologist told me everything looked great there.

So here came my next question.... now what?

Well, I go see the endocrinologist. Which sucks. Totally. Because my endocrinologist appointment isn't until after Thanksgiving. UGH!! I am SOOO not patient. I mean, that's like SIX weeks away!!! I think I might call them and see if they've had any cancellations. Supposedly I'm on the cancellation list, but I just want to make sure.

My big burning question (that I didn't ask!) is do I have eggs that just aren't being released? I know that I'm not releasing eggs because I don't have a period. But are there any there at all? Are they just sitting there not getting the signal to be released? If so, then there's a shot that will trigger them to release. But again... I don' t know if that's an option.

Maybe I'll call Dr. Richard's nurse tomorrow and ask. The radiologist said she can't tell that on her X-ray thing, that they have to do a sonogram to tell if there are any follicles, eggs, and sizes/stages. Maybe we can do that in the next six weeks. Who knows.

Today's been a rough day. I don't know why, but all of this stuff has just really been on my mind today. I've been so busy with work, but my mind keeps going back over and over again thinking about our situation. Wondering if it will ever happen for us (see, I told you I'm not a patient person!). It's a very, very frustrating place to be. Ok, stopping there... don't want to start crying again.

So much for quick! lol
~Heather

Jack and I picked up a copy of D Magazine this weekend while we were picking up my antibiotice before my HSG.... just so happened to be the "Best Doctors" issue. Guess who was in there.... my Gyno/fertility doctor - Dr. Richards!

As a side note, almost all of his colleagues at Walnut Hill were in there too! Congrats!!

I have to say, I was really nervous about getting this HSG thing done, but the radiologist and her assistant were AWESOME!!

So my appointment was at 2:30 pm, so I got there about 2:00 pm. They told me to get there 15 minutes early for paperwork stuff, and I'm so glad I was earlier than that. First off, they are renovating the Women's Diagnostic Center, so the front desk and admissions area was in the lobby, but it was so cool, I checked in at the front desk and they gave me this little pager thing like you get at restaurants! When it buzzed, they were ready for me... that was cool! (Yes, I'm easily amused!)

So I go to the admissions area and they're putting all of my info in... well they're also upgrading to a new computer system... major problems there! In fact, funny story, they put in my address, and it pulled up the name of the lady who USED to live in this house!!

I FINALLY get through admissions and head back to the secondary waiting room, before I sit down the assistant was there to get me. We go back to this room with a long table (pillow and sheet laid out on it) and a big machine behind it. So I change into a hospital gown with my butt exposed (sorry mom!), and hop up on the table. I talk to the assistant for a while, she goes and gets the radiologist, and then we're ready to start. I laid down, she put this catheter thing in and blows up the balloon.... OUCH!! It hurt just for a second and then all I felt was some pressure. I could see the video screen thing from where I was laying and she took 5 or 6 photos. It was weird seeing my insides! lol But they looked just like they should. I saw my uterus and two ovaries and the dye flowing through my fallopian tubes! So everything is good. I'm ok... at least in that sense.

It'll take a week or so for my doctor to get the results back and then we will decide where to go from there.

As a side note, the radiologist said that the lubricant in the dye actually HELPS people get pregnant.... hmmm.... where's Jack?????? :o)
~Heather

I've been reading this book every night - well not the WHOLE book every night, just a few pages each night - it's written by one of my doctor's colleagues, Dr. Jeffrey Thurston and it's called 1000 Questions About Your Pregnancy. There is a lot of good information in there! I've definitely learned a lot!! Jack and I have had some interesting conversations!! :o) I highly recommend it to anyone who is expecting or is planning on expecting.

Next up, What to Expect When You're Expecting. Either that or a fertility book. Who knows. :o)

Quick Update - Jack did his test on Wednesday morning. Not sure if the doc will call with the results, or wait until after my HSG. I'm still on for Monday afternoon. We'll see what happens!

Ugh, I don't think I've ever had a period this heavy!! At least I don't have bad cramps! Yes, that's my silver lining!! lol

I have my HSG thingy on Monday afternoon. I should know right away if everything is ok since it's a "live" X-ray. I've got to pick up an antibiotic to take the day before, day of and day after the procedure.

Jack has his appointment in the morning. Not sure how long those results take.

Other than that, we're just waiting. Can you tell I'm a bit impatient?!?! lol
~Heather

Called today and set my appointment for an HSG (that's what the nurse called it and it sounds better than "hystero-something" like I called it!). I'll be having that done on Monday, October 10th. It just makes sure that my fallopian tubes are open and there aren't any blockages.

Jack has his "deposit" appointment set for Wednesday morning. He's thrilled, let me tell you! lol (NOT!!)
~Heather

Well, the Prometrium worked. I started my period today (yes, I know you REALLY wanted to know that! lol). So tomorrow (Monday) I call the doctor's office, report the news, and schedule my hystero-whatever-gram x-ray thingy.

Feeling good... feeling optomistic. A good friend called this weekend to tell me that she's pregnant. I'm so thrilled for her! She and I have known each other all of our lives, so it's a great thing thinking that our children might be able to grow up together as well.
~Heather

Jack and I were on our way back from running some errands today and we passed by a Babies R Us store. And we stopped! Are we nuts?!?!

It was interesting. We talked alot about what we like, what we don't like, what we want, and what we can live without. Of course Jack had to get all of the Elmo's singing. I think Jack is looking forward to having more toys to play with! lol

Oh, and we talked about names too. That's always been something I've thought about. I have this huge list. Every time I've tried to talk to Jack about it I kind of get this "Yeah, whatever" attitude. But tonight at Babies R Us, all of the sudden he stopped, looked at me and said "____" (insert name in the blank). I said, "What?" He said "____, I really like that name." (I'm not going to post the name here because, well, that's just proving I'm crazy!! lol Plus, I'm not sure I want to give away the names we're considering... but that's a whole other topic for a whole other post.)

So anyway, it was an interesting, and really, really cool and fun time for me. And I think Jack enjoyed it too! :o) Oh yeah, we may have picked out a crib too! lol No, we're not pregnant yet, and yes, I know.... I'm crazy!
~Heather

For the pills at least. Today is my last day to take the Prometrium. Hopefully that means I'll be PMSing for the next week (pray for Jack!) and then I'll go in for the hystero-something-gram.

Jack still hasn't gone in for his part. Hopefully he can do that next week. We're not in a complete rush because my part right now is taking some time.

Yesterday was Jack's birthday. He's the big three-five! We went out for a nice dinner at BD's Mongolian Barbeque, which was interrupted once by the power going out in the restaurant, and then dessert at Capistrano's. I really do think that Chocolate Bag will help our efforts to start a family... chocolate usually does, right? :o)

On Thursday, September 15 we had our first meeting with Dr. James Richards with Walnut Hill OBGYN Associates. There are about six OBGYN in their practice and all of them are also fertility specialists. I really feel comfortable with Dr. Richards. He delivers at Presbyterian Hospital, which is right across the street from his office.

So we started talking about our options and what to try, etc. We are starting with all of the tests, upon tests, upon tests... ok not really, but that's what it feels like. Here's the rundown of tests:

• I had bloodwork done that day
• Jack has his "job" to do at the lab
• I have a prescription for Prometrium that I'm supposed to take for 12 days (started that on Sunday, September 18).
• Once I finish the 12 days of Prometrium, I should start a period that will "clean out" my uterus.
• On the first day of that period I have to call the office and schedule a Hysterosalpingogram for after the period is over
• When the period is over, I'll have the Hyesterosalpingogram where they inject dye into my uterus and watch it flow through my fallopian tubes. This will tell if there are any blockages that we need to be concerned about

I also have an appointment with an endocrinologist, Dr. Bressler, in November - that was the first available appointment for new patients. Dr. Richards referred me to him to check me out for PCOS and insulin resistance. I know that I've had cysts on my ovaries in the past, and that is a cause of infertility, so we're going to get that checked out. Plus I have a family history of diabetes, and have had some borderline glucose results in bloodwork. Also, Dr. Richards thinks that it would be beneficial for me to get on Glucophage. Glucophage helps with glucose levels, but also has side effects of weight loss and increased fertility.

Our next steps after we know that the testing is ok, and see if the Glucophage helps, then we'll look at other options such as Clomid, etc. So just pray that the Glucophage will work! Insurance will cover Glucophage if it's prescribed by the Endocrinologist, but not from the OBGYN. Oh yeah, that's the other thing... Insurance will cover any testing, but not any treatment. So that's why we're trying to do all of the testing first, so we don't pay for any treatments that aren't necessary.

So that's the synopsis of where we are and what we know. I'll update once we know more... which will probably be next week sometime.

~Heather

So Jack and I have decided to take the plunge and start a family. Unfortunately we aren't able to do it by ourselves and have to enlist the assistance of a professional. So this blog is for my friends and family who want to keep up with where we are in the process of trying to get pregnant. Once we are pregnant, it will continue as our pregnancy blog! :o)