I’m SO boring! And changes.

I’m SO boring to myself right now, so sorry readers! Things have definitely quieted down on my blog since my IVF cycle in January. I don’t have a whole lot to talk about, plus I’m working 7 days a week right now. And I kind of feel like a broken record when I do post.

This Thursday will be 2 weeks since I got my labs done for RPL. I wonder if they will call soon with the results?! I know some of the tests take quite awhile. And they probably want to have everything in before discussing the results with me. I’m pretty anxious to find out what’s wrong, if anything.

I’m thinking about leaving my job at Children’s Hospital. If you read this post, you’ll understand partly why. There are other reasons, as well. We are always short staffed, which is stressful. Plus, my infertility coverage has ALREADY reached its lifetime max (in the 1.5 years I’ve been there!). That didn’t take long!

Another thing that has recently become a problem with my job at Children’s – The longer I go without kids of my own, the harder it is to be around other people’s kids. 😦 Is that terrible of me?! I just look at the babies and cute kiddos, and my heart aches.

I’m considering going full time at my new (part time) job in home health care. I really enjoy the nature of the work and the manageable/flexible schedule. I did it years ago, and I now realize how much I love it. It’s much harder to care for sick kids in poor situations vs. elderly people. Don’t get me wrong, it still breaks my heart to see anyone suffering, but at least the elderly folks are comfortable and have led a long, fulfilling life.

I found this interesting site that explains which states mandate infertility coverage…and my state is one of them! I’m considering buying a private/individual plan with really good coverage and a low deductible. I’m looking into it now. The only thing is, you can’t ask about infertility coverage or they will deny you for a pre-existing condition. Bull-sh*t!!

Onto the next…

AF arrived this morning, so onto cycle 26. I’m totally okay with the outcome this cycle. We haven’t gotten pregnant naturally for nearly 2 years (since around the beginning of our TTC Journey), and those ended in chemical pregnancies anyway. It makes me wonder how I ever got pregnant naturally though. I guess my condition is declining quite fast, which makes me nervous.

It’s been 2 years (well, technically 3-4 years, if you count “not preventing”). We’ve known of my diagnosis (DOR) for 1 year and 2 months…and we’re nowhere near our goal yet. I’m so tired of feeling like I’m on a race against the clock. The doctors think menopause could start in my early 30’s. I’m 28 – going to be 29 this year. 😦 I hate the feelings of pressure. I always have to watch what I do, what I eat, take a million supplements – just to try to keep my eggies in good enough shape to last a little longer.

I wish there was a cure for DOR or POF. Or something that could be done to stall it, so that I had a little more time. It isn’t fair to be robbed of your childbearing years. I wish I had awesome insurance or I could win the lottery, so we could do IVF or SOMETHING again SOON.

I’m thinking about doing IUI next cycle. They say our odds are a little bit better of getting pregnant with IUI vs. trying naturally. We should have my bloodwork results in another week or so. So that’s plenty of time to figure out a plan for cycle 27. I guess we’ll try naturally again this month. At least my cycles are a little bit more “normal” right now. I guess there’s always a small chance of something happening naturally. *Trying* to stay a little hopeful!!

Let’s discuss AutoImmune and Infertility

Do you know anything about autoimmune disorders and infertility? The reason I ask is that I’ve had a handful of problems pop up recently that are all in the “inflammatory” category, and I’m wondering if they could be a sign of some kind of problem?

I was doing some reading, and women with POF (like me) are known to have autoimmune components, such as antibodies that attack ovarian function. But I see nothing that can fix it. I guess when the damage is done, it’s done. 😦

Here are my issues:

-Eczema: I never had this until about a year ago. It flares up randomly and nothing seems to help.

-Allergies: I never used to be allergic to anything, but now I’m allergic to so many things. Mold, pollen, dust, cat dander, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, and Lord knows what else. I get more frequent allergy issues, sinus infections, etc than ever before.

-Gastroenteritis: Just had a episode of this. It’s an inflammatory response in the stomach and bowels.

-Gastritis: I have frequent heartburn and received an upper endoscopy a couple years ago. They said my stomach was inflamed, but no reason found. Could have something to do with the above disorder. Or could be IBS.

-Other random symptoms: Weight gain, Fatigue, Acne, Hair Loss, Hair Growth – where it shouldn’t be! And I get sick A LOT (which could be because I work in the medical field).

I’m hoping they find some answers in the 13 vials of blood they took. Some of the tests had autoimmune components. It seems like something is going on – at least with some of these symptoms, or maybe I’m just paranoid and it all means nothing. LOL. Anyone else experiencing any of these types of symptoms at all?

My friend, Kim, over at The A.R.T. of Babymaking posted this interesting info on this topic. She talks about some things you can do to help reduce inflammation.

My week with Gastroenteritis

What an awful week it has been! I started feeling like I was coming down with something on Sunday. I had a headache, body aches, and began having a fever Sunday night. Sunday night got worse, as I began experiencing intense nausea and vomiting. I didn’t go to work all week, except for seeing one of my home health care clients for 2 hours yesterday.

I thought I just had the stomach flu, but it kept persisting. Everytime I thought I was turning a corner and getting a tiny bit better – BAM – I was back in the bathroom again. I went to Urgent Care yesterday, where they diagnosed me with Gastroenteritis. Basically, it’s an inflammation of the stomach and bowels. It could be caused by a virus, that needs to just run it’s course. There’s nothing much you can do for it.

They prescribed me Phenergan for nausea and told me to drink Gatorade/Pedialite, eat applesauce and toast, and rest up. I got written off of work through tomorrow. I do have to go see one of my clients for 2 hours tomorrow though. And then I have a lot of hours this weekend to fulfill. I seem to be keeping a tiny amount of food and fluids down last night and today, so hopefully I’ll be strong enough by the weekend.

We were worried yesterday that I would become too dehydrated and need to go to the hospital, but it looks like I’m taking a turn for the better. I HOPE! Thank God! I’m very weak, but hopefully I’ll be able to eat & drink more today. I have no appetite, but I’m forcing myself to do it.

In other news, 13dpo and BFN 😦 It’s okay though. I figured with being so sick all week, that nothing good could come of it. Plus, we were just trying naturally, so I wasn’t expecting much. It still sucks. I’m hoping the blood work for RPL comes back soon, so we can figure out what to do next. I’m tired of being in limbo. I did receive my paperwork for foster parenting, but I’ve been too tired and sick to look at it.

Hope all is well with everyone! I need to catch up on my commenting! ❤