Bloated

I'm guessing that either the Lupron or the Alora patches are making me even more susceptible to bloating that usual.  I got on the scale this morning and found that I had gained another 0.8 pounds.  I gained that much yesterday too.  This now puts me back two weeks on my weight loss.

Today I'm headed out to see the ENT doctor at Madigan about my Meniere's Disease.  Hoping he/she can give me something to deal with the ringing in my ears and dizzy spells.  That started before the recent addition of hormones.  Maybe I'll be allowed to go back on the maxide too with any luck.

Well I Don't Like You

Seriously?!

Today I went to see Doctor Gillard at Winder Clinic here at JBLM.  I saw her because I needed a referral to see the ENT.  I thought she was professional up until she commented back to my " I like you as a doctor" to which she replied to me, "well I don't like you".

Yes that is what she said.

She was supposed to just address my issue of needing a referral to see the ENT again.  She couldn't for the life of her understand why I would need another referral to see them as I was already established with them.  Well I was told by ENT that I needed a new referral.  She said to me that she thought it could possibly be a sinus issue causing my dizzy spell.  I thought not.  She examined me and found that I had no sinus issues.  My ears, nose and throat were normal.   I'm thinking: it would be nice if you would listen to me.

She wrote the referral but not after she told me I would need to apologize to Doctor Gillingham for asking for a second opinion and telling him that he was right when ENT can't do a thing for me while trying to conceive.  I said fine that I would tell him he was right if that happens.

Doctor Gillard believes that all the ENT will do for me is to try to prescribe me maxide but won't be able to since we are in the middle of a FET.  Well lets see last time I was at the ENT I couldn't take maxide either but they had a bunch of other things they could and did do for me and I ending up buying the Wii to address my balance issues like they wanted me to.  Yes, the ENT suggested strongly that I buy a Wii and it did help.  But it can't help when I'm having a dizzy spell.

Doctor Gillard also got all up into my face about me trying to conceive and being put on birth control.  I did explain to her that it is typically done with a FET and IVF.  She still didn't understand.  She also wanted me off of the synthroid, though I just started it today.  She looked at my thyroid tests and said I wasn't hypothyroid.   Well maybe not if I wasn't trying to conceive but any of my friends and followers out there that have gone through infertility treatments will know that your TSH does not have to be a 5 to be an issue with infertility and cause for use of synthroid to get it better under control.  I am following the orders of my doctors at PNW.

I would like to note that Doctor Gillard is black.  I can't say she is African American because I don't know if her ancestors came from Africa or not.  I'm wondering if this is an issue of race with her "well I don't like you".  Maybe I appeared to be too white to her?  I am a mixed race of Native American and various European races.   However, she was totally unprofessional.  She had an attitude with me and I refuse to take it.  I do understand not having a bedside manner and was fine with that but to be treated so badly is intolerable.


I filed an ICE report as soon as I turned my computer on.

Crazy Day

Today I finally noticed that I had messages on my home phone from Friday!  I've been quite busy this weekend.

Seems that PNW left two messages about my thyroid levels.  At first they thought I went and had the blood work for this week done on Friday.  Nope.  Turns out my local clinic decided to mess with me and do the blood work from my leftover blood from last week.  Nice huh!  Way to go and mess up the follow up results.  PNW wanted a follow up to see if the numbers had changed not a thorough going over of the blood that was already taken!

Today I had to call in a repair to the bathroom sink and pest control.  I have five spider bites on me.  Time to get the outside of the house sprayed again.

I had to call for a referral renewal for a check up on my thyroid cysts, audiology and Meniere's Disease since I'm due for an ENT visit.  Of course when I call my PCM the system hangs up on me.

I also had to follow up on a bill I received in the mail on Friday as to why I'm being billed by the dentist for something that should have been covered.  I called the dentist and they will resubmit the bill as they don't know why it wasn't covered either.

I get a request in my Etsy inbox for 5 pairs of booties.  Oh crap!  I want the order but my carpal tunnel is majorly painful right now.  I email back the potential buyer and tell her that I could do the order if she is willing to work with me and the time I'll need to make the booties.  Then I realize why didn't she buy the three pairs I had in the shop in three of the colors she wanted and in the sizes listed?  So I email her back and let her know I have three pairs on hand already and will reserve them for her.  I can make two pairs within a week if she is patient with my pain.  It is now up to her.  I will have to go out and buy some yarn in one of the colors that she wants but I'll do it.  Not that big of a deal.  Mind you I don't charge very much for the booties and I don't figure in the labor to make them when I price them.  I realize baby clothes are expensive and I want to give folks a good deal on what they buy from my shop.

This is my day so far!  Let's hope that it slows down a bit and I can put my bathroom back together soon.

ENT Appointment and Symptom Update

I had my ENT appointment this morning.  It went well enough.  Thankfully the two cysts on my thyroid are now one and smaller now.  I'll do another follow up in two to three years.  Until then unless my Vestibular Meniere's Disease becomes more problematic I don't need to see the ENT.  Yay!  J came with me to my appointment today and took a few notes since with my memory of late I forget to even unbuckle my seat-belt before trying to exit the SUV.

The doctor did tell me that even though my thyroid labs were normal that I would have to get them checked often during pregnancy because hormones fluctuate.  I sometimes forget that thyroid is a hormone.  Duh!

Last night I had a few episodes of balance issues.  My face almost met several walls while trying to get up to go to the bathroom.  Thanks hormones for messing with not only my bladder but now my balance centers.

So my 5dp 3dt symptoms are as follows:

• Breasts are still tender
• Urination frequency has increased
• Weight loss has stopped
• Pelvic pain has lightened up.  Uterus from palpation feels firms from above.  Could just be all that extra blood in there right now.
• Tender (not real pain just odd like) Pelvic region when trying to bend over with belt pressed into it or when cabinets press into it when reaching.  You get the idea.
• Mood swings are well...there
• Fatigue continues
• Odd dreams or rather nightmares...thanks PTSD
• Forgetfulness

All of these symptoms can be attributed to either the Endometrin or my other medical issues.  I won't start my POAS until tomorrow.  I don't expect to see a second line tomorrow because I have only one embryo in there.  If I had two or more I might expect to see the second line that early but alas I have but one so no.

I do have 17 sticks so yes I could in theory use 3 a day until I do my beta on Monday.  Will I though?  I don't know.  We'll see just how paranoid I get in the next 24 hours.

Good luck to all those trying to get pregnant this cycle.  I hope all of us are lucky enough to get take home babies.

Thyroid Ultrasound

Finally, its the day.  I called to schedule an ultrasound for my thyroid and actually got a same day appointment.  Wow, this really works out well since J has today off from work. 

I'm not looking forward to this ultrasound but it does hurt less than the transvaginal ultrasound.  However my thyroid is a tender spot with the two cysts and the tech does have to press down firmly to get good resolution.  Pain.  I'm not wanting more pain today.

My pelvis is hurting from the Lupron injections.  The uterus area feels hard.  I don't want more pain.  I bent over several times in the laundry process of washer to dryer and drying rack and I swear it brought tears to my eyes the pain was bad.  I've already started to get some ovarian pain and I have yet to start the stims.  We start the stims tonight.

I'm hoping that the tech will let me know if I have less than two cysts on the thyroid now.  I'm hoping that they've gone down.  I'm thinking that they haven't since I've been off the armor thyroid and iodine drops for well over a year now.  My  PCM wanted me off them.  My levels were borderline and he decided to err on the side of caution and take me off of them.  I wanted to try to conceive which meant I had to ditch most of my asthma meds, all of the thyroid meds, the prilosec, any pain killer stronger than acetaminophen, and most herbal remedies plus a few other meds I've now long forgotten about.

So here I am with thyroid issues that can be felt with palpating my throat.  My newest doctor was rather concerned that it had been two years since I had been seen by the ENT.  Its time again to get it evaluated and rule out my risk factors for cancer again.  Oh I doubt it will lead to that any time in the near future but its always better to get it checked out.  We don't want anything to go wrong right now with being in the middle of an IVF cycle.  I want a healthy pregnancy and a healthy full term, please God, baby.

So that is where I stand as of today.  I'll post about the results when I'm finally privy to them.  Probably not until my ENT appointment which is the end of the month.

Now off I go to work on my unofficial book review draft of the book I just read.  I should be posting it by the 18th.

Life's Little Reminders

Yesterday I had a doctor appointment for a follow up for the sinus infection and to get a new referral for my ENT appointment.

Good news is that the sinus infection is gone.  Bad news is that the reason for the ENT appointment can still be felt with palpation of my throat.

I have to get another ultrasound, this time of my throat.  Its been two years since my last one of my throat.  We were hoping that the cyst on my thyroid had gone away instead last time, two years ago, there were now two.  I'm hoping that this time they are at least smaller.

I was reminded today of just how unimportant I am in the military food chain.  I went to make the appointment directly with ultrasound since they were so busy on the phone.  I get there the guy is holding a conversation with another employee while all of us wait on just one open window.  I get my number called and the man behind the counter gives me an attitude like, "what are you doing here?".  I ask to schedule an appointment and he tells me that they are only serving active duty for ultrasounds at the hospital and only those that live close by.  Smug now but not acting smug, I tell him, "I live right behind the hospital.".  I really do and sometimes I just walk to my appointments.  He said I'll get a letter in the mail in the next 7 to 10 days from a place off post to be seen.  WTF?  Seriously?  My ENT appointment is scheduled for the end of the month, not sure I can keep it due to the unknown factor of ER and ET.   But at this rate I'll see the doctor before I get the ultrasound done.

Five blood tests were run.  Since I needed to get my E2 level drawn for the suppression scan I had it done with the rest of the lab tests yesterday.  Just a few that were being done were the thyroid ones that most of us IFer know about like the T3/T4 TSH.  I had to have my potassium levels and a complete CBC done because I have hypokalemia (low blood potassium counts), and cardiac issues too.  Again my murmur was audible and I've been getting some chest pains when exercising and under stress.  I really don't want to go back on Metoprolol again, I'm already taking Labetalol.

Now about today's suppression scan and what the doctor saw and didn't see.

My E2 level was less than 20.  Dr. C was pleased as he wanted to see less than 50.

I have only 5 antral follies right now.  3 on the right and 2 on the left.  One 20 mm cyst that isn't producing estrogen and looks to be a endometrioma on the left.  Of course I'd grow one of those while on the birth control!  I hate endometriosis.

My lining is 4.2mm so I did have a period when I said I did to the REI nurse when I called her the other day and she said, "its not possible for you to get your period on the birth control, you must just be spotting."  Okay sure like I don't know my own body by now after having periods for 31 years!

I lost 7 pounds since my last appointment.  Yay!  Dr. C. is pleased with my count and thinks that with my low E2 numbers right now I might have more hidden antrals that are too small to be seen.  He had to do a lot of digging around and I was squeezing J's hand pretty hard from the pain.  I don't like the dildocam.  Because of the pain I was in Dr.C. stopping digging too far and apologized.  I always have pain from the transvaginal ultrasound.

I start my micro dosing of Lupron on Saturday.  Two injections a day until I start the stims.  Can't wait.

Here is hoping for a good number of 18 mm follicles come trigger day.  I need at least two, he'd prefer three to go ahead with the IVF.  I don't want this cycle cancelled.