Since I have decided to start this blog to get "things" off of my chest, I guess in order for you guys to fully understand what we have been going through, I will need to fill you in on how it all started....
To start off with exactly how this whole thing started I will need to start with the worst of the worst first.
April 2008, I had a normal menstrual cycle...Normal for me on birth control was 3 days in length and pretty light to say the least (compared to now, Oh My Word!!).
May 22, 2008 my Dad was killed in a horrible car accident coming home from the Panhandle. Can I just say, having one of your parents ripped from you in an instant is beyond words. Still to this day, I can't get over it.
July 12, 2008 Brandon and I became husband and wife!! This just so happened to be the best day of our lives (if I do say so myself!) thus far.
July 28, 2008 I went for my annual exam (ugh!!) and per my doctor's orders, due to my blood pressure being elevated with me being on BP medicine already, we decided it was best for me to stop my birth control pills due to the risks of stroke and blood clots. I left my GYN's office that day in high hopes that within a few months, we would be expecting a little bundle of joy...(man was I ever so wrong..)
September 2009 I went again for my annual exam...still not pregnant and not having a monthly cycle AT ALL. I asked my GYN about "why" I wasn't getting pregnant and her answer wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear...I was grieving and my body wasn't allowing me to get pregnant. I wasn't ovulating. I needed to get myself together and come back to see her. She recommended that I start seeing a therapist to help deal with losing my Dad. My body was under too much stress and I was not in any shape to carry a baby right then. To make me having a cycle, she prescribed Provera (progesterone) which I would start taking immediately for 10 days, then I would have a cycle. (Can I just say WORST cycle EVER!!!!!) I had to take this medication every month for the next 2 years.
September 2010 I went to a new OB/GYN due to the fact my FAVORITE GYN ever, Dr. C, moved to a new practice and could not accept patients for 1 whole year!! Now, I have always, since I was 15, went to a lady GYN...Well, I decided to go to a man OB/GYN because I had gotten so many great reviews of this Doc...Little did I know, I would NOT enjoy this appointment...Dr. S was not what I was expecting. I went through the appointment with little answered questions. I asked why I was not getting pregnant and what he could do to help me get pregnant. He told me that before he could do anything, I needed to have an Hystocypenogram(?) done to make sure my fallopian tubes were open. Well, for someone that doesn't have health insurance, this test is pretty costly ($1200 to be exact). At that point in my life, as I explained to Dr. S, we just did not have that kind of money. So he referred me to see a Reproductive Endocrinologist at Shands UF to see if she could figure out what was going on with my hormones, etc...
November 2010 I started seeing Dr. Rhoton-Vlasik at Shands UF. I loved her but did not like the fact that every appointment I went to, a Resident came in and I had to explain the whole story to them over and over. I always had questions but they could never answer them, correctly anyways. But outside of that little tidbit of useless information, after my first appointment with Dr. Rhoton she decided that I needed to do one more round of Provera and come back to have an endometrial biopsy done to make sure the reason for me not having a monthly cycle is not due to cancer...(yes, CANCER). Needless to say I was the biggest ball of nerves you ever seen...
December 2010 I went in to have my biopsy. My mother came with me for this procedure because my hubby had to work (ugh). After 2 attempts by the "resident" (yes, the RESIDENT), Dr. Rhoton decided she had better do it to get the best results. After 30 minutes of the worst pain I have ever been in, she finally got deep enough to get Endometrial tissue to test. Thank you Lord!
January 2012 I went back for a follow up appointment to see about my test results and lab work I had to get completed in between all the poking and prodding. My biopsy was negative for any cancerous cells (PTL!!) but my lab work did show that my testosterone levels were extremely elevated which indicates a diagnosis of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). PCOS causes you not to ovulate due to small cysts on your ovaries. (Thank you God for a final diagnosis). Dr. Rhoton said I needed to get on a strict diet, low carb preferably, and come back in a few months to see if my levels are any better and if anything had improved...(definitely NOT the answer I wanted, but looking back now, it was all in His perfect plan).
March 2012 I went for a follow up...I was down 13 lbs (I am a depressive eater...I wasn't ALL in). This still was not enough to start Clomid to help me ovulate. (Needless to say, this was my very last appointment with Dr. Rhoton...She was beating around the bush too much and I wanted answers and help, right then!)
September 2012 I started seeing Dr. Larimer. She is a bariatric physician who has a practice in Lake Butler, Florida (not far from my house). My first day on her A-mazing diet was September 1st. It is the start to a new me and hopefully that new me being a Mommy!
November 2012 Down 30 pounds!! Go me!! At my follow up appointment Dr. Larimer decided to take me off one of the medications she had me on for weight loss, and try me on Metformin to treat my PCOS (which Dr. Rhoton said was ridiculous because I was NOT a diabetic..Little did she know...). I left my appointment that day full of hope and faith that it would not be long and my wait to be a Mommy would be over!
December 2012 Down 10 more pounds for a total of 40 pounds!!!!!! But still not pregnant....During this journey I have been so down in the dumps that I have literally cried every day for the last 4 years...This month was one of those months...
January 16, 2013 Today is our first appointment with Dr. Lipari at the Jacksonville Center for Reproductive Medicine. Brandon and I decided that no matter the cost, we were gonna do it! So, at 11am we had our initial consultation with Dr. Lipari and boy was that a lot of information to take in!! I left with such a smile and so much hope that it wouldn't be long and my wait will be over!
February 12, 2013 Per Dr. Lipari's orders, today is a big day for us! I am having a Sono-HSG which is where they will inject my uterus full of saline and pass bubbles through to make sure my Fallopian Tubes are open and to make sure my uterus doesn't have any cysts or other "not wanted" objects in it! As Brandon and I watched on the U/S screen and listened to Dr. L tell us everything we were seeing, it was amazing to finally hear Dr. L say that everything looked "absolutely perfect"!!! Other than the cysts on my ovaries and my stubborn tilted cervix, everything is absolutely perfect! Brandon also had his very first sperm analysis this day as well. And we had lots of blood work to do also!
Well, now that you are FULL to the brim of all of the history of our journey. I think it is safe to move on from there! This now brings us up to the present!! (PTL...I am sure you are sick and tired of the rambling on! But it is so important you know EVERYTHING!!)
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