Life Update
Alright, it’s been a minute since I’ve posted anything, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks and I felt really stuck for a bit there. I took the day yesterday to just be quiet with myself and be more in the moment which definitely helped me with my stuck feelings. I just wanted to give everyone a little update on my life, school, fertility, and all the good stuff. I’ll start with school. So we are not going back anytime soon, or at least my class isn’t. We have to wait till Milwaukee is in phase 4 and we are only in phase 3. We also have been approved for hybrid learning, so as of right now the plan is to do all theory work online and then go back to do the hands on stuff. There is also talk of not going back for our full-time schedule and only doing part-time, but that’s just a thought depending on how many classes will be going back at a time. We have finally finished muscles thank the Lord! It was getting really difficult for a while there since I am definitely a hands on learner and that was not an option at all, so there were many hours of studying going on to keep up with the information. Now we have moved on to body systems which is much simpler information. I have taken several biology classes so it feels more like I am just relearning things I already know instead of all new information. We have also moved into our second phase of learning so that’s exciting and we seem to be moving through the information pretty quickly. As of right now, that’s pretty much it with school, just more of the same. Hopefully after the next student assembly we’ll have more information to go through.
Update on my fertility journey, it has definitely been a bit of a roller coaster over the last few weeks. About a month ago now I was able to talk with my doctor and she said she was going to start me back on the fertility meds which was such exciting news, and then normally she would give me medicine to force a period so my cycle can start over and then I would take the fertility meds. Then, the day after I spoke with her, I got my period, for the first time in years. It’s one of my biggest issues when it comes to PCOS for me. I have a ton of the symptoms like headaches, anxiety, issues sleeping, lethargy, and more, but I think in my life I have only naturally gotten my period 5 or 6 times. I’ve either had to take medicine or be on a strict herbal regimen to keep my period going. So I was beyond exited to get my period for sure. I think what truly helped was listening to a meditation every night before going to bed. Even if I fall asleep to it, I make sure to put it on every night and let the words sink in. You may think I’m crazy but I think words are very important and do my best to make sure I use the right words and am purposeful, so listening to those meditation with positive words about getting pregnant have been a turning point for me in my journey. Don’t get me wrong, I have been working hard on watching the food I’ve been eating so I am energizing my body the right way. I also have been religious about seeing my acupuncturist weekly, taking time in my day to go on long walks, and staying hydrated throughout the day.
So as exciting as I was, I still was a bit anxious about starting technically my second round, but the first round of meds that we would be able to test because last time I was sick and couldn’t go to the lab the day I was supposed to get tested. I did everything right, took my meds when I was supposed and I was very intentional with logging what was going on. Anytime I was nauseous, had a headache, had sex, and made sure to wear my Ava bracelet every night (it monitors skin temperature, resting heart rate, hours of sleep, and breathing rate), I logged it all. I felt like I did everything I was supposed to do and then when I got my blood test back, I didn’t ovulate. When she did my initial blood tests, my progesterone was pretty much at the same point as it was after taking the fertility meds. Not going to lie, I saw that and I felt like I was punched in the gut. I know, it’s just my first round, but everything seemed to be going right, my body felt different after the meds, and I started to get my hopes up a lot. There was even one night when I was looking on etsy for cute pregnancy announcement things and to find out nothing happened was very disheartening.
There is some good news, after getting my results back, my doctor and I talked, she said based on my test results she doesn’t want to waste time doing 3 more months at this dosage so she’s doubling it. That definitely lifted my spirits because I’ve been feeling this feeling of not wanting to waste time, and I am happy she is on the same page as me with this. I’ve worked with other doctors in the past and they have ignored my wishes and didn’t listen so it’s been frustrating for me to deal with doctors. But my doctor now is so nice and she listens and she’s so even keel, it’s wonderful to have someone who is open to listening to me and is willing to work with me. I mean my first appointment with her she spent over an hour with me to explain to me how PCOS works in my body and the steps we would take as we move forward with fertility. A lot of the PCOS info I knew, but I never learned it from a doctor, I learned it from years of research I’ve done so I could know what was going on in my body. It was so nice to finally have a doctor who was more interested in making sure I knew the information then just telling me I have something wrong with me and I should take this prescription with no reason attached and then sent on my way, confused and frustrated. I don’t know how many people reading have PCOS or knows anyone who’s dealt with it, but there was not a ton of research on it until recently and it’s different for each person, so most Gynecologists don’t have a ton of information or knowledge on it, they just know the general solution which is to throw you on birth control and then if you want to loose weight, they put you on metformin, which is a drug meant for diabetics. PCOS has a lot of similarities with diabetes and thyroid disease, so metformin can have varying effects on your body if you don’t have diabetes. And look, this is just my story and my experience, so if you’ve had wonderful results for being on birth control and metformin worked for you, that’s awesome, it just was the wrong thing for me.
If you are looking for some good resources PCOS Challenge and PCOS Diva are two really good places to fins out more information. PCOS Challenge does a lot of advocacy to get more coverage with insurance and getting more research up and running. PCOS Diva is Amy Medling, she is a nurse who also has PCOS and she has a great podcast about so many things. If I ever have a question about something I search her podcast or blog and find very clear information that helps me moving forward so I can make positive changes for myself.
Alright, I’m going to finish this up. Hopefully I still have someone with me all the way down here. I know that was a lot of info, but I hope it can help someone who might be looking for answers and not sure where to start. I promise I’m going to start updating these regularly, I’ve had lots of people asking for updates and I really am enjoying writing. I also got some great ideas from a friend of mine today, she mentioned that I should share some crazy stories for my old job in customer service, not just of crazy things customers have said to me but the hilarious excuses I’ve heard from the people I worked with for why they didn’t make it to work that day. So thank you Alexis for that idea. Then I’m thinking I may share family stories so they are written down somewhere. I am thinking I may do podcast or videos so I can tell the stories instead of just writing them down, I don’t know, we’ll see, I am still in school so that may be something I do once I’m done and have more time on my hands. I am also thinking I will be sharing about important people in my life and how they have helped me. If anyone has any ideas or if any of my family has some stories they would like me to tell, let me know. Ok, well I am going to go now, I hope you all have had a wonderful day, and I love you so much!
Love,
Rene
