Feeling silly...

So my last post was about my HSG test. I was stressed to the max. After reading so many different experiences through other blogs I was making myself literally sick with worry.
Here is MY experience.

My mom picked me up.
We stopped by the pharmacy because my doctor recommended Aleve or Motrin - since I'm not a huge medicine taker we had to stop a grab some.
I went with Aleve. Took 3. Headed to my appt.
Let me just say 15 minutes down the road I had psyched myself out so badly I told mom I was about to throw up. I was in a panic. It was raining. I was freaking out.
Mom just tried to calm me down  - but she knows me and I think knew I just needed to process and think it through.
(after she told me maybe 20 times to never look at the internet again. Right.)
We made it though. I ate maybe 3,403 tic tacs - but we made it.

I will say as far as the imaging center I was scheduled at I couldn't possibly have been more blessed by the staff. I was one of the first appointments so it was relatively quiet. They were very attentive and so so so sweet! I let them know my concerns and they were so comforting.

I went into the changing area and a guy walked in introducing himself as the xray tech and he broke down the whole procedure and what to expect even though I knew by heart from my "research"what was about to happen.
He tried to make a few jokes and was like yeah probably not the time right? No, dude. It's not.
I did appreciate the effort though :)
In the first xray room he had to take just a normal xray to make sure most fluids were out.
Totally not an issue. That was easy.
Then we went into the second xray room where the actual procedure was going to take place.
That's when I started crying. Ok, bawling.
He gave me a quick hug and said girl what are you even worried about? you look too young to be thinking about babies anyway... MORE TEARS! No!!! I'm almost 30.
Then I started laughing. It was weird bc I started thinking about how much he made. It must be a good sum to be so practiced in the art of false compliments and encouragements ;)

Ok, so now the actual situation.
I will just say I cried. The whole time.

BUT NOT BC IT HURT!

I psyched myself so badly that I couldn't quit crying. Even when I KNEW it wasn't hurting!
The doctor (a pretty gal who looked years younger than me) (yes thought about that through tears as well) asked me what was wrong and if everything was ok.... I told her I was worried about the catheter going in and she said, babe it's already done! working on the dye right now!

I felt silly.
The dye did cause a tiny bit of cramping but for only maybe 5 seconds.
Then it was done girls! All the pain just gone! done!
What was a freaking about?!
Felt totalllllly dramatic.
Then I couldn't quit crying bc I felt so dumb.
It was a weird series of emotions.

So to wrap this up:
it wasn't bad at all. maybe "an inexperienced first time obgyn giving a pap smear for the first time" bad at the most.

I will say they did tell me that sometimes when there are abnormalities or blockages - or other things that could be wrong - there is more pain involved. I am in no way discrediting girls who say it was excruciating. Not my place. I just wanted to give a positive report that it can go painlessly and quickly, with only a tad bit of awkward.

We left the office and I felt just fine. I honestly could have driven myself if need be. Mom and I went and shopped around and had lunch so really it was an in and out procedure. I then went home and napped with Heidi the rest of the day so all in all it was a great experience thanks to the staff at the imaging center and probably the help of 3 Aleve.

So I haven't heard back from my doctor yet about our next step but the tech went over my results and said everything looked beautiful. Weird considering that I'm going through infertility. Nothing about my inner workings are apparently beautiful ;) but I will take it! So no blockages, no abnormalities. Praise Jesus. One less issue to worry about. Even though some type of answer would have been nice to explain the issues we are having  - have to think of this as a huge win for my body.... its about time!

James thinks that since my cycles are so all over the place one of our main problems is timing. He is super hopeful that with a monitored clomid iui cycle we will have a mini Stell on the way before we know it!

Well that was my experience. Just wanted to share.
Hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving!
We did!

Lots of love,

Lauren

Not my idea of a good time....

Hello everyone!

Just a quick little note on how much I despise: MEDROXYPROGESTRONE.

What is medroxyprogesterone? (you ask)

Medroxyprogesterone is a progestin (a form of progesterone), a female hormone that helps regulate ovulation (the release of an egg from an ovary) and menstrual periods.

Medroxyprogesterone is used to treat conditions such as absent or irregular menstrual periods, or abnormal uterine bleeding. It is also used to decrease the risk of endometrial hyperplasia (a condition that may lead to uterine cancer) while taking estrogens.
Medroxyprogesterone is also used to prevent overgrowth in the lining of the uterus in postmenopausal women who are receiving estrogen hormone replacement therapy.

So yeah, that is what that is. I told you last time the doctor said if I hadn't started a period by cycle day 35 to give them a call and they would send these little horrors to the pharmacy for pickup.

Well - a few days before day 35 I started getting some spotting! ON MY OWN! Is it weird that I was so damn excited? It's my life and my blog so no, not weird!
I called the doctor and the nurse said that while that awesome - it didn't count. What?! My body is trying to work .... get a little more excited, lady! 
So despite some spotting nothing truly happened so day 35 I called and picked up the mini pills.
The next day Aunt Flo showed up full force completely showing off the fact that I needed the meds. So rude.

Now to the part about why I hate this medicine.
It makes me CRAZY!!!!!

I have been a mess the last 4 days! Short tempered, emotional, hot flashy, so sleepy, nauseous, I mean you name it....

I really believe my body was producing some of that hormone already just not quite enough - and the pills brought on a little more than actually needed. Bringing on my past four days of insane.

I mean I've never been depressed but if I could imagine what it felt like this would be it!
My poor husband. I am so thankful for his patience with me because honestly he's probably thinking he should be on the show Who the Bleep Did I Marry.... not kidding.

SO since I am having a cycle we have scheduled my HSG (Hysterosalpingogram)test for Friday morning! I'm really looking forward to this. It will at least be an answer. Do I have blockage, no blockage, etc. and I get to watch the dye flow through my tubes and things on the screen and I can't wait to check that out... I know, weird, but so cool ;)

I will update everyone on how the test goes and let you know if anything else comes up as far a plans with the doctor. I think unless we find something crazy Friday the plan is still Clomid with an IUI in December :)


Eeeeeeek! Praying that 2014 is our year! (and um, can anyone else believe this year is pretty much over?!) WOW!

Sending best wishes and love to all my girls!

XO

Lauren

My FAV things at the moment :)

So I got this ecard from a friend and had to act like I was 100% on board with it. While I heavily agree - I'm almost tired of pretending I'm ok with not having our mini Stell....but I mean, Heidi really is awesome. Probably a shade or two past awesome!

 
 
 

I mean who wouldn't want to cuddle with these two....who needs a baby?! Honestly.....

We do??

=

....and I'm pretty sure even though our dog is awesome WHEN we DO have our gorgeous little Claire, she will look a little like this. ( at least we hope) CUUUUUUTE!!!
We have issues. Seriously.

until then we have this precious little gem. I feel like even when a mini Stell arrives this little beauty will always have our hearts. She is our first baby. She is wonderful and really probably half the reason James stays with me ;) Kidding....I think.

I am ALSO loving that they put the forms up on our lot! Yes, building our dream house has been a little crazy but would we really know how to handle anything besides crazy? Probably not. I know this isn't much to look at but to us it's simply AMAZING!!!! 1.98 acres to do WHATEVER we want with. I just picture a lot of quiet patio time with a glass of wine OR tons of room for our little one to run around...both scenarios are going to be pretty wonderful.

So goodnight, friends!
Enjoy YOUR favs!

Love,
the Stells
:)

UPDATE?!

Sure, why not?!

 

A lot has happened since I last blogged - months ago!

 

Where did I leave off?

 

Ok, after our miscarriage I was shaken, but confident that Clomid was our best chance at finally having our mini Stell.

I took the 4th round of Clomid KNOWING that we would get pregnant. Maybe because our doctor seemed so confident?

I can tell you right now it didn't work.

No matter! It worked once - it would work again. To my understanding we have 2 more tries so maybe lucky number 3 would work out again. Let's do this!

 

Well......you know that song - it's an oldie but goody - "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"?!

I totally got broken up with friends!!!

The doctor that I adore and put all of my trust in totally broke up with me.

Now, to be fair, I'm being dramatic...and I still adore her.

 

I was mistaken by the comment she made about trying another "round" of Clomid. In my mind I thought she meant the 3 times again when she actually meant - let's try one more time and see what happens.

 

I called her nurse and asked to refill my Clomid for round 5 and there was a pause and then a ummmm Dr. S would like to speak to you. Hold please.

 

Had I been flagged?! What the heck!

 

She got on the phone and said all the casual hi's and how are you's...

Then the shiz got real.

She said she had been where we are and she didn't want to see me be disappointed when we could be trying other things that might bring actual results.

I told her I loved Clomid. That was OUR way to get that result. She said that even if it worked she would be nervous that I would need more monitoring throughout the cycle and after.

See...she broke up with me. The whole "it's not you, it's me" situation.

I guess since that never happened to me growing up everyone has to go through it at least once.

Why now?! Middle school would have been way more tolerable. Maybe not... Moving on.

 

She then referred us to HER specialist who is responsible for her two beautiful IVF babies.

I had my reservations bc through blogging I have the seen the good bad and the ugly of the whole "fertility racket". Yes, someone called this huge time is our lives a racket. Ass.

 

I prayed and prayed. I asked God to make it clear what path we should take. This doctor. A different doctor. I prayed for peace with the situation if this was right and in God's great plan.

 

I knew hands down that I would walk out if it seemed the man hadn't looked at our file, didn't want to hear our story, and said "IVF is your only option  - hand over the money".

 

That didn't happen.

We went to our consultation and we were so impressed. We checked in. Waited MAYBE 5 minutes then met the man that I really feel will be able to answer so many of our questions throughout this journey.

We sat down and he knew EVERYTHING. He actually had read and looked over our file! I mean - I thought that was really cool. We talked almost an hour. He actually was going to school for orthopedics but his wife started struggling with infertility and it made him shift focus. Love him.

 

So now that you know I love yet another doctor ( I swear I'm not that easy to please) this is what he said we should do.

 

MORE CLOMID!

LOL!

 

Like I said - the stuff works ;)

 

I'm a little frustrated and impatient because I have to wait for a cycle before we can do the dye test to make sure I'm not blocked or scarred or whatever else could be an issue in that area.

I told the nurse on the phone that I was pretty dang positive that nothing was going to happen on its own so they should just go ahead and induce a period.

She said no. Rude.

Soooo I have to wait until cycle day 35. THIRTY FIVE?! and then call to get the prescription to start my period. Last time it took 10 days for the meds to bring aunt Flo. That puts us into Thanksgiving week - ummmm somebody better be scanning some tubes on Black Friday, just sayin'...and they better like it.

 

After the scan and they find everything is PERFECT (amen, amen, amen) (it's going to happen)

I am going to start a new round of monitored Clomid - maybe a trigger shot - and then readers the doc is pulling out the big guns. I'm kidding. We are just doing an IUI. JUST?! This kind of takes some pressure off of us though which I'm super excited about. We will know exactly when I ovulate and exactly when to get those little swimmers into place. So pressure! So nice.....

 

So hopefully this happens in December!

We are so very excited!

This was our pic just leaving the consultation:

Cute, right?! Ok, J might look a litttttle creepy BUT love him anyway!

 

That's our update.

No mini Stell just yet - but we are moving ahead!

Faith in our hearts and hope on our side!

 

 

 

Sending a hug to anyone going through infertility. It can be a huge struggle if you let the pain creep into your heart. Protect your relationships, protect your hope and faith, mostly protect your heart. Know that God has His plan and His plan is GOOD and PERFECT!

 

XO

 

Lauren

3rd Round of Clomid

Hi!

Long time no blog!

I've been deciding how to go about typing this little gem out.

I suppose since this blog is to document our baby makin' journey I should just be honest and put it out there.

 

As I said in the last post I was not too excited or hopeful for the 3rd round of Clomid.

I pretty much wrote it off.

Take the pills - wait for the negative - get our baby wanting butts to a fertility specialist.

Easy, right?!

 

Well my friends, the week of June 24th this girl got her first ever BIG FAT POSITIVE!

Shut up?! Really!

No way.

But, yes. Digitally legit pregnant.

 

(I want to add there may be some truth to the whole don't worry or stress and you will get pregnant) (most annoying bit of advice ever by the way)

The week we got pregnant we were packing and getting excited about a weekend away with friends, signed on building our dream house etc. My mind was the farthest away from mini Stell and the 3rd round of Clomid so we had a week of letting lose. Remember I just knew the 3rd round wasn't going to be successful anyway. Crazy how that works....

 

I mean can you believe it?!

Our 3rd round of Clomid worked!

We instantly fell in love with our little poppy seed. James was on cloud 9. I was quietly doubtful.

Ok absolutely terrified is more like it.

So many of my friends have miscarried their first pregnancies and I just wasn't feeling how I thought being pregnant should feel.

 

I scoured the internet. I pestered my closest friends. Questions day and night.

Why am I cramping so much?

Why am I not feeling sick?

Where are my symptoms?

 

As we counted down the weeks to our first appointment I started feeling better and better. Excitement was creeping in. No! I couldn't get excited.. I wasn't going to let myself be vulnerable. I kept telling myself that daily along with prayers to God asking begging pleading for Him to take care of our sweet baby.

 

Around 3 AM July 14 I woke up to extreme cramps and massive bleeding. 

While I've never been pregnant I knew what was happening.

I ran to the bathroom and cried more than I have in ummmm 10 years? I cried. I prayed. I accepted.

 

We lost our first sweet baby.

No, mini Stell wasn't even 8 weeks old at that point BUT that little one was what we had been hoping, praying, and waiting for. That little blip on the screen already had our hearts.

 

You would think I would be mad. You would think I would be so angry that God hadn't protected our mini miracle.

 

No, I am thankful. I am joyful that God has shown us that we CAN get pregnant!

We grieved. We cried. We talked and talked. This just wasn't our time. We will have our time.

Our sweet baby is in Heaven. Who could stay upset for long about that.

I feel that I need to approach our next pregnancy in a different manner.

I basically lived in fear for a month. Every twinge sent me to the internet. Every morning without nausea made me doubt.

I didn't get to enjoy the idea of the miracle that was happening!

I totally cheated myself.

SO next time. No fear. Just confidence in my body and my God.

I will enjoy every second and know that God is a comforting God. He is a healing God. God wants us to be parents eventually in some way, shape, or form.

 

I have been truly blessed by our first baby. This baby gave me confidence in myself, my husband, our marriage, and especially and most importantly our God.

 

We can get pregnant!

Such a huge thing. An amazing thing!

 

I'm going to wrap this up so I can go hug my sweet husband.

 

So round 3 of Clomid. Successful.

Something just wasn't exactly right.

 

Moving forward my doctor wants to try 3 more rounds starting in September. She is going to add progesterone right away even before we get a positive result just to make sure there are sufficient levels - if a pregnancy results in another miscarriage she will refer me to the specialist.

 Having this plan is a huge comfort to me.

I adore my doctor.

She hugged me. She talked to me and made sure I knew it was ok to grieve.

A pregnancy is a pregnancy. No matter if it's 2 weeks or full term.

I love her even more for taking the time to share her infertility story.

So yeah, even more convinced we have the best doctor ever ;)

 

So. Yeah. That's what we've been doing!

 

Next post?

Hopefully I think of something to write about before September BUT looking at my track record don't get too excited ;)

 

Maybe about our house we are building? Maybe about how awesome my dog is?

LOL! who knows...

 

XO

Lauren

Second round of Clomid!

So we are done with round two Clomid!

This round was KILLER.

I was an absolute mess. Emotionally, physically - and well any kind of "ally" someone can be.

It really made me question if  I could do it all over again. My face was so broken out it literally hurt to wash, touch, smile. I mean - adult acne is being nice. This was out of control! Even my facialist was stumped.
For some reason this round really got to me emotionally. I would have REALLY low lows then remember the big wonderful picture and have a really awesome burst of "We can do this"....the medicine is working and that is all that matters.

Then the craziest thing happened as if I hadn't had enough ups and downs....

My period didn't start.
Now remember I hadn't up until the first Clomid round had a normal on time cycle. Remember how exciting that was?!
So I was fully expecting to start right on time last Sunday. Is it sad I am already so used to negative pregnancy tests that's not even what I wait for?! Lol! Totally was waiting for my period. I'm a freak.

Sunday came and went. No period, slight cramping, but other than that nothing. Not one thing.
Mon, Tue, and Wed came and went as well.
Along with about $100 worth of pregnancy tests which I'm sure you have guessed by now were all Big Fat Negatives!
What the hell was going on with me?
Why was my period off again?
Why can't my body just get it's shiz together?!

Secretly hoping (bc everyone who blogs about miracle pregnancies says their test didn't show a positive for weeks and weeks) that maybe our mini Stell just didn't want to show himself at that time. How can you not get excited? How can you keep yourself from getting totally let down? How can you stop praying to see even a twinge of blood but then praying just as hard you don't?
Conflicted my people. Con to the flicted.

Around Thursday I did finally see a hint of something but it was a light brown color. Sorry TMI, but you are going to read far worse by the end of the journey I imagine ;)

So I did what I know best. Called my Dr. She said that she wouldn't recommend starting Round 3 until I was absolutely sure my period was starting. Me thinking the whole time ummmm like another year from now? Yes, negative creeping in...it happens. She said she was sure it was just my period trying to start and with each round your period gets a little later. WHAT?! You are giving me something that will make me even more weird. She's lucky I like her.

Went to the pharmacy and filled the Clomid just in case something happened - along with another $30 spent on a pregnancy test. Ya know, just because. I mean why not?

Saturday I had the most terrible headache in the WORLD. Well not quite migraine but pretty dang horrible.
Then Sunday - my life went back in the direction I am getting pretty comfortable with! I started! Praise my wonderful Jesus!
My body was working - it was doing what it could to deliver.
Even though my cramps were off the charts I totally didn't care. Cramp on!

So with that being said Round Three starts tomorrow. This is the last round my Dr. will give me before referring me to a fertility specialist. Is it rotten that I just want to skip that nonsense and go straight up the chain. A wasted month to me just doesn't sound fun BUT let's just see for the hell of it what kind of WONDERFUL ailments I encounter this round. So excited :/

This is what my friend wrapped Clomid cycles up as:
1st: Feeling good, no symptoms, excited, hopeful.
2nd: Tired, apprehensive, super overly emotional and hormonal.
3rd: Absolute bitch mode.

Everyone say a prayer for my sweet husband.
June might rock his world. Sigh....

Nobody will ever be able to say we didn't want our awesome mini Stell. We know God will give us our little one in His time - I just have to keep faith that I can handle the steps it will take to get there!

Yep, so that's about it!
Clomid is quickly becoming not so cool ;)

Happy Summer people!

Love,
Me

Dominican Republic...and Heidi ;)

 

Just a few photos from a wedding in the Dominican Republic/Punta Cana we went to in March..and of course, a quick pic of our little one. She makes the whole post worth it in my opinion ;)

 

 Our gorgeous Heidi girl!

 

 The Dominican Republic for Natalia and Rall's wedding!

 J, Flott, and Rall

 

Such a sweet bromance!

 

 I like to call Dave my very own Drake. Love him!

 Sassy little Aimee :)

 

The end.

 

XO

me

"C" is for Clomid

I am so excited to be able to write this post so soon!

I was planning on waiting to see the outcome of my Clomid experience then share. That outcome being either:

 A) we got a positive pregnancy test (eeeek!) 

 B) my period started (oh my gosh!)  

 

oooor (what I really thought was going to happen) NOTHING was going to come of the cycle and I would never get to write about my opinion on Clomid....well to my surprise - a super happy surprise - the correct choice is B!

Yes, I know it is odd that I am SO excited to have started a period when the end all result we want is outcome A but there is something to be said for the relief that my body FINALLY did something it was supposed to in the time frame it was supposed to! I am actually in a small state of disbelief! I also had a few reservations about getting pregnant the first round of Clomid after all the oddness my body has been going through. I've heard that quite a few first pregnancies end with a miscarriage or some type of complication. While most of my friends have perfectly normal pregnancies and it may sound like I'm being paranoid - I want to try to get some type of normalcy going in this weirdo body so we can give our mini Stell as much of a chance as we can :)

So, Yay! Aunt Flo is here and I am (in crazy crampy pain) a totally happy, girl! Like dance around the house loaded with Midol and loving every minute of it kind of happy. SO WEIRD!

 

So here is a little rundown of my Clomid cycle: it will be quick since I've spent way too much time typing an ode to a menstrual cycle. Wow.

 

Here we go:

My doctor gave me my first round of Clomid (50mg) and said since I had not had a period since January to just start it the next day instead of waiting for my period and starting the pill on day 3. That is the normal way to take it and we all know I'm not normal ;)

She said to come back in two weeks and would do a transvaginal ultrasound (like the one we did that showed my PCOS). This time we would look at my ovaries and see if any follicles were stimulated and to really just see if I responded at all to the drug. She told me that she didn't expect to see much of result and to not really expect much. I was ok with that and felt hopeful this would kick my body into gear. I was a Clomid fan already and I had no idea why. I'm a freak. LOL!

So I made my next appointment and started the pill the next day expecting all kinds of terrible symptoms to occur - remember Metformin?! Well I am happy to report that I had no symptoms except for a few crazy nightmares, a few little hot flashes, and lots of random discharge.
Not bad, right?

 

Here is where I learned a very expensive lesson: PCOS messes with ovulation kits. Yeah - they don't work. What is that about?! I already have to deal with crazy cycles - now even all the money in the world can't help me do one normal thing? (I don't have all the money in the world - but you would think so judging by how many test and kits I buy) Stupid.

So needless to say I was getting a little down on Clomid. It obviously hadn't worked bc none of the ovulation kits came back positive and that was crap to me. So mad! Was I ever going to be normal again?! For the love - can I just be normal?!

 

Went to my two week ultrasound appt already prepared for the worst. Said a small prayer before getting out of the car and told God that I was totally ok with His plan and whatever He wanted to happen with this appt and my body I was ok with and that I knew it was in His time. BUT I hadn't ovulated - had no symptoms..hello - she was going to say Lauren, I warned you and I would say yes, I know but I'm crazy and an eternal optimist. So with these couple of convos running in my head I eventually ended up on the table with a wand you know where. Deep breath!

 

INSTEAD...she gave me the craziest news! I had 3 very healthy and beautiful (her words) follicles that looked 2 to 3 days away from ovulatoin. Holy crap, what?! She said if anything the Clomid had worked too well and I was a bit overstimulated. If James and I had any reservations about multiples we shouldn't try this cycle for mini Stell. Um...wow. I was shaking and trying to hold back tears. I don't think I have ever been filled with that much hope. God made sure I knew He had a plan! Apparently an over stimulated plan, but a plan. I got in my car, cried, called and texted my nearest and dearest...did the random vague facebook post and just basked in my amazing news!
What a great day!

 

Sooo before I learned my lesson about crap ovulation tests I took multple tests multiples times for the next week. What happened to 2 to 3 days?! I called the office so upset and said that I was SURE what the doctor had seen were cysts - bc google said so.  She told me that the only true way to tell about ovulation in PCOS patients was to do temperature charting. Ugh...I had been avoiding that. She also banned me from google. Lame.

 

Ok - wrapping this up. Two days later I ovulated. WORST PAIN EVER! I mean that might be a little dramatic but you have to remember I hadn't ovulated in years and  I have no pain tolerance. Anyway it happened. Of course James and I talk a big game and decided we would love multiples and we had sex appropriately timed for the next week. I think he felt slightly used poor sweet guy...

 

I had my first legit "two week wait".

James super confident we had a mini Stell.

Me super hopeful for at least a period to happen.

 

So now is the end of Clomid cycle 1.

 

While we are not pregnant - I am so so so happy that my period started. I haven't been this happy about a period in years... you know when you have those Thank God I'm not pregnant! moments? Yeah, those. but WAY happier :)

 

Round 2 starts Tuesday! Yay! Maybe this cycle will bring even more to be excited about!
Fingers crossed!

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

-XO-

Me

"M" is for Metformin

Hello all!

 

So I thought  I would pick up where I left off about our little "plan of action" (besides mega prayer) for a mini Stell.

After we got the PCOS diagnosis my doctor immediately put me on a small dose of Metformin to see how my body would react. She warned me it wasn't an easy drug to take and be ready for some tough days. I was so excited at the prospect of getting to bottom of my issue that I didn't think twice! She started me on one pill a day for 1 week, two pills a day the next week, and finally the three pills a day starting week three and that would be my max dose. Forever. Yes, I am only 29 and have a forever prescription. Ugh. Anyway - I've never been one of the weird pill takers but all three of these HORSE pills with my big prenatals and dha supplement and my B complex....yeah it's a little more than I like to take. I digress...

 

Here is a quick description of the drug:

Metformin (Glucophage) for polycystic ovary syndrome

Examples

Generic Name	Brand Name
metformin hydrochloride	Glucophage, Glucophage XR

How It Works

Metformin decreases the level of androgens produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands. It also helps the body use insulin and may reduce the risk of diabetes.

 

When blood sugar is lower, less insulin is needed, so the body makes less insulin. And when insulin is lower, the body produces a lower level of androgens.

Why It Is Used

Metformin is a diabetes medicine sometimes used for lowering insulin and blood sugar levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This helps regulate menstrual cycles, start ovulation, and lower the risk of miscarriage in women with PCOS.

 

Metformin can be used to treat women who have PCOS to reduce insulin levels and promote normal ovarian function. Metformin is best used in addition to eating a healthy diet, losing weight, and exercising regularly.

How Well It Works

Metformin lowers insulin, androgen, and cholesterol levels. It also improves metabolism in women who are insulin-resistant.

• Metformin may be useful in restoring regular menstrual cycles and starting ovulation in about 45% of women with PCOS.³
• Clomiphene (Clomid) and metformin may be more effective when they are taken together. But more research is needed to confirm if this is true.
• Some studies show that taking metformin has helped with in vitro fertilization (IVF). But other research did not support this.
• Metformin may lower the risk of miscarriage or gestational diabetes in women with PCOS, but this has not yet been confirmed by research. Metformin is probably safe to take while you are pregnant. But because metformin is only FDA-approved for the treatment of diabetes, you should talk with your doctor about the use of this medicine for reducing your risk for miscarriage or treating PCOS symptoms.

Side Effects

The most common side effects of metformin are:

• Nausea.
• Loss of appetite.
• Diarrhea.
• Increased abdominal gas.
• A metallic taste.

So, maybe not so quick, BUT that explains better than I ever could.

Basically this medicine is supposed to level out and help my body get back to normal ovulating condition. Like NORMAL people! Maybe I should embrace the whole not normal thing ;)

 

Day 1 - No issues. Felt fine. I was feeling good! I was a master pill taker and my body rocked!

 

Day 3 - So I cheated. I went to the next dose early...again rocked it.

 

Day 6  -  So after a few days of taking the two I was still confident that I was fine and could move forward. I decided to take the full three and just see what happened - I could always go back to two and um hello, if I could jumpstart this process why not??

 

Day 7  - MAJOR FAIL!

If I can give one piece of advice it would be to never jump to full doses of drugs that doctors warn you will be "tough". By "tough" they mean you will bloat up like a whale, have hot flashes, extreme nausea, constipation, more nausea, and the grand finale - literally crapping your tights. Yes. Your TIGHTS.

So tread lightly my friends...with high doses of Metformin you can temporarily lose control of your bowels. Gross. Had to share though.

Side note: This happened at home right before we were going to the theater. Praise the Lord! Had time for a quick change. It was definitely an experience.

Moral - follow your dosing instructions and transitions should go pretty smoothly.

 

I've now been taking Metformin since December. I've only had one cycle in January. It was short - but totally a cycle! It gave me a little hope! Was I getting back on track? No, according to my P Tracker app (LOVE IT) I am now 68 days "late" LOL! So laughable. How can I be late for something that just isn't going to happen? Kind of a bitter statement..but it's how I feel.

 

Had my yearly check up in May and mentioned to my doctor that James and I are super serious at the point so what is the next step we can take besides the Metformin. I was prepared to give her a long sob story about how we just can't wait...my parents are older...we are scared we are getting older...basically anything that would prevent her from saying well just wait it out. To my surprise when I told her I haven't had a cycle since January she immediately said CLOMID is what we need to try.

 

A voice of an angel is what rang in that cold room. I was elated. Yay! One more step in the right direction! Would this be THE step?! So excited! I had read lots of great success stories about Metformin and Clomid working together. I thanked her, left, and filled my prescription.

 

Next blog:

Clomid (My First Cycle)

My thoughts :)

 

Sorry for the long blog entry.

I'm a little wordy ;)

 

Goodnight everyone!

XO

Lauren

 

A new bloggable purpose...

It is a little known fact to people outside my little social circle and salon (aka maybe 5 people) that James and I are thinking about starting a family of our own.

By thinking I mean we are ready to take the plunge.
I have officially started walking baby aisles randomly for reasons other than showers - I call it research. I have been on Etsy almost more often than I was for my wedding looking at nursery ideas, cute outfits - ya know..for the baby we aren't even having. Also research. It's safe to say I have the bug. We are super excited. Soooo with all of that being so dang super....there is a hiccup. My body SUCKS. Not like crap I need to lose 10 pounds and this acne just won't go away sucks but like oh my wow my internal workings are all kinds of crazy sucks. I realize I have taken for granted how bad things with people's bodies can truly be. While I have stressed over excessive hair, acne, and vanity pounds others have serious issues. So in retrospect what I am about to go on a bit of a rant about is something I hope to one day roll my eyes about and say ummm you thought YOU had it bad?!
Ok so back to the acne, excessive hair growth, and weight issue...it's for a reason people!

 Why didn't I know this back in like middle school?! PCOS!
Let's start from the beginning:

James and I decided in October I would stop taking my birth control pills, meet with my super sweet and sassy OBGYN for a preconception appt and be on our road to parenthood. Easy right?! Everyone is like you better be ready, it happens so fast, my husband just winks at me and I'm pregnant, oh my gosh happened on our first try, I am the virgin Mary...ya get the picture. We were going to have a baby and quick. I was following all of the steps..No BC for three months before trying, take prenatals, you know that drill. Well at the appt I mentioned a previous OBGYN said that my lining was thin and that when we decided to start trying for  a baby it would be a good idea to have that checked just in case I needed some sort of medicine to thicken it up so our baby could attach. Well my Dr. took us into the ultrasound room and instead of finding a thin lining she found tons of tiny little cysts lining my ovary like a string of pearls (her words). She said this was abnormal in the sense of how it looks but not abnormal for someone who has a history of weirdly timed to non existent periods, acne, excessive hair, and weight gain. Enter exhibit A) what pcos looks like in the ovary. ( not mine just so you know)

 

See the difference? What does this mean?

Quick rundown!

 

(Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) is one of the leading causes of infertility in women. Approximately five to ten percent of women of childbearing age have PCOS. Most women with PCOS don’t even know that they have it. In fact, less than twenty-five percent of women with PCOS have actually been diagnosed. Most women do not get a diagnosis until they begin trying to get pregnant. Some of the symptoms of PCOS may be overlooked until a woman starts trying to conceive a baby.

What is PCOS?

PCOS, or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, is a medical condition that affects women’s menstrual cycles, fertility, hormone levels, and physical appearance. Women with PCOS produce high levels of insulin. Researchers believe that excessive insulin production causes their bodies to respond by producing high levels of male hormones or androgens.

During the first half of a normal menstrual cycle, several follicles will develop. Each follicle contains an egg. As the menstrual cycle continues, only one follicle will remain. This follicle will produce the egg during ovulation. Once the egg has matured, LH levels will surge causing the egg to burst from the follicle. This is when ovulation occurs.

Excess male hormones produced with PCOS affect the production of female hormones necessary for ovulation. A woman with PCOS does not produce enough hormones to cause any of the follicles to mature. They may grow and collect fluid but none become large enough for ovulation. Some of these follicles may develop into cysts. Because ovulation does not occur, progesterone is not produced. Progesterone is what causes the lining of the uterus to thicken. A woman’s cycle will be irregular or absent without progesterone.

 

And as we all know - without regular cycles and ovulation no mini Stell is in our near future! Sad!

 

After processing this a minute back in December I asked how we should move forward.
Was there a forward?

Well my friends with modern medicine, patience, and resilience YES we could (and did) move forward!

 

So I've decided to use this blog to document our journey to bringing a fabulous little mini Stell into this crazy world. I think this will be helpful not only to my mind, soul, well being, sanity (whatever works for you) I think it will be a fantastic outlet so I don't drive my friends and loved ones absolutely insane. See! Love my friends! So considerate! I am going to spare them my nasty ovulation details, my cervical mucus charts and my oh my gosh my temp spiked! moments! Yes. This will be my outlet for all of my TTC (trying to conceive for any newbies) thoughts, emotions, moments... Yes, my own therapy. This is going to be good ;)

 

So with all of that said: Welcome to my TTC blog. I have PCOS. It won't get the best of me and my little family to one day be :)
Catch that rhyme? See, I totally need a kid.

Maybe a girl who searches random blogs for hope night after night just like I do will run across this blog and not feel helpless or alone. This condition is common but no matter how common - hearts can be broken.  Hearts yearn. This heart will be strong because I know we have a plan.

 I know our amazing God has a plan.

That, my friends, is why I am so excited to share our story.
To reach out to others. To document miracles.
So very excited!

Our mini Stell is loved more than words can descibe already by me, James and so many others...
Can't even imagine how we will feel when he is really cooking away inside ;) Crazy!

 

Ok, enough for now. Just wanted to share the new purpose of the blog.
Get ready for some baby makin' good times!
Yeah, I went there.

 

XOXO

 

Lauren

A little studio named Gloss...

Yet another long hiatus!

What's a girl to do? Life doesn't slow down even when you make a conscious effort to make it. Also - opening a salon doesn't really help!

Yes, it has been almost (basically days away) a YEAR since James and I with the help of my parents opened Gloss Hair Studio.

I am in love with the space. It makes me smile and so so proud of us. It isn't all sunshine and daisies BUT the good outweighs the bad by well...no comparison.

I think I can give credit to the salon's first year of wonderfulness to:

 A) James - he keeps all of our finances in order. Keeps me on a budget. Tells me how great I am and how proud of me is. Just basically keeps me together :) Love him.

B) My mom and dad - They gave us the money to open the salon and since we didn't have to go through a bank the stress of paying back before we were on our feet wasn't an issue. My dad is super handy and is there as soon as we need him. Leaky faucet, pipes, things to be hung, this and that to be fixed. Yes, he is such a blessing to the salon. Not sure what kind of craziness we have averted bc of his help. Love him.

C) The girls of Gloss - what can I say. I knew what I wanted when we opened the salon. A group of girls that I could trust, did great hair, and that I could stand to be around 5 days a week in a 1750 sq ft. space. As with any group of girls - moods happen, bad days occur, we just get annoyed. BUT my awesome group of girls feels more like a group of friends that get mad, get glad, get over it! I am so proud of each girl. So proud that they work with me. So proud that care about Gloss like I do. Life is good with my girls. Love them.

D) All of the wonderful friends and clients that keep lifting Gloss up and making it even more fabulous. Oh my gosh. I am so so so humbled by the support from the community. We have felt so at home in Summerwood. It is amazing.  Also, I want to give a BIG shout out to my very best promoter Brenda Parks. I love her to the moon and back. She has been one of my biggest cheerleaders from day 1. Well even before. She pushed me long before the idea of Gloss even came into being. "I know you could do it" "You should totally open a salon"....just words at the time that were a seed. That seed grew into major confidence and with the help of friends, family, and clients Gloss is in full effect! Love them all.

 

So enough of this... It's kind of sappy ;)

Picture time!

 

 

 

So there you have it. 

A little peek of what my year has been devoted to.

Wouldn't have it any other way!

 

Thanks to all of my friends, family, clients, and the community a million times over for all of the love and support. It means the world!

 

Stay Glossy!

 

XO

Lauren