Well, I just got back from a follow-up appointment with Dr. T, and we have a plan!
Yay! :)
You see, Dr. T has been seeing me (us) since June of 2008. He's the one we've been doing all of our charting with, and the one (and only medical doctor to date) to have told me to follow (diet-wise) what I already was trying to do. He's great in that sense. What we've been somewhat frustrated with at times is his lack of "tell us what to do"-ness. He's notorious for laying out lots and lots of options, but not offering much direction as to which to choose (he always says, "It's your choice.", "It's up to you.", "It's whatever you want to do."- which we appreciate, but it's hard to choose when you have no medical knowledge of the "full picture").
ANYWAY, Dr. T sent us to Dr. H, the pelvic surgeon, hoping Dr. H would do a LAP to check for Endometriosis and do an HSG (the fallopian tube dye-test). Well, Dr. H, the pelvic surgeon, did the HSG (which came out "normal"), but kind of brushed off the Endometriosis concerns. Pete's analysis came back "normal" too, so Dr. H's recommendation was to continue to try until April, then come back for a re-evaluation.
In talking with Dr. T again today we decided to "push" just a tad with Dr. H when it came to checking for the Endometriosis. I hate being a "pusher"- I don't like to have to "fight" for what I need or want- it makes me uncomfortable. I can do it- and usually with the results I wanted- but I hate the way it makes me feel- that, "Let's see who has more of an iron-will here."
I just don't like it.
Well, Dr. T offered to call Dr. H while we were there in the office today, to ask him if he would please, when we come back to see him in April (if we're not pregnant), do the LAP to check for Endometriosis. The reason is this: Dr. T was trained by Dr. Hilgers and has seen many, many women with infertility problems in his time at our local hospital. He's very convinced that I have a combination of problems causing my infertility:
1.) Endometriosis- this can mess up a woman's hormone levels and makes it very difficult to get pregnant. If you do get pregnant while you have Endometriosis the pregnancy often cures it- but having it decreases your fertility significantly. No one knows yet why women get it, what causes it, or (other than the LAP surgery) how to cure it. Hopefully someday.
2.) My cycle, according to my charts, is suspect. I may not be ovulating an actual egg. I've got the follicles (the "egg carriers"), but we're not sure yet if I have the eggs. Kind of an important part of the process! I'm not sure (if that's the case) if that's fixable or not. Possibly with IVF or something, but we're not there yet (one step at a time!).
So, Dr. T (finally, when directly asked today) said he would suggest getting the LAP done first (probably get it scheduled in April), then possibly check into whether or not I'm ovulating viable eggs (which can be done by going to Dr. Hilgers for a long series of ultra-sounds where they, basically, take "pictures" every day while I'm supposed to be ovulating to see if an egg is actually released), as Endometriosis is usually the biggest culprit in these types of cases.
And, Dr. H agreed- yay! :)
Not that I'm excited about surgery (even out-patient), but since it's the only way to even diagnose Endometriosis at the present time, I want it done!
So, like I said, we have a plan! I've been asked so much lately about what's "next" on the infertility front, and I haven't really had any answers for people- we just didn't know.
Well, now we do-
if we aren't pregnant by April I'm having out-patient surgery to look for (and remove, if it's there) Endometriosis. If (probably after some period of recovery and more "trying") we still aren't getting pregnant, I'm going to Omaha for the ultra-sound series.
The series is going to be extremely expensive, but if it's needed I'm choosing not to worry about that. Somehow, even if we have to get a credit card (I'm joking there... somewhat), we are doing it. Even once our adoption finally goes through, I want to know what's going on with my body. If we should plan on continuing to adopt in the future, or if we can expect to have future biological children.
In the meantime Dr. T continues to stress how important it is that I become "100% compliant" with my diet- no red meat, no dairy (except a few goat's milk products), no sugar, no wheat, very limited legumes. Do eat chicken/turkey/fish, lots of fruit, even more vegetables, drink lots of water, and take vitamins to keep my immune system up. I've also discovered that citrus foods (even tomatoes if I eat a lot of them) make me feel bad, and starches and carbohydrates (I have to be really careful not to eat too much of them). So, it looks like our social life's going to take a dive again ;) - it literally takes up the majority of our free time to make sure we're/I'm:
1.) eating correctly,
2.) figuring out, if we go out, if I have an alternate meal (that follows this diet) either with me or available to me, and
3.) able to afford for me to eat this way (there's absolutely no way we can afford to buy all the food products I eat from the store- which equals waaay more work for me to make what I can from scratch).
Wish us (mostly me- I'm the one who's stuck having to be the "noble one" when everyone else is eating something yummy) luck.
Yay! :)
You see, Dr. T has been seeing me (us) since June of 2008. He's the one we've been doing all of our charting with, and the one (and only medical doctor to date) to have told me to follow (diet-wise) what I already was trying to do. He's great in that sense. What we've been somewhat frustrated with at times is his lack of "tell us what to do"-ness. He's notorious for laying out lots and lots of options, but not offering much direction as to which to choose (he always says, "It's your choice.", "It's up to you.", "It's whatever you want to do."- which we appreciate, but it's hard to choose when you have no medical knowledge of the "full picture").
ANYWAY, Dr. T sent us to Dr. H, the pelvic surgeon, hoping Dr. H would do a LAP to check for Endometriosis and do an HSG (the fallopian tube dye-test). Well, Dr. H, the pelvic surgeon, did the HSG (which came out "normal"), but kind of brushed off the Endometriosis concerns. Pete's analysis came back "normal" too, so Dr. H's recommendation was to continue to try until April, then come back for a re-evaluation.
In talking with Dr. T again today we decided to "push" just a tad with Dr. H when it came to checking for the Endometriosis. I hate being a "pusher"- I don't like to have to "fight" for what I need or want- it makes me uncomfortable. I can do it- and usually with the results I wanted- but I hate the way it makes me feel- that, "Let's see who has more of an iron-will here."
I just don't like it.
Well, Dr. T offered to call Dr. H while we were there in the office today, to ask him if he would please, when we come back to see him in April (if we're not pregnant), do the LAP to check for Endometriosis. The reason is this: Dr. T was trained by Dr. Hilgers and has seen many, many women with infertility problems in his time at our local hospital. He's very convinced that I have a combination of problems causing my infertility:
1.) Endometriosis- this can mess up a woman's hormone levels and makes it very difficult to get pregnant. If you do get pregnant while you have Endometriosis the pregnancy often cures it- but having it decreases your fertility significantly. No one knows yet why women get it, what causes it, or (other than the LAP surgery) how to cure it. Hopefully someday.
2.) My cycle, according to my charts, is suspect. I may not be ovulating an actual egg. I've got the follicles (the "egg carriers"), but we're not sure yet if I have the eggs. Kind of an important part of the process! I'm not sure (if that's the case) if that's fixable or not. Possibly with IVF or something, but we're not there yet (one step at a time!).
So, Dr. T (finally, when directly asked today) said he would suggest getting the LAP done first (probably get it scheduled in April), then possibly check into whether or not I'm ovulating viable eggs (which can be done by going to Dr. Hilgers for a long series of ultra-sounds where they, basically, take "pictures" every day while I'm supposed to be ovulating to see if an egg is actually released), as Endometriosis is usually the biggest culprit in these types of cases.
And, Dr. H agreed- yay! :)
Not that I'm excited about surgery (even out-patient), but since it's the only way to even diagnose Endometriosis at the present time, I want it done!
So, like I said, we have a plan! I've been asked so much lately about what's "next" on the infertility front, and I haven't really had any answers for people- we just didn't know.
Well, now we do-
if we aren't pregnant by April I'm having out-patient surgery to look for (and remove, if it's there) Endometriosis. If (probably after some period of recovery and more "trying") we still aren't getting pregnant, I'm going to Omaha for the ultra-sound series.
The series is going to be extremely expensive, but if it's needed I'm choosing not to worry about that. Somehow, even if we have to get a credit card (I'm joking there... somewhat), we are doing it. Even once our adoption finally goes through, I want to know what's going on with my body. If we should plan on continuing to adopt in the future, or if we can expect to have future biological children.
In the meantime Dr. T continues to stress how important it is that I become "100% compliant" with my diet- no red meat, no dairy (except a few goat's milk products), no sugar, no wheat, very limited legumes. Do eat chicken/turkey/fish, lots of fruit, even more vegetables, drink lots of water, and take vitamins to keep my immune system up. I've also discovered that citrus foods (even tomatoes if I eat a lot of them) make me feel bad, and starches and carbohydrates (I have to be really careful not to eat too much of them). So, it looks like our social life's going to take a dive again ;) - it literally takes up the majority of our free time to make sure we're/I'm:
1.) eating correctly,
2.) figuring out, if we go out, if I have an alternate meal (that follows this diet) either with me or available to me, and
3.) able to afford for me to eat this way (there's absolutely no way we can afford to buy all the food products I eat from the store- which equals waaay more work for me to make what I can from scratch).
Wish us (mostly me- I'm the one who's stuck having to be the "noble one" when everyone else is eating something yummy) luck.
