Yay for O, Mirolee!
Glad you didn't miss O, Amelia!
So I set up my HSG test for Tuesday and I am freaking out. I am such a nervous patient. I am going to be so freaking screwed when I get pregnant. The test is being done by Dr. Ted Lee and I am so uncomfortable with that. I always request a woman because I just don't want a strange dude down there. I am basically SOL if I want the test done this month. Dr. Lee is the only one available to do it. I am going to have to suck it up and get it done. I wish DH could be back there with me
I used to feel the same way, until I got a bad yeast infection and was so desperate for a cure that I didn't care who poked around down there so long as they gave me a cure, and so I settled for seeing the guy doc that was available, as opposed to my usual lady doc. After that first guy doc, I didn't feel so bothered anymore (it wasn't as weird/awkward as I thought it would be). Now, as long as the bedside manner is good, I don't care if the doc is a girl or a guy (I'm always a little nervous about seeing a new doc, though).
STG-- Doctor said that they consider anything under 5 to be negative, but in this instance, they're considering 6 to be negative too. He said that there could have been a chemical pregnancy that occurred, but given the sperm analysis, they don't think so. We're going to do a repeat prolactin next week.
AFM, we have decided to take a break from trying for a year or so. It kind of kills me to put this on hold, but we really need a break, and we really need all the emotional turmoil to calm down before we give it another go. The past few weeks have been really tough-- I kept finding myself resenting him for his infertility, without realizing that its really something he has no control over. I want him to know that I'm focusing entirely on his health and safety right now, that TTC can wait. The most important thing here is that he gets his body healthy enough to function properly. I'm going to have an IUD put in tomorrow (while on AF) more to stop AF from coming, but also to take the pressure off of OH. All the testing, surgeries, etc. will take a toll on him, and I don't need him to feel an excessive amount of pressure. I have never had an issue with AF regulating after an IUD. I get my cycle back the day my IUD comes out, and I generally O 14 days later.
OH has 3 more SA's in the next 6 months, as well as ultrasounds and a possible varicocele surgery. He has also been put on a vitamin regime- similar to Nikki's hubs but also large doses of Vit D and folic acid. I'll have the IUD taken out as soon as the doctors say we have a chance/ OH is ready to give it a go again. Right now, we're not in a place to even try.
I'll still be here, keeping up with all of you and following along. Just not an active participant!
Ah, well, at least the high prolactin will probably be an easy fix with meds, esp since it's only a little high. FX'd it is within normal on your next test, so you don't even have to deal with it. (I wonder if the high prolactin could cause the hcg to be 6... Hope they get some answers on that mysterious hcg count for you soon!)
As hard as it is to take a break, that indeed sounds like the wisest and kindest thing to do in this case (for both you and your DH). And your DH is lucky to have you standing by him with so much support. I'll be keeping you both in my prayers, and I'm glad you are sticking around to keep up with us!
Thanks, Ladies. I will def still be here, cheering you all on. I can't wait to see all of your pretty little babies! It feels like the right thing to do right now. I kept on saying that something needed to change. I was in such a rut. I wasn't happy with my job, my body, my car, my house, etc. and realized that it was probably all the stress of TTC that was turning me into a really angry person. I've been working out a lot regardless, and I still hate my job today (just one of those days..) but everything is looking up now.
So glad the change is already doing you good!
I admire your attitude here so much!
AFM, cd7 here...I heard back from the dr about my day 3 labs...everything is completely normal which is good but doesnt explain my lack of AF for 100+ days! I am going to start OPKs on sunday and attempt SMEP...but I don't know when I should start taking the guaifesen since I have no idea when I will ovulate. Will it hurt if I start taking it now and continue until O or should I wait a few days to start? I also did an OPK just now bc I can't help myself and there is a darker line than i was expecting...definitely not positive obviously but pretty dark...im confused now.
Glad your labs came back normal, and I hope they can figure out what was up with the lack of AF or perhaps it was a fluke and won't happen again!
With the darker than expected line, I get that as well, sometimes. From what I understand, the surges leading up to the final positive surge are just one's body's way of gearing up for actual O.
PS: Nicole - I'm with Ash - my termination doc was a dude and my Obgyn was a chick and frankly I preferred the dude - wasnt awkward, he was, if anything, extra gentle.
I've had a D&C performed by both a chick and a dude-- I cried through the whole procedure done by the chick, I was in SO much pain, she was really rough, etc. I threw up during the procedure I was in so much pain. The D&C last year after my MC was done by a dude. While it was still uncomfortable, it was nothing like before and really quite easy.
I think, because men don't have vagina's and have very little to compare it to, they are extra gentle. The only real comparison they have is getting hit in their junk, and that obviously hurts like none other.
One of the gentlest gyno docs I've ever had was a lady doc at the ER, so I think it just depends on the doc, regardless of gender. My gyno and FS are gentle as well, and both guys, and the 1 guy and 2 girl gyno's I saw before them weren't rough as far as I can tell (back then I had vestibulitis, so it didn't matter who did the exam or how gentle, it was going to hurt like the dickens...unless they numbed the vestibule first with something and it was one of the lady gynos who first helped me with the numby stuff).
So sorry that first D&C was so painful!
I easily perfer men over women doctors. I had to see a woman GYN once and she just kept writing my pain off because "she had that once, and it was nothing" It really pissed me off. Men don't have vagina's or ovaries, so they can't compare pain.
That really sucks that she did that.
Men can still brush off the pain as "you just having a low pain threshold", or "not being a big deal because it wasn't for patient x" though. For instance, although my 1st guy gyno was no different giving the exam as the lady gyno I was seeing at the time, when I had my yeast infection, both docs tended to not take my pain level seriously as something that needed investigation or as an indication that it was time to bring out the big guns. The guy doc gave me the wimpy cream instead of the pills, even though I had a really bad yeast infection and knew enough to say I had easily aggravated skin down there, and I had to go back and cry for the pills after trying the cream and it didn't work and inflamed the vestibule and made things worse.
And it was the second lady gyno that first worked with me to help me with my vestibulitis pain, so the first doc to actually help with the pain happened to be a lady.
And lady gynos having vaginas and ovaries themselves can give them good insights that guy docs don't have (like if her pain had turned out to be something it could have prompted her to investigate your pain quicker), so it's not necessarily a bad thing. Yeah, they can take for granted that other women would be just like them, but men can take for granted that other women would be just like some other woman they know, so anyone can generalize. Your lady gyno's problem wasn't that she was a woman and had her own pain to compare, it's that she generalized and took for granted that all pain of that type would be nothing because it was nothing for a certain person (in this case, her). A guy gyno could have compared you to another patient and done the exact same thing, even though he is unable to compare the pain personally.
I'm sorry you ladies had bad luck with some lady gynos, and I can understand that leaving a bad impression, but please don't think them being women was the problem.
That's my plan and thats what it is. It just writes it down. It just freaks me out having it on paper. Hubby said when he saw it, "I thought this was supposed to be fun.."
I hid it after that.
Here's where I luck out - my DH actually wants it to be written down. He actually requests that I print him out a calender with the days marked and taped up at his computer desk, which I like and is handy for me, as well. (We call them "bunny days" and I draw bunny heads to mark them, btw.
) As long as we go "free range" outside the fertile period and have some purely recreational BD at some point, he's down with the process.
Sorry it's freaking you and your DH out to have it on paper, though.
Although DH and I both like to have some feeling of control and order for the baby making part, he still doesn't like to feel like it's just baby making (and neither do I because I don't want the activity tainted with failure so that it ruins free range or non-baby making time), so I say that we "get to do it" on the doc assigned days (rather than "have to") and we put emphasis on feeling good/better/glad for the good stuff, even if we don't hit the jack pot on the baby slots. And I also do what Mirolee does, and remind DH that we are a team in the baby making project. We are hoping to hit it big on our next round of bio roulette, but we have to make sure to put our chips down when the big wheel spins.
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I think I see a line on the FER too!
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AFM: Sinuses have been kicking my butt, so DH and I went out for Mexican food (he was in the mood for Mexican food, anyway). They had a new menu item that is now my favorite: Seafood Burrito (with scallops, crab and shrimp, and a creamy white sauce). Yum! I also had a guacamole salad (I love avacados). The salsa was esp. good tonight, as well, and seems to have helped clear my sinuses. Hopefully I can get good sleep tonight.
) lol
So exciting!
