I have had five injections of Lupron now, and so far, I feel fine! Well...I have had some moodiness, but overall, no problems. Before I started the Lupron injections, I went on birth control pills, to begin the process of suppressing my ovaries. Strange to be on BCP when what I want is to get pregnant. I'll take the last one of those tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, I am almost done with my fourth week of the endo diet. Just over a year ago, because my husband and I had been unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant for over six months and because of my "advanced maternal age" (35), I underwent a procedure called a laparoscopy, where the Reproductive Endocrinologist ("RE") looked inside my abdomen and checked out the exterior of my uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, intestines and pelvic wall. The RE found what he called Stage III endometriosis. Read all about the disease here: http://www.endo-resolved.com/endometriosis.html . He removed adhesions, scar tissue and a large cyst on one ovary. I had almost no symptoms of endometriosis, but I was glad to know the RE had removed it, and I was looking forward to getting pregnant right away. At the time, I read about a diet designed for endo, but it sounded really hard to stick to, and I figured my endo was gone, so I didn't bother with it.
After endometriosis is removed, it returns almost 100% within 10 months to a year.
One year after my lap surgery, we had tried three cycles of intra-uterine insemination (no longer called "artificial") and numerous hormone pills, injections, ultrasounds, RE conferences, ovulation predictor kits, blood tests, and of course a few pregnancy tests, all of which were negative. My husband and I were now down to three options for a baby: IVF, adoption, or continuing to try on our own with no medical intervention in hopes of beating the odds. We chose IVF.
I have been told that IVF effectively takes endo out of the equation. Faced with the emotional, physical and financial toll that IVF would take, I decided I could do better. Maybe IVF helps you GET pregnant when you have endo, but what about staying pregnant? And how about giving this our very best effort, and not just relying on doctors and drugs to make it happen? So, I committed myself to the endo diet in preparation for IVF.
Later, I will post more about what the diet entails. For, now I just want to say that I am thankful that I learned about it, that I have the time and resources to grocery shop and cook within the guidelines, and that I can know that I am taking responsibility for my health. I don't stick to it perfectly, but that's okay. And hey, I've lost 5 pounds.
I appreciate those of you who have left your comments, and thanks everyone for visiting and being a part of this journey.
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3 comments:
You know what is hilarious? I never knew that all this time we were doing IUI, we were doing what used to be called artificial insemination! OK, maybe that's not hilarious.
Good post, Sweetie - can't wait to read how it turns out :-)
(I am blog-challenged and I'm not sure whether this was actually sent yesterday or not. So, I'm trying again.)
What a brave lady you are to share your journey! I so admire you for doing this because I know how private a person you are.
I don't understand why having a baby has to be so hard for some people (especially the ones that would make fabulous parents, like you and Kevin) and it's one of the many questions that I have for God. But, until the day that I get to ask Him, I'll just pray that he answers the question for you and Kevin.
Can't wait to read the next entry.
Loved you are, my friend.
kathy, I am so glad to see that you have started a blog! I did too, right around the time that you did. Hee!
I figure there is no better way to get out these crazy rollercoaster feelings that is inherent in this process.
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